Bloomfield May Soon Be A TV Star

Bloomfield may soon be the subject of a network TV show about a “town on the rebound,” said Township Administrator Yoshi Manale at Monday night’s township council meeting.

“It’s called Viewpoints,” said Manale, explaining that it would be a five-minute feature airing on network channels and “hosted by football great Terry Bradshaw.”

“It would be aired on the Discovery channel and Headline News,” he added.  “The cost to the township is for production rights to the [segment] and would be $21,000.”

Manale said he thought the arrangement would benefit the township because “we could use it for promotional reasons in the future. Plus it’s a feel-good piece.”  He said the production would highlight "the positive aspects of Bloomfield, the development and the best parts of the town."

Mayor McCarthy supported the idea.  “It would be shown across the country.  It would show the amenities that we have, the housing that we have.  It’s kind of encouraging that they came to us . . . It’s a win-win situation.  We’ve talked about the promotion of the town for years and years and years and we’ve never really done it.”

Councilman Bernard Hamilton, however, was not impressed.

“Any time you have to pay for an award you have to be careful,” he cautioned.  “It’s like a bait and switch.”

Hamilton expressed concern about the cost of the endeavor, which he said would wind up exceeding $21,000.

“We have to provide [the film crew] with services and policing, so the real cost would be $30,000.  If that’s the case, we could do it ourselves.  We have channel 35.  But,” he admitted, “we don’t have the mass appeal and the name.”

When it came time for the vote, all members of the council voted yes except Hamilton.

Editor's note:  Patch was notified by the township Administrator on Tuesday that the proposed cost of the project would be $19,800, not 21,000 as stated at the meeting.