There are those who laughed when Atlantic Highlands Councilman Jim Murphy listed as one of his accomplishments that “he makes every meeting,” his way of explaining when he takes on a commitment, he keeps his commitment.

But last night, residents got to see the importance of just such a commitment…they were that close to not having a quorum for a regular council meeting on an evening set aside last January for a regular meeting.

There’s nothing wrong with councilmembers taking vacations, but why do they have to do it when they have a  meeting to discuss regular business, let alone something as important as getting a school regionalization question on the ballot so the public can have their say?

There’s nothing wrong with not being able to be present, thanks to the wonders of ZOOM, even given as imperfect as it is in this borough. But shouldn’t there be checks on the system first? What happened to the training to operate the system that was reportedly included in the cost? Why really does the engineer have to take on the chore? Or the councilwoman?

There are exceptions to being present, of course, and even council members need to put borough business aside to tend to personal commitments. That is seemingly what happened to Councilman Brian Dougherty since his line of work sometimes makes it difficult to be in two places at one time.

But this meeting was a disaster from the very start, for so many different reasons.

It started a few minutes late, since all the councilmen present…three of them…were not in their seats.

Then there were all the opps and ahs, the “can you hear me Eileen?” or “We can hear you!” or “Eileen put your speaker on” and so much more that went into finally getting, it seems, Councilwoman Cusick into the meeting via zoom.  Isn’t any of this stuff checked out in advance?

And was Councilwoman Cusick really present? It didn’t look like you could see her lips moving…you already knew you couldn’t hear her on the ZOOM screen, yet they said she voted on a couple of things. We’ll never know for sure; the only time you can hear her was approval of the minutes of the previous meeting. You couldn’t hear some other responses in the meeting room and there aren’t ZOOM video recordings available, so how does one know?

It only got worse  when it came to the expensive but hardly present special attorney for school regionalization, Matthew Giacobbe.  Of course he wasn’t present in person, rarely has been.

He wasn’t there at the beginning of the meeting on zoom either; he wasn’t even there when the meeting started late. Nor was he there when they first tried to get him on ZOOM when it came to the regionalization item on the agenda.  When all that folderol was squared away, all the laughter and talk about the PBA Ball and what’s going to be happening there filled in the gap, Mr. Giacobbe was finally able to be seen and heard. He did answer questions, he did talk, he did give a sort of update, but not nearly as broad or easily understandable as Vito Gagliardi had given the night before at the Highlands special meeting.  He sounded a little confused by some of the questions, but did agree, that it is the petition that was filed nine months ago that just needs some numbers filled in on the blank spots that is being discussed at the mediation.   But could he stay for more questions? Of course not! He apologized, he was so sorry, but he had another commitment.   He was in the middle of contract negotiations with someone else. Really? Isn’t being paid by Atlantic Highlands  as important as someplace else? Rather insulting, it seems.

But nobody on council chided him for his lack of interest, commitment or concern for this borough’s tax payers. They simply thanked him for his time. Just as he had politely thanked them earlier   “for having me” when he finally arrived via zoom.   They are paying him, aren’t they?

But as he’s done in the past, administrator Rob Ferragina stepped up to smooth feathers and offer an alternative to cover for the attorney. Sure, anyone can send him questions or make statements, the administrator explained. He’ll be sure to get them to Mr. Giacobbe or his office and get them answered.  Very nice, and appreciated, yet another responsibility for an administrator who seems to take on a lot and try to resolve even more.

Cheers for Mr. Giacobbe though. He did make one thing clear, just as Mr. Gagliardi had done the night before.

The mediation is the key and it’s next Friday. Once Highlands and Atlantic Highlands agree on how they’re going to split the millions Sea Bright will be bringing in, the clerk can simply fill in the blank on that resolution that was approved by all three towns nine months ago, and forward it to the Commissioner of Education. He also said it looked kind of positive at that level, since the Commissioner already dismissed the complaints against Sea Bright.  With her knowing the money that would be coming in from Sea Bright, realizing the law that was passed that actually encourages the addition of Sea Bright in a new regional school district,  knowing she’s already dismissed any complaints from Oceanport and Shore Regional about how can Sea Bright do such a thing, even though they still have a few days in which to file an appeal,  all she has to do is check out the figures, read again that the three towns have all agreed to regionalize and pay for it and voila! The voters can decide in November if they want to save money and improve education for all the kids in three towns  from pre-K through high school.

But back to the rudeness. Listening to the recording of the meeting only makes you sick. Not only do an elected official and a paid contractor talk while someone else is talking, albeit just between themselves, they’re so loud it’s difficult for a recording listener to catch every word from the person at the mike. And commenting that one person’s public comments are “ridiculous” is downright terrible.

The meeting was held April 13, the 280th birthday of Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration, founder of the University of Virginia, and President of the United States who always firmly believed, and said and practiced so often in so many ways, that the public needs to be heard and even listened to. He obviously would not have looked at this meeting as a birthday gift he would want for citizens of the United States.