Stop the Madness-2008 Road Program

According to an article in the Asbury Park Press on 6/30/08, as reported in the New York Times, the rising cost of asphalt is causing New Jersey State and townships to scale down their road programs. For example, Bergen County had reduced the number of roads to be repaved from 32 miles down to 23 miles. The overall cost of asphalt per Kenneth D. Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, a trade association, is up more than 5 percent since April and more than 10 percent in the past year.

The New Jersey Dept of Transportation expects to pay $88.71 per ton for asphalt this year, a 79 percent increase from the $49.46 per ton it paid in 2001.

Now in Matawan our Borough Council has decided to increase the 2008 Road Program. They have already authorized the Borough Engineering firm, Maser Consulting to begin the necessary paperwork and surveys to the tune of $300,000. in a no bid deal.

Is there an abundance in Matawan of tax monies? Does the Borough have "an offer they can't refuse" on asphalt? How can they justify increasing the Road Program when NJ State and other townships are scaling down their programs? Is this the action of a prudent Borough Council who is watching out for the taxpayers money or does this sound like a Council that will tax us out of our homes and Borough? Hope you all wrote letters to Gov. Corzine asking for financial aid for Matawan because if we get the aid, the Council cannot amend the Budget! If we don't the Council can increase our taxes to support their ineptness.

Matawan Borough Council Mtg 7/1/08 @ 7:30pm

Matawan Borough will hold the first monthly meeting tomorrow evening at 7:30pm at 201 Broad Street. On the Agenda is the Presentation of Oaths to the following members of the Matawan Police Department, James A. Alston will be sworn in as Chief of Police, Jason D. Gallo, Benedict J. Smith III, Patrick Walker, Jeremiah E. Hourihan III are promoted. Michael Pascone will be entering the Police Academy as a Probationary Police Officer. Former Chief McGpwan officially retires on 7-1-08. We wish all of the Policemen the best of luck and may God watch over them as they "protect and serve" us. Chief McGowan, thanks for many years of service to this community. Enjoy your retirement.

Seeing is Believing - Bill List for Matawan

Click on Bill List

This is being done by the same Councilman who previously was to sponsor a resolution against PAY TO PLAY. Guess the money was too good to pass up.

JUST SAY NO to elected officials who perform work for the Borough and then vote to pay themselves! We are surprised to see no one really cares about unethical shenanigans in the Borough. Therefore, we decided to post a previous Bill List wherein Councilman Kevin Mendes family business did work for the Borough and the Councilman voted yes on payment of the Bill List. This bill is for 4/18/08 in the amount of $468.00, followed by another bill for $202.80 on 5/16/08. So far Councilman Mullaney has only submitted one bill in February 2008 for $452.50 and of course it was paid. Based on a reply to a resident at a recent Council Meeting, he gave the impression that Mullaney Tires has continued to do work, just hasn't gotten around to billing the Borough.

First Presbyterian Church Matawan

First Presbyterian Church at 833 Route 34 in Matawan is holding its 6th Annual Mission Matawan program from Tues. 6/24 thru Sat. We urge people in need of assistance to avail themselves of this wonderful service. Volunteers from the Church provide a helping hand to the elderly, handicapped and others who lack resources to repair and maintain their homes.

Thank you to all the volunteers for caring and helping others. The Church is to be commended for their service to the community.

For more information call 732 566 2663.

Where in the World is the Matawan Alliance?

In response to a question regarding the Matawan Alliance and Sharkfest. To the best of our knowledge there is no Sharkfest scheduled this year. The Matawan Alliance still exists though apparently inactive this year. It is reported to be made up of local businesses and residents. The proceeds from their sponsored events were to be used for the creation of a memorial to commemorate the victims of the Shark Attack.

At a Council meeting, a resident asked and was told by Councilman Malley, someone from the Matawan Alliance would be at the following meeting. This never happened! Nor has anyone seen the books outside of its membership. Councilman Mullaney and Mary Mullaney, were active last year. However, Councilman Mullaney claimed he had no information on the Matawan Alliance. Interesting to note Mullaney voted yes to donate $700. to the Matawan Alliance and Mrs. Mullaney spoke at a Council meeting on behalf of the Matawan Alliance along with Renatta Bonelli, previously of Synery Bank.

