$2,216,000 for various road projects, including paving and drainage improvements.

D.P.W. used to pave ect. they cost LESS and did good work.Its time to bring paving and drainage back in house.

A new press box for Little League ? They are little kids - give us a break !

Spend, spend, spend...

Brick already has over $130 million in debt (not including solar as that is a pass through)
Over $11 million of the $89 million is for debt payments... that is 12.4% of budget which is higher than any town between 50-100,000 people.

Brick needs to start reducing the debt and doing bare minimal...

press box... really!! in this economy!! why not have the little league pay for it... they have lots of money in the bank!!

WHich little league? I am POSITIVE it is Councilman Brando's little league, you know the one in cherry quay, the one the taxpayers paid for brand new batting cages, the batting cages the public can not use, even though we paid for them. Mean while the little league on the other side of town, doesnt even have a working score board.

As per the usual in Brick, it is WHO you know, not what is fair, or ethical.

What??? Why is MY money going towards a new press box for Little League????? My kids don't play, so why should I pay for it?? Last I knew, if you want your child to play, you have to PAY a hefty fee! Since its mainly boys, why not have them BUILD a new press box or fund raise for it???? Instead, use that money towards fixing Lake Shore Dr & Pine Tree Dr in Lake Riviera by the old Dee Rose & 7/11!!! Filling the HUGE pot holes with tiny stones & dirt does NOTHING but makes the holes bigger and having those tiny stones fly up and hit your car!!!!!!!
Oh and and I would really like to thank Brick Public Works for sending that street sweeper down my street like you promised me...I guess it really didn't matter that my child and myself got really sick from the smell that the garbage truck leaked onto my street a YEAR ago! Really loved seeing the sweeper on all the other streets in my neighborhood BUT mine. Really nice! And people wonder why I want to move? LMAO Funny!!

How about paving the Forge Pond neighborhood after they tore up the roads for sewers.

A mayor that lives in Cherry Quay, which means he has to drive down Cherry Quay Rd, which means he has to know that it floods after the Tiller Lane intersection with atleast 7-8 Inches of water every time it rains. Why isn't that being fixed? It's been like this forever

Spartacus - as an owner of a small utility contracting company I've been working just to get a pay check for the last 3 years with no profit in jobs at all. I disagree with you statement that in house paving would be cheaper. State, County and Municipal projects have been coming in 20 to 30% below the engineers estimates for the last two to three years. Plus you don't have the high costs associated with keeping employees on the municipal payrolls. When I ran a paving company 15 years ago we would need to average over 1500 tons of asphalt a day to make a profit. I've seen our township crews pave and they never ever came close to that!

Wait a minute........60k for a "press box"? I would like to see the plans for this. How on earth can a township that almost laid off its entire public works department afford to spend 60k for a private organization to keep score in. This seems like a frivolous purchase if I ever saw one. How does our council explain this as a need for our town? Didnt we just spend 45k on a private batting cage building a few years ago?

Just more wah wah wah... Do nothing just let the money sit idle, hey rocket scientists if you don't fix or improve anything it will cost a lot more in the long run. You can't say support the children and give them activities to keep them off the streets but not support thhem financially. I agree some costs are out of control but you apparently retired people are attacking the wrong people. It's a constant barrage of don't spend. Is there anything we should spend money on? My god people. And if you think a private contractor paying prevailing wage would be cheaper to pave twp roads you are surely misinformed, get out into the real world and check into it... That is all.

Last year we were so broke we were going to shut down public works and stop garbage pickups. Now we are so flush with cash that we are building a $60,000.00 little league shack. My friend just paid $95,000.00 to have a pre fab HOUSE built on his lot. This town is a joke and it is time to move. It doesnt matter who we vote for.

A PRESS BOX? For little league? Who's going to use it Crummycast Cable? They charge me enough to build their own damn press box. Who's gonna man it Bob Costas? No, Oh HELL NO!

I could be wrong, but if the little league field they're talking about is in Cherry Quay, then it currently doesn't have a press box. Which means they have to build it from scratch, foundation and all. Plus, depending on where they build it, they might have to clear some woods to make room for it, this could all factor into the $60k.

Ok Just Saying good bye, no one is holding you in Brick.... Be gone

Negative I work in the real world ... I just call it like I see it, you are free to move about the country to find a "better" town to live in, go check the grass on the other side, I say there Isn't much difference anywhere you may go.

OK. Now where at a 7.5 million dollar tax increase for this year's budget.
Wait until people start leaving this town and you guys have to subsidize the crew from Lakewood. Wait unitl you see your taxes when half the town doesn't work in 20 years.

