I was pleased to see that former Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell has agreed to assist resident Roger DeGroat in his battle to get Ringwood to remediate the major sinkhole in his back yard. After all, the borough received $238,000 in state funding to do the job back in August 2006. DeGroat has been patiently waiting ever since.

Mayor Walter Davison blames the prior council for the failure, accusing them of "redirecting the money." This doesn’t square with the facts.

In November 2007, the former council pledged to add $204,000 from an employment development grant to the $177,000 remaining from the original grant. This resolution was never acted upon when the new council, with Davison as mayor, took office in January of this year.

Surprisingly, the $177,000 is now "gone," as the grant was closed in April 2008 under Davison’s watch. The $204,000 employment development grant has been redirected again, without any public hearing or even a resolution. No work was done on the sinkhole between November 2007 and April 2008.

Where was that money spent? I would say the borough has some explaining to do.

Robin O’Hearn
Ringwood, NJ