January 2008
To all Borough residents:
This evening we expressed our
appreciation to Werner Schon for his twenty-five
years of unselfish service to our community. Werner now joins a long list of
men and women who have given so much to make Mountainside the Community we love
and have chosen to raise our children. One cannot look around our community
without seeing the results of hundreds of men and women who, like Werner, have
given of themselves to better our town. Before I proceed further I now
apologize to those deserving individuals whom I will not mention. It is not
your lack of contributions that prohibits me from mentioning you but time and
space. (I will be sure to list you in my book.)
One can start with our Rescue
Squad and Fire Company. Looking at the Squad building you will see a plaque
with the name John Keuhler. John was not only a
founding member of the Squad but was also a member of the Fire Company. For years he was the only person permitted to
hold both roles. His wife Ruth also served on the Squad for many years. When
one talks about the Squad one can never forget the tremendous service given by
Mary Steiner and Helen Hay. For years these two ladies were the daytime,
weekday squad. In more recent years Kit Carson gave many hours of service to
our community. Every Rescue Squad member present and past deserve our thanks.
Mountainside Squad was one of the first Rescue Squads to have what was called a
cadet corps (members under the age of 18). Today, I know of seven former cadets
who are now doctors. Mountainside and Westfield were the two towns, first
allowed, to carry life saving drugs on their rigs along with one of the first
defibrillators. This program was carried out with the assistance of Dr. Chuck
Dooley who would go to a heart attack call and use the drugs and defibrillators
with the Rescue Squad. This was the very beginning of the EMT /Paramedic
program that we know today.
Our present Fire Department
Building was built in part due to the tremendous support and planning by a
former Fire Commissioner/Councilman Bill Van Blarcome.
At the time the building was being planned there was a tremendous outcry from
residents who did not want to build a new building even though our old building
could not hold all of the fire equipment. Bill faced a large angry crowd of
residents to explain why this building was needed. Today he has been proven
correct. Mountainside Fire Company had such dedicated residents as Ron Huder, Bob Butler, Doc Porter, Bruce Geiger, Jay Kelk, and many, many more. Today we have one of the
best-volunteered companies in the County who not only provide us with fire
protection but also do other community services such as aiding with the
trimming of the Christmas tree. The fire company, for many years, sponsored or
co sponsored the annual 4th of July fireworks.
Members of the Mountainside Lions
Club have decorated the Christmas tree on Route 22 and New Providence Road for
over 40 years. Sadly the tree has died and this is its last year. Several years ago, when this tree started to
look in despair we had a new tree planted in the area. This spring, through the
excellent cooperation from the Union County Park Commission the old tree will
be removed, the area will be cleaned and the surrounding trees will be trimmed
so that next year we will have a new tree.
Almost every day, throughout the
years, you will see volunteers working with our youth in not only sport
programs but also other character building programs such as scouting. We now
have very active boys and girls programs in Cub, Boy, Girl Scouts and Brownies.
We have also seen a large amount of young men working toward the Eagle Scout
badge, which is very difficult to obtain. These programs can only work with the
dedication of the men and women who are working with our youth.
Mountainside has been blessed
with hundreds of residents who have been instrumental in providing recreational
sports for our children for over thirty years. Among the many Little
League Baseball volunteers are George Serio, Sandy Burdge, Chuck Fernicola, and in
basketball John Amalfe. Gary Pastor, Manny Dalhausser and Heinz Grett gave
countless hours to recreation soccer, while Jane Laustsen,
Harriet Gerndt, Ronnie Geiger and Carol Wood were dedicated volunteers in the girl’s softball program. Today, Mountainside is proud
of the fact that we have five lighted recreational areas, which provide
illumination for six different sport fields. These fields provide every
resident the opportunity to participate or view various sports events ranging
from soft ball, base ball, soccer, and even practice sessions. Two of the
fields were paid for by State grants. The others were built with the
cooperation and financial support of the “Fields of Dreams Program.” Another
group that is working with our youth is the Mountainside PAL. Not only does
this group sponsor the annual Cop Trot, but they also are very active in
working with Mountainside’s children to provide sports programs and aid in the
building of character. Two of the founding members are seated on this dais, Keith
Turner and Paul Mirabelli.
