Mayor Ziegler's Update - January 6th
On Wednesday night I was officially sworn in as Leonia’s Mayor. There is plenty of work for us to accomplish and communicating what is happening is part of my commitment to you.
Let’s start with a quick debrief of the Wednesday January 3rd reorganization meeting outcomes.
After thanking outgoing Mayor Judah Zeigler and Councilmembers Maureen Davis and Pat Fusco for their service, we swore in Councilmembers Diane Scarengella and Jordan Zeigler. I know Diane and Jordan share my commitment to excellence in municipal services and want what is best for Leonia. I look forward to working with them and urge you to not hesitate in contacting any members of the governing body with any concerns or questions you may have. All contact information can be found on the borough website (which is your official channel for communications) at www.leonianj.gov.
Appointment of new Borough Administrator Marisa Mesropian. Marisa is a Leonian. More importantly, she has outstanding education and private sector professional experiences that make her an especially welcome addition to the borough family as our new Administrator. With an undergrad from RPI in Computer Science and Mathematics and an MBA in Finance from Columbia, Marisa has the educational pedigree that already separates her favorably from most Administrators. In addition, she has worked at a premiere international consulting firm as a consultant (Accenture), has been a Wall Street banker at Citibank, and has been the Operations Director at a large international product services company based in Bergen County. This background, her approach to teamwork, management style and record of getting things done bodes well as she takes on her new role as Leonia’s Borough Administrator. Please join me in welcoming Marisa.
And there is no one happier to see Marisa arrive than our Police Chief, Scott Tamagny, who also acted as Interim Administrator these past few months. Thank you Scott for your service and keeping everything on track.
Formation of a Redevelopment Advisory Board. It’s fair to say there is a substantial gap today between the draft redevelopment plan reported out of the Planning Board (for the areas below Grand Avenue on Fort Lee Road, along Willow Tree Road, and running along the west side of Grand from Christie St. to Hillside Avenue) and what the majority of Leonians are currently thinking. We need to substantially narrow this gap and put the majority of Leonians behind a redevelopment plan that is best for Leonia.
I commend the Planning Board for all their hard work in putting together their draft. It’s now up to us to take the next steps and, among other things, look beyond the planning specifics and take into consideration the various political considerations which Leonians have expressed as concerns including, but not limited to, multiple dwelling units on Grand Avenue, the proportion of new residential units relative to commercial and retail establishments, etc.
I formed this new redevelopment advisory board of 8 Leonians and a senior executive from Kulite to help us take the next steps related to moving redevelopment forward in Leonia. I believe it is very important to have Kulite with a seat at the table since they are in the redevelopment zone, are our #1 taxpayer, largest employer and a perfect example of a good socially responsible corporate neighbor. Kulite is a clean industry and their continued success is truly our success too.
Serving on this important advisory board will be the following Leonians: Dr. Frank Livelli, Peter Pulice, Bahram Sayari, Daimee Choi, Gilbert Friedman, Maureen Davis, Pat Botten, Jeff Sammis, and the senior executive from Kulite. As part of their remit they will dig into how best to garner majority support for the plan and will be engaged in technical planning elements, change management, communication planning and impact analyses. All of this work will not occur in a vacuum and will be regularly reported on by myself and shared with you so there are no surprises. I’m calling the first meeting of this group together very shortly so they can hit the ground running.
Committee Assignments: Each member of the Council now has their Committee assignments. All of these committees play an integral role in borough operations, (Laws & Ordinances, Police Committee, Fire Committee, HR, Finance, DPW and Facilities Committees). While these committee meetings are not typically open to the public, I will be asking each of the respective committee chairs to make them public on occasion. This administration is dedicated to transparency and if there is a way to increase visibility by the public into the inner workings of your local government, I am open to considering it.
Of particular import in the near term is the Finance Committee which will immediately begin its work of formulating a 2024 operating budget for governing body consideration. Believe me, as a former member of the Finance Committee, this is not an easy task and complicated by the fact we are losing approximately $500,000 in Pandemic related funding and expect another substantial round of state mandated pension/insurance increases.
I sincerely thank all the Leonians who volunteered their time and energy on behalf of our beautiful town, whether the service is on the Environmental Commission, MACORE, the Shade Tree Commission, Planning Board, Recreation Commission etc. etc. all of these contributions together make Leonia what it is today and allow us to continue being special tomorrow. Thank you for your service. Volunteer opportunities to contribute to Leonia’s success are always available. Please consult our Volunteers page on the borough website and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or specific interests. If you are interested in volunteering for our fire department, please contact me directly.
Whether you’re a democrat, republican or independent, I don’t care. We are all Leonians and I will do my best to find a spot for you to help out.
These regular updates will appear on listservs, the borough website and in as many venues as possible to bolster more informed participation. Please do not submit inquiries or questions on any unofficial channels and expect an official response. It’s impossible for your volunteers on the governing body including myself to keep up with all the forums that are out there. For example a listserve is not an official communication channel. I can, however, always be reached through the borough website at www.leonianj.gov.
For those particularly sharp eyed residents you may already have noticed our DPW trucks have their plows attached to the front of their vehicles. If this weekend turns into a snow event our DPW will be out in force to keep your streets cleared. We are in good hands. Please remember the Snow Streets Ordinance parking restrictions go into effect if your street has the signage and when your street is snow covered. Move your vehicles from the street accordingly. Elm Street, Beechwood and Library municipal parking lots are available if needed.
Stay tuned for more updates as our work on behalf of Leonia unfolds.
Sincerely,
Bill Ziegler
Mayor
Borough of Leonia