Special Statement Made During Councilmember reports

The following is a statement I read during my Councilmember report on January 5, 2026.

Tonight is the end of what is normally a two year cycle of five members of the town council serving together. This time, because we moved our elections, we got an extra 6 months together. It's a good time to be reflective on what is going well and where we have opportunities for improvement.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for their dedication and the time spent serving our community. In particular, I am so excited to serve with Councilwoman Holland. Together we are making history in Verona. Never in Verona have two women served on the Town Council for four years, and we are set to continue to break that record by serving together for an additional two more. I am excited to continue to make history with her.

I'm really proud that as a group, we have decided to invest and address long standing issues that we have with aging recreation infrastructure assets. The Community Center playground renovation, pickleball court renovations and the upcoming renovation to Everett field are huge accomplishments. I am also excited that we are finally addressing our aging streetscape, and tonight we announced that we had a $1.5 million grant to offset the costs of implementing the plan that is currently being developed, a great achievement.  Over the next year, I am also excited about the foundational work that will be done to make our community more age friendly and inclusive of those living with disabilities.

We have also made great strides in addressing our water and sewer infrastructure, and have maximized capturing federal dollars to offset the costs of those projects. Thank you to Township staff and leadership of Councilwoman Holland for helping us maximize our infrastructure grants.

I want to thank the Chairpeople and all of the volunteers on the committees for which I am the Council liaison.  They are doing exceptional work.  I want to applaud the Shade Tree Commission who has transformed their operations and focus during the time for which I serve with them.  The MIACC committee has spent hours supporting our Township by planning fun and meaningful events that build connection in our community.  And the Neighborhood Traffic and Safety Committee, with their enthusiastic members, who are looking for Verona to take a step towards safety with a Complete Streets policy for the first time ever.

Finally – we have two projects that are such challenges for the Council it keeps me up at night.  The new police and fire building has been one of those projects.  I remain committed to finding a solution forward, but I am deeply frustrated with this project and how it was led and organized.  We have spent a quarter of a million dollars and we have yet to have a workable design for a building to address our needs.

Our zoning, redevelopment efforts, and compliance with affordable housing requirements are also an area where we need to focus.  The Town Council and Planning Board should be collaborating on a vision and strategy for our community and then executing that strategy and courting investment.  Instead we have been in perpetual reaction mode to requests made by developers and property owners.

On these two projects, we need the right leader of this Council to bring us together and strategically move us forward.  We need to focus on a new approach that will help us reach consensus earlier in the process before taxpayer money and time is spent.  We need a leader that will extend outreaches to involve all members of council in decisions, to touch base, and bridge divides.  Instead of focusing on just want happens in the meeting, the right leader should be working between meetings to prepare and communicate with our Township Manager and the rest of the Council.  That is what leadership of Council entails. 

As always, I am enthusiastic to serve this great community, and I will continue to work hard over the next two years on behalf of all Verona residents.