A hush fell over the council chambers on June 19 when Jenna Totaro entered the room. The 11-year old girl knew only that the council wanted to honor her for being the first female member of the Secaucus Little League to hit a home run out of the Buchmuller Park stadium.
Knowing giggles escaped many of her teammates who sat in the audience among other friends and relatives, each more aware of what was about to transpire than she was, each staring with great anticipation at the canvas-covered object sitting in the front of the room.
Earlier this year, Jenna and her father had made a deal. If Jenna could hit a home run, Jenna’s father would buy her a drum set. Jenna was no slouch when it came to Little League. She hit and ran as well as most of the boys, but she had no clue that the deal with her father would result in making Secaucus history.
Mayor Dennis Elwell didn’t know he would become part of history either when he showed up at the Little League field. He didn’t know anything then about the deal. But he had heard the murmurs of admiration in the crowd and the talk among the seasoned veterans of the Little League: each trying to recall if any girl had hit a home run before.
It was the top of the fourth inning during a June 11 game the ball cracked off Jenna’s bat and sailed over 200 feet, banging sharply against the newly purchased scoreboard (the field had a $200,000 upgrade this year), leaving her mark on the playing field and in history of local sports.
Jenna, a fifth grader at Clarendon School, is the only girl playing in the League’s Majors Division this season and is the first girl to hit a home run since the program accepted girls in 1976.
Little League Baseball, which has been operating since 1939, was granted a federal charter as a boys’ organization in 1964. As the result of a lawsuit brought against the League, Maria Pepe, a Hoboken girl became the first female player in 1974.
Jenna said she heard a bang, and realized the ball had hit the scoreboard. Around her, spectators yelled. She didn’t know it was a home run. She thought she had hit a ground rule double – baseball rules say that if a fan touches a ball in play or the ball bounces into the stands, a hitter gets to take second base.
Her father, Michael Totaro knew. As manager, he was standing on the sidelines and saw the umpire waving for Jenna to circle the bases. When she did, Michael was there to greet and congratulate her.
“I didn’t get to see her hit the home run,” said Mayor Elwell during an interview an hour before the pre-council meeting ceremony. “But I was there later when she cracked a single past the shortstop.”
Jenna plays shortstop with the Kiwanis-sponsored team and has a 400 batting average.
When Elwell heard about the deal with Jenna’s mother, he decided he wanted to pick up the cost of the drum set, helping to celebrate the historic occasion.
“We checked with the Weehawken band director as to where we could purchase a set of drums,” said Town Administrator Anthony Iacono. “The mayor – from his own funds – purchased a set from Spinoza Music in Belleville.”
Jenna’s parents didn’t tell her about the gift, only that she and they would have their picture taken with the mayor. Meanwhile, the Town Hall staff set up the drum set and covered it in canvas, leaving the odd shape sitting in the front of the room.
Jenna, who plays both basketball and baseball, looked a little embarrassed when the mayor called her up to accept accolades, and she certainly didn’t expect the mayor to unveil the drum set. She stood for a moment with her fingers to her lips, her eyes wide with surprise.
“I never knew it could happen, that miracles happen when you try,” she said a moment later when her shock subsided and the mayor asked if she wanted to address the crowd.
Council introduces several ordinances
In more traditional business, the Town Council introduced an ordinance that would set up a meter system in the North End parking lot for the first time. Last year, the town purchased the former Franklin-Smith building and leveled it to make a parking lot. The new metering system will use a centralized electronic pay system, instead of individual meters.
People will drive in, pick a spot, then pay their money at the central location, pushing the button whose number corresponds with the spot their car is in. Parking enforcement agents will print out a report on times for the entire lot and will ticket those spots where the time has expired.
The purchase of the machine, said Mayor Dennis Elwell, will save the town money, since the $30,000 cost is cheaper than buying individual meters for each spot. The mayor also said the town will likely purchase additional machines for the two exiting municipal lots, and then use the meters currently in those lots in various other locations around the town.
