Pine Barrens Tribune April 20, 2024-April 26, 2024

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—What has been described as “very grave” allegations is reportedly contained in an 18-page, single-spaced investigative report summarizing the findings of a Pemberton Township Council-ordered investigation into Republican Pemberton Township Mayor Jack K. Tompkins and the Administration, with the purported behavior of the mayor allegedly arising to such a “disturbing” level that council, in a unanimous, bi-partisan vote on April 16, voted to not only censure the mayor, but also “demand his resignation” and refer the matter to the “police department and/or county prosecutor.”

Signifying just how serious the purported findings of the investigation are, in what is a rarity in today’s political climate, both Republican councilmen, Dan Dewey and Joshua Ward, who were Tompkins’ 2022 GOP running mates, joined with their Democratic colleagues in calling for a “recall” of Tompkins should he decide not to resign from elected office.

And even though Democrats hold a narrow

Township Council meeting where Mayor Jack K. Tompkins is supposed to sit, as the mayor did not show for the meeting all as he faces calls to resign from office.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Tabernacle Attorney Says Municipality Intends to Proceed with Razing Town Hall, in Absence of Any Court Order, After Pinelands Commission’s Director Approves Emergency Demo Based on Structural Engineer Reports Decision Is Made Despite Local Attorney Sending ‘Evidence Preservation Letter’; Commission Asks Archaeologist Be Allowed to Photograph Facility Prior to Demolition

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

TABERNACLE—The executive director of the Pinelands Commission, Susan R. Grogan, in an April 12 decision, has approved the highlycontroversial decision made on a local level to demolish Tabernacle Town Hall on the basis that “the existing municipal building poses a threat to public safety and that immediate action is necessary to remedy this condition that is dangerous to life, health and safety.”

That is because, in addition to the opinion rendered last week by structural engineer Jay Rosen, of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based SE2 Engineering, LLC, that the facility is a “potential threat to the life, safety, and welfare of the public,” Michael Beach, of Beach Engineering, a second engineer sought to give his take, wrote to the township that “as a result of the severe structural deterioration, the building cannot safely support the required superimposed live and dead loads required by code for this use and may collapse.” He also recommended that “steps be

immediately taken to remedy or prevent danger to life, health or safety in the event of a possible collapse of the building.”

The Pine Barrens Tribune learned April 16 from Township Solicitor William Burns that demolition of the building was scheduled for “late this week,” sometime while the newspaper’s presses are rolling, and that GOP Mayor Mark Hartman had declined calling an emergency meeting of the Tabernacle Township Committee to further discuss the results of the two surveys, reportedly finding them “consistent” with what had been stated at previous sessions about the building’s condition.

As of press time, the question is whether anyone will seek an “injunction,” as has been previously threatened, to try to put at least a temporary halt to the demolition, with claims that any demolition would be in violation of township code and that the two structural engineers retained by the township are not “neutral” or “independent.”

More than $10,000, as of press time, was raised through a GoFundMe account

See DEMO/ Page 10

Water Reportedly Coming Up from Medford Lakes-Tabernacle Road in Borough of Medford Lakes Poses Mystery to Municipal Officials

While All Borough Dams Said to Have Recently Been Given Satisfactory Rating, Lower Aetna Dam, as Precaution, Is Lowered While Officials Investigate Cause

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD LAKES—Water “coming up” from Medford Lakes-Tabernacle Road, in the vicinity of Vaughan Hall, has reportedly, so far, posed a real mystery to Medford Lakes Borough officials about its source.

According to Borough Manager Dr. Robert Burton, since making the observations, officials “did open the road up,” but “could not see what is causing it.”

“We did decide to lower, Lower Aetna (Lake) to see if it has any impact,” Burton said. “It is not squirting up, but just seeping up.”

By lowering the lake, which was reportedly authorized via an emergency permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), it allows officials, Burton explained, to “eliminate issues of water getting around the dam.”

“That would let us know pretty quickly,” the borough manager said.

The borough, however, according to Burton, recently had all its dams inspected on Feb. 29 by Environmental Resolutions, Inc. (ERI), which had subsequently notified the borough that “all of our dams are satisfactory.”

“They did give us a list of some housekeeping items to pay attention to,” Burton recognized. “There were some small amounts of debris in the spillways that need to get cleaned out, and a couple cosmetic cracks, which they advised us to put joint sealer on. But they gave us a health seal of approval. So, I don’t anticipate any issue with Lower Aetna Dam.”

As of an April 11 Medford Lakes Borough Council session, Burton reported that he is “still trying to work out Tabernacle Road” and is “still seeing water come out of the right, on its low side by Vaughan Hall.”

A plan, he said, has been coordinated

require an emergency expenditure authorization from council.

After determining that there “weren’t any contractors in the area that caused this” and in light of the dam having passed inspection recently, one theory the engineer is investigating is whether it is water bypassing what is known as a toe drain, with the area found to be “a little bit wet.”

“So, effectively, that may be what this is,” Burton said. “It could be water that potentially ran around it. It is an odd situation, and we have never been put in a position where we don’t know necessarily where the water is coming from.

“Now, we have gotten a lot of rain, and some people have been arguing that we got a very high-water table and that might have something to do with it. The water may have been coming around, running down the side of Jackson Park. We wouldn’t have noticed that. But it is pretty safe to say that with the volume of water, if it were coming around the dam, it would be significantly more volume. It is not getting to that point.”

The borough manager explained that “all kinds of things come into play with groundwater” and “how high it is and the hydrostatic pressures.”

“About four years ago, we dealt with something similar when we had a very wet November and didn’t have any dry spells and heat,” the borough manager noted. “We are trying our best with how to handle it. The engineer is pretty confident that one side being drained will work, but we may do both sides just to be safe.”

The cost of any emergency expenditure was not immediately available.

As for the lowering of Lower Aetna Dam, the borough manager emphasized that the decision is “purely kind of discovery and precautionary at this point to find out what the issue is.”

But the borough also had another emergency expenditure recently, or what Burton described as “special repairs for the

Trio of Pemberton Borough Residents Criticizes Moving Public Comment for Council Meetings to the Start of Sessions, Wants It Changed Back to End

One Resident Calls Change ‘Disservice to the Public’; Mayor Claims Change Was Done with Consent of Council, But There Aren’t Any Meeting Minutes That Reflect Decision

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON BOROUGH—A new public comment procedure announced in January by Republican Pemberton Borough Mayor Bonnie Haines, who now claims that it has the consent of Pemberton Borough Council, with the policy having eliminated one of two public comment periods during council meetings, and moving the remaining one to the beginning of such sessions, is being criticized by a trio of residents, including one who called it “a disservice to the public.”

