Juliana Donnelly Pro Wrestling Benefit

If you haven't heard the story of Juliana Donnelly, it is heart wrenching.  Juliana is 5 years old and has been diagnosed with a rare malignant brain tumor.  The location of the tumor makes it most-likely inoperable. Because the diagnosis is so rare, treatment options and research are limited. Please support cause to help aid Juliana and her family.

Juliana Donnelly D2W Pro Wrestling Event Fundraiser
Dec. 1 2012 7:30pm

Lakeview Elementary School
44 Cooper Road, Denville NJ.
Ringside seats are $25. All proceeds will go to the Donnelly family.

This will be an awesome fun evening for the whole family.  And please cheer me on as your ring announcer.  I promise you a good show.

Tickets can be purchased:

Denville Town Hall (Town's Clerk's Office) 1 St. Mary's Place, Denville
Smart World Coffee, 2 Broadway, Denville NJ
Mancino's Pizza, 99 Bloomfield Avenue, Denville NJ
or from me !

EVENT POSTER !

Check out D2W Pro Wrestling

Denville Storm Information

DENVILLE DEPARTMENTS

The Administration, Denville Police and Office of Emergency management have been working on storm preparations since Tuesday.

The Denville Department of Public Works has 4 crews operating in preparation.  They are checking and cleaning storm basins.  Residents are encourage to check any basins by their home and clean appropriately.

RESIDENT AND BUSINESS OWNERS PREPARATION

Sand is available by the vacant gas station by Denville Seafood for Denville resident and business owners. Proof of residency required for homeowners.  No bags are available but people are encouraged to bag and shovel their own.  There is enough to fill 900 40lb bags.

JCP&L has sent correspondence indicating customers can be without power for up to 10 days

Prepare yourself with generators, water, non-perishable food, warm clothes, flashlights, batteries and charged electronics.

Make plans for leaving flood prone areas now.

A volunteer effort for assisting residents and businesses to prepare is being organized Sat, Oct 27th, 1pm at Denville Town Hall in the Community Room.  Contact me if you can help or require help.

DAM RELEASES

Indian Lake is nearly empty right now and will hopefully assist in being able to hold a large amount of water.  Estling and Shongum Lake are full.  The Shongum Lake dam is closed.

Cedar Lake, Rock Ridge and Picatinny have opened their dams and will close them before the storm.

SHELTER

Morris Knolls High School auditorium and cafeteria will be open Sunday at 1pm as a temporary shelter for people and their animals.  Access through the back of the school by the locker rooms.  Eighty cots are provided but residents must bring their own blankets and are required to register upon arrival. Social Services and CERT will operate the shelter.  All area hotels are booked.

DURING FLOODING

Avoid any flood waters. 

EVACUATION

Evacuation time frame notices will be distributed by the Denville Police to flood prone areas.

RECEIVING INFORMATION

Please subscribe to Nixle for constant emergency alerts. 

Reverse 911 is available via Everbridge.  Sign up

You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook 

Many are predicting this storm will be worse than Hurricane Irene with nearly 6-10 inches of rain.  (Hurricane Irene dropped 6.6 inches of rain).  We are not panicking, we are preparing.

Urgent: FLOOD CONTROL UPDATE

Well there is bad news and good news.

It looks as though the Morris County Housing Subcommittee will not be recommending Denville to receive a Grant for River Desnagging.

This is extremely disappointing and surprising. We are still investigating why we are not going to be recommended for the Freeholders to approve.

but....

There have been other major developments. Freeholder Director Chegwidden is meeting with Mayor Andes tomorrow morning. They have been working on a way to complete the project despite not receiving the Grant. They have arranged to get all the upstream Mayor's together to discuss an immediate plan. I spoke with Freeholder Director Chegwidden tonight and he said that he is very sympathetic to Denville's problem and is committing to working with Denville to still get this done. He believes even without the Grant money, the surrounding towns and County can complete this project. To ask the Freeholders to reject an independent Subcommittee's recommendation because Denville was not a recipient of the aid, would be nearly impossible. Although he is very sympathetic to Denville's issue, never have Freeholders voted against an independent non-political subcommittee awarding Federal money. He thinks that would not solve anything. But he is committed to getting the project done even without he Grant.

However,.....

we still need to show support. I will still attend the Freeholders Public Meeting this Weds, March 28th, at 7:30 pm and will speak during the public portion. I will thank them in advance for their support of somehow aiding Denville but I will also remind them how important our cause is.

While I believe we will have Freeholder Chegwidden, Freeholder Feyl, Freeholder Murphy and Freeholder Cabana's support, we need to have a majority of the board. There are no guarantees and we need to respectfully continue to urge County support for our flood mitigation plans.

I hope and encourage any willing residents to come and express the same, either at this Wednesday's meeting, by phone, mail or at future meetings. (see http://www.co.morris.nj.us/freeholders/publicmeetings.asp for more information) We need to constantly and respectfully voice our concerns to our elected officials. I plan to do that and hope you can as well. I am doing this as a Denville resident and concerned neighbor, not just an elected official.

If you have any questions or need more information, let me know. I will post updated to my website (http://www.councilmanfitzpatrick.com) and my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gene-Fitzpatrick/50108310378) I hope you can join me at the meeting on Wednesday.

