Eatontown mayor asks residents to nominate streets for $47M-funded paving program

Mayor Tyler Rico urged the council to let residents help set priorities for a large-scale road-paving program funded in part by the borough’s $47,000,000 Netflix payment and supplemented by grants or borrowing. "We can say February, the month of February. During that time, we'd advertise to the residents to share with us the roads that they would like paved," he said, proposing that engineers prepare $1 million, $2 million and $3 million scenarios so the council could choose how best to spend the money.

Council members supported the outreach and discussed practical steps to stretch the dollars, including targeting roads eligible for state aid so engineers can maximize grant matches. Councilmember Escalante suggested using the solicitation to capture reports of out streetlights and other infrastructure needs so the borough can prioritize projects and packaging for competitive grants. The administration said it would create a flyer and post the request on the borough website and social media with an expected start date of Feb. 1.

The mayor framed the approach as a way to present multiple options to voters and to avoid rushing decisions on large capital commitments. He said the borough may need redevelopment counsel to advise on borrowing mechanics if the council chooses to bond part of the program. The proposal will return to future agendas as staff and engineers produce costed plans and timelines.