South Plainfield reorganization: council oaths, attorney appointment and mayor outlines $1M NJDOT grant and 2026 priorities

At its annual reorganization meeting, the Borough of South Plainfield swore in reelected and newly elected council members, appointed its borough attorney for 2026 and installed Christine Fostini as council president.

Superior Court Judge Robert Jones Jr. administered the oath to reelected Councilman Peter D. Smith and to newly elected Councilman John McConville, who each recited the oath to support the constitutions of the United States and the State of New Jersey and to perform their duties faithfully.

The council recognized outgoing Councilwoman Melanie Mott for two terms of service and presented a plaque thanking her for chairing several committees, including public works and the environmental advisory committee. In her farewell remarks, Mott reflected on her seven years on the governing body and thanked supporters and municipal staff for their collaboration.

The governing body approved, by roll call, a resolution authorizing the appointment of the borough attorney for 2026 (referred to in the transcript as resolution 261). The clerk recorded five affirmative votes and the measure passed.

Paul Rizzo, the borough's longtime attorney, was honored for 17 years of legal service; Rizzo thanked municipal officials and staff and offered brief remarks about his experience working with the borough.

Nominations for the 2026 council president produced a motion to nominate Councilwoman Christine Fostini. Judge Jones administered the oath to Fostini after the council recorded a unanimous vote in favor of resolution 26-02 to nominate and authorize her as council president.

In the mayor’s reorganization address, the mayor recapped 2025 accomplishments and outlined priorities and grant‑funded projects for 2026. He said the borough’s tax base increased nearly $30 million over two years and highlighted investments supported in part by federal, state and county grants. Specific items mentioned included:

• An NJDOT local infrastructure grant of $1,000,000 to partially fund improvements to Oak Tree Avenue and associated roadway work on nearby streets; an NJDOT municipal aid grant of $414,747 for other road improvements.

• A New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) grant of $1,000,000 to help complete a shared police fuel station that will enable Board of Education buses to refuel on site, and a DCA recreational improvement grant of $600,000 for pool and park upgrades. The senior center received a $91,000 DCA local recreational improvement grant for ADA‑related upgrades and parking improvements.

• An upcoming Hadley Road sanitary sewer lining project to rehabilitate approximately 1,450 feet of sewer main, aided by a $448,271 municipal aid grant.

• Department of Public Works statistics for 2025, including 2,487 bulk pickups (about 755 tons of waste) and 543 senior resident pickups; a municipal curbside recycling rollout that included new 95‑gallon containers; and investments in fleet and equipment.

• Police department staffing and modernization efforts: hiring two full‑time dispatchers and four new officers, participation in licensing and leadership training, and continued emphasis on community engagement programs and accreditation planning.

The mayor also described recreation and library highlights: the community pool logged 28,760 individual visits, producing roughly $490,000 in revenue; the recreation department’s summer camp generated approximately $370,000; and the public library increased circulation and program participation. The borough will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026 with events and a time capsule project.

Councilman White moved to add a later resolution (listed in the transcript as resolution 265) to the evening’s agenda; the motion passed by voice vote. The mayor then announced mayoral appointments by resolution 26-03 for planning board and commission vacancies; nominees present were to be sworn in by Judge Jones.

The meeting record indicates formal actions on several agenda items (appointments and the nomination of council president); where votes were recorded the clerk’s roll calls were used to determine outcomes. No zoning or ordinance adoptions, budget adoptions, or other final legislative actions were taken during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript.