08.25.09
Millburn Township Commitee Discusses Commuter Parking Deck
From the Independent Press – August 19, 2009 (Written by Patricia C. Kelly)
Millburn explores commuter parking deck
Construction of a commuter parking deck moved one step closer to reality at the Tuesday, Aug. 18, Township Committee session when officials voted to prepare a request for proposals for a parking deck feasibility study.
Committee members want to study the feasibility and cost of putting a parking deck at the current location of parking lot two or seven. Lot two is located at the corner of Essex Street and Lackawanna Place, and Lot seven is located on Glen Avenue.
In one scenario described by Committee member Bob Tillotson, a 400-space deck could cost $8 million to build and would be funded through parking permits which would cost residents $560 to $580 per year. Some additional funding could come through the sale of mixed use retail space in the lot and through federal grant money.
The feasibility study is expected to cost between $12,500 and $17,500. Committee members will vote on whether to move ahead with the study at either of the next two meetings.
Milburn Board of Education Begins Search for New Superintendent
From the Independent Press – August 19, 2009 (Written by Mike Kelly)
Millburn begins superintendent search
The retirement of Superintendent of Schools Richard L. Brodow scheduled for next spring became more tangible Tuesday night. The consulting firm hired to help find Brodow’s successor came before the Board of Education to lay out the search strategy that will span the next ten months.
Judith Ferguson, herself a retired superintendent representing the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, called the process “challenging and exciting” which “hopefully will bring you a rich array of candidates — not only from New Jersey but also from other states as well.”
The process will begin in September with meetings between the consultant and the school board’s superintendent search committee.
During late September and October the firm expects to hold targeted meetings with invited community representatives including school faculty and administrators, PTO and booster groups, municipal government representatives, and various community organizations. These will be followed by at least two open forums with faculty and residents which, by late October, should result in a candidate profile “that will help identify the skill set needed in a new superintendent,” Ferguson said.
A short list of candidates is expected to be presented to the Board of Education for interviews starting in January.
By state law, a Board of Education cannot formally appoint a new superintendent for the coming year until after the board has reorganized for the new school year following the April school elections.
Madison Council Approves Major Cost Increase on Train Station Parking
From the Independent Press – Written by Stacey McEvoy (August 25, 2009)
Madison Council more than doubles daily parking fee at train station lot
The Madison Train Station Parking Lot daily fee for the approximately 70 numbered spaces will rise from $2 to $5 for each 12-hour period from Monday through Saturday, starting Tuesday, Sept. 1.
The ordinance was passed at the Monday, Aug. 24 Borough Council meeting. The monies which will be collected by the Madison Police Department will be used for maintenance and beautification projects at the station, taking the burden away from taxpayers.
The crescent parking lot, off of Kings Road between Green Avenue and Prospect Street, is leased from New Jersey Transit for $1,500 a month. The lot is free on Sundays and after 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday
The council also awarded a $65,842 contract to Landscape Maintenance Services of Hillsborough, the lowest qualified bidder, to do landscape work at the train station site beginning in September. The money for this project will be reimbursed to the borough from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Ten years ago, the borough was awarded a $100,000 grant. Should the need arise for more landscaping work in the future, the borough has some leeway to ask for the $35,000 balance. Landscape Maintenance Services is also working on the Dodge Field renovation which is set to begin in the fall.
08.18.09
Local Restaurants Mendhi, Copeland Featured as Top 25 Restaurants in NJ Monthly Magazine
Congratulations are in order for local restaurants Mendhi and Copeland for being featured in NJ Monthly Magazine’s annual list of the 25 Best Restaurants in New Jersey 2009.
