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MANVILLE: Council regroups for new year

By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
   The 80th annual Manville reorganization meeting began Saturday with more than 75 dignitaries, officials and residents clamoring into the municipal courtroom at the borough hall to grab a seat to see Councilmen Steve Szabo and Lou Fischer get sworn into office for their second and first terms, respectively.
   The Democrats gained a one-person majority on the council when Mr. Fischer was sworn in after having received 1,495 votes in the Nov. 4 elections. Republican Mr. Szabo received 1,441 votes, and both defeated Republican incumbent Kathryn Quick, Democrat Ron Skirkanish and Independent Rich Onderko.
   ”I want to publicly thank the residents for electing me to council,” Mr. Fischer said at the meeting. “And I thank the council for their warm welcome. I look forward to the challenges ahead and to working with the council to come up with the best long-term solutions for Manville.”
   Mr. Szabo also thanked the residents for reelecting him to his council seat.
   After a unanimous vote, Councilwoman Susan Asher accepted a nomination from Councilman Ted Petrock to again serve as council president for the coming year.
   The remaining council members congratulated Mr. Fischer and Mr. Szabo on their respective wins as well as all residents appointed to committee positions.
   ”I am looking forward to a productive year,” Councilman Ed Komoroski said.
   Mayor Lillian Zuza announced the committees for 2009, appointing council members to such areas as finance, public works and progress and development. This year, she said, she wanted to put council members in different committees to give them more experience in the borough.
   ”We decided to throw up the committees and put people in different ones,” she said. “I want them out there to see the other committees. This needs to be a learning experience.”
   In addition, Mayor Zuza made her many mayoral appointments, including assigning Francis Linnus as borough attorney for his second year. After making appointments for tax attorney, redevelopment attorney, borough auditor, borough surveyor and other similar positions, she made it clear these offices were necessary and required by the state.
   In recent months, residents have questioned whether there could be cuts in positions and other aspects of the borough to reduce taxes.
   ”The people we appointed are required by the state to oversee special projects,” she said. “These are not things the council just chooses to have.”
   In her annual address, Mayor Zuza recounted many accomplishments over the past year, including changes made to the Construction Code office, working with the New Jersey Department of Transportation to bring back parking spaces on South Main Street and putting the contaminated property on the corners of Kyle and South Main streets in foreclosure.
   ”A year ago, I was sworn in and provided you in my mayor’s address with an agenda of several issues that the council would be addressing,” she said. “The council has worked diligently over the last year as a team.”
   In addition, Mayor Zuza said, she is proud the borough was instrumental in installing a new traffic light on South Main Street for the safety of Little Weston residents and worked to get a protected left signal from Dukes Parkway to Finderne Avenue.
   Mayor Zuza said she also is proud of having entered into a shared services agreement with Somerville to allow residents to use its skate rink for $10 per person, and, with Borough Administrator Gary Garwacke, was able to secure $250,000 in discretionary aid for the borough.
   Although the work already has begun, Mayor Zuza said the borough will continue to work with Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s office to expedite a “no further action” letter from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which would allow the borough to move forward with the redevelopment of the Rustic Mall.
   ”And (we are) continuing discussions with the developer,” she said.
   Finally, Mayor Zuza said she already has the first meeting of the new Flood Control Committee scheduled for Jan. 21 at borough hall (see story).
   ”(We will have) an update of the study being presented by the Army Corps of Engineers,” she said.
   Aside from these prior accomplishments, Mayor Zuza said she is looking forward to working with residents and the council to continue improving Manville.
   ”This mayor and council will continue to address the needs of the residents as they are brought before the council,” she said. “I will continue the challenge ahead of me and look forward to tackling upcoming issues with this council and being successful in addressing them.”