As previously reported by this newspaper, on Jan. 16, during only Haines’ second council meeting as mayor, residents arrived to find that the agenda order for council sessions had been changed, with the mayor announcing upon commencement of the meeting that the body is “testing a new agenda format.”

Public comment was listed as the first item of business for that meeting, and held at the beginning of the meeting. Then, during a subsequent February session, when a resident went to raise a concern at the end of the meeting, he was told he couldn’t speak by Haines.

Prior to the public comment changes, residents were given an opportunity under the former GOP Mayor Harold Griffin administration to first comment on consent agenda items only, and then a second opportunity, at the end of council meetings, to comment on any borough business.

Some residents would often ask clarifying questions about the business heard during the course of the meetings. But the new format takes that ability away from residents.

“I just want to state that I do not think having public comment section at this time is a very good way of doing things,” a man told Haines and the council at the beginning of its March session. “I believe it is a disservice to the public, because issues come up during the meeting that they (the residents) would like to comment on, or maybe have questions about, and instead of that, we have to write them down and wait a month to ask them.”

The man, “to demonstrate that,” pointed to a resolution rejecting bids for resurfacing of Hearthstone Boulevard in the Hearthstone retirement community, and said the questions

he has “may very well be answered later.”

“I would be happy to answer it now if you would like,” contended Haines, maintaining that the man should be able to ask his questions at the beginning of the session if he had an agenda in hand.

Haines, with help of the borough engineer, ultimately answered the man’s questions about why the borough was rejecting the bids, but another man spoke up, asserting, “Public comment didn’t get a response.”

“Public comment has been changed to the beginning of the meeting,” Haines answered. “In my opinion, it is more efficiently done that way. It doesn’t stop you from asking questions about anything that appears on the agenda. You are welcome to grab an agenda before you walk in here, before you have a seat, and you can look it over. You can ask questions during public comment about anything that is happening.”

The Republican mayor continued that “public comment, in my mind, is for you to bring issues to us, things you are concerned about, things you would like us to address, or things you would like to bring to our attention,” but it is “not necessarily to comment on the things that happen at the meeting.”

“If you do have comments on something after the comment period, you can certainly bring it up the following month and we will address it as best we can,” Haines further told the residents.

Haines then claimed “this decision was made with the consent of council, before it was made, and everyone agreed we give it a try.”

“I have not heard any adverse reactions from the council that they want to move it back,” she said. “So, for now, it is going to stay at the beginning.”

But Jan. 2 was Haines’ first meeting as mayor, in which a policy change did not get discussed by council, and there was no closed-door session held afterwards that this newspaper was made aware of.

The next scheduled and advertised council meeting was held Jan. 16, in which the change commenced at the very start of that session.

Under the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), any discussion or decision involving the majority of council must occur publicly, with limited exceptions, none of which would

See MEETINGS/ Page 14

Terms for All Members of Medford Lakes Environmental Commission

Found to Have Lapsed, Clerk Acknowledges, in Unexplained Oversight

Candidate for Council Learns That Commission Meeting Frequency Also Reduced, Causing Him to Question Circumstances, and in Observing Resident Complaints About Flooding, Says They ‘Just Proved’ Necessity to Meet Monthly, Fully Staffed

B y D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer MEDFORD LAKES—Officials

in Medford Lakes Borough have acknowledged that the individuals who were listed as serving on the borough’s Environmental Commission had been doing so despite all their terms having lapsed, which was part of an apparent oversight of some kind, with its cause having yet been explained.

The meeting frequency of the commission was also apparently recently changed, from 12 times a year to four times annually, and with the subject having not been broached at any recent Medford Lakes Borough Council sessions, it has led former Borough Councilman Joseph Aromando to publicly ask, “How did this happen?”, “Why did this happen?”, and “Who approved reducing the number of meetings a year to four meetings?”

Aromando, who once again has filed to take back his seat on council since departing it in the early 2000s, with borough Election Day approaching on May 14, raised the environmental commission matter and other interconnected circumstances during council’s March 14, March 28, and April 11 sessions.

It was during the March 14 session that Borough Clerk Mark J. McIntosh proclaimed he had recently been “made aware” of some “questions” about the environmental commission and that the terms of its members had “all lapsed.”

“Every single one of them,” the borough clerk acknowledged. “Some members on the commission list we had were no longer active members, either.”

McIntosh contended that he had since consulted with Borough Solicitor Doug Heinold to develop a reappointment resolution. “Five of the current members, who are active, did request to be reappointed,” McIntosh contended. “We will publish that there are four vacancies (with seats) available.”

Councilwoman Gail Caputo asked that in light of five reappointments being made at once, whether any of the members’ terms would be staggered.

She was told the first three individuals listed for reappointment would be reappointed to

three-year terms, and then the two other individuals listed would serve for two years, and then if they are reappointed, their terms would be extended for another three years.

Aromando, who has recently made an issue of the municipality’s website being outdated in various aspects, came to the March 14 session with a “screenshot of the website related to the environmental commission” and pointed to it being stated that its ‘“meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of every month.’”

“Is that correct?” he asked, with McIntosh responding that the body, “Changed its dates to quarterly.”

“How did this happen?” Aromando asked. “Why did this happen? Who approved reducing the number of meetings to four meetings?”

McIntosh, in response, contended his office was contacted last year by the commission’s chairman “about their meetings” as well as that they “would like to go quarterly, instead of monthly,” and after reviewing the ordinance establishing the commission, “it did not specify a timeframe for meetings.”

The borough clerk maintained he consulted with Heinold on this matter as well, and the solicitor “gave us the green light.”

Aromando, however, shot back, “It is not your decision!” But McIntosh maintained that Heinold had confirmed “I could make that change” because the ordinance that created the commission is written in such a way that it is “not governed to a certain schedule.”

“They always met for 12 months,” Aromando retorted. “I can’t believe the clerk is allowed to make that decision, and one didn’t pass it by council to see if it is in favor of that.”

Aromando maintained his position deserved some explanation.

“Medford Lakes – as you know, this is one of the most environmentally-sensitive communities in South Jersey,” Aromando declared. “This is a town that is a wooded community. This is a town that is in the Pinelands. This is a town that has over 20 lakes. This is a town that has one square mile with 5,000 people in it. This is a town with 20 some miles of roadways. Now, it is hard for me to believe that an environmental

See OVERSIGHT/ Page 7

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—A substantially expanded scope of responsibility now being assumed by the Evesham Township Police Department, both as a provider or facilitator of social services through a new three-way partnership and in its having been gifted some cutting-edge crime-fighting capabilities, was outlined at the April 10 meeting of the township council.

