Van Zandt, Burry to be honored by the Count Basie Theater

Steven and Maureen Van Zandt are among the first Vanguards to be honored by the Count Basie Theater. Photo courtesy of Morris Photographers. www. morrisphotographers.com

Steven Van Zandt, of the E Street Band and Sopranos fame, his wife Maureen and Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry are among the inaugural honorees of the Count Basie Theater’s Vanguard Award for life long devotion to the Arts in New Jersey.

Also being honored is Mary Eileen Fouratt, Executive Director of the Monmouth County Arts Council.

The honorees will be recognized as Vanguards on Friday evening, August 22 at the theater. Tickets to the event, which will include Rockit! the Basie’s annual summer concert, a Tribute to Woodstock & The Age of Aquarius are available here.

Tickets are only $20.  Proceeds will go towards future Rockit! scholarships, the theatre’s bus-in program offering area districts and students a low-cost option to experience the theatre’s cultural programming, and for professional development sessions associated with Mr. Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll: An American Story program.

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Monmouth County Debt Rated AAA for the 16th consecutive year

Freeholder Deputy Director Gary Rich and Freeholder Director Lillian Burry at the Italian American Festival in Ocean Township last week.

Monmouth County has received a new AAA bond rating from all three major rating agencies for the 16th consecutive year, according to a statement by the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders.

“This is the 16^th straight year the County has been awarded AAA status from Fitch, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Gary J. Rich, Sr., liaison to the County’s Finance Department. “Monmouth County continues to be top-rated in how it manages taxpayer money.”

The three rating agencies rated the upcoming Monmouth County Improvement Authority’s (MCIA) governmental refunding bond series and reaffirmed the ratings of the County’s outstanding debt.

“Monmouth County continues its demonstration of sound, fiscal management. The County has been careful in its spending and continues to maintain low debt levels,” said Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry. “As a result, we are able to have greater flexibility in delivering quality services to our residents. It shows how well the County is managing its resources and planning for the future.”

Monmouth County is the only county in New Jersey and one of less than three dozen counties in the nation that can claim to have received the highest score from all three rating agencies.  The AAA rating is higher than that of the State of New Jersey and the United States of America.

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Lillian Burry Opposes Beach Replenishment in Upper Freehold and Millstone

Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry
Photo by Vinnie Amessé © www.amessephoto.com

In a column in the current issue of the triCityNews, Freeholder Director Lillian Burry said that one of her opponents in the coming election was right when he accused Burry of not supporting “agricultural and farmland preservation in “coastal” towns.  “It’s for the same reason I don’t support beach replenishment in Upper Freehold and Millstone. There aren’t any beaches there, just as there aren’t a lot of farms in Red Bank or Long Branch or Asbury Park.”

Burry points out that there in only one parcel in the region qualified for the farmland preservation program, in Long Branch, and that the owner of the property has not applied to sell the development rights to the program which is funded by municipal, county and state dollars.

At issue is beachfront property at the north end of Asbury Park that is slated for residential development.   There is some vocal opposition to the proposed development and Democratic Freeholder candidate Joe Grillo is trying to jump on that band wagon to get traction in his fledgling campaign against Burry and Deputy Freeholder Director Gary Rich.

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Ocean State Job Lot Opens in Shrewsbury

Pictured left to right: OSJL Regional L.P. Manager Bill Thompson, OSJL Director of Store Operations Paul Cox, OSJL Sales Manager Edmund Lynn, OSJL Regional Director Pat Nevue, Mayor Donald Burden, Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry, OSJL Assistant Manager Hakeem Reynolds, Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone and Freeholder John P. Curley.

Ocean State Job Lot, the New England discount retailer, held the Grand Opening of their first New Jersey location on Saturday in Shrewsbury.

Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Freeholders Tom Arnone and John Curley, as well as Mayor Donald Burden were on hand to welcome the company to Monmouth County.

OSJL sells brand name, first quality products at close out prices.  The company says their merchandise selection not only consists of a variety of manufacturer’s overruns, overstocks and packaging changes, but also includes many areas where our buyers have determined that “holes” exist in the marketplace. We are constantly on the hunt for special deals, which allow us to offer quality brand name merchandise at closeout prices.

While they are known as a closeout company, Ocean State Job Lots prefers to think of themselves as opportunistic merchants.

