Good work of rec. commission will fall by the wayside

Good work of rec. commission will fall by the wayside

On Feb. 27 the Manalapan Township Committee will vote to dissolve its own recreation commission, replacing it with a properly subservient "advisory" committee. This new advisory committee will have no authority to make any decisions regarding recreation in Manalapan.

Manalapan’s recreation program is one of the great success stories of our township and is ample testimony to the dedication and energy of the people who have served as commissioners over the years.

They created and watched over our recreation program with integrity and fairness, and fought for the many improvements that have added to its size and quality. In particular, they have been bipartisan and non-political, providing a volunteer service to all residents of our township.

Now the process will be run by the Township Committee, who are (and should be) concerned with many other things. Even the one member of the Township Committee who was liaison to the recreation commission attended less than half of the meetings last year.

Members of the Township Committee have tried to justify their proposed "takeover" of decision-making power by expressing concern over field maintenance. This is a particularly unfair attack, given that they have repeatedly refused the recreation commission’s requests for adequate funding for that purpose.

Looking at the larger issue, it is not clear how people who spend a tiny fraction of their time on recreation issues will make the large numbers of decisions that are required, in a non-political, timely and careful manner.

This is an unfortunate and unnecessary decision to end a tradition that has served Manalapan well.

I want it to be perfectly clear in this forum that I am the Manalapan recreation commission chair; however, let me state that the opinions expressed in this letter are mine.

Rebecca Ginsberg

Manalapan