Princeton council approves Mountain Lakes Red Trail footbridge easement, OKs routine contracts and tables two consent items

The Mayor and Council of Princeton on Jan. 27 voted to adopt Ordinance 2025-01 authorizing the municipality to acquire a public access, construction and maintenance easement for the Mountain Lakes Red Trail footbridge and approved several routine professional-service and procurement resolutions, while tabling two consent-agenda items for additional review.

The ordinance authorizing the easement was adopted by roll call after a public hearing with no public comments. The council then approved a package of resolutions ranging from a one-year lease renewal with the Princeton Tennis Program to the third-year renewal of a five-year solid-waste collection contract with Interstate Waste Services of New Jersey Inc. Two consent-agenda items (Resolutions 25-54 and 25-56) were tabled for further consideration.

Why it matters: the easement clears the way for the footbridge project on the Mountain Lakes Red Trail by giving the municipality the legal right to access, construct and maintain the structure; the waste contract and other approved agreements affect municipal services and budgetary commitments that shape day-to-day services for residents.

The council opened the public hearing on Ordinance 2025-01 and, with no public comment, called for a roll-call vote. Council members who were recorded on the roll call — Brian McDonald, Perron Lambros, (Councilmember) Fraga and (Councilmember) Newland — voted in the affirmative; the clerk announced the ordinance carried. The ordinance was described on the agenda as "authorizing the acquisition of a public access, construction, and maintenance easement for the Mountain Lakes Red Trail Footbridge." No purchase price or property owner name was stated in the hearing record.

The meeting then moved through a series of resolutions that the council described as routine. Highlights included:

- Resolution 25-44: Renewal of the lease agreement with Princeton Tennis Program for Community Park South tennis facilities for an additional one-year term. Council discussion praised the program's outreach and equity efforts. The motion to approve was made and the resolution passed by voice vote.

- Resolution 25-45: Authorization of the third year of a five-year contract with Interstate Waste Services of New Jersey Inc. for solid-waste and bulk collection, using contractor-supplied 64-gallon carts, for an amount "not to exceed $1,412,634." In discussion, municipal staff provided recent tonnage figures: "In the first year, we were at about 5,500 tons. It dropped quite a bit in 2023, and 2024 is similar to the 2023 amount of about 5,000 tons of solid waste that are being collected," said Deanna, a municipal staff member. Councilmembers and staff urged continued public outreach to increase participation in food-scrap diversion programs to reduce tonnage and costs.

- Resolutions 25-46 and 25-47: Professional services agreements for municipal legal representation. The council approved a 2025 municipal-prosecutor contract with KG Law Group LLC for an amount not to exceed $78,000 (25-46), and approved a $4,200 increase to an existing municipal-prosecutor agreement with Kawal Saurus (name as stated in the meeting materials) and Gomolsen LLC for a new not-to-exceed amount of $82,200 (25-47).

- Resolution 25-48: Award of tax-appeal counsel services to Shaw and Rubenstein LLC for 2025 for an amount not to exceed $125,000 (approved).

- Resolution 25-49: Authorization of an extraordinary unspecifiable services agreement with Whitman for insurance-claim assistance for an amount not to exceed $46,962.50 (approved).

- Resolution 25-50: Appointment of an authorized representative for purposes of filing applications with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank related to the municipality's Hamilton Avenue Sewer Rehabilitation Project (approved). The council noted that I-Bank financing can include low- or no-interest loans and occasional loan forgiveness; specific financing terms were not stated in the meeting record.

- Resolution 25-51: Commitment to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) fourth-round affordable-housing present-need and prospective-need numbers (approved).

- Resolution 25-52: Authorization of a supplemental funding request from Greenacres (approved); the resolution text in the meeting packet was not discussed in detail and specific dollar amounts were not stated on the record.

Several items from the consent agenda were discussed procedurally. Councilmember Leticia moved to table Resolution 25-54; later the council confirmed it would also table Resolution 25-56 (appointment of the Emergency Management Council). Residents were told those items will return for discussion at a future meeting. Resident Felicia Fitz spoke from the public gallery to express frustration about timing for public comment, saying, "I feel that was a little bit of a catch 22," after the council tabled a consent item she had hoped to address.

Several staff and council members used the meeting to note ongoing municipal programs and community events. Isaac, executive director of Experience Princeton, reported grants and marketing statistics and thanked staff for work on storefront grants. Deanna and Gina (municipal staff) discussed expansion of the food-scrap drop-off program; Gina said the municipality expects "3 new locations coming online for the food scrap program: one at General Johnson Road, one by Little Brook and one by Riverside Elementary." The administration said new public information will accompany deployment of those sites.

What the record does not show: the meeting record did not state the property owner involved in the Mountain Lakes easement, any purchase price for that easement, or detailed financing terms for the Hamilton Avenue project. Several resolutions were approved by voice vote with no named roll-call tallies recorded in the public hearing transcript.

The council adjourned after about 32 minutes of public business; several students in attendance were acknowledged for studying public participation at open meetings.