Hey Guv! Here’s a business assistance plan: Get the frickin power on!

3-5 Days Without Power Is Devastating to Seasonal Businesses

Hey Governor Christie!   Even though it makes you seem like a Democrat, I appreciate where you’re coming from with your Hurricane Irene Business Assistance. 

Those $500K lines of credit while waiting for insurance proceeds will come in handy for many, but let’s be real, this is a subsidy to the insurance companies.  Issue an executive order that the insurance companies must pay the interests on those loans and the claims will be paid faster.

If those banks we bailed out were lending, we wouldn’t need this program.  I don’t expect you to fix that problem until you are President.  Thanks for stepping in now.

By the way, Governor, your did a great job this weekend.  You still are.  The business assistance plan is needed, and it is wonderful that the Lt. Governor is out at the shore campaigning for people to come back for the rest of the season (rest of the week.)

BUT THEY WON’T COME BACK IF THERE IS NO POWER!

I know you have a lot on your plate. Did I mention that you’re doing a great job?  I also know you’re talking to CEO’s of the public utilities companies, because you said so during one of your briefings before I lost power.  When you’re talking to the CEO of First Energy, that guy in Ohio, tell him there are thousands of seasonal businesses and seasonal employees serviced by his JCP&L subsidiary that are counting on this week and this coming weekend for a large portion of there annual income.

In Highlands, the small town on the Shrewsbury River where I live, we have 23 restaurants and all of their employees who would rather be earning this week than applying for loans or unemployment benefits.

The lack of information coming from JCP&L to the public is unacceptable:

That a lowly blogger can find out that JCP&L is telling OEM that we’ll be without power for 3-5 days before the main stream press knows is an indictment of both the press and the utility.

It seems to me that JCP&L’s response to outages has been wanting the last few years.  I appreciate the magnitude of Irene, but I wonder if they’d be doing a better job if they weren’t owned by an Ohio company.  Two business owners mentioned to me today how much better the service was before JCPL’s Belford location closed.  We’d wonder about that less, and make less noise about it, if the lights go in the bayshore today.

3-5 days without power at this time of  year is devastating to seasonal businesses and their employees.  It’s like pulling the plug on the week before Christmas for Macy’s.

Governor, you got the Jets-Giants game switched to tonight, but no one will be watching the game at bars in Highlands.

I know you can influence that guy in Ohio’s priorities.  Please do so.  Monmouth County businesses need the lights on.

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Shelter At Wall High School Is Full

The Monmouth County shelter at Wall High School is full.  Residents seeking shelter can go to Holmdell High School or Colts Neck High School.

Per the Monmouth County website:

Reception Centers and Emergency Evacuation information

Reception Centers – If you are a resident of one of the towns listed below and are interested in going to an emergency shelter, you should go to your local reception center.  Shuttle bus transportation center will be provided to shelters. No pets will be allowed on the shuttle busses.

• Aberdeen – Municipal Building, One Municipal Center 
• Asbury Park – Thurgood Marshall Elementary  Monroe Avenue
• Avon – Muncipal Bldg/Firehouse  301 Main Street
• Belmar – Belmar Elemenetary School, 12th and Main Avenue
• Bradley Beach – Bradley Beach Firehouse, 815 Main Street, after 6 p.m.
• Freehold Boro – Courtroom at Rug Mill Towers Jackson Street
• Howell – Howell Township High School  501 Squankum Yellow Brook Road
• Keansburg – Bolger School  100 Palmer Place
• Manalapan – Manalapan High School  20 Church Lane
• Marlboro – Town Hall, 1979 Township Drive
• Matawan – Municpal Community Center  201 Broad Street
• Neptune – Neptune Township High School, 55 Neptune Blvd
• Rumson – Rumson-Fair Haven High School, 224 Hance Road
• Sea Bright – Rumson-Fair Haven High School, 224 Hance Road
• Spring Lake – Fire Company #1 – 5th Avenue
• Wall Township – Camp Evans area lot (Monmouth Blvd and Taft Street) Monmouth Blvd & Taft Street

Emergency Evacuation Centers – Residents living in coastal and low-lying areas are urged to evacuate voluntarily, especially those who have experienced flooding before.