The department’s recently acquired human and high-tech proficiencies have not only broadened the dimensions of the services it offers but are now making many aspects of its job much easier and more efficient, according to Police Chief Walt Miller, who told the council members that some of these developments are tentatively scheduled to be aired on a news broadcast by Channel 6, the Philadelphia ABC affiliate, later this month.

One area in which such innovations will allow the Evesham police force to play a more pro-active role is that of crisis intervention, which will now be provided on an expedited basis by both its officers and the department’s new social worker, Della Hayes, an employee of Volunteers of America who recently began working within the department and who was introduced by David Simmons, a representative of the organization’s Delaware Valley Chapter with whom the department recently teamed up.

That partnership, as Miller noted, also includes Legacy Treatment Services, a multi-purpose social service agency whose Telehealth division has chosen his department to help initiate a pilot program that will enable its officers to make technology-based on-the-spot determinations in situations involving subjects who may be suffering from mental health, behavioral or substanceabuse issues. If it proves successful here, he told the Pine Barrens Tribune, the two organizations are hoping to expand it throughout the eight-county-region of Southern New Jersey.

In his monthly report, the chief also provided some details of two high-tech-equipment gifts, worth approximately $25,000, that the Evesham Police Department recently received, which he contended “are going to have a major impact on our investigative abilities.” These donations, considered among the most advanced digital innovations currently available to law enforcement, include software that is already allowing the department to extract evidence from the cell phones of suspects in childexploitation investigations, making it the first department in the state to be able to do so rather than having to wait weeks or even months for such results.

The Telehealth pilot program, as Miller described it, is one that utilizes three cellular pads that can be used by officers in the field to quickly determine whether an individual with whom they’ve come into contact and who appears to be suffering from a psychological issue needs to be treated at a mental-health facility, or whether “there will be some kind of plan for later care that will allow us to leave,” he said.

Prior to having this technology at their disposal, he said, the officers involved might have had to wait a lengthy period of time – possibly hours – for an expert to arrive on the scene and make such an evaluation, increasing the risks inherent in the situation.

Should a commitment to a mentalhealth facility appear to be in order, he said, “they’ll upload the required document that will enable them to take the individual into custody right through the iPad.”

Prior to having this software at the department’s disposal, the chief noted that situations such as one in which an officer had to wait three hours watching an individual who was wearing a bulletproof vest, “would exceed our capabilities” so that “a lot of times, when we were done with the call, we would leave and the root cause of the problem still remained.”

3-2 majority on council, it was Dewey that made the motion to pass Resolution 1542024, one “Censuring Mayor Tompkins and Demanding His Resignation Based Upon the Findings of the Council’s Investigative Report,” with Ward seconding the motion, despite it being known to the Republicans that if Tompkins resigns or is removed from office, Democratic Council President Paul Detrick would become township mayor under the Faulkner Act form of government.

According to the resolution, “the township council believes that if Mayor Tompkins was a township employee, rather than an elected official, he would be immediately terminated for the behavior outlined in the investigative report.”

While the report will take some time to release due to a number of required redactions to protect 37 employees who participated in the investigation, according to Township Solicitor Andrew “Andy” Bayer, the resolution highlighted some of the key findings of the investigation, including that “since taking office in January 2023, the mayor has consistently engaged in a course of workplace conduct that violates the township’s antiharassment, antidiscrimination and antiretaliation policies.”

Identified in the resolution as some of the alleged conduct violating those policies that has been determined to have occurred through the investigation, include:

• “Serious acts of sexual harassment against a female employee;

• A disturbing pattern of retaliatory conduct and threats of retaliation against township employees; and

• Inappropriate and flirtatious interactions with minor females employed by the township.”

The resolution goes on to maintain that the “mayor’s retaliatory actions and threats of retaliation against employees who make good faith complaints against him, has created a severe chilling effect among township employees,” to the point that “indeed, many employees have declined to report or pursue good faith workplace complaints against the mayor due to the fear of retaliation.”

“This widespread chilling effect has devastated employee morale, endangers the township employees, and potentially renders the township’s Policies and Procedures ineffective,” it is further maintained in the resolution.

It is contended in the resolution that “upon receiving complaints of workplace discrimination and/or retaliation that do not involve the mayor, the township has properly followed its policies and procedures by timely investigating complaints and, if appropriate, taking remedial action,” but that “when receiving serious complaints of discriminatory and retaliatory conduct by the mayor, the township has deviated from the township’s policies and procedures by leaving it up to the complainant to decide whether the township conducts an investigation into the allegations.”

That, according to a later explanation by Bayer, is because of what he called a “unique situation” in that under the Faulkner Act form of government, all employees report to the mayor, who holds full authority over them (except for the township clerk and deputy clerk, who report to council), and therefore, they would be put in a position to have to investigate their boss, who can terminate them.

But “given the widespread fear of retaliation by the mayor among township employees, and the resulting chilling effect,” the resolution states, “the township’s practice of deferring to the complainant as to whether to conduct an investigation is especially concerning.”

“This whole situation sickens me,” Dewey declared. “I was born and raised here, and it is the best town you can ever live in. It is a total disgrace and embarrassment to this community. When we were in the backroom, I tried everything in our power to end this tonight. … We got our foot on the gas pedal, and we are going to push it, and even if it moves to a lawsuit for us, we are willing to do it. It should never have happened. It just sickens me so much, as we have such a great town, to let someone embarrass us this way.”

The resolution states that the “township should take any and all actions available to it,” pursuant to New Jersey law, to “thwart” what the council describes as “the mayor’s ongoing intentional and/or reckless refusal to comply with the township's anti-

See CENSURED/ Page 6

Photo By Andrew King

Republican Pemberton Mayor Jack K. Tompkins.

CENSURED

(Continued from Page 5)

harassment, anti-discrimination and antiretaliation workplace policies, in order to provide a safe and comfortable working environment to its employees.”

But the municipal solicitor and council on Tuesday night expressed uncertainty and struggled with numerous questions from the public as to what recourse they might be able to take to bring about immediate relief to the situation, especially should Tompkins choose not to resign, with the impression given, as one resident recognized, that the public body believed he might not do so.

“I understand you are strongly demanding his resignation,” said Jennifer Deeds, who works in the Pemberton Township Recreation and Senior Services Department, whose director, Nichole Pittman, as noted in the resolution, had filed a lawsuit last December alleging that Tompkins engaged in sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliatory conduct in violation of the Law Against Discrimination, with the suit further asserting that at least three other female employees, from three separate departments within the township, have complained about Tompkins’ inappropriate behavior, including one from an employee on behalf of her minor daughter. “What if he decides not to resign? … And if he does come to the township, are the employees going to be protected when he does remove his belongings?”

