The Lawrence Township Council has been asked to consider naming a street or a park after the late Pat Colavita Jr., a former mayor and township councilman, school board member and Mercer County Freeholder/Commissioner who died in September.
Township Councilman Jim Kownacki brought up the consideration at the Township Council’s Oct. 18 meeting, in response to an email from a Lawrence Township resident suggesting naming opportunities.
“I want the Council to think about (naming) a street or a park for Pat. He grew up on Manitee Avenue (in the Eldridge Park neighborhood),” Kownacki said.
Kownacki suggested possibly renaming the township-owned Eldridge Park for Colavita. The park is located between Tulane Avenue and Greenfield Avenue in the Eldridge Park neighborhood.
The Colavita family has deep roots in the Eldridge Park neighborhood. The family settled in the neighborhood around 1906, according to a history of Lawrence Township published in 1997.
No decision was made at the meeting. Colavita, 77, died Sept. 20.
Colavita began his career in public service on the Lawrence Township school board. He served from 1985 to 1993, including stints as school board president and vice president.
He was elected to the Township Council and served from 1996 to 1999. He held the honorary post of mayor in 1997 and 1999, leading the township in the celebration of its 300th anniversary in 1997.
Colavita wrapped up his career in public service on the Mercer County Board of Commissioners, which was formerly known as the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He served from 2004 to 2020, and was its chairman or president in 2007, 2011 and 2017.
He was a speech language pathologist in the Hamilton Township public school district for nearly 40 years.
