Letter: An Autistic Man’s Perspective on the Moral/Ethical Drawbacks of the Trinity Hall School Project

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:


This essay is intended for those opposed to the Trinity Hall project. It is for those who can just feel “in their guts” that there is something ethically fishy about this whole thing, but who might have difficulty putting an articulate finger on it. Because I live on Sleepy Hollow road and would be drastically affected by the traffic nightmare that would be unleashed by Trinity Hall, I feel that this warrants me the right to comment on the overall issue of this impending fiasco. Since many others have already commented on the traffic and the blatant destruction of one of the few remaining gems of rural land in this area I will, instead, give my opinion on the moral and ethical foundations of the Trinity Hall project. If there is any one word that would sum up this` moral/ethical premise it would be “disingenuous.”

This disingenuousness has played out a number of times in the newspapers where, sometimes even in the same paper, there are articles about the terrible financial state of Catholic education found alongside puff pieces about Trinity Hall. One after another, Catholic schools ... REAL Catholic schools ... are closing because of inadequate funding. Parents and students are forced into do-or-die fund raising scenarios, practically becoming beggars to the general public. Because of Trinity Hall, the real Catholic Church, already trying hard to pay its bills, must now face the reality that a group of religious fakers could even make matters worse by siphoning off that much more money. The real Catholic Church is now sitting on acres of idyll school property, which could be pulled out of mothballs and made ready for true parochial education, for a fraction of the cost that would be required to deface one of the few remaining tracts of farmland in this whole area. The word that explains this paradox is the word “disingenuous”.

If those behind Trinity Hall were not disingenuous, they would come clean and just admit it that Trinity Hall does not really need the sanction of the real church because Trinity Hall is not intended for a real Catholic education. Trinity Hall is a country club finishing school for unsuspecting girls whose wealthy parents feel their daughters’ education must not be marred by the presents of kids of lower economic classes. Their educations must not be impeded by having to look at such ugly sights as highways and lower class neighborhoods, all of which they would be looking at if they accepted a school location provided by the real church. As well, a Trinity Hall girl’s education should not be impeded by the real Catholic Church’s pesky and obnoxious preoccupation with the poor and underprivileged. Of course, Trinity Hall will have to offer at least some scholarships to lower class girls, which means the campus will still have to tolerate the occasional Toyota wedged in between the Lexuses and Beemers.

So, how do disingenuous people latch on to the esteem of the Catholic Church? If you are a flim- flammer, you create a totally disingenuous marketing catch phrase such as... “in the Catholic tradition”. What “in the Catholic tradition” means is that it’s not really Catholic. It just looks Catholic for marketing purposes. If the Trinity Hall founders showed you a knock-off handbag that they got from Canal St., they would still expect you to swoon over it because, after all, it was made in the “Louis Vuitton tradition”.

Even though Bishop David O’Connell would not sanctioned Trinity Hall as a true Catholic institution, its origin certainly can be found in the Bible. It is the follow-up to the story of how Jesus purged the money changers from Herod’s temple. If you open the New Testament to John 2:13-16 you will see the following:

“And making a whip of cords, he [Jesus] drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade”.

It is important to note that both money changing and bird selling were legal practices, but they were considered disreputable. So, if you are a disreputable money-changer or bird seller and you want to deal inside the temple without having Jesus throw you out, what do you do? You do what the Trinity Hall people are trying to do right now. You build your own temple.

It is when fakers like these show themselves for what they are that the reality of their fakeness instills anger in those being manipulated. In the case of Trinity Hall it is the disparity between the lofty character and integrity building propaganda and the reality of their actual promotional technique. In the process of expediting its approval, the promoters of Trinity Hall have lied, manipulated, obfuscated, deceived, curried suspicious favor and otherwise produced a veritable cornucopia of soft-core fraudulence. The integrity of their technique now serves as the best testimony to their true character.

Trinity Hall, as I understand it, is mostly the creation of two families, whose mission is to create “designer education” for young girls, leaving no conscience obligation to consider anyone or anything. The Navesink/Chapel Hill area will be chronically gridlocked. Not their problem. The sewage system will be driven to over capacity. Not their problem. The environment will be permanently thrown out of kilter by this monstrosity. Not their problem. The quality of life in the entire area will be vastly diminished. Not their problem. Driving will increase on a road known to be deadly, thereby playing Russian roulette with the lives of citizens and students alike, but it’s not their problem.

