Folks,

Here is the entire Matarazzo recusal article from the DR.

Rockaway Twp. official denies church conflict

By Rob Jennings, Daily Record

ROCKAWAY TWP. -- The chairman of the township's environmental commission will not participate in future Christ Church of Montclair hearings after attending a fundraiser hosted by opponents of the controversial mega-church building planned on Green Pond Road.

The chairman, Pat Matarazzo, said he visited the Voices of Rockaway Township fundraiser on Oct. 17 solely to loan the group the church's site plan application.

Matarazzo said he contributed no money and noted that the site plan is public information. The church, though, complained about his visit to planning board attorney William Dimin.

"We are appalled by the fact that Mr. Matarazzo participated in a meeting of a group openly opposed to the church's application that the environmental commission is currently reviewing," church spokesman Marc Weinstein said.

Matarazzo decided on his own to step aside, "rather than going through a whole rigmarole," he said Wednesday.

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"All it was, was a copy of the site plan," Matarazzo said, recounting his visit to the fundraiser.

Hundreds of people have attended planning board hearings on the church building plan, which has drawn sizeable local opposition. The environmental commission, with much less fanfare, has convened a separate inquiry into drainage, runoff and other issues.

"It is totally inappropriate for a government official to provide public records for a non-government function, particularly one that was arranged by a group opposed to the church's application," Weinstein said.

Lisa Salberg, a co-founder of Voices of Rockaway Township, said Matarazzo did nothing wrong.

"This is one more thing for Christ Church to complain about but there's nothing there. He didn't do anything inappropriate," Salberg said in praising Matarazzo as "an extremely knowledgeable resource in terms of environmental matters."

Salberg said her group requested the site plan because their copy was in their lawyer's office.

Charles Mueller, a township resident who attended the fundraiser, also defended Matarazzo's appearance.

"He was just asked to do a favor and drop it off. That's all he did. It wasn't like he was rah-rah, cheering the group on," Mueller said.

One of the environmental commission's seven other members will act as chairman when the church next provides testimony on Dec. 8. Matarazzo said he will recuse himself from all future Christ Church testimony.

A tenth planning board hearing is to be held Dec. 20 on Christ Church's proposal, which includes building a 2,512-seat sanctuary, private K-5 school, a fellowship hall and indoor and outdoor recreation facilities at the 107-acre former Agilent Technologies site.

The status of both hearings, though, is somewhat unclear because the township is challenging in state appellate court a Highlands law exemption granted to the church building plan.

Weinstein charged that Matarazzo's visit to the fundraiser was another example of township officials demonstrating a lack of impartiality toward the church's application.

Weinstein recalled that the school district permitted sending fliers home with children last year advertising a Voices of Rockaway Township meeting, and that Mayor Louis Sceusi, who serves on the planning board, attended at least two of the group's meetings in 2003.

"This is another in a long line of things," Weinstein said.

"Mr. Matarazzo's appearance underscores the fact that the Sceusi administration has compromised the church's right to a fair and balanced hearing on its application," Weinstein said.

Sceusi did not return a phone call Wednesday. Last year, he rejected a call from the church's pastor, David Ireland, to recuse himself.

Salberg countered that Weinstein was out of line.

"This is our community. If there's a subject matter of interest to the citizens, and we invite the mayor to attend and hear our concerns. That is what an open society does -- we communicate," Salberg said.

"Would Mr. Weinstein prefer we keep everything secretive and can't speak to our elected officials?"

Weinstein left open the possibility that the mayor's actions might be revisited.

"After the mayor had publicly decided he would not step aside, at that point, we didn't pursue it. Whether that may come up again is an open question," Weinstein said.

Municipal attorney Edward J. Buzak declined comment on Weinstein's statement.