In May of 2016, the Milford Borough Council appointed me to complete former Mayor Bo Fean’s unexpired term as mayor. I was subsequently elected to two four-year terms, in 2017 and 2021. My current term is up at the end of 2025, but this letter is official notice to the Council than I am stepping down as of December 22, 2024.
My decision is primarily driven by the fact that Javier and I will not be in Milford most of the winter, which makes it difficult to provide the necessary oversight to effectively manage the Milford Police Department or to meaningfully participate in Council meetings.
I urge the Council to appoint a person to complete my term who will consider running for the position next year. That will provide Borough voters — and the Council — the chance to see how a newly appointed mayor handles the job prior to the election next fall.
I am proud to leave the borough with a stabilized and independent police department. Chief Matt McCormack and I have worked together to steadily improve the department over the past eight ½ years. It would be disappointing to see the progress MPD has made during my tenure, and the momentum we have today, dissipate, backslide or get abandoned under the limitations of temporary lame-duck leadership.
Other than managing the police department, the mayor’s only statutory obligation is to break tie votes on the Council. The mayor also can (and I almost always did) participate in Council meetings and discussions, including executive sessions, to make sure diverse community perspectives are heard, flagging potential unintended consequences of actions under consideration and provide historical context when appropriate.
Stopping bad ideas and promoting good ones
When some on the Council considered tearing down the old Borough Office building (next to Borough Hall on West Catharine Street) to create a parking lot, I was opposed and helped mobilize support in favor of an alternative plan. Under Councilmember Pete Cooney’s leadership, the result was a lease to a private citizen that keeps the 19th century house standing and generates rental revenue for the Borough.
When a telecom company offered the Borough $15,000/year to let them build a cell tower for 5G transmission, there was initially quite a bit of support as it seemed like a “free” $15,000 for the Borough. I helped raise various concerns (aesthetic, impact on property values, health and safety) and with the help of a community group that formed in opposition, the plan was defeated.
When the mega-warehouse was first proposed on a site on top of the aquifer providing Milford’s drinking water, grassroots opposition grew quickly but political leaders were slow to speak out. I was unequivocal in stating my opposition, believing the warehouse would have been a disaster for the town. The “Water Not Warehouse” campaign was launched, citizen groups formed, and the community became better-informed as to what was at stake.
The warehouse project has been stopped, for now, but our water supply won’t be safe until that property is owned by the Milford Water Authority or another governmental agency obligated to protect the aquifer. This remains an ongoing risk.
The mayor can also take a longer-term view and help efforts such as our participation in the 2020 U.S. Census count, which affects our eligibility for various federal programs. I was glad to help Barbara Tarquinio, who led this effort. Her team helped produce what might be the most accurate Milford Borough census report in decades.
Sometimes the mayor can help Council members advance important ideas for new or revised ordinances or zoning changes. Two in particular, the prohibition on any further drive-through businesses and the smoke shop ordinance, are extremely important to protect our historic character and pedestrian-oriented central business district.
Central sewage
The lack of a sewer system is one of the, if not the, most important impediments to investment in Milford’s commercial district. Many health care facilities, for example, will not even consider in-ground septic systems. The growth or expansion of several of our existing businesses is limited by lack of central sewage disposal. Central sewage is the right thing to do for the environment as well as for the continued vitality of our commercial district and I have been proud to support this effort.
Improvements in our parks
I am proud that the utilization of Milford’s parks has increased so significantly over the last few years and that Borough residents have welcomed residents from other parts of the county to use our parks and ballfield.
I am especially proud to have helped Annette Haar and others create the new Ethel Barckley Park at the end of Ann Street overlooking the river and to have found donors to pay for the MEC-style pedestrian lighting in the Ann Street Park.
The Future
While I am stepping down as mayor, I remain as committed to Milford as ever. There are several civic projects I have been involved in that I hope one day might come to fruition, including:
• Creating a safe pedestrian access via steps from the ballfield down the bluff to the Borough’s piece of riverfront property. The MEC has had the project designed and renderings created; geologic and soil testing on the bluff has also already been completed.
• Implementing an attractive wayfinding signage program to provide clear signage directing visitors to key destinations in Milford Borough and Pike County. Development and sign of the project was funded by the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau with Pike County Room Tax funds. The signage design scheme is completed; only funds for fabrication and installation are needed.
• Completion of a pedestrian walking/biking “loop,” comprising a rectangle running from the corner of East Catharine and Third Street, North on Third to High, then West on High to Fifth and South on Fifth to West Catharine and then East back to Third. The initial design work for this project has been completed by Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, through a grant Milford Borough applied for jointly with Lehman Township.
I would like to see the Borough encourage property owners with original, but largely invisible, bluestone curbing to have it reset. In many cases, road surfaces have risen or the curb has sunk to make them crooked or invisible. When restored, they are extremely handsome (take a look at the recently restored curbs in front of 203 and 205 West Catharine Street).
At some point, I hope the Borough pursues the prospect of acquiring more of the privately owned river frontage that is within the Borough’s town limits. We are a river town, yet we have little access to the river. A riverfront park would be an excellent amenity and reconnect the Borough to the river.
In terms of threats to Milford Borough and our quality of life, I remain most concerned about increasing truck traffic. We do not know how much it will increase when the Route 209 bridge over the Sawkill is repaired and the weight limit is raised to the maximum 40-ton limit, as is the current plan. That will allow for fully loaded 18-wheel tractor trailers to short-cut through Milford from I-84 down routes 206 and 15 in New Jersey to I-80.
The increased traffic might not be as much as it was decades ago, when Milford’s “truck problem” hit the front page of The New York Times. Yet there has been no study conducted or projections created, at least not shared publicly, as to how great of an increase in trucks — especially 18-wheelers — we are likely to see.
Serving as mayor has been a singular honor. Occasionally, someone refers to it as a “thankless job,” but that hasn’t been my experience. There are certainly occasions when people (usually those who do not live in Milford Borough) are difficult, ugly or obnoxious, but that is more the rare exception than the rule.
Far more often, residents of the Borough express gratitude to me — and other elected and appointed officials in the Borough — for the time, passion and commitment we’ve expended on behalf of Milford Borough.
I mention this because we are a tiny borough, with a population of only about 950 adults. The universe of eligible candidates for elected and appointed positions in the borough is small. Folks with long commutes or who are raising young children tend not to be available for evening meetings. Some residents are only in Milford part-time, already committed to other volunteer activities or simply don’t have the interest.
Yet the quality of our borough governance — and by extension, the quality of life for borough residents and the success of our commercial district — is highly dependent on the participation of competent, committed and collaborative individuals who will work together for the good of us all.
I wish the next mayor — whomever he or she might be — the very best of luck.
Sean Strub, Mayor
Milford Borough
Editor’s note: This is an edited version of the letter sent to the Council.