By now the parents of Trinity Hall must be asking themselves, why is this particular piece of property so important? Why is this so important when, as cited by one of the school’s founders, there were twenty other locations (and all better suited) on which the school could be built? Why is this so important when the school’s construction could have been well under way by now, at one of these other locations? Why is this so important that it is being fervently and obsessively pursued in spite of a litany of dramatic drawbacks — dangerous and otherwise? As the founders have often replied, “we are committed to the address” and most importantly, “it was most convenient”.

The mothers and fathers of Trinity Hall need to have faith in their own daughters. They need to realize that in the end, their promising young women will flourish because of who they are, not because of where they are. This is something that has become horribly lost on the founders of Trinity Hall as their main goal now is to win a piece of property at all costs- even if that cost is the educational and spiritual well-being their own daughters. The school will be built by following a path of convenience and want, in lieu of walking in the footsteps of Christ.

If you want to know how a school should be established, you have to go no farther than the actions taken by Mater Dei High School. When they were notified that they were being closed due to lack of funds, within hours the students themselves organized the funding process to keep Mater Dei established. They then went to anyone who would listen ... friends, family, church officials, alumni and even total strangers to pitched their project. When whoever it was coined the expression “grass roots movement”, they could not possibly have been thinking of a situation better than this.

The Mater Dei students did everything from fundraisers, to “friend raisers”, to prayer meetings, and to anyone with half a chunk of faith, it looked as though God himself looked benevolently on their undertaking. Their success came from endless hours of hard work and the good will of legions of small people. Their combined efforts conveyed the unmistakable belief that the result was universally desired and their cause was undisputedly righteous.

Trinity Hall’s motto is probably what gives me the most reservations. On a large sign, fastened to the front of their current building, are the words... LEADERSHIP, RESPECT, PERSERVERENCE, FAITH. These are noble attributes to be sure, but we live every day with proof that there is no need whatsoever to destroy a neighborhood and the environment to get them. It is this proof that brings us right back to Mater Dei.

When Mater Dei students found that their school was going to be closed, it touched off a veritable explosion of leadership, respect, absolute perseverance and undisputable faith. I am sure that there is no sign on the front of Mater Dei that flaunts those words because none is needed. These words reverberate in the hearts and minds of every student at that school.

Trinity Hall’s motto simply highlights the impossible moral paradox it has created for itself: How do you build a school whose only real purpose is to flaunt how superior you are to everyone else, without losing the support that you must have from the same people who you just implied as inferior? You can’t. You can be as pushy and aggressive and sneaky and filthy rich as you want, and the peasants will still not support you. There is something else that you cannot do. Trinity Hall’s motto has the word “leadership” and the word “respect” and the word “perseverance” and the word “faith,” but the one word that is missing from this motto is the word “HONESTY”. You are not allowed to use this word. You do not deserve it.

Tony Sloan: peasant in revolt
Sleepy Hollow Rd., Middletown

Letter: Trinity Hall and the Township of Middletown

Dear Editor:

I have one simple question. What is the Township of Middletown's position on the proposed Trinity Hall development in Chapel Hill? When questioned on the issue in the past, the Township Committee told residents that the approval or denial of the proposed development’s application is solely the Township Planning Board’s decision.

On June 11, 2014, the Township Planning Board voted 6-3 to deny Trinity Hall's application. Shortly after the application was denied, Trinity Hall filed a law suit against Middletown Township seeking relief of the Planning Board’s decision. One would think that based on the previous statements made by the Township Committee, Middletown and the Township Attorney would vehemently defend the Township Planning Board’s decision. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. This past Friday upon the Superior Court of New Jersey’s ruling on Trinity Hall’s lawsuit, a letter that Middletown Township Attorney, Brian Nelson, wrote to the presiding judge was made public. Based on this letter it appears Mr. Nelson contradicts the position of the Township Planning Board’s decision to deny the Trinity Hall application and it appears that he and the Township Committee side with Trinity Hall by recommending that the Court grant the school’s request to reverse the Planning Board’s decision and approve the application without remand to the Planning Board.

