Mayor seeks council cooperation in 2007 Proposes new agency to work with business owners in Sayreville BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Kennedy O'Brien SAYREVILLE - Mayor Kennedy O'Brien gave his State of the Borough Address before a crowd of more than 100 at the Sayreville Senior Center last week. The mayor typically gives the address on the first of the year, but O'Brien was hospitalized at that time for inflammation of the pancreas. "I felt like I was having a heart attack," the Republican mayor said, adding that the care he received at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy was "extraordinary." Large groups of people from the Saint Stanislaus Kostka and Senior Center Tuesday Club attended to hear the speech March 20, as well members of the all-Democrat Borough Council. O'Brien addressed several issues facing the borough, including the redevelopment of the National Lead site. He offered to share his experience, including eight years on the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency, to the council as discussions with National Lead continue. The council last year chose not to reappoint O'Brien to SERA, something that became an issue of contention during November's election. "I consider the past to be the past," O'Brien said. "This issue is too important, much too important to be sidetracked by partisan bickering." O'Brien also proposed the creation of a Sayreville Business Council to address the needs of business owners. He noted that more than 5,000 people who lived in the borough also worked in town 25 years ago, while only 500 both live and work in the borough today. "I think that what [the business council] should be comprised of is members of the governing body and members of the school board whose job it is to listen, ask questions and then to implement a process or a procedure to create a more business-friendly environment, particularly for local entrepreneurs," O'Brien later told the Suburban. Businesses pay more in taxes than they use in borough services, O'Brien said, and thus officials need to create a nurturing environment for business owners. The business council would listen to the needs of the owners and adapt and adjust to their needs in order to attract business to town and bring residents property tax relief. On the issue of recent violence at borough clubs, O'Brien said that a liquor license is a privilege, not a birthright. He added that he would like to see the Borough Council support his "three strikes" ordinance, which would give owners three opportunities to curtail violence before they lose the liquor license. Council members were critical of O'Brien's three-strikes policy when he proposed it earlier this year, but the mayor asked the council to reconsider in his address. "I ask that the governing body to support me on this common sense approach to what are sometimes the irresponsible actions of but a few of the license holders." O'Brien addressed the issue of partisanship on the governing body, which has led to several polarizing issues between the GOP and the Democrats. He said there is too little civility in Sayreville government. O'Brien said he is confident that the council will find a way to limit unnecessary spending from the budget, adding that he was dissatisfied with the amount of state extraordinary aid the borough received for its municipal budget in comparison to South Amboy. "If we had, on a per-capita basis, the same state aid as South Amboy, we would not have had a tax increase," O'Brien said. The system for allocating state aid does not make sense, O'Brien said, adding that it penalizes borough residents. "Our only recourse is to dig deeper and deeper into our pockets," he said. Soon after O'Brien gave his speech, council President Thomas Pollando issued a statement that the Republican mayor was attempting to "skew the facts," specifically when he said South Amboy received four times as much aid as Sayreville. "Had the mayor taken the time to check his figures," Pollando wrote, "he would see that [for 2006 and 2007] Sayreville received a total of $12.6 million in state aid, while South Amboy received only $5.4 million." "The mayor has never gone down to Trenton to help us get extraordinary aid since I have been in office," Pollando told the Suburban. "Myself, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the B.A. [business administrator] and [Chief Financial Officer] Wayne Kronowski have gone." O'Brien told the Suburban that his comments addressed the per-capita state aid figures. He estimated that South Amboy residents each received $200 more in state aid than Sayreville residents. "I am happy for the people of South Amboy, but South Amboy has million-dollar homes on the water," O'Brien said. "We are just looking for an equitable return of the taxpayers' money." On the council's refusal to reppoint O'Brien to SERA, Pollando noted that O'Brien can still attend meetings and offer ideas to the agency. "This is about what we can do to help Sayreville bring in ratables," Pollando said, "not with more commissions or committees. The Democrats are not talking, we are making things happen." Pollando said that acting on the needs and concerns of local businesses is part of the responsibility of the planning board, adding that he needs to hear more about O'Brien's proposal to create a business council. "I need to see what the business plan would be for this," Pollando said. Pollando said that officials should likely use the resources they have rather than create another body. Pollando also said that he will not support the mayor's three strikes policy for liquor license holders. The mayor took the opportunity to thank borough volunteers during his speech last week, recognizing four residents in particular with proclamations: Shirley Dill, Kenneth Kelly, Richard Kosmoski and Diane Semoneit. O'Brien thanked Kelly and Kosmoski for their work as members of the Veterans' Alliance to implement signs on borough streets recognizing the sacrifices of veterans lost in combat and of the veteran's monument at borough hall. Kosmoski, as a volunteer firefighter, also worked to have the firefighting monument refurbished at MacArthur Avenue. O'Brien also thanked Kelly for his work on the borough's 9/11 memorial and his contribution as the 9/11 anniversary coordinator. O'Brien recognized Dill for her activism at council and school board meetings, as well as her service to those who have lost loved ones in the community. "Shirley Dill represents the people of Sayreville," O'Brien said. "She is someone who will always speak her mind, she has no problem disagreeing with you, but she is also an extraordinary person. She is one of the most compassionate and caring people I have met since I entered office." Fred Semoneit accepted the mayor's proclamation on behalf of his wife, Diane, who passed away last month. She was recognized for her role in the rescue operations at ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001. "I would like to thank the mayor and I would like to thank everyone on behalf of my family," Semoneit said. "She was always a hero to us and she always will be."