The Chamber of Commerce decided to sponsor along with the Matawan Police Department, the Annual Night Out event. Much thanks to the The Chamber of Commerce for stepping up to the plate.

When public monies are given to a group, their books should be available to the public! In the alternative, if they wish to remain cloaked in secrecy, then don't request tax dollars.

Do you know where your tax dollars are going?

Neither does your Borough Council or should we say....do they care?

Last night's Council meeting began with a resident, Agnes Falk, reading a statement saying the Council lied to the public. We are giving the "Readers Digest" condensed version. It appears she asked the Council a question about a Resolution passed for a Borough employee's retirement. The Council responded, there were no additional benefits paid outside the IBEW agreement. Well, she filled out an OPRA form and lo and behold the Council gave this employee additional benefits outside the collection bargaining agreement! This is costing the Borough money and setting a precedent for other employees to avail themselves of negotiating outside of the IBEW agreement. The fact is that it has never been shown to save the taxpayers money when additional benefits are given for early retirement.

Andy Lopez, a resident, was irate and asked for the dismissal of the Personnel Committee.

This all fell on deaf ears! The Council did not respond. They know they are guilty and couldn't care less about the residents. So much for "pinching pennies." So much for "open government."

THIS BEGS THE QUESTION, WHAT ELSE HAVE THEY LIED ABOUT?

Sale of former Health Dept Building on Broad Street

Jerry Hourihan, a well respected resident, was outraged that the price was dropped over $100,000. citing even with the declining home sales market...that was too large of a reduction.

Then Councilman Buccellato, now Mayor, was instrumental in having the sale worded so that money from the sale will go directly to renovating the Police Dept Building. That would mean if we get a full price bid, $350,000. the money will go to help solve the PD Building problem. Well that would be a step in the right direction.

Fiero Avenue Parking Restrictions

Residents opposed the passing of this parking restriction, which states there is to be no parking on Fiero Ave., north and south, from 10pm to 2am on Fri and Sat. Stating he believes the restricted parking will not be of any value to residents and would be a problem for Cafe 34. Cafe 34 has purchased an additional lot to provide parking for its patrons.

A resident of Fiero Avenue, stating he agrees Cafe 34 is an asset to the community. However, he believes this is a quality of life issue and restricting parking on Fiero Ave is beneficial to residents.

Councilman Mullaney asked Officer Lovallo, Matawan PD Safety Officer, to state his findings on the safety issue. What an awful spot to put the Officer in Councilman. Officer Lovallo recalled his findings from past investigations.

The final vote was Councilman Mullaney and Councilman Mendes voted no, the remainder of the Council vote yes. There will be NO PARKING on Fri. & Sat. on Fiero Ave. from 10pm to 2am.

Borough Budget

Councilman Cannon has called for a meeting of all Department heads in the borough to discuss further cutbacks in the Budget.

Stop giving away additional benefits to retiring employees Mr. Cannon. Department Heads have nothing to do with giving away benefits outside the collective bargaining agreement. The Borough Department Heads have done a great job cutting back their budgets.

Re-evalute the 2008 Road Program and do a less extensive program.

New Street Sweeper

Delivery of the new street sweeper is still pending. That explains the grass growing in the streets of Matawan. An idea would be for all property owners to shovel up the dirt outside their property. However, problem is the trash removal firm will not pick it up.

Temporary moving of Borough Court

Councilman Mendes requested an update on the progress on the relocation of the Court from Pat Sickels, Court Clerk. Instead of making a big deal, why not call Ms. Sickels and ask her for an update Councilman? Too busy giving tours of the Police Department Building?

Engineering Fees

Once again an unnecessary expense of up to $3500. for Maser Consulting to Provide Services for Red Light Camera Applications. This program was to be of NO COST to the Borough? Hellllllllo, $3500. now, how much more is needed for this program? No one has proved this Program to be cost effective to the Community. The only other town untilizing this system is Newark.

How much will it cost for the Borough Court to hear disputes on tickets? How much will it cost to handle the bookkeeping and paperwork? How much will it cost for a Police Officer to review the tickets and process? Do we really need a system used in Newark, a much busier town?

If it sounds too good to be true.....it usually isn't true.

