Safety Should Drive Decision on Bryant Park Playground

Bryant Park Playground is a city-owned park located a couple of blocks east of Plainfield’s City Hall. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Bryant Park Playground for the purpose of reviewing the planned location for a bathroom facility and field house. I was later invited to, and consequently attended, a meeting of the East Sixth Street Block Association to hear the concerns of the residents in the area about the proposed improvement to the park.

Based on the information provided to me, I have some concerns, which I hope the council and administration can work together to address before moving forward with the planned improvement in its present form. I am of the view that the council needs to take another look at the plan and have some further discussions with the administration before moving forward. I feel this should be done as a matter of urgency for the following reasons:

• Safety should be the paramount concern and it should drive the decision more than any other consideration.
• Aesthetics should also be a consideration—meaning both the aesthetics of the park and those of the surrounding neighborhood.
• 
  We should be very careful not to let the desire to save an $85,000 grant cause us to make a bad decision.
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  We should not site the facility in a way that would cause neighborhood safety to be in any way compromised.
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  Placing the structure along the southern border of the park (as currently designed) could obstruct the view of police officers patrolling the neighborhood.
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  Placing the structure on the southern side might encourage individuals to gather on its northern side, facing the park, out of the view of watchful neighbors and law enforcement; safety would be compromised.
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  Safety will not be compromised by placing the structure along the fence on the eastern side; this would seem to make the most sense.
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  The preservation or the enhancement of safety in the neighborhood is more important than saving the grant. Furthermore, another appeal should be made to the state of New Jersey to extend the grant one more time.

The East Sixth Street Block Association voted overwhelmingly at its January 8, 2009 meeting to support the construction of the bathroom facility and field house as one unit and to have it constructed on the eastern perimeter of the park.

I hope that both the council and the administration can work together in collaboration with the neighborhood block association, and with the urgency that is required, to make the right decision in the interest of public safety and in the best interest of the city.

Regards,

Adrian

Transformational Change in Plainfield

Dear Residents,

First, let me begin by thanking the Almighty Creator, through whom all things are possible and to whom I owe everything; second, let me thank the people of Plainfield for the trust, confidence and faith they have in me by returning me to this august body to do their will. Also, so that I may return safely into the household of the most important ladies in my life, I must thank my lovely wife, Amelia, and our beautiful daughters, Shermona and Ayisha, for standing by my side each and every step of this journey.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not express the joy I felt at being on the same ballot as new At-Large Councilwoman Annie McWilliams, the daughter of my late friend and former mayor, Albert T. McWilliams, and our President, Barack Obama.

When I decided in the spring of 2008 to run for the office of councilman of the 3rd Ward, it was at the urging of people who felt that I had a contribution to make to this city that we all love so much. Having served on the council previously and believing in the call to service, I felt compelled to answer the call.

For the next two months, along with my campaign team and a dedicated group of volunteers, I knocked on most of the doors of 3rd Ward residents and spoke with many of our citizens, most of whom voiced concerns about our city. Those concerns focused on quality of life issues, the terrible condition of our roads, ever increasing property taxes, and the apparent lack of transparency and accountability in government.

It is clear to me that we, as elected officials, cannot continue the same patterns of behavior and expect different results. We must be creative in our approaches and we must seek out innovative solutions to the challenges we face. All elected officials must be willing to make sacrifices and must be comfortable making the hard but necessary choices so that our government can be more efficient and cost effective. We as leaders must lead, and we must do so by example; we must be agents of transformational change.

I therefore propose the following:

1) I will decline all health benefits coverage from the city, for an annual savings to the city of $14,500; furthermore, I will not be accepting the opt-out cash payment. I encourage my colleagues to give this some consideration.

2) We must be professional and fair-minded in all that we do, and must work to restore confidence in local government through strong fiscal management that will lead to the elimination of waste and the creation of opportunities. To that end, let us incentivize existing businesses through the creation of legislation that will encourage them to expand their operations in the city, thereby creating additional jobs and expanding our commercial tax base.

These are but a few of the ideas that I would like this governing body to consider over the course of our next 100 days.

