VIDEO: September 18, 2008 Commission meeting

[VentnorMod]

WLV video coverage of the 9/18/08 Commission meeting is uploaded at YouTube in 12 segments, linked below. Brief descriptions about the business or identity of speakers are on the title screen leading into each of the segments:

Segment #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM4KwNsA9aQ

Segment #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vdvastH0io

Segment #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr8B_jSOlFQ

Segment #4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWOTs_FVBJo

Segment #5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyJVzpY_-Do

Segment #6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9KgVTKdA7k

Segment #7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4sSkiuxrVM

Segment #8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u7etLMhSmg

Segment #9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD-rOqWBFZc

Segment #10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ1xryZk_1w

Segment #11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMSh8zSDe7c

Segment #12 (Title on video inadvertently repeats #11)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bERRO8IfHL4


Message from ADMIN:
Pursuant to the promises seen in Segment #11, a document inspection request under OPRA to review the engineer's paperwork respecting the pier was filed on Thursday, September 25th with a requested inspection date of Friday, October 10, 2008. This was both to work around ADMIN plans to be out of state and, also, to allow the engineer the courtesy of adequate time to gather the documents in his office and bring them to City Hall.

One WLV officer and another WLV trustee had, in the past, declined OPRA-related document inspection invitations which would have required them to make a personal appearance at the private legal offices, in Margate, of the former City Solicitor. Upon the same basis, the engineer's private office -- believed to be CBA Engineering and located in Longport -- was not deemed suitable. Public premises are the preferred location for public document inspections, and both organizational representatives of taxpayer / citizen interests and individual citizens can make the request to have the "neutral ground" of a public building be the designated location for public document productions.

Upon discovering the following day* that there was subsequent service upon City Hall of a subpoena duces tecum by the New Jersey Office of Attorney General, requesting production of documents relating to the pier to a Grand Jury in Trenton, WLV advised City Hall that it could regard the October 10th date as subject to postponement.

*Refer to:
http://www.ventnorevoice.com/bulleti...read.php?t=796

The Clerk advised, in response, that WLV's offer of that accommodation was welcome, as substantial efforts are being made to comply with the more pressing subpoena from law enforcement. A later inspection date will be set sometime after October 10th.

Law enforcement may be approaching the matter of the pier from the standpoint of how public expenditures for its construction were awarded, negotiated, altered, disbursed and generally managed; but, that observation is speculative. WLV is approaching the matter of the pier mostly from a technical standpoint directed to "documented proofs" of its safety and longevity as a properly designed, permitted, constructed, supervised, monitored, inspected, approved and ultimately "accepted by Owner / City of Ventnor" public structure; and, that observation is not speculative.

In connection with the latter point, the video segments #10 and #11 show a colloquy which inquired, in part, about the pilings' design embedment. The engineer stated that the new pier's pilings had 5-feet greater embedment than the old pier. There was dialogue indicating that he started his design tasks for a new pier before an additional 5' of sand was added to the location by the AISPP project. A review of the bid documents and blueprints in WLV's possession show a situation in which the contract bidders were informed they were to remove old pilings which had variable lengths from 30' to 65'; and blueprints called for new pilings which had variable lengths from 35' to 65'. Thus, the embedment of "greater depth" which was represented by the engineer may be seen to have relied upon the addition, by the dunes-project, of added layers of sand at the top.


Informal information came to light over the weekend, ADMIN shared it and also some background information with reporter Shaun Smith of the Downbeach Current in a phone conversation yesterday, it is not published on the Forums because some was informally conveyed although from "sources believed to be reliable" while other items came from "over-the-transom" contact to WLV. The same information had been routed to the OAG investigator whose name was on the subpoena.

At a time when there is now known to be some law enforcement probing underway, but its dimensions are unknown because information "goes in" but not a single ray of light "comes out" in these matters, the WLV Forums will exercise restraint. However, based upon other leads that the reporter had himself developed and pursued, it is WLV's belief that Ventnor should feel heartened by the revival of a true Fourth Estate presence -- also acting in the public interest -- and now covering Ventnor's news and events with an investigative eye relying upon multiple sources for cross-verification.

It was the perceived vacuum of critical reporting about Ventnor, in 2007, which propelled a small band of Ventnor citizens to set up this website in the first place. Look to the Current to carry what will likely be the most in-depth and properly authenticated reporting should events develop. And any such events would only be speculative at this time.

End of message.