State assemblymen deliver grants

MARLBORO — State assemblymen Michael Panter Robert Morgan (both D-Monmouth and Mercer) recently presented the township with a ceremonial check representing $197,000 in state grants. The assemblymen made the presentation during the Township Council’s Jan. 6 reorganization meeting.

The funds will be used to pay for improvements at Woodcliff Park, off Route 34, and for renovations to Town Hall, Wyncrest Road. Officials must make upgrades to the municipal building in order to comply with standards established by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Panter said. About $97,000 of the grant money will be used to pay for the improvements to Town Hall.

The assemblymen obtained about $100,000 that will be used to pay for upgrades to Woodcliff Park. The improvements will include new equipment that will meet present safety standards, Panter said. New parking spaces will be added and additional landscaping will be carried out at the facility, the assemblyman added.

During the reorganization meeting, the members of the governing body unanimously elected Republican Councilman Joe Pernice as the new council president.

Pernice said he would strive to make discussions among council members more “professional and productive.”

“We are allowed to disagree without being personally attacked,” the new council president said.

“As a council we must look beyond the dais and remember why we were elected — to work for the residents,” he added.