News

By Steve Plunkett

Town commissioners used a group microphone instead of individual ones and sat at a U-shaped table in front of their usual chairs. None wore a suit, sport coat or even a tie.
Their first informal workshop generated nearly three hours of talk about Manalapan’s expensive Police Department, its expensive fire-rescue service and its very expensive water plant.
In the end, all agreed it would take many more workshops to resolve the town’s financial ills. The next one is set for April 25.
“Our having a large Police Department for a few number of people is something I think we need to look at,’’ newly appointed Vice Mayor Robert Evans said.
He said the options include making the department leaner by cutting officers; merging with Lantana, Ocean Ridge, South Palm Beach or Palm Beach; or expanding it to handle police activities in the other side of Hypoluxo Island or South Palm Beach.
“Over the next months or years we should be looking at all those strategies,’’ Evans said. “So that we again are addressing the question that we brought up at the beginning of this meeting, which was, how do we reduce our fixed costs or spread them over a larger base?’’
Evans said even with November’s workshop focused only on the water department, not much progress was made. Commissioners decided police or water would be the topic of April’s workshop. In the meantime, newly elected Commissioner David Cheifetz and residents Peter Isaac and John Murphy will examine police procedures, especially hiring practices, to see whether improvements can be made.
Isaac earlier had complained that he and his wife were not treated with respect by a younger officer during a code enforcement action and that the town needed to hire and train its personnel better.
Commissioner Howard Roder went a step further, contending Chief Clay Walker lacks the administrative, organizational and people skills needed for a well-functioning department.
Evans said commissioners should try to focus on Manalapan’s larger issues.
“It’s a reminder to all of us that we want a community that is a friendly community and a gentlemanly community and one that has respect for one another,’’ Evans said.
The day before, coats and ties lent a more formal air to the meeting room as Mayor Basil Diamond, Cheifetz and Commissioners Donald Brennan and Bill Quigley were sworn into office.     Brennan was selected mayor pro tem for the year.
Diamond said he would meet individually with other mayors along the coast.
“I intend to meet with each of our neighboring towns and see how we can be a better neighbor and see if they have suggestions for us, how they can be of assistance to us,’’ Diamond said.
Danny Brannon, the consulting engineer who is managing Gulf Stream’s conversion to underground electric lines, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the process and said Manalapan’s overhead lines, including electric, phone and cable TV, could be buried for about $18,000 a household. Just the electric portion would be roughly $3.5 million, he said.
Florida Power & Light Co. had previously given the town a $4.9 million estimate.
“It’s not in my view a nice-to-do, it’s inevitably a have-to-do,’’ Brennan said.