Mayor cuts Ribbon for New Borough Hall
“We will always be stronger than the storm,” Mayor Carolyn Broullon reminded the people of Highlands as she cut the ribbon officially opening the new Highlands Borough Hall and dedicating it to the people of Highlands.
Mayor Broullon, joined by members of council and borough administrator Michael Muscillo led the ceremonies on the front steps of the building facing Highland Avenue and across Miller St. from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and quoted statistics highlighting how patient and perseverant Highlands residents have been since Hurricane Sandy wiped out the former borough hall on Bay Avenue.
Mayor Broullon reminded the crowd of some 100 people in the hot sun on a humid July day that it has been 3,904 days since Super Storm Sandy came to town and changed the lives of so many people in the Bayshore. She noted the former borough hall, which had been dedicated Oct. 8, 1961, and given 61 years of service to the people of Highlands, was one of the many structures damaged by the storm some have called the storm of the century.
“It has taken three mayors, 18 council members and many staff members over these ten years, eight months and nine days to get to here and now,” the mayor said, with the audience applauding the efforts of all. The completion of the move into the new facility will take place over the next few weeks.
Falling short of saying it could never happen again, Mayor Broullon listed all the features built into the new building, constructed by Kappa Construction Company, which ensure durability, energy efficiency, and protection against even a Category 5 hurricane. “These were paramount construction determinations in the planning process,” she said, along with the make the many more pieces of equipment that make surviving future storms possible. “The building is equipped with solar panels and LED lighting and will have a natural gas-powered backup generator when it is delivered in the fall.”
Monmouth County Commissioner Lillian Burry was the official representative of the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners at the event, congratulating the mayor for her leadership in seeing the long-awaited building coming to completion. Burry noted this is the first time all of the borough’s facilities, including the Police Department and municipal court, are under one roof and expressed happiness the dedicated borough employees who have completed all their municipal business in trailers since Sandy will now have a facility in which they can take pride.
Mayor Broullon introduced Police Explorer Michael DelDuca, who led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Both the state and national flags have been flying in front of Borough Hall on Route 36 since the poles were installed several months ago.
The Highlands Police Department and the Highlands Police Explorer Post lined the ramp leading to the main entrance throughout the ceremony.
In addition to Police Chief Robert Burton, who also spoke on the perseverance of the borough residents and their pride in the borough, former Police Chiefs James T. Davis and Joseph Blewett were also at the ceremony.
Burton accompanied the mayor in the ribbon cutting and the official opening of both the police department facilities and the borough’s municipal offices.
The Rev. Martin McGrail gave an invocation at the start of the ceremony, noting that though the new construction has been long in coming since the storm, “It is all in God’s time,” and residents have been perseverant, patient and blessed with what has come about since Hurricane Sandy.
The Reverend Martin McGrail provided the Invocation followed by speakers starting with Police Chief Robert Burton, Council President Jo-Anne Olszewski and Councilman Donald Melnyk. The speeches were upbeat and praised those who had persevered over the years to see the Borough to this accomplishment.
While looking forward to what the new building means in the future of Highlands and noting how honored and grateful she felt personally for being able to celebrate the “first official day of Highlands new Municipal Building,” Councilwoman Joann Olszewski also paid tribute to the past and the power of Highlands through the centuries. The new building, she said, by “its stature, beauty, and strength pays homage to Highlands’ storied past.”
Every era brings new people to the community, she said, people who learned to cope with the power of the seas and the hills. That, she said, is because “once here, no one wants to leave.”
“There is something uniquely special in Highlands, and it is not just the geography!” she said, pointing to the “awe-inspiring grit and strength coupled with the kindness and spirit of its residents…”
As an example, she noted that when 1500 structures in the borough were damaged or destroyed during Sandy, “Highlands’ courage, spirit, and generosity lifted everyone up. Residents and workforce moved to temporary quarters and valiantly pushed forward together to restore, rebuild and renew their lives, spirit and work. “Part of that, she said, includes the fact that for more than ten years, borough employees and the Police force, worked for 10-plus years in trailers.
Each day, as this building grew upward from its firm footing, it paid tribute to Highlands folk, past and present and future, she said.
Then, speaking for the building, Olszewski said it is constructed to say, “I am here, I will endure, and give space, light, honor and service to those who live here and those whose work in all capacities has brought Highlands to what it is today; a one-of-a-kind bounteous borough.”
Also expressing the pride and happiness of the municipal leaders at the opening of the facility, Councilman Donald Melnyk continued the mood of the day with an upbeat talk, thanks to the public and praise for those who persevered to see the borough reach this accomplishment.
All members of council present thanked those who attended, including Commissioner Burry and her husband, retired Coast Guard Capt. Donald Burry, Director of NJ LGS Rick Richardella, Atlantic Highlands Mayor Loretta Gluckstein and that borough’s Council President Lori Hohenleitner and Administrator Robert Ferragina, Henry Hudson Regional Superintendent Dr. Tara Beams and Henry Hudson Principal Kevin McCarthy. Council also expressed thanks to Congressman Frank Pallone for his congratulatory message will be on display in the new building Although not able to attend, the Borough would also like to thank Congressman Frank Pallone for sending his Aide with a lovely letter that will be displayed in the new building.
The Congressman was unable to attend but sent his Congressional aide to participate and bring the congratulatory message to the borough.
Following the ceremony and tours of the facility, a buffet of all varieties of specialties offered by Highlands restaurants was offered in the new Court Room. Water bottles commemorating the ribbon cutting ceremony were also given as souvenirs of the day.
She sure loves spending other people’s money. The building itself looks like a correctional institution. Nothing warm or welcoming, nor does it look or feel like Highlands. But I’m unsurprised since her intention is to erase the little town of Highlands we have all loved before she arrived.