If you are evacuating, please go to the home of a friend or family member who does not live in a coastal or low-lying area, preferably west of the Garden State Parkway. If you have nowhere to go, you can go to a Red Cross emergency shelter. Keep in mind, pets will not be permitted at the shelters. 

Emergency Shelters that opened at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 26: 

• Holmdel High School, 36 Crawford’s Corner Rd., Holmdel 
  • Pets are allowed in an adjacent building. Pets must be caged and have food, a bowl and a leash.
• Wall High School, 1630 18th Ave., Wall Township. WALL HIGH SCHOOL IS FULL.

One Emergency Shelter is set to open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 27:

• Colts Neck High School, 59 Five Points Road, Colts Neck 

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Golden: “Most Reasonable People” Are Complying With Evacuation Orders

Additional Shelters May Be Brought Online

By Art Gallagher

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden told MMM that “most reasonable people” are complying with the voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders in Monmouth County due to Hurricane Irene.   Surfers are a notable exception.

“Surfers will be surfers,” said Golden, “We’re warning them that we will cease rescue operations with the gail force winds emerge.”

Golden said that the shelter at Holmdel High School had 160 people housed.  Almost 200 people were sheltered at Wall High School.  The county is coordinating with the Red Cross to open five addition shelters if needed.  Colts Neck High School will be one of the shelters.  The others will be announced via radio, through municipalities and on the county web site when and if they are about to be opened.

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DEP Decision On Holmdel Sewer Service Mapping Shatters Public Trust

By Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian G. Burry

Whether it has been leading the fight to clean up a “superfund” site, preserve an historic building, protect open space, conserve farmland, expand parks, roads or libraries, I have always had one unifying goal, and that is to protect and enhance the quality of life for the people I am sworn to serve.

Having the trust of the people is essential for meeting this commitment. That doesn’t mean always having their full agreement, but it does mean having their faith that you will deal with them openly and honor agreements that are made.

The Wastewater Management Plan for Monmouth County is the product of years of effort on the part of many individuals and government agencies, including the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Monmouth County Planning Board and its staff, the municipal governments of all 53 towns and eight sewerage authorities as well as many other public and private interests.

The process has been a long one. It has required many meetings and a great deal of patience on all sides. It has always been a process that was open, inclusive, collaborative and consensus-building and in almost every case produced an outcome agreeable to all parties. There is a great deal of good in this plan and it must be acknowledged along with the efforts of all who were involved.

Not long ago I had expected that my remarks would end at this congenial point. That is no longer possible. The DEP, acting within its prerogatives, directed Monmouth County to change sewer service area mapping in Holmdel Township.

This is an issue that had been a source of great contention and disagreement throughout the process. It necessitated special meetings and discussions with landowners, the municipality, the sewerage authority and members of the public.

Throughout this long open process, my own thoughts have always been guided by a few specific principles:

First, I look to municipal intent as expressed in master plans and zoning ordinances as well as the stated position of the governing bodies;

Second, I looked to the broader world of land use policy as embodies in the Monmouth County Growth Management Guide, the State Development and Redevelopment Plan and the Wastewater Management Plan itself, and Third, I looked to the ability of landowners to secure their options through the Monmouth County Planning Board Amendment Review Committee, which is the mechanism by which changes to the plan can be accomplished as disagreements with the municipality are resolved. What I found is this:

There is a consistent concern for protecting drinking water supplies in Monmouth County. A very important element of this is protection of the Swimming River Reservoir, part of a system serving more than 340,000 people, and the watershed that supports it. The southern slope of Holmdel Township is part of that watershed. Holmdel is committed to limiting sewers there.

