The Manalapan Township Committee is playing politics with the future of our community, and it is time for us to wake up and pay attention.
We tend to focus only on issues that directly affect our lives; that is human nature. Busy schedules do not allow us the benefit to look into every issue that happens in the township. The committee has taken advantage of this and made changes that will have a profound impact on our lives, and not enough people are aware of it.
When the Route 33 regional mega center became a heated issue, not enough people realized that the additional traffic would bring more congestion than our roads will support. Although those who were involved were equally divided, the committee voted to turn Route 33 into another Route 18 or Route 9. When the congestion starts, it will be too late to change the decision.
When the learning center wanted to build their center in the middle of a residential area on Pine Brook Road, more than 70 families opposed the construction. Their concerns were safety, security and congestion in their neighborhood. Again it was a minor issue for most of the residents of the township, and the committee decides to vote against the majority.
We can only hope that the additional traffic that will be coming from all over the county will not cause a fatality.
Now the committee is trying to change how we live our lives. A subcommittee has been trying to draft a home-office ordinance since July and they have been talking about it since February. Everyone on the subcommittee agrees that a home office/home business should be allowed. The opposition comes from a few members who do not want businesses with client visits. The reason: There is no way to control or manage the additional traffic that can come into the township.
Allowing three cars a day to visit a home business could generate over 25,000 cars a day, 125,000 a week. Probable, no; possible, yes. That is the problem. There is no way to control the situation.
I believe the committee has delayed discussion because they do not want the issue exposed before the elections. They have put off numerous meetings; the next is scheduled for Nov. 1, too late to make it public for the elections. The reason: Some people elected to the committee have a personal agenda. We need to start asking them why.
No one elected the committee members to turn our residential community into a new New York where people live above their stores and traffic is unmanageable. What can we do?
Take this election seriously. Do not elect another Democrat to the committee. Giving them a 5-0 majority will change this township forever. A single Republican can add a voice of opposition when serious issues need to be discussed openly.
I know both candidates running for the seat. They are both fine people and have served the community well over the years. This has little to do with them and everything to do with abuse of power.
Steve McEnery
Manalapan

