Resident asks Bergen County to consider owning a building for an Englewood community center

A Hackensack resident told the Bergen County Board of Commissioners on July 2 that Englewood lacks a community center and suggested the county could solve the problem by acquiring a building the community could use to qualify for federal grants.

Andrew Meehan (presented by the clerk as "mister Meehan"), who said he lives in Hackensack, said community leaders told him Englewood needs a physical building before it can pursue federal foundation or grant funds, including certain endowments. He suggested county ownership as one option to secure a facility.

"The building could potentially be owned by the county as a way to solve that problem," Andrew Meehan said, adding that once a building is secured, the community could pursue grants to fix it up.

Meehan also raised broader concerns about overdevelopment and its effects on transportation safety, echoing earlier public commenters who advocated for small, local active-transportation projects.

The commissioner responses on the record recommended Meehan begin by speaking to the Englewood mayor; commissioners did not vote on county acquisition at the meeting. The clerk noted Mayor Philip Wildes of Englewood as the municipal official Meehan should contact.

Any formal county action to acquire property would require staff study, funding identification and a vote by the Board of Commissioners.