Raritan's new mayor touts downtown economic development in 2024
RARITAN BOROUGH – Downtown economic development and a new borough hall top the "aggressive" agenda for Nicolas Carra in his first year as the borough's mayor.
Carra, after being sworn into a four-year term at Tuesday's reorganization meeting, said in his State of the Borough Address that creating a "people-centered approach to economic development" will be a priority in 2024.
The mayor said he would like the borough to establish a special improvement district for Somerset Street. Many New Jersey towns, including Somerville and Flemington, have designated their downtowns as special improvement districts where a property tax surcharge is assessed to fund infrastructure improvements in the district.
Carra also said he would like to see both sides of Somerset Street from the John Basilone statue to the post office be designated as an area for redevelopment with nearby areas on Nevius, Thompson and Anderson streets.
The borough has also begun talks with the owner of the nearly vacant Raritan Mall at Route 206 and Orlando Drive on the future of the property, he said.
The north side of Orlando Drive also needs to be "reconsidered," he said, with the possibility of creating a greenway on the south side of Orlando Drive by demolishing buildings.
The mayor said he would also create a Redevelopment Advisory Committee to evaluate future redevelopment plans and review past redevelopment projects.
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Carra said work on the new municipal building, the vacant PNC Bank on Somerset Street, should be completed by the end of the year. Work is also beginning on the conversion of the current municipal building into police headquarters.
The purchase of the bank property, made possible by a $2.75 million earmark in a federal funding bill, will also provide 40 more public parking spaces in the downtown area, he said.
To keep property taxes down, the borough will be hiring a grants writer, the mayor said. The borough will be seeking money to make the old firehouse on Anderson Street into a borough museum, Carra said.
The borough will also continue working on a strategic master plan for recreation, and pickleball courts will be installed in Frelinghuysen Park, he said.
With his background in nonprofit work, Carra said he would like to institute a Social Services Day so residents can discover what social services are available to them if they need assistance.
Carra, a Republican who had served on the Council since 2017, succeeds Zach Bray who declined to run for reelection. Carra defeated former Borough Councilman Pablo Orozco by a 975-to-643 margin in November.
For Carra, it's a matter of keeping it all in the family. His grandfather, Anthony Hudak, served as mayor in 2005 and his mother, Denise Carra, served as Borough Council president. While his mother and grandfather were Democrats, Carra is a Republican.
The new mayor appointed his mother to serve an unexpired term on the Municipal Land Use Board.
Also at the reorganization meeting, Don Tozzi and Michael Patente were sworn into three-year terms on the Borough Council. Tozzi was selected as council president.
The Borough Council also selected Umesh Agrawal to fill the vacancy on the council created when Carra was elected mayor.
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 today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Raritan NJ downtown economic development a focus in 2024
