Monday, March 31—NEW! Adult Learner “Encore Center” Info Session

Brookdale Community College is the recipient of a $15,000 two year grant from The Plus 50 Encore Completion Program to assist adults
age 50 and older complete a degree or certificate programs in healthcare and social services.

Tonight beginning at 6PM is your chance to learn about the new
“Encore Center”for the Adult Learner at Brookdale.
The Encore Center will streamline the process for returning adults
looking to pursue new careers in Healthcare and Social Sciences.
There will be a brief presentation about the services available and an opportunity to meet with College representatives from all the supporting services including counseling, continuing education, financial aid and Veterans.

Held in the Warner Student Life Center on the campus of Brookdale Community College located at 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft
in Twin Lights Room I & II
Please Click Here to Register

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Sunday, March 30–Music on a Sunday Afternoon

Today, you have three marvelous choices to enjoy
some refreshing music on this on and off rainy afternoon.

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Monmouth County retains rare AAA credit rating, saves taxpayers millions

Monmouth County retains rare AAA credit rating, saves taxpayers millions (via NJ.com)

FREEHOLD BOROUGH – Monmouth County’s fiscal strength means more than flat tax levies and trim budgets – it also directly translates into big savings for taxpayers and municipalities. The county received the highest possible credit rating for 2014…

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The Arnone Report

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

The Monmouth County “Made in Monmouth” Expo is rapidly approaching. It is an annual event showcasing products exclusively produced in Monmouth County. “Made in Monmouth” is a free event for both vendors and visitors; its purpose is to encourage people to shop local. To date 142 vendors are confirmed registered. The products sold at this event, made right here in the county are creative and nothing less than amazing. I am also happy to report that we are partnering with the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean counties this year to conduct a food drive at the event. We are asking our vendors as well as people that are attending to bring a donation of canned or dried food for the Food Bank. The third annual “Made in Monmouth” is Saturday, April 12, 2014 at the MAC Building at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. For more information, please call 732-431-7470.

On March 27, 2014, Verizon recognized the student team from Biotechnology High School, Freehold, one of Monmouth County’s premier high schools, for their achievement of Best in State, Best in Region and National Best Educational Application Concept status in the 2013 Verizon Application Challenge. It was an honor for me to be present at the recent ceremony as the student team received this recognition. The Board of Chosen Freeholders is extremely proud of the students at Biotechnology H.S. on this accomplishment and commends their efforts in achieving such high accolades.

On behalf of The Board of Chosen Freeholders and as liaison to the Department of Shared Services, I recently hosted and participated in a meeting at the Monmouth County Connection in Neptune to assist Middletown in their exploration of creating an animal shelter to service Monmouth County municipalities. Many municipalities are facing serious capacity and public health issues in this area as well as heavy annual increases in service costs which are greatly reducing their ability to meet other service needs in the community. Middletown contacted the county to assist in bringing together as many towns as possible to discuss this issue, engage the towns for their ideas and input and strategize on how to address these common issues together. The meeting went extremely well and the towns that attended were very appreciative of both Middletown’s and the County’s efforts. There was very high interest in moving forward and approximately 30 towns expressed interest in our initial outreach.

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Meanwhile at the Monmouth Democratic Convention….

….there were no surprises out of the IBEW Local 400 Union Hall in Wall this morning.

Senator Cory Booker was endorsed for the nomination to seek his first full term in the U.S. Senate.

Congressman Frank Pallone was nominated for his 14th term in the House of Representatives.

In the 4th congressional district, criminal defense attorney Ruben Scolavino has agreed to take another one for the Democratic team.  Scolavino lost to Sheriff Shaun Golden, 64%-36% last year.  He will likely face a worse fate against Congressman Chris Smith who running for his 18th term.  Scolavino is probably angling for a Judgeship.

For Monmouth County Freeholder, Larry Luttrell, a Holmdel attorney who came in last against Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso in 2013, hopes to do better this year against Freeholder Director Lillian Burry and Deputy Director Gary Rich who were renominated by the Monmouth GOP this morning.  Joining Luttrell on the County Democratic ticket for freeholder is Joe Grillo of Asbury Park.  Grillo is making his first run at elected office.  He is the municipal chairman of the Asbury Park Democrats, the former executive director of the Monmouth Dems, and works for his family’s tile business.

CD-4 Candidate Ruben Scolavino, Larry Luttrell, Senator Cory Booker, Joe Grillo, Congressman Frank Pallone, NJ Democratic Chairman John Currie and Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal. Photo via Pallone’s facebook page.