More than 25 years ago, the Monmouth County Planning Board adopted, as part of its Guide Plan, a document that calls for this protection. The State Development and Redevelopment Plan uses locations within a water supply watershed as the basis for designating land as Planning Area 5 – Environmentally Sensitive. This proposed wastewater plan identifies eight Monmouth County water purveyors as being in potential deficit for water supply and finds there is virtually no reserve in the confined aquifers from which their water allocations are drawn.

Installing sewers not only facilitates the expansion of impervious cover, which increases storm water runoff, but also transfers wastewater out of the drainage basin and discharges it into the Raritan Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Both of these things reduce groundwater recharge essential to preserving base flow in streams that support the reservoir.

The Monmouth County Planning Board Amendment Review Committee remains an effective mechanism for amending this plan that is available to all landowners that secure municipal approvals requiring expanded sewers. All of these facts argue against the action directed by NJDEP.

My final concern goes beyond these objective and technical issues. It is the matter of public trust I spoke of earlier.

When a process where the greatest care has been taken to build consensus among the parties and protect the rights of all involved is effectually overturned at the 11th hour, the trust of the public is shattered. And when it is done to accomplish something that could as easily be achieved through normal administrative means, it is particularly troubling.

In my experience, one of the most important things about having authority is knowing when not to use it. This is the kind of action that can color relationships with the DEP well into the future and make both individuals and agencies question whether they should see the DEP as a trustworthy partner.

This would be unfortunate; the DEP is a great resource. But once public trust is lost, it is very hard to regain.

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Charitable Choices

By Art Gallagher

Something has been bothering me about the Jersey Shore Workcamp project I wrote about yesterday.  It is the same thing that bothered me about a similar project I wrote about in July of 2009.

Why are churches and high schools throughout the country sending teenagers here to Monmouth County New Jersey to fix up the homes of the needy?    Why are 440 kids coming here next month to do their charitable work instead of going to Newark, Camden, New Orleans, Mississippi or the South Bronx?

Why is there a need here?

Something I read in the Two River Times this morning made the conditions that allow for the Jersey Shore Workcamp bother me even more.

Rumson Mayor John Ekdahl is raising money, tax deductible money, for the Rumson fireworks.  He sent a letter to residents of Rumson, Navesink and Fair Haven asking for contributions to the Rumson Endowment Fund, Inc, a 501 c 3, to fund Rumson’s $100,000 fireworks display.

In the TRT article, Ekdahl is quoted as saying that the Rumson fireworks mirror the famous Red Bank Kaboom fireworks.  7500 people enjoy the Rumson show, not including private parties.  5000 of those people watch pyrotechnics from the Oceananic Bridge where they have great views of both the Rumson and Red Bank fireworks.

I have nothing against fireworks, I just don’t like crowds.  I went to the Red Bank fireworks once in the 90’s.  The show was spectacular but the crowd was too much for me.   For the last couple of years I’ve preferred to watch the NY fireworks from a distance on my deck in Highlands while listening to the Red Bank and Rumson shows.   Even if the Gooches or the Halls invited me to a private fireworks party I would think twice for fear that the short drive to and from home would take hours with all the traffic.

I think the good people of Rumson, Navesink and Fair Haven should spend their money however they like.  If they want to chip in $100,000 per year for fireworks for all to enjoy, fine with me.

But there is something unseemly about the fact that a week later 440 kids from throughout the country will be coming to the neighborhood, and paying $449 each to do so, in order to fix up the homes of the poor and disabled.

Anyone who wants to volunteer or contribute to the Jersey Shore Workcamp can contact Bill Bechtoldt at 732-671-1036.

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County seeks nominations for 2011 planning awards

Plans, projects, individuals and municipalities are included

FREEHOLD, NJ – The Monmouth County Planning Board is accepting nominations for its 2011 Planning Awards.

Through its annual Planning Award program, the Monmouth County Planning Board honors outstanding plans, projects, individuals and municipalities that have significantly influenced planning in Monmouth County.

