By PAUL J. PEYTON · A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC.PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and The Scotch...
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A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES Thursday, April 4, 2019 Page 3 HELPING VETS IN NEED...Stacks of dry goods, non-perishable food and sundries were ready to go to service men and women overseas and to veterans in need here in New Jersey, thanks to donations from eight Chelsea Senior Living residences and the Rolling Thunder veterans support group. Standing, from left to right, are: George Matheis, Rolling Thunder; Virginia Greenlaw, resident/ veteran; Diane Malangea, Rolling Thunder; Breanna Abbondante, Chelsea at Belvidere Country Cottage; Jane Pritsker, Chelsea at Fanwood; Sandy Peterson, Chelsea at Brookfield; seated, Raymond Taylor, resident/veteran and Robert Detrick, resident/veteran. *The Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) shown are accurate as of publication date and are subject to change at any time. This is a limited time offer and may be discontinued without prior notice. The minimum balance to open and obtain the “APY“ on these CDs is $500. A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Additional CD terms are available. Fees may reduce earnings. †Advantage Plus Checking is a non-interest bearing checking account with a daily minimum balance requirement of $500.The minimum to open this account is $0.01. If the account balance falls below the $500 minimum at any time, a monthly service charge of $9.00 is . Count on Columbia | ColumbiaBankOnline.com Lobby Hours Parking Is On Us! ^^ 15 MONTH CD 2. % APY* † 2. % APY* When you open a new Advantage Plus Checking Account, Mobile Banking • FREE ATMs Nationwide ^ • Rewards • And More! Jim Lowney/County of Union OUTSTANDING DELEGATION...Union County Freeholders Kimberly Palmieri- Mouded and Sergio Granados present a resolution to members of the Westfield High School's Model United Nations Club congratulating them on being awarded the Outstanding Delegation Award at the annual the YMCA Model UN Program conference held in Hershey, Pa. Approximately 2,000 students from 80 Mid- Atlantic schools attended the conference this year. The WHS Model UN program is run in conjunction with the Westfield Area YMCA. LoGrippo Announces Re-Election Campaign WESTFIELD – Westfield 3rd Ward Councilman Mark LoGrippo has an- nounced his intent to seek re-election. Councilman LoGrippo filed his nominating papers for public office with the Union County Clerk, having collected over twice the required sig- natures from his neighbors and sup- porters. He will hold a campaign kick- off event today at the Italian American Club of Westfield with over 100 Westfield residents expected to attend. “Westfield is the only place where I would have ever wanted to raise a family,” said Councilman LoGrippo. “This community provides so much to its residents, and it has been my privilege to serve on town council and do what I can to give back.” Mr. LoGrippo, who was raised in a suburban town, said he appreciates the strong sense of community here in Westfield and believes in doing his part to keep it a great place to live and raise a family. “The primary reason I’m running for re-election is the opportunity to serve those who rely on this role to represent their concerns and interests,” he said. “I have been proud to work with both Republicans and Democrats alike in continuing to move Westfield for- ward. We have maintained a fiscally- responsible agenda while continuing to offer high-quality government ser- vices. We’ve continued to improve the condition of our roads, fought to re- instate direct off-peak and add peak train services to and from New York City Penn Station, and introduced the Boxcar bus service as an alternative commuting method. “As your Councilman, I promise to utilize my eight years of public service experience to keep Westfield safe, pros- perous and fiscally strong,” Council- man LoGrippo said. “I will continue to serve with a philosophy rooted in hon- est government, transparent operation, and complete accessibility to our resi- dents. We must keep the municipal portion of our property taxes stable while continuing to pave more roads, improve our parks, and enhance public safety. As the town council’s tree pres- ervation liaison, I will also continue to support the planting of trees on town property to promote a greener and more sustainable community.” Councilman LoGrippo earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Busi- ness Marketing from St. John’s Uni- versity and an MBA from Adelphi University He is employed in the telecommunications industry and currently works at an international telecommunications company as a government subject matter expert. He said his commitment to commu- nity is evident in his charitable work through several local organizations and his volunteer service on numerous boards. He has been actively engaged as a coach for Westfield Baseball League and a member of the Westfield Area Y