March 1st 2010 Council meeting

[BrianSullivan]

www.scribd.com/doc/27669562/Regular-Meeting-3-1-10

Here is the link to tonight's agenda. I may not be there so if anybody does go and has interesting news to report, it would be welcome.

[richardkelsey]

Mar 1, 2010 17:09:43 GMT -5 BrianSullivan said:

www.scribd.com/doc/27669562/Regular-Meeting-3-1-10

Here is the link to tonight's agenda. I may not be there so if anybody does go and has interesting news to report, it would be welcome.

It's nice to see the return of Barbara McMorrow as an appointee. She is one of my favorite people. She's an excellent resource for the Mayor to tap. (One of the numerous non-Gop people I have been proud to support over the years.)

[Mike Rosseel]

Very Nice meeting tonight, everything went very smooth. Newmans, volunteer form went through, taxis licenses approved, pretty much a streamline meeting. The interesting part of the meeting came with the Public comment section.

1. Al, spoke of the race car club and its progress, some information about Census jobs.
2. I do not know this womens name but she spoke of the christmas light problem people were having, she didnt think it was right. Kerry Higgins actually spoke of laws from the state on safety issues and how these products were not made to be out in the weather for more then 3 months. She also wanted an update on work to be performed infront of her home which was already done.
3. Mr Baldwin spoke of his thoughts on town, gave praise to the chief and the police department, town workers, etc. Spoke directly to john newman, told him he was not a supporter and would be watching him, it was a nice moment for all to chuckle!

I watched this meeting closely and was impressed by one council member and confused by another.

Impressed by Councilmen Schnurr. He had so many ideas of saving the town money, programs that could help the citizens of town. Newman gave George credit for the live where you work tax break which newman mentioned at a previous meeting. Different groups from council he is members of to make Freehold better, to me, George Schnurr gets what it is to be a councilmen and is doing a GREAT job.

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

[richardkelsey]

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Very Nice meeting tonight, everything went very smooth. Newmans, volunteer form went through, taxis licenses approved, pretty much a streamline meeting. The interesting part of the meeting came with the Public comment section.

1. Al, spoke of the race car club and its progress, some information about Census jobs.
2. I do not know this womens name but she spoke of the christmas light problem people were having, she didnt think it was right. Kerry Higgins actually spoke of laws from the state on safety issues and how these products were not made to be out in the weather for more then 3 months. She also wanted an update on work to be performed infront of her home which was already done.
3. Mr Baldwin spoke of his thoughts on town, gave praise to the chief and the police department, town workers, etc. Spoke directly to john newman, told him he was not a supporter and would be watching him, it was a nice moment for all to chuckle!

I watched this meeting closely and was impressed by one council member and confused by another.

Impressed by Councilmen Schnurr. He had so many ideas of saving the town money, programs that could help the citizens of town. Newman gave George credit for the live where you work tax break which newman mentioned at a previous meeting. Different groups from council he is members of to make Freehold better, to me, George Schnurr gets what it is to be a councilmen and is doing a GREAT job.

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

So you don't bike?

This makes him in over his head? Ironically, making communities walkable and encouraging bike riding is seen as a democrat initiative. I think it's nice Mr. Newman has a project in which he believes.

BTW -- I think, in terms of education, he is the most qualified on the Council. Only time will tell if he is in over his head.

Glad to hear Mr. Schnurr is doing a good job. He's a smart fellow.

New blood is always good.

I think he

[Mike Rosseel]

Mar 2, 2010 8:54:36 GMT -5 richardkelsey said:

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Very Nice meeting tonight, everything went very smooth. Newmans, volunteer form went through, taxis licenses approved, pretty much a streamline meeting. The interesting part of the meeting came with the Public comment section.

1. Al, spoke of the race car club and its progress, some information about Census jobs.
2. I do not know this womens name but she spoke of the christmas light problem people were having, she didnt think it was right. Kerry Higgins actually spoke of laws from the state on safety issues and how these products were not made to be out in the weather for more then 3 months. She also wanted an update on work to be performed infront of her home which was already done.
3. Mr Baldwin spoke of his thoughts on town, gave praise to the chief and the police department, town workers, etc. Spoke directly to john newman, told him he was not a supporter and would be watching him, it was a nice moment for all to chuckle!

I watched this meeting closely and was impressed by one council member and confused by another.

Impressed by Councilmen Schnurr. He had so many ideas of saving the town money, programs that could help the citizens of town. Newman gave George credit for the live where you work tax break which newman mentioned at a previous meeting. Different groups from council he is members of to make Freehold better, to me, George Schnurr gets what it is to be a councilmen and is doing a GREAT job.

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

So you don't bike?

This makes him in over his head? Ironically, making communities walkable and encouraging bike riding is seen as a democrat initiative. I think it's nice Mr. Newman has a project in which he believes.

BTW -- I think, in terms of education, he is the most qualified on the Council. Only time will tell if he is in over his head.

Glad to hear Mr. Schnurr is doing a good job. He's a smart fellow.

New blood is always good.

I think he

Rich,

You know what I like about you the most is your ability to allow people to have an opinion without forcing yours down there throat.

It wasnt an attack on Newman, if you would take the time to re-read it, I said nice things about him as well. I just dont think bikes and the rights of bikers is enough to say he is doing well. I hope he turns around and is the best of all time. Education, Rich, truly has nothing to do with being a good or bad member of a local goverment. having a feel for what the town needs and what are the residents concerns is alittle more important then a degree hanging on your wall. I would find it hard to believe that bikes would have been enough of a platform for him to run on and get elected in town. Maybe, im wrong...

