Hello! 

Happy New Year to all!  

2025 marks the 265th Anniversary of Bernards Township and the following year our Nation’s semiquincentennial or 250th. The Township Committee passed a resolution on December 23rd to make Bernards Township a Rev250 community. This will enable the Township to coordinate with County and State planning focused on highlighting historic sites, leveraging related social platforms, and be eligible for grant funding. I appreciate those of you who have volunteered to serve on the Anniversary Committee, including Nancy D’Andrea and Nancy Cook. There will be upcoming ways to get involved, so stay tuned!

On January 2nd the Township Committee had its recognition meeting.  Committeeman Gary Baumann resigned effective January 1, so four members voted for our incoming Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The vote was 3 votes in favor for Janice Fields as Mayor, and the same for Andrew McNally as Deputy Mayor. Committeewomen and outgoing Mayor Jennifer Asay did not support the nominations. In light of the opening created with Mr. Baumann’s resignation, the Bernards Township Republican Municipal Committee, pursuant to the Municipal Vacancy Law, NJSA 40A:16-1 et seq, provided the submission of three names to fill the seat, including Kirsten Light, Daniel McCabe, and David Tancredi. Mr. Tancredi was subsequently unanimously voted to fill the seat at the January 28th Township Committee meeting. I look forward to working collaboratively with him to serve our residents.

Another notable action at the January 28th meeting was passing Resolution #2025-0107, committing Bernards Township to comply with Affordable Housing obligations. As defined in the Resolution, the Township is committing to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Round Four present need of 24Units, and a modification of the DCA’s Round Four Prospective Need obligation of 218 Units to 171 Units. There is a memo within the agenda’s supporting materials, from Kendra Lelie of Kyle and McManus who was contracted as our Affordable Housing Planner, that provides an explanation for the proposed reduction.

Our next obligation will be to thoughtfully consider how we will meet this requirement and adopt a binding resolution on our Housing Element and Fair Share Plan by June 20, 2025.   Reflecting on Affordable Housing, there is a need. Housing experts estimate that New Jersey faces a shortage of more than 200,000 affordable housing units. Mandating Affordable housing creates a challenge for communities focused on intentional development.  At the same time, we want to be able to provide housing options for those who meet the Affordable Housing eligibility criteria and wish to live and work in our community and local vicinity. 

At the December 23 Township Committee meeting, there was a significant drumbeat of public comment from the families of adult children with intellectual and developmental needs about the statewide shortage of housing for this community. This will be among the factors I consider in the next few months. In addition, you’ll see within the Resolution that there is a window to explore how we shape the future of our township, including a consideration of voluntary conformance to the Highlands Regional Master Plan. The Highlands Region is a “Special Resource Area” of the State of New Jersey, designated for water and resource protection by the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act of 2004. It provides a comprehensive “blueprint” for the future of the Highlands Region, serving as a plan to ensure protection of the vital water supply and other critical natural resources.  We have an opportunity to explore this option without an obligation to voluntarily conform. Bernardsville is among our neighboring communities petitioning to conform to the Highlands Regional Master Plan.

Along with leading the Anniversary planning, I have been appointed as one of two Township Committee liaisons to our Police Department, the other being Deputy Mayor Andrew McNally, as the Township Committee liaison to the Office of Emergency Management Committee, and to the Utilities. I’ve held meetings with municipal representatives from JCP&L, PSEG, American Water and the NJ Intergovernmental Affairs department. I look forward to sharing updates from these respective partners.

Lastly, on January 28th the Township Committee adopted a resolution recognizing Muslim Heritage Month. The resolution was presented to the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (ISBR). Dr. Ali Chaudry accepted the Resolution and welcomed everyone to visit the Mosque. In Bernards Township, the vitality of the ISBR was quite evident at the Mosque this past Sunday, January 26, as the community celebrated Muslim Heritage month.  ISBR’s mission of providing Islamic religious, educational, cultural and social services to Muslims living or working in Somerset Hills, and promoting interfaith and intra-faith dialogue in order to improve relations between Muslims and people of other faiths, is essential in making our community inclusive and respectful of all people. 

I also had the pleasure of attending the Basking Ridge Indian Community Sankranti Festival, earlier in the month where culture was celebrated through food and a fashion show of clothing from different regions. 

Lastly, the Basking Ridge Fire Company Chief hosted a New Year’s dinner and I was delighted to reunite with Chief Greg Heiner, a classmate of my daughter’s, from the Ridge High School class of 2013. It was wonderful to see Greg in this new leadership role now serving the community he grew up in.

Thank you as always to those who are attending the Township Committee meetings. Calendar detail – we have a new meeting start time of 7:30pm!

Your Voice Matters! You can contact me with township questions/thoughts/comments at (201) 306-0178, or via email at amccarthy@bernards.org. Please note that any correspondence sent to me will be visible to the full township committee and clerk.