Mayor Nowick Secures Creek Repair Funds, Talks State Of The City

LAMBERTVILLE, NJ — In the first month of his tenure, Lambertville's new mayor Andrew Nowick has been keeping 60-hour weeks and making big plans.

In his State of the City address at Lambertville's City Council meeting last week, he said six words come to mind when he thinks of Lambertville: battered, recovering, overextended, changing, supported, and hopeful.

Nowick has focused his first weeks as mayor around reading the city's 2,406 damage reports and surveying damage at more than 20 municipal sites. His address, and his update for residents this week, focused on upcoming improvements and recovery efforts in the city.

On Thursday, he announced that the city received authorization from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the United States Department of Agriculture to conduct emergency stabilization repairs on Swan and Ely creeks. Both creeks overflowed in the remnants of Hurricane Ida, meaning damage to their banks and culverts as well as the surrounding areas.

Nowick said the estimated eligible construction costs are $1,739,000, and that the conservation service will contribute up to 75 percent of the costs, with Lambertville contributing the remaining $434,750 in the form of cash or in-kind services. The work must be completed by Aug. 30.

In his Thursday update, Nowick also said: no immediate start date is available but reconstruction on the towpath north of Elm Street is considered a priority project; emergency repairs to Studdiford and Washington Streets are scheduled to begin in the next two weeks; public budget hearings will take place Feb. 8 and Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. on Zoom and in-person in the Phillip L. Pittore Justice Center; and the Parks and Recreation Commission is writing bids for the clean-up and reseeding of the Cherry Street Park as well as bids for city-wide mowing.

In his address, he cautioned that, while progress will be made since the damage from Ida, a return to normal won't ever be fully realized.

"[S]ome residents will not return, and many will continue to suffer enormous financial and emotional hardship; the creeks will never look like they did in August; our business community may not entirely recalibrate," he said, adding, "In a fell swoop, Ida demarked this city and its people into a before and after."

Nowick also said that the municipal budget will not see a quick recovery.

"Our taxes have increased, our debt remains high, our budget is already barebones, and at best our revenues are likely to be flat," the mayor said. "We will have to borrow large sums of money to pay for Ida repairs. The city is not only battered by Ida and Covid, but it’s battered by its financial situation, and I’d be surprised if there isn’t a single household for whom this doesn’t pose a concern."

Nowick is concerned about the need for public improvement at county buildings, especially in the midst of staffing shortages for public works jobs and trash collection. But he also maintains his faith in the hard work of city employees and Lambertville residents.

"The city is supported by a staff in City Hall that works endlessly to file FEMA Reports, correspond with residents, keep the books in order, and so on," he said. "This city is supported by the police department, the fire department, the Rescue Squad, the [Lambertville Municipal Utilities Authority], the Library, the churches, and many organizations whose missions benefit us all. This city is supported by over a hundred people serving on our boards and commissions. This city is supported by residents who quietly and bigheartedly volunteer where there is need."

And Mayor Nowick also assured residents that he holds out hope. He said the city is hopeful because "businesses keep coming; because new residents make a difference, because long-timers keep us honest," because "the residents of this town voted to raise their own taxes to fund new and better schools for the future children of Lambertville," and because "cannabis will soon fund our coffers, while calming us down."

Nowick's speech ended on this note:

Read Nowick's full State of the City address here.

Be the first to know what's going on in Lambertville when you subscribe to Patch.

This article originally appeared on the New Hope-Lambertville Patch