Copeland, located in the Westin Hotel in Morristown, features New American Cuisine. Here is what NJ Monthly Magazine had to say about it:
In Europe, hotels often harbor great restaurants. Here, not so much. Copeland is the exception, thanks to executive chef Thomas Ciszak. Born and trained in Germany, he came into his own at the Manor in West Orange before opening Copeland in the Westin Governor Morris Hotel in 2005. As befits a hotel restaurant, Copeland does it all: breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch, tasting menu. A $23 three-course lunch is a great way to experience such rewarding Ciszak dishes as a ravishingly good chicken paillard with English peas, morels, white asparagus, and sorrel pesto. 2 Whippany Rd, 973-451-2619, copelandrestaurant.com
Westin Washington Headquarters Morristown
In addition, Menhdi Restaurant located adjacent to the Hyatt Hotel in Headquarters Plaza in Morristown received recognition as one of the best of the best:
“Hospitality isn’t something you can be taught by the book,” says Shaun Mehtani. (Don’t tell them at hotel management school.) You can’t really blame him for cockiness; he’s only 25, but already vice president of operations for his family’s company, which operates six Indian and Pan-Asian restaurants in the state, including Mehndi, the sophisticated flagship. And he did, in fact, grow up in the business (His mother, Sneh, and father, Satish, opened their first restaurant six days after he was born.)
Mehtani, who is working on a Dartmouth MBA, was the driving force behind the 2007 opening of Mehndi and its two adjoining sister restaurants. At Mehndi, Chef Munish Sharma’s menu is rich in authentic Mughlai and Punjab cooking. Parda biryani, for example, is a cosseting Mughlai casserole of tender goat and basmati rice with saffron, cinnamon, clove, mint, green chili, and coriander paste, capped with a savory crust and steamed in the oven. A waiter opens the crust tableside, releasing the heady fragrances. 88 Headquarters Plaza, 973-871-2323, mehtanirestaurantgroup.com
In addition to these to great restaurants, the magazine also included their 26th Annual Readers Choice Restaurant Poll. Numerous local restaurants in various categories won for the Northern region of the state including:
Southeast Asia/Thai- Origin, Morristown
Japanese- Sushi Lounge, Morristown
New Restaurant- Bona Vita Osteria, Summit
Steak- Rod’s Steak & Seafood, Morristown
Bang for the Buck- Bona Vita Osteria, Summit
Soup/Salad/Sandwiches- C’est Cheese, Morristown (critic’s choice)
Deli- Kosher Style – Millburn Deli, Millburn
Burger- Copeland, Morristown (critic’s choice)
Barbeque- Pop’s, Madison (now closed)
For more about these great restaurants check out:
http://njmonthly.com/articles/restaurants/25-best-restaurants-2009.html
08.17.09
By the Numbers
4
The number of new one million dollar plus listings that came on the market this past week. 3 new luxury listings came on in Millburn and one in Madison.
Millburn School District Reviewing Bids for Security Cameras
From the Star Ledger – August 13, 2009 (Written by Richard Khavkine)
School in Millburn to install security cameras
Millburn High School students could be on camera as early as this school year.
The school district has budgeted about $100,000 to purchase surveillance equipment to be installed both inside and outside the nearly 1,400-student campus and began reviewing project bids this week.
Patricia Balko, the district’s interim business administrator, said the security initiative would probably be extended to other schools as funds become available.
“It’s just part of our overall strategy of ensuring the safety of students, employees, visitors to district schools,” she said.
Balko said the surveillance apparatus was included in plans for the recently-completed high school addition.
“Since we had some (leftover) funds, we decided to extend it to the rest of the high school,” she said.
Balko said she expects the project to come in under budget.
Board president Noreen Brunini said the initiative was not tied to any single potential threat or incident either in the district or at the high school, which is consistently rated among the state’s best.
“Every high school has basically the same concerns and we are no different. It is just, unfortunately, a sign of the times,” she said. “In this day and age, I think security is paramount.”
Brunini, however, declined to address whether the installation of the surveillance cameras might have been precipitated by a high-profile incident in January during which a high school student allegedly beat another student with a baseball bat in the school’s parking lot.
High schools in the nearby districts of Livingston and South Orange-Maplewood already have surveillance cameras in place. Livingston’s will become operational for the first time this school year. In South Orange-Maplewood, cameras have been mounted at Columbia High School and both the district’s middle schools for several years.
“It’s more for their protection than anything else in the event that there should be, God forbid, some incident. So really it’s for their protection,” Brunini said. “All things considered, I think it is the better course of action.”
The school board is scheduled on Aug. 18 to discuss the bids to supply the camera system.
