I Hope Cell Towers Are Around As Long As Betamax

Just because a thing can be done doesn’t mean it should be done. This is an attitude and concept that seems to be sorely missing in culture and society today. In an age of parents disengaged from their children, either willfully or circumstantially, we have enabled a generation who feel entitled to everything and act without any consideration of consequence. Whether its online activity ranging from the asinine to the criminal, pregnant teenagers who are made rich exploiting themselves on TV, or the Matrix like mind altering reality where Snookie is a New York Times best selling author, children see no reason to stop, think, and consider the consequences of their decisions and their actions. What has become of personal responsibility and responsibility to your community?

Is this the legacy of TV westerns and those raised on them: rush into action, shoot first, and ask questions later because no one will really get hurt? Look at the media that reports assumptions as fact, then tries and convicts in 15-second teasers. Our politicians and sports and entertainment stars seem to be on a never-ending circuit of apologizing to the public for “ being selfish” and “not thinking first”. Kurt Vonnegut joked that all products should come with a universal warning: “THINK BEFORE USING” because it was clear that we were becoming a society in a constant state of re-action, usually to messes of our own creation, and that caution had become the enemy of progress.

Technology is always a big area for this type of anxiety. From the atomic bomb, to the human genome, to stem cells, one central question must precede all others: Should we do it just because we can? Some say that ethical arguments have no place in science as they are inherently biased, but contrary to accepted belief, science does not exist without a bias of its own. All human endeavor has been conducted with at least some feeling that the result will either be “good” or save us from “harm”.

Cell towers may not be as attention grabbing as cloning, but they have been a serious cause of concern and anxiety from their inception. They don’t bother me so much, but I know they bother most, and I can sympathize. I would never want to live next to one of those huge generator stations. What got my back up about the Edgar Rd tower issue was not that I was against towers, but that I was appalled by the treatment of the surrounding residents. No one should defend their property and their peace of mind from their own government. Our government is supposed to be an instrument of the people that does for us as a community what we cannot do for ourselves as individuals, not decide when we’re equal and when we’re not.

A new tower has just been approved in another neighborhood. The same fears and arguments were heard, but there was no technicality in this instance to put the brakes on. I don’t know if this was the right or wrong thing, but I feel as I did with Edgar Rd that in the face of direct objection, even if they are a minority of the community they are the majority of this neighborhood, compromise must be sought. These “Not In My Backyard” conflicts are messy at best but I can’t believe the best outcome should leave some feeling less equal than others. That being said, I wonder how many of us would have electricity and telephones if they tried to put up all those poles and lines today?

I applaud Mike Permuko for voting with his conscience and his conviction, that the surrounding residents’ concerns should be at least equal to the monetary benefit of the town. We will all see fractions of a penny’s worth of tax relief paid for by the Burnt Tavern residents who will see their home value negatively affected. I guess one person’s gain is always at another’s expense. You can argue all day that the technology is safe, but the public perception of safety, regardless of “fact”, is what dictates the market.

I don’t mean to say the other Planning Board members acted dishonestly. I think Mr. Giordano was clear and correct when he said he acted as the law allows, but this does bring me back to my point: We don’t have to approve something just because the law allows it. An allowance in the law does not bind us to action. We are a community that has direct influence on our composition. We must all act, whether as public servants or as private citizens, for our common good, a common ideal that holds us all equal. I know absolute execution of this is nearly impossible but there is a second part to my belief: Just because something seems impossible doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to achieve it.

This has been a recurring notion since stumbling into public life and the most important thing I feel I can do in my time is to find folks that feel the same and support them. That’s why I’m glad to call Mike my friend. I know that whether or not I agree with him that I can be sure of his honesty and his integrity, I trust him. There are too many people out there acting in “our interest” that have to be studied and dissected and whose motivations will always be in doubt. When Mike shares an opinion I don’t second guess him the way the Burnt Tavern residents will forever second guess the safety of the tower out their windows. At least they will no longer need to second-guess the government that has certainly let them down.

Please let cell towers be a short-lived transitional technology.

Message From The Mayor: The Storm Is Coming But We Have A Lifeboat

Editor, The Ocean Star:

Former Mayor Konkus, Sue Rogers and their team have created a financial crisis in Point Pleasant. In their last year in office, instead of balancing the budget and cutting spending, they raided our schools and borrowed $560,000 from the school fund.

Now, Rogers and Konkus are gone, but they have left us with approximately $1.2 million in debt and budget shortfall.

Where did all this money go? We don’t even know, because the Rogers and Konkus team failed to keep adequate records, as legally required. Last month, the Boro was forced spend $50,000 on an auditor to reconstruct the books so we can trace the money trail. We are contacting the prosecutor’s office, and requested an investigation into the possible misuse of funds.

We do know how some of our money was wasted. Millions of dollars of purchases and contracts went to friends and campaign contributors. Just one example was the unnecessary purchase of a $150,000 computer system that has been virtually unused.

Who will pay for their waste and mismanagement? We all will. Police and other public workers may be furloughed despite the fact that they did not create this mess. The taxpayers are on the hook for the $560,000 loan from the schools and the $600,000 budget shortfall from 2010.

What is our team’s plan to fix this mess?

1. We reduced the Boro payroll $650,000 by incentivizing early retirement of public workers.

2. We expect to generate $250,000 or more in new revenue by putting an on-site liquor consumption license up for bid.

3. We have identified a potential cost savings of $400,000 by exploring alternatives to current trash and recycling contracts.

