PLANNING BOARD NOTICE OF MEETING CANCELLATION-Notice is hereby given that the Special Meeting of the Atlantic Highlands Planning Board to be held on November 14, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Borough Hall of Atlantic Highlands, 100 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716 has been cancelled. Any matters scheduled will be carried to the Regular Meeting on December 1, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Borough Hall of Atlantic Highlands, 100 First Ave, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716.

The good news is this is the notice that was posted on the borough’s webpage, AHNJ  shortly after 8 a.m. this morning.

There will be no planning board meeting tonight to review or even talk about that Redevelopment Plan the borough council introduced at Thursday’s meeting., the one that is proposing a major change to the Mother Theresa school property totally unknown to the public but was not identified as such in the Council meeting agenda.

The bad news is the public is still kept unaware of the reason for it.

The planning board meeting scheduled for tonight was so important Thursday night during the Council meeting that the chairman of the board could not even be called during the meeting to see if he would adjourn the meeting.

So now we know the Mother Theresa Redevelopment Plan that was going to be before the planners tonight is on the agenda for the regular planning board meeting on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall and presumably on ZOOM.

But there is still so much the public does not know.

That planning board meeting scheduled for tonight and now cancelled was so important that even when the attorney on ZOOM, representing the owners of the Mother Theresa property to be discussed as this all important meeting,  could not even get a yes to his request that the meeting be cancelled, adjourned or postponed.

It was this attorney for the Mother Theresa school property owners who, in conjunction with the borough administrator, said he would contact the planning board’s attorney to get it resolved by this morning.

Read that again carefully.

It was not the borough  who offered to get it adjourned; it was  the attorney for the property owners saying he had never heard of this idea for the Mother Teresa Redevelopment Plan who said he knew the other attorneys and made suggestions, along with the administrator, of how it could be handled. Council had said they couldn’t simply call the planning board chairman right then and have it done.  Of course, that begs another question

Who called that planning board meeting in the first place? It could not have been the planning board. They did not have a meeting in which they voted on the meeting. Does someone else besides the Chairman call meetings without anyone else knowing about them? Surely the secretary who advertised the meeting didn’t call it without being told.

Really. Isn’t it about time to stop all the secrecy and let the public know the whole story about what’s going on?

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Ronnie Adams is an unusual, kind and generous woman. For more than 20 years, she has been holding garage sales, yard sales and doing fund raisers, all to raise funds so Calvary Chapel on Route 36 in Atlantic Highlands can continue its good work of providing whatever is needed for the less fortunate in the community.

And now Ronnie has opened yet another another shop in the amazing Renaissance boutique on First Avenue that is open seven days a week with an almost rock solid guarantee of having something for everyone.

The new shop in the group of neat and individual shops inside the red door offers a combination of old, new, antique, and quirky items for sale, ranging in price from fifty cents to  $300, all to benefit all the community causes the Church sponsors and includes for their donations.

There is one more item in the shop, a signed  soapstone sculpture of a mother and child that goes for considerably higher, but for now is simply a talking piece in the display. The $300 item is a fascinating antique wooden dough table, complete with the top board for rolling out dough, the storage drawer for allowing the dough to rise, and a couple of smaller drawers for tools of the trade.

But in between that 50 cents, for little ornaments, and the dough table, there are shelves and tables  of cards, books, newspapers, statues, holiday items, and religious items for a variety of religions, from menorah to crosses.  “Every religion is important,” said Ronnie ,”so we are happy to have items for each to respect and have.”

There are the unusual as well. Including the ottoman fit for a living room or bedroom, complete with storage space within and a hidden mirror in the cover. There are kitchen appliances from antique potato mashers and wooden rolling pins to graters and sieves and dishes and pots to use with all of them. There are horseshoes for good luck, and elephants of all sizes for bookends or décor. The new ideas include jewelry and candles, and with the Christmas season just beginning, there is an accent on Santa and mangers as well.

“We all have to give back,” the philosophical Ms. Adams says, “and we all have to help one another and do for one another. Running this shop for Calvary Chapel and all it does, its wonderful pastor, and the joy it spreads, is just one small thing I can do to practice what the Bible preaches we should be about.”

