There was another meeting of the Middletown Township Committee this week. If you weren't there, take a few minutes and watch the video below. The videos are always entertaining and you just might learn a thing or two about your local government.
The Township Committee presented Gerry Scharfenberger with accolades and awards for his years of service.
Proclamations were read into the record declaring April National Alcohol Awareness and Autism Awareness month.
The annual shared service agreement to share health services was presented.
A contract was awarded to hire a company to staff recreation programs.
Protective fire clothing was authorized to be purchased.
An online auction was approved to sell 10,000 cu, yds of leaf compost
Approval was granted to allocate funds to pay for bills and a performance bond was released to Atlantic Pier Company.
As always you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.
I'll be honest, I haven't really watched this video from the January 16th meeting of the Middletown Board of Education. at a little over 4 hours, I just wasn't able to get through it. I thought it important to post however since there was another meeting of the BOE last night and people should get caught up on what's happening before the next video is posted.
For the Agenda and its various attachments you can click .... HERE
Margie Donlon is a doctor and an environmentalist and Brian Wilton is a prosecutor and a small town mayor. They're running together for Monmouth County Freeholder.
The June 19th meeting of the Middletown Township Committee was rather uneventful and lasted for just 34 minutes. Below are the highlights (if you want to call them that):
Firefighter Austen B. McKnight Jr. was recognized for his 50 years of service to the Middletown Fire Department.
A proclamation was presented to recognize National Youth Week from June 18-24.
An ordinance was introduced to vacate a portion of Old Turnpike, which is behind the old Hess station on Rt. 35.
Another ordinance was introduced to amend planning and development regulations.
Resolutions were adopted to add some grant funds to the budget, to reject bids to upgrade the HVAC systems at the MAC, designate the property at Town Hall as a redevelopment zone and renew various liquor licenses in town.
As always, when available, you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.
At the last Middletown Township Committee meeting on August 17th, the following four ordinances were approved:
1). Raise fees at the township day care program.
2). Amend the salary ordinance for non-contractual employees
3). Ban parking for privately "for sale" vehicles in commuter parking lots.
4). Establishing an EMS department to oversee the administration of the township volunteer first aid companies.
The county presented a plan to construct a roundabout in the intersection at the Stone Church in Navesink.
Public Comments start at 1:18 mark.
During comments, a resident complained that his property taxes were raised over $2000 from last year, a group of residents from the Harmony Glenn property came to present concerns they have about the building contractor. And the Administrator said that finalplans for the new municipal center should be done by mid-September. No date has been set for the beginning of construction.
As always, you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.
Here is another video that just recently became available and I haven't had the time to view in it's entirety . This video is from the April 16th meeting of the Middletown Library Board of Trustees meeting. Why not take a look and share with us what you find.
For those that may be interested here is the latest video available from the meeting of the Middletown Sewerage Authority (TOMSA). I haven't had time to watch but I intend to over the next few day.
Here are a couple of videos that I had meant to post earlier in the month but due to the holidays I missed posting hem in a timely manner. Both videos are rather long and I haven't had time to review them completely. The Planning Board meeting however did receive a write-up on Middletown Patch. It was at this meeting that the Planning Board was to give final approval for or against the Taylor Lane housing development. I believe that approval of the site plan for Taylor Lane was turned down and the developer is appealing.
The Library Board of Trustees Meeting was held this same night as the Planning Board meeting. Some questions were asked about the new library budget and lively discussion was held about the purchase, rental and subsequent loss of various DVD's and audio CD's. The discussion turned somewhat petty and really was more about how the library spends its funds at year end rather than how the DVD's and CD's are borrowed. Here is a copy of the meeting agenda.
A Town Hall on Economic Development was held Monday night at the Middletown Arts Center. One year after being organized, the Middletown Economic Development Committee opened their doors to the public to seek input from the business community. It was sparsely attended, about 30 people were in attendance. A few in attendance were business owners in town. Many of the other attendees came to express concerns on how to make the areas they live in better.
A presentation was given by Township Administrator Tony Mercantante showing various lots around town that could be better utilized to attract businesses to Middletown but the Town Hall, while geared towards the theme of economic development, seemed to be more of a campaign event designed to highlight Gerry Sharfenberger's business savvy. Many of the attendees who came out for this event however, came to express concerns on how to make the areas they live in better and what more could be done to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The best that Township officials could do though was to explained that they were not in the real estate business and could not force property owners to develop land they owned. They did say though, they could help in keeping properties maintained and safe through code enforcement.and added that they could use the help of the residents to report unsightly properties to the township code enforcement officers so that those properties could be maintained.
Watch the video, it's interesting to say the least.
In a video released Friday, Democrats launched the latest salvo in the finger-pointing game over which party is to blame for the $85 billion in automatic cuts, which launched March 1. As the video repeatedly points out, House Speaker John Boehner got,"I got 98 percent of what I wanted, I'm pretty happy."
