Did we need $90,000 Tahoe police cars when Impalas or Chargers would have been perfectly suitable at less than half the price?
Did we need a boardwalk built to survive another Sandy when another Sandy might not come in our lifetimes and even if one did it could still possibly destroy the new boardwalk anyway?
Did we need to hire the Great Almighty AshBritt when other contractors were doing the same work for 1/3 the cost?
Did we need to continue using no-bid contracts totaling millions of dollars long after the actual emergency had passed?
And even before the storm:
Did we need to do a complete re-do of the Acme parking lot when the old lot was perfectly good at parking cars? (And it was much easier to get in and out of on the 8th Ave side.)
Did we need to do a complete re-do of 10th Ave that without all those mature trees now looks like a desert? (And I haven’t noticed any significant improvement in traffic flow since the work was done.)
Did we and do we need to be pumping millions of dollars year after year into a marina that operates just barely in the black when most families here have no interest in boating and could never afford one anyway?
When I look at what Belmar needs I see something completely different:
I see the Millers have orthodontist bills to be paid.
I see the Nelsons need piano lessons.
I see the Parkers need a college savings account.
I see the Sullivans need a new transmission for the minivan.
I see the Ramirezes need a new refrigerator, and a bedroom set for their daughter.
The Greenbergs need windows and the Murphys, new carpeting.
And the Clarks need surgery for their old dog Woofie, who they love too much to part with yet.
Plus, there is something that nearly every family in Belmar desperately needs right now:
MORE SAVINGS IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS!
In my mind these needs are far more pressing than fancy new streetlights or “shift on the fly” 4WD for our police cars.
*****
Author’s note: Readers of a certain mindset might interpret these remarks as a call for new programs to pay for transmissions for minivans and surgery for old dogs. Be assured, it is not.
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