That’s what they all said but, thankfully, it turned out not to be true. April 4th was a conference meeting only with a fairly short agenda and Mayor Fernandez, as stated previously, is great about keeping us all on track. The issue that took up a large part of the evening was regarding the previously enacted zoning change to ‘correct’ split lots to commercial zoning, i.e., to recognize the current use ‘on the ground’ and to change the zoning to reflect that use. The one zone regarding Block 4000 lots 2,4,14, and 15, a.k.a the old Saturn dealership, was the one being challenged. [On another note, I too have received phone calls regarding this issue from residents close to this area.] Although the ordinance has already been enacted, the challenger respectfully requested reconsideration and will be meeting with the Town Manager to discuss his and his neighbors’ objections.
Among the other business discussed were two other items of which I took particular notice. One was a salary ordinance and one was a request for a new Township Committee (which I admit I put forth to the Council!). The salary ordinance looks benign on the face of it, but I did some analysis and will need to discuss it further with the Council (before I discuss it here). The ordinance merely sets out the minimum and maximum salary ranges per pay grade and provides the pay grades by title. As the Town Manager had discussed in previous meetings, by getting rid of levels within pay grades, we will be saving approximately $70,000. The other item was my proposal to the Council to create the Asian Community Outreach Committee. The mission statement is as follows:
Livingston is a town with a large Asian population, 14% according to the 2010 census data. Many new immigrants came to Livingston for its excellent school system, close proximity to New York City, and a vibrant community life in town. Just within the Chinese population, our town has the Livingston Chinese School, the Livingston Huaxia Chinese School, the Livingston Chinese Association, and the Living Stone Christian Church. Our town also has two Indian schools and Asian Indian in Livingston (AILIV). Livingston residents benefited from the annual Livingston Chinese Culture Day performance and activities, and the cultural events organized by the Asian Indians in town, as well as the multicultural shows in various schools.
While the township appreciates the contributions the Asian community made, it recognizes the need for a regular presence of the Asian community in township affairs. There is also a need for the township to better understand the issues faced by recent Asian immigrants, whose culture is very different from western culture. Language barrier is one of the biggest obstacles that hinders communication between new immigrants and the community at large.
The Asian Community Outreach Committee will serve as the bridge between the township and the Asian community. The goal is to bring mutual understanding through promoting regular communication, organizing seminars, promoting township activities through each participating organization, educating new immigrants of the many services in town, and bringing citizen's concerns to the Town Council and the Board of Education.
We envision a liaison from both the Town Council and the Board of Education. We have identified a list of volunteers who represent major organizations from the Asian Community as follows: [List of names not included until the committee is actually constituted. Also, a liaison from the Town Council – me – and from the Board of Ed was also requested.]
The Council is inviting the people involved with the creation of this committee to come on May 9th to discuss this further.
So, short agenda AND short meeting. Nice!
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