You certainly give your opinion alot rich and i am just following your great lead!

[Mike Rosseel]

FYI rich, no one is making this dem vs GOP but you, my opinion is simply that an opinion, which you all scream at your lungs that you want here!

[richardkelsey]

Mar 2, 2010 11:08:39 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Mar 2, 2010 8:54:36 GMT -5 richardkelsey said:

So you don't bike?

This makes him in over his head? Ironically, making communities walkable and encouraging bike riding is seen as a democrat initiative. I think it's nice Mr. Newman has a project in which he believes.

BTW -- I think, in terms of education, he is the most qualified on the Council. Only time will tell if he is in over his head.

Glad to hear Mr. Schnurr is doing a good job. He's a smart fellow.

New blood is always good.

I think he

Rich,

You know what I like about you the most is your ability to allow people to have an opinion without forcing yours down there throat.

It wasnt an attack on Newman, if you would take the time to re-read it, I said nice things about him as well. I just dont think bikes and the rights of bikers is enough to say he is doing well. I hope he turns around and is the best of all time. Education, Rich, truly has nothing to do with being a good or bad member of a local goverment. having a feel for what the town needs and what are the residents concerns is alittle more important then a degree hanging on your wall. I would find it hard to believe that bikes would have been enough of a platform for him to run on and get elected in town. Maybe, im wrong...

You certainly give your opinion alot rich and i am just following your great lead!

Mike -- not sure why you have had such a viceral reaction to my post. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion. I was just probing to get to the basis of your opinion. That's all. It's called discussion.

I don't know if you consider it an attack on Mr. Newman or not. After less than 60 days, you state he is in "over his head." Maybe -- but you didn't really say why in your initial post. You elebaroted some in your follow-up. (obsessed with biking)

As for democrat versus republican -- my post was not meant to defend or rebuke either. I just noted that his particular interest in bike transport is an initiative I have personally seen advanced more by democrat bodies. That wasn't meant to say it was good or bad. I like bikes. It was meant to show that he seems well rounded. Note, I even said something nice about Councilman Schnurr too.

You seem a bit defensive about a very non-controversial post.

Newman can defend himself. I don't know him, and it is not my place to defend him.

I am trying to find out why you think he is in over his head. So, in that respect, I am interested in your opinion. (To which you are completely entitled.)

I haven't called you wrong -- and I don't know that I could. You might subjectively believe him to be in over his head.

In the first two months, he has won support for an ordinance, and he seems to be fully engaged in the process of governing.
So, it is not clear why he would be in over his head.

I likewise agree that education is not the sole factor in determining a good government servant. I merely note that after four meetings of council, one in which an ordinance was passed by the member, it seems odd that this experienced lawyer would be "in over his head" among his colleagues.

Why do you think he is "in over his head?"

Is the discussion over his head?

Does he seem to not be politically adept in some way, misperceiving the interest of the electorate?

You don't owe me any explanation -- I just thought that since you commented, I would elicit from you why you felt that way. That's one of the things about a message board -- it creates dialog. You might tell me something that helps inform me.

The overwhelming majority of your public post-election comments about Mr. Newman have been very positive. So, when you dropped this "in over his head" comment I thought it was a stark change from your earlier views. Because you are on the ground there -- and obviously in tune with the pulse of the people, I was hoping to better understand why you changed so dramatically from you earlier view.

[Mike Rosseel]

I think he MAYBE over his head because theres alot of things he could be focusing on besides bikes. Every address he has made to the public has been bike related, this is a serious topic to him and I get that, but isn't there more pressing issues. This is me and maybe I'm wrong but if I was him, I would want to make a name for myself, put pressure on the current council. As he and you have said, new blood is great, well it can't be great if it isn't involved in great things.

Alot of people have said positive things about Newman, and he seemed to have potential to be good, what I'm saying is be good. Let the bikes go, you discussed this time after time and the council has backed you, move on to the next issue thats important to town, ie., parking, street conditions, backing of our police department, and so on and so on! Thats all!

[richardkelsey]

Mar 2, 2010 15:51:49 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

I think he MAYBE over his head because theres alot of things he could be focusing on besides bikes. Every address he has made to the public has been bike related, this is a serious topic to him and I get that, but isn't there more pressing issues. This is me and maybe I'm wrong but if I was him, I would want to make a name for myself, put pressure on the current council. As he and you have said, new blood is great, well it can't be great if it isn't involved in great things.

Alot of people have said positive things about Newman, and he seemed to have potential to be good, what I'm saying is be good. Let the bikes go, you discussed this time after time and the council has backed you, move on to the next issue thats important to town, ie., parking, street conditions, backing of our police department, and so on and so on! Thats all!

Makes sense. Hopefully, he will step up with lots of ideas, and contribute.

[Mike Rosseel]

Rich, here is an example, he was recently assigned to a committee involving the track, not sure how he was appointed, whether its a party thing or not but speak of that. Tell people about that, thats a good thing to be involved in. I'm just saying, IMHO, speaking about bikes week in and week out, makes you seem alittle out of your league, especially when other council members are speaking of parking, saving money, etc. Thats my point, not saying newman can't be good, just saying get out there and let people see more about you then bikes, kinda like a broken record

[BrianSullivan]

Mar 1, 2010 18:21:16 GMT -5 richardkelsey said:

Mar 1, 2010 17:09:43 GMT -5 BrianSullivan said:

www.scribd.com/doc/27669562/Regular-Meeting-3-1-10

Here is the link to tonight's agenda. I may not be there so if anybody does go and has interesting news to report, it would be welcome.

