Create and follow a 3-5 year Infrastructure Plan
Fix the Roads
One of the most common complaints of Harrington Park residents is the sorry state of our streets. In the last year, fewer than 10% of our roads were repaved while others continued to fall into disrepair.
We plan to prioritize road repair by:
- surveying all roads in town
- creating a rotating schedule so each street is regularly considered for repair
- seeking grants to fund repaving projects
Address Flooding
Many streets in our town experience flooding and damage with heavy rains.
We plan to mitigate flooding by:
- together with borough engineers, creating a 3 - 5 year remedial action plan to alleviate effects of heavy rains
- seeking federal funds available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- ensuring storm drains remain clear of debris
Update Library to Meet Community Needs
We love our librarians and the programs they run, but the building has not been updated in over 25 years. They and the Harrington Park community deserve an improved facility.
We seek to update the library by:
- forming an exploratory committee to work with library board to determine needs and feasibility
- seeking available grants to fund work, including bringing the facility into ADA compliance
Community Outreach and Input
You may not have time to attend council meetings, but you still deserve to be informed about government business and to have a voice in how Harrington Park is run.
We plan to improve outreach and community input by:
- issuing a quarterly newsletter apprising residents of borough business
- alerting local newspapers to events and information relevant to Harrington Park
- updating the Harrington Park website to include a virtual suggestion box and soliciting residents’ input
- holding and publicizing town hall events to share information with and hear concerns of residents
- regularly meeting with all department and committee leaders to determine their needs and how we can help them achieve their objectives
- moving the Harrington Park digital bulletin board to a more visible location
Aggressively Pursue Grants
A portion of the taxes Harrington Park residents pay every year is allocated to fund grants that are distributed to towns across the state of New Jersey. We want to see our fair share of available federal, state, and county grant money distributed to Harrington Park.
We will aggressively pursue grant funding by:
- retaining a grant-writing service with a proven record of success obtaining grant money
- leveraging relations with fellow Democratic officeholders throughout the county, state, and federal government to seek available funds, equipment, and other resources
Actual picture of Pondside Park
Upgrade the Parks and Playgrounds
Why can’t we have nice things? Every one of our neighboring towns has installed beautiful new playgrounds within the past 5 years. Pondside Park is currently overgrown, our athletic fields need attention, and the Highland Field playground structure was built over 20 years ago.
We plan to upgrade our parks and playgrounds by:
- enhancing Pondside to attract residents and increase usage
- resurrecting field maintenance program
- adding age-appropriate playground equipment where needed in town parks
Cultivate Relationships with Democratic State & County Officeholders
State and county departments are overwhelmingly run by Democrats, as are the Bergen County Improvement Authority and Department of State, both of which administer grants for infrastructure, public parks and playground improvements, and to address flooding, and funding throughout New Jersey. Democrats also hold all elected positions at the county level as well as a majority of seats in the state senate and assembly. Having a mayor and council of the same political party as these officials can only serve to benefit all Harrington Park residents.
We can gain from these closer ties by:
- opening channels of communication with fellow Democratic officeholders
- securing a seat at the table when state and county business is being conducted
- leveraging contacts at state and county levels
Increase Civic Participation and Pride
Harrington Park needs more opportunities to foster community cohesiveness. Our goal is to help our residents feel more connected to their neighbors and our town.
We plan to bolster civic involvement and pride by:
- beautifying main thoroughfares
- replacing lost trees
- creating a commission to organize community events geared toward the arts, music, food and well-being
