Category: Public Info

Union County First Alert “Best Option” for Emergency, Traffic and Community Notification

Union County – Union County municipalities seeking a cost effective way of relaying critical information to the public and emergency responders during a crisis, can do so by using Union County First Alert; the County’s free emergency messaging system.

In contrast to private emergency alert options, the Union County First Alert system is available to all municipalities at no cost for email and text alerts (text messaging rates do apply). In addition to email and text alerts, the Union County First Alert system also provides municipalities with voice messaging at a low rate. As part of a shared service endeavor, Union County First Alert was unveiled on February 11, 2009 and has been providing critical emergency and community notifications to Union County residents with great success.

The Union County First Alert system is powered by Cooper Notification’s Roam Secure Alert Network™ (RSAN™), and can enable city and county officials to send e-mail, text and voice messages to first responders and the County’s more than 500,000 citizens via cell phones, pagers, Blackberry®, and other mass notification media during an emergency. Notifications can also be made in Spanish and other languages. For the special needs community, the system can deliver a message via Telecommunications Device for the Deaf/Teletypewriter (TDD/TTY) without pre-registration or administrative configuration.

Union County First Alert was an initiative of then Chairman, Angel G. Estrada. “It was important for the County to have a mechanism in place to relay critical public safety information to our residents,” said Freeholder Angel G. Estrada. “While First Alert initially was a public safety initiative, the reality is this has “shared services” written all over it.” In the past, the only option for municipal police departments was to purchase their own “Reverse 9-1-1” systems, which cost over $75,000 plus the cost of additional telephone lines. Freeholder Estrada added “Union County First Alert has made “Reverse 9-1-1” very affordable for many municipalities.”

Municipalities across the state, including the Townships of Cranford and Hillside, are discontinuing their service with private companies as they begin to charge for non-emergency text alerts and other messages. Nixle, the company previously used by Cranford and Hillside and currently used in several other municipalities, imposes annual fees and, as of April 29, 2011, service fees on non-emergency notifications according to an articles posted by Cranford Chronicle on May 5, 2011 and the Daily Record on April 30, 2011. In contrast, these services are available free through the Union County First Alert program.

“Union County First Alert is without question the best option for local police departments to disseminate emergency, traffic and community messages for their respective residents,” said Hillside Police Chief Robert Quinlan. “I encourage all Hillside, and Union County residents, to sign up with the Union County First Alert system so they can receive emergency service announcements from their local officials.”

Municipalities interested in joining the Union County First Alert should contact Cherron Rountree, Division Director of Intergovernmental Policy and Planning at 908.527.4200. Training will be provided by the County’s Department of Public Safety. Residents who wish to sign up for the system can do so at www.ucfirstalert.org.

Union County Freeholders Linda Carter (4th R) and Christopher Hudak (3rd R) join Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka, city officials and Union County Improvement Authority members in cutting the ribbon officially opening Fire Station No. 3 in Linden. The firehouse is the third such facility to come online during the past three years in Linden that are being financed through the Improvement Authority. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

ELIZABETH, NJ – Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi will open her office in the County Courthouse at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth on Saturday, June 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for voters seeking last-minute mail-in ballots. The office will be open as a public service for those voters who choose the Vote By Mail option for the Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, June 7.

“Every voter should have the opportunity to cast his or her ballot in the primary election for state, county and municipal offices,” Rajoppi said. “We want to ensure that even those who have a last-minute change of plans can have a chance to vote.”

Walk-in applications are accepted up to 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 6, the day before the primary election.

“By opening the Elizabeth office on the Saturday before the primary election, as we have done for the past 15 years, we hope to assist those citizens whose working hours or other commitments keep them from applying during the work week,” Rajoppi said.

Voters will be able to drop off their completed mail-in ballot, formerly known as an absentee ballot, at the Union County Clerk’s office in Elizabeth. This option allows voters to pick up their ballots, vote in privacy and deposit them in a secured lockbox – all at the same office through 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 6.

“Voters used to pick up absentee ballots at the Clerk’s office and then had to drive across town to deliver them to the Board of Elections,” Rajoppi said. “This option makes voting more accessible, particularly for senior citizens.”

Completed ballots will be kept in a secure lockbox under the control of the Union County Board of Elections, who will collect them for counting.

The Clerk’s office has processed more than 1,300 mail-in ballots to date for the Primary Election and expects the number to exceed 3,000 by Primary Day, Tuesday, June 7.

To obtain an application, voters may download the form at the Clerk’s website:https://ucnj.org/government/county-clerk/vote-by-mail, but they must bring the completed application to the County Clerk’s Office on Saturday, June 4, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., or Monday, June 6, before 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact the County Clerk’s office at 908-527-4996.

– end –

Photo Caption: Union County participated in National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day last month. Union County Freeholder Nancy Ward brought her daughter Josielee, age 2-1/2 (center right), and her nieces Josiejames (far left) and Savannah Conway (center left) to attend a public meeting of the Board of Chosen Freeholders on April 28.

