Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

MUNICOURT MERGER PLAN GAINS A BACKER

hot-topic rightBy MOLLY MULSHINE

A proposal to establish a regional municipal court in the Red Bank area has some early momentum, says Mayor Pasquale Menna.

Menna recently invited his counterparts in Fair Haven, Little Silver, Rumson and Shrewsbury to consider merging their court systems to cut costs. One town’s elected officials have reacted favorably to the plan, though Menna wouldn’t say which one.

“The plan has been favorably reviewed by one municipality and partially reviewed by another,” Menna said at Wednesday’s council meeting. “The naysayers who said this couldn’t happen will be surprised.”

The municipality responded quickly and “very affirmatively,” Menna said. “It’s really hot. It’s exciting.”

Red Bank, however, is not waiting for other towns’ approval to start examining the plan’s feasibility, Menna said. He anticipates the borough will hold a focus meeting to nail down more firm information, and then make a public announcement as to the feedback from other towns.

Hearing back from the other town was “a very good start,” he said, but declined to comment further on plans.

Menna first unveiled the plan at the September 28 council meeting. The new regional court would operate with one judge, one prosecutor, one public defender, one court administrator and one physical court space, he said. This can be more cost-effective than a shared service agreement, in which towns often use their own staff members rather than sharing with other boroughs.

The mayor said he was following the lead of Hazlet, Matawan and Keyport, which hope to abolish their individual courts and launch a regional court starting January 1. Menna is the borough attorney in Matawan.

The court’s location has yet to be determined, although Menna said the physical space “makes no difference in this day and age,” and would probably be determined by a comparison of administrative costs in prospective locations.

The court could be called the Two Rivers Municipal Court, Menna said.

“No town would take precedence,” he said in September. “Nobody takes the identity. We have to start thinking that there are no great walls of China between our respective towns.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...