2019 Mayor’s Message, January 1, 2019

Mayor Jonathan M. Busch

Happy new year and thank you to everyone who took time out of their holiday to be here with us
today. Congratulations to Councilwoman Sheri-Rose Rubin who returns to this Council after a
seven-year hiatus. Also, congratulations to Councilman Jason Delia whom we are extremely
fortunate to have join this body.

Police officers, attorneys, notaries, officers of clubs and organizations, all get sworn-in to office
in accordance with each of these position’s respective legal requirements. However, the oath
that Congressman Pallone just administered to Councilwoman Rubin, Councilman Delia and to
me, holds us accountable in a different way in that our oath was administered “under the
authority of the people.” This last line of our oath is significant in that it describes that we are
accountable to the residents whom we serve. Mayor William Thornall, Metuchen’s first Mayor,
first took office on May 8, 1900 a week after being elected in the Borough’s first election, and he
too took that same oath. According to news reports during that Spring of 1900, Mayor Thornall
and the first Members of the Borough Council faced concerns related to streets, water, lighting,
services to the poor, and the need to establish finance ordinances. The needs of the Borough
are obviously much different today than they were then, but our common oath requires that we
address the concerns before us “to the best of our ability.” In this regard, the best for Metuchen
in 2019 requires that we continue to focus on 1) expanding our park and recreation spaces; 2)
enhancing our downtown; 3) increasing pedestrian safety; and 4) maintaining the character of
our neighborhoods.

On this day last year, I had been appointed by the Borough Council to fill the Mayoral vacancy
just 14 days earlier. During my first Mayor’s Message, the Council Members and I outlined a
long list of goals for 2018, which fell mostly within those same focus areas. While we were
excited for the year ahead, our list of projects felt daunting. Looking back, it is incredible to see
how much we have accomplished in just one year together and today, I would like to highlight
those accomplishments in the context of addressing our expansive plans for the upcoming year.

1. Expanding Park and Recreation Spaces

The Borough continues to make significant strides with respect to its efforts related to park and
recreation spaces. By the end of the month, the Borough will have completed the renovation of
its second neighborhood park in two years. The “new” Kentnor Park will feature a brand new
play structure with a padded safety surface, a winding wooded walking path, and a half-court
basketball court. In the year ahead, we will be looking into the possibility of renovating or
creating additional park spaces in the Borough. One idea is for us to eventually establish a
small-scale open space, also known as a pocket park, in or around our downtown. Construction
of a pocket park would allow us to create an inviting, comfortable and accessible space for
members of our community to enjoy and socialize with one another in the midst of our
downtown area.
Those of you who play tennis are well aware of the poor condition of the tennis courts at
Oakland Park. We are pleased to announce that in the upcoming year, we will be resurfacing
the courts so that residents ​and our high school athletes ​can once again enjoy a match
unimpeded by uneven surface, cracks and crumbling pavement.

Speaking of sports, the increasing demand of youth and adult field sports throughout the
Borough has led us to continue to look for ways to optimize field usage throughout the Borough.
This year, the Borough will be engaging our engineer to conduct a Field Usage Optimization
Study to see how all of our fields can be used more efficiently and modified for more fields, if
necessary.

Additionally, we will continue to advocate that Conrail release the undeveloped portion of the
Greenway, on the other side of Route 27, to Middlesex County and look forward to a time when
residents will be able use this side of the Greenway to access the wondrous Dismal Swamp.
The Dismal Swamp is a 650 acre wetland ecosystem where residents will eventually be able to
hike, fish, mountain bike, bird watch, and even kayak. We continue to work with the Borough’s
Environmental Commission and the State Department of Environmental Protection to hold
industries with property in the Dismal Swamp area accountable for their environmental cleanup
responsibilities.

2. Enhancing Our Downtown

We have had an incredibly productive year with respect to the enhancement of our downtown.
Nearly all of the sidewalks on Main Street between 27 and the train trestle were replaced with
monies received from a Department of Transportation Transit Village Grant. The replacement of
these sidewalks allowed us to add much needed accessible parking spaces on Main Street.
This year, we will be adding accessible parking spaces to our Parking Authority lots as well.

New meters were installed this fall and currently have the ability to accept coin and credit card
payments and by the end of February, the new meters will also accept smartphone payments.

