|
Ice Palace Purchase Now A Political Football
By Catherine Galioto
Is a major project announced shortly before campaign season begins sure to become a political issue? In Brick, the answer appears to be yes.
The township is embarking on the purchase and renovation of the Ocean Ice Palace and the total 13 acres it sits upon. The tract, officials said, could become the first community center for the township.
The lone Democrat on the council, Kathy Russell, has brought up questions she has about the project since the initiative was announced about two months ago. She's hoping for a study to be done, and agreed with Democratic Mayor Dan Kelly that a referendum asking voters to approve or deny the project was a better way to pursue the endeavor.
As the minority party, Russell has had her comments rebutted by the Republican majority on the council.
Although it seems feelings on the deal run along party lines, Councilman Anthony Matthews, a Republican, said in his view, it's not a political issue.
"It just so happened things fell together this year," Matthews said. "If this happened last year or two years ago, we would have gone after it."
It's too good a deal to have passed up, he said, and is not something to be used as a political tool. In previous meetings, Matthews has decried Kelly's comments that the plan is a "Republican" plan or that the move is being made simply because it is an election year.
Matthews is among the candidates running for council this November. With three council seats and the mayoral spot up for grabs this year, the Ocean Ice Palace deal is still seen by some as a strong campaign issue.
Russell made the point that Councilwoman Ruthanne Scaturro is running for re-election after Scaturro blasted Russell for her comments regarding the Ice Palace at the September meeting.
"I'm not running, you are," Russell said, to which Scaturro replied, "What does that have to do with anything? That's inappropriate."
Party supporters on each side accuse the other of making the political. Residents write heated letters to the editor, some outright calling the project the brainchild of Council President Stephen Acropolis, who is running for mayor this year.
The issue of whether or not to have a referendum on the ballot, asking residents to approve the project, has also divided the council between party lines. Kelly's idea for a referendum was seen as a Democratic proposal. Russell has supported the idea.
But Republican Michael Thulen has argued that the real referendum is simply the mayoral election in itself. People will be voting for each candidate's vision, whether it be to vote Kelly or Acropolis, he said.
Republicans also charged that Russell's urging for more studies before the project moves forward are politically motivated. When Democrats were in power to buy the Foodtown site, Scaturro said, they did not ask for referendums and further studies as they are now.
The debate is likely to continue until Election Day.
| 