Renaissance is open seven days a week from 11 a. to 5 p.m. The Calvary Chapel booth is just one of the more than dozen shops where dreams and memories can be found and purchased at bargain prices

A collaboration between the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council  and Wild About Atlantic Highlands  non-profit group aiming to continue the natural beautification of the borough resulted in a standing room only crowd at the Art Councils gallery on First Avenue Saturday to view Sarah Galloway’s Wild in the Garden State film. Guests also received tips, information and seed for sowing milk pods that continue to save the endangered Monarch butterfly population.

Galloway’s awarding winning film produced by herself and her husband Dave Cumins at their own home in Wanamassa, depicted  how homeowners can replace typical suburban lawns into native plant gardens for unusual landscaping and natural attractions for a variety of wildlife from bees and birds to  small mammals also necessary in the natural life of plants.

Galloway showed what happened after she and Cumins moved from a New York city apartment to the Jersey shore and a 130-foot span of lawn. The video they produced included her expertise as a video producer for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and blended with Cumins’ expertise as a retired architect in showing how to create an eco-friendly garden.

In a question and answer period that followed the showing and light refreshments, the couple also gave further information on the variety of sources available for both information and native plants to create gardens in any ground surface in any area. She recommended sand-loving plants for this area because of the natural existence of sandy soil in the area, but also cited sources for pre-planned and native pollinator gardens. Local resident Ken Grasso donated scores of envelopes and directions for cold-stratifying milk pod seeds for spring planting.

Native plants are those that have evolved over thousands of years and adapt to the conditions in a particular area as well as to the other plants and animals around them. Many of the plants are necessary for the migratory bird population that passes through the area, and all native plants thrive in their specific local climate and soil, as well as their defense against disease, harmful insects and other pests. Native plants are easier to care for as a general rule, since they require less water and fertilizer and show no need for pesticides, as well as providing the food, shelter and nesting sites necessary to ensure a healthy bird population.

Proiceeds from the day’s event will go toward the Wild in Atlantic Highlands “A Garden State exhibition and programs beginning in March 2023.

The Atlantic Highlands Arts Council (AHAC) is designed to enable visitors to experience classes, workshops and exhibitions and programs that highlight the diversity of talents, abilities and needs in the local community, strengthening the community through the arts. It is a 501 3 c nonprofit organization that uses arts to transform and enrich communities and to develop and execute events and art related activities.

The program was made possible in part by funds from Monmouth Arts, a partner of the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners, and Wild about Atlantic Highlands.

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ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – It will be a waxing crescent moon over Sandy Hook Bay on Saturday, Dec. 31, when the Shore Casino is offering a night of fun, food, music from several well-known groups and the likes of Capt. Morgan and Jose Cuervo together with Coors, Bud and Miller  to celebrate the arrival of 2023 at a gala New Year’s Eve party that begins at 9 p.m.

Shore Casino Manager Jay Strebb is promising an unusual mix of music and dinner at the event, which will include hors d’ouevres and a Pasta Station and Salad Bay menu by A Touch of Italy.

Musical highlights of the evening will be presented by Big Hix from 10 p.m. to 1 am., as well as Blue Diamond Entertainment from 9 to 10 p.m. and throughout the night between sets.

Doors will open at 9 p.m. with a cash bar until the open bar included in the ticket price begins at 10 p.m. and continues through 1 a.m. Champagne toast will be served at midnight and no shots will be served throughout the evening.

“New Year’s Eve is a time to celebrate the beginning of a fresh new look at life,” said Strebb, “it’s a time to stop looking back at anything that went wrong during the old year, forget any sadness, and pin our hopes on a brighter, bigger, better New Year 2023. If I am to make one resolution for the New Year, it would be to continue to provide a great setting and outstanding culinary delights, together with live music for all our customers.” TVs will be displaying the Ball Drop in New York at midnight.

Strebb said the Shore Casino has always been the site for celebrations of all kinds, and 2023 will be no different.

The gala New Year’s Eve is planned by the Shore Casino in coordination with the Teal Cruises, also at the Municipal Yacht Harbor.  Tickets are limited so guests are urged to make reservations early.

