from left, Steven Brownlie who sailed the Assarain;
Lou Melillo whose boat is Surface Tension; and
Lenny Sitar who has sailed the race many times in his Cougar.
Mayor Lori Hohenleitner praised the Yacht Club, located above the Shore Casino at the Municipal Yacht Harbor, for its many contributions in the borough and its long-time dedication towards its MS Race which raises funds for 180 Turning Lives Around.
Cheers The 23rd Annual Oktoberfest sponsored by the Highlands Business Partnership will be celebrated in Veterans Park , Bay and Shrewsbury avenues, Saturday, October 5 from noon until 7 p.m.
Authentic German food, live music, and other exciting entertainment will be part of the festivities with admission and parking free.
Oktoberfest originated in Munich, Germany, in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese. Beer, traditional foods, and Bavarian culture have made this event a worldwide phenomenon.
Highlands’ Oktoberfest aims to bring this rich tradition to the local community with festivities and authentic experiences. As with the traditional Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, the festival emphasizes eating, drinking, and having a good time. Veterans Park is festive with fall decorations, delicious food, and several varieties of German beers, with authentic German food a highlight of this famous festival.
Bahrs Landing, a Highlands favorite for over 100 years is preparing the menu with plenty of traditional German favorites hot off the grill, including bratwurst, knockwurst, kraut, potato pancakes, and sauerbraten. For the less adventurous, there will be other festival favorites including Spanky’s Sandwiches, and Highlands’ own Chilangos. Thirst quenchers include a large variety of Oktoberfest Beers, both light and dark.
The beer garden will also be serving Fresca Mixed, sangria, and wine.
Thousands of visitors annually attend and enjoy live Oompah, and polka music performed by Dance Hall Detour. The Newark Bayern Verein German Dancers will also be performing throughout the day. Festivities will include the popular Feats of Strength Beer Stein Holding Contest with men and women categories and special prizes for the winners.
The festival is family-friendly and there will be a wide variety of retail, specialty, and craft vendors. T
The Highlands Business Partnership is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Programs and events are made possible by generous sponsors including, Monmouth County Tourism, Montecalvo/Bayshore Family of Companies, Bahrs Landing, Bridge Marina, Dovetail Vintage Rentals, Farmacie by the French Market, Hufnagel Tree Service, In the Garden, Off the Hook, Proving Ground, Seafarer, Sandbox at Seastreak, Valley Bank, and WRAT, 95.9. Special thanks also go to Colliers Engineering and Design, and Driftwood Real Estate Group, Keyport for their generous sponsorship of the 2024 Oktoberfest. For directions or any additional information on Oktoberfest, please visit www.highlandsnj.comor call (732) 291-4713.
Hear Listening to the 27 minute meeting of the Highlands Borough Council this month indicated how polite and courteous the Mayor is to people who speak up in the public portion. She listened carefully to what one gentleman had to say, thanked him for speaking up. Then, just as courteously and politely, she suggested he check his information sources more carefully before going forward, pointing out where she said he was in error. He even thanked her before sitting down again.
That was one indication that whether you voted for her or not, she indeed wants to hear the opinions of her residents, and furthermore, gives them a polite platform on which to express them. And she and the entire council even appear to listen carefully to the residents.
But there is even stronger evidence the mayor wants to hear from the people . Simply looking at the Highlands ballot for the November election proves that.
Unlike its neighboring town, where the mayor thought it was frivolous, Mayor Broullon insisted regionalization be on the ballot, not as a done deal, but simply to find out what the people want to do.
The school regionalization question has been around so years. Yes it is costing taxpayers money while feuds which include other towns go on. But now that Oceanport and Shore Regional have included the Monmouth County Clerk of Elections in their battle, it’s even costlier. More money for more lawyers, yes. Hardly frivolous, no. Not when not one, but two Superior Court Judges are involved, the matter is pushed to the top of the file for immediate decision and action and more attorneys are called in to represent officials.
Mayor Broullon and Sea Bright Mayor Brian Kelly are right. All three towns MUST agree on regionalization or it can’t happen. Rather than spend a bundle more money, a huge waste of time and angst and disagreement among neighbors, why not simply put the questions to the people? It doesn’t cost a cent. If a non-binding ballot shows any one of the three towns does not think regionalization with Sea Bright is a good idea, then the towns can quit wasting time and money. But the Atlantic Highlands Mayor said no. Frivolous was the word she used in a late night call to a journalist. Frivolous to listen to the people for their thoughts.
