STATE OF THE TOWNSHIP ADDRESS
MAYOR VICTOR DE LUCA
January 1, 2015
Happy New Year!
Thank you to my colleagues for electing me as Mayor for my tenth
year. I’ve enjoyed working with you in a collegial and cooperative manner and am
proud of all that we have accomplished. I look forward to another year of
progress.
As to the current State of Maplewood: We had a very good year, are in great shape, and have an outstanding
future ahead of us.
In my first State of the Township Address in 2001, I said Maplewood “must remain as
an attractive community, with a sound housing stock and viable neighborhoods
throughout; a town where a sense of community is strong and diversity and
inclusivity are valued.” So far we’ve been successful. Stories about Maplewood in numerous
publications, including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, talk about
new residents being “welcomed with open arms,” that we are “an amazing
community of people,” and how “everybody feels comfortable living here.”
The Maplewood
brand remains as strong as ever and our reputation throughout the state is very
positive. The beauty of our community, the diversity of our people and the easy
access to New York City
keeps us as one of the most sought after locations in which to live, work and
invest.
Let’s look at home sales for the first 11 months of 2014.
The average sales price was up more than five percent from 2013, to $521,000.
Homes sold above asking prices and the average number of days on the market fell
to 44, down nearly 18 percent from 2013.
The good news is home prices were up and the even better
news is crime was down. We had a drop of 16.5 percent in major crimes in 2014. Every
major crime category decreased, including robbery, assault, burglary, larceny
and auto theft. And the crime clearance rate was up to 30 percent from 25. I
want to thank Chief Robert Cimino and all the members of the police force for
their work in suppressing crime and keeping our families and property safe.
Last year, the Township Committee authorized additional overtime
hours to keep more police officers on the street. We also budgeted for two new
police officers to bring the department up to 62 uniformed members. And we
instituted a plan to keep a cadet in the academy on a regular basis to
immediately fill vacancies created by retirements.
President Obama has called for communities and law
enforcement agencies to work more closely together to break down tensions and
rebuild trust. Here in Maplewood
we’ve taken steps to strengthen the police department’s capacity to positively
interact with all members of our community.
We’ve diversified our police force with more people of color
and women, and we’ve instituted sensitivity training so our officers are
culturally competent in dealing with a diverse population. Chief Cimino met
quarterly with neighborhood leaders through the Maplewood Community Action
Program. The Youth Aid Bureau sponsored engagement activities with our youth to
develop lasting relationships. And I am happy to announce the launch of the
Clergy Alliance Program, through which the Chief will meet throughout the year with
religious leaders to receive feedback on community concerns and discuss public
safety matters. The first meeting of the Clergy Alliance is coming up and we
are excited about its possibilities.
April 2nd – June 5th – September 18th – October 17th – November 5th
On April 2nd, the Maplewood Memorial Library
wrapped up its Centennial Year with the first annual Maplewood Ideas Festival,
designed to celebrate the talent and creativity in our community. The week long
event attracted hundreds to hear from authors, journalists, artists and
filmmakers. “Conversations” is this
year’s Festival theme and it will include internationally acclaimed architects,
an Academy Award winning costume designer and Marc Morial, former New Orleans
Mayor who is now President of the National Urban League and a Maplewood resident. The Ideas Festival will
run from March 18th through April 2nd.
And talking about ideas, on June 5th the utterly
bad idea to build a massive flood control dam in South Mountain Reservation was
unanimously voted down by the Mayors Council on the Rahway River Watershed, of
which I am a member. While I was lobbying other mayors on the inside, “No Dam” advocates,
under the leadership of former Mayor Fred Profeta, were organizing opposition
on the outside by gathering thousands of names on petitions and meeting with
elected officials to press their case. In the end, the Mayors Council agreed to
scratch the proposal and focus on a more environmentally and economically
sustainable plan centered on the Orange Reservoir. This was a huge win for the
Reservation and for Maplewood.
Another proposal was scratched on September 18th.
That’s when we learned the developer selected for the post office redevelopment
project was withdrawing. Honestly, it was quite a shock but we picked up the
pieces and interviewed four additional developers. We now are working with JMF
Properties to move the project forward. In February, the retail portion of the
post office will move to new quarters at 195 Maplewood Avenue. We’ve established
20 minute parking in front of the building to allow postal customers to come
and go. By the spring we expect JMF to demolish the current post office
building and start construction on a new building with 23 apartments and 9,000
square feet of retail space.
Speaking of demolition, the Township’s purchase of the
Woman’s Club two years ago saved this building for use by the community. Now
called The Woodland, the first major event was the October 17th Rent
Party with over 200 people in attendance. Since then there have been fund
raisers, concerts, vaudeville acts, weddings and other events. We’ve made
improvements to both the upstairs Parlor and the first floor Great Hall. And we
fixed up the parking lot, creating more parking for Maplewood Village
shoppers. In addition, the Township Committee designated the building as a
local historic site. There’s more to come in 2015, including what I hope will
be a major contribution to the building from a local contractor.
We received another contribution from a group of residents
concerned about our failed approach to dealing with feral cats. On November 5th
we approved a Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return Program. It started out with
two or three people coming to our meetings and challenging us to do better. And
to be honest, there was little support on the Township Committee to undertake a
TNR program. But those two or three people, and then five or six people, and
then ten or twelve people made their points and today we have Furry Hearts
Rescue, a very impressive volunteer organization, leading up the effort. Thanks
for your vision and your perseverance.
