[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E525-E526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRATULATIONS TO MAYOR J. PETER KENDALL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 31, 1998

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate J. Peter Kendall, 
mayor of Oakland, New Jersey, on being named 1998 Mayor of the Year by 
the New Jersey Conference of Mayors in recognition of his many years of 
exemplary public service. Mayor Kendall is one of the finest municipal 
officials in the State of New Jersey and this honor is certainly well 
deserved. From serving as the town Santa Clause each Christmas to using 
his business expertise to stabilize taxes, he is the very essence of a 
public servant who finds no job too large or too small to receive his 
complete attention.
  Mayor Kendall and I have worked together on many local projects over 
the years and he has always provided me with good counsel and 
authoritative information. One of the most prominent projects in recent 
years has been the Ramapo River at Oakland Flood Control Project. 
Oakland has been plagued by devastating floods 15 times in the past 24 
years.

[[Page E526]]

From the beginning, I was deeply impressed at how hard Mayor Kendall 
fought to spare his municipality's residents from enduring this 
hardship again. With his guidance, we have this year secured the first 
$2.5 million of the total $7 million in federal funds necessary for 
this much-needed project.
  Mayor Kendall has brought a strong, successful business experience to 
benefit Oakland and the whole of Bergen County. Born in Seattle, he is 
a graduate of Long Island University's CW Post College. He spent 35 
years as a manufacturing executive, as director of business systems and 
planning at Smiths Industries and vice president of manufacturing at 
Phillips Electronic Instruments. He owns Creative Systems Consulting 
Co., which helps design and install computerized manufacturing systems, 
and is executive director of the Bergen County Workforce Investment 
Board. As executive director, he supervises all workforce-training 
activities in the county.
  Kendall's career in elected office began in 1985, when he was elected 
to the Oakland Borough Council. He served seven years as a councilman, 
during which time he was elected Council President four times. He was 
elected mayor in 1992 and is currently in his second four-year term.
  As Mayor, Kendall has held borough property tax increases to less 
than 1 percent per year. He has reduced the borough staff by six 
positions and directed an $8 million improvement in the town's water 
supply system without increasing water usage fees. Open space was 
increased to 20 percent of the borough's land area using a $3 million 
grant-loan package he arranged with the State. He has worked to improve 
roads and recreation facilities and to upgrade equipment and facilities 
for both the Fire Department and the first-aid organization. In 1995, 
he organized the First Night Oakland New Year's Eve celebration to mark 
the town's 300th anniversary, beginning a new annual tradition.
  One of Mayor Kendall's most-appreciated accomplishments was the 
construction of the new Oakland Senior Citizens Center, which opened in 
1991. Widely regarded as one of the finest seniors' facilities in 
Bergen County, the project began in 1988 when Mayor Kendall obtained a 
$150,000 grant from a local developer. He then led a $1 million fund-
raising drive that resulted in the opening of the new center. This 
facility has served countless individuals and is a center of community 
life for older residents of Oakland. It is a source of civic pride for 
all Oakland families.
  In every way, Mayor Kendall has brought the people of Oakland 
together as a community and as a family.
  Mayor Kendall is an active member of the Northwest Bergen Mayors 
Association, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, the Bergen County 
League of Municipalities and the New Jersey League of Municipalities. 
He has also served with the Lions Club, Knights of Columbus and the 
Rotary Club. He is also an assistant scoutmaster. He and his wife, 
Frances, will have been married 36 years this July and have three 
sons--John, Mark and Sean, John and his wife, Carla, have two sons, 
Christopher and Peter, while Mark and his wife, Rose, have three 
children, Biancia, Dalton and Madisyn.
  Peter Kendall is a hard-working, dedicated public servant. His 
efforts to improve the quality of life in the community that has been 
his home are exemplary. I wish to add the recognition of the United 
States House of Representatives to that which he has received from the 
New Jersey Conference of Mayors.

                          ____________________