As promised here is the video of Wednesday night's Middletown Library Board of Trustees meeting
And here is a rundown of what was discussed during the meeting and how the Library Board of Trustees voted on closing the satellite branches of the library submitted to me by someone who was in attendance Wednesday night:
The Bayshore branch will no longer operate as a library but will still have computers and copiers to accommodate residents who are still struggling after Sandy. Middletown Township owns the building and will likely move offices there. Some materials will be brought back to the main branch and the remaining materials then offered to the elementary schools nearby.
The Navesink Branch will remain open on a limited basis under the control of the Duryea-Navesink Library Association---it seems they will operate like a reading room with volunteer staff, and the materials will remain at the branch until the Duryea-Navesink Library Association asks the Library Board to remove them. Other details were not discussed. The Association are determined to reach their 100th Anniversary celebration.
The Lincroft branch will close and the property returned to the Board of Education. Maintenance issues and upgrades were cited as the reason for closure by the Board.
The concessions given to the Lincroft and Navesink communities by the Library Board are:
1. The Navesink collection will remain mostly intact, but the computers will be removed. After moving some materials to the main branch, they would allow the Lincroft Elementary teaching staff to pick out materials from the Lincroft Library and offer some items to Luftman Towers and senior centers.
2. A 4th and 5th grade library training program will be initiated through the schools, either at the library or via internet
3. The preschoolers will have Story time for 6-8 more weeks at the branch if the library can find a volunteer among their staff to provide this service.
4. The book drop will remain open until May 1.
The votes to adopt the budget which included the branch closures were 5-2 as follows:
Siebert - YES
Nelsen - YES
Vitkansas - YES
Siwiec - YES
Monaghan - NO
Wilson - NO
Breen - YES (She said her heart wanted to vote No, and she asked if she could abstain, and she eventually voted YES)
Cordiano, Mayor's appointee - ABSENT (He knew at the January 16th Library Board meeting that he would not be in attendance tonight, and on that night I asked him to request that Dr. Scharfenberger attend this meeting.)
Convery - RESIGNED; Resignation letter submitted a week after the January 16th Library Board meeting (announced tonight, not prior to the meeting).
Mr. Monaghan showed tremendous courage before the vote by asking what savings could be derived from cutting back hours at the main branch, perhaps by closing Sundays (as in the summer). He asked why the Library Board was elevating the importance of operating hours at the main branch over keeping the satellite branches open. He insisted that there must be other options presented, like a package of cuts to consider besides just closing the branches. He asked for a recess of 5 minutes so that the Library Director Susan O'Neal could find any data defining the cost to operate on Sundays. It turned out that it costs the library $91,000 to remain open on Sundays (41 days total)....not enough by itself to keep the branches open. There was also some discussion on whether the labor contracts may or may not impact that cost.
Last week the Middletown Library Board of Trustee met for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the year. After going through the normal routine of reorganizing the board - which seemed to take longer than necessary due to the relative inexperience of the current make up of the board - a number of members of the public voiced their objections to the Board concerning the previously announced planned closure of Bayshore, Lincroft and Navesink branches the Middletown Library.
I couldn't attend this meeting myself and have only been able to watch about half of the video below thus far. But thanks to the many articles popping up in the media about the potential closing of these branches and a concerned library patron and MiddletownMike reader named Tara, I've been able to keep abreast of what transpired during the meeting and what has happened since.
Tara was kind enough to share with me her notes from the meeting - which I've posted here - so that when you watch the accompanying video, you'll be able to identify areas of concern:
Many residents made impassioned appeals to keep the libraries open. The young lady whose petition you posted on your blog spoke and mentioned studies where property values of homes within 1/4 mile of a library are higher than those further away. Of course, she also spoke about the many wonderful things the library offers.
A woman, Bernadette Masi, made an appeal for the Bayshore Library. She mentioned how Sandy had water surrounding the library but that it survived. She said, "God spared it from Sandy and now this board might take it away". She also talked about how so many residents of that area are using the computers there to fill out FEMA and insurance claims. Also mentioned was how the Bayshore area schools require homework to be submitted electronically and how many children in that area do not have computers. I was surprised, as were many others, when Vivian Breen commented a little later that nobody was making an appeal on behalf of the Bayshore Branch. She made a mistake saying that! That did not go over very well.
So much to write about but I have to rush! A new member of the board looked at the budget and asked how could the health insurance for 30 full time workers be $800,000 when the annual salaries for the entire staff is $1,600,000!? The new member was told if he had been at the meeting when the CFO explained it he would have known. When a resident asked the board during the public part of the meeting that, since they were at the meeting with the CFO, why don't THEY EXPLAIN IT. New board president, Brock Seibert, then acted in a rude manner to that man. But the man said he had every right to express himself for 5 minutes without being interrupted. Seibert told the new board member to speak to the CFO and/or the town administrator in the morning. A women from Lincroft said, "Let's ask the administrator now! He is sitting in the back row!" Seibert seemed very annoyed and basically ignored the request.
