With their families at their side, Michelle Pirone Lambros and Mia Sacks were sworn into office as the two newest members of the Princeton Council at its annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 2.
Lambros was sworn into office by state Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset), while Princeton attorney Walter Bliss gave the oath of office to Sacks. Both are Democrats.
Princeton Council also chose council member David Cohen to be the Princeton Council president. Cohen was sworn into office by state Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset).
While this reorganization meeting was the first one for Lambros and Sacks, Mayor Liz Lempert announced that it would be her last reorganization meeting as mayor. She is not seeking a third term when her current term expires at the end of the year.
“This isn’t goodbye yet for me. A year is a long time and I look forward to a supercharged year with this energetic council,” Lempert said, as she welcomed Lambros and Sacks to the council.
Lempert also spent a few minutes reeling off a list of accomplishments that ranged from road and pedestrian improvement projects to the adoption of the town’s Climate Action Plan.
Lempert pointed to the widening of Cherry Valley Road to include bicycle lanes in conjunction with a resurfacing project, and a Safe Routes to School grant for new traffic signals on Harrison Street at Franklin Avenue and at Hamilton Avenue.
The town also received a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation for improvements to Mount Lucas Road from Stuart Road East to the Montgomery Township border.
The Climate Action Plan will guide the town’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, she said. The town also has developed “Princeton Prepares,” which is a database of residents who may be vulnerable during weather emergencies.
Under the leadership of former council member and former school board member Tim Quinn, the town partnered with the school district to explore opportunities for additional shared services and possible savings, Lempert said.
But those accomplishments and others were marred by the involvement of some members of the Sewer Operating Committee staff in criminal activity, the mayor said. The issue was illegal dumping at the town’s River Road property.
The three employees – Robert Hough, the director of Infrastructure and Operations, Thomas Hughes, the supervisor of sewer operations, and Frank Casole, an equipment operator – were fired.
“We have strengthened our internal supervision and reporting procedures to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Lempert said.
Looking ahead, 2020 promises to be a busy year, she said. The council will continue to work on harmonizing ordinances from the former Princeton Borough and former Princeton Township, as well as beginning the process to update the town’s Master Plan.
A revised sign ordinance is in the works to help the business community. Implementation of an updated parking permit system and a review of how the town manages its waste also will be on the table for discussion, she said.
As is the tradition, Princeton Council members offered some remarks at the reorganization meeting.
In his comments, Cohen said he is unsure about what he is supposed to do as the council president. There is no job description, but in conversations with his Princeton Council colleagues, it has been suggested that he could help facilitate communication between council members, the mayor and staff, so that everyone knows what is taking place, he said.
In his role as council president, he could help to ensure that the Climate Action Plan “permeates all our work on the council,” Cohen said. He is the Princeton Council’s liaison to the Climate Action Plan Steering Committee.
In her inaugural remarks, Lambros said 2020 will be a “big year” for the town as it works to implement its affordable housing plan. It will need “diligent work” to ensure that it has the least impact on taxpayers while having the best outcome for the community, she said.
Lambros said she plans to focus on economic development, and will be Princeton Council’s first liaison to the Princeton Merchants Association. The liaison will work directly with the businesses to better understand their needs and goals, and to bring initiatives to support them to Princeton Council, she said.
A special communications task force is being created to improve communications between the council and the community, Lambros said. The goal is to enhance the frequency of communication and social media outreach. She added that she will have weekly office hours.
Sacks, in her first remarks as a council member, laid out some of her priorities. They ranged from updating the town’s Master Plan to finding a solution to the “missing middle [class] housing,” and revisiting the reports and recommendations that grew out of the Consolidation Study Commission and related studies.
“Through its impact on our families, Michelle [Lambros] and I have had a front row seat to observe the devastating social and economic impact from the loss of housing options for the middle class in Princeton,” Sacks said.
She will serve on a special committee whose goal is to generate recommendations for the “missing middle housing.”
On consolidation, Sacks said that seven years into consolidation is a good time to look at what worked, what hasn’t worked and what needs improvement. Princeton Council has a responsibility to ensure that “every decision is designed to produce the best possible outcome,” she said.
“I view my upcoming work on Princeton Council as a bridge between the investment of my grandparents and their generation in the community, to the benefits that my mother’s and subsequently my generation received here, and to planning for a future Princeton where our children and their peers will want to and be able to afford to remain,” Sacks said.
Princeton Council member Leticia Fraga, looking up and down the dais, commented that five of the seven elected officials are women – Lempert, Lambros, Sacks, Eve Niedergang and herself.
Princeton is leading the way in women in leadership roles, she said. “Not to take away from the men,” she added as she glanced over at Cohen and Council member Dwaine Williamson.
Fraga expressed gratitude “to all of you for inspiring me to this work.” It is a privilege and an honor to serve on Princeton Council, she said, adding that she is looking forward to working with the newly reconstituted council.
Princeton Council member Niedergang thanked former Princeton Council members Crumiller and Quinn for their service and for taking time to answer her “10,000 questions” last year as a new member of the council.
Niedergang highlighted some of the accomplishments of Princeton Council last year – from establishing the dog park task force, which will issue its report later this year, to proposed revisions to the town’s tree protection ordinance and a commemorative tree planting protocol.
“With the Princeton Environmental Commission and other interested parties, I will work to enact a single-use plastic bag ordinance if one is not passed at the state level this month,” she said.
Wrapping up, Princeton Council member Dwaine Williamson said that he, like Niedergang, had a “very full first year” on Princeton Council.
Williamson pointed to the lawsuit settlement between Princeton Council and the Fair Share Housing Center over the town’s affordable housing obligation, and the approval of the town’s Climate Action Plan.
Williamson welcomed Lambros and Sacks to Princeton Council, and added that he looking forward to working with Lempert and Princeton Council to be the best council that it can be.