BERKELEY – Mayor John Bacchione sat down with The Berkeley Times to discuss his first term as mayor and what he expects those four years to look like.
“Being on the council for 12 years prepared me for this job,” he said.
Sometimes a new mayor will change everything when they come into office. Bacchione had worked closely with former Mayor Carmen Amato, so residents won’t notice the transition.
In this case, it wasn’t broke, so there wasn’t anything to fix. It’s more like a change in style rather than a change of direction. Bacchione compared it like this: “If you ask me to drive your car, I might have to adjust the seat.”
One big change he has been discussing is the need for certain recreation in town. Central Regional has a hockey team with no rink, and a swim team with no pool.
At neighboring Veterans Park, just south of the turf field, there’s room to possibly build a facility that could answer both needs. There could be an indoor pool and an indoor ice rink. There’s ample parking already, he noted. Being centrally located in the county, it’s possible that the town could even rent it out to other districts.
“That’s something that could be my legacy in four years,” he said.
Of course, this is nothing more than exploratory at this point. He’s been talking to officials to see if it’s even feasible.
Another location that is ripe for change is the area off the Garden State Parkway by Exit 77. For years, Bacchione has been talking about creating a corporate center. This could generate quality, high-paying jobs, as well as a strong tax ratable.
Since the Parkway is right there, it wouldn’t add much to existing traffic or burden residential roads, he said. It’s the kind of development you want – the kind that doesn’t add school children.
“It’s valuable land,” he said. “It’s a diamond in the rough.”
The property is on the extreme edge of the Pinelands protected area, so it’s potentially limited in what can be done there.
Again, this is just hypothetical. He’s just been talking to some people about whether it’s possible to do.
Every town in New Jersey is required to provide a certain number of housing opportunities for low-to-moderate income people, and Berkeley has met that quota, he said.
One challenge that is certainly on the horizon is the potential de-annexation of South Seaside Park.
This area of town is across the Barnegat Bay, north of Island Beach State Park, and as its name suggests, south of the borough of Seaside Park. The residents fought in Planning Board meetings for years to try to split from the town, citing paying a lot of taxes for less resources than neighborhoods on the mainland. Bacchione was the council representative on the Planning Board during that time and he is intimately familiar with the situation.
Town officials said they couldn’t leave. The situation went to the courts, and the judge said they could leave. The own appealed this decision.
It’s in the appellate court right now. It was heard in December but the court has not yet rendered a decision, Bacchione said. If the appellate court decides that SSP can leave (called de-annex) the mayor said he would fight it.
The shore neighborhood leaving would create a hardship for the rest of the taxpayers, he said.
This topic serves as an example of his philosophy as mayor – if it makes sense and doesn’t hurt the taxpayers, he’s open to talking about it.
It helps that he’s surrounded himself with good people, he said. From department heads on down, they are a competent and hard-working crew. “You can notice the good morale,” he said.
Some changes in administration saved $58,000 in salaries, he noted. As leader, he is in Town Hall every day, doing everything from performing marriages to taking on the responsibilities of running the town.
“I’m here until 6-6:30 and then I turn off the lights when I leave,” he said.