I think you're getting caught up in the term "press box", it'ss probably nothing more than an announcers box, the pricing i'm sure comes from a private contractor that has to pay his employees prevailing wage because tax dollars are paying for it, you can thank your unions for that, then consider the ridiculous permit costs, dessign costs and oh yeah we don't have a bldg dept anymore so inspectors come from Toms River and i'm sure they don't supply them for free.

I don't know i don't have any children that play baseball

My son plays on the north side. It is 350 a season for him to play. You get 150 back once you do your volunteer work in the snack shack on the field or assistant coach. Our fields are a mess, our score board doesnt work, our press box is condemed. Know what we got from the town? We were threatened that we would have to close the field or merge with Brandos Brick little league, if we did not vote for the 24% increase last year.

Explain to me why our taxes pay for EVERYTHING, new batting cages, new fields, new press box for Brando, but the other kids in town, get SHIT from the town. Something here smells so bad, they can smell it in Trenton.

I am sure you remember a few years back when Acropolis called the people from Brick National into his office and "recommended' they merge with Brick little league, because there might have to be an investigation.

To the newly elected council.How could you vote yes on the press box issue.Waiting for an answer?????.

@Just Saying The old little league field did have a press box, but the new one they added when they extended the parking lot didn't. I'm guessing that's what they're building a press box next to. I've been up in all three press boxes growing up in Cherry Quay, and from what I remember they weren't anything special, just plywood and framing with electric run through it. You could probably do it even cheaper without the garage underneath.

Where is Vera ? What say you about 60 grand and your husbands vote???

A little bit more info on the ball fields: Honestly, that was a bit of a throw-in to the article, but since it seems to be the most-talked-about part, I have some extra info. Domenick Brando is not the president of Brick Little League. I'm not sure of his exact role, if any, but he's not its president.

The $60K covers the cost of engineering work, drainage work and other items being fixed or repaired on township property by the fields, though the actual press box is the most noticeable aspect of the project, for obvious reasons.

Regarding the fields on the north side on Lanes Mill, there was a project there included last year's capital budget. Specifically, it was a drainage issue that was repaired. That field is also township property. It does not appear there is anything in THIS year's capital budget for that complex.

Taken from Township website....Domenick Brando's Bio
http://www.twp.brick.nj.us/content.asp?contentid=2344

"Councilman Brando's civic duties include being the past president and founder of Brick Little League, current director of the Brick Traveling Baseball Program, a member of the Knights of Columbus No. 836 and a past member of the Brick Township Planning Board, Board of Adjustment and Citizens Budget Advisory Committee."

http://www.leaguelineup.com/directors.asp?cmenuid=9&url=bricktravelbaseball&sid=790099330

JD
I really don't care about Pezzarras math!
I was just stating a fact that's it's much cheaper to have private contractors do paving and drainage work. Period!
You should learn how to read.

" the capital budget includes $300,000 for the design of the Colorado Park improvement project"
Where is this???? What ever happened to the fixing up Lake Riviera Park????? You know...the little area in town that seems to be over looked when it comes to repairs of any kind!
I also stand by what I said in my earlier post...have the boys fund raise for their press box! There is NO reason why the whole town has to pay for batting cages, press boxes, snack stands, ect...the WHOLE town doesn't get to use them, so why should we pay for them?????? Have the league pay for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Colorado Park is off Lanes Mill Rd, in the neighborhood where Councilman Fozman lives!!!!! Ironic, huh?

Wait wait, Fozelman lives in the neighborhood where he spearheaded this spending spree and the 60k for the press box? Me thinks this smells like old times here in Brick again. Can anyone say someone should check into this deal as it smell real bad for Fozzyman.

When are they gonna repair that dump of a park in Cedar Bridge Manor that looks like its being swept away by the river. From what I can tell, the last time anything was done there, it was done by an Eagle Scout

I've got an idea. Lets form two baseball teams, one will be made up of the mayor and town council and be called the Spendaholics, the other team will be made up from Brick taxpayers and will be called the Brick Broke Asses. We then have a series of games and if the Brick Broke Asses win, no press box, if the Spendaholics win, they get their press box, but there's a catch. If the Spendaholics win they do get their very needed press box, but they get voted out the next election. I call it a win, win situation.

Brick American has let Brick Memorial HS use their fields for their games. The HS is also allowed to use Brick American's batting cages. Brick American also hosts 2 challenger leagues- one on Friday nights where the youth of the league volunteer to help the special needs kids and another group play on Sundays. And guess what- they don't charge them anything and their volunteers get the fields ready for these teams. They fundraise on their own to build and buy items, and they also give back to it's youth in the form of scholarships. The fields also closely border a major road, so drainage for the fields has a direct result on town roads so they really should be more of a priority. But I guess since Brando and Acropolis took Brick National fields that the taxpayers never paid anything for and gave it to Little League and had the town pay for their batting cages it makes sense for them to build them a $60,000 booth when they host the high school games.....oh wait, they don't host anything except things for their own PAID members!!

