Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hawthorne borough administrator gives final report, highlights water projects, grants and antenna-lease revenue
Summary
Borough Administrator Eric Mauer delivered his final report Dec. 7, outlining road and water projects, PFAS-related legal proceeds, ongoing service-line replacement through 2031, FEMA and grant awards, and an expanded antenna lease that increased annual rent revenue; council thanked him and scheduled a special meeting on affordable housing.
Eric Mauer, Hawthorne’s borough administrator, gave his final report to the council Dec. 7, summarizing two decades of municipal projects and listing current and upcoming capital and service initiatives.
Mauer described recent operations — including DPW snow response, extra leaf pickups aided by a borrowed truck, and county cooperation on salt and traffic signs — and recapped multi-year infrastructure programs: a phased water-service-line replacement through 2031, PFAS treatment-media replacement bids to be taken in January, and Dela Rica change orders for emergency water-main work. He noted the borough’s success attracting grant funding (including FEMA assistance for swift-water rescue training) and cited antenna-lease revenue from Longview Tank expansions that increased annual rent by about $43,000 per year.
Mauer also announced upcoming procurement timelines (garbage/recycling bids due in January) and flagged that utility projects and low-interest financing applications (NJIB) may push some bidding to spring. He thanked staff, volunteers and professional partners and received thanks and well-wishes from council members. A special council meeting was scheduled for Dec. 22, 2025 to discuss affordable-housing litigation and settlement recommendations.
Quote selection: “The borough has been creative in finding alternative revenue sources rather than relying exclusively on property taxes,” Mauer said, noting antenna-lease rent as new revenue to support capital projects. “You left the place better than when you got here,” a colleague added during the farewell.
Status and next steps: Administration and staff will proceed with advertised procurement timelines, design services for phase-6 water-line replacement and grant-funded projects; council will convene the special meeting on affordable housing for settlement discussion.
