May 18th Meeting Summary

On May 18^th we had a meeting of the Verona Town Council.  Here are the highlights of what was discussed.

We had a lengthy presentation from Strans Engineering on our streetscape project.  This is the project where we are going to update how our downtown looks and feels.  We will be replacing the brick that is on the sidewalk, light poles, street trees, garbage cans, and will be adding benches and bike parking.  For years, residents have been telling me that our downtown needs a refresh – and this project is how that happens.

I encourage everyone to review the presentation and meeting recording, because we are at a decision point on what materials, colors, and designs that are being selected to move forward.  As part of my commitment to ensuring residents can provide input into projects before decisions are made, the time is now to review the recommendations of the contractor and provide comments to the Council.  I also asked to make sure that your Shade Tree Commission, MIAAC Committee, and Neighborhood Traffic and Safety Committee sees the recommendations so that they could be providing final feedback.

After feedback is received, the project will go into the design phase and then implementation.  Verona received a $1.5 million dollar grant to offset the costs associated with this project.  We will also be working with Essex County to coordinate with their recent grant to replace several of the traffic lights on Bloomfield Avenue to assist with getting new curbs, and possibly curb bump outs, as part of this project. 

As part of this meeting we finalized a re-development plan for 251 ½ Grove, which will turn this storage facility site into townhomes.  Based on the Planning Board’s review, we made some small changes to the redevelopment plan before we adopted it.  This includes preventing basements to be built, and ensuring that the building follows all building rules required of being in federal flood plains.  You can read the full set of plans here.

We also took action and approved our capital ordinances for 2026 for the pool, which will help to purchase new pool furniture and make improvements to the main building.  We also approved over $100K in capital improvements for our water and sewer utility.

The Council also approved minor adjustments to 2026 pool fees, and increase the number of out of township memberships from 100 to 125 to help improve revenue.  Pool enrollment is strong and expects to grow as we move into the month of June.

Under ordinances for introduction, we introduced our two significant capital ordinances for the year.  For our General Fund, we amended the $4.5 million ordinance to remove the new ambulance for the Rescue Squad.  That will be pulled out and voted on separately.  The $4.5 million dollar ordinance includes funding for several projects, including (but not limited to)

• Nearly $600K for new police department equipment

• $100K for new fire prevention equipment

• $1.6 million for the streetscape project (offset with the grant received)

• Nearly $250K for new parking lot resurfacing

• $300K for new HVAC at the Community Center and other facility repairs

• $250K for continued planning for the Emergency Services building

• $525K for road repaving of Hamilton, Crestmont Road and Place (offset with a nearly $400K grant)

• $185K for new DPW trucks

We also introduced a capital ordinance for our Water and Sewer utility totally $2.7 million, which includes highlights from the following projects:

• $1 million to reline the sewer trunk lines near Derwent and Brookside Terrace

• $550K for the Franklin Street water main replacement

• $650K for sewer plan upgrades

• $150K for nitrate treatment upgrades

• $100K for a new garage

• $200K for new trucks

Public hearings for both capital ordinances will be at our next meeting.  You can send any feedback you have to the entire Council by using this form: https://www.veronanj.org/councilcontactform

Under resolutions, highlights include approving Boswell Engineering to map our water and sewer assets, we recognized Gun Violence Awareness Day, and we accepted our most recent Clean Communities grant. Under new business, we discussed a new section of our code to prevent the burning of trash and debris.  This will be introduced at our next meeting.

If you have a comment on any matter before the Council, you can do so by sending us an email using this form: https://www.veronanj.org/councilcontactform.  Our next meeting will be on Monday, June 8^th.