L SPencer

All sports facilities are owned by the Township or the BOE. No complex is owned by any sports associaiton, so when you say Brick American has let Brick Memorial use THEIR fields you are incorrect.

Yeah well, Brick Memorial has air conditioning, life is unfair.

10% no the public can not use the batting cages, free or for a fee. The town pays the water and electric.

Parks are supposed to maintain the fields, however 2 weekends ago the grass was up to my son's ankles in the out field, at Brick field across from BMHS.

@ Seen enough SO what where the choices for old Brick? bleachers unsafe, no AC exposed wires & plumbing, single pane windows, leaking roofs NO sinks in the science labs, NO soap or paper products in the bathrooms, doors in the bathroom that dont close, limited hanicap bathrooms, & the list can go on, & I believe BMHS was build in the 80's and has since been updated & remodeled, While the otherside of town I dont think has had a thing dont since it was build in the 60's ? I think there needs to be a balance of nessesities over things we would like, sure its nice to have a LL field, BUt thats what ya get when men in charge of the money.

On subject, paved roads would be great, I know 2 yrs ago when we had snow storm after snow storm or streets in our neighborhood where never even plowed. In fact a senior Ctz. had a heart attack & the police got stuck in the snow, the Emt's couldnt make it threw, & Ambulance finally got in at that time the man had passes away. iam assumimg the $$ they saved NOT paving our roads, & last yr not having any snow We should all have new streets & maybe even sidewalks...

It looks like it may pay to go to the town meetings and voice your opinion's. A press box! The last time i checked this is not the MLB, and I have not seen any of these little league kids on ESPN's top ten plays.

Day 152 of the Ducey regime, do you know where the cost savings they ran on are?

How about they take the kids from the the vo-tech classes that are learning " hands on" work to chip in & get the work done in the HS ? Yes they may need some over seeing or some outside contractors, but will saving money on lot of the work, & the kids will have Pride in what they did by helping. Even some kids that instead of punishing them by letting them stay home,( what kind of punishment is it to these kids to be suspended & stay home, chances are the pararent are at work & the kids can do what ever they want all day, including getting into more trouble) How bout' putting them to work alittle.. a litle elbow grease never killed amyone, in fact MIGHT even teach them something

*parents

Because in this country, think, we have what's called child labor laws.

@ Anthony is not " child labor" its called work, The Children are learning these skills anyway at the vo-tech school why not put them to use. & agree, Get some of those kids that like to suspended So that they can stay home all day & do nothing, Give them something to do, There is nothing worng with putting them on a "project" or community service. It will keep them out of trouble & MIGHT learn a skill instead of worring about pasting Standardize test & come out of HS with no skills or common sense... I think Great Idea !

I have been sassed, ridiculed and called names that were not too polite but now I can see that some of you seem to be listening to what I have been trying to say You will never be content so therefore I again repeat***************we need more EAGLES, yes Eagles that can forsee into the future and add good basic knowledge for the good of all Brick citizens. We have one there but you can't see past the nose on your faces. The state of Wisconsin is a good example and Brick has a good leader and Ducey is not the person. Are you ashamed on how you voted now?

You all don’t get it, most of the old council feed us a line a BS, and you voted them out, now the new council is using the same shovels to feed us more BS! The New Bees LIED to get into office and you voted for them, we have We have Councilman Brando the on disability from some PD dept. up north, failed dock builder failed gym owner, appointed to a BS job at the MUA and was nearly fired for not being on the job during his appointed hours (he would check in and disappear) great rep of the people! Dan Toth the political prostitute he will do anything to be re-elected (might even run for mayor) he has the boy next door look but he is just another conniving politician. If you watch council meetings I would think he has reasons for not voting or abstaining on votes I would thing about 40% of the time so why do we need him? And the New Bees promised us a TAX CUT and all they do is Spend, Spend, and Spend! Has there been a salary freeze, hiring freeze, costly project freeze (other than for public safety), have they gone to the unions (all the unions) to renegotiate their contracts NO on all counts! It’s getting close to start recall petition time!

And as for the PD firing range close it is just a connivance for our $90+G’s officers most other small towns don’t have a range, I am sure that the PD would have access to the military range at Sea Girt, we pay you enough DRIVE!

Why is the Administration spending so much money on a firing ranch ? Did you forget about Shared Services ? Once again the regard to the taxpayer.