Pine Barrens Tribune August 12-August 18, 2023

See DIGITAL/ Page 6

Backed up by Residents, Bass River Commission Unanimously Rejects Proposed Zoning Change

Commissioner Credits Overflow Crowd with Having Legally Authorized Decision to Deny N. Maple Avenue Redesignation Sought by School Building’s New Owner

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—The question of whether average citizens have any real influence on decisions made by local government was answered in the affirmative by one of the three members of the Bass River Township Board of Commissioners just prior to that body’s unanimous vote on the evening of Aug. 7 to kill a proposed zoning change that would have opened up a portion of North Maple Avenue, up to West Road in the Village of New Gretna, to commercial development.

According to Bass River Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope, the redesignation of the now-residentially zoned neighborhood in question, while occasionally discussed in the past as a possible means of increasing revenues from ratables, had been specifically requested this time around by Lakewoodbased developer Eli Blech, who earlier this year had purchased the former Bass River Township Elementary School at 15 North Maple for possible use as a yeshiva.

The very fact that a standing-roomonly crowd again filled the New Gretna firehouse, just as had occurred at a local Planning Board meeting nearly three weeks before when a variance sought by the same developer was deferred at his request, only this time to register its opposition to a proposed ordinance incorporating See ZONING/ Page 7

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Alexander Costa, a 20-year-old college student, stands on his street, E. Parkway in Pemberton Township, as he describes an initiative that he has undertaken to push the state and local government to pursue available federal monies to bring high-speed Internet to his area.

Second, ‘Softer’ Attempt to Require Pemberton Township Property Owners with Well Water to Connect to City Water, If Available, Fails After Tie Vote Proposal Would Have Required Connection If Well Fails or Gets Contaminated

B y D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Another attempt to compel Pemberton Township residents with well water to switch over to city water, if available on their street, has failed, for now, with Pemberton Township Council’s hesitancy to grant approval again resulting in loud objections by the township business administrator.

And, for the second time in recent weeks, two GOP councilmen delivered a defeat to their 2022 running mate, Republican Mayor Jack Tompkins, who became in favor of the revised proposal – somewhat softer from an initial version that came about during the end of his predecessor’s Democratic administration and saw widespread opposition, including from the current mayor himself – after conferring with the township business administrator.

Previously in October 2021, while David Patriarca was still mayor of Pemberton, the then-administration had come to council with a then-proposal that if a structure is located within “200 linear feet of a township water supply main” and an investigation from the Pemberton Township Water Division determines that they are able to connect to it with sufficient supply and capacity available, that structure had to be connected to the township water utility within about a year’s time.

A 2021 proposed ordinance would have required those who would have to connect to the municipal water system to pay a “standard” $2,000 connection fee, in addition to a $25 application fee.

A lot of residents, however, protested that then-proposal, and the then-council, under absolute Democratic control at the time, rejected it in a 4-0 final vote.

Daniel Hornickel, the current township business administrator, who also held the post back in 2021, had put up a fight back then to stay the course, and officials ultimately indicated their intent to reintroduce a similar, but modified proposal in the future with changes that are potentially “softer” and “more comfortable.”

The primary objection that residents voiced to the original plan at the time is that they would have to spend thousands of dollars to make connection to the municipal water system, all while living on fixed incomes and having invested in their current wells, which they said their well drillers told them are anticipated to last for at least 20 years to as much as forever in some cases.

Others contended they specifically chose to move to a place that has well water, and attested to its quality, while questioning the quality of the municipal water and even the use of chemicals to chlorinate it.

“You just heard all the fees, and a connection fee is part of all the other overall fees,” Tompkins pointed out in 2021 when speaking during public comment about the proposal. “You have the capping fee, and then as somebody else mentioned, you have the plumbers’ fee to run the line from the meter to the house and then terminate it (the well) at your house. I am not a plumber, so I don’t know what it costs, but according to the Pine Barrens Tribune (who had interviewed a well driller for its story), that can be anywhere between $2,000 and $10,000.”

