Asbury Park Press Gets Its Facts Wrong Again

No news. Empty newsstands stored in the Asbury Park Press’s empty parking lot in Neptune.

This morning the Asbury Park Press Neptune Nudniks have an article about something that might be happening and that might cause something else that’s bad to happen.

Two of the three mayors on the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority may be breaking confidentiality rules — and possibly jeopardizing millions of dollars in redevelopment deals — to keep their governing bodies up to date on property negotiations affecting their towns. (Emphasis added)

In a nutshell, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) is the entity responsible for redeveloping the fort that Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt let get away.  The authority is governed by a 13 member board. 6 of the board members are representives of the State government. 1 is a Monmouth County Freeholder, 3 are “public members.” The final three are the mayors of the communities that host the fort, Oceanport, Tinton Falls and Eatontown. 

Here’s where APP reporter Bill Bowman got a basic fact wrong:

A state authority under the umbrella of the state Department of Community Affairs, FMERA is the sole body that seeks out potential buyers and lessors and negotiates and approves contracts for the property.

FMERA is not under the umbrella of the state Department of Community Affairs.  It is an independent authority staffed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

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Former Red Bank Mayor Arrested, Charged With DWI

Ed McKenna, Red Bank Green photo

Edward McKenna, 63, of Red Bank was involved in a one car accident while traveling north in a 2012 black Mercedes-Benz sedan on the Garden State Parkway at 9:50 pm Monday night.  The accident occurred at mile marker 108 in Tinton Falls. He was arrested by the New Jersey State Police and charged with Driving While Intoxicated, according the Sgt. Adam Grossman of the NJSP Public Information Office.

Grossman said that McKenna submitted to a breathalyzer test, but would not disclose the results.  Another law enforcement official familiar with the case said McKenna “blew very high.”

McKenna was the mayor of Red Bank from 1991 through 2006.  He is currently chairman of the New Jersey State Planning Commission.

In March of 2009 McKenna’s car struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk outside of Riverview Medical Center, according to RedBankGreen.  He was cited by the Red Bank Police with failure to yield to a pedestrian.  In October of 2000 he was involved in an accident at mile marker 110 on the Parkway, leaving the scene before police arrived, according to RBG.   McKenna said at the time that he identified himself to the other driver and left after waiting awhile for the police.  Later, the State Police visited his home where his wife told the troopers he had taken a pain killer for his shoulder and was sleeping.

McKenna was not available when we called his law office for comment.  This story will be updated if he calls back.

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The State of Tinton Falls

Mayor Michael Skudera’s State of the Borough Address, as prepared for delivery, April 16, 2013

Mayor Michael Skudera

Introduction

Good evening everyone and thank you for being here. Tonight, I will share the many accomplishments that have been collectively achieved and highlight our goals for 2013.

First, I would like to recognize the members of the governing body. Council President Baldwin,

Deputy Council President Pak, Councilwoman Fama, Councilman Larkin, and Councilman Schertz, it is an honor working with each of you as we move Tinton Falls forward.

I would like to thank the borough employees, who are the backbone of this town. I like to thank my team that works with me day-in-and-day-out: Borough Administrator Gerry Turning, Borough Attorney Brian Nelson,  Chief Financial Officer Steven Pfeffer , Director of Public Works Gary Gebele, Chief of Police John Scrivanic, Director of Information Technology Dan Romanov, Borough Engineer Dave Marks, and my assistant Liz Morris.

We live in a great town called Tinton Falls. It is an excellent place to raise a family, to work, and even to retire.

In fact, in 2012 Tinton Falls was named the Best Town to Retire in New Jersey by the Star Ledger.

Tinton Falls is a town – where people care. During the height of Superstorm Sandy, when power was out to large sections of the borough, over 250 volunteers answered our call for help. They went door-to-door to check on those without power, some of whom had no power themselves. These kind-hearted individuals shared food, firewood, and even ran errands for those in need.

Tinton Falls is a town – with a low crime rate. We are protected by a highly educated, professional and dedicated police department. When the horrible tragedy occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, our police chief immediately worked with our schools to improve their security measures and protect our children.

Tinton Falls is a town – where our community comes together. Last year our Community Day event drew its highest attendance on record.

Tinton Falls is a town – that has active and growing recreational facilities. We have activities for all ages at every season.

Tinton Falls is a town – that has seen great progress over the past 4 years. Some of which include:

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Middletown’s Website Named Best In New Jersey By Monmouth University Study

Middletown Township’s has the best municipal website in the State of New Jersey by a Monmouth University study performed by the school’s Polling Institute and its Graduate Program in Public Policy.

The project assessed 540 municipal websites in New Jersey for content, ease of use and citizen interaction.

Red Bank’s site earned an Honorable Mention, coming in 22nd on the list of 540. Five other Monmouth County sites were in the top 100, barely. Spring Lake’s site is ranked #82, Manasquan #89, Tinton Falls #91, Belmar #93 and Marlboro #95.

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Hey Tinton Falls….See a pothole? Report a pothole

Marquettes Roach (left) and Richard Kosch (right) of the Public Works Department repair a large pothole on Hope Road at the corner of Sycamore Avenue. In the background is one of the “See a Pothole?” signs.

Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera announced that the borough is having its annual See a Pothole campaign for the next two weeks.

“Last year the program worked very well, so I decided to do it again” said Skudera “Road repairs and infrastructure improvements have been a top priority for my administration and the Borough Council”.

Large signs have been posted throughout the borough which read: “Tinton Falls Residents… See a Pothole in Town?”

These signs direct residents to visit the borough’s website at www.TintonFalls.com where a Service Request Form makes reporting a pothole quick and easy. The form alerts the Public Works Department in real-time of the locations of any potholes that are reported. Residents will automatically receive a tracking number after submitting the form.

Additionally residents may report potholes by calling 732-542-3400 ext. 4.

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Bridge collapse, water main break, reduces water for 55,000 Monmouth residents

Photo credit: Holmdel-Hazlet Patch

A “major infrastructure failure” at the Swimming River Water Treatment Plant in the Lincroft section of Middletown has shut the water off for 3,000 Holmdel residences and closed Brookdale Community College until further notice.

Holmdel-Hazlet Patch was the first to report the story, scooping the Asbury Park Press pay site by an hour.

A statement from New Jersey American Water Company that was emailed by the Borough of Tinton Falls to its residents and forwarded to MMM by a reader states that the failure includes the loss of two transmission mains leaving the plant and well as the raw water main coming into the plant.  New Jersey American Water customers in Monmouth County may be experiencing low water pressure or no pressure at this time.

Photo credit: lostcreekquarnberg blog

Residents of Middletown, Holmdel, Aberdeen, Highlands, Seabright, Rumson, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Oceanport, Shrewsbury Township and Borough, Tinton Falls and Long Branch are requested to limit all non-essential water use while NJAW works to restore service.

Save water, shower with friends.

UPDATE  4:32

Middletown Township sent out an automated phone call at 4:30 to residents and businesses announcing that all outdoor water usage is restricted.

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Oceanport Pans CommVault’s Move To Fort Monmouth

Eatontown and Tinton Falls approve the move

CommVault,the Oceanport based Lucent spinoff  that is growing at a pace of about 24% per year, has proposed moving it headquarters to the Tinton Falls portion of Fort Monmouth where the company will build a 650,000 square foot facility.  CommVault has revenues of about $400 million per year and employs over 1200 people.

The Asbury Park Press reportsthat Oceanport did not support the revisions to the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment Authority’s development plan to accommodate CommVault.  Eatontown and Tinton Falls, the other municipalities that host Fort Monmouth, did approve the proposed revisions.

While Oceanport’s disappointment over losing such a fine company is understandable, CommVault has outgrown its current homeand will move out of its Oceanport facility anyway. The company was eyeing the Avaya site in Middletown prior to choosing Fort Monmouth.  Monmouth County is fortunate that the company has chosen has chosen to stay here.

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Irace blasts Trenton over Monmouth Park and Fort Monmouth

Calls on taxpayers from Oceanport and neighboring communites to join the fight

“Atlantic City is now a FAILED business model”

Oceanport Councilman Joe Irace’s remarks at the borough’s reorganization meeting today:

2011 marked a year of challenges and changes to our Borough.  Oceanport’s future well-being hinges upon two very important issues, the continued viability of Monmouth Park and the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth, neither of which is really within our control.  If these two matters aren’t addressed properly, the consequences for Oceanport and our neighboring communities will be devastating..

The more immediate of the two issues is Monmouth Park. 2011 was a year in which uncertainty was the only certainty when it came to Monmouth Park.  Was the State going to remain in control, lease or sell the park to private ownership? The decision was made to lease.  Then came numerous changes, negotiations, finger-pointing, name calling and, ultimately, a muddled picture as to who is actually in charge.  Just last week, the State decided to continue racing in 2012 under the control of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority and rebid the lease in 2012 for the 2013 racing season.  For 2012, the current agreement, as we understand it from reading about it in the newspapers, calls for 141 racing days at an average purse of $150,000 per day.  To put that number in perspective, we were racing at $1,000,000 a day in 2010 and $400,000 a day in 2011.  The projected daily purse of $150,000 is the lowest for any major track in the United States.  In fact, at $150,000 a day in purse money, Monmouth Park, the most beautiful and historic racetrack this side of Saratoga, can no longer be considered a major track. 2012 also calls for no stakes races and, more notably, no Haskell.  The long term ramifications of this are obvious.  Is Trenton determined to undermine and eliminate racing in New Jersey? It sure seems that way. 

Trenton’s stated position is that the State of New Jersey can no longer “subsidize” horse racing in New Jersey. And, you know what? I ABSOLUTELY agree with Trenton on that issue.  Because the fact of the matter is that the horseracing industry doesn’t have to be subsidized. It just has to be allowed to compete on equal footing with horse racing in New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland.  But the big thinkers in Trenton have blinders on when it comes to the realities of horse racing and gambling in today’s world.   With the stroke of a pen, our elected officials in Trenton could permit “racinos” in New Jersey, but instead of allowing our state’s horse racing industry to compete with the gaming, racing and casinos that have popped up in New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland, our Trenton brain trust has chosen to invest $250,000,000 of taxpayer money in a stalled Atlantic City casino development. 