Another vital part of
Mountainside’s success is the fact that a large percent of our employees live
here. No employee is required to live in town, yet we have a high percentage of
our Police Officers who reside in Mountainside. Who knows a community better
than a police officer? And, again, not being required to live here, the
following officers have chosen Mountainside as their home and the community
that they wish to raise their children; Chief Debbie, Captain Osieja, and Officers
Attanasio, Murphy, Pasquale, Perrotta, and Worswick.
Presently there are eight police officers who grew up in Mountainside, Chief
Debbie, Kevin Betyeman (second generation), Stephen
De Vito, Michael Jackson, Michael Perrotta, William Stolting,
Andrew Sullivan, and James Urban and the late Todd Turner. Many, non-police
employees also have chosen Mountainside for their homes. Included are: Karen
Bandics, Brittney Bumpus, Richard Ciani, Sara
Clement, James Debbie, Jr., Michael Debbie, Judge James De Rose, Robert Farley,
Theresa Graziano, Walter Kutsop, Joan Laurent, Joseph
Marreta, Corinne Moore, Ronald Romak, Thomas Root,
Patricia Salvato and Cynthia West. Being an employee
of the community in which one lives helps to foster an attitude of caring. Sue
Winans, now retired, was an excellent example of a resident who truly cared
about our community. Sue led our recreation programs from its conception to her
retirement two years ago. She started with a small desk in the lobby of the old
Borough Hall and throughout the years created one of the best recreation
departments around. Today our recreation programs are in the capable hands of
Frank Masella and Adam Lieb who both are continuing the tradition of providing
all residents with the highest quality recreational programs. Many other
resident employees, throughout the years, have demonstrated their commitment to
our community by being involved in a vast amount of community activities, from
being a member of our Fire Company, Rescue Squad, Historical Preservation, and PAL, to coaching
various sports programs and working with our children in scouting and other
programs.
Two long-time residents of
Mountainside, Blanche and George Watts (both now deceased) had a great love for
our community and left us with the Watts Mountainside Community Foundation.
This foundation’s main charge is to financially assist all areas of our
community in life-enhancing programs and equipment. To date the Watts
Foundation has provided our community with a bus that not only provides transportation
for a wheel-chaired person, but also is being used by all residents of
Mountainside from our youth to our seniors.
Without fanfare the Watts Foundation has assisted many other worthy
groups and programs, and through the dedication of the
trustees will be enhancing our quality of life forever.
Throughout Mountainside’s history
all members of this Governing Body, all board members, and all volunteers have
never received a salary, health insurance, or a pension. They all have served
to help nurture our community, to see Mountainside grow into the wonderful
community it has become.
Sitting on this dais this evening are three second- generation residents, Jim
Debbie, Glenn Mortimer, and Keith Turner. All three grew up here and chose to
remain in our community to raise their families. I also recall many residents who at one time
were transferred out of town and when they again got relocated to this area
they chose to move back to Mountainside. I also know of many who have moved
into their second and third homes in town.
Another life time resident of
Mountainside, Dr. Marilyn Hart has the distinction of being the only woman to
have served on Council. After Marilyn’s years of service her husband, David
Hart, who was also my eighth grade science teacher, served on Council making
them the only husband and wife team to be members of Council.
On this dais, this evening is an
individual who has contributed, for thirty-five years, legal advice that has
had a major impact on the quality of life for all of Mountainside. I am
referring to John Post. John, is also a resident.
John, and his law firm, has led Mountainside through three major legal actions
that if lost would have had very negative effects on our community. John led
Mountainside throughout a major legal confrontation to obtain Mountainside’s
membership in the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority. He led us up to the New
Jersey Supreme Court to win over 8 million dollars from the breakup of the
Regional High School District. Recently, through John’s efforts, we
successfully won a decision that prevents very high-density housing from being
built in town, which would have changed the character of our community. As a
resident I know that John has always represented our community, his community,
with a higher level of zeal that only a resident would have.
While not a resident of
Mountainside, Dr. Mike Disko has demonstrated more
devotion, more concern, and more expertise than most public employees. Through
his engineering leadership he has, with his firm, completed miles of new roads.
