Apparently Mr Bradley is completely uninformed by choice! There have been meetings after meetings with the public for a year on this issue. I wonder what rock he lives under. Did you know that an opposing team arrived at PHS for a soccer game this year, saw the conditions of our fields and got right back on their bus? There was NO "Pride in Parsippany" that day. The BOE has presented at numerous meetings and addressed questions openly. If you don't know what is going on, it is because you chose to ignore it. We can't afford 9 CENTS a day? Really?? By end of summer this year, we will be one of the only districts, and by far the largest, without adequate and safe facilities in Morris County. Due to the low cost of borrowing money, I would argue we can't afford to NOT pass this referendum. Did it occur to you that many folks would appreciate having bathrooms at the fields along with ADA approved access to the grandstands? Do you also know that many of these repairs will end up coming out of the regular budget if the referendum fails?? That will affect academics and other improvements. Finally, the BOE has NO say in the process of elections and the delivering of ballots. They met their deadline well in advance to submit the proposal and its out of their hands. Don't place blame on the BOE because you didn't get your ballot. A YES vote on Tuesday will ensure that we control the costs of the spend, enhance our property values and restore PRIDE IN PARSIPPANY!

Peter
Thank you. I and others have done the same thing in our neighborhoods over the weekend to let people know about the upcoming vote on Tuesday. The information we gave out includes the District's web site although I will agree with you that the information included on the web site is more of an infomercial for the Referendum than an objective presentation of all of the facts. The flyer mailed out by the Board of Education has not yet arrived in our neighborhood and so while people finally received the sample ballot from the County they have little or no idea of what the Referendum is all about. Was the failure to inform Parsippany residents about Tuesday's referendum a deliberate act to keep voter turnout low or just another example of the Superintendent's incompetence? Who knows? But what we do know is that Parsippany reidents deserve better especially when being asked to fork over another $7.7 tax dollars million to the care of the Superindent and the Board of Education.

Candice, I agree with all of your comments, especially how much this has been in the local press for over a year.
The Patch though popular is not delivered to all residents of this town on a daily basis.
Yes alot know about it and I dont think Mr.Bradley just came out from the rock you speak of. Some of us are reacting to the continued coincedences that have surrounded this whole proposal from the beginning.
Fair is fair what the public doesn"t know wont hurt them is that it?
It is tough to trust when there has been an obvious attempt early on to keep this project in house.

Keep in mind the vote does not necessarily take place in your usual voting location. My voting location for example is the Mount Tabor Fire House below the Mount Tabor Tabernacle. For the referendum, I must vote at Littleton School.

i fully believe the children deserve better fields but i do not agree with the way the BOE is handling this matter. while many other districts are improving their fields, they are not dumping the expense on the taxpayers. if montville and randolph can turf their fields without raising taxing i believe we could do it as well. or maybe get different contractors in with better prices. also note on the sample ballot which i had to view online because we never received it in the mail it states extra money can be used on other projects. are they purposely adding in extra money and going to fall back on the original 4 million plan? where will the extra money go obviously not back to the taxpayers. if this was handled in a fair manor i would have support it for the children but with all the politics it disgusts me and i will do everything in my power to inform everyone i know to vote no

I am voting NO for 2 reasons: (1) track should be 8 lanes, not 6. (2) bleachers are not being replaced.

First I would like to commend Mr. Bradley for taking the time and effort to get involved in his community.
Now, I would like to dispute some of his quotes.

What Mr. Bradley failed to reference in his flyer is the website for the BOE where the entire scope of the project is laid out, as well as a very thorough Q&A Section. If you are concerned that people are not informed properly, than you should give them all the information they need to get informed.

In regards to the timing of the vote – this should be no surprise to any resident that chooses to keep abreast of the happenings of this town. If you live in a town, it is up to you to be informed. Don’t expect someone to come and knock on your door every time something is happening. I know that a lot of you will disagree with me on this; but just like everyone else, I am entitled to my opinion.

