Neptune Township Committee—starting five. Blogfinger file photo
We are currently running a poll regarding whether Grovers are pleased with the performance of the Township Committee. It’s only been up for two days, but already 67 people have voted, and most are dissatisfied. It doesn’t matter why they are dissatisfied, because there are probably a variety of reasons, but it is worrisome that so many feel that way.
There are those who say that the citizens have no right to complain, because they don’t go to the Committee meetings, but hardly anyone cares to go. You only get 5 minutes at the end to express an opinion, and there is no discussion. What a deal! Going to a meeting is not a prerequisite for having an opinion or even being irate. Not going doesn’t mean that the citizens don’t care. There must be a better way for these elected officials to communicate with the citizens. Any ideas?
Wouldn’t it be great if, at least, they posted the minutes online within 48 hours, but currently the last set of minutes available is dated October 9.
Blogfinger will not be sending a reporter to those meetings, and the officials do not participate in discussions on Blogfinger. They have no interest in communicating on-line with our citizen readers even though, in less than 48 hours, 67 of you have taken the time to participate in our poll. They can dismiss the OG 67, which will soon be more than that, but 67 is more than they get at 5 of their meetings put together. The Home Groaners Assoc. sends representatives to those meetings, but do they share what they hear there? They sent out a memo to the members today, but there is no mention of what you will see below.
You can request a CD recording of the latest meeting for about 6o cents, but who is going to do that? So what’s the answer?
BF will check the minutes once in a while and share some highlights with you. Below is a portion of the Oct. 9 minutes of the Neptune Township Committee. If any of you attend a meeting, please send us a report from the front lines.
At this Oct. 9 meeting, believe it or not, they were again discussing metered parking in the Grove. This matter is still unsettled, and the natives are still restless, especially after learning that Asbury earns $2 million from their meters and that nothing has been done about the vagabond parkers who flood our extremities north and south.
So here it is, with some minor punctuation and clarification editing (an impossible task) :
“Ken Buckley stated that Asbury Park has raised almost two million dollars in parking fees and expects to raise two and a half million dollars. He stated that he had no idea why the Township would not consider to generate revenue by doing this on the east side of Ocean Grove during beach season. If you are not going to put in the meters then why not limit parking on the ocean side of Ocean Avenue so the free loaders could not stay there all day. He stated they were hurting the residents in Ocean Grove because they could not park.
“Mr. Bishop stated when they talked of doing east side parking {in the past} people pelted the {Commitee} with bottles 16 (??) in the fourth of July parade. He stated it wasn’t worth it because the residents do not want limited parking on Main Avenue. He stated they looked at and can look at it again but people do not want it.
“He stated they were working with it and the residents. Mr. Buckley asked if they were serious in not considering this because you could not make everyone happy. He felt this was pathetic.
“Mr. Bishop stated he heard from him and fifty other people about this and he agreed he could not make everyone one happy. Richard Cuttrell stated when the whole parking meter discussion first came up the thought was let’s do the east side of Ocean Grove, and the folks that got most upset were the ones on the first {beach} block because instead of parking on the eastside of Ocean Avenue they would now park in the front of the homes and the eastside of Ocean Avenue would be the last to be filled. Mayor Brantley stated they would readdress this.”
So, are you citizens still against parking meters in the Grove? Also tell us how to change our form of local government for this new century so that citizens have more of a voice. The old way is broken, and who is responsible? In other words, who’s sorry now?
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
KAREN ELSON from Boardwalk Empire–a story of failed government in New Jersey.
What happens to all the beach goers? I stay with friends on the weekends come down on an early Saturday am. Leave Sunday afternoon. I park on Ocean Ave so I don’t take a spot in front of someone’s house. One permit per house is crazy seeing most houses have at least two cars. If you buy a season beach badge you should be able to at least park on Ocean Ave.
https://blogfinger.net/2014/11/09/neptune-township-committee-meeting-moments-what-up-at-the-mother-ship/
Editor’s note: Sometimes folks do research using the Blogfinger search engine. In this case, Beach Goer was reading an article from November 2014. The link is above. The Blogfinger archives contain words that are still alive and well, sometimes to bubble to the surface and stir the pot. You all should read this article because of the shear humor of it all. Thanks to Beach Goer for patrolling the bizarre precincts of the Grove —PG
Agree with Ed. Where does the money ever go when these revenue increasing ideas are introduced? They never seems to benefit anyone. It’s just feeding the “black hole” of wasteful spending.
