Departments Deliver ‘Wish’ Lists; Skate Park Ordinance Tabled

COURT HOUSE – Police Chief Christopher Leusner submitted his capital asset request list during the work session of Middle Township Committee June 16. It included, in order of priority: mobile data terminals (used in vehicles to run licenses and registrations, do credit checks and run the dash cameras); defibrillators need to be replaced to bring the number from four to six; radar display signs; and desktop computers.
Leusner also requested cots, blankets, phones and a larger television for the emergency center. He said that the FBI has imposed an unfunded mandate on small police departments throughout the country for a Live Scan System that, in addition to fingerprints, does palm prints and facial recognition.
Sean McDevitt, head of Emergency Services, submitted his request for a four-wheel drive replacement vehicle. McDevitt said this would be an added help to the two Humvees received from military surplus.
Goshen Recreation Complex is seeking a floor buffer for $4,400 and the repair of lights at a cost of $14,400.
Skateboard Park
During the regular meeting, Justin Cline, 19, and his friend Aaron Taylor, both of Middle Township, spoke about an ordinance to amend the code regulating the skateboard park. Cline, a scooter rider, stood to object to the exclusion of scooters and other action sports equipment from the skateboard park. He was so persuasive that when he finished Mayor Timothy Donohue motioned to have the ordinance tabled and invited Cline to meet with him to discuss improvements to the proposed legislation. Cline’s appearance and advocacy for his point of view impressed the committee and showed the power of one citizen.
Rumble Strip and Traffic Light
Committeeman Michael Clark brought news from Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st). The state has approved placement of a rumble strip along a portion of Route 47 in an effort to cut down on vehicular accidents. He also said the state should have the traffic light on Route 47 at Fulling Mill Road operational by mid-July.
Abandoned Properties
Ray and Carol Mixon went to the meeting to seek relief from the abandoned properties in their neighborhood that, they said, are eyesores and pose a serious danger to children and others in the area. The Mixons said they have been enduring this for nine years and they want the government to do something about it.
Many of the empty buildings have been foreclosed and are owned by banks. Administrator Constance Mahon, who has been trying to resolve the situation, admitted that empty houses in disrepair “are on the increase,” in the township. Solicitor Marc Karavan reminded everyone that intricate procedural rules must be observed when taking someone’s property or slating it for demolition. Mahon assured the Mixons that their concerns were at the top of her list.
Library Steps and Other Resident Concerns
Sam Kelly, Democratic candidate for committee, wanted to know why the sidewalk and steps in front of the library have still not been repaired. Donohue promised to call Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton about the matter.
Stan Doniger of Rio Grande questioned certain expenditures listed such as the $500 allowance for mechanic Walter Bell’s tools, the salaries of the tax collector and the assistant tax collector which total over $102,000 per year and the very large electric bill.
Whitesboro resident Rosie Jefferson brought more than one issue. She renewed her request for an additional bus stop in her community and asked, “Why is there a need for a liaison between committee and the Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro?”
Jefferson referred to committee’s announced intention of appointing Melanie Collins as the liaison between the two. Jefferson read a long, prepared statement much of which was a direct attack on Collins. Jefferson questioned Collins’ sincerity and asked why she has not volunteered for the Homework Club.
She accused the elected officials of “shirking their responsibilities” by trying to foist it off on a liaison. Jefferson said she suspected “political overtones.” She reminded Donohue that he was running for re-election and he needed to “be seen in Whitesboro.”
Donohue responded that he was not the one “who politicized it.” He then stated it was “Eileen Fausey, a Democrat committee woman and Michael Clark. It was the Democrats and not the Republicans who politicized it.” He also asserted that Collins, an unsuccessful candidate for committee, “was attacked because she has an ‘R’ next to her name.”
Jefferson told him that she was a Republican. Donohue ended by saying he knew that she “had heartfelt concerns for her community.”
It was Kelly who had the last word. “That was a disgrace. You were disrespectful to her and now you are disrespectful to me. Rosie is a Republican.”
To contact Helen McCaffrey, email hmccaffrey@cmcherald.com.