Man withdraws
auditorium support
To the editor:
Recently I was quoted in your paper as praising the acoustics that one would experience when attending a performance at the new auditorium being built for South Hunterdon Regional High School.
I withdraw that comment. A proposal for a change to the design has been made to the administration that has ended my expectations.
The sound equipment company prepared their proposed design without input from the project design team. These are the folks whose work I was praising.
They were surprised when I asked them about contact with the acoustical engineer who is the lead professional responsible for the design. No, we don’t need to, was the reply. My confidence level vanished in a flash.
The designers of this proposal are also equipment suppliers. The proposed design uses equipment they want to sell us. No other proposals are scheduled.
The important issue is quality. Taking money out of the sound system is best done by meeting with the design team and adjusting the specifications downward. It is known in the construction industry as value engineering.
There are contingency funds available for the additional work with the acoustical engineer. I am certain the entire project construction team has been involved with value engineering before.
When the redesign work is completed, bids are requested. By including unit prices for key pieces, just what is needed and afforded can be purchased.
Retaining quality, for example. Two line arrays were used for speaker locations in the auditorium. A line array produces a single point source that is distortion free. This is technology developed in the 1960s and is still state of the art.
The proposed replacement system uses multiple speaker locations. The system corrects for the resulting distortion electronically. It also depends on where the speakers are pointed.
This concept goes back to the days of acoustical design for tube amplifier systems. It works okay to a point, but . . .
How much is the saving? Can the line arrays be retained and money saved elsewhere?
These are the questions that require proper consideration. The team must prioritize decisions to meet the schedule, collect data on relative costs and functions and carefully determine just how much bang our bucks will buy.
Then the team will be ready to make a recommendation to the board. One wrong cut, and a jewel may be lost. Measure twice, cut once.
Buying the proposed package for sound equipment will have an unpredictable effect on the acoustics of the auditorium. I am not confident it will be positive.
David Conant Ringer
Lambertville
Demand state fix
library problem
To the editor:
Last year, the Lambertville Public Library cost the city $116,500.
For this sum of money, the library stayed open 49 hours a week, every day but Sunday; most holidays included.
It made available onsite to the people of Lambertville 25,000 books, newspapers, periodicals, tapes, DVDs and CDs, a bank of computers for online research and an infinite number of books through interlibrary loan.
For this sum, the city provided an air-conditioned haven for the retired people of the town to sit and read a newspaper without having to drive there; a place to send e-mails to armed service personnel serving overseas and other distant loved ones; a safe place for children to gather after school; programs for teens; a children’s library helmed by an award-winning children’s librarian; Bouncy Book Time, the once-a-week gathering to which the mothers of the town can walk their toddlers, no driving required; and a whole lot of fun and small-town interaction — the reason most of us live here, in short.
Mayor Del Vecchio insists the proposed referendum is not meant to close our library, but only to shift the responsibility for funding it onto the county. Of course, he is sincere, but he will not be the mayor forever nor will the excellent people presently serving as council members be council members.
The mayor’s plan, while it would save the city money, would save the city’s taxpayers none since they must then pay the county for library services.
Time will pass. In something like another five years, the county will complete construction of its mega-library for the south county, which will not be in Lambertville, but somewhere too far for us to walk, inaccessible to the children and the old.
As Councilwoman Ege has pointed out, a flood or other emergency will come along. The city fathers and mothers in their wisdom will decide the expense of maintaining a local library is too much to bear.
If a referendum is passed this November relieving the city of any requirement to maintain a library, our library will become nothing more than a memory, together with local supermarkets and unlocked doors.
Other New Jersey municipalities face the same pressures from the state as Lambertville and are not stampeding to de-municipalize their libraries. Jamesburg’s governing body voted not to de-municipalize its library, but, instead, to wait for the state to take promised steps to give them relief.
Why don’t we, too, take time to explore another way?
If the problem is the state has passed laws making it impossible to keep our library, perhaps we should go to the state and demand they fix the problem.
Kathleen G. Dunn
Lambertville
Cicchino companion
grateful for support
To the editor:
I would like to take the time to thank the community for paying their final respects to my beloved companion, Nick “Pickles” Cicchino.
It is truly amazing how much one man has done in his lifetime and touched so many lives in different ways.
