Category Archives: From the Meeting Room

Get the scoop on what’s going on at the area’s municipal meetings and after.

Fair Haven: Lt. Bob Townshend’s Hometown Police Promotion

By Elaine Van Develde

You can call him Lieutenant — Fair Haven Police Lt. Bob Townshend.

The lifetime Fair Havenite and longtime policeman in the borough, surrounded by colleagues, forever friends and family, was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant at Monday night’s Borough Council meeting.

Continue reading Fair Haven: Lt. Bob Townshend’s Hometown Police Promotion

Names in Fair Haven News

There are some familiar and new faces and names in Fair Haven borough business.

At last Monday’s Borough Council meeting, a Special Law Enforcement Officer Class I was promoted to Class II in the Fair Haven Police Department, a new full-time laborer was hired for a probationary period in the borough’s Department of  Public Works and part-time seasonal laborer was brought into the same department.

By resolution, Police Chief Darryl Breckenridge recommended that Michael Volker be appointed to Special Law Enforcement Officer Class II.

The recommendation came along with a request, via resolution, to appoint a Special Law Enforcement Officer Class I to fill the spot vacated by Volker in his promotion.

Volker is filling the Special Class II spot left open when Robert Henne Jr., who passed away in March, was posthumously promoted to patrolman in the department.

The appointment of an as of yet unnamed Class I officer will become effective July 15.

Volker, a Fair Haven resident, is a Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School graduate. He is also a graduate of the Academy of Law and Public Safety, Long Branch.

His rate of pay for the Class II position is $16.75 per hour.

In Public Works, Matthew Rosenstreich was hired, via resolution, as a full-time laborer.

Rosenstreich, whose hiring is now in the probationary period, will earn an annual salary of $30,043.99.

The position was advertised on the borough’s and League of Municipalities’ website. Rosenstreich, who was deemed to best suit its qualifications, was interviewed by both the borough administrator, Theresa Casagrande and Richard Gardella, director of the borough’s Department of Engineering and Public Works.

Also hired as a part-time seasonal laborer in Public Works was Patrick Anderson, according to the resolution.

Anderson’s hours are not to exceed those of a part-time employee, according to the resolution, and his rate of pay is $11 per hour.

 — Elaine Van Develde

Honor for Nativity’s Father Bob

They call him Father Bob.

His full, formal name is Rev. Robert Schecker. He’s been the pastor at Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven since 2004.

Since he started at the church 11 years ago, everyone, including non-parishioners, got to know him. That’s because he has become, over the years, a highly visible and valued member of the community.

And, since Father Bob announced his retirement from Nativity, effective June 30, the Fair Haven governing body decided it was a good time to thank him for his dedication to the community with a proclamation.

That was Monday night.

The proclamation, in particular, cited that “Father Bob has not only been a spiritual leader of the parish, but an overseer of many projects to improve the church and surrounding property including many upgrades and repairs to the Church Building, Chapel, Cloister, Office and Religious Education classrooms, the Rectory and Parish Hall as well as the outside grounds; and …

“he is a member of the Rumson-Fair Haven Community Alliance which was formed in 2013 to provide prevention education, guidelines when recovery is needed and compassionate, ongoing support for all. He has provided valuable input and support for the program; and …

“Father Bob has always made the church facilities available to the Borough in our time of need which has been the hallmark of his tenure, accommodation for community needs.”

A man of few words, Father Bob accepted the proclamation, listened in on the regular meeting for a bit and made a quiet exit, not without Mayor Ben Lucarelli and council members once again thanking him for his service and wishing him well.

Thanks, Father Bob.

Share your memories of Father Bob.

— Elaine Van Develde

Fair Haven Municipal Budget Adopted

By Elaine Van Develde

Calling the $8.4 million 2015 Fair Haven municipal budget a sound one with no compromising of borough services, the Borough Council unanimously adopted the spending plan at its Monday night meeting.

What it boils down to is roughly a $100 hike in the municipal rate for the average assessed property in the borough.

The average assessed property value in Fair Haven this year is $720,000, up from $688,540 last year. It actually means a slightly lower tax rate per $100 of assessed value, but the rise in average assessed value naturally raises the rate on the average home.