He has vastly improved many areas of our storm water flow and retention
systems. He helped design each of our lighted recreation fields. Dr. Disko has been a key component of every Borough project for
the past sixteen years including the renovations and additions to this
building. Starting on the road of retirement Dr. Disko
will be accepting the position of assistant engineer and his son Michael will
now take over the reins while the Borough will still have access to Dr. Disko’s years of experience and to his input.
I cannot end without telling you
one story about Werner and the New Jersey DOT.
Many years ago the State DOT wanted to close the most westerly
turnaround on Route 22 near Mountain Avenue. This was the safest turnaround
because of its long sight of vision. Their reason was that they did not want
cars to make a right hand turn on Parkway, a local street. Werner led the fight
to seek a compromise, as he so often had done. He finally reached a compromise
with the DOT to keep the turnaround open but to prohibit right hand turns onto
Parkway. This was a logical move that the State did not see. It took Werner to
show them. Thus I never use that turnaround without thinking of Werner. Werner,
you are leaving Council this evening, without a pension, and without lifetime
health care. You are, however, now joining a very long list of residents who
always cared about, and worked for the betterment of our community. For this we
thank you and also those hundreds of other giving residents
who have made Mountainside, as described by The New York Times as “a
hidden gem in Union County.”
Thank you, continuing are the
reports from various departments within the Borough. I hope you find these
reports informative and that they give you an understanding as to where your
tax dollars go.
Sincerely,
Robert F. Viglianti,
Mayor
2007 has again been very busy. We have
finished our three-year program upgrading software programs while completing
the installation of a new tax collection program. This will expedite
information as needed by our residents and commercial establishments. These new
programs connect the collector to the assessor in real time so changes will be
simultaneously updated on both tax systems. The Borough’s Channel 35
underwent major changes this year with a new user-friendly platform whereby
local organizations can access the channel to update their own message boards.
Also emergency messages can be posted in real time, alerting residents to
anything from school closing to other urgent situations.
The Borough installed a new email
server and residents can email department employees through the Internet using
the employee’s first initial, last name @mountainside-nj.com with any comments or concerns. Our
Mountainside web site will be under construction throughout 2008 as we change
and update our format to include on line applications. The Borough’s famous “No
Knock” ordinance has been very successful and applications can be found on-line
at www.mountainside-nj.com. Also Channel 35 messages can
be accessed through our web site as well.
This year there were a number of changes
to staff in the construction and public works department. We would like to
welcome to the “family” our new Public Works Director, Ron Romak. Ron has made
significant changes to public works adding some equipment while streamlining
response time to residents’ concerns. He delivers the finest service to all our
residents while continuing the little town atmosphere we have all become
accustomed to. Ron can also be reached through our email system. In closing,
staff would like to assure all our residents that we are trying our best to get
the most out of your tax dollars and we would like to wish everyone “Happy
Holidays and a Prosperous New Year.”
As another year has come and gone. Your
police department continues making reductions in crime throughout the Borough.
Our detective bureau again this year is swamped with cases of identification
theft. One recent theft from one of our residents who was told he won the
Canadian Lottery and needed to send money, social security number and his date
of birth to someone in Toronto. He did and now
has endless credit woes. On a brighter side, officers saved the life of an
elderly woman unable to escape from her house while on fire. Officers were able
to rescue her as the fire department arrived and saved the house. Both
departments did an outstanding job.
This
year the department received seventy three thousand dollars ($73,000.00) in
grants from the New Jersey Department of Transportation for use in our “Safe
Corridor” zone. With this grant we placed a camera under the footbridge to
monitor traffic coming through the Borough. Our dispatch center was upgraded to
include video monitoring of the outside and inside of our schools. We have
replaced all the patrol vehicles with new “state of the art” radar systems.
