There will be no Holiday in the Park this fall in the City of West Orange. The City Council approved Monday cancelling the annual event in November because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
City Secretary Theresa Van Meter normally mails out notices to vendors in July requesting them to reserve booths for Holiday in the Park. Mayor Roy McDonald said the situation this year makes it difficult to hold the festival and maintain safety for the citizens who attend. “With the COVID unrest in our area and the vendors coming from all over as well as the people that come and visit from all over in my opinion we would have a problem getting everybody to wear their masks and have social distancing it is my recommendation that we send out notifications that we would not have Holiday in the Park this year,” McDonald suggested.
There was some discussion of postponing the event until later in the year. Van Meter informed that most of the vendors are booked for the weekends through the end of the year because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The council unanimously approved not holding Holiday in the Park this year.
The City Council approved the recommendation of the selection review committee to award Traylor and Associates the contract to manage the TDEM Coronavirus Relief Fund Grant for the city. The contract for disaster recovery services with AshBritt Environmental was extended for another year.
Acting on the recommendation from Schaumburg and Polk a contract to perform work on Austin Street was awarded to LD Construction. The street project is expected to begin in August.
Accountant Keri Michutka will perform the municipal audit for West Orange the next three years. The council approved a three-year contract with Michutka that includes the possibility of two one-year extensions.
The West Orange Volunteer Fire Department will have three new members. The applications to join the fire department from Brendon Roberts, Anthony Moses, and Samuel J. Johnson, Jr. were approved by the council.
Monday’s meeting of the City Council in West Orange began with the adoption of an ordinance repealing and replacing an existing ordinance dealing with substandard buildings in the city. The new Ordinance No. 406-A will include fines for property owners that are not in compliance with its statutes.
The meeting concluded with a long discussion of a specific property at 919 Elkport Street. The property has been vacant since January 2017 according to Deana Laughlin who lives two properties from the one at 919 Elkport.
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