Freehold Borough Council To Reorganize On Jan. 1

FREEHOLD, NJ — The reorganization meeting of the Freehold Borough Council will take place Sunday, Jan. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Freehold Borough Municipal Building, 30 Mechanic St.

All residents are invited to attend.

The invocation will be given by the Rev. Jonathan Elsensohn of the First Baptist Church of Freehold, according to the meeting agenda.

The oaths of office will be given to Council President Margaret Rogers and to Councilman Adam Reich for full, three-year terms. The two incumbents ran uncontested as Democrats in the recent general election.

According to the agenda, resolutions are expected to be approved for the appointment of Matthew R. Goode for borough legal services; Anthony Maltese of Abbington Engineering for engineering services; and Suplee, Clooney & Co. for auditor services. A resolution will be voted on accepting the mayor's nomination and appointing Robert S. Cosgrove as municipal prosecutor.

The full agenda and list of appointments is available here.

In an end of the year video on the borough Facebook site, Mayor Kevin Kane said he looked forward to a year of "growth and change" in 2023.

He cited the Hometown Redevelopment Project that will re-imagine the bus station area with shops, a cafe, modern residences and the "My Hometown: The Bruce Springsteen Story Center," which he called a cornerstone of the project.

He said the project should create jobs and expand the tax base, without using taxpayer funds and without affecting the historic nature of downtown Freehold.

Regular Borough Council meetings are scheduled for 6:30 pm in council chambers on the first and third Monday of the month.

The borough recently revamped its website, and the new look and its information can be accessed here.

There have been many highlights in the public life of the borough in the past year. Here is a brief recap of some memorable programs:

Half Mile of Horses Art Walk installation

In a nod to the borough's long equine history, 12 model horse sculptures were posed on pedestals along Main Street from August to October in the Half Mile of Horses Art Walk. The project was funded by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' Neighborhood Preservation Program and local sponsorships. It brought lots of visitors to downtown Main Street to see the whimsical and creatively decorated horse sculptures. The borough hopes to bring the public art event back this year, all part of its plans to make the borough an arts destination, among its other attributes.

Court Street School building returns to borough ownership

The Court Street School has played a central part in the lives of its students for more than 100 years. Once a segregated school, then a World War II air raid shelter, then an integrated borough school, and, finally, the home of a community outreach center, the Court Street School building is now officially owned by the borough. Ownership of the school building was transferred from Monmouth County by the Board of County Commissioners to Freehold Borough at an Aug. 11 commissioner's meeting.

Caretaking of cat colonies gets a pilot project

A pilot program to control the stray cat population will get underway in 2023 after much consideration last year. The "TNR" pilot program - referring to trap, neuter, vaccinate and release - would permit caretakers to maintain stray cat colonies in accordance with the the ordinance. More details on the ordinance can be found here. The proposed pilot program would terminate two years from its effective date unless the council acts to continue it prior to that date.

Freehold Borough Educational Foundation

This nonprofit supports and enriches the educational life of children in the borough school system through an array of initiatives and financial support. There was the first $340,000 Tomazic Family Scholarship, honoring the past superintendent, to help defray students' high school and college costs, for example. Then there was the $23,815 in grants awarded to teachers and counselors in the school district for developing special programs. And we can't forget one of the most exciting moments at Park Avenue Elementary when the Inchy the Bookworm vending machine was unveiled to the excited response from students eager to earn (and read) free books through a kindness program.