Millstone set for contested primary
Four Republicans and one Democrat have hats in the ring
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer
Four Republican candidates are running in the June 2 primary, seeking their party's nod to run in November for the two available Millstone Township Committee seats. One Democrat will also appear on the primary ballot.

Michael David Campion

Republican Mayor Nancy Grbelja hopes to retain her seat on the committee for a third term, while Committeeman Elias Abilheira has opted not to run again. Grbelja and her running mate, newcomer Gary Dorfman, are going up against Republican newcomers Michael David Campion and Scott DeMonte.

Grbelja and Dorfman are seeking election with the endorsement of the township's Republican County Executive Committee. Michele Kanatous is the sole candidate running in the Democratic primary.

Setting priorities

If re-elected, Grbelja, 54, said her three major priorities would be keeping Millstone affordable and rural for residents, maintaining residents' quality of life, and meeting the needs of the residents now and in the future.

A field representative for schools in Middlesex County, Grbelja has a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology with a minor in chemistry and a master's degree in education. She is single.

Gary Dorfman

Dorfman, 47, who is married with three children and has a Bachelor of Science degree in business, works as a business development executive for a revenue management services firm. His priorities are preserving the rural character of the town in a manner that minimizes taxes, improving government services, including work sharing, co-sourcing, financial analysis and scorecards, and maximizing the ratable potential of the township's commercial corridors.

Campion, 65, said if elected, his priorities would be re-evaluating the municipal budget process, using green technologies and alternate energy sources and encouraging clean ratables. Married with three children and two stepchildren, Campion has a Bachelor of Science degree in math and a Master of Business Administration degree. He is the president and an owner of AccuTech Environmental Services Inc. in Keyport.

DeMonte, 48, is married with two children. A manager of plant engineering at US Ink Corp., a division of Sun Chemical Corp., he has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree. If elected, DeMonte said his priority would be to bring conservative government values to all phases of township government. He said he would like to reduce the debt structure and the cost of government.

Michele Kanatous

"In addition, Millstone has [been] and will be a sensitive rural community and I intend to strongly uphold that stance by supporting the continuance of the township's master plan as is," DeMonte said.

Kanatous, 51, is engaged and has career as a media sales specialist. If elected, she said her first priority would be working with the Township Committee to streamline the tax burden and working with the local government and administration to find ways to operate leaner and smarter.

Tackling town issues The candidates discussed what they see

as the top issues facing the community. Grbelja feels that virtually all residents in Millstone believe that their quality of life is the most important issue. "The potential impact of the statemandated affordable housing obligation threatens that quality of life," she said. "As the township continues

to legally challenge the state mandate, finding solutions that protect our quality of life and educating the community on the merit of the solution is imperative."

Nancy Grbelja

Grbelja also noted that the township has had its municipal aid reduced and its unfunded state mandates increase, which places a financial burden on the community.

"Finding solutions and creative plans to bring needed revenue to the township to offset the residents' tax burden is challenging," she said.

Dorfman said controlling taxes, protecting the current master plan and zoning to protect the rural character and quality of life in town are the three issues the community must face.

"These three issues are interconnected and dependent on one another," he said.

Dorfman elaborated on the zoning issues facing the township. He said zoning must be based on environmental sensitivities and minimizing property taxes.

Scott DeMonte

"Fewer residential lots reduces the burden on municipal infrastructure," he said. "Most of our property taxes fund schools. Less homes means less education costs. Protective zoning minimizes enrollment into schools, maximizes home values and enhances the quality of life we enjoy."

Dorfman said the township must manage its Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) obligation as best as possible for the community as a whole.

"The state forced Millstone to submit a plan," he said. "The current plan meets the two most important criteria I would use in formulating a solution to the state requirement. That criteria being a plan with the least cost to the taxpayers and one which protects the town from builder's remedy lawsuits, which would change the zoning."

He said he would welcome other suggestions to fulfill the township's COAH obligation, but would not support a plan that would burden the residents with additional taxes and scatter the affordable units throughout town.

"An inclusionary plan or builder's remedy would put the affordable units throughout the town and would require 53 percent more units than the current plan," he said. "More homes would create more education costs, more traffic, more infrastructure services and more taxes. All the things we want to avoid."

Campion said he is running to improve the governing process so it can achieve more efficient results. He said the most important issues facing Millstone are taxes, the cost of municipal government, and the ratable base.

"If elected, my priority would be the municipal budget process," he said. "Tax dollars must be spent only on necessary services, rather than layers of management and overlapping functions."

