The Borough was selected for two Monmouth County Planning Board Merit Awards which will be celebrated at the County Planning Board meeting Monday, December 15 at 11 a.m. in the Monmouth County Planning Board Conference Room, Hall of Records Annex (2nd floor), 1 East Main Street in Freehold.
Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon confirmed she has received notice the borough will receive the 2025 Planning Board Merit Award for the Highlands Central Business District Floodplain Design Guidelines. That work was a collaboration among the Construction Official and Certified Floodplain Manager, Steven Winters; Kathleen Shaw of the Downtown Network, the borough’s Community Rating System Coordinator and Broullon.
Ms. Shaw said the Mayor’s significant research into how other towns and cities nationwide in flood plains were achieving the higher standards needed to comply with various state Department of Environmental Protection directives enabled the Highlands working together to compile innovative designs which would help investors interested in purchasing property in the Central Business District Area in Need of Redevelopment. These Design Guidelines are an incredible tool that lay out all the information needed in an easy-to-read manner.
The second award, the 2025 Planning Board Merit Award for the New Jersey Asset Activation Plan, was for the $50,000 Economic Development Administration grant written by Shaw and Mayor Broullon. The team for this project was much larger, including members of the public, the Clamming community, Borough Administrator Michael Muscillo; Construction Official Steven Winters, the Highlands Business Partnership, borough planners, Heyer & Gruel, scientists from Sandy Hook; National Park Service; education leaders from Henry Hudson Regional School, Rutgers, Monmouth University, Brookdale Community College and MAST the Marine Academy of Science & Technology.
The mayor prepared both qualitative and quantitative research instruments to gauge public interest in revitalizing one of the borough’s biggest assets: the J.T. White Clam Depuration Plant. Research reports she complied were included in the final Planning Report. Also explored was the possibility of creating a maritime museum with an educational component.
In receiving the notification from the county planning board, the Mayor said she is pleased to share both the award and the work with the Community. “Being honored by the County for these planning projects is very rewarding and to have them honor Highlands with two awards is humbling,.” The Mayor said.
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