SOUTH ORANGE / LIVINGSTON, NJ — South Orange Village Administrator Barry Lewis Jr. will be moving on to work in the same position in nearby Livingston, after spending six years in the South Orange administration. He will begin at his new post in Livingston in March, as South Orange begins the search for a new administrator.
Lewis decided to go to Livingston because of the opportunities it presents for him and his family, though he said leaving South Orange behind will be hard.
“It’s a great community to be a part of,” he said in a phone interview with the News-Record on Feb. 12. “Everyone I worked with was fantastic, so I have nothing bad to say about South Orange. It was a hard decision that I had to weigh.”
Livingston is different from South Orange in a few ways. The most obvious is the size — Livingston is home to 29,366 people compared to South Orange’s 16,198 citizens, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Livingston is also a much bigger town geographically, covering approximately 14 square miles in western Essex County, in contrast to South Orange’s 2.8 square miles.
Livingston also does not have the traditional downtown South Orange has, something Lewis and the administration have worked to revitalize during his time in town. Despite that, Lewis said his experience in South Orange will easily translate to Livingston.
“The land use and redevelopment operations are similar,” Lewis said. “South Orange is smaller in population and has a lot going on, but so does Livingston.”
Lewis’ experience with reviving South Orange’s downtown area made him attractive to the Livingston administration.
“He’s a land-use attorney, which will be useful in Livingston,” Livingston Mayor Edward Meinhardt said in a phone interview with the News-Record on Feb. 2. “They did a tremendous job revitalizing their downtown. We don’t really have that, but the knowledge will help.”
Lewis also said he’s proud of the redevelopment projects that have been in progress in South Orange, as well as the opening of the Gateway apartment building on West South Orange Ave. “It’s really been a renaissance downtown, with those projects,” he said.
In addition to those recent changes in downtown South Orange, Lewis said he is also proud of the fact that the budget has been stabilized in the six years he has been working in town. Tax increases were also capped and maintained at 1.5 percent.
Meinhardt is looking forward to working with Lewis, especially as Livingston looks to relocate its Department of Public Works.
“I think Barry will be able to help with that as we move the DPW and figure out what to do with our old facility,” he said.
Rather than working with a consulting firm to hire the next village administrator, South Orange will be searching for candidates with the help of the Board of Trustees’ Legal and Personnel Committee, staff and community. An ad campaign and the website southorangesearch.com were launched Feb. 6, so candidates can learn about the government and community, and apply for the administrator job.
“We don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to find what we’re looking for,” village President Sheena Collum said in a recent press release. “The key to a good search is transparency from the candidate and the community. We’re looking for specific skills and shared community values, but the relevant experience can be broad and draw from lots of sectors, not just government.”
Collum also thanked Lewis for his service to South Orange.
“Barry will be sorely missed, and we wish him all the happiness and success in the world as he begins another chapter in his career,” she said. “We were very fortunate to have him for a six year journey, and I’m hopeful he valued this experience as much as we did. He will always have a home here.”
Lewis is looking forward to working in Livingston, though he said he has enjoyed his time in South Orange.
“It’s a great town with a lot going on, so I’m up to the challenge,” he said. “But I’m leaving South Orange with a heavy heart.”
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