As most of you have surely noticed by now, we have also implemented a new signage and
wayfinding system throughout the Borough. The system includes vehicular directional signs,
map kiosk, and gateway signage welcoming cars and pedestrians to the Borough at locations
such as Rt. 27, Amboy, Central, and South Main. Now that this system has been rolled out, our
plan is to remove duplicative and out-of-date signs from throughout the Borough in the weeks to
come.

Our town Plaza, which opened just one year ago yesterday, is a versatile focal point for our
community. The Plaza has become the new location for our Farmer’s Market and has hosted
events like movies under the stars, swing dancing, artisan fairs, and giant celebrations like the
one we had just two nights ago to celebrate the New Year. It served as the new launching point
for Metuchen Baseball and Softball’s annual opening day parade and even hosted professional
wrestling! Events like these have brought thousands of people from in and around the Borough
to our downtown which, IS THRIVING! Let’s look at the statistics: a total of 86 new businesses
have opened since May 2016, with 27 of those 86 opening in 2018. Less than two years ago,
Metuchen’s downtown vacancy rate rose to as high as 20 percent but as of today, only six
percent of our downtown properties are vacant and, residents can expect to see NEW
businesses opening in the weeks and months to come like Dean’s Juice Bar, Wood Stack
Pizza, Olive Press Eatery, Awesomeyo Cakes, Creative Twists Events, Be My Guest Catering,
and Burgerim. I am very proud to say that when I travel around the State, there is a buzz about
Metuchen and there is no doubt that our recent strides and successes in building our downtown
have played a big part in fostering this impression.

Of course, we cannot discuss the enhancement of our downtown without mentioning the new
Metuchen Arts District. Thanks to a $3.5 million grant, the largest ever given by the Middlesex
County Board of Chosen Freeholders to Metuchen, we took the first steps toward the
preservation and restoration of the historic, Forum Theatre and acquisition of the former gas
station on the corner of Amboy and Main. Creating the Metuchen Arts District gives us a unique
opportunity to reactivate one of the few remaining historic theaters in Middlesex County as a
venue that can contribute to Middlesex County's focus on the arts by featuring all types of
shows, concerts, comedy, movies, community theatre, and family programming. Additionally,
the proximity of the abandoned gas station to the Forum Theatre provides an opportunity for us
to further expand and create an arts and cultural hub which can include a multi-use,
indoor/outdoor, all weather space that connects to the theatre. The establishment of the
Metuchen Arts District will ensure that the Forum Theatre can be enjoyed by residents for years
to come.

3. Increasing Pedestrian Safety

Over the last year, we have taken significant steps to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety
throughout the Borough. We followed the recommendations of the Borough’s Traffic and
Transportation Committee, and successfully re-striped the crosswalks ​on Grove Avenue near
the High School and added signage and bump outs. We were also successful in having the
State and County officials paint sharrows on two of our most significant arteries in Route 27 and
Amboy. Also, if you have noticed an uptick in neon green bike riders, that’s because earlier this
year, we became the third town in New Jersey to welcome the dockless bike share program
called Limebike. On any given day, people on neon green bikes can be seen traveling to and
from the train station, up and down the greenway, to their homes, or anywhere for that matter.

And speaking of bike riding, it is wonderful to see so many Borough kids riding their bikes to
school and using their bikes as a means of transportation around town. However, many of us
are concerned that we have observed so many of them riding without helmets. Having teenage
boys of my own, I recognize that it may not always feel “cool” to wear a helmet and helmets may
even “mess up hair” but we have been looking for ways help the kids realize how important it is
to protect themselves. As a result, we have decided to work with our schools to implement a
youth bike helmet safety program intended to educate our kids on the importance of wearing
helmets and the safety risks of not doing so. It is our hope that this effort contributes toward an
overall culture change and we begin to see more helmets around town.

The Borough’s Traffic and Transportation committee will continue to look for ways to implement
some of the features of the Borough’s 2016 bike and pedestrian plan, including, the possibility of
installing bike lanes on Grove Avenue which is a Borough owned road, giving us the authority
and ability to establish bike lanes there. A bike lane on Grove Avenue would serve two
purposes - obviously, it would be a great way for bicyclists to get from one place to another in a
safer way but it could also go a long way toward showing the State and County that bike lanes
can be successful in Metuchen. Perhaps, eventually, the County and State would agree to
establish bike lanes on State and County roads like Main, Amboy and Middlesex. Additionally,
with the help of the County, we hope to finally lower the speed limit on County roads in
Metuchen, which would lower the entire Borough to 25 miles per hour.

