MONROE: Joint campaigns mark Fire District 3 election

By David Kilby, Staff Writer
   MONROE — Five candidates are running for two seats on Fire District 3’s Board of Fire Commissioners.
   The date for the election is Saturday, Feb. 19, from 2 to 9 p.m.
   Polls will be open at the firehouse on Centre Drive and in the adult community clubhouses.
   Fire District 3 covers 14 square miles in the center of the township and, thus, often is called for fires in the other two districts, explained Douglas Martin, chairman of the board.
   Mr. Martin is running with Joseph Haff. Patrick Hye and Michael Konowicz will be running a joint campaign as well, and Robert McCloskey also is running for a seat on the board.
   Mr. Martin, 65, was elected commissioner for District 3 three years ago. He lives in the Rossmoor community with his wife, Terre, who works at Rutgers, and he has three daughters and five grandchildren.
   For 22 years, he was a vice president at Signa, financial advisors, and director of Bankmark School of Business marketing firm for banks. He moved from Sparta to retire in Monroe in 2005.
   He served on the Town Council in Sparta for seven years and on its Planning Board for 10 years and was mayor of Sparta in 2000.
   ”Sparta is geographically similar to Monroe” in that it’s about 40 square miles, he said.
   In Monroe, he has served on the executive committee for Rossmoor for two years, and he is a member of Kiwanis, a service that sponsors the March for Dimes and the Monroe food pantry.
   In his mid-20s, Mr. Martin also volunteered as a fireman.
   ”I’ve got a background of municipal and community service and a financial background,” he said. “As a philosophy I’ve always been active. Commissioners have to provide adequate fire service and fiscal responsibility, and that’s tough to do.”
   ”We have a crew of firemen who are family men,” he said, speaking of the 32 firemen on staff in District 3.
   The average fireman in District 3 gets paid $54,000 a year, which is the lowest pay scale per fireman among Monroe’s three districts, Mr. Martin said.
   He said each district is very different, though, and believes the way the districts are laid out now provides a good dynamic for fire coverage in Monroe. Thus, he believes the current redistricting project is not badly needed.
   ”If the districts merge, somebody loses,” he said. “You lose power, control, contracts change.”
   The results of the redistricting study are due out in mid or late March.
   Mr. Haff has lived in Monroe for 10 years with his wife, Dorothy, on New Haven Way in Rossmoor. He has one son and one daughter, and his wife has one son and two daughters.
   For 12 years, he worked as the national sales manager for CRP Industries, which specializes in high-pressure hoses. With this background, he helped District 3 save about $1,300 on hoses, he said.
   He is president of the Trenton District Golf Association, which has 19 different golf clubs and about 20 tournaments.
   He also has been president of the Rossmoor Golf Club for two years and on its committee for eight years.
   ”I think we need some senior members on the Board of Commissioners,” he said. “I have broad-based knowledge of management, organization and fiscal responsibility. I think I could help out in a lot of basic purchasing, which is important especially for retirees.”
   Mr. Hye, 54, lives on Mounts Mill Road with his wife, Suzanne, and has lived in Monroe for 30 years. He has one daughter, Karen, and one son, Michael.
   He has run a general contracting business, P.J. Hye Construction, for 31 years.
   He grew up in Englishtown, went to Manalapan High School and served in the Navy for five years.
   He holds a building inspector license and has completed classes for fire inspector and fire official.
   ”My business experience in being able to run a business would be an asset to the fire district because when you’re in small business, you need to be able to balance a budget and look at the small things,” he said. “Overall, I think Monroe’s fire companies are probably some of the best in the county, but the negative part is generally the cost — mainly in District 3.”
   District 3 taxpayers pay 27 cents per $100 of assessed value, and this year’s budget proposes an increase of 2 cents.
   ”We pay the highest taxes (of all three districts),” he said. “I think that needs to be looked into. I believe there are other ways to maintain district services without raising taxes constantly.”
   Mr. Konowicz, 62, lives on Hoffman Station Road with his wife, Veronica. He has three sons, Michael, Matthew and Andrew, and two grandsons. He moved to Monroe in 1976.
   He was a volunteer for the Central Monroe Fire Company from 1976 to 1980 and served as vice president and trustee.
   He was Monroe Township Economic Development commissioner from 1988 to 2007 and Monroe Township Municipal Authority commissioner from 1997 to 2009.
   Mr. Konowicz, a retired electrician, has done electrical work for Monroe’s new high school building, Fed Ex’s new distribution center and the New Times printing facility in Edison.
   ”I’m retired now. I have more time,” he said, alluding to his four years as a volunteer back in the late 1970s. “I think I can do something good for the town again.”
   Mr. McCloskey, 65, has lived in Monroe for 35 years on Nathaniel Street with his wife, Michele.
   He served as a policeman for the New Brunswick Police Department for 24 years, and as director of police for his last three years there. Before that, he was commander of administration, which he said prepared him to prepare administrative budgets.
   He has regularly attended and taped District 3 meetings for three years.
   ”I think we have a great fire company,” he said, but added, “We need to take taxpayers into consideration when preparing the budget.”
   He added, “In this day and age the budget is crucial,” he said.
   ”We (he and his wife) have been in town a long time. We’ve seen the changes.”
   He mentioned he’s had a few conversations with Chief Peter Gasiorowski, of District 3, and commended the chief and Lt. Michael Daley for writing their own grant instead of paying thousands of dollars for a grant writer for the district. The district subsequently was awarded $104,800, which it will use to purchase new air packs.
   ”I might be able to help the chief keep up that good work,” he said, regarding finding grants.