The $7.7 million dollar figure is a well, thought-out plan. The BOE spent money to hire professionals to come in and create a plan based on their needs. The first plan ($11.5 million) was cut down after protests from the residents . It is also an ‘estimated’ figure which may be lower after the project is completed. Lights and bathrooms are not ‘luxury’ items in a 2013 high school facility. (1 of 3)

As far as accusing the board of not addressing the citizens concerns – that could not be further from the truth. The board listened intently to the opponents of the original FOD and kept control of the fields and put it to the referendum. The board also listened when the proponents insisted the vote not be delayed any longer.

The BOE website addresses the issue of addition expenses and concluded that services such as security are already in their operating budget. They also have the projected costs of the lights on their Q&A. To continue to imply that parking is going to be an issue is just a scare tactic. The town has always kept control during a big event so that the neighboring streets were not impacted and there is no reason to believe that will not continue to happen.

The Par Hills football team did have a good season. No one disputes that. However, only the football team gets to use the field. So we are paying $15,000 a year to maintain a field that gets played on 5 times at most. Take a look at the video – do you think that the current $15,000 current being spent is enough? After looking at the video, do you really think those fences can be repaired? (2 of 3)

Nice to have things” – tell that to the grandparents that can’t come watch a game or a graduation and people with disabilities. Tell that to the PE classes that can’t use the fields. Tell that to the all the other sports teams that can’t use the field.

What does the superintendent’s compensation package have to do with this? Sure, people may not like what happened, but that has absolutely nothing to do with this referendum. Cutting the superintendent’s salary won’t even make up the difference in the cost to replace a piece of the fence.

The plan is on the table, the vote is out there for you. I will be voting YES.

FYI - The pictures and the video are taken almost a year apart. Are we really going to tell the kids they have to wait another year so we can talk about this some more?
(3 of 3)

Michael - I don't believe I said, "too bad". I believe I said that I don't have an answer for you and that you have a right to call the county clerks office. Please don't twist my words.

Keep in Mind - No one knows how the uniformed will vote or if they even will vote if/when informed. But they deserve to know about it and the opportunity to vote.

Both myself and my son's home have not received ballots,first I thought maybe because of the Morris Plains Address for myself, but I don't think Mt Tabor has that issue. I have been removed from some mailing lists in the past so it did raise an eyebrow!!

Also, how will this make it easier for handicapped or the elderly get to the field? Will the parking lot near the tennis court be revamped in any way? If you don't get a space up top, the walk is uphill for what seems like one mile

Seriously they should have had two different questions. One question should have been the fields and the track and the second question should have been the lights and the other thing. Honestly why do we need lights? Also it's not 9 cent a day for everybody candice. For some people it's more and some people it is less. I agree with the majority that alot of people I know did not get sample ballots. As a taxpayer I take issue with that there is NO EXCUSE for that. I don't care one way or the other how it turns out but the voting should be fair. I know there was alot of time to hear information but we have sample ballots for a reason.

For all of us on the Patch and who go to BoE meetings and who read local papers, we know about the issue and how long its been going on. For people who have no kids and no real interest in day to day happenings in town, and who likely work outside of Parsippany, there's no way they'd know about this. I just met someone yesterday who lives in Parsippany (Morris Plains zip code) and had no idea about the referendum and only recalls hearing about "some issue with the fields" last year. Before the fields issue, which I only heard about because neighbors told me and it affected my yard, I was that person. So, I whole heartedly agree that no matter what someone's vote is, this referendum should be well known and well advertised around town. I'm talking signage that's visible in intersections and the like -- even if its just driving people to the BoE Q&A. Dont tell them how to fvote - ust make people aware (outside of things like Patch and BoE websites that they wouldn't even know they have to seek out). I am doing that myself, but frankly it's not my job as I wasn't elected to the board, and I believe every person who pays Parsippany taxes should clearly know they'll be affected one way or another -- and be told that by the people we elected.

