Tax Increases 38%

This link appeared on NJ.com South Amboy Forum.

Barkalow Street Park Update

The City has repaired the retaining wall at the Barkalow Street Park, they did a fantastic job. They also removed some of the broken equipment at the parks and according to Council President Fred Henry, have applied for grants to fund repairs.

At this week's council meeting, Councilmen Russ Stillwagon and Joe Connors offered their support and muscles for future clean up projects.

Other News

Currently I am in the process establishing a non-profit so that we can apply for grants from the private industry that the city would not be eligible for.

A note of thanks to the kids and Elizabeth who helped clean up the Pine Avenue park today. The kids had a blast washing the slides and sweeping the play structure's bridge which was covered with some unidentified food item.

Thanks again,
Kate

Update: The Parks

I went to last night's council meeting and thanked Fred Henry for heading up the parks' issue. His inquires to Mr. Lanza, city attorney, has resulted in a waiver. I haven't actually seen it, but he assured me during the week that one is in the works.

Fred and his wife also checked out the parks and got a bird's eye view of the broken equipment. As of right now the city hasn't applied for any grants or funding. The city's business administrator, Mrs. Tooker, said that she is looking into funding through the county. Mrs. Tooker didn't agree with my opinion on the parks, she felt that they weren't in bad shape, but I guess in life it depends where your standards are. I just personally feel that broken equipment with jagged edges is a safety hazard to small children. She also said that it would cost $500,000 to fix the parks.

I personally find that number hard to believe, but that would be a difference in opinion.

I offered a few suggestions at last night's meeting on how the parks could be rehabilitated through community volunteers as well as private grants and fund raising. I have been in contact with a few non-profit community groups who have already done park rebuilds in other towns in New Jersey for a fraction of the cost Mrs. Tooker stated.

Towns like Hopewell managed to build two beautiful parks with the $109,000 they raised as a community. The purpose of this project is to replace the broken equipment and fix the grounds so that the children can play in a safe environment. The goal is to involve the community so that we can all share in the experience and not burst our city's budget.

If you are interested in learning more about this project please e-mail me at southamboyparks@gmail.com

Volunteers Needed:
Grant research/writing
Fund raising and planning
Establishing a non-profit 501(C)3
Focus group members

Below Hopewell Park ($109,000) raised by volunteers through private grants and fund raising

More Park Pictures

Pine Ave. Park
Condom Wrappers and Used Condoms on Playground



Conover Street Park Below




Click on pictures to enlarge, use back arrows to return to page!

Barkalow Park Below



Barkalow

State of City's Parks

The State of the City's Park

South Amboy's parks are in need of some serious TLC and repair. Several parks have equipment that is broken with jagged edges, a hazard to children who use them. In addition to broken equipment the playground areas pose major tripping hazards related to the now exposed material that was laid under the grass/ sand. The basketball courts around town have cracked surfaces and the nets on some of the hoops are not intact. In my opinion the worst park is Barkalow Street park where the retaining wall is failing, resulting in structural instability and a large open area that can cause serious injury to a person or child.

Currently the city is facing a deficit and park rehab may not be on the agenda or in the budget. This does not at all mean that the state of the parks should be as they are. They are a lawsuit waiting to happen.

As a community we can fix some of the problems ourselves, painting tables and benches, minor fence repair, and replacing basketball nets. As a community we can clean up the parks, remove the broken glass and ensure some measure of safety for our children.

I am a parent of a 7 year old. A few weeks ago my daughter went to the summer rec at the Pine Ave. Park. Her councilors were wonderful. One particular morning when we arrived the park was trashed. Her councilors rallied the kids and together they picked up the trash. There was a child not more than 3 feet away from me who was reaching down to pick up a water bottle. I stopped her from touching it-- it was filled with urine! On more than one occasion I have also seen used condoms and condom wrappers in the park near the benches, tables and play structures. Earlier this week a child who was playing at the park picked up a discarded used condom.

If you are interested in volunteering to help clean up and repair the parks please let me know. I will be bringing this up at the next council meeting. Aug. 19th!

Above: David Street Park (aka Rosewell)

Above 2nd Street Park by St. Mary's Parking Lot

5th Street Basketball Court

Below: Barkalow Street Park
The light colored stuff on the ground is the material that was under the sand.

Pine Ave. Park

Facts vs. Opinion

Opinions and researched facts are two different entities. It is often easy to form an opinion. It can be formed with or without validated evidence. Opinions are transient and subjective often based on emotions and circumstance. Opinions can be adopted or ignored.

I may offer my opinion which is part of the human condition, in doing so I attach my name to this blog and forum so that I am not liberated to publish something that is heavily subjective without objective merit. It is not my interest to slander or bash those named on this blog or elsewhere. I will however utilize research to find evidence regarding topics that I am interested in learning about or others have inquired about.

The public posting of facts is not slander. This blog is for the dissemination of researched information and occasionally I will post links to other sites.

