TO THE EDITOR: My name is Jeff Leonard, and I am a 24-year resident of The Hills in Bedminster. I currently serve as the vice chair of the Bedminster Land Use Board, the vice president of the Wynnewood condo association and the president of the Hills Village North Master Association. I previously was the chairman of the Bedminster Environmental Commission and am an active member of the Bedminster Republican Municipal Committee.
Like many in New Jersey, I feel that state policies have made life more difficult for the average resident. I witness firsthand the obligations that often well-intended but unfunded state mandates place on both our municipality and our homeowners’ associations.
And the buck stops here. Local government, both municipal and homeowners association (HOA), is the place where the rubber meets the road – or in many cases, where we are left to pick up the pieces.
Fortunately, we have two outstanding individuals running for Bedminster Township Committee this year, Colin Hickey and Rich Costa. Both have proven track records of service to the community, the former as a three-term committeeman, and the latter as president of the Wood Duck Pond condo board and vice president of the Hills Village North Master Association (HVNMA).
Let’s begin with Colin. If your lights are staying on, you have Colin Hickey to thank. For many years, we struggled with frequent power outages, regardless of wind or weather conditions. Social media was constantly abuzz and people were rightly frustrated.
Instead of just listening to their complaints, Colin took action. He worked directly with Jersey Central Power & Light’s (JCP&L) team of engineers and reliability experts to focus not on isolated events, but on root causes.
As a result of these efforts, JCP&L has invested over $3M in local infrastructure improvements. In the Hills alone, a network of switches has been installed that allows power to be rerouted when problems occur, which has resulted in many less outages.
In addition, a series of reclosers have been installed at the edge of our local network, which detect powerline faults and in most cases are able to automatically restore service.
We have seen a very noticeable improvement in power reliability over the last 12 months, and these improvements are directly tied to Colin’s efforts.
Like Colin and me, Rich shares a philosophy of affordability. As a long-time resident of the Hills, he sees firsthand the many demands placed on our homeowners. Balancing our HOA and Master budgets is always a challenge, and keeping our association fees from spiraling out of control is paramount.
We need to invest in the upkeep of our communities and satisfy newly imposed requirements (most recently, state-mandated stormwater regulations), all while maintaining a reasonable monthly fee. The boards work very hard to maintain our homes, our services and our amenities, as well as invest in our future through careful management of our capital reserves.
Rich has lived this firsthand, and the results speak for themselves. Wood Duck Pond has undergone significant improvements over the last several years, including new roofs, siding and pavement.
Rich’s hands-on management of costs and contractors has been the difference maker. His work on the HVNMA board has equally been impressive.
In addition to serving as the lead representative for his association, he is also essential to our pool operations (never an easy task) and in planning community events. I am confident he will bring the same level of project and financial discipline to the Bedminster Township Committee if he is elected this fall.
Both Colin and Rich have a long history of making positive contributions to the community, and losing either would have an immediate impact on both quality of life and good financial stewardship. Please join me in voting for both Rich and Colin on Nov. 3 for Township Committee. Bedminster will be a better place for it.
Jeffrey S. Leonard
Wescott Road
Bedminster Township
Editor’s note: This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in The Bernardsville News.