Byram election surprised both sides

Byram n Winners, losers and many townspeople were surprised at the results of the May 8 election. Three incumbents on the township’s non-partisan council were bounced from office by three challengers by margins neither side expected. “I was shocked by the results,” winner Scott Olson said. “I was hoping to do well and thought I would after the candidates’ forum, but the margin was the surprise. The voters voted for change. My views were similar to the incumbents.” Deputy Mayor Donna Griff and Councilmen Earl Riley and Lou Esposito ran on a platform promoting a town center designation for the Lockwood section of the township. “The current council’s plans and ideas are not always what the voters want to see,” newly elected councilman Brian Thompson said. The state has designated the area on Route 206 near Lackawanna Drive as the town center and Olson supports it. Thompson and the third challenger, Daniel Rafferty, do not. “In concept, the town center is a great idea,” Olson said. Rafferty disagrees. “We don’t need 125 homes adding to the tax base. We don’t need to pay for sewer capacity we don’t need yet. We do need commercial ratables.” Rafferty was referring to an investment the township made in future sewer allocation from the Upper Musconetcong Sewer Authority. Sewer capacity was a requirement for town center designation. Thompson said while campaigning he encountered many people totally opposed to the town center. “There are so many traffic problems in the area,” he pointed out. “And there are vacant retail spaces in town. The people want existing buildings occupied before they see more built.” Both Olson and Thomspon noted the state’s requirement for affordable housing might trouble some voters. Byram needs to supply 35 units of affordable housing under the most recent Council on Affordable Housing figures. Olson said, “People may not understand COAH requirements, but the state mandates a certain number of units for each town in the state.” Thompson said, “The idea of including affordable housing scares a lot of people.” “We need senior housing. All the senior housing that’s being built nearby is too expensive for our seniors. People can’t afford to leave homes they have paid off and take out another mortgage just to get someplace smaller.” Having the seniors sell their homes creates another problem, though. “We’ll see families with kids move in to the houses that haven’t had children in them for a long time.” Rafferty and Thompson both said recreation was an issue with the voters, but for different reasons. “A majority of the people I spoke to are unhappy with the condition of the playing fields,” Rafferty said. “And the township needs more fields or to install lights on the ones we have to allow play later in the evening.” Thompson said he encountered people objecting to the number of walking paths in the township because they cost money to maintain. Thompson and Rafferty do agree the Route 206 widening project was delayed unwisely. “Council held the project up by pushing their ideas,” Thompson said. “We don’t need a trolley running up the major artery into Sussex County.” Rafferty said, “The Route 206 projects has been way too long in coming, you can’t fight the state on every turn.” Olson noted all three of the new councilman will have a lot to learn. “We’ve got Jim (Oscovich) and Skip (Mayor Eskil Danielson) who are familiar with the way things are run and that’s a good thing.” Thompson noted a lot of people worked very hard on his campaign and he thanked them as well as the people who voted for him and his running mates.