Hazlet merchants critical of lockbox ordinance Say new requirement was poorly communicated BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer HAZLET - Six months after an ordinance was adopted mandating the placement of lockboxes outside of local businesses, business owners have taken a stand against it. Last week, local business owners attended the Township Committee meeting to let the group know of their dissatisfaction. "The ordinance was not very well thought out many months ago. Not to mention, the township has a very nonfriendly business attitude overall," said Tom Kelly, owner of Complete Tire and Auto, Route 36. "The township has a tendency to overcharge on some very unfair fees and this ordinance is right in line." Lockboxes are boxes that are stationed outside a business and can be opened with a key, which would be provided by business owners to fire officials for use in an emergency. It's a time-saving measure designed to allow fire personnel access into a business without having to wait for somebody to unlock the doors. Although the Township Committee introduced and eventually passed the ordinance, Committeeman Kevin Lavan feels that the business owners and fire officials in town are the ones who need to sit down and work things out. He also said there is an outcry presently because the public had no say last summer. "If the people had known what was going on, maybe there wouldn't be an issue all these months later," said Lavan, who up until five years ago owned a business in Bayonne and voluntarily had a lockbox. "Once both sides sit down and come to a verbal agreement, everyone will be better off. I definitely think this will be worked out eventually." Lavan also said he went to a meeting of the newly formed Hazlet Business Owners Association on Jan. 3, where approximately 150 people turned out, mostly to weigh in on the ordinance. He said the next meeting of the association is scheduled for Feb. 8. Hazlet's fire official, John Beslanovitz, said he has a master key to the lockboxes in town. He also mentioned that some businesses have had lockboxes for years because they have volunteered to do so. "It's unfortunate that people are at odds over this issue," he said. "Really, this makes things easier for us. This is for the firemen who need to get into buildings and shouldn't have to wait around for business owners to show up with a key." Beslanovitz did note that not every business will have a lockbox, specifically those in shopping plazas or office parks. He used Bethany Commons as an example, with each unit having one lockbox, rather than one box per business in the complex. Former Mayor and current Committeeman Michael Sachs sided with Beslanovitz when he said that the majority of business owners were in favor of having the lockboxes. "But it's like we're stuck in the middle," Sachs said. "This is an issue that the business owners and fire departments have to work out." Kelly said this issue has only recently come to light because the township has been slow in letting the business owners know about the ordinance and that the new ordinance takes more money out of his pockets. "I figure there's about 600 businesses in town and only recently have we been notified about this," Kelly said. "And this means we'd have to be paying an annual lockbox inspection fee of $50. Kelly noted that the lockbox itself runs about $280. He also said that it shouldn't be up to the businesses and fire departments to get together and sit down to hash things out. "I really think the Township Committee should do something. They're the ones who started all of this. The ball's in their court," Kelly said.