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Vicdeluca
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 9, 2002 - 3:39 pm: |     |
State of the Township by Mayor Vic De Luca
January 1, 2002
Happy New Year everyone. I stand before you on this first day of 2002 to say that the state of the Township of Maplewood is very good. We are an attractive, vibrant town with dynamic citizen involvement. And we have a very promising future.
Congratulations to David Huemer on his election to the Maplewood Township Committee. David, we look forward to working with you and moving ahead on the initiatives that you outlined in your campaign.
I want to thank my colleagues for re-electing me as mayor. I look forward to another exciting, yet hopefully quieter year. Congratulations also goes to Burt Liebman on his election as vice-mayor.
Sadly, any review of 2001 must start with the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. It was sixteen weeks ago today that these horrific acts occurred, acts that none of us will ever forget. Almost four thousand innocent people were lost that day, including two of our residents, Doug Cherry and Kirsten Christophe.
Five days after the attack, on Sunday, September 16th, thousands of Maplewoodians came together at Town Hall in a very moving Community Connection, where we were able to comfort and support one another.
In October we established the Maplewood Fund and by December 1st raised $6,000. Last month, the Cherry family and the Christophe family each received an $1,800 check from the Fund. The balance of the Fund will be used in the next 11 months to help other Maplewood families who suffered from this tragedy.
The events of September 11th have reminded us of the importance of family and community and of living each day to its fullest. In a recent letter, Sara Cherry, Doug's wife, asked that we continue to believe in the strength of humanity and to not let a day go by without hugging our families. Sara gives us inspiration and sound advice to follow.
The property revaluation was the most difficult local issue of 2001. President Theodore Roosevelt is credited with the following quote: "In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the worst thing you can do is nothing." The Township Committee was faced with a problem that was worsening each year. The continued use of the 1981 property values was creating greater inequities and a growing lack of uniformity. The decision in 1999 to move forward with the revaluation was the right thing to do and certainly more responsible than doing nothing.
The debate in our community was less about the need for the revaluation and more about the process and the results. I think there were valid criticisms about the way in which the revaluation company handled themselves. I also believe that we as the Township's leaders should have been better prepared and I sincerely regret the extent of misunderstanding and mistrust that resulted from the revaluation.
The fact is though that whether you live on Euclid Ave. or Evelyn Court or Richmond Ave. or Rynda Road, we all pay too much in property taxes. Going forward, we do not need to rehash the revaluation. Rather, we need to lobby in Trenton to change the system of taxation in this state to rely less on property taxes. We also need to move ahead with our economic development plans to bring more commercial ratables into town. And, we need to keep assessments current and never let 20 years pass again.
2001 was the year that we finally turned the corner on Springfield Avenue. Do you know that just four years ago we were not allowed to park on the Avenue's north side? Now it has been repaved, using a state-of-the-art street imprinting process, and we are engaged in a multi-million dollar redevelopment effort. Discussions are on-going with a number of developers about the opportunities on the Avenue and we are excited about the possibilities. We still need a bit more of your patience but as you can see we are moving ahead.
Springfield Avenue wasn't the only roadwork done last year. Our Engineering Department was very active. We redesigned the intersection at Baker Street and Maplewood Avenue to make it safer for pedestrians and auto traffic. A new sidewalk was installed along the eastern side of Valley Street from Oakland Road to Parker Avenue. New and additional street light fixtures were installed in Maplewood Village. We reconstructed Van Ness Terrace, Berkeley Street, Ostwood Terrace and a portion of Elmwood Avenue. We slurry seal coated 22 roads or 4 miles of roadway. In all, last year we worked on about 10 percent of the 50 miles of municipal roads in town.
And it is the Department of Public Works that takes care of the roads and also our parks, our sewer system and our public buildings. And they pick up leaves, 378,000 cubic feet in 2001. If you're like me and don't exactly know how much a cubic foot is, just know that we collected enough to cover all of Maplewood Avenue from Arturo's to Bill and Harry's with a ten foot high pile of leaves. That's a lot of leaves.
The DPW also is responsible for the Township's very successful recycling program, which was expanded last year to include the collection of computers, printers and other electronic devices.
How about those jitneys? With the addition of the Parker Avenue route, we now have three jitney routes and the ridership has increased to about 240 people each way each day. This service moves people to and from the station in an environmental friendly manner and alleviates the need for an additional 125-150 parking spaces. You cannot believe the number of calls we get from municipalities around the state and country asking for information about our jitney program.
It was a monumental year for the library with $950,000 of work done to computerize the system, redesign the branches, install new furniture and make the bathrooms compliant with federal requirements for people with disabilities. We moved from a traditional facility with a card catalogue to a modern, fully integrated, computer based library. We salute all those who made this change possible.
