Here is the latest Take Five briefing from the December 16, 2025, meeting of the Mayor and Borough Council.
1) Recognition of Arts Commission Leaders: Council Member Vargas read aloud a proclamation acknowledging the efforts of the long-standing Chair and Vice-Chair of the Highland Park Arts Commission, John Marron and Amee Pollack, who are stepping down from their positions next year. With their guidance and support, the Borough took on a number of public art projects, including the Band Aid Bench on So. Fourth Avenue and several eye-catching murals on Raritan Avenue and Woodbridge Ave. They partnered with other municipal arts groups in the county, and the Mason Gross School of the Arts, in the annual area-wide Windows of Understanding public art initiative that places socially conscious artwork in storefront windows, an initiative which has drawn copious press coverage and public attention. Under John and Amee’s leadership, the Highland Park Arts Commission has grown to include a passionate group of artists committed to making the arts accessible to everyone in the community. Please join us in thanking them both!
2) South Third Avenue Plaza Design: Council Member Hale joined the Mayor and his fellow Council Members in thanking residents for the great turnout and feedback provided at the Community Meeting held on December 15th to discuss the design of the South Third Avenue Plaza. The presentation, including the proposed concept plan and renderings are available on the Borough’s website along with the video recording of the meeting. Having completed the concept design phase, the landscape architecture team at Arterial will now take the feedback from the meeting and begin to fully engineer the project and draft the construction documents. Questions and comments about the plaza can be sent to Rutuja Vartak, the Borough’s Economic Development Coordinator, at [email protected].
3) Snow Removal Recap: Council Member Hersh thanked the Department of Public Works for their response to the snow storm that took place over the weekend and provided a recap of the preparation and clean-up effort. He reminded residents of the Borough’s snow removal protocols, specifically those pertaining to sidewalks. It is important that property owners in residential areas help keep sidewalks accessible by clearing them to a 40 inch path (or at least the width of the sidewalk) within 12 daylight hours after the storm ends (6 hours in commercial areas). Residents that need assistance shoveling may contact the Department of Community Services at 732-819-0052 for the Snow Removal Referral List.
4) 2026 Reorganization Meeting: The Borough Council passed a resolution to schedule the annual reorganization meeting for Tuesday, January 6, 2026. The purpose of the meeting is to install duly elected members of the governing body, take care of necessary “housekeeping,” and chart the course for the upcoming year. By statute, the meeting must be held within the first seven calendar days of January.
5) Shared Services Agreement with Freehold Township for IT Services: Borough Council authorized the renewal of Highland Park’s shared-services contract with Freehold Township to provide critical information technology (IT) support services for the Borough. This is the third year of this successful inter-municipal partnership and we look forward to working with the Freehold IT team in 2026.
If you’re interested in watching the December 16th Council meeting, go to HPTV’S Youtube channel where the meeting will be posted in its entirety. The next meeting of Borough Council is the annual reorganization meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 7 p.m.