The time for us to act is now, the cause for which we must act is fair and just, and the reason for us to act is dollars and sense. We have a great opportunity to bring transformational change to the city of Plainfield, and we must embrace it. We must all tighten our belts and share in the fiscal sacrifices necessitated by today's harsh economic realities with prudent austerity measures.

In closing, let me leave you with this final thought. Just about five miles down the road south of us, the great Thomas Edison once remarked, “opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

Well, my fellow residents, it's time to tighten the straps of our collective overalls--opportunity awaits!

Thank you and may God bless you in this new year and always.

Regards,
Adrian

Reporting on the 93rd Annual NJLM Convention

I was very intrigued by some of the seminars given at this year’s New Jersey League of Municipalities convention, which I attended in my capacity as Chief Financial Officer for the Borough of Roselle. The seminars dealing with financial issues and “greening” New Jersey were of particular interest to me, but in this post I will focus on things financial.

Oftentimes, governmental entities and non-profit organizations, e.g., hospitals and churches, seem to take the view that any property they own is exempt from taxes. Municipalities have for years given into this unlawful ownership theory, thus foregoing tax revenues to which the municipalities may be entitled. But one of the things made very clear in the seminar titled “Property tax exemption in New Jersey, issues and answers,” is the fact that tax exemption is not based on ownership but is based on use. So, properties owned by non-profits, school districts, and other governmental entities can be taxed depending on the uses to which they are put. There are four basic theories that determine whether or not a property is exempt from taxation, regardless of ownership: 1) Tax Base Theory, 2) Benefit Theory, 3) Sovereign Theory and 4) Community Theory.*

This seminar also touched on the different types of programs and incentives municipalities can use in an effort to spur economic development, i.e., Redevelopment Area Bonds or "RABs" (also known as Tax Increment Financing or "TIF"), Redevelopment Allocation Districts, and five-year tax abatements, an incentive program I discussed during my recent campaign for the city council.

Another seminar of note was the one sponsored by the State Comptroller that dealt with the need for Accountability, Transparency and Efficiency in government. This topic was one of the themes of my recent campaign. Matthew Boxer, the State Comptroller, is proposing that municipalities rotate auditing firms every 10 years. His office is currently working on developing a template that municipalities would be required to use in soliciting quotes for auditing firms. I asked the Comptroller if his office had any plans to try and identify those responsible for the disappearance of billions of dollars in school construction funds. He responding by saying that his office was looking forward, not backward, and that it would be up to the State Attorney General’s office to pursue the matter of the disappearance of school construction dollars. Given the recent court ruling regarding the Abbott funding formula, I believe it is imperative that the AG follow up on this.

All in all, the convention was very informative and packed with several interesting seminars. It was a worthwhile learning experience.

Regards,
Adrian

*NOTE: I will discuss these theories and how they impact the municipalities I serve in more detail in a future post.

Thanks to Muhlenberg for 130 Years of Dedicated Service

This past Sunday, I had the privilege of attending a Thanksgiving service at Grace Episcopal Church in Plainfield, where Rev. Carolyn Eklund is the pastor. The service was in recognition of the many people who participated in the “save Muhlenberg” movement for the past several months. Several of the attendees, including Rev. Eklund, Rev. Laverne Ball, and Rev. Jim Colvin and his wife, Rev. Sarah Colvin, lit candles in appreciation for all of the hard work, commitment, time, and effort of those who participated in the struggle to keep the hospital open.

I, too, would like to thank everyone who participated in the marathon effort to keep Muhlenberg operating as a full service hospital. Although the outcome wasn’t what had been hoped for, the efforts of the thousands of people who dedicated themselves to the cause must never be forgotten.

So, on this Thanksgiving day, let’s all pause and give thanks to Muhlenberg for its 130 years of dedicated service to Plainfield and its neighboring communities; let us give a special thanks to all of the ministers who led the battle cry for social justice, and let us thank everyone who participated in the struggle to keep Muhlenberg alive.

Finally, let us say a special prayer for President-elect Barack Obama, who has made universal healthcare one of his top priorities.

And, may we all have a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving Day!

