TOMS RIVER – After a bitter campaign season, the only real argument at the most recent Township Council meeting was over whether the state should ban single-use bags.
A resolution was put on the agenda urging the Legislature and Governor to enact a law banning single use plastic and paper bags. The resolution did not pass.
Councilwoman Laurie Huryk said she was upset the ban did not pass. She was hoping to encourage people to use multi-use bags and urge Trenton to take the lead.
A Democrat, she noted how this environmental issue is not a bipartisan one. Stafford and Point Pleasant Beach governing bodies have also supported a ban. In Stafford, the ban was supported by a previous Republican administration.
Toms River Councilman Terrance Turnbach, a Democrat, and Councilwoman Maria Maruca, a Republican, voted for the ban. She represents Ward 1, which includes waterfront communities in Toms River. The rest of the “no” votes came from the other four Republicans on the council.
Republican Councilman Daniel Rodrick said that the ban sounds good but it actually misguided. He pointed to studies that reusable bags have a greater impact on the environment than single-use plastic or paper bags.
Code Blue Support
The Township Council passed a resolution in support of a bill that would declare a Code Blue alert when the National Weather Service predicts temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower statewide. When Code Blue is issued, overnight warming shelters for homeless are opened. Currently, the law has Code Blue in effect at 25 degrees as long as it is not snowing. The Toms River Council’s position has been “freezing is freezing, regardless of precipitation.”
Councilman Turnbach urged residents to reach out to their lawmakers to push this bill through. The bill passed in the Senate, sponsored by local Senator Robert Singer (R-30th), and was referred to the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. A member of that committee is Assemblyman Gregory McGuckin (R-10th), who used to be a councilman in Toms River.
New K-9s
The Township Council passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of two service dogs for the police department from Police Service Dogs, Inc. in the amount of $9,500 each.
They will be replacing two K-9s who are retiring.
Meeting Change
The Township Council generally meets at 6 p.m. every second and fourth Tuesday. In the month of December, they move their meetings to 5 p.m. Meetings are held in the upstairs L. Manuel Hirshblond Room, 33 Washington St. in the downtown area.
Election Wrapped
Public officials congratulated the winners of the most recent election, Mayor-Elect Maurice Hill, and incoming Councilman Kevin Geoghegan, Joshua Kopp, and Matthew Lotano. The well-wishing statements were bipartisan, as Democrat Huryk said of Republican Hill “His success is our success.”
The Toms River mayor and council have four-year terms. This means that there will not be another municipal election until 2021. On that ballot will be four council seats, currently held by Democrats Huryk and Turnbach and Republicans Maruca and Rodrick.
There will, of course, be other things to vote for in 2020, such as president.
