Gotto: Continue 'Rebranding of Howell'

During Tuesday's Reorganization meeting of the Howell Township Council Mayor Bill Gotto said whether he held his current title or that of councilman where he started three years ago he is looking forward to continuing to serve the residents of Howell. 

At a meeting where former Mayor Robert Walsh was appointed to fill Gotto's vacated seat and Councilman Ed Guz was officially sworn in Gotto said he expects the council to "hit the ground running." 

Gotto said he ran for the council in the first place "to make this town affordable for my daughter to one day buy a house, raise a family and enjoy all the wonderful things that Debbie (and I) have experienced in Howell since we moved here in 1996."

Those goals remain and Gotto said will drive him going into the future with the council. Even with the township going through tough economic times and punishing storms the mayor said the lessons learned from those experiences will also help in the future. "If you don't learn from the past, you can't build for the future," he said. 

After a year where many residents saw their taxes increase Gotto said "The bad economy taught us that we can no longer ignore the need for improved economic development to stabilize our property taxes." That includes looking at ways to bring in "quality ratables," as well as productive changes to the master plan and zoning changes.

In the past few years the township has endured having several feet of snow fall, many parts of town flood and even an earthquake. "We changed the way we responded to those emergencies, improved the ways we communicate to our residents, established an emergency operating center during major weather events, and worked with township agencies like fire departments, first aid squads, board of education and even hundreds of volunteers during Superstorm Sandy to take care of our own."

Tuesday's meeting marked the start of the first full year in the new Municipal Building and Mayor Gotto said in their new home the township will learn from the lessons of the past to help the future of the township. "If I've learned anything, I know that just getting by isn't good enough," he said. "The residents of Howell deserve better than that, and you aren't shy with your requests."

In his speech at the meeting the new Mayor laid out an outline with his vision for the future including looking for "sustainable economic development." That includes, "expanding permitted occupancies within our economic corridors and develop a comprehensive evaluation of the infrastructure needs in these areas to support that growth."

Looking at those projects, he said, could include work on roads like Route 33 and Route 9, and also other roads "where sewers should have been installed decades ago." He pointed to the Freewood Acres section of town as an example, calling it, "at the economic hub of the Township."

Over the past few years the township has looked at its strategic planning for the future and Gotto said he would like to see those efforts continue with "an Official Community Plan," which would continue those efforts. This new plan would include "future development and growth," in areas like development, environmental protection and recreation among others.

Mayor Gotto also proposed the creation of a "Howell Township Healthier Community Project," which he said will help to develop a plan to help all of Howell's residents in their daily lives including senior citizens and others in need.

All of this work is part of an effort that Gotto said will help with the "Rebranding of Howell." He added, "Howell's status within the region has been elevated through our expanded relations with county, state and federal elected officials to support legislation that is in Howell's best interest. We need to be proud of who we are and where we live."

After adjourning his first meeting as Mayor, Gotto said he believed with the addition of Guz, the return of Walsh, voting for the elevation of Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro and Councilwoman Pauline Smith he felt comfortable about where the council is heading. "When you put yourself in a place with some good people it's pretty easy to do the job," he said. 

With the current council Gotto said he believes they can effectively respond to the needs of the residents. "There's a mindset in Howell that it's time to get things done," he said. "We've got the people in place to get it done, we have the staff to execute it. If you're ever going to have an aggressive agenda now's the time to do it."

The council will hold its first official meeting of the new year on Jan. 22.