Physical Therpy For Injuries and Pain in Upper Freehold Township, NJ

ALLENTOWN — Following a disagreement with a member of the Upper Freehold Township Committee, Hope Fire Company Chief George Stillwell has temporarily relinquished his post, and fire company officials are taking steps to potentially identify a temporary replacement, Deputy Chief Steve Gomba said.

“There have been issues with questioning the authority of the chief,” said Gomba, now the department’s acting chief, reached by phone on Sunday.

According to Gomba, Stillwell informed the Upper Freehold Township governing body and the shift supervisor for the paid firefighters at the predominately volunteer Hope Fire Company organization last week that personal protective gear would be removed from a few of the volunteer firefighters who had failed to complete state-mandated training.

“A few of the members missed our training, and their gear was to be removed for their own protection so they do not wind up in a situation where they could harm themselves,” Gomba said. “One of the committee members informed George (Stillwell) that he could not remove any gear or touch any equipment without the township’s approval.”

“He insinuated that George (Stillwell) and I were endangering the safety of residents,” Gomba continued.

Gomba said that Stillwell stepped down after receiving the criticism from the committee member, and plans to step aside from his post until the matter is resolved.

Stillwell, also reached by phone Sunday, said that the remarks came from Deputy Mayor Stephen Alexander, also a member of the committee.

He said he stepped back from his role as chief to remedy the public safety issue that Alexander spoke of.

“Basically, when somebody says I am putting the public at risk, in my mind the best idea is to remove myself to remove the risk,” said Stillwell, who said he plans to resolve the issue and return to the unpaid post. “I am planning on working this out, and being back.”

He said that one of his main concerns came from Alexander’s message that he did not have authority, as chief, to remove the equipment and enforce compliance with state-mandated training.

“I have yet to come across a fire company where the chief does not run the fire company,” he said.

Gomba said the trainings involved refresher courses required of all members, including programs focusing on blood-borne pathogens and right-to-know information.

He also said the company hosted an open house Saturday evening to provide information about the ongoing issue to the public and help garner support.

Company officers and paid firefighters were scheduled to meet with township officials Sunday evening to discuss the matter, Gomba said.

“We haven’t determined yet how to proceed further,” Gomba said. “Depending on what happens at that meeting, Hope Fire Company is going to have a special meeting later in the week to determine what actions will be taken.”

The fire company, founded in 1818, is a predominately volunteer company and a private non-profit organization that provides fire protection and response services to Allentown Borough and Upper Freehold Township, Gomba said. The company raises roughly half of its annual operating budget through donations, with the remaining funds coming from the two municipalities.

Upper Freehold Township Mayor Stanley Moslowski Jr. could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Contact David Karas at dkaras@njtimes.com.

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If you love getting in the car and heading out to explore New Jersey, then I want you to take a look at this latest day trip suggestion I have for you and it's right here in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

This destination is one I have never visited before and it's right in Upper Freehold Township in Cream Ridge, Monmouth County. It's part of the Monmouth County Park System. Historic Walnford is a little spot with lots of history for you to take in.

Historic Walnford is on the National Register of Historic Places in America. You can visit the Waln Farm including the family home, stables, and grist mill. The Waln home dates back to 1773 along with the 19th-century Grist Mill. The site is open 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. It was fascinating to walk through the home and see various rooms and contents from over the years in this 250-year-old mansion. The stables were also very interesting as they contained an antique sled and carriage that is on display. In the Grist Mill, you can see where grains were processed and how the machinery of the day worked hundreds of years ago. Fascinating for any history buff.

We did ask the tour guide from the parks department if there were any ghost sightings but she said to the best of her knowledge there have been no ghost reports. "Either we have no ghosts or they are very content".

I am adding this to my series "Hiking NJ" because there are places to walk if you'd like to get maybe a 2-mile hike in. There are the grounds and there is also a nice country road that runs in and out of the park that will give you about a mile if you do it in both directions. So although it's not your typical park to hike, you can get a bit of a walk-in at Historic Walnford.

Here is my "Ultra Mega Photo Gallery" for you to check out and see all that is available to see at Historic Walnford, definitely glad we made a visit to this historic part of the Monmouth County Parks System.

If you love getting in the car and heading out to explore New Jersey, then I want you to take a look at this latest day trip suggestion I have for you and it's right here in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

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This destination is one I have never visited before and it's right in Upper Freehold Township in Cream Ridge, Monmouth County. It's part of the Monmouth County Park System. Historic Walnford is a little spot with lots of history for you to take in.

Historic Walnford is on the National Register of Historic Places in America. You can visit the Waln Farm including the family home, stables, and grist mill. The Waln home dates back to 1773 along with the 19th-century Grist Mill. The site is open 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. It was fascinating to walk through the home and see various rooms and contents from over the years in this 250-year-old mansion. The stables were also very interesting as they contained an antique sled and carriage that is on display. In the Grist Mill, you can see where grains were processed and how the machinery of the day worked hundreds of years ago. Fascinating for any history buff.

We did ask the tour guide from the parks department if there were any ghost sightings but she said to the best of her knowledge there have been no ghost reports. "Either we have no ghosts or they are very content".

I am adding this to my series "Hiking NJ" because there are places to walk if you'd like to get maybe a 2-mile hike in. There are the grounds and there is also a nice country road that runs in and out of the park that will give you about a mile if you do it in both directions. So although it's not your typical park to hike, you can get a bit of a walk-in at Historic Walnford.

