Here in GT, we already have a Bridge to Nowhere. We have Roundabouts to Nowhere.
Now, thanks to a vote last night by the GTBOE, we will have a Sidewalk to Nowhere.
All of these Construction to Nowhere projects are paid for by taxpayers; and benefit political patrons.
In the case of the sidewalk project, the benefactor is Remington & Vernick (big surprise) who is the largest campaign contributor to the Mayor Mayer Team.
POST UPDATED 5/13/2014; 4:40PM
Readers of this post may think "What's the big deal? Why complain about a sidewalk construction project? This is simply another example of the angry naysayers who are against everything."
Well, as I further contemplated this sidewalk project, the more I realized that the details exemplify a lot of things that are wrong with GT's government and school leaders. So I want to tell the full story.
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This sidewalk project is part of a federally funded, NJDOT-administered program called Safe Routes to School (SRTS). SRTS is an effort to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school.
So far so good. But...
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Remington & Vernick (R&V) is extremely well connected not only in GT, but all up and down the State of NJ. So R&V has been able to scoop up a lot of the SRTS funds. Here in GT for this sidewalk project, R&V went so far as to conceive of the project, obtain approval for its funding, write up the project specs, and hand over to the GTPS Superintendent a fully written agenda item proposal that was to be rubber-stamp approved at the next GTBOE meeting. Superintendent Bilodeau, being a loyal puppet of the Machine, dutifully placed the item on the agenda.
When the proposal was read at the April GTBOE meeting, it lacked clarity and detail. A couple of Boards members and attendees rightly asked questions. Mr. Bilodeau did not know answers (after all, he was following orders; the details didn't matter to him). And as it turned out, the project is for a stretch of sidewalk by Lilley School that is too dangerous to ever be used as a route for children to walk to school.
Yes...grant funds going to Remington & Vernick from a "Safe Route to School" program to build a sidewalk that will not be a route to school.
I felt encouraged when the Board decided to postpone the vote.
But...
At last night's BOE meeting, this agenda item re-appeared, and the Board was able to disregard these issues, and voted in favor of the sidewalk project. I guess the lure of "free" grant money AND making a patron happy was just too much to resist.