Tompkins, at the time, also pointed out that most of his neighbors “live on fixed incomes,” with many of them collecting social security, and that he found through doing research that most seniors collecting

social security earn about $18,000 annually or $1,500 monthly.

By taking the “most conservative” figure into consideration for a potential total project cost, according to Tompkins at the time, which is probably around $5,000 (based on his assumption of there being a $2,000 connection fee, $1,000 cost to cap the well and then whatever it would cost to run a water line from the meter to the home), that represents “roughly 28 percent of their annual income.”

“And that is with the conservative number,” added Tompkins at the time. “Now, I know you got a payment plan, which is really nice and sweet, but you are still throwing a bill at the limited income they have coming in! And there are a lot of these people in the neighborhood where I live. So, I am sure there are quite a few of them in other sections of town who will eventually come into this as well.”

Fast forward to the Aug. 2 council meeting when resident Michelle Forman asked of the new proposal, “Can I have my own well nowadays, or no?”, noting the premise of her question is when she read through the latest proposal, that it “looks like you don’t have a choice anymore.”

“I don’t know if you remember a year or two ago when we went through this,” Tompkins responded. “I came up to the microphone, like you are, and said I was against it. And there were a couple of reasons as to why, including where they mandated that you had to get into the water system within a year, and a few other things.

“Mr. Hornickel and I talked, and it is a good thing, because I am the mayor, and I can kind of direct things a little differently now. And the way we wrote this is, if you have water on your street, in front of your house, and there is a meter pit in front of your house, and you have a well, you can still use your well, but if your well dies, then we are going to require you that, instead of getting permitting and bringing in a driller in to put in a new well, you to hook into city water.”

The “other instance,” as Tompkins put it, where a connection to city water would be mandated is “if you have water in front of your house, and a meter pit, and you sell your house.”

“And the thought,” behind requiring a connection at that time, according to Tompkins, is that a seller “will have the money from the sale” to “pay for hooking into the water,” maintaining at that point there “would not be a financial burden” to the seller.

Tompkins further maintained that requiring a connection at that time would result in a new homebuyer “tapping into our water source for reliable water,” as opposed to a well.

Forman, however, claimed to recount remarks of officials at another meeting where concern was raised about compelling a connection to new waterlines being put in a neighborhood for a future development at the Greenberg Farm, and the residents having been reportedly told at the time you would not have to connect, even if their well was to break.

“Why can’t you just get it fixed?” Forman asked.

Instead of answering that question, however, Tompkins contended the future homes to be built on the Greenberg Farm “will not have any wells,” Democratic Council President Donovan Gardner

Pemberton Residents Ask Municipality to Apply Pressure on County to Improve Four Mile Road, Citing ‘Significant Public Safety Concern’

Man Fears Homeowner Will Have a Car Crash Through Living Room, Having Already Seen Late July Crash Where Car Rolled Over on Lawn

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Residents of Pemberton Township are calling on the municipality to apply pressure on the county to make traffic safety upgrades on Four Mile Road, warning of a “significant public safety concern” and that “somebody is going to get seriously hurt,” pointing to a number of accidents and near-misses they claim have occurred.

One recent crash, according to resident Owen Martindale, occurred at the intersection of Four Mile and Mt. Misery roads, with him pointing to a home that sits directly in front of the T-shaped junction, and claiming to represent that homeowner who lives there (Kathyrn Tarn) at the Aug. 2 Pemberton Township Council meeting. A car rolled over near the home on July 30, he reported, before landing on the lawn.

“During the last decade, there have been about 12 accidents there,” Martindale told the governing body. “The concern is that intersection is directly across from someone’s home. Imagine having dinner at that dinner table, and a car drives through a front door. That is a fact, or the reality of what is happening here.”