Nick was a man of his word. He had a strong and tough exterior, but had a heart of gold and a very soft interior.
During my time with Nick, I have gained a new family and a whole world of close friends. Everyone that was Nick’s friend was a friend forever with him.
I can never thank each and every one of you as I would like to, and the list goes on forever. Whether you sent a card, came to visit or called, Nick and I appreciated all of it.
He enjoyed your visits and conversations during his last weeks, and I will always remember those moments.
Thank you so very much for being there and being the community that you are. You are forever remembered in my mind and heart.
Mary Kay Myers
Lambertville
Trees needed
to be removed
To the editor:
The decision to give approval to cut down the tree adjacent to my home did not come easily nor was it made without great deliberation.
Although I love trees and hate cutting them down, I am advocating the long-term quality of life on Ferry Street. Many of these trees were pushing up sidewalks and entangled in telephone and electrical wires.
The residents of Ferry can look forward to 13 new trees, new curbs, safe sidewalks, and a newly paved road without potholes.
Understandably, the street looks a bit bleak right now, but I have no doubt that with improvements made and some time, a trip down Ferry Street will be an even richer experience than it has been in the past.
Also, I feel it is irresponsible journalism to interview only one resident of Ferry Street for an opinion.
As always, there is more than one side to every story.
Jann Kniskern
Lambertville
Man grateful
for wallet return
To the editor:
I am in a wheelchair, and when the weather is nice, I love to take a ride around town.
In doing so the other day, I lost my wallet.
Later that day, I went to go out my front door, and there was my wallet on the floor inside the door.
I do not know who returned it so I would publicly like to say, “Thank you.” What a special person you are!
Bill Tettemer
Lambertville
Referendum death
sentence to library
To the editor:
The City of Lambertville’s proposed referendum to “de-municipalize” the Lambertville Free Public Library is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
From news accounts and statements by public officials, the referendum would appear to offer the following advantages:
• It would supposedly save money for Lambertville taxpayers.
• It would supposedly maintain local control of the library and its programs and continue its independence from the Hunterdon County library system.
• It would supposedly provide all or most of the benefits of membership in the county library system at a discounted cost.
• It would supposedly guarantee the continued operation of a library within the city limits.
• It would supposedly rescue the city from a financial crisis.
In fact, none of these supposed advantages is correct. Here is what would really happen.
If the referendum were to pass, city taxpayers would pay both the city and the county to fund the library. Instead of the current total of $118.59 per household, taxpayers would pay $88.82 per household to the county plus an estimated $58.47 per household to the city, based on Mayor Del Vecchio’s stated intentions to fund the library at about half its current level.
If the referendum were to pass, the library would transmogrify into a hybrid with two bureaucratic bosses, both with higher priorities: the City Council and mayor and the county library administration and county freeholders.
The longstanding Lambertville library board of trustees would be disbanded.
Every year, instead of the guaranteed state-mandated funding, the library would have to compete for funding with all the other city entities — police, public works, all City Hall operations. Further, the library would have to negotiate with the county from a weakened position for whatever services it could get on a non-member basis. The county would get a great deal — partial control of the library without having to pay for staffing, basic operating costs or building maintenance.
If the referendum were to pass, the county library would give Lambertville residents access to its collections, but the tradeoff would be onerous. The level of services, such as technical support, the county library would provide, under a contract that would expire, would not begin to offset the loss of the extensive programs the Lambertville library now offers the entire community, particularly the popular and plentiful children’s programs.
Indeed, the funding for children’s programs might not be sufficient to hold on to the library’s award-winning children’s librarian, Jennifer Sirak.
If the referendum were to pass, the actual existence of the library would be in the hands of the mayor and City Council. While the current mayor has said he would not close the library, there would be no legal protection as there is now, and in politics, everything is subject to change as circumstances and elected officials change.
If the city decided not to fund the library, the county would gladly step in and absorb the library into the county wide system with the likely result the Lambertville site would be closed as soon as a long-desired new south county branch could be built elsewhere.
If the referendum were to pass, it would be an extreme action based on a spurious emergency.
Mayor Del Vecchio asserts this action is the only answer to the city’s 2008 budget squeeze, and it must happen immediately or city operations could be in jeopardy.
As president of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, Mayor Del Vecchio acknowledges legislative remedies at the state level are still possible.