Earlier this week I chose to post a link to an 89 page letter that discussed Mayor John T. O’Leary’s alleged business dealings . I learned about the letter as many others did via the NJ.com South Amboy forum. Later that day the link to the letter was deleted from NJ.com along with the thread. After reading the letter it was my opinion that the letter provided documents that substantiated the content of the paper. It is my belief that people have the right to read the information and draw their own conclusion.

Furthermore each and everyone of us has been afforded constitutional right. We have Natural Rights to “Life, liberty and property”. We have personal liberties that include the right to assemble peaceably, the right to communicate with the world, the right to express or publish one’s opinions or those of others and the right to enjoy privacy.

The mayor of this town is afforded those rights as are the employees of this town. Their personal lives should be off limits, as should their families. Their business ventures, property purchases, city employment, and actions which involved the resources of this city are open for question, investigation and accountability.

While it is not slander to provide facts and evidence based information, it is slander to state that someone is tearing apart a town.

“Truth is generally the best vindication against slander” Abraham Lincoln

“Truth is one forever absolute, but opinion is truth filtered through the moods, the blood, the disposition of the spectator. “ Wendell Phillips

Sincerely,

Kate McLaughlin

Link to 89 page letter

This link appeared on the NJ.com forum today and was promptly deleted. The page provides a 89 page PDF document with information regarding the O'Leary's involvement with insurance sales to several municipalities. It also contains information that regarding land purchases in South Amboy

http://www.fromthedeskofjackoleary.blogspot.com/


I'm not sure who wrote this, but there are what looks to be authentic documents as supporting evidence.

Although this is not my document I felt that it should be accessible for the general public.

Regards,
Kate McLaughlin

O'Leary's False Claim?

In regards to the June 25, 2009 article Update: South Amboy mayor slams letter, author, admits city received subpoena, I am left questioning a few of the mayor’s statements.

According to O’Leary he and his brother became owners of FHRM in February 2008. He denied that the company has any involvement with the city of South Amboy and denied that his company, FHRM, had an affiliation with Federal Hill Risk Management (FHMA) (Rick Malwitz, 2009).

The mayor did not disclose what his company’s initials represented in the article. Although he publicly denied involvement with Federal Hill Risk Management (FHRM) which has had dealings with South Amboy and Perth Amboy (Pay to play). FHRM is a large insurance firm that has had contracts with several cities in the surrounding area (State pay to play). They also appear on the pay to play list for South Amboy which was confirmed via Datauniverse.com. I requested further information from the city of South Amboy on June 24, 2009 pertaining to contracts entered by the city with all vendors appearing on the pay to play list. The O’Leary’s former employer, Gartland Insurance has strong ties to FHRM and is affiliated with Francis (Frank) Gartland. Gartland employed both Tom and John (Jack) O’Leary at Gartland Insurance, and contributed to elections during that time according to 2006 election contribution records. South Amboy also served as a home to a Gartland in 1998 (NJ Election Contributions, 1981 to 2009, 2009) (Pay to play). Additionally Tom O’Leary and John O’Leary reported being employed by Gartland in prior years, yet the mayor has stated that there is no cross involvement between the company he is currently employed with, ”FHRM”, and the city of South Amboy or Feder Hill Risk Management, which is untrue (Data Universe). In addition to contributions from the insurance companies who employed both the Mayor and his brother the owners and family members of Gartland and FHRM have been active donors in multiple New Jersey Democratic elections. In 2001 Tina Gartland, owner of Gartland Co. who resided on O’Leary Blvd in South Amboy (Data Universe ) made campaign contributions to the McGreevy campaign and other New Jersey races, however her residence is shown to have changed to Maryland after 2001 to the same address as Francis “Frank” Gartland (Watchdog.net) (NJ Election Contributions, 1981 to 2009, 2009) (Federal Election ).

Amongst employers that Thomas O’Leary reported to federal sources for election contribution information in 2008 was Gateway Health Management (Newsmeat.com, 2009). According to records O’Leary reported employment with Gateway in three donations to Hillary Clinton’s campaign dating April 2008 and August 2008, in which his address was reported to be on Blue Heron Drive, South Amboy, NJ, his current residence, however according to the Mayor’s statement he and Thomas were self employed with “FHRM” at that time (Federal Election Commission ).

In addition to Thomas O’Leary’s employment with FHRM, Gartland and Gateway, O’Leary is also employed in South Amboy as the executive director with the Housing Authority (HUD). Contrary to Mayor O’Leary ‘s denial of involvement with FHRM (Federal Hill Risk Management), Thomas O’Leary and Frank Gartland of FHRM (Federil Hill Risk Management) attended the County Executives of America Board of Directors Meeting in Washington D.C. as associate members representing FHRM on November 13, 2003. The meeting was a HUD conference (Ragsdale, 2003, p. 7). Further research showed that Frank Gartland was the President of Federal Hill Risk Management (Medina, 2005).

