Skip to content

What’s Going There?

Hopefully it will be two or three nice houses and not……..CONDOS!

 

36 Comments

  1. Aileen wrote:

    And hopefully the town will allow all the good stuff going on in there to happen in our municipal gym (that we already pay for).

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 7:12 am | Permalink
  2. Resident wrote:

    Or Merri Makers, excuse me, Taylor pavilion.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 7:39 am | Permalink
  3. callmecynical wrote:

    Yes, the MM Taylor Pavilion, after all, Magovern referred to it as the “center of town”. It seems to be empty and locked up much of the time.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 8:04 am | Permalink
  4. Belle wrote:

    I agree it would be great to do the exercise programs at Taylor Pavilion. It belongs to the townspeople.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 8:15 am | Permalink
  5. Tom Dilberger wrote:

    “And hopefully the town will allow all the good stuff going on in there to happen in our municipal gym (that we already pay for).”
    ——————————————
    Which only goes to show, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every so often.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 8:25 am | Permalink
  6. eugene creamer wrote:

    the owner enjoys property tax exempt status while the Borough is the tenant

    what happened to the separation of church and state?

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 9:13 am | Permalink
  7. Time Share wrote:

    Wonder if they pay taxes on the money earned from the sale of the property.
    I guess not. #6 good point. If a religious institution makes money from leasing it’s tax exempt property to a non religious organization, the money made should be taxed. After all, the town wasn’t holding religious services there.
    As for the Merry Makers/ Coleen Connely/ Matt Doherty, money laundering, fraud&waist, glorified barn and reception hall; yes, that would be a good place. But as #3 pointed out, it’s almost always locked and inaccessible. When I pay 4.5 million dollars for a building that probably cost about 2 million to build, I’d like to be able to go in there from time to time.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 10:51 am | Permalink
  8. OLD MAN wrote:

    #6 $ 7. A tax exempt group is a tax exempt group whether they put their money in a rental propert or in a interest bearing bank account?

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 11:21 am | Permalink
  9. Anon wrote:

    #8 are you asking? Or clarifying?
    Tax

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 12:11 pm | Permalink
  10. Guest wrote:

    I’ve eaten Merry Makers food several times. Don’t know how they stay in business.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 12:34 pm | Permalink
  11. anon wrote:

    #10 i should think it is because they have use of a building at an outstanding location at a small fraction of what a private investor would pay for an equivalent. In other words they get cheap but desirable ambiance that balances the lack of quality dining.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 1:26 pm | Permalink
  12. Joan Corallo wrote:

    Great programs at the library annex. Need to find a place for all of them.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 3:56 pm | Permalink
  13. OLD MAN wrote:

    #9 I’m asking. However I’ll call my son,CPA, and ask him

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 6:30 pm | Permalink
  14. Tom Dilberger wrote:

    #12 – Joan, check out #1. She had the answer.

    Friday, September 27, 2019 at 7:18 pm | Permalink
  15. Aileen wrote:

    I don’t think the borough is the tenant. I don’t believe we pay rent but just maintain it for them….kinda like St. Rose refinishes the municipal gym’s floor every year for their use of it for gym classes, basketball practices, basketball games and rehearsals for other events.

    Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 9:03 am | Permalink
  16. eugene creamer wrote:

    #15 … the Methodist lease agreement is available on the Borough OPRA website …

    https://belmarborough.nextrequest.com/requests/19-347

    Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 9:47 am | Permalink
  17. I'm New Here wrote:

    Can someone explain for us noobs… why can’t the present Mayor & Co. turn Taylor into a community center? Since it seems the whole idea of making Taylor into an event space was the doing of the previous Admin, why do we need to keep it as such? To generate revenue to pay for it? Because it’s not yet paid for, correct? And it’s not owned by anyone other than the Boro (that anyone knows of)? If St. Rose is utilizing the muni gym for activities, would the seniors then have to work around St. Rose gym classes, etc. in order to use the space? Thanks, everyone. I’m learning a lot here.

    Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 12:01 pm | Permalink
  18. Guest wrote:

    #17 – Agree! Taylor Pavilion would make a perfect community center. It was so disheartening to watch it turn into it’s current ignominy.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 8:24 am | Permalink
  19. Hysterical society wrote:

    #17- A brief history of the Taylor pavilion:
    The pavilion represents the biggest con job that this town has ever fallen for. We were lied to. The construction costs (in my view) were padded and the bidding process was rigged. When it was completed, the keys were handed to Merry Makers by a boro admin that had connections to the company. The previous mayor and council pretended to have the town’s best interest at heart and even publicly mocked those that had the courage to speak out against the lies. They claimed that anyone that was against the project was against the town. Matt Doherty even tried to connect the bond ordinance for the pavilion construction to a needed infrastructure project so that he would get the votes he desperately needed. When that was exposed as the dishonest shell game that it was, the mayor send a letter to the citizens of the town and lied repeatedly about the dangers of severing the two projects. The truth was exposed again and thankfully the two projects were separated. However, Matt was able to secure a squeaker of a win when the pavilion bond went on the ballot that year. He managed to win through a campaign of obfuscation, false equivalencies, and outright lies. The pavilion, in all its vinyl, drop ceiling, and frozen pipe glory, sits locked and empty. A monument to political corruption. Sure it gets used- Merry Makers gets first crack at the cherry months (June, July, Aug, Sept) they don’t need deposits or names, they have those Saturdays booked and blocked. On the weekdays you can do something is you’d like and a weekend in the winter you can book it. But it is NOT the community center it was billed to be. And FEMA is NOT paying for it as was claimed by Matt and the council (yes even current council pres Tom Brennan) thousands of times. We are on the hook for 4.5 mil for a building that probably cost Epic construction about 2 mil to build. So there you have it. I think as an organized group, we can change the way the pavilion is run. MM has a new lease but surely we can end the practice of them booking all the best Saturdays a year in advance. If they want a date, they produce a deposit check and a name just like the rest of us. We surely can also get the town to have the activities that were held at the 7th ave building moved to the pavilion.
    There is sooo much more to talk about but not enough space here to get into it. If the two women running for council knock on your door looking for support, you can feel free to read this to them and then ask them if they have any connection to Matt Doherty. If they say yes, tell them why you can’t support them. If they say no, then they are lying to you.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 10:10 am | Permalink
  20. Taxpayer wrote:

    Hopefully the always locked Taylor pavilion get more use than just cheap weddings. I hope the taxpayers of Belmar get to use it soon.why is there not an informal meet the candidates coffee morning there.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 10:28 am | Permalink
  21. Aileen wrote:

    Taylor cannot be our community center. It’s on the boardwalk and is for the use of beach goers. I’d love to see it be a community center but the law states otherwise. As to #17’s other question about seniors working around St. Rose’s gym schedule, that’s up to us residents, isn’t it? A good question for Jim and the other candidates – where do they stand on this?

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 10:35 am | Permalink
  22. admin wrote:

    Actually it is not for use by beachgoers…that’s why we have to pay for it. Maybe we should open it up for beach goers and let them pay for it with all that beach utility money we raked in.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 12:52 pm | Permalink
  23. Pavlovs pavilion wrote:

    It’s not open to beach goers. Every time I’ve been on the boardwalk, it’s locked up tight. We have to pay for it, it should be a community center. But Dave is right, if we open it to beach goers maybe we can pay w utility. There’s always the municipal gym if that doesn’t work out.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 3:37 pm | Permalink
  24. I'm New Here wrote:

    Thank you, #18. I had trouble putting the history together.

    Aileen, can you tell me which state law you’re referring to?

    The two dems were at my house once, but I wasn’t home. They left a postcard. So far I’m not impressed.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 5:18 pm | Permalink
  25. Anonymous wrote:

    Does anyone know if the rent MM pays for the pavilion even covers our nut, which I believe is about $20k a month?

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 5:23 pm | Permalink
  26. Aileen wrote:

    #24 – I didn’t say it was a state law, and I’m not sure what law governs what’s allowed on that property. I don’t know who actually owns the boardwalk or that building – we have to maintain it, but it’s supposed to be for the public. Although we were told by Matt Doherty that the pavilion would be 1. a Belmar community center and 2. free because FEMA would pay for it, neither of those things TOGETHER could be true. FEMA will only pay for a rebuild of a boardwalk pavilion for the public’s use. A community center, of course, excludes the public.

    Since it’s pretty clear FEMA won’t reimburse us for the ridiculous thing we built for a catering hall, I wish we could make it a community center, but I don’t know if it’s legal. The fact that we are suckers doesn’t mean we can change the law. If anyone knows more details or can correct me, please do.

