Letters

Councilman thanks Matawan for chance to serve

The purpose of this letter is to thank all Matawan residents for their help and support the past five years I have served on the Matawan Borough Council. With much regret, I have resigned my seat as of July 1. I will be moving out of town and will no longer be able to serve and finish my term.

I truly hope in some small way I may have made a difference to better my community and town. When I began five years ago, I spent a lot of time with former Councilman Joe Penniplede. He taught me right from the beginning the two most important things you do when serving on the council were to vote your conscience and vote for what is best for Matawan. The second thing he taught me was to always remember you are there to serve the people and help them in any way possible. I hope the residents of Matawan feel I have followed these two important duties and will always look upon me as a public servant and not a politician.

As for what the future holds for Matawan? I would hope more residents would get involved in what is happening with their town. There are many issues that need attention. The priorities are not in the right place. Matawan residents need to come out and voice their opinions, otherwise no one will really know what you think or what you want.

Again I thank you and — with the right timing and some luck — someday soon I might get a chance to move back to Matawan and serve again as a public servant.

Michael J. Cannon

councilman

Matawan

BID will not keep land at a reasonable price

Regarding the the business improvement district (BID) and the Keyport Business Alliance (KBA) (Letters, June 2, “BID ‘keeps downtown nice property values up’”) — No. 1, the BID has nothing to do with keeping the land at a reasonable price. Land in Monmouth County has escalated because of its close proximity to New York City ... and the escalating price of land in New York, Staten Island and the surrounding areas. The reason why the Chamber of Commerce became smaller was because of businesses opening up and closing just as fast. Store owners were trying to get their businesses started but were unable to because of the lack of support by the community. How many Keyport residents shop in their own town? Then when the KBA has an event, what does the KBA do but bring other food vendors and retailers in town and have them set up in front of existing stores.

Yes, the town’s businesses need competition. They can barely make it on their own. Kathy Shaw is a great individual. Time and dedication have helped, but the people must remember she is getting paid to do her job. Not that she isn’t helping beyond her paid time, she is, but don’t we all do that occasionally to make ourselves look good? If our stores look dumpy will anybody come into them? I don’t think so. So if you are a business owner and not a land owner, will you try to make your store appealing and presentable? I would say yes.

The BID tax is a part of the commercial property owners’ tax bill and is determined as to the value of the land. The Keyport residents will never be required to pay any amount of money for the commercial property owners. They’re not part of the BID and will never be. Yes, the commercial property owners vote on whether the BID stays or goes, but so do the business owners. Yes, Mr. Foster you are right to say the business owners don’t live in Keyport, but neither do you.

Paul Aversa

Aberdeen

Teens that killed ‘hogs ‘will amount to nothing in life’

I am sickened by the June 4 incident where two teens tortured and killed a baby groundhog and its mother. I heartily agree with PETA they are cowards and should be forced to seek some very serious evaluations and counseling. I commend the teacher that overheard them and reported the incident to the ASPCA. I cannot believe anyone can be so disgusting and violent. One of the most important things I teach my young daughters is kindness and compassion, especially to innocent animals. I am confident these teens will amount to nothing in life and if I were their parents, jail time and fines would be nothing compared to what I would do to them. I would be embarrassed to be their parents.

Stacey Marrone

Middletown