The amount to be raised by taxation is $6.1 million for 2015, calculating an increase of $231,591.

The budget “brings us back to the same spending level as in 2008,” after vacillating from cuts to increases in spending, Mayor Ben Lucarelli said. But, he added, it has never gone past that 2008 point.

The spending plan increased by about 3 percent this year.

Surplus is at $800,000, Borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande said, adding that she feels the budget is a tight, sound one. leaving a healthy enough surplus.

Another plus for the borough is that its debt is down to about $3 million, after paying down about half, which gives the borough an excellent credit rating, officials said.

For more details, click here for the story on the budget draft and here for the full budget on the borough website.

New Hires in Fair Haven

By Elaine Van Develde

You may have noticed a couple of new faces in Fair Haven Borough Hall and around town.

That’s because in the past month, there have been two permanent new hires in the borough.

Jennifer Johnson has been appointed as the part-time administrative assistant for Engineering, Zoning, Code Enforcement, Public Works and Records Management.

Her pay is $15 an hour; and, she is to be working an average of 25 hours a week, or no more than 100 per month, according to the resolution, which was approved at the May 11 Borough Council meeting. The hiring was effective May 12.

In addition, Director of Engineering and Public Works Richard Gardella recommended Justin Herner be appointed as a part-time borough  seasonal laborer at $11 per hour. The recommendation was approved via resolution at the May 11 council meeting.

His hours for the job are not to exceed part-time limits, according to the resolution.

Fair Haven Faces Proposed Tax Hike

By Elaine Van Develde

It’s not yet set in borough books, or even officially been introduced; but, if there are no cuts from the draft, Fair Haven property owners could be facing an average hike of roughly $102 in municipal taxes in 2015.

Average means what quantifies as the current average assessed property value in the borough of $720,900, up from $688,540 last year, Borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande said at Monday night’s Borough Council meeting. It actually means a lower tax rate per $100 of assessed value, but the rise in average assessed value naturally raises the rate on the average home.

What it boils down to is that “the conceptual average home will pay 101.83 more than it did in 2015,” Casagrande said. “I want to make it clear that this is not 1-2-3 Main Street. I could sit here and tell you that our tax rate is going down, but (the reality is that) as your average assessed value increased what we did was we calculated what an average assessed home paid this year versus what the average assessed property paid in 2014.”

In the grander scheme of budget talk, it means that spending plan in the borough, with its budget rough draft, went from about $8.3 to $8.4 million, or roughly a 3 percent increase.

The amount to be raised by taxation, or “appropriations minus revenue,” has been drafted at $6.1 million for 2015, calculating an increase of $231,591.

The number is arrived at from figuring the “combination of a slight increase in appropriations with a reduction in anticipated revenue,” which Casagrande said is down this year by about $148,000. That loss is largely due to the borough not being able to calculate in the $117,000 it got from FEMA last year for Hurricane Sandy damage.

A portion of the tax hike blame rests with unavoidable standard raises in employee health care costs and pensions, which, this year, will cost the borough $437,696.

“It’s a good budget. We have to maintain a level of affordability with quality municipal services,” Council President Jonathan Peters, liaison to the borough Finance Committee, said. “We don’t want to be a high cost, low service town.”

And while most council members at Monday night’s council meeting called the spending plan, in the works since January, a “good budget,” Councilman Robert Marchese said he “cannot stomach raising taxes. This gives me pause. Period. We need to care about seniors and those living on a fixed income. Taxes just can’t keep going up.”

And all that has been considered, Casagrande said, mentioning that there is a senior tax abatement program via the state dubbed Senior Freeze for which many have already applied. The income limit for the program is $85,553.

And, Mayor Ben Lucarelli said, when considering per capita expenses, or municipal services offered, Fair Haven is beyond the high end, comparatively, at about $1,397 on an average per capita spending of $1,295 to $1,350 in small versus large towns. But, he said, the services provided are much better than those in larger towns with lower taxes.

When that per capita number is lowered, “the level of services drops dramatically,” he said. And, he added, Fair Haven is known for providing a premium of municipal services that most people, in his experience, do not want to do without.

With this budget, officials said, a lot of the debt service in the borough, or $189,00, was wiped out, bringing the total debt down to $3 million.

