BY STEVE KELMAN
CORRESPONDENT
CRESSKILL, N.J.—Two long-serving members of the Cresskill governing body were sworn in to begin new three-year terms in office at the borough’s annual reorganization meeting Jan. 2.
Councilwoman Kathleen Savas was administered the oath of office to begin serving her fifth council term and Councilman Gregory Mueller was sworn in to start his third term in office.
Both Savas and Mueller were administered the oath of office by Borough Clerk Francesca Maragliano, who then swore in new Borough Attorney Christos S. Diktas.
Councilman Hector Olmo was elected council president for 2019.
New Jersey State Assembly members Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Gordon Johnson attended the Jan. 2 meeting.
Huttle praised the borough, calling it “the jewel of our (37th) district.”
Johnson also praised the borough and promised to “work together on first responder public safety issues.”
As he does every year, Mayor Benedict Romeo presented his New Year’s address.
Romeo first took a moment to recognize and thank the borough council, municipal officials and office staff for helping to keep the borough running “as smoothly as it does.”
The mayor also acknowledged the efforts of officials that have recently retired and left the borough, mainly former Borough Clerk Barbara Nasuto and former Borough Attorney Vin Salvatore.
Romeo then reviewed the accomplishments from 2018 and looked ahead to the new year as well.
New changes in the borough’s affordable housing requirements, “now good through 2025.”
“We have signified locations to be zoned for [affordable housing] requirements for our next round and are looking to build a small adult housing community on the corner of Washington Avenue and East Madison Avenue.”
Improvements at Merritt Field.
“After many obstacles we are ready to start this project,” Romeo said. “The project calls for a state-of-the-art baseball field, softball field, and small size soccer field [that will] be lit, have a playground, and over 40 parking stalls to accommodate visitors to our games.”
Work on a new addition to the Byron School.
“Work is going on as we speak to allow for the new school addition,” Romeo said.
Parking facility on Allen Street.
“We will be going out to bid in the next few weeks, finally—but again, bureaucratic red tape always seems to delay projects of this size. The wait will be worth it, enhancing our downtown parking to help our merchants to gain more business,” the mayor said.
MAYOR OUTLINES 2019 AGENDA
Moving forward Romeo said that Cranford Park is expected to get new basketball courts “sometime this year,” and the 9/11 Memorial will be constructed on Third Street.
“Engineering reports are finally in and the bid process can now start,” he said.
“While all of these projects progress we are turning our attention to infrastructure projects in town that need our attention. We have increased our road resurfacing program to include more streets to repair after the last harsh winter that really damaged our roadways,” the mayor said.
Romeo also said that a task force was being formed among towns to “deal with the dredging of the Tenakill to reduce flooding in our town.”
“Since this is a riparian issue, we must get state approval, which will be a lengthy process. But we have to begin somewhere, and we have,” said Romeo.
He said that a much-desired intersection improvement project at the railroad crossing at East Madison Avenue, which has been in the works for a decade, will probably be put on hold.
“CSX has been very uncooperative waiting to see if the state was going to put light rail on this track and now we have a new obstacle in the Greenway Project that has been presented to them,” he said.
“This rails to trails project, while worthy, will put our intersection on hold, according to CSX, until they see if enough money can be raised to complete the project.”
The mayor then pointed to the upcoming 125th anniversary celebrations being planned for the borough later this year.
“Many events are planned and we are looking for volunteers to participate in this year-long celebration. A meeting is being planned for later this month and all are invited and urged to participate,” he said.
In closing Romeo praised council members for leaving their personal agendas “at the door” while working for the betterment of the borough.
“When we have taken the politics out of the decision-making process and work for the betterment of Cresskill, we get a lot more accomplished for our citizens,” he said.
The mayor concluded his new year’s address by saying it has been an honor, “to serve as the mayor of Cresskill for the past 20 years.”
“And I thank all of you for that honor,” he said.
Professional appointments for 2019 are as follows: auditor, Lerch, Vinci and Higgins; borough attorney, Ditkas; prosecutor, Gina A. Calogero; public defender, James F. Foley; bond attorney, Rogut, McCarthy, Troy; engineering, Azzolina & Feury; labor attorney, David B. Thompson; appraisers, McNerney & Associates.
Fire department officers for 2019 were also announced by the mayor. They are as follows: Assistant Chief Michael Morrison, Capt. Kenneth Mann and Lt. Brian Buccino.