Mayor, BOE Discuss Possible FOD 'Partnership'

Town and school district leaders met behind closed doors Thursday "to initiate discussions and negotiations" regarding the proposed Fields of Dreams plan. 

The meeting took place at the law offices of Inglesino, Pearlman, Wyciskala and Taylor at 600 Parsippany Road.

The gathering was attended by Mayor James Barberio, Township Attorney John Inglesino, Superintendent of Schools LeRoy Seitz and members of the Board of Education: President Frank Calabria, Vice President (and Recreation Advisory Committee member) Frank Neglia, Fran Orthwein and Sharif Shamsudin. Also in attendance were attorneys representing the school board.

The meeting came one week after the state Department of Education outlined suggestions and mandates of steps to take before the proposed Fields of Dreams can become reality.

According to a joint statement released shortly after the private meeting, a "potential joint partnership" between the municipality and the BOE was discussed.

The statement said no action would be taken on a shared services agreement regarding the high schools' football fields until "all terms have been completed" and the public gets an opportunity to have input into the matter.

As previously discussed, the "partnership" would call for the BOE to cede 51 percent of its control of the  and  high schools' football fields to the municipality so that the town may  in athletic renovations.

Among the terms mentioned are those outlined in a letter from the state Office of Facilities. 

Some terms were suggestions that the district prepare and submit a school facilities project application for the disposal of land and for the project itself, contact the relevant state agency regarding issues relevant to the expenditures of monies in the Open Space Trust Fund and contact its legal counsel concerning the need to obtain approvals from other state agencies

The letter also pointed to required steps for the BOE: amending its Long Range Facilities Plan, submitting a shared ­use agreement to the state that addresses the rights and responsibilities of the school district and the municipality and earning approval from the Parsippany Planning Board.