In asking those questions, Deeds claimed that she does not “wish (anyone) coming to the offices, making comments, as has been the case already.”

Bayer answered Deeds questions by pointing out that “under New Jersey law, Tompkins is an elected official, elected by the voters.”

“Council does not have the statutory power to remove him from office,” Bayer added.

“The people do. The council does not. That is why the council resolution ‘demands’ his resignation. It is up to Mayor Tompkins as to whether he will abide by that or not. It is not easy to remove an elected official once you are elected.”

Bayer noted that there “is a recall provision” in state law, but that is a “voter activity,” in which “you need a certain number of signatures,” or from “25 percent of people who voted in the last election.”

Once that hurdle is cleared, Bayer further noted, then those arranging the recall have to find individuals willing to have their names put on the ballot.

Detrick, in response to the solicitor, maintained that threshold of signatures “is difficult,” contending, “I don’t think we get 25 percent of our voters out to elections.”

“But that would be the next step,” asserted the council president, with Bayer adding that if Tompkins does not resign, “voters would have to remove him.”

Democratic Councilman Donovan Gardner, who has had his own clashes with Tompkins, recounted a homework assignment from when he was in the 9th Grade in which a teacher advised the class “‘you have a duck inside of a bottle, and your job is to get the duck out of the bottle,’” but doing so in a way that doesn’t hurt the duck or break the bottle.

The answer, he maintained, was the

same as to how the duck got into the bottle: “use your imagination.”

“My thing is voters got him in, so it is up to the voters to get him out,” Gardner declared.

The Democratic councilman then contended to have “sheets” in his possession that evening “to do a recall election.”

“It takes three voters to start a petition, Republican, Democrat, no matter who,” Gardner said. “Like a duck, you got him in there, now it is up to you to get him out!”

Gardner added that once a recall petition is started, those behind it have 160 days to gather the signatures, and estimated that 4,500 signatures would be needed, and because those signatures have to be verified by the Secretary of State, urged anyone interested in getting the process started to obtain much more, or over 5,000 of them, in case any are thrown out.

Resident Mark McCartney, however, whose wife is Democratic Councilwoman Elisabeth McCartney, in the meantime, called it “very critical” that the township employees have “protection” should Tompkins return to the offices in the interim.

“Is there anything in place to protect the employees?” he asked.

Resident Tom Hughes also asked, “Is there any way to keep him from showing up in the building?”

Bayer called it the “$64,000 question.”

“Statutorily, the mayor has powers, and council has exercised all powers given to it to restrain that from happening,” the township attorney responded.

However, he acknowledged that “absent some kind of court order, someone obtains,” it would be difficult to stop the mayor from coming into the Municipal Building where his office is located.

“He is actually in charge,” noted Detrick, and when Hughes asked if the circumstances would change in any way should Tompkins face criminal charges, the council president said it might depend on whether or not there is a conviction.

Joel Bewley, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, told the Pine Barrens Tribune, the following day, April 17, “There is no criminal investigation into this matter being conducted by our office.”

However, the resolution, which was prepared the morning of April 17 (it had simply been handwritten on April 16), “refers the matter to the Police Department and/or County Prosecutor for appropriate action.” It remained unclear, as of press time, whether any criminal referral will ultimately be made to the county prosecutor, and if so, what the timeline of making any referral will be.

Hughes pointed to a purported instance in which the governor removed a mayor from office, with Bayer responding, “I think you are right actually,” but that “we don’t know the answer to that” or if the governor “can invoke the governor’s powers” to remove Tompkins from office.

Another woman attending the April 16 special meeting of council asked if the mayor will be “supervised 24/7” moving forward, or “allowed to walk free” through the municipal building’s halls and other township facilities.

Bayer responded that he didn’t know that if it would be practical to have an officer keeping a watchful eye on the mayor, given that the police also technically fall under the mayor’s purview.

OVERSIGHT

(Continued from Page 4)

commission, in an environment like that, can’t find 12 meetings’ worth of work to do.”

Aromando pointed to a purportedly unresolved tree ordinance revision, a matter that has been ongoing for a couple years now, before asserting, “To reduce the meetings for something as sensitive as that – it is wrong.”

“And I am totally against it,” further declared Aromando of the reduction of meetings. “The problem is they know they are treated like a rabid donkey. They are irrelevant. They are just there. They get to do what they want to do. They are not engaged with, and not asked to do anything with significance.”

Mayor Dr. Gary Miller, who appeared to scoff at such a notion, told Aromando that those seated at the dais “get your point.”

“You are rambling, and you have had your four minutes!” Miller declared.

It caused Aromando to snap, “I would not be arrogant about this,” and in pointing to “our code for the Borough of Medford Lakes,” read aloud from the document that the “environmental commission shall consist of 7 members to be appointed and two alternates.

“This commission had five people,” Aromando said. “How long was this commission operating like this for, and how did this happen? Who would allow this to happen? This is malfeasance of office! The terms expired on these people, and then we

POLICE

(Continued from Page 4)

“Now with this, it takes about 90 seconds to make the entry, which continues that service, whereas before that service would end,” Miller declared.

While helping “navigate” people to the right mental-health resources is also something which Hayes might address, based on the nature of the reports she is given by the department at the start of each day she is on the job, there are also a number of other social problems that she attempts to resolve in the course of her daily routine, ranging from homelessness (which has become a particularly prevalent one at a time of increasingly less affordable housing) to providing people with help for aging parents.

One example she cites of a case she is particularly proud of having resolved is that of a man who was found sleeping in

didn’t fully staff this thing! This isn’t a joke! We have ordinances and codes requiring us to do this. Why didn’t we do it? I want to know!”

Miller simply thanked Aromando for his comments, but Aromando retorted, “Thank you is not an answer!”

Deputy Mayor William Fields, at that point, could be heard somewhat quietly asserting, “‘Thank you’ is the answer you are going to get,” to which Aromando, in overhearing the remark as well, retorted, “You know what, that is very ignorant and very arrogant to say that!”

“Yeah, I am angry because I trust you guys to do the right thing,” Aromando added.

Miller advised Aromando that the “public ‘comment’” portion of the meeting is “not ‘public question and answer,’” to which the former borough councilman and current candidate for council answered by proclaiming, “There is nothing wrong with asking you questions!”

But the mayor maintained such questions should be asked by Aromando on his own, “offsite,” because it is “public ‘comment’ time.”

