Thursday, March 30, 2006

WINSLOW FIREWORKS JULY 1, 2006 ; COMMITTEEWOMAN LAWRENCE SEEMS CONFUSED


Winslow Township Committee has decided to move the annual Independence Day fireworks display to a new venue. Plans have been made to use the property of the Winslow Township High School.

This years event will be preceded by a new program called Unity Day. Unity Day is a new program being developed by Township employee Gordon Sunkett. Details for Unity Day have not been finalized, but is intended to be a day of activities for the entire family.

Committeewoman Marie Lawrence seems to be a bit confused that the Autumn Festival, another family event being planned by Gordon Sunkett, will not be held in July.

Listen for yourself !

this is an audio post - click to play






Wednesday, March 29, 2006

COURIER-POST OFFERS IT'S OPINION; "Winslow Mayor Sue Ann Metzner says the deal is a "win-win-win" for the township. She's right."

Winslow deal shows court can be avoided

Wednesday, March 29, 2006


Other communities battling developers' plans can learn from this example of negotiations.

Winslow Township officials and a developer that plans to build there have offered an important lesson to other South Jersey communities: land-use disagreements don't have to be settled in court with taxpayers footing the bill.

Last week, the township reached a deal with AST Development Corp. over what to do with the 64-acre Jennings farm. The deal appears to be one the developer and local officials and residents are happy with. And it was struck because the developer and township officials did the right thing and decided to take another crack at discussion just before a lengthy and expensive court battle was likely to begin.

Winslow Mayor Sue Ann Metzner says the deal is a "win-win-win" for the township. She's right.

Under the new plan, AST will develop the farm, just off Berlin-Cross Keys Road, building about 200 homes for people 55 and older along with retail and office space.

AST originally proposed building more than 500 units on the Jennings farm. Metzner had called that plan greedy because it tripled the number of units the township allows per acre. In response, the township last year approved taking the farm by eminent domain to stop the plan.

Winslow's reaction went overboard, and the Editorial Department said so ("Winslow, developer should avoid court," editorial, Sept. 28).

Luckily, both sides were open to discussion.

Under the new plan, AST will give 20 acres, nearly a third of the land, back to the township. The 20 acres, valued at $1.6 million, will be used to expand the adjacent Frank Donio Memorial Park. The township also could build an indoor recreation facility or add more sports fields.

Now, residents who had so strongly opposed AST's plan are getting behind the firm's proposal.

"It's a home run. I hope the rest of the community feels that way," said resident Greg Buttari, a leading opponent of AST's original proposal. "I'm not going to go out and lobby against them. I think it's a good deal for the community, and I think we ought to go with it."

That residents such as Buttari could come around so thoroughly and parties locked in a war of words could put that aside and come up with something to please everyone shows how important it is to exhaust all chances at negotiation before going to a judge.

Often, legal battles over development in communities across the region end up taking months or years to decide in court. Land sits in limbo. Residents are upset and unsure about what's going on -- and they must pay the steep legal bills for their local governments to wage legal battles.

AST and Winslow officials deserve credit for working hard to avert such a battle. With the concessions that have been made, the new plan seems to benefit all sides.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

COURIER-POST REPORTS

Winslow official gets copies of e-mails


Tuesday, March 28, 2006

By ERIK SCHWARTZ
Courier-Post Staff


There is no smoking gun.

No leaks of internal memos.

No secret political attacks revealed.

The public-records request filed by Winslow Township Committeewoman Barbara Holcomb disgorged from municipal computers some 170 e-mails to or from Holcomb's biggest critic, Republican activist Paul S. Kaplan, since September 2004.

After paying the clerk's office about $38, Holcomb took delivery of the paper copies of the e-mails late last month. She didn't return calls for comment, so it's unclear what conclusions she drew from the documents.

Her request, under the state's Open Public Records Act, represented a new tactic in Winslow's political wars, but such inquiries are staples of election campaigns around the state.

A review of the e-mails found that they mostly contained promotional messages from Kaplan encouraging people to visit his blog, UNofficially Winslow.

A few included correspondence between Kaplan and Winslow officials, such as David P. Fanslau, the township administrator, and Deborah A. Puchakjian, the municipal clerk.

Kaplan sometimes shares his thoughts with Fanslau about government affairs, especially radio communications, his expertise. And he often requests public records himself through the affable Puchakjian.