It's nice to see the return of Barbara McMorrow as an appointee. She is one of my favorite people. She's an excellent resource for the Mayor to tap. (One of the numerous non-Gop people I have been proud to support over the years.)

Ditto on your sentiments of Ms. McMorrow. While her appointment is a pleasant surprise, I also hope to see her return to public office.

[BrianSullivan]

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Very Nice meeting tonight, everything went very smooth. Newmans, volunteer form went through, taxis licenses approved, pretty much a streamline meeting. The interesting part of the meeting came with the Public comment section.

1. Al, spoke of the race car club and its progress, some information about Census jobs.
2. I do not know this womens name but she spoke of the christmas light problem people were having, she didnt think it was right. Kerry Higgins actually spoke of laws from the state on safety issues and how these products were not made to be out in the weather for more then 3 months. She also wanted an update on work to be performed infront of her home which was already done.
3. Mr Baldwin spoke of his thoughts on town, gave praise to the chief and the police department, town workers, etc. Spoke directly to john newman, told him he was not a supporter and would be watching him, it was a nice moment for all to chuckle!

I watched this meeting closely and was impressed by one council member and confused by another.

Impressed by Councilmen Schnurr. He had so many ideas of saving the town money, programs that could help the citizens of town. Newman gave George credit for the live where you work tax break which newman mentioned at a previous meeting. Different groups from council he is members of to make Freehold better, to me, George Schnurr gets what it is to be a councilmen and is doing a GREAT job.

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

Mike,

Thank you and good job on your report of last nights meeting. I know readers appreciate this. I also like your opinion and commentary, that is always good to see.

[BrianSullivan]

I did recieve some more feedback on last nights meeting from people who were there. Here are some more points that people felt worth mentioning. To make clear, this is all second hand, I was not at the meeting. I consider my sources reliable.

From the public comments:

Ted Miller praised the Mayor for attending the Zebu Forno event for the Court Street School.

Tom Baldwin said that he hopes the Mayor does not run for re-election and believes that some code officers need sensitivity training.

From the council:

Mr. Schnurr also talked about a very good idea going forward in the planning Board- An Informal review process which will allow an applicant to get a initial review of the plans. This review will help avoid the expense and time involved in an application that may not be approved. Mr. Schnurr also talked about a program that provide low to no cost solar panels in return for the carbon credits produced by the solar panels that they would then sell to companies who need to buy carbon credits.

Mr. Newman also talked about the censes and the importance of all people in the Boro being counted to ensure we get the federal and state funding necessary. He also let the council know that he has had meeting with state and county planning officials and the Boro is in the process of applying for a state funded study for alterative transportation needs.

The mayor also pointed out that they have expanded the Health department, not because they need to but because they wanted to let additional people who wanted to be on be on.

Other business:

The Boro has also switched insurance companies.

Mr. Newman Community service bill was approved by all

Council voted to change Taxi order ace because they are afraid of being sued by a group in Virginia over the ordinances restriction of risk retention groups

[BrianSullivan]

Just a couple of thoughts on two of the issues Newman is working on.

First, I think it is great that the citizen act is going through. The timing is perfect when considering the volunteer fair that Sims is putting together. These two initiatives from our council members will go hand in hand with one another. Newman stepped up with this at just the right time.

As for the bike issues, how could I not support that? I have been a vocal advocate for turning the borough more bike friendly for some time, even before there was a thought of a councilman Newman.

The bike issue is certainly nothing new. The past council has been dealing with it for some time from the safety vests, helmets and now, the bike rack issue. In all cases, the council has been right in looking at the individual issues. What Newman is doing is very much in line with what I have written about and brought before the Recreation Commission and the council. Newman's direction will look at the issue fro more of a holistic and big picture stance as opposed to one battle at a time.

I think the bike issue is one that will please many people and bring many benefits to the town. It is a softball issue, but one with value. I also know that John has his hands into many good things. Government is slow, no matter what people may want, but I am confident we will see some really good things. It is also encouraging that all of the council appears to be working together.

For a councilman who has been sitting for under 60 days, I think he is off to a good start. The people will have three more years to decide.

[lisas84]

I'm glad to know that Tom Baldwin was there. I was worried about him becuase he hasn't been around for awhile.

[johnfnewman]

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

Mr. Rosseel,

I am happy that you are taking an interest in my activities on council. You are correct that I have not informed the public at the council meetings of everything that I am currently working on. But I think that this may be the case generally for all of our local elected officials. You may remember that a couple council members did not have any public comments at the last meeting. But I do not think that this is because they have been inactive, rather if could be for any number of reasons.

I made three comments at the last meeting. The first was regarding the census as Brian pointed out above. I highlighted the need for the borough to reach out to all members of the community (regardless of whether they are here legally or not) so that an accurate count can be made. More population equals more dollars returned to the community from the federal government. It would be short-sighted not to think that this is important. Although I did not mention this at the meeting, I am reaching out to hispanic groups and I anticipate reaching out to their churches in an effort to inform the hispanic community about the importance of them being counted. I am also considering reaching out to the hispanic paper in the next couple days to highlight the issue.

My second comment was simply to inform the council about something that I had mentioned at the previous council meeting; that is, my attending the NJ Bike Coalition’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Summit (this was an all-day conference on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.). At the council meeting, I was attempting to keep council abreast of my attendance and inform them of the contacts that I made. Specifically I mentioned that I was in direct discussions with several people from the state DOT and the Monmouth County Planning Board. By the way, the Monmouth County Planning Board is planning a related summit on May 4. One of their goals is connecting multi-use trails like the Henry Hudson Trail to downtowns and other areas. I noted to the council that after this summit, Freehold Borough is definitely on the state and county radars. I also informed council that I am in communication with other municipalities on the issue, and have made several connections with local, state and national bicycle-pedestrian organizations. All of which may help us with ideas, funding, etc.

For your information (and as discussed at the last workshop) and I hope it will be introduced at the very next council meeting, a resolution will be voted on to apply for the free NJ DOT study to make Freehold more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. Part of that study will include Safe Routes to Schools, safe routes to transit, connecting residential sections to the downtown, the Henry Hudson, the racetrack, etc. And you will certainly hear more about bicycle and pedestrian issues from me in the future.

Lastly, I briefly mentioned that Councilman Schnurr and I will be working on the state’s Live Where You Work (“LWYW”) program. At the meeting, I noted that a bicycle/pedestrian friendly community fits neatly with this program. Given that we are the county seat, we have many people that work in Freehold Borough, but don’t live here. It would be a beautiful thing if we had some of those good people invest in our town in the form of home ownership. One attraction of living where you work is the ability to be close enough to home that you could walk or bike your commute; hence, I commented on the two ideas work nicely together. However, Freehold Borough has not yet applied for the LWYW program and Councilman Schnurr and I are at the very beginning of working on this idea. Also, although I did not mention it at the meeting, I have discussed this program with a couple of representatives from other municipalities.

As I stated above, not everything the mayor or a councilperson does is mentioned at any particular meeting. I highlighted only a couple of issues that I had worked on. But I hear your concerns, so I will give a short synopsis of a few other things that I have been doing since taking office.

First, I just want to highlight that at the time of Monday’s meeting I had been on council for just 55 days. Two things that I have worked on you are already aware of: (1) I had the first reading of my first ordinance (the Citizen Service Ordinance); and (2) the agreement by council to draft a resolution requesting funding for a pedestrian-bicycle study for the town. As to the first item, you may remember that at the reorganization meeting several council members expressed concerns for having sufficient volunteers on our local committees. This ordinance has hopefully addressed that concern to some degree. The bicycle resolution was given a go-ahead at the last workshop meeting and will hopefully be in final draft form by the next workshop meeting.

Of course, no one person makes up a majority, and I have to thank my fellow councilpersons for their support on both issues. I believe that I have a good relation with each member, and I think in the next three years that we will all be working closely together with respect for each other and also for our respective ideas.

So, to answer your concern, what have I done in the past 57 days? Without going into specifics on each issue, here is a brief update:

I have met with Congressman Chris Smith and his staff to press the post office issue;

I have met with our state senator, Jennifer Beck, and her staff on various issues, including school funding;

I have met with Assemblywoman Carolyne Casagrande and her staff on several issues, including school funding, the DEP problem on Throckmorton Street, the importance of the horse racing industry and also possible ideas for revitalizing the downtown;

I have met with NJ Transit regarding the MOM line;

I have conferenced with the NJ DOT regarding transit village status;

As noted, I have discussed with the NJ DOT a free pedestrian/cycling study;

I have met with Freeholder Burry about her efforts regarding the horse racing industry and, as a result, I was appointed to a Monmouth County committee on the issue (www.app.com/article/20100301/NEWS/3010331/1004/NEWS01/Monmouth-County-reinstates-panel-of-horse-racing-lobbyists) To that end, I have also met with the chairperson of the committee Nancy Grbelja (who is also the mayor of Millstone).

I have met with Freeholder Rob Clifton to specifically discuss a Freehold Borough Comcast Channel (that issue is more to his private life as he is employed by Comcast and it will have to be raised again when our current contract is up);

I have met with many business owners and the Freehold Center Partnership and have also attended a couple FCP committee meetings;

As noted, I have reached out to other towns about the Live Where You Work program; I have reached out to Councilman Schnurr when I heard he had the idea previously, and we will be working together. Assuming we are approved for this program, the borough will be required to have a homebuyer's seminar. So we are now setting up some minor ground work for that;

I have also met with the Landlord Group that has established itself in town. I have talked with the borough attorney to discuss the issue;

I am the liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee, Rental Property Review Board, Code Enforcement and the Library. I have attended all meetings, and several require work outside the actual meeting. I am also on the Finance Committee with Councilmen Schnurr and Kane;

I am also getting involved in a couple other projects which may, or may not take off, and it is premature for me to discuss then currently;

I will be introducing another resolution at the next workshop; Mr. Bellina (who probably doesn’t get even half the credit he deserves) is drafting the resolution regarding our school funding;

And as you are most acutely aware, I have attended an all-day Summit on biking/walking in New Jersey.

All of this is also in addition to the role of every elected official, hearing the concerns of the public.

This part-time job certainly demands full-time attention.

On a professional note, I am trying to grow my firm's practice in the Red Bank/Monmouth County area and I belong to several professional organizations. I am on the Board of Managers of a non-profit organization. Oh yeah, plus I have a wife and 2 young daughters.

I believe that I have been busy, and I think that I am addressing many issues that are of concern to the residents in the town. I am considering ways that I can keep the public aware of issues that I am working on, and ways that they can effectively communicate their concerns to me. I will have more information on this later.

For now, I can be reached at my borough e-mail address: [e-mail].

[Mike Rosseel]

Mar 3, 2010 13:00:40 GMT -5 johnfnewman said:

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

Mr. Rosseel,

I am happy that you are taking an interest in my activities on council. You are correct that I have not informed the public at the council meetings of everything that I am currently working on. But I think that this may be the case generally for all of our local elected officials. You may remember that a couple council members did not have any public comments at the last meeting. But I do not think that this is because they have been inactive, rather if could be for any number of reasons.

