March 13, 2007

EDITOR’S NOTE: Your coverage of this by-invitation program is invited. If you plan to attend and wish to reserve parking, call Steve Manas, Office of Media Relations, at 732-932-7084, ext. 612. Media parking is available in the Civic Square garage at the building’s rear. Enter from Kirkpatrick Street, off New Street.

GREEN WITH ENVY?
NEW JERSEY TOWNS DON’T HAVE TO BE
AS HIGHLAND PARK, RUTGERS SHARE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TIPS AT THE
NEW JERSEY STATE LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES
MAYORS’ COMMITTEE ON A GREEN FUTURE MEETING
MARCH 15

WHAT: Mayors’ Committee on a Green Future meeting to describe the green – and growing – town-gown relationship between the League of Municipalities, Highland Park and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and the transferability of relationship elements to other communities throughout the state.

WHO: Meryl Frank, Highland Park mayor and a driving force behind the statewide effort to raise the environmental consciousness of the state’s municipalities, and chair of the League of Municipalities Mayors’ Committee on a Green Future
Bill Dressel, executive director, New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM), under whose aegis the Mayor’s Committee on a Green Future was formed
State Sen. Robert G. Smith (D-Piscataway), who will present an update on green legislation
Jennifer Senick, executive director, Rutgers Center for Green Building, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Kevin Lyons, Rutgers’ director of purchasing, who will highlight the university’s green relationship with Highland Park
Mayors from approximately 60 New Jersey communities (list upon request)

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 15

WHERE: Special Events Forum, Civic Square, 33 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick

BACKGROUND: Under Mayor Frank’s stewardship, Highland Park won the 2003 Innovation in Governance Award from the NJLM and the 2005 Environmental Leadership Award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Elements of the town-university relationship include a green purchasing contract for items including paper and cleaning products, consulting on such initiatives as the feasibility of solar panel installation on municipal buildings and use of hybrid vehicles, and participation of graduate students in “real world” projects, including an analysis of stormwater runoff.