I want to thank my wife Kathleen, the love of my life and my best friend. My
sons, John, Ryan, and my daughter in law Marylou and my grandchildren, each of
you have made this day possible for me.
My congratulations to Mr. Ferramosca, we welcome him to the Official family of
the Township of Hanover.
I thank my fellow committeemen for their confidence and support in selecting me
Mayor. I extend my hand to each of them in a cooperative and congenial
manner. To those who may have reservations I ask for their support and best
effort to serve, to work together with diplomacy and open dialog in the best
interest of all the residents of Hanover Township.
I bring my can do spirit, my commitment and my integrity to this office!
HANOVER TOWNSHIP IS A COMMUNITY IN TRANSISTION. I want to assure you that the
members of the committee are determined to meet the challenges that lay ahead of
us.
Hanover Township is a ‘Jewel’ in the crown of Morris County. We have practiced
responsible fiscal policies since the 1960’s; I know, I was here. We have been
blessed with strong commercial and business ratable that have given us financial
stability. We have preserved our suburban appearance and most importantly our
quality of life.
To the citizens and Public Officials that have come before us, and our present
senior residents who had the foresight to put in place an infrastructure that
has served us well. I thank you.
We now face challenges that are the result of Federal and State Government
decisions that directly affect the economy and thus our once strong and vibrant
fiscal base. We as residents, all of us, must rise to this challenge. This not a
political issue, this is an inherent responsibility of all of us residents.
What makes our town great is the individual pride we each have in the
neighborhood where we live. But, we must all view our residency as the residency
of Hanover Township, not by the postal zip code where our mail goes to, or the
title of the sub division in town where we live. We must work together to
balance our community’s fiscal strength.
In 1982, 46% of our tax base was derived from commercial properties. Today we
are at 38.82%. The residential tax burden was approximately 40% as
compared to today, where it is 57%.
My vision is to take the Township forward by engaging in smart growth
development, that will not alter our quality of life.
I want to bring. commercial and business development to our community that will
begin the process of balancing our fiscal strength. I envision a senior citizen
development that will provide a community of retail stores within walking
distance, a passive recreation area and a community center that will encourage
gatherings or meetings.
While we have a terrific standard of education for our youth, we need to build
on and upgrade our character building sports programs, recreation programs and
provide our community volunteers, our scouts and local church ministries with
our encouragement and support. Our community has benefited greatly because of
our volunteers, I applaud them.
I am committed to creating fiscal balance and bringing and directing our
township toward this goal. I have promised when campaigning a Citizens Economic
Development Committee to foster smart commercial and business growth. This has
become a reality, I thank the members on the committee for working with me to
create the ordinance to begin the process. I am proud to announce that on
January 7th Thursday at 7:00 PM we will kick off this, our first
presentation. It will be held in this room and each of you are welcome to
attend.
I would like to re-direct the efforts of our Open Space Committee, I would like
to see them develop a plan to create the walking paths that have been alluded to
for years. Perhaps a bicycle path as well.
I am always available to our residents. Each Thursday morning on Township
Committee meeting days, the first & third Thursday, between the hours of 10:00
am and 12:00 noon I will be available to our residents. You are invited to stop
by the municipal building and share your concerns or suggestions with me. I only
ask you be specific with your issues so we as a committee can accurately address
them. I will also be available by telephone through Mr. Giorgio’s office.
In closing I want to thank our municipal employees for their dedication and
cooperative efforts in the past year.
I look forward to a year that will require our hard labor and best efforts but,
we will go forward and make every effort to meet our financial challenges.
Revitalizing our opportunities for success.
Thank you all, there are refreshments provided by the Township Committee at our
recreation center. I invite you to join us.
(01/02/10 12:57pm)
“I envision…a passive recreation area and a community center that will encourage gatherings or meetings.”
“…we need to build on and upgrade our character building sports programs, recreation programs…”
“I would like to re-direct the efforts of our Open Space Committee, I would like to see them develop a plan to create the walking paths that have been alluded to for years. Perhaps a bicycle path as well.” – Mayor Sheridan
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in 2009, it’s that elected officials tend to make decisions based on the best interest of their respective party or personal benefit…and not in the best interest of the greater population. Unfortunately, our town doesn’t seem immune to the described scenarios. I have been entirely disappointed with our Township Committee lately, particularly their most recent decision to distribute bonuses in the midst of a financial crisis. In 2010, I will be keeping an extremely close eye on our committee members’ words to ensure that campaign pledges are kept, and declared positions are not contradicted when it really counts. I am tired of empty promises, and will strive to make sure that there is accountability and transparency at the Township Committee table.
