Updates from Borough Council in April

Borough Council meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Meetings are open to the public, and they are also live-streamed at: https://frenchtownboro.com/livestream. The agendas for upcoming council meetings and minutes from past meetings can be found on the borough website.

At its April 8 meeting, the council introduced a resolution to adopt the annual municipal budget for 2026. This resolution will be acted upon at the council’s May 6 meeting. Other resolutions that were approved by the council include:

• Hiring the street-sweeping services of the City of Lambertville.
• Authorizing the borough’s participation in the Hunterdon Area Energy Cooperative Energy Aggregation Program. Frenchtown residents will be automatically enrolled, but they can opt out by returning a response card that is being mailed to each home. The program uses bulk purchasing to provide lower rates to consumers. For specific deadlines, detailed rate comparisons, or to manage your enrollment, visit the official HAEC website at https://njaggregation.us.
• Authorizing the borough’s Environmental Commission to apply for a grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. If approved, the grant would provide funds for our Environmental Commission to host a community event to educate residents about local stewardship and invasive species management as well as to use a particular kind of beetle on borough public lands and parks to manage an invasive vine called “mile-a-minute.”
• Authorizing a pilot program for the Frenchtown Sun and to apply for a grant from the Fargo Family Foundation to support it.

The council approved ordinances that:

• Authorize conditions for filming in the borough. The ordinance is consistent with the state’s Film Ready program, which is designed to help production companies connect with municipal officials;
• Establish the salaries and wages for borough employees for 2026;
• Approve the start of Creek Road improvements using a $410,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation.

Also at the April 8 council meeting, Parks Commissioner Bill O’Brien updated that the borough has received a grant from the county to purchase and install modular skatepark equipment in Borough Park in early summer.

Frenchtown Borough residents are reminded about the following:

• Property tax and sewer bill payments are due May 1. Payments can be made online, dropped off at Borough Hall or mailed in. If you have questions, contact clerk@frenchtownboro.com.
• The borough is still taking comments from residents on a draft plan for the 71-acre Thompson Tract located on Creek Road near Borough Park. The tract was preserved in 2023 for passive recreation. The draft plan can be found online and residents are welcome to offer comments by emailing them to clerk@frenchtownboro.com.
• Brush disposal and recycling in the Department of Public Works yard is available to borough residents and requires a permit.
  Landlords are required to make permits available to their tenants. All residents receive a DPW permit with their annual tax bill. Residents who did not receive or cannot find their permit may request one at Borough Hall by calling the clerk at 908-996-4524. A permit should be displayed on the vehicle’s dashboard when visiting the DPW yard. The drop-off hours for brush disposal are the second Wednesday of the month, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., and the last Saturday of each month 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Materials that are not allowed include: treated lumber, non-compostable materials, including stones and metals.
• The Frenchtown Community Garden is a beautiful and productive space for borough residents. While all plots are already reserved for this year, borough residents may apply for a plot for next year; plots are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The application can be found on the borough website.
• LINK buses offer free transportation to all residents. LINK has fixed bus routes, for which no reservation is needed. For areas in Hunterdon County not on a bus route, LINK offers curb-to-curb service weekdays, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more at https://ridethelink.com.