MAYOR’S 2009 NEW YEARS ADDRESS
Good afternoon and Happy New Year. Welcome to the annual reorganization meeting of the Wanaque Mayor and Council.
I would like to start by congratulating both Don Pasquariello on his re-election to the Council for a fourth term and Rob Pettet on his re-election to the Council for a second term. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our Congressman Scott Garrett for taking time out his busy schedule to attend our meeting.
It’s hard to believe that I am at the half-way point in my term as Mayor. While we have accomplished many things during the past two years, there are still many more things to do.
One major accomplishment in 2008 was the improvements made to Addice Park and the Wanaque School fields. This is a great example of how shared services and cooperation between both Boards of Education and the Borough can benefit the entire community. I have received many compliments of how nice the fields look, especially the Wanaque School field. We have turned it from a dust bowl to a great recreational facility that will be used by Wanaque School, Lakeland Regional High School, and all of our residents through our various recreation programs. The new walking trail, which circles the facility, was being used the first week it was installed. The Municipal and local portions of this project was funded primarily through the Open Space trust fund which is outside the Municipal budget. The completion of this project along with Hagstrom Fields completed in 2007, Back Beach Park reconstructed in the 1990’s and Memorial Field, which is constantly being upgraded by the Boro, the Wanaque Coaches Association, the Wanaque Little league and various volunteer organizations, has resulted in Wanaque now having one of the best recreational facilities in our area.
During 2008, we completed the first phase of reconstructing Laura Avenue using a $250,000 State grant. The second phase which is south of Furnace Avenue, will begin in 2009, again with a $250,000 State grant offsetting the cost. We also received a $211,000 State grant for the reconstruction First Street and Second Street in 2009. These are the streets leading into and out of Wanaque School from Ringwood Avenue. Both streets intersect Laura Avenue. We hope to have this work done in the summer while school is not in session.
Prior to 2008, we had an annual road resurfacing program whereby we would re-pave a number of streets each year which did not qualify for state funding. Due to the high prices for oil in 2008, which drives the price of asphalt, we temporarily suspended this program for a year. Right now we are seeing the cost of oil at a 5 year low. If prices stay low, I would like to reinstitute the road resurfacing project for 2009. There are a number of streets in town that badly need re-paving. We can not do them all, but we need to keep up doing the worst ones when the price is right. As we found out a few years ago, it is most cost effective to re-paving three or four adjacent streets at the same time.
Construction is currently underway for the addition to the Haskell Firehouse, which should be finished in time to receive our new fire truck. There were some delays in getting this project started, and I appreciate the patience our all of our volunteer firefighters have had with this project.
We are working hard to improve our community. During 2008 we designated six new re-development sites in town, four in the Haskell section and two in the Midvale section, bringing our total of redevelopment sites in the Boro to eight.. The first redevelopment project, the Haskell Town center opened in late 2007 and was fully completed in 2008. It is a welcome addition to Wanaque and it is the cornerstone of our new downtown area.
This first redevelopment project moved along very quickly. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the other projects. The current economic conditions affecting our country have had an impact on some of these projects including the Candle Factory redevelopment. While other projects such as the area across from CVS has been bogged down by new state regulations.
We will continue to push these projects forward in 2009.
Some projects expected to be completed in 2009 include the new Holiday Inn Express on Union Avenue. After a number of delays, this project is finally nearing completion and should be open by Spring. We wish the owners prosperity and success.
In 2007, the Passaic County Freeholders agreed to Phase III of the Ringwood Ave reconstruction from Father Hayes Drive north to the Ringwood border. This is expected to begin in 2010. In conjunction with this project, the Borough has authorized the replacement of the 70 year old water main in Ringwood Avenue from Father Hayes Drive to the Ringwood border, at a cost of $2 million. These plans are ready to go to bid. However, with the billions of dollars of infrastructure money now coming from Washington in the form of an economic stimulus program., I have instructed our Borough Administrator to do everything possible to get this project funded by the Federal government and save our water utility $2 million.
Last year I spoke about the need for a new Municipal Building. The Council and I have been working hard on selecting a site for this facility. After a lengthy review, and listening to comments from our residents, we decided not to put the building at the US Aluminum property on 4th Avenue. Instead, the Council agreed to keep the Municipal Building on Ringwood Avenue, using the site of the former Rhinesmith School building and three properties to the north, up to the building housing a Chinese restaurant. Our current Municipal building is almost 100 years old. It was not designed for its current use, it has functional deficiencies and it has serious needs which would be very costly and difficult to address. All of the members sitting up here realize the cost involved and we will continue to keep that in mind as we move this project forward. My goal at this point is to have the planning and design work completed as quickly as possible and then put the project on hold until the economy improves. I want this project to be ready to go in case the Federal government expands the current economic stimulus program from roadways and related infrastructure to include municipal buildings.
While the new Municipal Building will not be located at the US Aluminum site, the Boro has maintained a purchase option on this property. We recently designated this site as in need of redevelopment and once the environmental study is concluded and any required remediation is completed by the seller, we intend to sell this option to a re-developer and recover any costs associated with this project. The developer intends to construct a new commercial ratable on this site.
We are in the midst of preparing the 2009 budget. We all know the indications from Trenton are not good. The State has not told us what to expect in State Aid this year. They are floating an idea of deferring a portion of our pension payments to future years – which got us in trouble in the first place. While it may save a few dollars now, future taxpayers will have to pay the bill. Most of our costs are driven by salaries and benefits. Health insurance alone increased over 12% this year. Right now our pension costs are up $100,000. With the slowdown in the real estate market, we are not seeing an increase in ratables to offset these costs. Needless to say, we are facing a tough budget year.
In concluding, we have a lot of work to do this year. We do our best to provide great services to our residents. Our Police Officers, Road and Water Department workers, and our Borough Hall staff are all dedicated to their positions. Our volunteer Firefighters, First Aid Squad members, Recreation volunteers and people who donate their time to our community all continue to make Wanaque a great place to live. I thank all of them for their efforts.
I would also like to take this opportunity top thank the members of the Council, our Administrator Tom Carroll, our Borough Clerk Kathy Falone, Chief Reno, our Boro Attorney Tony Fiorello and the entire staff. I am confident that we will continue to move forward as we continue to improve our community.
I would also like to thank my wife, Marie and my family for their continued support.
Thank you and God Bless America.
Mayor Dan Mahler
January 1, 2009