During a subsequent March 28 session, Miller, before commencing public comment, emphasized it was only a time to make “comments,” to which Aromando shot back, “It is better to answer the questions.”

“I don’t know why there would be any reason not to,” the candidate declared, noting Medford Lakes has a “small town government” compared with a city. “There shouldn’t be anything we can’t talk about.”

the lobby of the municipal building on a Monday night.

“I was able to house him by Thursday,” she told the council. “That was a big turnaround for us.”

The new social worker, Miller noted, also has “an entire umbrella throughout the state that supports her in her mission here.” And when department personnel see it working successfully, he said, “it reinforces that program, and makes it stronger.”

That is where we are at right now,” he noted. “We have significant buy-in from the department, getting our staff to believe in it.”

In response to a question from Democratic Mayor Jaclyn “Jackie” Veasy about the method used to coordinate Hayes’ activities with the department, Simmons explained that “if she is here and there are any kinds of issues, the officers can report directly to her, and give her a call.” After she leaves, he noted there is a

Then, during council’s April 11 session, several residents living in the vicinity of Chippewa Trail complained that their street is constantly flooded, with one couple maintaining that they have repeatedly raised the issue over the last decade to borough officials, but haven’t received much of a response, besides a social media post by Manager Dr. Robert Burton that he is looking into the matter. Some of the residents that have basements described that they either flood “constantly” or that the water table in the area is such that they are having to run sump pumps all the time, with one resident maintaining she needs as many as three to run at one time, which in turn is causing $400 monthly electric bill charges.

In pointing to the commission’s meetings being curtailed and the body still having vacancies, Aromando contended that the complaints heard “just proved it,” or the necessity of a commission meeting monthly, and being fully staffed, further maintaining of the body “that is what they are here for,” or to “lighten the load” of officials “with the help of an engineer.”

McIntosh, in an earlier announcement, said that an application from Aromando was the only one he had received so far in seeking to serve on the commission, but added that he would wait an additional meeting to see if any others are received by the municipality.

The decision to not immediately appoint Aromando – an open critic of the current administration and who has mounted a

database that can be accessed by the entire department from the command staff down to patrol officers, all of whom have been trained to provide a detailed description, either via their cell phones or a computer in their patrol cars, that she can act on when she arrives for work.

As Miller characterized the results realized so far, “We’re about two months in, and have managed to keep Ms. Hayes pretty busy so far. We have several hundred people in the community she has already impacted.” (Plans currently call for a second social worker to be added to the department’s capabilities, Miller told this newspaper.)

One of the benefits of working with Volunteers of America, he noted, is that the organization maintains its own shelter, which can only be accessed via the police department, and which over the past couple of months has managed to provide homeless individuals with a temporary refuge from the elements, with the help of “a vehicle that is here and that

challenge in every election since he lost his seat – led the candidate to excoriate officials on April 11 when it came time for public comment.

“It has literally been understaffed for God knows how long,” said Aromando of the commission. “At least four positions are not yet filled on the environmental commission.”

The candidate called it “really unfair to the community when these groups are not adequately staffed.”

“Their terms were all allowed to lapse, and nobody knew about it!” Aromando said. “There are still four positions not filled. What are we going to do about it? I put my application in over, and over, and over again. I don’t understand what the issue is when a willing and able body, who wants to do some work, isn’t chosen.” I don’t understand – I don’t know whether I don’t know the secret handshake, or if it is because that I am Italian … what is it? What is the problem of putting people on there who are qualified?

“I feel everyone has a right to participate in the operation of the community, and nobody should be blackballed because I am not in the same clubs as you are.”

Burton, in responding to the residents who raised flooding concerns, recognized that “unfortunately, a lot of ‘drains’ that have water” are actually “not drains,” but simply “catch basins.”

“There is 25-to-50-foot pipe underground that connects to nothing,” he said. “So, what

is accessible.”

“That alone is worth its weight in gold to the police department,” he declared. “It is tough when it is the middle of the night and it is cold and there is no place to house someone. Having somewhere to place them has been a blessing.”

An additional advantage he cited has been the department’s ability to facilitate the “bridging of services we weren’t able to connect with, and we now have resources for,” part of which is provided by a certain amount of state funding, he said.

All-told, he said, the program is “meeting and exceeding our expectations.”

The department, Miller told this newspaper, has already begun doing forensic analyses of suspects’ cell-phone contents in child-exploitation cases using the groundbreaking GrayKey Axiom Software for which it was given a one-year license financed by a $17,000 grant from a nonprofit group called Operation Underground Railroad

See POLICE/ Page 14

Looking Forward to Getting Your Paper Every Week: It’s Great to Know Someone Cares LETTERTO THE EDITOR

Thank you so much for the community paper, the Pine Barrens Tribune.

My family and I really look forward to getting your paper every week. I love it and am amazed at the professional way in which you and your staff write all the invaluable and informative articles.

It is clear by the accuracy and detailed information in it, all of the hard work you put into it – that also includes going to the various meetings, listening to hours’ long audio tapes, the writing, etc.

I appreciate that you give careful consideration to all the communities, and equal attention to them. I am from Pemberton Township, but was raised in Medford Lakes and resided in Medford Township for many years and have family and friends from all over the areas you cover.

It is great to know that someone cares to listening to the residents. I enjoy reading about the news in Pemberton Township, as well as all the other hometown news.

Also, I have saved all your papers; they are a great reference resource.

Michelle

Forman Pemberton Township, New Jersey

Email letters to: news@pinebarrentstribune.com with "Letter to the Editor" as the subject line.

CENSURED

(Continued from Page 6)

The solicitor asserted that the “difficulty under state law” is that the municipality’s mayor “has ultimate authority over employees and property of the township.” Any supervision, Bayer said, could probably not take place “unless he (Tompkins) agreed to be supervised.”

That led the woman to ask, “What is to stop him?”

“I don’t have a good answer for that,” Detrick replied. “I am sitting here, consulting with every legal mind we can find, to find what powers council has over the mayor. We are not entirely happy with the answers we have gotten so far. But people keep pointing to a recall statute.”

In light of that answer, the woman inquired as to whether “employees who do not feel safe” will be “compensated” should they choose to take off from work until the mayor announces any departure, or is voted out of office.

“It is a work in progress,” Bayer responded.

Another woman, who described herself as a mother of a 17-year-old girl who recently landed her first job working for the township’s Recreation Department, advised the council she has been asking herself, “How is my kid going to be safe working her first job?”

“I told her, if he is to show up, walk away,” the woman declared. “But I am realizing, with the way the township is structured, the person at the top answers to no one. We have to figure it out.”

