Holmdel TC Begins 2024 On a Good Note and Residents May Get Insurance Premium Break

Picture is courtesy of Holmdel Township

Township Committee reorganization meetings at the beginning of the year are generally routine – newly (re)elected members are sworn in, members elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the year and all the necessary Board, professional and other appointments are made.

All that happened at Tuesday’s Holmdel Township Committee reorganization meeting.  Committeeman Rocco Impreveduto was elected as Mayor and was sworn in by his dad Patrick, former Holmdel Mayor and Monmouth County Freeholder.  Committeeman Brian Foster was elected to be Deputy Mayor.

However, two resolutions made a somewhat surprising appearance on the agenda.

Pledge Against Accepting Developers’ Campaign Contributions

The first resolution is a pledge by Township Committee members not to accept campaign contributions from developers seeking to develop within Holmdel.  The resolution also indicated that if a member who voted in support of the resolution receives a contribution determined to be from a developer seeking to develop in Holmdel, the member pledges to donate the campaign donation so that it would not benefit his or her election campaign.

Why is this important?  In recent years, political contributions seemed tied to property developments with issues or controversies.  At a recent TC meeting last year, a Holmdel resident, in expressing surprise that a developer would purchase the old Vonage property in southern Holmdel before securing the zoning changes that it needs for a high-density development, questioned whether any TC members accepted campaign contributions from the developer.

The fact that the Township Committee unanimously passed the resolution is a significant gesture and comports with good local governance.  We applaud this move by the 2024 Township Committee.

New Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee

A second resolution establishes an Ad-Hoc Redevelopment and Economic Development Advisory Committee.  While the new committee only serves in an advisory capacity, two “hot spots” could potentially come under the review of the new committee including Lot 7 of Crawford Hill which contained the Nokia building and the old Vonage property.  The new committee will allow further inputs by residents to the Township Committee on Holmdel property (re)development.  The deadline for application is January 12th.  Anyone interested should contact Wendy Patrovich, Holmdel Township Clerk.

Homeowner Insurance Premium Break for Holmdel?

In an under-the-radar announcement at the December 2023 TC meeting, the Holmdel Township Administrator mentioned that the Insurance Services Office (“ISO”) will be upgrading Holmdel’s community fire rating.

In 2018, after a 12-month notice, ISO downgraded Holmdel’s community fire rating.  Some residents confirmed that their homeowner insurance premium was increased by hundreds of dollars (as much as 25%) due to the downgrade.

Holmdel commissioned a fire safety study and released the findings of that study in January 2019.  The findings included the need for a centralized fire station and two fire trucks as soon as possible.  For more information, see https://betterholmdel.wixsite.com/home/post/fire-study-is-finally-released-now-what

Alarmed by that 2019 Fire Study, a Holmdel grassroots group called Fire Action Safety Today (“FAST”) was formed with the mission to drive fire safety improvements for Holmdel on a timely basis.  See https://holmdelfast.wixsite.com/home

Since 2019, the Holmdel Township Committee has provided significant capital funding for a new centrally located firehouse on Crawfords Corner Road (next to the post office) and new fire equipment including two new fire trucks.  Recruiting has also increased the number of members for the all-volunteer fire department.

We are grateful for the efforts of past and present Township Committee members, especially former Committeeman Dr. Rocco Pascucci, who served as the liaison for public safety.

The ISO community fire rating upgrade is effective March 2024.  In addition to better fire protection, Holmdel residents will hopefully see benefits from the upgrade for their homeowner insurance policy renewals after March.

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