Sewerage authority elects new officers

Former vice chairman William E. Leonard
chosen as new chairman
By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer

MONMOUTH BEACH — New leadership has been installed at the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority with the election of a new chairman and, in a contested race, a new vice chairman.

William E. Leonard, the former vice chairman of the authority and a representative from Fair Haven, was voted in as chairman at the authority’s July 15 meeting to replace Elwood L. Baxter, an Oceanport representative, who stepped down as chairman in June. Baxter will remain a board member until he moves to Florida this fall.

Leonard was recommended for election as chairman by the nominating committee consisting of Daniel Levine, treasurer of the authority and a representative from Little Silver; Charles H. Maps Jr., assistant secretary and a representative from West Long Branch; and Gregory J. Christopher, the other representative from West Long Branch and the longest serving board member. No other nominations were offered from the floor.

Leonard, who is retired as the postmaster of Holmdel, was elected on a motion for the secretary to cast one ballot for him for chairman, which was passed.

Levine said the nominating committee decided to recommend Leonard, the former mayor of Fair Haven, after speaking to him about "some things that might be of concern" to the board.

Thomas B. Barham, one of the two representatives from Monmouth Beach, was elected the new vice chairman by a vote of 7-3, defeating David Apy, a Little Silver representative.

Apy had been recommended for the post by the nominating committee. Barham was nominated by Richard N. Tocci, assistant treasurer and a Mon­mouth Beach representative.

Maps seconded Apy and Baxter sec­onded Barham.

Baxter pointed out before the election began that the chairman and vice chair­man had to be voted on separately and that candidates for the two offices could not be coupled.

The vote was by secret ballot, which was proposed at the outset of the meeting by Leonard. Levine, who opposed the se­cret ballot, asked him why he wanted one. Leonard replied that in every orga­nization where he has served in an of­fice, elections were by secret ballot.

The motion to have a secret ballot passed 8-3, with Levine, Maps and Apy voting against it. Voting for it were Leonard; William R. Baarck, secretary and a Fair Haven representative; Tocci; Barham; Baxter; Ward V. Coles Jr., an Oceanport representative; Sam P. Sicil­iano, a Shrewsbury representative; and Barry J. Berdahl, the other Shrewsbury representative.

One of the 11 secret ballots cast for vice chairman was disqualified as inde­cipherable.

Both Barham and Apy are recent ap­pointees to the sewerage authority.

Barham, who represents the host community for the sewerage authority, retired at the first of this year after 35 years with his family’s construction busi­ness, Thomas H. Barham Co., of Tinton Falls, after he and his brother, Monmouth Beach Commissioner William C. Barham, sold it.

Apy is a lawyer whose father, Chester Apy, is a former Republican state as­semblyman.

Levine said the nominating commit­tee met twice. In the first meeting, the members discussed both the chairman’s and vice chairman’s positions, he said. In the second meeting, he said they only discussed the vice chairman. He said the committee contacted some people, some of whom had no interest, and some peo­ple contacted the committee. Some campaigned for the jobs.

"The only thing taken into considera­tion was what was best for the authority," he said.

"We wanted to keep continuity in the authority," he added, noting that the new officers would serve for six months until the annual reorganization meeting in February.

Coles volunteered that he felt very hurt that the committee never called him.

After the elections were over, Leonard pledged as he took the gavel as the new chairman that he would try to protect the interests of the authority during his tenure at the helm of the TRWRA.

None of the board positions at TR­WRA, including chairman and vice chairman, are paid.

Michael A. Gianforte, executive di­rector of the authority, said after the meeting that TRWRA is the only sewer­age authority in Monmouth County with no pay and no benefits for board mem­bers.