I made three comments at the last meeting. The first was regarding the census as Brian pointed out above. I highlighted the need for the borough to reach out to all members of the community (regardless of whether they are here legally or not) so that an accurate count can be made. More population equals more dollars returned to the community from the federal government. It would be short-sighted not to think that this is important. Although I did not mention this at the meeting, I am reaching out to hispanic groups and I anticipate reaching out to their churches in an effort to inform the hispanic community about the importance of them being counted. I am also considering reaching out to the hispanic paper in the next couple days to highlight the issue.

My second comment was simply to inform the council about something that I had mentioned at the previous council meeting; that is, my attending the NJ Bike Coalition’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Summit (this was an all-day conference on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.). At the council meeting, I was attempting to keep council abreast of my attendance and inform them of the contacts that I made. Specifically I mentioned that I was in direct discussions with several people from the state DOT and the Monmouth County Planning Board. By the way, the Monmouth County Planning Board is planning a related summit on May 4. One of their goals is connecting multi-use trails like the Henry Hudson Trail to downtowns and other areas. I noted to the council that after this summit, Freehold Borough is definitely on the state and county radars. I also informed council that I am in communication with other municipalities on the issue, and have made several connections with local, state and national bicycle-pedestrian organizations. All of which may help us with ideas, funding, etc.

For your information (and as discussed at the last workshop) and I hope it will be introduced at the very next council meeting, a resolution will be voted on to apply for the free NJ DOT study to make Freehold more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. Part of that study will include Safe Routes to Schools, safe routes to transit, connecting residential sections to the downtown, the Henry Hudson, the racetrack, etc. And you will certainly hear more about bicycle and pedestrian issues from me in the future.

Lastly, I briefly mentioned that Councilman Schnurr and I will be working on the state’s Live Where You Work (“LWYW”) program. At the meeting, I noted that a bicycle/pedestrian friendly community fits neatly with this program. Given that we are the county seat, we have many people that work in Freehold Borough, but don’t live here. It would be a beautiful thing if we had some of those good people invest in our town in the form of home ownership. One attraction of living where you work is the ability to be close enough to home that you could walk or bike your commute; hence, I commented on the two ideas work nicely together. However, Freehold Borough has not yet applied for the LWYW program and Councilman Schnurr and I are at the very beginning of working on this idea. Also, although I did not mention it at the meeting, I have discussed this program with a couple of representatives from other municipalities.

As I stated above, not everything the mayor or a councilperson does is mentioned at any particular meeting. I highlighted only a couple of issues that I had worked on. But I hear your concerns, so I will give a short synopsis of a few other things that I have been doing since taking office.

First, I just want to highlight that at the time of Monday’s meeting I had been on council for just 55 days. Two things that I have worked on you are already aware of: (1) I had the first reading of my first ordinance (the Citizen Service Ordinance); and (2) the agreement by council to draft a resolution requesting funding for a pedestrian-bicycle study for the town. As to the first item, you may remember that at the reorganization meeting several council members expressed concerns for having sufficient volunteers on our local committees. This ordinance has hopefully addressed that concern to some degree. The bicycle resolution was given a go-ahead at the last workshop meeting and will hopefully be in final draft form by the next workshop meeting.

Of course, no one person makes up a majority, and I have to thank my fellow councilpersons for their support on both issues. I believe that I have a good relation with each member, and I think in the next three years that we will all be working closely together with respect for each other and also for our respective ideas.

So, to answer your concern, what have I done in the past 57 days? Without going into specifics on each issue, here is a brief update:

I have met with Congressman Chris Smith and his staff to press the post office issue;

I have met with our state senator, Jennifer Beck, and her staff on various issues, including school funding;

I have met with Assemblywoman Carolyne Casagrande and her staff on several issues, including school funding, the DEP problem on Throckmorton Street, the importance of the horse racing industry and also possible ideas for revitalizing the downtown;

I have met with NJ Transit regarding the MOM line;

I have conferenced with the NJ DOT regarding transit village status;

As noted, I have discussed with the NJ DOT a free pedestrian/cycling study;

I have met with Freeholder Burry about her efforts regarding the horse racing industry and, as a result, I was appointed to a Monmouth County committee on the issue (www.app.com/article/20100301/NEWS/3010331/1004/NEWS01/Monmouth-County-reinstates-panel-of-horse-racing-lobbyists) To that end, I have also met with the chairperson of the committee Nancy Grbelja (who is also the mayor of Millstone).

I have met with Freeholder Rob Clifton to specifically discuss a Freehold Borough Comcast Channel (that issue is more to his private life as he is employed by Comcast and it will have to be raised again when our current contract is up);

I have met with many business owners and the Freehold Center Partnership and have also attended a couple FCP committee meetings;

As noted, I have reached out to other towns about the Live Where You Work program; I have reached out to Councilman Schnurr when I heard he had the idea previously, and we will be working together. Assuming we are approved for this program, the borough will be required to have a homebuyer's seminar. So we are now setting up some minor ground work for that;

I have also met with the Landlord Group that has established itself in town. I have talked with the borough attorney to discuss the issue;

I am the liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee, Rental Property Review Board, Code Enforcement and the Library. I have attended all meetings, and several require work outside the actual meeting. I am also on the Finance Committee with Councilmen Schnurr and Kane;

I am also getting involved in a couple other projects which may, or may not take off, and it is premature for me to discuss then currently;

I will be introducing another resolution at the next workshop; Mr. Bellina (who probably doesn’t get even half the credit he deserves) is drafting the resolution regarding our school funding;

And as you are most acutely aware, I have attended an all-day Summit on biking/walking in New Jersey.

