Monday, May 20, 2013
Cross River seeks to install a data 'highway' that could offer economic boost; Hopatcong Council to vote on ordinance in June.
The Hopatcong Council introduced an ordinance Wednesday that if approved would allow a company to install a data-only fiber optic cable on existing poles along borough streets, part of a statewide information superhighway. The installation has the potential to make the borough more attractive to companies that rely on high-speed data lines for their business. The company, Cross River Fiber NJ, Inc. has approval of the state Board of Public Utilities to install the wiring as long as local approval is granted. Cross River representative Fred Brody said that the company is installing “basically a highway” to which other companies can purchase the right to use. Essentially, he said, Cross River is running the cable from “Point A to Point B” …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Proposed plan remaps sewer service areas but has no borough impact.
The Hopatcong Borough Council consented by resolution to the proposed Sussex County Water Quality Management Plan. Borough attorney John Ursin said the document, an amendment to the county’s water quality plan, has been in the works for more than five years as the county and the state Department of Environmental Protection worked out the details. Mayor Sylvia Petillo said the document mainly addresses water quality issues in the Highland preservation zone and would have no impact on the borough. The plan provides updated maps for future sewer service area across the county. According to a public notice for a public hearing held last week in Newton, filed by the DEP, the map “identified areas to be served by sewerage treatment facilities/…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Housing crash, recession to blame for 29-percent drop, appraisal firm says.
The assessed value of property in Hopatcong dropped $581 million, according to a preliminary report on the current reassessment being conducted by Appraisal Systems, Inc. The company has been meeting individually with residents following the mailing of new property assessments earlier this month. The new values will take effect in August. In a preliminary tax impact statement, Appraisal Systems estimated the 2013 assessed value of the borough’s 7,128 taxable items at $1.415 billion, down from the 2012 assessment of $1.996 billion. The estimate said the assessed value of the borough’s 6,077 residential properties dropped from $1.875 billion in 2012 to $1.320 billion in 2013. That change reduced the average residential assessment from $308,…
Monday, February 18, 2013
CERT team acclaimed for service during and after Hurricane Sandy.
The attacks of Sept 11, 2001 brought Steve Millian to the training for volunteers who in 2005 would form the Hopatcong Community Emergency Response Team. Hurricane Sandy brought him and his team to Hopatcong High School where for two weeks they supported and comforted community members who had been driven from their homes by the storm. Millian and many of the 50 members of the team were present at a recent council meeting as Mayor Sylvia Petillo and the Borough Council thanked them for their service. “We depend on you so much,” Petillo said, “And you never complain. You make all the difference.” Millian, the CERT team leader, said that after Sept. 11, he felt he wanted to help his community. He was clearly proud of his team’s efforts …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Hopatcong residents can discuss new property values with company reps after first revaluation in five years.
Hopatcong residents have been mailed notices of their new property value assessments, which take effect in August, borough Administrator Robert Elia said. Hopatcong Council voted last year to conduct a full revaluation of all properties in the borough. While a revaluation was done in 2007, the soft housing market since 2008 created a situation where assessed values of properties are not aligned with the market value, resulting in a sharp increase in tax appeals. Records show that Hopatcong's total assessed property value fell from $2.037 billion in 2011 to $1.996 billion in 2012. The borough has 360 tax appeals pending, tax assessor Therese DePierro reported last year. The owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $313,894 paid $6…
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Residents will no longer have to separate recyclable goods.
The borough will switch to a single-stream recycling collection plan beginning in February, the Borough Council announced Wednesday. Single-stream collection means that recyclable materials no longer have to be separated, said Mayor Sylvia Petillo. All cans, plastics and paper can be placed in the same container, she said. The new system will start Feb. 1. All recyclables will be collected every other week, Petillo said. That is a change from the current system that collects paper one week and cans and plastic another week. The plan will be explained in the borough newsletter prior to the start of the program, Petillo said. The mayor also said that while the public meeting with Jersey Central Power & Light officials Tuesday to discuss …
Borough will honor the lives lost on Friday.
Hopatcong officials will hold a moment of silence on Friday to honor the 26 students and teachers killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Mayor Sylvia Petillo said Wednesday the borough also turned off the lights in its holiday decorations in their honor. She said Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy has called for a nationwide moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. Friday to honor the victims of the mass shooting that took place last Friday. Petillo also asked during Wednesday’s meeting for a moment of silence before the flag salute. She opened the meeting with a short statement: “On Dec. 14, the unthinkable happened in a small bedroom community in Newtown, Conn. A gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 students …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
How do you think the borough is doing?
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
It's been about two weeks since Hurricane Sandy came ashore to wreak havoc on Hopatcong and the tri-state area as a whole. Now, the town continues to dig out of the debris to clear trees from homes and roads, and restore power to residents. But how do you think the borough has done so far? Hopatcong Mayor Sylvia Petillo has said that communication among JCP&L crews and borough officials was a major issue. She said officials were given inaccurate numbers from the power company, and that officials had a hard time communicating with residents because of the loss of power. Many residents have expressed frustration on the Hopatcong-Sparta Facebook page about this issue as well. Take our poll, and tell us in the comments how you think the …
Observer
7:54 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Is "could" the operative word in this issue? If none of what this company provides will benefit residents, then what is the issue, of course not! Rape the land to install "an information highway?" Wait a minute, this seems like old technology! If I can ride in my vehicle listening to XM radio, why the heck can't can't they use the same available technology to send their super secret data without … more ›