The Westfield Leader Newspaper
The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK

Downtown, Parks Top List Of Priorities for Mayor Jung

By LOUIS C. JUNG

Editor’s Note: The following is the Mayoral Speech of Fanwood Mayor Louis C. Jung.

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Good afternoon and welcome to the Annual Reorganization Meeting. On behalf of the Council and myself, we appreciate you being here or watching on Cable TV.

Well, take a deep breath! We’ve made it to the year 2000 and with no apparent Y2K problems! Aren’t you tired of hearing about Y2K problems? And the new millennium? To begin on a light note, when celebrating today with family and friends, discuss whether the new millennium begins today, or a year from today!

When you’ve settled that, then discuss whether the year 2000 has actually already passed. Most religious and secular scholars agree that our calendar is off by three to seven years, because those who began our calendar in about 500 AD were off by several years as they calculated backwards in time. So you now can truly relax since the year 2000 has already passed!

In the Bible, the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 states there is a time for everything. Certainly New Year’s Day is a time for reflection. Looking back at 1999, I would first like to thank Maryanne Connelly again for her 13 consecutive years of service to Fanwood as Councilwoman and Mayor. Maryanne had the idea for Fanny Wood Day and the Holiday Decoration Event, served as Police Commissioner for nine years and Council President for seven, fought the State COAH quota and had the vision for the Millennium Clock, to name just a few highlights of her service. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for her long and faithful service to Fanwood.

As usual activities were fast and furious in Fanwood in 1999. The Memorial Day Parade was followed by the celebration in La Grande Park, we had the 10th Annual Clean Communities Day, a concert on the Library Green, the Fourth Annual Fanny Wood Day, including the Millennium Clock Dedication, the MultiCultural Festival at the Kuran Center, and the Holiday event in December, as well as the Easter Egg hunt and the big Halloween Parade. And there were many other activities too numerous to mention!

We had another “annual” September major storm this time it was Hurricane Floyd which brought heavy rain and flooding. Floyd made the record summer heat and drought emergency seem in the distant past. Our local emergency forces shined again as our Police Department, Rescue Squad, Fire Department, as well as Public Works, did a tremendous job in responding to all the emergencies resulting from the storm. We are truly fortunate to have such dedi

Scotch Plains Mayor Marks Sets Tone For Township Council as it Begins Year 2000

By MAYOR MARTIN L. MARKS

Editor’s Note: The following is the Mayoral Address by Scotch Plains Mayor Martin L. Marks.

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Good afternoon and Happy New Year! Thank you all for being here and sharing this day with us. I suppose whenever there is a shift in the balance of power in any government, whether it be federal, state, county, or municipal, the citizenry should be rightfully curious as to what changes will take place. While there undoubtedly will be a noticeable difference from last year in some respects, I think it is important to first point out what things will remain the same from past years and from last year.

The five council members that you see before you, albeit from different political backgrounds, have one thing that unifies us: we are all committed to making our little piece of the world, Scotch Plains, a better place. Now on some issues, we may not share the same perspective on how to get to that better place, yet the commitment is there none the less. Last year I believe it was clearly evident that this council was unified in our approach to our recreation facilities. In 1998, it was Councilman (William) McClintock who announced an initiative to create five new ball fields in Scotch Plains over a fiveyear period.

In early 1999, Councilman McClintock and I presented to the council the next logical step in that process which we entitled A Recreation Plan for the 21st Century. Included in that plan was an idea to present before the voters an open spaces referendum that would set aside two tax points that could be used for the acquisition and development of land for new ball fields.

Fortunately, the entire council signed on to this plan as was evidenced by Mrs. (Geri) Samuel’s fine

Kevin T. Jackson

Counsellor at Law Westfield (908) 2322152

FAMILY ESTATE PLANNING

TRUSTS • POWER OF ATTORNEY • WILLS GUARDIAN DESIGNATIONS

Gregory Longo, Fleet Enterprises, Inc, at (800) 23FLEET extension 74818 or (908) 6542449

efforts in negotiating a deal with the County of Union to acquire 22 acres of land in the Ashbrook Reservation for Scotch Plains to develop four new ball fields. Geri, I would like to thank you for your efforts and ask that you remain at the forefront of these nego tiations to insure that our youth will

be hitting and kicking balls at this site in the very near future.

Included in this process, we fully realize that there are some environmental concerns that need to be ad

Housing and Development On Mayor’s 2000 Agenda By MAYOR THOMAS C. JARDIM

Editor’s note: The following is Westfield Mayor Thomas C. Jardim’s annual speech read at Tuesday’s Town Council reorganization meeting.