All of this is also in addition to the role of every elected official, hearing the concerns of the public.

This part-time job certainly demands full-time attention.

On a professional note, I am trying to grow my firm's practice in the Red Bank/Monmouth County area and I belong to several professional organizations. I am on the Board of Managers of a non-profit organization. Oh yeah, plus I have a wife and 2 young daughters.

I believe that I have been busy, and I think that I am addressing many issues that are of concern to the residents in the town. I am considering ways that I can keep the public aware of issues that I am working on, and ways that they can effectively communicate their concerns to me. I will have more information on this later.

For now, I can be reached at my borough e-mail address: [e-mail].

Great information John!

I hope you could understand my concern when all that has been mentioned is bikes, citizens act etc. You seen to really have a full plate. As far as a part time job, I don't think any council member from anywhere believes its isn't a full time job! With all do respect, I want to know nothing about your personal life, that isn't any of our business, I never asked you about that. I disagree with some members not making a statement, that may be true once and awhile but people the likes of Councilmen Schnurr, Kane, Simms, Etc always speak of what there working on, Schnurr in great detail! ;D

Thank you for allowing us all to see what you are doing!

[BrianSullivan]

Mar 3, 2010 13:00:40 GMT -5 johnfnewman said:

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

Mr. Rosseel,

I am happy that you are taking an interest in my activities on council. You are correct that I have not informed the public at the council meetings of everything that I am currently working on. But I think that this may be the case generally for all of our local elected officials. You may remember that a couple council members did not have any public comments at the last meeting. But I do not think that this is because they have been inactive, rather if could be for any number of reasons.

I made three comments at the last meeting. The first was regarding the census as Brian pointed out above. I highlighted the need for the borough to reach out to all members of the community (regardless of whether they are here legally or not) so that an accurate count can be made. More population equals more dollars returned to the community from the federal government. It would be short-sighted not to think that this is important. Although I did not mention this at the meeting, I am reaching out to hispanic groups and I anticipate reaching out to their churches in an effort to inform the hispanic community about the importance of them being counted. I am also considering reaching out to the hispanic paper in the next couple days to highlight the issue.

My second comment was simply to inform the council about something that I had mentioned at the previous council meeting; that is, my attending the NJ Bike Coalition’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Summit (this was an all-day conference on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.). At the council meeting, I was attempting to keep council abreast of my attendance and inform them of the contacts that I made. Specifically I mentioned that I was in direct discussions with several people from the state DOT and the Monmouth County Planning Board. By the way, the Monmouth County Planning Board is planning a related summit on May 4. One of their goals is connecting multi-use trails like the Henry Hudson Trail to downtowns and other areas. I noted to the council that after this summit, Freehold Borough is definitely on the state and county radars. I also informed council that I am in communication with other municipalities on the issue, and have made several connections with local, state and national bicycle-pedestrian organizations. All of which may help us with ideas, funding, etc.

For your information (and as discussed at the last workshop) and I hope it will be introduced at the very next council meeting, a resolution will be voted on to apply for the free NJ DOT study to make Freehold more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. Part of that study will include Safe Routes to Schools, safe routes to transit, connecting residential sections to the downtown, the Henry Hudson, the racetrack, etc. And you will certainly hear more about bicycle and pedestrian issues from me in the future.

Lastly, I briefly mentioned that Councilman Schnurr and I will be working on the state’s Live Where You Work (“LWYW”) program. At the meeting, I noted that a bicycle/pedestrian friendly community fits neatly with this program. Given that we are the county seat, we have many people that work in Freehold Borough, but don’t live here. It would be a beautiful thing if we had some of those good people invest in our town in the form of home ownership. One attraction of living where you work is the ability to be close enough to home that you could walk or bike your commute; hence, I commented on the two ideas work nicely together. However, Freehold Borough has not yet applied for the LWYW program and Councilman Schnurr and I are at the very beginning of working on this idea. Also, although I did not mention it at the meeting, I have discussed this program with a couple of representatives from other municipalities.

As I stated above, not everything the mayor or a councilperson does is mentioned at any particular meeting. I highlighted only a couple of issues that I had worked on. But I hear your concerns, so I will give a short synopsis of a few other things that I have been doing since taking office.

First, I just want to highlight that at the time of Monday’s meeting I had been on council for just 55 days. Two things that I have worked on you are already aware of: (1) I had the first reading of my first ordinance (the Citizen Service Ordinance); and (2) the agreement by council to draft a resolution requesting funding for a pedestrian-bicycle study for the town. As to the first item, you may remember that at the reorganization meeting several council members expressed concerns for having sufficient volunteers on our local committees. This ordinance has hopefully addressed that concern to some degree. The bicycle resolution was given a go-ahead at the last workshop meeting and will hopefully be in final draft form by the next workshop meeting.

Of course, no one person makes up a majority, and I have to thank my fellow councilpersons for their support on both issues. I believe that I have a good relation with each member, and I think in the next three years that we will all be working closely together with respect for each other and also for our respective ideas.

So, to answer your concern, what have I done in the past 57 days? Without going into specifics on each issue, here is a brief update:

I have met with Congressman Chris Smith and his staff to press the post office issue;

I have met with our state senator, Jennifer Beck, and her staff on various issues, including school funding;

I have met with Assemblywoman Carolyne Casagrande and her staff on several issues, including school funding, the DEP problem on Throckmorton Street, the importance of the horse racing industry and also possible ideas for revitalizing the downtown;

I have met with NJ Transit regarding the MOM line;

I have conferenced with the NJ DOT regarding transit village status;

As noted, I have discussed with the NJ DOT a free pedestrian/cycling study;

I have met with Freeholder Burry about her efforts regarding the horse racing industry and, as a result, I was appointed to a Monmouth County committee on the issue (www.app.com/article/20100301/NEWS/3010331/1004/NEWS01/Monmouth-County-reinstates-panel-of-horse-racing-lobbyists) To that end, I have also met with the chairperson of the committee Nancy Grbelja (who is also the mayor of Millstone).

