Letters to the Editor

Mayor's Comments Raise a Flag

A former police officer expresses his concerns in advance of the upcoming election.

To the editor: As a Chatham Borough resident and a former police officer I find Mayor Vaughan's rash prediction that Chatham Borough will eventually be sharing its police force very disturbing. At the recent candidates forum he also stated that our police budget is "one of the biggest expenses we have right now." Frankly, I'm quite happy with our excellent police force and I don't want to share these hard-working public servants with any other municpality. Mayor Vaughan's comments are unwelcomed and hardly a vote of confidence in what most Chatham residents would agree is an exemplary police department and more than worthy of their tax dollars. Given the mayor's certainty on sharing our police force, how can we trust him not to merge our …

Boro Begins Complete Streets Planning

Chatham Borough won a grant to create a Complete Streets policy and plan.

Chatham Borough streets are about to become a little more friendly for pedestrians, cyclists and, well, anybody who uses them. The borough recently became the first New Jersey town to win a $7,500 grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) to develop a Complete Streets plan and policy. The grant is provided by by ANJEC's Sustainable Land Use Planning Grant program, which is funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. According to Cindy Steffens, the chair of the borough's Green Initiatives Committee, "The Complete Streets plan will lay the groundwork to help Chatham Borough develop a network of safer streets, crosswalks and pathways that will encourage more people to walk and bike all over town. Complete …

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Irene Costs to Borough Estimated at $117,497

Amount could go higher, depending on the final expense of the Days Creek sinkhole repair.

Chatham Borough Council members had numerous commendations for the employees and volunteers who worked throughout Hurricane Irene at Monday night's meeting. Administrator Robert Falzarano said estimates for overtime salaries, fuel, equipment, tree removal and road repair currently add up to $117,497. Approximately $35,000 of that amount is for the repair to the sinkhole over Days Creek off of Van Doren Avenue, which exposed a 14-inch water supply pipe and threatened the borough's water supply. This number, Falzarano said, is still "tentative" and could increase. "Our engineer, Vince DeNave, still has to firm up the cost for the repair to the culvert at [the bridge] and the water main shoring up," Falzarano said. "There was an extensive …

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Letters to the Editor

Weathering a Hurricane in Chatham Borough

Borough mayor thanks the volunteers who helped with Hurricane Irene.

During the two days that I spent in our Borough’s emergency command center, I witnessed many selfless acts by Chatham’s police officers,firefighters, department of public works, staff and the Community Emergency Response Team.   One act, however, stands out and it exemplifies for me the spirit of Chatham Borough. On Saturday night, as Irene was just beginning to hit us with her full fury, the command center received a call from an 85-year-old resident of our town. The resident was unable to close her windows and the storm was blowing rain and worse into her home. Now in many towns, the resident would have been told that the problem was her own and that in the midst of a storm there is nothing that could be done to help her. However, …

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Contractor: Van Doren Ave. Bridge to Open Tuesday

Mayor Nelson Vaughan said the project will alleviate traffic to the middle school and "save the borough's water supply."

Borough Mayor Nelson Vaughan said the contractor on the bridge over Days Creek has tentatively planned to open the bridge before Tuesday morning when school starts. The bridge off of Van Doren Avenue, which leads to Chatham Middle School and the Chatham Borough Department of Public Works (DPW), partially collapsed during Hurricane Irene. The collapse left a large sinkhole over 6 ft. deep and 9 ft. long. It also exposed the 14-inch reinforced water supply pipe for Chatham Borough and threatened to cut off the borough's water. Vaughan engaged Chatham Main Contractors to fix the problem, which he called "a matter of public safety" and a necessity in preserving the town's water supply. On Thursday morning, owner Billy Weichert said Chatham …

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Kings Road Residents Slow to Return Survey [VIDEO]

A month after surveys went out, council member says about half have responded.

