Former Brick Mayor Joe Scarpelli, SummerFest Founder, Dies At 86

BRICK, NJ — Joseph C. Scarpelli, who served as mayor of Brick for 12 years and was a tireless advocate for the town and its residents over three decades in public service, has died, his family said.

Scarpelli died Jan. 30 at the age of 86 surrounded by family, his family said.

He was born in New York City in 1939 and spent his summers at the shore, working as a lifeguard, his first foray into public service. It was at the shore in Long Branch where he met his wife, Dorothy; they married in 1960, according to his obituary in the Asbury Park Press.

The couple moved to Brick in 1964 and Scarpelli began serving the community not long after, according to Asbury Park Press reports in the Newspapers.com archives.

Scarpelli was serving on the township's conservation commission when he ran for a seat on the Brick Township Board of Education in 1970. He finished fourth in that election but was appointed to the school board just a few months later when a board member resigned due to illness, according the archives. He served on the school board until 1976, including as its president in his last year on the board.

In 1977 he ran for the Township Council and won, spending a dozen years on the council until the township shifted from a nonpartisan body to partisan after 22 years, according to the archives. He was defeated in the 1989 election, but in 1993 won election as mayor over Warren Wolf.

During his years as mayor, Scarpelli supported expansion of recreational opportunities for Brick residents and led the creation of the popular SummerFest concert series that continues today. He also advocated for the addition of sports fields and recreation facilities around the township such as the Drum Point Sports Complex, according to the archives.

He was an advocate for preserving open space in the township, credited with helping to lead Brick to protecting more than 1,000 acres of land from development, including the Havens Homestead Farm on Herbertsville Road.

Scarpelli also was vocal when it came to environmental and safety impacts of proposed projects on residents, such as a concrete grinding facility that was proposed near the site of the Brick Township MUA's reservoir on Sally Ike Road. He spoke out against the cogeneration plant that was built in Lakewood, airing concerns about the exhaust from the plant and its possible effects.

It was those initiatives that people spoke of in the wake of his resignation as mayor in December 2006 and his guilty plea a month later to taking a $5,000 bribe, one of dozens of public officials in New Jersey caught up in Operation Bid Rig.

"I know him to be a compassionate, family-oriented individual who was always interested in the betterment of the community," Andrew R. Ciesla, a Republican who served on the council with Scarpelli until the change of government, then served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2012, said at the time.

"I will forever be grateful to Mayor Scarpelli for giving this kid from Midstreams a shot at working in our hometown," said Tara Paxton, Brick Township's planner. "He was a great man who tried to make things better for people. His love of family and community was infectious."

Scarpelli spent the rest of his years quietly, devoted to time with his family and his most cherished role as a grandfather, "never missing a game, play, or concert, and treasuring every moment spent with them," his family said.

"Jersey Joe was always the life of the party," and he was a devout Catholic, his family wrote. "He was a kid at heart who loved family above all else, model trains, Christmas, and PASTA! He loved to talk and made friends everywhere he went. He will be sorely missed."

He was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy; his son, Glenn and daughter-in-law, Patricia, and is survived by his children, Dr. Craig Scarpelli and his wife, Elizabeth; Kim Bogan and her husband Andrew; Kyle Scarpelli and his wife Sarah; and nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild; his sister Pam Quis and her husband, Richard, a sister-in-law, Paula Krummel; and nieces and nephews.

The family has asked for donations to the JBJ Soul Foundation at https://jbjsf.charityproud.org in lieu of flowers.