Business View Civil Municipal June 2023

163 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6 In addition to these improvements, there has been a focus on park facilities within North Bergen, where grant money has been awarded to upgrade these valuable community spaces. The township added a brand-new park in 2019, with numerous other parks completely renovated and upgraded over the past few years, including adding a community garden. Education Infrastructure is also a priority, and North Bergen has purchased a retired high school building from the county with the intention of refurbishing it into a junior high school, resulting in smaller class sizes and better student-teacher ratios. All schools in the township will also be part of a $65 million project to update ventilation systems and implement other structural and academic improvements. To keep residents engaged, the township offers a Community Help Desk, an online space where individuals can submit questions, comments, or concerns, and receive a response within 24 to 48 hours. This program has been very successful for the community, and Schwartz reports over 1000 interactions in 2022. In addition, North Bergen promotes an open-door policy, with the mayor and other city officials responding directly to constituents or referring their concerns to the appropriate department. “We have a tremendous number of events in town, through the library and the rec department, and the mayor, the administrators, the commissioners, are often at these events and interacting with individuals. There’s plenty TOWNSHI P OF NORTH BERGEN