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Vol. 6 – No. 33 ♦
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June 11 - June 17, 2022
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Court Instructs Pemberton to Pay $2.9M, Plus Interest for Largely Vacant, Blighted Browns Mills Shopping Center
‘IT NEEDS TO BE A TOP PRIORITY’
Ruling Followed Court Determination That Parcel Should Be Appraised on Its Value When Made Redevelopment Area, Not When Township Acquired Property By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
PEMBERTON—A court has ruled that Pemberton Township must pay Rocco and Antonia Berardi, the former co-owners of the Browns Mills Shopping Center, which the township acquired back in 2018 through eminent domain, some $2.9 million for the property (plus interest), instead of just $920,000 that municipality had previously offered to the couple based on a March 5, 2018, appraisal the town had obtained from J. McHale & Associates, Inc. for the blighted and largely vacant 42,000-square-foot retail strip mall. Pemberton Township Council on May 18 of this year, following the court order, passed 4-0 (with one member absent) a $2.3 million bond ordinance to help finance the acquisition of the Browns Mills Shopping Center. According to Pemberton Township Solicitor Andrew “Andy” Bayer, while there “still could be an appeal” filed by the municipality contesting the court’s decision, the township “wants to have that money paid into court and accessible to the Berardis” to “stop the interest” from accruing any further. With interest, he said, about $3.2 million is due to the Berardis for the transaction. According to Pemberton Township Mayor David Patriarca during the May 18 council
Photo By Douglas D. Melegari
A fire hydrant on Sycamore Drive in Medford Township on June 3 covered with a trash bag, which is used to indicate that it is inoperable.
Multiple Medford Fire/EMS Department Whistleblowers Sound the Alarm That Town’s Fire Hydrant System is Presently in ‘Dire Straits,’ Putting Both ‘Life and Property’ at Risk, Contending It Is the Result of Five to 10 Years of Neglect and a Lack of Accountability
By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer
MEDFORD—Multiple whistleblowers in the Medford Township Department of Fire and EMS have approached the Pine Barrens Tribune several times over the course of the last several months to describe a situation in which the municipality’s fire hydrant system is in “dire straits” after some “five to 10 years” of purported neglect, which they claim
has now put both life and property at risk. T h e wh i s t l e b lowe r s , i n s e ve r a l interviews with this newspaper, but who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, contend that the repairs to inoperable hydrants, as well as the testing of others to make sure they can be easily opened and are in working order in case of emergency (they describe that the testing of the fire hydrants has not occurred for many years in most cases despite an
annual requirement), needs to be urgently made a “top priority” by the township manager, Kathy Burger, with one of the whistleblowers even calling for a “task force” to be created in hopes that it will accelerate the process. The township’s Division of Municipal Utilities, which handles municipal water and sewer services, is reportedly See HYDRANT/ Page 10
See COURT/ Page 18
INDEX Business Directory...................................16
Local News.................................................2
Events......................................................14
Marketplace..................................................... 19
Father’s Day Guide................................. F1
Opinion.....................................................15
Job Board.................................................19
Worship Guide..........................................11
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