Jersey Cares Proposes Coat Drive at Council Meeting

At the Chatham Borough Council meeting Monday, William Watts, service event vanager from Jersey Cares, proposed a coat drive in Chatham to benefit the organization.

“If we can find a place, it’s a great program,” said Mayor Nelson Vaughan III.

The event would take place for a period of time and would require space for the collection. “If we’re going to sponsor this, we need to find a place that can adequately control the space and traffic,” commented councilman James J. Collander.

In other outside news, two representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) discussed how homeowners, renters, and small business owners could apply for low-interest loans to repair or replace losses that are not compensated through insurance. SBA has centers set up in disaster recovery center in areas near Chatham where people can get help with the application process. Information sheets were given to the council.

Several new upgrades are slated for the town and the train station in the very near future. New signage featuring directional arrows are scheduled to go up soon around Chatham, including signs for the train station and library.  In addition, new parking meter pay machines are coming soon at the train station.

The new machines will operate at a faster pace and should speed people along, according to the council. The upgrade is aimed to streamline the payment process.

An ordinance establishing new regulations for signs and was worked on by the Planning Board for the last two years.

The mayor proposed changing meeting dates in November to one week later and the council agreed. The dates are now November 14 and 28.

In the Administrator’s report, it was revealed that approximately $37,000 was approved for the Borough Hall’s telephone system to be replaced when the hard drive on the system failed. Also, $13,000 is approved for replacement of a control panel on one of the fire trucks.

Councilwoman Victoria Fife reported that the town’s website will soon have new sections featuring a photo gallery and a “frequently asked questions” area.

Councilman James K. Lonergan reported on several town projects including the paving and Belgian block projects on Washington Avenue and other streets. He said the schedule is on time and the curbing project was done to help prevent water runoff. In other municipal news, he said the Memorial Park pool project is off to a good start despite recent weather delays. He said the field will be redone offering a better drainage system and should be ready for play by spring.