thank the voters of West Windsor for having faith in me to continue to serve them and my family and friends for all of their support.
America is a land of immigrants where people come to pursue new and exciting opportunities. In 1969, I arrived from Taiwan with $300 in my pocket, a scholarship for advanced studies, and a dream of a brighter future for my family. I have lived in New Jersey for 40 years, and resided in West Windsor for 24 years. This is my home. I believe that residents should “give back” by volunteering their time to make their town a better place in which to live. I am honored to be given this opportunity again to serve the community.
Eight years ago I spoke about my vision for West Windsor and in the last four years we have seen a lot of major projects come to fruition. There is much for which we should be proud. The Alexander Road Bridge and Roundabout has been very successful at calming the traffic coming into and leaving the quiet residential neighborhood around the train station. We completed reconstruction of the Grovers Mill dam. The Grovers Mill Pond has been cleaned and restocked with indigenous fish. We are expanding the Senior Center to provide more services for the seniors in our community. Hopefully we will have a grand reopening around Labor Day. We have made tremendous strides in restoring the Schenck Farmstead to honor West Windsor as the farming community it once was. And, we have constructed the Trolley Line Trail and Pig Town Bridge which has provided access to Community Park for those living east of the Big Bear Brook.
We have accomplished a balance of needs and wants by ensuring our aging sewer and road infrastructure is maintained while our parks and recreational offerings expand. We have secured numerous grants to establish more sidewalks and bike lanes and repave major connector roads. We have entered into public-private partnerships with sports organizations to develop new playing fields in our parks, some of them lighted, for the enjoyment of a growing number of young athletes. Grants and the Recreational Trust Fund have helped us to provide activities for young and old such as the skate park, the dog park, the basketball courts, and new walking trails.
I wish to celebrate West Windsor and its accomplishments. West Windsor was the first Greentown USA in New Jersey and is home to the first municipal senior center to receive accreditation by the National Council on Aging. It is also home to the US Olympic Rowing Team. My vision is to keep West Windsor as the most desirable family-friendly community in the nation. This was accomplished in April by the AOL ranking of West Windsor as the best family-friendly neighborhood in the USA.
I commit to the residents of West Windsor that I will continue to manage our Township economically by striving to have the lowest municipal portion of the property tax rate in the county along with maintaining our Triple A credit rating for bonding our capital improvements. We will control and manage growth that enhances our interests and needs yet does not negatively impact our blue ribbon schools. The redevelopment around the train station will be done in such a way that provides a town center, additional parking for our residents, and appropriate housing for our young professionals and seniors while avoiding the development seen at Metro Park of a massive parking complex with little else.
We will continue implementation of bike lanes and sidewalks to ensure the safety of cyclists and pedestrians and increase our clean, safe, and green open spaces and recreational facilities. We will begin projects to add sidewalks along North Post Road to the train station and around Wallace and 571 this coming year.
We will promote implementation of our sustainability plan and continue to preserve established neighborhoods and historical sites.
We will continue our efforts to seek outside sources of funding to implement the many projects that are planned.
We have a lot of major projects that are scheduled for the next few years and more that are still being planned. The contract for reconstruction of Meadow Road has been awarded and construction has already begun. This is a multi-million dollar project and a major road improvement. We are nearing approvals for the Alexander Road ‘S’ Curve reconstruction which we need to time carefully with the Meadow Road reconstruction. Soon, work will begin on the old fire house on Alexander Road to become an Arts Center for the enjoyment and involvement of all West Windsor residents.
I will look to lobby the NJ Department of Transportation to move forward with the Route One Penns Neck EIS improvements, and both the DOT and the County to upgrade and integrate Route 571 into the surrounding neighborhoods. We will also seek to improve the intersection of Harrison Street with Route One to facilitate emergency services access to the location of the new hospital under construction. As in the past, I will continue to lobby the State for property tax reform.
Lastly, I would like to thank the municipal staff of the Township of West Windsor. I have come to know each and every one of them as talented and dedicated individuals. As most of you know, our Business Administrator, Chris Marion, has left West Windsor for a position as Town Manager of Scotch Plains. This was a wonderful career move for him and although we are sad to see him leave, he managed our community well and we wish him every success. I know that with our Acting Business Administrator Robert Hary, we will maintain stability and continuity. I look forward to working collaboratively with Council and our volunteers to continue to improve our community, and I will continue to hold Town Hall meetings to ensure we carry on our open exchange of ideas.
