BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD — Spring may be in the air, but several residents still need some of winter’s problems resolved.
Residents at the March 17 Township Committee meeting complained about snowplows hitting mailboxes and other issues that arose during recent winter snowstorms.
Anthony Muscente lives in the Lynwood Estates development off Old York Road. He told the committee that during the last storm, snowplows knocked down his mailbox, as well as his daughter’s brand-new basketball court.
Muscente said he has lived in the township for six years, but has never had complaints about snow removal.
“But this year, it’s been a problem,” he said.
According to Muscente, out of 94 houses in his subdivision, about 20 residents had their mailboxes knocked down during plowing, and four or five mailboxes could not be salvaged.
“It’s not acceptable,” Muscente said. “This is not a country road. It’s a modern development, six years old, with curbs and 36-foot [roads].
“There is no reason I can fathom that we are having this amount of damage in our community,” he said.
Neither his mailbox nor the basketball court extended over the curb, according to Muscente.
“There’s something in the plow or vehicle extending and hitting,” he said.
Muscente, an attorney, said he was particularly concerned with the township’s response to his report of the incident.
Although he said the township staff was “tremendous” to him because they realized he was upset, Muscente said employees told him the township wasn’t liable for the damage under the Tort Claims Act and the township’s municipal code.
Muscente said the basketball court, a Christmas present, cost $300 and had taken him most of a day to put up. According to Muscente, his 11-year-old daughter was “heartbroken” over the loss of the court.
“You’re basically telling me I have to do something legal,” he said, “to get compensation. I don’t want to wait a month. I want my daughter to be able to play basketball.”
Muscente said the snowplow’s operator should have “done the reputable thing” and owned up to the damage. Muscente said he does not want to have to file for information under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), or for compensation under the Tort Claims Act.
Muscente said if the township tells its employees that they have blanket tort claim immunity, they may feel they don’t have to operate with a level of care when executing their jobs.
As an attorney, Muscente said the township would not have exception under the state’s motor vehicle code.
Sue Kozel, of Jonathan Holmes Road, also complained about her mailbox getting knocked down during a recent snowstorm. She felt the township had not addressed her problem.
Township Clerk Barbara Bascom said she would meet with the Township Committee liaison to the Department of Public Works (DPW) and the DPW foreman to discuss the matter.
Deputy Mayor William Miscoski said the issue had been dealt with extensively over the past few days and that he was sure an agreement could be worked out without having to go to court.