BEDMINSTER TWP. – Juggling costs with quality of life, cutting crime and remedying those pesky power outages are among top concerns of Republicans and Democrats seeking to fill two, three-year expiring terms on the now all-GOP five-member Township Committee.
Republican incumbents Lawrence Jacobs of Hillside Avenue and Renee Mareski of Crestmont Road are being challenged by Democrats Julia O’Brien of Stevens Court and Lawrence McShane of Wendover Court.
Jacobs, a resident of Hillside Avenue, was first elected in 2012 and is seeking a fifth term. He is serving as mayor, a position decided each year by the governing body itself. Mareski, who is seeking her third term on the committee, resides on Crestmont Road.
Candidates, with the exception of McShane responded to a set of questions provided by The Bernardsville News. Their answers follow and are listed in alphabetical order according to the candidate’s last name.
Larry Jacobs
Jacobs said he is seeking re-election to continue addressing numerous issues, like providing excellent service and quality of life without cutting costs in an economically challenged environment.
“When I first joined the Township Committee, I made a commitment to identify the short term and long-term challenges that Bedminster was facing and to put Bedminster in the best situation to address the challenges,” he said.
In the 12 years he’s sat on the committee, he said, “we’ve implemented programs to bolster our commercial properties, address affordable housing requirements, and confront security issues. I believe that the Township Committee has placed Bedminster far ahead of many other municipalities in identifying and addressing these concerns, and at the same time, keeping Bedminster’s taxes low.”
According to Jacobs, the county tax board identified Bedminster “as having the lowest tax rate in the entire county. While I was certainly pleased to see that we have the lowest taxes, I was more pleased to realize that we have done so without compromising any services to our residents,” he said. Those services include two officers to the police department, “excellent recreation opportunities,” and expanding farmland preservation, he said.
“We are not engaged in a race to austerity,” he said. “We do not keep taxes low merely for the sake of claiming low taxes.”
Jacobs also spoke as to how the committee examined ways to jump-start the local economy through re-zoning what was once a large ratable – the former AT&T complex off of Route 202.
“Nearly seven years ago, (then) Mayor Steve Parker and I engaged with the ownership of the AT&T campus. We recognized that property – our largest commercial ratable, as well as many other commercial properties in Bedminster were susceptible to corporate downsizing, and we wanted to be prepared for all possibilities,” he said.
“Over the next few years, I initiated planning studies to assess alternatives to keep our commercial properties viable. During this time, the evolution of commercial real estate was dramatically impacted by COVID – office space was deprioritized as ‘work from home’ became normalized, and the large single-user corporate campus had become a dinosaur facing an inevitable extinction. Bedminster needed to change our approach and we did.”
Those changes, he said, included re-zoning the campus “specifically to encourage high-tech and life sciences uses; this rezoning reflects the federal and state emphasis on on-shoring of these industries and takes advantage of the built-in expertise of the Somerset County workforce. The property is now known as the Bedminster Technology Center and is actively being marketed as a multi-use high-tech campus.”
He also brokered a deal in which AT&T stayed in the township, moving to another campus on Route 206. “A once-empty parking lot is now full with AT&T employees,” he said.
Furthermore, the township also rezoned “to accommodate the changing office market – retail and other complementary uses can now be co-located at office properties. This rezoning resulted in Freshpet relocating its corporate headquarters from Secaucus to Bedminster.”
Jacobs has also played a leading role in keeping the township safe from the rash of car and home break ins and thefts that have pervaded the Somerset Hills, resulting in the multi-town Somerset Hills Public Safety Committee consisting of Bedminster, Bernards Township, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Peapack-Gladstone and Bridgewater “as a forum to share best practices on issues such as communication, preparedness and security for our residents.
“All six municipalities adopted an ordinance to provide for municipal prosecution for unauthorized entry and attempts to steal vehicles. We added two police officers and we recently authorized the purchase of five automatic license plate readers. Bedminster has had less incidents than our neighbors but that should not detract from our commitment to vigilance and support of our police.”
“One of my first appointments as mayor was to create a utilities liaison and assigning Committeeman Colin Hickey to that role,” he said.
“During COVID, the inadequacy of internet connectivity in many of our neighborhoods was exposed. Work from home, school from home, and entertainment from home imposed greater demands than could be satisfied with the old co-axial service – frustration mounted against Altice,” he said.
A public forum, he said, led to that carrier not only increasing service but committing to replace its co-axial service with high-speed fiber optics.
Utility problems, however, continue, as the township tries to get Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) to upgrade electrical services. As a result of many information sessions, “we have secured commitments on upgrades from JCP&L, many of which will be implemented over the next several months.”
However, he said, “JCP&L’s service will remain a challenge for Bedminster and will require leadership and resolve to see that those commitments are implemented.”
Another challenge that remains is one of affordable housing as the township continues to maintain its “town and country” character.
“Developers across New Jersey are looking for any opportunity to squeeze additional residential development into our town and will use affordable housing as the means to do so, and despite the promises made by Trenton, the new legislation provides multiple opportunities for builders to sue municipalities,” he said.
“Bedminster needs to take a careful approach to assessing the obligation as calculated by the Department of Community Affairs and being creative in implementing an affordable housing solution that does not overwhelm our community. This requires strong, knowledgeable and creative leadership.