He also said the township must be more financially sensitive to seniors and fixed-income residents. He added that Millstone's motto — an environmentally sensitive community — has to be more than a motto, and that the township has to lead by using green technologies and alternate energy sources and by encouraging clean ratables.

DeMonte said he is running to improve the governing process to achieve more efficient results. He feels the key issues confronting township residents include controlling municipal and property taxes, reducing municipal government costs, attracting sound ratable businesses and maintaining the township's master plan.

Kantous considers taxes and upholding the master plan to be the township's top issues.

"It is imperative to rethink how this township operates," she said. "A new set of eyes, a different voice with fresh ideas might just help to move us in a direction that eases the tax burden on Millstone families while maintaining the integrity of the town and its mission," she said.

Kanatous said she believes the current Township Committee is making decisions that go against the master plan and impose potential problems for a segment of the township, referring to the recently submitted COAH plan and its inclusion of the development of a sewage treatment system.

"This should not be the case," she said. "A fair and equitable solution ought to be found and embraced by all that does not alter the township's position of no sewers in Millstone anywhere."

Kanatous said she moved to the township four years ago because Millstone offered a great way of life that is close to shopping centers yet far enough away to enjoy a quiet, uncluttered, rural lifestyle.

"The problems we face are not Democratic or Republican," she said. "They are problems for all the people that live here, regardless of party affiliations. I feel I can offer a positive opinion and viewpoint of the issues that affect all living in the township. I welcome the opportunity to sit on the Township Committee."

Reviewing qualifications Grbelja was first sworn in to office in January 2004, and has served as mayor for all but one of the six years she has served on the governing body. When asked about her accomplishments during her tenure, she listed initiatives including rebuilding the open space and farmland preservation program, promoting the horse and agricultural industries by forming the Agricultural Advisory Board and a community farmer's market,

modifying the master plan to remove loopholes favoring developers and encouraging the preservation of land, submitting a COAH plan to keep the township compliant and prevent a builder's remedy suit, and strengthening the master plan with standalone documents on storm water management, open space and farmland preservation, Right to Farm Act initiatives, environmental

resource inventories, and a long-range recreation plan.

She also cited moving the township into a fiscally responsible government as another significant accomplishment.

"Not only did the township recover more than $6 million owed to us through land purchases made from 1999 to 2003, creative financing and competitive bidding has permitted us to maximize our earnings and revenue, thus stabilizing the tax rate," she said. "Appropriate fees were charged to developers and collected to negate the tax burden on the residents for storm water management, detention basin maintenance, recreational impact fees, COAH fees for affordable housing obligations, and attorney and engineer costs associated with applications before the planning and board of adjustment."

Grbelja said that cost-saving interlocal agreements with other municipalities and the Board of Education has worked well at reducing

and maintaining costs, and the tax rate in Millstone has remained relatively stable for the last six years. She also said there has been increased communication and transparency of the municipal government, via cable broadcasts, the township website and community meetings. Dorfman first became involved in

township government eight years ago on a strategic planning committee for the schools and during the master plan public sessions. He has been a member of the recreation commission for four years, and currently serves as vice chairman.

"These activities have kept me informed about the challenges facing the town," he said. "I am fortunate to have professional experiences and skills that will help me to contribute to the Township Committee and, will allow me to work effectively as a member within the group and get things done."

Campion served four terms on the Wall Township Board of Education and previously served on a Homeowners Association Board. He is a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) in the Monmouth County Vicinage, a member of the Western Monmouth Juvenile Conference Committee, a mediator for the state Superior Court in Monmouth County, and mediator for Manalapan-Englishtown Municipal Court.

DeMonte has served as a member of the Millstone Township Recreation ad-hoc committee and on the Millstone Township COAH Citizens Task Force. He was a Little League board member for five years, a coach and manager for eight years, and president of the local Babe Ruth League. As a township activist, he was involved in stopping the concrete rock crusher on Route 33 in 1997, eliminating industrial truck use and reducing speeding on Indian Path in 1995, and opposing the Millstone Township variance approval for light towers at Hole in

One Golf Center in 1999. DeMonte is also a member of the Perrineville Jewish Center.

Kanatous said she decided to run for office for many reasons but primarily to better engage with the community.

"I have always had an interest in service and contributing to the greater good," she said. "At this time, I felt the opportunity was present to lend a new voice to the Township Committee. Taxes are a real threat to the stability of this town as they continue to increase and foreclosures start to rise. We must look for ways to ease this burden for all."