Residents Invited to Open Space Forum Tonight

In June, Council unanimously approved a resolution that authorizes a non-binding referendum question on the November ballot that proposes amending the “Open Space ordinance to allow the funds to be used for acquisition of open space and improvements to recreation facilities.” Tonight at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers, community members are welcome and encouraged to attend a public forum on the Open Space referendum.

The forum will include a panel made up of Borough Attorney Carl Woodward, Councilman Alan Lesnewich and former Recreation Master Plan Chair Arlene Regan, who will answer questions from the community, said Borough Administrator Doug Marvin at the Sept. 26 council meeting. Moderators will be Paul Jeffrey, the former Chairman of the Open Space Committee and Kevin Carroll, former Recreation Chairman. A similar forum on the Alcohol Consumption Licenses referendum will take place next Wednesday at the same time and location with different panelists and moderators.

Council President Michael Gennaro said these forums are intended to provide information about each referendum, not advocate for residents to vote for the referendums one way or another.

“The purpose of this would be simply to get facts out,” Gennaro said at the Sept. 12 council meeting. “It’s not meant to be pro or against either referendum. It’s meant to go straight down the line and relay the facts. I think it would be very helpful to the community to have facts as they look at the referendums.”

Marvin said both referendum questions and the explanatory statements can be viewed on the borough’s website, newprov.org.

“In addition to that, there is a mechanism in place for you to send in a question via our website, which will then be asked at the forum,” he said. “These forums are designed to get factual information out to the public with regard to these very important topics and we hope that the public will go to the website, or attend, and send questions in to us so we can be sure to get answers to the questions out to the public.”

Marvin said if residents are unavailable to attend, the forum will be videotaped, posted on the borough’s website and will be available on NP-TV.