WEST MILFORD For some members of the town council, it seems to be an inconvenient truth. Democratic Councilman Bob Nolan said the municipality shouldn’t pay any bill from an attorney who was appointed incorrectly. The bill in question is from a substitute attorney who worked for the Zoning Board of Appeals. Nolan accused the zoning board of thumbing its nose at the council and ignoring the law regarding local public contracts. Township Attorney Fred Semrau said on Wednesday night that Nolan was correct, the appointment was not in accordance with the law. Nolan suggested the council somehow sanction the zoning board for its disregard of the law. Mayor Joseph DiDonato said he couldn’t believe that Nolan was thinking of punishing the volunteers who serve on the board, and he defended Stephen Glatt, the zoning board’s regular attorney who appointed the substitute. DiDonato justified the actions of the zoning board and its lawyer: “If time runs out before the [zoning appeal] process is through, a [building] permit is automatically approved ... can you imagine if that happened with Eagle Ridge or Valley Ridge?” DiDonato’s speech was met with cheers from some, but Nolan was unmoved. He countered, “I can’t believe what you just said. As the mayor, you are the chief law enforcement in the township, yet here you are condoning something that breaks the law.” In other business: In response to the ongoing controversy as to whether the Municipal Water Authority is discharging unsafe water into Belcher’s Creek and other locations, the council has decided to do its own tests. Council member Bill Gervens said if the township was going to go through the expense of the testing that the test should be done randomly and be controlled by the council. All the members of the council were in agreement with that, Councilman Jim Warden using the analogy of a football player going for a drug test. They haven’t yet agreed on the what company will be hired for the tests. The township attorney is in the process of drafting an ordinance that makes it illegal to use phosphorus fertilizers. While all the members of the council were in agreement with the concept, there was some question as to how to enforce the law. Under discussion is the idea of licenses for commercial landscapers, educating the public about the issue, contacting neighboring communities about getting their own ordinances, and giving vendors incentive to carry non-phosphorus fertilizers by giving all residents a list of stores that carry them. Councilman Phillip Weisbecker said he had spoken to the Lake Commission about the law and that one of the committee members had taken it upon themselves to visit vendors in the area to see who carries the lake-friendly type of fertilizer. Weisbecker reported that not one of the stores visited carries it. Phosphorus fertilizer is generally acknowledged to be the number one factor of weed growth in lakes. Two women from the senior complex Lincoln Hill Village beseeched the council to fix the sidewalk between the apartments and the Shop Rite. At first they were told that the township had applied for a grant and had been turned down, giving the ladies little hope. But later in the meeting, Gervens asked Administrator Rich Kunze to look into the cost of making an asphalt walkway instead of a concrete sidewalk, which might be quite a bit less expensive. The council will hold a regular meeting Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.