Residents have questions about treatment plant
Are the residents of the Flair development and the parents of children attending the Holman School aware that a major construction project is about to begin that will negatively impact on their lives?

The Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority (JTMUA) is planning to construct the new Manhattan Street water treatment plant on London Drive directly behind the Holman School, and not on Manhattan Street as we were led to believe.

Here are the details as we know them: In May 2007, public notices went into the Asbury Park Press notifying the public of the planned construction of the new Manhattan Street water treatment facility, in the general vicinity of Manhattan Street and London Drive.

We would think anyone reading this notice would conclude that the JTMUA was going to build a new water treatment plant on Manhattan Street and also be replacing the existing small well house, tucked in between woods on London Drive.

In a Tri-Town News article of May 17, 2007, David Harpell, the executive director of the JTMUA, stated that the authority is proposing to build a new water treatment plant on Manhattan Street near London Drive. Also reported in the same article is this tidbit. In conjunction with the construction of the water treatment plant on Manhattan Street, the JTMUA is proposing to construct a test well No. 17 within the new water treatment facility site.

So maybe, to our way of thinking, the JTMUA is putting a well near London Drive, in addition to replacing the small well house.

The Tri-Town News issue dated July 5, 2007, has another article about this project in which Mr. Harpell states there were two public hearings in June and there was limited public comment and no major complaints about either project. Why would there be? After all, who would object to the JTMUA replacing the existing facility that already is on Manhattan Street?

Looking into the meeting minutes of the JTMUA from 2007 to the present time, if anything concerning this project came up it was referred to as the Manhattan Street project.

It wasn't until Dec. 4, 2008, when the residents of London Drive and a section of Birmingham Drive were sent a letter notifying them of an informal meeting, to take place at the JTMUA building.

The topic was about the new water treatment plant to be built on London Drive. Finally, after hiding their true intentions, the cat was let out of the bag.

At this meeting we asked Mr. Harpell this question: When did this project site change from Manhattan Street to London Drive?

His response to a room that was full of angry Flair development residents was this, "The site never did change, it was always going to be on London Drive."

We then asked this question of Mr. Harpell. Why then are you calling this project the Manhattan Street project?

His response was that we have a water treatment plant on Hyson Road and to avoid confusion we called this project the Manhattan Street project. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would think just the opposite. Since there is already a plant on Manhattan Street, wouldn't people think that's what the JTMUA was referring to?

Does the JTMUA think people are so stupid that they are unable to differentiate between a water treatment plant on London Drive and one on Hyson Road?

This could be seen as a deliberate move on the part of the JTMUA to hide their true intentions from the public.

By the way, not one single member of the JTMUA board attended this meeting.

In fact, this project was kept so secret that the current mayor, Michael Reina, and Councilman Scott Martin, who is the liaison between the Township Council and the JTMUA, did not even know the new water treatment plant was to be on London Drive.

Our former poor excuse for a mayor, Mark Seda, appointed the current JTMUA board and proceeded to make sure he got his Field of Dreams Pop Warner facility; this field would have been the logical place for the new water treatment plant.

But Mr. Seda got what he wanted through backroom deals with land swaps between the township, the JTMUA and the Board of Education. No one thinks the children of this town shouldn't have a Pop Warner field.

The questions is this. Why on earth when Jackson owns thousands of areas of land would the Pop Warner field be put where it is now, knowing full well that as the town grew there would be a need for a new water treatment plant? Was this poor planning or just total disregard for the residents of Flair and the children who attend the Holman School?

This is probably the most important time of a child's education, when they are learning the basics of reading, writing and math. How are they supposed to be able to focus and concentrate with all the noise and upset associated with a project like this?

The project is estimated to take 18 months to complete, with a good chance it will be longer, because doesn't it always seem that public projects never finish on time or on budget?

Our streets in Flair, especially the smaller ones, can't withstand the weight of the bulldozers, dump trucks, backhoes, etc., for a sustained period of time. London Drive is already in disrepair.

So, fellow residents, if your children are used to skateboarding, playing basketball, riding bikes and playing ball on our streets, take heed because there is a potentially dangerous situation brewing, and you dog walkers and joggers try to do your walking and jogging before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. These are the proposed daily start and finish times for this fiasco.

We have two questions for Mr. Harpell and the JTMUA board: Why weren't the Holman parents and all of the residents of Flair sent a letter also? After all, their quality of life is impacted, too.

Why was this project moved up to January from its original start date? Could it be because too many people are asking questions and the public outrage you tried to avoid for so long is now happening?

Marilyn Hamburg

Christine Kus

Jackson