RED BANK – During a recent workshop meeting in Red Bank, municipal officials discussed the planning and protocol that is necessary for holding an annual Red Bank Regatta.
On Dec. 5, Red Bank Borough Council members and department heads attended the workshop at Borough Hall to discuss future plans of action and current issues facing the municipality.
While no formal action was taken during the meeting, the informal discussion provided municipal officials a chance to verbally collaborate on matters that pertain to the municipality.
The regatta, a boat race that had last taken place in the municipality in 1996, was advocated for by Business Administrator Ziad Shehady.
Shehady said that being the host to an annual regatta could help “revitalize and reinvigorate the borough.”
“It’s been requested that we look at past events and events of public interest,” Shehady said. “There is a lot of excitement in the air about this.”
Before the meeting that evening, Shehady said that he spoke with members of the Red Bank business community who said they were in favor of holding an annual regatta in the borough.
Shehady said a formal committee of volunteers would need to be created in order to plan and implement the event in August 2019.
Councilman Michael Ballard asked if the event would be revenue-neutral.
Shehady responded and said that it first needed to be determined whether the borough or another entity would raise the funds needed to finance the event.
“Take that off the table right now,” Mayor Pasquale Menna said, noting his dissatisfaction with the idea of the municipality solely being responsible for raising funds to financially support the event.
“Why are we raising money for a private organization … I’m all in favor of this, but the old committee, the Red Bank Regatta committee, is the committee that raises the money, pays for the park, pays for the security … the borough is doing nothing with it. Otherwise that is how we are going to get into trouble,” Menna said.
“That’s what I suggested,” Shehady said, noting that choosing a third-party entity to help raise funds may be the best course of action for the borough.
“Obviously we can not just take a back seat and expect this event to happen, Shehady said. “We are going to have a role in (the event). In order to make the event successful, especially in its first year, we may need to take on a larger role. It is not our event, it will be the event of this regatta committee.”
Shehady said he would devote time to create and work with volunteers, department heads and members of the community to serve on a planning committee and spearhead the event.
“I think this is a great idea as long as it is absolutely cost neutral to the taxpayers,” Menna said.
Shehady received approval from members of the governing body to move forward with the planning of the regatta. A date for the event has been scheduled for the weekend of August 2, 2019.