The state Supreme Court has decided it will not weigh in on Hamilton's agreement to buy Klockner Woods.
The court's action ends the appeal process by the township and a legal battle over one of the most politically contentious issues to grip the township in recent memory.
The high court's denial of a township petition on Friday effectively enforces a lower court decision ordering Hamilton to pony up the roughly $4.5 million it owes a developer for 51 wooded acres off Klockner Avenue.
Mayor John Bencivengo did not rule out any scenario yesterday, including
selling the 51 wooded acres off Klockner Avenue or renewing applications for
grants or loans contingent on the land's preservation.
But regardless of what route Hamilton takes, it appears that property
owners in the township will be footing at least part of the bill.
Belmar- Revelers in this Jersey shore party town can now legally drink from unregistered beer kegs and give people the finger.
"I'm not sure anyone even knew that making obscene gestures was illegal," Mayor Ken Pringle said. "Right after we send out our tax bills, I tend to see a few."
One rule that's no longer on the books related to raising one's middle finger, or the many variants thereof. However objectionable it might be to some people, such a gesture is Constitutionally protected free speech, said Pringle, who is an attorney.
He said the borough was contacted by civil libertarians who questioned the legality of several municipal ordinances.
The ban on "obscene gestures," which never spelled out exactly what was and was not covered, was overly subjective, Pringle agreed. No one can recall anyone being prosecuted for violating it. Another law prohibiting people from loitering in alleyways also was axed.
And a beer keg tagging law, which Belmar enacted last year with great fanfare, withered and died after the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said a handful of similar local laws enacted around the state requiring beer kegs to have the name, address and phone number of the person renting them was unconstitutional.
"Reducing the zones would have our children pass through a (phalanx) of drug dealers every day," said (Trenton) school board Vice President Alexander Brown. "This would bring drug trafficking 800 feet closer to our schools. Some legislators believe the zones have placed a hardship on drug dealers. To me, I say 'tough.'"
"The Legislature is trying to address discriminatory practices," said Trenton board member T. Missy Balmir, referring to the study. "I think we need to be careful before we take a stand on this issue. I would like more information on how our city is truly affected by drug-free zones."
According to the commission, 96 percent of people jailed for dealing drugs within the zones are black or Hispanic. The commission argued two years ago that drug- free zones do not hinder drug sales near schools.
"If 96 percent of the people incarcerated under the drug-free zone law are black or Hispanic -- groups that only make up 20 percent of our state's population -- it's not a fair system," said Roseanne Scotti, director of the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey.
"Plus, there is no evidence that drug-free zones hinder drug sales," Scotti said. "Basically, this law amounts to two different penalties being given for the same exact crime -- the only differences between the two penalties are geography and race."
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"I think that's an economic drain for the state of New Jersey, among issues of fairness," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson- Coleman, D-Ewing, who has introduced a bill to keep the drug-free zones at 1,000 feet while giving judges more discretion in sentencing.
"Was the person dealing drugs to students? Was school even in session when they were arrested?" Watson-Coleman said. "The judge should be able to determine the impact on society, the appropriate remedy, and then sentence accordingly."
After the great show, we hit J.J. Bittings, but the kitchen was closing and it was way loud after our folksy evening. So we decided to toilet paper our good friends' house instead.
Luckily for them, they were home so we couldn't go TPing. We invaded their home and stayed until 3AM eating junk food we picked up at the gas station. Hell, we had babysitters. We were staying out as late as we could possibly muster.
I got those albums I was waiting for from Amazon yesterday. Now, I have to wait almost two weeks for them to send my copy of Wicked Game. Guess I gotta get busy reading all that other stuff I borrowed from the library...
*a radio station populated with vampires. How cool is that?
HAMILTON -- A state court has again refused to void the township's agreement to purchase the 51-acre tract known as Klockner Woods, keeping taxpayers on the hook for the roughly $4.5 million land deal while township officials contemplate taking the case to the state Supreme Court.
A decision handed down yesterday from the appellate division of the state Superior Court ruled that the township must uphold its 2005 agreement to purchase the land, despite arguments that the township council never approved an appropriation to buy the property.
George Dougherty, the attorney representing Hamilton, said he would be recommending the township pursue the matter with the state's highest court.
"I think they absolutely missed the law," Dougherty said. "You can't make a solid commitment unless you have money set aside to do it. You simply don't spend money that you don't have."
But if the Supreme Court decides not to hear the case, or if it upholds the decision of the lower courts, there would certainly be implications for Hamilton's finances, according to interim township business administrator William Guhl.
Besides legal costs, which have climbed to about $30,000, the township will be on the hook for long-term debt payments on the $4.1 million price, plus interest, including a down payment of roughly $200,000, Guhl said.
The township has already paid Fieldstone about $380,000 in interest as part of the agreement, and further interest payments have raised the township's current obligation to about $4.5 million, according to John Buonocore, the attorney representing Fieldstone.
When asked his opinion on the decision, Guhl backed Dougherty's view.
"If you want to buy something, and it's a capital item and you want to" using a bond ordinance, Guhl said, a municipality must "specifically identify in the ordinance what it is you want to buy."
The courts, however, have ruled otherwise. The appellate court affirmed Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg's opinion that a bond ordinance specifically appropriating money for the land purchase was not required in order for the purchase agreement to be binding.
In her decision, issued early last year, Feinberg pointed to other actions the township took that could have funded the purchase, including $5 million appropriated for open space and multiple public attempts by the township to secure outside funding for the purchase.
Feinberg also argued that the cost to taxpayers would be higher if she overturned the settlement to purchase the land, pointing to the cost of the litigation that could ensue.
"This has always been about Hamilton politics and it was never about the value of the land," Buonocore (of Feildstone) said.
(former Mayor Glenn) Gilmore backed that claim yesterday.
"The Republican council knew that they were simply wasting valuable taxpayer dollars in lawyer fees and interest cost with this appeal, but they wanted to keep the issue alive for the last election at taxpayer expense," he wrote in response to an e-mail asking for comment.
ATLANTIC CITY - A relentless fight to protect casino workers from secondhand smoke ended Wednesday with a historic vote by city legislators outlawing smoking on the resort's 11 casino floors.
Before a packed chamber of casino workers and anti-smoking advocates, City Council's nine members approved an ordinance that will clear the smoke from all city gaming floors by Oct. 15. The measure does allow casinos to build separately ventilated smoking rooms that cannot be staffed.
The vote was followed by more than a minute-long standing ovation and chants of "thank you!"
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"There's an industry out here that we have a responsibility to," said (Councilman Bruce) Ward, a driving force behind the legislation. "But we also have a responsibility to our visitors and our workers."
