Welcome Letter from Mayor Apgar
Dear Friends,
Eastampton is an excellent place to live and raise a family, and I am honored to have been selected to serve as Mayor for 2023. This year, I am glad to be joined on Township Council by Members Dominic Santillo and Ricardo Rodriguez, who were the people’s choice last November; Anthony Zeno, who served as our Mayor last year; and our senior-most council member, Jay Springer. Together, we will continue to work hard to deliver the type of leadership that you expect from your elected representatives and an Eastampton that you are proud to call home.
This Council has historically committed itself to the delivery of quality services at an affordable price and invested in those projects necessary to maintain the safety, curbside appeal, and family-friendly character of our town. Last year, for example, the Township completed a major road project, repaving thirty streets throughout the town, constructed a new gazebo in our Veterans Park, brought back our annual community event, offering a car show and fun activities at no cost to our families, and initiated a Safe Routes to School project for our students who bike and walk to the Eastampton Community School. Additionally, we have continued to make progress in achieving the goals of our community’s Master Plan, which calls for smart growth and a balance between preservation and development. Today, successful development projects remain active on Smithville Road and Route 206.
Looking forward, we will continue to look for new ways to better serve our community. For example, we plan to initiate a formal reservation program for our gazebos and recreation building, for families and others who are looking to make additional use of our parks. We have already secured grants to advance other parks, pathway, and road improvement projects, and the County is also committed to repaving projects in town. We are always actively planning for the future, and this year, we will take a serious look at our Master Plan to ensure it meets current economic realities and supports our efforts to attract new commercial development, as well as our local circulation plans. We will also continue to work to bring back pre-pandemic events that were enjoyed by our community.
Our community has thrived because of the many hands that have worked to support it, and so before closing, I would like to say, “Thank you.” Thank you to my fellow Council Members for their sound leadership. Thank you to our dedicated Township Manager/Clerk, Kim-Marie White, and her committed municipal staff for working hard every day to deliver quality services to our residents. They are the face of our town. Thank you to our volunteers, from board and committee members to firefighters, coaches, and PTA parents, for making Eastampton a vibrant community. And last but not least, thank you to my family. Thank you to my wife, Ally, whose support makes my service possible and my daughters, Cassidy and Sierra, who inspire it by giving me two reasons to try to make everything better.
I encourage everyone to remain engaged this year. Whether you volunteer your time, join us at a meeting, or simply stay informed, it makes a difference for our community.
Best wishes for 2023,
Robert Apgar
Mayor