I have met with Freeholder Rob Clifton to specifically discuss a Freehold Borough Comcast Channel (that issue is more to his private life as he is employed by Comcast and it will have to be raised again when our current contract is up);

I have met with many business owners and the Freehold Center Partnership and have also attended a couple FCP committee meetings;

As noted, I have reached out to other towns about the Live Where You Work program; I have reached out to Councilman Schnurr when I heard he had the idea previously, and we will be working together. Assuming we are approved for this program, the borough will be required to have a homebuyer's seminar. So we are now setting up some minor ground work for that;

I have also met with the Landlord Group that has established itself in town. I have talked with the borough attorney to discuss the issue;

I am the liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee, Rental Property Review Board, Code Enforcement and the Library. I have attended all meetings, and several require work outside the actual meeting. I am also on the Finance Committee with Councilmen Schnurr and Kane;

I am also getting involved in a couple other projects which may, or may not take off, and it is premature for me to discuss then currently;

I will be introducing another resolution at the next workshop; Mr. Bellina (who probably doesn’t get even half the credit he deserves) is drafting the resolution regarding our school funding;

And as you are most acutely aware, I have attended an all-day Summit on biking/walking in New Jersey.

All of this is also in addition to the role of every elected official, hearing the concerns of the public.

This part-time job certainly demands full-time attention.

On a professional note, I am trying to grow my firm's practice in the Red Bank/Monmouth County area and I belong to several professional organizations. I am on the Board of Managers of a non-profit organization. Oh yeah, plus I have a wife and 2 young daughters.

I believe that I have been busy, and I think that I am addressing many issues that are of concern to the residents in the town. I am considering ways that I can keep the public aware of issues that I am working on, and ways that they can effectively communicate their concerns to me. I will have more information on this later.

For now, I can be reached at my borough e-mail address: [e-mail].

Councilman,

Thanks for taking the time to write. Your post is very informative. I like it for three reasons.

1. It is good to see you hit the ground running and are involved with so much.

2. It is good to see you working well with the rest of the council, they are a good bunch.

3. It is good to see all that a council member puts into their position. I know ALL the council works hard and there is much the public often does not see.

[richardkelsey]

Mar 3, 2010 13:00:40 GMT -5 johnfnewman said:

Mar 1, 2010 23:18:14 GMT -5 Mike Rosseel said:

Confused by John Newman, I have been to every meeting since newman has been up on council. I have heard him speak of two things at each meeting, Bikes and the volunteer application. The volunteer app went through, its a nice idea, hats off to you Newman. Ok, i get it your a biker, you like riding bikes, its nice to worry about bikers in Freehold but shouldn't he be worried about more! Make a name for yourself, do something that is going to help our town, stop worrying about bikers and there bike racks. IMHO, Newman is over his head, a nice man but as of today, not council worthy. I am not putting him down, this is what I have seen as per his actions and worries on council!

i hope Newman improves in outcoming weeks because if not, he will certainly be a one and done!

Mr. Rosseel,

I am happy that you are taking an interest in my activities on council. You are correct that I have not informed the public at the council meetings of everything that I am currently working on. But I think that this may be the case generally for all of our local elected officials. You may remember that a couple council members did not have any public comments at the last meeting. But I do not think that this is because they have been inactive, rather if could be for any number of reasons.

I made three comments at the last meeting. The first was regarding the census as Brian pointed out above. I highlighted the need for the borough to reach out to all members of the community (regardless of whether they are here legally or not) so that an accurate count can be made. More population equals more dollars returned to the community from the federal government. It would be short-sighted not to think that this is important. Although I did not mention this at the meeting, I am reaching out to hispanic groups and I anticipate reaching out to their churches in an effort to inform the hispanic community about the importance of them being counted. I am also considering reaching out to the hispanic paper in the next couple days to highlight the issue.

My second comment was simply to inform the council about something that I had mentioned at the previous council meeting; that is, my attending the NJ Bike Coalition’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Summit (this was an all-day conference on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.). At the council meeting, I was attempting to keep council abreast of my attendance and inform them of the contacts that I made. Specifically I mentioned that I was in direct discussions with several people from the state DOT and the Monmouth County Planning Board. By the way, the Monmouth County Planning Board is planning a related summit on May 4. One of their goals is connecting multi-use trails like the Henry Hudson Trail to downtowns and other areas. I noted to the council that after this summit, Freehold Borough is definitely on the state and county radars. I also informed council that I am in communication with other municipalities on the issue, and have made several connections with local, state and national bicycle-pedestrian organizations. All of which may help us with ideas, funding, etc.

For your information (and as discussed at the last workshop) and I hope it will be introduced at the very next council meeting, a resolution will be voted on to apply for the free NJ DOT study to make Freehold more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. Part of that study will include Safe Routes to Schools, safe routes to transit, connecting residential sections to the downtown, the Henry Hudson, the racetrack, etc. And you will certainly hear more about bicycle and pedestrian issues from me in the future.

