Holmdel Courant

12/10/2025

Due Diligence or Deference?

At last night’s meeting, Mayor Brian Foster repeatedly stated that the Township Committee was “just finding out this information today” regarding CHA Partners—the developer chosen for the Vonage project—and the ongoing lawsuit involving a $3 million unpaid promissory note, two contempt orders, liens, and reported attempts to shift assets during collection efforts.

These details have been publicly available since 2023. Their sudden discovery now, after nearly two years of negotiations, hearings, and planning for a PILOT, raises an unavoidable question:

How did this information escape notice during the Township’s due-diligence process?

The Vonage redevelopment touches on environmental issues, affordable housing obligations, and long-term tax impacts. Developers in such roles are ordinarily vetted with care long before ordinances are introduced.

Another detail bears mentioning: CHA has indicated it “may” resolve its outstanding debt on December 25, 2025—just days after the Planning Board hearing on December 16 and the Township Committee’s PILOT hearing on December 22. Whether this timing is coincidental or simply convenient is left to the reader.

Holmdel has learned hard lessons from insufficient vetting before. It should not need to learn them twice.

With this new information it seems prudent for Holmdel Officials to slow down and do the due diligence clearly missed. A background check is required for our Town Council and Board of Education members. The people of Holmdel Township ask for the same background check for those who will develop and shape our land.

12/09/2025

Power poles planted at the farm’s gate — local ordinance or state decree? The citizens of Holmdel Township would be grateful to learn more about this growing concrete jungle.

12/08/2025

Join Holmdel Township at the upcoming Town Council meeting.

12/07/2025

The title of the article might be a bit misleading, but the points being raised are still worth discussing. For those concerned about the small number of survey participants, I’m genuinely curious — how can we get more Holmdel residents involved in future surveys and local conversations? Would love to hear ideas on improving participation and engagement.

One of your neighbors posted in Politics & Government. Click through to read what they have to say. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

12/05/2025

Will Holmdel Township drinking water be jeopardized?

Will Holmdel Drinking Water Be Jeopardized?

A Township Committee meeting scheduled days before the Thanksgiving holiday is normally expected to be quiet and short. Instead, the meeting developed into a new environmental battlefront. At issue is the discharge of wastewater on the former Vonage property for six months out of the year into Willow Brook, which feeds into the reservoir for drinking water for more than 300,000 Monmouth County residents, including Holmdel.

Prologue

For the past two years or so, the Township Committee has been working towards a redevelopment plan for the former Vonage property located at Main Street (Route 520) and Holmdel Road. The concept plan calls for a 299-unit senior living, assisted living/memory care and skilled nursing complex.

At a special meeting that took place on November 10, 2025, Vonage redeveloper continued its application for the plan before the Holmdel Planning Board. So many residents attended the meeting, the Planning Board opened up the back wall to accommodate more residents in the entry foyer of the building.

Novembre 25th Township Committee Meeting

Perhaps in anticipation of residents voicing their concerns about the Vonage redevelopment plan, the Township Committee added a specific item on the agenda at its November 25th meeting for a discussion/update on compliance with affordable housing mandates, which includes the Vonage redevelopment.

The Township Committee explained Holmdel’s current affordable housing requirement and that the Vonage redevelopment will add 31 units plus a bonus credit of 15.5 towards its latest requirement of 106 units. The Township Committee also mentioned that the Vonage Ad Hoc Committee examined various options and felt that the CHA/23 Main Street redevelopment plan offered the best option given the circumstances.

The Devil is in the Details

At the time the Vonage redevelopment plan was introduced in 2024, it was noted that the plan is a “concept” and it was specifically mentioned that Holmdel residents would have the opportunity for public comments about the project when it comes before the Planning Board, when details of the project will be shared.

However, in what appears to be circular logic, the developer’s representatives have repeatedly mentioned to the Planning Board that its application for the development is “compliant” with the redevelopment plan, implying that the Planning Board should approve the project on this premise.

It is only when the application for the project came before the Planning Board did various details became known. Specifically, at the November 10th Planning Board meeting, the redeveloper presented its plan for wastewater management, which was only to refurbish or upgrade the equipment in the existing wastewater treatment system to be “grandfathered” under existing permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

It has no plan to bring the wastewater management to be in compliance with current code and standards.

The existing wastewater treatment system and associated permits, installed back in 1977, are almost 50 years old. The current DEP permits allow the wastewater to be discharged directly to the Willow Brook that feeds the Swimming River Reservoir that provides potable water to Holmdel and other Monmouth County residents.