Local Girl Scout leader Justine Miller pressed officials as to whether they are “saying there are zero things we can do to keep both adult and minor employees safe.”

While the “question can’t be answered affirmatively,” Bayer maintained, council “legally can’t supervise” the employees, as besides the clerk and deputy clerk, “all

“That is why we are here.”

“Our policy handbook is very detailed,” Gardner said. “Council takes it very seriously, as far as minors … we have your back and best interests in mind, and safety also.”

Ward also responded that he “hopes everyone understands we are limited with what we can do and say at this time.”

“I am just thinking of the minors, and if I could go down to the beach, sit there and act as a liaison, I would – 100 percent, and take time away from my family and business to protect everybody,” Ward declared. “Unfortunately, I can’t go down to the beach and act without express permission from administration (as reportedly stipulated under the Faulkner Act).”

Some residents asked about changing Pemberton’s form of government. Resident Alex Costa also recommended a referendum question to establish a deputy mayor post, one who could take over in the event there is an issue involving the mayor.

told this newspaper he was onboard with a recall as well.

Resident Valerie Roohr, at one point, after revealing that Tompkins had allegedly made some sort of off-putting comment at her farmstand, alleged that it was followed by the mayor, after making the remark, adding, “’I hope you didn’t take that wrong because I know something was said to me about sexual harassment.’”

Roohr then said a prayer at the microphone, in front of council, “I pray he steps down, does what is right, and that he knows we see him for who he is, and walks out with a tail between his legs … take him out, let everyone feel safe again.

I ask that in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

others report to the mayor.”

The “individual in charge is not disciplinable,” Bayer maintained, prompting Miller to ask, “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”

Should the alleged behavior “happen again,” Miller demanded to know, what recourse do the employees have, in which Bayer advised that “employees have rights under the law,” and pointed out that “some filed civil lawsuits (which were detailed in previous Pine Barrens Tribune coverage of the allegations against Tompkins).”

Detrick pointed out that there are “criminal harassment statutes” and “certainly any citizen has the right to go to the police and file (a complaint) under those statutes.”

The council president, in claiming that the report contains some new allegations against the mayor that he had not heard about prior to it being released to council, maintained that “some warranted” criminal harassment charges had they been brought to authorities, but “some would not have.”

Members of the public also are entitled to “some civil remedies,” according to Detrick, a retired lawyer, with Bayer adding, “affected employees can seek an injunction” against the mayor, and “if it the meets criteria, can get a court order” prohibiting his movement or interaction with them.

When Miller pressed officials as to whether the “only recourse is voting,” Detrick responded, “It is the one solid, for sure thing we found.”

“Everything else, we are trying to figure it out,” Detrick declared. “Nobody is happy up here about this.”

Another woman, a mother of a special needs child, declared, “Thank God my child didn’t work for the township, because I would not feel safe.”

“I don’t even want to go to township things now, because if he shows up, I want my kids protected,” the woman further asserted.

Gardner, upon hearing that, assured the mother and others concerned about safety,

McCartney, at one point, declared “we do need to change our government,” maintaining that in the “investigative report, what you will find is very grave there – the allegations there.” But Ward contended that the state is “making it harder to change the governance of a municipality” and that, currently, any such change “has to be done by referendum, by ballot” that the “council then looks at,” adding it “can be done.”

“I recommend we look into what Councilman Gardner brought up,” Ward declared. “We are in a bad situation.”

Dewey, in part, asserted, “Hopefully, we will have a new mayor shortly.” He later

“I am really concerned about the safety of our employees, and minors at the beach,” McCartney said. “It is almost May. I really hope we can get a recall. But with the timeframe for that, I don’t know. So, we need to keep this open, active, and keep it moving. As you pray Valerie, I am praying with you. I am really hoping Jack Tompkins does the right thing.”

Tompkins did not reportedly attend the special meeting, but when phoned by this newspaper upon its conclusion, answered, and declared, “I have no comment for you today.” A regular council meeting, held on April 17, followed the special meeting, but Tompkins was a no-show for that one too, all as a local Philadelphia television station was broadcasting coverage of the council decision the previous night outside. The council was asked on April 17 if the mayor had resigned, but Detrick replied, “I have no update,” and

See CENSURED/ Page 15

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DEMO

(Continued from Page 2)

established by former Committeewoman Nancy McGinnis to retain an attorney, and following that, on April 15, Attorney Matthew R. Litt, of Bordentown-based LITT LAW, LLC, wrote an “Evidence Preservation Letter” to Burns.

After writing that “this office represents the Tabernacle Historical Society, Council No. 49 Junior Order of United American Mechanics of New Jersey, and resident(s) of Tabernacle including, but not necessarily limited to, Katherine E. Crain (collectively ‘Plaintiffs’)” and the “purpose of the representation is to challenge Tabernacle Township’s decision(s) to demolish historic Tabernacle,” the attorney wrote in bold-face print, “As the issue(s) to be adjudicated include the condition of the building itself, this obligation includes full preservation of the building, such that compromise of the building including, but certainly not limited to, demolition, prior to a full and fair adjudication of the issues shall constitute spoliation and the tort of intentional destruction of evidence.”

The letter was copied to Grogan, as well as Charles Horner, director of Regulatory Programs for the commission, and Ricco Demolition, or the firm retained by

Tabernacle to raze the building.

As previously reported by this newspaper, the Tabernacle Township Committee, in a 3-2 vote on March 25 (with Hartman, Deputy Mayor Natalie Stone and Committeeman Samuel “Sammy” Moore voting in the affirmative), voted to demolish Town Hall. At the time, the majority declined to obtain the opinions of structural engineers, with Construction Official Tom Boyd also maintaining that an application to the commission could be filed after-the-fact.

But the commission ultimately asserted its authority over the matter, and demanded that it be provided with either a structural engineer’s opinion that the building presented an imminent danger, as Boyd, Township Engineer Tom Leisse, and Architect Scott England attested to on March 25, or the structural engineering qualifications of Leisse.

It was that request that prompted the governing body, on April 11, to obtain the opinions of Beach and Rosen, though it too was done in a 3-2 vote, as the minority (Committeemen Noble McNaughton and William Sprague, Jr.) questioned whether both men could provide an “independent” opinion, with Beach having past ties to the project, and Rosen reportedly recommended by England.

“By letter dated April 8, 2024, the

commission staff requested that the township provide a letter from Michael A. Beach and Associates, a consulting structural engineering firm or another qualified New Jersey licensed engineer with structural building expertise confirming the municipal building constitutes an imminent danger to public safety, or information to our office confirming Mr. Leisse’s structural building expertise,” Grogan recapped. “This information was requested so that the commission could make an immediate and informed decision on the township’s request.”

