Montclair's Town Engineer Resigns, Takes New Job In Hoboken

Hoboken has hired Montclair’s former township engineer, Kimberli Craft, as its new city engineer.

Craft resigned from her former post in Montclair in March after taking over the post in 1999. According to Montclair’s municipal communications director, Craft didn’t disclose why she decided to leave, NorthJersey.com reported.

But the question about Craft’s future plans became evident on Monday, when Hoboken municipal officials announced that she will be taking over as the new city engineer.

Among other responsibilities, Craft will oversee the development and maintenance of city roads, utilities and public construction, Hoboken officials said.

During her tenure in Montclair, Craft designed and inspected street and park improvement projects, performed traffic studies to best serve residents, and focused on traffic safety and efficiency, Hoboken officials said.

According to Craft’s LinkedIn profile:

“As Montclair Township Engineer, Kim facilitated delivery of an annual capital program of street, storm sewer and parks improvement projects, while managing a full-service municipal engineering department. Throughout her career, Kim has been an innovator, developing new programs and procedures to enhance delivery of capital projects, create opportunities for staff development and improve the quality of our infrastructure. One of her initiatives in Montclair was the Montclair SAFE (Streets Are For Everyone) initiative, which raised awareness of and support for the Township's efforts to make streets safer for all road users through infrastructure that increases safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.”

Craft also owned her own engineering consulting firm and worked as an engineer for the New York State Department of Transportation and for Parsons-Brinerhoff, now known as WSP-USA. Craft received a master’s degree in public administration from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in civil and urban engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Craft's first day will be on Tuesday, June 5, Hoboken officials stated.

“I am thrilled to welcome Kimberli Craft to our team,” Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said. “I’m excited about bringing her vision and perspective to Hoboken, and residents will be happy to know that she has a stellar track record of completing public projects on time and on budget. I also want to commend the City Council members who encouraged me to consider bringing an in-house engineer approach to the City. I listened to their suggestions and we are fortunate to have found an excellent engineer to fill this role.”

Craft said that she plans to use “data-driven strategies” to improve the city’s infrastructure, particularly in the areas of road design and traffic safety.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to help make Hoboken an even better place to live, work, and visit,” Craft said.

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Photo: City of Hoboken