International Committee since 2009. Councilman LoGrippo and his wife, Maria LoGrippo, a nursing professor at Rutgers University, have lived in Westfield with their two children, Francesco and Gemma, for 12 years. Boyes to Kick Off Campaign on May 19 WESTFIELD — James Boyes will be kicking off his candidacy on Sun- day, May 19 for Ward 1 on the Westfield Town Council. For infor- mation, please contact [email protected]. To learn more about Jim, please visit https://www.westfieldtogether.com/ boyes or follow him on Facebook at Boyesforward1; Twitter @boyesforward1; Instagram @boyesforward1. Cranford GOP Announces Candidates for Committee CRANFORD — The Cranford Republican Committee has an- nounced that Commissioner Mary O’Connor will seek re-election to the Cranford Township Committee. Cranford Municipal Chair Andis Kalnins said longtime community volunteer Phillip Siliato will join the incumbent on the Republican ticket. Ms. O’Connor, who has served two terms, said she is looking forward to a positive campaign based on town issues. “Cranford is a remarkable town with people who care about their town and each other. It doesn’t matter if you’ve lived here for five days or 50 years. Cranford gets a hold on you.” Phil Siliato is a past president and executive board member of the Cranford Jaycees, and remains an active member of the organization. He has volunteered extensively with Cranford youth sports and the Cen- tennial Village Group. Mr. Siliato’s said he has concerns about over devel- opment and Cranford’s failing infra- structure are key reasons for his seek- ing a seat on the township committee. “During the past two years, there has been very little progress in the road repaving project and flood projects have stalled. A top priority for our elected officials has to be getting back to getting work done in Cranford.” Ms. O’Connor said she is looking forward to getting back on the cam- paign trail. “Meeting people and listen- ing to both their concerns and aspira- tions for Cranford is the best part of campaigning. It’s what has helped me be an effective representative for Cranford residents and taxpayers. It has been a privilege to serve our resi- dents and I look forward to continuing in my role as a township commissioner.” Both candidates said they see the major issues facing Cranford as de- velopment and infrastructure im- provements. “Cranford faces an up- hill battle over affordable housing and its impact on development in Cranford,” Mr. Siliato said. “Provid- ing affordable housing shouldn’t bankrupt a town. We need to plan for the future and that plan needs to work for Cranford residents.” Ms. O’Connor and Mr. Siliato said they are committed to working hard to keep Cranford a town that resi- dents are proud to call home. Freeholders Introduce $490 Mil. County Budget By PAUL J. PEYTON Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times COUNTY — The Union County Freeholders introduced a $490,197,756 budget last Thursday with $367,295,299 to be raised in taxes, an increase of $6.3 million over last year. Freeholder Fiscal Affairs Commit- tee Chairman Al Mirabella said the tax levy is $900,000 below what was proposed by County Manager Ed Oatman in his executive budget. Mr. Mirabella said the amount trimmed from the executive budget is “without any disruptions in services.” He said the 1.97 percent tax levy increase county-wide is “among the lowest in the last 20 years.” The budget includes $25 million in surplus funds, up a million dollars from last year. On the appropriations side of the spending plan, the debt service pay- ment this year is $71.3 million, an in- crease from $67.8 million in 2018. Salaries account for $173.5 million, a reduction of $3.8 million from last year. The county closed its juvenile deten- tion center in February. Mr. Mirabella said the public hear- ing on the budget is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, at 7 p.m., prior to the board’s regular meeting in the free- holders’ meeting room at the county administration building in Elizabeth. The board approved four related resolutions enabling the boards of taxation and elections, county sheriff and surrogate offices to exceed the state’s 2-percent cap for their indi- vidual budgets. Finance Director Bibi Taylor said the sheriff and surrogate are constitu- tional offices while the two boards are independent boards. She said all fall under the 2-percent mandated cap. She said some of the increases are needed because of “new equip- ment that we are rolling out.” “Their budgets have increased more than 2 percent,” Ms. Taylor said. Freeholder Chris Hudak asked for Ms. Taylor to provide more specific information on each of those office budgets as to why they were exceed- ing the cap. The board also approved a $100,000 contract with ES&S of Omaha, Neb., requested by the board of elections to purchase ballot car- tridge bins, ballot card stock for the “paper trail” for votes cast, results tape and training days for the county’s new vote tabulation system. The county has purchased new vot- ing machines starting with