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The Arnone Report

By Tom Arnone, Monmouth County Freeholder

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

We continue to promote small businesses within Monmouth County. The Façade Improvement Program initiative not only took off but was a huge success for many local businesses. As liaison to the department of Economic Development, and on behalf of the entire Board of Chosen Freeholders, I had the pleasure of presenting another façade improvement grant to the owners of the Freehold Borough Subway this week. They used the funds to put gooseneck lighting over their sign on Main Street in Freehold.  As of this writing, all funds in the Façade Improvement program have been awarded. We are encouraging businesses to submit applications for our waiting list. If the businesses that have been approved decide not to move forward with the grant, we will take the next business off the waiting list.

The second Grow Monmouth Roundtable took place this past week in Hazlet. We had a large number of businesses attend and the discussion was helpful to the municipality, county and the businesses. I want to thank the governing body of Hazlet for partnering with us on this meeting. Our next roundtable is scheduled to be held in Manalapan on March 19^th.

Additionally, on March 31^st, as liaison to the Department of Tourism, I will be meeting with the mayors and tourism leaders of our coastal communities who are members of the Monmouth County Tourism Advisory Group. The group will discuss tourism promotion and plans for the upcoming season. The meeting is scheduled to take place at the County Connection in Neptune.

Lastly, after further study and investigation it has recently been determined that Shark River Park is no longer an economically viable option to be a temporary Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) for drying the Shark River’s dredge materials. The New Jersey Department of Transportation conducted a preliminary internal engineering and fiscal opinion of probable costs (OPC) of the potential project. The results of the OPC demonstrate the construction of the CDF at Shark River Park and the dredging and placement of approximately 100,000 cubic yards of material from Shark River far exceeds the State’s monetary allotment for the project. Consequently, the use of Shark River Park as a temporary CDF is not economically feasible. Although this new development is unfortunate, we will continue to work with all interested parties to dredge the Shark River and ensure its survival as a regional source for recreational activity, economic growth and ecological attraction.

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Hurricane Sandy victims make do in trailers as they wait to rebuild

Hurricane Sandy victims make do in trailers as they wait to rebuild (via NJ.com)

Tina Napalo lived in a bungalow-style house on Fourth Street in Union Beach for more than 20 years. “I didn’t have everything,” said the 40-year-old mother of four, but, “it took me a long time to get what I had.” Then Hurricane Sandy hit.…

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Monmouth Democrats Are Off And Running

Monmouth GOP has its pants on the ground

Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo. Photo via facebook

Their nominating convention is not until March 22 at the IBEW Local 400 union hall in Wall Township, but Monmouth County Democratic freeholder candidates Larry Luttrell and Joe Grillo are off and running full speed ahead.

Luttrell, the Holmdel attorney who came in last against Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso, as well as his running mate Brian Froelich, after being endorsed by the Asbury Park Press last year, announced he was running again almost immediately after his sad showing.

Grillo is the former Executive Director of the Monmouth Democrats and the municipal chairman of the Asbury Park Democrats. Like Luttrell, he has never held elected office. Grillo was briefly a candidate for the Asbury Park City Council last year, withdrawing from the race prior to the filing deadline. Since leaving his position as ED of the Monmouth Dems, Grillo has worked for his family’s tile company in Howell.

Grillo stepped up his game over the weekend with a fundraising email blast that announced his candidacy.  He raised $6,200 online through Sunday. A Democrat who does not want to be known for talking to a Republican leaning site told MMM that Grillo has raised over $20,000 for his campaign including checks collected offline. His stated goal is to raise $50,000 by the June 3rd primary.

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The Arnone Report

By Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

As reported last week, The Board of Chosen Freeholders have begun pairing up with the local municipalities and conducting Business Roundtables as a means of helping small businesses promote themselves within Monmouth County. As liaison to the Department of Economic Development, I attended the first of these roundtables which took place in the Borough of Matawan. I partnered with Matawan Mayor Paul Buccellato to host the first Grow Monmouth Business Roundtable event. The department of economic development identified and invited businesses from Matawan to join us to discuss what makes doing business in Matawan great and what can be improved. The mayor and I were joined by Assemblyman Rob Clifton and Senator Sam Thompson. I am very pleased to report that 35 people were in attendance representing some 27 businesses. In the next couple of weeks we will be hosting roundtables in the Township of Hazlet and also in the Borough of Manalapan.

In keeping with promoting small businesses within MonmouthCounty, our third annual Made in Monmouth event has been scheduled for Saturday, April 12^th. We are again partnering with MonmouthUniversity for the event. We encourage all businesses that make a consumer product in the county to show and sell their products, free of charge, at the event. Made in Monmouth is open to the public free of charge. We invite everyone to attend and to take advantage of the opportunity to buy the multitude of great products that will be available.

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St. Patrick’s Day parade provides Belmar with off-season boost

St. Patrick’s Day parade provides Belmar with off-season boost (via NJ.com)

  St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Belmar 41st St. Patrick’s Day Parade held in Belmar Though the less-than-stellar weather today may have tamped down turnout for Belmar’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, the annual event still provided a welcome bump to businesses…

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