It’s about time Old Man Winter picked up his snow and got the heck outta here. It’s time for spring I say, it’s time for spring!
Monthly Archives: February 2010
President Obama’s Weekly Address: 2/27/10 The Olympic Spirit, the Spirit of Bipartisanship, and Health Reform
The President takes a moment to congratulate our Olympic athletes. Discussing the unity and pride Americans feel in cheering them on, the President relates that sentiment to his own desire for bipartisanship in Washington. He praises the recent bipartisan meeting and talks about moving forward on health reform.
What The Heck Is Going On With The Lincroft Sports Complex?
What the heck is going on with the Lincroft Sports Complex? It sounds like some improprieties are taking place that needs to be looked into and addressed.
It seems as though the Director of Middeltown’s Parks and Recreation department, Greg Silva, met with members of the River Plaza/Lincroft Chargers Pop Warner team on Wednesday night and basically told the group that the town was moving ahead with the plans for West Front Street and inferred that Pop Warner will get everything they want and encouraged them to support the town’s efforts to move them from Trezza Field. He informed them that the plans for the site will be up on the Town’s website within the next couple of days, but that the new turf field project will be built at West Front Street Park and that the Chargers should get on board with it or in other words, take it or leave it because there will be no field improvements coming to their existing playing field.
If that wasn’t bad enough Silva went on to explain to them that he had a friend who is a contractor (Precise Construction) who could install the field at West Front Street. Allegedly Silva told the group that he has been keeping his friend informed of the bidding specs for the job so that he would have the advantage when both artificial turf fields for Croydon Hall and West Front Street are ready to be bid out.
I found out about all this from two sources, the first being a string of chat room entries left on the NJ.com Middletown Forum by an anonymous poster using the alias of Nofield4you and from another person who shall remain nameless, due to their position within the town and their affilation with Pop Warner and opposition group.
The second source collaborated much of what Nofield4you stated in his chat room entries which I have posted below, and few other pieces of information, some that I printed above and other information that I was asked to hold onto and not blog about just yet:
21681. Mayor pushes us
by Nofield4you, 2/24/10 23:51 ET
Why push us into supporting your plan, when we don’t want to move to west front street? Our plan by far is better for our program, saves taxpayer dollars and is not corrupt… Why have Greg Silvers Friend Precise Construction plan our future… Will they bid the project that Greg has given them the inside scoop? Guarantee the bid is protested and files charged against Greg and the township as soon as its posted and precise submits a bid…
by Nofield4you, 2/24/10 23:39 ET
Guess what, we have the evidence you need to hang the mayor and other corrupt politicians in Middletown. FYI Greg Silver has a friend who is a contractor and potential bidder of the synthetic field, known as precise construction, guess what Greg has been talking to them all along the way and the bid specs have been made to their advantage… Want more, I got a mouth full of crap to hang several committee members who are ramming this down river plaza parents throats.
21677. Corydon Hall Field
by Nofield4you, 2/24/10 23:38 ET
Wow amazingly the wetland issue at croydon hall is worse then river plaza and the town committee refuses to allow turf at River plaza due to wetlands, unless the contractor is Greg silvers friend Precise construction… Hey Mayor I know the wetland boundaries and Croydon hall does not comply…
21676. River Plaza Field
by Nofield4you, 2/24/10 23:37 ET
Greg Silver has made it clear he has a friend known as Precise Construction who installs turf field and its either West front street or nothing for river plaza… Hey Greg, FYI the fun bunch will win as they did at HS north and you and your friend Precise will be out of the bid and probably in jail with the mayor. Go back to freehold where the grass is brown and natural you fat overpaid piece of crap
Lincroft Resident Speaks Out Against Sports Complex
The Following letter to the editor appears in this weeks Independent:
Here we go again. It appears that our elected officials haven’t learned their lesson from their last attempt to try and impose a sports complex in Lincroft.
This time their choice of fields is on the corner of West Front Street and Everett Road, right on the border of Holmdel.
For the last 30 years, these fields have been used by various soccer clubs with complete enjoyment and acceptance by the residents. Now Middletown Township, in their desperate attempt to use a $2,300,000 taxpayers’ bond and provide a new home for the Pop Warner Chargers, has decided that this location is the best available.
This plan was proposed on Oct. 19 and approved in December without full disclosure to the public as to the intent and extent of the full use of the fields.
What are they thinking? To build two turf fields with 70-foot lights, public-address system, enlarged parking area, snack bar, and surrounded by a chain-link fence, without informing residents of this change, is insulting. Furthermore, to plan this on a busy county road and dangerous intersection without first doing a traffic study is beyond rational or responsible thinking.
