Developers, WMUA have new court date scheduled
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Representatives of the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority (WMUA) and a local developer will be in court on April 24 to discuss the latest legal action filed by the developer.

The two sides are expected to appear at 10 a.m. before state Superior Court Judge Lawrence Lawson, sitting in Freehold.

The new litigation is related to the Marlboro Grande, a 90-unit apartment complex for seniors being built on Route 9 north near Union Hill Road.

WMUA spokesman Jeff Meyer confirmed that the developers of the Marlboro Grande, Steve Meiterman, Bernard Meiterman and Edward Kay, took legal action on March 26 to compel the authority to accept connection fees on the age-restricted rental apartment complex.

The WMUA Board of Commissioners voted on Feb. 22 to refuse to accept connection fees for Marlboro Grande. The acceptance of the connection fees has been described as the final step in the sewer approval process the developers needed in order to begin construction on the project. The property which lies between Route 9 north and Clayton Road has already been cleared.

The WMUA, based in Manalapan, operates an advanced waste water sewage treatment plant that provides sewer service to 25,000 residential customers in Manalapan, Marlboro, Englishtown and Freehold Township.

The commissioners' decision not to accept the connection fees was the result of circumstances surrounding the indictments of former WMUA Executive Director Frank Abate and the indictments of the Meiterman brothers and Kay.

Abate is under federal indictment for allegations that include having entities connected to the WMUA perform work on his home in Marlboro in exchange for work with the authority.

Kay and the Meiterman brothers have been indicted on federal charges that they bribed Abate to gain favor in getting sewer service for their projects in Marlboro.

Abate and the Meitermans are also accused of obstructing a grand jury investigation into these charges.

Marlboro Grande has already received preliminary, tentative and final approval for the project from the WMUA.

In response to the legal action filed by the developers on March 26, Meyer said, "Coming on the heels of the grand jury's second indictment of the Meitermans for corrupt payments to municipal officials during the project approval process, this suit is an obvious attempt to rush through completion of the Marlboro Grande project before the pending criminal charges are resolved in a finding of guilt or innocence.

"The Marlboro Grande project is at the heart of the superseding indictment, and the best interests of the WMUA and its ratepayers is to pause long enough to permit the criminal process to reach its conclusion before the project is built.

"If the indicted developers are found to be innocent of any wrongdoing regarding the project, the WMUA will welcome the project as a new customer. If the developers are found guilty, the WMUA's ratepayers will be protected by a clean start for the project.

"This suit seeks to force through the project, ignoring the questionable dealings between our former executive director and the developers. The commissioners look forward to the involvement of Judge Lawson in the resolution of this situation," Meyer said.

In comments to the News Transcript, Meyer said although the WMUA commissioners have the authority to rescind the approvals granted for the project, they chose not to since not taking action on the connection fees has been able to effectively place the construction of Marlboro Grande on hold, which he said was the goal of the commissioners.