PARSIPPANY — Upon receipt by Business Administrator Ellen Sandman of a memo written by Police Chief Paul Philipps, the administration of Mayor Michael Soriano began to review the proposal of a police substation that was hastily approved by the prior administration and council in 2017.
The proposal for a substation was executed without a proper weighting of the advantages and drawbacks of opening such a substation at the proposed Powder Mill Plaza location.
The premature installation of a sign before opening by the prior administration, which implied the presence of an open and staffed police substation at the proposed location, also had the potential to open up the Township to liability in the case of a related emergency. For that reason, the sign has been covered while the administration reviewed the totality of the facts surrounding the proposal.
The public safety of Parsippany’s residents is the paramount role of our local government. The facts surrounding the proposal of a police substation in the Powder Mill section of the Township indicate that this proposal is not in the best interests of the safety of our residents. For more details on why this is the case, please see the attached memorandum from Chief Philipps to Business Administrator Sandman.
The Township will instead be using the Powder Mill Plaza location, in which the Township entered into a long-term lease under the previous administration, to house the Township’s Housing and Fire Prevention Departments. For years, these departments have been squeezed into tight quarters at the Parsippany Community Center. In moving to the Powder Mill Plaza location, the Community Center will have more parking spaces for our residents and more working space for our staff.
This new arrangement is a win-win for the residents of Parsippany and the Parsippany Police Department. Residents will save tax dollars by avoiding the staffing and related upkeep costs of a new 24-hour Township facility.
The Police Department will not be stretched thinner to staff a 24-hour facility in an area with low crime rates and very little foot traffic.
