March 4, 2015 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXVII, No. 41 Visit our
BUSINESS DIRECT on
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD
Brothers exit, United Water enters By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent
see CONTRACT page
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Page 27
• EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
N.A. hiring ex-NJMC boss By Ron Leir Observer Correspondent
KEARNY – Now that Kearny has lost its top two administrators of its water utility, town officials concluded they had no choice but to tender day-to-day responsibilities for now to United Water. Last Tuesday, after hearing a presentation by Chris Riat, senior director of environmental services for the Harrington Park firm, the Town Council voted to award an emergency contract. The resolution says the contract is “to operate and manage the town’s water system for a minimum of 90 days until a permanent operations and management services agreement can be solicited and awarded.” United Water, already contracted by Kearny to handle water billing, collection and meter reading services for $344,132, will now get an additional $35,943 for its 90-day contract, plus $9,000 to compile Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) on the quality of the town’s potable water, and fixed fees for emergency sub-contracted equipment costs, as needed. That means that if, for example, a water main ruptures in the wee hours or on the weekend and United Water
RY
NORTH ARLINGTON –
R
obert Ceberio, former New Jersey Meadowlands Commission executive director, is poised to find redevelopment opportunities for his former hometown North Arlington. Since he left his meadows job in December 2010, Ceberio has set himself up as a development consultant under the name RCM Ceberio LLC, with his wife Carol as executive vice president and former longtime North Arlington Mayor Len Kaiser as director of business development. The RCM website describes the company as a “strategic planning and management consulting firm assisting public and private clients … in terms of projects, plans and policies. We develop strategies to meet changed circumstances, new technology, new competitors, a new economic trend, or a new social, financial or political environment.”
Robert Ceberio
Sources told The Observer that Ceberio attended last Thursday’s Borough Council meeting and, after it ended, was invited into a private caucus by Mayor Joseph Bianchi to make a pitch
for his company. That, in turn, led to a 6-0 council vote authorizing Borough Attorney Randy Pearce to draw up a contract. Pearce told The Observer last week that under the proposed agreement, which he’s drafting in resolution form for the next council meeting, RCM Ceberio would be paid $2,500 a month for services as a redevelopment specialist, “including all expenses and public relations for the borough,” for up to one year. Although Borough Administrator Stephen LoIacono told The Observer that the final terms were subject to further scrutiny by members of the governing body at the next meeting, Pearce insisted that, “It’s already a done deal.” He said it was simply a matter of transferring his handwritten notes of the terms which, he said, the council had approved, into a formal resolution. Councilman Al Granell, one of two Democrats on the governing body, told see CEBERIO page
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Teen bound for Far East BELLEVILLE – A Belleville High School freshman will be spending part of the summer in Japan. Andrea Romero is one of 10 American high school students from the around the U.S. to be accepted into the TOMODACHI Japan Society Junior Fellows Leadership Program, a cultural immersion and learning project.
The students will stay with host families in the Tokyo metropolitan area and learn the basics of the Japanese language while attending local high schools and join in afterschool sports and activites. They’ll also visit important sites around Japan – ranging from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to the Harajuka fashion district – during their
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stay, July 6 to 27. Students will also meet with U.S. and American leaders in business, science, technology, humanities and the arts and develop research projects that focus on Japanese social problems, recovery from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, teachers’ roles in Japan and the U.S. or create a series of podcasts, videos or articles
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about their host town. Upon their return, students will be expected to present their projects to their home schools. “I am absolutely thrilled to be participating in the Junior Fellows Program,” Andrea said. “It is a true honor to be given this opportunity and to see JAPAN page
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