Grogan, in her April 12 letter to Tabernacle, goes on to say that commission staff “have reviewed an April 10, 2024, letter from Jay Rosen, professional engineer of SE2 Engineering,

and an April 10, 2024, letter from Michael Beach, professional engineer of Michael A. Beach & Associates” and the “two letters address whether the potential collapse of the existing Tabernacle Township Municipal Building constitutes an imminent danger to public safety.”

Grogan, in referencing Rosen’s letter, specifically pointed to his conclusions that, “The building has numerous structural deficiencies that require immediate action. Given its location, it is a potential threat to the life, safety, and welfare of the public. This building is unsafe and should be demolished as soon as possible,” and “…it is my professional opinion that building is structurally

See DEMO/ Page 11

Photo By Tom Valentino

GOP Chair Mark LeMire, along with Committeeman William Sprague, Jr., who cast one of two votes in opposition to the demolition plan, show up at an April 17 protest.

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DEMO

(Continued from Page 10)

inadequate, unsafe and potentially a threat to the general public.”

She also pointed out that Beach, in his letter, wrote, “…we recommend that steps be immediately taken to remedy or prevent

danger to life, health or safety in the event of a possible collapse of the building.”

After explaining that the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) provides that if the commission’s executive director determines that “immediate action is necessary to remedy or prevent a condition that is dangerous

to life, health or safety,” the executive director “may, after consultation with the Pinelands Commission Chairperson, perform whatever action is minimally necessary to remedy or prevent danger to life, health, or safety,” Grogan then affirmed “on April 12, 2024, I consulted with the chairperson of the Pinelands Commission, Ms. Laura Matos.”

“As part of that consultation, I reviewed with Chairperson Matos the township’s request for emergency authorization to demolish the municipal building, as it constitutes a danger to life, health, or safety,” Grogan said. “I also reviewed with Chairperson Matos the above discussed information that had been submitted to the commission.

“Based upon the information provided to the commission, I have determined that the existing municipal building poses a threat to public safety and that immediate action is necessary to remedy this condition that is dangerous to life, health, and safety. In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:50-4.5 of the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, and after consultation with Chairperson Matos, this letter authorizes Tabernacle Township to immediately demolish the existing municipal building.”

Grogan, however, made a special request of Tabernacle Township that the “commission’s staff archaeologist be provided with an opportunity on April 15, 2024, or April 16, 2024, to photograph the exterior of the existing municipal building to record the possible historic significance

of the building.”

Beach, in arriving at his conclusions, listed numerous deficiencies he found with Town Hall, including:

• The building has continued to significantly settle from structural distress;

• The condition of the basement wall has deteriorated further;

• Wood beams have failed and a hole in the exterior basement wall has appeared as a result of further wall deterioration;

• The front canopy has deficient structural support;

• Openings in the exterior wall have occurred that has comprised the building envelope;

• Indication of roof leaks have occurred;

• Indications of structural framing failure, deficient connections and moisture were observed;

• The exterior ramp has continued to deteriorate; and

• Buckling of the exterior wall siding was observed … this buckling could be caused by movement of the wood studs in the wall and needs further evaluation; and

• The building envelope has been comprised.

He maintained, in citing several of the

Photo By Tom Valentino

A protest broke out in front of Tabernacle Town Hall on April 17 after residents began hearing about the township committee proceeding with a plan for demolition, despite known opposition to the plan.

Wash

Remove

MYSTERY

(Continued from Page 3)

609-859-1633

609-654-7651

older one-arm trash truck” the borough runs one-day a week, in addition to its two regular trash trucks. The vehicle, Burton explained, “lost power while coming back from the landfill” in Mansfield Township, and “so, they brought it to the closest dealership.”

(Continued from Page 11)

deficiencies, that the “existing structure will continue to deteriorate at an elevated level from weather exposure.”

Litt, in his letter addressed to Burns, warned, in also asking that the structure be preserved, “that an action in the Superior Court may involve, but will not necessarily be limited to, examination of the following potential issues:

• Arbitrary and capricious action taken by the township committee in approving Resolution 2024-53, and other action taken in furtherance of demolition of the building;

• Failure to receive approval for demolition from the Pinelands Commission (at the time of Litt’s

The repair came to around $20,000, but given that the “backup” vehicle is run to “kind of prolong the life of all our vehicles (or the regular trash trucks),” Burton called the expense “money well spent.”

letter, this had not yet been known, with the commission’s approval letter sent to this newspaper on the afternoon of April 15);

• Arbitrary and capricious action taken by the township committee in failing to utilize a neutral professional engineer in its evaluation of the building;

• Violation of the township Master Plan;

• Violation of Tabernacle Ordinance 17-43(c)-1;

• Failure to obtain, or even make application for, a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Land Development Board;

• Violation and misuse of the bond ordinance adopted by the Tabernacle Township Committee on August 24, 2015; and

• Violation of the terms of the deed for the Town Hall building dated September 15, 1966.”

In regard to the Certificate of Appropriateness, Master Plan, and Tabernacle Ordinance 17-43(c)-1, as this newspaper previously reported, the governing body is also in receipt of another letter, one from Tabernacle Land Use Board Attorney David C. Frank, that warned “a rush to demolition of Town Hall without fulfillment of all relevant legal obligations violates both the letter and spirit of the township’s laws.”

Burns, when reached by phone for this story on April 16, was asked by this newspaper, in light of the Pinelands Commission approval, if the township arrived at a determination as to whether or not to proceed with the demolition at this time.

“As the building has been deemed a danger to the public safety, and no injunction/court order has been issued by a court, a demolition is currently scheduled to begin later this week,” he responded.

When Litt’s evidence preservation

See DEMO/ Page 15

POLICE

(Continued from Page 7)

that solicits donations from private sources to support police departments engaged in investigations of this type. Miller credited Evesham Police Sergeant Ron Henry with having “identified this grant opportunity,” for which the department was ultimately selected

“If we’re successful, we’ll be renewed next year and the year after that, which may be an ongoing grant opportunity that we can get every year,” he said. “And that is actually the hope right now, so we’re excited.”

While a court order is still required to take such information from someone’s cellphone, the chief further told this newspaper, in the past, accessing that digital data once such an order was granted would have required going to the prosecutor’s office or the state police, and waiting for them to similarly accommodate a wide range of law-enforcement agencies.

“Now we can do it as soon as we get it,” he maintained. “If a phone (or tablet) is used and the data is on the phone, it is easily recoverable through this technology, which removes all data from that device and allows us to do an analysis.”