Individual tickets for this music filled night with dinner and open bar are $125 each, so early reservations are encouraged.  In addition, and for a limited time only, a limited number of Special VIP Ticket for groups of at least four persons will be offered for the event at a total of $180 for each.   The special table price of $180 for each person in the VIP Section includes special band-side seating with access to the band for special requests, as well as a couple more surprises that will make it an unforgettable New Year’s Eve.

Reservations can be made at  .#tealcruises #newyearseve,  #newyearsparty #newyear2023,  #HappyNewYear #atlantichighlands,  #atlantichighlandsnj #highlandsnj,  #middletownnj,  #seabrightnj,  #redbanknj  or #monmouthcounty

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ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – It was a brief but meaningful ceremony at Veterans Park on First Avenue as the American Legion Post 141 celebrated at 11 a.m. on the 11^th of November to honor the Armistice signing that ended World War I.

Veterans, relatives of veterans, friends of veterans and spectators who simply wanted to say thank you for military service were invited to express in their own words what the day meant to each. All also wanted to honor and thanks the first aid members, and Fire  and Police Department officers for their continued service and participation in the patriotic ceremony.

Former Mayor and veteran, the late Peter Donoghue was remembered in a special way as Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner noted this was the first Veterans Day observance for which he was not present, although the late mayor’s wife, sister and grandson were all on hand to thank veterans and recognize the holiday.

Others remembered fathers or relatives, some two generations of the same family, others with special thanks for specific branches of the military.

When a mild rain began, Regina Hawley Keelan held an umbrella over the head of Daniel Kron, well-known saxophone player who began the ceremony with the Star Spangled Banner. Kron has played for the professional sports teams, the Knicks, Nets and Miami Heat, and at the borough ceremony, also played a medley of both patriotic and other music.

In welcoming the crowd under grey skies and a mild rainfall, Post Commander Peter Doyle gave startling statistics that proclaimed why celebration of the day and thanks for veterans are important on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.  He noted that 16.1 million living veterans have served during at least one war and two million veterans are women. Doyle cited the 2 million who served during the Korean War and another seven million men and women who served during the Vietnam War. Since then, he pointed, out another 5.5 million veterans served in the Persian Gulf.

The commander also noted that of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, which ended in 1945, approximately 450,000 are still living and continue to deserve our praise. Thanks and admiration.

Post Deputy Commander Ellen O’Dwyer, who herself served as an Army Captain and earned the Army Commendation Medal, led the group in prayer for all military, living and dead, as well as police and all first responders.

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ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS –  Ignoring the fact residents have been asking for three years, and have anticipated the governing body would follow their expressed wishes for senior citizen housing, the Mayor and Council last night introduced a new development plan that, in spite of the Master Plan, would not only prohibit a senior citizen building  but would also allow for construction of from 9 to 13 private family homes on the Mother Theresa School site.

What’s more, the governing body never even advised the owners of the property, the Catholic diocese of Trenton and St. Agnes School, that they were making this change while in negotiations with the church on the sale of the property.

Were it not for the astute, careful and conscientious questions of everything governmental by local resident Mark Fisher, the vast majority of residents would also not know that the “Redevelopment Plan,” Ordinance 13-2022, introduced at last night’s meeting had anything to do with the largest piece of property in the borough currently up for sale.

Immediately after introducing the ordinance, scheduled for a public hearing Dec. 15,  the governing body also unanimously, adopted a resolution to refer it to the Planning Board for its review and comment to see if it is in conformance with the borough’s Master Plan.

While only formally receiving the plan over this holiday weekend following last night’s approval of the resolution to forward it, the planners have called for a meeting Monday evening at 7:30 in borough hall to consider what many believe is unalterably opposed to the Master Plan and would need to be modified by the planners in order to conform.

Should the planners accomplish all of that and return their findings and opinions to the council, council could approve the new Redevelopment plan immediately following the Dec. 15 public hearing.

In response to questions from a resident, Councilman Brian Dougherty, who sits on the planning board and appeared last night’s meeting on ZOOM, said the planners had received notice they would have the plan for review last Nov. 4.

Attorney Michael Butler, who appeared at the meeting via ZOOM and advised the governing body he is the attorney for the parish church and the diocese, requested an adjournment of Monday’s meeting since last night’s meeting was the first he saw anything about the redevelopment plan for the property, so has not had the opportunity to study it and see its impact on any sale.

