News

By Dan Moffett

A familiar face is returning to the Manalapan Town Commission.
    Basil Diamond, who served as mayor from 2011 to 2013 and six years as a commissioner before that, will fill the open Point Manalapan commission seat vacated by Tom Thornton, who has moved out of town.
    On Nov. 17, commissioners unanimously approved Diamond’s appointment and said his experience would be useful to them.
    Mayor David Cheifetz said he was “absolutely delighted” Diamond was willing to serve out the remainder of Thornton’s term, which expires in March 2017.
    “It’s a good choice to get someone of Tom Thornton’s experience,” said Peter Isaac, “and getting Basil back would give that experience.”
    As part of the commission reshuffling, Isaac moves from mayor pro tem to the vice mayor position that Thornton held, and Commissioner Chauncey Johnstone takes over as the new mayor pro tem.
     Diamond, a lawyer, is partly responsible for the rather complicated configuration of Manalapan’s elected representatives. In 2002, he led a group of Point residents who sued the town, claiming they were under-represented because oceanfront homeowners controlled two commission districts with four commissioners on the six-member board — despite having fewer residents than the Point.
    A federal judge ultimately agreed and threw out that system. Then voters approved the current apportionment which requires two seats to be held by ocean residents, two by Point residents, and two other seats and the mayor elected on an at-large basis from anywhere in town. But all voters cast ballots for each seat.
    The new commission lineup could be set for a while. Town Clerk Lisa Petersen said the three commissioners whose terms expire in March — Simone Bonutti, Clark Appleby and Ronald Barsanti — have all said they plan to serve another term, and no challengers have come forward. Manalapan’s qualifying period for the March 15 election began Nov. 24 and runs until Dec. 8, earlier than usual because the municipal voting will occur the same day as the presidential preference primary.
    In other business, work on the Audubon Causeway bridge project has gotten underway, but is still moving slower than commissioners would like.
    “It seems like it’s taking forever to get the ball rolling,” Cheifetz said.
    Isaac, the town’s liaison for the project, attributed recent delays to an excess of bureaucracy between the town’s engineer and the contractor. He said he was hopeful that the town can work with both parties to streamline the engineering oversight, eliminate redundant reviews and improve communication between consultants, saving time and perhaps money.
    “The contractor has been just as frustrated with the delays as we are,” Town Manager Linda Stumpf said of Drawdy Construction’s support for changing the engineering procedures.
    Isaac said by early December, workers should have installed a barrier to separate two 11-foot lanes on the bridge, and then will begin “sawing away” the south side.
Traffic will remain open throughout construction, which is expected to continue well into spring. Ú