Regards, Adrian

Thank You - "Transformational Change" is My Vision for Plainfield

Tuesday night was a night that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. It was on this night, November 4, 2008, that all Americans came together to deliver the change that the country so desperately needs. The election of Barack Obama will bring about transformational change to our nation and the world. The declaration of his victory on Tuesday night was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I will always treasure the fact that I was on the ballot with the man who will become the 44th President of the greatest nation on the face of the earth. I want to thank each and every one of you for your vote of confidence and for the opportunity to serve our great city yet again.

I ask you to join me as we embark on this journey to bring transformational change to every level of government in the city of Plainfield. Together we will work to provide leadership, services, hope and opportunity to all of our residents and to restore respect and confidence to the halls of city government. I am exited about the opportunity for us to come together to turn our city around.

I thank you for your support this past Tuesday and for the support you will provide in the future. Transformational change is what we need and transformational change is my vision for Plainfield. Let’s move forward together.

Regards,

Adrian

Voters beware

Voters beware—on the eve of this historic election, the poorly and inaccurately-designed weekend mailer from Jerry Green, chairman of the Plainfield Democratic City Committee, may end up confusing voters at my expense. In the glossy, full-sized mailer sent to voters by Jerry Green, my name is listed as being in Row 10A. In actuality, THERE IS NO 10A. My name, Adrian Mapp, is in Row 9A, the last name on the ballot in column A.

This is reminiscent of a similar occurrence in the recent June primary. During the primary, we received calls at our headquarters from 3rd Ward voters asking whether there was a deliberate attempt by the Union County Clerk to confuse voters in the 3rd Ward by placing my name in the same column as one of my opponents, something that, until then, was unheard of in primary elections. My name, along with Olive Lynch's, was placed in Column E, making it appear as if she and I were running on the same slate.

Many of you called our campaign office last spring with questions as to why this unprecedented and confusing ballot was prepared. The answer from Ms. Rajoppi was that there was not enough room on the ballot. Please note that the current ballot has many more columns than the primary. Let us be vigilant to make sure that this strange and unprecedented inconsistency does not emerge on future Plainfield ballots.

Fortunately, however, voters in Plainfield were (and are) far too smart and sophisticated about the ballot process. The Secretary of State, Nina Mitchell Wells, the official in charge of elections in the state of New Jersey, has herself stated, “Go to the polls with the utmost confidence that your vote will be counted.”

Plainfielders as well as all other Union County residents should rest assured with the knowledge that the Secretary of State will be called in to monitor any future ballot inconsistencies.

So, please note, 3rd Ward voters: my name is the last name on the ballot in column A, so please cast your vote for me as your 3rd ward councilman. Let local leaders know that you cannot be fooled or misled.

In the 3rd Ward, the local Democratic candidates running with Barack Obama and Joseph Biden (1A) are:

Annie C. McWilliams 8A
Adrian Mapp 9A

Polls are open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm!

Regards,

Adrian

Down to the Wire!

Down to the Wire

Today we stand on the precipice of history, looking at a brand new day that will dawn at the advent of 2009. That new day will begin to dawn at the rising of the sun on the morning of November 5th – we hold it in our hands. That means that we have an obligation to ourselves, to our children, and to the generations unborn to vote for transformational change; change that will bring healthcare to the 47 million who are currently without it, create jobs for those who don’t have them, revive our faltering economy, and restore our standing in the world. If this is to be, we must turn out in droves on this coming Tuesday, November 4th to vote for the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

Take nothing for granted, don’t be swayed by the polls, and don’t be lulled into a state of complacency that might lead you to believe that your one vote doesn’t matter. Your vote does matter, and it will make the difference between the setting of the sun on the broken promises of yesterday and the rising of the sun of tomorrow in the person of Barack Obama to shepherd us through the perilous waters to get us back on solid ground.

We are now down to the wire; let’s volunteer during these last few days to get the vote out in those key states that are critical to Obama’s success.

Together let’s change America; let’s vote early on Tuesday and avoid the late afternoon/evening rush. Vote for change--vote for Barack Obama!

Regards,
Adrian