Historic Agreement: Municipal Utilities Authority, Toms River  Schools And Dover Township In Joint Meeting For $20 Million Open Space Acquisition Program For Relief Of Overcrowding, Traffic Gridlock And Future Tax Abatement

Mayor Russo Says Cooperative Effort Features Annual Contributions From Agencies To Fund $20 Million In Added Property Purchases “To Take  Raw Materials Of Unwanted Development Off The Table”

Initiative Will Validate Efforts By Haelig, Inteso, Ritacco And Russo To Accelerate Public Ownership Of Additional Open Space To “Stop Out-Of-Control Residential Development Plaguing Our Community In Recent Years”

Dover Township: Representatives of the Dover Municipal Utilities Authority, the Toms River Regional School System and the Township Committee have plotted out an historic first step in support for a $20 Million program for additional open space acquisition in Dover Township.

The acquisition program, originally proposed more than two years ago by DMUA Commissioner Robert K. Haelig Jr., was endorsed by Mayor John F. Russo Jr., Deputy Mayor Carmine Inteso, School Superintendent Michael Ritacco and former School Board President Frank Sadeghi following a recent meeting organized to get the project off the ground.

The initiative was approved unanimously by resolution Wednesday evening at the DMUA’s monthly business meeting.

School Board Voted Unanimously

In a January letter to Haelig, Ritacco noted the school board “voted unanimously” to explore the joint proposal after Haelig told school officials a “major segment” of a possible $30 million overdevelopment tax increase “can be averted if we work together to purchase significant amounts of open space”.

Mayor Russo Cites "Powerful Benefits"

“If this vital initiative is successful”, Mayor John F. Russo Jr. said, “it will have powerful benefits for our residents and taxpayers. The consequences of not acting decisively are self evident.”

“If we do not take more action soon”, the Mayor said, “we will have more overdevelopment, more traffic jams and more residents convinced we have not done a good job of planning for the future.”

Mayor Russo: “We Regard More Overdevelopment As Unacceptable”

“There are some estimates which clearly say if we fail to meet our responsibilities, the potential increase in the annual tax burden could be as high as $40 million a year in higher school taxes, higher local taxes and, eventually, higher county taxes in Dover Township” he added.

“We regard this as unacceptable”, he said.

Russo Says It Took Courage For DMUA And
School Board To Endorse Open Space Proposal

Mayor Russo had high praise for DMUA commissioners and officials, and School Board members and administration “who have courageously given the green light to get started on this vital, historic project.

Defends Independence Of Municipal Utilities Authority

The Mayor took note that the DMUA, targeted for dissolution by Democratic Committee members earlier this year, “has come to the aid of the township in many ways, including invaluable assistance rendered during the record snowstorm this winter.”

Inteso Endorsed “Major Open Space Effort” In 2001;
Sadeghi Gave The Green Light In January

Deputy Mayor Inteso endorsed a “major open space effort” in his 2001 election campaign, and suggested at that time the DMUA and other public agencies be involved in open space purchases.”

Sadeghi, a school board member and former board president, is part of the current project leadership, and sparked the board’s January endorsement of the open space proposal.

In supporting the project Wednesday evening, DMUA Chairman Paul Wnek said “public bodies can and should stand together • • • to foster and promote the public good.”

Coming real soon on OceanCountyPolitics•Com, maybe as early as this weekend: Picky; Picky; Picky: Furey and Larsen describe the DMUA, pound for pound possibly the strongest public agency in NJ, as “losing millions of dollars a year.”   6/27/03

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