In Dover, $38K bill for town hall flood cleanup sparks mayor's ire
DOVER — Two days after the latest rainstorm flooded streets and basements across town, Mayor James Dodd presided over his first regular meeting of the Town Council since returning to office this year.
The submerged basements in Dover included the one in Town Hall − just one reason why the meeting was postponed from Tuesday to Thursday. That same storm required emergency responders to perform high-water rescues of 11 people in residences along Blackwell Street.
Dodd, returning for his fifth term as mayor, continued to criticize former officials over town finances, including the bill for the latest cleanup at the municipal building that he said shouldn't have been such a problem.
"This is twice now, since Dec. 18," Dodd said of the flooding at the 62-year-old building that sits along the banks of the Rockaway River.
"Every time ServePro comes here to clean, it costs $38,000," he said, referring to the contractor that handled the cleanup.
Dodd cites 'mind-boggling' waste
The condition of Town Hall was just one point of frustration for the Democrat as he resumes the office he held from 2005 to 2019, before former mayor Carolyn Blackman unseated him. He prevailed in a rematch in last year's Democratic primary before winning November's general election.
On Thursday, he promised to take members of the previous administration to task for "mind-boggling" financial mismanagement.
"The people who did that must be held accountable," Dodd said.
The mayor listed several instances of what he said was waste, including the outsourcing of some town operations to officials in West Orange, and failing to bill developers in the tax incentive programs known as PILOTs.
More: New Jersey braces for more rain, wind on Friday night while still dealing with flooding
Why Dover is stuck in old town hall
High on the list of failures, according to Dodd, was the sale of the historic Newberry Building on the corner of Blackwell and Sussex streets. Dodd was mayor when the town bought it for $4.8 million in 2018 with plans to make it the new Town Hall.
The for-profit Berkeley College had renovated the building in 2013 when it bought Dover Business College before moving out of town in 2018.
Dover eventually scrapped plans to move its Town Hall to the Newberry Building and instead sold it in 2022 for $2.5 million. Dodd blamed former state Senate President John O. Bennett, a Central Jersey Republican who served as Dover town administrator from 2020 to 2022, for the unprofitable deal.
"I'll come right out and say it: he sold out our community in many many aspects," Dodd said of Bennett. "I think when we look at positions of authority, and we look at politicians who come in here and get paid jobs. They're not here for the people. They're here for a purpose."
Bennett, now the administrator in Lavallette, was not available for comment Friday. When Dover decided to sell the Newberry property, Blackman said her administration had determined it would be too expensive to renovate. Bennett was town administrator at the time but was succeeded in October 2022 by former District 26 Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, who remains in the position.
Leaky basement
The sale put Dover back to square one in its search for a new Town Hall location to replace its current leaky and shopworn home. During the latest storm, Dodd said he received a message that the basement was taking on water at 11 p.m.
"[For me] it's frustration," he said Thursday. "We purchased the [Newberry] building that was sold out from under our feet. We've been putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into the building we have outgrown. We're working hard to maximize the space we have. We're bursting at the seams."
Dodd said engineers inspecting Town Hall believe they have found the source of the basement flooding: a drainage system built around the building that may have been compromised when a cell phone tower was installed."
Plans for new pump station might help
"We also have a situation where the discharge of the water system itself is below the water line of the river," Dodd said. "So an event like this, a 100-year storm, the velocity of the water is pushing back into the building instead of out into the river."
A pump station is being designed to mitigate the issue, but "all of this would not be an issue if we had the new building," Dodd said.
As for flooding issues elsewhere in town, Dodd said he spoke with Morris County Sheriff James Gannon about possibly donating a high-water rescue vehicle to the town. He has also spoken with county officials about Dover's needs during and after storms for cleanup and repair needs.
"Blackwell Street is a county road, so they have responsibility," Dodd said.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Dover NJ town hall flood cleanup cost of $38K sparks tirade by mayor
