Here is the latest Take Five briefing from the April 15, 2025 meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council.
1) Lease Renewals: The Borough Council passed a series of ordinances to renew leases for five Borough-owned properties, including 20 River Road (Environmental Education Center - Raices Cultural Center), 101 Raritan Avenue (Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership), 212 Raritan Avenue, 1st Floor (Main Street Highland Park), 212 Raritan Avenue, 2nd Floor (Reformed Church of Highland Park-Affordable Housing Corporation), and 127-133 Raritan Avenue (Reformed Church of Highland Park-Affordable Housing Corporation). These lease renewals reflect the Borough Council’s commitment to working with local partners to meet the environmental, educational, and housing needs of the community.
2) Capital and Salary Ordinances: The Borough Council passed an ordinance to approve $413,935 for roadway improvements for North 10th Avenue and Volkert Street. This project is funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Municipal Aid Program. The Borough Council also introduced an ordinance that updated the salary ranges for all non-union positions within the Borough.
3) South Third Plaza: The Borough Council authorized supplemental engineering services with CME Associates to address final NJDOT access permit requirements for the planned pedestrian plaza at South Third and Raritan Avenue. The contract will cover updates requested by NJDOT to finalize the access permit. Because this project will change the way people access Route 27 (Raritan Ave), the Borough was required to gain an access permit from the NJDOT. This critical step brings the Plaza one step closer to becoming a reality.
4) Community Center Roof: The Borough Council passed a resolution awarding a contract to Safeway Contracting to construct a new roof for the Highland Park Community Center. With this contract awarded, work can begin on the new roof, which will round out many recent upgrades to the Center including new bathrooms and new floors.
5) 810 North Second Avenue Redevelopment: The Borough Council passed a resolution approving a redevelopment agreement with YFM L&N 810 North Second Ave LLC, naming the company as the redeveloper of the former lab site at 810 North 2nd Avenue. Under the agreement, the building will be repurposed into four residential apartments in line with the Borough’s redevelopment plan adopted last fall.
If you’re interested in watching the April 15th Council meeting, go to HPTV’S Youtube channel where the meeting will be posted in its entirety. The next meeting of Council is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29th at 7 p.m.
