The battle to move the Central Avenue pedestrian activated stop light off of a residential lawn escalated at Tuesday evening’s Town Council meeting with heated exchanges between residents and Council members.

Central Avenue resident Maria Carluccio continued her six month old campaign to move the light off of the lawn of her next door neighbor Adina Encelscu, who was absent due to a broken leg. Carluccio accused Council members of moving the light to Encelscu’s front lawn, instead of at the nearby corner of Central and Clover due to political pressure.

During Carluccio’s 15-minute speech to Council members, she said that a Francis Terrace resident who had been opposed to placing the light at the intersection had been a volunteer on Mayor Andy Skibitsky’s 2009 reelection campaign. Carluccio used part of her remarks to cite public support she said that she and Enclescu have received, reading comments posted on Patch stories on the subject, along with a petition that has gathered over 100 signatures.

Skibitsky downplayed the comments, noting that they could be made anonymously.

Carluccio cited comments relayed to her by Union County Engineer Thomas Mineo, where she said the county engineer said the decision to move the light was recommended by Westfield officials and implemented by his office. The light and the decision to cul de sac several side streets off of Central Avenue were part of a joint project between the town and county governments.

Carluccio’s statements regarding her conversation with Mineo were repeated by Greg Kasko, a retired police officer aligned with Carluccio who has been at odds with the Town Council.

“I asked him if the light was because of Westfield requesting it and you rubber stamped it and he said yes,” Kasko said of his conversation with Mineo.

Kasko and Carluccio reiterated their desire to have the town’s traffic safety consultant Gordon Meth speak at a Town Council meeting and answer questions from the public. Skibitsky has vetoed the idea, which has also been proposed by Councilmembers Dave Haas and Vicki Kimmins, saying it would cost too much money for the cash strapped town government. Councilman Mark Ciarrocca has also said that Meth has spoken in community meetings prior to the light’s construction and during the planning process.

Kasko put forward a new suggestion for covering Meth’s payment.

“I am going to offer the Town Council above and beyond the taxes I pay,” Kasko said. “I am willing to offer to pay for his appearance. I am willing to pay for two hours.”

Skibitsky and Council members remained silent after Kasko’s suggestion.

Haas, in an interview with Patch following the meeting, said he would be open to letting Kasko pay for Meth appearing before the Council, saying it would only cost the time of local officials. Haas, the Council’s lone Democrat, said he is willing to attend such a meeting.

Haas used remarks during the meeting to note that he has been in favor of the light, which was installed to assist in having students cross Central Avenue headed towards Jefferson School. The proposed light has been debated off and on for years, with residents of Francis Terrace objecting in the past to a light at the corner.

Haas did say he wants to look into moving the light off of Enclescu’s lawn, but he is keeping safety issues at the forefront of his consideration. He said he wanted to hear more from the town and county traffic consultants about the decision making process used to place the light on Enclescu’s yard. He said Skibitsky has not allowed Meth to appear before the Council and said he is waiting to hear back from the Lewis Berger Group, which was retained by the county government. Haas said he submitted written questions to the Berger Group last week and is still waiting to hear back.

Resident Jim Baker, a frequent critic of the Skibitsky Administration, questioned Skibitsky and Ciarrocca on the process used to implement the light, questioning both on the citizen meetings and town studies around 2005. Baker questioned on how many people were involved in deciding the exact placement of the light.

“It wasn’t one person,” Ciarrocca said.

Ciarrocca said an in-depth process was used to determine the siting of the light and the entire Central Avenue traffic plan. He noted five public meetings were held, along with informational gathering sessions with various groups in the neighborhood. Ciarrocca also said numerous meetings were held in the Municipal Building by the Council’s public safety committee, which he was then chairing, along with a citizens advisory committee on traffic issues. Ciarrocca noted that Baker had volunteered to serve on the traffic panel, but was not selected by town officials.

Baker reiterated questions from Encelscu, where the resident said she was not given notice prior to the light being placed on her lawn and her sprinkler system being taken out. This led to an exchange with Ciarrocca.

“Was Mrs. Enclescu notified that the light would be front of her house,” Baker said.

“I did not personally notify her,” Ciarroca said. “It went through the process.”

Baker continued the questioning, with Ciarrocca saying that he answered the questions. Ciarrocca said that he was not sure if a letter sent to residents said the exact location of the light.

“It was public knowledge,” Ciarrocca said.

Several heated exchanges occurred between Carluccio and Councilwoman Joann Neylan, the public safety committee chairwoman. Neylan spoke after Carluccio finished, which Carluccio objected to saying that she would not be allowed to respond.

Neylan said she wanted to clarify a previous statement, which she said was taken out of context that the light was bigger than one person. She said the Council needed to make the decision by not factoring in one person’s objections.

Neylan explored the topic again later in the meeting.

“It’s not painful to listen to people’s thoughts,” she said. “What is painful is the innuendo, that it is not in the best interests of the citizens.”

Neylan’s comments prompted Carluccio to shout a question from the audience.

“Adina is not a citizen?” she said.  

Resident Len Berman questioned the Council over the time frame to review the light, which has been operational for several weeks. Berman said Skibitsky had previously said it would be reviewed after 90 days, which Skibitsky said he had not said.

Skibitsky said he has been hearing more feedback than what is shared at Council meetings by opponents.

“We are getting a lot of positive feedback,” he said.

The comment brought a shouted question from Carluccio in the audience.

“Where?” she said.

Skibitsky said the final review would include traffic data and statistics, along with any accidents. He backed away from a comment from Berman, where Berman said that Skibitsky had said that if there were no accidents in 90 days the light would be deemed safe.

This prompted Kasko to shout a question from the audience.

“Who’s going to count the vehicles Mr. Mayor?” he said. “You’ll need to put one of those counters across.”

“Mr. Kasko you’re out of order,” Skibitsky said.

The mayor also offered another endorsement for the light’s location.

“We had a former councilman check it out and he said it works,” Skibitsky said.

Skibitsky, who lives near Central Avenue, also cited his own use of the new light.

“I have used it many times in daylight and evening and I think it works,” he said.