Millstone official: Gaboff investigation cost the twp. BY JANE MEGGITT & JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writers MILLSTONE - Township employees spent 40 hours investigating complaints about and furnishing records concerning resident Sharon Gaboff and her family, according to a township official. Township Administrator James Pickering said three men who live near the Gaboff property on Ely Harmony Road made the "extensive" complaints and requests for records. The Gaboffs' parcel, which consists of the family's residence, is located in the township's residential (R-130) zone. Sharon Gaboff also operates an Adopt-A-Pet animal rescue and a grooming and boarding facility out of a 1,000-square-foot building on the property. Last year, area residents had complained to officials that her operation may be an illegal commercial kennel business. The Special Prosecutions Unit at the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation of the property on July 26. Detective Theresa Wilbert conducted the review. Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said his office has closed the investigation. "It is our opinion that Sharon Gaboff is not operating a commercial kennel business," Valentin said in a letter to the township. On Sept. 21, Pickering had sent a letter to Manalapan Township Administrator Alayne Shepler about the Gaboff matter. "There are a number of disgruntled residents who have contacted just about every agency to complain about Ms. Gaboff," Pickering wrote in the letter. "All [complaints], by the way, were unfounded." Pickering said residents had contacted Shepler about the Gaboff property as well as various other agencies, which included the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the state and county boards of health, the New Jersey State Police, and the federal and state divisions of taxation, along with several township offices. Pickering contacted Shepler about the matter because Millstone resident Robert Richards, of 67 Stagecoach Road, had written Shepler a letter about Gaboff being employed by Manalapan as a certified animal control officer. Richards' letter accused Gaboff of having a potential conflict of interest, claiming she continued to operate an unlicensed kennel, and that her work vehicle, a Western Monmouth Animal Control truck, sits at her residence during on-call status. "It would appear that Western Monmouth Animal Control condones breaking Millstone Township's law," Richards wrote to Shepler on May 30, 2006. In July, not having received a response from Manalapan, Richards wrote again, stating that his original letter had been ignored and adding that something was wrong. "It appears that two municipalities are protecting this individual," he wrote at the time. "Intervention by another agency may be warranted." Richards sent copies of the letters regarding Gaboff to Valentin, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, Millstone's mayor and Township Committee, Manalapan's mayor and Township Committee, and to editors of various newspapers, among others. According to Pickering, Richards' letters "were filled with lies, innuendos and speculation." Pickering wrote to Shepler, "None of the allegations he wrote to you are correct." Richards did not respond to calls made for comment prior to press time. Richards wasn't the only resident seeking information about Gaboff. Joseph Dangler, of 521 Ely Harmony Road, submitted several public records request forms to the township for information about Gaboff and other general information. Dangler requested a list of 2006 dog licenses with owners' names, dogs' names, locations and numbers of dogs. A note apparently written by a township employee on the Aug. 23 request form states that "to avoid unnecessary calls, color and breed [were] added." On Aug. 4, 2006, Dangler requested a list of Millstone business licenses in 2005 and 2006. In August, Dangler also asked for copies of the zoning/code enforcement activity report for March, April, May, June and July 2006. In addition, on Aug. 25, Dangler submitted a request for a copy of a written notice given to the township by the New Jersey State Police for Hella (sic) Crazy Premiere Party which was held on Aug. 12 with live music for a $5 entrance fee at the Gaboff residence. Dangler also lodged several complaints with the township against Gaboff during this time period. In March, he alleged that Gaboff was not only running a kennel on her property, but was also doing dog grooming there. "She is grooming committee members' dogs-therefore, nothing will be done," he alleged in the complaint. On Aug. 7, Dangler complained to the township that the Gaboffs were clear-cutting trees on their lot. Deputy recycling coordinator Irv Siet and Lisa Rosati, of the township's engineering firm, Avakian Engineering, investigated the complaint. Siet reported that he found nothing wrong at the Gaboff property, since the township does not have an ordinance restricting tree cutting. Dangler could not be reached for comment prior to press time. A third resident, Jerry Ostrander, of 48 Stagecoach Road, also sought information about Gaboff and her property. Ostrander filed a request form asking for proof of the dissolution of Bark Inn Buddies, a business of Gaboff's. On May 30, 2006, Esther Brown, the accountant for Bark Inn Buddies LLC, wrote to the township's zoning officer, Pat Hynes, to state that the Gaboffs were in the process of filing final sales tax and payroll tax reports as required by the state of New Jersey and the IRS when dissolving a business. Ostrander also made requests for copies of all reports associated with an inspection conducted by Hynes at the Gaboff property on May 3, "associated with an unlicensed and uninspected kennel facility, Bark Inn Buddies." He asked for a copy of the cease and desist order as a denial of the use variance for the business known as Bark Inn Buddies. A letter from Hynes states that on May 3 he conducted an inspection of the Gaboff property and was advised by Sharon Gaboff that Bark Inn Buddies had been dissolved. "My personal observation during my inspection was consistent with your statement," Hynes wrote in the report. Ostrander declined to comment on the matter other than to say, "The Prosecutor's Office completed its investigation, and it did what it did."