Mayor: Somerville will continue to grow and prosper in 2023
SOMERVILLE - By New Year's Day 2024, the borough government's annual reorganization meeting may not be held in a cramped room with metal folding chairs in a former brewery, but in the new Somerville Civic Center in the transit village development by the train station.
That's the hope of Mayor Dennis Sullivan who gave his annual state of the borough address Tuesday evening in the council chambers down the hall from police headquarters on South Bridge Street.
The Somerville Civic Center is being built, at no cost to taxpayers, by AvalonBay Communities, the developer of the apartments by the train station. The council and other government boards will meet in the new facility.
With the new Somerville Civic Center and the emergency services complex being built on Gaston Avenue, borough officials hope to sell the current council chambers and police headquarters as part of the continuing redevelopment of downtown Somerville.
The completion of the civic center "will expedite the ultimate sale of this building, thus creating a new ratable property to enhance our tax rolls," Sullivan said.
In 2023, the mayor said, the continuing redevelopment on West Main Street should be completed. Construction will also be beginning on a residential development at the former Baker & Taylor site on Kirby Avenue in the southeastern corner of the county seat.
The Kirby Avenue construction will be "removing a neighborhood eyesore while bringing additional revenue to the borough budget," the mayor said.
"The welcome sights and sounds of a prosperous town will herald Somerville’s continued growth and further our well-earned reputation as a community of opportunity," Sullivan said.
The borough will be building on its past successes in the new year, the mayor said.
"Everywhere you look you will see and hear the tangible results of both public and private investment in our community," he said.
The borough's parks will "undergo a huge facelift this year," Sullivan said.
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The renovation of Lepp Park should be ready for summer and a new tot lot on Fairview Avenue is in the works, he said. The borough will also begin the "the challenging task" of restoring floof-plagued Chambres Park on Southside Avenue.
At the reorganization meeting, the mayor and Borough Council named Joseph Stitley as Somerville Citizen of the Year.
Stitley continues his family's tradition serving on the borough's fire department and rescue squad, Sullivan said.
He joined the squad as a cadet in 2004 and and became EMT Rescue Chief in 2009.
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That same year he became a member of Lincoln Hose Company #4, bringing his skills as an emergency medical technician to the fire department. His responsibilities with Lincoln Hose have grown over the years, becoming head driver in 2014, lieutenant in 2015, captain in 2017 and house chief in 2019. He now serves as first deputy chief on the Board of Engineers will lead to him becoming tire chief for the entire department in several years.
He joined the the North Plainfield Fire Department as a fulltime firefighter and EMT on Jan. 1, 2022, where he is utilizing his years of volunteer experience and training in vehicle extrication, rope and trench rescue.
A graduate of Somerville High School, he earned an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from Raritan Valley Community College.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Mayor: Somerville will continue to grow and prosper in 2023