“We’re now at the same level we were at in 2008,” Lucarelli said. “The budget has been chopped down and creeped up since then, but has never exceeded the 2008 number.”

For six years straight, from 2008 to 2013, Fair Haven boasted holding the line on municipal taxes, which comprises a little more than 20 percent of the tax bill, with no municipal tax hike (and one minuscule decrease) until last year.

 

Fair Haven Baseball: A Sign of Contention

By Elaine Van Develde

It’s a sign of baseball times in Fair Haven and something that officials think is a foul ball thrown onto the borough’s fields.

Officials discussed at Monday night’s Borough Council meeting what amounted to the latest microcosm in a longstanding quandary over donations to the baseball program in the borough with corporate sponsorship strings attached — most recently, a donated scoreboard that comes with a large corporate sponsorship plaque.

“We were told about it when it was en route,” Mayor Ben Lucarelli said. “Now it’s at the DPW (Department of Public Works). The kids want the scoreboard. It’s a nice donation. But it should be just that — a donation. It’s not proper to have what amounts to a commercial ad sitting on public fields. There should be no strings attached. They should be coming to us on things like this and asking our permission. I don’t vote, but, I move that we allow the sign to be erected without the sponsorship plaque.”

Council members agreed. But the agreement didn’t end without a  recount of what they called an uncooperative history of Fair Haven Baseball, a separate non-profit (501c3) entity, taking corporate sponsorships and advertising on banners in the public fields without any communication with borough officials.

The fact that “Fair Haven Baseball just threw up sponsorship signs against our will is just bad behavior,” Councilman Rowland Wilhelm said. “These fields rely on borough resources to maintain.”

It’s a matter of public versus private interests, Council President Jonathan Peters said.

“It’s been a bone of contention,” the mayor said. “Back in the day, things were simple. There were no sponsorships, no separate organization, just volunteers.”

The teams organized and played ball wherever they could. Then came a non-profit baseball organization and Fair Haven Fields. The fields are maintained and improved by the borough — to the tune of about $.5 million most recently.

They are public property, by virtue of not only the fact that the fields are owned and maintained by the borough, but that they were purchased with NJ Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres funds. As such, in accordance with Green Acres parameters, they must be kept open to the public and preserved as recreational open space.

Herein lies the dilemma. Since the old days, Fair Haven has decentralized its Recreation Department. So, Fair Haven Baseball has become the separate organization that it now is — a non-profit.

Commercial sponsorship donations are garnered to support the organization via various advertising methods like the banners. A large chunk of the funds that that they do receive, officials noted, do go toward Fair Haven Fields’ maintenance.

But, there is a conflict of interest when commercial entities advertise on a public property. Yes, officials said, you see it all the time on major league baseball fields. But the ownership of those fields is a different story. There’s a corporate investment from the onset.

“In the end, the goal is to have a good season and get the kids to Cooperstown,” Lucarelli said. “These are good volunteers. But, they forget that they’re in Fair Haven and the ballfields are owned by the borough.”

And, the Fair Haven Baseball gets exclusive use of the fields. No one else can play when they are scheduled.

“At the end of the day, the scoreboard is here,” Lucarelli said.

Council voted to erect it without the sponsorship plaque.

As for the future, “Can we give them a scathing letter that says, ‘If you do this again, the answer will be no?’ ” Councilwoman Susan Sorensen, liaison to the Recreation Department said. “Enough is enough.”

The board will take about three days to install, officials estimated. When, exactly, it will be erected has not yet been determined.

 

 

Fair Haven: Names in Borough Business

By Elaine Van Develde

There’s been some change in names and faces in and around Fair Haven Borough Hall.

The biggest change comes from the office of the tax collector.

With the recent announcement of 38-year tax collector Dale Connor’s retirement, effective May 1, came the appointment of the borough’s new tax collector, Denise Jawidzik.

Continue reading Fair Haven: Names in Borough Business

Springing into FH Sidewalk Cafes

By Elaine Van Develde

It’s a distinct sign of the arrival of spring in Fair Haven when sidewalk cafe permits start getting approved.

So far, three were sanctioned at the March 23 Borough Council meeting: Umberto’s, Kind Burger and Fairwinds Deli.