"Debbie," he writes in a typical exchange. "Are you able to accept record request forms by email instead of fax? I would scan the forms to include my signature. . . . If you want to stay with faxes that is okay too. Paul."

She replies: "The next time you have a request, send it email and I will see how it looks. I'm always open to suggestions. Deb."

On his blog, Kaplan regularly criticizes Holcomb, who is the vice chairwoman of the Camden County Democratic Party and a confidential aide in the administration of the county juvenile detention center.

Kaplan is a member of the township planning board who often serves as the driver for his friend, Republican Mayor Sue Ann Metzner, who is legally blind.

Kaplan said his blog has never relied on township employees for information.

"I have a perfect attendance record of the Township Committee meetings for more than 11 years," he wrote via e-mail. "No one else can say that! . . . I feel I can tell you more about local government than some of the Committee members."


Click here to review the original front page Courier-Post story on Holcomb's records request.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

COURIER-POST REPORTS RE:Frank Donio Memorial Park, and AST Development Corp.

Mayor: 'Magnificent win-win-win' reached in development deal

Thursday, March 23, 2006


WINSLOW - The township won't use eminent domain to acquire one of the last remaining farms in Sicklerville.

The township has reached a deal with a developer the mayor had called "greedy" for proposing 504 housing units on the 64-acre Jennings farm -- triple what zoning would allow.

Under the agreement, Winslow will get as a donation 20 acres, valued at about $1.6 million, to expand the adjacent Frank Donio Memorial Park, and AST Development Corp. will advance a plan, which still needs zoning approval, to build fewer units -- about 200 homes for people 55 and older -- along with retail and office space.

"It's a magnificent win-win-win, in my mind, for Winslow," said Mayor Sue Ann Metzner. "We had some real, serious concerns about what AST was originally proposing, and AST has worked with us in a way I never thought possible ... to bring this to resolution."

"It's a home run," said Sicklerville resident Greg Butarri, a leading opponent of AST's original plan. "I hope the rest of the community feels that way ... I'm not going to go out and lobby against them. I think it's a good deal for the community, and I think we ought to go with it."

AST vice president Edward L. Stutz said township officials "exhibited a tremendous amount of professionalism" in finding a solution to what began as a heated dispute.

AST, based in Lavallette, Ocean County, has had a deal with the Jennings family to buy the farm since 2003 and last summer proposed its over-55 development. In August, after residents expressed opposition to the plan, the Winslow Township Committee voted unanimously to acquire the property, using eminent domain if necessary.

Stutz, who publicly threatened to sue the township over its attempted acquisition, credited an editorial in the Courier-Post with prompting the two sides to start negotiations.

"The editorial in the paper was instrumental in kind of straightening everybody out as far as how this should move forward, rather than looking at it from a litigious standpoint," he said.

If it gets approval to build slightly more than the three units per acre allowed under current zoning, AST will develop a mix of townhouses and single-family homes priced from about $275,000 to about $350,000, Stutz said.

About 100,000 square feet of commercial space would be accessible from Berlin-Cross Keys and Sicklerville roads. Access to the housing would come from Chews Landing and Sicklerville roads, he said.

"I think anything to expand that park to provide additional outlets for the youth of Sicklerville would be a great thing to do," said Calvin L. Cass, president of the Winslow Maullers, a youth football club based in Donio Park.

A new recreational facility or additional fields or lighting "would just make it an even safer environment for our kids to express their athletic endeavors," he said.

When elected officials asserted they wanted the farm to expand the 50-acre Donio Park, Stutz pointed out that the Winslow had no written plan for parkland acquisitions. Since then the township has drafted a six-year plan for capital improvement projects for parks.

Buying the farm could have cost the township more than $5.6 million, the value determined by an appraiser, Metzner said. And preventing the construction of more housing for families with school-age children will save taxpayers millions more in future years.

"It's just a wonderful end to what started out as a very testy matter," the mayor said.

She added: "I apologize for calling AST greedy because they have proven otherwise."

Reach Erik Schwartz at (856) 486-2904 or eschwartz@courierpostonline.com

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Did you sign the recall petition ?

Reports have been received by UNofficially Winslow that 2,401 of the needed 5,000+ signatures for the effort to recall Winslow Township Board of Education President Pat Parker have been collected.

