RED BANK: PARK WORK STARTS WITH MISHAP
A backhoe en route to start work on a park makeover project tipped off a trailer in Red Bank Wednesday morning.
RED BANK: COUNCIL VOWS HPC RESTART
Historic Preservation Commission attorney Michele Donato addressing the council Thursday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission will be reconstituted, Mayor Billy Portman and other council members informally agreed Thursday night.
But the council will first have to adopt design standards to establish which types of renovation work require HPC perusal and which can be fast-tracked, Portman said.
RED BANK: PRESERVATION PANEL ON AGENDA
Historic Preservation Commission attorney Michele Donato, left, with Chairman Chris Fabricant in March. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The future of Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission may come into focus when the borough council meets Thursday night.
Also on the agenda: proposed height limits on new construction along the Navesink River waterfront, and the settlement of a lawsuit over a parking lot issue. More →
RED BANK: ‘CLINICIAN’ ON COUNCIL AGENDA
A resolution calls for using grant money to pay for a police department social worker. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
An idea “spitballed” at the new Red Bank council’s first business session last month is up for adoption Thursday night: adding a “clinician” to the police department.
Here’s a quick overview of the agenda.
RED BANK: COUNCIL TURNS TO CODE REWRITE
Revisions to the borough code include granting wide latitude to the new position of municipal manager. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
See CORRECTION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Just over a month into a new form of government, Red Bank’s council is expected to get down to the nuts-and-bolts of erasing its predecessor: the “borough” structure.
RED BANK: COUNCIL TO TAKE AIM AT GRAFFITI
Borough attorney Greg Cannon, right, with interim Administrator and police Chief Darren McConnell, will draft proposed new laws to limit graffiti. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
See CLARIFICATION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s mayor and council are planning measures they hope will counter an increase in graffiti around town.
Here are some highlights from last Thursday’s semimonthly meeting.
RED BANK: FRAZEE TO BECOME POLICE CHIEF
Captain Mike Frazee, left, at an incident with Chief Darren McConnell (back to camera) in April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank-born-and-raised police Captain Mike Frazee will become the borough’s next police chief, succeeding Darren McConnell, Mayor Billy Portman announced Thursday night.
The handoff, however, will be delayed “several weeks” as McConnell’s retirement, previously expected to occur next week, has been postponed, McConnell said.
RED BANK: PARKS AND MORE ON AGENDA
An update on plans for Marine Park is on the agenda. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The agenda for the Red Bank council session Thursday night includes a presentation on the status of planned changes at the Marine Park.
It also includes minutes of the most recent session, which for the first time, are available for public review prior to formal acceptance.
RED BANK: NOVEMBER ELECTIONS ADVANCE
Municipal elections would revert to a November schedule if approved by the council later this month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two months after their victory in the May 9 election, Red Bank’s new mayor and council moved to restore future elections to November Thursday night.
At its first regular meeting, the freshly reorganized government also “spitballed” a suggestion to add a social worker to the police department.
RED BANK: LOTTERY SETS NEW COUNCIL TERMS
Councilwoman and Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano at Thursday’s meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two key drivers of the overhaul of Red Bank’s government that began this week will get to serve on the borough council for four years, following a lottery held Thursday night.
Councilmembers Kate Triggiano and Nancy Facey-Blackwood drew terms twice as long as their four council colleagues.
RED BANK: CANNON TO RETURN AS ATTORNEY
Attorney Greg Cannon at Red Bank borough hall in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
One year after he was unceremoniously dumped as Red Bank’s borough attorney, Greg Cannon appears set to regain the influential post Thursday night.
That’s when the newly reconstituted government led by Mayor Billy Portman is scheduled to get down to business at a special meeting to kick off the “council-manager” era.
RED BANK: COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT
With little more than a week to go before an overhaul of Red Bank’s government begins, the incoming mayor and council are still seeking volunteers for boards and committees.
RED BANK: McCONNELL TO RETIRE
Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell on Broad Street after the Red Bank Classic 5K Saturday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Darren McConnell, Red Bank’s police chief and interim administrator, plans to retire next month, he told redbankgreen Saturday.
