I have obtained a copy of the letter Borough attorney Greg Cannon drafted to justify the mayor’s refusal to allow Joy’s tree to be planted. He has no idea what he’s talking about.
For Mr. Cannon’s enlightenment I present below 8 months of emails between Brian Magovern of the Shade Tree Commission and Angela DeSanctis’ friend who made the arrangements. Please start with the bottom one and read each from the bottom of the page to the top.
Apparently nobody ever told Mr. Cannon about any of this. How much did we pay him to write this letter when he obviously has no clue what he’s talking about?
Not only is he wrong about the facts of the case, he’s wrong about the law. There is absolutely nothing in any Borough ordinance that distinguishes a memorial tree from any other kind of tree. And all that stuff about “religious symbols” and “slippery slopes” is total bullshit. It’s a tree! The only problem here is that the mayor doesn’t like the person being memorialized.
And the only legal reason that the tree couldn’t be planted yesterday is that Mr. Magovern failed to inform Angela Desanctis’ friend that she needed a permit from Code Enforcement.
Hopefully it’s already been applied for as of this writing.
16 Comments
Matt Doherty loves wasting taxpayer money.Matt Doherty’s personal vendetta’s against people are fought with our tax dollars.Tom Brennan is a puppet for standing by this man.The boro of Belmar spends a lot of money waging wars on Matt’s behalf.
Just one more reason to vote them all out!
This is the political stunt that is going to seal Josh Vallario’s election to the council. The people of Belmar are fed up!
Seashell…if only it was that easy!!!
Much ado about nothing? Referring to getting the permit not about Joy .very sad no good deed goes unpunished. Perhaps they could pull the permit for Jane McGovern’s trees,flowers and plants as an example to show how to do it correctly next time!
They lawyer says Treat everyone the same. That’s a real knee slapper in this town. Puh lease. No one is treated the same in this town
Disgrace, plain and simple just a disgrace.
Wonder if there’s any documentation as to how this event came to this attention. Also, can the attorney just act on his own accord ? If that’s the case, couldn’t he just write a bunch of dumb letters like this and then bill the town ?
#5 – Sadly that would be something to consider.
Please people, don’t you understand? Municipal property is for landing helicopters, not planting trees that have been donated.
But I must disagree with our illustrious attorney’s view on the separation of church and state. But he’s new, so it’s ok. In time he’ll understand that Belmar’s taxpayers will continue to allow its municipal gym for a religious elementary school’s gym classes, basketball practices and various other school functions, taking up many hours each weekday from Sept. till June. Look what we get in return… The floors are refinished! What a boon to us as taxpayers! We don’t need that space anyway! Let’s buy another building on 7th and D for the seniors to have their events.
To be on the ultra safe side do we need to get a permit to assemble for the physical tree planting once the above paperwork is secured?
Please post the new date so we can enjoy the planting of the Crepe Myrtle in Joy’s honor.
Is there some way to get this story to headline the Coast Star and Asbury Park Press? This represents everything about what has been running our town.
Did you mean ruining?
Betty,I sent to News12, Press and Coast Star. We’ll see. They like the photo ops Matt feeds them so not sure they’ll pick this up.
Regarding religious symbols and messages on public property, the saying on Mrs. Magovern’s memorial is religious in my opinion, as it says something like, “Whisper ‘I love you’ to a butterfly and it will take your message to heaven.” That seems religious to me, and I say, remove that as it offends me, as not everyone believes in heaven and butterflies are not magical messengers, except maybe in paganism, which is a religious perspective as well.
Doherty is just vengeful and mean spirited, no butterfly in anyone’s eyes. Whisper “I have money or a fruitful deal for you” to him and he will take the message to his bank.
Send the story to https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-lagos-07965b57
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