Freeholders Raise Awareness For Pediatric Cancer and Suicide Prevention

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

By Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

            The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders believes it is imperative to get the word out in an effort to raise awareness on two critical issues we face right here in our county.

            First is the growing problem of pediatric cancer. Because of this rising epidemic, Freeholder Serena DiMaso along with the support of The Board of Chosen Freeholders, Sheriff Shaun Golden and families of pediatric cancer victims in Monmouth County joined together at the last Freeholder’s meeting to proclaim September “Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.” Moreover, Monmouth County has the third highest rate of cancer in the state, and it is time to figure out why. The month of September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which was created to bring attention to the caregivers, charities and groups, who spotlight the importance of the need for research and awareness to aid in finding cures for pediatric cancer. As part of Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders as well as the communities within will “go gold”, placing gold ribbons and wearing gold clothing to recognize the need for more research in the area of pediatric oncology. We must do everything we can to promote the awareness and research of this disease that is taking the lives of our children. Our hearts go out to the families affected by cancer, and we sincerely hope that by declaring September as “Go Gold Month”, we can start to raise awareness right here in Monmouth. County.

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Shooting Epidemic In Asbury Park, Community Resignation Setting In

Monmouth County Needs Regional Law Enforcement

There were three shootings in Asbury Park this afternoon, according to a report at NJ.com.

The shooting happened around noon on Mattison Avenue, near Langford Street, Detective Lt. David DeSane said. As of around 2 p.m., DeSane said he did not know the extent of the injuries.

Two people in the area, who asked not to be identified, said they heard four or five shots, but did not know what happened.

AsburyParkSun photo

In the triCityNews last week, publisher Dan Jacobson said there have been four fatal shootings in the city, population 16,132, so far this year.

In their award winning series, Gripped by violence, published last October, four days before Superstorm Sandy, the Asbury Park Press said there had been an average of one shooting per week in Asbury Park through October 25, 2012 and that the city was second only to Camden in terms of violent crimes in New Jersey.  That’s right, Asbury Park is more dangerous than Newark, Trenton and Jersey City, where there were also three shootings today.

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Grow Monmouth Facade Improvement Program

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

It gives me great pleasure to announce The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders recently passed a resolution approving the Grow Monmouth Façade Improvement Program. As liaison to the Department of Economic Development and the originator of the Grow Monmouth initiative already in place, I am very proud to have been an instrumental part of the Grow Monmouth Façade Improvement Program. This is yet another example of the county’s commitment to our business world and to the continued promotion of economic growth within our county.

            The program, the newest initiative under our Grow Monmouth program, uses HUD Community Development Block Grant funds that were de-obligated by grantees to help privately held commercial buildings that are located in eligible areas improve the look of their businesses. NO county funds are used for the program.

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Freeholders never took illegal contributions

John Bennett

By John Bennett, Monmouth County Republican Chairman

I am writing in response to the July 13 oped written by Monmouth County Democratic freeholder candidate Brian Froelich, “County purchasing still murky, post-Birdsall.”

From the first sentence to the last, I am disappointed that Froelich has chosen to take an opportunity as a political candidate to make not only misstatements but outright false statements concerning the actions being conducted in Monmouth County.

As to his first statement, that each Monmouth County freeholder received campaign contributions donated illegally by Birdsall Engineering Group, Froelich fully knows and understands that none of the contributions which he sets forth were illegal when they were received by either the Republican freeholders or the former Democratic freeholders who received similar contributions.

In fact, none of the Republican or Democratic freeholders (to our knowledge) received any illegal campaign contributions from any vendor in this county. Many of the Republican and Democratic councilmen and mayors throughout the county also received contributions that were not illegal to those who were receiving them.

There may have been inappropriate actions conducted internally within their office by those giving the money, but that knowledge could not have been made available to any person receiving the money, whether they were Democrat or Republican.

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Reforming Engineering Bidding Process Saves Tax Payers Money and Increases Competition

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

In the past, when Monmouth County looked to hire engineering and architectural consultants for various projects, the firms applying had to prepare extensive proposals, costing them thousands of dollars, just to compete for the work. As of now, however, the process will be streamlined, after the Board of Chosen Freeholders voted to revise it to make it easier and less costly for consulting firms to seek contract with the county.

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

The freeholders voted 5-0 last Thursday to adopt new bidding procedures for architectural and engineering contracts. The new procedures create a two pronged process that will make applying to work on county projects more cost effective for the consulting firms seeking the work as well as for the county, which has to provide the staff to review the proposals. The county is aimed at encouraging more professional firms to apply for work.

As liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering, I embarked on a mission a year and a half ago to look at ways to streamline the bidding process to make it easier and less costly for consultants to apply for work. Under the old process, professional firms would have to submit voluminous proposals, usually hundreds of pages long and costing them thousands of dollars to prepare. Some of the cost of that work was passed on to the county, and, the county would have to commit its staff sometimes for weeks or more to review the proposals. Because it would cost the consulting firms between $10,000 and $15,000 just to apply for work, (which seemed somewhat unjust) a year and a half ago, I asked the Freeholder Board if we could research a way to streamline it.