the 2019 elections. The system was first used in Westfield this past November. Board of Elections Administrator Nicole DiRado said the ballot car- tridge bins will cost $18,000, with each bin costing $95. She said there was “some jamming” with the new machines in Westfield last year and the “process” has been changed to avoid a repeat of that issue. Ms. DiRado said as a precaution she wants to “be prepared with an extra bin so that poll workers can just switch it out if there is an issue.” Each voting dis- trict will receive a bin. She said the ballot card stock “will be an ongoing expense every year.” Ms. DiRado said a package of 250 for the card stock costs $26. She said the training days portion was added to the contract to ensure there are “enough resources on the ground from ES&S on Election Day.” The board also approved a concur- ring resolution with Scotch Plains re- questing that NJ Transit provide a pair of bus stops on Martine Avenue by Country Club Boulevard in the town- ship. Martine is a county road. The Scotch Plains Township mayor and council approved the bus stops effec- tive February 6. The freeholders approved a $11.5- million contract with Smith-Sondy As- phalt Construction of Wallington for the 2019 county road resurfacing project. Joseph Graziano, director of engineering, public works and facili- ties management, said design work was done last year in advance of the paving. A $295,296 contract was awarded to Maser Consulting of Red Bank to provide design and construction ad- ministration and inspection services for the 2020 road resurfacing project. At the start of the meeting members of Westfield High School’s Model United Nations Club were congratu- lated on being awarded the Outstand- ing Delegation Award at the annual YMCA Model UN Program confer- ence held in Hershey, Pa. The YMCA Model UN Program (Y-MUN) serves more than 2,000 young people annually across the Mid-Atlantic states. The conference provides a simulation of the UN that highlights the themes of col- laboration, cultural understanding and problem solving that are at the core of the organization’s real-life goals. The convention helps students de- velop their debate skills and find their voice. \ The Westfield High School Model UN program is run in conjunction with the Westfield Area YMCA.
Transcript of By PAUL J. PEYTON · A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC.PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and The Scotch...
A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES Thursday, April 4, 2019 Page 3
HELPING VETS IN NEED...Stacks of dry goods, non-perishable food andsundries were ready to go to service men and women overseas and to veterans inneed here in New Jersey, thanks to donations from eight Chelsea Senior Livingresidences and the Rolling Thunder veterans support group. Standing, from leftto right, are: George Matheis, Rolling Thunder; Virginia Greenlaw, resident/veteran; Diane Malangea, Rolling Thunder; Breanna Abbondante, Chelsea atBelvidere Country Cottage; Jane Pritsker, Chelsea at Fanwood; Sandy Peterson,Chelsea at Brookfield; seated, Raymond Taylor, resident/veteran and RobertDetrick, resident/veteran.
*The Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) shown are accurate as of publication date and are subject to change at any time. This is a limited time offer and may be discontinued without prior notice. The minimum balance to open and obtain the “APY“ on these CDs is $500. A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. Additional CD terms are available. Fees may reduce earnings. †Advantage Plus Checking is a non-interest bearing checking account with a daily minimum balance requirement of $500.The minimum to open this account is $0.01. If the account balance falls below the $500 minimum at any time, a monthly service charge of $9.00 is
.
Count on Columbia | ColumbiaBankOnline.com
Lobby Hours Parking Is On Us!^^
1 5 M O N T H C D
2. %APY*
†
2. %APY*
When you open a new Advantage Plus Checking Account,
Mobile Banking • FREE ATMs Nationwide^ • Rewards • And More!
Jim Lowney/County of UnionOUTSTANDING DELEGATION...Union County Freeholders Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded and Sergio Granados present a resolution to members of the WestfieldHigh School's Model United Nations Club congratulating them on being awardedthe Outstanding Delegation Award at the annual the YMCA Model UN Programconference held in Hershey, Pa. Approximately 2,000 students from 80 Mid-Atlantic schools attended the conference this year. The WHS Model UN programis run in conjunction with the Westfield Area YMCA.
LoGrippo AnnouncesRe-Election Campaign
WESTFIELD – Westfield 3rd WardCouncilman Mark LoGrippo has an-nounced his intent to seek re-election.
Councilman LoGrippo filed hisnominating papers for public officewith the Union County Clerk, havingcollected over twice the required sig-natures from his neighbors and sup-porters. He will hold a campaign kick-off event today at the Italian AmericanClub of Westfield with over 100Westfield residents expected to attend.