“The annual planning awards are an important way to recognize the people and organizations that demonstrate excellent planning on projects constructed within the county,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, a Planning Board member. “Our hope is that these projects inspire others to plan and to work for a great Monmouth County.”

Any individual or organization is eligible to submit a nomination application. Projects or plans must be located in Monmouth County and have been completed between May 31, 2010 and June 17, 2011.

Nominations must be received by June 17, 2011 and must include a completed nomination form and supporting data. The nomination forms can be found on the Planning Board section of the county Web site at www.visitmonmouth.com, or can be requested by calling the Planning Board at 732-431-7460.

“Projects may be nominated from a wide range of planning-related categories,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, also a member of the Planning Board. “They can include but are not limited to areas involving environmental conservation, historic preservation, development, redevelopment, plans and ordinances, and publications and planning media.”

Winners will be honored at the Planning Board’s annual awards dinner in the fall.

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Park System Housing Report: Discounted Rent For Rangers Saves Taxpayers $870K

By Bill Bucco

Thursday night the Monmouth County Freeholders held their second regular meeting of January.  The topic that received a lot of attention towards the end of the meeting was the release of the Park Housing Report.

This report was released to the public Thursday night at the Freeholder meeting with information regarding the living situation of the Park Rangers and cost to the county.  The rangers who are county employees in fact do pay rent for the house that they live in, but at a discounted rate of 37% based on the market value which results in $181,102.00 in discounts for homes on county park property. Currently there are 27 units occupied by employees and 5 that were recently occupied and now are scheduled for demolition.

It is important to note that the rangers that live in these homes are on call 24/7 and do not receive any over time pay.  There was talk about looking into out sourcing 24 hour security to a private security firm and the report shows that the estimated cost would be $1,051,200.00 a year for the same services they currently receive with the live-in park rangers. With the current system in place, it is saving the tax payers of Monmouth County $870,098.00 annually.

The report states the following:

            The results of the report confirms what the Board had believed to be true- that

            the program is beneficial and cost effective in meeting its’ intended purpose while

            producing savings by-

 

                        -protecting park system property and assets;

                        -providing on-site assistance to the public;

                        -maintaining an on-site management presence; and

• – assisting in the recruitment of professional staff

 

            It is important to note that the Park Housing Program is directly related and essential to

            the performance of the employees official duties with regard to the maintenance of

            security of park visitors and County park property that includes the enforcement of Park

            rules and regulations the rendering of assistance for the benefit of the health, safety, and

            welfare of members for the public; and

 

            It is also important to remember that the Housing Program-

 

• – operates with revenues exceeding expenses; and
• – is managed efficiently and effectively by continually monitoring costs, reducing the number units, and their distribution

            The Committee has recommended that staff continue to review and monitor the housing program annually.

 The report goes on in detail on how much each individual pays and how much the county receives in revenue. The revenues are exceeding the expenses!

The only complaint came from a familiar face at the Freeholder meetings, James Martin of Spring Lake Heights.  Martin is no stranger to the microphone at any Freeholder meeting, but his attitude is uncalled for. I am all for questioning your public officials on how money is being spent, but Mr. Martin should not choose style over substance in his criticism of the Freeholders.  He got up at the podium, in my belief, to just hear himself speak. The substance he was trying to criticize the Freeholders for was flawless. He just liked to hear himself complain. If I had to give him any advice it would be, you catch more bees with honey then you do with vinegar Mr. Martin. To recap, the county is giving out a little bit over $180,000 worth of discounts to those who give the parks 24/7 security and surveillance. He was complaining that the estimated little bit over $1,000,000 outsourcing contract that was under consideration was too much and could get it for less. Really Mr. Martin? Less then $180,000? What world does Mr. Martin live in that everything is for free? If he is willing to protect all the parks in the county the way they are protected now for less then $180,000 yearly, then I am sure the Freeholder Board will gladly take it under consideration, but until he does, or comes in with real, factual alternatives, he should keep his sarcastic and demeaning tone towards the Freeholders to himself.

