The Arnone Report: Infrastructure Updates

Freeholder Tom Arnone

By Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone

What an incredible fall season we have experienced thus far. The weather has been extremely kind, allowing us to enjoy the amazing landscapes Monmouth County has to offer. I hope that you attended some of the fall events and festivals held in our beautiful county parks and at our beaches, and also those coordinated in your hometowns. The leaves have changed and that means after leaf collection is completed, the county will begin to prep for the upcoming winter season. We are already collecting salt and materials to safeguard our over 1000 miles of roadways when the inclement weather presents itself. The county will be ready as always.

In the meantime, you may have noticed our red trucks mobilized throughout the county as the Public Works and Engineering staff have been busy the past few months, working hard to enhance the infrastructure and efficiency of our roadways, bridge and culvert structures, traffic signals and natural resources.

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The Arnone Report: History made in Monmouth and $45 million in infrastructure grants

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

NHL Star Trevor VanRiemsdyk, a CBA graduate, brought the Stanley Club to Middletown on July 30th

What an exciting few weeks for Monmouth County! We are making history and people around the region are taking notice. The weather has been incredible – which means our beaches, restaurants and attractions are packed and in turn, economic rewards for the community.

We even got a visit from the Stanley Cup. Trevor VanRiemsdyk, a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks and Middletown native, attended a ceremony in his honor at Middletown Arts Center on July 30. Hundreds of fans from the area turned out for this exciting event, where Mayor Stephanie Murray awarded Trevor a key to the city, and myself, along with my fellow Freeholders, dedicated the day in his honor, marking Thursday, July 30, 2015, as Trevor VanRiemsdyk Day.

And let’s not forget history making at the William Haskell Invitational.  With a record setting crowd at Monmouth Racetrack, nearly 61,000 people came out to see triple crown winner, American Pharaoh.  Officials said that is was the largest crowd in the 145-year-old racetrack’s history, with the previous single day attendance record, 53,638, set at the Haskell in 2013. We can now say that Monmouth Park, rich in its own traditions, is part of national horse racing history as well.

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The Arnone Report

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

It’s been a long winter, but we are rounding the corner and spring is in our sight. The weather this week is finally giving us the big thaw that we need to get out from under these huge snow piles.

As the snow melts, and after weeks of plowing and salting County roads, Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering crews have transitioned over to the next phase of operation: pothole repair on County Roads. Residents can report a pothole on a County road by calling the Monmouth County Highway Division of the Department of Public Works and Engineering at 732-431-6550.  If you come across a pothole on a State highway, you should report it to the NJ DOT at their website. Potholes on local roads should be reported to the appropriate local municipality. Please do not use 911 to report a pothole, as the 911 service needs to be used for emergencies.

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Report your potholes

The Monmouth County Highway Division is asking residents to report potholes on County roads by calling 732-431-6550.  County roads have pentagon shaped blue signs with gold letters.

The division is transitioning from plowing and salting roads to permanently repairing potholes that occurred over the course of the winter.

Monmouth County Public Works Highway crews repair potholes on County roads.

“There are nine Highway Division crews going out on the County roads every day to look for and repair potholes,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. “The Highway crews are also responding to reports of potholes from police departments and residents that come in all hours of the day and night.”

Arnone said that the potholes are filled with recycled asphalt from other county road projects and other potholes, producing a cost savings for Monmouth County property tax payers.

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The Arnone Report: Shared Services Are Keeping Monmouth County Safe And Affordable

By Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arone

Freeholder Tom Arone

Baby…it’s cold outside! We’ve experienced near record lows this year. With these freezing cold temperatures comes additional problems besides just trying to stay warm – the low temperatures in combination with precipitation and other weather conditions causes havoc on our roads. The County Public Works Department has been very busy the past few months, ensuring that county roads are safe to travel on by pre-treating and plowing on a consistent schedule and staying ahead of the accumulation. By pre-treating our roads, the snow and ice begin to melt as soon they hit the asphalt and also makes plowing easier and much more efficient.

In addition to keeping the County roads safe, our Public Works Department has been helping municipalities throughout our county as well through our County Shared Services program.  We have recorded cost savings across several municipalities by providing plowing services as well as access to the pre-treatment solution. There are many outstanding projects currently in the upstart stages in the Shared Services arena.

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The Arnone Report

Progess in Tourism, Share Services, Infrastructure and Economic Development

By Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

The Belmar Seafood Festival was a huge success and the County enjoyed having the opportunity to show its presence over the three day weekend. It was estimated that crowds exceeded 150,000 over the three day weekend and as liaison to the Department of Tourism, I was happy to have had the opportunity to speak with so many individuals. On July 4^th, Monmouth County Public Information and Tourism will have a booth at Oceanfest on the boardwalk in Long Branch. The booth will be open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. All are encouraged to attend and join in the celebration that will end at 10 p.m. with an evening of spectacular fireworks.

The most recent meeting of The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders was hosted and held in Asbury Park. Monmouth County’s Department of Public Works and Engineering has been performing vehicle preventative maintenance and repairs for Asbury Park’s fire trucks and emergency vehicles at a cost savings of 40% to the City’s taxpayers. While the Division of Highway has been assisting the local municipalities with sediment removal projects to enhance water quality and reduce flooding.

Additionally, as the Freeholder representative to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and Freeholder Liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering, I am pleased to report that in the next few weeks, the County expects to receive a federal grant for $10.5 million for the reconstruction of Bridge O-10 on Sunset Avenue over Deal Lake between the City of Asbury Park and the Township of Ocean.