Click Here to Print and mail your petition.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

IS HOLCOMB NOW A RADIO FREQUENCY ENGINEER?




HOLCOMB:

"...Let me get this straight. This is Nextel and they didn't know when they put this (antenna) on the side of the tower (water tank) it wasn't going to work, it needs to go on the top."



this is an audio post - click to play

Unrelated to Nextel's request to reconfigure their cellular radio antennas on this water tank, is this picture of the Winslow Township Utilities Department base station antenna (highlighted in yellow).

According to Federal Communication Commission license information, the Utilities Department operates on a frequency of 155.145 MHz. Commonly referred to as hi-band. The antenna pictured is indeed a hi-band antenna as determined by a local expert, after viewing the antenna from across the street.

The local expert explained to UNofficially Winslow that Holcomb is incorrect in her statement referring to Nextel's installation. However, the antenna for the Winslow Utilities Department communications can't possible be working correctly. Perhaps this explains the possible duplicate expenduture with taxpayer dollars. CLICK HERE.


Wednesday, March 15, 2006

TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEE FILES A COMPLAINT AGAINST COMMITTEEWOMAN MARIE LAWRENCE



this is an audio post - click to play

UNofficially Winslow will follow up on Lawrence's announcement as information becomes available.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Does Marie Lawrence have a clue?


Click here to purchase

Three members of the Township Committee (DiFabio, Holcomb, and Lawrence) did not support adoption of previous Committee meeting minutes.

In the audio clip below Committeeman LoSasso asks is something wrong, or if corrections need to be made.
Marie Lawrence explains that she should not be given the minutes from five meetings.

Mayor Metzner addresses Lawrence with a brief Minutes 101.


this is an audio post - click to play


Milton Berle:

"A committee is a group that keeps the minutes and loses hours."

Thursday, March 02, 2006

COURIER-POST REPORTS:Winslow official lodges complaint

Winslow official lodges complaint

Thursday, March 2, 2006

By ERIK SCHWARTZ
Courier-Post Staff


The top full-time administrator in the Winslow Township School District accuses the school board president of multiple legal violations, including racial discrimination and intimidating employees, in a complaint filed with the New Jersey School Ethics Commission.

Click here for the complete story



UNofficially Winslow Receives Email

----- Original Message -----
From: UNofficially Winslow Receives E-mail
To: UNofficiallywinslow@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 3:58 PM
Subject: Courier Post article of 3/2/06 - Winslow official lodges complaint

I have only been a resident of Winslow Twp. for a few years and have enrolled a Kindergartner and a 7th grade student this school year. (I pray that I haven’t made a mistake!) My husband and I work full time and I arrive home too late to attend most public meetings. I find your “blog” to be a great source of information about the many growing concerns in our community. At this time my primary concern is my children and their education and safety while at school. I am appalled at the recent actions and behavior of our educational and governmental leaders and the serious problems in our school district.

I have learned that a middle school employee was dismissed for having pornography on his computer, and improperly touching some of the female students; the incident of the high school student’s arrest due to possession of a significant amount of pot packaged for distribution (this student was already wearing an ankle bracelet!) and now I find out that my tax dollars are educating students from other districts. Geez, you think that might have a little something to do with budget deficits and increasing taxes?

Even though I’m sure I don’t have all of the facts, even little ignorant me can see that we’re in trouble here, especially in light of the anticipated increase in enrollment. Kudos to Mr. Swirsky for having the fortitude to file a complaint with the New Jersey Ethics Commission. Between that and the review of the financial situation by the Department of Education, maybe, just maybe, we’ll see some action.

I will make the time to attend future meetings and I will be involved. Cut the political crap and put the focus where it belongs… ON OUR CHILDREN!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

OVER THE TOP

UNofficially Winslow Responds to the front page Courier-Post story regarding Holcomb and UNofficially Winslow.

OPINION:

The article below appeared on the front page of the 2/17/06 Courier-Post, In many ways it just adds to a story all too familiar to the residents and employees of Winslow Township.

Barbara Holcomb, as the political leader of our Township Committee, had virtually run Winslow Township government since 1998. Under our system of Township government, all decisions of consequence are made by those who hold the majority on the Committee. During her reign as majority leader Holcomb had ruled the Township and its employees with an iron hand, creating an atmosphere of fear and forced loyalty.

