From the Wizard of Oz. Internet photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
On June 30, the OGHOA President Ann Horan sent out an email to the membership attempting to summarize the current status of the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) as seen by their North End Committee.
In that email there are errors and at least one overt falsehood, so you have to be skeptical when reading anything from that group regarding this subject. But beyond the actual content of Horan’s email, there is one glaring omission that should be noted by the members of that organization: There is not one item of criticism or suspicion for either the Township Committee, WAVE, or the Camp Meeting Association; not one iota of concern about their actions, their inactions, or their lack of transparency as it pertains to the NERP.
Why isn’t the HOA digging into the situation instead of just regurgitating what the Committee and the CMA tells them? Clearly the HOA is “in the tank” for the principals who are pushing the NERP. Why doesn’t the HOA aggressively take the side of Ocean Grovers, ask tough questions, and look at this complex situation critically? Maybe they are not aware of the current BF poll which shows that 65% of OG responders (so far) believe that there is something unsavory about the NERP process?
The HOA should strive to be vigilant and to protect the town from developers who seek to blow up the zoning which was designed in the best interest of the Grove. Where were they for the Greek Temple and Mary’s Place? And how about condos that were developed in town without parking? The answer is “nowhere.” This duty of theirs is especially important in a town which is on the National Historic Register.
As for the falsehood mentioned above, here is the quote from Horan’s report: “At the April 27th 2015 Neptune Township Committee meeting, a new conceptual NE plan was presented by WAVE…..”
Not so! —unless Committeeman Randy Bishop is a member of WAVE. No one came to the microphone that night at the 6:00 pm workshop session or at the regular Committee meeting that starts at 7:00 pm, and introduced themselves as representing WAVE.
What did happen was at the earlier workshop where the public is not permitted to speak. Mr. Bishop reported to the Committee about a NEW NERP (i.e. a revised redevelopment plan.) This new plan was not prepared by the Township but by WAVE and given to Mr. Bishop at a previous meeting which had been arranged to sign a Redevelopers Agreement for the original (2008) Plan. Instead, Mr.Bishop returned to the Committee with an entirely new NERP and without the long-promised Agreement.
During the regular meeting the NEW NERP was not on the agenda. The news letter from Ann Horan is a total fabrication of the events that night. You can check the minutes of that meeting yourself (see link below) She seems to find it necessary to present WAVE in a favorable light. Why is that?
Currently, the only recent relevant document that seems to exist is a signed Memorandum of Understanding between WAVE and the OGCMA dated April 28, 2015. It talks about an agreement between those two parties, but what is barely mentioned is the long awaited and legally required Re-developers Agreement between the Township and the co-developers (WAVE and CMA.) Why isn’t that discussed in the Horan email?
And why doesn’t she mention the following item from the Memorandum of Understanding : “In the event the hotel is converted to condos, WAVE will pay to OGCMA ten percent (10%) of the selling price of each condo conversion at closing.”
This quote gives you a peek into the financial intricacies of this project. The HOA evidently isn’t interested in any of that. Don’t they know to follow the money?
And this is just a taste of the misleading info in the Ocean Grove Home Groaners Association memo. They’ll probably jump up and down and whine and groan on the Coaster and to their members as they did before regarding Blogfinger’s comments, but they need to get on the ball and dig into what Mary Beth Jahn once called a “travesty.”
Click to access April%2027%202015%20%20TwpMtg_Min.pdf
THE FOUR FRESHMAN
Paul, You bring up Mary’s Place, and it reminds us that the noise and the disruption in and around that project continue at a pace. One of our neighbors raised questions at a meeting during the approval process and she was roundly criticized for daring to question a project with such good hopes and intentions. All she wanted was information and she was made out to be a hard-hearted person. Her point was simply that no neighbors had been notified about the project and the impact that it might have on neighbors adjacent to the site, and how parking would be impacted. Not even the courtesy of an approach to their soon to be neighbors informing them of a time-line or anything else regarding this project. Not a word. Not a letter asking us for our forbearance. Nothing. All we had were rumors to contend with.
Summer time is here and parking, as usual is a challenge, but the cones and trucks manage to take up spaces that could be used by Grovers and guests. The noise during the day is constant. In the meanwhile, one neighbor who recently had surgery and is recuperating, has had to endure the constancy of this construction project. The summer will come and go and noise will persist.
Paul, you have raised important questions in the NERP and should be commended for insisting on transparency and clarity in such efforts.
We thank you for raising these critical questions.
Editor’s Note: This comment was also posted as a letter to the editor on July 9,2015. See that post to read any replies to Concerned Neighbor.
Doc, I for one as a homeowner and taxpayer thank you for your efforts.
Seems like if they ever move forward on this thing, there are plenty of ways the project could be challenged in court. The deviousness of the principals will backfire.
I attended the Workshop and Regular Committee Meetings of May 27th, reported on by Blogfinger and the Homeowners.
Once again, Blogfinger reports the facts and the Homeowner’s leadership twist the facts.
Let’s review:
-WAVE never made a request to the Committee to become a redeveloper, because the Committee failed to advertise “a request for proposals”.
-WAVE and no other developers were ever interviewed by the Committee for the job.
-WAVE was not at the meeting when they were selected as a redeveloper, but I am sure they were all popping champagne corks after the meeting.
-WAVE has no contract with the Committee to do the job they were selected to do.
-WAVE did not attend the recent May 27th meeting to explain why they were unable to develop a plan the Committee spent so much time and taxpayer money to prepare.
By the way, how much did it cost? Don’t know! The financial records of this ongoing Public Project have been destroyed.
To better understand the process, WAVE was selected using ‘Mental Telepathy’, pursuant to ” 40:55D- Monkey business.”
“Whenever a developer thinks about a large development project of any kind, and there are campaign contributions built into their budget, their thoughts can be picked up through the quiet atmosphere of a prime steak house.”
However, if you ask a question about this process at a Town Meeting, the lights go out and you go out, escorted by a police officer.
OhGee. What you call “constant criticism” I call educating the public about the truth. That is a valuable service, and the last thing I would ever do is join that impotent group called the OGHOA trustees.
As for being “part of the solution,” I am already part of the solution, but where are you in helping to find solutions?
It’s easy to throw bombs and criticisms when you are hiding behind a pseudonym.
—–Paul
“Flow on, river! flow with the flood-tide, and ebb with the ebb-tide!
Frolic on, crested and scallop-edg’d waves!
Gorgeous clouds of the sun-set! drench with your splendor me, or the men and women generations after me;
This segment of “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” by Walt Whitman tells us that Whitman would vehemently oppose the North End Plan.
Developers scheme and whisper quietly to deprive us all of our pursuit of happiness at the northern edge of the Grove where we and generations after us will walk by. Will we save those views for them? Why didn’t zoning protect us?
Blogfinger will continue to reveal the truth where we can find it.
That photograph of Asbury Park at sunset almost 50 years ago suggests a north end that was open to all and with vistas that permitted people to stand there and enjoy nature’s gifts. Link: http://blogfinger.net/2015/07/01/wesley-lake-1967/
Put condos on the beach and along the lake, and it will diminish us and “generations after us.” Can we try to figure it out and stop it?
Blogfinger, instead of constantly criticizing…. be part of the solution. Run for a OGHOA trustee position.
As a member, I doubt whether the Home Owners Association leadership can spell the word “A D V O C A C Y” let alone know its meaning.