The Rivalry is Still Alive!

In 2004, when the Red Sox won the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight games, after previously winning over the Yankees in you-know-how-many-come-from-behind-straight-games, I was visiting my then 93 year-young mother-in-law at her home in Massachusetts. She was sitting in her favorite reclining chair, Red Sox cap on her head, actively engaged in cheering for her favorite team. So were her daughter and her son-in-law.

That night on October 27, under a total lunar eclipse, the curse was broken. Every major TV station in New England ran virtually non-stop coverage of the games for the next 36 hours. The next morning, I had to drive to several stores to find press coverage, because most newsstands were sold out. Retail stores in the area quickly bulged with Red Sox paraphernalia.

Since then, though, I’ve never discounted the chances of a winner-take-all Yankee comeback. I still don’t. I always anticipate yet dread Yankees/Red Sox matchups, hoping that the Red Sox will trounce the Yankees, acknowledging full well that the Yankees can do the same.

Those of us who suffered through the interminable baseball drought that blanketed the Red Sox Nation before 2004 can empathize with what Yankees’ fans must now be undergoing. All I can say is thank heaven that the Steinbrenners don’t own the Red Sox!

Note: To read my June 2, 2007, discussion of Yankees/Red Sox competition, click on the label ‘Sports’ below, and scroll down a bit. If you’d like to read columnist E.J. Dionne’s assessment of Rudy’s Red Sox Romance, See the October 30, 2007 edition of the Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/29/AR2007102901475.html?sub=AR

The Missing Question on the November Ballot

The Open Slots: Nine days from now on November 6, we the voters of Bridgewater get to cast our ballots for one of three candidates for the mayoral spot and for four guys vying for two council seats. As you examine your ballot, you’ll also see candidates competing for State Senate, New Jersey Assembly, County Clerk, Board of Chosen Freeholders, and for Sheriff.

The Questions: There are also four questions seeking your approval or rejection. The first deals with dedicating 1% of the state sales tax for property tax reform; the second asks for $450,000,000 for stem cell research; the third wants $200,000,000 for purchasing land and property for the public interest; while the last question proposes a constitutional amendment which would change the language denying the right to vote for certain persons.

The Missing Question: What you won’t see on this ballot though is what would certainly have been a critical fifth referendum question: “Do you approve the elimination of the Somerset County Park Commission and the realignment of all its responsibilities directly under the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders?”

The Background & Analysis: On August 21, the Somerset County Freeholders reversed their prior position and voted 3 to 2 to postpone until December any decision on whether or not to dissolve the Somerset County Park Commission. This move disfranchised you, the voter, because it took away any possibility that you would make this decision as you pull the lever in the ballot box on November 6.

Just as important, it prevented a potential backlash of voter turnout which might have affected the outcome of the election for some of the candidates’ open slots. No incumbent party wants this, because controversial public issues on a ballot tend to swell voter turnout and can often injure incumbents. We saw this in the last national election when the Administration lost control of the Congress.

Understand this: I am an independent voter and have no skin in this game. However, I like to see the public as involved in all aspects of direct decision-making as it is possible and reasonable to do so.

It was a good move for the Freeholders’ own interests to have pushed aside the Somerset County Park Commission ballot question. But it was demeaning to you – it seems to eliminate any lingering doubt about the faith that elected officials might have had in your judgment to do the right thing.

There were many passionate pleas made by a lot of prominent people on the evening of August 21 to pressure the freeholders into making the decision not to place the fate of the Somerset County Park Commission into the hands of you, the voters, on November 6.

The freeholders blinked. Jack Ciattarelli and Denise Coyle were the only two elected officials who voted against the majority that night. In an op-ed piece that appeared subsequently in the Courier News, Ciattarelli has since further justified his well-thought-out rationale for dissolving the Park Commission

It’s exasperating, isn’t it, thinking that you will vote a week from next Tuesday – some of you will stay away from the polls in disgust – and won’t have the option of deciding on one of the highest-profile issues affecting Bridgewater and Somerset County?

An Educational Icon Leaves Us

Dr. Peter Mazurak served in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District for 25 years until his retirement in 1991, the same year that I was elected to the school board. He was the district’s business administrator for all those years, while also filling the role of board secretary.

‘Pete,’ as he was known to his friends and close associates, was an iconic example of integrity in public service. He also became engaged in educational affairs at the state level. Acquitting himself very well in all of his roles, he became known for his extensive knowledge of school business matters and educational policy. The quality of his character in all of these functions earned him the informal title of ‘Dean of School Business Administrators’ in New Jersey.

One of the toughest jobs in a school district is that of business administrator/board secretary. You get to run not only the business aspects of a school district and, since your role as board secretary requires you to be present at all of the meetings to advise the board, you can easily become entangled in school politics.

