Princeton Township - 2005 Reorganization Mayor Speech

On behalf of all of us on Township Committee I thank you for joining us today for our reorganization meeting.
I would first like to thank my colleagues for the confidence they have shown in me by electing me Mayor. As the oath I just took states, I will continue to perform my duties as your Mayor to the best of my ability.

Township Committee Members:
          After serving two and one half years on Township Committee, Bill Hearon decided to step down from his seat on Township Committee due to pressing family obligations. Bill led the way for us on traffic-related issues. His groundbreaking work with the DOT in the form of the Route 206 Vision Plan is moving us to the forefront of traffic control in the State. I’m confident that as 2007 unfolds we will see the unveiling of a great new neighborhood-friendly Route 206 plan.
I am pleased to recognize Bill’s continued service to the Township by his agreeing to serve on our Traffic Safety Committee. Thank you Bill.
          I would next like to thank our Deputy Mayor, Bernie Miller, for his efforts in service to the Township. Bernie has performed admirably in his capacity as our Deputy Mayor and his commitment to management, cable TV and fire safety issues is well known. Thanks Bernie.
          Lance Liverman, has more than proven his worth and invaluable assistance particularly in the area of human services and recreation. He is a relentless advocate for our youth and senior citizens. Thank you Lance.
          Vicky Bergman, has demonstrated a proven commitment to our community with her involvement in, among other things, serving on our Regional Planning Board and Environmental Commission. Vicky thank you for all your hard work this year.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to our newest member of the Township Committee, Chad Goerner who filled in when Bill Hearon stepped down and who was elected to a three year term on Township Committee this past Fall. Chad has quickly taken up the issues of traffic circulation, neighborhood preservation, as well as other important issues for all the residents of our Township. Welcome Chad.

Boards and Commissions:
As in any corporation, our municipal corporation is only as good as the people we have working for it. On Township Committee we greatly depend upon our boards and commissions to undertake the public's work. On behalf of my colleagues I would like to offer a sincere "thank you" to each and every volunteer who serves on our boards and commissions, for all of his or her efforts on behalf of our community. The citizens of Princeton have extraordinary experience, expertise, intelligence, creativity and insight. How lucky we all are that they donate their talents to our community!

Staff:
I would also like to thank our staff, ably led by our Township Administrator, Jim Pascale, for its service to Princeton Township. It's comforting to know that when we take an action on Township Committee we can be confident that it will be carried out in a professional, courteous and timely manner.

Accomplishments and Future Challenges:
In keeping with tradition I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our major accomplishments during 2006 and note some of our goals for the New Year.

ENVIRONMENTAL and OPEN SPACE
We all know that Princeton Township is a very special place – that’s why we have chosen to live and work here. One of the finest attributes of our community is our environment and we on Township Committee work hard to protect its integrity. Please allow me to identify some of the major projects we accomplished in 2006 to protect our environment:

We adopted impervious coverage regulations to limit flooding and stream erosion
We completed our first year of new leaf pickup and brush disposal regulations to keep our community clean, safe and in compliance with State and Federal laws
We implemented the sixth year of our deer management program. In the year 2000, just prior to the implementation of the Township’s deer management program, the number of deer/automobile collisions totaled 342. I am pleased to report that this year we have reduced the number of deer/automobile collisions to less than 100 – a 71% reduction since the inception of our program.
Purchased 35 acres of the Tusculum estate, through a combination of grants, private and public funds. Thanks to the preservation desires of the owners this historic property is now guaranteed to be protected in perpetuity.
To better serve our younger, and more active residents we received $228,882 to be used for construction of a new skateboard park to be located at Hilltop Park.

LAND USE:
We in Princeton pride ourselves in adopting innovative land use measures to meet the ever changing needs of our community. Let me take a moment to share with you some of our accomplishments this past year in the area of land use regulation

We revised the land use element of our Master Plan to provide for the redevelopment of the Medical Center site
We endorsed the Route 206 Vision Plan to calm traffic from Cherry Valley Road south to the Princeton Borough line.
We broke ground on 58 units of affordable senior housing at Elm Court
We approved a new facelift for the Princeton Township Shopping Center, with construction to start in early 2007.
We were awarded a $60,000 Sustainable Communities grant to help make our Township a more environmentally friendly community.

