Sue Viscomi, right, with Hazim Yassin and Kate Triggiano at borough hall in April, 2018. All three ran for council that year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank board of ed member faced sharp criticism Thursday for a purported racist rendition of the borough business administrator’s name the night before.
But Sue Viscomi vehemently denied referring to Ziad Shehady as “Mr. Jihad.”
Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center of bottom row, prevailed on a resolution regarding the Redevelopment Agency. (Zoom screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sarcasm and insults flew Wednesday night as the Red Bank council yet again clashed over the future of the mothballed Senior Center.
This time, residents provided much of the ire. Read More
David Huber, center top, began what he said would be his last year as redevelopment agency chairman. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents pressed the borough’s Redevelopment Agency to save the Shrewsbury Avenue Senior Center Tuesday.
Commissioner Megan Massey pressed agency manager Ken DeRoberts on differences in prices quoted for a contract. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s new Redevelopment Agency began doling out work to professionals Tueday, and one member immediately tapped the brakes on spending.
At its monthly meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Megan Massey signaled a reluctance to approve a contract that had been recommended by the agency’s manager.
Wilson Beebe recommended some tweaks to the agency’s statement of goals and objectives. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Still taking small steps, Red Bank’s new Redevelopment Agency advanced on its goal of giving municipal properties some long-overdue attention Tuesday.
In a 20-minute meeting, agency members agreed to begin the process of assessing the condition of borough real estate holdings.
Among the ideas the committee may take up: the possible sale of borough hall, above, at 90 Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A new municipal body with the potential to exert powerful influence on the future of Red Bank quietly took to the stage Tuesday.
Not quite the hottest ticket in town, the late-afternoon session of the new Redevelopment Agency drew an audience of three: two advisory committee members, who left early, and a reporter. But the ideas being floated, including the possible sale of borough hall, could soon move to the spotlight.
Government consultant Ken DeRoberts will manage the agency. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council approved two of its own members and five other residents to constitute a new borough redevelopment agency Wednesday night.
The council is looking for Green Acres grants to make improvements to Riverside Gardens Park, above, and Bellhaven Natural Area, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Appointments to a new redevelopment agency and grants for improvements to two parks highlight a relatively quiet lineup for the Red Bank council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
Ken DeRoberts, who served as interim borough administrator earlier this year, would oversee redevelopment issues under the proposed contract. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[UPDATE: See clarification below]
By JOHN T. WARD
A consulting firm that earlier this year identified the absence of a redevelopment agency as a competitive problem for Red Bank is expected to be given the job of overseeing redevelopment Wednesday night.
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.
Business Administrator Ziad Shehady in front of the large-screen monitor he uses in staff meetings to track projects. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Now that a scathing review of municipal operations has landed on their desks, what will Red Bank’s leaders do with it?
It won’t go into a drawer to be forgotten, says the newly hired official charged with implementing most of its recommendations. In fact, he says, change is already underway.
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.
Ziad Andrew Shehady reading to young students in Springfield last month. (Photo courtesy of Ziad Andrew Shehady. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council approved the hiring Wednesday night of a new borough administrator, giving the town’s most powerful unelected job to an Army veteran who became the mayor of a Union County town at the age of 25.
And his salary will be triple that of his predecessor.