Unger says no to contract with city aide Jeffrey Nadell enters employment contract with Long Branch BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - The City Council adopted a measure authorizing Mayor Adam Schneider to execute a contract with city employee Jeffrey Nadell, who holds the title of aide to the mayor. Nadell will be provided with a written employment contract, which calls for him to be responsible for the coordination of the city's redevelopment effort, according to the contract. Council approved resolution 346-07 on Dec. 26 by a vote of 3-1, with Councilman Brian Unger casting the lone no vote. Unger explained that he voted against the measure because there was no language in the contract addressing that Nadell was previously employed by K. Hovnanian, a designated developer in the city. "I don't think it sends the right message to the public," said Unger in a press release after the meeting. "It was not an easy vote for me. "It's difficult not to like Jeff Nadell and I trust him to do what's right," he added. Anthony Giordano was absent from the meeting and Councilmen David Brown and Michael DeStefano, along with Councilwoman Mary Jane Celli, voted in favor of the resolution approving the contract. Unger said that he intended to vote in favor of the contract, despite his misgivings about hiring an employee of a developer under contract with the city. He had changed his mind after city residents recommended specific elements in Nadell's contract explicitly requiring that he recuse himself from city discussions and projects concerning K. Hovnanian. "I also believe that it's the right thing to do to put specific recusal language in the contract so the city and the public are protected," Unger said. He added that he would have preferred to table the resolution at the Dec. 26 meeting for another vote until after the recusal language was inserted, at which point he said he would have voted for the measure. According to the resolution, the contract with Nadell is "necessary … in order to enhance administrative stability and continuity within the system." The contract states, "The city and Nadell believe that a written employment contract is necessary to describe specifically their relationship and to serve as the basis of effective communication between them as they fulfill their duties and administrative functions in the operation of the government for the City of Long Branch." In addition to coordinating the city's redevelopment effort, Nadell will be required to report directly to Schneider and will perform duties assigned to him by Schneider, according to the contract. Nadell draws a $73,500 salary as the mayor's aide and the terms of the contract extend from Jan. 1, 2008, through June 30, 2010. Nadell was formerly the director of urban opportunities and legal counsel for K. Hovnanian, a designated developer along the city's oceanfront. K. Hovnanian is the designated developer for the Beachfront North Phase I and Phase II and the Beachfront South oceanfront redevelopment zones. The Beachfront North Phase II project has been challenged in a lawsuit brought by property owners fighting the taking of their homes through eminent domain for the upscale condominium project.