Mayor's Message Archives 2022 Mayor's Messages

2023 Mayor's Messages

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2022 Mayor's Messages

December 2022

The December message is typically pretty short to leave space in the newsletter for other information, so this is an abbreviated list of news items and a wish from your Governing Body for a joyful holiday season.

First, please join us at our tree lighting at Borough Hall on December 4 at 4 p.m. to kick off that most wonderful time of the year. We expect a special visitor if everyone’s been good! Details on the website.

The following week, on December 11 from 1-4, the Parker Homestead, decorated by the Garden Club and our Point Road students, will host an open house featuring food, drink and the Embury Church carolers.

Afterward, there will be Santa hayrides and a food drive at the Fire House from 6-8:30 p.m. Please bring at least two non-perishable items to donate.

In addition, our Wreaths Across America observation on December 17 at 11 a.m. recognizes our service men and women who can’t be with us during the holidays. Join us at Memorial Park to recognize the sacrifice so many families have made.

And on December 21, at 6 p.m., a Menorah lighting ceremony will be held at Borough Hall. All are welcome.
All that fun means the weather is getting colder, and that means our Little Silver Shovelers group is looking for volunteers to help our seniors and others who have difficulty shoveling their driveways and sidewalks. Students, get your service hours! Anyone interested in helping out should email littlesilverhelpers@gmail.com, or call (732) 383-5017

In Borough news, regular readers of the Message will recall that I solicited comments over the summer on whether to permit leashed dogs in some or all of our parks and open spaces. There were lots of responses, pro and con, and the Borough Council has placed the issue on its agenda for December 5.

There are no formal proposals at this time to change the current ordinance, and the agenda item is meant to solicit further input on the issue.

In other council news, a Facebook Live session featuring outgoing councilwoman Corinne Thygesson, previously scheduled for December 5, has been rescheduled to 6:15 p.m. on December 19. Non-Facebookers may view the session in the Library. Further information will be posted as the date approaches.

The council also recently heard from Mark Aikins, a resident who has proposed forming the Little Silver Endowment Fund, a 501c3 entity that would assist with financing the borough’s 100th birthday celebration next year, and in funding discrete projects, such as recreational or safety equipment benefitting all residents.

It is a new concept that is not intended to interfere with current borough charitable groups or fundraising; instead, it will focus on town-wide improvements that the borough might otherwise not be able to afford.

Those with interest in the Fund, and potential contributors, may call Borough Hall with any questions as the endowment fund is being organized.

Over at our beloved Library, we’re pleased to advise that it will soon reopen after being closed for insulation installation. Check the library’s Facebook or Instagram for updates. We’re hopeful that the insulation and other tweaks to the HVAC system will end the unpredictable performance of the heating and cooling system during extremely hot or extremely cold weather.

And down at Santelle Park, we’re pleased to advise that a grant-funded replacement of the dock is now complete, along with installation of a kayak-boarding station. We’re hopeful that the new synthetic floating dock will serve our residents long into the future.

Further improvement at the Park, including installation of a restroom facility, are in the works.

Lastly, our police department has worked closely with our schools and state authorities for many years to keep our children safe, including preventing and responding to a shooting event. Much of that work is done out of view of the public, in order to keep confidential the most sensitive components of those procedures, so that they are not known to those who might use that knowledge against our students.

However, we can say that, in November, an inspection by a state department at Red Bank Regional High School led to accolades by the inspectors, who were impressed by the measures the LSPD has taken there, in conjunction with the school.

The LSPD, our schools, and others will continue this productive partnership and all efforts to promote our students’ safety.

And lastly – and not least, as the news is elsewhere in this newsletter – please visit the Fire House for your holiday decorating needs, including trees, wreaths, and other decorations. Proceeds benefit our all-volunteer emergency services, who are always there for us.

On behalf of the governing body, we wish you all peace and happiness during the holidays. As always, please call borough hall with any concerns, or contact me directly by calling my home phone at (732) 576-8595, or emailing me at bobneff80@gmail.com .

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