Lake Hopatcong Commission Head: We're Working With State For Funding

Money was on Steve Gebeloff's mind when the Lake Hopatcong Alliance member asked the governor to restore funding to the cash-strapped Lake Hopatcong Commission when on March 9.

On Monday night, LHC Chairman Russell Felter said he'd been speaking with senators Steve Oroho and Anthony Bucco about funding.

"It would be great if we got funding," Felter said at the . "It's being worked on. I can't say much other than that."

Felter also said he'd been having conversations with the senators before Christie's visit.

In December, Felter said he , despite asking for about $450,000—or a third less than in 2010.

"We have to give a budget to the state," Russell Felter said in December. "We don't get that money ever."

Felter, who's also Jefferson's mayor, said the commission asked the state for $656,000 in 2010 and got nothing. Instead, it eventually received about $250,000 in state grants.

Gebeloff raised his hand during the question-and-answer session of Christie's town hall-style visit to

"The economy of this area is driven by the lake," Gebeloff said before adding: "We're only asking for a small amount of money sent from Trenton back up here."

Christie said he'd heard from Bucco about the LHC's lack of funds.

"We're working to try to make sure there's more funding to what needs to be funded as the economy starts to grow and we start get more money to be able to make sure that we fund that," Christie said.