Message from Councilman Matt Adams | March 15, 2024

Since last fall, the Township’s administration, directors, and chiefs have been squarely focused on identifying big picture needs to present to the Township Council for consideration and potential adoption in the 2024 Scotch Plains Capital Budget.  This is a detailed process involving internal discussion, community engagement, and, for me, ongoing visits to each of our parks and recreation facilities throughout town to provide a full assessment.   

This is a portion of the budget process dedicated to infrastructure projects that tend to have larger price tags and take some time to achieve beyond the funding allocated to the various departments that keep local government running. Capital initiatives – such as replacing outdated playground equipment and building new basketball courts – directly enhance the quality of life for residents.

When the annual budget is set to be introduced at the March 19 Township Council meeting, I am pleased to report that long-overdue capital projects within our aging municipal parks system will be prioritized.

Since I joined the Council in 2021, I’ve been consistent in saying that we will not be able to make all of the necessary improvements to our parks and recreation facilities overnight. But, steadily, we are getting it done. 

The lasting impact of these improvements will be a point of pride for this governing body, as well as residents throughout town.

Responding to residents, the Township Council is funding parks and recreation projects in Scotch Plains at historic levels.  For too long, for one reason or another, these facilities took a back seat among municipal priorities. 

The ongoing renovations of our parks have become a necessity. Our park system was aging beyond what mere routine maintenance could fix.  Big picture projects and big picture thinking were needed to ensure quality, safe amenities. 

We have transformed Southside Field; created a brand-new immersive play space at Greenside Playground; gutted the once unusable tennis courts at Green Forest Park to create new opportunities for tennis, pickleball, and street hockey; begun to install lifesaving AEDs at all municipal park facilities and added tons of site furnishings and other new amenities throughout the municipal park system. 

This has all been accomplished while we still addressed other pressing priorities, such as public safety, with an eye toward continuing to be as tax neutral as possible along the way.

The proposed 2024 budget includes funding for infrastructure improvements at Haven Park; the resurfacing of tennis and basketball courts at Kramer Manor Park; the installation of pickleball courts at Brookside Park; and the continued restoration of our very own national treasure, the Shady Rest Country Club. 

This year’s proposed budget also provides maintenance funding for the Recreation Department to keep up with the needs of our newly-renovated facilities to ensure they have extended lives.

For example, the conditions at the Kramer Manor Park basketball courts have deteriorated to the point where they are unsafe for most forms of organized play until they are completely torn out and rebuilt. This impacts summer basketball leagues, among other programs.  After this year’s capital project at Kramer Manor, our Recreation Department will need the ability to fix issues as they arise, in real time, before they necessitate another major rehab project.

The proposed budget also calls for maintenance equipment and upgrades for the Department of Public Works; equipment for the new Fire Department EMS Service, which was brought online in 2023 to enhance public safety; new hoses and nozzles for the Fire Department; new police vehicles, safety cameras, and traffic calming devices to facilitate our town’s technologically advanced law enforcement agency and a large-scale road resurfacing project on Cooper Road.

We also will once again fund the DPW’s highly-successful, annual local road resurfacing program, as well as upgrades to the township’s information technology systems.

Many residents are surprised to learn that only about 14% of the tax dollars collected from property owners fund the facilities and services that the municipality provides. 

The township operates on a shoestring budget.  The balance of the funds, while collected by the Township in your municipal property tax bill, is paid directly to the County of Union and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education, as well as to fund the library and open space.

The fact that we are able to make so many improvements with only a total 1% increase in municipal taxes for the entire last decade is nothing short of remarkable.  During that same time, the cost of construction, goods, and just about everything else has risen at a far greater pace.

Although this year we will make a meaningful dent in the capital projects needs of our community, there’s more to do.  I fully expect that the same public safety and recreation priorities that residents have witnessed in recent years will continue in the years to come, as we establish the infrastructure and amenities to prepare for the next generation.  

We will continue to realize the financial benefits of the Township Council’s wise decision to reward redevelopment PILOTS, make smart zoning decisions, and tap new municipal revenue sources, such as from recreational cannabis businesses who took over abandoned, blighted buildings on Route 22’s commercial corridor. 

Each of these proactive decisions does a little more to allow the type of unprecedented progress we are witnessing in Scotch Plains.  Every decision is made so that we can continue to deliver services and amenities that fellow residents deserve.  Every piece of the puzzle builds toward the tangible signs of progress across town.

Together, we are moving our community forward.  The evidence is everywhere, and soon there will be a few more examples to add to the list.  When the history of this period of our township is written, my hope is that the renaissance of our parks and recreational facilities currently underway plays a prominent part in making sure that our community remains a highly sought-after community where people are eager to live, work, invest, and prosper.