Anew borough committee will be formed with the purpose of making Spotswood look nicer.
The idea stems from a discussion held at a September meeting of the Borough Council when resident Frank Kardashian suggested the town do something about unsightliness problems such as overgrown grass, sidewalks crowded by vegetation, and boarded up buildings. Borough officials were receptive to the concerns and are expected to soon vote to create a committee to focus on getting blighted properties cleaned up.
During Monday night’s council meeting, Council President Curtis Stollen said the committee could send letters to property owners who are not keeping up their yards. He termed the letters “friendly,” and said they would not be as threatening as a visit from the code enforcement officer.
Borough Attorney Gary Schwartz agreed the letters would be a form of diplomacy, more subtle than an official borough visit.
Schwartz said the committee would be made up of citizens and perhaps a liaison from the council.
Councilman James Shearn urged his colleagues not to have a preconceived idea of what the committee should do. Instead, it should let the members plot their own course of action.
Councilwoman Marge Drozd said she does not know how many volunteers will come out for the committee, but that it could work with the police department and public works to report the information to a central area.
Councilman Thomas Barlow, noting that the overreaching of tree branches onto sidewalks makes it difficult for people to walk by, said the letters should be friendly and even offer the property owner help if they cannot abate the problem themselves.
If the letter goes unanswered and no action is taken, and code enforcement must visit the home, the resident will have at least been given a warning.
“The more eyes and ears you have, the better,” Drozd said.
Both Kardashian and fellow resident Mark Fafara spoke during Monday’s meeting and volunteered to sit on the new committee.
Fafara said Kardashian should be congratulated for his idea, and perhaps even chair the committee. Fafara said the beautification campaign would coincide nicely with the borough’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2008.
Kardashian declined the spot but said he does want to make sure that if the committee is formed, it would have the full support of the administration and council. He said the group would put together a plan and include input from everyone.
“I want to see the town get better, not worse,” Kardashian said.
Shearn noted that if the committee does ask property owners to take better care of their yards, some of the residents might get annoyed. That’s where it would be important that the committee have the council and administration’s support.
Stollen said later that the borough will advertise for volunteers. After that, a meeting will be held to get ideas on what form the committee will take and what it will do.