(2 of 2)
I didn't get a ballot, but I know about the vote. What about people who pay taxes who haven't gotten their ballot? County clerk did mail on the deadline date. Does anyone here think that because we had so much lead time, the BoE could have feasibly gotten info to the county clerk any earlier? The clerk is dependent on when they're given info from the BoE, so it's a chain reaction. I'm not placing full responsibility on the clerk - as mail gets messed up - but for such a large amount of money that will be fully taxpayer funded, I find it was a piss poor job of getting the word out and an awful lot of waiting until the very last minute. I just makes me sad to think that there are households who won't have a voice in this - no matter how they vote - because they won't have known about it and won't get their ballots until the day of, or after, the vote. That isn't democracy.

I received my sample ballot and another mailer from the BOE last week. My friends and neighbors received theirs too. I was at a football playoff party last night with 5 other familes and they all received thier ballots as well.

I watched the video that was posted to this story. I can not believe how bad the situation is with the field, fences, parking lot, etc.

Everyone.... look at the video and the pictures. We need to vote yes!

I

I too am conflicted about the decision, the fields are in terrible shape and everyone forgets how much the community really uses these fields - we run/walk at the PHS track and there are tons of seniors who walk in the evening, plus the PE classes and the marching band use these fields and they get covered in mud, and this is where our kids graduation ceremony is, which is just embarrassing. A lot of grandparents can't climb the bleachers and little kids get scared on them, they don't even feel safe. I cannot believe they are not included! For me, the cost and the lack of bleachers being included are a big problem, otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to vote yes.

This response is taken directly from the BOE website:
"Add barrier free accessibility to the field and grandstands. This will require the creation of new paved barrier free parking stalls adjacent to field level and the creation of a paved barrier free route from the stalls to field."
"What is meant by "addition barrier free parking stalls" and where will they be located?
• Additional parking spaces will be provided that are closer to the fields then the existing handicapped parking spaces.

The BOE has updated their Q&A section as of 1/18/13.
To help avoid any confusion - grandstands is another word for bleachers.

Some people should go to prison for taking taxpayers' money intended for capital improvements and not using some of it to maintain these fields. The whole $7.7 million proposal is another huge scam.

We have laws governing when sample ballots are mailed, when and how literature and signs can be distributed, leafleting near a polling booth, and the management at the polls themselves. The fields question ought to be liable to class action legally determining how our elections are conducted. Faulting the BOE, the Morris County Board of elections, and US Postal service should place question to its results.

Off topic, but what ever happened to the plans to have the public get to the gym at the Hills in a way other than thru the loading dock in the rear (if you park in that area)?

Too much too do about sports in this land; rather than civics or social responsibility; "artificial turf" why does that have to be included with some upgrade of "playing fields". Would not it be better to run on earth; dirt; grass? Its a plot to cut back on Municipal Government for privatization of School sports. Vote NO

Glad you have asked the question, Natalie. Education is very important to all of us, but words telling us after the fact are often just empty words. The past BOE majority and Administration have never been very forthcoming to the taxpayers of Parsippany. Just because you have been told something does not mean it is true. We have been often blackjacked by the very question you propose..."Information I've learned says that much of that money went to the direct education of students after state aid vanished a few years ago. I have no answer to this or an opinion, but I ask you, Chris P. Jim Donavan Bacon: What would you have done? Education isn't a worthy expense? And my answer is...if the money went where you were told it went, please provide the paper trail. If the need to continue programs were real, what else could have been done to economize. In a budget of $131 mm and growing, surely there are opportunities to save somewhere. Remember, we have been told that our facilities have not been cared for in years. I think that is true. Note: please see our athletic fields, fencing, bleachers, shower rooms for students etc. If there is not enough money to care for the facilities AND to properly educate our children, perhaps we have the wrong Administrators at the helm.

I'm with Parhome. Par-Troy residents/parents/taxpayers need to raise their standards and demand more from its BOE leaders in the form of disclosure, accountability, due diligence and fiscal responsibility. My yes vote turned into a NO vote because $7.7 million should include new bleachers (not just ADA "outfitted" bleachers-Come on Beth,who do you think you're selling on that one) and a track that won't be obsolete the minute it's installed. Our kids deserve better than that, and I will fork out the money when this new BOE gets back to the drawing board and DOES IT RIGHT!