McConnell’s exit means the incoming mayor and council will now have to fill the top two administrative jobs at borough hall while implementing a new “council-manager” form of government approved in a voter referendum last November.
And there’s an outside chance McConnell could return as the manager.
RED BANK: HOGAN, PORTMAN SPLIT ON ‘DEBATE’
Mayoral candidates Tim Hogan, left and Billy Portman, right, at last week’s dedication ceremony at the Senior Center. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s two mayoral candidates disagreed Monday on whether one of them has “refused” a call for a one-on-one debate.
RED BANK: CANDIDATES JOSTLE FOR POSITION
All council candidates participated in the League of Women Voters’s online event. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Thirteen candidates for Red Bank council sought to make an impression on voters during a fast-paced candidates showdown Monday night.
The occasion was an online event hosted by the hosted by the League of Women Voters of Monmouth County, the first of two planned showdowns ahead of an historic election May 9.
RED BANK: PORTMAN CITES HOGAN ‘CONFLICT’
Mayoral candidates Billy Portman, upper right, and Tim Hogan, lower left, with league volunteers during the forum. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank mayoral candidate Tim Hogan‘s job as president of Riverview Medical Center would present a “massive conflict of interest” if he wins, incumbent Billy Portman said Monday night.
The two jostled for position at the first candidate showdown leading to an historic May 9 election.
RED BANK: VOTERS TO GET FIRST LOOK VIA ZOOM
By JOHN T. WARD
Up to 15 candidates for Red Bank office may appear together at an online forum Monday night.
The League of Women Voters of Monmouth County event will offer borough voters the first opportunity to compare the two mayoral contenders and 13 candidates for six council seats in the historic May 9 election.
RED BANK: PARK TO GET PICKLEBALL COURTS
The tennis courts in Red Bank’s Eastside Park will be remade into a hybrid of tennis and pickleball surfaces under plans that advanced last week.
RED BANK: GENDER NEUTRALITY ON AGENDA
The borough will provide employee training “to facilitate greater understanding of genderneutral options in communications,” according to a resolution. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
An effort to infuse gender-neutral language into the workings of Red Bank government is on the council agenda Wednesday night.
RED BANK: MASTER PLAN’S USE DEBATED
An illustration from the Master Plan section on affordable housing. (Image by BFJ Planning. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Concluding a 14-month process, the Red Bank planning board adopted the borough’s first new Master Plan in 28 years Monday night.
The unanimous vote followed spirited debate about whether the many recommendations in the 166-page document should be prioritized for council action.
RED BANK: EASTSIDE PARK PLANS SLATED
A public hearing on plans for upgrades to the basketball and tennis/pickleball courts in a Red Bank park has been rescheduled for next week, the borough announced Wednesday.
RED BANK: MASTER PLAN GETS WALK-THROUGH
Master Plan consultant Susan Favate addressing attendees Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed new Master Plan for Red Bank drew little criticism in its public debut Monday night.
If adopted, as expected, the next challenge will be in prioritizing the many recommendations in the 166-page document, planning board members said.
RED BANK: MAYOR HOSTS OFFICE HOURS
Only one Red Bank resident dropped in on Mayor Billy Portman when he hosted the first of a promised series of one-on-one sessions in his borough hall office last week.
Still, the Democratic newcomer to politics and government is committed to opening his office weekly to residents, business owners and others who want to bend his ear, he told redbankgreen.
RED BANK: MASTER PLAN DRAFT ON AGENDA
Two long-dormant gas stations would be razed to create a roundabout at the northern gateway into Red Bank under one of many suggested changes included in a new draft Master Plan.
RED BANK: EASTSIDE PARK UPGRADES SLATED
“Draft plans for upgrades” to the basketball and tennis/pickleball courts in a Red Bank park are to be aired for public comment this week, the borough announced over the weekend.
UPDATE: This meeting has been cancelled. According to a post on the borough website Wednesday afternoon, it will be rescheduled “as soon as possible, after the Parks and Rec committee has reviewed the plans.”