Early last November the citizens of Barnegat were given the good news that we would soon be home to the first Sonic Restaurant in New Jersey. What happened? We don't know, township officials never told us. While it looks like the taxpayers of Barnegat won't benefit from this ratable, the good news is it's a short drive to Waretown when you crave a Sonic burger. Congratulations to Waretown. Sonic must have felt Waretown's new Town Center area would be a good location. Barnegat is not just losing good ratables, we are losing something much more important -- a sense of community.

When you have to get in your car and drive out of town to go out to eat, shop, or play, your feeling of community slowly starts to disappear. That's a shame, and it shouldn't happen. We have great people in Barnegat...proud people...dedicated people. So what are we lacking...leadership.

Waretown's Mayor Daniel Van Pelt is doing an outstanding job for the people he serves. A recent article in the Atlantic City Press points out his committment to smart growth. Click here to read the July 27th article. One thing the A.C. Press said really stood out..."Van Pelt said after the meeting that the agency wanted to encourage walkable residential developments where neighbors could meet up and get to know one another..." Walkable. That's the key. Waretown is making some good planning decisions, and utilizing assets like the future rail trail that the County in putting in along with their Town Center project. That may be why Sonic thought Waretown would be a good location.

For those of us living in Downtown Barnegat, we can feel our sense of community slowly slipping away. When our township was giving us the good news about Sonic last November, they were also proud of the Route 9 sewer project... "resulting in many new buildable lots." That's good...but NO SIDEWALKS WERE PUT ON ROUTE 9 WHEN THIS WORK WAS DONE!! How can we promote foot traffic with no sidewalks?

This non-smart growth hurts us all and the towns that practice smart growth will attract the good ratables. Mayor Van Pelt in Waretown and Mayor Block in Manahawkin do a great job for their bosses (the taxpayer). It's time for our elected officials to step up and demonstrate the same strong leadership. Here are some ideas to help us keep a sense of community that we all so much deserve;

• 1) Sidewalks must be made a priority throughout the town. Anytime there is an opportunity to put them in -- like there was during the Route 9 sewer project -- they MUST be put in
• 2) The historic downtown area needs to be the focal point of the rebirth of our town. It is a common point of pride for all residents and it reflects what our community is, or could be.
• 3) Every child deserves a playground within walking distance of their home. The fact that there is no playground for children of all ages in the downtown area is an absolute failure of our town's committment to community.
• 4) Activities, Events & Facilities (like a Youth Center) are vital to our sense of community. An event once a month in the summer time just doesn't cut it. We deserve better. More creativity in the types of events -- and community involvement -- is needed.
• 5) The Cox House continues to slowly deteriorate year after year. A small group of dedicated volunteers can only do so much. They need the full support from our township and the community. Stop the lip service and let's start seeing some results. The Cox House should be a vibrant hub of activity for the downtown.
• 6) Lastly, we need leaders to work with the volunteers to better our community. Non-responsive elected officials are not the answer. Working together we can make a difference. This is what TRULY builds community, and then maybe we won't have to drive to Waretown or Manahawkin so often.