February 4, 2018. By Paul Goldfinger, Editor@ Blogfinger.net
On January 8, during the Neptune Township Committee meeting’s Public Portion, a Grover, Joan Venezia, inquired, as she usually does, about news regarding the North End Redevelopment Plan:
COMMITTEE MINUTES:
“Ms. Venezia asked for the name of the second redeveloper of the North End and who was now on the Redevelopment Committee. The Mayor, listing 7 names, stated that he, Dr. Brantley, the Redevelopment Attorney, Mr. Gadaleta, Ms. Hoffmann, Mr. Haney, and the Township Planner are part of the Committee.
“Ms. Venezia asked about the availability of updates on the North End redevelopment since Mr. Anthony will no longer be representing the Township in redevelopment matters. Mr. Anthony stated that Ms. Venezia cannot contact the Redevelopment Attorney and updates will be provided as they develop.”
Editor’s note: We are unclear what the first sentence means when Ms. Venezia brings up “the name of the second redeveloper of the North End and who is now on the Redevelopment Committee.”
Maybe she is referring to whether the Camp Meeting Association has been replaced as the co-developer with WAVE. If she is referring to that, it is strange because no co-redeveloper has ever been legally anointed by the Township.
You would think that the official minutes would use clear language.
However, what is clear is that since the Neptune Attorney Gene Anthony is no longer involved with the NERP, the public has no one to question at the Neptune Committee meetings regarding the North End. Mr. Anthony will continue to be the Township Attorney at those meetings, but the new Redevelopment Attorney will not be available for public scrutiny.
So another smokescreen has appeared to make the NERP even more opaque than it had been before. And then we are told that “updates will be provided as they develop,” but who will provide those updates and answer questions about the NERP?
And in the first paragraph, Mayor Williams, in identifying the current members of the NERP Committee, listed 7 names ending with …“are part of the Committee…” Does “part of the Committee” mean that he has not listed all the members?
The NERP is a public project, and our elected officials need to tell us what is going on because NERP decisions will affect all the citizens of Ocean Grove.
PAUL EVANS:
I wonder if this were to affect where any of the “committee members” or Gadaleta or Haney or Hoffman lived, if they would put up with this lack of information and refusal to divulge anything. I don’t think any of them would put up with it. No way! WHAT IS THE REASON for the secrecy?