TF Police Welcome New Officers; Road Improvements Discussed at Meeting

The Tinton Falls Borough Council meeting on Tuesday kicked off with the swearing in of two new police officers: Frank Gallucci, from Paramus, NJ and Eric Ammirata, from Hamilton, NJ. Galluci graduated summa cum laude from Seton Hall University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. After graduating, he attended the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute, where he won numerous awards. Ammirata graduated from Kean University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Administration in Criminal Justice. He then continued on to the Mercer County Police Academy program.

The workshop portion of the Aug. 2 council meeting featured four main topics of discussion (three others, a request for proposal for 2011 Audit, Designating Custodian of Records for the Borough of Tinton Falls Police, and Ordinance Amending Chapter XL, were also on the agenda but were not heavily discussed):

• Apple Street Improvement Project: Both Apple Street and Old Farm Road, with funds from the 2007 and the 2010 Road Programs as well as the capital reserves, will soon be renovated. As outlined by Red Bank Borough Engineer Christine A. Ballard, the repairs will feature partial reconstruction of the roads, a full overlay and sidewalk reconstruction.
• Capital Budget--Police and Road Department: The police department had two purchase requests for the council—the first, a new high definition video system for patrol cars to replace the current one, which is breaking down, said Chief of Police John A. Scrivanic.  As Scrivanic explained during his appeal, videos are crucial in DWI and narcotics arrests, as well as in internal investigations. They are also often used as evidence in court. Spurred on by the emergency of last winter’s snowstorm, Scrivanic also requested to buy a pickup truck equipped with a plow. He is hoping that such a truck could be used to dig out emergency vehicles or police cars in the event of a future blizzard. As for the Road Department, they are also preparing for another 2010 winter situation—the requests to the council for new equipment made by Public Works Director Gary Gebele included six new vehicles with plows and three plow installations that could be attached onto existing vehicles. The council is currently investigating bonding options to fund these expenditures.
• Open Space Tax Reduction Resolution: The council has decided not to move forward with this resolution at the current time.
• Uniform Shared Service Agreement—Local Public Health Services: With the addition of Middletown to the already existing pool of almost 20 towns that share payment for local public health services, the state has asked each town to adopt a uniform agreement so that every town is paying equally. According to council members, this uniform agreement would not change anything of substance in Tinton Falls' long-standing contract with the health commission, and will be adopted soon.

Before adjourning, council members briefly discussed a new recycling grant that will be added to the budget, as well as the creation of Tinton Falls “Buy Local, Create Jobs” cards. The cards would encourage Tinton Falls residents to shop locally by having Tinton Falls businesses provide a nominal gift or discount to a customer for bringing in the card, said Councilwoman Nancyanne Fama. Fama explained that the idea is modeled after already-existing Woodbridge “Buy Local, Create Jobs” cards and will be further developed in future meetings.