Politics & Government

Kinnelon Council Candidate Hopes to Enhance Public Safety

San Filippo said Kinnelon needs to have more field space to support strong recreation program.

The following is the first in a three-part series of profiles of the Republican candidates running for in the June 5 primary. Candidates Dan O'Dougherty and Carol Sventy will be profiled in the coming days.

Andrew San Filippo is finishing up his first term on the Kinnelon Council. We asked him a few questions about his history in the borough and why he decided to run for another term. Here's what he had to say:

Q: Tell me a little about your history in Kinnelon.

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A: I was born in Chilton hospital by Dr. Chilton and brought home to Kinnelon. I was the 14th child Christened at in the Chapel-it was the only building over there. In my younger years, I was an active member of the (I joined in 1979). I’ve been very active with Kinnelon Recreation over the years. I’ve coached soccer, baseball and football. I’ve been a sitting member of the Kinnelon Planning Board since 2002.

Q: What made you decide to run for another term?

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A: My family, my friends and neighbors, my colleagues on the council and the borough employees. I was on the fence, not because I didn’t enjoy it but, it’s very time consuming.There seemed to be an overwhelming majority who thought I was good for Kinnelon. It is a San Filippo tradition to give back to the community, both my parents did in many and various ways.

So, if my family didn’t mind the time, most of the community thought I was doing a good job, I’ve got a good working relationship with the mayor and council and the borough employees like working with me, I thought, why not one more term?

Q: What are a few issues of most concern to you regarding the borough?

A: The safety of our community. Being the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee has opened my eyes and has been an education. I was surprised at how well our operated so fiscally responsible. I had no idea the constant training that goes on to stay up to date and informed. The world we live in is changing and the police have to change with it. We are very fortunate to have a Chief of Police who is well-known and revered in the county and state. He has put together a very effective department, despite the fact that according to county, state and federal standings for the size of our town and the amount of people, we should have a minimum of five more officers. The preverbal barbarians are at the gate; not a day goes by that we don’t read about hard drugs, burglaries and even murder, yet our police department does an outstanding job of keeping us safe and keeping most of those headlines out of Kinnelon.

I would like to find the funding for a couple more officers; it should reduce overtime, make for better coverage of the town and increase response time. I would like to find the funding to upgrade our radios for both police and fire. Due to the topography, in some points, there is a problem with the radio service. Years ago we reduced our contribution to the fire company. I would like to reinstate and perhaps increase our funding. The training and the time our local firefighters put in for our safety is amazing. If we had a “paid” fire department, it would cost us tenfold, the payroll, insurance and pension of the department. Even if we tried to regionalize, the afore mentioned, topped with the increased cost of homeowners' insurance, would not be beneficial to our residents. It is much more cost-effective for us to help the people who run into the burning building while you’re running out!

In our town, where the fire hydrants are few and far between, we need to upkeep and replace water tanks. We’ve budgeted to replace a tank on one of the trucks this year but, like everything else, costs have gone up and now we have another tank that needs reconditioning or replacement. The shuttling of water saves both lives and homes in this town. The upkeep of the fire apparatus is ongoing and costly. The fire company is very diligent in protecting our investments by up-keeping and refurbishing the equipment instead of asking for new equipment all the time.                                                                                                                            

–We have cut our funding to them also, I would like to get us to a position that we could increase our funding and aid them in any way they need, including membership drives.

Town Recreation Fields – We need to figure out how to either so the ones we have don’t have to be used every season, or we need to turf a few of them-end of story! We have spectacular sports programs in this town and we have deplorable field conditions. How would your lawn look if you had hundreds of kids playing various sports on it day in and day out three or more seasons a year. Our fields never have a chance to revitalize. When stacked against comparable towns, our fields are our Achilles heel; we have a beautiful town, we’ve protected our borders and barriers with open space and greenways, our various lake entities pride themselves on water quality, our public school system is superb, but who wants to see their kids playing on grassless fields or in parking lots?

Q: If there is one area that you think could be cut to save the borough money, what would it be?

A: That is a very tough question. We run a very lean municipal budget. Our (the municipal) part of the budget is roughly 16.6 percent of your tax bill. I don’t really think cutting any of the services to our residents would be beneficial. I think the community enjoys and is accustomed to the services provided by our town. Our town is wholly in the “Highlands,” which keeps our town pristine to the beautiful fauna and flora but does nothing to relieve tax burden.  

What I think we need to concentrate on is how we generate more income. I’ve been working on different shared services which would benefit our town and relieve some tax burden. I have also urged the mayor to volunteer my services to whatever board or whoever is working on the studies to bring the , which, in my opinion would help increase home values and home sales.

Q: What are some of your hobbies?

A: Gardening, cooking and wine-making.

Q: Tell me about your family.

A: My wife of almost 20 years, Kellie, and I have an 18-year-old son, Rob. I have a 16-year-old daughter, Tina.

Q: Anything else I didn't ask?          

A: I would like to thank the people of Kinnelon for giving me the chance to serve community.

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