Full Notification

Here is the latest Take Five briefing from the April 18, 2023 meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council.

1) Observance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day: Mayor Foster reminded residents that the evening of April 18th marked the conclusion of worldwide observances of Yom HaShoah, a day established to commemorate the horrors of the Holocaust. She cited President Biden’s 2023 Proclamation on Days of Remembrance, which states that “together with courageous survivors, descendants of victims, and people around the world, we renew our solemn vow: ‘never again.’”
 
2) Highland Park Earth Day Celebration, May 7: While this Saturday, April 22^nd marks the celebration of Earth Day globally, Highland Park will be celebrating Earth Day with Sustainable Highland Park on Sunday, May 7^th at the same time as Main Street Highland Park’s annual Spring Street Fair, from 11-3 PM. The event will be set up on No. 3rd Avenue between Raritan and Denison Avenues and there will be food, music and information on EVs, community solar, native plants and much, much more.
 
3) Prescription Drug Take Back, April 22-23: Highland Park is once-again participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, an opportunity for residents to turn in unused or expired medication for safe disposal. The Highland Park Community Center will be open to collect this material between 10 AM and 2 PM this Saturday and Sunday. The program helps reduce the potential for drug abuse as well as keeps these medications out of landfills and waterways.
 
4) Highland Park Library Renovations: Council awarded a contract to Molba Construction for the much-anticipated interior renovations to the library. These renovations are partially funded by the New Jersey Library Construction Bond Act with matching funds from the Borough. Renovations will be comprehensive and as a result the library will need to close its doors to the public during the construction. The timeline for the project will be announced in the coming weeks along with more information on the various service options that will be made available to residents to minimize the inconvenience.
 
5) Agreement to Participate in the "Arrive Together" Pilot Program: Council authorized an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Services to participate in their "Arrive Together" pilot program. The program partners a mental health professional with a plainclothes police officer from a participating police department to respond to calls where an individual is in crisis. This pilot program will operate in four participating jurisdictions in Middlesex County – Highland Park, Edison, Woodbridge, and New Brunswick – when any of those agencies request a professional mental health worker on-site to assist a person suffering from a mental health crisis.

If you’re interested in watching the April 18^th Council meeting, go to the HPTV Youtube channel where the video of the meeting will be posted in its entirety. The next meeting of Council is scheduled for Tuesday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m.