Four towns discuss interlocal agreement
WLB, O’port, Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach mull shared sweeper, garage
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer

WEST LONG BRANCH — A new street sweeper, a regional repair garage and a few other wish list items could be coming to four area communities under a proposed shared services agreement.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but mayors Paul Zambrano and Maria Gatta, of West Long Branch and Oceanport, respectively, Sea Bright Councilman William Gelfound and Monmouth Beach Commissioner William Barham are meeting regularly to figure out how to best pool funds to purchase products and services that all four towns could use.

Barham is also the newest member of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, which the foursome might eventually approach for grants to help fund a shared services agreement, Gelfound said.

“Both the county and the state have been looking for towns to form these interlocal agreements,” Gelfound said.

Saving money, while still providing quality service is the goal, according to Gatta, who confirmed that she had met with the other four officials last week.

The idea arose out of a budget meeting about the Shore Regional High School district, said Gatta, who indicated that generally those discussions have been productive.

All four municipalities send their ninth- through 12-graders to the school based in West Long Branch.

“We’re all connected through the Shore Regional School District,” Gatta said. “We thought that dialogue was very good and that if we could carry that into the municipal arena, [there would] be a cost savings without compromising services.”

The street sweeper is just one of the items that the four communities are thinking about purchasing jointly, said Zambrano, who announced at the Feb. 16 Borough Council meeting in his town that he had met with Gatta, Gelfound and Barham on the previous night.

By chipping in to buy the sweeper, all four towns hoped to save money, Zambrano said.

“We are looking into shared services,” Zambrano told the council.

A new street sweeper, purchased jointly by the four communities, would help each to meet one of the requirements of latest stormwater management guidelines set by the state Department of Environmental Protection, Gatta explained.

In addition, a central maintenance garage designed to service municipally owned vehicles, such as police cruisers and public works trucks, could also be constructed and ultimately manned using the funding from all four towns, Gelfound said.

Presently, all four municipalities use private garages to repair and maintain those vehicles, which is more costly to each town, he pointed out.

“Instead of all of us sending all of our vehicles out to private garages, which is a very expensive proposition, we could have our own [garage], which would be advantageous,” he said.

Should the arrangement prove successful, other towns might be invited to join the interlocal agreement, Gelfound said.

“If it works, we might get other towns to keep it vibrant and profitable,” he said.

Meetings between the four officials will continue on a regular basis, Gatta said.