Shadow Lake vote dredges up animosity
Democrat, Republican majority clash over $3.8M bond ordinance
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer

"I don't understand how there could be any opposition to passing this." - Pamela Brightbill Deputy Mayor

MIDDLETOWN - The Oct. 15 Township Committee meeting had many hallmarks of a great television show: people cheering, a major conflict and an Emmy Award for technical achievement.

Though the Emmy was won by Middletown resident James Walsh, who received a certificate of recognition by the committee in the first hour of the meeting, the second two hours were where the tensions arose.

The cheering and conflict came about over a vote to introduce an ordinance approving $3.8 million to dredge Shadow Lake, a tributary of the Navesink River near Middletown's border with Red Bank. Committeeman Patrick Short wanted to postpone the vote on the ordinance until he found out more specifics on where the money was going. This prompted a resident of Shadow Lake Village in the audience to yell, "We've been waiting three years for this!"

Short said that he was for the dredging and that it was a good cause, but he wanted to talk about the issue in a workshop so that he could see why it would take $3.8 million in taxpayer money. Short, the lone Democrat on the five-member committee, was criticized by Deputy Mayor Pamela Brightbill, who said that they've known about this issue for months.

"We passed this resolution in February to start looking into the dredging," Brightbill said. "I don't understand how there could be any opposition to passing this."

The first reading of the bond ordinance ultimately passed with a 4-1 vote, but the issue did not stop there when the public comments portion began.

Though Short never actually opposed the dredging, Shadow Lake Village resident Angela Vullo spoke in front of the committee and took offense to the thought that someone would want to postpone the voting.

"Mr. Short obviously has never been to Shadow Lake and seen the condition it is in," Vullo said. "If he had, then there would be no opposition to this it all. It's become unhealthy to live there."

Short responded that his point was not being heard.

"Before I go and take $3.8 million of the taxpayers' money, I think we all need to sit down and look at the figures to see where this money is going," he said.

Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said that a group from Monmouth University would be surveying the lake free of charge, something that if done otherwise could cost Middletown a great deal of money.

"I don't want to hear that we are spending too much money on this dredging," Scharfenberger said. "The fact that we have these people coming in for free to do something, that shows that we are finding ways to alleviate the taxpayers from spending more money."

Township Administrator Robert Czech referred to the situation as "time sensitive" in that the plan needs to be passed before the end of the year so that the dredging can be done in a timely manner. Delaying the vote any further could hurt the plans for the dredging, he said.

"After the open hearing we had a month ago, it was clear that we need to start this as soon as possible," Czech said. "I recommend that this does not go to a work session and is voted on tonight."

Responding to a question from Democratic committee candidate Janet Moscuzza, Township Engineer Robert Bucco said that the township eventually would have to dredge the lake again. The response led Moscuzza to ask if there was a way to stop the silting at the bottom of the lake altogether.

"The silting is a natural process that occurs," Bucco said. "There is nothing we can do because it's a part of nature's cycle."

A vote on the ordinance's adoption is expected to take place at the Nov. 19 meeting. No timetable has been set for the dredging project to begin.