Highlights of the November 4 Pennington borough council meeting: a grant to help fund the landfill property investigation, the library programs, and the results of an environmental commission survey.
Landfill redevelopment updates
In a Pennington council meeting that touched on many things, a resolution to accept a grant totaling $247,699 from New Jersey’s Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund stood out. The money will be used to help pay for the landfill property investigation.
Borough administrator GP Caminiti stated that several people who attended an earlier virtual town hall on the issue on October 23 said they were glad to have had a chance to make suggestions. Mayor James Davy received input during that meeting and in emails, which will be made available to the public soon.
Council member Charles Marciante agreed with planning board member Andrew Jackson’s recommendation that the borough should remove the landfill rather than cap it.
A place for people of all ages and backgrounds: The Pennington Public Library
Among the other updates, Board of Trustees President Hilary Burke described the library’s programs and collaborations with community organizations.
On December 6 the library will participate in the Holiday Walk with the Wallaby Tales Traveling Zoo, an entertaining and educational event featuring live wildlife.
Over the next several weeks, the library is hosting several author and speaker talks. A few topics include exploring masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, childhood migration from Central America, and indigenous people’s rights and culture in fiction writing. For more details, visit the library website.
This past February the library hosted The Big Read program collaborating with the Princeton University Art Museum, the Hopewell Valley Arts Council, and PALS on Main (Pennington Adult Living Services).
The program’s sponsor, the National Endowment for the Arts, says the goal of this nationwide event is to “broaden our understanding of ourselves and our neighbors through the power of a shared reading experience.” The theme of Pennington’s Big Read was “Circe,” a novel about a Greek goddess and sorceress by Madiline Miller. Burke said that more than 530 adults and 275 young people participated in live and recorded events from late February through early April. You can watch video recordings from the event on the 2024 Big Read page.
The library offers recordings of past author and speaker talks with a current collection of over 78 titles including John Irving’s talk about his lifetime of writing and NPR’s legal correspondent Nina Totenberg’s talk about her friendship with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Fans of the History Channel’s “Beyond Skinwalker Ranch” can watch Stanley Milford’s talk: “A Navajo Investigator’s Search for the Unexplained.”
Burke said the recordings are popular with residents because they are not always able to attend events in person.
At press time, the library is advertising a job opening for an Adult Services Specialist.
Environmental events planned
Council member and environmental commission liaison John Valenza reported on the environmental survey taken by 213 participants. The three main topics that matter to survey participantss include recycling, greenscaping, and storm water management. Valenza said the commission will host some educational events on these topics which will be posted on the Borough website.
Announcements from Council President Kit Chandler
* The Holiday Walk takes place December 6. Sponsored by the Pennington Business and Professionals Association, details will be announced on the Borough website.
* Deer hunting season is now in progress. Residents may see more deer in the neighborhood because Mercer County has made some cutbacks to the deer management program.
* Pennington’s revenue from cannabis and related sales through September 30 totals $29,365.
* The arboretum cleanup of invasive species was a success, thanks to a huge turnout of volunteers in October.
Police Department and Safety news
* The department has added a new police officer to the force. Douglas Alan Leubner Jr. was sworn in November 5 and will report to work November 14. The Mayor praised Leubner for being highly qualified for the position.
* Police Chief Douglas Pinelli resigned from his position of Emergency Management Coordinator effective November 1. He will continue his role of Chief of Police until his retirement in February 2025.
* Trunk or Treat was a success, thanks to the police department, public works, the library and several others. Sergeant Novin Thomas said the turnout was good and thanked everyone who participated.
League of Municipalities Conference: Borough administrator GP Caminiti said he will attend one day of the Annual New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City which takes place November 19-21. The conference is designed for local government officials to learn about state and federal resources, technology, the environment, infrastructure, housing, safety, health and other issues.
Going paperless: Borough Clerk/Assistant CFO Betty Sterling reported an increase in the number of residents choosing to receive and pay bills online.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 2.
