Bows and arrows, as well as other weapons, were added to the list of weapons that may not be discharged in Holmdel Township.
On July 17, the Holmdel Township Committee amended the municipal ordinance that regulates the discharge of “guns, weapons and firearms.”
The revised ordinance states that “the Holmdel Police Department has identified that various persons are engaging in the discharge of bow and arrow, crossbows and similar devices, in a manner that is injurious to the health, safety and welfare of the township’s residents.”
With that as a basis for action, committee members prohibited the discharge of bows and arrows, crossbows, air driven weapons (air gun), sling shots and other devices that are similar in nature to these weapons.
“All this really does is widen the scope of the language of what a weapon is,” Councilman Michael Nikolis said regarding the revision of the ordinance.
Mayor Tom Critelli, Deputy Mayor Gregory Buontempo, Committeeman Eric Hinds, Committeeman Rocco Pascucci and Nikolis voted to adopt the amended ordinance.
During the public hearing that preceded the committee’s adoption of the ordinance, several members of the public sought clarification on several aspects of the ordinance.
Committee members responded to the residents’ remarks by stating that the revised law now effectively communicates the specific weapons that may not be used in Holmdel for any purpose.
On July 24, Holmdel Police Lt. Robert Philhower said revisions were made to the existing law because, as it stood, the original ordinance was “vague” in its description of what types of weapons are prohibited in Holmdel.
Philhower said,“this has all stemmed from hunters,” although he said recreational hunting is an infrequent practice in the 18-square-mile community.
“If we ever had to charge someone with an offense, they could have said, ‘Well I don’t have a weapon. It’s not a gun.’ Now we needed to clarify what a weapon is,” Philhower said.
“These are guys (hunters) who were up in tree stands and they had bows and arrows. That was their means of hunting. We looked back at the ordinance and someone brought up a good point. The ordinance (prohibits) weapons, but we didn’t have a definition of what a weapon was,” Philhower said.
Philhower said individuals who discharge firearms and other weapons that are mentioned in the revised ordinance will be subject to pay a fine of up to $1,000. The law will be immediately enforced by the Holmdel Police Department.
In related committee business, Joseph Disko, Kevin Gallogly and Ian Wladika have been hired as police officers and are scheduled to begin their training at the police academy toward the beginning of August. The three men are expected to graduate in December, Philhower said.
Disko and Gallogly will be joining law enforcement for the first time, Philhower said. Wladika formerly served as a Class II special law enforcement officer in Bradley Beach, he said.
Although Wladika has been through the police academy, Philhower said Wladkia will need to complete an abbreviated police training program before he can receive his full-time certification as a law enforcement officer.
“We do have officers that are retiring, so these (individuals) are filling the gaps,” Philhower said.