NJ Families today are learning how to get more, do more and accomplish more with less money in these times. This BOE and Par-Troy's Town Hall better start incorporating this practice and be increasingly responsive and accountable to the growing amount of financially-drained, beleagured residents who have had enough with blind spending, lack of accountability and forethought, and operational inefficiencies or face a mass exodus of taxpayers. And if you think I am just blowing smoke, think again and look at Bergen/Passaic County. Just ask NJ Congressman Steve Rothman why he is out of his DC job this afternoon--because NJ is loosing congressional seats to other less expensive, more efficiently run and more aesthetic states.

On another topic, I am in District 22--no sample ballot, that in itself should stink enough to wake up some people to the shady practices of the past BOE and administrators.

I AM TRULY UPSET WITH THE PROPONENTS OF THE THE FIELDS REFERENDUM. THE COMMENTS LISTED ABOVE POSTING AT 4:03 PM AND 4:05 PM WERE NOT WRITTEN BY ME!!!! i HAVE WORKED HARD TO BE FAIR AND HONORABLE IN THIS DISCUSSION AND I HUGELY DISRESPECT THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE THE CHARACTER TO SIGN THEIR OWN NAMES, PURLOIN OTHER PEOPLE'S NAMES AND TRY TO FOOL THEIR FELLOW TAXPAYERS IN ORDER TO HAVE THEIR DISHONEST, DISRESPECTFUL AND DISGUSTING WAY!
YOU HAVE MADE SURE TO HAVE MANY INTERESTED VOTERS NOT GET THEIR LAW GIVEN RIGHTS TO BALLOTS AND DISCRIPTIVE INFORMATION. NOW YOU TAKE THE SLEAZY OPPORTUNITY TO STEAL THE REFERENDUM! WHOMEVER IS PARTY TO THIS DISHONESTY NEEDS TO BE PUNISHED BY THE COURTS AND SHOULD BE SHUNNED BY THE CITIZENS OF PARSIPPANY.
WITH DEEP DISRESPECT,
HANK HELLER

Who is the horrible person who is commenting and pretending to be other people? You can tell from the condescending language that it is a troll. There are too many people in this town who do not want to hear any opinion, except for their own. Too bad, if you don't like people asking questions! Too bad if you don't like comments! We live in a country where we can be free to express our opinions and the nasty responses, as well as this underhanded name-stealing needs to stop. I hope Natalie can figure out a way to move this up the Patch ranks, so that each name must be unique.

THE TWO DISHONEST POSTS FALSELY ATTRIBUTED TO ME NOTED THAT I RECOGNIZED THE FOOLISHNESS OF HAVING MULTIPLE FIRMS PRESENT PLANS TO THE BOE. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS NOT SO. THE ONLY WAY FOR CITIZENS TO FEEL THAT THEY ARE GETTING GOOD THINKING AND GOOD PRICING IS FOR THE WORK TO BE PUT OUT COMPETITIVELY! THIS HAS NOT BEEN DONE. ADDITIONALLY, THE DISHONEST POSTS NOTE THAT I SAID THAT I HAD BEEN REMINDED THAT TWO YEARS AGO, ON THE ADVICE OF DR. SEITZ, $2.5 MM WAS RETURNED TO THE TAXPAYERS. THIS IS ALSO NOT SO. IT DID NOT HAPPEN!
FURTHER, POST 1 SAID THAT I UNDERSTAND THE ACCOUNTING OF THE $5 MM IN EXCESS FUNDS OF SEVERAL YEARS AGO. THE EXPLANATION WAS OFFERED BUT NEVER BACKED UP BY WRITTEN DOCUMENTS AND THE MONEY DID DISAPPEAR INTO THE MORASS OF THE NEXT YEARS BUDGET. I DID NOT UNDERSTAND IT THEN AND I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE EXPLANATION NOW.
HANK HELLER

