Vote was to renovate, not waste money, in S.R.

I am writing in response to the letter to the editor from James C. Jones (“complex Offers state-of-the-art facilities”) that appeared in the Aug. 19 issue of the Sentinel.

I entirely agree that South River has to continue to update its aging facilities, but that does not give the Borough Council permission to waste taxpayers’ money.

Mr. Jones was correct in saying that voters chose renovations over new construction. Those renovations have been mostly completed, although residents have no idea how much the projects have cost. If the council does know, it is not revealing the full story.

What we do know is that South River’s Democrat-controlled council has spent approximately $300,000 to purchase and demolish 53 Obert St. to build a Human Resources building. Due to poor planning, it decided to spend an additional $475,000 to purchase 55 Reid St.

The vote was for renovation, not wasting money.

Michael Trenga

South River