Automatic Vehicle Locators (AVL) has been installed in all our patrol vehicles,
enabling the closest unit to be dispatched. We have also received fifty
thousand ($50,000.00) in a homeland security grant. This coming year will
be a challenge to the department to become more resourceful, finding available
grants to continue saving our taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Departments of Fire Prevention and building
The Department of Fire
Prevention will again complete annual inspections on all commercial buildings
in the Borough. In doing so the department will log over 400
inspections and re-inspections. This year will be our 6th year of Toys
for Tots in association with the U.S. Marine Corp’s. Last year we collected
over 350 toys that were given to the Marines for distribution to the needy children
in our area. Fire Prevention also made 30 inspections involving the removal or
filling of abandoned underground oil tanks. Assistance was also given during
Fire Prevention Week to the schools.
As for the Building
Department, this year the office processed more than 650 permits. These
included many new homes as well as a large number of major additions to
existing homes. Total value for construction this year compared to past years,
with more than 10 million dollars. Inspections continued on a busy pace with
over 1800 among our 4 inspectors. During the year we continued to work with the
tax assessor and our computer program. This allowed him quicker access to check
on the status of work completed on permits and assessments being issued on a
timely matter.
As we close 2007, the
Recreation Department had another busy and productive year. We continued to
provide a variety of existing programs and activities, and added new ones for
the benefit of Mountainside residents.
Funds received from the 2006
Kids Recreation Trust Grant were used to light the Pony League field at
Deerfield School, and resurface both the tennis courts and fitness trail at
Borough Hall. The funds were also used to put up protective wall pads in the Beechwood Gym and buy sports equipment. In October, the
Borough was awarded $30,000 from the 2007 Kids Recreation Trust Grant for
retrofitting and updating the toddler playground at Deerfield School, and
recreation sports equipment.
With the completion of the
Pony League field the town now has a total of 5 fields that are lighted and
used for multiple sports. The Echo Brook field is used for Men's Softball
League games, Women's Softball League games, 3rd-4th grade soccer
practices and games, and evening camps. Deerfield Senior Division Softball
field has 6th -8th grade practices and games, Mountainside Softball Association
games, and school events. Deerfield Soccer field is used for 5th-8th grade
recreation soccer practices, training sessions, and games. The three lighted
baseball league fields (Major, Minor, and Pony) are used for both games and
practices.
Adult and youth sports
programs were again very popular. 329 children participated in basketball, 205
in softball, and 322 in soccer. Over 127 coaches attended training programs
throughout the year. 14 teams were entered in the Men's and Women's Softball
Leagues.
New this year was Steps to
a Healthier Mountainside (walking program), which just finished up its third
session and will start up again in the New Year. Between the
spring, summer, and fall rounds of the program, participants walked over 27
million steps. (Since the average person walks about 2,000 steps in one
mile, Steps participants walked approximately 4,500 miles this year!) On-going
adult programs included everything from computer classes and craft programs to
fitness activities and trips to New York. Other popular new programs were the
Indoor Soccer Clinics, computer classes, Best Impressions (interview and resume
preparation) and Friday Morning Body Sculpting.
The Community Pool
experienced another safe and successful season. The pool changed to a photo ID
scanning system, which helped with gate control. Memberships increased but
attendance was at its lowest in 7 years due to cool, wet weather and the photo
ID system.
The Community Room
continued to be well utilized as over 515 hours of activities were scheduled,
including classes, Scout meetings, training programs and parties. Participation
in the Senior Fitness Room remained strong, as more than 1,585 visits was recorded from January through November 1st.
Having been here for over a year the senior citizens and I are feeling comfortable with each other. Many come to me with concerns and questions. We work together helping each other with many issues and concerns. This is the most important thing I have done, as comfort and trust is very important when dealing with the senior population. Providing information and referrals and making house calls on an as-needed basis. Posting information of interest to the seniors and community at large both at the senior meetings and on the bulletin board and information rack. Continue to set up and provide blood pressure, posture, balance, and stroke screenings. Set up a low impact exercise program "Healthy Bones" for seniors at risk for Osteoporosis. Continuing to encourage eligible seniors to apply for and utilize the Handyman Program. Continue the UC College Life Center classes. This semester we are offering a new class, "Intro to Shakespeare". Work with the Division on Aging on a senior need assessment and the senior needs assessment for Mountainside seniors sponsored by SAGE. Helping to locate and hire an additional senior van driver.
