JACKSON – Two members resigned from the Township Zoning Adjustment Board and one from the Township Planning Board in the span of one week.
Dr. Sheldon J. Hofstein stated in an Aug. 26 letter of resignation to Council President Robert Nixon that he was resigning from the Zoning Board of Adjustment where he was also serving as its chairman, effective immediately.
Hofstein noted in the letter that he had served on the board for 11 years and enjoyed working with the board’s professionals and thanked them for their advice and service.
“To all the women and men I have served with the last 11 years, it was an honor to work with you. I wish the best to the present Board members as they continue to represent our great township,” Hofstein wrote in his letter.
He did not elaborate as to the reason for his resignation. His term as a member of that board would have expired in January of 2020 according to Township Clerk Janice Kisty who confirmed all three resignations on Aug. 29.
Zoning Board member Joseph Sullivan had recently moved up from an alternate member to a full member and his term would have expired in January 2023 according to Kisty.
Sullivan resigned on Aug. 23, the same date that Planning Board member Richard Egan tendered his resignation. In his resignation letter Sullivan stated, “I do hereby, effective at 2 p.m…resign from my positions on the Zoning Board, and Rent Leveling Board of the Township of Jackson. It was an honor to serve the people of Jackson Township.”
Kisty said Egan’s current term on the Planning Board would have expired in December of this year.
In his brief, hand written resignation letter to Mayor Michael Reina, Egan wrote,
“effective immediately, I am resigning from the Jackson Planning Board and the Jackson Environmental Commission. I thank you for the opportunity to serve the town and I wish you all much success in the future.”
With Hofstein’s resignation, it is expected that the board’s vice chairman, Carl F. Book Jr., will serve at its new leader.
Other Zoning Board members include Peter Maher, Scott Najarian and Steve Costanzo. Gary Miller is an alternate member. Kathryn McIlhinney serves as the board’s secretary and Danielle Sinowitz as its recording secretary.
The Planning Board is made up of Chairman Joseph Riccardi, Vice Chairman Robert Hudak, Mayor Reina, Councilman Kenneth Bressi as the council’s designee, Leonard Haring Jr. as the mayor’s designee, Jeffrey Riker as liaison to the Environmental Commission, Township Business Administrator Terence Wall as the township’s representative, members Timothy Dolan, Martin Flemming and Michele Campbell who serves as an alternate member.
Denise Buono serves as the Planning Board’s secretary and Sinowitz as its recording secretary.
Kisty said that planning board membership is a mayoral appointment meaning Mayor Reina would be making the choice for Egan’s replacement.
Zoning Board members are approved by the Jackson Council. The process begins with an applicant filling out a citizens leadership form that includes basic questions about the applicant’s background, experience and background information. Kisty said that this information is used within the review process by the council when a decision needs to be made.
Mayor Reina did not return calls to comment for this story.
