Medevac unit warned: Eviction is near
Official facing recall tells State Police crew they've got week left at airport

2/22/06

A Bedminster committeeman fighting for political survival put a State Police helicopter unit on notice last night that only a week remains before the crew must vacate its temporary trailer home at the local airport.

"The trailer should be off the property by 11:59 p.m., Feb. 28," said Committeeman Kurt Joerger, who is the subject of a recall effort by Bedminster residents critical of his political style.

The crew of the helicopter, known as Northstar Medevac, has operated from a trailer at Somerset Airport for a year, after moving there from University Hospital in Newark. A township permit allowing the trailer's use received a one-time-only extension from the committee until Feb. 28.

"I hope they do not think that they can operate above the law," Joerger, who objects to the helicopter operation and lives three miles from the airport, said after last night's township committee meeting.

Officials from the State Police and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in charge of medical services on the aircraft, have not said where the crew will go if evicted.

Airport owner Dan Walker has maintained a lease agreement to rent a hangar for the helicopter, but declined to comment on where crew members would go if the permit expires.

Walker's previous plan to build offices for the helicopter's pilots and medical personnel inside converted hangar space has been tied up by a planning board review expected to take weeks beyond the permit's expiration.

It is not clear how much the delay has threatened the helicopter operation, which responds to emergency medical calls throughout northern New Jersey.

But for now, the issue appears to be a victory for Joerger, who lives on the Lana Lobell farm in mostly rural Bedminster. The Republican committeeman, in office barely 14 months, had little cause for celebration because of a recall movement that seeks to oust him.

A trio of residents leading the effort raised concerns during last night's committee meeting about Joerger's conversations with the leader of an objectors' group, which has filed three lawsuits to block the helicopter's move from becoming a permanent one.

Committee members Katy Rupert, Jim Christie and Stuart Rose obtained court documents they say link Joerger to communications with Alan Harwick, head of the Bedminster, Bridgewater, Branchburg Concerned Citizens Coalition.

Harwick, under sworn testimony, confirmed that he and Joerger had discussed "quality-of-life" and environmental issues. Harwick yesterday said there were only a "few" conversations, and that some "probably" happened after the lawsuits were filed.

He dismissed the discussions. But the recall committee deemed them inappropriate, saying Joerger was not legally authorized to speak on the township's behalf, and could have divulged information to aid the objectors' cause.

Bernie Pane, a recall spokesman, said Joerger's interactions with Harwick were an example of the committeeman's "improper behavior," a basic premise of the recall that accuses Joerger of disrespecting residents and using intimidation with foes.

"The Recall Committee believes that Mr. Joerger's actions are unethical and rise to the level of misconduct," Pane said at last night's meeting. "This renders him, in our opinion, unfit to serve as a township committeeman."

Recall volunteers have been collecting signatures needed to formally ask Joerger to step down. The group needs support from 1,367 residents -- 25 percent of the Bedminster electorate -- to demand Joerger's resignation.

A refusal to step down would require him to run in a special election to keep his office, according to state election law.

Pane denied the recall effort was motivated by the controversy over the State Police helicopter, and asked the committee to investigate Joerger's contacts with Harwick. The request found no support.

Committeewoman Sally Rubin said last night she addressed the concerns in a closed meeting earlier this week with Deputy Mayor Don Cross and Santina Bombaci, the township's attorney, but neither found reason for more discussion.

Rubin, a supporter of the helicopter operation, said she disagreed about the decision, and also admitted that she had signed the recall petition. During the meeting, Rubin demanded Joerger explain what he had discussed with Harwick.

"There's no reason to discuss it, and I would refer it to the attorney," Joerger replied, referring afterward to Rubin's comments as "offensive."

BY RALPH R. ORTEGA
Star-Ledger Staff