“Westfield is the only place whereI would have ever wanted to raise afamily,” said Councilman LoGrippo.“This community provides so muchto its residents, and it has been myprivilege to serve on town counciland do what I can to give back.”
Mr. LoGrippo, who was raised ina suburban town, said he appreciatesthe strong sense of community herein Westfield and believes in doinghis part to keep it a great place to liveand raise a family. “The primaryreason I’m running for re-election isthe opportunity to serve those whorely on this role to represent theirconcerns and interests,” he said.
“I have been proud to work withboth Republicans and Democrats alikein continuing to move Westfield for-ward. We have maintained a fiscally-responsible agenda while continuingto offer high-quality government ser-vices. We’ve continued to improve thecondition of our roads, fought to re-instate direct off-peak and add peaktrain services to and from New YorkCity Penn Station, and introduced theBoxcar bus service as an alternative
commuting method.“As your Councilman, I promise to
utilize my eight years of public serviceexperience to keep Westfield safe, pros-perous and fiscally strong,” Council-man LoGrippo said. “I will continue toserve with a philosophy rooted in hon-est government, transparent operation,and complete accessibility to our resi-dents. We must keep the municipalportion of our property taxes stablewhile continuing to pave more roads,improve our parks, and enhance publicsafety. As the town council’s tree pres-ervation liaison, I will also continue tosupport the planting of trees on townproperty to promote a greener and moresustainable community.”
Councilman LoGrippo earned aBachelor of Science degree in Busi-ness Marketing from St. John’s Uni-versity and an MBA from AdelphiUniversity He is employed in thetelecommunications industry andcurrently works at an internationaltelecommunications company as agovernment subject matter expert.
He said his commitment to commu-nity is evident in his charitable workthrough several local organizations andhis volunteer service on numerousboards. He has been actively engagedas a coach for Westfield BaseballLeague and a member of the WestfieldArea Y International Committee since2009.
Councilman LoGrippo and his wife,Maria LoGrippo, a nursing professorat Rutgers University, have lived inWestfield with their two children,Francesco and Gemma, for 12 years.
Boyes to Kick OffCampaign on May 19WESTFIELD — James Boyes will
be kicking off his candidacy on Sun-day, May 19 for Ward 1 on theWestfield Town Council. For infor-mation, please [email protected]. Tolearn more about Jim, please visithttps://www.westfieldtogether.com/boyes or follow him on Facebook atBoyesforward1; Twitter@boyesforward1; Instagram@boyesforward1.
Cranford GOP AnnouncesCandidates for Committee
CRANFORD — The CranfordRepublican Committee has an-nounced that Commissioner MaryO’Connor will seek re-election to theCranford Township Committee.Cranford Municipal Chair AndisKalnins said longtime communityvolunteer Phillip Siliato will join theincumbent on the Republican ticket.
Ms. O’Connor, who has served twoterms, said she is looking forward toa positive campaign based on townissues. “Cranford is a remarkable townwith people who care about their townand each other. It doesn’t matter ifyou’ve lived here for five days or 50years. Cranford gets a hold on you.”
Phil Siliato is a past president andexecutive board member of theCranford Jaycees, and remains anactive member of the organization.He has volunteered extensively with
Cranford youth sports and the Cen-tennial Village Group. Mr. Siliato’ssaid he has concerns about over devel-opment and Cranford’s failing infra-structure are key reasons for his seek-ing a seat on the township committee.“During the past two years, there hasbeen very little progress in the roadrepaving project and flood projectshave stalled. A top priority for ourelected officials has to be getting backto getting work done in Cranford.”
Ms. O’Connor said she is lookingforward to getting back on the cam-paign trail. “Meeting people and listen-ing to both their concerns and aspira-tions for Cranford is the best part ofcampaigning. It’s what has helped mebe an effective representative forCranford residents and taxpayers. Ithas been a privilege to serve our resi-dents and I look forward to continuingin my role as a township commissioner.”
Both candidates said they see themajor issues facing Cranford as de-velopment and infrastructure im-provements. “Cranford faces an up-hill battle over affordable housingand its impact on development inCranford,” Mr. Siliato said. “Provid-ing affordable housing shouldn’tbankrupt a town. We need to plan forthe future and that plan needs to workfor Cranford residents.”
