RED BANK – While no decisions were reached during a recent workshop meeting of the Red Bank Borough Council, the informal discussion gave municipal officials a chance to review situations that remain unresolved in the community.
Council members and department heads attended the Aug. 29 workshop at Borough Hall to discuss future plans of action, finances and current issues facing the municipality.
The members of the governing body discussed a wide range of topics, from smoke-free tobacco use in public places, to where a potential alternative treatment center might be permitted to operate in the 2.2-square-mile community.
“The purpose of these workshop meetings it to flesh these things out. We keep kicking the can down the road with these things. We keep saying ‘we are going to get to this,’ ” Business Administrator Ziad Shehady said.
One topic discussed by the council members were parking restrictions in the borough and how to ensure strict compliance with parking regulations.
Also on the table for discussion were intersections in several areas of the borough, including the intersection at Pearl and Oakland streets and the intersection at South Street and Bergen Place. Those intersections, which officials have identified as being in need of safety upgrades, will be further evaluated.
Discussion also took place on the council’s recent decision to support the potential establishment of an alternative treatment center in Red Bank. An alternative treatment center would sell medical marijuana to individuals possessing a prescription from their doctor.
Two weeks after council members formally stated their support for such a facility, the discussion turned to where in Red Bank such a business would be permitted to operate, if and when the borough received approval from the state to host an alternative treatment center.
Upon further discussion, council members said issues regarding the placement of an alternative treatment center could arise because almost all locations in town are near a school or a house of worship. They said there might not be a suitable space for such a business without infringing on a school or religious facility.
“This was productive,” Councilman Michael Ballard said the day after the Aug. 29 workshop meeting. “I think this was a very good addition to our regular council schedule. This gives us the opportunity to talk about subjects that are going on in the borough that we would normally talk about in committee.
“This is a more transparent forum and it gives our residents a chance to see how the borough works and how we come to the decisions that we come to. We will still hold committee meetings as necessary, but these workshops are definitely going to be a part of our monthly schedule,” Ballard said.