def #267 10/01/08

ONE MILLIONTH CUSTOMER FETED AT COUNTY CONNECTION

Ocean County Freeholders John P. Kelly, left, who serves as liaison to the County Connection, Director Joseph H. Vicari, center right and Gerry P. Little, right, surprised Savino and Judy Dipalma, Holiday Heights, Toms River, as the one millionth customer to enter the County Connection. Also pictured is John Sgobbo, Holiday Heights, Toms River who is a friend of the Dipalma.

TOMS RIVER – Ocean County officials today welcomed the one-millionth person to walk through the doors of the County Connection at the Ocean County Mall, here.

“The County Connection has proved to be a wonderful success story in Ocean County government,” said Freeholder John P. Kelly, who serves as liaison to the government service outlet at the mall. “Some people said it would never work. But today we welcomed the one-millionth person to this storefront.

“We are very proud of the services we provide here,” Kelly said. “It has truly connected our residents and taxpayers to the services and programs of Ocean County government.”

The Dipalma’s from Holiday Heights received the unexpected surprise of being feted at the millionth customer at the County Connection.

The County Connection first opened its doors in September of 2001. The storefront was originally located by Sears at the mall and subsequently moved to a larger storefront by JC Penney.

The concept according to Kelly was easy. The County Connection delivers county government services at times convenient for the resident and also at a location that is visited frequently by county residents.

“We know all of our residents don’t have the ability to access county offices in the downtown complex because so many people are working during the day,” said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari. “But we do know many people come to the mall in the evenings and on the weekends and in addition to doing some shopping they can access and connect with Ocean County government.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” Vicari said.

Kelly said the County Connection also helps connect residents to their local elected officials, state and federal representatives.

“It’s all encompassing when it comes to government information,” he said.

The County Connection is also a convenient location for passport and county identification cards both provided by the County Clerk’s office.

“We have been able to assist thousands and thousands of people at the mall store,” said County Clerk Carl Block. “It has been very beneficial and allows our residents to access services in a very convenient way.”

The County Clerk's staff at the County Connection processed 11,125 passport applications so far this year.

More than 80,000 passport applications have been processed there since the store opened in 2001.

Representatives from a host of other county departments also spend time at the County Connection offering one-on-one assistance to residents.

For instance, the Ocean County Office of Senior Services has assisted more than 2,200 seniors just this year at the County Connection.

“Our senior services staff helps our seniors with Medicare Part D information, with the Economic Stimulus Payment and a host of other programs and services that we offer,” said Vicari, who also serves as chairman of Senior Services. “Seniors can access the mall store easily because many senior communities provide transportation to the mall as does the county’s transportation system Ocean Ride.”

Senior Services has had a full time presence at the mall store since 2002 and to date has provided services to almost 13,000 people at the store.

Meanwhile, the storefront has also been the site for the distribution of flu shots from the Ocean County Health Department, registration for the county’s dog parks operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation, assistance from the Ocean County Surrogate’s Office, Transportation Department, Consumer Affairs and a host of other departments.

“It is so important to make government accessible to the people,” said Freeholder Gerry P. Little, who attended the one-millionth-customer celebration. “This brings government directly to the residents.”

In addition, the Board of Freeholders operates two mobile County Connections, which bring all the services and programs of the Board of Freeholders directly into the community and neighborhoods.

“Ocean County government comes right to your door,” Kelly said. “We want people to know what the Board of Freeholders is doing for them. We want them to use the services and programs we have and we want them to be well-informed.”

To date in 2008, 114,991 residents have stopped in to the County Connection and another 5,064 visited one of the two County Connection Mobile Service Centers at their scheduled visits at various shopping centers, libraries and senior communities throughout the county.

“That's just the numbers for 2008 so far, and we're looking forward to some big days ahead,” Kelly said. Scheduling has already begun for seniors for Medicare Part D Days at the County Connection. The first appointments are on Nov. 17, as soon as the open enrollment begins for seniors to enroll or change plans for the Medicare prescription drug program.

On Nov. 19, the Ocean County Health Department will hold a Flu/Pneu Clinic at the County Connection--a convenient location for our county residents to get vaccinated before the start of flu season.

“We encourage our residents to come out to the County Connection and learn about what county government provides for them and their families,” Kelly said. “The staff is friendly and well-informed and we want to make our programs and services convenient.

“At the County Connection we truly connect people with their government,” Kelly said.