As we end one year and begin another, I like to review what we have accomplished and what we are looking forward to in the year to come.

2019 brought a lot of exciting projects in Wharton. We completed water main and road improvements on Downs Avenue, Ford Avenue, Kitchell Avenue, and Orange Street. Roads improvements were completed on Columbia Street, Division Street, East Sterling Street, and Lane Way. Various parks were improved and revitalized, including the beginning of the construction in Memorial Park and the creation of the new Dog Park on West Dewey Avenue. The trails on Irondale Mountain are now marked, which was completed using grant money. Work began on renovating the bathrooms in the Library also with grant money.

We continued to work hard on invigorating and redeveloping Main Street and I believe that we are at the beginning of economic revitalization for our town. Wharton has been designated as an Opportunity Zone, which has increased interest in the borough from developers.

We continue to be financially sound. We are debt free and we remain the second lowest municipal tax per capita in Morris County. We actively participate in Shared Services to benefit our residents, including adding this year- new partnerships for Animal Control and shared purchasing of equipment with other towns.

Our employees, Police Department, and DPW continue to be the best around. Our volunteers on the Fire Department, for Canal Day, for the Carnival, serving on our Boards, and for other events continue to make Wharton a great place to live and work.

2020 should be another excellent year. We are starting the new decade strong. We are planning on continuing work on roadway improvements throughout town. We received word from Morris County that the extension of Main Street is on track for completion this year. Park improvements will continue this year with the completion of the revitalization of Memorial Park and Langdon Avenue park will receive a face lift this year. Work will continue on restoring the Morris Canal Lock 2 East which is being completed via grant money.

Our focus on communication with our residents will continue this year with this website, our Facebook account, our Twitter account, our emergency notification system, our radio station, and my newsletter all being ways for us to share information with our residents. I’ll continue to have meetings where we request the public input on plans, such as the one we recently held about Langdon Park.

The Council and I, along with the rest of our staff work hard to make Wharton a great place for our residents. We are all looking forward to another great year!