To the citizens and taxpayers of the Town of Highland: 

Last fall my wife and I attended our first local football game. It happened to be homecoming at the Eldred Jr./Sr. High School and we were so proud to have the privilege to live in a town with such a beautiful state-of-the-art field! Our sons and daughter spent a lot of time on fields all over northwestern New Jersey and we never saw a stadium, lighting or concession stand like what we have here.

When did it become a bad idea to make improvements to your town and in turn increase property values? When did it become a bad idea to maintain and improve our town buildings and infrastructure? Is it better to save every penny and allow the municipal properties to fall into disrepair? Or is the responsible route to maintain and upgrade consistently the town, regardless of who sits on the board?

One thing that sticks in my mind that I’ve heard a number of times is, “I love this little town.” I have heard so many local politicians, municipal employees and lifelong citizens say this. If you love this town, why don’t you want to take care of it and improve it?

I recently had the opportunity to review a petition that was started by Mel Carney in an effort to stop the town’s purchase of 564 Rte. 55. I was shocked to see the names of past supervisors of the town and highway department, as well as past and present members of the town board and town employees. Why are they so against improving the infrastructure of our town? Isn’t that the responsibility of elected officials? A duty to better the lives of our citizens and where they live? Well, I do love this little town. And I will prove it by facilitating improvements and keeping tax rates low to the best of my ability for the benefit of all and not just the whims of a few.   

There was a public hearing regarding this purchase held at town hall on December 3 at 7 p.m., where concerned citizens could ask questions and share their concerns. Approximately 25 people showed up. And yet there has been a great deal of misinformation, accusations and outright lies being spread with regards to the town’s purchase of 564 Rte. 55, which is the long abandoned dilapidated building in the center of Eldred. I don’t understand why anyone would be against the purchase of this property, especially if you are a past or present town board member or employee.

Here are the facts:

The $78,000 it cost to purchase the property did not cost the taxpayers a dime. The funds came from a grant.

The estimate for asbestos testing, which is required prior to demolition, is approximately $2,400 to $2,800.

The approximate cost to demolish a building of this size is between $20,000 and $25,000.

The exact cost for demolition cannot be determined until asbestos testing is completed. I have been assured that the above estimates are accurate.

Professional consultants report that the entire project, from demo to completion, should fall in the area of $100,000. The town supervisor will work on a grant to fund the improvements.

The cost of $500,000 appearing on social media is total unfounded misinformation and is causing more division within the town. Once again, I don’t understand why intelligent people take seriously a social media page that doesn’t even disclose who is administrating it. Does that say transparency and honesty to you? 

The purchase of this property will clean up our town from dilapidated buildings in disrepair and add to property values.

The availability of this location will allow for the future possibility of connecting the septic holding tank to the existing leach field located on town hall property for the town hall emergency building; ultimately saving taxpayer money. The current system needs to be emptied often at considerable cost.

Additional municipal parking will be available in the center of town. Peck’s has historically been a good neighbor to us, but there are “No Parking” signs posted and an accident there will be a costly liability to the town.  

The town is responsible for providing safe accessible municipal parking when possible, the availability of which will open doors for the development of more small local businesses in the center of town.  

I am always available to talk to anyone who has questions or concerns. My email is Tommigliorino1@gmail.com or call me on my cell at 862/266-5905.

Tom Migliorino is a town board member in the Town of Highland.