Irony here once again. The regionalization question is frivolous, the Mayor said. Yet, Atlantic Highlands DOES have another question on the ballot. That question is asking them whether they want to increase their taxes by one cent per $100 assessed valuation to add to the fund they already have to use to preserve open space. Why isn’t that opinion seeking frivolous?
In Highlands, however, the Mayor wants to hear opinions on two questions, regionalization for one, then a second one on whether residents want the Army Corps to build a storm wall around the town to save it from future flooding.
Both seem to be huge questions that will impact taxpayers and residents for the rest of their lives living in Highlands.
So perhaps that is why Mayor Broullon is not only insisting on two questions on the ballot, she wants to be certain voters have every opportunity to learn everything they possibly can about them before they vote. That’s why the Highands Council is having not one, but TWO hall meetings and inviting, even urging everyone to attend. Council even rented the gym at Henry Hudson for the flood wall info session because the officials want to be sure there would be plenty of room for everyone to see and hear, ask questions, get answers, and learn as much as possible. It appears that there will be enough room at Borough Hall to accommodate those who still want to know more about regionalization, since that’s a subject that has had plenty of publicity in both school districts and municipal meetings.
Go to the Highlands webpage and see the times dates and locations of both town halls. Then put them on your calendar and be sure to attend. The Mayor and council are doing all they can to be sure the public is as knowledgeable as possible and asks as many questions as they want before casting ballots which could change their lives.
The Atlantic Highlands Mayor may have termed a non-binding question on a ballot as frivolous, but it took a Superior Court Judge less than 24 hours to issue an opinion that indeed the desire of Highlands and Sea Bright to ask their voters what they think about school regionalization is certainly not a frivolous matter.`
Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner
That is one of the results of a Show Cause Order lawsuit filed by not one, but two different attorneys from not one, but two different school districts who asked the Superior Court to cite why the towns of Highlands and Sea Bright should not be able to voice their opinion on a question on their ballot in the November election.
The irony of it is that the taxpayers in Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport and West Long Branch, along with Highlands and even Atlantic Highlands, whether they want to or not, like all towns, now have to pay the Monmouth County share of costs from what certainly appears to be a frivolous action on the part of Oceanport and Shore Regional boards of education.
What would ever let two towns that have no connection with Highlands think they have the right to tell Highlands taxpayers they cannot give their opinion on anything they want?
Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon, Esq
More irony as well. Atlantic Highlands Mayor and Council did not want to be involved in any litigation at all. Let Sea Bright fight it out and win their departure from the Oceanport and Shore Regional districts before we plunk down a penny to help them, they said.
Atlantic Highlands Mayor and Council also said let Sea Bright achieve its own legal victory without our help, to come into the newly formed Henry Hudson Regional School district… even if having them part of the district would help both Atlantic Highlands and Highlands have lower taxes for schools.
But then it was the very quick thinking, fast acting, and incredibly fast argument scripter Jason Sena of the Archer and Grenier law firm of Red Bank who wrote the arguments that quickly convinced the Judge that indeed Highlands and Sea Bright, and Atlantic Highlands (had they chosen to join the matter), did have the right to put any question they want on their own ballot.
Here’s more irony again. Mr. Sena, who is a councilman in Shrewsbury, used to be the borough attorney for Atlantic Highlands.
It is he who represented Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon when Oceanport and Shore Regional chose to bring her into a mess that could have been cleared up more than a year ago when Atlantic Highlands said it would have no part. It was only weeks ago that Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner said putting a non-binding question about regionalization on a ballot was ‘frivolous.”
All this action stems from action filed by the Machado Law group representing the Oceanport, and Capehard & Searchard law group of Mount Laurel, attorneys for Shore Regional Board of Education.
Their joint action, filed September 17, asked the Superior Court to restrain Sea Bright and Highlands from ever having a question on their ballot asking the public’s opinion whether they wanted Sea Bright to be included in the Henry Hudson district.
Can you imagine?
Two different school boards from two different towns paid for two different attorneys to go to court, involve a very precise and dedicated county clerk which then called for the taxpayers to have to pay for yet another attorney, for her defense, all for the purpose of trying to tell two other towns, Sea Bright and Highlands, what they could do in their own towns on their own voting ballots.
