Scott, Murphy join council
SPARTA. Clark to serve as mayor and Murphy as deputy mayor in 2025.
Sparta /
| 20 Jan 2025 | 07:11
MS Mark Scott takes the oath of office as a Sparta Township Council member at the annual reorganization meeting Tuesday, Jan. 7. His daughter Erin Scott holds the Bible and Township Clerk Roxanne Landy administers the oath. (Photos by Dave Smith)
MM Marjory Murphy is sworn into office as a Township Council member. Her nephew Mark Lotz holds the Bible and Township Clerk Roxanne Landy administers the oath.
NC Neill Clark takes the oath of office as mayor for 2025. His wife, Alexandra Miller Clark, holds the Bible and Township Clerk Roxanne Landy administers the oath.
Township Clerk Roxanne Landy congratulates Mayor Neill Clark after he takes the oath of office as mayor for the second year in a row. His wife, Alexandra Miller Clark, is center.
Neill Clark
Mark Scott speaks after taking the oath.
Marjory Murphy was elected deputy mayor by the Township Council members.
Mark Scott and Marjory Murphy were sworn in to seats on the Township Council at the annual reorganization meeting Tuesday, Jan. 7.
They defeated four other candidates, including two incumbents, to win three-year terms in the Nov. 5 election.
During the meeting, Neill Clark was re-elected by the council members as mayor for 2025 and Murphy was elected deputy mayor.
“We’re simply a vessel for the will of the people and we cannot forget that,” Clark said.
“My hope is that this council will work together but that we’ll also be committed to listening to the people and trying to do the best we can to effectuate their will.”
Murphy thanked the township and promised to do the best she can “to keep this beautiful town as it was meant to be.”
New township attorney
The council appointed Anand Dash of Kennedys Law, a firm in Basking Ridge, as the township attorney. He replaces Thomas Ryan, a founding partner of Laddey Clark & Ryan in Sparta.
Dash is a former president of Sparta Responsible Development, a nonprofit organization formed to protect the water and other natural and cultural resources of the New Jersey Highlands.
He also sued Sparta’s zoning and planning board as well as Diamond Chip Realty, which has proposed building two warehouse at 33 Demarest Road.
Clark said Dash is educated as a municipal lawyer and has represented Lake Mohawk for the past two years. His firm is one of the largest and most successful in the state, the mayor added.
Before the appointment, Councilman Daniel Chiariello said he was uncomfortable conducting business as a council without Sparta having a contract with an attorney to advise council members.
His motion to adjourn until a contract is signed was defeated 3-1-1. Clark, Scott and Murphy voted no and Dean Blumetti abstained.
Chiariello said he would abstain in all further votes during the meeting.
Township Manager James Zepp said a contract was prepared to be signed once a township attorney is appointed.
Planning Board members
Clark appointed Robert Bleakley as a Class I member of the Planning Board.
The council voted 3-1-1 to make Councilman Mark Scott a Class III members. Blumetti voted no and Chiariello abstained.
Blumetti objected to moving Christine Dunbar, a member of the Environmental Commission, to Alternate 2, who would not vote unless another member was not there.
He pointed out that he and others have worked for several years to strengthen the Environmental Commission’s voice. “Putting an Environmental Commission person on as an alternate is not the right move.”
Clark said Dunbar had been a Class II member but she did not meet all the requirements for that slot.
Blumetti proposed making Dunbar a Class IV member, who has voting rights. That motion was defeated 2-2-1, with Clark and Murphy voting yes, Scott and Blumetti voting no, and Chiariello abstaining.
The council then approved the appointment of Joan Furman as a Class IV member. The vote was 3-1-1, with Blumetti voting no and Chiariello abstaining.
Clark named Bryan Zimmermann as Alternate 1 and Dunbar as Alternate 2. He said the Class II spot will remain vacant until someone who meets all the requirements is found.
Sea change on council
After taking the oath of office, Scott thanked the voters and pointed out the sea change in Sparta’s leadership, beginning with the election two years ago of Neill Clark, Dean Blumetti and Daniel Chiariello to the council. It continued last fall with the election of Scott and Murphy.
“Again, the message was ‘Stop Paving over Sparta. Protect our water. Protect our open space,’ ” he said.
”Let’s keep Sparta green, protect our water, our fresh air and maintain the wonderful community Sparta is today. I hope we can all pull in the same direction to accomplish the will of the great majority of Spartans.”
He endorsed changes among the township’s professionals.
”Our professionals must be people whom volunteers on the board can rely on for accurate, well-balanced information, opinion and advice. I would cite many instances when that has not been the case in the past several years. This must stop.”