2 Chatham Council Members Sworn In, Treloar Chosen President

CHATHAM, NJ — Two re-elected Chatham Borough Council Members were sworn in on Monday night during the council’s virtual meeting.

At that meeting, both Carolyn Dempsey and Jocelyn Mathiasen took their oaths of office, with the decision made on Dec. 29 to switch the meeting from in-person to remote, because of rising COVID case counts in Chatham and statewide.

Dempsey, who was Council President in 2021 and called it a privilege to serve with such a dedicated group, nominated Irene Treloar as Council President for 2022, the rest of the council agreeing to the choice.

The consent agenda’s second part included acceptance of Municipal Clerk Tamar Lawful’s resignation on Jan. 10. Council Member Karen Koronkiewicz led the group in thanking Lawful for her service to the borough.

Thanking Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz and fellow council members, Dempsey also acknowledged administration and resident volunteers for their dedication. Among highlights, she named from her past three years on the council, included helping to establish the concert series, the acquisition of the former Stanley Church, the refurbishment of Garden Park and working to establish the Chatham Community Food Distribution at Chatham United Methodist Church.

Mathiasen’s sentiments about Kobylarz and the other members of the council echoed Dempsey’s, saying each brings a “unique sensibility and unique expertise to the job.”

She also thanked employees and volunteers, especially helping as the pandemic hit, stating many residents are unaware of what happens behind the scenes, dealing with the impacts of it.

“Store shelves may have been bare, but you can always count on clean water, consistent waste disposal, plowed roads and a police officer when you needed one,” she said.

Kobylarz said he was sure that he could speak for everyone in that it was a “fervent wish this should be our last council reorganization meeting held virtually, for a very long time to come.”

In his Mayor’s Annual Message, along with speaking about the budget, he thanked borough volunteers, spoke about the more user-friendly borough website and the ability to renew pet licenses online. The borough additionally was awarded a AAA bond rating, achieved Sustainable New Jersey silver status and is gearing up for a Gold Star award, which strives to reduce solid waste and increase energy efficiency.

The borough, which began refurbishing Garden Park and resurfaced tennis and basketball courts in 2021, expects to continue these projects in 2022, he said.

One of the agenda items was the establishment of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, which he said fulfills the promise of a 2017 resolution spearheaded by former Mayor Bruce Harris and Councilman Len Resto. Resto and Treloar were assigned to that committee.

In addressing COVID, Kobylarz called 2021 “one hell of a year” and “a roller coaster ride.” He said that ride included a “ghastly surge,” that dropped into a valley of “utter false hope,” with the year-end experience the “surge of all surges.”

“The Omnicron wave is now upon us,” comparing it to a “blizzard or a tsunami.”

“The numbers say it all,” he said.

June 28, he recalled was 105 positive COVID cases statewide, from 6,922 on Jan. 13, 2021, which then surged to 29,740 on New Year’s Day 2022. Kobylarz said the borough’s health officer called it a “no brainer” that the state could possibly reach 30,000 daily positive COVID tests in the coming week.

Kobylarz encouraged residents to get vaccinated or boosted immediately, stay masked in all indoor public spaces, with either two cloth masks or a N-95 or K-95 type, to avoid large gatherings with known or potentially unvaccinated people and to cut down on public travel.

Resto told attendees about the MLK Day of Service Monday, Jan. 17 Food collection residents can drop off donations canned goods stock the pantry with, drop off time rear parking lot Chatham United Methodist Church 10 a.m. to noon, even one can help seniors.

With the consent agenda, the 2022 temporary budget was adopted, which Mathiasen explained is done to pay bills, with the budget adopted later in the year.

Click the video below to watch the full meeting:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.