2012 Aberdeen Township Planning Board

Aberdeen Township Council is making its annual adjustments to the membership of the Planning Board in its Resolution 2012-1.

• Fred Tagliarini remains as ex-officio Class I member (Mayor of Aberdeen Township).
• Robert Brady will be appointed to another year as the Class II member (Head of Public Works Department).
• Councilwoman Margaret Montone will be appointed to another year as the Class III member (Council representative).
• Arthur Hirsch and Joseph Vena are to be appointed to four-year terms (2012-2015) as Class IV members (At-large members). They will replace Peter Cusumano and Concetta Kelley, whose three-year and one-year terms, respectively, expire at the end of 2011. The 3 Feb 2011 edition of The Independent and the Matawan-Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce website both mention an Arthur "Artie" Hirsch as one of the owners of Snap Fitness in the ShopRite shopping center. A May 2010 edition of All-Fitness News referred to him as a new owner of Snap Fitness. This could be the new member of the board. There are numerous listings, including one at Loopnet, for an Arthur Hirsch working as a Weichert realtor in Aberdeen. Perhaps that is a previous career for Artie or a different person entirely? Vena is a well-known surname in Aberdeen but I didn't find any details about a Joseph except a minor Planning Board action in 2007. Ms Kelley is leaving the board to join the Township Council on 1 January 2012.
• Pedro Mirabel and William Shenton remain as Class IV (At-large) members til the end of their four-year terms (2010-2013). Mr Shenton served as chair of the 2011 Planning Board. What kind of land transaction was Mr Mirabel's Non-Usable Sale in September 2011? It appears on a NJ State Taxation report of some sort. The property appears to have sold for three times its assessed value.
• Wanda Sims will fill the unexpired term (2012) as a Class IV member (At-large member) of Robert Swindle, who is leaving the board to join the Town Council on 1 January 2012. Ms Sims seems to be the daughter of Councilwoman Wilhelmina Gumbs.
• Vincent Vinci is to be appointed to a two-year term (2012-13) as Alternate No 1.
• James DeMattia is to be appointed to a one-year term (2012) as Alternate No 2.

You're well advised to note the names of Class IV At-large members. Their position is a common stepping stone for Democratic candidates to Township Council positions. It would be nice if the Township website included some basic backgrounds on appointees to this board and Zoning.

Refer to my 5 January 2011 blog posting for more information about Planning Board resolutions in recent years.