Martindale contended “there has already been one fatality” at the intersection and he is concerned a “car will get into the living room” of the home.

“I am requesting your assistance, with whatever means possible, in getting this addressed,” he declared. “We would like to see at least a flashing yellow light, several feet or meters away from that stop sign and/or a rumble strip and/or a flashing stop sign.”

As for why he believes those particular traffic control and calming measures will have an impact, he pointed out that “you have a pretty long stretch before you get to that stop sign” and “when you get to that stop sign, some folks are just simply not paying attention.”

While Martindale pointed out he understands it is a county road (which means the road signage and infrastructure is the responsibility of the county), the person who lives in the home “is a resident who pays taxes here,” or to Pemberton Township.

“Maybe this township can assist in getting the county to do an assessment of that roadway and/or stop sign,” Martindale said.

He then declared the resident living in the home has been “fighting this battle

since before 2008,” before asking, “Who can help her?”

Republican Mayor Jack Tompkins said that while he “likes your suggestions and stuff,” he is “afraid” that if a motorist sees a flashing yellow light at the intersection, “their brain will tell them yellow is yield,” instead of indicating there is a stop sign ahead.

“So, if you are going to do anything flashing, I would suggest a red flashing sign, not a yellow light,” Tompkins said.

But with it being a county road, the township can’t make any changes, and Tompkins contended, “trying to get some of these guys, or folks, to budge to do anything is nearly impossible.” He also cited another intersection in the township where the municipality has been trying to bring about safety improvements, but the intersection is controlled by the state.

“I understand it is hard to get the state and county involved, but I believe that you, and the entire council, are more equipped to have this conversation with the state and county than Ms. Tarn is,” Martindale asserted.

Martindale, in noting that police officers “always refer back to it being a county road,” contended, “the problem is, we are paying for those police officers, and if it is a county road, and they fail to have the right level of traffic mitigation at that intersection, then they owe us for all the accidents these guys respond to.”

“We will contact the county and see if there is something they can do with us,” Tompkins responded. “I’d love to go out there and put stripes down tomorrow, if I can do it … and I would … but it is a county road, and they are not going to appreciate it.”

Martindale shot back “you are the mayor, and I think you can contact the county to have a study done,” but Democratic Council President Donovan Gardner responded that “just for the record, the last administration tried to address issues around town with the county, and it was a deaf ear … it is stale … stale … stale.”

Tompkins, in offering other possible solutions to the situation, wondered if the homeowner at issue would grant an easement to allow for boulders to be placed in front of her home, “so if a car hits, it is going to hit the boulders, instead of the house,” but Martindale pointed out

See SAFETY/ Page 15

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

WOODLAND—As some residents of Woodland Township push the municipality to conduct annual leaf collection, officials there are maintaining a shared service agreement with several neighboring municipalities is not a viable option, and that there is also not a convenient, local place to have them dropped off once collected, resulting in private contractors wanting a higher fee.

According to Township Administrator and Clerk Maryalice Brown, she “did call surrounding towns” since the June township committee meeting, when the service was first suggested, and “none are interested in doing the service.”

Tabernacle Township (where Brown is also providing a service as a shared clerk/administrator) “doesn’t do it,” Brown maintained, while “Southampton Township never returned my call” and “Shamong Township doesn’t do it.”

Pemberton Township, Brown noted, does perform leaf collection, but advised her “they don’t have enough staff to cover our town to do it.”

Brown maintained that she also “did speak to a private contractor” since the last governing body meeting “to get some ideas on things,” before claiming “just to do Lebanon Lakes,” or the section of town where most of the requests are originating from, it would “take three to four days and it was estimated to cost $2,000 a day.”

“The biggest problem is we don’t have a place to take them, and he has to run

up to Tabernacle,” said Brown of why the estimate was so high. “It takes gas and the facility that takes them charges a per load fee.”

Woodland, Brown pointed out, used to store collected leaves at the municipal transfer station, “but in the past – and this was years ago – we got into trouble.”