Treading your way safely along this potentially conflicting dual path of responsibilities requires brains, tact, endurance and a heavy dose of moxie. Otherwise, people begin to use you as a doormat, and the job becomes impossible.

Pete had all of those qualities and more – he was a true gentleman and a genuinely likeable person.

Note: For Dr. Mazurak’s obituary, see the October 24, 2007 Courier-News at http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071024/NEWS04/710240337/1039

Moonbeams Over Bridgewater

Driving home after dark this evening, I observed a waxing moon. It reminded me of what I wrote, but did not post, back in May. Hope you like it.

As I arose at 5:00 am on Friday, the light of bright moonbeams shone through a south-facing window at the front of the house, cut through the open doorway facing the upstairs hall, and came to rest in the form of an irregularly luminous triangle splashed against the hallway wall.

Walking towards the source, I turned into the empty room towards the south window to discover the origin of that calming light. There, in the skies, framed between a large oak to the left of the front lawn and a tall hardwood evergreen to the right, was the brilliant disc of the moon.

Broad rays of silver energy poured through the windowpane and onto the dark green of the Christmas cactus sitting on its tall stand, covering it in silvery-white. These quiet intruders of light then completed their journey towards the hallway, spattering the carpet and the side of the open door with their peaceful radiance. They seemed to be saying, “Welcome to the coming day.”

An Autumn Day at Moorland Farms

The announcement that came over the loudspeaker claimed that this might be the biggest attendance so far at the 87th running of the Far Hills Annual Race Meeting. Some 50,000 people usually attend this event, and part of the proceeds goes to benefit the Steeplechase Cancer Center at the Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, NJ.

The event is always held rain or shine, so each year prospective attendees keep their fingers crossed with an eye to the weather forecast, hoping for the best. This time everyone was rewarded with sunny weather accompanied by a steady cooling breeze and balmy temperatures. The dark cloud which you see in the photo above was the most that Mother Nature cared to threaten – just as a reminder of who is ultimately in control.

My spouse and I had not attended for a few years, mainly because of another family event which usually occurs on the same Saturday. But we had just visited with our out-of-state family, so this time we gladly accepted the annual invitation from our friends. Sometimes, everything works out well!

It’s satisfying to see so many thousands of people of all backgrounds and ages congregated in one spot and behaving so well. As business people are often fond of asking towards the end of a meeting, “What’s the take-away from this?” Two points at least: 1) How remarkable it is that people can be packed so tightly, yet act so civilly. 2) It’s all for the good isn’t it – to simply have some fun and to enjoy camaraderie while contributing to such a worthwhile cause.

Park Commission Sets Market Values; Establishes Rents Below That

Tonight, at 7:12 PM, the Park Commissioners for Somerset County adjusted rents for 12 rental properties occupied by park employees. The resolution was passed unanimously and without discussion by all seven of the Park Commissioners who were present. Voting were President Steven Fuerst, Vice-president Joanne Jaeger, and Commissioners Paul Consiglio, John Gillen, Dorothy Paluck, Gary Walsh, and newly-sworn-in Peter Schoberl. Absent were Robert Horowitz and Rose McConnell.

Here’s a summary: Fair market rental values were established for each property. However, an adjustment was made lowering the actual rental that will be charged park employees to below market value. The director’s home is the only exception. This new policy is retroactive to October 1.

Previously, the average rent paid for all twelve properties was an average of $357 per month. $2,067 is now the average monthly fair market rental value for these properties agreed to by the Park Commission. But that is not the average of what employees will be charged.

In its decision, the Park Commission consented to reduce the average fair market rental of $2,067 by $1,453, bringing the actual rental for park employees down to an average of $614 per month. This will result in a 72% increase over what these employees are now paying. Nonetheless, it will still leave the actual average monthly rental charged to park employees 237% below the fair market rental value which the Park Commission has used in its own calculations.

The Park Commission is reducing the average fair market rental value of $2,067 by $1,453 down to an actual of $614 to be charged on average to its employees. The reason given for this is that the reduction of $1,453 is considered to be a “lease obligation adjustment” given to park employees as an “offset” to account for the fact that these properties are “located on government owned property and occupancy is restricted to full-time employees.”

Consequently, the Park Commission claims that, “this restriction substantially reduces the rental value of the property.” Additionally, the Park Commission states that, “There are additional employee occupant obligations”… and that, “All obligations carry clear additional rent offset duties.”

Note: I emphasize that I have compiled the detailed information provided by the Park Commission into averages to provide a bird’s-eye view. At least one park employee has seen his rent increased significantly, while another, whose rental home carries a fair market rental value of $3,700 will continue to pay no rent at all.

Strategic Planning for Bridgewater-Raritan Schools

Tonight, at 8:00 pm in the Bridgewater-Raritan High School cafeteria, the Board of Education is kicking off a presentation by Joanne Borin of the School Boards Association. All members of the public are invited to attend.