In the new mayor’s own words (as highlighted above), he has expressed clear interest in focusing on both active and passive recreation in our town. This is fantastic. Therefore, if you ask me, we should work on getting people on our Open Space Committee who really care about and have extensive knowledge of open space…right? So why, then, was Len Fariello NOT appointed to either the Environmental Commission or the Open Space Committee? This makes no sense to me. Len’s basically pinned as a certified tree-hugger by his opponents, and then denied the perfect opportunity to use these valuable skills, while at the same time Mr. Sheridan proclaims his agenda for focusing passive recreation areas and trails. One of the most qualified people to advise our Township Committee on how to expand and upgrade our recreation facilities was silenced by the new mayor who claims he wants to focus on open space and recreation. Go figure.
And for some reason, our Township Committee wants nothing to do with the Markow property. An amazing piece of land (that’s for sale!) that can serve and satisfy so many open space and recreation needs (again as described above by our new mayor) continuously gets shot down time and time again by the Township Committee. Hanover could gain so much by acquiring this property in terms of a green getaway right within our town, and despite numerous attempts by the Open Space Committee, the Township Committee has remained steadfast in their decision to look away. Why?! We can’t even satisfy our present needs for ball fields…can you imagine our town a decade from now functioning with the same about of ball fields and a greater population than at present? We can help alleviate the problem NOW. Or do we just not care about Hanover’s future generations and the problems they’ll face because of our current ignorance? The present cry in town is for recreation facilities. Well how do you expect to provide this if you are unwilling to seek and physically expand it? You can’t have it both ways.
People are so stressed and worried about their taxes these days that they’re failing to see what’s really important. Well guess what. There are two things that are inevitable in life…one of which is paying taxes. SO GET USED TO IT! They will always go up. And trying to escape that indisputable fact by building another house or store to increase ratables isn’t really going to amount to a permanent positive solution for anyone.
Thus far, our new mayor has shown his commitment to both active and passive recreation by quieting the voice of one of the most qualified people in town to advise on such topics. So unless he’s got someone bigger and better in mind, I’m really dumbfounded by that decision. If he really cares about said topics, he’d work on getting Len to the Open Space table. Doesn’t that just make sense?
And our Township Committee needs to wake-up to the Markow property. While I don’t have evidence yet, I am trying to find quotes by Mr. Ferramosca made during his campaign claiming that he pledges to focus on expanding our youth recreational facilities. Once I have this proof, it seems to me to be all the more reason why he’d be in favor of considering the Markow property for this purpose. It’d be a great opportunity to fulfill a campaign pledge. Because if this isn’t the opportunity he had in mind, then I hope he’s got something grand rolled up his sleeve.
I will utilize all outlets available at my disposal to keep our residents informed. I’m not writing this to play politics. I can’t stand politics. I want what’s in the best interest of our community. I want our elected officials to make decisions that are consistent with the reasons why they are in office. Because contradictions are deceitful, and thus I will strive to ensure they don’t go unnoticed. –
An important note - I live directly adjacent to the Markow property. I therefore cannot vote in favor or against its acquisition, nor can I even enter into any conversations with the Township Committee or OSAC concerning the property. Please keep this in mind in the future when you refer to this property and the "Township Committee's" actions. Thank you. Judy Iradi (01/03/10 5:21pm) REPLY
Congratulations, Mayor Sheridan. Wishing you all the best. Hanover Township has voted wisely.
"I am always available to our residents. Each Thursday morning on Township Committee meeting days, the first & third Thursday, between the hours of 10:00 am and 12:00 noon I will be available to our residents"
This is part of the same speech Sheridan read on Reorganizatio day. I didn't want to embarass our new Mayor by correcting him (again) in front of a roomfull of people, but could you please inform the Mayor and residents that the Township Committee meeting days are the Second & Fourth Thursdays of the month - not the first & third. Thank you. Committeewoman Judy Iradi (01/03/10 4:36pm) REPLY
JMM1045 –
I think the Markow property is hardly the cure-all last resort for mending our financial situation by building ratables. Our Township Committee members can satisfy their commitments to both increasing ratables and expanding recreational facilities without hindering either effort. There are plenty of properties that need REdelopment before focusing on that which is still mostly untouched. However, we are not far from running out of properties to accommodate our increasing need for active and passive recreational facilities. That being said, the Markow property should be considered a realistic and fair opportunity to help appease the situation now and for the future.
