Highlights of July 12th 2016 Raritan Borough Council Meeting
Meeting was broadcast on "Cablevision-Optimum" Channel 15 & "Verizon FIOS" Channel 37.
Councilwoman Denise Carra was absent.
New Councilman Robert McGinley,
who replaces Councilwoman Bryanna Danyluk, was sworn in.

Robert has lived in Raritan for the past 38 years.
He is a retired Probation Supervisor for the State of NJ after a 37 year career.
He is married with a wife (Lora) and two children (Rob & Morgan).
For the past 8 years he has coached
Girls JV Basketball at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
He is a parishioner at St. Ann's and member of the Raritan Recreation Board.
Other Meeting Highlights Include:

The meeting was started with a moment of silence for the Police Officers killed in Dallas.

During public comments - a resident expressed his frustration that some people are not cleaning up
after their dogs around Elizabeth Avenue Park and the surrounding yards of private homes.

The capital budget had the first phase of its approval.
(With no written handouts it was a bit difficult to get the full picture.
A future meeting will grant final approval and then a list of all items will be posted.)
"Some" of the items "verbally" mentioned at the meeting were:
Public Works - Four Wheel Drive Truck $56,000
Public Works - Sewer Truck $187,000
Public Works - Skid Steer Loader $42,000
Fire Department - Command Vehicle $60,000
Sherman Avenue $145,000
Bell Avenue $145,000
Misc. Road Construction $100,000
Police Department - New Guns $25,000
The guns are starting to fail. This batch of guns have been a constant problem since purchased 8 years ago.
The 15 minute discussion about the Capital Budget can be viewed by clicking here

Pools attendance on Sunday has been good. This is the first year that a pool is open on Sunday.

The construction for the addition to the library has started.

There had been bids out for two trees to be cut down - one on DeCicco Drive and another on Route 202.
The winning bid that was approved was from "Wayne's Tree Service" for $2500.

The Gaston Avenue Creek which is fed from a tunnel underneath Johnson Drive
and goes into the backyards of many homes has a lot of ongoing debris.
The town will send out the engineer to take a look at the situation. It will be further discused next meeting.

The council is looking to run a slideshow of announcements on the cable channels.
They will look into using an existing computer to do this.

In June the Municipal Court collected $18,856 of which $8,345 goes to the borough.
Fun Fact - Mayor McMullin closed the meeting with the phrase
"Goodnight Mrs. Calabash - wherever you are".
This was the line that entertainer Jimmy Durante
used for years to close his radio show.