Is it not the responsibility of the township’s governing body to protect the interests of its residents above all else? After reading Mr. Nelson’s letter, all Middletown residents should be asking themselves who is our Township Attorney really working for and what is the Township Committee’s position on the proposed Trinity Hall development in Chapel Hill?

Sincerely,

Jeffrey P. Yachmetz
Concerned Resident of Middletown

And So It Begins: Trinity Hall lawsuit seeks immediate action

Yesterday's article in the Asbury Park Press concerning a lawsuit filed by the all girls school Trinity Hall, against the Middletown Township Planning Board's June 11th decision to deny Trinity Hall's application to build a school over on Chapel Hill came as no surprise. It was expected by everyone.

Now however, it isn't just the local residents known as the Chapel Hill Neighboorhood Group, that have to foot the bill for rightfully  fighting Trinity Hall's application, it's all the taxpayer of Middletown.

Here is a snippet of what the APP has reported:

MIDDLETOWN – A lawsuit has been filed against the township Planning Board after it denied an application to build a campus on Chapel Hills Road.

Officials of Trinity Hall girls high school asked a judge for a prompt review of the suit because the lease on the school's current building expires in August 2015.

The suit asks a judge to overturn the board's decision and approve the plans for a multi-building campus, which the planning board rejected after a six-hour hearing on June 11.

A lease extension also would require approval from state Green Acres officials because the building is located in a park, said Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante, who added there is an option to renew the lease on the township-owned Croydon Hall school building for six additional months.

Board rejects school's proposal

Trinity Hall proposed a campus to ultimately house 500 girls and 60 staff on 37 acres on Chapel Hill Road, which previously was approved for 19 homes. It is the only all-girls high school in Monmouth and Ocean counties and is conducting classes in a rented school building in the Leonardo section of the township.

School officials didn't wait for the board's August vote to finalize the June 11 decision to reject the plans, announcing their intent to sue five days after the planning board meeting and vote.

The school filed the lawsuit in Monmouth County Superior Court on July 3....

Continue reading

An Open Letter to Trinity Hall Mothers

Trinity Hall Mothers:

Your pursuit of this school development in Middletown is an immoral one.

Every parent wants to give their children the best possible education and opportunities. But, knowingly putting other children at dramatically increased risk of death and injury for your children’s benefit is repugnant.

Trinity Hall will bring with it a significant increase in death and injuries to our community due to the increase in commercial traffic, which includes heavy commercial vehicles, buses, as well as a never before seen volume of teen-aged drivers.

This is a fact. If this project were to come to fruition, our children will be put in significantly increased risk of death and injury from bus and automobile accidents, both during and post construction.

Trinity Hall Mothers, how do you rationalize that what you are attempting has any moral underpinnings?

You know of the exponential increased risks to our children, and yet you continue to engage in biased and blind group-think, trying, but failing, to project that you are simply and innocently trying to improve your children’s station in life.

How can you look a Middletown mother in the face, and project the facade that what you are doing is just? If you told your children the truth, they would have the moral sense to tell you to stop pursuing this project.

Of course this is not just or moral.

You are strangers and interlopers with money. This is coupled with a myopic zeal to get what you want at all costs. These costs include the very fabric of our community, and the lives of our children.

There is still time. I have spoken to some of the Trinity Mothers privately and their private views are very different than those they express when under the heavy cloak of pressure in their larger group.

If you are a Trinity Mother, take some time reflect on the reality of what you are pursuing.

You will realize that you have not considered the human toll to our community for years to come.
You will realize that you can have what you want for your children, without sacrificing our children.

You have other properties to buy, which will satisfy your children’s educational needs.

To be pursuing this project in the name of being good mothers, knowing full well that our children will be paying a physical price, and our community will lose so much, is one of the greatest self-justifications I have ever encountered.


