By Charles Layton
One of the most disturbing things about the recent fuss over swan boats on Fletcher Lake was the way information about that proposal was withheld from our citizens.
One example: Sometime this spring the promoters gave a presentation to the Fletcher Lake Commission — a public body — but the fact that they did so was never made public in any way. People in Ocean Grove who care passionately about that lake, and who normally ask to be notified about the Commission’s meetings, were not notified about that particular meeting. This, they say, was suspiciously unusual. Even now I cannot find anything on the Neptune Township website about that meeting. If you click on “Agendas & Minutes” and then click on “Fletcher Lake Commission,” you get a blank page. The Bradley Beach website is equally unhelpful. We only learned what was afoot with Fletcher Lake because some Ocean Grovers got wind of it, purely by accident, and spent an inordinate amount of effort digging out the facts.
Why the official silence?
Another issue of huge concern to our town was the recent settlement between the Neptune Board of Education and the ACLU. But have you seen anything on the school district’s website explaining the terms of that settlement? I can’t find it there. Have you heard school board officials describe the terms in any detail? Blogfinger published those terms in full because no one else was doing so, questions were flying and erroneous accounts were starting to spread. But the details we published didn’t come to us from school officials; we had to get them via the ACLU.
Again, why so much official reticence?
Here’s something else Ocean Grovers urgently care about: the North End Redevelopment Plan. But there’s a general lack of understanding among our citizens as to what that plan contains. The plan’s full text is available on the Neptune Township website, but just try to find it. Here’s what you have to do: Type “redevelopment” into the search field. (Typing “north end” gets you nowhere.) Scroll down to “Economic Development” and click the phrase “Read More.” Then scroll way, way, way way down until you get to “Redevelopment Plan-OG North End.” It took me two days to figure this out; it was like searching for The Lost Chord.
On Saturday the Home Owners Association passed a resolution about the North End, and that resolution includes a request that the Township use its website to keep citizens informed and updated. Good idea, and we hope the HOA continues to press the point.
Here’s another transparency issue: demolition by neglect. We try to keep people up to date on the court proceedings against the owners of problem properties in Ocean Grove. But wouldn’t it be better if the Municipal Court kept its schedules of trials and hearings online so every citizen could keep up — not just about code enforcement cases but all cases? This is the 21st century, the information is already in the court’s computers, and it is a basic public record.
Sometimes information that rightfully belongs to the public is kept from us because someone in authority wants it so. And sometimes it’s kept from us because no one cares enough to make the effort to share it. But whether the motives are active or passive, the result is the same: people are left in the dark about the workings of their government.
We used to rely on the media to keep us informed, but our local news media are weaker and more overextended than ever before. Given the economics of the news business, this won’t change. So if people in Ocean Grove want sound information, they’ll have to start demanding it.
Charles,
Too bad there was no reporting of the last Fletcher Lake Commission meeting because I understand it descended into chaos. Any minutes or eye witness accounts?
And when the time of the meeting is changed, how is that announced?
Prior to any Neptune Township Committee meeting, an announcement is made of the time, place and agenda. Same with the Zoning Board, same with the Planning Board, same with the HPC. These announcements also include the membership of those bodies, if I’m not mistaken. That’s how it should also work with the Fletcher Lake Commission. Also with the Wesley Lake Commission.
And — where online does one find the list of the FLC members? Where can a citizen go to read the minutes of the FLC’s meetings after they’ve taken place? Where, for instance, could one find the minutes of the meeting at which the swan boat promoters made their presentation?
And if that fifth grader lived in Neptune Township and only thought to look on the Neptune Township website, where would any information about the FLC be found there?
“sneaky”
“Fletcher Lake Commission Chairman Charles A. Quixley
Monthly meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Meeting Room 701 Main Street at 7pm”
taken from bradley beach’s web site at this address, in vary large type
http://bradleybeachonline.com/government/
so easy to find a fifth grader could find the time and date’s
somebody should do there research before people make accusations.
Charles — You are so right that secretiveness invites suspicion … just look at the mess NY Rep. Wiener is in over a tweet he can’t (or won’t) explain.
THANK YOU for PUBLIC INFORMATION post. The BLOGFINGER has become democracy. Bravo! My prayer: God blesses your efforts to ALARM/wake the OGHOA and others.
amk — Good question. The Fletcher Lake Commission may be our least visible public body. If you go on the Neptune Township website and type “Fletcher Lake Commission” in the search field, you get one item for Fletcher Lake. If you click on that item it takes you to an empty page.
If you go on Bradley Beach’s town website you can find a list of boards and commissions that includes the FL Commission, but all it says is that Charles A. Quixley is the chairman. No list of members.
I have managed to come across a list of members elsewhere, but it’s partial and it’s for the year 2010. I’m not sure the membership is the same in 2011. For what it’s worth, those members are: Randy Bishop, Mark Balzarano, Bill Mockridge, Susan Roach, Robert Scholz and Cathy Rechlin. However, these are only the members from our side of the lake. Bradley Beach also appoints members from their side of the lake. Mr. Quixley, the chairman, is one of those.
If anyone has better information, please let us know.
Also, if anyone knows where to find public announcements of this body’s meetings, and public postings of its agendas or minutes, please let us know of that also. This stuff is super-hard to track down.
