Konopka’s parting vow: I will be back

Timothy J. Konopka

Mayor not seeking re-election;

wants to run for higher office

BY KATHY BARATTA

Staff Writer

Stating that he will not seek a third four-year term as Howell’s mayor, Timothy J. Konopka freely admits that he is far from finished with politics or the pursuit of another elec-ted office.

Konopka, 45, said he believes in term limits, and although he is confident he could win another term as Howell’s mayor if he chose to run again, he said it is time to move on to something else.

The mayor, whose second term will expire on Dec. 31, ran once for a state Senate seat, losing to the Republican incumbent Robert W. Singer.

Konopka, a Democrat, said his political future could include a run for a seat on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders or even another bid for the state Legislature, this time in the Assembly.

In addition to the change in his political avocation, Konopka, a real estate licensee and former U.S. Army intelligence officer, said he is also considering a change in employment by taking a position either as a social studies or military history teacher.

Konopka said he is very proud of his eight years of service as mayor, and the fact that he was the first mayor elected to a second term.

"I gave 110 percent in serving and the voters saw that and saw fit to return me for an unprecedented second term," he said.

Konopka said his two terms allowed him to implement a management policy whose success, he said, has been proved by the great strides Howell has made during his tenure.

"You need to put your heart and soul into it but, more importantly, you give a good team a sense of direction," he said. "That’s what leadership is about."

Konopka, who moved to Howell in 1991, said he first ran for mayor in 1996 with three goals in mind — land preservation; attracting business and commercial ratables; and expansion of township recreation.

He said he takes pride in having served while many of his goals were accomplished. The evidence, he said, is in the local open space and farmland preservation efforts that are ongoing, along with the continued commercial development along Route 9.

Konopka said the $2 million spent on the township’s many parks was a start for a municipality as large and diverse as Howell’s 62 square miles.

He said he agrees with the current Republican Township Council majority who are turning their energies toward developing a state-of-the-art recreation complex, which he said is sorely needed; especially, he said, "a home for girl’s softball and the many other sports organizations in town looking for a home."

Konopka said the "down zoning" of 5 square miles in northern Howell from 2-acre to 6-acre residential development, along with the sewer master plan adopted in 2002, helped curb future residential development, as did the township’s creation of a Preservation Task Force, whose mandate is land preservation.

Konopka said that during his two terms in office, the town was able to secure $4.5 million in state Green Acres funding that allowed for the preservation of 277 "choice acres" in the community.

"Fifty thousand people live in this town. Why should they have to shop and dine in Freehold?" Konopka said of his decision to push to revitalize the Route 9 corridor with the installation of sewers, a move which was met with some resistance and criticism.

Konopka said the safety of residents was further assured on his watch by the hiring of new police officers that brought the department’s strength in line with state police guidelines.

A $300,000 federal grant will be used to hire four more officers in the coming year, bringing the number of police officers to 93 on the Howell force.

Konopka said the new Lanes Mill Market and Howell Commons shopping centers on Route 9 have created 2,000 new jobs in Howell while adding $2 million to the township’s tax rolls.

Notwithstanding the fact that Howell’s Route 9 corridor parallels the Metedeconk River, a source of drinking water for neighboring Brick Township, Konopka said that without sewers along Route 9 business development would not have been possible due to state mandates for public sewers for structures larger than 16,000 square feet.

Also, he said, another nod to the importance of environmental protection, of which he takes personal pride, is the institution of a 150-foot buffer zone for development near streams and waterways.

Konopka said he will be busy this fall overseeing the election campaign of Democratic candidates Steven Farkas for mayor and Barbara Dixel for council.

He said that after his term ends he will take some time to mull his political future. One thing he says he knows for sure, he will be back.

"Politics is in my blood now," he said.