The Senior Center occupies a stand-alone building on Shrewsbury Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council moved to jumpstart repairs to water-damaged Senior Center Wednesday night, one day after a recommendation by the Redevelopment Agency that it do so.
But even enroute to a unanimous vote, the measure churned up bitterness among the all-Democratic governing body.
The backyard of the mothballed Senior Center overlooking the upper Navesink River. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal to repair Red Bank’s mothballed Senior Center without adding any new facilities won a Redevelopment Agency endorsement Tuesday evening.
The action could defuse one of the hottest issues in a contested Democratic race for two council seats just six weeks before a primary vote.
The tooth-shaped sign is used as a reference by locals when giving out driving directions. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
In less than half the time recommended for a good brushing, Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission OK’d the replacement of a dentist’s tooth-shaped sign Wednesday night.
26 West on the Navesink, above, and the nameless restaurant planned for 3-5 Broad Street, below, hope to install garage-style openings. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two downtown Red Bank restaurants will seek permission to install garage-style front doors when the Historic Preservation Commission meets Wednesday night.
Also on the unusually busy agenda for the advisory body: a dentist needs a tooth pulled.
A rendering shows the window clings that will cover one side of the vestibule of the new Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. (Image by South Shore Sign Company. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With filmmaker Kevin Smith deploying some characteristically colorful language, Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission endorsed splashy signage at the new home of Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash Wednesday night.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith is in the process of relocating his store to 65 Broad Street, seen above in 2014. Below, illustrations filed with the HPC application. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission is slated to review plans for signage on three Broad Street businesses Wednesday night: a new pizzeria, a new juice bar, and the new home of Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
Councilwoman Susan Sorensen working a booth at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair in 2013. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A divided council cleared financing to advance plans for new police and public works facilities in Fair Haven Monday night.
At its final session of 2020, the council also extended the employment of Theresa Casagrande as borough administrator and bid goodbye to Councilwoman Susan Sorensen.
The approval allows an upward expansion of the existing structure, seen below. (Rendering by Anthony Conduouris; photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A one-story dance studio in Fair Haven is set to make a grand jeté to a second floor following zoning board approval Thursday night.
Board Chairman Todd Lehder praised the Kick Dance Studios plan as a harbinger of the borough’s future. He was also the only board member to vote against it.
A plan for bike lanes would advance with a parking ban on the north side of River Road between Lake Avenue and Hance Road. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Parking, borough facilities and more will keep Fair Haven’s elected officials busy on their Zoom session Tuesday night.
Also on the agenda: a plan to terminate an “interlocal services” agreement under which Fair Haven disposes of Rumson’s collected yard brush.
Borough hall remains closed for public meetings to limit the spread of COVID-19, so the council will again meet via Zoom. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Missing, once again, from the agenda for the Red Bank council session Wednesday are dueling versions of a resolution calling for an investigation.
Boat Club Court, seen from Union Street, would become a one-way uphill toward West Front Street, but remain a two-way for a short stretch in the other direction. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A steep and narrow road serving Red Bank’s Marine Park and two Navesink River clubs would become a partial one-way street under an ordinance up for consideration by the borough council this week.
The council won’t renew the lease on the snack stand at Riverside Gardens Park under a measure on Wednesday’s agenda. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After several years as a seasonal commercial operation, the concession stand in Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens Park has proven to be a fiscal dud.
So suggests a proposal to nix an extension of the soon-to-expire lease on the building. That, along with an ordinance tightening up the property maintenance law governing lawns and window screens, is among the items of interest up for consider at for the council’s regular session Wednesday.
Here’s a quick rundown.
A proposed study is expected to track traffic at 19 downtown intersections, including Broad and West Front streets, above. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A study of downtown traffic is up for discussion at the Red Bank council’s workshop session Wednesday evening.
The data to be gathered is expected to be useful for future parking, pedestrian and other initiatives, borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady tells redbankgreen.
Commissioner Megan Massey pressed agency manager Ken DeRoberts on differences in prices quoted for a contract. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s new Redevelopment Agency began doling out work to professionals Tueday, and one member immediately tapped the brakes on spending.
At its monthly meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Megan Massey signaled a reluctance to approve a contract that had been recommended by the agency’s manager.
A ban on single-use plastic bags will go into effect in September, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank stores will be barred from giving customers plastic bags and styrofoam food containers under an ordinance adopted by the council Wednesday night.
The ban was approved without any opposition voiced, though supermarket executive lamented that such laws are being adopted town-by-town, rather than at the state level.
Borough officials will try to come up with a “reasonable” alternative to the aborted plan, said Mayor Menna. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council has scrapped a plan to implement alternate-side parking that found little public support.
At its regular meeting Wednesday night, the council voted to kill an already-introduced ordinance that would have mandated the parked-car switcheroo on a weekly basis, in conjunction with more frequent street sweeping.
Wilson Beebe recommended some tweaks to the agency’s statement of goals and objectives. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Still taking small steps, Red Bank’s new Redevelopment Agency advanced on its goal of giving municipal properties some long-overdue attention Tuesday.
In a 20-minute meeting, agency members agreed to begin the process of assessing the condition of borough real estate holdings.
Single-use plastic bags and more would be banned under an ordinance up for introduction. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council has street-sweeping, green roofs, single-use plastics and cranes on its plate when it meets this week for its only regular meeting of July.
Here are some of the expected highlights: Read More
Work on the primary school emergency access road, seen here from Locust Avenue, is nearly complete. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
While most of America is cracking open its first cold beverages of the July 4 holiday Wednesday evening, the Red Bank council plans to hold a workshop session.
Yep.
Among the ideas the committee may take up: the possible sale of borough hall, above, at 90 Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A new municipal body with the potential to exert powerful influence on the future of Red Bank quietly took to the stage Tuesday.
Not quite the hottest ticket in town, the late-afternoon session of the new Redevelopment Agency drew an audience of three: two advisory committee members, who left early, and a reporter. But the ideas being floated, including the possible sale of borough hall, could soon move to the spotlight.
The track at Count Basie Fields would be replaced under a plan up for adoption by the council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed alternate-side parking ordinance is up for consideration at the Red Bank council’s only regular session this month.
Also on the agenda as the council moves into its summer meeting schedule: taxes, a new track for Count Basie Fields, the settlement of a disputed records request and more. Read More
Government consultant Ken DeRoberts will manage the agency. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council approved two of its own members and five other residents to constitute a new borough redevelopment agency Wednesday night.
The council is looking for Green Acres grants to make improvements to Riverside Gardens Park, above, and Bellhaven Natural Area, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Appointments to a new redevelopment agency and grants for improvements to two parks highlight a relatively quiet lineup for the Red Bank council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
Business Administrator Ziad Shehady in December, above. Below, the council plans to advance plans for the redevelopment of the former VNA headquarters at 176 Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A report on a claim of workplace discrimination and a step toward the building of what could become one of Red Bank’s largest residential projects are on the borough council’s agenda for Wednesday night.
Emanuel Court would be closed to vehicular traffic under a change up for introduction Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The creation of a redevelopment agency for Red Bank is among the items on the borough council’s agenda Wednesday night.
Also up for consideration at the semimonthly meeting: a smoking ban, and the closing of a driveway onto a busy street.