PUBLIC SAFETY:
A basic duty of your Township Committee is to ensure the public safety of both persons and property. However, as elected officials we have to do so within our ability to pay for this protection.
As some of you may recall a few years ago we engaged the services a nationally-renown police management consultant who recommended that we could reduce the size of our police department by four officers without jeopardizing public safety. I am pleased to advise that during 2006 we were able to accomplish this goal with the support of our police management and the rank and file.
We also sponsored our first ever “National Night Out” at our pool complex with great success.
Our Bureau of Fire Protection completed its first calendar year of fire safety inspections for all businesses within the Township. Although at times it was difficult for some of our businesses to comply with the State’s fire safety requirements our residents and employees of our businesses can be assured that they are shopping and working in businesses safe from fire hazards.

PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS:
Under the excellent leadership of our Township Engineer, Bob Kiser, and our Public Works Supt., Don Hansen, our Engineering and Public Works Departments had a banner year. Included among the many 2006 accomplishments are the following:

Repair, resurfacing and reconstruction of over 8 miles of Township roads, 2 miles of which were resurfaced by our own public works crews at great saving to our residents.

The roads resurfaced by our Public Works Department were: Arreton Road, Howe Circle, Mason Drive, Vernon Circle, Prince William Court, Castle Howard Court, Gulick Road, Hardy Drive and a half mile section of Snowden Lane between VanDyke Road and the entrance to Barbara Smoyer Park. The total bituminous material used was approximately 4000 tons.

Over the last three years over 25% of our roads have been improved. This year alone we received over $550,000 in State funds to help us with this expense. Thank you Mr. Kiser.

Our Public Works Department Recycling Division was a sponsor for the Mercer County Improvement Authority Earth Day Event held at Mercer County Park. A shredding truck was provided for residents of Mercer County to shred documents. The Recycling Division along with the Environmental Commission also held a Computer Electronics Collection event and also a Shredding Event for all residents of the Township and Borough. Electronics collected included T.V.’s, VCR’s, stereo’s, fax machines, etc. A total of 9.475 tons of electronics and computers was collected and 5 tons of paper was shredded.

Our bagged leaf program continues to be a success and has provided residents with an environmentally friendly way to dispose of leaves. In 2004, the first year of the program, 580 residents came to pick up bags compared to 720 in 2006.

We received a grant in the amount of $54,000.00 for materials recycled in 2004. This grant is based on all materials recycled curbside and commercially in the Township and was one of the highest grants awarded to a municipality. Township residents and businesses should be commended for their recycling efforts.

A caring community is made up of much more than just bricks and mortar. I would like to highlight some of our major achievements in the area of Social Services.
Hot off the press: Corner House received $47,495.00 from Mercer County for adolescent treatment services for a program called “Motivation 180 Degrees”.

Creation of the Corner House Board to oversee the operations of Corner House and alcohol and drug issues in Princeton.

Establishment of the Princeton Youth Project to work with high risk youth in the Princeton Community, this project permits Corner House to open its doors to youth on Friday evenings and weekends.

The PADA’s Presentation of the “Re-enactment Drunk Driving Crash” to all Princeton High School juniors and seniors, this included participation of Princeton Borough and Township Police Departments, local rescue squad and Corner House Student Board members who served as actors for the presentation. It was the first time this event occurred in the community since 2000

The introduction of the Corner House Grand Prix, a new fundraising and nationally sanctioned bicycle race sponsored by the Corner House Foundation, this event already has a sponsor for next year. It was a great collaboration between the Corner House Foundation, the racing community with support from Princeton Township Police.

The Strengthening Families program was introduced and run through funding from the State of New Jersey, Division of Addiction Services. This evidenced based program focused on providing extensive support to families for 16 weeks, as they developed skills to become more effective and engaged in the process of “living as a family”.

The opening of the Harriet Robertson Community and Family Resource Center which provides materials, films, educational materials for members of the community on all topics related to substance abuse and addiction. This entire project was privately funded

HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION:
Some of the major achievements of our Human Services Commission include:

The Commission ran a successful Summer Employment Program for 15 local youth.

The Commission sponsored a breakfast for school personnel and community groups that provide services to children and their families.

Breakfast for Municipal Boards and Commissions. Sixty people attended and this year, the Commission’s Community Spirit Award went to the Princeton Senior Resource Center and the Committed Princetonians – two groups that work with and for the seniors and youth in Princeton.

The Commission and Corner House co-sponsored the 4th Annual Rising Above Conference for the 8th grade class at the middle school. The keynote speaker was our very own Lance Liverman, who did an excellent job. The focus of this conference was to get our youth to talk about and find solutions to race issues in the middle school.

The Commission held its annual holiday season toy drive. 197 children received the gift they wished for.

