With his son, Aydin, looking on, Jorge Torres embraces his wife, Lauren, after being sworn in as a police sergeant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A former chef became the newest sergeant on the Red Bank police force Wednesday night.
The promotion of Jorge Torres was one of several ceremonies that led the borough council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
Pearl Street Consignment and Custom Clothes owner Emily Natale working on a mural on the Monmouth Street side of her shop last week. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials plan to create a committee to formally review requests for murals and other forms of public art, something that hasn’t previously existed, Business Administrator Ziad Shehady said last week.
Runners and walkers, young and old, completed the 5-kilometer distance. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Much like the first, the second annual edition of the Red Bank Classic 5K once again ran under blue skies Saturday.
Organized by the Red Bank Business Alliance and the Red Family YMCA, the 3.1-mile event attracted more than 1,200 runners, walkers and a smattering of canines.
Were you in it, or do you know someone who was? See our photos below — and check out the guy who put on a great show for redbankgreen as he neared the finish line. Race results are here.
Runners warm up before last year’s inaugural race. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank Classic, which last year revived a downtown footrace tradition after a three-year absence, is set to run (and walk) its second edition Saturday.
Here’s what you need to know:
Councilman Michael Ballard, with borough CFO Peter O’Reilly in foreground. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Introduced two weeks ago without a word of comment by elected officials, the 2019 Red Bank budget is scheduled for discussion Wednesday night.
Also on the borough council’s workshop agenda: the resolution of a lawsuit, and a discussion about food trucks.
Rick Brandt during an interview in January. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Already under suspension by the volunteer fire department for improper use of photos in his campaign, the Republican challenger for mayor in Little Silver is in another flap over photos, this time with the school district.
Rick Brandt, who’s up against incumbent Mayor Bob Neff in the GOP primary next month, has also drawn the ire of the organization that manages the town’s most historic property.
Almost five months after his predecessor was hastily dumped, a new chief financial officer for the borough of Red Bank was slated to start work Monday.
Peter O’Reilly, right, who literally wrote the book on municipal finance, steps into the post after five years as Jersey City’s treasurer.
Rick Brandt on the scene of a June, 2017 condo fire in Little Silver. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Republican candidate for mayor in Little Silver is in hot water with the volunteer fire department in which he’s a member.
Rick Brandt, who’s challenging incumbent Mayor Bob Neff in the GOP primary, is under suspension by the department for improper use of imagery, redbankgreen has learned.
Mayor Pasquale Menna prepares to swear in new fire Chief Wayne Hartman, center, and deputies Scott Calabrese and Bobby Holiday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s government turned the calendar page to 2019 with a friction-free reorganization meeting Tuesday that kicked off the fourth term of Mayor Pasquale Menna and gave Democrats unfettered control of borough hall.
Here are some highlights:
CFO Eugenia Poulos at a council meeting in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Borough hall may have been closed for New Year’s Eve, but the Red Bank council had one, last-minute bit of business to take care of Monday.
After a brief closed-door meeting, the governing body voted, 4-1, to fire the chief financial officer, just hours before she would have attained tenure.
A grant seeking $821,000 for improvements to Broad Street is among the nearly three dozen applications pending, according to a report. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Six months after hiring a professional contractor to seek out grant funds, the Red Bank council is hopeful that a cash pump has been primed.
Business Administrator Ziad Shehady told the council last week that while no grants have yet been secured under the contract with Millennium Strategies, there is now “several million dollars” worth of potential funding “in the pipeline.”
Fair Haven voters went with familiar Republicans in Tuesday’s elections. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Incumbent Fair Haven Mayor Ben Lucarelli, who was unchallenged on the ballot, and Councilwoman Betsy Koch retained their seats in Tuesday night’s election.
They’ll be joined on the governing body in January by their two Republican running mates, former council member Jim Banahan and newcomer Jacquie Rice, according to unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk.
An incumbent and his running mate held off two challengers in Little Silver voting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Incumbent AJ McNally and Republican ticketmate Christian Smith scored clear victories over two Democratic candidates for Little Silver borough council Tuesday.
