Council to Hold Reorganization Meeting Tonight

When the Howell Township Council meets tonight at , the members sitting at the dais will be the same ones that were there at the last meeting in December. 

With Councilman Juan Malave already following the of former Councilwoman Susan Schroeder Clark, The members of the council should be able to get right down to business for the year ahead. There could still be changes ahead with Mayor Robert Walsh for a spot with the Monmouth County Freeholders. 

Deputy Mayor William Gotto said barring some unforeseen circumstance he expects to hold that position for another year, though depending on Walsh's status that could change. "It's obviously a little humbling," he said of the number two spot. "Getting to do it two years in a row is even more humbling." Gotto said his fellow council members know changes could come from Walsh's position but they are taking a wait and see approach to see what happens.

Whether Walsh stays in the center of the dais or not, Tuesday's meeting should also start the beginning of the end of an era on Preventorium Road. This should be the last reorganization meeting held at Town Hall before a move to new .  Gotto said as the plans for the new complex are finalized and implemented he is excited to see the township take the . "I'm a little anxious to be in this building and close this chapter," he said. If all goes according to plan the township should be in its new location by the middle of 2012. 

It is the implementation of those plans and the transfer of the township's operations that Gotto said will be a key item for Howell moving forward. Another important area for the council, Gotto said is working on the budget for the year ahead. "We want to make sure we put ourselves in a really good spot," he said of what figures to be a very involved process.

Having had to use cost cutting measures like furloughs in the past, Gotto said one of the goals for the year ahead is to try to position the township in a way that measures like that will not have to be taken. 

One of the members of the council who was most against the purchase of what was known as the Global Building was Councilwoman Pauline Smith. Looking ahead to 2012 Smith said she knows the council will be busy and like the other members she has some big goals for the upcoming session. 

Smith said her goals include looking at the township's master plan and making sure it is being utilized in the best interests of the residents. That includes how development is handled pointing to work done in 1994 and in 2005 where the Planning Board would play a big role in that process. "We came up with the idea of only allowing clustering at the discretion of the planning board," she said. Going forward, she said she would like to see that continue as the township faces more development questions within its borders. 

Smith said she will also focus on the township's storm water facilities. After two big storms in 2011, Smith said she wants to make sure the system is not only operating properly but also to ensure it can handle the expanding developments in the township. 

Another area Gotto said he would like to focus on in the year ahead is looking at the zoning of what he called the towns "economic corridors including Route 9 and Route 33 to see what can be done to help make the township more money and also provide more opportunities for the residents. While these issues were glanced at in 2011, Gotto said he expected more detailed work to be done this year. 

In the opening days of 2012, Gotto said he expects it to be a busy year for the council and the township. "I think the thing that is a little bit different than maybe what other people have done prior to me and Rob and Pauline and now Juan is we don't have an agenda," he said. "We're not trying to sit there and create something that makes us all better. We have ideas of where the town needs to go and we just do them."

He added, "We have some ideas of what we want to do to make the town better not only for ourselves, but for our kids." 

The reorganization meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30, while the regular council workshop meeting is slated to start at 7:30.