Opinion
Last week, on New Year’s Day, residents, elected officials, friends, and family members gathered in person for the reorganizational meeting of Livingston’s Township Council. We were heartened to see another packed event, with hundreds of residents filling the Livingston Senior/Community Center to witness the township’s government and committees be set for the year.
It cannot be overstated how wonderful it is to see that so many residents have volunteered to better their town. The dozens of committees included the Arts Council, the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, various parade and event planning groups, and so much more. It’s that willingness to contribute to this community that makes Livingston so special, and that was evident last Wednesday.
As is the case each year, two of the five Council members were selected as deputy mayor and mayor. Ed Meinhardt will serve as Livingston’s mayor in 2025, his third time in the role, with Shawn Klein named deputy mayor. While the mayor’s vote counts the same as every other member of the Council due to Livingston’s “weak mayor” style of government and annual rotation at the position, it still very much matters who leads our town, as they are the face of Livingston for the coming year. We wish Meinhardt good luck in the position and hope he represents this community well. Additionally, Al Anthony and Michael Vieira were sworn in for new four-year terms, and Ketan Bhuptani was sworn in to complete the final two years of his term, after winning a special election last November. We congratulate all of these Council members; we thank them for their service to our town; and we wish them well as they guide Livingston in 2025.
As we embark on a new year, there is much to look forward to in Livingston. In addition to the continuation of time-honored traditions like the Memorial Day Parade and the Fourth of July fireworks, we also eagerly anticipate the progress and conclusion of some business matters that have been topics of discussion in recent years. Some of the goals listed by Council members during the reorganizational meeting included working in tandem with the school district, finally opening the new Department of Public Works building, consolidating and refurbishing the township pools, and shaping the future of the Livingston Mall property. These are regularly stated goals of the Council in recent years (most of them were mentioned at the start of 2024, as well) and we hope that 2025 is the year that we see them finally come to fruition.
Of all of those goals, we are certainly long overdue on constructing the new Department of Public Works building. The current building has been in disarray for years and is undersized. In 2021, this led to issues during a snowstorm that forced schools to close for a day, as we did not have space to house an adequate salt supply. Land on Industrial Parkway was selected as the location of the new DPW facility in 2019. Yet another year has passed without a new building, and we hope to see a groundbreaking very soon.
We also hope to move forward with a definitive plan for the pools. A great deal of time was spent by officials and residents in recent years to develop a plan for a new community pool (or pools). As we enter 2025, we hope to see the results of this work and finally learn what the future holds for these special community assets.
Additionally in 2025, we expect further collaboration between the Township Council and Livingston’s Board of Education, as is being done with Monmouth Court, which the town will once again permit the school district to utilize. By the end of the decade, when several recent housing projects have been completed and have brought more residents to town, it is reasonable to expect a further taxing of our schools. Planning for that potentiality now is prudent.
Along those lines, if the last few years have taught us anything, we can likely expect to see some additional development projects approved, to comply with Fair Share Housing. We hope these are done responsibly, with as little negative effect on residents as possible.
Cheers to 2025! We look forward to seeing what Livingston has in store for us all in the New Year.
