The year in review: Top Millstone stories of 2009

MILLSTONE — Council on Affordable Housing and school budget issues permeated 2009 in Millstone.

Here’s a month-to-month look at these and some of the other top stories of the past year.

January

The Township Committee chose Nancy Grbelja and Robert Kinsey to again serve as mayor and deputy mayor, although Committeeman Elias Abilheira cast a dissenting vote. Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12) attended the reorganizationmeeting and swore in newly elected committeemen Fiore Masci and Michael Kuczinski.

The Millstone Township Middle School had to be evacuated on the morning of Jan. 8 after the main office received an anonymous bomb threat via telephone.

Contract negotiations between the Board of Education and theMillstone Township Education Association (MTEA) reached an impasse when the MTEA proposed a 6 percent salary increase as well as a 6 percent increase in compensation for extracurricular activities.

The Zoning Board also decided not to allow the construction of a 36-hole miniature golf course along Route 537.

February

The township created a task force to work on Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) issues in town. The members included township officials and residents, some of which live adjacent to a Route 33 and Bergen Mills Road property where the township plans to put 85 COAH units.

Grbelja announced that she would seek reelection, but her former running mate Abilheira said he would not.

The New Jersey State Police arrested two township residents for allegedly promoting prostitution and six others on prostitution charges on Feb. 20 after searching homes along Route 537 and Windsor Road.

Voters turned down the Millstone Township Fire District’s proposed budget, which relied on raising $1.35 million in taxes, and a second question asking for an additional $58,951.

March

The Township Committee decided to cut the fire district’s proposed budget by $109,000, meaning the average homeowner would pay an additional $36.50 in taxes for fire protection.

The Board of Education presented a budget that totaled nearly $32.8 million, up almost $1.2 million from the prior year. The average homeowner would see taxes rise $455 if this plan passed muster with voters on April 21.

April

The township’s Republican County Executive Committee endorsed Gary Dorfman to seek election with Grbelja. The COAH issues in town prompted Republican newcomers Michael Campion and Scott DeMonte to chal- lenge them in the primary.

The proposed school district budget failed at the polls. The Board of Education again chose Thomas Foley and Margaret Gordon to serve as president and vice president. While the board unanimously elected Gordon, members Holly Deitz voted against Foley serving as president and Amy Jacobson abstained. Deitz resigned from the board in July.

May

The Township Committee proposed a municipal budget that would tax rate would keep the tax rate the same as it was in 2008. Abilheira voted against its introduction.

The ongoing debate over COAH resulted in two videos about the issue being posted on YouTube. The videos blasted Grbelja’s and the Planning Board’s decision to site 85 COAH units requiring a sewage treatment plant on a 33-acre parcel off Route 33 and Bergen Mills Road. Brian Lourenco, who lives near the site, produced the videos, which contained material edited from township meetings among shots of sewage treatment plants.

In response to voters defeating the school district budget, the Township Committee recommended the district cut $1.1 million in programs and services. Superintendent of Schools Mary Anne Donahue said she was extremely disappointed that the township chose to make such a severe cut to the already lean budget.

Grbelja contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crimes Unit regarding identity theft and impersonation after someone sent a message to residents from an email address created in her name. The reportedly fraudulent email claimed that the message was from Grbelja and other current committee members that supported the township’s COAH plan. The email also contained a link to a letter that appeared in the Examiner that former township mayors and committeemen wrote to oppose the creation of a sewage treatment plant for the proposed COAH development.

June

Although DeMonte and Campion campaigned on the slogan that this is the time for change, incumbent Grbelja and newcomer Dorfman soundly defeated them in the primary. Much of the contest centered on where the bulk of the township’s COAH obligation should be located. A parcel near the Indian Point development, where DeMonte lives, is slated for 85 COAH units.

Public protest resulted in the Board of Education postponing a decision to start charging outside organizations for using school district facilities. The board proposed charging each of the approximately 25 organizations that use the schools $10 per hour for weekday use and $36 per hour for events on Sundays and after 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The board ultimately adopted facility-use fees but decided that certain civic organizations would be able to offer in-kind services rather than pay the fees. The board said it hoped to raise $45,000 with the measure.

July

A soil removal permit granted on July 8 would result in 5,000 truckloads of dirt heading to a Route 33 site over the next year. The township also voted to allow the commercial development of Riverside Center on Route 33.

The township decided against the bow hunting of white-tailed deer on municipal property during the regular 2009-10 hunting season. Abilheira voted in favor of the resolution, while Kinsey and Kuczinski voted against it.

After two and a half hours of testimony on July 29, the Zoning Board unanimously denied a soil removal permit to Paramount Marinas. However, between 55,00 and 58,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil had already been moved to an adjacent 14.4-acre lot from neighboring Upper Freehold.

An early-morning fire on July 30 damaged the Clarksburg Inn, but the owners would ultimately reopen the historic business later in the year.

August

Campion, who had run unsuccessfully for Township Committee earlier in the year, died at age 65 onAug. 7.

Grbelja complained to the New Jersey State Police about trucks traveling to and from the various mines in town. Residents had called the mayor to complain about trucks driving on roads that they were not supposed to be using and idling at the mines during early morning hours.

September

Donahue reported Sept. 14 that the Millstone Performing Arts Center (MPAC) has generated over $100,000 in revenue since opening two years ago. She said the revenue is being spent on student productions.

The township voted to spend $250,000 on road improvements to Baird Road, Haviland Drive, Graham Place, Algonquin Terrace, Shield Road, Nurko Road and Forman Road. Abilheira, who lives on Haviland Drive, cast a dissenting vote.

October

A local mine owner filed a lawsuit against Millstone regarding the routes that empty mining trucks must take through town. According to the plaintiffs at Campo Construction Co., the township’s prohibition of mining vehicles using any route to and from their property denies them constitutional rights and constitutes an improper exercise of police power.

The township heard a plan for the development of new businesses and a bank near Roy’s Deli at the intersection of Sweetmans Lane and Millstone Road in Millstone.

November

Voters reelected Grbelja to a third term and elected Dorfman to the seat currently held by Abilheira.

The Board of Education decided to go forward

with a plan to use the $375,295 it applied for through the American Recovery and

Investment Act of 2009 for a self-contained

classroom for autistic students in grades K

December

Donahue wrote an email to parents and community members on Dec. 15 reiterating that the district has instituted a pay-to participate fee schedule for sports and extracurricular activities, as well as a building use fee, due to its difficult financial situation. She also told the community that the township had not paid six months worth of bills for building use and that the Recreation Department would not be allowed into the buildings until the fees were paid. The township had requested fees for the Recreation Department be waived. The Board of Education voted to deny that request. Kinsey sent an email to Donahue on Dec. 12 detailing items the township paid for to benefit the school district.

The school district decided to let township recreation programs to continue while town and school district officials discussed the facilityuse fees. Discussions were ongoing as of Jan. 1.