Plainsboro Township Clerk Carol Torres was reappointed to her position at the August 14 Committee meeting, which makes her a permanent, tenured employee of the township. Torres has worked as the town clerk since February, 2010, and has been a township employee since 1985. Prior to working for Plainsboro, Torres worked as a bilingual clerk for the City of Trenton for nearly 10 years.
In other Plainsboro news the township will be making improvements to the intersection of Parkway Avenue and Plainsboro Road, thanks to a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. These improvements will include traffic signal upgrades, road reconstruction, and pedestrian safety improvements. In addition, as part of Plainsboro’s annual road maintenance program, paving and drainage improvements will be made to several streets, including Simonson Drive, Beechtree Drive and Beechtree Lane.
Starting in the fall road improvements will be made to Mackenzie Lane, Groendyke Lane, Quick Lane, Parker Road (from Groendyke to Quick), Linden Lane South (from Prospect Avenue to Trumbull Road), Trumbull Road, Brentwood Drive, Poplar Drive, Willow Court, Hickory Court, and Walnut Court. These roadway projects will start in August and continue throughout the fall.
Plainsboro will also be repaving Plainsboro Road from the George Davison Road intersection to the intersection of Scotts Corner Road, using “cold-in-place recycling,” an environmentally friendly process that recycles and reuses the top two to five inches of asphalt pavement.
Upgrades to town parks are also underway. The upgrades to the play area at Schalks Meadow Park are scheduled to be completed in December, and several improvements at Morris Davison Park are scheduled to be completed in early 2014. Those improvements include resurfacing of the basketball courts; replacing some of the play equipment; repairing and repainting the gazebo; and upgrading the lighting and the plantings surrounding it.
Plainsboro has been chosen to be an onsite facility for the Special Olympics of New Jersey’s Young Athlete Program. This innovative program is designed for children with disabilities from ages two-and-a-half through seven years old, and allows parents and siblings to play with their special needs child in a guided play group led by a trained Young Athlete coach, and will help children improve their gross motor social and language skills, and develop foundational sport skills. The program will begin in the fall.
Plainsboro Township will be holding its sixth annual shredding event for residents on Saturday, October 26, from 9 a.m. to noon at the municipal center. This program, which began in 2007, is run in conjunction with the Middlesex County Division of Solid Waste. This service is only for Plainsboro residents; private businesses are not allowed to participate.
Residents may watch their documents being shredded through a closed-circuit camera and obtain a receipt. It is not necessary to remove paper clips, staples, or paperboard binder covers. The township recommends that residents arrive as early as possible because once the truck is filled, the event is closed.
Additional information can be obtained by calling the Department of Public Works at 609-799-0099 or through the township website www.plainsboronj.com.
The Plainsboro Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is hosting a Storm Preparedness Night on Thursday, September 12, at 7 p.m. in the recreation center. Representatives from the township, Middlesex County and PSE&G will share useful tips to make sure everyone is prepared in the event of a severe storm or hurricane. The topics to be discussed:
Plainsboro Township’s Emergency Response Plan
Safety and Security — Before, During and After Storms
How to Prepare Your Home for Storms
Storm-Related Fire Hazards
Making a Survival Kit
Managing Loss of Power and Food Safety Tips
Downed Power Lines and Utility Hazards.
For questions about Storm Preparedness Night, please contact Steven Holmes, deputy coordinator of emergency management at Sholmes@plainsboropolice.com or 609-799-2333, ext. 1687.
On Wednesday, September 11, Plainsboro Township will dedicate a new memorial in honor of the men and women who died on September 11, 2001. The centerpiece of the memorial will be a 27-inch section of steel from the World Trade Center given to Plainsboro Township by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It will be on display in the lobby of the Plainsboro Municipal Center.
This new indoor memorial will complement Plainsboro’s outdoor September 11th Memorial Park located on the grounds of the municipal center across from the Wicoff House. The dedication ceremony will be Wednesday, September 11, at 7 p.m. in front of the court room in the municipal building. The mayor and the township committee, along with members of the Plainsboro Township Police Department Honor Guard, Volunteer Fire Department, and Volunteer Rescue Squad will be participating in the public ceremony, along with a choir group from High School North.
