Dear Mendham Borough Residents and Businesses,

Wow! This year is an exciting year for our community. May 16th will be the 120th anniversary of Mendham Borough’s incorporation as a municipality. July 4th is America’s 250th anniversary. A big thank you to the Historic Committee for their work putting together local events to celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary.

As Mayor, I am involved in all the operations of the Borough, but among all the services the Borough provides, I have a soft spot for Parks and Recreation. My wife Frederica and I are avid walkers and enjoy our parks and open spaces, Patriots Path, and recreation events. It has been a personal priority for me as Mayor to work enhancing our parks, community events, and recreation programs. To achieve this, we have aggressively pursued grant funding and community partnerships. Total grant funds received -- $2.78 million! We have partnered and worked with many community organizations including our Boy and Girl Scouts, Schools, Pastime Club, Environmental, Open Space and Shade Tree Commission (ECOSST), Faith Community, Hacklebarney Trout Unlimited, Sports Leagues, Highlands Council, and others.

All of this is not possible without the support of community organizations, volunteers, and the tireless work of our municipal employees and ECOSST. I want to thank everyone for their help and volunteerism. Special thanks to our dedicated team at the Borough for their work on grant funding, which makes our work on the parks and historic sites possible. I want to share a special thank you to our DPW team for keeping all our parks maintained, the Police and our volunteer Fire and First Aid Squad who protect our community and are always ready to help. Lastly, I would like to share some of the great things happening with our Parks & Recreation, Events, and Historic Buildings.

Patriots Path Between Mountain Ave & Ironia Rd Phase I improvements will be completed this year with the aid of a $67,000 grant. The DPW team refurbished & opened the bathrooms that were shuttered over 15+ years along the path at Mountain Valley Park. The historic fire pit area was repaired and the bridge area over to Pastime Field spruced up.

Phoenix House Exterior renovations start in 2026. The interior was completed in 2025. Grant funds received $1,497,990.

Cary Farm Barn & Park Work begins this year on the historic barn’s restoration as a three-season facility for community use with $904,589 in grants. St. Joe’s Youth Group and Girls & Boy Scouts have completed projects in the park.

Borough Park & Arboretum Land purchased with $220,000 grant. Engineering grant --$28,000. 2026 submitting a $390,000 arboretum & trail construction grant and $75,000 grant for new play equipment near the nursery school area.

Botti Field New play equipment will be installed near the Pavilion area with an $85,000 grant and generous contribution from the Pastime Club.

India Brook Park Our ECOSST and DPW continue their great stewardship partnership with Hacklebarney Trout Unlimited. Work includes removing invasive plants and planting trees and native plants to prevent erosion of India Brook. Park benches and a kiosk were built & added as Eagle Scout Projects.

Forestry Plan Our 15-year-old Forestry Plan is being updated with a $20,000 grant. The plan is a guide for our community tree management.

Mendham Seniors The Borough helped expand the Seniors’ bus trips and continues to support their website and programs.

Mendham Fest Our Recreation staff continue to grow the local festival. This year there will be even more fun activities.

Fall S’mores Night & Summer Game Night These new events create a great time for families to unplug and enjoy an evening at the park.

Summer Drive in Movie Our Recreation Committee has upgraded the event to include current movies and free popcorn! This year’s movie is the live action “How to Train Your Dragon”.

Summer Concert Series We changed it up and added new bands.

Mendham Summer Day Camp Community partnerships have added to the fun! Our volunteer Fire Department brought back the popular spray overs to Camp. The Pastime Club opened Pastime Lanes for bowling once a week for older campers. Our Clean Communities Program Snake & Scales and Magic Earth Show teaches campers in a fun way about the effects of littering.

MBA Holly Trail A community holiday tradition for over 10 years. The Borough partners with the MBA and provides support for the event. The Phoenix House Photos and Cookies with Santa attendance is up to over 500!

With Gratitude,

Mayor James “Jim” Kelly

Email Address: jkelly@mendhamnj.org

MAYOR'S NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS***