COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN
Beyond the headline grabbing action, this Council just made massive investments (human and regular capital) in public health. From health education to outbreak preparedness, from addressing lead exposure for children to taking the first step to banning gas leaf blowers, we took a big leap forward in a way that I hope can insulate us from future crisis and advance key initiatives to improve public health.
Many of these initiatives also represent an incredible opportunity for Montclair to truly be the regional government health hub, as we already serve as the Health Department for several neighboring towns. I get excited about this both in terms of how it will improve and save lives but also thinking about shared services and cost savings by scaling and serving more people. Specifics below in the “Quick Hits” section.
Leadership
Last night, the Council voted to install Government Strategy Group (GSG) and in particular, Joe Hartnett, to manage the Township. Joe is our former manager from the 2000s and a former resident of Montclair with a long list of accomplishments from his time with us. With Joe comes a broad team with a wealth of experience and talent in managing governments and government agencies. With the Council as the Board of Directors, Joe is now empowered as our interim CEO. Working with GSG, we’ll now begin a search for a new permanent manager. During the search, it is probable that we’ll place another interim under Joe’s watch to run the day-to-day and remain in Montclair full time. My goal would be to see a new permanent manager named by October.
About Joe:
Regarded as one of the most progressive and inventive public-sector managers in New Jersey, Joe has 20+ years of municipal C-level management experience, including as City Manager for Montclair and Rahway, as well as service as Vice President and CFO for St Peter’s University. As a management consultant, his clients have included financial institutions, public sector entities, NJ Transit, Fortune 500 companies and the US Navy. In 2014 Joe was appointed by a former Chief Justice of the NJ Supreme Court and a former Director of Criminal Justice for NJ to manage the dissolution of a corrupt public agency in Newark, New Jersey’s largest city. In 2022, Joe earned certification from the Harvard University Executive Education program in “Delivering Public Services: Efficiency, Equity, and Quality.” (source: governmentstrategygroup.com/team)
New Gas Leaf Blower Ban Introduced
Last night we successfully introduced an Ordinance banning gas-powered leaf blowers year-round. All Council Member’s inboxes are open for you to provide your thoughts, concerns and feedback. This item will be on the August 15th agenda for a vote to enact it into law. As per the law, there will be a public hearing / comment period designated for this Ordinance that evening.
Short Term Rentals at MC Residences
We have an opportunity to diversify some of the housing unit stock coming online. Something the market seems to be demanding in Montclair is short term rentals. Last night we introduced an Ordinance to permit up to 36 short term rental units. What I like about these is that we can collect at 3% occupancy tax (~$91K) per year on these and they don’t add kids to the school system. This is a worthy consideration along with some at Lackawanna Plaza too. Think of masters students, professionals on temporary work assignments and a a couple separating with the hopes of keeping the partner moving out still close by. A final vote on this will take place on August 15th.
No Net New Bamboo (say that 3 times)
Bamboo is very important plant in our global ecosystem. It’s one of the fastest growing and by extension a very sustainable source material for things like flooring and furniture. However, within local ecosystems like ours, it can wreak havoc as it is an invasive species. Last night we introduced an Ordinance banning any new planing of bamboo in Montclair Township. As it isn’t yet up on the website, please respond to this email if you’re interested in reviewing a copy right away.
This Ordinance would ban the planting of any new bamboo on any public or private property in Montclair, establish governance and enforcement criteria and prescribe containment requirements for any existing bamboo which we would “grandfather” in.
Let’s go through a quick bullet list of other actions Council took action on:
- Creating a multi-way stop at Chestnut & Central and another at Glenridge Ave. & Forest St.
- Prohibiting parking on the west side of Christopher St. from Walnut to Oxford
- Creating special permit areas to eliminate congestion for:
- North side of Oxford between Grove & Christopher
- South side of Label St. between Christopher & Montclair Ave.
- East side of Seymour St. from the plaza to Roosevelt Place.