Concluding his third campaign in three years, Councilman Erik Anderson was elected Shrewsbury’s mayor Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Republican Councilman Erik Anderson outpolled his Democratic opponent in Shrewsbury’s race to succeed retiring Mayor Don Burden, according to results tallied by the Monmouth County Clerk Tuesday.
Likewise, two Republican incumbents held onto their council seats.
From left, council candidates Kate Triggiano, Hazim Yassin, Sue Viscomi, Michael Clancy and Allison Gregory at the West Side Community Group’s forum Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A management study that found widespread “dysfunction” in Red Bank’s government provided fodder for contenders at the annual Candidates’ Night hosted by the West Side Community Group Tuesday night.
In the case of Pearl Lee, the first Republican to challenge Mayor Pasquale Menna since 2006, it provided the spark for her to run, she said. For Menna, it’s a document he accepts “ownership” of. And all five council candidates alluded to it.
Regular users of Red Bank’s public parking facilities: here’s your chance to weigh in on what’s good about them, what’s not, and how to improve them.
Mike Whelan, center, and Mark Taylor, seen here on the night of their election to the Red Bank council in 2015, spearheaded the referendum effort. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank voters eager to eliminate partisanship from local elections and governance won’t get their wish this year.
A referendum initiative calling for non-partisan elections and a change to the form of local government lost steam over the summer and won’t be on November’s ballot. But its foremost advocates say they’re not giving up.
Instead of taking their usual places on the dais, the mayor and council members sat around a large conference table for the meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council’s first-ever workshop-only meeting proved to be a marathon of matters large and small Wednesday night.
Among the topics discussed at the three-and-a-half-hour session: ways to “deal with the issue” of vehicles parked indefinitely outside the home of an unspecified Bank Street resident, though it was widely understood who that was.
Seen here at a council meeting in April, Ken DeRoberts, left, and Joe Hartnett of Government Strategy Group managed borough operations on an interim basis earlier this year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The authors of a report that called for the creation of a redevelopment agency for downtown Red Bank appear to be on their way to getting a contract to make it happen.
Government Strategy Group would lead the way toward the creation of the agency, chief executive officer Ken DeRoberts said in a presentation at the borough council’s first-ever workshop-only meeting Wednesday night.
The workshop sessions will be held in the council chambers. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s local-government groupies and gadflies will have another municipal meeting to add to their calendars starting next month.
Biking in Red Bank —and possibly, Fair Haven and Little Silver — could get a boost under a push to bring a bike-sharing vendor to town. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials are exploring the possibility of allowing a bike-share vendor to offer its services in town, and inviting two neighboring towns to get in on the two-wheeled action, Business Administrator Ziad Shehady told the borough council last week.
Runners head down Branch Avenue in the 2015 edition of the George Sheehan Classic, which turned out to be the last. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Three years after the departure of a beloved road race, the new Red Bank Classic 5K sprang to life under cloudless skies Saturday.
The debut running of the race, organized by the Red Bank Business Alliance, attracted more than 1,000 runners, eclipsing the expectations, said RBBA member Angie Courtney.
Were you there, or do you know someone who was? Look for them in redbankgreen‘s photos below. Race results are here.
Runners head down Branch Avenue in the 2015 edition of the George Sheehan Classic, which turned out to be the last. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
After a three-year rest, Red Bank is set to again lace up its running shoes Saturday with the debut of Red Bank Classic, organizers said.
Here’s what you need to know:
A management review found that “at least 12” full-time positions could be eliminated from borough government. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Citing numerous examples of “dysfunctionality,” an unsparing review of Red Bank’s management recommends widespread overhauls, from a new form of government to improved courtroom security.
The Management Enhancement Report, commissioned last October and posted on the borough website Friday, includes insider comments highly critical of the way things work, or don’t work, at borough hall.
By JOHN T. WARD
Only eleven percent of Monmouth County’s registered voters participated in Tuesday’s Democratic and Republic primaries, with surprise outcomes hard to find on the Greater Red Bank Green.