Westfield Mayor Gives Updates On Rialto, First Female Lieutenant

WESTFIELD — Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle updated the public about various ongoing town issues at the Town Council meeting Tuesday night. She noted that the town was speaking with a consultant about renovating the town's historic Rialto theater, which closed suddenly last year. She also mentioned a proposed council ordinance, up for introduction that night, to form an Access and Inclusivity Council.

She also announced two recent police promotions, including one that was historic: The town got its first female police lieutenant when Nicole Stivale was promoted on Jan. 13. Stifle will be formally sworn in on March 10.

Also at the meeting, the council voted to approve a resolution to ask the state to review the 18-year-old Open Public Records Act (OPRA), which governs how the public gets government documents. More than 150 towns in New Jersey have approved similar resolutions, intended to ask the legislature to look at and modernize the law. Westfield's version of the resolution noted that the town had to pay its municipal attorney more than $20,000 last year to review requests. The town responded to 768 OPRA requests in 2017, 987 OPRA requests in 2018, and 1,150 in 2019. (For more on the resolution that passed, see this story.)

The council also discussed pool fees for summer 2020.

These were Mayor Brindle's remarks to open the meeting:

<blockquote>Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us tonight. I have some updates for you to recap what has been a busy few weeks as we get the new year underway.

Meetings and updates

I continue to meet with officials from other towns to gain valuable outside perspective on key issues for Westfield as I continue to believe that the experience of other municipalities and lawmakers can greatly benefit us in addressing our core objectives this year.
To that end, I attended the NJ Planning Conference and heard from a number of experts about two areas of particular interest for me -- smart redevelopment and liquor license reform -- both of which can play a substantial role as we begin the exciting process of executing on the feedback from our Master Plan Reexamination.
Just today, I spent the afternoon with Metuchen’s Mayor Busch to discuss a variety of relevant issues related to performing arts spaces, redevelopment, and parking solutions. Metuchen faces our same challenges and opportunities it was great to share how we’re jointly tackling them.
Additionally, last weekend I attended a Mayors’ breakfast with Congressman Malinowski where we discussed transportation, infrastructure, and available federal grants, and also met with State Senator Kean last week about the RVL/one-seat ride progress, as well as potential state arts grants for the transformation of the Rialto.

Rialto

Speaking of the Rialto, I mentioned at the last meeting that we are in the process of selecting a consultant with specific experience in the theater renovation space to conduct a full assessment and feasibility study to transform the Rialto into a performing arts center. We should have the consultant selected next week, and have already applied for a grant to cover the costs.

Human Relations Advisory Committee

The volunteer portal on our website is now open for the new Human Relations Advisory Committee, which I mentioned at the last meeting will be introduced by ordinance next month in a stepped up effort to foster an environment of inclusivity, mutual understanding, and respect.
The HRAC is intended to serve in an advisory capacity to promote these values and will be comprised of seven resident members and two alternates. This group will work with myself, the Town Council and the Board of Education to improve access to programs, recommend policies, promote inclusivity, and provide education and awareness within Westfield.
Please consider submitting an application to be part of the solution toward a fully inclusive community. Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Access and Inclusivity Council

I’m thrilled tonight to have an ordinance introduced to formalize the Access and Inclusivity Council. What started last year as an advisory council has made substantial progress and achieved some truly great milestones in the community -- including advocating for the hiring of the Town’s first ADA Coordinator, development of the Town’s first ADA Grievance Procedure, and advocacy for disability right improvements as a component of the Parks Strategic Plan and the Master Plan Reexamination Process. They have also helped to organize the adaptive skate sessions at the Westfield Rink, and promoted Autism Awareness Month and Stuttering Awareness Month initiatives. Thank you to the members of the AIC, and in particular co-chairs Julie Steinberg and Jen Grizmala Liu, for their ongoing dedication to ensuring that Westfield is an inclusive community for people of all abilities.

Westfield 300

Westfield 300 is underway! In addition to raising the Westfield 300 flag at Town Hall earlier this month, I also had the recent privilege of welcoming the First Westfield Baby of 2020 on behalf of the Town. Jacob Cohen was born on Jan. 2 to parents Matthew and Samantha and big sister Eliana. I was thrilled to meet the entire Cohen family last week and present them with a commemorative gift basket. Many thanks to the Westfield branch of Two River Community Bank for donating a $300 savings bond to Jacob.
I’d also like to thank the more than 50 volunteers who have already signed up to help with the Westfield 300 initiatives this year. I know our co-chairs had a productive meeting with many of them over the weekend, and I’m thrilled to see this level of engagement so early in the year. There is still time to volunteer, and you can submit your information on the Westfield 300 section of our website.
Don’t miss the upcoming Colonial Food & Drinks outing on Feb. 23 at 16 Prospect, which Westfield 300 is presenting in partnership with the Westfield Historical Society and the Miller-Cory House Museum. The evening will also include a discussion of Westfield’s taverns and inns over the years. Tickets are available on the Historical Society’s website.

Recent events

I want to provide a big thank you to all those that coordinated and participated in the many Martin Luther King Day events, and in particular the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association. It was a heartwarming and inspiring day honoring his legacy...from the Westfield Community Center’s annual pancake breakfast, to the MLK service project organized by Jennifer Gilman and Lee Schaefer, to the march up E. Broad St. with Congressman Tom Malinowski, and ending with the MLK service at the Presbyterian Church featuring prayer, music and fellowship.
I would also like to congratulate the newly sworn in officers of the Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad where I had the pleasure of administering their oath at their annual dinner this past Saturday. We are incredibly grateful for this dedicated group of volunteers that provide invaluable first aid service to our community.

Police Department promotions

Chief Battiloro recently announced two promotions in his department. Marcin Kapka and Nicole Stivale were both promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, effective Jan. 13.
Lieutenant Kapka was appointed to the Westfield Police Department in 2003, and is a highly decorated officer, having received the prestigious Medal of Valor, along with a number of other commendations.
Lieutenant Stivale was appointed to the Westfield Police Department in 2005 after graduating first in her class at the Union County Police Academy. She is now the first female Lieutenant and the highest ranking female officer in the history of the Westfield Police Department.
We will conduct a formal swearing in ceremony at the March 10 Town Council meeting with a full list of professional achievements for Lieutenants Kapka and Stivale.

Parks plan

As you may know, the very extensive and detailed final draft of the Strategic Parks Plan is now on our website and was approved by the Recreation Commission at their last meeting. If you haven’t already done so, please take the time to read what is a very exciting road map for Westfield’s fields, open spaces, and recreational opportunities. The Recreation Commission meets again on Feb. 3, which will be open to the public for comments, and we will have Brandstetter Carroll -- the firm retained to produce the Plan -- here at our February 11 meeting to present its findings. I encourage everyone to attend!
Jim and I have already had a very productive discussion with Superintendent Dolan, Business Administrator Dana Sullivan, and Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Education regarding the recommendation for putting in lighted turf fields at Edison Intermediate School. They are very supportive of working together toward a potential shared services agreement to realize the full potential of those fields, and we plan on assigning a joint working group to see how we can move it forward.</blockquote>