Hoboken Seeks Applicants for Rebuild by Design Citizens Advisory Group

This announcement is from the City of Hoboken. This is a positive step continuing on the good practice of Mayor Dawn Zimmer trying to include citizens in the loop for key initiatives like park design. People interested should apply by the end of January.

Hoboken Seeks Applicants For Rebuild By design Citizens Advisory Group

As the Rebuild by Design-Hudson River project enters the design phase, the City of Hoboken is seeking applications from members of the Hoboken community interested in participating in Hoboken’s Citizens Advisory Group (CAG) for the project.

Apply online at: https://hoboken.seamlessdocs.com/f/rbdcag

Hoboken NW Park Conceptual Layout

Applications should be submitted by January 31st, 2018. The volunteer term will be approximately 2 years, less if the design advances expediently. CAG members are expected to be full participants in the process, including attendance at a minimum number of meetings. A wait list will be created for interested citizens to replace any CAG members who are unable to fully participate in the process.

The Rebuild by Design Citizen Outreach Plan provides additional information on the purpose of the CAG:

The purpose of the CAG is to provide a forum for exchange of information between the Outreach Subcommittee and key citizens and citizen groups representative of that community. CAG members will be responsible for bringing issues and concerns to the table as well as sharing information from the Executive Steering Committee and NJDEP with their constituents, including members of vulnerable populations. The CAGs will be composed of representatives from a variety of communities within each town. The mayors and/or their representatives will be responsible for working with the NJDEP Constituent Services Manager to identify members of their communities who will populate the CAG in each of the three cities. Each CAG will communicate with the Outreach Subcommittee representative(s) of t heir town, who will bring issues and information to the larger Executive Steering Committee. CAG members will supplement the knowledge of local government officials or their delegates about the project areas and provide input on ideas, problems, observations and solutions. Specifically, CAG members will be expected to:

•        Share information about Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge project goals and objectives with their constituents;
•        Share the processes and procedures that will be followed in implementing the project;
•        Determine what community priorities or concerns exist about the project as it develops;
•        Bring the priorities, issues and concerns of the larger community to the attention of the Outreach Subcommittee, and
•        Share with the Outreach Subcommittee and project team what local networks DEP should use to establish and maintain a dialogue.

The role of the NJDEP will be to provide project updates, explain processes and procedures on the various phases of the project, solicit input from stakeholders and the public, and answer questions during CAG meetings. The role of the mayors will be to host the CAG meetings and general public meetings, and work with the NJDEP Constituent Services Manager and RBD Project Team on the logistics and scheduling of meetings. At major milestones, the three municipal-level CAGs may convene to meet together as one large group, identified as the Regional CAG. The NJDEP will notice all Regional CAG meetings on the NJDEP’s OFHRRM website and inform the public signed up for the NJDEP email listserv. All the NJDEP’s Regional CAG meetings are by invitation only to Regional CAG members; however they are open to the public to observe.