FROM THE DESK OF COUNCILMEMBER JAMES W.
KEADY
NOVEMBER UPDATE 2005
Dear Constituents:
I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving
weekend. Here is my November Update, a progress report on the areas in
which I am continuing to focus my energies. I apologize that you are
receiving the November update on December 1st. I was lecturing
in Philadelphia and Washington, DC the past few days and my attempts to email
this to you from the road were unsuccessful on a number of occasions.
PUBLIC SAFETY
·
Our current Police Director Lou
Jordan has effectively finished his tenure in Asbury Park by using his
remaining sick and vacation days through the month of December. Our City
Manager is now engaged in an aggressive search for a new Police Director.
During the recent League of Municipalities conference I was lucky enough to
speak with a number of law enforcement officials from around the state and all
of them have offered their help to us to ensure that Asbury Park gets the most
competent Police Director available.
·
This past week our City Manager made
two very important promotions in our Police Department. We now have Mark
Kinmon as our Deputy Police Director and Christopher Van Buren as our Police
Inspector. Following these promotions I spoke with officers from our
department, from Neptune, from the Prosecutor’s Office, and from the TNT
Force. Every one of them agreed that the promotion of these two officers
was one of the best developments for our Police Department in years. I
wholeheartedly agree with them.
·
During our November 14th
City Council Meeting, I was very clear with former Deputy Chief Reed that I
felt our Police Department failed our citizens, particularly our children,
following the recent murder of Jerry Jules on DeWitt Avenue. Certainly
they should have increased their presence on DeWitt in the days after the
murder to give the people in the neighborhood an increased sense of
safety. The Monday after the murder, when school was letting out, I was
on DeWitt Avenue and there was not a police officer in sight. I let
Deputy Chief Reed know, in no uncertain terms, that this was
unacceptable. I also was critical of our lack of progress on curtailing
the drug trade at the corner of Bangs and Prospect. In recent days I have
been pleased by what appears to be an increased police presence on that corner
and I will continue to track progress here.
RECREATION
- On November 4th I
had a very productive meeting with Stacey LaStella from the Red Bank YMCA
and Robert Taylor from the Boys and Girls Club. Our conversation was
focused on establishing a unique partnership between these two
organizations to provide a comprehensive swim program for children, adults
and seniors at the Boys and Girls Club, as well as creating dynamic
daytime programming (yoga, aerobics, etc.) for young mothers and
seniors. We are in the midst of preparing formal proposals for these
programs and, if all goes well, we envision executing them in 4 to 5
months.
- I have made tentative
arrangements for a meeting between Stacey from the YMCA and Susan Maynard
from the West Side Community Center to see what possibilities there are
for a programming partnership. Once this meeting takes place, I will
update you.
- I submitted a proposal to our
City Manager and Director of Social Services to resurrect the Senior
Ceramics Program. It seems that we have just a few small hurdles to
get over, but I am hopeful that this program will be active in the very
near future.
- The City Recreation Department
has recently begun an after-school program at the Asbury Park Middle
School. For more information, please contact Cheryl Pearsal at
732-502-5747.
EMPLOYMENT
- In November I attended two
meetings for the Asbury Works Advisory Board. The first was our full
board meeting at which we discussed a very impressive proposal by our
Summer Jobs Subcommittee. I am looking forward to this proposal
getting to its final form and then being executed. The second was
with the At Risk Youth Subcommittee of which I am a member. During
this meeting we had a very enlightening discussion on the responsibilities
of ours and the other subcommittees and we will be returning to the full
committee with what we believe will be a more effective means of moving
forward. Once we report to the full committee on our findings, I am
looking forward to sharing with you the details of what we
propose.
- I recently requested a report
from Tamara Richardson on the progress she has been making with the Asbury
Works program and I was very pleased with the information she shared with
me. The following are highlights from Asbury Works actions prior to
March 15, 2005:
- Registered almost 700 people -
approximately 50 were non residents and they were referred elsewhere;
- Prescreened approximately 400
people with another 20 waiting to come in for prescreening; 206 have
missed 2 prescreening appointments and follow up has been done by mail
& phone;
- Approximately 100 were
admitted convicted felons and we will be addressing their special needs;
- Education level of applicants
was 7th grade thru College Graduates;
- Time that applicants have been
unemployed ranged from 2 days to 10 years;
- 95 applicants have confirmed
hires (27 youth) and more than 500 applicants have been referred to
jobs;
- More than 200 job openings are
currently posted at Asbury Works;
- More than 300 local companies
were solicited to participate in our program.
