Avallone looks forward to continuing to serve
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

Dorothy Avallone

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Road improvements in the municipality will be a priority for Dorothy Avallone upon her reelection to a new three-year term on the Township Committee.

Avallone, a Republican, is running unopposed in the Nov. 6 election to retain her seat on the governing body. She has served consecutive terms since 1988, following a previous stint on the committee from 1984-86.

Avallone served as mayor in 1986, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2004 and is serving as mayor in 2007.

She recalled that she came to Freehold Township 38 years ago with "seven children, seven bicycles and not much else."

In the ensuing decades Avallone has made her mark on the community as more than the mother of seven children, although she will tell you that her family has always been her most important goal and mission.

Avallone said she has worked well this year with state officials to improve what she referred to as problem intersections in the township.

She said that in the coming years municipal officials will continue to work toward making improvements at the intersection of Wemrock Road and Route 33, and the intersection of Pond and East Freehold roads, an initiative she expects to be completed by 2009.

Avallone said she is working with Monmouth County officials to address improvements at the intersection at Jackson Mills and Georgia roads.

She spoke of the "beautiful new Opatut Park (on East Freehold Road) that is now a part of the township's landscape.

"We already have a great park, Michael J. Tighe Park on Georgia Road, but I believe it was difficult for people on the east side of the township to get there. The new Opatut Park will see Pop Warner football games and soccer games played there. We are already talking about improving the parking there," she said.

Generally, she said, Freehold Township is "pretty quiet."

"We don't have a lot of the screaming and complaining you see at other town's meetings," she said. "This is a great town with great services."

She said her job over the next three years will be to continue to provide those services to residents.

One of the news stories to come out of Freehold Township this year involved a lawsuit that centers on a resident's use of his home as a house of worship and how that use impacts a residential neighborhood. Avallone said she could not comment on the ongoing litigation.

Avallone said Freehold Township continues to have a municipal tax rate which historically has been one of the lowest municipal tax rates in the county.

"We want to continue good government. I always say we have a great committee. Although we don't always agree on everything, we are flexible and cooperate with one another and most of the time we do agree," she said. "I think we have extraordinary residents here in Freehold Township, outstanding really, and I am very grateful for them."

Avallone also thanked municipal employees for the making the elected officials look good.