CHATHAM – It was a subdued reorganization meeting with no surprises, no controversy, no apologies, one positive public comment and a predominantly Republican leaning complexion Monday, Jan. 4, as the Borough Council ushered in a new year and a new decade.
Color guards from Boy Scout Troops 8 and 28 led the less than standing room only meeting hall in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by an invocation of peace and public welfare from interim St. Patrick Church pastor Rev. Owen Moran, who said he expected to oversee parishioners at the church for several weeks after the murder of the Rev. Edward Hinds Oct. 23 – killed in the church rectory by custodian Jose Feliciano. His tenure has extended to 11 weeks, he said, but soon the wounded church will welcome a new spiritual leader.
“I am delighted to be invited to your reorganization meeting,” said Moran. “It is a privilege. I thought that I would be here just two or three weeks, but I am now here 11 weeks. I can tell you the parish is healing.”
Councilman James Collander was unanimously voted council president while mayoral appointees were approved, again unanimously, by the Borough Council.
Honored guests, pointed out by the mayor and asked to stand up, were state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, R-Morris, and former state Sen. Leanna Brown, who is also a borough resident.
Before giving his state of the borough address, Mayor Nelson Vaughan welcomed newly elected Republican Councilmen Len Resto and John Holman after the duo was sworn in by Borough Clerk Susan Caljean.
“I wish prosperity and wellness to all in 2010,” Vaughan hoped. “The decade we have left behind was the worst for the U.S. economy in modern times. Chatham was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures and the economic sickness that affected borough residents and businesses and we maintained a tight control on our budget allowing us to maintain the high level of services our residents are used to.”
A Mayor’s Wellness Campaign Advisory Committee was formed as was a Community Garden Sub-Committee and a Land Conservancy Committee. …
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