Morristown Issues to Watch in 2014

With a town as multi-faceted and complex as Morristown it would take you until 2015 to read all of the prospective points of interests coming up. Here are a few that leapt out at us. 

1. Master Plan Update

This is going to continue to develop over the course of the year as Morristown moves forward on updating the master plan. Public input has been a part of the process from the start, and will continue as it gets tweaks and modifications along the way. 

2. Daycare Development Saga

Two four-hour long battles at the zoning board and this issue is just heating up. Rainbow Academy is looking to open a daycare center on the border of Morristown and Morris Township and has met with resistance and concerns over traffic. The center, which has 17 New Jersey branches and nearly twice as many across New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, is asking the board for variances to permit erecting a 10,765-square-foot daycare center in an unused parking lot in a residential zone that includes the Convent Mews condominiums. 

3. James Street Sidewalk Extension

Residents and business owners both in Morristown and in Morris Township are looking to extend the James Street sidewalk to literally bridge the walking gap between the two communities. 

While concerns about walking safety prompted the initial talks, there are some road blocks in the way in terms of funding for the project as well as who has rights to certain segments of the road. 

4. Morristown High School Principal Search

The Morris School District is still looking for a full time replacement for Linda Murphy, who recently found herself a new gig, and has yet to settle on a candidate. To make matters interesting, the district recently did some administrator shuffling when the interim principal named to fill in for Murphy had to take time to recovery from surgery. 

5. Greystone

While not within the town limits the issue of Greystone continues to loom large for all the towns that surround it. The former Asylum at Morristown could be demolished as originally planned or turned into open space or possibly developed or preserved. Many of these options would have lasting implications on everything from traffic to the school systems. 

6. Tale of Two Morristowns

Morristown is a fascinating town with a split personality. On one hand there is the thriving business community that caters to tens of thousands of visitors. But on the other there are the residents who call the town home. The battle ground is drawn from all sorts of issues. Whether it be parking to what businesses should open up to serve what populace. This tug-of-war will play out throughout 2014. 

Tell us: What do you see as the pressing issues facing Morristown? Tell us in the comments below.