Imposing this sports complex in a peaceful residential area, across the street from a church without the residents’ knowledge is deceptive, deceitful and dishonest. This lack of transparency should be illegal, and our township officials should be ashamed of themselves and be held accountable.
Yes, Pop Warner needs an improved field, but to put one in this location will only lead to more serious problems. The tremendous increase in traffic alone is dangerous for the residents, church members and, most importantly, our children. The disregard shown with respect to how this proposed sports complex would affect our quality of life and decrease our property value speaks volumes about our elected officials and their way of doing business. It is completely unacceptable. Period.
Mary Rodgers-Mahoney
Filed under Holmdel, Lincroft, Middletown, sports complex, the Independent, West Front Street
A Blueprint For Middletown To Follow On How A Finance Committee Could Be Structured And Utilized
For the past few years Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes has been advocating for a “Finance Committee” to be form in Middletown so that the Township can get a better grasp on it’s finances and not have to wait several months into the calendar year before adopting a budget.
Byrnes has argued that the way the budget process is now handled is inefficient and antiquated and needs to be restructured in such a way that would provide better over site of spending and identify in advance any trends that may prove problematic during the year.
Each time Byrnes has suggested the idea of a finance committee he has be rebuffed by the Republicans that have controlled the township committee for the greater part of the last quarter century.
Their reasoning behind opposing such a committee is weak at best. I have heard everything from the cost of setting up new committee (which would be negligible being it would be staffed with members of the Township Committee, the Town Administrator and volunteers) to the reasoning that Township Committee members act as their own finance committee to oversee and question spending (even though none are qualified to due so).
In a few towns, the governing body has formed a citizens committee to review and make suggestions to the budget. While this public input is welcome, municipal accounting is a very specialized practice, and crafting a municipal budget is subject to many state regulations and caps that do not seem to make much sense to the average citizen….”
Middletown School Board Invites Governor to Forum To Discuss How The Proposed Cuts to State Aid Will Affect Schools
From the Atlantic Highlands Herald –
Middletown, NJ – On Thursday, March 4, the Middletown Township School District will host a forum on the way Governor’s proposed cuts to state aid will affect the school district. The forum will be held at the Middletown High School North Auditorium at 7:30 PM. The school is located at 63 Tindall Road in Middletown, off Route 35 North. Governor Chris Christie has been personally invited to the forum to learn how his proposals may directly result in nearly $6 million in cuts to the largest K-12 school district in Monmouth County. Middletown’s elected officials are expected to take part in the forum panel. The public is invited and encouraged to learn how the Governor’s proposals to balance the state budget will impact education in Middletown and throughout New Jersey.
The Governor’s recent actions to substitute school district surplus for state aid reduced funding for Middletown’s 2010-2011 budget by $2.3 million, and reduced our State Aid by $2.8 million overall. District surplus results from efficiencies in budgeting and saved cost accumulated through the year. These savings are directly applied to reduce the amount taxpayers are asked to fund the school budget the next year. It is more appropriately labeled taxpayer relief. The Governor’s actions will essentially increase Middletown property taxes to fund the state’s budget deficit. This is not an equitable action and the Middletown School District and its taxpayers are being penalized for the district’s frugality. Middletown has consistently remained efficient and fiscally prudent, as evidenced by the district maintaining a per pupil cost well below the state average.
Middletown Business Administrator William Doering recently testified to the State Assembly Budget Committee, stating, “Our district and several others have worked hard to achieve savings and have aggressively managed our budgets to save as much money as possible.”
Nice try by the Middletown Board of Education to put a spotlight on the districts needs and to inform residents of the problems that will be created when Gov. Christie imposes aid cuts to school districts, by inviting him to discuss his cuts to school districts in a town hall like forum.
I just don’t think Christie has enough in him to to handle such a meeting and have to answer how cuts to education will effect the local tax structure, to devote an hour or more of his time to defend himself in front of an auditorium full of angry taxpayers who will question his judgement on the issue.
So I wouldn’t expect to see him there, but it should be worthwhile for residents to attend anyway to hear how the school district and local officials intends to handle the cuts in state aid.
Christie to Carton to Strawberry, Oh Boy !!
On my way home this morning I was listening to the Boomer and Carton show on Sports Radio 66 WFAN.
Filed under 66Wfan, Boomer and Carton, Gov. Chris Christie, NY Yankees, softball game