Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Member of Green Knight Economic Development Corporation, partner of Synagro, voted off Plainfield Township planning commission

Robert Cornman, Jr, Vice President of Green Knight Economic Development Corporation and member of the Plainfield Township Planning Commission for over 20 years, was voted off the planning commission by Plainfield Township Board of Supervisors at their January 3, 2017 reorganization meeting.

Mr. Cornman recused himself from motions or voting at the November 2016 planning commission review of Synagro's proposal to locate a crap bakery in Plainfield Township, but then proceeded to advocate moving the proposal forward that night with conditional approval.  Green Knight is partnering with Synagro in this proposal, in which Green Knight would sell waste heat to Synagro.  Green Knight planned to sell its waste heat since the inception of the Green Knight Energy Center - but the plan was never to try to locate a customer on Waste Management's own property (a zoning violation) - it was supposed to be sold to one of three imaginary customers in the Slate Belt Industrial Center.  This plan evaporated when all three lots were sold to Techo Bloc, which said "we don't need your waste heat."

Perhaps one or more supervisors got wind of Mr. Cornman's reported performance on the evening in question.  Since Mr. Cornman is the advertised "Project Coordinator" for Green Knight in relation to Synagro's proposal, he is now unfettered, footloose and fancy-free from conflict of interest in regards to promoting the Synagro project - the review of which is scheduled to resume in February.  He may appear as an audience member, and attempt to inform planners how this crap-shit project fits on a property that already is developed, and why it should be permitted where it isn't permitted - in a buffer zone from the landfill.


There are questions that should be asked of Mr. Cornman at the "informational" meetings Synagro has planned for January 9 and January 10.  As a seasoned planning commission member, he should have been familiar enough with Plainfield's zoning ordinance to know Synagro's use is not even permitted on the site in question.