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Members of the Town Council, town staff, Westfield residents.

Less than four full days ago, we made a muchheralded leap into a new millennium. We enter this new millennium as a community in a basically sound state, but certainly as yet imperfect. As we enter this New Year and this new century, we should be asking ourselves, what kind of community do we want to be? What more can we do to insure that all residents of this town share in the spirit of community and benefit from that spirit in their lives?

One of the first things that we can not simply because it is our responsibility

as elected representatives, but because it is a moral imperative that we do so.

Though we must look to opportunities for the redevelopment of the Central Avenue Corridor, we must also protect how development occurs in other areas of town. Too often in recent years, development has come at too high a price to established neighborhoods. Experience has shown that we cannot rely on private interests to dictate appropriate development in Westfield.

Accordingly, in the year 2000 municipal budget, I am recommending the employment of a fulltime planning professional to serve the Town of Westfield. This individual will have the responsibility of overseeing both planning and economic development activities for the town. The position will complement our

do in 2000 is to focus our efforts on providing the residents of this town with a physical space where the arts and culture can flourish. For the past couple of months, we have been working quietly and cooperatively with the Westfield School Board on a plan so good, one wonders why it hasn’t been acted on sooner.

This plan will create a community arts space in the currently partially utilized Board of Education building on Elm and Walnut Streets. The plan also calls for the refurbishment of meeting rooms, practice and recital space for local arts groups and perhaps even museum space for the Westfield Historical Society’s collection.

This plan not only serves to create an exciting cultural and civic center for the town, but it also continues our efforts to make our central business district a more dynamic place to be — and the Town of Westfield a more attractive place in which to live. The effort also exemplifies the type of “intergovernmental shared service” that is becoming the hallmark of successful communities across the state.

And Westfielders these days are feeling that their community is a success. They feel pride in the renewed improvements in our parks and fields, the renewed vitality of our downtown and the sense that their investment in this community is paying off.

But none of us should let the pride of our success blind us to the fact that many living within our midst’s do not yet share in that success. Last year, this governing body created a Housing Commission, and in its work, it has identified dozens and dozens of houses in barely livable condition. Many of these properties are in the area bounded by Central Avenue, Grove Street and South Avenue.

It is time to take a good, hard look at this area, and shortly, I will be appointing a special task force to do so. This task force will be charged with the directive to see whether a comprehensive redevelopment plan, under the New Jersey Housing and Redevelopment Law, would be appropriate for this area. The task force will also recommend whether the downtown special improvement district should be extended to include Central Avenue from South Avenue to Grove Street. And finally, the task force will examine ways to create better and more affordable residential dwelling units for residents in that area. We must take these steps

recent restructuring of our Public Works Department and the changes in our administrative and town clerk staff.

I have outlined just three of the goals that, as a council and as a community, we must accomplish in the year 2000. Of course, there are others. We have made great progress in planning for a downtown parking facility, and this year, we shall finance, build and operate that facility. We have made strides to improve our accessibility to residents via our Internet Web site.

This year, we shall finish creating a firstclass website for our residents. Last year, we put in action plans to renovate and improve parks and fields throughout town. This year, we will complete that work especially on longanticipated projects at Memorial Field, Gumbert Park and, with the gracious assistance of Holy Trinity School, Paul Robeson Memorial Park.

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Cheri Rogowsky for The Times RECOGNIZED FOR SERVICE… New Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks presents his predecessor, Geri M. Samuel, with a plaque honoring the former Mayor for her service to the township. Mr. Marks was sworn in as the municipality’s highest elected official during the governing body’s annual reorganization meeting on January 2.

Cheri Rogowsky for The Times OATH OF OFFICE… Wilfred P. Coronato is congratulated by Mayor Louis C. Jung after being sworn in as the new Borough Attorney during the January 1 reorganization meeting of Fanwood’s governing body. Mr. Coronato was accompanied by his wife, Darlene, and sons Peter, 2, and Andrew, 4, as he assumed his new post.

David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader and The Times BEGINNING HIS THIRD TERM... Westfield Second Ward Councilman Matthew P. Albano takes the oath of office from Town Clerk Bernard Heeney as his son, Matthew, and daughter, Juliana, hold the Holy Bible. At left is his wife, Michele, who is holding their daughter, Marielle. Mr. Albano is beginning his third term on the Town Council.