Sincerely,

Christopher R. Whalen
Concerned Parent and Chapel Hill Resident

NJ.Com: Middletown residents scrutinize controversial plans for all-girls school

This past Wednesday night there was a meeting of the Middletown Planning Board that I was unable to attend, I was interested in attending because the main focus of the meeting was the Trinity Hall application. The meeting was the first opportunity that The Chapel Hill Neighborhood Group (a group of residents who are opposing the construction of the all-girls school) had to cross examine the Trinity Hall experts on the application. I've spent the past two days looking for information on the meeting but hadn't seen anything on it until I stumble upon an article on NJ.com which I have reprinted a portion of below.

From what I can gather from reading the article, the meeting was an event to been seen. Middletown's courtroom was filled to capacity and overflowed out into the foyer with both  pro-Trinity supporters and members of the Chapel Hill Neighborhood Group. And to me after reading the article, it would seem that the people from Chapel Hill came out on top during this round after Trinity Hall's engineer got caught in a little white-lie about an environmental impact report that he authored for the prior developer of the property in question. He first denied being the author of the report then later admitted that he was after being questioned by Ron Gasiorowski, the lawyer representing residents of Chapel Hill. Gasiorowski also pointed out that Trinity's engineer was not an environmental expert who based his report on only things that he had read, not what he investigated.

It will be interesting to see what happens next when the Middletown Planning Board reconvenes in April. I think Trinity Hall's dream of building it's new school over on Chapel Hill Rd. took a hit Wednesday night, we'll have to see if they can recover from it. 

MIDDLETOWN - A standing room only crowd filled the township’s meeting room and lobby on Wednesday night for the continuation of the Planning Board hearing on the proposed construction of an all-girls secondary school.

Trinity Hall, a private all-girls high school that has been operating out of a temporary location on Leonardville Road since opening in September, is proposing to build a campus complete with three buildings, athletic fields, tennis courts and approximately 330 parking spaces on a 64-acre parcel off Chapel Hill Road.

The proposed campus would take up slightly less than 38 of those acres, therefore the applicant is requesting permission to subdivide the property. However, representatives for the applicant claimed Thursday night that there are no plans “at this time” to develop the remaining 26 acres.

Opponents of a proposal by Trinity Hall, a private all-girls high school, to build a campus off Chapel Hill Road in Middletown wore t-shirts calling for the application to be denied.

It was easy to tell who was for the development and who was against it at Thursday night’s meeting, as supporters donned the school color of orange and opponents wore pins displaying an image with Trinity Hall crossed out and/or off-white shirts with “Protect our SAFETY and our ENVIRONMENT” printed on one side and Trinity Hall crossed off on the other.

All of Thursday night’s nearly four-hour meeting was dedicated to the public cross examining the project’s engineer, Brian Decina, of French and Parrello Associates, on everything from traffic and environmental concerns to drainage and intensity of usage fears.

Most of the concerns voiced by opponents of the project Thursday night were of the perceived lack of knowledge, or concerns, the applicant's experts - and officials that have granted them conditional approval thus far - have of existing conditions on the property.

For example, Ron Gasiorowski, an attorney representing opponents of the project, read from township documents that emphasized the environmental and historical sensitivity of the property and McCreery’s Creek, which the document and residents alleged flows by the property.

However, Decina claimed that the state Department of Environmental Protection has determined on more than one occasion that a stream does not flow through the property.

“You can fish there!” someone in the crowd yelled out.

“How can you and the DEP say there isn’t a stream there? It’s there. Even Google knows its there,” another resident asked Decina.

Gasiorowski also took issue with an environmental impact report that Decina submitted for the project, which pulled a lot of information from a report Decina prepared for a previous applicant who was proposing to build 20 residential units on the 64-acre property.

At first Decina said he did not write the report and that he did not know who did. But then, only after Gasiorowski pointed out that he had signed the report as its author, he claimed that he was the author of the report.

“That’s incredulous testimony to me,” said Gasiorowski, who also took issue with Decina’s report because he was admittedly not an environmental expert but rather an engineer who made his determinations based on things he read....

Continue Reading

Letter: Resident Concerned Over What Impact Trinity Hall School Will Have On Chapel Hill Neighborhood

Dear Mike,

I am a concerned citizen who will be directly affected by the proposed development in my neighborhood of the Trinity Hall School.

