Ocean View Fire Commissioners Face Irate, Standing-Room-Only Crowd

Photos by Luis Arroyo.
DENNISVILLE – A special meeting held by the Fire Commissioners of Dennis Township Fire District No. 1 was postponed when the growing crowd outnumbered available space within Township Hall. The purpose of the Nov. 13 meeting was to ask voters to approve the transfer of $200,000 from the capital fund to the general budget.
Shortly after 7 p.m., as people continued to squeeze into the conference room, Commission Chairman Bryan Moran said there were too many people in the room, and that those who lived outside of District No. 1 would have to leave. Nobody budged. Instead the crowd began to chant, “Vote! Vote! Vote!”
The noise escalated and voices came from every corner of the room. Some called for the commissioners to move the meeting to the nearby school. Others asked if the residents could vote in shifts. Another person suggested the people have the opportunity to vote as they left the building.
Fire District No. 1 Commissioner Secretary John Gansert asked the crowd to settle down while commissioners took a few minutes to gather their thoughts. After a short recess, Moran addressed the crowd.
“Let me start by saying the commission has the utmost respect and gratitude for the firemen of Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company,” Moran said. He continued to explain that the issues within the fire company administration had nothing to do with the firemen of the district, but instead had to do with “the dangerous, deceiving, and manipulating choices of the few that are running the company for power instead of public safety.”
The turmoil came to a head in February 2013, when voters rejected the fire district’s budget for the first time in 35 years.
Moran, who spent 10 years volunteering for the Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company, cited a New Jersey State statute when explaining a fire company’s relationship with the commissioners within a fire district. “The members of the company shall be under the supervision and control of the board of fire commissioners and in performing fire duty shall be deemed to be exercising a governmental function,” Moran read. “This statute obligates the commission to supervise the members of the fire company in which it contracts.”
“The commissioners of Fire District No. 1 cannot do their job properly without the full cooperation of the fire company that it contracts,” Moran continued. He said commissioners, on numerous occasions, have requested paperwork from the fire company, including fire training certificates and fire apparatus reports, to no avail. The commissioners, who are responsible for the purchasing and repair of equipment, questioned the fire company’s submission of invoices.
“We’ve asked the fire company to let us know when the trucks need to be repaired so that we can take care of the repairs,” said Moran. “Instead we get thousands of dollars in bills with no explanation why the trucks are broke or how they got broke. We have no reports or no nothing.”
According to Moran, four separate contracts have been presented to the Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company. All have been denied. “This just shows that they were not willing to make any changes or try meet in the middle,” said Moran.
In a letter sent to residents of District No. 1, Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company explained its side. The letter reads, “Using a new set of language, vastly different from years past, we have received contracts from the Fire Commissioners which we have declined to sign. Under the proposed contracts, we would have given up our rights and control of the Fire Company and turned them over to a Fire Commission who legally is not entitled to this power and is composed of men who have left the company after a failed attempt to run for chief and another for anger management issues.”
“We’ve encouraged the public and the company to come to the meetings and discuss the issues,” Moran said. “The public shows up, but unfortunately the fire company does not, because they blame the commissioners for changing the times of the meetings when they were the ones who caused the commissioners to change the schedule. Now they’re trying to force the commission to sign a contract that won’t hold them accountable for their actions.”
Also in the letter, the fire company alleges the commissioners are seeking to start a new fire company. Moran said that during the commissioner’s meeting on Oct. 16, 24 members of the community petitioned the commission to be acknowledged and recognized as a fire company. “At no time has any commissioner of this district been involved with the organization of a new fire company which the administration of the Ocean View Fire Company is claiming.” Known as Station 17 Fire and Rescue, Moran explained that the new company is not the district’s fire company.
In addition to the letter campaign, Moran said the fire company has taken to social media to spread rumors. Moran said the letters are “attempting to blame the commissioners for the entire debacle that it now has become.”
Another point of contention is whether or not taxes will increase should voters agree to transfer the money. “The fire company is stating that your property taxes will increase and this is simply not true,” said Moran. “The money is already in our account so your taxes will not increase.”
However, members of the Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company insist taxpayers will see an increase. “That money’s earmarked for fire trucks right now, so if they use it for something else, where’s the fire truck coming from? Then they have to put it out for a bond and taxes go up. So one way or another if they use that money, it’s going up,” said Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company President Keith Malantonio.
As Moran continued to explain the commissioners’ frustrations with the fire company, a woman stood near the door and interjected, “There are at least half of the township’s residents out in the hallway that cannot hear anything that you’re saying,” she said.
Moran explained to her that the only option would be to reschedule the meeting.
“And I think you should out of respect for us,” she continued. “We made the effort to come out here. How can we make a choice if we can’t hear what’s going on? We want to hear both sides.”
Moran and the other commissioners agreed, saying they tried to ask non-residents to leave at the start of the meeting. “Who’s a non-resident of Fire District No. 1? Raise your hand,” said Moran. A witch-hunt ensued, as neighbor called out neighbor. Cries of “He lives in Woodbine!” and “Get out of here!” could be heard amongst the crowd.
Eventually a motion to adjourn was passed as the commissioners decided the best course of action would be to reschedule. “We want to make sure we have the proper defense that we have because for the last couple of days the commissioners have been trashed, not only in the papers that were being sent out to all the townspeople, but social media, newspapers and everything else,” said Gansert. “So I think it’s our turn to explain our side of it so you understand where your money’s really going.”
As tensions reached a climax, a cacophony of voices filled the room. Expletives were hurled and a few individuals had to be restrained as emotions continued to escalate. Two state troopers, who had been keeping watch throughout, moved into action should a show of force be deemed necessary.
Afterward, Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company Chief Joseph Gurdgiel said the commissioners weren’t prepared for the amount of people in attendance. “It’s a shame that this came down like this,” he said. “They didn’t have any kind of concept that the real taxpayers, the people that really care about the fire company they have, were going to show up here to say you’re not going to destroy it.”
To contact Kirby Reed, email kreed@cmcherald.com