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Why Can’t They Get Along in Middle?

Government | Wed, 07/09/2008 - 2:50 pm | Read 1232 | Commented 10 | Emailed 1
Tags: committee, Middle Township

By Joe Hart

COURT HOUSE — The Middle Township governing body and the citizens that attend its fortnightly meetings aren’t playing nicely together.

The groups are at odds over several ongoing issues, which has led to raised voices, interruptions or terse responses to questions at several township committee meetings.

At Monday’s meeting, committee got through a 26-item agenda approving an ordinance and numerous resolutions without any fireworks, but after the public portion began tempers flared.

Dan Lockwood, a Republican candidate running against Mayor F. Nathan Doughty in the upcoming November election, was the first to speak.

Lockwood questioned an agenda item regarding the payment of the township’s bills. The item listed a tally of $27,452 in the dedicated trust and $2,788,683 in the current account, but Lockwood asked for an itemized list of checks written by the township.

“It must be the accounting background in me,” he said noting that a look at the monthly bill payments might help him understand the fiscal budget numbers more clearly.

Township Administrator James Alexis told Lockwood that the monthly list of bills was several pages long. He suggested that Lockwood come to township hall and submit an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to view the list.

Carole Mattessich – an attorney who represents her husband, township Tax Assessor Joseph Ravitz, in a lawsuit against the township – seconded Lockwood’s request.

Mattessich said she too would like an opportunity to review the monthly checks. She suggested that if it was too costly to reproduce the list with each agenda, committee could provide one copy for those interested to review before meetings.

“We’ll take that under advisement,” Doughty replied to her suggestion.

That wasn’t enough for the attorney.

“When can I expect an answer?” Mattessich pushed. “Can I expect an answer by the next meeting in two weeks?”
The mayor had enough.

“No!” Doughty said. “What did I say the first time? We’ll take it under advisement.”

“I find that an unacceptable and rude answer,” Mattessich responded.

Ralph and Lois Shuman belong to a group that opposes a mining and recycling facility application by Albrecht and Heun before the Middle Township Zoning Board.

The Shumans are passionate about their cause and often make lengthy, sometimes repetitive comments and questions at meetings, much to the chagrin of committee members.

On Monday, their questions to township Engineer Vince Orlando related to a host community benefit agreement between the township and Albrecht and Heun in which the company agreed to pay the township $1 per ton of recycled material taken into its current site on Goshen Road here.

Township Solicitor James Pickering instructed Orlando not to respond to question regarding the host community benefit because it is a matter of pending litigation, but Committeeman Steve Barry attempted to answer their questions.

Barry referred to a recent Herald story dealing with the host community benefit agreement. He said that there was a mix up between the recycling company and the township in which the calculation for the benefit program was changed without approval from the township.

Albrecht and Heun had been calculating the benefit by the amount of material taken out of the site when the agreement specified material taken into the site. This change led to a shortage to the township of over $200,000 over several years, he said.

The Shumans suggested the company must have huge stockpiles of material onsite.

When Barry was attempting to explain how a difference between the incoming and outgoing recycled material could be explained, he was interrupted by an aside comment from Lois Shuman.

Barry refused to finish his answer and the mayor took questions from several other citizens before Barry continued. Barry said he was sorry if his technique of refusing to talk after being interrupted was harsh, but he found it necessary when dealing with children.

Barry said Shuman must not have wanted to hear his answer because instead of listening she was talking.

“When you’re interested, you listen carefully,” the committeeman said.

Middle Township Committee meets here regularly on the first and third Mondays of each month at Township Hall, 33 Mechanic St. The next meeting is scheduled for July 21.

Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com

Print | Email Updated 1 year 36 weeks ago

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Comments (10)

We welcome your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.

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Sun, 07/13/2008 - 9:29pm - Posted by: Anonymous

The Herald has always reported Lower issues more carefully than Middle issues. That means that for whatever the ills in Lower, they work on them. Not so Middle.

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Sun, 07/13/2008 - 8:20am - Posted by: Anonymous

POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS.....if Middle were a Republican Town the HERALD would be ripping the officials to pieces......BUT......the liberal left Herald just sits back and watches as the Middle Twp Mayor and Committee jsut talk down to, ignore and mock the public that they supposedly serve! and the Herald sits back and says...."we'll take it under advisement!"

(ED. NOTE: That's a first. We've never been called a the liberal left Herald before.)

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Fri, 07/11/2008 - 3:51pm - Posted by: Anonymous

It may be more than hundreds of thousands -- as though that's not enough. A&H was supposed to pay 1 dollar a ton for every ton of reycling material brought ONTO the site. Well, that only works if the trucks are being weighed, right? (Anybody have info on whether or not A&H weighed the trucks?) Anyway, wouldnt it be obvious that the town should be taking copies of the invoices that were issued to the trucks that WERE weighed? (all invoices, issued by any company) In order to see how much A&H owed each year? Guess what folks - it didn't. 18 years of this crayola.

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Thu, 07/10/2008 - 11:20pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Let me see if I have this correctly??? You're late one day with your taxes and your house is practically in a Sheriff's sale; yet, the Committe has lost track of hundreds of thousands of dollars and is calling the people who found the "lost" funds children?????

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Thu, 07/10/2008 - 4:26pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Mayor Doughty is usually drunk? Have you noticed?

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Thu, 07/10/2008 - 10:26am - Posted by: Anonymous

Bravo Mr. Hart, and thank you for telling it like it is. Perhaps if more residents are aware of what is really happening, they will become more involved. You are perfoming a vital public service.

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Thu, 07/10/2008 - 9:47am - Posted by: Anonymous

Leusner should show up at meetings instead of simply submitting comments without leaving his name. The problem with Doughty's "taking it under advisement" is that he uses that phrase to cut off public comment. As Steve O'Connor noted at the same meeting, it has been over ONE YEAR since the group first "took under advisement" a simple request to add a handicap parking space to the municipal lot. "Taking it under advisement" is like "let[ting] them eat cake."

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Wed, 07/09/2008 - 9:32pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Barry should remember that the children he is talking down to pay his health benefits even though he is a part time worker.

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Wed, 07/09/2008 - 8:40pm - Posted by: Anonymous

It is now obvious the motivation behind Mattessich, Ravitz and the Shuman's - POLITICS!!!

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Wed, 07/09/2008 - 7:59pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Thank you, Joe Hart for starting to report some of what actually happens at Middle meetings. For years, the Herald has underreported the treatment of the citizens by the committe and the numbers and types of concerns citizens have articulated. This has contributed tremendously to a sense of hopelessness and that nothing can be accomplished by working together.

Citizen taxpayers are regularly devalued at meetings. They have been yelled at, told to sit down in the middle of a polite sentence, treated to incredible sarcasm and made the butt of sophomoric jokes. In one recent memorable meeting, a concerned citizen raised her hand and was acknowledged by "You with the big mouth."

It is significant to note that it has been discovered through citizen effort that a least one significant sum of money is not entering the community coffers. Whose responsibility is it to oversee the budget? Also, at issue is the fee rate being offered. Why does the MUA pay $1.70 a ton for incoming recycles? Why are not all recycling enterprises charged the same fee?

The Committee has refused to have meetings video taped for broadcasting even though it would be at no cost to them. Without a vigorous press accurately and completely reporting public meetings, the citizenry and community suffers.

It should be said that the Herald by providing sections like this one and the Spout Off, citizens can share concerns without fear of retribution. Thank you for that.

Here's hoping that Joe will continue to accurately reflect the challenges of having an opinion about how your money should be spent in Middle.



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