JACKSON – Councilman Martin Flemming resigned from office during a recent Township Council meeting. He noted that work on the home he was planning to move to with his family had recently been completed.
Flemming noted two issues with his remarks at the last council meeting. The first was a safety issue. “It is that time of year again. The deer are starting to get frisky they are starting to rut which means they are a lot more active at dusk and into the early evening and they will be closer to the roads because they will be much more active. Just be careful where you are driving.”
He teared up a bit as he spoke about his second subject, “pretty much everyone has heard that my family sold our house in the neighborhood and we have moved. We still maintain our business and other residences in town. I finished renovations on the home that we are moving into that will now become my permanent residence.”
“In light of that, I’ve tendered my resignation to the clerk (Mary Moss) effective immediately. I have to give up my council seat and my planning board seat. This evening will conclude 47 years. I thank you,” he added to applause from the audience. Flemming then left the dais and the building.
“Forty-seven years is a long time and when he said he tendered his resignation immediately, he meant like immediately. I wasn’t expecting that part. The town owes a great amount of gratitude to him and his entire family serving whether it was Little League, Fire Commission, Chamber of Commerce,” Council President Steve Chisholm said.
Chishom added, “I can’t imagine all the picnics he and his family have served food at including the local PBA and a couple of others. The Planning Board and his time on the council – while not terribly long – was still significant. It has been a lifelong service to the residents of Jackson and as he preached every single month, we need more residents to step up.”
“Please teach your children the importance of volunteerism and giving back. That is really what runs small towns like this because without people being active and involved….the town is only as good as we all make it so I thank him and his family for all their years of service,” the Council President added.
Chisholm noted there was a process that involved seeking a person to replace Flemming on the dais. “I’m not sure of the deadline but it will go on the website so folks looking to fill the vacancy will have the opportunity to submit their resume to the town and there will be a process and that will be on the website in the near future so we can review those resumes that I assume will also go to the clerk’s office,” he added.
Chisholm remarked about Flemming’s early remark, “it isn’t just the deer. The driving is atrocious there were two major accidents this afternoon. Use common sense folks. Stay off the phone. It isn’t just the kids; adults are just as bad. Be safe out there.”
Residency in the township is a requirement to serve on council and on the planning board. According to state regulations pertaining to residency, a resident is an individual that is domiciled at an address for the tax year or an individual who maintains a permanent home and spends more than 183 days at that home. New Jersey law also states that a sitting elected official must reside in the community where they serve.
Earlier this year Flemming resigned as Council President, a position he held last year and was elected by a three to two vote to serve again during January’s reorganization meeting.
More recently he resigned from his position as a board member of the Ocean County Natural Land Trust Fund.
During a council meeting held last June, Flemming stated he would soon be resigning from council in response to questions posed by resident Sheldon Hofstein about whether he still lived in town.
Flemming said, “I will not be here that long” in response to Hofstein’s inquiry about whether he was planning to “remain a Jackson resident and hold on to your council seat?”
When Hofstein pressed him during that meeting as to when he planned to depart, Flemming responded that he had no timeline. Hofstein recommended that Flemming resign “sooner than later” as he no longer has a long-term interest in the township and shouldn’t be representing the 58,000 residents who reside in Jackson. During the most recent meeting, Hofstein thanked Flemming for his service to the town.
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