BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – Recommendations prepared by the Rental Property Advisory Committee are in the process of being examined by municipal officials.
The recommendations that deal with issues relating to the town’s rental properties were presented to Borough Council members at a meeting on Feb. 5.
Issues addressed in the recommendations include the exploitation of tenants, overcrowding, neglecting to maintain the interior and/or exterior of rental properties, and otherwise compromising the health, safety and welfare of the community. One recommendation asked the council to consider adopting an ordinance that would require anyone renting an apartment or home to produce valid proof of citizenship or permanent residency.
Mayor Michael Wilson told the News Transcript this week that he met with borough attorney Kerry Higgins, borough administrator Joseph Bellina, code enforcement official Hank Stryker III and Councilman Marc Le Vine to discuss the recommendations.
Le Vine was the council’s liaison to the advisory committee.
“We will probably agree to commit to some of the recommendations,” Wilson said. “Some of them, in fact, we are already doing. Some of the recommendations we may not be able to do at all.”
Wilson said there are some very positive recommendations that council members intend to take very seriously. The mayor said a meeting among municipal representatives and members of the advisory committee is planned for the near future.
When asked when he thought there may be some decisions made about the recommendations, Wilson said the council is “trying to get on the fast track with it.”
Council President Kevin Kane said he thought the advisory committee did an “outstanding job and great work and came up with many good recommendations.”
“The next step is to review and discuss these recommendations at a council meeting as a group,” Kane said. “This is a job we are all taking very seriously.”
Le Vine said the meeting that included Wilson, Higgins, Bellina, Stryker and himself was productive.
“We are geared toward doing the best we can to take from the recommendations things we can do that would be productive to Freehold Borough rental properties,” he said.
Le Vine said it is his understanding that at the upcoming meeting, officials may discuss why some recommendations may be implemented and others may not be. He said that meeting may serve as a springboard for additional items to be discussed relative to the rental property issues.
Le Vine said making the advisory committee an ongoing effort to address community needs is a consideration that will be discussed. The advisory committee was created to come up with the recommendations that were presented to the council earlier this month.