By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – The borough council discussed progress on several initiatives at its Sept. 12 meeting. The ongoing Marine Park upgrades have advanced into phase two and preparations for the upcoming Porchfest event are underway.
Marine Park Transformation
Borough manager Jim Gant provided an update on the first phase of the Marine Park improvement project. The initial phase focused on the parking lot. New landscaping and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations were also installed.
The next steps will focus on converting an existing parking area into green space, which Gant said will require navigating through the permitting processes of the state Department of Environmental Protection for development patterns along shorelines.
The council’s Marine Park committee, including council members Kristina Bonatakis, Ben Forest and deputy mayor Kate Triggiano, is scheduled to meet Sept. 30 to further refine the park’s design. “We’ve met with the engineers. We started to go through phase two of this project, which is the actual park construction,” Gant told the council.
CME Associates, the borough’s engineering firm, is expected to provide further inputs on the entire park, such as the number of trees and the topography.
Porchfest Street Closures Approved
Red Bank’s annual Porchfest will return Oct. 5 for a third consecutive run. Launched in 2022 by four residents – Jeff MacPherson, John Shepherd and Marta Quinn – and Mayor Billy Portman, the musical festival held on neighbors’ porches blends community spirit with music and has been a successful event.
This year, the council has announced three temporary street closures due to overcrowding on certain streets experienced the last two years. At the Thursday meeting, the council approved closing the intersections at Linden Place and Hudson Avenue, Waverly Place and Maple Avenue and River Road and Throckmor ton Avenue.
Council members discussed the placement of barricades to manage vehicle access while ensuring residents maintain the ability to enter and exit their properties. The closures are intended to create a safer, more pedestrian-friendly environment for the popular event.
Lead Paint Inspection Ordinance Introduced
In other business, the council unanimously approved the introduction of a revised ordinance to implement requirements for lead-based paint inspections in residential properties as per state mandates. The public hearing on this ordinance (numbered 2024-38) is scheduled for Sept. 26.
Red Bank Housing Authority Explores Redevelopment
The council also discussed Red Bank Housing Authority’s (RBHA) plans to explore redevelopment options for two of its properties, Evergreen Terrace and Montgomery Terrace. Borough attorney Greg Cannon noted the authority had hired a financial firm, NW Financial Group LLC, to conduct a physical and financial analysis of potential redevelopment options.
Cannon told the council he spoke with the firm’s principals, Michael Hanley and his partner Daniel Mariniello, at a local event recently and they told him they have been “working with the housing authority to put together financial plans. There’s a lot of available aid to potentially redevelop properties and… the housing authority has been exploring that.”
The article originally appeared in the September 19 – September 25, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