Attended
biannual senior center director’s conference in Lambertville receiving 8 CEU's toward continuing education certification.
Guest speaker was the Assistant Commissioner of the NJ Department of Health and
Senior Services Pat Polansky. The assistant
commissioner wishes to work closely with our organization asking for our input
and cooperation in the changes that are happening on the federal level for the
senior population. In addition I continue to attend monthly director meetings
in Neptune. Attend most Mountainside Active Retirees and Senior Citizen Club of
Mountainside meetings. Finished
certification for Advanced Gerontology from the continuing education program,
school of social work from Rutgers the State University of NJ. Continue to work
on certification for Senior Center Directors.
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
Having completed my first
year as Mountainside’s CFO I successfully worked through a transitional year
which included the elimination of the full-time treasurer's position. The new
full-time finance clerk is working out extremely well. Current finance staff is
interacting extremely well with all departments concerning budget monitoring,
controlling and spending. This year is the first year that Mountainside is
working with a fully integrated general ledger, the Edmunds system. Utilizing
this new tax program we are now fully integrated with all existing Edmunds
finance software, which now replaces the tax program that was used with First
Byte.
This office originated the
idea of increasing the health waiver incentive. Prior to this recent increase, no
borough employee waived benefits. After increasing the waiver to the current
rate, three employees now waive their benefits thus saving the borough
approximately $30,000 annually. While attending the Treasurer's Convention in
Atlantic City, I made contact with Edmunds & Assoc. concerning their
utility program for sewer billing. The end result was that Edmunds gave
Mountainside their utility program free of charge ($15,000 retail). This
utility program replaces the manual method previously used in Mountainside and
can be used in the future should residential properties be billed. Mountainside
obtained a three million dollar bond anticipation note at a rate of 3.42%
through Chase Bank. According to the auditor this is an extremely competitive
rate, and much lower than what was expected.
This past year was one of major
change and significant accomplishment for the Department of Public Works. The
department was completely reorganized to more accurately reflect the customer
service organization that it is. In so doing, the private sector model has been
mirrored to bring about change and enhance overall efficiency in the delivery
of services. A new system of written work orders has been established to both
qualify and quantify daily tasks. All hours can be accounted for on a daily
basis as jobs are completed. We are proud of the fact that taxpayer requests
for service are now evaluated or completed within one business day of
notification, over 95% of the time.
For more than a decade, the
Borough rented a storage facility for equipment and supplies. By converting
some existing outdoor space in the vicinity of the secured cellular radio
towers at the municipal complex, we now store the vast majority of DPW
equipment and supplies on site. This change was implemented last spring with
resultant savings of nearly $50,000 during 2007 and 2008, with future
annualized savings averaging $31,000. All work was performed by Department of
Public Works crewmembers.
During the past year, all of our
major capital equipment was overhauled resulting in increased reliability and
lowered down time. An aggressive program of tree elevating and pothole repair
was undertaken. More than 200 trees were elevated and the DPW crew of 5
repaired numerous potholes utilizing over 12,000 pounds of hot asphalt patch
material, thus prolonging the service life of many of the Borough’s streets.
All three traffic signal
locations (Summit Rd., Springfield Ave., and Mountain Ave.), were converted
from incandescent type bulbs to LEDs at no charge to
the Borough. This change will enhance signal reliability and lower costs by
eliminating bulb replacement that in the past averaged $425 each. The new style
light source is also more energy efficient, resulting in significant electrical
savings for years to come. The Department looks forward to the New Year and
thanks our residents for the numerous kind letters of support and encouragement
that have been received.
The following projects
were worked on and completed during the year 2007:
1. Preparation
of storm sewer mapping for the NJDEP storm water program was completed. Work
included a survey of all catch basins, manholes and drainage facilities within
the Borough.
2. Work
continued on preparation of required NJDEP storm water information including
annual report and updating municipal pollution prevention plan.
3. Resurfacing of Central Avenue (Section 4) was completed.
Work included curbs, drainage improvements, milling and paving of Central
Avenue between Route 22 and Knollwood Road. A grant
of $140,000 was funded by NJDOT.