- Approved $1.2M in spending on various water distribution lines, system treatment and security upgrades and $1.15M for sanitary sewer system improvements and construction of a garage for our Flusher Truck (I bet you always wanted a flusher truck garage in life)
- Approved $210K on re-striping, new pay stations, meters, cameras, lighting, security and EV chargers for municipal parking lots that are being re-done
- Approved $15K to bring on temporary legal support to help us administer various Affordable Housing programs
- Approved $720K for water mains, sewer pipes and other parts for our water infrastructure
- Accepted $246K from the National Opioid Settlement
- Renewed Sayola’s liquor license
- Denied a Resolution for a contract with Ambrose Group for an overarching Fire Department assessment
Grants for the Planet (or at least Montclair)
Accepted:
- $82,064 “Clean Communities” grant which we can use to clean up garbage in our brooks and rivers, abate graffiti, support weening off single use plastics and enforcing littering laws. It will be tough to figure out how to spend this but I’m glad we can check a couple of these boxes.
- $25,000 Stormwater Assistance Grant
- $2,500 to help residents learn about Sustainable Jersey / PSEG energy audits and efficiency programs. More on this soon but imagine PSEG coming and completely paying for insulation to help keep your home warm in winter. Exciting stuff.
Grants & Funding for our Health
The below is in addition to a previous allocation to hire a new full time Social Worker to support our Seniors population. This is what progressive leadership looks like!
- We’ve received a $539,596 for an Enhancing Local Public Health (ELC) Grant. The goal of these funds is to support the development or expansion of long-term health infrastructure improvements with a key emphasis on health equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
- We’ve received a $188,144 grant to help us prevent and respond to situations with children with high blood lead levels; specifically to help us identify, track and develop solutions for Montclair and the other communities that our Health Dept. serves including: Cedar Grove, Nutley and Verona.
- We’ve also received a grant for $406,046 to:
- Hire/Contract an Infectious Disease Preparedness Generalist
- Hire/Contract a Local Health Outreach Coordinator
- Develop our Outbreak Preparedness
- We’re also considering approval of a $40,560 allocation to hire a Health Education worker to make sure we’re getting out into the community with resources
- $10,500 Grant to extend the “Click It or Ticket” Seatbelt enforcement program
$1.4M Communications Upgrade
Last night we made a significant investment in our emergency communications hardware. This stuff doesn’t matter until it matters. This was one of my top priority items in our capital investment negotiations. It will provide a completely new system for the Fire Department; Water, Sewer and Fire Utility crews and our Public Works Department. This $1.4M investment should have a significant return on investment in many areas from keeping our employees safe on the job, to improving response times and eliminating redundancy, resulting in more efficiency and staff time saved.
34 Union Street Acquisition Blocked (for now)
The Council was considering the acquisition of 34 Union Street for $1M to utilize its 13 units/rooms to create temporary housing for the un-housed to start to meet some of the need identified by the recently completed Montclair Township Strategic Plan to End Unsheltered Homelessness. This is a very noble cause and I fully support the overall effort. But, after hearing from residents in and around 34 Union Street, it became clear to me that this idea was anything but buttoned up and real people’s lives would have been significantly disrupted. I led the effort to table this for two months. It’s entirely possible the property owner will sell this to another bidder. I would strongly encourage tenants of 34 Union to ensure you know your rights. See next section:
Tenant Protection
In addition to trying to build record affordable housing at Lackawanna Plaza, and now permitting accessory dwelling unit construction, the other tool in our toolkit to try to keep some affordability in Montclair is the rent control law we passed in 2021. To me, the most important part of having a rent control law is making sure people know we have a rent control law. Please click, save, share this graphic with tenants in Montclair so that they know their rights.
Catch My Thread
For a long time, part of my brand was about tagging me on social media. You can still do that. You can find me on Threads and Instagram and in the new Facebook group: “Aware in Montclair” which is restricted to Montclair residents.
In terms of engagement, I will always help if you tag me in a situation where government assistance is needed. However, I will no longer participate in local policy debates on any social media platform and will soon hand over social media management to my campaign.
Thanks, everyone. The next communication from me will be an update on Lackawanna Plaza including the modified Redevelopment Plan that we will be introducing on August 15th.
Have a great week!
-Peter
Our mailing address is:
41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 318
Montclair, NJ 07042