On
January 3, 2008, J. Andrew Lark was sworn in as the 2008
Summit Common Council President. Andy’s vision
for Summit includes a smarter, more efficient government
while maintaining Summit’s heart and service standards.
He will pursue this through three primary initiatives:
•
Expanding the use of shared services with neighboring towns,
•
Raising private funds for activities such as youth and senior
services to finance traditionally public activities, and
•
Smart redevelopment of the city to encourage economic growth
while not adding additional burdens to our school system and
city services – walking a tightrope while growing the
city to keep it vital.
Volunteerism
makes all of the difference for Summit. Andy encourages residents
to contribute their time and talents as
they can to the city, our non-profit organizations, houses
of worship or school system. He said, “We are always
looking for new people with fresh ideas. There is a lot of
satisfaction in giving to your community and the town benefits
immensely.” Residents can get involved with the city
by filling out a volunteer application ( http://www.cityofsummit.org/pdflibrary/volunteerapplication.pdf ) and indicating how
they would like to help. The city will then get you connected
to an appropriate
board or agency.
All of our Common Council members and Mayor Glatt are also
volunteers. The members of Council and the Mayor have an excellent
working relationship, just the right combination to do a great
job in governing Summit. Andy has assigned each council member
to committees according to their areas of expertise and passion:
• Frank Macioce and Dave Bomgaars both have financial experience
and are members or the Finance Committee and the Board of School
Estimate.
• Diane Klaif is passionate about the environment and is therefore
assigned to the Sustainability Task Force and the Environmental
Commission.
• Mike Vernotico is very interested in public safety and chairs
the Safety Committee with a special emphasis on traffic calming
and pedestrian safety.
• Ellen Dickson, also passionate about the environment, is the
liaison to the Arboretum and The Shade Tree Commission.
• Tom Getzendanner is assigned to critical special tasks including
such efforts as Stop the Train, and our efforts to implement
Rails to Trails as quickly as possible.
“Our challenge is to improve and enhance city services
without raising taxes. This will mean rethinking the way we
currently operate and working with the non-profit sector to
meet some of the needs of Summit residents.” Andy believes
that this Council is experienced, motivated and ready to do
the best job for the citizens of Summit.
Andy’s
background reflects his commitment to volunteering as an
important asset in the community:
• Andy is in his fifth year as a member of Common Council.
• He served the city in many other capacities including nine
years as a member of the Zoning Board, co-chairing Summit 2005
which has become Shaping Summit Together.
• He was instrumental in Historic preservation efforts to save
Old Town Hall and restoring the horse trough which is now a
fountain on the corner of Summit Avenue and Union Place.
• Founded, and for many years chaired, the Martin Luther King
Jr. Day of Service in Summit, which just celebrated its 10th
year.
• Andy is an attorney and executive with charitable foundations.
Through this he has gained ideas for the support of youth and
seniors that he hopes to see implemented by the city.
Andy
looks forward to his role as Council President, the challenges
it presents and the opportunities he will have to serve the
citizens of Summit. If you would like to contact Andy or any
other member of the Common Council, the mayor or Summit staff
members, click here for a directory. (http://cityofsummit.org/contact/contactform.cfm)
