I recently attended a Holmdel Township Board Meeting to show my support for a proposal of two turf soccer/lacrosse sport fields at Cross Farms Park. I realized that as the parent of two high school athletes, our family will miss out on the opportunity to play at these fields, but I felt these fields would be a tremendous addition to this beautiful town.
I was surprised, however, to witness such mean-spirited criticism directed at our Township Board and our mayor. Now, full disclosure — I am a card-carrying Democrat who crossed party lines last year to vote for Eric Hinds. I know him as a person — not a party — and I have seen firsthand how he truly, truly cares about this community and works incredibly hard to continuously make Holmdel better. I also appreciate that everyone has their own opinion about township issues, but many at that meeting seemed to have a personal vendetta, as opposed to coming forward with real, true facts and alternatives.
I simply have to speak out to support and thank our hard-working township committee and our mayor. After living here over 10 years, I have never been so well-informed as to our township happenings — from email updates to phone calls, from newsletters to special township-only events — I just feel like I know exactly what is going on, and that is truly helpful.
I also really love this town. I love our fantastic school rankings and the amazing people and community. I love the proximity to beaches and to the city. I love how it retains a small-town feel, with people looking out for one another. I am also thinking fiscally that all these positive updates that move us forward will have a positive return on our investment when we eventually downsize and sell our home.
And there have been significant improvements and changes that would make everybody want to live here — from huge, impactful business decisions like Bell Labs to smaller community events like the mother-son dance and daddy-daughter campouts, from career nights for our Holmdel alumni, to massive improvements to our roads and parks. I just feel that Holmdel just gets better and better, and we have to appreciate the work and the efforts that make that happen.
Finally, I just feel that if we can all stop bashing and instead work together as a community to move forward, it can only bring about more positive change.
Sally Russo
Holmdel
