Glen Ridge library board recommends two new trustees to fill Harpster, Rush vacancies

In a special remote meeting held to complete the trustee search before the borough's January reorganization, Vice President Bernice Clark Bonnett reported that the search committee had received 18 applications and conducted 10 interviews. The committee recommended Marilyn Law and Edward Kastenmeier for appointment by the Mayor and Council to the two seats being vacated by outgoing trustees Carol Harpster and Harry Rush. The board voted to forward that recommendation, 7 ayes, with trustees Damein Phoenix and Deanna Pagano absent from the meeting.

The board also formally accepted the Treasurer's Report after confirming that a one-time QuickBooks glitch responsible for an incomplete report reviewed at the December 13 meeting had been resolved. The Director reported the Friends of the Library's annual appeal was just $220 short of its $15,000 goal, with the campaign running through the end of the year. Harpster and Rush both thanked the board and said they intended to remain active library volunteers after leaving their trustee seats.

No votes at this meeting drew a no vote, abstention, or recusal; the two absences (Phoenix and Pagano) simply meant those trustees were not counted in the 7-aye tallies.

What to watch

• Mayor and Council to formally appoint Marilyn Law and Edward Kastenmeier at the January 2, 2024 reorganizational meeting
• Friends of the Library annual appeal concludes December 31, 2023