A Day to Build Bonds with Families and Communities

by Nancy Ward
Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders
May 2011

From its small beginnings almost twenty years ago, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day has grown into one of the best known public awareness campaigns in America. This year, Union County residents joined with more than 35 million participants across the country to bring boys and girls together in the working world, to explore new horizons and open new doors to the future.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day has become such as significant event that the United States Senate adopted a resolution this year, commending the participants for their service in “promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the United States.”

As a member of the Union County Freeholder Board, I welcomed the opportunity to bring my two-year-old daughter Josielee to our public meeting on April 28, along with my nieces Savannah (age 7) and Josiejames (age 8). It turned out to be a learning experience for me as much as it was for them.

I always thought of this event as a wonderful opportunity for parents to strengthen bonds with their children and introduce them to the responsibilities and new adventures that await them as adults. Now I realize that it means much more.

For my daughter and nieces, the workplace experience turned into a unique encounter with the community that they will occupy as they grow into adulthood. They had a chance to step out of the familiar routine of school, neighborhood and family, and enter a world that reflects the diversity and liveliness of neighborhoods all across Union County.

At the meeting, the Freeholder Board honored two groups of students who had participated in the county’s Arbor Day Poetry Contest and Consumer Bowl competition. My family got to see how the contributions of young people in Union County are respected and valued by adults, and my daughter was able to identify the Union County seal behind the dais, which she recognized from her replica refrigerator magnets at home, thereby making the connection between home and community even at her young age.

My nieces certainly gained a new appreciation for their potential to make an impact in their community, and they shared their experiences with classmates at school the next day. They were able to see how in this day and age every door can be opened. There are many different roads that can be taken to achieve a goal in life. If you can think it, then you can do it – and you can be it.

Part of the goal of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work is to encourage adults to reach out to other families with a message of encouragement and support, so I also appreciated the thoughtfulness and enthusiasm displayed by the many Union County employees who welcomed children into their workplaces from other families as well as their own.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is now coordinated by a nonprofit organization, and it assists groups from countries all around the globe in starting up similar programs. That’s a strong testimony to the universal message, of adults reaching out to help a younger generation find its place in a changing world. It makes me very proud to know that this unique American invention is valued the world over.

Above all, I came away from Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day with a renewed appreciation for the importance of helping all children to enter the working world with full confidence in their own potential. Your roots are in your family, but work is where we grow wings that can take us anywhere.

I am looking forward to bringing my family to work again next year, and I hope you will join me.

Union County Freeholder Christopher Hudak (L) presents a resolution to Union Police Director Daniel Zieser in honor of National Police Week during the Township of Union’s Police Awards and Promotions ceremony. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

LINDEN—The Union County Improvement Authority and Union County officials held an opening for the new Linden Firehouse #3 on East Elizabeth Avenue. The firehouse is the third such facility to come online during the past three years in Linden that are being financed through the Improvement Authority.

“This state-of-the art Firehouse meets the needs of the firefighters and of the Linden community,” said Charlotte DeFilippo, Executive Director of the Union County Improvement Authority.”

Firehouse #3 supplements Linden’s response to any emergencies in its vast transportation and industrial base that includes the New Jersey Turnpike, municipal airport, Routes 1&9, oil, energy facilities, and rail lines. Firehouse #1 on South Wood Avenue, and Firehouse #2 on St. George’s Avenue were financed by the Union County Improvement Authority and have come online during the past three years in Linden.

Freeholder Christopher Hudak, a resident of Linden, thanked DeFilippo and the Improvement Authority for their efforts in bringing the project to fruition.

“This new facility is a tremendous asset not only for the City of Linden, but the region as a whole given its location to the nation’s most vital infrastructure,” Hudak said.

Anthony Scutari, Chairman of the Union County Improvement Authority, and also a resident of Linden, added that the Improvement Authority has developed a number of important public projects for the City of Linden.

“I am honored to be part of the Union County Improvement Authority, which has done so many wonderful things for my hometown of Linden,” said Scutari.

“We’ve worked to build the Raymond Wood Bauer Promenade on Wood Avenue, the new Linden Public Library and now, three firehouses that are making an important public safety contribution to the community,” Scutari added.

Fire Station #3 is a two-story, 13,665 Square Foot facility which includes a training room and living quarters for 10 Fire Fighters and two Officers. The facility has three vehicle bays which accommodate two fire engines and one ladder truck. In addition, Fire Station # 3 also includes a basement for storage and a material lift.

The project was financed and built through the UCIA for the City of Linden at $3.689 million.