Judy –
Thank you for chiming in. I understand the conflict of interest you are facing considering your proximity to the Markow property. I assure you that no one wants to infringe upon the peacefulness that you may experience living so near to the woods. That’s all the more reason why open space is so valuable to preserve around town. People want ratables, but don’t necessarily want the potential disruption to their daily lives (and I am NOT saying you are one of these people, I am merely making a generalization). The Markow property, if carefully planned, has room for trails, a field, and natural woods. There is no doubt in my mind that it should be seriously considered for open space and recreation. However, the specifics can be left to the appropriate parties, which may involve different committees working in conjunction with one another. Recognizing its proximity to residences should undoubtedly be taken into consideration when making decisions.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I will be taking advantage of all the media resources available to communicate to the public, and will be submitting my posts to both the Daily Record and Hanover Eagle as editorials.
Neither active recreation or development will adversely effect the enjoyment or value of my property. It now just depends upon what direction our town is going in. Have you seen the corner of Rt. 10 and Troy Hills Road. There was a large mature beautiful tree just to the left of the veteran's memorial monuments and bench. Now where thousands of cars pass by every day they will see not a tree or stick left. Just a flag-pole, bench, and two large rocks with bronze plaques, We need ratables, but do we really need to destroy the character of our town in the process. Judy Iradi (01/04/10 6:53pm) REPLY
Judy, although presently that corner looks forlorn, after construction and landscaping we should all be able to enjoy and be proud of the new ratable. The large tree was quite beautiful however as I passed by during the removal of it the interior core was substantial rotted. We were probably saved from a lawsuit if it decayed any more and fell across Route 10 at rush hour.
I think the point that Judy was trying to make, which is also the point I am trying to make, is that at what expense are we willing to sacrifice in order to increase ratables? I know some of us have been living here for decades, and the Hanover we knew then is not terribly far from the Hanover we know now…but it seems as though that Hanover is currently in jeopardy. If you ask me, I believe people are being jaded by dollar signs lately, and undermining the fact that our actions now will have a profound impact on the future of Hanover – whether positive or negative. But right now, I am unfortunately seeing a half-empty glass.
It’s only a few days into the year, and already our new mayor has made some strong statements that cause me to question his motives. I am not a supporter nor opponent of Mr. Sheridan; I merely want him to make decisions that are in the best interest of our community. Denying Lenny his right to be seated on the Open Space Committee is absurd. Whether you agree or disagree with his actions (and I happen to think the bonuses were nonsense), you can’t take away from his open space knowledge and qualifications. The new mayor has let politics gets the best of him, and I would hope that he reconsiders the motion to appoint Lenny. – simpleman9 (01/05/10 10:15am) REPLY
The problem with your argument is that you assume that Lenny has a "right to be seated on the Open Space Committee". News flash, he doesn't. Likewise he has no real "qualifications" on open space. People who have studied and obtained degrees in forestry, horticulture, environmental science, etc... have "qualifications". Working for a private land conservancy for a couple of years and wanting to buy and leave in its natural state every undeveloped piece of property can hardly be considered "qualifications". Perhaps the majority felt that giving him a venue to continue what many believe to be obstructionist policies towards reasonable development was imprudent given the current economic climate. I for one do not think we the taxpayers need to pay for any more vacant lots under the pretext of passive open space. Lets see our open space dollars spent on making existing lands attractive and useful for our residents. [message ends?]
While it is hard to find individuals that are willing to devote personal time to the various boards and committees, members need to accept the outcome of last year's election. Notwithstanding Mr. Fariello's passion, devotion & efforts on Open Space issues the voters clearly were aware of all these factors when they went to the polls and Mr. Fariello did not get re-elected. With those results come new blood and perhaps different ideas about many issues, including open space and how best to make use of it.