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 7:51 pm | Permalink
  27. eugene creamer wrote:

    #24 … try the blog link below for history, public trust law and who pays for pavilions … taxpayer or beach goer.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5TJevEOblIaVXN1STlwMUw5Y3g3anZwU0ZYT285S0JMV2tF/view

    Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 10:08 pm | Permalink
  28. oh no wrote:

    #19 – HHHMMMMM “If the two women running for council knock on your door looking for support, you can feel free to read this to them and then ask them if they have any connection to Matt Doherty. If they say yes, tell them why you can’t support them. If they say no, then they are lying to you.”

    Maybe we should be asking the “R” candidate this exact question? Jim Bean for council. He is the only one that can be trusted.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 7:44 am | Permalink
  29. Ken Pringle wrote:

    No statute or case law prevents the use of the Taylor Pavilion as a community center, or requires that it be used for the beach-going public.

    Historically, the Taylor pavilion was always used as a beachfront community center. The prior governing body represented – falsely, of course – that it would continue to be used that way. Our litigation challenged Doherty’s outright lie that a pavilion that was to be used as a community center for the benefit of Belmar residents, could be paid for “at no cost to taxpayers,” using beach fee revenue and the assets of beachgoers. We won that issue squarely in both the trial court and on appeal.

    This governing body has the authority, by ordinance, to control how that building is used, and to ensure that our residents enjoy the full benefits of the ridiculous amount of money that the Doherty Administration paid to Epic Construction build it.

    If the governing body does not exercise that authority, the voters can do so through the initiative petition process.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 8:46 am | Permalink
  30. I'm New Here wrote:

    Thank you all for responding. I thought maybe the Boro was keeping Taylor as an event space because of some legal issue or agreement, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I don’t understand why they’re scrambling for activity space when they have an empty pavilion at their disposal.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 10:16 am | Permalink
  31. Aileen wrote:

    That’s good news, thanks Ken! I was forgetting that the use of beach money is the reason it can’t be used as a community space.
    Would be great to use as community space AND get top dollar for weddings to help pay our debt.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 11:31 am | Permalink
  32. admin wrote:

    It can be used as community space because it is going to be paid for by the municipality. Of course nothing prevents us from using it for the beach but we have no obligation to. My crazy thought is…convert the ballroom space to changing rooms and pay the bond off with beach revenues. Some years from now when our finances are in better shape maybe the town can buy it back from the beach if it makes sense to.

    I don’t think the town should be in the wedding business and weddings will never pay the $5 mil cost anyway. As far as community space goes, we should wait and see the proposals we get for new municipal space.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 11:47 am | Permalink
  33. Corruption junction wrote:

    It’s unfortunate that there doesn’t seem to be a legal path to holding Matt, Colleen, Brian, Jen, and Tom liable for the money. I assume at the time when Matt was lying and the council was carrying his water, he knew that there would be no real consequences for him. He knew his role as mayor of Belmar was coming to an end and he staked a lot on a position in the Murphy administration. The council members at the time should be walking around town heads hung low and filled with shame yet they all act like it was a surprise to them.
    They should all be held accountable. It is so disheartening when bad people get away with doing bad things. Matt and Colleen have cushy jobs, Tom is council prez, Brian has reverted back to his arrogant citizen status, and Jen is back to playing the phony innocent. It sickens me that these people get to ride happily into the sunset and we, the citizens that trusted them to represent us with honesty and integrity, are left holding the bag. The two women running under Matt’s tutelage should not receive a single vote (except their own) and if it’s true that Caravelli supported the obvious lies about the pavilion, neither should he.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 5:38 pm | Permalink
  34. Anonymous wrote:

    Convert our present municipal building on Main St. to retail shops to be rented out. Move half of the present municipal offices into new offices created at the pavilion. Lay off the other half of workers, new IT technology requires less clerks. Stop raising taxes. Vote for me for mayor, I will think out of the box. And M&C should subpoena the prior admins. to answer some questions at a council meeting.

    Monday, September 30, 2019 at 6:48 pm | Permalink
  35. dark horse wrote:

    #34 you have my vote. So do I look for the name Anonymous? Is it one word, like Cher?
    Or is it A. Nonymous? Will your name be outside the box where the names normally go?
    I guess I’ll figure it out once I’m behind the curtain.

    Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 6:47 am | Permalink
  36. ANONYMOUS wrote:

    #33 – contact him and find out or contact Bean and ask for the emails.

    The republicans knew about Carvelli’s past and still chose him over Vickie Renner. Its still pay to play in Belmar politics.

    Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 8:05 am | Permalink

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared.