Condo Association Meets Tonight

It's billed as "Monarch at East Front Street Condominium Association," but the board that will meet at 7:30 tonight is somewhat of a hybrid, as only 24 of the 63 residential units at 400 East Front Street are owner-occupied. The developer still owns the rest as rental units. The city's Senior Center on the ground floor also has condo status and eventually the Veterans' Center will be yet another condo entity, subject to fees for maintenance of common areas at the complex.

The Senior Center fees were set at $2,500 per month, but the City Council rejected that assessment in March. See Plaintalker's post here. There was a resolution in May to pay $16,500, but I was away in Seattle and did not report on it. At this hour, I cannot verify whether it passed.

As noted in the linked article above, Corporation Counsel David Minchello has taken the position that the city does not owe other fees sought by Dornoch for costs related to the Senior Center. That amount had been under discussion for some time. See post here.Although I anticipated a vote in that post, it never took place.

I have been told the city now has representation on the condo board, so maybe someone from City Hall will attend the board meeting and keep an eye out for the city's interest.

Get To Know Jackie

If you are not already a fan of Jackie Schnoop's blog, be sure to check this post for fall foliage and exciting news about Jackie's photos.

Jackie has a huge archive of photos about Plainfield, but as you can see, she also likes to visit Westfield, this time for fall foliage leaf-peeping.

LVW Mayoral Forum on YouTube

I am having a devil of a time trying to post the YouTube link to the LWV Mayoral Forum. It keeps linking to a point past the beginning. So go here and try for yourself.

Thanks to Lamar Mackson for putting it up. He says the BOE will follow.

Sandford Memorial Is Nov. 16

Memorial Service

for

Barbara Sandford

1 p.m. Saturday Nov. 16

Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church

716 Watchung Ave.

Check YouTube For Candidates' Forum

According  to the PCTV Facebook site, the Plainfield League of Women Voters candidates' forum will be up on the PCTV YouTube channel as of Nov. 1. It is now the wee hours of Nov. 2 and so far no luck, but you can keep checking here over the weekend. If you have Comcast cable or FiOS, check there too. The Comcast channel is 96 and the Verizon channel is 34.

Note from Lamar on Saturday: The League of Women Voters Board of Education Forum will show today at 12pm,4p, and 6pm (TV only). The Mayoral Forum is being drafted. Stay tuned for schedule updates. The Forums will show until all the votes are counted. Thanks for your patience. watch on PCTV (Plainfield Community TV) Comcast 96/Verizon 34 or
http://www.youtube.com/user/PCTV9634

PMUA Changes Meeting Time

If you are a meeting maven and were wondering how to got to the PMUA meeting at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 and then get to the council double-header by 7:30 p.m., don't worry. The PMUA has changed its meeting time to 4 p.m.

What? You are still working at that hour? Too bad.

The City Council meeting features an agenda-fixing session at 7:30 and a regular meeting at 8 p.m. The reason for the combined meeting is that officials want to attend the annual League of Municipalities convention the following week, when the regular meeting would otherwise take place.

Half an hour for an agenda-fixing session seems skimpy, considering that it is where discussion takes place on what to move to the regular meeting. Those who follow the governing body's actions closely will have to be on their toes to prepare questions for the public comment section of the regular meeting.

The League of Municipalities meeting is important. Officials can learn about new issues in municipal government and staff members can gain professional credits there. Coming after the general election, the convention is also a place where newly-elected mayors can shop for cabinet members, and those who will leave office on Jan. 1 can look for new opportunities.

If you look around this website, you will see that it is not all fun and games down there in Atlantic City. Topics at workshops include sustainability, using technology and green energy, in addition to the perennial municipal concerns of budget and finance, personnel management and ethics. One hears tales of lavish open houses hosted by those who would curry favor with elected officials, but I'm sure our local representatives are more higher-minded than that.

--Bernice 

Beware of Election Mischief on Weekend

Mud runs have become quite the thing nowadays, as tests of endurance. People voluntarily subject themselves to all sorts of challenges as a personal test and often a way to benefit their community.

But before Tough Mudder and Dirty Girls Mud Run, there was another kind of test involving mud. It was the run-up to the November general election, where after all the debates and campaigning candidates found thenselves pelted with last-minute calumnies by opponents desperate for a victory.

The custom lives on. The Star-Ledger reports that a book detailing alleged political "land mines" in Gov. Chris Christie's background will be released on Election Day, as he makes his bid for re-election. Around here, the weekend before the election is usually when the mud hits the mailbox in the form of inflammatory campaign fliers.

With some exceptions, the campaigns so far have been fairly civil compared to some past ones in Plainfield. Just watch out for those final attempts at character assassination. As one online dictionary put it, mudslinging may just convince a voter that neither candidate is worth their support.

--Bernice