We enjoyed attending Garwood’s Public Safety Virtual Town Hall Meeting held this past Wednesday, September 15th via Zoom. Mayor Sara Todisco hosted a conversation on public safety with the new Borough Administrator, Kyle Harris, and Chief of Police James Wright, who both spoke with the public about safety-related issues.
Public Safety is an essential part of any community, a point made clearer during and after the recent Tropical Storm Ida here in New Jersey. Our Police Chief gave an extremely informative presentation and highlighted just what a safe community Garwood is while also addressing pedestrian and traffic safety, two issues at the front of everyone’s mind after the tragedy of two deaths from pedestrians being struck by vehicles in 2020. The Chief, Mayor and Administrator also answered questions and heard ideas from the public.
“If elected, we would make public safety our top priority and guiding principle when making decisions. Also, we would continue the practice of town hall meetings on important, specific topics like this one.”
Over the last few years, the town hall meeting has been a feature of the current Council’s efforts to educate and involve the public in important issues. These town hall meetings have addressed a variety of topics such as development projects and the purchase of a ladder truck for the volunteer Garwood Fire Department. These types of initiatives are the mark of a well-functioning, transparent local government that is honestly interested in feedback from residents and other local stakeholders. Previous town halls have resulted in excellent suggestions from the public, leading the Mayor and Council to adopt plans such as the recent addition of flashing pedestrian crossing signs and the painting of lines to clearly mark the no-parking zones leading up to intersections.
If elected, we would make public safety our top priority and guiding principle when making decisions. Also, we would continue the practice of town hall meetings on important, specific topics like this one.
We look forward to continuing conversations such as this one on public safety as we try to meet as many of our neighbors as possible during our campaign for the Council. We want to hear from you, Garwood! Please reach out to us by email at clarissa@dems4garwood.com and jeff@dems4garwood.com anytime, or call Clarissa at 732-713-8195 and/or Jeff at 201-232-0851.
Clarissa Nolde & Jeff Jotz
Candidates for Borough Council