Holmdel 2022: A Look Back At Some Top Issues In The Township

HOLMDEL, NJ — As we move into 2023, here is a look back at some defining moments in Holmdel Township public life this past year:

Car theft scourge continues

The troubling car theft trend that has plagued the entire state continued with one last swipe at Holmdel this year. The day after Christmas, a family in town woke to find that its three luxury cars were stolen. Thieves entered the house to search for the keys.

This was a scenario played out with some frequency here and in other suburban towns. But the township is fighting back with an automobile protection ordinance and with the installation of stationary license plate readers to spot suspicious cars before they attempt car thefts. And police are urging the public to take proactive safety precautions by locking doors, windows and cars.

State action is pending, too, to address areas where bail reform rules may need to be adjusted to account for repeated car theft offenses.

Voters reject a change of government referendum

The township's Charter Study Commission recommendation to change the township's form of government to a nonpartisan, Council-Manager form was defeated at the polls in July after a bitter war of words in flyers and in self-published online sites, including on Patch.

Had the new form of government been adopted, it would have allowed for the direct election of the mayor and would have held elections on a nonpartisan basis. The proposed council would have appointed a municipal manager. Candidates are now being interviewed for the position currently being filled on an interim basis, according to an update from Mayor Gregory Buontempo.

But opponents to the change argued the commission's proposals were a foregone conclusion and said defeat of the question meant that "Holmdel would be Holmdel." The flyer campaign was criticized by proponents of change as misleading and indicative of the outsize influence of the Monmouth County Republican organization in the township.

GOP regains two seats lost to Independents

The two Independent candidates narrowly elected to the Township Committee in 2019 resigned this year for either business or personal reasons. And after the election in November the Republicans regained those seats. Current appointed Committeeman Brian Foster and Kim LaMountain will take the oaths of office this week. For the first time in several months, the Township Committee will have all its positions filled. All members of the committee are Republicans.

National stolen catalytic converter theft ring has Holmdel connection

The FBI descended on a house in Holmdel as part of a nationwide series of arrests in a suspected stolen catalytic converter operation. The federal probe included the arrest of, among others, six New Jersey residents connected to DG Auto, federal officials charged. One of those charged lived in a Holmdel mansion.

Historic Horn Antenna will be part of redevelopment area study

The Planning Board voted to study reclassifying the former Nokia site - which includes an installation of the historic Horn Antenna - as an "area in need of redevelopment, in the hopes it can better control the future of the 43-acre site in the Crawford Hill section of Holmdel.

The property at 791 Holmdel Road, now privately owned, is also the location of the Bell Labs Horn Antenna, once used by Bell Labs scientists Dr. Robert Wilson and Dr. Arno Penzias to study microwave radiation from beyond the Milky Way. The scientists' research confirmed evidence of the Big Bang Theory as the origin of the universe and earned both men a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978.

In 1989, the Horn Antenna was named a National Historic Landmark. And preserving this landmark of scientific discovery will be an issue not just for Holmdel, but for scientists around the world, local environmental groups have said.

New firehouse dedicated

The Holmdel Fire and Rescue Company #2 celebrated the opening of its new fire station this past spring. The project, which was "designed with contemporary firehouses in mind" according to a township news release, was planned as a 10,600-square-foot state-of-the-art facility. The firehouse was designed with three zones: a live/work space, response readiness and a three-bay garage area.

The township also has been studying the feasibility of a paid fire squad after some residents expressed concern that certain house fires in Holmdel have completely destroyed the houses with no chance to save them. The township will look into the potential cost of a "hybrid" paid firefighter organization, even on a part-time basis to help supplement the excellent volunteer services, the Township Committee has said.