The new process is a two-pronged one in which the firms seeking to be hired for a project would first submit three or four pages documenting their background and experience. From those submitting the initial applications, county engineering staff would choose three or four firms and ask them to submit full technical and cost proposals. The firm to be hired would be selected from among those who submit the full proposals. The process also takes into account how many county projects a firm already is working on, so that other firms without work can be considered for new projects. Most of the top engineering firms in the state come out of Monmouth County. Most of the businesses that are here employ Monmouth County people, so more people are continuing to work. Under the new process, the Board of Chosen Freeholders remains confident that everybody’s going to get work.

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Have Fun and Stay Safe This Summer

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

By Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

It’s summertime and the living is easy – but to enjoy the fun, be sure to follow the most important summer safety tips so you and your family can make the most of the carefree moments while keeping everyone happy all season long.

Upon Heading Out the Door, before you even leave your house, no matter what the destination, make sure you are prepared for a day outside in the sun. Lather everyone up with suncreen and make sure it is designed to protect against both UVA and UVB rays.Wear sunglasses and a hat to offer further protection from the sun’s damaging rays and be sure to keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water and other drinks.

If you are just hanging out in your yard, Pay attention to Fire Safety.
Believe it or not, the National Fire Protection Association recently reported that fire departments in the U.S. responded annually to 7,700 home fires involving grills and barbecues. 81 percent of these fires involved gas grills, which makes gas grill maintenance a high summertime safety priority. In order to avoid gas grill issues, check your grill’s gas line for leaks and breaks. Also, always practice the safe handling techniques outlined in your grill’s instruction manual, whether it’s charcoal or gas.

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MID-YEAR PROGRESS UPDATE – MONMOUTH COUNTY NEW SHARED SERVICES INITIATIVES

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

By Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

Monmouth County continues to grow in its leadership role in the field of shared services. We have been successful in streamlining operations and centralized administration in an effort to reduce the burden on Monmouth County taxpayers.

            To demonstrate our dedication to this effort, we created a central office of shared services to centralize and standardize programs, increase efficiencies in administration and improve business processes. These efforts have played a strong role in eliminating redundancy and waste throughout the public sector allowing for the most beneficial and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

            We have successfully built new partnerships with 53 municipalities and several counties throughout the state resulting in one of the most far reaching and highly developed shared services programs in the nation culminating in over 300 shared services agreements, millions in estimated savings to taxpayers and over $10.1 Million in new recurring revenue streams thus far. We now are expanding our shared services partnerships with many school boards as well. Monmouth County citizens can see three areas of savings and increased efficiencies; at the municipal, county and now at the school board level.

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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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Leadership We Can Depend On

Tony Fiore

By Tony Fiore, Former Middleotown Mayor and Current Township Committeeman

I am writing today to ask you to join me in support of three extraordinary county leaders who deserve our support on June 4^th; Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Freeholder Deputy Director Serena Dimaso.  As the Mayor of the largest municipality in Monmouth County, it should come as no surprise that I have had many first hand experiences working with Shaun, Tom and Serena on a number of issues and initiatives.  While I can point to a number of needed improvements that they have helped to bring to Middletown, it is not my intention.  Instead, I’d like to share with you my experience working with them during one of the most difficult and challenging times in our township’s history.

Superstorm Sandy’s impact on Middletown was unprecedented. Thousands lost their homes and everyone lost power for almost two weeks.  When we needed to secure our devastated bayshore for safety and security, we couldn’t depend on the federal government to get us the necessary resources.  However, we could depend on Sheriff Golden.  Each day Sheriff Golden would hold a personal call with both myself and the Township Police administration.  Through his efforts, officers from as far as Mississippi came into Middletown to help us secure our most affected areas.  At his direction helicopters with night vision flew over our bayshore to prevent and catch looters and others who came in to prey on our victims.  Through his leadership, we were safe.   I received a call or text message from him every day asking for our needs until power was 100% restored and we were back to some semblance of normal. 

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Freeholders Raising Awareness

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

While informing the residents of Monmouth County about the happenings and goings on within the county has always been the focus for my writings, I thought it best to change my focus for this submission. Why you might ask? The reason being is that although raising awareness as to the many gains and strides that continue to occur in and around Monmouth County is of significant importance and benefit to our residents, I feel sometimes we need to take a step back and look outside of ourselves. It is extremely important for each of us to take time and perhaps reflect if even for a moment on the vast array of wonderful causes out there originated for the sole purpose to help raise awareness as it pertains to the many important issues we are faced with today. Because the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders fully understands the significance of helping to get the word out, we have taken steps by doing our part in also trying to help raise awareness.

             A few of the observances made recently by The Board of Chosen Freeholders during the months of March, April and May were Autism Awareness, Alcohol Awareness, Military Awareness and Breast Cancer Awareness. The Board also recognized the tenacious energy set forth by The Red Cross and Monmouth County Fair Housing.  Each of these tremendous causes was recognized by The Board of Chosen Freeholders during one of their regularly scheduled meetings. Representatives from each of the various organizations were invited to attend a meeting to accept a Certificate of Recognition for all they do to help raise awareness for each of their causes. Additionally, they were recognized for the multitude of great things they have independently been able to accomplish thus far, as well as being congratulated for their efforts in continuing to educate the public on how much work is still needed in order to maintain progress and continue to accomplish great things.

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