ALLENTOWN – Four residents are running for two three-year terms on the Allentown Borough Council in the Nov. 6 election. All four are independent candidates. The two winners will serve terms running from January 2019 through December 2021.
The candidates who are seeking to serve on the governing body are Linda Cotte, Michael Drennan, Thomas J. Monahan Sr. and Robert Strovinsky, who is currently a member of the council.
Strovinsky, Drennan and Monahan were profiled in a previous article. Cotte is profiled here.
Cotte has been a resident of Allentown since 1998. With her husband, Bill, she owns and is a partner at Bylin Employee Benefits, LLC.
She said she is running for council “because I would like to serve my community. I am passionate about helping to preserve our historic village that ‘time forgot’ and will work hard to keep its charm. I have attended council meetings since moving to Allentown. For the past two years I have attended them on a regular basis.
“I have listened to the challenges we face as a village to preserve the integrity and history of our town as the world grows around us and expenses rise. This is no easy task. I feel my professional background as a two-time business owner and voluntary experiences will help me be an integral part of our governing body. As a member of the Economic Development Commission (EDC), along with regular attendance at council meetings, it has given me a good insight as to how challenging it can be,” she said.
She said Allentown has several important issues that need to be addressed, including the waste water treatment plan, reducing truck traffic and parking. She said she would “work hard with our council members to improve and eliminate the current issues at hand.”
Cotte said that as a council member she would like to work with the Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey, a nonprofit organization, to provide an outreach program and support services to our senior community; seek a grant for a drug deactivation system and a drop box program where residents could dispose of unused and expired prescriptions safely; help to preserve the charm and integrity of Allentown’s historic village by preserving open space; and stopping urban sprawl.
And, as a member of the EDC, she would continue to work with local merchants to spearhead new events and functions to help promote commerce and attract new businesses; research grants and possibly work with environmental majors at a New Jersey college for environmental studies, along with professionals, to help restore the deterioration of Indian Run Creek and the Allentown lake’s embankments; and develop a committee and secure a site for an Allentown museum.