The Shrewsbury location is at 179 Newman Springs Rd East, which is near the corner of Shrewsbury Ave and across the street from  Butch’s Lube and Wash.

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Burry and Curley tangle at Freeholders’ meeting

Freeholders John Curley and Lillian Burry

The ongoing feud between Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Freeholder John Curley , both Republicans, became public again Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the board’s work session meeting at the Hall of Records in Freeholder.

Click here to listen to Curley’s remarks and the ensuing exchange between him and Burry.  Curley’s remarks start at the 1:27 mark of the audio.  The exchange concludes at the 5:24 mark.

Curley announced that he had proposed a resolution that would have called on the State Legislature to prohibit elected or appointed officials, on any level, from participating  in New Jersey’s Farm Land Preservation Program.   He likened such participation to Wall Street insider trading.  Curley said that Freeholder Tom Arnone, a Republican,  was his second for the resolution and that Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, a Republican, was going to sponsor such legislation.  Curley said he was disappointed that “the freeholders” pulled his resolution from the work session agenda.

Burry said that Curley’s remarks were inappropriate in that that he did not go through “the chair” or follow proper procedures.  She said the resolution was going to be discussed in Executive Session and had been put off because it needed to be tweaked and properly vetted.

Listen to the exchange.    It’s much more colorful than summarized above.

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A Teachable Moment

By Lillian G. Burry, Monmouth County Freeholder Director

Photo by Vinnie Amessé © www.amessephoto.com

When Vin Gopal launched his latest attack, I heard from friends with two different types of advice.  Some said I should fight back immediately because silence would suggest I had no defense.  Others said I should do nothing because to respond to bullying would make me just look defensive.  I thanked them all for their kind thoughts but told them all the same thing.  I see this as a teachable moment to be shared with everyone who may be thinking of someday entering public life.

You may see public office as I do – a way of giving back to society and being thankful for the success you’ve had in your professional life.  In an ideal democracy opponents would challenge you by putting forth a competing vision of the future they would work for and offer up their record of accomplishments so people could judge whether or not they had as good a record as yours when it comes to getting things done.  Unfortunately, that’s not how our democracy has evolved.

Instead of thoughtful, accomplished candidates we are too often faced with political attack dogs whose sole purpose is to try to destroy the reputation of people in the opposing party.  Lies, distortions and bullying are their stock in trade.  If anyone you have ever dealt with in your public life is ever accused of wrong doing in their private affairs, rest assured that the partisan hounds will come barking after you even though you are in no way involved.  That’s just the way it’s done on every level be it federal, state, county or local.  So what are you to do?  The answer is simple.  Whether you are a little league coach or a first responder, whether you feed the hungry, lead a troop of girl scouts or serve on a school board you have a record on which you can stand.  Every person you have helped, every dollar you have saved or raised, every public asset you have fought to preserve, everything you have done in your public life speaks for you.  We are all entitled to be judged by our true record.  All the barking of all the hounds cannot drown out the truth.  At the end of the day the weight of solid accomplishments will balance well against empty accusations from a poisoned pen.

Stand strong with high standards.  Keep firm in your commitments.  Speak dearly of the brighter future you are working to create.  Do this all resolutely and leave those attack dogs to do their howling at the moon.

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Burry To Lead 100 Horses Down Main Street, Freehold

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100 horses will follow Freeholder Lillian Burry down Main Street in Freehold Boro on Saturday morning, September 21.

Burry is the Grand Marshall of the second annual Open Space Pace Parade.

“It is quite an amazing sight to see a parade of more than 100 horses marching down Main Street in Freehold,” said Burry. “I am honored to serve as the Grand Marshal of this tremendous event that opens the Open Space Pace & Festival of Horses. It is a wonderful event for the whole family and I hope everyone will join me in the fun.”

The Open Space Pace and Festival of Horses will continue at Freehold Raceway. The day will include celebrity races, harness racing, pageantry, entertainment, vendors, demonstrations, food trucks, children’s activities and education. Following the last race of the day, at approximately 5 p.m., the Eddie Testa Band will take the stage. Afterward, there will be a live concert by Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, ending with a 27-minute fireworks display.

The inaugural Open Space Pace last September raised $14,000 for equine and agricultural non-profits while educating the public about the important role horses and horse racing play in creating and preserving open space in New Jersey.

