A Brief History of the Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition. On Wednesday, January 12, 2006 a meeting occurred at Lisco’s Country Café. John Longo, Elliott Stroul, Ron Becker and Ted Ehmann began discussing the possibility of a revitalization effort in Jamesburg. The Coalition would be an effort combining resources of the Mayor and Council,The Combined Land Use and Zoning Board, Middlesex County Freeholders,The Civic and Historic Associations, Merchants as well as Residents to work toward making Jamesburg a destination, not just a crossroads. They adopted the slogan, “Working Today to Honor the Past and Preserve the Future.” In February, they were discussing a possible Rutger’s study and things just took off from there. Why is this revitalization effort going to succeed when two others, one in 1984 and the next in 1997 failed to get off the ground? According to JRC President Elliott Stroul, “You now have a group of residents, merchants and local officials who believe in this effort and are committed to seeing the long term goals and vision being accomplished. It may simply be the right people in the right place at the right time with the same plan.” The group hammered out a survey by late spring and by the end of summer was ready to plan for town meetings. The first was in October and included a presentation from Main Street New Jersey, Department of Community Affairs Director Jef Bueler. The November meeting had the Rutgers Bloustein School of Public Policy and Planning show their plans for a Master’s program study for the spring semester. This study included two more sessions with the Master Candidates to complete, a workshop at Borough Hall in February and the town survey which was held in March at GMB School. A May town hall meeting brought the results at a presentation in New Brunswick and we now have a “Vision of Jamesburg” available on our website and at Borough Hall. In January of 2007, after a solid year of hard work, the organization became official as an Executive board was elected, a Constitution was drafted and adopted and Committees began to take shape. The website was created and activated. A Brief History, Page 2 The Health and Fitness Committee produced the successful Buckelew 5K which brought in many new visitors to Jamesburg and raised awareness of our community and its rich history. The Beautification Committee produced a town wide mums campaign and a flag campaign. In addition, they presented a plan for updating the entrance of Thompson Park and the Dam area to the Middlesex County Parks and Recreation Director Ralph Albanir. We hope to see this in the budget for the coming year. See project display. The committee is also working on street clocks with the Jamesburg Civic Association in conjunction with Borough Council. The JCA has provided 40 American Flags which will be displayed prior to the 125th Annual Memorial Day Parade. The Historic Preservation Committee is working on historic markers for areas and specific properties to identify their significance to our town. The Media Committee has been active in getting out emails to our database as well as alerting the local newspapers as to upcoming events. This Committee also participated in the annual Street Fair in Mid-August. The Jamesburg Revitalization Coalition generally meets the last Wednesday of the month in Council Chambers at Borough Hall, 7PM.This year some of the meeting dates will be altered due to other obligations of the Borough. Please check the website for the calendar of events. When you hear or say, “Somebody should do something about it,” that somebody is you. As a stakeholder in the community, you have an opportunity to take part in shaping the future of Jamesburg. We hope to see you around town and at our meetings!