Courage to Re-Connect Announces Commissioners for Consolidation Study

The group Courage to Re-Connect, which is leading the study on the consolidation of Scotch Plains and Fanwood announced the four commissioners chosen to represent each town.

At the Dec. 18 Scotch Plains town council meeting Courage to Re-Connect NJ founder Fred Lange announced that the two commissioners from Scotch Plains are himself and Don Parisi. The two commissioners representing Fanwood are Ann Saltzman and Daniel McCarey, according to The Alternative Press.

A presss release from Courage to Re-Connect provided additional information on the candidates:

Scotch Plains:

•       Fred Lange, founder of Courage to Reconnect Scotch Plains & Fanwood,
has lived in Scotch Plains since 1974 and has a MBA from Rutgers
University. He is retired from an extensive career in logistics.

•       Don Parisi, a former member of the Scotch Plains/Fanwood Board of
Education, has been active with Courage to Reconnect since its
inception. He has met with state officials throughout the process to
create a Municipal Consolidation Commission between the two towns.
Parisi is General Counsel of Rider Insurance Company.

•       ALTERNATE – Sarah Dreikorn, now completing her MBA at Stevens
Institute of Technology, is a microbiologist and project manager at
Pracs Institute.  A resident of Scotch Plains for more than 20 years,
she has seven patents in the area of pharmaceuticals.

Fanwood:

•       Daniel J. McCarey, a Fanwood resident who owns a general litigation
law practice in Scotch Plains, is a member of both the Fanwood and
Scotch Plains Business and Professional Associations.

•       Ann Saltzman, a retired psychology professor from Drew University
and a Fanwood resident since 1977. A trained social scientist with a
Ph.D., she has presented professional papers in front of numerous
associations since 1979.

•       ALTERNATE – Pat Hoynes, a resident of Fanwood since 1985, has served
as the assistant to Mayor Colleen Mahr since 2010. She also serves as
Fanwood’s planning board secretary. She also served on the Scotch
Plains –Fanwood Board of Education and was the Board’s representative
to the Garden State Coalition of Schools.

According to Gina Genvoese, Executive Director of Courage to Re-Connect NJ, when the organization was looking for applicants in October there was no specific criteria, but she noted the more applicants the better.

"No one should be discounted, it should be an open process," she said. 

She added that Courage to Re-Connect was responsible for sorting through the applicants and choosing the candidates.

“We were impressed with the number of qualified professionals who
expressed strong interest in serving on the commission,” said Dan
Winigrad of Fanwood, a member of Courage to Reconnect Scotch Plains
and Fanwood in a press release. “There is an incredible
talent pool in these two communities, which made the decision to seat
commissioners very difficult.”

The process calls for a total of 10 commissioners for the study.

 The next step is for each town's council to choose two additional members. Each four-person group will then choose a fifth commissioner. 

On Sept. 12, the Local Finance Board in Trenton approved the application for the consolidation to be studied. The study is to be completed over the next three years.