The Township Committee has to govern and live with their decisions and part of this process is to nominate and appoint individuals that they believe are best and represent the best interests of the taxpayers. The previous committee made changes to the boards at the beginning of 2009 and in my opinion some of the changes made were not for the better - but again, that's my opinion. Throughout 2009, we lived with the previous appointments made by the committee majority which included former Mayor Fariello.
It's a new year.
My suggestion to Open Space is to be
Open Minded and work with the current committee, which at the moment reflects the will of the majority of the voters.
If you can't accept that then resign - no one
member or Chairperson is irreplaceable!
News flash…you don’t need a degree in order to be qualified at something. Do I really need to provide you with examples of people who don’t have degrees in their respective field of expertise, and yet are highly capable and successful at what they do? That being said, given Lenny’s experience and passion, he most certainly is qualified. And he absolutely has a right to be seated on the Open Space Committee – we all do. And given the fact that he actually knows what he’s talking about when it comes to active/passive recreation, his knowledge would greatly benefit the rest of the Open Space Committee members. Doesn’t it make sense to have someone who knows what they’re talking about working and mentoring those around him on the technicalities of state policies and local environmental mandates? Or would you prefer the Open Space Committee to operate under a policy of sheer “guess-work”? Seems like a no-brainer to me… - simpleman9 (01/05/10 8:54pm) REPLY
Simpleman, I enjoy and respect your thoughts as presented on this site. That being said, one thing no one seems to bring up are the qualifications of the person who was appointed to the Open Space Advisory committee. The argument seems to be the position should have gone to the ex Mayor based on his long history of fighting for open space and not for over commercialization of the Township.
The person appointed is Tom "Ace" Gallagher and he is qualified for the position . He runs a local business directly related to trees and is a young and enthusiastic resident who wants to be involved. He did not lobby for the position or even suggest he be considered. However based on his track record he is a well thought out selection. Perhaps you have heard of "One Day, One School", which was Ace's creation and our community has benefited from it financially and esthetically. He is a member of the H.T. Board of Education and has young children in the schools. So his interests like many others are in trying to balance our needs for development along with our needs to keep this community resembling what it has always been. If the appointment had been purely political, I believe we would have a candidate who really had no history of championing the cause of Open Space. But that was not the case and every opinion that says the former Mayor should have been appointed fails to look at the selection of a qualified and interested resident.
I will not knock the former mayor as I do feel he tried hard to do positive things for the community. But I feel sometimes a change is good for the sake of change,and when that change brings someone like Ace Gallagher to am important committee that is a good decision.
Hopefully we can put aside our differences from the election results and give the newly formed Township Committee a chance to show us what direction they are going in. There are many challenges, we all know this, and we should all be working towards solutions. I am in favor of developing current open space that is used for recreation (active) to its maximum potential rather than seeking new sites. I am sorry but I do not see the benefits of purchasing properties where citizens are provided a lifetime leasehold, yet we lose tax revenue and also have to maintain the properties with no present benefit. I would love to look at the property you mentioned (Markow) and see what that could do for the community.
I would only hope that people will give the administration a chance to formulate some plans. I have to say, having attended the Re-Org meeting, I felt a hopeful enthusiasm in the room. Please remember that in supporting one candidate who was not appointed, it becomes a criticism of another who has not yet had an opportunity to show what they may be able to do. I am hopeful many will see that Ace is a good addition to this committee.
J. Herbert
Sponsor's comment - VERY will written! (01/06/10 8:54am) REPLY
Thomas (Ace) Gallagher - from the Whippany section of town - is one of the nicest, considerate, generous persons in town and would be an asset on any committee. However, the person who was REAPPOINTED to the Open Space Committee was Thomas Gallagher from the CK section of town. CK, Gallagher has been serving on the OSAC since 2007. And was just reappointed on Jan. 1st, to serve another term on OSAC. Thanks. Judy Iradi (01/06/10 1:57pm) REPLY
Well, in the words of that great television character Emily Littella from SNL, "oops, never mind". Perhaps there is room for two Thomas Gallaghers on the open space committee. :>)
Jim Herbert (01/06/10 5:16pm) REPLY
Jim,
Thank you for your input - I did enjoy reading your thoughtful response. I appreciate your willingness to consider the Markow property as a viable open space and recreational opportunity. I would like to make it clear that I support our new mayor, and just want him and the overall Township Committee to remain open-minded to open space opportunities. We have plenty of eyesores available to redevelopment while we focus on our open space objectives. And I understand the name confusion...but the second Tom does sound like a great candidate as well! - simpleman9 (01/06/10 7:08pm) REPLY
I adored Emily Littella on SNL - and I have had plenty of ooops too. Ace is a great person and has done many good things in town - and so has Jim Herbert. Either of them would be an asset on any board, commission or committee in town.