Those of you who have attended our Township Committee meetings are fully aware of the bullying, browbeating and chaos she and her group create at these meetings. They have been an embarrassment to all who reside in our community.

The scandals, the huge political contributions from pay-to-play contractors, and the treatment of Township employees has been talked about throughout South Jersey and in some instances reported in newspapers as far away as Florida. Through it all, Holcomb and her group never altered their arrogant, self-serving ways.

Holcomb first attained power in Winslow through her association with the powerful Camden County Democrat Party where she holds the lofty position of Vice Chair. Through this group, which now controls most of South Jersey politics, Holcomb has access to almost unlimited funding, county political "volunteers" and other political weapons to keep her in power.

Despite these advantages and despite the fact that her party in Winslow has three times as many registered voters as her opponents, Holcomb's activities had so alienated the residents of our Township that she not only lost her bid for mayor in 2004, but followed that by losing the majority of the Township Committee in 2005.

Now, out of power, and held in low regard by so many of our residents, Holcomb and her crowd have been reduced to sniping and muttering at Committee meetings, as their only way to continue inflicting their venom on our Township. Harmless, but still shameful.

It is in this light that Barbara Holcomb has launched her latest attempt to silence this blog and strike fear into the Township employees. By filing under the OPRA act to gain access to the e-mails of all Township employees, she reminds those employees that the day may come when she returns to power. Not only does this inhibit the exchange of all types of information about our Township, it also helps assure that Township employees will be extremely reluctant to share information which could shed light on the activities of her years in power. It is a sad thing when the Freedom of Information Act which was intended to shed light and information is perverted into a tool of secrecy and coercion.

UNofficially Winslow believes that this time Holcomb's heavy handed methods have gone too far. For the good of the residents of our Township and the political organization she represents, it is time for Holcomb to resign.





Thursday, February 16, 2006

By ERIK SCHWARTZ
Courier-Post Staff

WINSLOW
The watched has become the watchdog.

Long a target of scrutiny, criticism and outright ridicule on the blog of a local Republican activist, Democratic Township Committeewoman Barbara Holcomb wants to know what, if anything, municipal employees are telling the activist, Paul S. Kaplan.

Holcomb filed a public-records request for copies of all e-mails between Kaplan and Winslow workers using government computers since September 2004, including those sent to or from the address for the blog, UNofficially Winslow.

On the blog, Kaplan often fixates on Holcomb, who is the vice chairwoman of the powerful Camden County Democratic Party and a confidential aide in the administration of the county juvenile detention center. Kaplan is a member of the township planning board who often serves as the driver for his friend, GOP Mayor Sue Ann Metzner, who is legally blind.

Blog entries have titles like "State Law is Not Good Enough for Holcomb," "Was Holcomb Trying to Mislead the Public?" and "Did Holcomb Mean to Insult Germans?" Most include links to audio of public meetings.

In an interview, Kaplan said the e-mails likely to turn up will be either correspondence between himself and township officials regarding his own numerous public-records requests, or messages promoting his blog sent to a handful of employees, among others.

Holcomb's inquiry, he said, "doesn't really bother me at all. Do I care that she applied for it? Do I have something to hide with those e-mails? Absolutely not. I don't care what she does with those e-mails."

He added: "There's no behind-the-scenes secrecy."

Holcomb didn't return calls for comment and it's unclear what she suspects about Kaplan and the people with whom he corresponds. But the request represents a new tactic for the leader of the Democrats who, after November's election, are now the minority party on the township committee.

"I think this is an effort to intimidate employees," Metzner, a political rival of Holcomb's, said. "This is just an underhanded way of making people feel as though they are being watched."

The request, made under the state's Open Public Records Act, also caused a minor headache for township officials gathering such e-mail for the first time.

"It takes time out of the day. It's a little bit of a hassle. I have never gotten one like this before," said Deborah A. Puchakjian, municipal clerk and township records custodian. "A lot of our different departments don't get a lot of requests."

She said the search will cover 13 departments and about 200 e-mail addresses.

"Obviously, I can't check everyone's computer. They have to submit their e-mails to their department heads," Puchakjian said.

Metzner said she turned over one e-mail from Kaplan: an announcement of the first anniversary of UNofficially Winslow.

