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ANDOVER TOWNSHIP — Testimony for a proposed construction storage facility resumed at Tuesday's Land Use Board meeting after a two-month break, with the applicant's engineer introducing a scaled-down version of original site plans and addressing various environmental concerns.

Chris Nusser, who represents BHT in its application on Stickles Pond Road, sat for roughly three hours of testimony and questioning from BHT attorney Roger Thomas as well as township experts and board members. The hearing, held at the Hillside Park Barn, was stopped before members of the public could comment and will resume next month.

Nusser, who first testified at the July Land Use Board meeting, noted some revisions to plans originally presented for the 100-acre property. Most notably, he said, the storage area for BHT construction equipment would be reduced to a quarter of its previous space, from 12.14 acres to 3.40 acres.

The reduction came after township engineer Cory Stoner questioned the need for so much space, approximately one to three vehicles per acre, during the hearing in October.

Nusser also spoke about potential environmental issues raised by the board and members of the public, including the possibility of materials such as asphalt millings migrating into the nearby Pequest River and other "sensitive areas" of the property.

Nusser said BHT has plans to implement an infiltration basin, which captures stormwater runoff and filters it into the soil. The site will also have detention basins, where any additional material on the property would be directed before it is collected and disposed of by the company.

The systems meet standards required by the state Department of Environmental Protection, Nusser said, and BHT is conducting an analysis of the property to be sent to the agency for review.

"The overall use of millings on the site is, one, in keeping with the (state) guidance, and two, has several fail-safes involved with it to make sure that it is protective of the environment," he said.

The proposed BHT facility would also include aggregate construction materials no more than 8 feet tall and storage containers 8 feet, 6 inches high to hold fencing and piping.

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Nusser discussed the visibility of operations at the site, including a tree buffer between 10 and 25 feet thick and fencing to be placed along Stickles Pond Road. He said his opinion remains the same as it did in July — that the company is "substantially screening" the property to residents in the area.

In addressing noise, another significant concern of the community, Nusser said BHT would accept a condition upon the application's approval to conduct a test to ensure that site operations conform to the state's noise code. But board member Eric Olsen suggested that the test take place before the vote.

"This noise is a big concern," Olsen said. "It's my recommendation that we ask for a noise study prior to making a decision on this so that we can have that information to better inform our decision-making."

Board Chair Paul Messerschmidt proposed a condition that BHT keep logs of its weekly inspections of equipment on the property, which the company would then send to the township for review on a quarterly basis.

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Nusser's testimony will continue at the next hearing, 7:30 p.m., March 15, at the barn. The meeting is expected to include findings from two consulting companies retained by the board, Equity Environmental Engineering and H2M Environmental Services, regarding stormwater management and other aspects of the site.

Also at the March meeting, board attorney Tom Molica announced Tuesday, the Land Use Board may discuss the possibility of moving future meetings to either Long Pond School or Florence M. Burd School in Andover for logistical reasons.

TRENTON – Over concerns about residents’ health and safety, Governor Phil Murphy, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, and Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman today announced that the State has filed an action in Superior Court seeking a court order to appoint a receiver at Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center at Andover. If appointed, the receiver will assume control over the facility’s operations as appropriate next steps are taken to ensure the health and safety of residents in this nursing home.

In March 2022, the Department of Health selected Atlantic Health Systems to serve as a monitor at Woodland after citing the facility for significant health and safety violations. Despite guidance from the monitor and thorough oversight from the State and federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the facility’s operators have failed to address and maintain adequate staffing levels and a safe environment of care.

In light of these ongoing issues, the State has taken legal steps to seek appointment of a receiver to control the facility’s operations and finances. If the Court grants the receivership, the receiver will take actions to retain staff and maintain services for residents.

“Our state agencies have maintained careful oversight and partnered with a reputable health system to provide guidance toward addressing the issues plaguing this facility. Yet it has become crystal clear that the people running this nursing home refuse to take responsibility for the people in their care,” said Governor Murphy. “New Jersey will not tolerate long-term care facility operators who cannot provide the care our most vulnerable residents need and deserve. Our state agencies will employ the greatest authority we have to prevent these operators from continuing to place the residents of this nursing home in jeopardy, and will work towards ensuring a continuation of care on behalf of the more than 360 individuals in this home.”

