New Mayor Schedules Two 'Brown-Bag Lunches' With Open Invites

Bernards Township's newly appointed Mayor John Carpenter has set two dates for informal brown bag lunches with residents. The invitation is open. There will be no agenda, and no need for prior reservations, according to Carpenter.

"It's a great way to get to talk to people...I'm looking forward to [the lunches]," Carpenter said earlier this week. He said the Saturday lunches would allow give-and-take discussions not possibly at a formal meeting. 

Carpenter has scheduled his first “brown bag” lunch at noon on January 25 at the Somerset Hills YMCA, 140 Mt. Airy Road, Basking Ridge, in the Millicent Fenwick Daycare Center on the main level.

The second lunch is scheduled to be held at noon on Feb. 22 at the Bernards Township Library, 32 S. Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge, in program room B.

“Residents should bring their own lunch and share a meal with me while we discuss township matters in an informal setting,” Carpenter said. 

Carpenter added he is hoping to set lunches on a monthly basis. Carpenter was appointed for a one-year term as mayor by his fellow Township Committee members last week. At that time, he said he would revive the practice of the lunches, initiated by former Mayor Scott Spitzer.  

For more information on this event, contact Township Clerk Denise Szabo at 908- 204-3014.