Amanda Gant pins a boutonnière to the jacket of her husband, Jim, prior to his swearing-in as borough manager Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Billy Portman sketched out plans for an “amazing” makeover of Marine Park at the annual borough government reorganization Monday.
He also painted a rosy economic picture for 2024 at the half-hour, conflict-free ceremony on New Year’s Day.
Here are some of the highlights:
Mayor Billy Portman, above, and fire Chief Bobby Holiday, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
• Portman, beginning his second year as mayor, outlined plans for the coming year, which include relocating the parking lot in Marine Park to the former site of tennis courts and “greening in” the existing lot.
“This is going to be amazing,” he said. “We’re going to have this massive green space along the river for community events. We’re going to have concerts down there, just a place to go have a picnic along the river. We’ve always had a problem in Red Bank of fully utilizing our riverfront, so hopefully this will go a long way toward fixing it.”
Portman also spoke about plans for “a full rebuild” of the deteriorated public works facility on Chestnut Street; completing the replacement of lead water lines on the West Side and beginning test-pit and replacement work on the east; and “implementing Complete Streets.”
“Obviously, we’re going to have to borrow a big chunk of money to complete these projects that are long overdue,” Portman said. “The good news is our current debt service is extremely low, and we’ll also have additional revenue streams coming in 2024,” following a recent boost in fees paid by developers; retail cannabis tax income; and parking revenue, “which hit an all-time high in 2022, was even higher in 2023, and we believe that trend will continue into 2024,” he said.
Portman also announced the borough will be getting $2.4 million from the State of New Jersey to buy six electric vehicles and install six EV chargers for municipal use. “It’s not going to cost us anything,” he said.
• With appointments, the council restarted the Historic Preservation Commission, the lone advisory board that was not immediately reconstituted in July.
Appointed to join returning members Gary Saphire and Paul Cagno were Louis Almerini, Marjorie Cavalier and Liam Collins. Karen Schmelzkopf and Doug Miller were named alternates.
Portman said the council plans to expand the commission by two seats.
A new historic preservation ordinance is expected to be introduced at the council’s first regular meeting of the year on January 11, said Councilwoman Kristina Bonatakis.
• Bobby Holiday was sworn in as 2024 chief of the volunteer fire department. He succeeds Wayne Hartman.
A supervisor in the borough’s public utilities department, Holiday has commanded the fire department twice before, in 1997 and 2021. Along with his brother Joe, he also represents the third generation of his family to serve in the fire department.
Holiday issued a call for new volunteers, and said the department would be amping up its recruitment efforts this year.
Also sworn in were first deputy chief Frank Woods and second deputy Mike Welsh.
• New borough Manager Jim Gant was on the dais for the first time, following his swearing-in. He did not speak during the meeting.
• Gant succeeds police Chief Darren McConnell, who held the top administrative job on an interim basis for the two and a half years preceding Gant’s hire.
McConnell’s pending plan to retire from the police department has been held up by a complaint filed by Police Benevolent Local 39 with the New Jersey Attorney General in July. McConnell told redbankgreen after the meeting that he has yet to hear from the AG’s office about the matter.
• Councilwoman Kate Triggiano was elected deputy mayor, a ceremonial post she assumed in July.
Here’s the full list of appointees and resolutions.
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