Code enforcement must be taken seriously

I attended the Township Council meeting May 25 and was enlightened, once again, to learn of the happenings that transpire in this wonderful township of ours. Sadly I heard of the journeys of Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, who makes headlines outside of Brick instead of here in town. Accordingly, let’s give the mayor credit for looking out for our well-being while taking pictures of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant — with us in mind. We are living in the shadows of a ticking time bomb, and I’m sure that the mayor, along with members of the council, have this in their thoughts constantly.

Taking pictures of power plants, bridges, train stations, highways and byways is a no-no in these times of heightened awareness. This was accomplished with the help of township personnel who were removed from their local duties and driven to the site in township vehicles. This we don’t need.

One other topic that came up just briefly, much to my dismay, was that of a certain business that was in violation of the township zoning code. This business, the name does not matter, was cited and found in violation and fined $1,000 per day until the violation was abated. Good we say, but no good at the same time, because the code enforcer cannot get back to reinspect each day as reported by members of the council.

How many inspections does this department have to conduct each day? What could be so important to prevent a person from writing another violation notice that would bring in an additional $1,000 for every day this business is in contempt? This, to me and every taxpayer in Brick, is easy money and certainly worth the time and effort of insisting that this department get on the ball and go out and reinspect every day until the violation is abated. It will certainly pay the inspectors’ wages.

Fines are levied by the court, and I heard that some of these higher-priced fines are significantly reduced. Who reduces them and why? This is taking tax dollars away from us via a smart lawyer who knows his or her way around our system. This isn’t right.

Finally, it has been brought out for all to hear, that strides are being made to help keep our roads and streets clean with the addition of a town truck used for patrolling and looking out for debris, etc. Now we have another vehicle, with driver being paid a salary to keep areas clean that were supposedly required to be maintained by property owners in the first place. This same driver was taken from his duties elsewhere just because inspections were not conducted in a proper manner by a person employed to do this very same job. This does not make sense.

Our township needs dedicated people willing to do a proper job for their wages — no more, no less. Get out and work by citing violations, serving notices, reinspecting, and then, if the violation is not abated, issue summonses to appear in court. This serves a twofold purpose: It keeps the town from falling into decay and blight, and introduces added dollars into our economy by showing a profit from fines generated by the court.

At the top of this letter I stated that this is a way to clean up and show a profit. This I firmly believe can and will happen if given a chance. All this being said, it cannot be accomplished without the help and insistence of the administrative section of our municipal government, our mayor and his department.

I insist that Brick starts to revitalize its code enforcement department. This department can easily bring into the town coffers much-needed relief to the tune of at least $100,000 per year if run correctly.

Arthur A. Sholty

Brick