The Atlantic City business model is outdated.  New Jersey no longer has the monopoly on gambling that it had in the 1970s. Indeed, by any reasonable financial analysis, Atlantic City is now a FAILED business model.  But our elected officials in Trenton refuse to acknowledge this fact and, instead, have chosen to pour $250,000,000 of taxpayer money into a venture — that private firms won’t touch — in return for a 20% interest in the business.  What is 20% of nothing? We need our elected State officials to stop investing in THEIR past and start investing in OUR future.  

Monmouth Park is the Borough of Oceanport’s largest tax ratable and one of the jewels of the Jersey Shore.  Monmouth Park’s continued viability should be this governing body’s NUMBER ONE priority in the year 2012.  Oceanport’s citizens and the citizens of ALL of the Jersey Shore communities should make their voices heard on this issue.  We aren’t asking for a handout from the State! We just want New Jersey to be able to compete on equal footing with New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland.   We’ve got the infrastructure, we’ve got the people, we’ve got the horses. We just need the tools. The State of New Jersey needs to adopt the Racino business model NOW!

As far as the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth is concerned, this issue will present huge challenges as we head into 2012 and well beyond.  Decisions made today will have an impact – one way or another — on Oceanport for the next 25 years and beyond.  When we unsuccessfully battled for local control of the 419 acres that are located in Oceanport, we were concerned over what the State would do to our small, family oriented, residential community.  Today, rumors abound that our 2nd largest employer, CommVault, which ranks only behind only the embattled Monmouth Park as a source of employment, has been lured to the Tinton Falls section of the Fort Monmouth site. It is believed that this move is premised upon large tax breaks and tax credits being given to CommVault by the people who are charged with the duty of redeveloping the fort while creating jobs.  This isn’t job creation, however, it is job poaching.  And the Borough of Oceanport loses a business to Tinton Falls under the guise of “job development” at the fort.  How can this be a good idea? 

I am cynical, at best, about the State of New Jersey’s ability to create jobs at the fort, especially in view of the State’s past record in this area.  That is to say, the State of New Jersey doesn’t have a history of creating jobs— other than government jobs.  Stated simply, government does not have the ability to create private sector jobs and the historic and profound lack of accountability at the State level is all the more reason why the Oceanport Municipal Council fought long and hard for local control over the fort’s redevelopment.  Sadly, we lost that battle. Now it is this governing body’s duty — and the duty of all members who follow us —- to make sure that we don’t lose the war.  We must remain vigilant and continue to demand that we have a voice in the redevelopment process, not just a seat at the table.  We cannot stand idly by as the bureaucrats and politicians try to fit square pegs into round holes in the name of “job creation”  The only thing worse than doing nothing about the redevelopment of the fort is doing something badly, and that’s where I am afraid we are heading.  And this isn’t just an Oceanport issue any more.  A bungled fort redevelopment will have a devastating financial and social impact on Monmouth Beach, Long Branch, Little Silver, Fair Haven, Rumson and Sea Bright, too.  The citizens of those towns should be just as concerned as we are that the fort gets redeveloped properly and organically.   If we expect to be heard, then we all have to involve ourselves in the process.

Bureaucrats and politicians have come to expect — and, indeed, thrive on — an apathetic electorate and they have no incentive to do the will of the taxpayer if they have no fear of the taxpayer’s wrath.  We, as a governing body, have a duty to educate the people who elected us about what is actually happening at the fort and involve them in the process as much as possible. Those who elected us, however, have to be willing to stand up and be counted by attending and, more importantly, PARTICIPATING in meetings of the Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Authority and the Oceanport Borough Council so that we can fight the good fight for our community.

In closing, we have a lot of work cut out for us.  We must continue our fight to protect the Oceanport that we all know and love.  All of us who live here and raise our families here know that we have a lot to lose, and we have only ourselves to blame if we let others dictate our destiny.  You’ve got a governing body that has proven that it is willing to fight for our right to control our own destiny.  None of us have any political aspirations beyond that of serving the people of Oceanport. Help us take the fight to the powers that be.  Stand up for yourselves.  Get vocal. Stay vocal. Get involved.  Stay involved. We need you. We need each other. Let’s work together for a better Oceanport in 2012

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Local stuff in the 12th District

Since this Blog is supposed to be about local Monmouth County politics I trolled the local Patch sites for something interesting involving local politics.  The best I could come up with is this article in the Eatontown/Tinton Falls Patch.  http://eatontown.patch.com/articles/board-of-ed-issues-a-call-to-action-to-tinton-falls-residents#comments.  Maybe tommorrow something good will pop in Marlboro.  Things are usually exciting there.

Anyway some interesting comments in this article. I see popular troll (and by that I mean smelly monster that lives under a bridge and eats goats Jim Sage jumped in.

So what do you pack of Hynaes masquerading as political pundits that Art calls an audience  think of this story?

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