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Princeton council accepts audit, signs design contract, OKs park adoptions and outdoor dining; several grant applications authorized
Summary
At its July 13 meeting the Princeton Mayor and Council accepted the 2025 audit, approved a $121,500 design contract for an intersection improvement, adopted two park maintenance agreements with Friends of Herrington Woods, approved outdoor dining agreements for Hines Plaza, and authorized multiple grant applications including NJDOT municipal aid.
The Princeton Mayor and Council on July 13 accepted the township’s 2025 audit, authorized infrastructure design spending, approved volunteer park stewardship agreements and advanced grant applications for road and remediation projects.
Auditor David Gannon told the council he issued an unmodified opinion on the municipality’s financial statements and reported a current fund balance of about $29.9 million (an increase of $4.7 million from the prior year), healthy utility and trust reserves, and a 99.22% tax collection rate. "We issued an unmodified opinion on the municipality's financial statements," Gannon said, adding the state’s conservative basis of accounting explains certain GAAP disclosures.
On consent items and resolutions, council members voted to:
- Accept the 2025 audit and group affidavit (Resolution 26-199).
- Authorize a professional services agreement with Aurora and Associates, PC, for design work on the Rosedale/Elm/Cleveland intersection (Resolution 26-200), not to exceed $121,500; Princeton will fund design costs while Mercer County will fund construction and maintenance under an existing memorandum of understanding.
- Approve adopt-a-park agreements with the Friends of Herrington Woods to maintain Harrington Woods and Autumn Hill Reservation under New Jersey’s adopt-a-park statute (Resolutions 26-201 and 26-202). The Friends’ president, Steve, detailed 13 years of volunteer trail restoration and habitat work.
- Approve a second amendment to a ground lease for Park/Plaza redevelopment and a license agreement enabling outdoor dining on Hines Plaza (Resolutions 26-203 and 26-204).
- Authorize submission of a FY2027 NJDOT Municipal Aid grant application for the Pretty Brook Road improvement project (Resolution 26-206), and correct a prior final payment amount related to a sewer rehabilitation change order (Resolution 26-208). The council approved a consent agenda covering routine bill payments and small budget items.
Votes on these items were taken by voice; the meeting minutes record each resolution moved, seconded, and approved by the governing body.
The council’s actions will be reflected in forthcoming agenda packages and, where applicable, in grant applications and vendor contracts. Several items noted next steps: staff to present the full audit materials in the agenda packet and to coordinate with Mercer County on intersection project design and procurement.