Dear Tom, I remember a bet you and I had before last year's election. You were mad and said Ferramosca was a valuable member of the PB and if Fariello won, then Ferramosca would not be reappointed to the PB for political reasons. I made the bet (free dinner) with you saying the I would certainly vote to reappoint Ferramosca - and I meant it. Now what do you think just happened. The candidate you were so worried about not being reappointed, just voted to remove valuable member Lois DeCaro from the PB and also Peter Zapf. Peter Zapf needs to be (politically) removed so that Schleifer, Sheridan and Ferramosca supporter, Quirk (who has been asking residents to run against me) could be put on the PB. I was even just told someone resigned from the Environmental Commission to make a vacancy for Quirk to be appointed. But LOIS DECARO NOT BEING REAPPOINTED ! Can someone PLEASE explain to the residents why Sheridan with the help of Schleifer and Ferramosca threw Lois thrown-under-the-bus ! I think they owe the residents an explanation and you owe me a dinner.
I believe you would have voted to re-appoint John Ferramosca. I'm not sure how you voted in regard to
the Planning Board and Sal and Maria but in any event, that was certainly your call
and right as an elected official as it was for the rest of the committee.
I also believe that John Ferramosca would have been passed over when his term was up or at the very least, Lenny would have led that charge.
I guess we'll never know for sure.
I have not worked directly with Mr. Zapf or Lois
DeCaro, although I am more familiar with Lois as the prior sponsor of this site and I will leave it at that.
That's not a diss just my basis for an opinion.
I've only met Mr. Quirk a couple of times and he seems like a nice person although I can't speak to his specific qualifications because I simply don't know him well enough. What I do know is that he was a excellent police
detective - a very tough job - and he seems to want to become more involved in
township service. That's a good thing but as you will read further on not in
itself the whole "ball of wax". As far as asking people to run against you, he's probably not the only one
and you could and should view that as a compliment. I already told you I believe you are more than qualified and have good support within the community, not to mention that this will be your 3rd campaign as an incumbent!
I've also told you that political alliances, whether real or perceived, can act
in your favor or against it. Ultimately it's up to you walk the line
between existing friendships and its obligations verse political reality.
The only way to do this is to be your own person and if the voters don't accept
that - well you know the rest.
As far as qualifications are concerned in regard to others that may decide to run for elected office, seek an appointment, or perhaps don't understand why they were not re-appointed all of the following applies:
Living in town for most or all of your life does not in itself qualify you for public office. There are plenty of examples of "lifers" that are simply not suited for public office and I'm sure that there are many more recent residents that are up to the task.
One cannot assume that the qualifications of one's profession will necessarily translate into effective leadership or ability on the public stage. The same can be said for intellect - the brightest people are seldom the best leaders.
You can't fixate on a
single issue because you will have to deal with too many other things going
on and if your primary approach is to a single constituency, you are likely
to fail.
Don't assume that you are entitled to sit on a committee or board because of your political alliances or previous support for a particular candidate. If you do, and that is the basis for your appointment you're on your own come the next election.
Don't exaggerate you
impact or accomplishments. People are smart enough to see through this
perhaps not immediately, but surely at some point.
Getting back to those that may
have been slighted as a result of the reorganization, they're grown-ups let them
deal with it.
As far as the previous
bet, I won that fair and square albeit by default. However, I will pony up
again and bet that
you will win reelection
this year!
The Environmental Commission member you speak of didn't just happen to resign, he was talked into resigning. Perhaps promises were made. In all of my years living in Hanover, I have never heard of such a thing happening before. Is this how the new administration (majority) is going to conduct business? Politics at its worst! They sure did throw Lois under the bus!
Regardless of the circumstances, it sounds like the person that is resigning made the choice. If they didn't want to resign they didn't have to. If they end up being offered a position on another board then so be it. We're back to the discretion of the committee issue which is their right and what really matters. That would also apply to what happened with Lois Decaro's seat.
“I envision…a passive recreation area and a community center that will encourage gatherings or meetings.”