Perhaps some of us should not have been too surprised by the action of at least one of the firms representing the outside towns. That firm had an attorney at a borough council meeting many months ago who failed to identify herself as an attorney, even when trying to get information from a journalist who also attended.
Christine Magee Esq. One of Two Attorneys for the Oceanport School District
Professionals do not do undercover things like that.
God Bless America, it is true, even frivolous lawsuits can be filed so long as you have someone willing to pay all the costs.
Oceanport and Shore Regional filed an application for a show case, meaning they asked the Judge to find a reason to stop Sea Bright and Highlands from asking their public’s opinion.
The suit was filed against Christine Giordano Hanlon, the Monmouth County Clerk of the Board of Elections for Sea Bright and Highlands and every other town in Monmouth County.
Judge Owen C. McCarthy lost no time, less than 48 hours, to consider the matter, read all the information Mr. Sena had researched for Clerk Hanlon that had been requested by Superior Court Judge Nitta, and make a ruling.
It took Judge McCarthy only a few hours and two lines to tell the attorneys what he was doing with their Order to Show Cause.
In a September 18 opinion, Judge McCarthy wrote that “the plaintiffs application for the Order to Show Cause is hereby denied for the reasons set forth on the record…”
Of course Highlands and Sea Bright have the right to boldly ask their residents’ opinions on important matters that affect their future in their home towns.
No frivolity there.
Read the Oceanport/Shore Regional Verified Complaint, Attorney Sena’s Response, and the Court Order from Judge Owens
The sustainable schooner Apollonia will kick off Climate Week by loading Jersey Shore Coffee Roasterscoffee at Bahrs Landing Marina, Highlands, Sunday, September 22 for transport to Kingston, New York.
Apollonia, a commercial sailing vessel, has been moving cargo between the upper reaches of the Hudson River and the greater New York Harbor since 2020.
This will be the vessel’s first cargo stop in Monmouth County, sponsored by Attentive Energy, Apollonia‘s sponsor for New Jersey port calls, with the support of Navesink Maritime Heritage Association.
Cargo movement by water between Monmouth County and points along the coast and up and down the Hudson was the primary form of cargo transport since European settlers first arrived in the area in 1664.
Visitors between 10 am and 12:30 will have the opportunity to witness the cargo loading, meet he crew and learn about sustainable freight.
Cargo movement by water between Monmouth County and points along the coast and up and down the Hudson was the primary form of cargo transport since European settlers first arrived in the area in 1664.
After, enjoy food and drink at the iconic Bahrs Landing Restaurant, available for purchase beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Navesink Maritime Heritage Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging Eastern Monmouth County with maritime and water related historical, skill building, environmental, and recreational activities, and encouraging responsible use of the Navesink estuary through its Discover, Engage, and Sustain approach.
Local resident Robert Zelinski of Portland Road addressed the Mayor and Council at Wednesday’s Highlands council meeting suggesting the governing body send letters to every borough resident telling him the negative aspects of voting against the Army Corps of Engineers plan to building wall around the borough.
Information on the questions, which will appear on the ballot in November as a non-binding referendum, will be discussed by local officials and Army Corps of Engineers professionals at an informational session called by Mayor Carolyn Broullon for October 7 at 6 p.m. at Henry Hudson Regional School.
The mayor requested use of the school gym for the meeting, the second town hall meeting she has called to keep the public informed on the Army Corps plans, to ensure sufficient capacity for all who want to attend. The mayor also indicated that the borough’s plans for future projects will also be discussed at the town hall meeting, with professionals present to respond to questions from the public. “We want to be as open as possible,” the mayor said.
Zilinski rhetorically asked the governing body at its recent meeting a series of questions, about whether residents love living in Highlands, want to be protected, want flood insurance and want free federal funds, indicating all would say yes.
He continued rhetorically asking whether residents want higher taxes, or decreased property values, answering no, and noting the borough turned previous offers for a storm wall in 2017, again in 2018 both times when it was offered, he said, at no costs to local taxpayers. He said turning it down this year would cut off any Army Corps assistance for future flooding in the borough from rising waters.
Broullon thanked Zilinski for his comments but suggested “I invite you to look back” before continuing to make statements on what has happened, making it clear and citing records to show his facts as presented at the meeting were in error.
Broullon said the Corps had indicated the November vote would have no impact on flood insurance, guided by other specific information, and that the borough never voted against the project. The borough was rather seeking completion of the study for the flood plain, she said, adding “it was still only 35 per cent after 30 years…”
“Make sure your talking points are correct,” she urged Zilinski, who courteously thanked the mayor for her advice.”