Reach Erik Schwartz at (856) 486-2904 or eschwartz@courierpostonline.com


Talk about this and more on the Courier-Post forums!
or send a letter to the editor.


___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________



Holcomb's records request is actually a public document in itself. Please click here to view a copy of the actual public records request submitted by Holcomb.

OTHER DETAILS:

UNofficially Winslow has obtained information from yet another public records request which will enable UNofficially Winslow to announce by e-mail all new postings to ALL Township employees instead of just a handful.

AS PREVIOUSLY STATED ON THIS WEBSITE:

UNofficially Winslow only publishes information after all proper documentation is obtained through public access. The documentation is then posted with the article on the website. No posting or entry on UNofficially Winslow contains information obtained from any resident, employee, or public official of the Township that cannot be supported with public access documents or recorded media. One exception is the e-mails addressed to UNofficially Winslow, which carry the responsibility from the original author.




UNofficially Winslow Receives Email

----- Original Message -----
From: Albertcooper@winslowtownsip.com
To: UNofficiallywinslow@comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 1:17 PM
Subject: TRUTH BE TOLD!

THE OPINION ARTICLE POSTED ON YOUR SITE FOR FRIDAY, FEB 17, 2006 (WHICH PRECEDES THE ERIC SCHWARTZ/ COURIER-POST ARTICLE OF FEB 16, 2006) IS PURE, UNADULTERATED FACT! IT IS POSSIBLY THE MOST ACCURATE OVERVIEW OF RECENT EVENTS THAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED TO DATE.

I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE BECAUSE I HAVE SUFFERED THOUGH THIS INSANITY FOR THE LAST 3+ YEARS AS A TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBER.

WINSLOW TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES ARE OVERJOYED TO RETURN TO A NORMAL, PROFESSIONAL WORK ENVIORONMENT. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ANYONE WISHING TO INTERFERE WITH OUR TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES RETURN TO NORMALCY WILL LIKELY HAVE TO GO THOUGH ME. GOOD LUCK!

RESIDENTS SHOULD ALSO TAKE NOTE THAT THE PUBLIC ATTACKS ON THE MESSENGER (ERIC SCHWARTZ AND THE COURIER-POST NEWSPAPER) ARE A DEAD GIVEAWAY AS TO THE ACCURACY OF THE MESSAGE BEING DELIVERED!



ALBERT H COOPER
PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR
WINSLOW TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
WINSLOW RESIDENT & PUBLIC ADVOCATE

UNofficially Winslow Receives Email

----- Original Message -----
From: Unofficially Winslow Receives Email
To:UNofficiallywinslow@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 8:43 AM
RE: COURIER-POST FRONT PAGE ARTICLE ABOUT UNOFFICIALLY WINSLOW.COM

Hi I've been reading your blog for quite a while. I just read the article in the Courier-Post, and I am appalled that Barbara Holcomb is targeting you. Your website is the best way to get information in this township. After I watch the meetings, what you post and what others say is exactly what I'm thinking! I'm only 23 years old, but I care about what happens to our township and my home. I hate the fact that they keep putting new houses up on every piece of farmland developers can get their hands on. I hate the fact that I lived in Wyndham Hill and it was overrun by drug dealers and prostitutes because of a specific realtor. I hate the fact that my sister graduated from a high school that lets kids from the worst city in the U.S. go there without consequence. I hate the fact that the taxes keep rising and rising and yet there is no money for extra teaching assistants. If the people that live in the brand new developments pay $12,000 a year in taxes and I pay $5,000 in taxes, and our population is increasing, why is there no money? Did Barbara Holcomb just discover your website, and it is giving her a bad name, so she wants it taken away??? Does she not realize that she IS NOT the MAYOR! What the heck is a deputy mayor anyway? Does she really think people are going to vote for her when she runs for mayor again?? We don't need a website to tell us that, take a look around!!!! This township is going to the dogs...don't let the pretty, expensive houses fool you! Concerned Citizen

UNofficially Winslow Notes:
As of January 1, 2006 Holcomb was dismissed as the Deputy Mayor. Currently there is no Deputy Mayor in Winslow Township. Committeeman Al Cooper has been appointeded to chair meetings and sign checks in the absence of the Mayor.

Click Here for more details about the Deputy Mayor issues.

this is an audio post - click to play1:00