Advisory board replaces recreation commission Manalapan governing body will now have say on rec programs

Advisory board replaces
recreation commission
Manalapan governing
body will now have
say on rec programs

The 1976 ordinance that created Manalapan’s board of recreation commissioners has been repealed by a 5-0 vote of the Manalapan Township Committee.

In its place, an ordinance establishing a recreation advisory board has been approved by the same 5-0 vote.

The new ordinance transfers all existing employees of the board of recreation commissioners to the township without any loss in pay or benefits.

The new ordinance notes that the recreation trust fund created and funded by the board of recreation commissioners will continue as it is presently established.

Final decisions on recreation matters will now rest with Manalapan’s elected governing body and not with an appointed board of recreation commissioners.

The committee’s Feb. 27 vote to replace the recreation commission with an advisory board was preceded by a public hearing.

Rebecca Ginsberg, chairwoman of the recreation commission, said a majority of the commission passed a resolution on Jan. 28 opposing the formation of a recreation advisory board.

She told members of the governing body, "You are aware that a (recreation) program of this size and one that has been so successful for so many years is not an accident or a coincidence. It is the result of hard work and long hours by a lot of dedicated people, many of whom have served as recreation commissioners.

"You have not been especially clear as to the reasons for (replacing the commission with an advisory board)," Ginsberg said. "You have said in the newspapers that there are issues about field maintenance and you have told us that you want all the departments the same. These don’t seem like reasons to abolish a commission that has done outstanding work for 26 years. You are replacing a proven system with an untried plan, without even getting input from those who have been doing this job."

Ginsberg read a letter from Gene Vincenti, a former recreation commission chairman. In the letter, Vincenti said it was his belief that the change was not in the best interests of the township. He asked why the Manalapan Pop Warner football program needed exclusive use of one of the town’s recreation fields, Field J, and noted that other programs would not be able to use that field at the Manalapan Recreation Center.

His letter said the recreation commission has been successful and suggested that an advisory board would "react to the whims of current special interests."

Pop Warner President Roy Hanover said the independent football league supports the change from the recreation commission to the advisory board.

He said he never had the same feelings from the recreation commission in the 22 years he has dealt with that body as he has in the past 18 months that he has dealt with the Township Committee.

Referring to the recreation commission, Hanover said, "The recreation people have not been accountable to the people in my program (and) to the residents."

Richard Hass, a former chairman of the recreation commission, said it took 26 years to build the Manalapan Recreation Center, one of the best in the state. He said it cannot be micromanaged.

Speaking about the reservation of Field J for the Pop Warner program, Hass said, "We found out about it when a copy of the contract was put in front of our nose and we were asked to vote on it. You’re destroying something that was not broken."

Resident Robert Kanner told the governing body that reserving a playing field for the Pop Warner football program was "wasting 2 acres of my money" and predicted that representatives of other sports leagues would now seek fields for their exclusive use.

"This is a waste of the taxpayers’ money," he said.

According to the Township Committee, members who are on the recreation commission will remain as members of the recreation advisory board. They are Rebecca Ginsberg, chairwoman; William Ciullo, vice chairman; Frank Verrico, secretary; and commission members Richard Haas, John Castellani, Gene DeFalco, Jamie Bruno, Sandy Lax and Gerard Ward.