Boardwalk Offer Dispersed Selectively in Point Beach

A letter about an offer from boardwalk businesses to pay Point Beach $800,000 over five years was sent to a newspaper right around the same time it was sent to the mayor.

And he's not happy about it.

Point Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella said that before noon Thursday, he got a call from The Ocean Star asking him to comment on a letter they had received within the previous half-hour from Ron Gasiorowski, an attorney for and

"I was unaware of the existence of this letter until that phone call," Barrella said.

"Upon receiving the call from The Ocean Star, I checked my e-mail and discovered that Mr. Gasiorowski's letter had apparently been sent to me simultaneously, or within minutes of it being sent to The Ocean Star. The council was not copied on Mr. Gasiorowski's letter nor on the e-mail forwarding said letter to me. 

"That The Ocean Star received a copy before it could be disseminated to members of the council, let alone with time for the governing body to consider its contents, is outrageous and indicative of an unconscionable level of bad faith.

"It is obvious that the letter was leaked either by, or at the direction of, Mr. Gasiorowski or from those associated with either Jenkinson's or Martell's with the expectation that it would prompt a story in tomorrow's edition.

"These actions lead to an inescapable conclusion that his clients are committed to continuing their public relations war, rather than respecting the good faith of the governing body when it entrusted us to participate in discussions in the hope of reaching a global resolution," Barrella concluded.

"The Ocean Star got it before I did," said Councilmember Michael Corbally on Friday. He said he didn't know anything about the offer before a newspaper reporter asked him about it.

Reid Says He Got Letter From Borough Attorney

Reid said he received the letter when Borough Attorney Sean Gertner emailed it to him early Thursday afternoon.

"I didn't get it from them," he said, referring to the boardwalk businesses, although Patch had not asked him if he had received it from the boardwalk businesses. "I got it when Sean emailed it to me. That's the way it's supposed to work."

When asked if the letter should have been released to the newspaper before the mayor and council had all received it and had a chance to read it and discuss it at the Tuesday night council meeting, Reid said, "I don't know. It's none of my business."

When Lurie was asked the same question, he said, "I was swamped at work last week. I wasn't in the loop as far as when people got the letter. I can't comment on what they do in their business."

Mayer said he did not remember a specific agreement to keep what was discussed at the negotiation session secret.

On Tuesday, the day after the negotiations, Patch called Barrella, who said he could not discuss the Monday negotiation session the day before because all parties there had agreed not to do so.

On Wednesday morning, Ed McGlynn, an attorney for Jenkinson's, returned a call to Patch and also said he could not reveal what was said at the negotiation session because the parties had agreed not to discuss that.

The following day, the letter was sent to The Ocean Star and McGlynn was quoted at length in the article that appeared in the Friday edition.

Gasiorowski and McGlynn have not returned voice mail messages left for them on Friday.

Marilou Halvorsen, Jenkinson's director of marketing, said, "I don't know who released the letter, but I'm glad it's out so the public can see what the offer is. This is the final offer. It's up to the mayor and council now."

The issue of the offer, two pending bar ordinances and the latest news about a recently adopted parking plan will be among a number of topics discussed at tonight's Point Beach Council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. at