First aiders: We forgot to get a building permit
Squad apologizes for flap over building permit

WEST LONG BRANCH - It wasn't because they deliberately broke the law or received special treatment that the borough's first aid squad began renovating the basement of its headquarters without all the legal documents.

It was just a mistake in a moment of zeal.

Leaders of the borough's volunteer first aid squad are taking the blame for not obtaining the mandated building permits prior to renovating their headquarters at 100 Monmouth Road.

In a letter dated Oct. 17 and read publicly at the following night's Borough Council meeting, Judy Wortman, the squad's recording secretary, told Mayor Janet W. Tucci and the governing body that squad members eager to begin a donor-financed construction project that they forgot to apply for the needed permits.

Shortly after beginning the renovations last summer, squad members realized they had forgotten about the permits and promptly sought to remedy the situation, Wortman wrote.

After hearing that some borough residents had commented at previous council meetings or to local newspapers about the squad's failure to obtain the permits, the group's leaders submitted their letter to officials "to set the record straight," Wortman wrote.

Presently, the squad is recruiting new members from Monmouth University to relieve a manpower shortage during the day, Wortman explained in the letter.

To attract those students, the squad chose to construct a study area and lounge in its basement courtesy of a "generous donor's estate," she went on.

The squad hoped to have the renovations completed by the time the university's fall semester started.

"When the members realized, in their haste, [that] they had forgotten to apply for a building permit, the appropriate paperwork was completed and submitted for approval," Wortman wrote.

A squad representative who later went to pick up the permit at the borough's building department, located at 95 Poplar Ave., was told that "signed, sealed plans that addressed [Americans With Disabilities Act] accessibility issues" would be required before the permit was given out, she continued.

"We take full responsibility for the oversight and failure to obtain a building permit," Wortman wrote.

In addition, the squad has now hired an architect to work with Michael Jahn, the borough's lead building official, on the construction plans, she noted.

In response to other allegations made by borough residents at recent meetings, Wortman's letter also dismissed any notion that the squad received special treatment because council President Richard F. Cooper Jr. and Councilwoman Barbara Ruane are part of its membership.

At council meetings in August and September, where residents questioned whether or not Cooper or Ruane had bent the rules for the squad, both officials denied knowing anything about the construction or the lack of a permit.

Because Cooper and Ruane, who is the governing body's liaison to the squad, were attending council meetings held on the same night as the squad meetings, they were not aware of the situation, according to Wortman.

The squad takes exception to the accusations made against its membership and against Cooper and Ruane, Wortman went on.

Other violations exist elsewhere in town, but some residents decided to single out the first aid squad, she added.

"We don't know why a few residents decided to make an example out of the squad [and] only they know that answer," Wortman wrote.

However, Wortman did thank the other residents who did support them through "this ordeal," she wrote.

Roseanna D'Aleo, the squad president, reiterated Wortman's statements after the meeting.

"In our eagerness, we didn't get the permits we needed," D'Alea said. "But we've applied for it. We did try to do the right thing."

While not naming specific residents, D'Alea said that some of the comments made by speakers at meetings did seem to be attacks on squad members.

"It does become personal," she said.

As council president, Cooper declined to comment on the squad's letter.

However, resident Fred Acerra, who has not questioned the squad's actions, said he wondered if there had been a lack of communication between squad members and the governing body over the permit process.

"I'm very sympathetic to their cause," Acerra said. "I'm just wondering why they were not funneling this information to whoever is overseeing their organization.

"I know that mistakes happen and one can forget to get a building permit," he concluded.

Many of the questions raised by residents about the squad's omission in obtaining the permit pertained to the availability of Jahn himself, who works part time in West Long Branch and several other nearby municipalities.

Despite his part-time status, Jahn actually carries out several different functions including building subcode official and electrical subcode, according to Councilman Joseph Woolley, who oversees the building department.

At the council's Aug. 1 meeting, a visibly frustrated Woolley, stressed by the numerous questions from residents about Jahn and the building department and the first aid squad situation, walked off the dais and out of borough hall.

Though some in attendance interpreted Woolley's words and actions at the time to be an unofficial resignation from his post of 16 years, the Republican councilman returned to his seat on the dais on Sept. 6 and has attended subsequent meetings.