REGARDING THE LIES IN POST1 1 AND 2, I KNOW THAT IF THE $7.7 MM IS NOT FULLY USED FOR THE PROJECT, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RETURN THE MONEY TO THE BOND BUYERS. THE BOND BUYERS MUST BE PAID THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE BOND, WHICH IS $7.7 MM AND NOT A PENNY LESS.
REGARDING MY COMMENTS ABOUT THE PRIOR BOE MAJORITY, I MAINTAIN THAT THE ENTIRE FIELDS CONCEPT WAS WORKED ON EARLY BY NEGLIA, MANCUSO, ORME AND CALABRIA AND PERHAPS OTHERS. THERE WERE SECRET MEETINGS THAT OTHER MEMBERS WERE NOT INVITED TO AND THERE WERE SECRET PLANNING SESSIONS THAT SEEKED TO PUT A PLAN TOGETHER THAT COULD POSSIBLY FLY BY THE TAXPAYERS. IT WAS ALSO AT THE LAST BOE MEETING THAT NEGLIA AND ORME ATTENDED AS SITTING MEMBERS OF THE BOE THAT I ASKED WHICH OF THE BOE MEMBERS ATTENDED THE LAST "FIELDS" MEETING THAT WE FOUND OUT WAS HELP IN SECRET. THE ANSWER AFTER SOME HEMMING AND HAWING WAS NEGLIA AND ORME.
SO MUCH PRESSURE WAS PUT ON THE MEMBERS OF THE BOE THAT EVEN THOSE WHO HAD RESERVATIONS WERE SWEPT ALONG BY THE FORCE OF ACTION BY THE "FIELDS" PROPONENTS AND THEIR ALLIES ON THE BOE'S PRIOR MAJORITY.
I THANK YOU FOR IS THE CLEAR INSIGHT THAT THIS HAS BEEN A DISHONEST RAILROADING OF PARSIPPANY'S TAXPAYERS FROM THE BEGINNING AND I AM SAD THAT SOME GOOD PEOPLE GOT CARRIED ALONG WITH THE UGLINESS OF A FEW (HOPEFULLY ONLY A FEW).
BASED UPON THE BEHAVIOR OF THE GROUP WHO WERE WILLING TO ABUSE THE PUBLIC SO BADLY, THIS PROJECT REALLY SHOULD NOT PASS BECAUSE IT IS TAINTED IN EVERY WAY.
THE REAL HANK HELLER

Hank - please don't think it's a proponent; the same thing happened to me last week.
~Beth

Beth, I am sorry that you have some dogs with fleas in your group. All they have done is diminishe the value of what you and your decent associates have tried to do. It has been clear to me for a long time now that some of the people your proponents group have aligned yourselves with were rotten. This effort to steal the referendum by NOT delivering the ballots properly, Not delivering the explanation document properly, stealing names and positions of decent people and trying to misinform the public about the facts of the referendum is just disgusting. Please don't tell me it is not a proponent. It is a one-sided attack on truth and it fits the purpose of the "fields" folks. I am sick of this horrible behavior and I hope you and Tom can disavow and identify the culprits. You can't stay honorable if you ally yourselves with thieves. We seem to have a lot of them in this group proporting to love education, I am sorry to say. I will not be surprised when we learn who the gangsters are, I am sure.
Hank

Okay seriously who ever is doing that grow up. This is the real Steve Revette talking. I don't care whether you're in favor of the Yes or No vote its completely disrespectful. GROW UP!

Ironically today there were hearings in the Seitz salary case in Newark.So it may be fair to eliminate some suspects due to their court appearance as alliby's.
What ever happened to the secret meeting saga,How do big questions about ethics seem to dissapear in this town??

Hank, I agree. This behavior has happened to opponents and proponent of this issue. It's not right that this individual or individuals has tainted our ability to agree to disagree in a civil open forum, It's a shame that this person has attempted to tarnish the reputation of honest opponents and proponents in community.