A delegation of 13 elected German officials visited the Meadowlands on Nov. 21 as part of a tour arranged by The National Association of Counties.
NACO was created in 1935 when county officials wanted to have a strong voice in the nation’s capital and currently represents more than 2,000 counties nationwide, acting as a liaison with other levels of government. The organization works to improve public understanding of counties, serves as a national advocate for counties and provides them with resources to help them find innovative methods to meet the challenges they face.
Germany and America have been exchanging delegations since 1992, studying a variety of issues from recycling to social and economic development.
Bernie Nangle, director of external affairs for the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, coordinated the group’s visit, which capped a six-day economic, environmental and social issue fact-finding mission to the United States.
Nangle provided the delegates with a discussion of the HMDC’s structure and function, its founding mandates of environmental protection, economic development, solid waste management and an overview of the Meadowlands District as both a geographic and political entity.
The group took a tour of the Hackensack River and its wetlands, following which they heard a presentation by Ken Ochab, the HMDC assistant Chief Planner. Ochab outlined the HMDC’s role in balancing economic development with environmental enhancement, recent projects within the Meadowlands district and current transportation planning concepts.
Ken Scarlatelli, HMDC’s senior wetlands specialist, discussed the background and formulation of state and federal wetland regulations and the history and development of enhancement projects in the Meadowlands. “Technologies used for the HMDC’s current wetland enhancement sites, the Allied Junction Project in Secaucus and the recently approved Meadowlands Golf Course project were included in the presentations and greatly impressed the NACO delegation,” Nangle said. The German visitors were impressed with the wetland enhancement sites they toured, particularly the Mill Creek site in Secaucus – which features nature trails. “Our professional staff was challenged by the myriad of questions posed by the delegates,” Nangle said. “It was very rewarding to share the mutual interests and future development policies of our respective government agencies.”
The leader of the German delegation was Karl-Heinz Schroter, commissioner of Oberhavel County in Germany. The county includes towns such as Brandenburg, Havel, Cottbus, Frankfurt, Oder and Postdam. Schroter presented the HMDC with a 300 million-year-old fossil from that region of Germany.
The visit is part of a larger exchange
The German visit was part of a two-day tour of Hudson County, and a larger tour of counties in Virginia and Maryland. The officials met with Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski to discuss marketing strategies and Hudson County’s transformation over the last few decades.
The delegation toured revitalized areas of Hudson County, the Brennan Courthouse and other county buildings, the Light Rail system, Liberty Science Center and Liberty State Park in Jersey City. They also lunched with the Hudson County Freeholders and talked about the legislative arm of American county government.
“With all the development gracing Hudson County, it has been interesting to see all the foreign delegation visit the county to discuss our revitalization and marketing efforts,” Janiszewski said. “The Germans caught a glimpse of our economy, our waterfront, our communities and our relationship with New York and were impressed by what they saw.”
Janiszewski was part of a NACO delegation that toured German Counties in 1998 in conjunction with Deutscher Landkreistag, the German association of counties.
The exchanges, begun in 1992, alternate visits from county officials between the two countries and are designed to provide learning opportunities and dialogue about county government programs and practices. Counties in Germany and the United States have much in common, although – as NACO, HMDC and Hudson County officials noted – there are many differences as well.