ZB correspondences with John Leggio
Dear Howell Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I am requesting access to the following records:
1. All email correspondence between Mayor John Leggio and any of the following Zoning Board members:
• Rich Mertens
• Thomas O’Donnell
• Glenn Cantor
• Matthew Hughes
• Nicholas Borrillo
• Annmarie Scottson
• Michael Ryan
2. All correspondence (including emails, letters, memos, or internal communications) between the Zoning Board professionals:
• Jennifer Beahm
• Charles Cunliffe
• Andrew Bayer
pertaining to Zoning Board application BA24-03 Third Ave Associates Inc.
This should include any specific questions, comments, or concerns raised by Mayor John Leggio or any known opposition to the application.
3. All emails or correspondence between Mayor John Leggio and the following individuals regarding BA24-03 Third Ave Associates Inc.:
• Michael Bernstein
• Stephen Meier
• Marc Parisi
Please provide these records in electronic format if available. If any part of this request is unclear or overly broad, I am happy to work with you to clarify or narrow the scope.
If any documents are withheld or redacted, please provide the legal basis for such redaction as required under OPRA.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Pamela Richmond
Good morning,
Your OPRA request is under review. You should receive a response to your request no later than the end of business on 5/16/25.
Thank you.
Jill Abernathy
Office of the Municipal Clerk
Township of Howell
4567 Route 9 North, 2nd Floor
Howell, NJ 07731
732-938-4500 ext. 2241
Good morning,
Attached, please find the documents in response to your OPRA request 25-0991.
The correspondence between the Zoning Board Professionals pertaining to Zoning Board application BA24-03 Third Avenue Associates, Inc. are exempt from production as deliberative documents. The professionals are the agents of the Zoning Board and the Township. Their communications on the subject application detail the decision-making process taken by the Zoning Board. Thus in this instance, the communications are exempt from production under OPRA as inter-agency advisory/consultative/deliberative material. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 of OPRA for definition of “Government Record” excluding inter-agency advisory/consultative/deliberative material. The attached documents have been redacted as they are also advisory/consultative/deliberative in nature.
Please not the following with regard to the three items in your request.
1. All email correspondence between Mayor John Leggio and any of the following Zoning Board members: No Results
2. All correspondence (including emails, letters, memos, or internal communications) between the Zoning Board professionals: They don’t have Township Email addresses to search
3. All emails or correspondence between Mayor John Leggio and the following individuals regarding BA24-03 Third Ave Associates Inc.: Searches using their names from the Mayor's Township email produced no results
The Mayor’s email was also searched for references for “BA24-03” “Third Ave Associates Inc.” and “BA24-03 Third Ave Associates Inc.” with no results.
This OPRA request is complete.
Thank you.
Jill Abernathy
Office of the Municipal Clerk
Township of Howell
4567 Route 9 North, 2nd Floor
Howell, NJ 07731
732-938-4500 ext. 2241