After receiving a federal Safe Routes to Schools grant, we have focused our efforts on working
with the Department of Transportation to build flashing crosswalk signals at five key locations
throughout the Borough: Grove and Christol, Main and High, Main and Brunswick, Central and
Liberty, and Middlesex and Oak. Over the course of the last year, we have made significant
headway in this effort and, with any luck, we will be going out to bid to hire a contractor by the
end of this winter to perform this work.

Our police department has determined that idling cars in front of our train station, especially on
the southbound side, have contributed toward at least some portion of the terrible rush hour
congestion that so many of us experience on Main Street. As a result, over the last couple of
weeks, we have stepped-up our enforcement efforts to ensure that cars do not stop in the
middle of the road at the Station.

In the upcoming year, the Borough’s Traffic and Transportation Committee will study the
possibility of returning the Jitney to Metuchen. The Jitney was a great way for commuters to get
to and from our train station but it was discontinued a couple of years ago for budget
considerations. To the extent that residents are interested in returning the Jitney, perhaps there
is a for-profit shuttle service company which might consider establishing routes that work for
both residents and any possible service providers.

4. Maintaining the Character of Our Neighborhoods

We are committed to maintaining the diverse character of Metuchen’s historic neighborhoods.

We are considering adopting a series of zoning ordinances to ensure that developers of new
homes build structures that are consistent with the character of our neighborhoods. In doing so,
the Borough would be sending a message: ​If you want to build a house in Metuchen, it must
reflect the spirit of the neighborhood in which it is being built. These ordinances would establish
a Form Based Code that would address issues like lot coverage, floor area, building height,
basement height, and discharge of groundwater.

Over the course of the last year, we have increased enforcement of our property maintenance
ordinance which establishes a minimum standard for the upkeep of residential properties. In
response to resident concerns, in 2018, the Borough’s Zoning Office ​doubled the number of
violation citations issued to homeowners who failed to maintain their properties. In the upcoming
year, we expect to continue our heightened enforcement to ensure that homeowners do their
part to keep up their neighborhoods.

We have been working closely with our Borough Planner to update the historic preservation
element of our Master Plan. The update will allow our Borough’s Historic Preservation
Committee to identify and take inventory of the historic districts and structures throughout
Metuchen and make a variety of recommendations based upon its findings. We expect that it
will be finalized shortly so that it can be presented to the Borough Council in early 2019.

Though we have advocated for the preservation of historic buildings throughout the Borough,
we continue to lose some of these structures. According to State estimates, approximately 20 to
30 percent of municipalities in New Jersey have some sort of historic preservation ordinance.
Some communities have avoided these types of ordinances because they can have an impact
on the ability of homeowners to improve their properties. In the upcoming year, we expect to
work with the Borough's Historic Preservation Committee to host a public meeting to consider
whether or not we should adopt a carefully crafted ordinance that does the most we can to help
protect Metuchen's most significant historic structures but also permits homeowners to enhance
their homes.

We are in the midst of discussing the possibility of a first of its kind realtor certificate program
that would offer local realtors the opportunity to be educated in historic buildings and
preservation. Completion of this course by a realtor, would identify him or her as a specialist in
the buying and selling of historic homes in Metuchen. This effort could help match individuals
who may be in the market for a historic home with a designated realtor who can help them find
one and could be another way to be proactive in protecting some of our historic homes.

One of the most important features of a neighborhood’s infrastructure is its roads which is why,
this past summer, we sent a dedicated Department of Public Works crew around the Borough
with its new Falcon Asphalt Recycler and Hot Box. By the end of the summer, this crew was
dispatched to patch-up every known pothole in the Borough.

Of course, pothole repairs are temporary and the question of whether or not to re-pave a road
for a more permanent but expensive fix always creates tough choices for the Borough like:
When is the optimal time to fix a road? How do we track the condition of each road? Are there
alternatives? What is the cost-benefit for each alternative? At what point do you get the most
“bang for your buck” and why one road over another?

