At its last official meeting of 2023, Mayor Colleen Mahr swore-in a new police lieutenant and the Council approved the designation of the Fanwood Memorial Library as a book sanctuary in response to concerns of book bannings around the country.
Sgt. Ryan Gilmore was promoted to Lieutenant and sworn in by the mayor in the presence of his family and many current and former officers. Lt. Gilmore has been a Fanwood officer since his graduation from the Somerset County Police Academy in 2012. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2021 and has demonstrated meritorious actions on many occasions. Lt. Gilmore joins Lt. Dan Kranz as operational supervisors in the department. A native of Manville, Lt. Gilmore’s wife Cheryl and children Landon, Taylor, Brielle and Caitlyn participated in the swearing-in ceremony.
Lt. Gilmore, family, Mayor Mahr, Police Director Mike Bramhall and Councilwoman Trisha Walsh
The Council passed a resolution endorsing the Fanwood Memorial Library Board of Trustees’ recent designation of the library as a book sanctuary. As a book sanctuary, the Fanwood library rejects book bans, provides full access to any challenged book and will host book talks, story times and other events that include and/or feature challenged books. It also rejects a climate of repression or censorship of books dealing with people of color, indigenous people and LGBTQ+ themes. Library Board President Ann Minski thanked the Council for its support of the book sanctuary designation.
Mayor Mahr and Tom Kranz
The Council also approved a resolution appointing Paul Peyton as Public Information Officer replacing Tom Kranz who is retiring at the end of the year. The Mayor presented Kranz with a proclamation for his 25 years of service to Fanwood.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, the Council heard from Anna Rheena Boado, a registered nurse from Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center who urged the Council to support two bills in the state legislature that would mandate minimum staffing standards for nurses at hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. While the long nursing strike at RWJ has finally been settled, she said the issue of adequate nurse staffing has existed long before the strike. Councilwoman Kathy Mitchell, a retired RN, acknowledged that staffing was a perennial issue during her time as a working nurse. Councilwoman Erin McElroy Barker, a social worker at Rutgers/RWJ, praised Boado’s advocacy and acknowledged the importance of adequate nurse staffing.
The first Council meeting of 2024 will be the annual reorganization meeting taking place on Wednesday, January 3rd at a time to be determined.
