Hearing on U.F. master plan slated for Tuesday
Officials to limit public comment time based on size of the crowd
By jane meggitt
Staff Writer
The number of people attending the Upper Freehold master plan hearing Tuesday will determine the length of time each person is permitted to speak, according to Planning Board officials.
Under current rules, those wishing to address the Planning Board are allowed five minutes each. Chairman Richard Stern asked members if they wanted to modify this criteria for the next meeting, which will be the first actual hearing on the master plan. Public hearings held over the past year addressed the re-examination of the master plan.
Deputy Mayor William Miscoski commented, "I’ve been involved with four meetings with Matrix [in Washington Township]. They’ve kept it to three minutes, and it works perfectly. Otherwise, it gets very repetitive. Washington Township did an excellent job. People are more prepared. They write it down, say it, they’re done."
Board member Dianne Kelly said, "I’m not convinced we have to change from five minutes to three. We’ve heard from a lot of different people in town. Most people seem to come in well under five minutes." Miscoski then suggested the time limit be three minutes, but left to the discretion of the chair if he wanted to allow people to go longer.
Resident Joe Mauer, who attended some of the Matrix meetings, echoed Miscoski’s view that it was an effective way to run a public hearing. He pointed out that, as hearings continued, new participants were allowed to speak before those who had spoken at previous meetings. All speakers had to sign in before they could be heard.
Another resident, Randall Bean, asked why the public hearings couldn’t be carried over so everyone could speak. He was told that meetings would be continued until all members of the public were heard.
Board member Ivan Olinsky asked that the Sept. 24 meeting have a definite ending time, so it would not go on into the wee hours of the morning, and the board decided they would finish at 11 p.m.
Concerning those who had previously addressed a specific issue, Miscoski said, "In Washington Township, you weren’t allowed to speak [again] if [you were saying] the same thing."
Planning Board Attorney Frank Armenante, considering the issue of five minutes versus three minutes, observed, "The question is, how big is the crowd? If it’s a hundred people, you’re right [to go to three minutes]. If it’s twenty people, that’s not appropriate." It was decided that the turn-out would dictate the time allowed.