Merry
Christmas, happy Chanukah, and joyous Kwanzaa to all! Can
you believe it's December already? It feels like we were
just at the Fourth of July parade! Where to begin?
Let's
start with the blackout. While we're still waiting on a
report of the root cause, we all have to be proud of how
it was handled in Neptune. The Police Department, fire departments,
EMS, fire police, and OEM did a great job of controlling
traffic, responding to the scene, and assisting citizens
and business owners. The Ocean Grove Citizens Patrol was
on standby if needed, and the county provided air and traffic
support. Our communications operators fielded many calls
to reassure residents.
A lot
of times, people complain about how much Neptune spends
on emergency equipment, but it's situations like this where
we see its value.
The Ocean
Grove Parking Committee had its first meeting on December
10, with representatives of the Township Committee, the
OGHA, the Ocean Grove Fire Department, the Police Department,
the Camp Meeting Association, the Historical Society, the
Chamber of Commerce, and citizens.
After
our initial venting, we began looking at the task at hand.
This will not be easy, or a short-term task. We are going
to look at short-term and long-term options, parking enforcement,
and expectations. We dig in at our January meeting, after
which there will be more to report.
The Township
Committee reviewed an online magazine-type website at our
December 1 meeting that would tie in to our existing website
(which is finally back up and running at full speed after
being hacked by a Bulgarian code-eating virus). The webizine,
for lack of a better term, included information and statistics
about all the diverse neighborhoods, job, recreation and
shopping opportunities in Neptune. It also comes with a
$10,000 price tag. The EDC and the Township are looking
at ways to better market our community, but we need to talk
about whether this is the right approach (and the right
price). We started off with just the videos, and somehow
ended up with a webizine.
I personally
am not sure we should be spending that much money on this
type of project right now. We have recently bonded for major
infrastructure projects, like the road program, Phase V
of the flooding control project in Ocean Grove, and a few
other things. Why now, in this climate?
For one
thing, we received a favorable interest rate, due to the
town's good history of payment, and also because we were
able to do so, in this tight credit climate. With this unpredictable
economy, we couldn't guarantee we would be able to bond
in January. And why would that be a bad thing, you ask?
Well,
these are not "wants" we are bonding for; they
are needs. These are infrastructure improvements that will
cost us even more to fix, replace, or complete if we push
them off. If the worst happened and we needed to bond on
an emergency basis, we would pay egregiously high interest
rates and fees. For what you pay in taxes, you deserve good
roads, a sewer system that works, and to not have your house
flooded.
The groundbreaking
for West Lake Avenue takes place on December 16! You may
have seen all the demolition that has taken place so far.
Join us at the Midtown Community School on the 16th at 10:30
am to see the beginning of the fresh start for Midtown.
Take
care, folks, be well and no matter what your holiday, have
a safe and happy one! See you in the New Year! - Regards,
Mary Beth