Bernards Says Farewell to Mayor Kelly at Last Township Committee Meeting of 2009

The last official public act of the Township Committee in 2009 during their public session on Tuesday was the unanimous approval of Resolution #090436 – In Recognition of Outstanding Service to Bernards Township – Carolyn Kelly.

Kelly will step down from her position as Mayor and Township Committee member after nine years of service on the Township Committee.

Each Township Committee member took turns saying thanks to Kelly for her service, and two members of the public took the opportunity to read statements during the public comment portion of the meeting.

"You have always had the town's best interest in your heart," former Bernards Board of Education member Lisa Winter said. "And I just want to thank you so much for all of your hard work for our community. I think it has made a big difference and we will really miss you."

Winter praised Kelly's efforts to help the school budget pass, running meetings with "great patience and grace," supporting the referendum to help Ridge High School build a new gym and auditorium and for going out of her way to push the state to provide additional funding for Bernards schools on a trip to Trenton.

Bernards Board of Education Vice President Susan Carlsson also spoke during the public comment session. Carlsson said that the relationship between the Board of Education and the Township Committee improved during Kelly's tenure.

"It's so refreshing to know that we have friends over here [on the Township Committee]," Carlsson said. "It just makes our jobs so much easier."

Carlsson said that Kelly has been very supportive of providing for the needs of Bernards school children, from helping to ensure that the high school and middle schools are able to employ resource officers for safety to the well-managed finances of the town, which help the school's meet the challenge of providing for a growing student population.

"The fact that we've had to expand and we've had to handle an increasing student body … obviously taxes go up due in part to the services we provide. The fact that you are able to hold the line and keep things under control here makes it that much easier to get our budgets passed. [I want to] thank you for that," Carlsson said.

Township Committee Member John Malay will take over for Kelly as the longest serving member of the committee next year. Malay twice ran for office as a running mate of Kelly's and said, "All the best, I know you are more than looking forward to a break, but it's been great and I appreciate you bringing me along and getting me involved in this. Thank you very much."

In addition to the resolution recognizing Kelly's service, Deputy Mayor Scott Spitzer presented her with gifts to on behalf of the Township Committee to commemorate her nine-year tenure.

Township Committee Meeting Notes – Dec. 29

Kelly delivered her Bernards Township 2009 Annual Report during the meeting. The full text of her speech is available in a separate article on this site.

The committee also voted unanimously to accept Heritage Court as part of the township map.

Kelly said that she visited Cedar Hill Elementary School earlier this year, where the new street became a focus of the young students studying the community.

"I asked all of the students who were studying to outline their street on the map so they could see where they lived," Kelly said. "One of the girls actually lived on Heritage Court … I had a mock township committee meeting, and the township committee of Cedar Hill [Elementary School] voted that the Bernards Township Committee should adopt Heritage Court by the end of the year so this student could see her block on our map."

Upon hearing the anecdote, Township Committee member John Carpenter said, "I ran a mock township committee meeting when I was mayor and the kids voted to ban homework."

The next Township Committee meeting will be the reorganization meeting on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.