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Health & Fitness

From The Sidelines: It is Time to Get Turf The Valley Done

Lack of leadership, fumbling politicians and a dedicated volunteer group.

It is time to put this infrastructure improvement in context and get it done. It should have been done six years ago along with the shared plan to do both the track and the field at the same time, with some private contributions. It was cost effective and thanks to a complete failure of leadership on the part of the Board of Education and the politics at that time it wasn't done.

The tax impact would then have been almost non-existent and at this point it would have saved money and been almost three-quarters paid for. 

This township collects almost $90 million dollars per year in property taxes, so over the past six years since this was proposed the overall township has collected over a half a billion dollars and the idea that we could not have completed this infrastructure improvement is just a monument to a lack of leadership and self interest that puts this township to shame.

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I grew up in this township. I have seen it go from a series of dirt roads interconnected with paved ones to tree lined, curbed well lit streets.  I have seen schools go from class rooms in firehouses and private meeting rooms to a full scale K-12, well-rated school system. I have seen leaking and smelly septic systems and drying wells replaced by a highly functional water and sewer system. I have seen a first class recreational system developed and a one room library in Towaco be replaced by a first class system. It hasn't been easy and has happened over a 40 year history for those who think we moved too fast.

This field is not about a competition for dollars between programs. It is about the responsibility to maintain and update the infrastructure of a system. It isn't about employees getting fired. Those issues are separate and as troubling as they are have no relationship to the requirement to maintain and build on the basic infrastructure of the system.

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This isn't about placing athletics and band above anything else. Those activities are a part of the over all high school experience. They as well as other less costly but important activities are an important part of the value of an education in Montville Township and the value of the educational system is directly tied to the value of the property on which the taxes are paid.

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