Freeholder wants new job with Brick MUA MUA experience not needed for exec director's job, chairman says BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent BRICK TOWNSHIP - Republican Freeholder James F. Lacey has applied for the executive director position open at the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority, Chairman Patrick L. Bottazzi confirmed Monday. Although Bottazzi declined to name any of the other applicants for the position, he said that Lacey is among the candidates the authority is considering. "It is a true rumor," Bottazzi said. "We have a couple of applications." Bottazzi said that theMUAis reviewing résumés and will possibly hire someone within the next month. MUAofficials are looking for someone with a bachelor's degree in businessmanagement. He said an engineering degree is not a requirement for the job. "Experience in a water company as an administrator would be great," Bottazzi said. "You could have someonewith all the degrees but not have any practical experience. Or you could have someone with a lot of experience and no degrees. It's going to depend on the person." Lacey has served as a freeholder liaison to solid waste management, transportation and Ocean County College. He also oversees the Office of Information Technology and theAdvisory Commission on the Status of Women, according to his official biography on the Ocean County governmentWeb site. Lacey's work qualifications for the executive director jobwere not available and he could not be reached for comment by press time on Monday. The Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority recently hired a new permanent executive director who has more than 30 years' experience in the water resources field. Thomas F. Horn, Washington Township, holds both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis on environmental issues.He is a licensed professional engineer, who holds critical operator's licenses specific to operating a municipal utilities authority, according to published reports. "I would hope that whoever we hire has at least the qualifications of the gentleman that they just hired in Toms River," said MUA Commissioner Salvatore Petoia. "But politics being what it is, Iwouldn't be surprised if someone else got the job." The Brick MUA has been without a permanent executive director sinceApril, when Kevin Donald resigned. Stephen T. Specht, the authority's Director of Engineering andOperations, has been serving as its acting executive director for the past nine months. He is a licensed professional engineer who also oversees sewer collection and water distribution issues and customer service installations. "He's done a terrific job," Petoia said. "He has the credentials and the experience to do the job." However, Bottazzi said that Specht is not interested in staying on in as the authority's executive director. "He told me he is not applying for the job," Bottazzi said. "He wants to stay in the engineering department. That department is a major player in the MUA and he has to sign off on everything." Specht declined to comment for this article.