“Government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the Earth.” Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg.Paul Goldfinger photo in A. Park. ©
Will the people of Ocean Grove rise up against tyranny? Blogfinger photograph by Moe Demby.
No more Neptune bull. Paul Goldfinger photo.©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor and Jack Bredin Reporter/Researcher @Blogfinger.net
The Neptune Township Committee has been reinforcing a steady pattern of ignoring the public. This tendency has been augmented by a unique capacity to shut out and mislead the citizens through an impenetrable lack of transparency. Shouldn’t our elected officials and secondarily the small army of un-elected Township bureaucrats have as their top priority, the goal of working on behalf of the Township citizens?
Let’s consider some of the items on the list , and you can add to it via our comments button below:
a. At the last Committee meeting on March 26, the Mayor ignored the pleas of a large number of senior citizens who came in person to protest the “firing” of a beloved director of the Senior Center. Vito Gadaleta, the Business Administrator, said that the director was on a “paid leave of absence,” allowing Gadaleta to hire an “acting director” at a salary of $65,000 per year. The Township ignored the issues raised by the Seniors and the Citizens Advisory Board and would not publicly explain the details of the situation.
b. A church in Neptune is being taxed for 2017, a time when it was temporarily undergoing renovation. This action outraged many citizens, and the Mayor has not corrected the situation.
c. Wesley Lake has been renamed on the tax map, being now called a “detention-retention basin.” Citizens are concerned about that change, designed to help developers at the North End. The Mayor has yet to explain who is responsible for the change and why. The Committee has accepted no responsibility for this.
d. The name of Lake Avenue has been changed at the North End to Beach Avenue in a seeming effort to declare Lake Avenue as a street, rather than as a walkway which it has been since the founding. This street issue is something that developers would want to implement for the North End Re-Development Plan.
Kevin Chambers spoke at the meeting to voice his objection to this name change which has not been explained publicly by the Committee. He said that one Board’s lawyer said it is a street, and another Board’s lawyer said it is not. Who is lying under oath?
e. Why hasn’t the Mayor updated us about the Warrington site law suit? This is an important concern relating to protecting zoning laws and the Master Plan.
f. Why won’t the Committee revoke the North End Plan and explain exactly what is going on behind the scenes? This is a very important matter which will affect the future of the Grove.
g. Why hasn’t the Committee defended some of their obtuse zoning decisions such as the one that allowed Mary’s Place to receive approval as a shelter for the “terminally ill” and zoning changes that allow condoization without parking?
h. Why did the Committee turn its back on the Home Owners Association who were promoting a permit parking plan to relieve gridlocked parking for house-bound residents in the Grove?
i. Why has the Committee favored weakening of the HPC historic guidelines? Why does the historic district need an outside “expert” to change the rules? The Committee should be strengthening historic preservation, not destroying it.
j. Why can’t the public speak for more than 5 minutes at these meetings? Save less time for politicians and more for Grovers and Neptuners.
Some of you might remember Sir John Dalberg, the 19th century British Lord Acton, who said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ( I think Ted Bell may have actually gone to high school with Sir Dalberg. They were in the band together, and Ted played the soprano recorder for some of Mozart’s latest hits.)
In Neptune we have single party rule, and it seems likely that this entrenched and alienating body will remain with absolute power.
What we need in this town is a sort of internal affairs inspector who answers only to the voters and who is empowered to look into these confidence-busting matters. In some towns that might be an elected mayor who answers only to the people.
The Neptune Republicans are looking for two candidates to run in November.*
They have gone on record as saying, “We want to win and change the direction of the Township Committee, in a town that has been called ‘the most corrupt town in New Jersey’ by a trusted source.”
* Sept, 2018: Two Republican candidates for Committee have been selected.
Michael McGuire from Les Miserables:
If we want to sell our home, the real estate listing can note that it is on Wesley retention-detention basin.
Absolutely love your song choice! Hilarious and poignant!
…….and why aren’t the meetings televised? Isn’t that pretty much standard these days? Residents have asked about this more than once at TC meetings.
Neptune Township Committee continues to view Ocean Grove as a cash cow–both in tax ratables and in seasonal economic income— township-wide.
Another major contribution to its Ocean Grove indifference.is the absence of year-round resident/voters . A beach community and a religious enclave have many absentee owners.
What will impact members of the Neptune Township Committee to resolve the issues facing Ocean Grove ?
A few suggestions:
Constant use of public media detailing their shortcomings on one issue at a time. That requires a local volunteer with ability to research (see below), write, and contact all available newspapers and radio.
. A local organization takes an advocacy stance and contacts each member for his or her position on an issue–especially prior to any meeting consideration.
The organization that should revert back to its advocacy history is the
Ocean Grove Home Owners Association. No doubt it should reexamine its position on the North End. It should stress the Master Plan calling for single-
family homes. It should campaign actively against the creation of or conversion to condo facilities.
As an advocacy organization it should create partnerships with available environmental groups and contacts with appropriate county, state, and federal agencies to deal with Wesley Lake..
Blogfinger is extremely effective in raising problems and their ramifications. Participants in the blog are the ones to convert their feelings and support into
action at meetings of the Home Owners.