The park rangers have a responsibility to protect a total of 450 million dollars worth of assets, 15,000 acres, and on average 5 million visitors yearly. The Housing Committee, their staff, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders should be commended for looking out for the tax payers of Monmouth County and at the same making sure our parks are the safest and best places to visit in New Jersey.

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Christie Coming to Monmouth To Sign FEMA Letter

By Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie will be at the Monmouth County Hall of Records this morning for the purpose of signing a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency requesting disaster aid for storm releated expenses resulting from the blizzard this week.

He will be available to the press at 11:30am in the Freeholders Meeting Room.

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With county roads clear, crews assist state

County, Manasquan OEM rescue dozens stranded on Route 18

FREEHOLD, NJ (December 28)– With Monmouth County roads showing blacktop one day after the snow stopped falling, county road crews have been deployed to assist the state. This afternoon, four county tandem trucks with snowplows and heavy equipment began clearing beleaguered Route 18.

Meanwhile, the county Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Manasquan OEM rescued about two dozen motorists who had become stranded on Route 18. A convoy of Army trucks Manasquan normally uses for tidal flooding was dispatched Sunday night and rescued 12 to 18 people. The same convoy was deployed last night and picked up another 11. Route 18 had not been plowed.

On Sunday and Monday nights, county snowplow operators also cleared roads assisting Jersey Central Power & Light Co. personnel who were responding to power outages.

“County roads such as Routes 524, 537, 547 and many others are showing blacktop today as a result of the work county road crews have been doing since 10 a.m. Sunday morning,” said Freeholder John P. Curley, liaison to the county Department of Public Works and Engineering. “The county’s public works and engineering crews do an excellent job keeping county roads safe and drivable.”          

Monmouth County’s Public Works crews have been working since 10 a.m. Sunday morning when they began applying salt brine to county roads in advance of the predicted snowfall. The salt brine helps prevents snow and ice from bonding to the road surface, making plowing that much easier after the snowfall. As a result, most county roads showed blacktop today.

Monmouth County is responsible for about 1,000 lane miles of roads in the county. The county has 115 trucks outfitted with spreading and plowing capabilities. About 200 personnel were working to clear the snow from roadways as a result of this storm.

“One of the challenges with this storm has been the wind,” said John W. Tobia, director of the county’s Department of Public Works and Engineering. “The one-two punch of the steady 10 to 15 mph winds and gusts of more than 40 mph have been undoing some of the road work, but we have been diligent and have cleared the county roads – most of them are down to blacktop.”

“We began gearing up for this storm on Saturday,” Tobia added. “We opened up our snow room to monitor the storm’s progress and we began dispatching crews from the county’s nine highway districts on Sunday morning.

At that time crews began applying the liquid salt brine. Then, before the snow actually started falling, the crews began applying rock salt treated with magnesium chloride.

“The key was to keep the ice and snow from bonding to the road surface,” Tobia said. “Some lanes were slushy instead of iced over. That’s generally the first step before the plows come by and push it all aside.”

According to the National Weather Service, snow and windy conditions began in Monmouth County late Sunday morning and produced a higher than average snowfall overnight Sunday into Monday morning. Acting Gov. Steve Sweeney declared a state of emergency in New Jersey due to the blizzard that moved through the state during that time.

Monmouth County concentrates its efforts on county roads first and then works to assist municipalities with their plowing needs. Through shared service agreements, county road crews helped clear roads in Howell, Wall and Upper Freehold townships. They also helped plow the National Guard Armory in Red Bank. The towns reimburse the county for any resources used.

A number of towns also purchase magnesium-treated salt from the county at a lower cost.

This is the third year the county has been using the salt brine combined with magnesium chloride-treated rock salt. The salt brine and a pre-application of treated rock salt prevent the snow and ice from bonding to the roads, and the treated rock salt is environmentally friendly. It does not burn the grass or other roadside vegetation nor does it corrode the trucks or the steel bridge spans.