Conducted a Community Education Forum: Plan for the Future Day
Ran classes for 364 people per week
Responded to 473 requests for assistance per week from seniors and caregivers
Organized and conducted the flu shot clinic for nearly 1000 seniors
Held a holiday party for 140 seniors

The department began using the revised electronic Communicable Disease Reporting System for faster reporting of communicable diseases.
The department piloted a test Electronic Death Certificate program.

The department undertook extensive Pandemic Flu planning and preparedness initiatives.
The department ordered its first full hybrid vehicle.
The department worked with the Mercer County Office of Emergency Management to train and manage a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

PUBLIC LIBRARY
2006 was another banner year for the Princeton Public Library. Library use continues to grow as more and more people visit the library each year to attend a program, borrow material, use our internet ready computers.

The number of library visitors increased by 7%
The number of items loaned increased by 8%
The number of reference questions asked and answered increased by 4%
The number of programs offered by the library increased by 26% resulting in a 38% increase in attendance
The number of computer sessions increased by 4

In addition to increases in use there were a number of other significant accomplishments in 2006:

Library Director Leslie Burger was inaugurated as the president of the 66,000 member American Library Association, the largest and oldest professional library association in the world. Through this position Leslie has brought a great deal of attention to Princeton and the Princeton Public Library.

Library Program Coordinator Janie Hermann was named one of fifty “movers and shakers” in the library profession by trade publication Library Journal. Janie will be featured along with the other honorees in an upcoming issue of Library Journal.

Our Human Rights Film Festival attracted more than 1,000 people over a three- day period to view and discuss films highlighting human rights concerns. This was followed by an exclusive showing of the Lost Boys of Sudan in November along with a visit from one of the “lost boys.”

The Library’s Youth Services Department and Teen Librarian Susan Conlon were awarded the Eva Collins award by the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance for the library’s excellent work with teens.

Tim Quinn, the library’s Public Information Director, received an award from the New Jersey Library Association for its quarterly program guide, Connections. We also received a merit award for the Library Public Relations Council for several other publications.

With the help of well-known local historian William Selden we completed a “history” of the library’s first 100 years which will be published in 2007.

We were designated the Statewide Reference Center after a competitive bid process with other libraries in the state. PPL is now the library of last resort for difficult-to-impossible to answer reference questions. We received a $90,000 grant to support this service.

The Friends of the Library launched its first-ever community wide annual appeal in an attempt to increase private donations to the library.

We revamped our web page and online catalog to make it easier for users to navigate and locate information.

We led a strategic planning process among all of the library’s stakeholder groups and conducted focus groups with the community to learn more about what they want from the library

FINANCIAL:
AAA BOND RATING RETAINED
Regarding financial matters, I am pleased to report that we have once again been able to maintain our AAA Bond Rating; one of only five governmental entities in New Jersey, including school districts and county governments, and one of only 70 nationwide to attain this coveted rating. We earned this rating by ensuring that all expenses incurred by the Township are done so only after careful study and with an eye towards our community’s ability to pay.
Some other major accomplishments in our Tax/Finance Department during 2006 include:

We reduced the size of the department by two employees.
We began offering the ability to pay taxes online by check.
We can now pay taxes in person by major credit card.
We did a major upgrade to our general ledger.
We completed a fixed asset inventor

In our pursuit for all sources of non-tax revenue I am pleased to say that in 2006 we received 32 grants totaling close to $3.2M.

COMMUNICATIONS
“Transparency” is an often overused buzzword today. But transparency is at the heart of well run government. We on Township Committee work hard to involve all residents in what is going on here at Township Hall. To that end we use an array of tools to communicate with our residents including our website, CATV channel, Township Newsletter, various brochures, community meetings, etc. I am pleased to say that due to our concerted efforts the League of Municipalities in conjunction with Rutgers Center for Government Services, New Jersey Municipal Management Association, has awarded us First Place in their annual Public Information Contest, for the unprecedented third time!
I would like to thank our Township Clerk, Linda McDermott, and our Deputy Clerk, Kathy Brzezynski who lead our outreach efforts.
Thank you Linda and Kathy.

As in most aspects of life, there is no finish line. I would like to list some of the major issues your Township Committee will be grappling with during the New Year. Some of our year 2007 goals, in no particular order include:

There’s a lot on our plate for 2007 but I have a committed and intelligent Committee and staff to move these initiatives forward, and a constituency that is not shy in expressing opinions! We look forward to balancing all the issues so that our community remains diverse, active, safe and beautiful. We are here to listen, learn and to legislate on behalf of all our residents.
Again best wishes to all here and those unable to be here for a healthy, happy, prosperous and peaceful 2007! Thank You.

TOWNSHIP OF PRINCETON