March 25, 2024
Today we had the privilege of being addressed by the president of Summit City Council, Lisa Allen (a SNP Rotarian) and Mayor Elizabeth Fagan.
Lisa led off with a few comments about the direction the City would take over the coming several years. The Broad Street West project has been scrapped, so a new plan will be necessary to deal with the property available on the site of the old firehouse – the new firehouse should be fully operational in June/July. As the City moves forward, Lisa, as Council president, plans to emphasize three main issues: safety, community engagement, and transparency. This also relates to how the city's plans for reusing this area will be conducted.
Mayor Fagan discussed several issues relating to safety. The City is now deploying a newly acquired drone for surveillance. It can be used by both the police and the fire department for everything from apprehending criminals to traffic control. The police department is initiating a home security assessment, available to all residents, and the fire department is employing new software to assist in optimizing the fastest access to fires and other emergencies.
After their opening remarks, Lisa and the Mayor took questions. One question involved Mt. Laurel decision vis-à-vis the State’s new affordable housing law mandating each municipality to present a plan for affordable housing in conjunction with the State. The new State law establishes the process for cities to comply with the NJ Supreme Court’s Mt Laurel decision’s Affordable Housing obligations for a ten-year period beginning in 2025. Summit has not yet fulfilled all of its Mt laurel agreement but will likely “reset” the clock and the goals for our affordable units in the upcoming negotiations with the State. The closing of Maple Street for the summer months was raised – the City engineer will not permit its closing as it ultimately presents a safety hazard. Finally, a question was raised regarding the weekly delivery of advertising fliers. Many residents don’t want these weekly deliveries thrown onto their property. The Mayor has had other complaints about this issue and said the City potentially could ban the deliveries, but it was noted there is an opt-out option – the contact info is printed on the plastic bag containing the materials.
We would like to thank the Mayor and Lisa for sharing their thoughts on the City and directly and fully answering all questions put to them.