By Anne Levin

An ordinance officially finalizing the name of an advisory committee and the approval of resolutions related to issues including signage, sewer replacement, engineering services, and health services were among the topics at a brief meeting of Princeton Council on Monday evening, August 12.

The governing body voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance that changes the name of the “Advisory Committee on Affordable Housing, Human Services, and Racial, Social and Economic Equity” to “the Committee on Affordable Housing, Racial, Economic, Social Equity and Services,” also known as the CARES Advisory Committee. The name change refers to the consolidation early this year of the former Civil Rights Commission, Human Services Commission, and Affordable Housing Board into one entity.

Councilwoman Leticia Fraga credited the committee’s vice chair, Ari Meisel, with coming up with the all-inclusive new name, and praised the group’s work so far.

“Several of the members of the committee are very engaged,” she said. “We’re very excited about what they’re working on, and what I know is going to be providing very positive results for our community.”

The consolidation, which was made in an effort to increase efficiency, was controversial. Councilman Leighton Newlin said that the subject was raised at a candidates’ forum last Saturday that was part of the Witherspoon-Jackson Joint Effort Princeton Safe Streets Summer Program.

“We had somebody that was actually on the panel that alluded to us — our body, the mayor and Council, on January 22 — killing or getting rid of the Civil Rights Commission,” he said. “When I had the opportunity, after [Council President] Mia Sacks and [Councilman] David Cohen spoke so eloquently in their panel discussions to address it, I made it clear that this body, these people that sit in front of you, did not dismantle or kill or turn our backs on civil rights, human services, or affordable housing. What we did was identify a problem they were having that they were not doing the job we intended them to do, that they were working in silos. And we sought to correct that, and thereby develop the CARES committee.”

Council voted to hire consultants LRK Inc. for development of a new signage ordinance, something that has been in the planning stages for nearly a decade. The agreement is not to exceed $55,000. Sacks thanked architect Josh Zinder for his work laying the foundation on the issue over the past few years.

“We’re so fortunate in Princeton that we have professionals who command respect all around the state for their work, and in this case, Josh Zinder has saved the town a lot of money by doing the bulk of the work. Now, LRK is just going to connect the dots,” she said.

Zinder said his office did an in-depth review of the issue, including a study that eventually led to the creation of the sign ordinance. “The conclusion was to hire a consultant to complete the work that could not be done on a reduced-fee basis or pro-bono basis,” he said. “I am pleased to see that the town is taking this critical issue to the business community and to the architectural landscape seriously, and hiring Looney Ricks Kiss [LRK] to update our ordinances to reflect the town we live in today and not the landscape of 1973 and ’74, which is when the ordinances were originally created.”

Among the other resolutions was a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) of no more than $143,000 for the Terhune Road Pedestrian Improvements Project. Also approved was a decrease of $11,000 to Capital Health System for the 2024 Healthy Child/Well Baby Clinic, for a new amount not to exceed $24,000. The decrease is possible because of the recent establishment of Zufall Health Center at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, which extends eligibility to include individuals under the age of 19 regardless of their immigration status, which was not the situation in the past.

Council voted for a resolution approving the 2024 Community Development Block Grant program annual action plan, and authorized a third extension to an agreement with Rider University for public parking on the campus of Westminster Choir College. The extension is through June 30, 2025.

The next public meeting of Council is scheduled for August 26 at 7 p.m. Visit princetonnj.gov for more information.