Pezzullo, Klauber make first bids for election

BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

Although both candidates for Manalapan Town-ship Committee ack-nowledge that they cannot point to any prior elected office or municipal board or committee experience, they each be-lieve they can be an asset to the Township Committee.

In the Nov. 7 election there will be a single three-year term up for grabs on the governing body. Democrat Richard Klauber and Republican Nikole Pezzullo are seeking election to the position.

Democrat Drew Shapiro, who is serving as mayor in 2006, is not seeking re-election.

The members of the Town-ship Committee are Democrats Michelle Roth and Shapiro, Republicans Joe Locricchio and Andrew Lucas, and Anthony Gennaro, who was elected as a Democrat in 2005 and later announced he had left the Democrats and would serve as an independent.

Pezzullo and Klauber are both attorneys; Klauber, 48, has a law office in Ocean Township, and Pezzullo, 36, has a law office in Freehold Township.

Both candidates are parents; Klauber has two children, ages 6 and 8, and Pezzullo has one child, age 6.

Klauber said although he has no municipal service to speak of, he and his wife are both volunteer soccer coaches in the township.

Klauber and Pezzullo spoke with the News Transcript to discuss their vision for Manalapan.

They are both in agreement regarding the 500,000-square-foot commercial-retail project known as The Village at Manalapan. The project was approved by the Planning Board without a residential component, but the developer has asked municipal officials to consider permitting homes at the site on the corner of Route 33 and Millhurst Road.

Both candidates said they would not support residential uses on the property.

"The Village project should be left as is," Pezzullo said. "Anything additional at this site would be detrimental to the town. The master plan for this part of town should not in any way, shape or form provide for any more housing in this end of town."

When asked if The Village project should incorporate residential uses, Klauber said, "I am adamantly against it."

He said that while campaigning door to door he learned, to no surprise, that rising taxes are the biggest concern for residents. Klauber said that while holding the line on residential growth is a good way to work toward stabilizing property taxes, he believes elected officials should be looking to "creative" ways to effect tax relief.

As an example, Klauber referred to a freeze on police hiring that had seen a request from the Manalapan Police Department for five new officers go unfulfilled last year.

Klauber said that instead of cutting costs for "critically needed services like additional police officers," the Township Committee should look to effect an accord with the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District that could result in cost-saving measures to benefit taxpayers.

Klauber said while the school board is an autonomous entity that does not have to answer to the Township Committee, that does not mean the members of the committee couldn't "use common sense to find common ground."

Klauber said committee members should sit down with school administrators and talk about energy costs and ways to cut them.

For example, said Klauber, the installation of solar energy in the schools could be a way to offset rising energy costs.

"I just believe it can only help to have everyone working toward the same goal," he said. "If we work together we may find ways to maintain the present quality of life without raising taxes."

Both candidates had views on the Township Committee's recent decision to reinstate the position of committee liaisons between the governing body and groups such as the school board and the recreation advisory board.

Pezzullo said she is a proponent of committee liaisons and said "liaisons should absolutely attend meetings" of the board or agency to which they have been assigned.

Klauber said having a liaison act as go-between "will help if the information is communicated properly."

Both candidates were asked their position on the proposed Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex passenger rail line that has been proposed for a route that would take it through Manalapan along Route 522 from Freehold Township, through Manalapan and Englishtown, and into Monroe Township.

Pezzullo said she would need to further study the issue before commenting on the proposal.

Klauber said that after making the Route 9 commute into Manhattan for seven years, he knows firsthand "it is not a pleasant trip." Given that, Klauber said "in theory" he is in favor of a rail line for Manalapan. "Although, as the devil is in the details, I'd like a closer look at it," he said.

Overall, he said, he believes the proposed passenger rail line would prove to be a boost for property values and alleviate motor vehicle traffic.

The passenger rail line, known as the MOM line, has been discussed off and on for 20 years by state transportation officials. One proposal calls for a line running between Ocean County and South Brunswick, Middlesex County, with connection to service north to New York and south to Philadelphia. That rail line would use the existing freight line that runs along Route 522 (Freehold-Englishtown Road).