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Democratic Freeholder Candidate Sues Monmouth County Over Lucas Farm Deal

Lawrence Luttrell, a Holmdel attorney, has filed suit against Monmouth County on behalf of a new non-profit corporation, Residents Against Government Exploitation (RAGE), over the government purchase of the development rights to Manalapan Township Committee Member Andrew Lucas’ farm for $1.152 million.

The plaintiff non-profit could be called LAGE, Luttrells Against Government Exploitation.  The trustees of the entity are Luttrell, his wife and his mother.

Luttrell is a Democratic candidate for Monmouth County Freeholder.

The all Republican Monmouth County Board of Freeholders passed a resolution by a 3-2 vote on February 28 to join the Township of Manalapan and the State of New Jersey in purchasing the development rights to the Lucas property for farmland preservation.  The county contributed $277,920, Manalapan paid $186,969 and the State picked up $687,111 of the purchase.  Freeholders Lillian Burry, Gary Rich and Serena DiMaso voted in favor of funding the purchase.  John Curley and Freeholder Director Tom Arnone voted no.

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Monmouth County Department Of Consumer Affairs Fight Sandy Scammers

Click photo for Consumer Affairs Brochure

The Monmouth County Department of Consumers Affairs has resolved $1.6 million in disputes since Superstorm Sandy, Freeholder Lillian Burry reported last night, according to NJ.com.

For the entire year of 2012, the department resolved only a little over $1 million in disputes.

Burry said the Department has taken a proactive approach to combatting fraud, answering calls related to price gouging, used cars sold with flood damage, fake charities and illegitimate contractors.

Earlier this year, the Department repeated warnings to consumers of home improvement and repair schemes in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Earlier this month, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs settled the first two Sandy-related price-gouging cases against gas stations for $46,000 – the division is in the process of investigating the over 2,000 price gouging complaints it received after the storm

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Hurricane Sandy Survivors Will Have Temporary Housing At Fort Monmouth

MMM has learned that FEMA and Department of Community Affairs housing inspectors have given “high marks” to buildings at the former Fort Monmouth for potential use as long term temporary housing for Monmouth County residents displaced by Superstorm Sandy.

In an email to board members of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) forwarded to MMM by Freeholder Lillian Burry, a member of the board, Executive Director Bruce Steadman said that FEMA and DCA is working on a plan to use 7 lodging buildings in along the Shrewsbury River in Oceanport to house 600-900 people in 300 units, as well as 21 “McGill” units at the golf course which could house 42 families.  These units could be used as temporary housing for up to 18 months, according to FEMA guidelines.

Gibbs Hall, the commissary building, the gymnasium and the prep school have been deemed not suitable for housing.

Steadman told the board that FMERA has informed the Army that they want to expedite the purchase of the Howard Commons area, the historical housing area of the main post, and the golf course, to support post-Sandy housing needs.

Burry said that there could be up to 10,000 residents of Monmouth County in need of temporary housing as a result of the damage caused by Sandy.  Union Beach, Highlands, Sea Bright and the low lying areas of Middletown…Belford, Leonardo, Port Monmouth and North Middletown…were struck with storm surges that exceeded 8 feet, leaving homes in the wake uninhabitable.  Additionally, the Two River towns of Little Silver and Oceanport have several displaced residents due to flooded homes, according to Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon.

In addition to the former Fort Monmouth, federal, state and county officials are evaluating the Bradlee’s parking lot on Route 36 in Hazlet, the former Bell Labs property in Holmdel, and the Hartshorne Woods County Park in Highlands/Navesink as possible sites for FEMA trailer cities.

O’Scanlon said that he is impressed and grateful for the level of cooperation between the various government agencies working on evaluating the former Fort Monmouth for temporary housing.

“I am very  encouraged to know everyone is working together to assess the resources at  Fort Monmouth that might be able  to help us house our displaced residents,” said O’Scanlon,  “We will continue to push for  quick answers but the level of cooperation amongst the agencies involved is  encouraging. The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are taking all the right steps to vet out this option. The Monmouth County  Prosecutor, Christopher J. Gramiccioni, has also been a key part of this  process and I appreciate his active involvement. On behalf of my constituents, I am grateful for the effort.”

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