Council Member James Collander urged Kings Road residents to send their responses to a survey from the Traffic Safety Committee on traffic practices along the road. At a Traffic Safety Committee meeting in early July, the committee decided to deliver surveys to residents of Kings Road asking their opinions on how the road should be handled. Collander said Borough Engineer Vincent DeNave hand-delivered about 40 surveys asking residents about safety and speed control devices, "so we can try to get a consensus from the residents." As of Thursday morning, Collander said about 65 percent, or approximately 26 residents, have sent responses. When the Chatham Borough Council met on Aug. 8, only eight residents had responded. "We're going to go and…

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A_Chatham_Citizen

2:04 pm on Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Jerry - as much as the police would love to sit on Kings Road and write tickets, there are only a limited number of police officers available at any given time for ALL of Chatham. Having a police presence on all of the roads in Chatham is simply an impossibility.   more ›

More Than $6M in Bonds Approved for Sale

The borough's CFO and bond attorney hope to sell the bonds at a low interest rate.

The Chatham Borough bond attorney and CFO made a presentation before the governing body Monday night to outline the details of three resolutions approving the sale of more than $6 million in bonds. Steve Rogut, the borough's bond attorney, said interest rates at this time are very low, and that it makes sense to consolidate these bonds and sell them at a lower interest rate than they have currently. The total amount of the bonds will be $6,735,000. A resolution authorized $5,819,000 in general improvement bonds to go up for sale, and a second resolution authorized $916,000 in water utility bonds to be sold. The two resolutions "authorize each series of bonds that are outstanding," Rogut said. "They set forth what ordinances we're borrowing…

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Mayor Nelson Vaughan's Remarks for July 4, 2011

The complete text of the mayor's speech, given on the occasion of the Fourth of July, when he commended the Chatham Borough Volunteer Fire Department for their lifetime of achievement as volunteers and gave them a Departmental Volunteer Award.

Today, pride and patriotism are both good emotions for all of us to have. I am full of pride to be American as I am sure we all are today. I am proud to live in Chatham and I believe we all are proud to live in Chatham. We all take great pride in Chatham’s history in the 235 years since the Declaration of Independence. As The Star Ledger writer Mark DiIonno pointed out Chatham has always been a patriotic town. And Main Street is where patriots have marched for over two hundred years and, patriots will march again today. DiIonno said: “In 1773, the town was named for the Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, an English statesman who sided with the Americans on issues of taxation without representation. Shepard Kollock, a patriot printer, gave …

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Borough Council Agrees to St. Pat's 5k Run

The second annual race will be held Oct. 23, 2011.

The Chatham Borough Council gave their approval to St. Patrick's Church for a second annual 5k run. The run will be held on Sunday, Oct. 23, the second anniversary of the death of the Rev. Edward Hinds, the former pastor of St. Patrick's. Karen Wittmer, who presented the run for discussion before the council at the Monday, June 13 meeting, said the run will follow a different route from 2010. "It'll start in front of the church steps on Chatham Street and it will continue down to Lum," Wittmer said. From Lum Avenue, the race will continue left on Front Street, left onto Washington Avenue, left on Fairview Avenue, right on Highland Avenue, right on Greenwood, right on Washignton Avenue, left on Chatham Street, right on Lincoln, right on …

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2010 Census: Minorities Rise in Chathams

The number of residents under 18 also grew in both towns in the last decade.

The latest census data shows that in the Chathams, the number of nearly all minorities has grown in the last ten years. Hispanics and Latinos grew by the greatest numbers in the borough and township, and the number of Asians also increased significantly. The number of people under 18 also increased, especially in proportion to overall population growth. The overall popuation of Chatham Borough grew by 502, but the number of minors living in the town grew by 601. Overall township population grew by 366, and the number of people under 18 years of age increased by 558. Chatham Borough Mayor Nelson Vaughan and former Township Mayor Kevin Tubbs said the increase of children living in the towns was "not surprising at all," in Vaughan's words. "…

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