HOUSING
- As per my request, I recently
received a draft of a rent stabilization ordinance for Asbury Park from
Mr. Connie Pascale from NJ Legal Services. In the coming days I will
review this, seek feedback from our city staff, and make a determination
on how best to move forward.
- There was to have been a
meeting of the Affordable Housing Committee this past month, but this did
not materialize and I take full responsibility for not making this
happen. I will be sure that we meet in December.
- I have had very brief
conversations with two local pastors about the idea I have for creating a
“floating” homeless shelter through the winter months.
The idea I proposed was for us to get commitments from a number of
churches to host the homeless for a set period of time (one week to one
month) from 9pm – 6am each day. The collaborating churches,
from both within and outside Asbury Park, would provide space, volunteers,
etc. I also envision our city’s social services playing a role
as well as the School of Social Work from Monmouth University, with the
hope that we would help people beyond their current situation and get them
the long-term support and stabilization that they need. Given the
positive feedback I have received to date, I now will formalize the idea
on paper and begin to get concrete commitments.
REDEVELOPMENT
- Because of my prior commitments
for work, I was unable to attend the last two meetings of the Springwood
Avenue Redevelopment Advisory Board. I have received full reports
from Councilman Johnson on the progress that has been made and I am
looking forward to attending the December 8th meeting.
- I have had some exciting
discussions this past month with Rev. Hunter from the S.T.A.R.S program
about potential partnerships between S.T.A.R.S and the city. The
focus of these partnerships would be to help residents improve their
capacity as active civic participants. At the moment, we have one
grant proposal in the pipeline for such a program and I am looking forward
to expanding our collaboration. As I wrote in my October Update to
you, we can and should redevelop our buildings, but simultaneously, we
must work to redevelop our people.
COMMUNICATIONS
- I have continued to gather
materials to establish www.jameskeady.com that will
include a range of information and resources for your use. I hope to
have this new site launched in the New Year.
- In the past month, there has
been an increased amount of public documents available via our city
website. An example is the copy of the City’s new Master Plan
that is under review. The plan is available at:
http://www.cityofasburypark.com/inside.tpl?page=masterplan
While we have made some progress in
getting more materials available to you on our website, we are nowhere near
where I would like us to be and I will continue to work with our City Manager,
City Clerk and City Webmaster to improve this.
- In the hopes of increasing
person to person communication with city residents, I had my first
constituent meeting this past month at the West Side Community
Center. I wish I could say that the meeting was held under better
circumstances, but it was in response to the murder of Jerry Jules on
DeWitt Avenue. The weekend following his murder I organized a
meeting of children and parents in the neighborhood who were impacted by
the event to give them a chance to share their concerns with me.
During the meeting the kids and parents shared some of their feelings, fears,
frustrations, etc. I listened and then engaged them to see how we
could work together to improve our city. I was amazed at how
insightful they were in some areas and how less than insightful they were
in others. The bottom line, we have a lot of work to do. How
can you help? One way is to volunteer as a mentor, as we are in
desperate need of mentors for our kids. If this is something you are
interested in, please drop me an email and I will connect you with a
program.
- As always, I make myself
available to citizens via my city email address [EMAIL PROTECTED]
and my voicemail at City Hall, 732.502.5196 both of which are posted on
the city’s website.
ACCOUNTABILITY
- As some of you may be aware,
there is an issue that has emerged at recent City Council Meetings
regarding our Waterfront Redevelopment Plan, specifically the demolition
of the C-8 building and the implications that this action has in relation
to the development control plan. There seems to be some confusion as
to what language is actually in the plan regarding this site. I
believe this is critically important as the implications of the paragraph
in question are potentially worth tens of millions of dollars.
To date, we have received reports from City staff and from representatives
of Asbury Partners and I am not satisfied with the information I have
received. I still have, what I believe, are some very critical
questions that have yet to be adequately answered. As I am no expert
in this area, I will be seeking help from outside agencies for an
investigation into this matter. I am hoping that we can come to a
conclusion on this in the near future and move forward in good
faith.
