Incumbents see traffic, planning as top issues
Republicans pressure county to help fix compromised roads
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

Mike Schumacher

Allentown Republicans will run uncontested for re-election to their council seats on Nov. 8.

Council member Margaret Armenante is seeking her third term on the council, while council member Michael Schumacher is seeking his fifth. If elected, both would serve another three-year term.

Armenante, 55, lives on Main Street with her husband, Frank, and their two daughters, Alexis and Amanda. She also has two stepsons, Frank and Damian.

Armenante, who works as an office manager, said she decided to run for re-election because she has lived in Allentown since 1977 and loves the town.

Margaret Armenante

“I find that serving on council is not an easy job,” Armenante said. “However, I enjoy participating and find having an impact on local issues very satisfying.”

When asked what she sees as the most important issues facing Allentown, Armenante said, “We have always had a serious problem with out-of-town traffic.

“In addition,” she said, “the bridge [on downtown Main Street] is daily becoming a more serious issue.”

Armenante said the council needs a response from the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders regarding a timetable to replace the bridge, as “its stability is increasingly compromised,” according to Armenante.

“Should that bridge be forced to close without proper preparation,” Armenante said, “all surrounding areas will be adversely affected, not only Allentown.”

Tied to the bridge issue, Armenante said, is the issue of the westerly bypass.

“Again, Monmouth County freeholders must follow through on a roadway that has been planned since the early ’90s,” she said.

Armenante said that if elected, her goals for the next term include pursuing all avenues to see that “long delayed projects” such as the bridge/dam repair and the westerly bypass are completed.

Schumacher, 44, lives on Sandburg Drive with his wife, Karen. The couple has two children, Michael and Meghan.

A mortgage banker, Schumacher has a bachelor of science degree in economics from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and an master of business administration in finance from Rutgers University in Newark.

Schumacher said he decided to seek another term because “there’s still a great deal of unfinished work to do with our neighbors and Monmouth County.

“The greatest threats to our borough,” he said, “come from factors outside our borders — specifically, local and regional development and the associated congestion.”

Schumacher agreed with Armenante that traffic is a serious issue in the borough.

“Traffic has been an issue since the 1980s,” Schumacher said, “and the only improvement since that time is the easterly bypass, between CR539 and CR526.

“While appreciated for the relief it brings,” he said, “it [the bypass] is a relatively small part of the overall solution.”

Schumacher said Monmouth County must appreciate the gravity of Allentown’s situation and build or improve roadways rather than study the issue over and over again.

“While we wait to see if a new highway interchange can be built,” Schumacher said, “the local connector roads are clogging with residential development whose residents will shout, ‘Not here!’ by the time it could be built.”

Schumacher also addressed warehouse development along Breza Road in Allentown.

“There are serious shortcomings with the plan proposed for that site,” Schumacher said. “We need to exert pressure to guarantee an outcome with the least impact on our residents and way of life.”

Schumacher said the borough has to maintain a tight fiscal control by crafting a budget to minimize tax impacts.

“The services taxpayers have come to expect cost more every year,” Schumacher said, “and there were some exceptional increases this year, especially energy costs and our new trash contract.”

When asked what his goal for this term will be, Schumacher said, “I believe it is the goal of the mayor and all of Borough Council to push for resolution of these regional traffic and planning issues.”