The sixty men and women of our Police Department deserve our thanks for keeping us safe and secure. We enter 2002 with an excellent average response time to calls for assistance of two to three minutes. Last year we installed video cameras in nine police cars and intend to continue that effort into the new year. Our Cops in School Grant has allowed us to keep an officer in Columbia High School and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant will allow us to beef up patrols in our parks this spring and summer. One of the chief's goals for this year is to expand community oriented policing with more interaction between the department and community, civic and senior citizen groups.
Last year the Maplewood Fire Department responded to 2,700 fire and emergency medical service calls. We implemented an automatic mutual aid agreement with South Orange whereby they and we immediately roll on a working fire call in either town. We also improved our mutual aid agreements with Irvington, Union, Newark and South Orange. Additionally, we put into service a new radio system and purchased new safety and firefighting equipment.
Last year we also saw our Fire Department respond to numerous calls related to possible contaminated packages and letters. Working with the Nutley Hazmat Unit, our firefighters stood ready to protect the health and safety of our residents from any potential harm. The Fire Department has responded to these changed times and issued standard operating procedure #45 to address possible terrorist actions. I can assure you we are prepared.
We had a banner year with our flu shot program, dispensing a record number 1,083 shots. The Health Department conducted 130 inspections of food related facilities and responded to 200 complaints about various health and sanitary issues. Last year a monthly series of health seminars for seniors was started and the department once again sponsored its annual health fair.
The Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs was also busy. A new homerun fence was installed on field number 3 at Maplecrest Park. I look forward to throwing out the first pitch there in the spring. Actually, I really can't wait to get up to bat. The main pool at the Maplewood Community Pool was remarcited and looked great for the season. We also held three successful teen nights in town.
The Summer Concerts in the Park began and were a big success. Repairs and upgrades were made to the Burgdorff Cultural Center and new stadium seating was installed. It is now rare that a night goes by without some activity at the Burgdorff. We are especially grateful to June Cater who generously donated her building at 1978 Springfield Avenue to the Township for use as an arts center. We look forward to bringing that facility to life in 2002.
Speaking of buildings, did you know that more than $15 million dollars of construction took place in Maplewood last year? The Building Department issued over 1,500 building permits and conducted almost 4,000 construction inspections. There were also about 2,000 property maintenance and zoning inspections last year with more than 95 percent of violations abated.
As you can see it was a busy year and I am not done yet.
á We began work on the river walls in Memorial Park, most of it paid for with federal and county grants.
á Our town was one of eight municipalities in the state to be selected for a Neighborhood Preservation Program grant of up to $500,000 over the next five years. The target area is the eastern area of the Hilton neighborhood. Planning work began last fall with a very enthusiastic resident committee and the program rolls out early this year.
á The New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing certified the Township as meeting its fair housing requirements under the Mount Laurel Supreme Court rulings. As part of this effort, the Maplewood Affordable Housing Program has completed the rehabilitation of 23 housing units throughout the town.
á The Maplewood First Aid Squad continues to provide essential services to our residents. The Township was happy to provide a new defibrillator to the Squad.
á We installed a new accounting system in the Tax and Finance Departments.
á The Township Committee restructured the Economic Development Advisory Committee and appointed nine members. The Historic Preservation Commission was also established and members appointed. Additionally, a special improvement district, the Springfield Avenue Partnership, was created.
á Our community-oriented television programming continued on cable channel 35 offering shows like Community Health Watch and Meet the Mayor.
á A couple of new department heads started work in 2001. Gayle Brown was brought on as the Welfare Director and Colleen Honan began her term as Finance Officer.
We are saying goodbye today to a long time Maplewood leader, Ellen Davenport. We will miss her wisdom and leadership. Let's also acknowledge Don Davenport who stood by Ellen during those 12 years.
Michele Meade, the Township Administrator, is to be recognized for her work and dedication. We value her professionalism and appreciate her commitment to this town. Township Clerk Liz Fritzen and the staff in the Clerk's office can always be counted on and we thank them.
This has been a difficult year. The impact of September 11th has taken its toll on all of us. The property revaluation created divisions that frankly will take more time to heal. I ask you though to not forget that Maplewood is a great place to live and raise a family. We value our community because it is integrated, tolerant, and welcoming. Our streets are safe, our parks are beautiful and our schools are very good. Our downtown is the envy of other municipalities and soon Springfield Avenue will be too.
There are some who say that our work here cannot succeed, that the societal "isms" that keep people separated are too strong. I say they are wrong. Our challenge is to continue the efforts to build an inclusive, dynamic and lively community and to tap the civic spirit that runs through it. Our eyes have to stay on that prize and any divisions or disagreements we might have cannot get the better of us. We must stay united and proud of Maplewood, New Jersey.
You heard today the many different efforts underway to better our town. Get on board and get involved.
Thank you for joining us and again Happy New Year. |
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