By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – The borough council unwrapped its outlook for 2024 and reflected on the last six months as it transitioned into a new form of government.
On New Year’s Day, borough council members – sworn into office in July – met at the borough hall for the annual reorganization meeting.
“We’ve updated municipal code to be in compliance with our new form of government. We’ve moved the date of our elections from May to November so that more people will participate in our democracy,” Mayor Billy Portman said. “I am incredibly optimistic about the future of Red Bank.”
From improving streets and parks to prioritizing the borough’s workforce by updating municipal facilities, Portman gave a rundown of what to expect in the new year and what was accomplished in 2023.
The Historic Preservation Commission was reinstated at the Monday meeting with new member appointments, expanding in strength from five members and two alternates to seven members and two alternates. The members include Louis Almerini, Marjorie Cavalier, Liam Collins, Gary Sapphire, Paul Cagno, Karen Schmelzkopf and Doug Miller.
The council passed a resolution confirming board and committee appointments for 2024, including to the animal welfare committee, the environmental commission, the planning board, the zoning board and more. A complete list of member appointments can be found on the town’s website.
New council manager Jim Gant officially replaced former borough administrator Darren McConnell. Council member Kate Triggiano was reappointed as deputy mayor. In a review of 2023, Portman noted the council appointed a cannabis review board and awarded one cultivator’s license and three retail cannabis licenses in the borough. The borough resurfaced the basketball court and restriped the tennis court at East Side Park. There are now both tennis and pickleball courts available at the park. New decking was installed in Riverside Gardens Park. Starting on the West Side, the borough is replacing all of the lead water lines “at no cost to homeowners,” said Portman. It hopes to complete lead pipe replacements on the entire West Side in 2024 while initiating the same process on the East Side.
Regarding health and wellness in the community, the council held the first winter press conference high lighting many of the services available in Red Bank, including the first women’s warming center offered by First Baptist Church. Portman thanked Triggiano for initiating a social worker program that works with the borough’s police department to identify and mitigate situations.
In an effort to be transparent and responsive, weekly open office hours with the mayor and council were instituted to engage with residents in person, responding to “a myriad of issues,” Portman said. After receiving numerous complaints during those meetings about the parking of commercial trailers all over town, specifically on the West Side, the council passed an ordinance banning unhitched trailers from borough streets.
“We’re listening and we want to help,” said Portman.
Commenting on the way forward into 2024, Portman said improvements to certain areas of Marine Park damaged during Super Storm Sandy are expected “any day now,” awaiting final approval from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Portman also announced a complete rebuild of the DPW building as a “top priority” for the borough. He also shared that Red Bank will receive $2.4 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to purchase six electric commercial vehicles and six charging stations for the borough.
All street improvements in the borough, Portman said, “will be done in accordance with the borough’s street policies.”
“We love having a walkable, bikeable town, so we’ll do all we can to make it even more so.”
He noted that the borough’s current debt service is “extremely low and we’ll also have additional revenue streams coming in 2024.” With new cannabis businesses that opened last year and growing parking revenue, Portman said, “We anticipate a healthy revenue stream.”
The article originally appeared in the January 4 – January 10, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
