CityWorks in the Press
Deadlock vote snags redevelopment plan
BILL BOWMAN/COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
The absence of Neptune Deputy Mayor Richard Iadanza, arrested on corruption charges,creates a 2-2 Township Committee split.
NEPTUNE - Redevelopment plans for a section of West Lake Avenue hit a speed bump Monday night as the result of the 2-2 split on the Township Committee in the wake of Deputy Mayor Richard Iadanza's arrest last month on corruption charges.
The committee Republicans - Mayor Tom Catley and Committeeman Michael Golub - could not convince Democrats James Manning Jr. and Randy Bishop to vote to send the plan to the Planning Board for a public hearing and board approval.
They also were unsuccessful in getting the Democrats to support naming Cityworks of Trenton as the area's redeveloper. The plan covers West Lake Avenue from Route 35 to just east of Myrtle Avenue on the Asbury Park border.
Catley said he has asked Township Attorney Don Beekman to research whether he as mayor can refer the plan to the board without a committee vote. Manning suggested that Catley do that at the meeting, but Catley said two earlier redevelopment plans were sent to the Planning Board after a committee resolution, and he saw no reason to change that policy.
Iadanza has not attended either of the two committee meetings held since his Feb. 22 arrest. Committeemen on both sides of the aisle have called for him to resign, but he has resisted.
"The last word we got was that he is not going to resign, period," Catley said Tuesday.
Iadanza would have been the third "yes" vote needed to send the controversial plan to the Planning Board and to name Cityworks as the neighborhood's redeveloper.
Manning and Bishop are opposed - in varying degrees - to the potential use of eminent domain in the redevelopment plan. The plan identifies more than 60 parcels - many of which are included in one street address - that either need to be acquired now or are properties that could be acquired in the future.
Manning said he would have supported using eminent domain on some parcels on either end of the redevelopment area, but does not support the wholesale taking of properties in the plan. Bishop said he does not support any use of eminent domain, unless it is for public use.
"I'm not going to go against the Constitution," he said. "I took an oath to uphold it."
Manning charged that the Republicans' posting of the resolution was simply a political ploy to get the Democrats to vote "no" on a Midtown redevelopment issue.
"They were playing their political card by forcing us to vote on it, which is a detriment to the whole area," Manning said.
But, Golub said, he and Catley were in a "lose-lose" situation.
If Catley had simply referred the plan to the Planning Board, "don't you think (Manning) would have criticized us?" he said. "Believe me, they had a contingency plan no matter what we decided to do."
Catley said Iadanza remaining on the committee but not showing up for meetings "is hamstringing us from putting our agenda forward. You only have a window of opportunity for so long when you're in power, and you want to be able to take advantage of it."
Bill Bowman: (732) 643-4212 or bbowman@app.com
BILL BOWMAN/COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
The absence of Neptune Deputy Mayor Richard Iadanza, arrested on corruption charges,creates a 2-2 Township Committee split.
NEPTUNE - Redevelopment plans for a section of West Lake Avenue hit a speed bump Monday night as the result of the 2-2 split on the Township Committee in the wake of Deputy Mayor Richard Iadanza's arrest last month on corruption charges.
The committee Republicans - Mayor Tom Catley and Committeeman Michael Golub - could not convince Democrats James Manning Jr. and Randy Bishop to vote to send the plan to the Planning Board for a public hearing and board approval.
They also were unsuccessful in getting the Democrats to support naming Cityworks of Trenton as the area's redeveloper. The plan covers West Lake Avenue from Route 35 to just east of Myrtle Avenue on the Asbury Park border.
Catley said he has asked Township Attorney Don Beekman to research whether he as mayor can refer the plan to the board without a committee vote. Manning suggested that Catley do that at the meeting, but Catley said two earlier redevelopment plans were sent to the Planning Board after a committee resolution, and he saw no reason to change that policy.
Iadanza has not attended either of the two committee meetings held since his Feb. 22 arrest. Committeemen on both sides of the aisle have called for him to resign, but he has resisted.
"The last word we got was that he is not going to resign, period," Catley said Tuesday.
Iadanza would have been the third "yes" vote needed to send the controversial plan to the Planning Board and to name Cityworks as the neighborhood's redeveloper.
Manning and Bishop are opposed - in varying degrees - to the potential use of eminent domain in the redevelopment plan. The plan identifies more than 60 parcels - many of which are included in one street address - that either need to be acquired now or are properties that could be acquired in the future.
Manning said he would have supported using eminent domain on some parcels on either end of the redevelopment area, but does not support the wholesale taking of properties in the plan. Bishop said he does not support any use of eminent domain, unless it is for public use.
"I'm not going to go against the Constitution," he said. "I took an oath to uphold it."
Manning charged that the Republicans' posting of the resolution was simply a political ploy to get the Democrats to vote "no" on a Midtown redevelopment issue.
"They were playing their political card by forcing us to vote on it, which is a detriment to the whole area," Manning said.
But, Golub said, he and Catley were in a "lose-lose" situation.
If Catley had simply referred the plan to the Planning Board, "don't you think (Manning) would have criticized us?" he said. "Believe me, they had a contingency plan no matter what we decided to do."
Catley said Iadanza remaining on the committee but not showing up for meetings "is hamstringing us from putting our agenda forward. You only have a window of opportunity for so long when you're in power, and you want to be able to take advantage of it."
Bill Bowman: (732) 643-4212 or bbowman@app.com
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