The ordinance the Town Council introduced sets time limits and rates for the North End Parking lot at 50 cents for two hours of parking. Meters would be in effect 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The council accepted the resignation of firefighter Frank Litchtlin from the Washington Hook and Ladder Company and the resignation of Richard Kellenberger from the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority. Paul Hugerich was named as Kellenberger’s replacement.
The council also accepted Joseph Franks as a new member of the Washington Hook and Ladder Company. Anthony Iacono was re-appointed as the town’s representative to the Hudson Regional Health Commission for a one-year term.
The council also introduced an ordinance that would require the town to maintain Memorial Day ceremonies on the last Monday of every May. This, according to Elwell, would keep up the tradition even if veterans – who have organized events in the past – are no longer able to.
Library benefits from billboard business
The Town Council introduced an ordinance that would lease a piece of Department of Public Works property for use as a billboard. Because the property is located on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike, town officials believe that revenues from a billboard could help to generate as much as $3 million over the next 30 to 50 years, money that would go towards furnishing the new library as well as offering the library an additional revenue source. Town Administrator Anthony Iacono said that since the Friends of the Library will get the money from the company leasing the billboard, they can use that expected income to apply for bank loans so that they can attend to their more immediate needs. Councilman John Bueckner questioned some of the details, especially whether the town would acquire the debt if the Friends of the Library should fold. Iacono, however, said a bank could in that case deal directly with the billboard company to regain its loan.
In a separate resolution, the Town Council suspended parking regulations for Sept 15 to accommodate those going to the library’s mini-fair in Buchmuller Park
Paying this month’s bills
The June bill list was approved. In it, the Town Council approved the payment of bills that included $3,737 for the Funding Group to seek grants, $12,500 to the Meadowlands Hospital for its contract to provide health services to residents, and $203,840 to Blue Cross/Blue Shield for the July payment on employee health benefits. The council also paid $2,512 and $2,510 to Nextel Communication for March and April, covering employee cellular telephones.
Legal and auditing services paid at the June 19 meeting included $9,750 to Suplee, Clooney & Co. for the 2000 town audit, $12,846 to Weiner Lesniak to cover variety of tax appeals, and $10,076 for Zipp & Tannenbaum’s monthly legal bill for May.
The Town Council also paid Cliffhanger Productions for various entertainment programs during the first half of 2001 including $450 for the senior prom, $2,500 for Memorial Day celebrations, $2,500 for the Easter Egg Hunt, and $5,000 for the upcoming Fourth of July festivities. This does not include the cost of fireworks for which the town paid Garden State Fireworks $3,500.
The council also authorized payments for groups appearing in its concert in the park series including $2,500 to Larry Chance and the Earls, $1,300 to the New Deal Orchestra, and $2,250 to TBA Productions.
The council also paid Scalia & Hugerich slightly over $12,000 for the rental of equipment to clear the Old Mill site, various work on Meadowlands Parkway, work being done at Schmidt’s Woods and the town’s animal shelter.
The council also paid a $78,400 payment to Emara Contracting for the construction of the library and $400,000 to Seagrave Fire Apparatus for the purchase of a new fire engine.
In a separate resolution, the Town Council agreed to a $124,500 contract with Boswell Engineering to prepare plans and specifications for the rehabilitation of the Meadowlands Parkway Bridge. The estimated cost of the repair is $700,000. Elwell said the town has about $425,000 left over from grants for the rebuilding of Meadowlands Parkway. He also said sidewalk repairs have become a priority since the existing sidewalks have begun to collapse.
The Town Council also hired lifeguards, clerical and maintenance staff as summer help for the swim center and seasonal help for the DPW
The Town Council also passed a resolution that would allow the court to take credit cards as payment for fines for the first time, with The Trust Company of Secaucus as the designator processor.
In a report to the council, Councilman Bueckner asked the council to consider paving over a piece of town-owned property on Laurel Court to provide sorely needed parking on that street. The small piece of property, he said, could provide about four additional parking spaces.