EDITORIAL:Put children before politics in rec squabble

We’re tired of all the fighting.

By:
   We’re really tired of all the fighting going on between local government officials in Mansfield Township over the township’s Recreation Committee, but we imagine it must be worse on the residents.
   At its Feb. 26 meeting the Township Committee was expected to consider on second reading an ordinance that would increase the Recreation Committee’s membership from 13 to 21 people.
   The decision to increase the membership came as a "compromise" because seven members and former director Ray Stupienski, also a Township Committee member, were not re-appointed to the Recreation Committee at the Township Committee’s reorganization meeting on Jan. 1.
   Because of the possible increase by eight people in Recreation Committee membership, those who were not re-appointed have another chance to be selected by members of the Township Committee, if the majority of the five-member committee votes them in.
   There are residents that want Deputy Mayor Patrick DeLorenzo to step down as director of the Recreation Committee. Some say he places his objectives above the interests of the program.
   Others say Mr. Stupienski, the Recreation Committee’s former director, has had a monopoly on the program.
   Mr. DeLorenzo and Mr. Stupienski aren’t exactly friendly with one another. Mr. DeLorenzo said if Mr. Stupienski was "a real man," he would either give up his chairmanship of the Northern Burlington Instructional Athletic Association or step down from the Township Committee.
   And Mr. Stupienski has said that once the new members of the Recreation Committee became aware of the time and work involved in the program, some began to rethink their participation.
   The Recreation Committee handles softball, baseball, basketball and soccer as well as providing funding for the Junior Greyhound football team and cheerleading squad. Approximately 350 youths, ranging from 4 to 18, participate.
   Last year, the township appropriated $8,000 to the Recreation Committee for salary and wages and $29,150 for the program itself for items such as equipment. This year, the same amount — $8,000 – is being appropriated for salary and wages and $28,900 will be given to the program.
   It’s obviously not the money that attracts people to the Recreation Committee. It is the desire to make a difference in kids’ lives. And that’s currently up for debate.
   Can the unrest concerning the future of the Recreation Committee be resolved by, say, the Township Committee? We doubt it. Mayor Art Puglia, Mr. DeLorenzo and Charles Schubert — three-fifths of the committee — are Republicans and seem to vote along party lines. That leaves Mr. Stupienski, an independent, and Kelly Shea, a Democrat, who try to stick together as an opposing force.
   We would like to see some sort of personal and professional resolution from members of the Township Committee, but quite frankly, we can’t see how that will happen. And we can’t see, with a Republican majority on the Township Committee, that anyone the Republicans don’t like will be added to the Recreation Committee if it expands to 21 members.
   With everyone thinking they are right, and no one budging an inch, nothing can be accomplished. Maybe cooperation between all the members of the committee, and not just along party lines, can lead to a reasonable solution.