Vote put off on $3.8M for dredging of lake
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN - For those waiting for the bond ordinance that would appropriate $3.8 million toward the dredging of Shadow Lake, the wait will be longer.

The second reading of the ordinance was to be voted on at the Township Committee meeting Nov. 19, but with Committeeman Thomas Hall absent, Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger moved that the ordinance be tabled and moved to the next regular meeting.

A favorable vote by two-thirds of the committee members would have been necessary in order for the bond ordinance to be approved.

With Hall absent and Committeeman Patrick Short expected to vote against the ordinance, there would only be a 60 percent vote if Scharfenberger, Committeeman Thomas Wilkens and Committeewoman Pamela Brightbill were to vote to approve the ordinance.

Township Clerk Heidi Abs read the ordinance that authorizes the issuance of $3.8 million in bonds and notes by the township for financing part of the appropriation for the lake dredging.

A motion to table the vote until the Dec. 2 meeting when all members would be in attendance was passed.

Short objected to moving the vote and was upset that it would not be voted on that night.

"Basically, a bond needs a two-thirds vote," Short said. "With Committeeman Hall not here, it won't get the percentage of votes that it needs to pass. I strongly object to moving the vote as it is something that should be voted on now."

The ordinance had a public hearing at the end of September; an initial reading of the ordinance took place a month later and this meeting was to be the final step before the passing of the ordinance.

Silt has been accumulating on the bottom of the lake over the years, which has made parts of the lake shallow and unusable for recreation.

Short has voted against the dredging, saying it isn't because he doesn't think the lake needs the dredging, but that he still doesn't have a full understanding of what the money is going toward.

"I think we still need more information on this," Short said. "I still have questions that I want answers to."

Township Administrator Robert Czech explained to the committee and people in attendance that the $3.8 million would be all that was needed for the project and that if any extra money was needed, it would go back to the committee for a vote.

"The amount is all we intend to spend on this project," Czech said. "It would be up to the committee to vote on and accept any additional funds."

Short made sure to remind the rest of the committee that receiving the money from the state for the dredging was not a foregone conclusion, that there is a chance that New Jersey could reject appropriations to Middletown.

In February, the committee applied for a grant from the state Environmental Infrastructure Trust to dredge the lake.

The grant, if the township is successful in receiving it, would cover the project cost.

Residents of Shadow Lake Village and the surrounding area will now have to wait until Dec. 3 to find out whether funding for the dredging will be approved.