Former councilman looks back on endeavors, offers thanks for assistance
It has been eight months since my last day on the Sayreville Borough Council, which has given me time to reflect on the six years I had spent as your councilman. There were many significant accomplishments that the council achieved during this period, but I will limit myself to those that are more personal and in which I had a lead role.

The new park-and-ride on Raritan Street, which was the idea of the then-newly created Sayreville Commuter Advisory Board instituted by Mayor Kennedy O'Brien and headed by Judy Conger, will soon see its completion later in 2007. Judy and the members of the board spent many hours collecting local commuters' opinions, which determined the need for this park-and-ride.

The expansion of the Sayreville Public Library parking lot came about when the members of the library board of trustees easily convinced me that the demand for additional parking existed. Thanks go out to Sue Paul and the dedicated board members for their passion to get this done.

It's always nice to see more recreation opportunities available for our children, so I was genuinely ecstatic to see the completion of the Kennedy Park Skate Park. The ideas for the design of this world-class park came from the collaborative efforts of Rich Belotti, Troy Jankowski, Wayne Lewis and a great group of boys from Sayreville Middle School and Sayreville War Memorial High School.

In 2003 then-resident Lee Becker came to me with the idea of holding a race for runners in Sayreville, and now we have the Sayreville Hit the Bricks 5-Mile Run currently organized by Danielle Nesci, Billy Woods and George Giovenco. This race raises money annually for Sayreville Brain Injured Children (BIC).

At the very beginning of the first of my two terms on the council there was the serious issue of bar-closing times in town, and this became the very first action I took as your councilman. With the help of the majority on the council and Mayor O'Brien, we passed the ordinance that requires bars to close one hour earlier at 2 a.m., ending Sayreville's history of being the town to come to for a last-call drink.

I thank all who were involved in these and all other decisions while I served in my position on the governing body. I enjoyed my time as your councilman and will always be proud to have served the people of Sayreville. It remains a great town to live in, and I'm sure my family and I will be here for years to come.

Thanks to the people of Sayreville.

John J. Melillo

Sayreville