I am not advocating meters. IF After the initial investment of installing the meters, is paid, by legislative clause a line in the ordinance that EAR MARKS revenue thereafter from the meters be used to SOLELY to reduce property taxes. Residents should display parking permits on their vehicles, which void them from feeding meters. Residents park free. Please go to BF search and type in “Just wondering another sticky idea” for further info on Resident parking permits in Ocean Grove.
RSIS law i guess would make less parking spaces on streets in Ocean Grove because the size of painted stalls is larger?,
Joe: For those non-Grovers who want to go to a restaurant near Stella Marina, where can you find non-metered parking around there? It’s a short walk from our North End to that restaurant row and even to the Stone Pony, etc. Why not walk through the Casino and park for free in the Grove?
Also, although not a meter avoidance issue, how many Grovers drive to our North End to park close to those boardwalk restaurants?
It seems like meters would help those who live in that northern part of Ocean Grove by reducing the demand for parking there, and will bring in some meter bucks. It would be even more special for those who live in that vicinity if they had stickers to let them park at the meters for free. —Paul
With the large new Bier Garden opening soon just a short footbridge away, I’ve been wondering if parking issues will intensify here in The Grove. There’s a steady stream of Asbury meter avoid-ers on weekends as it is. Just what sort of impact will there be with the new bar?
Many might not imagine it to be a huge impact this time of year, even though it really is a year-round issue, but during the spring and summer season it’s bound to get a lot worse.
If the main issue is freeloaders from AP, then why do we not simply issue 2 parking stickers per unit. Cars with these stickers would be allowed to park on the North east streets. All other cars without stickers get a $50 fine per day. If you have more than 2 cars, then one of them needs to park over a few blocks.
I’m still waiting for an explanation on how Belmar, Avon, Bradley, Spring Lake, Cape May (also a Victorian Historic District) etc. manage to have meters only on Ocean Avenue and a few other limited streets without apocalyptic destruction of those towns.
And yet every day in the summer, you can’t find a spot on Ocean Ave. after 10 a.m. in Belmar. So it seems the logic is false that no one will park there and feed the meter.
I’m also waiting for some evidence of this widespread parking abuse by AP goers beyond personal anecdotes. Much like every other shore town, only certain streets are metered, and there are closer non-metered parking to Ocean and Cookman IN ASBURY than walking across the bridges to OG.
Joel: if you are talking about citizens getting off their butts, then that’s the bottom line. Yes, it’s the A word—apathy again.
When Dover General Hospital was to be closed after 100 years of fine service up in Morris County, we couldn’t get the citizens to protest, even though their parents and themselves and their kids were born there. Just a bunch of senior citizens, a few doctors and a couple of politicians formed the vanguard.
The takeover crowd from St.Elsewhere (i.e. St. Clare’s) that created a merger, which was a sham, quietly told the nurses that they would be fired if they protested; and so they kept quiet. As Joel says, “Yep” right here in America.
There’s always room for improvement. —Paul
Great article but, did I say but, yep its all about buts and people getting off them?
Joel T,. Scranton
If meters are put in place, which I do not want, where would these funds go? For example, where did the money collected by the CMA for the boardwalk go? This was meant for boardwalk and other repairs.
What we taxpayers need is residential parking so that those that work/visit AP don’t park in front of our homes.
The Home Owners Assoc should be reorganized into the Ocean Grove Citizens Alliance with membership open to anybody who lives in this town. The monthly vaudeville show of guest tap dancers should be eliminated, and the meetings should be strictly business, with an emphasis, like at traditional American town hall sessions, on citizen opinions. At each meeting, at least two members of the Township Committee should be present to listen and to discuss issues with citizens, not with each other.
Every member will have a vote when voting is needed. If a large number of Grovers sign up, the organization can have some leverage. The sole purpose of this group would be to provide a voice to Grovers—people who live here, not to tourists, not to businesses, not to insular OG organizations. Get a banner and a T shirt that says, “Grovers First.”
Choose one leader to run the meetings (and appoint citizen activist committees as needed) and one secretary to keep score and to provide an online summary within 48 hours to all citizens. Skip the Board of Trustees altogether. It may be a bit unruly, but that is how democracy was in 1776.