Town Backs Councilman For Land Preservation Board

John Bacchione (Campaign Photo)

  BERKELEY – Local residents supported Councilman John Bacchione for a spot on the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Advisory Committee, a volunteer group that oversees open space purchases.

  The purchases are made with an open space tax on all county property owners. The committee helps make recommendations to the county on what land to purchase.

  At recent Berkeley Township Council meetings, Councilman Bacchione stated that he was not reappointed to the board, and had never heard a reason why. Instead, he had been replaced by Jackson Councilman Martin Flemming.

  Bacchione spoke at a recent meeting of the Ocean County Freeholders. He asked for a reason but did not receive one. He also noted that in a previous meeting, he had commented about this issue and his comments weren’t in the meeting minutes.

  When he questioned the Freeholders, he asked why Berkeley Township was not appointed to the board, not specifically himself. The argument is that Berkeley should have representation there. Berkeley has the second largest amount of land that can be purchased for open space and should have a voice in what gets purchased.

  He had supporters there, such as influential former Lacey Mayor John Parker. Parker said Bacchione was an appointment of John Bartlett, who passed away in office. The National Lands Trust was a favorite project of Bartlett’s.

  “He’s tough. He’s a fighter. For the life of me, I can’t understand any of you Freeholders, why you’d want to battle Berkeley Township,” Parker said. He also questioned why the committee would have two members from Jackson and none from Berkeley.

  Some people speaking on Bacchione’s behalf made veiled threats that the support for the Freeholders could be taken away if Bacchione is not reinstated.

  Freeholder Virginia Haines, who is the liaison to the National Lands Trust Fund, said that Bacchione is still sitting on the Workforce Development Board, and his wife sits on the Health Department. Berkeley Councilman James Byrnes also sits on a board. These are places where Berkeley is represented. After the meeting, Bacchione explained to a reporter that he hasn’t been on the Workforce board in four years.

  “I don’t think you should bring politics into this,” Haines said.

  The National Lands Trust committee also has two from Toms River, she noted.

  However, one of the Toms River members has stepped down, Freeholder Director Joseph Vicari said. Former Toms River Mayor and County Freeholder Paul Brush has resigned. Former County Administrator Alan Avery is the other Toms River resident; he is still on the committee.

  Vicari said that the matter will be up for a vote on July 15. He noted that when Flemming was chosen, it was not a unanimous decision. However, since the decision was in a closed session, he could not speak about details.

  The July 15 vote will be public, Haines elaborated.