OVERSIGHT

(Continued from Page 7)

happens is, water goes about 4 feet down, goes into a pipe that holds water and slowly percolates back into the soil. Since this is not a planned community, we don’t have a storm drain management system, like some of the newer towns have in their neighborhoods. And the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) hand strings us as far as where water can outflow.”

The water runoff cannot flow towards the lakes, unless the pipes were already in existence before a change in the rules, and “the way we try to mitigate” the issue is with “these catch basins.”

The pipes are jetted, he noted, but pointed to a “unique situation” in the vicinity of Chippewa Trail with “underground water issues not necessarily drain related,” “stormwater runoff potentially drain related,” and “then you have groundwater getting pumped out on the ground, exacerbated in the bamboo area,” and while bamboo is an “invasive species,” the borough has “turned a blind eye to it because of the amount of water it sucks up.”

MEETINGS

(Continued from Page 3)

seem to apply here, and any discussion or action taken by a majority must be done during the course of an advertised meeting (unless the situation that arises qualifies as an emergency).

This newspaper asked Township Administrator and Clerk Kathy Smick for a copy of the meeting minutes in which the decision by council on public comment was made.

“I have re-read the minutes from January through March of this year, and it does not speak of any discussion between the mayor and council regarding the layout of the agenda,” Smick replied.

“This decision was made starting with the January 16, 2024, but not referenced in the minutes.”

After Haines contended that the decision on public comment was made with the

Another new technological advance that has also been made available to the department through a donation, this one from the Police Foundation, is a Motorola portable automated license-plate reader, which enables the tracking of license plates that repeatedly show up in parts of the community showing a “pattern of crime,” and which according to Miller, “will have great investigative value for us” in identifying suspect vehicles.

“That is roughly about $25,000 in equipment that was received at no cost to Evesham residents, and that’s going to have major impacts on our investigative abilities,” he emphasized.

Both donations were accepted via resolutions approved by all five council members.

The chief also reported that the department’s recent recruitment effort has brought in almost 90 applicants, which he called “pretty good right now,” since a lot of police departments are also hiring.

On another matter, Miller said an increased number of patrol officers were about to be assigned to areas “where we have increased numbers of crashes related to distracted driving,” with one of the most obvious violations being cell phone use while driving.

“So please put the phone down and just drive,” he urged.

“We spent $4 million in the last eight to 10 years on road improvements and drainage,” Burton said. “It is very much like the Ben Franklin Bridge, once you start painting it and get to the end, it needs to be painted again and that is kind of the process for roads.”

Despite that, Burton added, and it costing $1 million to repave a mile of roadway, the borough manager told those concerned that he will “try my best to alleviate some of the problems in the short term” and “do my best to move it up as best I can” on the borough’s road improvement plan, noting that when the municipality does paving, it also installs drainage, catch basins and pitches the roads.

“I hate to use the word ‘prioritize,’ because my priorities are not the same as your priorities,” Burton said. “But I will still do my best to try to mitigate some of the problems in the short term.”

Burton also apologized for not responding to the residents sooner, contending that with the recent weather, every day has been like a “Monday right now for me,” having received over two dozen phone calls about drainage issues since the latest round of heavy rain (of which there has been a lot recently).

consent of council, a man shot back, “I know the council doesn’t want us to comment at the end of the meeting, but to me (it is an opportunity) to ask a question about what is presented.” The man added that it was the reason everybody comes to the meetings.

“I understand that, but in my mind, sir, that is not what public comment is about,” Haines told him.

But another resident, a woman, in retorting that opinion of Haines, declared, “In my opinion, public comment should respond to the business at hand, because with the business at hand, we don’t know it until you guys discuss it.”

Haines, however, responded, the “business at hand is what is on the agenda,” causing the woman to also retort that opinion, by asserting, the listed resolutions and ordinances by title or report titles are simply “generic” in which “we don’t know the details of it.”

“OK … ,” said Haines.

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(Continued from Page 8)

Business Administrator Daniel Hornickel declared, “I don’t know anything!”

Bayer maintained the mayor would have to resign in writing to the clerk, and at that point Township Clerk Amy P. Cosnoski was asked if she received anything, and she uttered “no.”

The April 17 session is reportedly the third consecutive meeting that Tompkins has now missed, though an official told this newspaper that the mayor has reportedly been in the building to work. His council meeting absences commenced shortly after being interviewed for the investigation, with his interview reportedly the last one to occur.

Michael Krause, a lone supporter of Tompkins attending the session, and who described having worked on the campaign of Tompkins, Dewey, and Ward, asserted “it was a privilege” having worked with Tompkins “and I find him to be a very decent person.”

“And in my wildest dreams, I cannot imagine, or even begin to imagine him or anyone else sitting at this dais involved in any such actions,” Krause continued. “I know there were personality problems, and Jack isn’t always a polished person, but that does not make him a bad person. As far as the sexual innuendos, I have taken courses on this subject, as part of the continuing education of my profession, and they have a whole list (of criteria) that have to be met before something is considered a sexual assault. Just a casual remark or one in passing does not constitute sexual assault. So, I hope they looked into all that when they did this.”

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(Continued from Page 13)

letter was pointed out to the township attorney, however, Burns responded, “I received a letter from Mr. Litt that I have relayed to my client, however, without an appropriate court order, as the building has been determined to be a danger to public health and safety, the township intends to move forward.”

Burns, when asked whether he was concerned that the township would be

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destroying any evidence despite being asked to preserve it, responded, “The township, and the township committee, has a duty to protect the safety of the public, and will take all appropriate action in accordance with that duty.”

Last week, Burns contended that the decision rests with Hartman as to whether or not to call for a special or emergency meeting of the township committee to discuss the findings of the structural engineer, and that it would depend on those findings. Hartman did not return this newspaper’s written messages last week, with a listed phone

number for him disconnected.

“The letters that were received were consistent with the recommendations of both the township engineer and construction official,” said Burns on April 16 when asked if the committee would meet before any demolition occurs, to discuss the findings. “Mayor Hartman did not call for a special meeting.”

As for the commission’s special request to bring in an archaeologist, Burns maintained, “the township is working with the Pinelands Commission with respect to the request.”

As residents began receiving word that demolition is scheduled for late in the week, a protest broke out in front of Town Hall on April 17, with local GOP Chair Mark LeMire, and Committeeman William Sprague, Jr., who cast one of two votes in opposition to the demolition plan, seen making an appearance.

Litt, who is also the mayor of Chesterfield Township, could not be reached for comment on this story as of press time, but by late afternoon on April 18, he reportedly filed a request for an injunction in Burlington County Superior Court.