Dressed all in white with a cloud of white hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a distinctive sweet voice, she can leave Asbury Park council members twice her size wilting with embarrassment.

I know - I've sat there squirming when she stepped to the microphone.

"What about the seniors?" Charlotte Burns has demanded on several legendary occasions. "You wouldn't treat your mother like that!"

Charlotte recently moved to Florida to be with family members, but her crusade is one that Asbury Park's almost 2,000 seniors aged 65 and over should embrace.

In fact, with negotiations reopened on the beachfront, this is the ideal time to bring the senior issue to the forefront. Why? One of the most perfect sites for a promised city community center sits within the western edge of the waterfront redevelopment zone - and it's "now or never" time if the city plans to negotiate for it.

The site - which city Social Services Director Tony Nuccio has been actively lobbying for over the past five years - has ample facilities for children's recreation programs as well as senior activities and meals. It could also provide valuable office space for bursting-at-the-seams city services.

And, unlike another major site currently being investigated by the city, the seniors could occupy a first-floor space; it isn't in the bustling downtown commercial zone; and it isn't already hampered by inadequate parking for seniors, their bus, and the center and meal-program staffs.

Of all the sites currently under consideration, it is also the closest to "move in" condition, and the neighborhood is pleasant and close to the beach and a lake. Tony puts it at the top of his wish list, and Tony should know - he's researched almost 90 potential senior center sites.

As you probably know, the seniors were forced to abandon their second-story perch in the First Avenue pavilion when a workman's error led to the discovery that the building's heating system was in dangerous disrepair.

And while "the usual suspects" immediately hopped on the conspiracy theory - charging that Asbury Partners, our beachfront redeveloper, had purposely scuttled the center's heating system to force out the seniors - the simple truth is that the city already had a mandate from the county Office on Aging to remove the seniors as soon as possible because the deteriorating building did not meet county and federal codes.

The seniors are temporarily housed in the former convent at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church - thanks to the goodwill (and endless good humor) of Father Gerard Lynch. ("Sure, Father, we'll be out of there in a year....")

The former convent is warm and inviting, and sits in a pleasant residential neighborhood with an enclosed back yard. Still, it is woefully small for both senior activities and the senior lunch program - something that four of our city council members experienced first-hand when they all unexpectedly showed up for the January "senior council" meeting.

The city council received an earful that day from the dozen or so seniors in attendance regarding both the building and their unreliable transportation, and - as a direct result - there's very good news to report.

For years, Asbury Park has been nursing a 1993, hand-me-down bus from the county that is frequently sidelined for repairs - as it was last month when it should have been transporting happy seniors on a day trip to Atlantic City.

For years, the county has promised to donate another used bus - a promise that has failed to materialize.

At the February 1 council meeting, Councilman John Loffredo led a new charge for reliable transportation, and the council agreed to purchase a brand new 24-seat bus, using about $60,000 in community development funds donated by Asbury Partners.

"It's time. It's overdue. We have the money. Let's spend it," John later told me.

According to Tony, the bus - which will be supplemented by a small, used van he recently obtained - should be ideal for everyday functions such as bringing residents to the senior center, shopping trips, and transportation to doctor's appointments. Larger buses can be rented for special events, he said.

But even a new bus won't solve all the seniors' transportation woes, because the city lacks something equally important: one or more bus drivers with a passenger permit (officially known as a CDLP license with Passenger Endorsement) who can be available whenever the city needs them.

The city recently raised its bus driver salary to be competitive with the county government, but Tony said that there is a countywide shortage of bus drivers, and local school bus companies - who are also short of drivers - pay considerably more.

That shortage is hurting our seniors in several ways: For example, Asbury Park's seniors can no longer attend free monthly movies at Seabrook Village's welcoming theater in Tinton Falls because our temporary bus driver is only available during limited hours.

Similarly, the county's senior SCAT buses - which transport our seniors to meals - frequently fail to show because the county is also short on drivers.

Asbury Park has advertised more than once for qualified drivers with little success, and Tony plans to ask for another salary hike in this year's budget request. That's definitely too long to wait; the council should approve the new salary immediately, if possible.

It may also be time for some out-of-the-box thinking. While civil service restrictions make it notoriously hard to combine unrelated job titles, the best way to ensure a permanent - and available - driver might be to hire a full-time employee who combines part-time work as a bus driver with another social service function. (To be continued...)

Beachfront update: Kudos to the city council for extending the boardwalk negotiating period to March 15. Too much is riding on the outcome of these talks to artificially squash them into a few days.

And don't forget: As a result of the city's new pay-to-play ordinance, the updated Beachfront Redevelopment Agreement must also include a provision limiting future campaign donations from Asbury Partners. With Tinton Falls trying to back-pedal on pay-to-play, and the county and state failing to enact meaningful reforms, Asbury Park is emerging as an ethics leader. You go, guys!