Long-term committee members ready to retire

By: Purvi Desai
   PLUMSTED — Two Township Committee membersare leaving at the end of next month.
   They are Joe Pyrzywara, 61, and Bonnie Quesnel, 58, who have served on the Township Committee for 13 years and 16 years, respectively. Each of them will end their terms when they expire at the end of December.
   Mr. Pyrzywara, who moved to Plumsted in 1973, said on Monday that he is retiring and moving to North Carolina as soon as his local home is sold. Ms. Quesnel’s decision to leave the Township Committee is so that she can spend more time with family.
   "I’ve been involved in the town for 31 years," she said. "I want to spend some time with my husband and children and grandchildren."
   Both of these long-serving committee members will be replaced by Michael McCue and Eric Sorchik, fellow Republicans who won the two empty committee seats in the November General Election, in early January.
   Mr. Pyrzywara said the Township Committee was interested in recruiting replacements for both himself and Ms. Quesnel that would continue the progress that has been made so far.
   Ms. Quesnel said she is confident Mr. Sorchik and Mr. McCue will be able to handle their new positions on the Township Committee very well.
   "I wish Mike and Eric success," she said. "I’m sure they’ll do a great job for us. They’ll continue on the same goals that we had, with the redevelopment, putting in sewers, farmland preservation, and maintaining low taxes."
   Mr. Pyrzywara said he was particularly focused on two issues while he was in office — land preservation and open space and maintaining a stable tax base.
   "I’ve been on the Land Use Board since 1978," he said, explaining how he got involved in the committee. "Since then, I had been involved with the community. I thought maybe I could use some of skills and to see if I could help make Plumsted a better community."
   He said the Township Committee has been able to maintain a stable tax rate through the use of grants. Mr. Pyrzywara said he has seen town improve through the years, going from having an old library to a new one now, and from an old municipal building to this new one opened just a couple years ago.
   "Over time, we’ve added some recreation facilities," he said. "We’ve tried to do as much for the community without adding much of a tax load on the community."
   Mr. Pyrzywara said he has retired from his day job at the Ocean County Health Department. He and his wife will be relocating to North Carolina, he said, adding that he currently does not have any future goals.
   Except maybe to catch some sun.
   "I don’t want to shovel snow anymore," he said. "The weather is warmer (there). The pace of life is slower, it’s not as hectic. People tend to be more social down there. We’re not too far from the ocean. We’ve owned a condominium for years just north of Myrtle Beach. The taxes are a lot cheaper.
   "It was my pleasure to be able to do the work I did for the residents of Plumsted," Mr. Pyrzywara said. "Plumsted has never taken a position of greed, and is always looking out for the interest of the community."
   Ms. Quesnel, who has been on the Township Committee since 1990, said, "It’s been a pleasure to serve the community. Because of all the things I’ve been involved with, I have made so many friends."
   Ms. Quesnel said she started being active in the community as soon as she came into town. "The best thing is all the people that have supported me," she said. "I’ve been involved with hundreds of people. All the Township Committee people have been great to work with."
   Ms. Quesnel said she has been involved more recently with redevelopment plans for Plumsted and hopes the project is executed successfully.
   "We try to maintain the rural atmosphere with preservation," she said of the Township Committee’s goals for the town. "We try to improve the recreation programs. We worked very well with the school board. Every Township Committee has some issue, but overall I was effective in starting the Drug and Alcohol Alliance and the Arts Council, which are both successful community projects now."
   But quitting the Township Committee will not be the end of Ms. Quesnel’s involvement with the community.
   "I still will be involved with some of the town’s activities, such as the Memorial Day parade," she said.