Readington’s financial arrangement with a public relations firm hired to help guide public opinion on Solberg Airport issues was recently altered, eliminating a middleman, according to Mayor Gerard Shamey, who made the announcement this week at the township committee meeting.

As part of his Solberg comments Monday night, Shamey also aired a taped telephone conversation and gave a presentation outlining the importance of the up coming $22 million bond vote for buying the airport property.

Readington Township had been paying the public relations firm CN Communications International Inc. through its special counsel, the law firm Connell Foley. The law firm retained CN Communications’ services Jan. 5, according to Anthony Cicatiello, the PR firm’s co-founder.

CN Communications now contracts directly with the township, according to the mayor. Readington is paying the company’s principals $300 per hour, its vice presidents and directors $225 per hour and its account managers $150 per hour, according to Township Clerk Vita Mekovetz, who added that the total amount was not to exceed $40,000.

The rates are the same as those previously being paid to the firm, Cicatiello said.

Shamey said at the meeting that the township needed CN Communications’ services to deliver accurate and clear information on a complex issue.

"We have an obligation to present the facts, and in this day and age, that requires professional support," Shamey said.

Shamey said the PR firm initially was paid through Connell Foley because the negotiations taking place between the airport’s owners and the township were confidential.

"Any statements that we made to the public with regard to those negotiations had to be issued carefully, accurately, clearly, so we had to preserve the integrity of those negotiations," Shamey said yesterday.

Now, Shamey said, "We’ve laid out everything on the table, all the facts that we have, including the fact that we’ve now hired directly CN Communications."

In mid-January, Readington officials made public the fact that the negotiations, which began in September, had ended.

Cicatiello said the change in contract was due to the changed nature of the campaign.

"This is a referendum now," Cicatiello said. "This is an educational campaign, and any information we get we’re going to distribute as quickly as possible."

The $22 million bond ordinance approved by the township commit tee is to be voted on by the public Tuesday, May 16.

The township’s most recent proposal is to purchase approximately 650 acres of open space and the development rights to the airport itself, Shamey said. The airport would still belong to and be operated by Solberg Aviation.

Shamey gave a presentation Monday in which he reiterated that "municipal control of airports can be limited by FAA and state regulations" -- one of several statements by the township that committee candidate Ed Dudzinski recently has sought to clarify through interviews and research.

"This airport is very much on the national radar screen," Shamey said.

Shamey also played a taped telephone conversation between him self and a man he identified as Lawrence Berger, a developer and legal adviser to the airport owners who participated in negotiations, at the meeting.

According to Shamey, the conversation took place Jan. 6. Shamey said Berger called him, and that he had a tape recorder handy because he was about to do dictation.

Berger’s alleged comments include a statement that the airport’s co-owners -- Thor Solberg, Lorraine Solberg and Suzanne Solberg-Nagle -- need to lengthen the runway to accommodate jets and sell jet fuel to keep the airport alive. On the tape, the man purported to be Berger also says of one of the township committee’s proposals: "They’re (The Solbergs are) not willing to basically flush the airport down the toilet."

A woman who answered the phone at Berger’s office yesterday said Berger was out and could not be reached for comment.

Shamey said he chose not to talk about or play the tape for nearly four months because he was waiting for an "appropriate" time to do so -- and that time came last Wednesday, when Committeewoman Julia Allen and former state Sen. Bill Schluter called a press conference to discuss campaign finance violations. At the press conference, Shamey read from a transcript of the recording.

"I brought it out when I brought it out," Shamey said. "I made a decision to release that after Senator Schluter’s press conference because that is the main thrust of that tape, the fact that the Solbergs are willing to throw whatever money it takes into the electoral process in Readington Township to get what they want."

Readington resident Ingelore Krug asked during a public comment session if she were allowed to tape township committee meetings without committee members’ knowledge. She was told she could.

In New Jersey, it is legal to tape a conversation between two people as long as one party involved has knowledge of the taping. Thirteen states require both parties to consent.

Staff writer Matthew Reilly contributed to this report. Jennifer Weiss works in the Hunterdon County bureau. She may be reached at jweiss@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.

Copyright © 2006 NJ.com

Date: April 5, 2006 Source: NJ.com
URL: http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/114421801664010.xml?starledger?nso&coll=1