February Proclamation & Recognition

At our February meeting last week, the Township Committee recognized this month as Black History Month. Through a proclamation authored by Deputy Mayor Cathy Wilson, the Township Committee recognizes February as a time to commemorate the historic struggles of African Americans to gain freedom and equality; to recognize the importance of these struggles to our country’s history and ideals; and to celebrate the many achievements African Americans have made to our economic, cultural, spiritual, and political development as a Nation. You can read the full proclamation here.

The Township Committee also recognized Charles “Chuck” Schmidt for his contributions to Morris Township as a member and former chair of our Historic Preservation Commission. Chuck spearheaded several important initiatives during his time on the Commission, including updating Morris Township’s Historic Preservation Ordinance, which governs the designation of historic properties throughout the Township. This comprehensive review clarified the historic districts in our community so that the most important historic properties remain designated and are provided with resources from our Township professionals. We are incredibly appreciative of all of Chuck’s contributions to the Township, which you can learn about by watching the recording here. 

Township Business

During the business portion of last week’s meeting, the Township Committee passed our first ordinance of the year, which updates the Township code for this year’s pool season. The passage of our annual swim pool ordinance, along with a resolution of fees and rates for members, will allow our Parks and Recreation Department to announce pool sign ups through our Community Pass portal in the beginning of March. You can sign up for Community Pass here. In addition to passing our pool-related legislation, the Township Committee also passed a total of 17 resolutions. You can review the full list below in the agenda.

Included in these resolutions was Resolution 53-22, which authorized our Engineering Department to submit our Normandy Parkway improvement project to the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office for review, since it falls within a historic district. This improvement project, which focuses on pedestrian safety as well as lane narrowing to help reduce traffic speeds, is slated to be completed later this year. A portion of the funding is being provided from a state grant. You can learn more about this project by viewing the recording of the information session held with neighbors on Zoom here.

Important Updates

Lastly, I’d like to provide two key updates as we approach the spring. The first is that the Township Committee will be introducing our annual budget at our March 16th meeting. During the meeting, our Township Administrator will provide a detailed look into the proposed budget. The proposal will then be posted to our website shortly after the meeting for residents to review. Passage of our annual budget is expected during our April 20th meeting.

Secondly, the Township has begun preparations for our eventual in-person return to the municipal building. Since the start of the pandemic, we have modified the public’s access to the municipal building in order to protect our public servants who work in town hall each day. As case numbers of COVID-19 continue to drop, we’ll announce updated plans to our resident experience in town hall, which has been limited to our foyer since 2020. As we look ahead to future meetings of our governing body, as well as those of our volunteer boards and committee, we will be upgrading our IT systems in our committee and conference rooms so that our meetings can be held more-effectively through a hybrid model. I look forward to sharing further updates as this work progresses.

Thank you for reading my monthly newsletter. Please be sure to follow Morris Township by signing up for our Municipal Messenger as well as by liking our Facebook page and following us on Instagram.

Best,

Mark