During his sit down interview Mayor O’Leary has “denied there was any direct affiliation with FHRM and Federal Hill Risk Management, based in Baltimore, MD”, but accrding to public records informaion it appears that there is very little evidence that the O’Leary’s have not had direct involvement with FHRM or Frank Gartland (Rick Malwitz, 2009).

In 2008 FHRM (Federal Hill Risk Management) reported $65,566 in donations to Democratic election campaigns in New Jersey, including Perth Amboy and South Amboy. FHRM also made a $7,800 donation to the Perth Amboy First Aid Squad that same year, and has been identified as a pay to play organization in South Amboy (Pay to play).

According to FHRM’s website Federal Hill Risk Management was formed in 1976 as Gartland Associates. They also list amongst their public entity clients include the following cities: Perth Amboy, Elizabeth, New Brunswick and the Patterson BOE (About Us). The website also states, “…we organized and developed the Middlesex County Joint Health Insurance Fund, one of the largest and most successful health insurance funds in the State of New Jersey”..

As with all research there are strengths and weaknesses. I have done my best to provide information that ties FHRM to the city of South Amboy, not in the way of proving illegal actions, but to counter the claim by Mayor O’Leary that he and his brother did not have a direct affiliation with Federal Hill Risk Management which is based in Maryland. I believe that Thomas O’Leary and Frank Gartland, President of Federal Hill Risk Management have an affiliation and the evidence provided is a strong indicator that Mayor O’Leary’s claim is not accurate.

Works Cited(n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2009, from Watchdog.net: http://watchdog.net/contrib/21230/tina_gartland

(n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Federal Election : http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?26930072039

(2009). Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Newsmeat.com: http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=NJ&last=O%27Leary&first=Thomas

About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Federal Hill Risk Management: http://fhrm.net/about_us.html

Data Universe. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2009, from New Jersey Election Contributions, 1981 to 2009: http://php.app.com/elec/results1.php?newspaper=mcj&ELECTION_YEAR=%25&OFFICE=%25&LOCATION=%25&CONT_ZIP=&CONT_MASTER=&CONT_FNAME=&EMP_NAME=Gartland+&REC_MASTER=&REC_FNAME=&Submit=Submit

Data Universe . (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2009, from NJ Election Contributions: http://php.app.com/elec/details2.php?recordID=55839

Federal Election Commission . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?28992231808

Medina, D. (2005, June 23). Brick Township Bulletin. Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Brick Township Bulletin: http://bulletin.gmnews.com/news/2005/0623/Front_page/011.html

NJ Election Contributions, 1981 to 2009. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2009, from Data Universe: http://php.app.com/elec/results1.php?newspaper=mcj&ELECTION_YEAR=%25&OFFICE=%25&LOCATION=%25&CONT_ZIP=&CONT_MASTER=&CONT_FNAME=&EMP_NAME=Gartland+&REC_MASTER=&REC_FNAME=&Submit=Submit

NJ Election Contributions, 1981 to 2009. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2009, from datauniverses.com: http://php.app.com/elec/results1.php?newspaper=mcj&ELECTION_YEAR=%25&OFFICE=%25&LOCATION=%25&CONT_ZIP=&CONT_MASTER=&CONT_FNAME=&EMP_NAME=Gartland+&REC_MASTER=&REC_FNAME=&Submit=Submit

NJ Election Contributions, 1981 to 2009. (2009). Retrieved June 27, 2009, from Data Universe: http://php.app.com/elec/results1.php?newspaper=mcj&ELECTION_YEAR=%25&OFFICE=%25&LOCATION=%25&CONT_ZIP=08879&CONT_MASTER=Gartland&CONT_FNAME=&EMP_NAME=&REC_MASTER=&REC_FNAME=&Submit=Submit

Pay to play. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2009, from Data Universe Pay to Play: http://php.app.com/elec_contractors/results.php?Business_Name=Federal+Hill+Risk+Management%2C+LLC&Receipient_Name=%25&Submit=Search+Contributions

Pay to play. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2009, from http://php.app.com/elec_contractors/results.php?pageNum_Recordset1=0&totalRows_Recordset1=22&Business_Name=Federal+Hill+Risk+Management%2C+LLC&Receipient_Name=%25&Submit=Search+Contributions

Ragsdale, M. (2003, May 23). WBIR.com. Retrieved June 27, 2009, from http://www.wbir.com/pdf/05232008_ragsdale_docs_2.pdf

Rick Malwitz, K. S. (2009, June 26). mycentraljersey.com. Retrieved June 27, 2009, from mycentarljersey.com: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990625072

State pay to play. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2009, from http://php.app.com/elec_contractors/results2.php?Business_Name=Federal+Hill+Risk+Management%2C+LLC&Contracting_Entity=%25&Submit3=Search+Contracts