I am concerned about the affect this will have on my taxes, on the traffic through my street, and the traffic on Chapel Hill Road, which I must travel every day in order to get my Autistic daughter to her special needs program at Navesink School.

If you have ever had the opportunity to see what the traffic is in the older, historic, established neighborhood surrounding Navesink School, as I have, you will surely get a taste of what the development of a full-blown high school will have on Chapel Hill Road. It’s not safe by any stretch on Monmouth Avenue when the parents, buses, and walkers are trying to access the school. You can see it on the faces of the exasperated crossing guards as they desperately try and stop traffic to allow people to cross safely. You can see it on the faces of the parents with their kids who have to cross the school’s driveway in front of cars with drivers who seem oblivious to everything but quickly exiting and getting out of there.

The neighbors in the houses down the side streets have actually put large rocks on their lawns to keep parents from parking there to do drop off and pick up. Doesn’t work. They park there anyway. The traffic moves very fast, and drivers rarely slow down in the vicinity of the school.

I am sure that everyone who lives steps from that school are more than grateful when pick up and drop off are over for the day. Until the next day, when it happens all over again.

Another issue with this proposed development is we don’t even have city sewer lines run in parts of that neighborhood. In order to run the massive lines for the school, Chapel Hill Road will have to be torn open and lines installed. What will that do to the almost capacity pumping station on Sleepy Hollow, which will also be taxed by the building that will very soon commence on the Town Center site.

There is also a planned access road that will be squeezed in between two existing homes on Stavola Road. The construction of it alone will turn this once-quiet neighborhood into a construction vehicle circus. And will it truly be used for only “emergency vehicles” as Trinity claims? Or could it eventually become a cut-through for parents, students, delivery trucks, and garbage haulers? Do we really want to find out?

And how about the adjoining farmland, that belongs to the relative of the person where Trinity is now proposed. It is no secret that Trinity would like to grow to become a boarding school. What’s to stop them from acquiring that farmland and building dorms?

If this were a country, or a culture, where girls were denied a good education, then I could see a need for a single-sex school, but this not true. Our daughters do not risk their lives every day to attend class. I don’t know of one of these girls who has to worry about getting shot on their school bus for speaking out for the rights of the girls of their community to get educated.

Recently, my neighborhood received the Trinity group’s mass mailing propaganda. What I like best about the 'love us, love our school' packet is the cover letter. Paragraph three mentions their "intention" to leave over half the property undeveloped. Well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Then, there's, "We have offered a widening of the Chapel Hill roadway, a turning lane, and perhaps, most importantly, enough roadways, parking, and holding zones on the site to adequately accommodate the busiest anticipated traffic periods each weekday morning and afternoon." Followed by, "We hope that we have your support now...(or will) decrease your concerns to some degree...."

How can you “decrease concerns” about plans to completely decimate our neighborhood, our land, our country road, our sanity, and the serene peace and quiet that have been our lives for many years, never mind infiltrating our lives for months as this goes on, and for years to come?

By contrast, the 19 houses, which the land owner already has permission to build, and which that land is also zoned for, would each require a few feet of driveway, and a single two-way street. There was no need for a traffic or feasibility study, no need to change the complexion of the neighborhood, or add a turning lane or widen Chapel Hill Road. Further, the proposal did not receive opposition from the surrounding neighbors; in fact, he could have broken ground and started to build years ago.

We are by far one of the most affluent of towns, with a better quality public education system, and a higher calibre of teacher than most of the surrounding townships. And didn’t we all just pass a referendum to repair our public schools?

We are sorely lacking in nothing here, except the diminishing, precious open spaces that made Middletown the beautiful place that is was when we moved here and started families. We are all getting older as well. Has anyone consider the impact of at least 200 additional driving teens and what that will do to the locals just trying to get out of their driveways?

In closing, we don’t want this school, and do not plan to send our children to this school.

Perhaps the founders, to be the good neighbors they claim to want to be, can work with the local, established, truly Catholic schools to meet the needs of their students. These same schools have seen a decrease in their enrollments as have all the public schools, Our latest census figures for our town show we have had zero population growth.. Perhaps they can revisit any of their 30 initial search locations again.

And for all they speak of empowering women, their Head Board Chair is a man.

Go figure.

