Mayor expresses trust in board members' abilities
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

Robert Kleinberg

MARLBORO - Mayor Robert Kleinberg said he trusts the members of the Planning Board to make the right decisions for Marlboro.

As mayor, Kleinberg has an automatic appointment to the board as a voting member on applications that come before the body. He is in the third year of his first four-year term as Marlboro's mayor.

According to records provided by the township, Kleinberg's attendance at Planning Board meetings has dwindled this year in comparison to the past two years. When asked why that is, the mayor said one reason is because he trusts the members he has ap-pointed to the board.

In 2004, his first year in office, Kleinberg was absent for two out of 20 board meetings; in 2005, his second year in office, he was absent for six out of 14 board meetings. This year the mayor has been absent for 16 of the 20 meetings the board has held since January. At one meeting this year he left an hour after the meeting began and at the another meeting he arrived late.

Kleinberg said all of the current members of the board share his philosophy of stopping corruption and residential overdevelopment in Marlboro. He said this is evident because the board has not approved any large residential subdivisions since he was elected mayor.

"The results are what counts," Kleinberg said. "My Planning Board has done a terrific job in stopping overdevelopment."

When asked if he should be keeping a closer eye on the board considering the problems that had stemmed from that panel in the past, Kleinberg said, "I am overseeing the Planning Board, I appointed the members."

He noted that Councilman Joseph Pernice is a voting member of the board and he acts as Kleinberg's "eyes and ears on the board."

The mayor said that when he feels his presence is needed at a meeting, he makes it his business to attend.

Another reason Kleinberg said he has not attended as many meetings this year as in the past is because there are numerous issues facing the town that he must attend to.

"I can only be in so many places at one time. I attend meetings, but I can't attend [every] meeting," he said.

When asked why he was able to attend almost every Planning Board meeting the first year he was mayor, Kleinberg said he has more things on his plate now than when he was first elected.

He said the only reason his attendance record should be an issue is if the board was approving numerous residential developments, which he said is not the case.

In addition to Kleinberg and Pernice, the members of the board are David Jarashow, Gerald Bergh, Mark Baren-burg, Peter Bellone, Randy Stouber, Sanjay Joshi and Elvera Fernandez.