The members of the Secaucus Town Council appointed Town Attorney Keri Ann Eglentowicz to replace Town Administrator David Drumeler at their meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The town administrator is one of the top Town Hall employees, paid to help run the town, and Drumeler had served since 2008. He has moved on to work for Hudson County.
Englentowicz will also remain the Town’s Attorney.
“I am very proud to have the opportunity to serve the Mayor, Council and Town in both capacities. This administration strives to serve the Town’s residents in a variety of ways, one of which is to have an advocate for consumer issues. I look forward to working with residents and the public in this capacity,” Eglentowicz said.
Half the park will be dedicated to butterflies with plants that attract them.
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Butterflies will fly
The lot on Radio Avenue is just a plot of dirt now, of more than 1,200 feet in area, but construction will start soon now that the resolution passed. Half the park will be dedicated to plants that attract butterflies, and the other half of the park will provide flood control with a rain garden.
The park will not have slides or swings, but will instead have walking paths, benches, plants, and grass to prevent flooding.
“The plants will attract butterflies and insects, and there will be different types of native grass in the rain garden,” said Amanda Nesheiwat, the Environmental Department’s recycling coordinator, in an interview. The department has been working with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to plant these types of fauna. The NJSEA has created the design for the park as well.
“It will be similar to our rain grass project in Mill Creek Point,” Nesheiwat said. “To the left of the Greenway Trail, there is a rain garden with grasses that can tolerate flood zones.”
The park will be on the stretch of property surrounding an old radio transmission tower. The tower will remain with the park built around it.
The space will be ungated and open. It will also be like other open spaces in Secaucus, because it will contain nesting boxes, osprey platforms, and will serve as a wildlife preserve. This should also make the area an ideal place for birds. Scenic overlooks with seating will line the paths, as will view scopes.
This area is still swampy, which is good land for the plants, according to Nesheiwat.
The grasses will also help combat flooding. The land became flooded with water from the Hackensack River when Superstorm Sandy hit, along with Radio Avenue, Huber Street, and Valley Court.
When water runs into storm drains from roads and sidewalks, it carries pollutants like fertilizers, pesticides, oil, grease, and sediments. This runs into waterways to contribute to pollution and erosion. To help prevent this, the rain garden allows water to soak into the soil. In the soil is where sediments are captured, and the pollutants are treated by the plants.
The Monarch Meadow will be the half of the park located across the street from Elizabeth Court.
Monarch butterflies are on the verge of extinction due to pests, parasites, and loss of habitat. Monarch Meadow will be filled with plants like milkweed that provide food for butterfly larvae and caterpillars.
The goal is for the park to be registered and certified as an official Monarch Butterfly habitat with the North American Butterfly Association or Monarch Watch.
Road safety and breast cancer month
The council also accepted a resolution proclaiming October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Tie the Ribbon campaign promotes special events to support and further the mission to eradicate breast cancer. For this campaign the town will have ten-foot pink ribbons tied around trees in neighborhoods and at Town Hall to remind women to practice breast self-awareness, schedule exams, and get mammograms.
The ribbons were tied around trees on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
In hopes of providing more road safety, according to the council, a resolution was passed to mark Monday, Oct. 10 Put the Brakes on Fatality Day. In New Jersey, 562 people lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2015.
Of those fatalities in the state, 28 percent were alcohol-related, and 26 percent involved traveling at unsafe speeds. The council finds the goal of Put the Brakes on Fatality Day is to follow safety procedures like wearing a seatbelt, obeying speed limits, using crosswalks while walking, wearing proper safety gear on motorcycles, and more. The council wants residents to practice these behaviors to improve road safety around the town and state.
The next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.