To help answer those questions, this year, we will consider implementing a Pavement
Management System in conjunction with town’s engineer and the Department of Public Works.
This system would define a set of procedures for collecting, analyzing, maintaining, and
reporting pavement condition data; using the data collected to help find optimum strategies for
maintaining pavements; and determining the best means for keeping pavement in serviceable
condition over a given period of time, and for the least amount of cost to the Borough. While
some residents may believe that our limited road repair resources should be allocated to their
road, a pavement management system would turn subjective impressions into objective data.

5. General Governing Improvements

We have been and remain committed to making Borough government as accessible to

residents as possible. I host open office hours on a weekly basis. Doing so has allowed me to
discuss a wide range of issues with countless residents. Council Members will continue to host
open coffees and meetings with residents at different points throughout the year, as well. Being
accessible also forces us to be responsive. As such, we will soon be revamping the Borough’s
website to make it as user-friendly as possible. The new website will post all public notices in a
prominent, easy to find, place so that residents will have this and other important information at
their fingertips.

As many of you who follow social media must now realize, we have made a specific effort to
increase our social media presence because we recognize that many residents no longer rely
on cable television as a primary media source. The reality of diminished reliance on cable
television has caused us to rethink the way we deliver information to our residents and led us to
hire a Director of Communications and Multimedia. In further recognition of the differences in
the way our residents receive their information, we now broadcast all of our Council meetings
live ​on four different media ​platforms: 1) cable television; 2) streaming on the Borough’s
website; 3) Facebook Live; and 4) You Tube Live. To further reflect this shift, we are pleased to
announce that we will be reinventing MeTV.

[PLAYED VIDEO INTRODUCING METUCHEN MEDIA]

From now on, MeTV will be known as Metuchen Media and while we will continue to broadcast
on Cablevision channel 15, the operations of the entity has shifted to reflect the way residents
now receive information.

a. Environmentally Efficiency

This year, we will be re-establishing Metuchen’s Green Team for the purpose of assisting the
Borough with its Sustainable Jersey certification category. Sustainable Jersey is a certification
program for municipalities in ​New Jersey that helps towns like ours support community efforts to
reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental equity. While
Metuchen is currently Bronze Certified by Sustainable Jersey, nearby towns like Highland Park,
Woodbridge and Monroe are Silver Certified so, ​we can do better! The Green Team will be
charged with reducing our municipal footprint, making municipal facilities more energy efficient,
and incentivizing our businesses to work in more environmentally friendly ways. As part of this
effort we may, for example, investigate the idea of eventually replacing aging Borough vehicles
with electric ones. A higher Sustainable Jersey certification could eventually help the Borough
save resources, render us eligible for previously unattainable grants, and improve our efforts to
be an environmentally responsible borough.

b. Economic Efficiency

We are focused on continuing to help the Borough become as economically efficient as

possible. We hired a professional grant writer to help the Borough and community organizations
search and apply for grant opportunities and our grant writer has already helped us identify
several opportunities about which we may not have known. We have also hired a new risk
management consultant to help us manage our risks and lower our costs. For example, at this
very meeting, the Council will be voting on a change in our liability insurance carrier at a
reduced cost from that which our prior carrier would have charged. Additionally, we are currently
looking into the possibility of engaging in shared service arrangements with other public entities
in the area, possibly even our own Board of Education, with the idea of continuing to search for
savings in any way possible.

c. Borough facilities

With respect to Borough facilities, we have become aware that our beloved library is in dire
need of renovations. The New Jersey State Library Grant program rules are expected to be
announced this Spring and we expect to be working with our library staff, as well as our grant
writer, to pursue accessing any possible funding that could be used toward renovations.

As promised, we have taken the broadest steps yet this past year toward the construction of a
new firehouse. Last Spring, the Borough hired an architect to assess the needs and
requirements of any new facility, which included the possibility of combining the firehouse into a
public safety community center. In the coming year, we will continue to work on the key
considerations necessary with our various community stakeholders.

Two thousand and eighteen was an incredible year for the borough of Metuchen in great part
due to the dedicated work of many, not just Borough employees and elected officials. This
Borough runs because of the commitment and hard work of dedicated volunteers, business
owners, religious leaders, and residents. Metuchen does not run itself. Rather, the success of
our Borough is a direct result of the energy, vibrancy, and innovation emanating from the
passion of the people who love this place. As the Councilmembers and I move forward “under
the authority of the people,” I have no doubt that Metuchen will continue to leap forward through
our continued work together as a community of devoted. So, let’s keep going!

Thank you and happy new year, Metuchen!