On the upside

A Proclamation was read by the Mayor honoring Staff Sergeant Eric Paul Reisner, U.S. Army for his dedication and service to our Country. Staff Sergeant Reisner is heading for a second tour in Iraq. May God watch over him and all the other servicemen and woman as they fight to keep us safe.

Police Department Promotions

Several policemen were promoted to Sergeant two of whom were Patrick Walker and Jerry Hourihan. Councilman Mullaney abstained from voting on Patrick Walker's promotion as Councilman Mullaney's daughter is engaged to Officer Walker. Jerry Hourihan is the Grandson of well known resident Jerry Hourihan.

There will be one Probationary Police Officer being sent to the Police Academy for training.

We wish to thank them all for the sacrifices they make every day to protect and serve Matawan.

Hope to see you at the next Workshop or Council meeting....

You Want the Truth...You Can't Handle the Truth!

These are the opinions and comments of the Matawan Advocate. It appears some of our postings have been misinterrupted. To clarify things, here are some comments and facts as we know them.

In response to a recent comment on this Blog. An anonymous blogger gave the impression that the Matawan Advocate possibly disagrees on the condition of the Police Dept Building. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Police Department Building - We have long been a supporter of Matawan’s Police Force. We reiterate the conditions of the building have been a concern for some time. Any remedy to correct the situation by the majority Council has not been voted on to date. Why would Councilman Mendes, who sits on the Democratically controlled Council, (aware his associates are incapable of making a decision to move forward) want to bring their ineptness to the attention of the Public? What good do you see coming out of this story?

Councilman Mendes was given the opportunity and proper forum to discuss his concerns and possible solutions at a Council Workshop meeting on May 15, 2008 as the Police Department was listed on the Agenda. He chose to remain silent.

Does Mendes work for Scudiery?
Rumor has it that Mendes runs and operates a monthly parking lot for Scudieriy on Main Street. He should also be concerned with the maintenance of that property, where weeds are growing and the building has unpainted plywood.

Scudiery - Chairman of Monmouth County Democratic Party
Obviously, with Scudiery owning property in Matawan and the new attorney involved in Long Branch and Asbury Park, sounds like a land deal! From a naïve resident’s point of view it seems all property from the Train Station project are being manipulated by Vic Scudiery. Sure hope we are wrong.

Matawan Borough Budget (No approved Budget to date)
If you attended the last Borough Workshop, you would have heard Councilman Mike Cannon state electric, gas street lamps and heating are over budget. Does Mendes think going to the Press is the answer to Matawan’s money problems? If we are over Budget for utilities and this is just the middle of the fiscal year. Where do we get the money to make the necessary moves to correct conditions at the Police Building?

2008 Road Program
Mayor Bucccelato (aware of the financial difficulties) suggested the Council scale down the 2008 Road Program to reduce the tax burden or debt, it was outright rejected. Guess the tax burden on the residents isn’t that important.

Let’s be clear our infrastructure needs to be replaced and maintained accordingly. But with unemployment creeping upwards, gasoline nearly at $5.00 a gallon it is time to re-evaluate. If not, C-Town will not be the only thing closing and moving out!

Borough Employee Contracts
Borough employees whose contracts have not been settled are another concern. The Council has had 2 ½ years to settle. As it stands now nothing has been done.

Food for Thought
Why not write a story on how the Council cannot agree on a simple contract?

How about a story on Councilman Mullaney and Councilman Mendes doing work for the Borough, then voting to pay themselves? Where is the "Pay to Play" Resolution Councilman Mullaney was going to present to the Council? His idea that elected officials holding public office for the Borough should not be allowed to perform work in the Borough?

Why not investigate why Scudiery and the Monmouth County Democratic Party gave $8500. to Mary Aufseeser’s special election campaign? $8500.00 given in an attempt to control the outcome of our Special Election for Mayor.

Why did the Democrats pass a Resolution accusing former Mayor Mary Aufseeser of possible wrongdoing? Is this what you do to a former associate, because she lost the Mayoral campaign?

A good investigative reporter would delve into these problems, where some good can be accomplished. Instead of telling us what we already know, why not tell us something we don't know!

We do not oppose anyone doing their job. We do want to see professionals advising Matawan on construction, architectural, building safety or handicapped accessibility issues.