If you go, the high school is located on Garretson Road, just across from the Somerset Valley YMCA. The cafeteria entrance is on the left side of the building complex, and there is plenty of parking available.

In an e-mail of September 19, Superintendent Michael Schilder explained that, “We need community members to volunteer to serve on a wide range of committees, which will all be explained by Mrs. Borin.” Even if you don’t intend to be on a committee, the meeting will still be useful, because it will give you valuable insights into where the board and administration are heading.

Wednesday evening, October 17, at the same location, but in the high school library at 6:30 pm, there will be a Budget Information session. That meeting will be the last of three such gatherings. I attended the previous one, and found it very informative, particularly since it explains in detail how the Bridgewater-Raritan school budget is put together.

These meetings are nuts-and-bolts discussions. The real challenge will come into play as the year progresses and into early next year, when strategy is adopted and when the actual figures come together for the budget.

A Real Star

Recently, I viewed a DVD entitled, The Aviator, the story of the eccentric over-achiever, Howard Hughes. Not only was he a perfectionist to a ‘T’, but he was full of little quirks like, for example, compulsively scrubbing his hands for fear of germs. One scene in the film depicts him in a wash room, terrified of handing over a towel to a handicapped person. Although the movie doesn’t cover the end of his life, Hughes is thought to have never adequately faced some of his extreme behavior patterns.

Which brings me to the gist of this post: Bridgewater has a very brave young soul who is directly confronting similar behavior issues after being diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her name is Caitlin Carey; she lives in Bridgewater and is a junior at Bridgewater-Raritan High School on Garretson Road.

What is so extraordinary about this person is that she has met the challenge head-on early in life, has sought help, and has gone public so that it may help others in a similar situation. Caitlin has decided to chronicle her experiences on a web site dedicated to people with OCD, http://stepoutofthesilence.org/default.aspx. Another one of her significant traits – not a minor one – is that she identifies her strong faith as a critical factor in her life.

All those elements are quite a bundle of positive characteristics wrapped up in a remarkable Bridgewater teenager. When we think of people as ‘stars,’ one of the first things that come to mind are those who excel in sports. In this case, Caitlin Carey appears to be an outstanding star in the biggest game of all – the game of life.

Source: This blog post is based on a story of Caitlin Carey written by Peggy O’Crowley of The Star-Ledger. It appeared on October 12, 2007.

Back to School!

The turnout was disappointingly low at Wednesday night’s 8 p.m. information session at the Wade building in Martinsville. Only 8 people showed up for an excellent, informal presentation and discussion about how the Bridgewater-Raritan school budget gets put together and what challenges lie ahead. At a similar meeting earlier in the day, 13 people came.

Board members Jeffrey Brookner and Christine Schneider, together with Superintendent Michael Schilder, and Business Administrator-Board Secretary, Peter Starrs, were present Wednesday night to field questions from the audience.

If you’ve ever sat before a person who really knows his stuff, then you would have benefited from listening to Peter Starrs. Since the school budget process pulls together literally everything in one spot, Starrs probably knows more about resources, transportation costs, general expenditures, income sources, school programs, and tax impact than perhaps any other single person in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District. That’s no criticism of anyone else; it’s just that the person who puts together the numbers usually gets to know what’s where.

Beginning with a well-prepared agenda, Mr. Starrs highlighted the critical timeline for budget preparation between now and next April’s election; the use of account coding; and the rules for state caps, which are now based on revenue, not expenditures. Using a copy of the approximately 70-page BR-BOE approved budget for the current school year (2007-2008) as a guide, he successfully navigated through an overview of all major budget items e.g., salaries, benefits, supplies, the cost of programs, etc., etc.

If you had been there, for example, you would have discovered that 25% of total supervisory salaries goes towards ongoing training – that’s right; check it out: Fund 11, account 11-000-223-102-00-32. Hey! If you want to know, you gotta do the work. You could find out a lot more, too! Just ask questions.

It’s not too late. There will be another identical information session on this topic at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17th, at the High School library on Garretson Road. It’s not a bad idea to get on board with some of this stuff before emotions run high again at the April 15th, 2008, budget and school board elections.

Note: See Kara L. Richardson’s story of October 10, 2007, under Past Week’s News-Main News at http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS06

Beauty and the Park Commission

If you have ever appreciated the random symmetry of a well-stacked wood pile, then perhaps you can relate to its applicability in other spheres of life.

The author, Pearl S. Buck, in an article for a Sunday newspaper insert – it may have been PARADE – was asked what beauty is. Quite simply she responded, “Beauty is order.” Consider an example: The essence of the beauty of a rose is the shape and color of its petals, together with the geometrically proportioned manner in which they are arranged, that makes an enthusiast gaze upon it in focused admiration.

