by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of interviews with some of the local candidates running for office. Federal & State General Elections voting is Nov. 8.

“I like common sense,” said Monteagle mayoral candidate Greg Maloof in discussing how to resolve a controversial issue confronting the town. For Maloof, “common sense” in municipal leadership has three ingredients: do your homework, ask the people who are affected by the outcome, and cooperate.

Born and raised in northeast New Jersey, Maloof joined the military after college. His 21 years in the army and army reserves overlapped with a 50 year career in property management and real estate in the northeast. For Maloof the multifaceted world of real estate management included labor relations, court appearances for insurance claims and nonpayment, purchasing, sale contracts, negotiating leases, serving as a consultant in Texas and metropolitan New York City, and dealing with utilities and government agencies on the local, state and federal levels.

Maloof has lived in the Monteagle Assembly for the past 30 years, was involved in the early stages of the Cooley’s Rift development project and served as the manager of the Clifftops residential community for seven years. “The biggest challenge confronting Monteagle is adequate water supply and sewage treatment, especially storm water,” Maloof stressed, referencing the recent diagnosis of high infiltration of storm water entering the sanitary sewer system. “The next biggest challenge is the Petro truck stop.”

The Petro project has involved the town in a legal proceeding. “Obviously, I’m going to follow the judge’s rulings,” Maloof said. “But the issue of recent flooding adjacent to the Petro construction site had multiple ramifications,” he maintained. “The town needs to have effective storm water collection. But, town officials should work with the town engineer to resolve the flooding issue with the property owner if they are part of the cause.”

Asked if he favored site plan review after 12 months for a project where construction had not begun, Maloof said, “It probably wouldn’t hurt. Things change. Maybe there are different requirements. The developer may want different ingress and egresses or other things they want to update. You want to work with the developer, but you also want to protect the town.”

Tackling the question with direct reference to the Petro project, Maloof said, “If there are changes because of excessive storm water, a site plan review would be beneficial.” Did the detention ponds provide adequate storm water treatment, in his opinion? “That’s an engineering question I’m not qualified to answer,” he insisted. “Detention ponds only have a certain capacity, and where does the water go if they’re filled?”

Acknowledging the controversy surrounding the Petro project, Maloof said, “The real issue goes back to zoning, the mistake on day one when the property changed from residential to commercial. You need to study the situation but also be mindful of the neighborhood and neighbors, what the neighborhood wants, before changing zoning.” He advocated for town hall meetings and suggested an affordable housing residential buffer at the edge of the Petro property “could have satisfied a lot of people.”

If issues involving the Assembly come up for a vote should he be elected, Maloof will recuse himself. At present, the Assembly manages its own water and sewer lines, but might benefit from turning management over to the town, Maloof said, however the excessive I & I issue would need to first be addressed by the Assembly. “You fix it then you give it.” He advocated for cooperation in reaching a solution and looking for grant money to do the expensive repair.

Highlighting the need “to take care of our children, education, and health,” Maloof said, “that requires planning.” Maloof’s plan: research, listen, cooperate. “My motto is ‘Our children, our community, our future.’”