First, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year!
As we begin 2022, we are all hoping and praying for a better year than the last two. As we deal with this latest spike in COVID-19 cases, we hope the decline in cases comes quickly, and we can begin, again, to return to normal and restore a sense of peace and comfort in our lives.
I want to congratulate Council Members Tina Gatti, Tracy Kallert, and Vincent DeCesare on their new terms in office. This is Tina’s 8th term, which at the end of service, she will have dedicated 24 years to our community. I know that all three of you will continue the good work you do every day on behalf of our residents.
Also, congratulations to Councilman Joseph Spinelli on his selection as Council President this year. Joe's years here in West Paterson and Woodland Park as a boy growing up, a teacher, coach, and as a long-time Councilman will serve him well as President of the Council.
On Monday night, I had the privilege to install Woodland Park Board of Education Commissioners Adam Chaabane, Shannon Marren, and MaryAnn Perro. They, along with Dr. Pillari, the other members of the school board, and the school administration and staff have done great things in our school district, under very difficult circumstances, and I have no doubt they will continue to do so. Congratulations to Christine Tiseo, who was selected as Board President, and Dr. Joe Giammarella, who was chosen to serve as Vice President.
I want to congratulate Chief Paul Salomone, Jr. on his recent re-election. He now enters his 6th term as Chief of the West Paterson Volunteer Fire Department. And, congratulations to Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Roehrich on his re-election as Assistant Chief at Company #3.
To the hard-working taxpayers of Woodland Park, know that this Mayor & Council’s number one priority is being fiscally conservative. Our goal is to make sure Woodland Park is affordable and our residents receive great services. Our budget no doubt has been impacted by both COVID-19 and by the aftereffects of Hurricane Ida – but we have been smart in dealing with these challenges and will do everything we can to reduce the burden on our taxpayers, as we enter 2022. Remember, fiscal conservatism and affordability are our number one priority.
In planning our financial future here in town, we continue to grow our ratable base. The new Starbucks, the expanded gun range, Amazon Fresh coming soon to the old Fairway location, and leases signed or pending on at least four other commercial sites in town, we are attracting new business and thereby expanding our tax base. I’m also extremely pleased to announce tonight that Amazon will be leasing the new distribution space on the former Kearfott site. This will have an especially positive impact on our ratable base, and the designed use that Amazon has for the property will significantly reduce the amount of traffic originally proposed for the site.
We will also begin the evaluation of areas in town which are in need of re-development and create a plan to address areas that need to be invested in, revitalized, and brought up to date.
Another priority for keeping the tax burden off our residents is securing grants. In 2021, we received $3,598,291 in grant funding. That does not include the federal COVID-19 funding from the Trump Administration’s CARES Act or funding from the American Rescue Plan under the Biden Administration.
Of that $3.6 million, funding will be allocated toward:
• Completing our McBride Avenue Streetscape project from Carvel to Lackawanna Avenue.
• Beginning our Streetscape on Browertown Road between Hromiak Terrace and Route 46 with $373,000 from the NJ Department of Transportation.
• Installing new curbs and sidewalks on West 36th Street and on Newby Avenue behind the School #1 Pre-K Center.
• Allocating $300,000 for improvements to Diane Grimes Park, where we hope to completely revitalize the playground area and, by making future grant applications, to build a turf field there as well.
• Nearly $45,000 has been secured to offset costs in the Police Department.
• And, we are just waiting for the Governor to sign the award for the largest grant ever received by the Borough of $2,883,577 for the renovation and updating of the Alfred H. Baumann Free Public Library.
Our new Library is something that our Director, Linda Hoffman, her staff, the Library Board of Trustees, the Friends of the Library, and our patrons have been working for – for so long. It’s a testament to their work and advocacy that we have been granted this money and will have a state-of-the-art library built within the next two years.
Make no mistake about it, when it comes to public safety, this Council has stood shoulder to shoulder with our men and women of our Police Department, Fire Department, and First Aid Squad. These individuals make sacrifices each and every day to keep us all safe. Supporting them keeps us safer and more secure as a community.
