Who is minding the Store. You could make the argument that Montville Township has the best recreational facilities in the County and it didn't happen by accident. When I was elected in 1990 we had two main fields in poor condition and a number of smaller fields around the Township. When I left the Township Committee, we had 6 first class fields and thousands of new families to enjoy them. Light the Valley, ( a lighted High School Field ) and Field of Dreams (lighted Baseball Fields) were a result of the efforts of private Citizens and the Township Committee and Board of Education working with those Citizens to expand the ability of those fields to serve more people.
Between 1990 and 2005 we added roughly 7000 people to our population and regardless of how needed you think these facilities were, there is one thing I think we can all agree on. That is spending the money we need to maintain those facilities. It is not being done. You can't build new facilities if you can't maintain the ones already here.
One of the primary jobs of the Township Committee is reviewing maintenance of the facilities and the general look of the township and it is not being done. This Committee seems more interested in outsourcing the work needed to keep Montville Township first class then they are in doing their jobs making sure the work actually gets done. It is not just the obvious recreational facilities. Take a look at things like curb lines, overgrown road ways and sight distance at intersections. This Township Committee is detached from the work that needs to be done. They seem to believe that if they sign a contract with some out of State Company to do the road and field maintenance that their job is over. It isn't. We have a great Public Works Department with a lot of dedicated workers. What we don't need is them having to go out and redo the work that the Township has already paid for. That is what is happening now. What we don't have is the Leadership to get things done and see that things are getting done in a manner to protect our investment. There is a place for outsourcing but without the oversight of the Elected Body running the Township things fall through the cracks or in the case through the fence rails.
