Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Boardwalk business tells mayor he's not welcome at Sat. night event honoring local volunteers and workers
Martell's is telling Point Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella he won't be allowed to attend the annual Chamber of Commerce Installation dinner at Martell's on Saturday night. Barrella broke the news at the Tuesday night council meeting, as Ed Brannagan, Martell's manager, and Carol Vaccaro, chamber executive director, sat in the back of the room. This year the event honors local fire and first aid volunteers and Point Beach employees who rescued residents, responded to numerous calls and cleaned up the town after Superstorm Sandy. Ronald Gasiorowski, attorney for Martell's, wrote an email to Municipal Attorney Sean Gertner late Tuesday afternoon saying that as Martell's litigation is still pending against the municipality, Barrella will not be…
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Barrella and Mayer have words over parking plan
Point Beach Council late Tuesday night unanimously tanked an ordinance mandating that bars stop serving alcohol at midnight, but there was a lot of acrimony over talk of a new parking plan. The council, as anticipated, voted on first reading to repeal an ordinance for bars to stop serving alcohol at midnight, a measure that was blocked temporarily by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control last summer. The ordinance to keep closings at 2 a.m. is scheduled for public hearing and adoption at the Feb. 19 meeting. The repeal was prompted by the town and Jenkinson's Boardwalk coming to an agreement last month for the town to repeal the measure and for Jenkinson's to drop all legal action against the earlier bar closing ordinance and …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Council may consider charging for film permits
The Point Beach Council agreed unanimously on Tuesday night to not allow MTV to film the "Snooki and Jwoww" reality show on public property in town. Through the brief discussion about the MTV request for a permit to start shooting the two "stars" going out to local night spots, starting Thursday, Mayor Vincent Barrella said perhaps the council should think about charging for film permits. They are now free, said Point Beach Business Administrator Chris Riehl. He noted that the town charges the American Cancer Society to conduct a fundraiser on the boardwalk annually. "And yet, MTV would get a free pass," Barrella noted, adding the council should think about developing a fee for film permits. That prompted mention of the town's special …
Friday, July 6, 2012
Barrella says state should send troopers since it won't let the town close bars at midnight
Point Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella says he will ask Gov. Chris Christie to send state troopers to patrol the boardwalk after midnight because the state is allowing bars to serve alcohol past that time. Barrella says he'll ask the Borough Council to support a request he'll make for state troopers to police "the center of the boardwalk from midnight to 2 or 3 a.m." since the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control has temporarily blocked the town from enforcing an ordinance for bars to stop serving alcohol by midnight. "I'll write to the governor, in light of the state interference, to send in 18 state troopers a night, so I can pull our officers off the boardwalk and put them into residential neighborhoods," Barrella said. Since the …
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
So state left to decide if midnight closing starts Sunday
Jenkinson's and Martell's are confirming they are turning down the town's "compromise" offer to stop serving alcohol at 1 a.m. Council and Mayor Vincent Barrella voted narrowly on Tuesday night to offer the 1 a.m. bar closing as a compromise, after the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) urged the two parties to try to reach a settlement. On Wednesday afternoon, the two largest businesses on the boardwalk released the following prepared statement (published here in its entirety): “The payment of dollars has been inextricably linked to the hours of operation. At each and every meeting with members of the governing body over the past five months, the demand has always been money for extended hours. The proposal last night …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
UPDATE: Council votes for preliminary approval for second ordinance giving bars the option to pay fees to stay open until 2 a.m.
Point Beach council voted on Tuesday night for bars to close at midnight, two hours earlier than the current 2 a.m. closing time. Councilmembers Kristine Tooker, Bret Gordon and Michael Corbally voted for the earlier bar closing, while Councilmembers William Mayer, Tim Lurie and Stephen Reid voted against it. That left Mayor Vincent Barrella to break the tie, and he voted yes. The ordinance goes into effect on July 1. The council also voted for preliminary approval for a second ordinance giving bars the option to pay fees to stay open until 2 a.m., which is the current closing time. However, councilmembers agreed to postpone the deadline for bars to request a later closing time from the town. That deadline had been May 24 but was moved to …
Boardwalk still offering $800,000 over five years, despite state saying proposed bar ordinance "appears to be unlawful"
A Boardwalk offer to pay $800,000 over five years is "still on the table," despite that the state says a related town proposal "appears to be unlawful." Marilou Halvorsen, Director of Marketing for Jenkinson's Boardwalk, said late Tuesday afternoon that Jenkinson's and Martell's are still jointly offering the payment, despite that the state Department of Community Affairs is questioning the legality of a proposed ordinance that would compel bars to pay fees to stay open past midnight (see related story posted on top of home page). "But if they pass a 12 o'clock bar closing, I'm sure it won't be," Halvorsen said. "But our offer is still on the table because it's in everyone's best interest to come up with a resolution," she said. Now it …
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Foster takes oath of office Wednesday
Committeeman Jeffrey Foster was sworn in as Wall Township's newest mayor Wednesday during the Township Committee's annual organization meeting. Foster, who succeeds outgoing Mayor Ann Marie Conte, was nominated to take the helm of local government by fellow Committeeman Clinton Hoffman. It was seconded by Conte. There were no other nominations. The vote to install Foster was unanimous. Foster, whose wife, Joyce, held a bible while Freeholder Joseph Arnone administered the oath of office pledged to be equal to the task of in a short speech after settling into the center chair behind the dais. "We have a list of stuff that has to be dealt with this year and there are some tough choices that have to be made,'' Foster said. "This can be a …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Ann Marie Conte turns over the helm of local government
Get used to calling him Mayor Foster. Second-in-command Deputy Mayor Jeffrey Foster on Wednesday is expected to be nominated to take command of local government as Wall Township's next mayor at the organization meeting of the Township Committee, officials said. Committeeman Todd Luttman is expected to be nominated to move into the Deputy Mayor spot when the committee meets for the first time in 2012, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at town hall, 2700 Allaire Rd. No other nominations are expected, officials said. A short swearing-in ceremony will be held following votes of the committee. Wall Township's mayoral role is a temorary position, filled annually by a member of the Township Committee and elected from within its roster, according to the …
debra Fleming
3:13 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
I have never met Mayor Barrella, but I am appealing to him to PLEASE be kind to the struggling businesses in his town. This is a time when we must show solidarity ! I am owner of Cedar Creek Campground in Bayville and know that many of my guests are visitors to all of the surrounding towns who have been hit hard by storm Sandy. It is very important, especially now, for all of these storm ravaged … more ›