"This is a step that the State does not take lightly and we ask the staff, the residents, their families, and other long-term care facilities in the State to work cooperatively with the Departments of Health and Human Services during this transitional period," said Health Commissioner Persichilli. "Ensuring the health, safety and well-being of the residents of Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center is the Department's highest priority.”

“The Department of Human Services expects nursing facilities serving Medicaid residents to provide quality care that meets all state and federal standards. After significant intervention by CMS and the Department of Health, this provider has not been able to achieve or maintain systemic quality improvements, and this step to seek receivership is necessary,” said Human Services Commissioner Adelman. “Our Department and our Medicaid Care Managers will continue to work with Woodland residents and their families to provide support throughout this transition so that every individual served by this provider is receiving the quality care they deserve.”

The State is working closely with federal CMS partners, with the primary goal being to ensure the health, safety, and rights of residents. The Administration appreciates the dedication of the frontline workforce at Woodland, who remain essential during this anticipated transition. If the Court appoints the receiver, the State will work with the receiver to support the current staff in providing care to residents.

Since its appointment as monitor, Atlantic Health Systems has been conducting an onsite assessment of business practices, operations, and infrastructure. The New Jersey Departments of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations have also been on site to monitor quality of care, conduct psychiatric assessments, and offer counseling and support to residents regarding voluntary transfers to new facilities.

Going forward, the State will continue to closely monitor the situation and will hold meetings with staff, residents, families, and resident right’s advocates in the coming days to provide support and clear communication on the status of this situation.

“Conditions at Woodland remain poor for the residents who live there and for the dedicated direct care staff who work there,” said New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman Laurie Brewer. “The people living at Woodland deserve capable, committed leadership from facility operators who value their autonomy, dignity and quality of life, yet current leadership has clearly failed to even marginally turn things around. I applaud the state for taking this necessary step.”

ANDOVER TOWNSHIP — The Land Use Board continued to hear testimony for a proposed construction storage facility on Stickles Pond Road, as attorneys for the applicant and residents clashed over numerous questions posed to the witness.

Board members also voted unanimously at Tuesday's hearing to hire an environmental expert to review the application submitted by BHT to use the approximately 100-acre property to store construction equipment such as bulldozers, dump trucks and excavators.

Elizabeth Durkin, who represents residents neighboring the proposed site, questioned Marielle Sainz, chief of operations for BHT Construction, for several hours. When Sainz was asked about her job history prior to joining BHT about a year and a half ago, she said she worked construction sites similar to the one proposed in Andover.

Sainz said she oversees four active sites owned by the BHT— one each in New York, Minnesota, California and Florida — with a fifth, in Maryland, set to begin operations next month. While the current sites include three storage containers across the four properties, the plan in Andover calls for anywhere between 500 and 1,000 containers measuring 40 feet in length.

Durkin grew frustrated with numerous objections raised by Roger Thomas, the attorney representing BHT, regarding her questioning as the hearing went on. Thomas said the line of questioning, which attempted to clarify the site's layout and day-to-day operations, was not relevant to Sainz's role at the company.

Durkin, meanwhile, said the questions were relatively simple in nature. She expressed concern when Sainz was not able to provide specific information on how much material will be stored in containers and how it will get to and from the site.

"Right now, I'm just trying to ask basic questions of operations," Durkin said. "I did not offer this witness as the operations/facility manager for BHT Construction; the applicant chose to put this person here. And quite frankly, the board should be dismayed that basic questions of operations can't be answered."

Sainz said employees on the site, between 10 and 20 at a time, would be better equipped to address logistical matters brought up by Durkin.

"With regards to storing the pipe in the containers, I will speak to my construction crew and ask them how they would like to store it in there," Sainz said. "They would be the ones who would have the knowledge on how to load and unload that into a container. They're the ones daily on site, and I will speak with them and I can get an answer for you."