Lastly, I briefly mentioned that Councilman Schnurr and I will be working on the state’s Live Where You Work (“LWYW”) program. At the meeting, I noted that a bicycle/pedestrian friendly community fits neatly with this program. Given that we are the county seat, we have many people that work in Freehold Borough, but don’t live here. It would be a beautiful thing if we had some of those good people invest in our town in the form of home ownership. One attraction of living where you work is the ability to be close enough to home that you could walk or bike your commute; hence, I commented on the two ideas work nicely together. However, Freehold Borough has not yet applied for the LWYW program and Councilman Schnurr and I are at the very beginning of working on this idea. Also, although I did not mention it at the meeting, I have discussed this program with a couple of representatives from other municipalities.

As I stated above, not everything the mayor or a councilperson does is mentioned at any particular meeting. I highlighted only a couple of issues that I had worked on. But I hear your concerns, so I will give a short synopsis of a few other things that I have been doing since taking office.

First, I just want to highlight that at the time of Monday’s meeting I had been on council for just 55 days. Two things that I have worked on you are already aware of: (1) I had the first reading of my first ordinance (the Citizen Service Ordinance); and (2) the agreement by council to draft a resolution requesting funding for a pedestrian-bicycle study for the town. As to the first item, you may remember that at the reorganization meeting several council members expressed concerns for having sufficient volunteers on our local committees. This ordinance has hopefully addressed that concern to some degree. The bicycle resolution was given a go-ahead at the last workshop meeting and will hopefully be in final draft form by the next workshop meeting.

Of course, no one person makes up a majority, and I have to thank my fellow councilpersons for their support on both issues. I believe that I have a good relation with each member, and I think in the next three years that we will all be working closely together with respect for each other and also for our respective ideas.

So, to answer your concern, what have I done in the past 57 days? Without going into specifics on each issue, here is a brief update:

I have met with Congressman Chris Smith and his staff to press the post office issue;

I have met with our state senator, Jennifer Beck, and her staff on various issues, including school funding;

I have met with Assemblywoman Carolyne Casagrande and her staff on several issues, including school funding, the DEP problem on Throckmorton Street, the importance of the horse racing industry and also possible ideas for revitalizing the downtown;

I have met with NJ Transit regarding the MOM line;

I have conferenced with the NJ DOT regarding transit village status;

As noted, I have discussed with the NJ DOT a free pedestrian/cycling study;

I have met with Freeholder Burry about her efforts regarding the horse racing industry and, as a result, I was appointed to a Monmouth County committee on the issue (www.app.com/article/20100301/NEWS/3010331/1004/NEWS01/Monmouth-County-reinstates-panel-of-horse-racing-lobbyists) To that end, I have also met with the chairperson of the committee Nancy Grbelja (who is also the mayor of Millstone).

I have met with Freeholder Rob Clifton to specifically discuss a Freehold Borough Comcast Channel (that issue is more to his private life as he is employed by Comcast and it will have to be raised again when our current contract is up);

I have met with many business owners and the Freehold Center Partnership and have also attended a couple FCP committee meetings;

As noted, I have reached out to other towns about the Live Where You Work program; I have reached out to Councilman Schnurr when I heard he had the idea previously, and we will be working together. Assuming we are approved for this program, the borough will be required to have a homebuyer's seminar. So we are now setting up some minor ground work for that;

I have also met with the Landlord Group that has established itself in town. I have talked with the borough attorney to discuss the issue;

I am the liaison to the Historic Preservation Committee, Rental Property Review Board, Code Enforcement and the Library. I have attended all meetings, and several require work outside the actual meeting. I am also on the Finance Committee with Councilmen Schnurr and Kane;

I am also getting involved in a couple other projects which may, or may not take off, and it is premature for me to discuss then currently;

I will be introducing another resolution at the next workshop; Mr. Bellina (who probably doesn’t get even half the credit he deserves) is drafting the resolution regarding our school funding;

And as you are most acutely aware, I have attended an all-day Summit on biking/walking in New Jersey.

All of this is also in addition to the role of every elected official, hearing the concerns of the public.

This part-time job certainly demands full-time attention.

On a professional note, I am trying to grow my firm's practice in the Red Bank/Monmouth County area and I belong to several professional organizations. I am on the Board of Managers of a non-profit organization. Oh yeah, plus I have a wife and 2 young daughters.

I believe that I have been busy, and I think that I am addressing many issues that are of concern to the residents in the town. I am considering ways that I can keep the public aware of issues that I am working on, and ways that they can effectively communicate their concerns to me. I will have more information on this later.

For now, I can be reached at my borough e-mail address: [e-mail].

Councilman Newman. Thank you for informing us about your activities. As Brian stated, it is great to get an understanding of just how hard elected officials work. At the local level, the work is actually done by elected officials -- not giant paid staff.

It seems the people of Freehold can be quite happy about your effort and commitment since taking office.

Thank you for sharing with the site.

[lisa]

John Thanks for the information. I know how busy you've been so it's really nice to see you take the time to keep us all updated on what your doing and whats going on. I would personally love it if periodically you would come and post more news and updates in the future. Not all of us can make it to the council meetings all the time, so it's really nice to see you reach out to people this way. very cool!!!!

[BrianSullivan]

Mar 6, 2010 4:23:41 GMT -5 lisa said:

John Thanks for the information. I know how busy you've been so it's really nice to see you take the time to keep us all updated on what your doing and whats going on. I would personally love it if periodically you would come and post more news and updates in the future. Not all of us can make it to the council meetings all the time, so it's really nice to see you reach out to people this way. very cool!!!!

I agree, Lisa, it is nice to have a councilman come here to keep us updated. I hope it motivates people to attend more meetings. It is good to see the council in action.

And lets face it, the council can reach more people in one day here than they do in both meetings combined for the month. I hope some others will follow John's lead.