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MID-YEAR PROGRESS UPDATE – MONMOUTH COUNTY NEW SHARED SERVICES INITIATIVES

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

By Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

Monmouth County continues to grow in its leadership role in the field of shared services. We have been successful in streamlining operations and centralized administration in an effort to reduce the burden on Monmouth County taxpayers.

            To demonstrate our dedication to this effort, we created a central office of shared services to centralize and standardize programs, increase efficiencies in administration and improve business processes. These efforts have played a strong role in eliminating redundancy and waste throughout the public sector allowing for the most beneficial and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

            We have successfully built new partnerships with 53 municipalities and several counties throughout the state resulting in one of the most far reaching and highly developed shared services programs in the nation culminating in over 300 shared services agreements, millions in estimated savings to taxpayers and over $10.1 Million in new recurring revenue streams thus far. We now are expanding our shared services partnerships with many school boards as well. Monmouth County citizens can see three areas of savings and increased efficiencies; at the municipal, county and now at the school board level.

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Monmouth County Police Academy Update: Becoming the best in New Jersey

By Monmouth County Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone

            Under the direction of the current liaison to The Monmouth County Police Academy, Freeholder Lillian Burry along with the help of the newly appointed Director of The Monmouth County Police Academy David Morris and me who currently serves on the Executive Board, The Monmouth County Police Academy is flourishing with numerous activities. Currently the following recruit classes are in session: Basic Course for Police Officers – 84^th Class has a class size of 68; Special Law Enforcement Officer Class II 39^th Class for part time officers. currently has a class size of 64; Park Rangers Recruit Class has 16 officers – 4 from Burlington County and 12 from Monmouth County. As of this writing there are 148 law enforcement recruits being trained at this Academy. These are unprecedented numbers and have required the assistance from various law enforcement entities to ensure quality training. Certainly this has been a logistical challenge, but it has created true partnerships and outstanding commitments by so many.

            Upcoming additional scheduled recruit training classes are Special Law Enforcement Officer Class, Corrections Officers Basic Recruit Class and School Resource Recruit Class. The latter is a one week course held to train officers who work within the various school systems.

            Along with the recruit training classes, the Academy hosts numerous in-service classes for the veteran law enforcement officers. The Academy also continuously updates new training and promotes this through the use of its website, www.monmuothcountypoliceacademy.com and FACEBOOK membership. The Academy is pleased to have representatives from International, Federal, State, County and local law enforcement agencies provide quality training to our constituent base.

            Additionally, The Academy also has private outside vendors who provide valuable public safety training. For example, Meridian Health trains their security personnel here during the summer months. The Joint Insurance Companies provide safety training to veteran police officers.

            The activity levels at the Academy have increased significantly. Compared to 2010 attendance and enrollment are up and revenues have more than doubled. The Board of Chosen Freeholders are committed to continuing to make improvements to the programs being offered at The Monmouth County Police Academy and to the building as well. The Board’s ultimate goal is to see that the Academy becomes the best in the state, and as it appears The Monmouth County Police Academy is well on its way.

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Monmouth County Freeholders Join “Jersey Shore Open” Campaign

By Thomas A. Arnone

Super storm Sandy and the following nor’easter may have dealt us quite a blow, but I am pleased to report that the county is actively working to get our businesses up and running as we move toward the next year and the next tourism season.

Through a coordinated effort, we are encouraging visitors to return to Monmouth County’s beaches, parks, historic sites, cultural attractions and shopping venues.

We are doing this by actively participating in the “Jersey Shore OPEN” campaign. This is a grass roots effort to encourage businesses to display a specially created “Jersey Shore OPEN” sign for Monmouth County. This regional approach will help further our many public relations efforts to spread the word that Monmouth County is recovering and open for business.

I encourage your business to join this campaign. By displaying this sign, your local business can clearly show that you are open and supportive of other Monmouth County tourism efforts. You can download the sign from the county website at www.tourism.visitmonmouth.com. The “Jersey Shore OPEN” campaign is a joint program with Ocean County Tourism and the Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Tourism is important because as an industry it supports thousands of jobs and typically generates nearly $2 billion in business activity for the county. We are confident that Monmouth County will return to prominence as one of the best family vacation spots in the state.

I will convene a roundtable meeting with mayors from various municipalities in January. We will address the 2013 tourism season and offer the help and assistance of the county’s tourism division. Our local leaders will be of great assistance as we focus and target the county’s 2013 promotional program.

The county’s 2013 tourism promotion activities will include creating focused radio, print and internet promotion on recovery efforts and business and attraction reopening. We are also expanding social media efforts to promote and engage visitors and residents. Keep in mind that we will also distribute the 2013 Visit Monmouth Travel Guide  that is the cornerstone of the county’s efforts to promote Monmouth County as a tourism destination.

Monmouth County will also participating in targeted, key travel shows such as the Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, the Atlantic City Boat Show and the Montreal Hunting and Camping Show. These travel shows are uniquely suited to the visitors who enjoy vacationing at the Jersey Shore.

Remember, the county tourism division is here for you. If you have out of town visitors, call 732-431-7310 and they will put together a packet of information to help you entertain your guests. Likewise, if you have a business that relies on tourism, the office can help you connect with many ways to reach visitors. Together we will strengthen our economic vitality and restore the wonderful quality of life that Monmouth County enjoys.

Happy Holidays and get ready for a great 2013.

• Thomas A. Arnone is Freeholder Deputy Director Monmouth County and Liaison to the Department of Public Information and Tourism

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