- As I shared with you last
month, I will continue to utilize my method for increasing accountability
at City Hall. For any issue that I would like personally addressed
or any issue that is brought to my attention by a citizen, I prepare and
send a memo to the City Manager and periodically follow up on these memos
during the Workshop portion of our bi-monthly public meetings. To
date, this has been an effective means of having issues addressed.
This past month was a light one for
sending my “action items” to our City Manager as my work schedule
was particularly intense. In the coming weeks I will have a number of new
items to send his way and I will be sure to include them in December’s
Update. This month’s included:
- Waterfront Redevelopment
Agreement – Copies of Plans
- YMCA – Follow Up
MISCELANEOUS ITEMS
NJLM CONFERENCE
On November 15th I attended the NJ League of
Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City. It was a wonderful experience
for me and I learned quite a bit despite the fact that I was only able to
attend one full day of the conference. During my time at the conference,
I attended at least part of the following workshops:
- Orientation: Getting the Most
from Your Conference Experience
- Can you Hear Me Now?
Communications Skills for Elected Officials
- The Future of the Tourism
Industry in New Jersey
- Special Improvement Districts
(SIDS) – 101
- Options for Tax Reform –
What Can We Expect?
Each of these workshops was very helpful and I am looking
forward to taking the information that I learned in them and applying it to our
efforts in Asbury Park. I also spent about two hours wandering the
exhibition hall and I gathered some useful information from vendors that could
provide key services to our city. I will be sorting through all the
information I gathered and then discussing with my fellow Councilmembers and
the City Manager who we would like to follow up with. On the whole,
it was a very exciting and enlightening experience and I am looking forward to
attending next year’s conference.
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR AIDS AWARENESS
Each year in Asbury Park a silent
candlelight vigil and walk is held in the City. Those walking will gather at
Asbury Park's City Hall (One Municipal Plaza, across from the Post Office) on
Main Street between 6pm and 7pm, on December 1st. At 7 pm the participants will
begin to walk along Main Street to Trinity Episcopal Church where an Interfaith
Service is held beginning at 7:30 pm.
The walk is sponsored by CheckMate and the Interfaith Service is sponsored by
The Center in Asbury Park.
The World AIDS Day theme this year is "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise."
The theme is an appeal to governments and policy makers to ensure they meet the
targets they have agreed to in the fight against HIV and AIDS as well as a
challenge to all of us to continue in our dedication to care for our brothers
and sisters living with HIV/AIDS.
We are reminded to keep our energy level up in the battle against
discrimination, ignorance and fear that surrounds this disease and those
infected and affected by HIV.
If you can participate, please join us at City Hall or meet up with the walkers
at Trinity Church (503 Asbury Avenue).
And if you're not able to join us, here are some things you can do to support
World AIDS Day.
* Raise Awareness of HIV and AIDS in your area.
* Wear a red ribbon and ask others to do the same.
* Protect yourself and your partners - this is the first and best way to stop
the spread of HIV
* If you are worried, get tested.
p.s. I would like to thank the folks at the Q Spot for
passing along this info to me.
GETTING INVOLVED
- Please attend City Council
meetings on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. The
Workshop Session begins at 6pm and the Regular Public Meeting begins at
7pm. It is important that we have as many informed citizens as
possible and your participation in these meetings is invaluable.
- If you are interested in
helping with any of the initiatives listed above, please email me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
or call me at 732.502.196 and I will be sure to get you involved in a
meaningful way.
- Send this “Councilmember
Keady - November Update” to at least one other person from Asbury
Park and ask them to join my constituent email list by contacting me at [EMAIL PROTECTED].
If you know someone that does not use email, print this out and give it to
them. Then ask them to mail me their contact information at
Councilmember Keady ~ 1 Municipal Plaza ~ Asbury Park, NJ 97712 and I will
be sure to keep in touch with them.
I hope this update is helpful to you. Remember,
together, we can and will make Asbury Park great again!
Peace, JWK
Councilmember James W. Keady
1 Municipal Plaza
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
TEL: 732.502.5196
EM: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.cityofasburypark.com
