WHY IS THE TOWNSHIP MAKING THE POST OFFICE PLAN REVIEW SO DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW?

We would like to believe that the Township wants as many residents to have as much input and information as possible about the proposed Maplewood Village post office development.

But the way the last few Planning Board meetings have been handled, it raises some questions.

First, why haven't the meetings been broadcast on television? The meetings are at Town Hall, which is equipped for broadcast capability and used for Township Committee meetings. Such equipment should well be used when such a major issue is being reviewed.

Second, why is there still no air conditioning in the Town Hall chambers? The rest of the building has AC, as it should, for employees. But for some reason the chambers is still a heat box.

It may be expensive, but so are a lot of other things being paid for with our tax dollars.

And as the past two Planning Board hearings on this issue indicate, it is a problem not only for those debating the issue, but also those who are in attendance. If no television broadcast is shown, then people must come to the meeting. Sitting in a 90 degree room, as residents have had to do for the last two meetings, can be considered an impediment to their right to observe and participate.

And if the chambers cannot be air conditioned, why not move the Planning Board meetings to the police and courts headquarters on Springfield Avenue as the Township Committee does during the summer months? That is also equipped with television broadcast equipment.

And, finally, why was the Tuesday night Planning Board meeting not noticed on the front page of the Township website? Or sent via the Township email alerts? The Township has been glad to email requests to vote for Maplewood Village in the New Jersey Monthly online poll.

To find out that this meeting was occurring at all, residents had to go to the Planning Board section of the website and download the agenda. The agenda, meanwhile, misled people into thinking the meeting was at 7 p.m. when the public portion was at 8 pm. Anyone who showed up at 7 p.m. likely would have thought there was no meeting.