–30–

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – Trailside Nature & Science Center is offering families a unique opportunity to learn foraging techniques firsthand from “Wildman” Steve Brill, America’s go-to guy for foraging wild edible plants.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Community Renewal are pleased to announce that a novel and exciting class on foraging will be held on Saturday, May 28, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Trailside in Mountainside. This class is recommended for adults and families with children, ages 6 and older.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for people to learn about wild edibles from an expert and to see what is growing in the Watchung Reservation, as well as in our own backyards,” said Freeholder Daniel Sullivan, liaison to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. “In case of severe weather, the program will be held indoors, with a slideshow and specimens of wild edibles.”

The fee per person is $10 for adults, ages 18 and older, and $5 per child, ages 6-17. Pre-registration is preferred but walk-ins will be accommodated as space permits. The program will be held rain or shine. Attendees are asked to wear appropriate clothing for the outdoors and to bring plastic bags for gathering wild edibles.

Participants in this class will be introduced to world famous naturalist and author, “Wildman” Steve Brill, who has led thousands of foraging tours and is best known for his many tours in Central Park in New York City. This class is a unique opportunity to join the “Wildman” for a two-hour foraging tour in the woods and fields of the Watchung Reservation.

Attendees will learn to identify, harvest ecologically and use many of the common, tasty, healthful, overlooked renewable mid-spring shoots, greens and herbs, otherwise considered “weeds.” The class will culminate with a tasting menu of such unwanted plants as lamb’s quarters, curly dock, common milkweed, pokeweed, sassafras, burdock and many more.

To register for the May 28 foraging class or for information on any other programs or upcoming events at Trailside, call 908-789-3670 or visit us on the web at www.ucnj.org/trailside. Trailside Nature & Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road (at Coles Avenue) in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

– end –

NEWARK – The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) today approved a resolution allocating $2 million in federal funds to assist member counties and cities with meeting recent national guidelines for the nighttime visibility and readability of traffic signs.

In 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established higher retro-reflectivity guidelines for all regulatory, warning and guide signs in its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), the national standard for signs and signals on public roads. The new requirements will be phased in by 2018.

The NJTPA’s MUTCD Traffic Sign Inventory and Assessment Program is designed to assist member counties and cities in complying with these regulations. The Board voted to divide the funding up equally ($133,000 each) among each of the NJTPA’s 15 subregions: the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren; and the state’s two largest cities, Newark and Jersey City. The funding will be used to provide support in cataloguing the current sign conditions in each area and with the establishment of sign management methods to maintain them at or above the minimum compliance levels.

NJTPA Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan, a Union County Freeholder, said the Board’s action will help the region meet these new requirements. “These standards will make travel safer, particularly during darkness and for drivers with vision impairments,” Sullivan said. “However, much work will be required to bring all of northern New Jersey’s signs and signals into compliance. This measure will help us take steps toward that goal.”

Hunterdon County Freeholder Director Matt Holt, who serves as Chairman of the NJTPA’s Planning and Economic Development Committee, said the NJTPA saw a need to assist the counties and cities in meeting these mandates. “This is a good example of the NJTPA using federal transportation funding to make a positive difference on the local level,” Holt said.

For more information on the MUTCD, visit the FHWA website at www.fhwa.dot.gov.

————————————————————————————

The NJTPA is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for 13 northern New Jersey Counties. Under federal legislation, MPOs provide a forum where local officials, public transportation providers and state agency representatives can come together and cooperatively plan to meet the region’s current and future transportation needs. It establishes the region’s eligibility to receive federal tax dollars for transportation projects.

The NJTPA Board consists of one local elected official from each of the 13 counties in the region (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren), and the cities of Newark and Jersey City. The Board also includes a Governor’s Representative, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Executive Directors of NJ Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a Citizen’s Representative appointed by the Governor.

The Union County Baseball Association invites young baseball players – boys and girls – ages 8 to 15, to register for its Summer Youth League baseball teams. This annual youth baseball program is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Union County Baseball Association, and the Union County Department of Parks and Community Renewal.

“The Summer Youth League provides coaches, umpires, shirts and baseball caps,” said Freeholder Daniel P. Sullivan, liaison to the Union County Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. “All games are played in Warinanco Park, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and the games are coached and supervised by Union County Baseball Association staff.”

Sign-ups for the summer league will be held at the Warinanco Park Boat House in Roselle on Saturday, May 21, and continuing on Saturdays June 4, 11, 18 and 25, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon each day. All those who register will participate in play.

Each player is required to bring a $25 registration fee and a birth certificate to the sign-up. Players must be at least 8 years old by June 25 and cannot be 16 before August 1.

The Summer Youth League is divided into three divisions: a Teen League for 13, 14 and 15-year-olds; a Major League for 11 and 12-year-olds; and a Minor League for 8, 9 and 10-year-old players. Registered players will be notified about Team Assignment Day and the first day of play. There will be no refunds after Team Assignment Day.

An awards picnic will be held on Friday, August 5, to mark the end of the Summer Youth Baseball League.

All games are played in Warinanco Park. For more information call (908) 789-3686, or visit the Union County Baseball Association Website at www.ucba-nj.org.

– 30 –

For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release. Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.