Stephen Alexander chosen to lead U.F. through 2008
Horsnall Mount, Moslowski take oath of office
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer
The new year did not bring harmony to Upper Freehold's all-Republican but apparently still-divided governing body.

Lori Horsnall Mount

At the Jan. 3 reorganization meeting, the Township Committee elected senior Committeeman Stephen Alexander as mayor in a 3-2 vote. Committeeman David Reed and newly sworn-in Committeeman Stanley Moslowski Jr. voted against Alexander's mayoralty.

During the meeting, newcomer Lori Horsnall Mount also took the oath of office as the township's first-ever committeewoman. Her father, former Mayor David Horsnall, said he is very proud of his daughter and that her late mother, Marge Horsnall, would have been very proud, too.

Moslowski and Mount both graduated from Allentown High School in 1982 and ran in the November election for Township Committee last year as Republicans. However, Moslowski, the chairman of the township's Republican County Executive Committee (RCEC), did not align himself with Mount in the election but instead was allied with former Mayor Stephen Fleischacker, who did not run in the Republican primary but ran in the November election as an independent and lost.

Stanley Moslowski Jr.

Mount nominated Alexander for mayor, and Committeeman Robert Faber seconded the motion. Reed then nominated Faber for the mayoral position, but Faber declined. After voting for mayor, Faber nominated Reed for deputy mayor, which Reed declined.

Alexander, Mount and Faber ultimately cast the votes in favor of Alexander for mayor, and the committee unanimously voted for Faber as deputy mayor.

In accepting the mayoral position, Alexander said that although he is mayor, the township has a committee form of government and will act as such.

The committee also made other professional appointments during the meeting. The firm of Magee and Magee, Wall Township, will continue as township attorney in 2008.

Glenn Gerken, of CMX Inc. in Manalapan, will again serve as township engineer. Since Township Planner Mark Remsa asked not to be considered for reappointment, the committee will have to fill that position at a later date.

The committee also made appointments to various township boards and commissions. The committee appointed John Mele, a former mayor and longtime Planning Board member, as a Class IV member of the Planning Board with a term to expire Dec. 31, 2011. Mele lost his bid for the Township Committee in the 2007 Republican primary.

The committee also appointed Faber to serve on the Planning Board as a Class III member for one year. Jeff Doherty was appointed as a Class IV member to serve the unexpired term of Barry Wright, who resigned last year, until Dec. 31, 2009. Jeff Ferrier was appointed as the board's second alternate with a two-year term.

When Alexander suggested Dianne Kelly, the township's chief financial officer, to serve as the Planning Board's Class II member for a one-year term, Reed questioned the appointment and said she had not been reappointed to the board in the past because she had missed meetings.

Reed also said that he did not think Kelly had submitted a letter of interest for the post and that Jennifer Coffey, who served in the position last year, would be a better choice.

Coffey ran as an independent candidate in the 2007 election but withdrew her candidacy before the general election and publicly supported Fleischacker and Moslowski. Coffey is not employed by the municipality, but she serves as chairwoman of the township's Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC).

A township employee must serve in the board's Class II position. However, last year, Township Attorney Granville Magee, said the term "township employee" could liberally be construed to mean a member of an advisory committee.

Township Administrator Barbara Bascom said that Kelly had not been required to submit a letter of interest for the Class II position, and other members of the committee said that Kelly had agreed to serve in the position.

The committee's final vote for all Planning Board appointees was unanimous.

The only discordant note in the votes for committee and board appointments resonated during talk about the township's Recreation Committee. The committee appointed Larry Williams, Steven Murphy and Mark Bramlage to serve two-year terms on the committee.

Reed said that former Recreation Commission Chairman Sal Diecidue, who is also a former township committeeman, should have been reappointed. Reed said that Diecidue started the commission and ran it for several years.

"I don't know why he is being taken off," he said. "One person who is being put on this commission only made five out of 12 meetings."

Moslowski agreed with Reed about reappointing Diecidue.

Mount said that concerns had been voiced about giving new people a chance to serve on the commission.

Alexander said the committee would appoint Diecidue to the Municipal Drug Alliance and that he could serve as the alliance's liaison to the Recreation Commission.

The vote for the commission appointments split 3-2 along the same lines the mayoral vote did.