Matthew J. Doherty

Belmar OKs strict limits on eminent domain use

February 26, 2009

By FRAIDY REISS
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

The borough now boasts the strongest anti-eminent domain law in Monmouth and Ocean counties, Councilman Matthew J. Doherty declared.

Belmar earned that distinction, he said, when the Borough Council voted 4-1 Wednesday night to prohibit itself from seizing any property in a redevelopment area and selling it to a developer - despite a state eminent domain law that allows municipalities to do just that.

“It’s wrong to take private property and turn it over to a redeveloper for private gain,” Doherty said. “It’s a power that shouldn’t be available to municipal, county or state governments.”

The borough already had banned itself from seizing owner-occupied homes in redevelopment zones, under the terms of an ordinance Doherty introduced and the council adopted in 2007. But Belmar wanted to expand that ban to any type of property, even though right now the recession is delaying the borough’s plans to redevelop its downtown, Doherty said.

“At some point, the economy is going to come back, and there is going to be redevelopment in Belmar,” he said. “So this (ban) will already be in place.”

Patricia Tecza, owner of Nostalgic Nonsense Vintage Clothing on Main Street, was among dozens of local business owners who supported the council’s limiting its own power of eminent domain. For the last decade and a half, she said, she has been stuck on a “roller coaster,” wondering whether the borough will seize the property her store has occupied since 1993.

The awning outside Nostalgic Nonsense should have been replaced six years ago, but she held off, reluctant to invest in a storefront that might get torn down in the name of redevelopment, she said.

“Why would I go spend a lot of money on an awning when I don’t know what the town’s going to do?” Tecza asked.

Only now that the council has committed not to invoke its power of eminent domain will she move ahead with improving her business, she said.

The dissenting council vote came from Councilman Richard J. Wright, the only Republican on the governing body, who called the eminent domain ban “silly.” The state Supreme Court recently issued a decision regarding Paulsboro in Gloucester County that “essentially ended” government’s right to seize land for redevelopment, he said.

“Since that court has already spoken on this issue, to pass a local ordinance saying we’re not going to use eminent domain is totally unnecessary,” Wright said. “I don’t believe we should be passing laws that are unnecessary.”

Doherty, his fellow councilman, countered that the Supreme Court decision helps only those businesses that can hire a lawyer to fight eminent domain proceedings, as Freedman’s Bakery and the Belmar Mall have done successfully.

“You have to have the money to go to court,” Doherty said. “If you’re a regular business owner in town and you don’t have those deep pockets, what do you do?”

DOHERTY ANNOUNCES BID FOR RE-ELECTION

Belmar Councilman Fights to Keep Property Taxes Stable, Improve Quality of Life

 BELMAR - Councilman Matt Doherty announced today his intention to seek re-election this November, citing his accomplishments in improving the quality of life for borough residents and laying out his agenda for a second term.

 ”I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the families of Belmar, and I look forward to continuing my service,” Doherty said. “From keeping property taxes stable, searching for shared services with other communities, protecting private property against eminent domain, increasing the public’s right to know about financial campaign contributions and securing a generator for our seniors, I will never stop working for Belmar.”

Doherty has focused significant time in his first term to the accessibility and quality of life of Belmar - from promoting infrastructure projects in town to creating accessibility for seniors, the disabled and families with strollers with the blue MOBI mats on the beach.  He has also fought for Belmar’s business owners, such as advocating the successful “Buy in Belmar” campaign during this past holiday season and writing the ordinance to protect businesses from eminent domain two years after spearheading passage of a similar ordinance to protect private homes in Belmar.

Doherty’s work on the Council drew acclaim from an array of elected officials.

“Matt is an incredibly hard worker who always puts the people’s interest first,” said Mayor Ken Pringle. “He is a great asset to the Council, and I am impressed at how much he has accomplished in his first term.

Council President Merry Brennan said: “We need Matt Doherty on Council. He has the energy and passion required to make Belmar a great place to raise a family.”

“I love working with Matt,” said Councilwoman Claire Deike. “He gives his heart and soul to Belmar, and his commitment to the people he serves is second to none.”

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. praised Doherty as having done “a tremendous job in a very short period of time. Matt is tireless advocate for the people of Belmar.  He was persistent about getting the generator for the Belmar Senior Building and without him it may never have happened.”

In his second term, Doherty promises to work to revitalize our Main Street area, promote shared services agreements to save tax dollars, increase access to the beach, improve our Library, enhance our Harbor, and continue to ensure Belmar is a model of open and transparent government.

Doherty said, “I look forward to going door to door this year and talking with my bosses - the people of Belmar - about how we can confront the unprecedented challenges we face and keep Belmar a great place to live, raise a family and retire.”

Councilman Doherty currently serves on the following Committees: Harbor Commission, Planning Board, ADA Committee (Coordinator), Council Finance Committee, Council Public Safety Committee. He lives on Inlet Terrace with his wife, Maggie, and their two children, Hannah (age 4) and Claire (age 1). Professionally, he is a Securities Licensed Financial Services Professional with MassMutual Financial Group and owner of Doherty Mortgage located on 10^th Avenue in Belmar.

Emergency generator installed at senior building

By Kelly Skellinger

Threats of blackouts and power outages will no longer strike fear into the hearts of tenants residing in Belmar’s senior building, a federally subsidized, six-story building on 8th Avenue which houses a total of 52 residents, ranging in age from 62 to 90.

