Warehouse resolution approved

The Sussex County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of a resolution to amend the county wastewater plan to include 33 Demarest Road in Sparta.

Jack DeGroot and William Hayden voted no. DeGroot said he opposed the resolution because the amendment does not comply with the county’s strategic growth plan.

Diamond Chip Realty has proposed building two warehouses at that site, totaling slightly more than 880,000 square feet.

Jill Space, director of the board, said the matter now goes to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The Sparta Planning Board also will vote on Diamond Chip’s application.

”We are not up here approving a warehouse. Our opinions on whether Sparta should have a warehouse or not is not in question today,” she said.

Anand Dash of Sparta told the commissioners that he was disappointed by the board’s vote.

He pointed out that Diamond Chip has kept the same figure for estimated wastewater from the project while raising the number of expected employees from 200 to 555.

During the earlier public comments, he had urged the commissioners to reject the resolution because Sparta officials have not approved the amendment. It is the county board’s policy to allow Sparta to approve it first, he noted.

“I would ask that this body ... give full faith and credit to Sparta Township that has denied this application.”

Robert McBriar, a lawyer contacted by Space, said the Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority recommended approval of the amendment and the DEP said the proposed amendment complies with its regulatory criteria.

”This action does not serve as a substitute for the local planning and zoning process nor does it negate any other requirements that need to be satisfied by the applicant,” he said.

Conflict of interest?

During public comments, Sparta Mayor Neill Clark asked Chris Carney, deputy director of the board, not to vote on the resolution, citing his job with the International Union of Operating Engineers, which supports Diamond Chip’s application.

He pointed out that even without Carney’s vote, the board would have enough people to vote on the issue.

”Don’t make the unforced error of allowing someone to vote where there’s an issue about a conflict of interest. Do the right thing. Ensure to the public that the process is fair and don’t give the impression that the fix is in.”

Douglas Steinhardt, the board’s attorney, said Carney has no legal conflict because he is not an employee of the union.

Also, the fact that a union may support a development project in hopes that its members would get work does not mean that the work would be done by union members, he said. “Any conflict is purely speculative.”

David DeWit of Hampton Township also spoke against the resolution, citing air pollution from the truck traffic that the proposed warehouses would bring to the area.

“I urge you to take the actions you can now to stop this project. It’s a nightmare for Sparta, and it’s not a very good bargain for the rest of the people of Sussex County who kinda like the air we breathe now.”

Livestreaming meetings

The board approved a resolution to begin livestreaming its meetings Wednesday, Sept. 11 if the equipment is working.

A new sound system, purchased with federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, was used during the Aug. 21 meeting.

DeGroot said a public meeting on the county’s farmland preservation plan is proposed at the Oct. 21 meeting of the county Agriculture Development Board.

A previous goal was to have 25,000 acres preserved by 2018, while only about 19,000 acres have been preserved so far, he noted. ”We want to create a plan ... that we can actually accomplish.”

Six Sussex County farms have agreed to participate in a proposed tri-county agritourism initiative with Warren and Hunterdon counties, DeGroot said. The goal is eight to 10 farms.

Carney said the county’s road resurfacing project is expected to cover 23 miles and to cost $8.6 million. About $7 million will come from the state Transportation Trust Fund and the rest from the county’s capital fund.

Work could begin this fall and will continue into next spring and summer.

A project to restripe about 100 miles of county roads is under way, he added. It will cost about $740,000.

Space said ShopRite of Sussex will hold a food drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14. It will benefit the county Social Services food pantry.

Board members also approved:

• The appointment of Caleb Orr as a general public representative to the Sussex County Agriculture Development Board for a three-year term through Dec. 31, 2026.

• The appointment of Christopher Cameron to the Sussex County Technical School Board of Education to fulfill the unexpired term of Margaret Bongiorno. The term expires Oct. 31, 2026.