Prohibition Local author and historian Muriel J. Smith will speak at the Highlands Historical Society meeting Thursday, September 26 at 7 p.m. at the borough’s Community Center, Snug Harbor avenue.
Smith, who lived in the borough 40 years and now lives in Atlantic Highlands, will speak on Prohibition with an accent on how the period in the 1920s and early 1930s impacted Highlands and its residents. She will speak on the King family and the boat works on South Bay Avenue that made history during that era, as well as address the life history of Bill McCoy, the most famous rumrunner and sea captain during Prohibition,
All are invited to attend the meeting, and residents are also invited to join the Historical Society and make their own contributions towards the history of the borough or learn more about what has set the community apart for many different reasons for generations.
Smith is a former newspaper editor and journalists and was and award-winning writer with The Courier in Middletown for 22 years. She is also the author of five books, most of which are on local history. She is a former member of the Monmouth County Historical Commission and currently has a blog, VeniVidiScripto.com
His love of the town, pride in the accomplishments he has helped achieve, and a desire to keep on working for the borough’s improvements and its residents are the reasons why Council resident Brian Dougherty is seeking a second term on the Borough Council in the November election.
Dougherty is running with Jose Pujols for the two seats to be decided November 5 and will face competition for the seats from two Republican candidates. If elected, the terms are for three years each and would mean a governing body with a Democrat Mayor and six Democrat council members. Incumbent Councilman James Murphy, a Republican, is not seeking another term.
Dougherty, who lives on Center Avenue with his wife Erin and three children and has been a borough resident for 12 years, ran for council three years ago primarily because he said he was disgusted with the tone and tenor of local politics, did not like the way the GOP ran their last election and decried what he terms “nasty and often personal attacks on our neighbors.” Citing specific examples in local races, he said “I hated these tactics then, and I still do. We may be on opposite sides of a ballot, but we are neighbors. We always need to remember that. Personal attacks have no place in our local politics.”
Doughtery also points to a series of accomplishments during the past three years and feels a need to continue on council to work on plans and designs for even more improvements in the future.
Among improvements already achieved, he cited updated development regulations, enhanced storm water management regulations, a new rental control ordinance, introduction and in the process final approval and construction of for-profit electric vehicle chargers at the Municipal Yacht Harbor, new front line fire apparatus the Atlantic Highlands Fire Department had been requesting for many years, and several other accomplishments. Still, Dougherty said, “There is much more work to do.”
Dougherty feels the electric chargers in particular will be a boon for the borough not only for the funds the three dual-port level two charging stations will bring into the borough, but also since it was grants from two levels of government as well as JCP&L that helped finance the new program, “As more and more drivers make the switch to EVs, municipalities and government entities need to support the installation of electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) to attract visitors to the community and provide charging infrastructure for our residents,” the councilman explained. “I plan to continue to work with our borough professionals and my colleagues on the Council to do just that. “
He pointed out that since the borough owns the chargers, earning revenue on their use begins “from the moment they are turned on and the first driver plugs in. “
Dougherty said he has been working on a draft ordinance to codify design standards in the Central and Historic Business Districts or the borough, which includes First Avenue. That new ordinance when approved would help maintain the aesthetics on the main street , he said. Although currently First Avenue is great, “with additions like RX ReLeaf, it continues to offer diverse retail and services for our residents and visitors”
Dougherty serves as the borough council’s representative to the Henry Hudson Regional Board and reports on the board’s activities at every council meeting. His own three children who range in age from 8 to 14, are in the public school system, and he believes the two elected bodies have excellent communication and work closely together. Because they are independent elected bodies, he does not believe a municipal board should tell a school board what to do but should remain independent of each other. He favors regionalization but wants to wait until Sea Bright receives state approval to leave its present school system before the matter should be brought to the voters.
He is opposed to spending any funds on helping Sea Bright in its legal fight, and believes it is their responsibility to secure their release from their current situation.
A professional singer who holds a degree in music from Westminster Choir College, Dougherty also has worked in administration for The Rockefeller University for almost 20 years, and has been singing professionally for more than 26 years. He is a former board member and coach with Sandy Hook Little League and a union member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and Actors Equity Association.