4. Using a
grant for $180,000 received from NJDOT, Central Avenue (Section 5) was
resurfaced from Knollwood Road to New Providence
Road.
5. Construction
of paving improvements was completed on Rising Way and Rodman Lane. Work
included curb construction, minor drainage work and paving improvements.
6. Resurfacing of Fox Trail is currently in construction. Work
includes curb construction, drainage improvements, partial road reconstruction,
milling and paving.
7. Resurfacing
of Sawmill Road was bid and is awaiting construction. Proposed work includes
minor curb repairs, drainage improvements, milling and paving.
8. Phase 3 of pothole
repairs was completed. Engineering staff surveyed all of the roads within the
Borough and identified potholes requiring repairs. The cost for repair work was
$25,000.00.
9. "Installation of
athletic field lights at the Deerfield School softball field and soccer and
baseball field was completed. Work included the construction of 4 light poles
at the softball field and 5 light poles at the soccer and baseball field.
10. Replacement
of some sections of concrete sidewalk at the Mountainside Community Pool was
completed. Work included the replacement of cracked and unsafe sections of sidewalk.
11. Review of approximately
148 zoning applications and submittals from January thru November.
12. Preparation of numerous detailed reports
for Planning Board projects.
13. Numerous
drywell and drainage inspections inspections and site
inspections were made during the year.
14. Evaluation
of special project site plans at the discretion of Mayor/Council and Borough
Attorney.
15. Inspection
and observation work has been performed on subdivisions that are under
construction by private developers.
16. The chimney
at the Mountainside Fire House was repaired. The chimney cap and screen were
renovated.
17. Catch
basins on Saddle Brook Road were repaired. Six catch basins were reconstructed.
18. The
concrete edge at the overhead doors at the Fire House was replaced.
19. A second
phase of lights at the Deerfield School baseball field (pony field) was
completed. This second phase of athletic field lights included construction of
3 light poles at the pony league baseball field.
20. Resurfacing of the tennis court at Echo Brook Field is in
construction. Work includes repaving and
resurfacing of two tennis courts.
21. Specifications
were prepared for street sweeping of commercial and light industrial areas.
22. A grant
application was prepared for NJDOT funding of resurfacing of Blazo Terrace and Iris Drive. A grant of $175,000 was
requested.
23. Phase 4 of
pothole repairs was bid and is awaiting construction. Identified potholes will
be repaired. Cost for repair work is $25,000.
During the year 2007, the
Mountainside Municipal Court has continued to successfully resolve matters
through the Community Dispute Resolution Program (mediation). This program is
an alternative to signing a criminal complaint against a person. CDRP utilizes
trained volunteers to help resolve disputes. Mediation is often the preferred
option for disputes that involve people in ongoing relationships such as
neighbors, friends, relatives and co-workers. Mediation is available to
everyone who lives or works in Union County. More information on the CDRP
(mediation) can be found by visiting the Mountainside Municipal Court's website
at www.mountainside-nj.com/municipalcourt.htm.
As of October 31,2007, 2,345 traffic complaints, including 35 DWI summonses
and 218 criminal complaints including indictable, disorderly, petty disorderly
and local ordinances were filed. A total of 2,570 traffic matters and 334
criminal matters were disposed of. The total amount of fines collected through
October 31, 2007 was $359,853.00.
Use of www.NJMCdirect.com
continues to be positive this year. This site not only contains
information to the public regarding all motor vehicle violations, such as
points and penalties but also allows the public to pay all payable tickets and
make payments on their time payments via the Internet. In the very near future,
the public will also be able to post bail, and enter pleas of not guilty all
through NJMCDirect.
I would like to
congratulate Cynthia West for successfully completing all 3 Phases of the
Municipal Court Administrator's Certification Program. Phase I & II consist
of a written and oral test and Phase III was a court improvement
project. For her project, Ms. West designed a user-friendly violations bureau
window area located in the front lobby. The window is now handicapped
accessible which is now in compliance with ADA requirements. One of the
reasons Ms. West chose this as her project was for security reasons. By moving
the payment window, this eliminates the risk to the public when prisoners are
transported from the police department to the courtroom. A pamphlet holder was
also added which contains informational pamphlets such as "Your Day in
Court," a pamphlet that informs the public of what to expect when
they go to court and their rights as a defendant. There is a "dial
211" pamphlet regarding a program sponsored by the United Way which
provides a free service guide to community resources and information on the
Community Dispute Resolution Program for the public among other information.
