Howell VFW seeks help finding permanent home
BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer

HOWELL - Four walls, a roof, electricity and running water is all that the members of Howell Memorial Post 9691 Veterans of Foreign Wars want. For years they have been operating with no central meeting place to call their own.

The constant tussle of what VFW Post Commander Ben Novick calls "typical bureaucracy" has led members of the post to believe the township is not making a good faith effort to help them.

However, municipal officials said they are doing what they can to try and find the VFW a place to call home.

Novick said the Howell VFW has been using space provided by the Farmingdale Community Center on Asbury Avenue for the past 10 years. He expressed his frustration about what he called bureaucratic red tape and said "elected officials in the township have made no effort."

According to Township Manager Thomas Czerniecki, the original plan was to give Howell's former emergency management building on Squankum Road to the VFW. That plan is on hold due to the poor condition of the building, he said.

"To make the building habitable will cost at least $150,000 in repairs. The building needs septic and water, new roofing and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accommodations. The deal was they were to make the investment and they would be able to lease it," Czerniecki said.

"It is very uncommon for a municipality to provide a VFW with space. VFW has always found its own space. It is not something we typically do. However, the Township Council has directed me to find space," the manager said.

Mayor Joseph DiBella said he is disappointed about the delay in finding the VFW post a home.

"I think that number (for the repairs) is way off. I don't know if I am convinced that building needs that kind of repairs," he said.

DiBella said he believes the former emergency management building is habitable and can be used right now.

"We owe it to the VFW to give them a place of their own," the mayor said.

Novick reiterated the VFW's motto saying, "We honor the dead by serving the living." He said all the post members want to do is "help all these young troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan make the transition back into civilian life."

Novick said getting the VFW a home of its own "would show the heart of the township and show that they really care about the men and women who defend the flag."

Czerniecki said although he understands the VFW members' frustration, "it is unfair to say the township is giving them the run-around. I am working on temporary options. I have nothing to report as yet, but I am hoping something will be available in 2008."