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Residents raise concerns about shared 911 dispatch and new flashing stop lights
Summary
Members of the public told the council they experienced long waits and delayed reports after the borough's shared services dispatch arrangement; another resident urged the borough to add timers to newly installed flashing stop lights that operate overnight.
Two residents used the public comment period to press the council on separate quality-of-service and safety nuisance issues.
Sal Baptist, a Meriden Avenue resident, addressed resolution 1 25 0 8 (an item directing the borough administrator to explore shared services and cooperative agreements). Baptist said the borough's prior shared services agreement with Rutgers emergency dispatchers "has not worked out very well" for Highland Park residents, alleging long waits and calls to 911 that "just rang and rang" with no one answering. He urged the borough to prioritize service quality over short-term cost savings when exploring shared-service options.
Another resident, Karen Allen of Grand Avenue, spoke about three new flashing stop lights installed at the Cleveland and Madison Avenue corner. Allen said the lights "are not on timers" and flash all night long, disturbing neighbors and shining into windows; she asked the borough to consider timers or other adjustments so the lights do not flash during late-night hours or weekends when school is not in session.
A council member (Hale) responded during the meeting, asking staff to look into whether timers or other controls could be applied to the flashing devices. The transcript shows the council agreed to investigate both the dispatch shared-service performance concerns and the flashing-light timing issue; no formal directive or vote to change contracts was recorded during the public-comment period.
Both comments were made during the public-comment portion of the organizational meeting; the transcript records the residents' statements and a council member's commitment to follow up, but does not record immediate policy decisions or contract changes.
