3
j a n u a r y 2 0 2 3
C U S T O M
PA I N T
F I N I S H
Transformations
for Your Cabinetry
& Furniture
•
D E S I G N
9 0 8 . 8 3 2 . 6 0 3 2
T E W K S B U R Y
DAYS TO KEEP IN MIND
Sunday January 1 New Year's Day
January 1, 1863: Emancipation Proclamation issued by
President Abraham Lincoln, altered the legal status of over 3.5
million African American slaves from 'enslaved' to 'free'.
Friday January 6 Epiphany
Saturday January 7 Orthodox Christmas
Monday January 9 Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
Monday January 16 Martin Luther King Day
Saturday January 21 World Religion Day
Friday January 27 International Holocaust
Remembrance Day
I begin this year's letter thinking of our former Township
Administrator, Vita Mekovetz. The Township brought Vita
on as Administrator in the fall of 2020, in the middle of the
Covid pandemic and fresh off her retirement from serving as the
Administrator/Clerk in Readington, where she worked for 33 years.
Over the course of just eighteen months here, Vita was able to
help improve the operational efficiency of the Township, helped us
promote the Township's first Chief of Police in fifteen years, hired
a number of new department heads, updated our website, and
brought our personnel policies up to date. Sadly, Vita passed away
on November 20th. I will forever be grateful for her guidance, the
energy she brought to every day, and her patience in dealing with
every challenge that arose. Our thoughts are with her friends and
family at this difficult time.
Looking back at 2022, the Township Council adopted an
ordinance that expands the scope of the Township's waiver of site
plan review, allowing for quicker and less expensive administrative
approvals for applications for minor property improvements in
the Township. This continues our focus on reducing unnecessary
and costly red tape. We also adopted an ordinance that creates
a notification process of upcoming road improvements, paving
and repaving projects to area property owners and utilities, and
prohibits any excavation within roadways for a five year period
following completion of this type of roadwork. The new process
will enable us to ensure the integrity of our newly paved roads.
Speaking of roads, the Township's engineer has completed
the design of the reconstruction of Petticoat Lane from East
Main Street to Route 22 and has obtained NJDOT approvals. We
anticipate going out to bid for this project, which is partially funded
by a grant from the NJDOT, in early 2023 so that the work can be
performed over the summer. Two mill and pave projects planned
for this year, portions of Petticoat and Allerton Roads, have been
pushed into 2023 due to delays with the contractor. These will be
paired with additional mill and pave projects that will be determined
during the 2023 budget process. Thanks to the efforts of
our Engineer and Public Works Director Jay Meixsell,
the Township recently received a grant award from NJDOT for
$278,920 that will enable the Township to repave Regional Road,
likely in 2024 once the design and necessary NJDOT approvals
are completed.
The Annandale Hose Company, in conjunction with the
Township, obtained a $49,000 American Rescue Plan Firefighter
Carol
Beder's
... continued on page4
Can you spot the "2023" on the front cover?
See page 22 for help!