There are 245 other municipalities facing the same situation, and the governor and members of the Legislature have promised to work on a solution.
After a meeting with the governor and Legislature members, the Jamesburg City Council recently dropped the idea of a similar referendum, deciding such a move was too hasty.
So beware. The proposed referendum is not what it seems.
Instead of a winning solution, it is a precipitous and irreversible step that could lead to a death sentence for a vibrant community asset.
Please do not let that happen.
Franta J. Broulik
Lambertville
‘Old school’ CFO
responds to critics
To the editor:
Since I am now being threatened with bodily harm by being “thrown under the bus” by the mayor and council of the Borough of Stockton, I feel it is time to answer the citizens of the borough after reading all the negative comments regarding my “employment” in the borough.
To John Bennett, Esq., I was and am fully qualified and certified the same as all the CFOs in the State of New Jersey as required by law. There is no “grandfathering.”
To the mayor and council, the $20,000.00 that was spent in 2006 was for hardware, tax collector’s software and addition to the software that was in existence for the financial program. Purchase orders and general ledger were added.
This process of selecting a software package took two years of meetings and looking at other systems. The software that was dedicated to the financial program was working, and reports were generated for purchase orders and general ledger.
Harris is correct in stating the new CFO may not be trained on this package. She did not want to be. She did not want to see anything that was previously done by myself, and, to date, I have never met or talked to the woman.
To Michael Hagerty, I don’t know what constitutes “old school” so I have no reply to that since that would mean that all CFOs are “old school,” being certified under the same New Jersey statutes.
I also read where the CFO “found” monies in uncancelled capital ordinances. I would ask you as finance chairman how the CFO can cancel monies in ordinances when I had already cancelled them in February?
I don’t think you can do it twice. That’s like adding one deposit two times in your checkbook.
Lastly, I enjoyed working in the borough and serving the citizens for 36 years.
Elaine C. Vanselous
Stockton
All knew trees
needed removed
To the editor:
I read with interest and some disappointment your recent story on the tree removal on Ferry Street.
Interest, because I live here and disappointment, because your writer apparently did not attempt to contact any other residents except Mrs. Larsen.
I suppose this is just another example of the “controversy sells papers” school of journalism.
Had the author contacted any other residents, a much different slant would have been discovered. Everyone I have talked to laments the loss of the trees and dislikes the way our street looks right now, but knows we were consulted by the city and agreed with the larger plan and the reasons for it.
First off, many of the trees that were cut down were responsible for dangerously pushing up the sidewalks and the curbing and, therefore, had to be removed.
Secondly, many of the other trees were exceedingly dirty, leaving the street and sidewalks a mess in every season. These trees should never have been planted on a residential street 23 years ago.
Thirdly, everyone on the street was able to choose whether the trees adjacent to their properties could remain, if safe, including Mrs. Larsen.
Finally, residents knew new trees would be replanted and were consulted about the varieties that would be available.
Each of us was sent a letter by the city announcing a meeting to discuss this matter. Many of us followed The Beacon for other meetings having to do with the street construction and kept ourselves informed of these developments.
I keep an informal e-mail list of street residents and would periodically pass along info about the street. Mr. and Mrs. Larsen are on that e-mail list.
During the last two months, I received requests from two other street residents to update their e-mail addresses as they had changed. I never received any such request from the Larsens until last week in a conversation with Mr. Larsen.
Whose responsibility is it, in a democracy, to remain informed about your community?
Is it the individual citizen or everyone else except the individual?
John Woods
Lambertville
Domestic terrorism
destroying trees
To the editor:
There is no homeland security.
Thursday, a stately row of Chinese Scholar trees was mowed down on Ferry Street in Lambertville; a tree from the realm of old world Chinese culture.
This was when the trees were flowering, which was now, the most serene passageway to drive down the lanes of pale yellow flowers petals. I always went out of my way to enjoy this special place, this celebration of nature.
They say it had to be done to “improve” the street, and the policeman guarding the work area even sad that it looked “better.”
There is no justification for this abhorrent destruction, fostered by some kind of disillusion of values.
How tragically ironic is that a scholar tree should be put upon by such an unscholarly adversary, the “new world” cultural values at work.
Homeland security does not need a foreign adversary for we have in our midst a domestic variety that is openly active and damaging.
John Brown
Pt. Pleasant, Pa.

