Mayor Michael Ferrante's New Year Message

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Mayor Michael Ferrante's New Year Message

Dear Cranbury Residents,

I was humbled to be named Mayor for 2021 by my colleagues on the Township Committee at last night's meeting. In addition, my colleague Dr. Barbara Rogers will serve as Deputy Mayor.

2020 was a tough year for our country and many in our community, and I’m grateful for the advances in science that have brought multiple efficacious vaccines to the market in nine months! Some felt the loss in 2020 more personally than others, but everyone had to adapt to a new and temporary reality. We had to pause town-wide traditions such as the Memorial Day Parade, PorchFest, July 5th Fireworks, and Cranbury Day, but we hope this year brings a return to fun traditions that mark the passing of the year.

In 2020, despite the pandemic and all its disruptions, we continued to make progress as a Township. We switched to Zoom TC meetings, which has had the side benefit of bringing a lot more transparency and engagement with our residents! The TC used the slowdown during COVID to engage our professionals and the Planning Board to make progress on an impressive seven of the ten Master Plan action items! Thanks to Ms. Evelyn Spann for her leadership in driving that. In the spring, we initiated a lake dredging project that had to be paused before work began. Also in 2020, thanks to Dr. Barbara Rogers’ effort, Cranbury was awarded a grant to do a Complete Streets bicycle audit of key roads in town, and we have a custom-built blueprint that we can use to make Cranbury safer, more pedestrian- and biker-friendly, and ensure our roads represent the integrated community that we are. We also found out that Cranbury was — at long last — awarded a matching grant from the NJ Library Construction Bond Act, in which $2.4 Million in matching state funds will make the donations from residents over the past 10 years go twice as far to build a free-standing library and community center.

2021 is and will be an important year for Cranbury and the Township Committee to execute on these important projects, and to steward taxpayer funds wisely to support our community goals. We will restart and finish the lake dredging project, will break ground on a new library, and plan to start acting on the bike network recommendations. These are all projects that will require good project management to stay on track and deliver in 2021. We will also make progress on the remaining Master Plan recommendations.

In addition to these important projects, my hope for 2021 is that we — TC members, volunteers, and members of the public — take a step back from the craziness of 2020 and 1) give each other the benefit of the doubt, 2) try not to take anything personally, and 3) remember that we are all working together to support our community. I will do my best to make sure there are no surprises whenever possible. I hope we can give each other the grace and space to be civil and kind to each other. We’ll make mistakes, we’ll fail to communicate something, but I ask for your patience as we figure it all out.

Finally, I’d like to end with a bit of gratitude. Thanks to Mr. Matt Scott, who juggled his frontline healthcare professional role with being Mayor of Cranbury during a difficult year. Thank you to our township administrator, Ms. Marabello, and our clerk, Ms. Rubin, for their consistent leadership of the township operations. Thank you to the staff of the township, both in Town Hall and at the DPW, for their effort to keep Cranbury running through everything that comes their way ---- and in 2020, there was a lot that came their way! Flexibility and a positive attitude were the keys to success. And of course, our amazing Fire, Police and First Aid teams who came together to make Halloween unique and memorable. Finally, thank you to all our volunteers on the boards and commissions for their tireless behind-the-scenes work in running important committees for the Township. I am humbled and impressed with the level of professionalism and energy they bring to their roles.

To the residents of Cranbury, thank you for the opportunity to serve in 2021. You have entrusted all five of us with the present and future of our town. Particularly this past year, we have witnessed your commitment to our community, whether by supporting frontline workers and local businesses, donating to Skeet’s Pantry, or starting a Facebook page to encourage acts of generosity among neighbors.

Let’s make 2021 a great year!

Michael Ferrante
2021 Mayor, Cranbury Township

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