5 Things You Need to Know for Wednesday Night's JCPL Meeting

MIDDLETOWN, NJ - If you are attending Wednesday night's meeting about the Monmouth County Reliability Project at Middletown High School North, here are some important logistical things to know in advance:

1. Where/when: Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the meeting will be called to order at 7 p.m. sharp. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of Middletown High School North, 63 Tindall Road Middletown, NJ. That's the high school pictured above.

2. Parking will be a pain. More than 500 people said they will attend the meeting, and the Middletown school district is already warning that the high school parking lot will not be enough to accommodate the crowds. Overflow parking is available at Tindall Park and the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Carpooling is a very good idea.

3. Everyone will likely get to speak: You do not sign up to speak in advance; there will be sign-up sheets to put your name down when you walk in the door. Because of the high number of expected speakers, Judge Gail Cookson will likely limit testimony to under two minutes, said Administrative Law spokesman Patrick Mulligan.

4. The meeting will go late. Because everyone is expected to have a chance to speak, expect the meeting to go very, very late. "We've had meetings before on hot-button issues down in Atlantic County that have gone 'till 1:45, 2 in the morning," Mulligan said. Expect the same tomorrow night.

5. The Board of Public Utilities will not be there. The BPU has final say over whether the line gets built; Judge Cookson makes her recommendation to the board based on what she hears Wednesday night. However, the five-person BPU will not be there in person to hear testimony. Representatives from Jersey Central Power & Light will be there, however, and they will likely testify.

Wikimedia Commons image of Middletown North