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Job Link Bus set to roll today after emergency funding

Will help transport day laborers
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/6/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

LAKEWOOD — The Job Link Bus, which loops from downtown to the Lakewood Industrial Park, was expected to begin running again today, having been suspended since Friday because of a funding problem.

The Industrial Commission on Tuesday provided $25,000 in emergency funding to the bus, running for two months. Local officials hope state funding that typically finances the bus service will be reinstated later this month.

"We're confident the UEZ will renew the program," said Russell K. Corby, executive director of Lakewood's Urban Enterprise Zone.

The bus is also expected to have a role in providing transportation for day laborers from the downtown area to the muster zone. Township officials hope to open in the industrial park in the coming weeks.

Municipal officials, responding to concerns from downtown merchants, want to set up a gathering point for the day laborers away from Clifton Avenue.

However, at a meeting immediately following the emergency appropriation, Michael Swords, chairman and CEO of DPF Data Services, said he has concerns

The Job Link Bus, which loops from downtown to the Lakewood Industrial Park, was expected to begin running again today, having been suspended since Friday because of a funding problem.

The Industrial Commission on Tuesday provided $25,000 in emergency funding to the bus, running for two months. Local officials hope state funding that typically finances the bus service will be reinstated later this month.

"We're confident the UEZ will renew the program," said Russell K. Corby, executive director of Lakewood's Urban Enterprise Zone.

The bus is also expected to have a role in providing transportation for day laborers from the downtown area to the muster zone. Township officials hope to open in the industrial park in the coming weeks.

Municipal officials, responding to concerns from downtown merchants, want to set up a gathering point for the day laborers away from Clifton Avenue.

However, at a meeting immediately following the emergency appropriation, Michael Swords, chairman and CEO of DPF Data Services, said he has concerns about security at his business, which is located next to the new muster zone.

"I know I'm going to have some substantial business problems," Swords said during a Lakewood Development Corp. meeting.

If a large crowd of laborers gathers on Swarthmore Avenue, clients may be reluctant to do business, Swords said.

The development corporation plans to set up a special committee to examine the concerns of businesses at the industrial park.

The Job Link Bus runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week. An estimated 250 people use the bus during the busiest time of the day, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Riders pay 50 cents each way for the service, which has been in operation for 9 years.

The state UEZ will meet again Sept. 13, and Corby said he hopes that state urban enterprise zone officials will reinstate funding for the bus when they meet Sept. 13. Otherwise, the service would likely have to be discontinued, he said.

Lakewood's embattled Job Link program was included on the state's August meeting agenda, but the state UEZ officials didn't consider the matter. Corby said it was unclear why the issue wasn't discussed at the meeting in Trenton.

Scott Kisch, chief of staff for the state Commerce Commission, which oversees New Jersey's Urban Enterprise Zones, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

In June, the state released funding for the Job Link program for the first time since February, when funds were frozen after a state audit questioned how the program was run.

The program's fate had been jeopardized when the audit discovered a series of irregularities, including a vendor who paid himself as a consultant. The Lakewood Development Corp. oversees the local UEZ and its Job Link program, which works to place people in jobs and also provide the bus service.

John Vandiver: (732) 557-5739 or jvandiver@app.com