Meeting fails to deliver

BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH — Residents who attended the council’s special workshop meeting on redevelopment Monday night got less than they expected, a lot less.

The meeting, which was publicized as a public meeting on redevelopment, took place in the conference room in city hall on Broadway.

Just two items were on the agenda; discussion of issues related to redevelopment and the adoption of a resolution authorizing the council to go into executive session.

“I am sorry if you misunderstood,” Council President John Zambrano said after the council voted to go into executive session just minutes after the meeting began.

“We do not have a redevelopment update tonight.”

The brevity of the session upset some attendees.

One resident stood up and said, “Do not apologize, you have failed us.”

The workshop meeting was the second the council has held with the announced purpose of keeping the public informed about redevelopment.

The council decided on the workshop format because the mayor and council members felt redevelopment issues and were taking up an inordinate amount of time at regular council meetings.

The council announced special workshop meetings would be held to provide redevelopment updates, but the format does not allow for public comment.

“We have so much business that we need the extra meetings,” Mayor Adam Schneider said in an interview before the meeting.

“Most of the meetings will be in executive session.”

The first meeting was held Jan. 13 and included a slide presentation on redevelopment projects in the six redevelopment zones in the city.

Immediately after that presentation, the council voted to go into executive session and Zambrano noted at the time that public participation was not permitted at the special workshop meetings.

On Monday, Harold Bobrow, who resides on Ocean Boulevard in the Beachfront South redevelopment zone, said he traveled an hour to attend the meeting to hear any updates for the redevelopment plans in his neighborhood.

When there was no update he said the public notice announcing the meeting was misleading.