LAKEHURST – Mayor Harry Robbins will soon be meeting with his counterpart in nearby Manchester Township concerning some issues of mutual interest.
The mayor said that he and Council President Steven Oglesby will soon meet with Manchester Mayor Robert Hudak. Also expected to be part of the forthcoming meeting is Manchester Business Administrator Brandon Umba. Robbins said the purpose of the meeting was “to get a working relationship with the new administration over there.” One of the subjects to be discussed involves the borough’s water system.
“That will be one of the topics of conversation,” Mayor Robbins added. Borough officials are seeking to continue its good relationship with the township and to discuss Manchester tying into the borough’s water system as the larger community may be in need of Lakehurst’s water.
Bill List
During the most recent Borough Council meeting, resident Bruce Morrison asked Mayor Robbins about why there was no print out of bills in reference to the payment of bills listed on the night’s agenda. That has never been available as part of the meeting agenda, the mayor responded.
“The agenda we hand out never has all of that,” Robbins added. “It is on the website. We never hand out a complete list of bills and totals.”
Borough Clerk Maryanne Capasso said that there had been a delay in the online posting of the agenda for that meeting due to Borough Hall being closed on Election Day and a power outage that also effected Wifi service on the morning of November 3 which was not restored until late in the afternoon.
On-Point Referral Program
Councilman Robert McCarthy discussed the On-Point Referral program that the Police Department uses for domestic violence cases, mental health response, and drug related cases. The first year the program was free through a grant but next year it will cost Lakehurst about $20,000.
Borough Ordinances Reviewed
Councilwoman Patricia Hodges said the Ordinance Committee reviewed the first volume in the codifying of the borough’s ordinances.
“We are meeting regularly and we plan to meet two more times this year. In our next two meetings we will finish our review of it and then we will see what our process is in getting the revisions done that we plan to do on the first of the year.”
Security cameras ordered
Councilman Gary Lowe said the cameras for Horicon Lake and Borough Hall had been ordered. New bathrooms that were less than a year old, were vandalized a few months back following the summer season.
Morrison returned to the microphone to ask about those security cameras. “Did we get a cost on that?”
Mayor Robbins said it would be “about $14,000 for the ones at the lake and Borough Hall.”
He said the cameras would have infra-red imaging capability and that he would soon be meeting with New Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) “and will be taking them around the town and show them where we need some lighting.”
“We just put up some flood lights at the lake,” Lowe added.
Road work, Water Mains
Another concern that Morrison brought up concerned road work and watermain replacements in areas of the borough. Ocean County will pave Brown Avenue in the spring. That road will not have the water mains replaced.
Water mains are being replaced all along Union Avenue. The replacement job will go out to bid, with the contractor with the lowest bid awarded the job.
“The roads won’t be done until the water mains are done otherwise the roads can’t be repaved, from the tracks to the Route 37 circle it will be done once they start this coming season,” the mayor said regarding the project. “I’ve talked to the county many times about that. The water main will go from the 70 circle to Center Street down to Pine Street and to the highway. You can only talk and push so much,” the mayor added.
First Chief Remembered
Councilman James Davis remarked about the loss of Lakehurst’s first Police Chief Richard Chinery who died on November 1at his home in Delaware. “I grew up in the town when he was police chief and I went to school with his sons. He was a friend and a mentor to me. He helped me get into law enforcement. We rode motorcycles together. He was a good human being.”
The police department is doing a profile on the former chief that includes newspaper articles about him. Chinery also worked with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office after he retired as Lakehurst police chief. He also served as public safety director in Jackson Township.
