PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, July 18, 2006

MAYOR’S GO GREEN

Highland Park:  New Jersey mayors met here today to outline a plan to “go green” by implementing environmentally responsible policies and procedures statewide.  The new “Committee on a Green Future” was formed under the auspices of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, with the help of the Center for Green Building at Rutgers University.  The Committee will provide mayors and municipal officials with up-to-date information on the latest sustainable technologies and green programs, as well as educational and technical support.

Mayors from around the state shared experiences and discussed the viability of alternative sources of energy, green purchasing, hybrid vehicles and clean water technologies.

The choice of Highland Park as the site of the meeting was not accidental.  Highland Park is New Jersey’s first Green Community, and the borough’s long-time Mayor, Meryl Frank, is chair of the Committee on a Green Future.

Mayor Frank described to her fellow office-holders the range of green policies and procedures that have already been implemented in her community and are ready to be replicated throughout the state.  These include solar energy, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, geothermal heating and cooling systems, rain gardens that clean contaminated street water before it returns to the Raritan River and green redevelopment plans.

By way of example, the assembled mayors were shown solar panels on the roof of the Highland Park municipal building.  Then it was down to the boiler room to check the meter measuring power generated by the panels, and, of course the dollars saved at the same time.

“Thinking green is no longer a luxury,” said Mayor Frank.  “It’s good public policy, saving tax dollars and resources and improving quality of life.  We’re also saving the earth while we’re at it.  Not a bad deal.”

At the first meeting of the Committee, mayors also were asked to join a purchasing cooperative aimed at saving both costs and the environment.  “This means looking at how we do business in a different way,” said Mayor Fred Profetta of Maplewood.

“The Committee on a Green Future will make a real difference in this state, now and for generations to come,” said William Dressel, Executive Director of the League of Municipalities, who emphasized the League’s support for the committee’s work and the greening of New Jersey.

Dressel was joined in his support by Jeanne Fox, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, who credited Highland Park and Mayor Frank with being in the vanguard of the movement to bring environmental awareness and energy and cost savings to local communities.

“This is not a choice, it’s a necessity,” Fox said.  “It’s an investment in New Jersey’s future, while helping us save tax dollars today.  It’s a win-win situation.”

For more information, contact Mayor Meryl Frank at 732-777-6001