For the other six months of the year, the wastewater is fed into a lagoon to allow the wastewater to evaporate into the air and percolate into the ground. During this phase, it is also allowed to spray the effluent through a sprinkler-like system to certain parts of the property when evaporating and percolating are not sufficient.

At the Planning Board meeting, questions were raised by residents and many were not satisfactorily answered.

Planning Board member Wes Fagan stated that the DEP records show it found 19 violations out of 25 inspections since 2000. He questioned who would bear responsibility if the wastewater management system failed. The redeveloper’s attorney noted that they do not have to post any performance bond to satisfy any equipment or plant failure.

Fagan noted that something must have gone wrong with the original design for the DEP to allow effluent to be directly discharged into the stream for six months of the year. To make matters worse, there has not been any percolation test to see if the lagoon is currently functioning properly. The redeveloper’s wastewater management expert could not answer the question when asked if he knows or is aware of any new development using the existing Vonage wastewater management design.

Two weeks later, Fagan, a member of both the Holmdel Planning Board and Holmdel Environmental Commission, took the unusual step of voicing these concerns as an individual on a personal basis at the November 25th Township Committee meeting during the public comment session.

An important point of discussion was the fact that the existing wastewater management system is limited, by DEP permit, to handling 40,000 gallons per day. There is some question whether this is sufficient capacity to handle the wastewater for the 299-unit project.

As a retired professional with expertise in flow meters, Fagan noted that the current drawing has no mention of existing flow meters or any new flow meters to measure the gallons coming into or leaving the wastewater treatment plant. In other words, how do we know how much wastewater is actually being handled? In addition, there are monitoring well symbols in the legend but no monitoring wells were shown on the plan.

The lagoon, which holds the wastewater for evaporation and percolation, would no longer be allowed under the current standard that requires a 300-foot conservation easement. In addition, Holmdel’s development regulation requires a 150-foot buffer to any Hop Brook tributary, while the plan shows the buffer to be only 100 feet.

Last, but not least, Fagan noted that the redeveloper has not granted permission to the Holmdel Environmental Commission’s request for a site visit, saying these concerns are outside of the jurisdiction of the Planning Board.

They say the devil is in the details. There are many questions raised regarding Vonage’s very old wastewater management design and the clear danger of contaminating our drinking water for current residents and future generations.

The fact that the Holmdel Township Committee has not required the redeveloper to upgrade the wastewater management system to current standards may be one of the questions that needs to be answered. Presumably, it could require it as part of the redevelopment agreement, which is an arm’s length agreement negotiated by two willing parties.

The hearing for the Vonage redevelopment will continue at the next Planning Board meeting on December 16th at 7 PM.

Stay tuned. Now that more details about the Vonage redevelopment plan are known and questions raised, it will be interesting to see how the Township Committee will react.

See also the interesting video on Vonage’s wastewater management: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMoR47Vk/

12/01/2025

The leadership of the Monmouth County GOP being brought into question with this article by the Monmouth Reporter.

Monmouth County delivered a weaker-than-expected showing for Jack Ciattarelli in the governor’s race, revealing a surprising Democratic swing across key suburban towns. Here’s how the political landscape shifted.

11/28/2025

Pray for the family and SWIFT JUSTICE.

🚨 BREAKING: In a heartbreaking development, WV National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, not expected to recover — her father Gary says, per NYT

“I’m holding her hand right now. She has a mortal wound.” 😢

“It’s not going to be a recovery.”

Pray for the family and SWIFT JUSTICE

11/26/2025

🏛️ What’s the point of a PILOT program — and why do people debate it?

A PILOT (“Payment In Lieu Of Taxes”) is a financial agreement where a developer pays the town a set annual fee instead of regular property taxes for a fixed period. It’s usually designed to encourage development in places where it might not happen otherwise.

Here’s the balanced breakdown:

👍 Why PILOTs can be helpful

• They reduce financial risk for a developer building something new.
• They can motivate investment in vacant, difficult, or declining properties.
• Towns get a predictable revenue stream while a site is being built or rebuilt.
• They can turn unused land into something productive sooner rather than later.

👎 Why PILOTs can be controversial

• If the location is already desirable, developers might build there without a tax break.
• A PILOT can give the town short-term revenue at the cost of long-term tax growth.
• Schools usually get little or none of the PILOT money, which can shift the burden to residents later.
• Critics argue it can amount to an unnecessary “discount” for developers in strong markets.

🎯 The core question

A fair debate is whether a PILOT is truly needed for a site that already has high value. If the project would move forward without financial incentives, then the community has to consider whether the long-term tax revenue trade-off is worth the short-term gain.

Not good, not bad — just the facts so people can make their own informed opinion.