With infrastructure and planning for the future the two major problems facing the borough, Dougherty wants to be reelected to continue his record of working collaboratively with his Council colleagues, borough employees and professionals, and with volunteers on committees and commissions. He said he would continue to do that for the community whose attributes include “the people, the physical beauty, proximity to Manhattan, a walkable downtown, waterfront, and access to nature.
As far as the possibility of an all-Democrat council running the borough, Dougherty believes that shows “our residents have agreed more with the ideas and plans Democratic candidates have put forward than the ones proposed by the Republicans.
The councilman pointed to the ordinance the governing body passed in February which limits density designation to 40 dwelling units per acre and said that ensures any proposed mixed-use development must adhere to it, including compliance with setbacks, lot coverage, parking and other regulations, including a 40% minimum principal use on the ground floor.
“These are common sense guidelines, which were developed in close collaboration with our borough engineers and our residents on the Planning Board., “Dougherty continued. “These were the first significant changes to our development regulations in a generation. “Still,” he said, “there is much more to do.
We must include Accessory Dwelling Units in our residential zones. “That would definitely be an area he would continue to pursue if re-elected,” he said. He noted he has already had conversations with the mayor, planning board chairman and borough professionals to consider starting a Master Plan review a few years earlier that required with the hope the process cold begin shortly after the start of the year.
Addressing the question of preservation of open space that is on the ballot in November, asking for a one cent tax increase to provide an expanded fund, Dougherty said “Generally, I’m in favor of preserving open space in the borough and encourage everyone to vote in favor of the ballot initiative authorizing raising the Open Space Preservation Fund assessment one cent per $100 of assessed value. Not only does it give the borough the funds needed to acquire and enhance open space, it also provides the opportunities to pursue matching grant funds to do the same,” he asserted. Dougherty also noted the borough has authorized the Monmouth County Parks System to negotiate with the Diocese of Trenton on the possible purchase of the Mother Theresa School property, a matter that appears to be close to closure after recent executive session meetings.
Photo Courtesy Captain Hal Hagerman of the Sea Tiger II
Bye-Bye After a week of celebrating, visiting, teaching, learning, making friends, inspiring and spreading pride in the United States, the USS New Jersey (SSN-796) quietly and without any fanfare sailed out of Sandy Hook Bay Wednesday morning to begin its mission as a Virginia class nuclear submarine in the United States Navy.
The boat is home ported in Norfolk, Virginia and carries with it the prayers, best wishes and pride of all of New Jersey, Middletown in particular, where she was commissioned at Naval Weapons Station Earle‘s trident pier in Leonardo.
Court In spite of efforts by out-of-town boards of education, both Highlands and Sea Bright will have a non-binding question on the ballot in November, aiming to get the general public’s feeling on whether Sea Bright should become a part of the Henry Hudson Regional School District.
Atlantic Highlands voters will not have the same question seeking opinions on regionalization on their ballot, according to Mayor Lori Hohenleitner last month, who termed the idea “frivolous.”
The question is on both the Sea Bright and Highlands ballots in spite of another attempt by Oceanport and Shore Regional School boards of education to prohibit voters in the two Bayshore towns from having their opinions recorded on a ballot.
The outside school boards had filed an action against the ballot question and on Wednesday, September 18, the Court Judge ruled that both Sea Bright and Highlands, as well as Atlantic Highlands if it chose, can have the non-binding question on their municipal ballots.
The boroughs are still facing yet another decision on regionalization because of Oceanport and Shore Regional’s opposition to Sea Bright choosing to leave their districts to join Henry Hudson.
Their appeal to the state Department of Education Commission’s decision to enable that to happen is scheduled to be heard in Appellate Court in Trenton on Tuesday. October 1 at 9:30 a.m. The hearing is scheduled to be live-streamed for public information.
Henry Hudson Regional Board attorney Jonathon Busch was not present at last night’s regular Henry Hudson Board of Education meeting and was not available for comment.
In addition to seeking the opinion of the voters on the November ballot, Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon has also called for a town hall meeting on Monday, September 30 at 6 p.m. at the Highlands Borough Hall on Navesink Avenue to give residents and individuals the opportunity to learn more about the non-binding ballot question on the November 5 general election ballot.
Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon
Specifically, the Mayor and Council are seeking the public’s opinion regarding support by the Borough to explore tax relief by adding Sea Bright to the Henry Hudson Regional School District. Highlands’ professionals and the borough council members will be present to give any information available and to hear the opinions of residents.