In the past, two women who live on our side of the lake have made a point of always asking the chairman to inform them of meeting times, so they can attend. (The meeting times are evidently subject to change.) These women were not informed of the meeting at which the swan boat matter was discussed, so they missed it; and no public report seems to have been made of that discussion. (I don’t know what you call this in New Jersey, but back in Philadelphia we called it “sneaky.”)
Since it’s an off-shoot of the Bilderberger Group, the membership is a secret.
I agree with you, Appleation. We could do a better job at transparency, and we’ll push harder toward it.
Who is on the FL Commission, Blogfinger?
It isn’t that they don’t take Blogfinger seriously, Nancy, it’s that they don’t take communicating with their constituents seriously enough.
In defense of Mary Beth (with whom I do *not* always agree), I don’t think she was posting excuses, but explanations. I think she has been transparent … to the point of some bite-back from some here, and probably some on the Committee I would guess. I wish there was a way to get more to post here. I wonder if they don’t take Blogfinger seriously.
Every committee should at least post in general terms what was discussed at their meeting. Thank goodness for Blogfinger or we’d never know what was going on. The HOA must continue to take positions on matters as they did last summer regarding the “not being considered by the TWP” parking meter issue. To Mary Beth’s comment– there is NO acceptable excuse, budgetary or otherwise, for non-transparency or violation of citizens right to know.
Ken — One of the problems with secretiveness is that it arouses suspicions that are then very hard to ever put to rest.
Charles, your editorial points out The Fletcher Lake promoters pushed through (almost) their proposal with nothing but green lights from everybody who was informed about it. Why? What was the motivation to OK this while keeping it so quiet? Who would gain?…other than two partners? Perplexing.
Just who is on the Fletcher Lake Commission? I suggest that’s where one should start.
It should be a situation of “who knew what & when did they know it?”
And this is just one man’s opinion; I think we need to be dealing in facts, not rumors.
Charles Layton does a fantastic job as he keeps us Ocean Grovers up to date on what is impacting the quality of our lives…and our investments in the community.
Unfortunately Neptune Township–in reality– treats us as the cash cow. Its politicians (even those who reside within) realize we don’t have the votes in terms of our off-season voting population.
So what is the answer? We have to provide a loud and furious advocacy voice. Blogfinger helps. But the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association has to provide the volume.
Well, I can’t say that the two matters concerning the Township Committee aren’t true. I will say that the whole Fletcher Lake thing was a mess – it took hours to track all that info down, and I’m *on* the Committee. It made me mad enough to curse like a longshoreman, so I can only imagine how residents felt.
I can say, as one of the two Committeepeople negotiating the North End plan with the Camp Meeting, that we have had only one meeting so far, at which we discussed what kind of DEP and FEMA permitting was still needed and the phasing of what was to be built – whether it be the hotel or the condos first. (It would be the hotel.) That was back in the beginning of the year, and we have not met again.
It was once a better website, and then we were attacked by a code-eating virus. Sadly, we do not have the funds to hire a full-time web designer, and Miss Roberta Grace does her very best to keep the site updated, but it has proven to be extremely difficult. I think I can safely speak for the entire Township Committee when I say that we do, indeed, want people to know what’s going on and to be active participants. I myself had no idea that swan boat kerfuffle had gone through the Fletcher Lake Commission until after the meeting.
I will shoulder 1/5 of the blame due for the website not being as informative as it could be. The reality is that we would rather put that money into Public Works or the Police Department than hiring a warm body for the website.
Someone out there likes our website – Neptune won an “honorable mention” award for municipal websites in May at Monmouth University.
I know this will not be enough of an explanation for some folks, but that’s okay – we are all entitled to our own opinions, and I personally would simply say I was not at liberty to answer a question than lie.
Let the blowback begin! (It does get lonely, being the only Committee member on Blogfinger sometimes!)
Makes one wonder who has the real power in Neptune, the elected officials or the entrenched bureaucracy.
Thank you Nancy and Janet. We at Blogfinger really appreciate comments like yours. I would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that we have an amazing opportunity to find a new media method of small town communication. We are a work in progress. It can be even better if we can convince everyone to think of us whenever you acquire information. You can write a short article or just send us some facts, and we will write the news. Just send us a twit (that’s a witty tip–very short). Send us a rumor. Send us a fact, an observation or an idea. Send us a video clip, a song, or a photograph. By the way, this is how we learned about the Fletcher Lake boat situation very early in the saga.
We protect our sources. We want you to learn about your town on Blogfinger. We want to get more of you interested in democracy. All politics is local.
And thank you to everyone who sends us comments. That’s like the peppers on the veal marinara; the onions on the burger; the jelly on the gefilte fish, the wet nuts on the sundae, the sauce on the ribs, etc.; Keep stirring the pot and the recipe will be much more delicious. Be anonymous. We don’t care. We do care about our principles, so don’t send us evil toxic talk.
Blogfinger staff:
I echo Nancy’s comments. I used to turn to The Coaster or the Ocean Grove Home Owner’s Association for news about Ocean Grove because I felt that was it is for the news (forget the Asbury Park Press!). The Blogfinger, in my opinion, is a godsend for up-to-date and relevant information. Thank you for the time, effort, and energy you devote to this great public service.
And *this* is why I love Blogfinger. I can’t wait to see if anyone who works for the Township or the Board of Ed responds.
Thank you.