4. We will continue to look for ways to cut spending and expand revenues in order to balance the budget.

The combination of debt and budget shortfall left to us by our predecessors has created a fiscal crisis. We may not have created this crisis, but we are willing to make the tough choices that it will take to fix it — and that means putting everything on the table.

We commit to keeping you fully informed throughout the coming months as the situation continues to unfold, and we look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions. We encourage you to attend the next council meeting, or call us at 732-892-3434.

WILLIAM SCHROEDER MAYOR OF POINT PLEASANT

Spring Is Here And It's Time To Open The Skate Park

An open letter to the residents of Point Pleasant, in particular my fellow council members:

This Tuesday, I will be introducing a management ordinance for the Municipal Skate Park to replace the “Board of Skate Park Commissioners” ordinance passed last fall. It is my belief that the special commission approach to managing the park, while well-intentioned, is impractical. There are already bodies in place to address concerns with the park’s facilities and deal with users that do not respect the rules and regulations. It is unfortunate that problems with a handful of teenagers have escalated to this point, but it is entirely unreasonable to expect a group of “deputized” neighbors to enforce the rules upon children who have a well-documented history of disrespect, if not outright contempt, for members of our Police, Public Works and Recreation Departments. This is an invitation to even more trouble when people who are not trained in conflict management, as our officers are, are expected to intervene in what may be a tense situation between several parties.

I have spent some time researching this issue and looking to other towns that have overcome similar difficulties. I have also had great input from our Recreation, Public Works, and Police Departments, as they are the ones who will bear, and have borne, the responsibility of park management. I can say that this plan for a provisional opening with limited hours, and a policy of strict enforcement of the rules and penalties, has the full support of these departments. It is my contention that the best way to deal with those that choose to abuse their access to the park is to make doing so, from this point on, an inconvenient and expensive attitude. I’m proposing hours on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sundays until it’s demonstrated that the atmosphere has changed. I will also be in search of grants or other funding to purchase the camera system that will transmit to Police headquarters as well as the Recreation Department’s website’s skate park page where parents or any resident will be able to monitor the park at any time. It will not be long until the park can be returned to full operating hours and this yearlong ordeal is a grey memory.

I hope this matter will not be like some that have come down to a split vote. Because of my involvement and commitment to this cause, and my complete faith in this as the simplest and most practical solution, I implore my fellow council members to please, at the very least, move this ordinance past the introduction and take the next three weeks to consider the matter and confer with all the involved parties. When the final vote comes, I will beg you that we not be remembered as the council that let a milestone of our community disappear, because we couldn’t figure out how to curb a half-dozen 15 and 16 year-olds instead of preserving it for the scores of children that use the park without incident.

A Vision For Point Pleasant: Part 1

It would be difficult if not impossible to find someone in our community that would not put our parks and natural resources at the top of their list of Point Pleasant’s greatest attributes. Those that have lived their lives here have seen the preservation of Slade Dale and Dorsett Dock, and witnessed, if not advocated for, the development of Beaver Damn, Community, and Riverfront Parks.  For those like me that chose to settle in Point Pleasant, these great spaces drew us here because they couldn’t be matched in any other town. Plenty of towns have playgrounds or basketball courts hidden away behind developments, but how many have carefully planned and developed spaces like ours? And more so, how many have parks with the great potential of ours?

I vividly remember the first time we went to Community Park and the visions of big bands, orchestras, community theatre, movie nights, festivals, and holiday celebrations that flew through my mind. Our band shell is iconic and I think the poster art for the new and improved Summerfest is proof positive. That is an image that can help brand our town to a degree that no other town in Ocean or Monmouth could hope for. Think of how many great destinations are instantly recognized by the silhouette of a building? The Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Science Center, Disney, The Sydney Opera House, Big Ben, The Eiffel Tower, or my favorite, the stands at Hayward Field! I don’t mean that we should exploit or town. I know how deeply we want to preserve the intimacy and connectedness that we all enjoy. What I do mean is that as we look to the future development and growth of our borough we have an opportunity to develop its identity, and in creating that identity we have every marketer’s dream-an easily identifiable image, a symbol, of Point Pleasant.

More important than the symbol of something special, we already have the ingredients of a great town. We are small, self-contained, and more like one large neighborhood than anything else. We enjoy schools and services we can all be proud of and that are the envy of surrounding towns. We don’t need to create a vibrant commercial area, we just need to nurture the one we already have. And as we move forward with new ways to celebrate our community and share it with neighbors near and far, we don’t need to create the settings, they’re already here and they are magnificent. I can’t wait to see Summerfest in Community Park. I can’t wait to see the Relay For Life on full display in the heart of our community, sending the signal to other towns that we don’t tuck our relay away, we put it right up front so everyone can see our strength and passion. Riverfront Park provides an intimacy perfect for other events like this year’s Earth Day Festival. How could you not celebrate the spirit of Earth Day in our finest example of forward thinking and environmental planning? Now just imagine Jazz in the Park, Car Shows, parties, flower shows, cook outs, you name it! We have the raw material and as I wrote in my letter to the Ocean Star, now we need the willingness.

Fortunately Point Pleasant’s greatest resource is our friends and neighbors. There are so many of us with visions and beautiful dreams. I’ve been fortunate to meet many of them this past year in the schools, sports clubs, the skatepark, and making the rounds campaigning. Our community has a rare opportunity for self-examination and careful planning. This is our chance to turn the earth and prepare for next year’s crops. I for one can’t wait to see what springs up.