Calling Miss Manners
Residents who attended or watched the May 13 Township Council meeting on B20 got a sample of what shouldn't happen in local government.

The "council comments" portion of the meeting turned into a fusillade of insults directed at Councilwoman Kathy Russell, the lone Democrat on the council.

The brouhaha began when Russell told council President Ruthanne Scaturro she wanted to make a statement about a May 10 incident at a local food store.

Russell said she was working the booth for the Stop Overspending (SOS) group, which was gathering signatures to put the Ocean Ice Palace purchase on the ballot.

She said she was approached by Councilman Anthony Matthews, who then "yelled" at her in front of his daughter and took pictures of Russell.

Russell, who said she was publicly embarrassed during the incident, asked Matthews for a public apology.

She didn't get one.

Matthews denied he had yelled at Russell, said he had never raised his voice and called Russell's statement an "absolute lie."

"I have never yelled at anybody," he said. "I didn't yell at you, Councilwoman Russell."

"You yelled at me, Councilman Matthews, and I'm not going to repeat it on camera," Russell said.

The issue that ignited this particular round of insults is the Ocean Ice Palace. These are the facts, so far:

The Township Council introduced a $9.9 million bond ordinance recently to prepare for the purchase of the ice rink and 13.34 acres of property on Chambers Bridge Road.

The ordinance includes the original $5.25 million purchase price, which has never changed from the time then-Councilman, now Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis announced last July the township intended to buy it.

The remaining $4.7 million in the ordinance includes funds for repairs to the building, the roof, streetscaping, landscaping and a senior center.

The bond ordinance merely authorizes the bonds. They have not been issued yet.

When Matthews asked Russell about the purchase price, she replied that the amount of the ordinance was for $9.9 million.

That's when things turned really ugly.

"I don't know if you paid for that B.A. (bachelor's degree) from Georgian Court, but I would ask for a refund or have those teachers thrown out," Matthews said to Russell.

Several audience members groaned.

"Be a gentleman," one man said. Scaturro rapped her gavel.

"Excuse me, no comments from the audience," she said.

Scaturro later proceeded to read a detailed history of some of Russell's positions in the past. When Russell tried to speak, Scaturro said "Excuse me, Councilwoman, did I interrupt you?"Whether or not the Ocean Ice Palace purchase ends up as a referendum question remains to be seen.

And with a number of "conceptual" plans floating around, it's no wonder some residents may be confused about just what will eventually end up on the site.

The Ocean Ice Palace property is still too good a deal for Brick Township to pass up.What's unfortunate is that the township is saddled with other properties like the Foodtown site and the land behind the post office that probably never should have been purchased.

But Brick residents don't need a repeat of the appalling insults they heard on the night of May 13.

The mayor has repeatedly called for an end to partisan politics. That appears to be an impossibility in Brick Township.