Bedminster Township

Friday, October 30, 2020

On behalf of Bedminster Township, I want to thank Chief Karl Rock and the entire Bedminster Police Department for maintaining a safe environment at the “Free Speech” zone at the corner of Lamington Road and Route 206.  Over these last four years, Chief Rock has coordinated with both Trump protestors and Trump supporters to establish basic ground rules for conduct and assigned police officers to make sure that confrontations were avoided and protests remained peaceful. 

These last several months have been particularly stressful with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing our very own Patrol Sergeant AlTerek Patterson to that horrible disease, the protests following George Floyd’s death, the anonymous online threats to “burn Bedminster to the ground”, all of this with the backdrop of a looming presidential election and our small town taking center stage.  The Bedminster Police demonstrated complete professionalism supporting the First Amendment’s right of “the people to peaceably assemble” while at the same time protecting our residents, our businesses, and their property from threats and also making sure that the protestors were safe at their gatherings.

Earlier this afternoon, The Bernardsville News ran an article that included quotations from anonymous Biden supporters complaining about being harassed and intimidated by Trump supporters at the Free Speech zone last weekend. The Bedminster Police made sure that Biden supporters and Trump supporters were separated, and were both provided the opportunity to exercise their free speech rights.  I will note that free speech is not one-directional and the right to peaceably assemble does not guarantee civility or confer sole possession of a protest zone.  If those were the expectations of either group, then those expectations are misplaced and correcting that is not the role of Bedminster Township or our Police Department.   

The anonymous quotations in the article suggest that the Police Department was acting one-sided and having a “chummy relationship” with the Trump supporters resulting in an unsafe environment.   I find those suggestions at odds with the following text messages sent to Chief Rock by the actual organizers of the Trump protest and Biden supporters:

I want to compliment your entire force today.  We all felt very safe in tight quarters and high emotions. Your sergeant made it a real teaching moment for me. She deserves a lot of credit for having to deal with me before breakfast. We will be keeping the baby packed up next weekend. Be well.

And,

Hi Chief-This is XXXXX XXXXXXX. I wanted to thank you for assigning so many officers to the rally(s) on Sunday. It was not the best 4 hours of my life, but without a doubt, things would have been far worse if they weren't there.

Despite the allegations in the article, I do not see any indication in these texts that our Police were one-sided or in any way contributed to emboldening incivility, harassment or intimidation. 

We hope that within the next week or shortly thereafter, we will know the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election.  No matter the outcome, one group will be pleased and the other will be disappointed.  Such is the nature of elections.  With this election cycle coming to a close, we hope this last weekend will continue to be safe for all the participants at the Free Speech zone, for our residents and for our Police Department.

We continue to put our trust in the Bedminster Police Department.  They are consummate professionals who enforce our laws fairly and impartially.

Larry Jacobs, Mayor-Bedminster Township

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Halloween 2020 
 
The Bedminster Township Committee encourages all our residents that are participating in Halloween festivities this year, whether trick-or-treating  or handing out treats, to follow the CDC Halloween Guidelines and the  NJ Department of Health Halloween celebration guidance.   

Bedminster suggests displaying the appropriate flyers (below) to indicate whether your household will be participating in Halloween.  You can print the flyers from the link below and we will have them available both at the municipal building and at the Township tent at the Bedminster Farmers Market.

Please stay safe and remember to wear a mask, a scary one if you can find one.

Larry Jacobs
Mayor 

WELCOME Trick or Treaters.pdf                                                         NO Trick or Treaters.pdf

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October 8, 2020

Bedminster Welcomes New Agent for Affordable Housing Program

Bedminster Township is pleased to announce the hiring of a new firm to administer the Township’s affordable housing program.   Beginning January 1, 2021, the new Administrative Agent for the Affordable Housing Program in Bedminster Township will be CGP&H.  CGP&H stands for Community, Grants, Planning and Housing.  They specialize in all aspects of affordable housing, planning, COAH compliance, and the procurement of grants and loans for their clients.

Founded in 1993, CGP&H has grown to be a full service affordable housing implementation company in New Jersey.  Seasoned in all facets of community development, CGP&H boasts a team of 19 that includes professional planners, expert grant-writers, COAH certified housing specialists, licensed building inspectors, lead testers, and knowledgeable support staff. Client needs are promptly met with continuity, efficiency and individual attention to detail.

Bedminster residents who are part of the Affordable Housing Program will see no additional fees or costs with CGP&H.  Our residents will have greater access to a full team of affordable housing experts.  CGP&H has an interactive website that will greatly increase the marketing of available units in Bedminster’s affordable housing program, will streamline the process for qualifying applicants, and will showcase the financial assistance and other programs that Bedminster offers to our residents.  Bedminster will form an Affordable Housing Advisory Committee that will meet regularly with CGP&H to review the affordable housing program and to discuss concerns and propose recommendations.

Sharon DeCicco, Executive Director of the Bedminster Hills Housing Corporation (BHHC), will be retiring at the end of 2020 when the BHHC contract with Bedminster Township comes to an end.  Bedminster Township would like to thank Ms. DeCicco for her many years of service to the Affordable Housing Program in Bedminster Township.

CGP&H will begin working with BHHC on November 1, 2020 in order to provide a seamless transition between agencies.  Again, Bedminster Township thanks Ms. DeCicco and the BHHC and welcomes CGP&H during this period of transition.

OVERVIEW OF SERVICES

CGP&H is the Administrative Agent for more than 2,000 units of affordable housing in 30 municipalities throughout New Jersey.  Our comprehensive administrative agent services include virtually all types of affordable housing mechanisms including family units, age restricted units, rental and owner projects, and manufactured homes.

Our in-house affordable housing planning expertise ensures that all units are administered in a manner that maximizes the credits available to municipalities.

The comprehensive affordable housing services provided by CGP&H include:

ONLINE SERVICES

• Our website, AffordableHomesNewJersey.com provides detailed information about all the affordable units we administer.  Applicants can find income limits, see current listings, review frequently asked questions, and submit a preliminary application online.

• Each affordable housing applicant receives a link to their personalized Affordable Homes New Jersey Profile where they can join waiting lists, update the information we have on file, and see listings of affordable homes for rent and sale.

MEET YOUR AGENT

Megan York, PP, AICP
(609) 664-2769, Ext. 19
megan@cgph.net

Megan joined CGP&H in 2006 and is experienced in planning, affordable housing, grant writing, and CDBG management.  She manages CGP&H’s affordable housing planning and Administrative Agent services which includes a portfolio of over 2,000 affordable housing owner occupied and rental units throughout New Jersey.  She prepares housing elements and fair share plans for client municipalities and has extensive experience navigating rules and regulations relating to state affordable housing compliance procedures. Megan received her Masters Degree in Urban Geography from the University of Tennessee and her Bachelors Degree in Geography and History from Macalester College.

MORE ABOUT CGP&H

For more information about CGP&H click the following link:

https://www.cgph.net/about-cgph/

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