Paul Caverly, executive director of the Belmar Housing Authority and deputy executive director of the Township of Neptune Housing Authority, recently purchased the emergency generator from Allaire Electric, to replace the building’s existing emergency generator which dates back to the 1960s when the senior building was first built.

The new 65-kilowatt emergency generator, which has already been installed, is can produce enough energy to light the building’s common areas and hallways, keep the hot water and heat pumping, as well as power one of the elevators.

The building’s previous emergency generator had the limited capability to supply lighting to the building’s hallways and stairwells in case of emergency power outages.

As a result, tenants, some of whom have limited mobility and use oxygen tanks, were forced to wait in the dark, in the sweltering heat or the frigid cold, for emergency personnel to come to their rooms and assist them down the stairwells to the building’s common areas.

The building’s elevators did not function during previous power outages due to the limited functions of the older generator.

The tenants’ refrigerated medications were often in danger of expiring during incidents in which the power outages lasted for hours at a time, as well.

With the new generator in place, tenants will no longer need to suffer through such harrowing experiences should the lights suddenly go out.

Mr. Caverly learned of the availability of the generator from a contractor who had come into the Township of Neptune Housing Authority office looking for work recently.

The contractor had installed a new generator to replace an existing generator at the Keansburg Housing Authority.

The generator which was replaced was “still in good shape,” Mr. Caverly explained.

The Keansburg Housing Authority had since sold the generator to Allaire Electric.

Mr. Caverly, in turn, offered to purchase the generator from the electrical contractor for $7,000, money which was extricated from the Belmar Housing Authority’s capital fund program.

Mr. Caverly agreed to pay $14,000 from the fund to have the generator installed in the senior building.

The Belmar Housing Authority was given $53,000 from the federal government to make capital improvements to the senior building this year.

The $53,000 was deposited into the authority’s capital fund program. Out of that fund, $18,000 has already been allocated to pay for a bond to purchase new boilers for the building this year.

The remaining money was used to purchase and install the generator and will be used over the course of the year to further maintain the building and modernize the units, Mr. Caverly said.

The new generator is gas-fired, not diesel-fueled, Mr. Caverly explained.

“It looks like a truck engine - 4 feet tall, 3 feet wide and 6feet long,” he said.

The generator has a one-year guarantee, he noted.

“Now, we have a generator that, in essence, is brand-new,” Mr. Caverly explained. “For the last two and one-half, almost three years, I’ve been whacking my head against the wall trying to get a generator.”

Belmar Councilman Matthew Doherty, Congressman Frank Pallone and Mr. Caverly met with residents of the senior building on Wednesday afternoon to alert tenants to the installation of the new emergency generator and discuss the improved electric service to the building.

Officials fielded questions posed by the tenants as well.

The improved electrical service to the building is the result of a number of officials working together to come up with a solution to the problem over the course of the last year.

For example, Councilman Doherty, Congressman Pallone and Mr. Caverly reached out to media outlets, housing authorities and government agencies over the past year, in an attempt to find an emergency generator at a discounted cost to power the building.

Upon hearing of the plight of the tenants in the building, Jersey Central Power and Light [JCP&L] increased the reliability of its service to the borough’s senior building by installing new primary lines to feed the building.

The amount of voltage feeding the building was increased from 4,100 volts to 7,200 volts.

By increasing the voltage, JCP&L made it less likely for the building’s power to shut down in times of inclement weather or extreme temperatures.

The Belmar Housing Authority and Belmar Mayor and Council agreed to evenly split the cost of an 800-amp transfer switch for the building in March. However, the switch was never purchased and will not be purchased now that the new generator is in place, Mr. Caverly explained.

The switch, which would have cost $23,770 to purchase and install, transfers power from the JCP&L power lines, which currently power the building, to a portable emergency generator.

Belmar’s governing body also agreed to lease an 800-amp generator for the building, which would then be hooked up to the building when power outages last for longer than one day.

The 800-amp generator will no longer need to be leased by the borough, as the new generator will be more than adequate to power the building during emergencies which last longer than one day.

Residents from Manasquan to Jersey City have also offered to aid borough officials in finding a generator adequate enough to power the entire building over the past year, Councilman Doherty added.

The councilman noted that tenants have already begun to reap the benefits of the improved electrical service to the building.

“While in past summers the senior building would often lose power on extremely hot days for long periods of time, this summer they suffered only one for a very short amount of time,” the councilman said, noting that the improved electrical service to the building provided by JCP&L is the cause of the decrease in power outages.

“In the past, the length of the outages necessitated emergency services from the borough, but there was no need for that type of response this year,” he said.

According to Congressman Pallone, the collaborative efforts of local government officials, state officials and the private sector to find a solution to the power outage problem at the senior building is a good example of how government can work together and produce successful results.

“Everybody kind of came together,” the congressman said of the collaborative push to acquire a new generator for the building. “During tough times, when there is not a lot of money available, this is a good example of how government and the private sector can work together to try to accomplish something.”

“The residents of our housing authority’s senior building are a great asset to our community,” Councilman Doherty added. “They volunteer in Belmar in numerous ways including the Belmar Woman’s Club, St. Rose Church and the ADA Committee, just to name a few.

“I will always remember the generosity from these low-income seniors after the devastating fire last year that took the lives of two people,” the councilman said of a house fire on C Street last year which claimed the lives of Kenyon Stevens, a 7-year-old Belmar Elementary School first-grader, and his 52-year-old grandmother, Barbara Carter.

“They were the first ones to donate money for the surviving family members,” Councilman Doherty explained. “They exemplify the best of Belmar and they deserve our attention and support.”