“I hope to be elected one more time to see these initiatives fulfilled and keeping Bedminster ahead.”
Jacobs is in his 11th year on the committee and is its senior member in length of service. His day job is that of an environmental attorney.
Renee Mareski
Mareski said she is seeking re-election “to keep Bedminster Township both economically and environmentally healthy. Having served for 10 years on my Crestmont Homeowner Association board and 12 years the Bedminster Township Environmental Committee, I believe I have developed the skills needed to do this job.”
Mareski specifically is proud of three accomplishments while on the dais. One is holding down costs when it comes to the budget.
“I use my budgeting skills to keep spending as efficient as possible,” she said. “And in a world of ever-increasing taxes and prices, by reviewing and scrutinizing every line of the town budget, we are able to keep our residents’ taxes low.
“This year was my sixth year working on the budget. It was the most challenging as we had many capital requests to review and prioritize. These requests included two new fire trucks, a new roof on the municipal building and emergency response radios.”
Close scrutiny of the budget, however, led to the ability to hire two new police officers.
“This is a major addition to the safety of our township in light of the car thefts that have hit our area,” she said. “Additionally, we are prioritizing community policing, this funding allows our officers to spend more time interacting directly with our residents in our neighborhoods and township events.”
Mareski also takes pride in keeping the township green and sustainable. “As a past member, past chairman, and now liaison to the Bedminster Environmental Commission, I have worked to keep our township clean and green,” she said.
“Our educational programs, stream cleanup, Farmers Market, and the clean-up of the Bedminster Pond are all examples of how we can keep our environment and our residents healthy.”
As far as challenges go, Mareski, like Jacbos, sees the need for better JCP&L service.
“While we really have no ability to force them to do anything, we are acting as a very loud squeaky wheel,” she said.
“Bedminster Township is constantly in contact with JCP&L, we host programs at Town Hall so residents can make themselves heard, and we assist where we can for our residents.”
As an example Mareski cites a time when JCP&L told one homeowner’s association that members had to play to replace equipment in one building.
That turned out to be untrue, she said. According to Mareski, the committee “did some research and found that actually JCP&L was responsible for them, saving the residents thousands of dollars.
“As we maintain the pressure on JCP&L, they have begun a new project to upgrade our aging equipment. We await approvals on future projects to be funded but I will continue to keep the squeaky wheel turning so JCP&L knows we are watching out for our residents.”
Another challenge Mareski sees is “keeping a balance between controlled growth in our community and the maintenance of open land or green spaces.
“As new projects come before the Township Committee, I am always looking to make sure that there is appropriate open space and beneficial landscaping. It is important to keep our economy healthy and growing but it is just as important for our residents to keep the bucolic atmosphere of Bedminster intact.”
Mareski is also aware of the need to bind the diverse community.
“Bedminster is unique in that the town is split into many sections. We do not have a town center,” she said.
“We have the Hills that is separated from the larger single family properties. We have several major highways that bisect the area. So, I have worked on several strategies to help bring our neighbors together, including the Farmers Market, the Jacobus Vanderveer house, the Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), and the Hike and Bike trail. These entities are major gems in our town’s basket of jewels but they are easy to miss when residents have become isolated due to the aforementioned issues.
“I enjoy working at the Farmers Market and supporting the programming of the Vanderveer House and CCA. In my role as the Hills liaison, I push out the programming using social media and direct outreach to all our residents.”
Mareski has lived in the Hills for more than 20 years, beginning in Parkside and now in the Crestmont section, where he is a member of the homeowner’s association’s governing body. She chairs the township’s Environmental Committee. She is a graduate of St. Laurence University and has a master’s degree in animal science from the University of Kentucky.
Julia O’Brien
O’Brien said currently, “the biggest issue facing Bedminster residents is the number of power outages and other related issues with JCP&L.
“The current Committee has worked closely with the utility for years, but we’ve had two outages in the past week alone. Bedminster is a small town with limited ability to pressure the utility. But in New Jersey, we have the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), and the current administration has not leveraged that to our advantage.
“My first priority if elected would be to build relationships with BPU. I believe JCP&L has under-invested in infrastructure and maintenance for a long time, and BPU can put pressure on them to make corrections.
“Having lived elsewhere in New Jersey for many years, where other power companies supply electricity, I can say that the current state of our power is not normal.”
O’Brien retired in 2023 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where she was the Region 2 Geospatial Coordinator, responsible for data analysis of both natural and manmade threats and disasters.
Prior to joining FEMA, she consulted in the fields of public safety, community planning, and environmental analysis. She also served as a consultant on projects for Environmental Impact Statements and environmental analysis, and studies for community planning projects chiefly in New York and New Jersey.
O’Brien has lived in Bedminster since 2021, having lived in Union and Hudson counties for the previous 33 years. She chaired the Bedminster Democratic Committee since November 2023.
and has been a lifetime volunteer and activist for women’s rights, environmental responsibility, and community organizations wherever she has lived.
As a volunteer, she served two years as president of Business and Professional Women New Jersey. She has been Chair of Deacons and several other committees over her 35-year membership at Christ Church in Summit, and currently serves as a leader of the Reproductive Rights group at that church.
She is a mother of one son and a grandmother to 7-year-old twins.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in The Bernardsville News.