The new rock salt is much more efficient than the old rock salt, which was very corrosive to bridge structures, roadside vegetation, the roadway itself and trucks and equipment, Tobia said.

“We have found that magnesium chloride-treated rock salt is much more effective and, therefore, there is a savings in man hours and material,” he said. “We use approximately 30 to 50 percent less material and reduction in spreading trips, depending on the snow event, for the same result. By reducing the number of trips, we are reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result, there have been far fewer telephone calls from local police departments about trouble spots, Tobia said. Typically, when police dispatchers call to report icy conditions – usually on bridges or curved roadways – the county dispatches additional trucks to perform some spot treatments.

“County highway personnel set the standard and example on snow and ice control operations,” Curley said.      

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Election Recap

By Art Gallagher

From the top of the ticket to the bottom, the Monmouth GOP under the leadership of Chairman Joe Oxley, earned a resounding and undeniable endorsement from the voters of Monmouth County last Tuesday.

On the top of the ticket, the three Republican candidates for Congress crushed their competition. The combined Monmouth County results of Congressman Chris Smith (CD-4), Mayor Anna Little (CD-6) and Scott Sipprelle (CD-12) were 109,151 to 68,020 over their Democratic opponents, a margin on 62% to 38%.  Unfortunately, due to gerrymandering, Monmouth County is represented by only one Republican in Congress and two Democrats.

On the bottom of the ballot, in the 24 municipalities where there were contests, Republicans won in 15 towns, Democrats in 8 and one town split.  In the 19 towns where there were no contests 14 are controlled by Republicans, 2 by Democrats, 2 are non-partisan.  One town, Oceanport, had one Republican and one Democrat running uncontested.

The heart of the ticket, county candidates Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Rob Clifton and Freeholder-elect Tom Arnone worked as if they were behind from the beginning of the campaign until the end.  They ran on their records and made their case.  The voters chose them each with pluralities of over 35,000 votes.

Even with these results, there are some who continue to whine or snipe about Chairman Oxley.  Those people should look beyond their personal agendas to the big picture.  Congratulations to Chairman Oxley, to the team he has built and the teams he has empowered.

The losses in CD 6 & 12 were disappointing for many who worked hard on those campaigns.  This was the year to take down Frank Pallone and Rush Holt.  Coming closer than anyone has ever come before does not lessen the sting.

The optimism in 6 and 12 was predicated in the assumption that Independents would break for Republicans and that Democrats would not be motivated to turnout.  Governor Christie’s victories in the districts last year were the original basis of the optimism. Overall dissatisfaction with the Obama administration and  national polls showing a large enthusiasm gap favoring Republicans spurred the optimism that Democratic turnout would be suppressed.

Polls showing the congressional races close woke the Pallone and Holt camps up.  Particularly Adam Geller’s poll for the Little camp that showed Little within 1 point of defeating Pallone.   “You never should have released that poll,” one Democratic insider said in a friendly post-mortem, “half of our team scoffed at the poll, the other half said ‘so what if its not true, something is happening nationally, we can’t take any chances.”  It was then that both Pallone and Holt stepped up their negative ads and prepared their GOTV efforts. 

The ads worked. Both Little’s and Sipprelle’s unfavorable ratings increased in the Monmouth University polls released the week before the election.  The Democratic GOTV efforts, particularly in the cities of Plainfield and Trenton were the electoral equivalent of shock and awe.  

Monmouth County has yet to release town by town numbers, making an accounting for Little’s under performance in the Monmouth portion of the district difficult.  Long Branch and Asbury Park did not have local races.  Thus none of the results in those cities are posted on the county website .   In Neptune Township there was 3150 under votes in the Township Committee race for the Democratic strong hold.  That means there were 3150 voters who cast a ballot but did not vote in the local race. It is a safe bet that Long Branch, Asbury Park and Neptune Township account for Little winning Monmouth by only 4%, while Smith won his portion of the county by over 50 % and Sipprelle by 24%.

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