Nearly 20 years ago we had another vision, changing Springfield Avenue
for the better. It has been a challenging journey, with ups and downs,
excitement and disappointment. But we have not changed our belief in the importance
of the Springfield Avenue
area to the future of Maplewood.
This year we paved the western portion of the Avenue and it looks great. We
will be installing new lighted crosswalk signs that pedestrians can activate
with a push button. Next year we will finish the paving job on the eastern
portion.
And speaking about the eastern end of the Avenue, we are
excited that Avalon
Bay, a national real
estate development company, will construct a 235 unit apartment building at the
former Public Service Gas Facility at Boyden
Avenue. Across the street, the Maplewood Diner is
being renovated and plans are to open another eating facility there. And later
this month I hope to announce a major retail development on the southern side
of the Avenue at the corner of Chancellor.
Other economic development news includes the spring opening
of a new CVS on Valley Street,
a mixed retail and apartment building to be finished at the corner of Burnett
and Springfield,
and the planned opening of both mom and pop and national retail stores along Springfield Avenue.
We have big plans for the Irvington Avenue shopping district. We’ve
been working with a consortium of planners, Rutgers
educators and representatives from neighboring towns to rethink this important
area on our northeastern border. One thing we plan to do is to rebrand the
district, tentatively calling it Maplewood Corners. You’ll hear more about this
in the upcoming months and we invite your participation.
One measure of a community’s strength is how it comes
together in a time of crisis. In past years weather related events have tested
our resolve. Last year, on a quiet Friday morning in May, we had another type
of catastrophe in our downtown. A construction accident in the basement of a
building trapped a construction worker. Police officers were on the scene
immediately and used their bare hands to dig out the rubble trying to free Guo
Tai Chen. Firefighters took over the rescue job but in the end Mr. Chen’s
injuries were too severe and he passed away.
When word spread about the accident, merchants and residents
offered to help. The Maplewood Village Alliance took the lead and collected $13,300
in contributions to pay for Mr. Chen’s funeral and to provide assistance to his
wife and two children. Another $1,200 was collected to help tide over Village
employees displaced by the accident. I
attended Mr. Chen’s wake and can tell you his family was very appreciative of
the Maplewood
community’s generosity.
Much more has happened in 2014. We approved 25 ordinances and
voted on 240 resolutions. We also:
- Held the third Wellness Fair and the seventh Green Day Festival
- Celebrated the 20th year of the operation of our farmers’ market
- Established two new special needs programs: Be Well and Thrive Exercise and a Soccer Clinic
- Renovated the bathrooms at the Maplewood Pool
- Upgraded Brook Path with new plantings and pedestrian lights
- Expanded the jitney service with a new route
- Installed traffic calming measures on 44th Street, Salter Place and Burnett Street, and Valley Street; and
- Signed people up for the Affordable Health Care Act.
You all already know what our major challenge is in 2015 –
property taxes. Over the past four years, the Township Committee has worked
hard to keep spending down and to limit tax increases. It is always a balance
between the services our residents expect to receive and the tax bills they get
to pay for those services. We will continue to make tough decisions on any
spending that is proposed and remain sensitive to the already high property tax
burden on our residents.
Our budget meetings begin on Saturday, January 10th.
And in an effort to increase community
input, this year we will be accepting email questions and comments about the
budget in real time. That’s right. You can watch the budget meetings live on TV
and send us an email with your questions or comments. With this Stay At Home
Civic Engagement Initiative, you won’t even have to change out of your pajamas.
Civic engagement is critical and making sure all people in
our community are connected to civic life is an on-going priority. We are one
community and it is important that no matter where you live in town you feel respected
and listened to. Last year we made a particular effort to reach the non-English
and foreign born population in town. We will continue to do so in 2015.
Additionally, the Township Committee will expand its monthly
Talk to the Township Committee sessions to include Jacoby Street, Irvington
Avenue and DeHart
Park. These new sites
will be in addition to our regular locations in Maplewood
Village, Springfield Avenue and the Recycling Center at Public Works. During the three
hour Talk to the Township Committee sessions on the third Saturday of each
month, we set up a sidewalk table to share information and hear about concerns
and questions from residents. Stop by and say hello
Volunteerism has been a hallmark of life in Maplewood. We thank each of you for taking
time from your personal lives to contribute to civil society. There are
national trends though to which we need to pay attention. According to the new
report, “Volunteering and Civic Life in America,” in 2013, slightly more than 36 percent of American adults were
involved in school, civic, recreational, religious, or other type of
organizations, a nearly three percent drop compared with 2011. This is not a
healthy direction for our society. Our challenge is to continue to recruit and
nurture new volunteers who can shape and influence the community in which their
families live.
All the work I’ve talked about needs a team. We have a great
one with leadership from Township Administrator Joseph Manning. I also want to thank
Cesar Correra, Assistant Administrator; Elizabeth Fritzen, Township Clerk; and
Roger Desiderio, Township Attorney. They are our go to people and make the
Township Committee’s work all the more productive.
We welcome two new department heads, Chief Financial Officer
Juan Uribe and Public Works Director Calvin Bell.
And one more thank you to Eric Burbank, recently retired
head of the DPW.
I want to recognize our department heads and Township
employees who do a terrific job in serving the people of Maplewood. Would all of you please stand so
we can properly thank you?
I am excited about the future of Maplewood. I hope you are too.
Thank you very much.
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