By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – Public events in Freehold Borough may not take place in 2016, according to a representative of the Freehold Center Management Corporation.
The Freehold Center Management Corporation was previously known as the Freehold Center Partnership and currently does business as Downtown Freehold. For years, the organization has produced events in the borough’s downtown district.
The cancellation of annual events produced by Downtown Freehold, such as the Freehold Idol talent contest, summer concerts, fall concerts, holiday events and more allegedly could occur if an ordinance that will create changes to the organization is adopted by the Borough Council.
The proposed ordinance will make three changes:
- The Downtown Freehold Board of Trustees/Directors will include the mayor or a designee named by the mayor and a member of the Borough Council selected by the council (council liaison) as voting members
- The elections for the Downtown Freehold Board of Directors will follow an established process and be administered by the borough clerk at Borough Hall
- An annual certified audit of Downtown Freehold will be conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
According to Downtown Freehold Chief Executive Officer Richard Gatto, the potential cancellation of events would be caused by an anticipated loss of sponsorships and an increased cost of compliance with the proposed ordinance.
Council members Sharon Shutzer, Michael DiBenedetto, George Schnurr, Kevin Kane and Ron Griffiths voted to introduce the ordinance on May 2. Council President Jaye Sims was absent.
A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for May 16 and the council could adopt the ordinance that evening. DiBenedetto, the council liaison to the organization, said he hoped borough officials and representatives of Downtown Freehold would reach an agreement.
According to Schnurr, Downtown Freehold moved its annual July 4 fireworks display from Freehold Raceway in the borough to the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township in 2015 following reports of conflicts with a former Freehold Borough fire official in 2014.
Mayor Nolan Higgins met with members of the Downtown Freehold Board of Directors in late 2014 and believed the difficulties were resolved, but after the borough was indirectly notified in early 2015 that the event was being moved, Higgins contacted Downtown Freehold and was informed the July 4 fireworks would not be held at the raceway.
“We have an organization (Downtown Freehold) that is tasked with promoting events and activities in Freehold Borough, that is funded by taxpayer dollars, caught trying to move one of the signature events of our community to another town,” Schnurr said. “Our job on council, among other things, is to make sure our residents get treated fairly.”
Since Dec. 21, Schnurr, Kane and DiBenedetto, who are members of the Land Use Committee, Business Administrator Joe Bellina and Borough Attorney Kerry Higgins have met with Downtown Freehold Board Chairman Larry Metz and First Vice Chairman Bill Mehr. As of May 6, the most recent meeting took place on May 2.
According to Schnurr, the ordinance will change the voting status of Higgins and DiBenedetto on the Freehold Center Management Corporation because to have them as non-voting members is in direct conflict with state law.
Gatto said Higgins and DiBenedetto are currently non-voting members because Downtown Freehold has sought to be a non-political organization, but is not in disagreement with the proposed change.
“We are agreeable at this point to making (the mayor and council liaison) voting members by adding the word ‘voting’ to our current bylaws,” he said.
Planned changes to the Board of Directors election include the borough clerk keeping the roll of eligible voters, and notice of the election to be mailed to all property owners and registered business operators in the borough’s Special Improvement District.
All election ballots for the Board of Directors are currently collected in sealed envelopes at the office of Downtown Freehold, 10 E Main St., according to Gatto. After everyone who is present at the organization’s annual meeting has had a chance to vote in a sealed ballot, the votes are opened and counted by a representative of Downtown Freehold and of Freehold Borough.
According to Gatto, Downtown Freehold has been unable to notify property owners and registered business operators because access to these records has been denied by the fire official, who he said is historically in possession of this information.
“We are agreeable to working out a better voting system with notification mailed to members, between now and the next election in March 2017, as long as we can get a current list of business owners from Freehold Borough,” Gatto said. “The ordinance as written does not do an adequate job of improving the system.
“We do not have any objection to the borough clerk administering (the election) in conjunction with Downtown Freehold, but the details of the method of voting and notification of members needs to be better defined between now and the next election in March 2017,” he said.
According to Schnurr, having Downtown Freehold undergo a government audit will help answer questions borough officials have, such as if cash and checks the organization received were deposited to its bank account on a daily basis, if Downtown Freehold compared expense and revenue figures against industry data from other special improvement districts, and what its records retention policy was.
In response, Gatto said, “Our annual audit has always been conducted by an independent certified public accountant, according to generally accepted accounting principles and standards, a copy of which is filed with the borough clerk annually. A ‘government audit’ is not required by the state statute and would be onerous and costly.”
A 2015 audit from accounting firm Steven Sewald & Company, provided by Gatto, deemed the financial position of Downtown Freehold to be in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Gatto said he considers the proposed ordinance to be an attempt by borough officials to control the finances, accomplishments and direction of Downtown Freehold as if it were a committee or a department of the borough.
Schnurr, however, believes the ordinance will be beneficial to Downtown Freehold.
“These changes will help them create a better organization,” the councilman said. “An organization where there is better communication with all stakeholders. An organization where there is increased transparency in decision making. An organization where there is more inclusion in director elections. And most importantly, an organization that will provide for greater financial accountability.”