At its meeting Monday evening, July 24, Princeton Council approved a resolution to authorize the Princeton Police Department’s appointment of five probationary police officers. With three retirements possible by the end of the year and 11 officers eligible for retirement through 2020, it is important to be proactive, Chief Nick Sutter told Council.

“My vision is that we anticipate these retirements because there is a lag time between when we hire someone and when they get fully certified,” he said. At a press conference earlier in the day, Mr. Sutter said this completes the most recent recruiting list, which he called “particularly robust.”

“It went beyond our expectations in terms of diversity and caliber of officers,” he said. “We really look for individuals committed to policing in Princeton. They don’t just meet the minimum requirements. They meet Princeton requirements.”

The five new recruits will be sworn in at a future Council meeting.

Council also held a work session on proposed route changes to the FreeB bus service. Fay Reiter, chair of the town’s Public Transit Advisory Committee, detailed recommendations to merge the existing two services into one because ridership on the early morning route to the Dinky train station has been so low.

The plan, which Ms. Reiter called a work in progress, suggests that daytime service would be merged with commuter service and run until about 7:30 or 8 p.m. Service on the daytime route currently ends about 3:30 p.m.

Council President Jenny Crumiller said the greatest market for the FreeB service is affordable housing communities where people may not own cars. Ms. Reiter noted that many people are not aware of the service. “There is a lot of confusion in the community about the two types of service,” she said. “We’re proposing one that would merge the two routes.”

Princeton resident Kip Cherry commented that the town should be promoting the service with its current schedule rather than cutting service. “Very few commuters know about the FreeB, or that there is a brand new bus,” she said. “We are looking at taking a big step backwards. We should be promoting it with fanfare, especially as the Lewis Center for the Arts is about to open. Promote it and educate the community about the existing service.”

Municipal engineer Deanna Stockton updated Council on the renovation of the Mary Moss Playground at the corner of John and Lytle streets. The work was originally supposed to be completed in time for this summer, with a water play area for children, trees, and landscaping. But the project has been delayed and is now targeted for next summer.

Built in the 1940s, the playground and small wading pool were for many years the only places that children in Princeton’s black community were permitted to swim.

Ms. Stockton said the town only received final plans from the consultant it hired at the end of May. “One of the reasons for the delay is the availability of contractors to put together a responsive bid,” she said. “We were concerned that in the summer when they’re so busy, they would not sharpen their pencils and give us their best price for the project.”

A contract should be awarded by November. Depending on winter weather, work could start after the first of the year and be finished by the beginning of next June.