You've got 24 hours in a day. Why not make the most of them with these 24 energy-saving ...
Letters to the Editor
By MARK SCOTT
October 23, 2022
Save Sparta from Traffic, Crime, Pollution and Water Shortages. Vote for the only slate that supports Sparta Police AND opposes the MEGA Warehouse. Property values, home values will decrease in Sparta. Crime will Increase. In community after community across the USA --it is town government ...
On November 8th the voters in Sparta have an opportunity to return Sparta administration to what it was back in the 1940s until current Council decided Sparta didn't need a qualified experienced town manager after Wm. Close resigned. The Council approved the current Chief of Police, who is paid ...
I’ve sat through enough recent Town Council meetings to know one thing for certain: The Smith-majority on this council (Smith, Hertzberg, Quinn) sees itself as elevated above the residents who put them in office. And so, in meeting after meeting, this majority complains about not getting the ...
Dear Sparta Voters: You have an opportunity to be part of Sparta’s legacy! Our common ground as citizens of Sparta is the air we breathe and the water we drink and the land we own in the town we chose. Your 3 votes on Town Council may never have mattered more. Developers are salivating ...
Hey Sparta Township Voters! Election day is just about a month away and we have a big decision to make! There are three seats opening on the Sparta Township Council and the responsibility is on you, the voter, to choose who will best lead Sparta Township forward. Our town is headed in a very ...
I enjoy political cliches-such as “at the end of the day”, “we need to have an adult conversation about.....” and especially “we are at a crossroads”. Sometimes the latter is actually true. Sparta is at a crossroads and it will require not just a one time choice of path, but a sustained push in the ...
Not long ago, in the land we fondly refer to as the Township of Sparta, where the sun would break through the September sky and its rays would bathe the crisp valley air over west mountain, schoolchildren would behold golden cornstalks and cattle grazing in a farmer’s field on their way to the ...
Six weeks of speculation about the Sparta Town Council’s possible reset of Council-Resident relations (after everybody took a well-deserved summer break) came to an end at last Tuesday’s meeting: not only were all the faces set in the same somewhat tense expression as before, the arguments from the ...
Have we reached some kind of point? Inflection, turning, tipping??? Hopefully nearing an endpoint. I think there is a way to unite and get there. Emotions have certainly reached the boiling point. It is frightening and must end for the good of Sparta. The point has been made. Coherent action ...
Note from the Author: I would have liked to wait a few days before publishing this piece to digest more of Tuesday evening’s recorded meeting, but I am leaving on a 2-week trip tonight. I plan to revisit the meeting more broadly in due course. As with my previous LTE every attributed statement ...
Note from the author: there are many hyperlinks in this piece. They link to the audio recordings of each individual referenced, saying the things that I’ve said that they said, on publicly available official recordings. There are also links to documents obtained under the New Jersey Open Public ...
Instead of focusing on words the inclusive vs. opt-out, which are made to divide and single out the individual children and/or families who may oppose … Here is a simple alternative, Change communications to state… “This is an all-inclusive program offered to all voluntary participants “ Gov.
Sparta township residents have an opportunity to bring to the attention of NJ Office of Planning Advocacy the issues facing frustrated Spartans opposed to the Blue Diamond proposal. The Office of Planning Advocacy will be voting on a set of their guidance ideas on September 7. Other ...
Dear Editor, I'm writing this email as I worry that Sparta citizens are not getting an accurate and comprehensive picture of what's going on with the forthcoming election for the Board of Education. I reference a recent NJ Herald article "Sparta headlines crowded Sussex County school board ...
I am having a difficult time understanding why the DCR application has not been either rejected or denied at this point. The Diamond Chip Realty (DCR) buildings and site design were deemed to be non-complaint and unapprovable by the Sparta Planning Board (PB) at the July 6 PB meeting. DCR was given ...
Dear Cliff Cernek and all our EMS and Fire Department Volunteers, My recent letter to the editor (August 3, TapInto) was not meant or offend you or question your capabilities. No disrespect was meant. I apologize to all of Sparta’s volunteer EMS and Fire fighters for the ...
I am a member of the Sparta Ambulance Squad; however, my opinions expressed are my own, and do not represent the Sparta Ambulance Squad Officers or members. I am also not a member of the Sparta Fire Department, I do not opine on their behalf. I have not been asked by either organization to post on ...
ORDINANCE 21-01 NEEDS TO EITHER BE IMMEDIATLEY RESCINDED, REWORDED OR A MORATORUIM PLACED ON ACCEPTING ANY OTHER MEGA WAREHOUSE APPLICATIONS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ZONE. Ordinance 21-01, adapted in February 2021, dangerously increased the building size parameters of “Permitted Use” ...
Sadly the Sparta Diner had a kitchen fire this past week. It took 5 fire departments to be called to extinguish the fire. Thankfully no one was hurt. The Sparta diner is a 3,000 square foot pad site and with a 10-foot ceiling is about 30,000 cubic feet. The new proposed warehouse is 49,000,000 ...
Sparta Council has approved an ordinace to provide sports fields at White Lake road and part of the cost will be using 3 years real estate tax for open space use. Sparta has purchases several ares of real estate in prior years and seems to be inclined to build athletic fields on some of these ...
As a long time Sparta resident, I have thoughts about the proposed and mega warehouse distribution center to be built in Sparta, NJ. This would be one of New Jersey’s largest at 880,000 square feet. The second tallest in the state at 56 feet. At 49.28 MILLION cubic feet, this warehouse is one of ...
This fall Sparta will have 3 council seats available for election. This will be an opportunity for the residents of Sparta, especially those who own property and pay real estate taxes. I have lived in Sparta since 1961, served on Zoning Board 5 years and Planning Board 20 years. I'm a retired CPA ...
I have read the recent article on the application for the warehouse project in Sparta. Then summary of events on this application were excellently written. I severed on the Sparta planning board for 20 years from 09/1/1992 to 2011. During this time -period the planning board had David Simmons and ...
Dear Neighbors and Friends: Way back in 2007, Sparta Township Council had a communications committee of which I served as chair. One of the tasks we were given was to hold a town-wide contest for a slogan. The whole community was invited to submit their creative slogans and one that I remember ...
This past Wednesday, I submitted my letter ‘Township Council NOT Closing the Door on Future MEGA Warehouses’ to TAP Into and it was published later that evening. Thursday morning, Mr. Andrew Reina, president of the Planning Board, responded on the Facebook page of SpartaResponsibleDevelopment.Org ...
The takeaway from last week’s town council meeting (following the three very happy recognition ceremonies—Pride Month, Eagle Scout, Robotics Team—congrats to all) is that there is a solid block of three votes on the council ready to push Sparta and its residents—both current and unborn—into the ...
I am writing to express my gratitude to the friends and neighbors that formed the non-profit, Sparta for Responsible Development. This group of fellow citizens became aware of the warehouse development, organized and took immediate action. All while most are working full time jobs and attending to ...
Something happened at Sparta’s Town Council meeting last night that no member of our community should be willing to tolerate. Sparta resident Sally Larsen addressed councilmembers to request Diamond Chip’s new traffic study be expanded to cover two school zones in her local area, as she believes ...
Given the current circumstances surrounding the “Warehouse Scandal” I believe it is time for an independent investigation. Up to this point those trusted to support the needs of the residents have not done so. Mayor Smith and councilwoman Quinn remain in hiding, council members Whilesmith and ...
Dear Neighbors, More than a year after the ordinance change and about six months of public hearings about the proposed mega-warehouse/trucking terminal structure on Demarest Road, the facts about the size and scope of the project are still just filtering out to the public. Many attendees stopped ...