Just last month, it was a privilege to promote John Uzzalino officially as our Chief of Police, Louie DeLuca as our Deputy Chief, along with our new Captains and Lieutenant. The leadership of the Woodland Park Police Department is now in place for years to come. The Chief has hit the ground running by working with the PBA to convert to 12-hour shifts. This schedule puts more cops on the street on every shift and has NO impact on the municipal budget. In fact, it will very likely reduce our overtime budget heading into 2023. All this benefits our residents. From the officers' perspective, the new shifts will provide for a better quality of life with some additional time off and more frequent weekends off, which are built right into the schedule.
In late 2021, the Council also moved forward to fund a new communications system for our police, fire, and EMS. We will join the state system which will allow better communications between our first responders, so they can better ensure their own safety and the safety of the public.
As promised, we continued our partnership this past summer with the Woodland Park Board of Education to hire Special Police Officers for EACH school here in town to keep our children and staff safe, while also ensuring that we are only educating students who reside here in Woodland Park.
In September, Hurricane Ida, a storm the likes of which we have never seen, struck our area. The heavy rains led to intense flooding and affected areas of town that have never been flooded before. Our Police, Fire Department, First Aid Squad, DPW, and OEM responded swiftly and urgently. They saved many lives that night. Tragically, we lost one. They put their own safety above ours. I want to thank all of our first responders, our volunteers, and those who donated cleaning products and gift cards to the families impacted here in town. Our community came together, we helped each other, and we consoled one another. Acts of heroism and caring that made us all WP STRONG.
The West Paterson Fire Department along with the Totowa Fire Department brought back our Holiday Lights Parade this year. I want to thank all involved, not only for their work in fighting fires and responding to emergencies but also for lifting our spirits in these still uncertain times.
This year, the Borough will take on the significant responsibility of offering athletic programs and activities to the children of Woodland Park. The Borough has hired our first full-time, paid Directory of Recreation and Parks, and tonight we will appoint our Recreation Advisory Board members. These folks will effectively and efficiently organize and manage our youth programs. We have a great model to follow with our summer camp. We will also continue to run our annual activities for our seniors, our community celebrations, and our holiday events.
Our team has already opened up discussions with the Woodland Park Public Schools to enhance after-school programming and we will continue to work with our neighboring towns of Totowa and Little Falls to grow our successful travel team partnerships with youth from all three Passaic Valley municipalities.
We are well aware of the challenges in delivering quality youth programs, especially in light of the setbacks related to COVID. The suspension of youth athletics during that time period, a further drop in volunteerism, and uncertainty amongst parents as to safety, all contributed to these issues. Together, with the support of the Borough, we can build back our programs under this new structure.
On behalf of this Council, we thank the decades of leadership – both past and present – at the West Paterson Boys & Girls Club for their efforts in providing athletics to the children of West Paterson and Woodland Park since 1952.
While we will keep the many traditions of being a Panther, today we start anew! The Council and I fully understand the importance of good organization, proper scheduling, volunteer recruitment, and the need to provide a positive experience for our children across all programs.
Recruitment and involvement are key to our collective success. Your input and feedback are also imperative in this process, and we welcome it.
We are looking forward to the beginning of something great here in Woodland Park when it comes to youth athletics and activities.
Some perennial issues, I would like to address before I close:
• We will also ensure that we continue to advocate for federal funding for the Peckman River flood diversion culvert.
• The Council will, as we have in the past, press the NJ DOT for the additional sound barriers along Interstate 80 which are long overdue.
• And, we will continue to fight the Passaic Valley Water Commission project proposing to drain our reservoirs here in town and replace them with concrete storage tanks, which will forever scar historic Garret Mountain. Rest assured, we will not let up on any of these issues.
As always, I want to thank our Borough employees, volunteers, and our business community for all they do for our town – especially during these challenging times! Thank you also to all those being appointed tonight for your dedication and your service.
Council President Spinelli, the Council and I look forward to working with all our residents to make 2022 another great year for Woodland Park: a place we pledge to keep affordable, safe, and a great community in which to raise our families!
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for our town, never hesitate to contact us! I again wish you a happy and healthy New Year. God bless.