Margie R.
Member of the Chapel Hill Neighborhood Group

No Vacancy For Trinity Hall! Proposed Development Not A Fit For Historic Chapel Hill Neighborhood

The following blog post was submitted by Jennifer Valencia, a resident of Middletown's Chapel Hill area. Jennifer is a member of the Chapel Hill Neighborhood Group opposed to the choice of the Trinity Hall girls academy, to build its new school in their neighborhood, along Chapel Hill Road.  

--------

On March 19, 2014, the Middletown Township Planning Board will hold a third hearing concerning the application of Trinity Hall, LLC to subdivide a 67 acre tract of land on Chapel Hill Road and construct a high school campus on the lower 37 acres.

Not surprisingly there are two factions: the ones who think this is a bad idea, and the ones who think it is a good idea (namely the Applicant).

The folks who think this is a good idea have offered the following “facts” in support of that view (please note that the quotes below are just for emphasis). Those of us who think this is a bad idea are going to offer what we know as the actualities in response to those facts.

CLAIM: “If we don’t build a school there, 300 townhouses, some designated for low-income housing, will be built instead.”

TRUTH: In a word, no. Phone calls to the Planning Board to inquire as to the legitimacy of this statement were met with incredulity. One member told us that it was as likely the tract would be made “into a second Disneyland.”

CLAIM: “The plan was for a rock quarry first, before we came in and rescued the land with plans for a school.”

TRUTH: Of course, we diligently researched the issue and no, you cannot mine in a residential neighborhood.

CLAIM: “Our school is offering an education in the Catholic tradition.”

TRUTH: Possibly. But at this time, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., of the Trenton Archdiocese, refuses to support Trinity Hall. He writes, “The school’s founders are using the expression, ‘in the Catholic tradition’ to describe Trinity Hall. That is not the same thing as being a ‘Catholic School’ and I simply want to make clear that this new institution is not affiliated with the Diocese of Trenton or our Office of Catholic Education.”

Yes, you heard right. This is not a Catholic school. It is also not an accredited school. It also has NO TRACK RECORD. What does this mean for the girls who attend the school? Their chances of graduating and being accepted to an upper echelon school is, at this time, an unknown commodity.

CLAIM: “Trinity Hall will preserve most of the open space and will also not develop approximately 30 acres leaving it undisturbed.”

TRUTH: Trinity supporters are claiming that the Applicant will preserve the large tract of land fronting Kings Highway. They circulated this claim wide and far. However, when residents asked them directly, at the first planning hearing, what they planned to do with this tract of land, THEY REFUSED TO ANSWER!

CLAIM: “75% of our student base will be bused in.”

TRUTH: This claim is extremely hard to believe. Half of Trinity’s projected 500 students will be of driving age. These are affluent students, whose parents will be paying more than $16,000 in tuition. You better believe they will have cars. Moreover, every student who is bused in must receive a stipend from the Township to the tune of $884.00 tax dollars a student. And that is this year’s going rate. By the time the school is built and these girls come a rollin’ in, you can bet that will go up. Do the math. 75% of 500 times $884 bucks….yeah, blows my mind too.

CLAIM:“We plan to build an access road from Stavola Road to the back edge of the school. This road will be a limited-use road, and will only be used by emergency vehicles. “

TRUTH: This access road will be squeezed in between two existing homes on Stavola Road. The construction of it alone with turn this once-quiet neighborhood into a construction vehicle circus. And will it truly be used for only “emergency vehicles” ? Or could it eventually become a cut-through for parents and students? Or, worst-case, for all the delivery trucks that might easily exceed the 4-ton limit on Chapel Hill Road and need an alternative route to access the school? Do we really want to find out?

CLAIM: “At the spot where we want to put the entrance to our school, Chapel Hill Road is only 19 feet wide.”

TRUTH: Yes, that is true. And why? Because no one ever intended a school to be built there. The road is narrow, winding…with hairpin turns and blind spots. It was the scene of 15 accidents in just 2012 alone.

