Russell wants attorney memorandum retraction

Brick Township Councilwoman Kathy Russell wants her name cleared. And she isn't backing down from her demand for a public retraction of a May 29 memorandum by Township Attorney Jean Cipriani that said Russell may have acted unethically by releasing a concept plan for the purchase of the Ocean Ice Palace.

"I simply refuse to allow the public record to indicate that I have engaged in any unethical behavior," Russell said at the July 22 Township Council meeting.

The township had a verbal agreement with owner Joan Dwulet to purchase the Brick landmark for $5.25 million. But the plan is now moot, after Dwulet cut off negotiations with the township last month.

Russell called for a referendum on the Ice Palace purchase in the summer of 2007, shortly after Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis announced that the township planned to buy it.

This spring Russell aligned herself with the group Stop OverSpending, which successfully gathered enough signatures to put the Ice Palace purchase on the ballot.

Acropolis said in May he had no choice but to ask Cipriani to research the matter, after a resident asked at a council meeting if Russell erred in releasing the concept plan to the public.

Cipriani issued a May 29 memorandum that said there was a "compelling position" that disclosing the concept plan without the consent of the mayor and/or full Township Council was an ethical violation.

Russell researched the matter herself and discovered that the township's financial adviser had released the concept plan to Morris County Utilities Authority hours before she discussed the plan at a council meeting.

"I simply refuse to allow the public record to indicate I have engaged in any unethical behavior," she said at the July 22 meeting.

"I will not drop this issue until a public written retraction is offered," she said. "I will not allow my reputation to be tarnished. I shall, if necessary, pursue any means available to me within the law to secure that retraction."

Russell, the lone Democrat on the Township Council, also said Acropolis made "very disconcerting and disingenuous" statements when he told a newspaper [the Brick Bulletin] that she owned him an apology.

"Why?" Russell said. "Because I had the nerve to oppose him on this issue."

Cipriani said at the meeting she was glad "in a way" that Russell brought the issue up.

She said she plans to write an addendum to her original memorandum.

"It is not an accusation," Cipriani said. "It was an attorney-client privilege memorandum based on a certain set of facts after a certain amount of research believe them to be."

Russell's later investigation showed that the township's financial advisor had released the concept plan to the Morris County Improvement Authority several hours before Russell released them to the public.

"These are facts that matter," Cipriani said. "And they change my analysis. I will certainly do that addendum. I hope it will satisfy you. It will not be an apology, per se. I would like you to take a look at what I do. You can judge whether it's sufficient.

Acropolis said he refused to "be drawn into a political debate" at the meeting.

"We've got work to do here," the mayor said. "Serious work of the township. I'll leave it at that."