Monmouth County celebrates preservation wins, library and workforce investments

In his State of the County address, Commissioner Director Tom Arnone highlighted the county’s preservation and community-service accomplishments and outlined near-term events and programs.

Arnone said voters overwhelmingly approved a preservation ballot question this year. He reported the county trust fund has supported preservation of 571 properties totaling nearly 10,000 acres of county-owned open space and provided municipal grants across 51 municipalities. He added that the park system added 831 acres in 2025 and that the county acquired properties across several towns including Colts Neck, Freehold, Holmdel, Marlboro, Middletown, Upper Freehold, Tinton Falls, Wall and Neptune City.

Arnone also praised library services under Robin Wood and the county clerk’s mobile ‘county connection’ and new online passport appointment scheduler for Neptune and Freehold. He announced vocational-school partnerships, including a nursing “bridge to excellence” that guarantees pathways from pre-nursing high school students to licensure and degrees in collaboration with Brookdale Community College, Kean University and Monmouth Medical Center, and noted a new 4,500-square-foot welding lab to support trades training.

Arnone invited attendees to the county’s anniversary gala on June 25 at Bell Works and listed several community events (a 5K run and a 2-mile walk) tied to the celebration.

The address described completed initiatives, ongoing programs and forthcoming community events; there were no formal votes or new ordinances recorded during the presentation.