Commuter and Utility Fee Hikes a Possibility in Manalapan

At the Manalapan Township Committee meeting Wednesday, Mayor Andrew Lucas added a cooperative power purchasing agreement to the agenda that critics say could result in more fees from utility companies.

Under the agreement, the Township will work with 150 other municipalities in the state to bargain for concessions from utility companies. The Committee voted to approve the payment of a $300 program entrance fee.

Committeewoman Michelle Roth dissented, stating her concern over hidden fees and the absence of an exit strategy option should the Township not like the services provided. 

As the liaison to the Transportation Committee, Roth also opposed another debated ordinance that calls for a hike in fees for commuter parking permits from $150 to $201.

“My opinion on this ordinance is that it’s absolutely outrageous to increase fees by 34 percent when commuters just suffered an increase of 25 percent at the hands of New Jersey Transit,” said Roth.

Lucas explained the fee hike, stating that it is needed to break even in the costs of maintaining the commuter lots in terms of providing snow removal and electricity.

An adoption date for the ordinance was scheduled for Feb. 23 as the Committee voted 4-1 in favor of the ordinance’s introduction with Roth’s dissent.

Roth, who had been absent for both the Township Reorganization Meeting of Jan. 5 and a Jan. 12 meeting, returned to the dais and voiced opposition to some recent Committee actions, specifically some of Mayor Lucas’s decisions in the last few weeks.

Roth began by expressing firm opposition to a Jan. 5 resolution that placed a 5-minute time limit on the Committee members’ reports and comments. She called the limit arbitrary and cited her free speech rights as an elected official.

“My reports and comments will be as long as necessary to ensure the public’s right to know isn’t violated,” said Roth.

She then criticized Lucas’s choice to interview Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry in a television special that has aired on local channels 77 and 42. Roth noted that Freeholder Amy Mallet, the lone Democrat on the Board, is also up for reelection, but she was not profiled.

Roth feels that the interview has served as an unfair endorsement of Freeholder Burry. Lucas is expected to contend for the nomination as Burry’s running mate in the fall.

“By putting this political communication on our TV station, I feel that he may have unwittingly made an unkind contribution to her reelection campaign, or worse still, it could be considered a contribution by the Township of Manalapan,” said Roth of Lucas’s actions. “So I defer to our Township Attorney to look into this because I would hate to see the Township exposed in any way,” she concluded.

Township Attorney Roger McLaughlin did not comment on the matter.

Roth was also troubled by Lucas’s vote on the consent agenda, citing that, in effect, Lucas voted to lower his own property taxes by $25,000 during the Jan. 12 Committee meeting.

“I’m troubled that he was unable to separate his own financial interests from Township business. And I am at a loss to understand why he didn’t recuse himself from the vote and actually seconded the motion,” said Roth. 

Mayor Lucas did not directly respond to Roth’s allegations; he simply thanked the Committeewoman for her comments.

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