While no council member would agree to contact the planning board attorney during last night’s meeting to request the adjournment, Butler said he has worked with the attorneys involved for the borough and he, along with borough administrator Rob Ferragina,  would contact them with the request. Whether the meeting takes place will be advertised on the borough’s website, AHNJ.com.

It was not until all action by the governing body was taken before Fisher had the opportunity to ask a series of questions, many on the minds of the approximate 75 members in attendance either in person or on ZOOM at the meeting.

Many of the audience were present only because Fisher, through a regular e-mail he sends to those who request it, advised the public of the issues the governing body had failed to do.

In his newsletter, Fisher asked  whether 9 or 13 houses be built there and whether the Hesse Center stay or go? He pointed out that “after 3 and a half years of asking about the status of negotiations, hundreds of times with the answer, “We can’t talk about it,”  the secrecy, the rumors, and now it all comes down to this.”  The document is actually labeled the “South Avenue Redevelopment Plan” but nobody knows what that is…”

Fisher also included directions to the full 34 page redevelopment plan.  He reminded residents that everyone seemed to like the plan three years ago that included more senior units, a garden, a recreation center, a pocket park…and said, “this is where we left off three and a half years ago.”

Fisher also told his readers the proposed plan in the new ordinance simply identified as Ord. 13-2022 Redevelopment Plan, “is a middle-finger to our local seniors that want to stay in town, those who can’t afford to live in their house anymore and have no senior units available to move into.” Fisher added that “this plan is NOT what the residents of the borough were expecting.”

Fisher noted that that the 34 page redevelopment plan limits the types of houses that can be built on the individual lots, as well as the construction materials that could be used. He outlined the history  since the property was first brought up at council meetings in February 2019, the number of residents who have asked questions and the 30 executive sessions Council has held concerning the tract, but supplying no information to the public.   He urged the governing body not to accept the plan since “it is not what we talked about” when the public first learned the property was being sold.

Fisher also pointed out, and reiterated at the council meeting, that the ordinance if approved, gives the potential for 29 more houses to be built within three blocks of each other along the Ave D corridor, citing the McConnell/Denholtz tracts on Center Avenue.

Although the Master Plan clearly calls for a limit to “future development and population density, as well as a balance of waterfront open space and recreational activity, and ensuring investment in infrastructure that supports a sustainable pattern of land use, retaining the small town residential character of the borough,” the resolution unanimously approved by council last night said  “the borough has created this redevelopment plan that would support the goals and objectives of the Master Plan.” Whether new housing on the acreage fits that description is the question the Planning Board has to consider.

Many residents spoke out against the borough’s plans at last night’s meeting,  several from the area surrounding the school property that would be directly affected by new housing.  Many chided the governing body, saying the news came as “a complete surprise” or “came as a shock,”  or “I’m begging you to let us participate,” in complaining about not receiving information on the proposed major changes.

Long time borough resident Kate Wigginton questioned how the matter could be brought before the planning board without formal notification to the residents in the immediate area;  another resident cited that six of the seven Master Plan initiatives are  being violated by the redevelopment plan, another resident said in a small town friendly community such as this, neighbors talk to each other, and council should have as well.

Former Mayor Richard Stryker recalled that when the St. Agnes property was first brought out and there were recommendations for the question to go to a referendum, “we were told there was not enough time.”

Nor did any council member know the money amount the borough paid for the new redevelopment plan or when they paid it. None knew whether it was  included in this month’s payment of bills, which council, minutes before, had unanimously approved totaling $1.77 million.

The full redevelopment plan is available on Fisher’s site, as well as at https://www.ahnj.com/ahnj/Departments/Planning.

   How can you find the information Mark Fisher so diligently researches about borough affairs?

    It’s simple? E-mail ahnewsbymarkfisher@googlegroups.com and make the request. Fisher formed the site to provide information about Atlantic Highlands borough meetings and other important topics. He attends almost all council and borough committee meetings, as well as fire department and first aid events and activities, and synopsizes every council meeting after each meeting, making it easy and accurately informative reading for those who cannot attend a council meeting.

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