11/24/2025

Questions Residents Should Be Asking About the Vonage Redevelopment and Potential Conflicts of Interest

1. What is BFF Lending, and who owns it?

2. Does BFF Lending stand to gain financially from increased real estate activity connected to the redevelopment of the Vonage property?

3. If financial gain is possible, why has Mayor Brian Foster not recused himself from all related discussions and votes?

4. Has the Township Attorney issued any written opinion on whether the mayor’s business interests create a conflict or appearance of conflict?

5. Who are the mayor’s top campaign contributors — Alessandro Montone, Gary Dahms, and T&M Associates — and what are their ties to development or land-use work?

6. Do any of these contributors have a current or expected role in the Vonage redevelopment or other Holmdel projects?

7. Why is the upcoming Vonage discussion taking place behind closed doors instead of in a public session?

8. What consultants, developers, or engineering firms are involved in evaluating or planning the Vonage site?

9. Has the Township conducted an independent ethics review regarding potential conflicts of interest?

10. Will the Township commit to releasing a written conflict-of-interest analysis for the public to review?

Residents deserve full transparency and assurance that development decisions are being made solely in the public interest — not influenced by private business interests or major donors.

11/21/2025

From Better Holmdel
What is in a Name?

The following is an excerpt of a longer post. You can read the full post at our website:

https://betterholmdel.wixsite.com/home/post/what-is-in-a-name

Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” However, when it comes to Holmdel property taxes, what it is called makes a huge financial difference to the Township Committee and the Holmdel school district. In fact, it is the primary difference that allows the Township Committee to be “fat and happy”, while the BOE struggles with a financial crisis that could lead to drastic actions that may include laying off teachers, outsourcing paraprofessionals and custodians, and raising property taxes yet again.

PILOT and the importance of it to Holmdel Residents

A Payment in Lieu of Taxes (“PILOT”) is a financial agreement between a municipality (Holmdel Township) and a developer. In essence, it is a tax break granted to a developer designed to encourage the redevelopment of an area designated as “in need of redevelopment”, such as Bell Works and Vonage.

The developer is exempt from paying conventional property taxes for a set period, typically 10 to 30 years. While this state law was intended for urban blighted areas, it is available to all municipalities.

For the last few years, the school district has received about 68% of all property taxes collected by the Township. However, unlike conventional property taxes, Holmdel Township retains 95% of all PILOT payments and 5% goes to the county. The Holmdel school district gets nothing from PILOT payments.

“It was the best of times, …” – Charles Dickens

As part of the budget process, each governing body prepares a budget and forecasts its anticipated revenue (which includes tax levies) and anticipated expenditures (called appropriations).

Over the past 5-year period (2020 to 2024), Holmdel Township has received excess revenue over what it had anticipated by almost $24 million. Most of this excess revenue is from PILOT payments received from the Bell Works commercial building and the Regency residential townhomes.

This has allowed the Township Committee to increase its annual spending by $7.4 million (from $25.0 million in 2020 to $32.4 million in 2025) and grow its surplus from $3.5 million in 2020 to $8.2 million in 2025, all while proudly proclaiming it didn’t raise taxes for its residents.

“…, it was the worst of times, …” – Charles Dickens

Meanwhile, the Holmdel school district has hiked its taxes by $9 million in the last three years. In May of this year, the school district issued a dire warning of a budget deficit of $2.4 million for the 2026 – 2027 school year. It now appears that the budget deficit will exceed $4 million, possibly $6 million. The school district also does not yet have a new teachers’ contract (even though the contract expired back in June), so we don’t know what the financial impact of a new contract will be. There is anecdotal evidence that capital improvements are also needed due to leaky roofs and other major repairs that may be needed.

Vonage PILOT

To make matters worse, the redevelopment agreement between the Township and the redeveloper of the Vonage property includes a PILOT program. The redeveloper currently has an application for their project before the Holmdel Planning Board. The Township collects about $358,000 in property taxes for the Vonage property, of which the school district receives about $240,000. However, if and when the Vonage PILOT becomes effective, the school district will lose $240,000 in annual tax revenue.

Read the full post:
https://betterholmdel.wixsite.com/home/post/what-is-in-a-name

HOLMDEL New Jersey

11/20/2025

The double standard of disappointment. This protest is by the same individuals who wanted to vaccinate and mask our children.

11/20/2025

With the continued struggles of land usage and heated meetings regarding the vonage property one has to ask, why did the Holmdel Democrats miss this opportunity?

Having the Holmdel Republican Party candidate vs the Holmdel Republican Club would have been a great opportunity to turn the tides had there been more of an effort by the Democrats and Roth for Holmdel Township Committee.