BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — The Planning Board will have a new face on the dais at its March 7 meeting.
But it’s a familiar one.
Longtime township resident and volunteer Ann Miller, 81, has been named to a vacant seat on the board following the resignation of Michael Spina.
Spina, who ran for Township Council last year, cited health concerns in his letter of resignation, which was read by Mayor Jim Phillips at Monday’s council meeting.
“Because of a recent heart attack I’ve suffered, and the recuperation time following [two surgeries] placing stents in my heart arteries, I find it impossible to fulfill my obligation to sit on the Planning Board … at this time,” Spina said in his letter. “I realize the Planning Board has several important decisions to make in the near future, and I know it wouldn’t be right to keep any seat vacant while I recuperate.”
Phillips accepted the resignation, noting that he had visited with Spina, who returned to the hospital yesterday for further care.
“His doctors have recommended that he have a little less stress,” Phillips told the Suburban.
The mayor said he “thought long and hard” about who would be a suitable replacement. Last Wednesday, he contacted Miller, a frequent attendee at municipal meetings, and asked her if she would be interested.
“She knows more about what’s going on than anyone,” Phillips said.
Miller, of Cottrell Road, said the mayor told her she attends more meetings than anyone else in Old Bridge.
“I like that kind of stuff,” she said.
She noted that she wouldn’t have nominated herself for a position on the board. In fact, she said, when Russell Azzarello was mayor of Old Bridge, he had asked Miller to consider serving on the Planning Board. But at the time, she did not feel confident that she could handle it.
“I had never thought about it,” she said.
Miller said she knows being on the board and reviewing voluminous application files will mean “a lot of reading,” and she is fully aware that meetings run very late at times. But she enjoys being involved in Old Bridge.
“It’s my town,” she said.
After Miller was sworn in Monday night, council and audience members applauded her appointment. And Miller herself was all smiles.
She was quick to note that her service on the Planning Board will not interfere with other work she does in the township. She is president of the Madison Township Historical Society and serves as a liaison to the Environmental Commission.
Council members wished Spina, who has also served as a member of the Environmental Development Corp. and Cable Television Advisory Board, a speedy return to health.
“I think we all want to wish Mike Spina a healthy recovery,” Council President Patrick Gillespie said. “We hope that Mike gets back on his feet.”