Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • January 14, 2009 Franklin Lakes Mayor cites achievements and challenges by Frank J. McMahon Franklin Lakes Mayor Maura DeNicola reviewed the achievements of her administration during 2008 and the progress she expects in 2009 in her annual address to the public last week. She also spoke about the challenges she expects the borough to face in the New Year. DeNicola thanked the members of the council, the police, fire, and ambulance corps, the department heads and their staffs, and all the community volunteers who serve the borough. She emphasized that public service is not a nine-tofive job and that it means being available sometimes early in the morning, performing duties on many evenings, and attending many meetings. “It is our collective sacrifices of time and effort that have resulted in many achievements for Franklin Lakes,” DeNicola said, and she named a few of them, such as the newly opened addition to the ambulance corps building, clean highway ramps, newly planted shade trees, and the new fully installed emergency radio system. She also applauded some of the accomplishments that have been made over the past year in conjunction with the borough’s professionals, such as the aggressive pursuit of shared services and grant monies, the 2008 road program that provided the capital funds to elevate the overall quality and safety of the borough’s roads, and the borough’s recent cooperative effort with United Water New Jersey. “We successfully reconfigured the VFW’s commuter parking lot and instituted a permitting policy that prioritizes its use by Franklin Lakes residents,” DeNicola continued, noting that a new bus shelter for that site is currently being planned for construction by high school volunteers. “We also undertook the long-awaited expansion of our municipal parking lot,” she said, thereby increasing library and recreation parking and resolving the significant pedestrian safety issues caused by overflow parking at the municipal complex. “We achieved closure with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the illegal wetlands issue behind Tommy John Field,” DeNicola advised, “by removing millings and replacing them with topsoil and seed and we are now aiming to revitalize the area and to complete the Memorial Pond project with community and school organizations and volunteers, as well as with an Eagle Scout project.” DeNicola predicted that 2009 will be a year of continued progress on many front,s but it will also be a year of challenge. “As announced by Governor Corzine, New Jersey is currently $2.1 billion in debt,” DeNicola explained. “Shifting responsibility is not the answer, and yet the state continues to impose the growing costs of affordable housing, pensions, and educational funding among other mandates on municipalities at the same time that we face increasing financial obstacles in maintaining and improving our own local quality of life.” She continued, “While we must demand greater accountability at the state level, we must also firmly face the dark financial horizon in order to best protect the Franklin Lakes taxpayer.” GAS BOILER L. ROGERS PLUMBING HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CO. BOILER NJ MASTER LIC. #6980 She promised that, under the guidance of Councilman Steve Marcus, the borough will again craft a budget “with a sharpened pencil” in light of decreasing income from state aid and building and construction fees, which have been a tool that has historically been used to offset increases in operation. “And we will increase our pursuit of shared services,” DeNicola promised, explaining that the borough is now meeting with representatives of Wyckoff and Oakland to explore ways to join forces locally to reduce expenditures and share certain municipal responsibilities. “To best approach our new constitutional obligations of affordable housing we created a local COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) Planning Committee,” DeNicola explained, “organized a town hall meeting, produced a Fair Share Housing Plan with our professionals, held a public hearing on that plan at the planning board, took a public vote of endorsement by the borough council, and submitted the plan to COAH to protect the borough from builder’s remedy lawsuits.” DeNicola also promised to continue to fight the Round 3 COAH regulations with the New Jersey League of Municipalities and to work tirelessly on the type of zoning that will protect the character and environmental qualities that make the borough a uniquely attractive place to live. She said the challenges of the global financial crisis will bring opportunities to get more people contributing to public service, cultivate new ideas, and to allocate resources more wisely. Our record of service in this town is outstanding,” DeNicola said in closing. “You and the many people who make Franklin Lakes what it is are truly extraordinary. Your generosity, your hard work and your tireless dedication to preserving and improving our community will surely help us move forward successfully and I look forward to working with you.” Heating Specialists HOT WATER HEATER BOILER REPAIRS & INSTALLATIONS HOT WATER HEATER INSTALLATIONS The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit will present an in-depth presentation on Internet Safety on Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Franklin Avenue Middle School Multipurpose Room in Franklin Lakes. The presentation, “Staying Safe in Cyberspace: Internet Safety for Parents,” is a comprehensive examination of today’s Internet. For further information call D/Lt. Andrew W. Donofrio at (201) 226-5521. Internet safety presentation set Boilers Installed in One Day 24 Hour Emergency Service • Clean Boilers • Change Filters • Adjust Thermostat • Adjust Gas Valves • Check Radiators • Adjust Water Temperature • Oil Circulator • Adjust Water Pressure 201-847-1737 District kindergarten registration to begin The Franklin Lakes Public Schools will hold kindergarten registration at Woodside Avenue School. High Mountain Road School and Colonial Road School Tuesday through Friday. Jan. 20 through 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 to 3 p.m. Parents of students who will enter kindergarten in September 2009 may register their children at their school of attendance: High Mountain Road School, 765 High Mountain Road; Woodside Avenue School, 305 Woodside Avenue; or Colonial Road School, 749 Colonial Road. Anyone unsure of which school a child will attend should call (201) 891-1856. Children are eligible for the kindergarten class in September 2009 if they were born before Oct. 1, 2004. Children do not have to be present during registration. An orientation program will be scheduled for May 2009, and parents will schedule an appointment for their child to participate in a screening activity to help determine kindergarten readiness. Additional information on kindergarten registration is available on the district website at wwwfranklinlakes.k12. nj.us or by calling High Mountain Road School at (201) 891-4433, Woodside Avenue School at (201) 891-5600 or Colonial Road School at (201) 337-0336. FREE ESTIMATES