The Municipal Court Administrator's Certification Program was established in
1998. On May 25,2006, a new law was established that
requires all municipal court administrators hold a municipal court
administrator certificate by May 25, 2011. The program was established to
maintain and foster the highest professional standards for municipal court
administrators in a manner that continues to attract and retain highly
qualified persons to these positions. This program is offered through the
Administrative Office of the Courts. All court personnel are encouraged
to participate in the certification process.
Security still is an issue
in the municipal court due several incidents that have occurred in numerous
municipal courts through out the state. The Mountainside Municipal Court
Security Committee was formed as per directive from Judge Philip S. Carchman, Acting Administrative Director of the
Courts, regarding the "Statewide Municipal Court Security Policy."
This committee consists of representatives from the Municipal Court,
police and fire, recreation, emergency medical personnel and Municipal Division
Manager's office. The committee has and will continue to meet to discuss and
address a series of security measures enumerated in the "New Jersey
Municipal Court Schedule of Protection." Some of the
measures to be addressed will be security of the parking lots and
exterior of the building, screening for weapons at the entrances and
exits, courtroom security, staff safety and emergency procedures to follow
should an incident occur. This is to insure not only the safety of the
court personnel but also the public. As always the Mountainside Municipal Court
staff will continue to strive to make the public's day in court a positive
experience.
PERSONNEL
Previous director left on
12/31/2006 and Librarian Cathie Wagner served as acting director beginning
1/1/07. In February, Michael Banick began as the new director. In March, Nancy Moran retired as secretary
after 10 years of service and Shelbi Babcock was
hired. On October 30, Judy Carson
retired as supervising library assistant after 25 years of continuous service
and Margaret Salvo was hired.
TECHNOLOGY
In 2006, the process of upgrading
the computer system that manages the library’s records (patron registration,
circulation, holdings and catalog) was started.
This was the first major upgrade to the system since its initial
installation in 1993. The upgrade was
well timed because the technology has improved and the company that developed
the old system was no longer going to provide tech support. In 2007, we migrated to a product called “Sirsi Unicorn.”
Between data extraction and conversion, staff training, policy
development and myriad other details, the process took the whole summer. On August 23, we went live on our new system.
The whole process, while tedious at times, was a success and the launch went
quite smoothly. A huge benefit of the
new system is that it is remote-hosted, with supreme technical support and
off-site backups. It also provides easier searching for our community.
BUILDING
Some important building issues
were attended to in 2007. In June,
exterior wood and trim around the upper clerestory windows was prepped, primed
and painted, giving additional life to the framework and improving the look of
the library. Minor but much-needed roof
repairs were made in order to stop leaks during heavy rain. And in October, the lower portion of the
exterior was power washed, all trim was painted, rotten wood was replaced and
new vents were placed in the eaves.
SECURITY
A Checkpoint security system was
installed at the library’s front door in October. This is similar to the systems used by stores
to control inventory. By helping
safeguard the library’s collections, we will provide better service to our
community, reduce frustration and cut expenditures on replacement items.
LIBRARY USE
Library use in almost all aspects
is up. The most marked increases are in
database access (on-site and from home), in-library computer logins, reference
interactions and program attendance, both adult and child. Programming for both children and adults is
helping sustain a strong sense of community around the library. The children’s summer reading program was extremely
successful, boasting over 100 participants who logged over 76,000 minutes of
reading! Shakespeare plays, music &
movie programs and other special events & workshops had an overall
attendance (through November) of over 3,000 and we are on target to be more
than 25% over 2006 attendance.
WATTS GRANT
A survey conducted in the spring
showed greatest interest in music programs.
In the fall, the library received a Watts Foundation grant to support
the purchase of a new piano, which was delivered on December 3rd. The library will now be able to host more
music programs including live piano concerts, recitals and other accompanied
performances.