The Atlantic Ocean at Ocean Grove. The WLC oversees the dumping of dirty street water runoff from Wesley Lake into the Ocean. Paul Goldfinger photograph. © Blogfinger.net  Click to enlarge.

By Jack Bredin and Paul Goldfinger,  Blogfinger.net

Wesley Lake Commission Mission Statement:

“The Wesley Lake Commission oversees Wesley Lake and its watershed on behalf of the City of Asbury Park and Neptune Township.  The Commission’s goal is to improve the ecological balance of Wesley Lake and its surrounding area for the use and enjoyment of visitors and residents. The Commission’s focus is on improving the quality and quantity of water entering the lake, the ecology of the lake itself, and the quality of water flowing from the lake into the Atlantic Ocean.  In addition, the Wesley Lake Commission seeks to enhance recreational opportunities at the lake and improve pedestrian and bicycle circulation around the lake and across its bridges.”

The 2019  11 member WLC last published minutes of a monthly meeting in February. We aren’t sure, but it seems that they had no meetings for the other months.   If they did, there should be minutes. And, they don’t record the meetings.

This is what the Open Public Meetings Act of NJ says about minutes:

We know that the WLC held a meeting on May 22, but they didn’t have a quorum, so they added an item to the agenda permitting it to swear in a new member of the Commission on the spot.  This maneuver is improper in terms of protocols, but what the heck, they just make it up as they go.  Is that what responsible public commissions do?

We also know that they have cancelled meetings in the past due to a lack of a quorum.   Surely those appointed Commissioners (11)  could make sure that 6 show up at a meeting.

At Blogfinger we have been paying attention to the WLC because we think that they are failing in protecting the Lake  and the Ocean from pollution and from politicians who want to alter history regarding tidal flows and who want to turn the Lake into a “basin” which developers can use to deal with dirty street water that has turned the shallow lake into a  a mud filled toxic mess overgrown with predator plants, suppressing healthy wildlife use, and killing all interest in public recreation there, as had been promised when Green Acres signed up the two Cities.

Here are some of our observations:

a. The WLC is not interested in public input during their meetings.  They recently moved the public portion (5 minutes per speaker) from the end of the meeting to the start of the meeting; and now only 3 minutes before the guillotine falls.

Obviously this obnoxious maneuver prevents citizens from commenting on any agenda item for that particular evening.  This is an attempt to suppress public opinion.

b. The WLC has done a poor job of stimulating public attendance at their meetings.  Most of the time no citizen from either city shows up.   They also have failed to encourage their own members to show up.

The Chair, Gail Rosewater,  at the May 22 meeting, complained out-loud about this problem of Commissioners not showing up, but she had no solution.

c.  Some of the most important plans to help the Lake have been ignored due to lack of funds:  dredging the entire Lake, disposing of the polluted mud after the dredge, repairing the bulkheads, and filing application for millions of dollars in grant money.

d.  The WLC has not  offered a powerful  opposition to the idea that they and not the cities of A. Park and Neptune Twp. are responsible for the Lake’s problems.

e. The WLC  has not opposed the assertion by a Planning Board engineering firm that “Lake Avenue in OG is a street.”

So Lake Avenue became part of the 2008 NERP as a “necessary municipal street.”  This goes along with accepted Neptune ideas that Lake Avenue is a “fire lane” with no turn-around for emergency equipment, a “front yard” for proposed condos, and a “promenade” which is a public gathering place.  The WLC, paralyzed into inaction, has said nothing.   All  of these items are supported by Township Resolutions that the WLC has no authority to change.

Also, on the Neptune Twp. Tax Map, Lake Avenue is shown, not as a street, but rather as a lot owned by the Camp Meeting Association.

The WLC would like Lake Avenue to be a promenade since they envision a public space.  But if the Commission would like sidewalks, benches, bike paths, and lighting around the Lake, they first must get permission from the CMA and ask Asbury Park to remove their parking lots and their steam power plant.  And who will pay for all this?

f. On Blogfinger we will have more to say about the topic of pollution and its remediation. If you expect the WLC to join the public in a discussion on this, you will have a long wait.  We also have other topics to bring to the surface subsequently.

BACH:  Concerto in C Minor. for Two Harpsichords.   This is by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

What can you say about the death of a lake which was a gift and a responsibility—–Since the founding of Ocean Grove and Asbury Park, Wesley Lake  has been deteriorating.