FREEHOLD – A new mayor has taken the reins in Freehold Borough and a longtime member of the governing body has been elected to serve as president of the Borough Council for 2020.
At the council’s annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 5, the three winning candidates from the November election took the oath of office for terms on the dais.
Kevin Kane was sworn in to begin serving his first four-year term as mayor. Kane, the son of former mayor Roger Kane, was previously a member of the Borough Council.
When Nolan Higgins decided not to seek re-election to a third term as mayor in 2019, Kane ran for the municipality’s top elected position and defeated Republican Mary Ann Earle to win the mayor’s seat.
Also during the meeting, newcomer Adam Reich and incumbent Margaret Rogers were sworn in to begin serving three-year terms on the council.
Rogers was appointed to a one-year term on the governing body in 2019 to fill a vacant seat. She was elected to her first full term in November.
Reich won the council seat that was previously held by Kane. He is the son of former councilwoman Lynn Reich.
After all members of the council were seated, the governing body held an election to determine who would serve as council president for 2020. Councilman Michael DiBenedetto was unanimously elected by his fellow council members to hold the position during the year.
DiBenedetto has been a member of the council since 1997 and is the second-longest current serving member after Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer.
Rogers, Reich, DiBenedetto and Shutzer are joined by George Schnurr and Annette Jordan on the governing body. Democrats hold all six council seats and the mayor’s office.
In separate resolutions, the council accepted Kane’s nomination of Robert Cosgrove as municipal prosecutor for 2020 and Jonathan Lomurro as public defender for 2020.
Through one resolution, council members accepted Kane’s nomination and appointment of Business Administrator Stephen Gallo as deputy clerk, Mary Cruz as registrar, Lynn Cannon as deputy registrar, Chief Financial Officer Richard Gartz as treasurer and collector for water and sewer rents, Kathleen Caruso as deputy treasurer, Patricia Berg as tax search officer and Kevin Coyne as borough historian, each for a one-year term.
Council members made the following appointments to the Planning Board: Michael Wildermuth to a four-year term; Shealyn M.S. Crombie (succeeding Reich, who resigned to join the council) and Caridad Argote-Freyre (as an alternate) to two-year terms; and Garry Jackson to a one-year term.
Dr. William McGonigle was appointed to a four-year term on the Board of Health; and Coyne, Brianne Kozlowski and Gil Burgess received three-year terms on the Historic Preservation Committee.
Ruthann Broxmeyer was appointed to a five-year term on the Housing Authority of the Borough of Freehold; Edward Daley was appointed to a three-year term on the Lake Topanemus Commission; Barbara Jennette and John Shea were appointed to five-year terms on the Library Commission, and Jamie Corbett and Elisha Carter were appointed to one-year terms.
Matthew Young was appointed to a one-year term as a fire official on the Fire Prevention Bureau; Jane Fields, Shauntele Patterson, Claire Morales and Dirk Reinken were appointed to three-year terms on the Human Relations Committee, and Freehold Borough Board of Education President Paul Jensen was appointed to a one-year term as the committee’s school board representative.
On the Shade Tree Commission, Corbett, Cheryl Greenfield and Roman Janocha were appointed to five-year terms. Alice McCobb was appointed to a one-year term as chairwoman of the Memorial Day Parade Committee.
For legal services, the council authorized a contract with Kerry Higgins of McKenna, DuPont, Higgins & Stone. For engineering services, the council authorized a contract with William Wentzien of Abbington Engineering. For consulting engineering services with utilities, the council authorized a contract with Mott MacDonald.
Council members appointed Michael Ricciardi as a full-time Class II special law enforcement officer (SLEO), Niall Centofanti as a part-time Class II SLEO and Ty England as a part-time Class II SLEO, all with the Freehold Borough Police Department.
