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Continued From Page 1 at the Jackson Forest Park in the Cassville area. I also created a process for residents and businesses to sponsor a playground, sports field or a park.” “I brought together the leaders of all the township’s youth sports leagues. At those meetings we identified many ongoing issues including the condition of the fields at Camp Joy and Johnson Park, field lighting and the Jackson Soccer lease. The biggest and most urgent takeaway from those meetings was that the turf at the JYCF and Jackson Justice Complex fields were worn-out and needed to be replaced ASAP. It took three years, but we have addressed the lighting issues and replaced the worn-out turf fields,” Kern said. The candidate added, “during the past three years I have spent an average of 20 hours per week working alongside my peers trying to solve litigation issues that were created by prior councils and the current mayor. We have worked hard to put these mistakes behind us, and I want to get back to increasing the quality of life for all of our residents.” “I bring 33 years of business leadership experience; six years of land-use experience on the Jackson Township Planning Board, including being selected to vice-chairman by my peers; four years of experience on the Jackson Township Council, one year as Council President and two years as Council Vice President,” Kern added. Kern noted that, “unfortunately, affordable housing mandates from Trenton have made controlling development difficult for all New Jersey towns. In fact, towns run by both Democrats and Republicans have sued the Murphy Administration over these untenable mandates.” “I believe that we need smart commercial rateables in locations that can handle them like County Line Road. Residential development should be done according to the master plan. Much of what is being constructed now is tied to approvals from many years ago – prior to my time on council or planning board - and were protected by the NJ permit extension act of 2008,” he said. Kern said, “subsequent extensions allowed developers to start initial construction through 2020. I have worked hard, reaching out to many property owners, to protect our environmental resources and preserve as much open space as we can before it is too late.” Related to this, residents have noted traffic and speeding concerns. Kern said, “drivers speeding on the side streets of residential neighborhoods is unacceptable. Consistently increasing police staffing is the best way to provide enough patrol officers necessary to keep our roads safe.” Kern added that he didn’t want to see Jackson’s roads become as overcrowded “as they have become in too many New Jersey towns, including neighboring towns in Ocean and Monmouth Counties. We need to work closely with the county and create a plan to ensure our roadways and bridges are improved now.”
O’Neill is a real estate broker and owner of PorterPlus Realty, a brokerage located in Jackson. “Jackson is at a crossroads and we need leaders who care, listen, and can work together while leaning in and identifying all the things that make us beautiful so that we can embrace and grow from it and guide us on the path moving forward. I want to help shape and form the town that I live in and have chosen to raise my family in,” she said. O’Neill added, “Jackson is going through some growing pains. We have seen quite a bit of change and development with shifting dynamics and priorities over the last few years. We need to embrace, acknowledge and listen to all residents as it comes to driving the future of Jackson. “We need to continue to advocate and work to preserve more open space in Jackson, stabilize municipal property taxes, and bring unity and collaboration back to our community,” she added. “My openness to ideas, avid support of all people, business acumen, love for community, giving back mantra and people first mindset will be an asset to the Town Council of Jackson. Throughout my career I have embraced the importance of