08.13.09
Summit’s Downtown Parking Garage Renovations Near Completion
From the Independent Press – August 13, 2009 (Written by Elizabeth Keill)
Summit's Maple Street parking deck
Work nearly done in downtown Summit tiered parking garage
The downtown tier garage rehabilitation project is almost complete, according to Parking Services Manager Rita McNany.
“Even with the rain, the project has moved right along,” McNany said of the $1.75 million project. The 431-space, five story garage was built 40 years ago. “With concrete, the more you postpone work, the worse it gets,” she said.
Repair work began at the beginning of July and is expected to be completed by Labor Day weekend. As of August 11, the top three levels were finished and are open for parking for Summit downtown employees.
During Aug. 12 and 13, the final stages of the first and second levels were taking place, which includes power washing, coating and restriping. During this phase, some lanes on levels one and two remained drivable, with some available spaces. The third and fifth levels continued to have plenty of parking, according to McNany.
The stairwell near Maple Street is complete, while the stairwell next to the elevator continues to undergo repairs. The final stage is re-milling, repaving and striping of the ground level, to include: from the entrance off of Maple Street including the city’s leased spaces; the alleyway to the main entrance off of Springfield Avenue; the entire ground level of the garage, which is designated for customer parking.
The last step will require the closing of all of the spaces on the ground level for most of two days. The work will be done as close to Labor Day, McNany said, with the goal of the least amount of disruption. Nearby businesses will be notified once a date is secured.
McNany said the Parking Services Agency appreciates everyone’s cooperation during construction. While it is difficult to maintain usage of a garage while it is under repairs, she said, she hopes any inconveniences have been minor.
“It looks terrific,” McNany said of the improved appearance of the garage.
“Take the Pledge” to Shop in Madison
From the Independent Press – August 12, 2009
Downtown Madison
Take the Pledge to shop in Madison and support local retailers
Madison’s Main Street Executive Director Jim Burnet is urging everyone to “Take the Pledge” and support local merchants. There’s even a special I Love Madison page to sign on to the shopping pledge here: ilovemadisonnj.org/
While there, check out the latest news about downtown Madison.
And, don’t forget the concert series on the lawn of the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, when Off the Record, Bob Rocco’s Rock Band will play.
Chatham, Summit, New Providence Agree to Share Dept. of Public Works Services
From the Daily Record – August 12, 2009 (Written by Jake Remaly)
Chatham to share DPW equipment, workers with Summit, New Providence
Summit has used Chatham’s sewer inspection and cleaning equipment as emergency backups.
And two years ago, Chatham borrowed Summit’s paving box to pave the borough’s public works yard, said Robert Venezia, Chatham’s director of Public Works. Summit’s public garage is directly across the Passaic River from Chatham, in Union County.
“We’ve always shared equipment, labor and vehicles informally for the past 25 years, between all the surrounding towns here,” Venezia said.
But as of Tuesday morning, the deal is in writing for three of those towns. An agreement among the public works departments of Summit, New Providence and Chatham was signed by Chatham Mayor V. Nelson Vaughan III on Tuesday morning, and Summit and New Providence also have signed on.
Vaughan said the agreement could result in long-term savings by keeping towns from purchasing expensive, specialized equipment, and paying to train employees to use it. And when new equipment is needed, towns could purchase the equipment together.
“I think that’s the way New Jersey is going,” Vaughan said, noting a state push toward shared services.
He said it was difficult to estimate how much money would be saved.
The participating towns have inventories of each other’s public works equipment. If they want to borrow someone’s equipment, they e-mail a request. A credit bank will keep track of usage to make sure equipment is being used fairly; municipalities will use credits to borrow equipment and gain credits when they lend equipment.
Chatham Council President Joseph Mikulewicz, who chairs the Shared Services Committee and is a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, said the credit bank is a major advantage because it means the borough doesn’t need to lay out cash every time it rents or purchases equipment.
Chatham will manage the credit bank.
Mikulewicz said that once the towns start working together, joint purchases could come next.
“As towns get coordinated, maybe we want to get all three towns to buy together,” Mikulewicz said. “Then we’d save all three towns money, which would be great.”