In a different dimension, think about how many times you yourself may have uttered the expression, ‘beautiful!’ when you have concluded a successful meeting, completed a job around the house, or have watched children cooperatively at play. Was it really the physical aspect of the situation that made you consider the event ‘beautiful,’ or was it the experience of having felt a well-ordered human process at work?

Translated to other ordinary events in life, such as a political assembly, a key factor that can make such a meeting ‘beautiful’ is the consideration and respect for the public interest which should be inherent in open deliberations and in the outcome of that gathering.

Perhaps that is why, when we see that Somerset County Park Commission employees have been provided homes at below-market rates, we instinctively feel that the proper order of things has been disrupted, and we cry, “Foul!”

Not so beautiful.

More About the "Pod"

On Monday, October 1st, the Bridgewater Township Council, at its regular session meeting introduced an ordinance “amending Chapter 105 of the Municipal Code entitled ‘Outdoor Storage.’” This revised ordinance will regulate the nature and duration of storage containers placed on private property. Action was initiated after the council was made aware, at its previous meeting on September 17th that a cargo container sat on a property located at 303 Old York Road in Bridgewater.

The modified ordinance will no longer permit the siting of an ancillary structure such as the one which you see in the photo above. The owner of this cargo container spoke at Monday night’s Council meeting. He told the councilors that he had been given prior authorization by the Township to keep this container as a permanent ancillary structure on his property provided that he met the three following conditions:

1. That the cargo container be moved further back from the road and placed on a concrete pad.
2. That two windows be installed to soften the visual impact.
3. That T-111 siding be installed on the cargo container. (A Google query returned a response defining this type of siding as a wood composite material.)

The previously authorized engineering approval was recently revoked after a number of adjoining neighbors objected to having this monstrosity (is there any reasonable doubt?) next to their back yards. Apparently, the approval to modify the cargo container had been given, because there was a loophole in the original ordinance that allowed it.

Jeez! Where was the common sense? It seems to me that the Township officials who approved retention of this cargo container as a permanent ancillary building could have brought the question to the attention of the mayor and the council long before it became such a controversy.

I don’t think that it was very good judgment on the owner’s part, but he was merely trying to get away with what he thought he could under the law. Imagine one of these things next to your own back yard. How long would you put up with it?

Note: See my 9/23/07 blog post on this topic at
http://cnbergeron.blogspot.com/2007/09/pod-grows-in-bridgewater.html

Open Government & Closed Meetings

Boy, don’t I know about that! On Wednesday, October 03, 2007, Joe Tyrell of the Star-Ledger wrote about John Paff, a Franklin Township citizen who is concerned about how the Somerset County Park Commission is fudging its closed sessions.

Good for him. I firmly believe that many if not most elected and appointed deliberative public entities abuse the privilege extended to them under New Jersey’s Sunshine Law.

That statute explicitly states that an agenda has to be published with a 48-hour public notice, and that the subject of the closed session must be clearly stated. It also requires that complete minutes be kept and published. But public bodies get around this all the time, because the statute is not monitored and rarely enforced, giving the implied assumption that elected officials meeting in such a manner will be honest. Whew! What an assumption.

For example, if a public body goes behind closed doors to enter into labor contract negotiations, it might simply label the topic as “Negotiations” on its agenda. You won’t necessarily know with whom the negotiations are taking place, let alone the even more important aspects of the proposed deal, such as the initial offer being put on the table by the bargaining unit, or the counteroffer being offered by the public entity.

This is all under the guise that to progressively disclose such information would jeopardize the negotiations themselves and, therefore, an outcome favorable to the public. Of course, the outcome of such secret deliberations is almost always injurious to the public interest.

Since you don’t have the facts, you cannot, as an informed citizen, voice your opinion in public to the elected body. That would make it too uncomfortable for politicians who don’t want citizens running pass interference.

Another example occurs when a public body goes behind closed doors with its attorney: It may simple label the subject of the meeting as, “Attorney-Client Privilege.” Some privilege!

I don’t think that’s what the legislators had in mind when they enacted the Sunshine Law. Or was it?

The Gift of Summer’s End

It was a week ago Monday, when I sauntered down the driveway to check on the mail’s arrival, that I spotted the dogwood tree near the road getting ready for winter. Every year, it seems, the color of the leaves and the quantity and quality of the berries vary considerably – especially the berries.

The sun was beaming in intensely from the southwest, lighting up the entire dogwood. But a person has to be close and has to stop for several moments to really appreciate that nature is in the midst of assuring life’s renewal process. All it will take is for a few birds to drop by for lunch, feast on some red berries, fly off, and let their digestive system assist in depositing seeds somewhere else in Bridgewater.

Hey, who knows? Maybe a few years from now, one of this blog’s readers may have a new dogwood tree pushing up from the earth, taking root in a corner of your backyard for your kids or grandkids to enjoy.