Councilwoman Neda Rose

Edgewater Beacon: What do you feel are the critical issues facing Edgewater today?

Councilwoman Neda Rose: Infrastructure, for one. We are in the throes of an amazing growth. And overall, it’s been very good for this town. But we have not passed a community facilities plan. We have to look very hard at whether or not we can deliver ambulance services. Are our fire trucks located where they should be? We don’t have a traffic division and yet we’re getting more and more traffic. I think one of the most critical things that we have to address is: what are we going to be like five years from now? What kind of schools are we going to need? Is this one [Eleanon Van Gelder School] adequate? How many police officers? Do we have enough trucks for garbage collection? This is the first winter where we’ve had to have snow removal with River Road widened, and although they did a very good job of it, they were pushed--we need more men, more trucks, more equipment now. They have more than twice the amount of roads they had two years ago. And we have more development coming. We have to plan, at least five years out, “what do we need?” As we build our population, we’re going to have to increase services. There’s no way around it. We do not have the luxury of taking our time and trying to handle it after the fact. We have to start planning now for what’s coming.

EB: As the town continues to grow, in what ways should the town government grow?

NR: We need to be more accessible in the evening for people who are working all day long. I had proposed awhile back that we open the Borough Hall one evening. If we’re only open 9 to 5, if there’s a problem, when do these people get to address you? We’ve got to decide whether we’re going to expand the hours, or rearrange the hours.

EB: There’s been an issue raised about the filling of certain Borough positions. Does Edgewater really need a full-time Recycling Coordinator?

NR: In my, opinion, no. Kathy Oates is an excellent worker, but we don’t need anybody in that position. We had worked very hard to get an employee manual done, and were able to reduce our insurance. There are very certain, specific criteria in there for hiring, and we didn’t follow that. That was why I voted, not against the person, but against the fact that the procedures were being totally ignored, and that we did not need anybody in that position. The position was being very adequately done. I know the Mayor wants to add that this Coordinator can go into the schools, and train people in how to recycle. But we could have added that to the job of the person who was there, at a minimal amount of money. I had asked the Mayor prior to making the appointment to reconsider, and for us to investigate where we really need personnel.

EB: You’re running for re-election, but it looks like you’re not going to be the choice of the Democratic County Committee and the Edgewater Democratic Club.

NR: Well, I don’t know that. We are the incumbent Democrats, and we have always run as Democrats--we’ve won two elections on the Democratic ticket. We have been Democrats all our lives. We haven’t received any official notification either way.

EB: But I saw an ad that the Democratic party is looking for candidates -

NR: That actually isn’t the Democratic Club that placed that ad, that was the “Democratic Club, Inc.”, a close corporation of Democrats. That’s the club that forbade both Louise and I from entering the building; they said that we were not wanted. So I signed the Mayor’s petition on the sidewalk, because I’ve always supported Democrats--I’m a Democrat. But we’re not allowed in there.

EB: If you don’t get the official party nod . . . .

NR: We will run a Primary fight.

EB: Have you considered running as an independent?

NR: I’m not an independent. I’m a Democrat. I have been a Democrat all my life.

EB: As head of the Edgewater Arts Council, what would you like to see made available to residents in the area of arts and culture?

NR: I would like to have at least three areas in town for the rotating display of some public art. Maybe one in the Shadyside area, maybe one near Borough Hall; if we get the Marina, perhaps there. We could have artists display sculpture and outdoor art on a rotating basis. We have some very fine artists living here now, and I’d like to see more awareness of the town and its art. I would like to have a theatre group here. I would like to get the stage finally finished inside the Community Center, and the acoustics repaired, and to begin to have some theatre performances here. We have a fledgling theatre group starting out; we have some child performers at EVG School that have performed on Broadway. We should be showcasing this talent, but we need a place to do that.

EB: What do you consider your greatest contribution to the town to date? What are you proudest of?

NR: When I moved here, I fell in love with this town, and I knew what could be done. The Arts Festival: it took me four years to convince the Council that we could do it, and this will be our 9th one. The securing of traffic lights on River Road: through my involvement along with Councilwoman Merse and Hogan, getting those lights secured for safety, especially the one at Glenwood Avenue. The beautification: I’ve always been involved with the Beautification Committee, trying to make the town more attractive and raise the quality of life in it. And if we secure the Grand Cove Marina, that has been something that I have been working on for four years, to do something with that open space before its gone. Those things I hope will be lasting that I have been able to contribute.

EB: Where do you see Edgewater five years from now?

NR: If we get a handle on the traffic, and we are able to manage the services that we’re going to need, this is going to be one great town to live in. If that marina becomes ours, we can get kayaking and canoeing in there; and we can get some green space down there; and we can continue to run the jitney around town and figure out ways of moving people about without having to take their cars out everywhere they want to go. This town is a showcase, and it can continue to be. I think this town is moving in the right direction; I am not anti-growth. I just think it has to be controlled, and you have to look at it with an eye toward “how does this improve the quality of life?”

2/10/00