Ms. O’Connor and Mr. Siliato saidthey are committed to working hardto keep Cranford a town that resi-dents are proud to call home.
Freeholders Introduce$490 Mil. County Budget
By PAUL J. PEYTONSpecially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times
COUNTY — The Union CountyFreeholders introduced a$490,197,756 budget last Thursdaywith $367,295,299 to be raised intaxes, an increase of $6.3 millionover last year.
Freeholder Fiscal Affairs Commit-tee Chairman Al Mirabella said thetax levy is $900,000 below what wasproposed by County Manager EdOatman in his executive budget.
Mr. Mirabella said the amounttrimmed from the executive budget is“without any disruptions in services.”He said the 1.97 percent tax levyincrease county-wide is “among thelowest in the last 20 years.”
The budget includes $25 million insurplus funds, up a million dollars fromlast year. On the appropriations side ofthe spending plan, the debt service pay-ment this year is $71.3 million, an in-crease from $67.8 million in 2018.Salaries account for $173.5 million, areduction of $3.8 million from last year.The county closed its juvenile deten-tion center in February.
Mr. Mirabella said the public hear-ing on the budget is scheduled forThursday, April 25, at 7 p.m., prior tothe board’s regular meeting in the free-holders’ meeting room at the countyadministration building in Elizabeth.
The board approved four relatedresolutions enabling the boards oftaxation and elections, county sheriffand surrogate offices to exceed thestate’s 2-percent cap for their indi-vidual budgets.
Finance Director Bibi Taylor saidthe sheriff and surrogate are constitu-tional offices while the two boardsare independent boards. She said allfall under the 2-percent mandatedcap. She said some of the increasesare needed because of “new equip-ment that we are rolling out.”
“Their budgets have increased morethan 2 percent,” Ms. Taylor said.
Freeholder Chris Hudak asked forMs. Taylor to provide more specificinformation on each of those officebudgets as to why they were exceed-ing the cap.
The board also approved a$100,000 contract with ES&S ofOmaha, Neb., requested by the boardof elections to purchase ballot car-tridge bins, ballot card stock for the“paper trail” for votes cast, resultstape and training days for the county’snew vote tabulation system.
The county has purchased new vot-ing machines starting with the 2019elections. The system was first used
in Westfield this past November.Board of Elections Administrator
Nicole DiRado said the ballot car-tridge bins will cost $18,000, witheach bin costing $95. She said therewas “some jamming” with the newmachines in Westfield last year andthe “process” has been changed toavoid a repeat of that issue. Ms.DiRado said as a precaution she wantsto “be prepared with an extra bin sothat poll workers can just switch it outif there is an issue.” Each voting dis-trict will receive a bin.
She said the ballot card stock “willbe an ongoing expense every year.”Ms. DiRado said a package of 250 forthe card stock costs $26. She said thetraining days portion was added tothe contract to ensure there are“enough resources on the ground fromES&S on Election Day.”
The board also approved a concur-ring resolution with Scotch Plains re-questing that NJ Transit provide a pairof bus stops on Martine Avenue byCountry Club Boulevard in the town-ship. Martine is a county road. TheScotch Plains Township mayor andcouncil approved the bus stops effec-tive February 6.
The freeholders approved a $11.5-million contract with Smith-Sondy As-phalt Construction of Wallington forthe 2019 county road resurfacingproject. Joseph Graziano, director ofengineering, public works and facili-ties management, said design work wasdone last year in advance of the paving.
A $295,296 contract was awardedto Maser Consulting of Red Bank toprovide design and construction ad-ministration and inspection servicesfor the 2020 road resurfacing project.
At the start of the meeting membersof Westfield High School’s ModelUnited Nations Club were congratu-lated on being awarded the Outstand-ing Delegation Award at the annualYMCA Model UN Program confer-ence held in Hershey, Pa.
The YMCA Model UN Program(Y-MUN) serves more than 2,000young people annually across theMid-Atlantic states. The conferenceprovides a simulation of the UNthat highlights the themes of col-laboration, cultural understandingand problem solving that are at thecore of the organization’s real-lifegoals.
The convention helps students de-velop their debate skills and findtheir voice. \ The Westfield HighSchool Model UN program is run inconjunction with the Westfield AreaYMCA.
