By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
MANVILLE — The two Borough Council incumbents in the Nov. 4 election say the borough is already, and will continue, working to protect residents in future floods, but for the three newcomers, the most important step is getting the funds to complete a study of possible flood mitigation methods.
Running for the two open three-year seats are Republican incumbents Kathy Quick and Steve Szabo, Democrats Lou Fischer and Ron Skirkanish, and independent Rich Onderko.
Ms. Quick said the borough is constantly working to prepare the town and residents in the case of another flood. She said she was very proud of the council’s decision earlier this year to authorize the building of the 5,300-square-foot Office of Emergency Management (OEM) building in Lost Valley.
The building will hold offices for the OEM and fire chiefs, as well as a conference room for the Board of Engineers. Remaining space will be designated for training and other gatherings, in addition to a fitness room and areas for storing emergency equipment.
”This is a centralized location,” Ms. Quick said. “I think it was an excellent decision.”
Mr. Szabo also said that the borough is continuing to work on the flooding issue in town, and that he approves the decision to build the OEM building.
Mr. Onderko, however, said he was against building the OEM building, because of the cost to the borough.
The building is being placed on the site of the former recreation center, which was destroyed in a fire in March 2006. Several months ago, the borough approved a contract for $742,269 to construct the building, paid for with bonds and $300,000 from an insurance settlement received after the fire.
”I know they bonded for the OEM building, but I was against the expenditure,” Mr. Onderko said. “They are spending money they don’t have.”
Still, Mr. Onderko said he would like to see flood issues given top priority in town to prevent the borough from again enduring the kind of major damage it dealt with in Hurricane Floyd and the April 2007 nor’easter.
”I have a strong feel for the flood issue,” he said. “We have confronted it for 40 years, and I feel there has been a lack of action for 30 years or more. I was a flood victim, and I would like to see this issue given priority.”
Mr. Onderko said he would like to lead the effort to find some sort of mitigation plan for residents. He said the town needs to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with the Stony Brook Millstone River Basin project and figure out how to protect residents from future flooding.
”Manville has great value to New Jersey,” he said. “We need action taken to prevent outrageous levels from Floyd. The time for action is now.”
For Mr. Skirkanish, the most important step right now is, as Mr. Onderko said, to continue with the Army Corps study and bring that to a close. He said the council should be approaching federal officials to try to get the funding needed to complete the study.
”This project is being put on hold,” he said. “The solution is to get the water out of Manville. We need to find anywhere where we can store the water temporarily.”
Mr. Fischer had a similar opinion about the need for the funding, saying that he has no doubt there will be issues with flooding in the future, and that the council needs to contact congressional representatives to push forward with securing the money.
Mr. Fischer said it would be beneficial for Manville officials to keep in contact with surrounding towns, to speak about runoff and development. He said people tend to pass through Manville, and it would benefit the residents if other towns looked at how their developments and other actions might affect flooding.
”We need to make other towns aware that what they do affects us,” he said. “The runoff of water is a problem.”
Mr. Fischer also said he would like to expand the amount of recreational opportunities available for people of all ages. He said he would like to offer more sports for kids, in addition to possibly organizing Friday night movies by the pool and other family-oriented programs throughout the year.
”I want to do this so kids aren’t just hanging out,” he said. “It would not be farfetched to have a recreation center and more activities for kids.”
For Mr. Onderko, another important issue facing Manville residents and business owners is the loss of between 10 and 12 parking spaces on Main Street after they were found to be in violation of a New Jersey statute that prohibits parking across from intersections.
”It is a shame some owners had to give up their parking,” he said. “I don’t ever remember parking being an issue.”
While she said she is proud of the work the borough has done with the OEM building, Ms. Quick said she is also glad the council has begun to work to foreclose on the property owned by Pennsylvania resident Kenneth Grant, on the corner of Kyle and South Main streets, where the owner has not paid taxes in more than 18 years because of environmental contamination.
”Mayor Lillian Zuza has been very proactive (in moving forward with this),” she said. “For all the money not collected, we have to put the burden on the taxpayers.”
Mr. Szabo also said, he would like to see some of the parking spaces restored for the businesses in Manville. He said he has seen some possible diagrams where streets could be closed to bring more parking, but would like to get as many spaces for the residents and businesses as possible.
Mr. Skirkanish said he would like to work with community leaders to support Operation Lifesaver, an international education program that teaches rail safety.
”We have to go to the school and let the students know they have to understand (the dangers of the railroad tracks),” he said. “We can get proper counseling in the schools and have assemblies.”
Mr. Skirkanish said he would also like to continue to increase security at the local railroad tracks and add additional police officers to patrol the areas.
”The railroad should be monitoring all activity in the area,” he said. “We need to beef up patrols. And if we have to put fences up, let’s do that.”
For teenagers and others in the area, Mr. Skirkanish expressed an opinion similar to Mr. Fischer’s, saying there needs to be more activities and opportunities for them outside of school
”There should be something we can do for them with the Recreation Department,” he said.
Mr. Skirkanish said he wants to continue the beautification of Manville itself, maintaining the properties in town, while keeping jobs for residents in the area. He said he supports an ordinance recently proposed by Councilman Ed Komoroski to create guidelines for taking care of grass, weeds, snow and other problems at vacant houses.
”This all has to be taken care of,” he said. “If we want to make the town more inviting (to others), we have to make it inviting for those who already live there.”

