Today in Eatontown
The Eatontown Community Center is closed Friday, October 23, with no bingo that day.
A free flu clinic and the county caregiver retreat are both in Eatontown on Saturday, October 24.
Early in-person voting runs October 24 through November 1; the November 3 ballot includes Eatontown mayor and two council seats.
Bids for the first segment of the borough's planned bike network open Tuesday, October 27; Wampum Lake Dam rehabilitation bids open Thursday, November 5.
The Borough Council meets Wednesday, October 28, and property taxes are due Sunday, November 1.
Eatontown Public Schools parent-teacher conferences are November 2 and 3; sign up by Thursday, October 29.
The Community Center offers free weekly adult fitness classes, including Tai Chi on Thursdays and Healthy Bones three days a week.
NEW: newly reported developments or upcoming opportunities. UPDATE: later substantive information on a covered story. ONGOING: continuing useful information. RESOLVED: the reported issue has ended. BACKGROUND: dated historical context, not a new development or confirmation of current availability. UNCONFIRMED: a story, continuing story or detail that could not be confirmed against its cited source on the edition date; the note under the headline says what is not confirmed. Today and countdown lines carry "(unconfirmed)" for the same reason. All local times are Eastern Daylight Time.
Borough & Schools
ONGOING
Community Center closed Friday, October 23
The Eatontown Community Center, home of the borough's active-adult programs, will be closed Friday, October 23, according to Eatontown Recreation. The adult-program schedule lists no bingo that day.
Advance sign-up is required for all adult programs. The next listed trip is Thursday, October 29, to Hobby Lobby and Over Easy Kitchen in Holmdel, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Questions go to the Recreation office at 732-389-7607.
ONGOING
Borough Council meets October 28; November meetings fall on a Thursday and a Monday
The Eatontown Borough Council's next meeting is Wednesday, October 28, at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall, 47 Broad Street. The 2026 meeting schedule calls for a 7 p.m. workshop followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m.
The council's October 14 agenda listed Ordinance 18-2026, which would amend certificate-of-occupancy fees, for introduction, with a public hearing set for October 28. Minutes of the October 14 meeting have not been posted.
The two November meetings are off the usual Wednesday pattern: Thursday, November 12, and Monday, November 23, with the November 23 meeting set for 4:15 p.m., according to the borough's published 2026 meeting schedule.
ONGOING
Bids for the first segment of the borough's planned bike network open October 27
Eatontown will open sealed bids for Eatontown Bikeways Phase 1 at 10 a.m. Tuesday, October 27, at Borough Hall, 47 Broad Street, according to the borough's notice to bidders.
The project adds striped bicycle lanes, bicycle symbols and signs on Industrial Way West (1.42 miles), Industrial Way East (0.58 miles), Old Deal Road (0.65 miles), Ash Street (0.16 miles) and Whalepond Road (0.20 miles). The notice describes it as the first constructed segment of the borough's planned five-mile bicycle network. The contract must be awarded, or all bids rejected, within 60 days of receiving bids.
ONGOING
Property taxes are due November 1
Eatontown's fourth-quarter property taxes are due Sunday, November 1. Payments received after the 10-day grace period are charged interest, at 8% on amounts up to $1,500 and 18% above that, according to the borough Tax Office.
The Tax Collector's office is at Borough Hall, 47 Broad Street, and can be reached at 732-720-2576. Bills can also be viewed and paid through the borough's online tax search system.
BACKGROUND
Meadowbrook School auxiliary parking lot has a right-turn-only exit
The auxiliary parking lot next to Meadowbrook School opened to families in September, Superintendent Scott McCue said in a September 21 letter. He credited a partnership between the Board of Education and the borough's mayor and council, and said a few steps remained before the project is finished.
Drivers enter through the existing entrance and leave through a new exit on the opposite side, where only right turns are allowed. Drivers are asked to follow the lines that have been installed and use designated spaces. The lot has two accessible spaces, and traffic is monitored by security camera by school and police officials.
ONGOING
Eatontown schools hold parent-teacher conferences November 2 and 3
Eatontown Public Schools will hold parent-teacher conferences Monday, November 2, and Tuesday, November 3, according to the district.
Families sign up through the Genesis Parent Portal by Thursday, October 29. The district's 2026-27 calendar is posted on its website.
Elections
ONGOING
Eatontown mayor and two council seats are on the November 3 ballot
Eatontown voters will choose a mayor and fill two Borough Council seats on Tuesday, November 3. Patch reported October 13 that Democratic Mayor Anthony Talerico is seeking re-election, with Councilwomen Danielle Jones and Candace Faust running for re-election alongside him. The Republican ticket is Councilwoman Maria Escalante for mayor, with former Councilman Kevin Gonzalez and first-time candidate Ali Mehdaoui for council.
In a second profile published October 16, Patch reported that Talerico is seeking a third term. In his statement to Patch, Talerico said his first term as mayor began in 2019, after he served on the Borough Council from 2010 to 2018.
In-person early voting runs Saturday, October 24, through Sunday, November 1, at county-designated sites; Patch reported that none of Monmouth County's early-voting locations is in Eatontown. Voters who want a mail-in ballot sent to them must request it by October 27, and Election Day polls are open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the New Jersey Division of Elections. The voter-registration deadline passed October 13.
AI in Your Community
BACKGROUND
Monmouth Regional handbook sets rules for classroom AI
Monmouth Regional's 2026-27 student handbook allows students to use AI, when teachers permit it, as an aid for brainstorming, clarifying concepts and improving understanding. Students are expected to cite AI-generated content and be open about using it, and teachers must clarify whether AI is barred on an assignment.
The handbook bars sharing confidential or personally identifiable information with AI tools and says AI detection results cannot be the sole basis for an academic-integrity finding. It directs the administration to inform families about AI use in the curriculum. It does not list specific AI products used in classrooms.
Still Developing
The latest confirmed movement, the open question and the next checkpoint.
OPENPolice plate-reader record does not identify the current vendor
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance lists an Eatontown Police automated license-plate-reader program, citing a New Jersey State Police audit released in July 2025. The inventory does not identify a vendor or establish current camera counts, retention or sharing settings. A borough policy, contract or accessible audit is still needed.
First covered October 1, 2026.
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