The Blogfinger cow is covering the Committee meetings and any undder events where he/she can report on fake news.
And support the Blogfinger cow. Our milk is organic, and contains no methane gas.
From the Neptune Township Committee meeting minutes on January 8. Only 3 committeemen were present.
REGARDING PERMIT PARKING: (excerpts of the minutes)
“DR BRANTLEY stated that he could support moving forward with the permit parking proposal. Parking is a free commodity and the Committee needs to find a way to better manage this commodity. He suggested working with Asbury Park on this issue.”
“COMMITTEEMAN LANE commended Ms. Rizzo for the proposal. He stated that he could not move forward with permits at this time. He is concerned with all the residents. Permits will not decrease the number of people parking in Ocean Grove and then walking to Asbury Park. The Committee will be talking to Asbury Park on this issue.”
“MAYOR WILLIAMS stated that he was a member of the Parking Task Force. There are still unanswered questions about permit parking. There were good comments received on December 21st but there are a lot of questions including eligibility of Neptune Township residents who do not reside in Ocean Grove, how would the permits be handled at Town Hall, and how much staff would be needed. He recommended not to move forward with the permit parking plan.”
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
“JOAN VENEZIA, 107 Mt. Hermon Way, stated that the parking decision should have been postponed until Ms. Rizzo is present. She asked the Committee how the Township will manage parking and what are the reasons why permit parking will not move forward. The Committee indicated that they would discuss the matter with Asbury Park.”
“Mr. Lane stated that permits would be a hardship to tourism and most do not want permits. Mayor Williams mentioned legal liability and the outstanding issue whether everyone in Neptune Township would be eligible for a permit.”
“BARBARA BURNS, 4 Ocean Avenue, stated that in regards to permit parking, the Committee provided statements without evidence and no discussion. The Committee needs to get answers to any questions they have and it is not acceptable to give up. Parking is not free, there is a cost in lost time and opportunity. Unanswered questions are not a reason to not go forward. The Mayor stated that the proposal on December 18th was totally different from the proposal that they had for months.”
“Dr. Brantley stated that the Committee will not abandon the idea of looking for solutions. We will talk to Asbury Park and use their expertise”
“RAY DEFARIA, 12 New York Avenue stated the Parking Task Force did a very extensive review. Ocean Grove was founded on inviting people to come, not to keep people out. The Ocean Grove Homeowners Association, who is supporting permits, has about 200 members but 3100 people live year round in Ocean Grove. The Committee made a hard decision, but a good decision.”
Editor’s note: The mayor refers to “eligibility of Neptune Township residents who do not reside in Ocean Grove.” This suggests that the Mayor is out of touch with the reason for a permit plan.
And,the opinions put out by Committeeman Lane that “a permit plan would be a hardship to tourism and most do not want permits” are two unsubstantiated fake news remarks unworthy of a high Township official.
COW MUSIC:
LEWIS LYMON AND THE TEENCHORDS: “TRA LA LA LA LA”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/nyregion/should-new-york-city-reserve-parking-spots-for-residents-only.html
I can do without the insane historic guidelines as a trade off for parking. The people that control the guidelines have no sense of fairness and are bullies.
As long as greed has more political influence on site plan approval than Historic Preservation, the Township will continue to approve condo projects without parking and we will never solve our parking problems.
The Township is currently in the process of amputating our Historic Preservation Guidelines, and another condo project is in the pipeline.
If there are 3100 year-round residents, how many “legal” parking places are there in town? And do year-rounders get preference to seasonal residents? I believe, though I have not done any research, there will not be many parking spots leftover if every homeowner gets one legal spot. I pay the same taxes as year-rounders (which I was for 20+ years) but I have no voting rights on this or any other local matters. How much more can we cram into an over developed town?
With all respect to the Blogfinger cow, comments that Asbury Park would be helpful sounds like male bovines exuding.
Our “neighbor” collects exorbitant meter parking fees from hungry patrons,
ignores parking spaces for all employees, and in the “spirit of cooperation” continues to pollute our mutual lake.
Unfortunately Neptune Township continues to neglect a problem that impacts upon its constituents, its financial resources, and its related economic factors:
$–High-rate taxpayers in Ocean Grove
$–Ocean Grove hotels and bed and breakfast inns
$–Commercial stores, vendors, services in Neptune Township
$–Programs and services of Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association
and Jersey Shore Art Center.
Why is it so difficult to bring together leaders of these components to solve the issue common to them—a solution that will meet their needs.
Of course, it will take thinking “out of the box.” And when it comes to money, there are creative ways–and other sources–to deal with that.
The catalyst: a high-image person, respected by the community and welcomed by the holders of the keys: Neptune Township Committee.