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Thomas said Chris Nusser, an engineer representing BHT's application who testified in July, would be able to answer some of the questions. Nusser did not testify asSainz's testimony ran long. He is expected to be available at the next hearing.

Board members voted to retain an environmental expert in response to a July letter from the Andover Township Environmental Commission, which raised various concerns about the impact the proposed BHT facility may have on the property and surrounding area.

Board Chair Paul Messerschmidt said the expert will be paid using funds from the township's escrow account and will not cost taxpayers additional money.

The board is also open to a possible new location for future hearings at the request of BHT officials. The Hillside Park barn was able to accommodate a larger crowd during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with capacity restrictions no longer in place, Thomas said the applicant hopes to find a venue with better acoustics and lighting.

BHT representatives will discuss the matter with the board at its next regular meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7, at the Andover Township Municipal building.

"No substantive proceeding will take place at that Dec. 7 meeting. No testimony will be heard," said board attorney Tom Molica. "Rather, the applicant and the board will determine when the next hearing date will be and where it will be."

The company's proposed site plan is significantly different from the auto auction and storage facility that was first submitted in early 2020. The new proposal, which was first announced at the Land Use Board's March meeting, is listed as a "construction business office and construction equipment and material storage facility" that is permitted use in the zone where the property is located.

The site plan calls for BHT to use the approximately 100-acre property to store construction equipment such as bulldozers, dump trucks and excavators. The facility would also include aggregate construction materials no more than 8 feet tall as well as storage containers 8 feet, 6 inches high to hold fencing and piping.

ANDOVER — The same Sussex County nursing home caught piling bodies in a makeshift morgue early in the COVID-19 pandemic has the largest, active COVID outbreak among long-term care facilities statewide, nearly two years later.

Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center was reporting 213 residents with confirmed cases as well as 114 staff cases and three confirmed deaths among residents, as of Friday.

The three COVID deaths reported at Woodland had happened over the past five months and were in individuals that had underlying conditions, state health officials confirmed in response to New Jersey 101.5 on Sunday.

State health officials also confirmed Sunday that a New Jersey National Guard team would be reporting to Woodland Nursing Center within the next week, among the National Guard troops headed to more than a dozen facilities statewide to help current staff in caring for residents amid continued pandemic staffing shortages.

As of Sunday, COVID vaccination rates for Woodland Nursing Center (former Andover Subacute) were 84% of residents vaccinated and 44% of residents boosted — similar to the statewide booster rate of 44.4%, state officials said in the same written response.

While 83% of the Woodland LTC staff had received full initial doses of COVID vaccine, just 11% staff had received boosters.

“After the 2020 crisis, they were supposed to take corrective steps. I’m asking for an update, to protect residents,” U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer said, in sharing a letter sent Thursday to the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.

In the letter, the Congressman quoted data from before Friday’s update. In sharing it to Twitter on Sunday, he appeared to refer to the 11% of Woodland staff who had so far received boosters.

The state Health Department’s Office of Long-Term Care Resiliency also was providing support and resources and the Department’s Communicable Disease Service and the Local Health Department were providing guidance as part of regular communication with the facility, a spokesperson added on Sunday to New Jersey 101.5.

Sometime after the April 2020 grim discovery of 17 bodies piled up in a morgue intended to hold no more than five, Andover was split and renamed the Limecrest Subacute and Rehabilitation Center and Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center.

Limecrest Subacute and Rehabilitation Center also had reported 15 resident cases and 15 staff cases, as of Friday.

The Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation II facility (now Woodland) had failed to follow proper infection control and its non-compliance "has caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury, harm impairment or death to residents,” according to a Spring 2020 report issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Federal officials then issued a quarter-million dollars in fines stemming from the unsafe conditions at the two sites, still under the same ownership and management.

As of January, it has remained unclear whether those fines had been paid, as reported by NJ Herald.

