The Secaucus Public Education Foundation, which supplements school programs and projects in the town’s schools, will host a fundraiser  Sept. 14 at Cheesburger in Paradise Bar and Grill from 4 to 11 p.m.

The eatery, located at 700 Plaza Drive, will donate 20% of each bill to the foundation during that time. To participate, please download this flyer and print it out to present to your server.

The foundation has funded projects in local schools totaling more than $150K.

Click here for more info or contact spef@gmail.com.

The group blends doo-wop along with ’50s and early ’60s rock — “golden oldies,” as many of the tunes are known.

First Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas said in late July that town officials discovered that taxpayers had been footing the bill — principal and interest — for the projects, as well as others, for several years. In some cases, an engineering report was required before bills could go out and that was never done.

“It should have been done dating some time ago, but luckily when we assess these things we can assess the interest…” he said. “You’re going to see some positive results on this.”

Mayor Mike Gonnelli said the three payments announced Wednesday include reconstruction on Castle Road ($3.4M) and Penhorn Avenue ($700K), as well as a culvert replacement along Sack Creek ($1.5M).

Tax collector Nick Goldsack said all of the 40 or so properties targeted with the assessment are commercial.

Special assessments are used when public works or other projects benefit specific areas or tracts of real estate, the owners of which are then charged for the improvements.

The town has borrowed at least $6.5M for projects that should have been billed via special assessments, according to Gonnelli. “Not one penny of that should have been paid by any taxpayer,” the mayor in July. “In 2006, four years ago, bills should have gone out to recoup that money.”

Gonnelli added today that the tabs will be paid annually for the next 10 years at a rate of about $552K, providing some budget relief down the road.

Berckes, a chiropractor and experienced school principal at St. Mary’s High School in Rutherford, is slated to start on Sept. 21.

He ran for town council in the 3rd Ward as a Independent on Mike Gonnelli’s slate in 2006.

He also taught biology and chemistry at St. Mary’s and was a physical education teacher at Immaculate Conception School in town.

Berckes was one of three finalists for the slot.

The free, public event is slated for 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Secaucus Recreation Center on Koelle Boulevard and will be led by Silvana Gomez, a suicide prevention and mental health specialist from Jersey City Medical Center who is part of the Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth, a statewide organization.

Mayor Mike Gonnelli said town officials from various entities agreed that such a event would benefit parents who will be educated about recognizing signs of depression or coping with the loss of a classmate or friend.

The Aug. 18 death followed last October’s suicide death of a 13-year-old Secaucus student. The recent attempt on Aug. 30 was a “serious alarm,” an official who works in youth sports in Secaucus told this website.

That individual, a 22-year-old man, was revived by emergency services personnel following the attempt on his own life.

Topics for Wednesday’s meeting include: depression, anxiety, substance abuse, bullying, and suicide. The Office of the Mayor, Department of Social Services, Police Department and the Secaucus Public Schools are backing the event.

Jeffas, file photo

That’s more than halfway to a goal of $400K, as a fifty-percent amnesty was offered for offenders to pay and some fines were found to be unrecoverable because businesses had moved or closed down.

Jeffas said Secaucus is still trying to collect about $119K through summonses or in court proceedings with another $132K still under investigation.

Town Attorney Anthony D’Elia added that with the help of town officials he negotiated a settlement earlier that day of $20K to be paid this week, which was not yet factored into the totals.

Jeffas said the program to collect the fees is turning out as planned or even exceeding expectations.

POOL SURGE: Second Ward Councilman John Bueckner said the Secaucus Swin Center has been a positive fiscal spot for the town this summer as it is running about $33K over last year’s revenue.

The new rec center memberships, however, are down to 1,850 from 2,600 last year.

TEEN CENTER SLATED: The town’s new teen center being revamped in the site of the former recreation center on Centre Ave. is slated to be ready the week after Labor Day. Recent donations included a 50″ flat-screen TV from Panasanic along with a Blue-Ray DVD player.

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING: Panasonic will hold an electronics recycling day on Oct. 2 at their main campus on Meadowlands Parkway from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The company will take old electronics like TVs or computers and recycle the items at no charge.

Third Ward Councilman John Shinnick noted such partnerships are vital as county and state funds for such programs have been cut. “It’s a big help to the community,” he said.

POLICE UPDATES: Jeffas reported that the Secaucus Police Dept. issued 784 summonses in June and 244 of those were moving violations like speeding or cellphone infractions. In July, 669 summonses were issued, including 208 moving violations.

Jeffas said police are currently training on a so-called CJIS system which allows officers to run plates and do other tasks via laptop computer in their vehicles, rather than radio-ing back to headquarters.

HOCKEY COMEBACK: Gonnelli said the town will be bringing back the youth hockey program this year “in full force.” Resident and long-time volunteer Tom Acquino was honored at last week’s meeting for his service to the program.

TRIBUTE: The meeting began with a moment of silence for Jonnie Scheiner, a 19-year-old graduate of Secaucus High School and volunteer fire fighter who died last month.

SWEAR-IN: Nick Spangenberg was sworn in as a member of the volunteer fire department.

The movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s first book in the series centers on 17-year-old Bella Swan (Kristin Stewart) as she moves from Arizona to the Pacific Northwest and finds out some of the guys around town are … well, if you don’t know the story at this point maybe it’s time to just catch the flick, eh?

After all, it’s raked in more than $392M at the box office and spawned two sequels.

The free showing is sponsored by United Water and Zach’s Town Pub.

Kids can’t get enough of these stories and neither can the adults so grab the family, a date or fly solo (like a vampire!) and enjoy a movie in the outdoors. The weather’s gonna be great!

The 6 p.m. show is slated for the Arthur F. Couch Performing Arts Center next to the high school featuring lead vocalist and Secaucus native Johnny Roggio.

Find those acid-washed jeans, get the hair looking big, and sing along to some of Jersey’s finest rock anthems.

Air-guitaring is optional, but strongly encouraged.

Who says you can’t go home, anyway?

The concert is set to run from 6 to 9 p.m.

Mayor Mike Gonnelli said town officials were able to knock off another $250K to drop the increase from 2.2% to 1.9%.

* * *

Secaucus has set a public hearing on the $45.4M 2010 municipal budget for Monday, Aug. 30 at town hall at 7 p.m. [The meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday.]

The budget, which was introduced in June with a relatively modest 2.2% hike, has twice been postponed for public hearing because of two key matters before the Local Finance Board.

The finance board and town were slated to iron out on Thursday an issue restructuring Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority debt. The other item before the board was bonding for tax appeals.

Town officials said they continued to crunch numbers in the budget. As introduced in June, the budget represents a $108 increase on a home of $165K, or a total tax assessment of $125.

Rising healthcare premiums and pension costs, along with costly items like the new recreation center, posed a challenge to the budget process this year.

Local resident and “reptile aficionado” Angel Marra picked up the snake and turned it over to  the Ridgefield Park Wildlife Conservation Center, run by Joseph the “NJ Batman” D’Angeli, according to the Hudson Reporter.

We have plenty of snakes in the Meadowlands and Secaucus is home to the erstwhile Snake Hill. [In one of our more precarious experiences living in Secaucus, Mrs. eSecaucus.com was doing a bit of gardening a few years ago and picked one up thinking it was a stick. She didn't think it was as funny as we did.]

But boa constrictors are not native to the area and officials said the snake was likely a discarded pet.

The center already has a few boa constrictors on hand, so the new addition won’t be lonely.

(Note: The image is via boa-constrictors.com and is not a photo of the Secaucus snake.)