There are so many things to wonder about after tonight’s Atlantic Highlands Council meeting, that it leaves me scratching my head. But it’s useless, since it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get answers and simply never know exactly what the governing body is doing. But it won’t stop several of us from trying all the time.
Once again, I warn taxpayers it’s getting downright scary that so much gets done without any input from or information to the residents from not only this borough but others in the Bayshore as well.
Kappa Construction
I could go down to the Yacht Harbor and look in that $1.5 million building to see if anyone is in there, I suppose. You remember the borough is suing Kappa Construction, the builder…..yep, same one who’s building the Highlands Borough Hall….
It is the subject of a lawsuit because a tenant has been trying to tell the Harbor and the borough council for the last two years that construction wasn’t to code. But nobody did anything about it, not even lowering his lease if he stayed in the building that wasn’t properly approved, let alone make the corrections. Only in the last couple of months did the borough get some of the corrections made, but then they turned around and sued the contractor. I do wonder, but don’t know yet, whether they plan on suing whichever borough employee it was who gave the CO in spite of the problems. Or the project manager who was supposed to oversee all the goings on. I bet everyone got paid though.
At last nights meeting, the question was pretty simple. Are the tenants still in the building and has it ever gotten a current certificate of occupancy?
Council couldn’t answer …
Know why? “because the matter is under litigation.”
New Borough Attorney
I do have to hand it to the new borough attorney, Peg Schaeffer. She jumps right in and doesn’t let council members talk, lest they say something the public doesn’t have the right to know. She’s sharp, attentive, and got up to par on what’s going on with town business pretty quickly.
That small incident is really the least of it.
Mother Theresa
Then there’s the Mother Theresa property, which was up for discussion during an executive session after the meeting. The administrator had announced there will be a meeting either Feb. 13 or Feb. 16 to get the public informed about what’s going on with it. Pay attention, because the time, which date or specific place that meeting will be held will be announced some time soon.
Regionalization
Then on the regionalization question, the public learned that yes, the mayors, the administrators and attorneys from the towns will discuss it all before Tuesday night’s meeting of the three school boards in the Henry Hudson tri-district. So naturally they couldn’t talk anything about it tonight.
Only Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner said she would also be at the school boards’ meeting Tuesday…but of course they couldn’t answer any of my comments. The attorney reminded me those public portions of the meetings are not really for the public to ask questions; they’re for the public to make comments. So I switched my question around and suggested council adopt a resolution before the end of this meeting to ask the school boards to delay whatever they’re going to do Tuesday night. Of course they didn’t really even acknowledge my suggestion, let alone have any discussion of it before the meeting ended.
Parking Committee
Probably the biggest insult of the evening, however, was reserved for Mark Fisher. There isn’t a resident or visitor who attends any municipal meeting in the borough who doesn’t know and respect Mark for the questions he asks, the research he does, the facts he brings to the attention of council and committee members and the calm demeanor and patience he exhibits after all his work
It took years of Mark suggesting, planning, organizing and promoting a parking committee…anybody else think there’s a big parking problem in town?….. before one actually got in place, members were named and Mark was chairman, and Jon Crowley was council rep.
So what happened this year?
Nothing.
The Mayor didn’t say a word to Mark, nor did anyone else even question it.. But committee members were not mentioned at the reorganization meeting. And only this week, the administrator sent Mark a note letting him know there isn’t going to be a parking committee any more.
No explanation.
No thanks.
No suggestion as to why.
Like all committees, it’s a mayoral appointment with the consent of council. The mayor was out ill, the administrator said, so he couldn’t answer why the committee was so abruptly and silently wiped out. But nobody on council , including council rep Crowley apparently even asked the mayor about it either before or after Mark got his letter. Surely no one explained it to him last night. And only Mr. Crowley actually expressed thanks to Mark for all the hard work he’s done on helping to resolve at least some of the parking problems over the past few years.
Common Courtesy … LOL
What happened to common courtesy?
What happened to showing appreciation to residents who do so much for the borough and take such pride in it?
What happened to taking into consideration good ideas, even admitting if you’ve made a mistake or overlooked something.
Fortunately for all of us, Mark Fisher isn’t the kind of guy who’s going to get offended, take all his knowledge and energy and walk away without offering his input any more. He has too much love for the town, devotion to helping others, and tireless energy to always keep trying to make things better, smarter, more economical, safer and simply better for the town and its taxpayers.
Voulunteer
There’s still more from tonight’s meeting, including the very well spoken woman who was so enthusiastic offering her help and asking how she goes about getting to serve the borough. A fairly newcomer, the lady wants to get involved and do things. But by the end of the meeting, after hearing all of this she spoke again to say now she’s not so sure she wants to get involved. She seemed a bit intimidated and shocked by the lack of gratitude exhibited to Mark and others.
To Susan, I would say…forget about the insult, rise to your own level. Welcome to a wonderful borough, a gorgeous community, smart people who also love the town and would certainly love for you to become involved and feel welcome. You can be the one who makes a difference. Don’t be discouraged, you’ll be a great asset!
For the rest..look for another I Wonder shortly…. And be sure to attend Tuesday night’s 6:30 meeting at Henry Hudson to find out whether the boards of education will just wipe out every possibility of getting a million dollars into the offers by letting the people who pay all the costs decide whether Sea Bright and it money and kids should be part of the regional district.
I find it appalling that you failed to mention the most pressing part of the meeting, the fact we have several residents facing illegal rent increases and potential eviction. How did a woman brought to tears explaining the plight of her neighbors fail to make it into your reporting? Was this oversight on purpose? Curious…
I’m trying to research it. I did not catch the name of her complex and have to listen to the recording to get it. I certainly plan on doing a story about this. As well as the Rent Leveling Board giving these people the wrong application form. Thanks so very much for being that interested in it and calling me on it! I appreciate it
Politicians at all levels of government (local, state and federal) prefer not to deal with citizens like Mark Fisher. As mentioned above, he is well-informed and armed with nothing but facts and a calm demeanor. Politicians prefer not to deal with people who want to hold them accountable.
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