Here is my "Ultra Mega Photo Gallery" for you to check out and see all that is available to see at Historic Walnford, definitely glad we made a visit to this historic part of the Monmouth County Parks System.

OPINION

Rural and Suburban municipalities are under attack. Overdevelopment and warehouse sprawling are threatening the environment, historical value, and families of our towns. The two recently sent permit applications to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the Stein property is another attempt at sacrificing the lives, well-being, and longevity of our town and its residents. Bohler Engineering apparently misled Allentown and Upper Freehold’s residents by stating the Stein property would be used for Affordable Housing units, but in all actuality, the owners used this extra time bought from this facade to keep the wheels of their true intentions spinning.

The consequences these proposed warehouses would have is incredibly damaging to Allentown, Upper Freehold, and our surrounding municipalities. These warehouses will cause extremely poor air quality that will later result in high rates of asthma and other air-related diseases along with damaging wildlife by removing their habitat and killing the ecosystem. The development of warehouses would mean more truck traffic, and for Allentown, in which most homes were built in the 1800 and early 1900s, the foundations will crumble underneath the families of our town. Not to mention tearing up our roads and clogging our streets with unpredictable and hazardous traffic. The increased truck traffic will also present a serious threat to our seniors and children, as the students from UFRSD come to Allentown to play at our parks, eat at our restaurants, and support our small businesses. This presents an unneeded threat to them.

The additional utilities such as emergency services, water and sewage needs, etc, for which Allentown will bear the costs, are unfair insofar as Upper Freehold Committee is unilaterally making this decision with zero input from Allentown’s governing body and its residents. All of these issues that new warehouses will bring are irreversible damages but are highly preventable.

Given that Allentown is the central hub for the surrounding area, our governing body will do everything in our power to protect this town and everyone that calls it home. That is why we are asking Upper Freehold and NJDEP to halt all of their plans for the warehouse developments, and we ask you to join us in creating a productive and historical Task Force. This Task Force would comprise two members of the government/elected officials of Allentown, Robbinsville, Upper Freehold, Hightstown, Mercer and Monmouth County Commissioners, our members of the state legislature, and one representative from NJDEP and NJDOT. The vision of this Task Force is to have a public open dialogue to discuss the warehouse development, truck traffic, and environmental protection and all the other common issues with which our municipalities are struggling. These conversations will hopefully lead to us finding a common ground that will benefit the safety, security, prosperity, and longevity of our towns and their residents.

We, the Allentown Governing Body, take our oaths of office to our country, state, and towns with the utmost sincerity and we encourage you to do the same by joining us for these inter-municipality open dialogue discussions. This issue is not unique to just Allentown, Robbinsville, Hightstown, or Upper Freehold, but is being seen in many municipalities across our State. We hope our actions here will show that the small towns of New Jersey have a voice and will not be overshadowed and ignored by large corporations and those trying to seek profit over the safety of our towns and our lives. With that being said, we hope Upper Freehold joins these conversations in good faith as the fate of our towns and state are in jeopardy.

Nikki Darling, Erica DeKranes, Michael Drennan, John Elder, Thomas Fritts, Martha Johnson, and Daniel Payson are members of the Allentown Borough Council

ALLENTOWN – Mayor Thomas Fritts has confirmed what residents have been saying for some time: there is surveying activity taking place on a parcel of land in Upper Freehold Township bordering Allentown that could be a prelude to commercial development.

During a meeting of the mayor and Borough Council on Feb. 22, Fritts provided an update on the parcel that is commonly known as the Stein property.

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Probasco Drive in Allentown is adjacent to the Stein property in Upper Freehold on North Main Street (Route 539/524). The large tract of undeveloped land is near an exit from Interstate 195 to North Main Street.

The Stein property is in what Allentown officials refer to as a greenbelt around the borough.

During his comments, Fritts said, “There has been activity on the Stein property. I stopped by last week and a surveyor identified the property as a location for two potential warehouses.

“We are looking into various areas to prevent any development that is not good for Allentown. I have made it clear to (Upper Freehold) Mayor (LoriSue) Mount what Allentown does not want to see. The residents of Probasco Drive are not looking for that vista to be destroyed.”

Fritts said no application that proposes development on the Stein property has been filed in Upper Freehold. He also noted that in the past, officials in Upper Freehold have declined requests that applicants have made for variances from the township’s development regulations.

Regarding the possibility of purchasing the Stein property and preserving the tract as open space, Fritts said, “The management company that manages the estate is not interested in preservation; preservation pays pennies on the dollar.”

“We are doing everything in our power to embrace the fight” against warehouses, the mayor said. “Two warehouses on Main Street, where we already have traffic, would truly be a devastation to this historical borough. We are in this (fight) for the long haul.”

Fritts said if an application for the development of the Stein property is presented to a municipal board in Upper Freehold, he is hoping the members of that board would look closely at any request for variances from their community’s development standards.

As the discussion regarding the Stein property ended, Councilwoman Erica DeKranes said, “We are trying to make sure we know what is going on and to keep our borders the way they are.”

The prospect of commercial development near their homes has been a concern for residents of Probasco Drive for several years.

During a meeting of the mayor and Borough Council on Oct. 8, 2019, residents reported seeing surveyors on the Stein property.

The residents said they were concerned about the type of development that could be proposed on the land that is in Upper Freehold’s Highway Commercial zone.

The possibility of a warehouse or warehouses being constructed on the property was mentioned as a significant source of concern by the residents.