Recent Sewer Assessment

On February 14th, the Denville Township Council was asked to approve or deny the final assessment of the latest phase of the Township sewer project. The project was initiated many years ago and the Council last Tuesday was only deciding about whether the current assessment for each property was fairly done.

I was not on the Council when the project was initiated. Actually, only one current Council Member was. So during this meeting I was not making any decision regarding how the project came about or whether or not the process was the best route. We were simply deciding if the assessments of the final project were correct.

There was a citizen advisory board for the project to watch over the assessor and assessment company. We heard a lot of feedback from many current residents regarding the project and the assessment but I felt that all questions were answered. If there are any outstanding issues, there is an appeal process through the courts. For the most part it appeared that things were in order. Most importantly I gave great value to the Citizen Advisory Board. It was made up of citizens that were understanding of other residents. There testimony was powerful. There were huge problems with the sewer project and how it was communicated to residents but this assessment was fair when applying it to the project. And that was what the Council was voting on Tuesday, February 14th.

The Council unanimously approved the assessment. This was not an approval of all of the components of the project but only on the assessment aspect. Any residents that still have a dispute with that assessment, which didn't appeared to be a relatively small amount, have a legal avenue to still appeal and should proceed in that way. I have faith that the court system would honor any appeal that presented a clear case.

What's Going Along Route 53? (Where the old Second Half Restaurant Was?)

Some residents have been wondering what is being built on the lot, along Route 53, where the old Second Half Restaurant used to be? That will soon become a Picatinny Federal Credit Union. Some people are often disappointed when seeing so many banks around town. However, something to keep in mind; Federal Credit Unions are extremely important in these tough financial times. Many financial experts recommend Federal Credit Unions over Banks. Denville residents haven't had many options for Federal Credit Unions in the past so it is an important business to have located in town. As well. if another business such as a restaurant or shopping location were built in that location instead, Denville's resources would have been affected. Another type of business may require more work from our Police Department, Municipal Offices, Fire, First Aid and more. All of which can impact property taxes.

The Planning Board asked for many considerations from Picatinny before approving their site plan. These included; assistance in drainage on that property, a pedestrian sidewalk and aesthetic suggestions. All those were agreed upon and I believe the many residents that came out to the hearings will be pleased with the result. The Federal Credit Union will be; a good ratable to Denville, an important resource for residents and low maintenance to our municipal infrastructure.

Outdoor Storage Ordinance Being Introduced

There is some talk about the Outdoor Storage Ordinance the Council is looking to introduce tonight. Unfortunately there is some misinformation about the ordinance being talked about and emailed around. I'm not sure why this is happening but here is the truth about the ordinance as well as a link to the actual document.

• General property maintenance has been one of the most popular issues residents have expressed to me since running for office and since being elected to office

• There was a sub-committee of various different individuals with different backgrounds that worked on re-looking at many ordinances

• 95% of the Outdoor Storage Ordinance has already been in place since the 1970s.

• The change in the ordinance affects commercial areas that have unregistered vehicles in disrepair visible to the public.

• The revision to the ordinance gives commercial property's affected as long as 5 months to complete repair or move the vehicle to an interior storage area.

• I know of 3 garage owners that have been informed of this change and have no problem with it.

• Ultimately, this is a good thing for businesses. Something in disrepair and on display that long is essentially pollution and affects other businesses.

• All the other areas of the ordinance affecting residents have been in effect since the late 70s

• The ordinance is locally enforced. This is not some Federal or State law burdening down on our individual rights. This is simply an example of community. Many residents have united to help preserve our town and as part of a democratic process they are helping and asking their local government to assist in this need.

A copy of the ordinance being introduced can be found here

I plan on supporting introduction of this ordinance but also look forward to public feedback.

No Giant Billboards in Denville

THE PROBLEM - NJ Transit wants to build a billboard along Route 80 in Denville. It is currently proposed to be about 73 feet high and 42 feet wide. It will only be one-sided on the East bound side but visible to West bound traffic. It may eventually be converted to an LED sign featuring rotating digital pictures.

WHERE WILL IT BE? - On the East bound side of Route 80 but facing West bound right along the curve towards Parsippany in Denville. It is near Luger Road and Anthony & Son's Bakery off the highway. (see map below)

WHY CAN'T DENVILLE STOP IT?- We have to try. The Mayor, Planning Board and Township Council are helpless. While NJ Transit has listened to our concerns and have adapted the sign considerably, the governing bodies appear to be unanimously opposed to it at any height and size, myself especially. It does not fit with the character of our town. Legally the state has no obligation to follow local municipal laws and ordinances. That needs to change.

WHAT CAN I DO? - Senator Bucco, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carrol and Assemblyman Bucco Jr. have jointly sent a letter to NJ Transit asking for revisions but we need to push hard to keep the billboard from being erected. They have also express the Legislature to consider making the state adapt to local ordinances but we need more. Many residents have told me they will boycott NJ Transit and any advertisers on the proposed sign. Make sure NJ Transit knows that when you contact them.

Contact them (you can use the contact link on the below pages)

Senator Bucco

Assemblyman Carroll

Assemblyman Bucco, Jr

Write NJ Transit & tell them you don't want billboards along Route 80 in Morris County

The Honorable James Weinstein

Executive Director, NJ Transit

One Penn Plaza East

Newark, NJ 07105-2246

PROPOSED BILLBOARD LOCATION

View Proposed Billboard in Denville in a larger map