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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 9:24:50 GMT -5
Before I begin, I would like to apologize for the lack of info that I will provide here. I always have a pen at council meetings and I use a copy of the agenda to take notes. Last night, by the time I got to the meeting, there were no more agendas left, so I could not take notes.
Last night's meeting was everything that a town council meeting should be. A great combination of good news and events, as well as residents speaking out and asking questions. There was a very nice crowd in attendance, which was great.
To clear up some questions people had about the police presence. ( I actually received phone calls asking if I knew what was going on).
The police department was there to honor a resident named Stacy, who's last name escapes me. This man committed a heroic act by helping the police apprehend a burglar. A woman resident had returned home to find a young male in her house. The burglar ran out with the victims belongings, including jewelry.
Well, Stacy was outside and heard the woman's cry for help. He tripped the burglar as he was fleeing. Of course that was not enough. When the burglar ran, Stacy followed him in his car until police caught up and took the burglar into custody.
The above account was told to us by Chief Roth. The Chief and about six officers stood up and gave Stacy a plaque and admiration for his bravery. Stacy received a very well deserved standing ovation from all in attendance.
If any reader recalls Stacy's last name, please provide it! I am terrible with names without taking notes. I am sure the papers will have a good write up about this incident.
Beyond that, awards were given out to participants in the Memorial Day Parade. There was a great deal of community pride in the room because of how successful the parade was this year. Again, I hope to see a write up in the papers about this, I am, again, lost without notes.
The general council business was light, so I will skip straight to the public comments, my favorite part.
Without breaking it down by individual, here is a list of some concerns that residents aired.
On the council agenda there was the issue of rehabilitating some areas. Joe Bellina mentioned areas from the court house to our down town as the next part of rehabilitating our town.
Some residents offered other suggestions. One person mentioned Throckmorton and the need to enhance this gateway in and out of our town. Another resident mentioned the need to put a play area/park in an area of town that is lacking. ( near the race track)
Issues of code enforcement came up which also led into mention of the restaurant. When the restaurant issue came up, 287g was also mentioned. Predictably, the council did not answer this or give any indication as to what the town will do.
When asked about the day laborer and related issues the council was vague.
To be fair, the town would be wrong to say too much about the restaurant issue. This does have to unfold and come out as events occur. They know they are being watched and they know it has to be done the right way. During council comments, a couple of council members did address this and state a desire to send a strong message with this incident.
As the admin of this site, I ask that all residents realize that some patience will be needed here. The illegal restaurant will need to be handled right.
All in all, the council was receptive to the concerns that residents have. I mention this so that more of you will get in there and talk to them. We will, of course, have to see what comes from all of the concerns and suggestions that the residents had.
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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 9:31:52 GMT -5
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Post by Marc LeVine on Jun 5, 2007 12:53:03 GMT -5
One person mentioned Throckmorton and the need to enhance this gateway in and out of our town.
That individual was former Councilman and one time Mayoral candidate, Carl N. Steinberg. Carl and I served together on the Council in the early 90's. It was he, Mike Toubin, John Rosseel and I, who briefly, formed the first GOP majority on the Freehold Borough Council in more than a decade. That was short lived, when Mike Toubin switched parties and became a Democrat the very next year.
Marc
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Post by Marc LeVine on Jun 5, 2007 12:56:41 GMT -5
Now that this (287g) was suggested, in public, by a resident, expect Mr. Baldwin to challenge the Mayor and Council on this at our next meeting. Guaranteed.
Marc
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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 13:20:55 GMT -5
Now that this (287g) was suggested, in public, by a resident, expect Mr. Baldwin to challenge the Mayor and Council on this at our next meeting. Guaranteed. Marc Too late, wasn't he the first member of the public to mention it? It is about time the rest of the residents caught up to him. Besides, he has been too quiet in recent meetings.  |
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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 13:28:36 GMT -5
Now that this (287g) was suggested, in public, by a resident, expect Mr. Baldwin to challenge the Mayor and Council on this at our next meeting. Guaranteed. Marc Too late, wasn't he the first member of the public to mention it? It is about time the rest of the residents caught up to him. Besides, he has been too quiet in recent meetings. and......didn't Mr. baldwin bring it up before the council has even considered the program? I knew I like that guy, he is ahead of the council too.  |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Jun 5, 2007 13:35:22 GMT -5
Now that this (287g) was suggested, in public, by a resident, expect Mr. Baldwin to challenge the Mayor and Council on this at our next meeting. Guaranteed. Marc Thanks Brian you puppet master you!!!!  |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Jun 5, 2007 13:36:29 GMT -5
Too late, wasn't he the first member of the public to mention it? It is about time the rest of the residents caught up to him. Besides, he has been too quiet in recent meetings. and......didn't Mr. baldwin bring it up before the council has even considered the program? I knew I like that guy, he is ahead of the council too. I hope he is OK, he had nothing to say last night, OMG |
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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 13:43:39 GMT -5
Now that this (287g) was suggested, in public, by a resident, expect Mr. Baldwin to challenge the Mayor and Council on this at our next meeting. Guaranteed. Marc Thanks Brian you puppet master you!!!! Allow me to be the pupper master again. Although I was quite happy to hear a resident speak up in favor of 287g, I will not comment on it any further. The main things I liked about the meetings are that we had a good solid attendance, there was a lot of community spirit, and residents did bring up a number of good issues that would be good for all the town. How's that? ;D |
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Post by Marc LeVine on Jun 5, 2007 14:16:31 GMT -5
That's probably because I thanked him for his kind words and told him that "what he wishes for me, should be bestowed on him." Someone called me this morning and was impressed by what I said. My point being - if he was REALLY sincere, last week, he has nothing to worry about from the guy upstairs....