Many people offered to volunteer. Susan O'Neil said the workers union does not want volunteers to take away a job from a paid employee. Michael Vitkansas protested that, saying if people want to volunteer to save money to keep a library open that should be encouraged!
Some people said fundraising. Some people said fundraising does not work. I think those people just don't know how to throw a good party!
Michael Winchell of Duryea Navesink Libray Association spoke and mentioned reduced hours, which I also suggested to the board. He also said he was informed 20 days ago and told to keep it quiet.
Another woman spoke about the claims filed by the library staff. She said she the claims of the employees cost $500 but the township charged the library system $100,000 for the claims!
Vivian Breen said to the residents 'that you should have been taking to the township committee'. Someone said, we would have if we knew what was happening, if the library board did not first post this on Jan 11th, when residents have library cards with contact information. Notices could have been mailed to everyone with a library card.
Steve Monaghan and Michael Convery, along with the board's attorney, seemed the most willing to let the community come up with solutions. So the board voted to delay voting on the budget until Feb 20th. The residents came up with three representatives. One will represent each branch. Each will work among their local fellow residents to get a plan, then each representative will meet with the board to show a planned solution for each library.
Susan O'Neil said she could work to do that but I will mention that she did say that she was surprised how nobody mentioned what a beautiful library the main branch is and how she feels that the main library could become the hub of the community. Sure! Children and seniors will walk from their homes, along Route 35, to get to the hub of the community. How long would it take someone from Navesink, Locust, Lincroft or Bayshore to walk to 'the hub of the community'?
There was objection among the newly appointed Board members, enough that the Board decided to hold off on the closings until other methods of funding could be sourced. The Board selected volunteers from each area of town that has a branch to work with the Director and the Finance Committee on alternate funding, in addition to the portion of property taxes already designated for Library funding.
Here is acopy of the meeting agenda which includes the minutes from the December 18,2012 meeting of the library board.
If like me, you went to bed last night to exhausted to stay awake, after a very long day. You more than likely missed President Obama's reelection victory speech last night from Chicago.
Two minutes into the video the Board opened the floor to public comments, it was then that former Board President, Randall Gabriellan, addressed the Board and wondered why they were not doing their due diligence in supporting the Library in which they oversee.
Linda Baum followed Mr. Gabrielan, she pointed out that the increases and chargebacks that the Township of Middletown was requesting the Library reimburse the township for were inaccurate and they should be questioned and reviewed by the Library Board before taking them at face value.
The Board later approved the transfer of funds requested by Township without questioning how the new figures were derived.
Here is the latest video of the Middletown Township Committee at work. It is of the July 2nd, 2012 workshop meeting. The meeting lasted all of 35 minutes so it should be easy viewing.
At the workshop meeting a resolution was passed to amend the unadopted budget for the current year and another resolution was adopted to begin the bidding process on the dredging of Shadow Lake.
Resident Leo Christofolli asked during the public comment portion of the meeting if approval was given to dispose of the dredge material at the designated location in Sayreville. Mayor Tony Fiore and the Township Attorney said that the permits to dredge the lake were issued and they are going to proceed even though no permanent location for the dredged materials has been approved. Mr. Fiore stated it will remain on Stevenson Park until the DEP decides where it will be located..
And as always, you can download a copy of the meeting agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.
Here is a video recording of the Township of Middletown Sewerage Authority(TOMSA) meeting that was held on June 14, 2012. The meeting lasted 45 minutes and a number of items were quickly covered.
Due to issues with my internet connect the past couple of days, I haven't watched the whole video but I've seen enough to get an idea of what was discussed; A few items about infrastructure upgrades, the new ice hockey rink being built at the Swim Club and some cost issues.
It would be nice if TOMSA published a meeting agenda online like the Township Committee does so it would be easier to follow along or know what is being discussed unfortunately though, they don't.
Nevertheless, this meeting video is still interesting and worthwhile to watch, it lets you see how some of your tax dollars are being spent.
This video is of the June 4th,2012 Middletown Township Workshop Meeting.
Opening the meeting was a discussion that pertained to a new ordinance that would outline rules for the installation of home generators and how far they need to be recessed from homes. The meeting then moved quickly to the discussion items on the agenda which included:
Fireworks for Navesink Country Club & Riverview Medical Foundation
Estimated Tax Bills and the budget
Township Capital Improvements and how those improvements will effect the budget
Referral to the Planning Board for Swim Club Project
Be sure to watch the Public Comments portion of the meeting which starts at the 30 minute mark of the video, as always they are enlightening and shows what is on the minds of residents who have taken the time to attend the meeting.
As a companion to the video, you can download a copy of themeeting agenda that contains the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.
