Here is the latest Take Five briefing from the July 11, 2023 meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council.
1) National Night Out, Tues. 8/1: The Highland Park Police Department will be holding its annual National Night Out event on Tuesday, August 1st from 6 to 9 pm in the parking lot of the former Stop & Shop. Residents are encouraged to come out and mix and mingle with the officers while enjoying games, food and family-friendly activities. National Night Out is a community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships throughout the country.
2) Upper Raritan Avenue “Road Diet” Plans: Mayor Foster and Councilman George reported that Senator Diegnan has scheduled a meeting with Borough officials and the New Jersey Department of Transportation to discuss the status of the proposed road diet to calm traffic on Upper Raritan Avenue (No. 8th Ave to Edison border). The concept under discussion for Raritan Avenue is to eliminate a lane of traffic in either direction, reducing it from four to two lanes along with the installation of dedicated bike lanes in both directions.
3) Labor Day Weekend in the Park, Thurs. 8/31: Councilman Postelnik announced that the Borough, in cooperation with our partners in New Brunswick and Middlesex County, will be kicking off Labor Day weekend in Donaldson Park on Thursday, August 31 at 5 PM. The event will feature face painting, games, music and plenty of food vendors, culminating in a fireworks display that will begin at approximately 9:15 pm. Please note that this event replaces the rescheduled Independence Day celebration that was previously announced to take place on August 6.
4) Final 2023/Preliminary 2024 Tax Bill: Councilwoman Kim-Chohan announced that the Middlesex County Board of Taxation has certified the Borough’s 2023 tax rate and that bills will be in the mail this week. Council passed a resolution authorizing the extension of the grace period for third quarter tax payments; the new deadline to pay is now Monday, August 14.
5) Redevelopment Walking Tours, 7/21, 7/26 & 7/31: Councilman Hale invited interested residents and business to join him for a redevelopment walking tour to review and answer questions about the Borough's downtown redevelopment plans. The group will meet outside at Penstock Coffee at 13 So. 3rd Avenue on Friday, July 21st at 8 AM, Wednesday July 26th at 12:30 PM and Monday, July 31st at 7 PM. Tours are expected to last 1.5 hours, depending on the number of attendees. RSVPs are not required, but appreciated; please email [email protected] to let us know if you are coming.
If you’re interested in watching the June 20th Mayor and Council meeting, go to the HPTV Youtube channel where the video of the meeting will be posted in its entirety. The next meeting of Mayor and Council is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8th at 7:00 p.m.