And with the advent of warmer weather, more sidewalk dining is expected to sprout around town at other usual spots, such as Booskerdoo, Balderose Fine Foods and Tavolo.

Over the past few years, officials have encouraged the al fresco eating in the borough along with the use of sidewalks for other business boosts. They have seen it as another measure to add to the ambience of the downtown area and complement its Streetscape program amenities.

The permits approved for Umberto’s, Fairwinds and Kind Burger allow for the following outdoor seating:

• Umberto’s will be allowed four tables and 12 chairs;

• Kind burger will have four tables with eight chairs;

• and Fairwinds will be allowed five outdoor tables to accommodate 20 patrons.

Subdivision Deemed Good Fit for Longtime Fair Haven Church Property

By Elaine Van Develde

Before long, Fair Haven’s Church Street will no longer be true to its namesake.

The borough’s Planning Board unanimously approved a three-home subdivision — of one 3,000- and two 2,000-square-feet, roof-porched homes with garages and decks — on the .54-acre parcel of land at the corner of River Road and Church Street, which long into the borough’s history has housed the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion.

The subdivision takes up “890-square-feet less than what (currently) exists,” said Elizabeth Waterbury, the planner who testified for the applicant, Rumson-based Kolarsick Builders Inc., at Wednesday night’s Planning Board meeting. “We’re staying within FAR (floor-area ratio) we’re staying within maximum habitable (space) … looking to create a conforming subdivision.”

Continue reading Subdivision Deemed Good Fit for Longtime Fair Haven Church Property

Honoring Fair Haven’s Larry Quigley

By Elaine Van Develde

What is it that longtime Fair Havenite Larry Quigley has not done as a volunteer serving the town he has called home for more than a quarter of a century?

“That’s the question,” Mayor Ben Lucarelli said before Monday night’s Borough Council meeting as he looked over a proclamation the borough had prepared to honor Quigley. “If you ask what he’s done, the list is just endless. So the question becomes ‘What has Larry Quigley not done?’ and the answer is ‘Not much.’ I’m looking at about, let’s see, nine committees and/or boards he’s served on, not to mention the fire company.”

So, the mayor said, that’s why the borough decided to honor Quigley. “He really deserves it,” Lucarelli said.

Quigley, an attorney, has lived in the borough for more than 25 years, the proclamation said. He was recognized for his “many years of selfless public service.”

In those years, Quigley has served on Fair Haven’s: Historic Commission; Planning and Zoning (14 years) boards, with a stint as vice-chairman of Zoning; Long Range Planning Committee, as chairman of its Land Use subcommittee; Land Use and Revision Committee (1996 to 1998); Memorial Park Advisory Committee; World War II Veterans’ Memorial Monument Committee; 9/11 Memorial Committee; and the Communications Committee, as its first chairman in 2003.

Quigley was also chairman of the 2008 Veterans Day in the borough.

He was also a social member of the Fair Haven Volunteer Fire Department.

“As our first Communications Committee chair, Larry really helped a lot with advising the administration on how to effectively communicate with residents, such as with our newsletter (Focus on Fair Haven), and he was also the unofficial photographer for a lot of events,” the mayor said. “His dedication just didn’t stop at committees. Larry’s advice, as the proclamation says, has been sought out by everybody — mayors, administrators, council members, attorneys, employees. We thank him and wish him the best.”

Meeting Night in Fair Haven: Invasive Species & Special Honor on Agenda

Tonight is Fair Haven Borough Council meeting night.

There are a few things on the agenda that may pique people’s interest.

First, Larry Quigley, a longtime resident who has served on roughly nine committees and commissions, including the Planning and Zoning boards and Historic Preservation Commission, will be honored with a proclamation.

Congratulations to Larry. Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect will be there to follow up with a full story.

In addition to Quigley’s proclamation, a few issues will be workshopped.

Among those issues on the agenda is a slated discussion on invasive (plant) species. Mayor Ben Lucarelli had said that while the borough is hesitant to be the arbiter of what people can and cannot plant on their properties, there have been problems with species — a certain variety of bamboo, in particular — rooting, creeping under property lines and cracking and unearthing driveways, for instance.

A speed limit change to River Road will also be discussed as will some tree permit denials.

To check out the agenda yourself, click here.