Last week’s special meeting of the Highlands Mayor and Council was a refreshing and long overdue step in the right direction as residents of these small communities all try to learn whether regionalization from Pre-K-12 including Sea Bright is really a good idea.
With all the meetings, all the talk, all the behind the scenes maneuvering, all the public discussions, I still have not heard why getting a bundle of cash from Sea Bright, saving money through consolidation of some services and providing more educational avenues for students is anything but a sensational idea.
For Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, it should have been done when Henry Hudson Regional was first built. However, the sheer cooperation efforts it took between the two towns to get together on at least part of their educational process was probably about all anyone could manage more than half a century ago.
But Mayor Carolyn Broullon kind of set everyone straight at last week’s meeting, and then encouraged each of the council members to express their own views. They lost no time doing that, and within five minutes, anyone listening to the meeting, present for the meeting or hearing a recording afterwards could tell something that has been kept a dirty little secret.
For the newcomers to these boroughs who think it’s preposterous to think there is no rivalry between the towns, wake up and admit the truth. Years ago, one was a clammers town, the other a summer resort for New York wealthy. Even in the 20th century, the Atlantic Highlands kids getting on the bus to parochial schools mocked the Highlands kids already seated. Fights like the Hatfields and McCoys between families continued between the two towns, perhaps people never understanding the reason but knowing it existed. And it passed on to their kids and their kids after that. Maybe that is the one bad result of families loving their own towns so much they marry and come back there to settle down for another generation.
But last week, Mayor Broullon opened admitted that according to law, tradition, habit or something else, she probably should have stated her discussion in executive session. But she did not. And she explained why she did not. “This needs to be discussed,” she began.
Then the Mayor launched into the sordid history of the latest events.. She talked about the many players, the bundle of money, the ups, downs, and waysides of discussion. She talked about three weeks of trying to strike an agreement on money sharing and the ultimate resolution all three towns agreed on and passed. She even talked about how much money attorneys are making on all these talks and meetings.
Then she dropped the next bomb on her residents. She explained that not only had Atlantic Highlands passed yet another resolution setting up some startling new proposals on cost sharing, but they even said in the resolution that Highlands had already agreed to it. Mayor Broullon wanted her residents to know Highlands was not even made aware of a new resolution, let alone had read it and agreed to it. But that’s what Atlantic Highlands said. And did.
The Mayor said the new position this latest action put Highlands in “is not easily digestible.”
At the mayor’s invitation, Councilman Don Melnyk was the next to opinionate. Now here’s a councilman who decided it was more proper to recuse himself from voting because his wife is on a school board, unlike in a similar position in Atlantic Highlands where a board member quit her elected position so her husband could vote as a councilman.
But Mr. Melnyk lashed out, quite forcefully and properly representing his constituents when it comes to taxes, to protest that their town was “being dictated to by Atlantic Highlands.” He said they had “no idea “ their neighbor was going to be pulling a last minute switch, charged them with trying to extort more money. He even reminded everybody listening something that nobody ever brings up or appreciates: it’s Highlands that provides the police, the road maintenance, and all the other ‘incidentals’ that are not covered by school funds but rather by local taxation from other accounts, costs their neighbors do not share. He was masterful in his presentation.
Then Councilwoman Jo-Anne Olszewski had her say, and everyone apparently listened very closely to her, given her expertise in a large city school district, her experience in education, and her love for the town. She explained the neighboring town had put Highlands over a barrel. We have a deadline to meet, she said, yet we only heard about this last minute change two hours before. If we don’t approve what some have called extortion, it would be Highlands who would get blamed for not getting the question to the people to let them decide. Admittedly, approving it takes thousands of dollars from Highlands in the new deal, but Atlantic Highlands did not leave their neighbors with much choice, she explained.
Councilman Karen Chelak agreed and admitted that “it sounds like Atlantic Highlands is holding us hostage. She also opined that it’s another case of Atlantic Highlands “looking down on Highlands.”
Councilman Leo Cervantes couldn’t agree more, adding his own few words in agreement and telling his fellow borough leaders “you said it all.”
Through the discussions, the adjectives and nouns describing the neighboring town were plentiful: “acting in bad faith, playing politics, extortion, sneaky, outrageous, objectionable, playing the clock, and more.
In the end, it was Councilwoman Olszewski, the teacher, who said she would “hold her nose” and offer the resolution, rather than kill the idea of letting the people vote for what they want.
And so it was approved unanimously by a council who truly wants to keep its taxpayers and residents informed about regionalization. This borough wants to give the voters the opportunity to make their own choice on whether it’s good for them.
That is why after hearing all of the unknown actions Highlands had only learned about a couple of hours earlier involving the Atlantic Highlands Council and their special attorney….and I still do not know why those taxpayers had to pay yet another attorney for this last minute under cover change….it was overwhelming and disturbingly disappointing and unbelievable to me to hear the Atlantic Highlands Councilwoman appear at the Highlands meeting and not even mention she’s the one who offered the resolution to take those thousands of dollars from Highlands