Louis Schwartz took half ownership of the facility in Sussex County, alongside Chaim Scheinbaum, back in May 2017, according to Medicare records, as Schwartz’s father dealt with financial upheaval that has since led to fraud charges.

There were 5,747 COVID patients hospitalized statewide as of Saturday night, including 833 patients in intensive care and 460 people on ventilators, with 70 out of 71 hospitals statewide reporting data.

As of Sunday, there were 26,615 new confirmed cases and 2,813 likely cases, based on test results, as well as 12 new lab-confirmed deaths linked to COVID.

On Saturday, the state reported 29,564 new confirmed cases and 5,253 likely cases based on test results, as well as 72 new lab-confirmed deaths linked to COVID.

A North Jersey company that once planned to build the world's largest glass recycling plant in Andover Township started selling off its assets last Wednesday.

More than two dozen trucks, including tractor-trailers and dump trucks, owned by Jersey City's Pace Glass are on the auction block this week as part of liquidation proceedings. The company needs to pay back its creditors and is also facing a lawsuit filed in October by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, records show.

State officials have accused the company of allowing contaminated stormwater runoff to flow off Jersey City properties it has used to illegally stockpile crushed glass mixed with solid waste.

"The stockpiled glass is also a source of dust and odors that impact the quality of life of nearby residents, and multiple fires occurred at the site in May 2021, directly threatening public safety," said a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.

The state complaint alleged the company has used properties on Caven Point Avenue and Bishop Street in Jersey City to store glass materials purportedly awaiting processing and resale. The Caven Point Avenue site contains more than 300,000 cubic yards of crushed glass material, which is mixed with plastic, paper, food debris and other solid waste, according to state officials.

In its complaint, the state is seeking penalty payments, a contamination cleanup and the removal of the outstanding debris. Records show the sites received violations as early as 2016 from the Hudson Regional Health Commission for operating a solid waste facility without a permit on Bishop Street and using an unapproved site on Caven Point Avenue.

In Andover, local officials in the spring of 2021 began to require Pace Glass to remove bales of glass from the planned mega-plant site after the Health Department received complaints. Pace Glass had been using a Swedish company's baling system to store recyclable glass fragments in anticipation of its reuse. However, Andover officials also began to consider the recyclables solid waste, records show.

Fred Semrau, the municipal attorney for Andover Township, said Township Committee members will be discussing the future of the site during an executive session scheduled for next week.

"It's a matter that we're still looking at from the legal and the engineering standpoint," he said.

The online auction of the Pace Glass vehicle fleet is the first phase of a court-ordered liquidation, records show. It is set to be followed by the sale of the Jersey City glass recycling facility on Bishop Street. It is unclear what will happen to the 85-acre Andover property and the adjacent 5-acre portion in Lafayette.

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The company ended operations in June 2020, according to state officials. That April, it received approval for a $326,520 loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, records show.

CEO George Valiotis and other investors in 2014 bought Pace Glass, an existing Jersey City operation. The business concept revolved around receiving, separating and reselling glass from area recycling centers using German-engineered optical sorters, Valiotis told NorthJersey.com at the Andover groundbreaking in 2018. He said some customers and suppliers were on board, but predicted that a completed plant and steady product would add more. The company planned to provide discounts to local solid waste collectors bringing glass loads with limited debris and sell colored and clear glass pieces to large glassware manufacturers.

“Our close proximity to major cities and towns will really give us an advantage on collecting what is often destined for landfills and considered trash,” he said that May. “This is for the future, but we have the sales right now. We're confident.”

Company officials said they planned to spend up to $90 million on the Andover project, which was expected to be competed by 2022. More than 420,000 tons of bulk glass chips brought mostly through an adjacent rail line were estimated to be processed at the facility each year in plans submitted by Pace Glass officials to Andover Township.

The project's main backer was Efstathios Valiotis, a billionaire New York real estate mogul who owns Queens-based Alma Bank. He is expected to be the main beneficiary of the upcoming liquidation. His real estate company, Alma Realty Corp., owns the Andover and Lafayette lots. Valiotis could not be reached for comment.

David Zimmer is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.