Hey, the 5 year survival rate for Esophageal Cancer is documented at 15%. One of my Doctors already proclaimed that I am beating the early curve, after 2 years 4 months...so, obviously, the maker doesn't have a problem with the way I am going about things down here!
Marc
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adefonzo
Junior Member
If I can see further than some, it's because I have stood on the shoulders of giants
Posts: 308
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Post by adefonzo on Jun 5, 2007 16:14:31 GMT -5
Since I finally had the opportunity to attend a council meeting last night (usually they tend to fall on the same night as BOE meetings), I figured I would chime in under my new ID...so it's just me, private citizen Andrew DeFonzo speaking here...
First let me just echo the sentiments that have already been made about the Memorial Day parade and the amazing act of Mr Sonnerville. Those truly are the moments that make any type of meeting a pleasure to attend.
Next, I couldn't help but notice that Mayor Wilson was not in attendance. Was this something that is a regular situation at Council meetings, or was there a special circumstance last night? Honestly, in my eyes, it seemed a bit odd for the "cheif executive" of the town to not be there on a night when there were sure to be questions posed about the most recent incident with illegal restaurants being busted in homes occupied by illegal aliens. There may, however, have been a very good excuse for his absence though, so I do not in any way meen to pass judgement.
Getting into the "meaty" subjects, I too was not shocked to see the council gloss over Ted Miller's question regarding 287g. This is an idea that has been discussed publicly by a number of other people...has the council or the mayor ever discussed it? I have to rely on those who have been to more of these meetings than me to answer this question.
Next, the idea of applying for a grant of sorts to help fix up another area of town. There are certainly other areas of town that could use a facelift, and Throckmorton is definitely one of them. While I certainly appreciate the idea of trying to make areas of town more asthetically pleasing, there are other areas which need basic housekeeping done which I feel should take priority. One example, Bowne Ave...if nothing else, that street needs to be repaved. My own street, Birch Drive, I can't remember the last time that road (or any of the others in the area) was repaved and they are in sore need of it. So while I enjoy the areas of town that are looking better, there are still those that need some basic attention, and I think they need to be attended to first.
I have to discuss what I asked the council about last night. My question was whether or not the town is still receiving PILOT funds from the Rug Mill as per the original agreement that the town worked out approximately 10 years ago with the owner. I know that back then, the town council and the mayor approved of a program where the Rug Mill would make a payment in lieu of taxes to the town of approximately $120,000 annually (this figure comes off of the flier that the town issued back when it was approving the deal).
I won't get into the whole history of that deal here...and I think we all know there is a lot of history that could be argued until the cows come home...but the answer I got last night was that the town is in still receiving PILOT funds, but it is apparently based on a percentage of the rental income that the owner of the apartment complex takes in on a yearly basis. Kerry Higgins (I am guessing that was her sitting with Joe Bellina) said that they have to submit certified financial statements every year in order to determine the amount that is owed.
Based on all of that, I have a few more questions (which I will be contacting the town with in the next couple of days). First, what is the percentage that we are getting, and what does that translate into as far as actual dollars that the town is collecting? Second, does that percentage also include the retail businesses that are also on that property? Or do we collect taxes from those businesses just like any other business in town? Third, it is my understanding that none of the money that comes from the Rug Mill goes to the Freehold Boro School District...why is that? and further, can that be changed? As we all know...the schools are in dire financial straits, and they could use every penny they can scrounge up, and since those apartments do infuse a decent number of students into the schools, I don't see why some of the money that comes from the Rug Mill shouldn't go to the schools.
Finally, and I know this is going to dig up a historical battle that went on, but since I was not living in town at the time, I have to ask if there was ever any consideration of putting in retail or some other sort of commercial property there (i.e. office space) that would have certainly generated more tax dollars for the town rather than a low income housing complex with a special arrangement to provide PILOT money. Again, I was in college when that whole fight was taking place, so you'll have to excuse my ignorance.
Since I don't want to ramble on for too long here, I will simply say that I hope last night was just the first of many meetings that I will be able to attend (now that the school board has adopted a schedule that is different from our previous meeting schedule so as to not conflict with the town council meetings), and it was just the first question that I will be asking of the Council and Mayor. I am a firm believer of holding elected officials accountable for the goings on in the area that they govern. I don't believe in being disrepectful, but I believe in being honest and not holding anything back. I look forward to the next meeting.
Andrew DeFonzo
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Post by unwelcome guest on Jun 5, 2007 17:29:28 GMT -5
Second, does that percentage also include the retail businesses that are also on that property? Or do we collect taxes from those businesses just like any other business in town? Per the county board of taxation website the retail strip associated w/ the Rug Mill project has a yearly tax obligation of 48440.45. However, the property is currently in "tax lien foreclosure." |
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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 17:39:05 GMT -5
Second, does that percentage also include the retail businesses that are also on that property? Or do we collect taxes from those businesses just like any other business in town? Per the county board of taxation website the retail strip associated w/ the Rug Mill project has a yearly tax obligation of 48440.45. However, the property is currently in "tax lien foreclosure." You come out with some good info. Who the hell says you are unwelcome? |
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Post by admin on Jun 5, 2007 17:40:14 GMT -5
Andrew,
I apologize for omitting your comments about the PILOT program. Like I mentioned earlier, I am lost without my notes.
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Post by Freehold Resident on Jun 6, 2007 9:01:21 GMT -5
Who is the owner of the Rug Mill property and the strip mall?
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