So we must ask ourselves? Why is Trinity (the good neighbor that it claims to be) participating in such scare tactics and fear-mongering by spreading ridiculously false information? Answer: Because they are avoiding the truth. The truth is that the residents in the immediate Chapel Hill area, you know, the ones with all the “STOP TRINITY HALL DEVELOPMENT” signs on their lawns, the ones who attended the community meeting, do not want this school.

They vote, they pay taxes and they deserve to be safe in the neighborhood that we all love!

Middletown Director of Parks & Recreation Placed on Administrative Leave By Township

Early last week I received an email from someone that wanted to know if I had heard or knew anything about Middletown's Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs, Gregg Silva, being investigated by the Township of Middletown for some wrong doing and as a result of the investigation has been placed on indefinite administrative leave(fired?) by his bosses at Town Hall.

This person also informed me that as a result of Silva being placed on indefinite leave, rumors were running rampant that Middletown's former mayor/deputy mayor, the soon to be departing Township Committeewoman Pamela Brightbill, be will replacing Silva as the new Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs.

I responded by saying I hadn't heard anything about Silva's current troubles or the rumor about Brightbill, but I would make a few inquiries and get to the bottom of it as best I could. So I sent out a few emails and made a couple of phone calls to some people that I know to see if they had heard anything themselves.

It didn't take long to get a response.

From what I have gathered, it seems that Gregg Silva is most definitely on administrative leave and has been for over two weeks. The leave has been technically without pay (he is being allowed to use accumulated sick time) while he is under investigation by the Township.

What did he do wrong that has caused the Township to place him on leave? If you know anything about Gregg Silva, it could be just about anything, he has a long history of engaging in questionable practices. But what seems to have been the last straw was the building of a private memorial, on Township property, on the grounds of Croydon Hall in Leonardo.

A few months back a Township teenager, who grew up in the Leonardo section of Middletown, passed away as a result of a car accident while traveling down Chapel Hill Rd. The teenager, Daniel Piano, by all accounts was a great kid who had a lot of friends and a very loving family.

As a result of his passing, his friends built a makeshift memorial at the site of the accident but it wasn't a place that Daniel's mother wanted to go or thought that others should go to either because of the nature of the road, Chapel Hill Road is very busy and is dangerous for people to stand on the side of. So she had the idea to ask the "Township" for permission to build a memorial for Daniel on the grounds of Croydon Hall, seeing how it was a place that her son spent many happy hours of his life playing and hanging out there.

After receiving permission from Gregg Silva to build the memorial, Mrs. Piano went about the business of arranging for the construction of Daniel's memorial, the building of which was covered by private donations and volunteer labor.

You can read all about it in an article that was posted online at the Two Rivers Times.

So then, why would Gregg Silva be placed on indefinite leave of absence with his job in jeopardy if he received permission from the Township, to allow the construction of the Daniel Piano Memorial on the grounds of Croydon Hall? Well, evidently he never asked his superiors if it was alright for the memorial to be built. He took it upon himself to OK it without the consultation of others and that is where the trouble now lays.

If Gregg Silva would have first spoken to Township Administrator Tony Mercantante first, I am sure that the memorial would not have been allowed to be built. But now that it has been built the Township has to deal with any potential repercussions that might be a result of the memorial being built, namely others that may want to build similar memorials to loved ones that have passed.

As unlikely as that may seem, by giving the go ahead to the Piano family to built the memorial, Gregg Silva inadvertently set a precedent within Middletown that would allow for these types of memorials to be built in other parks throughout the Township. If the Township denies other the right to privately construct such memorials it could lead to lawsuits that would be costly to Middletown taxpayers.

As for the Brightbill taking over for Silva rumor, at this time from what I have been able to gather, it is still just a rumor but could have legs for a variety of reason, which I will save for another post.

In an effort at full disclosure on my part, everything that I have written here I have heard from others. I just want it to be known that I sent Township Administrator Tony Mercantante an email last week seeking comment but I haven't heard back from him as of yet. From what I understand, I was not the first to try and contact him last week on this subject. Two real, non-blogging journalist (I don't consider myself a journalist) have either spoken to Tony directly ( I was told the conversation was short, curt and ended with Mercantante stating that Silva was under investigation and the investigation was being handled in-house) or sent him, like myself, and email. If I hear back from Mr. Mercantante later on this subject, I'll post an update.