That being said, Brown committed to approaching the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) with Township Engineer Tom Leisse to “see if they will allow us to do some kind of composting situation,” with her initial thought that one could add “clean fill to the mix and turn it into compost.”

The state, however, has clamped down on area municipalities recently using their transfer stations as a storage site, in the wake of stricter stormwater management regulations, this newspaper previously reported.

Woodland Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff, however, pointed out that leaves are “dumped out in the middle of the woods, half the time, anyway.”

Resident Lisa Sabatini, who has, since the fall, called for code enforcement actions to be taken in the Lebanon Lakes section of Woodland, where she lives (with another man having previously suggested leaf collection might help encourage locals to maintain their properties), asked if the municipality could put out official Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and pick the lowest bid of potentially

Salmon Florentine BROILED FILET OF SALMON TOPPED BROILE FILE SALMO TOPPE

Staff Writer

NEW LISBON—A longtime commissioner of the Pinelands Commission, Ed Lloyd III, died Aug. 5 at the age of 74, the agency announced in a press release.

Lloyd joined the commission on Nov. 8, 2002, after being appointed by thenDemocratic Governor James McGreevey.

“Ed Lloyd was among the state’s strongest, most effective advocates for Pinelands preservation,” said Susan R. Grogan, executive director of the commission. “As a commissioner, he volunteered his time and considerable expertise in environmental law for more than 20 years. He always sought ways to strengthen and ensure the protection of the Pinelands and provide for public input in that effort. We will miss Ed’s thoughtful participation at public meetings, and steadfast support of the commission staff.”

Lloyd, prior to his death, was considered a “highly-active member” of the commission, having served on the agency’s Policy and Implementation, Climate, Permanent Land Protection, Public and Governmental Programs, Agriculture, Plan Review, Memorandum of Agreement and Personnel and Budget committees.

“The loss of Ed Lloyd will be deeply felt by New Jersey’s environmental community, especially those of us here in the Pinelands,” said Pinelands Commission Chairwoman Laura E. Matos. “His dedication to the environment and preservation efforts was always at the forefront during his storied career, and he will be greatly missed. We, on the commission, extend our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones.”

74

Pemberton Resident, After Being Surprised to Have Gotten Video Recording of Pemberton Council Meeting, Demands to Know Who Knew of Capability

Prior Requests for Recordings, Resident Says, Resulted in Audio-Only Recordings, and Town Only Posts Audio of Sessions, But Officials Say They Learned of Videos; Mayor Also Questioned About Purported Recusal from Development Hearings

B y D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—A resident’s crossexamination of Pemberton Township officials on Aug. 3 over her discovery that Pemberton Township Council meetings, along with some Planning and Zoning Board sessions, had not just been audio recorded, but videotaped all this time over the past two years, as well as why an official recused himself from development application hearings, caused the governing body meeting to temporarily go off the rails to the point that Democratic Council President Donovan Gardner had to call for a five minute recess.

Township Clerk Amy Cosnoski contended she wasn’t aware there were video recordings, but Republican Mayor Jack Tompkins, when pressed by Resident Michelle Forman as to whether he had been aware of the meetings being video-recorded, initially gave a different response, which led Forman to grill further, and that led the mayor to alter his response somewhat, while the clerk doubleddown that she didn’t know until about there being video-recorded until Forman brought a recording with video on it to her attention.

In the days leading up to the public confrontation, Forman contended that there was a “back-and-forth” between parties whether “you are or are not videorecording” council meetings, as well as planning and zoning sessions.

According to Forman, Daniel

Hornickel,

township business administrator, “straightened this out the other day,” with the resident contending to officials that he “told me you videotape all the meetings in this room: planning, zoning and council.”

“I want to make sure all these meetings are being videotaped and want to know how long this had been going on,” Forman declared. “Because, nobody I know, knew about it, including Mr. Hornickel! He didn’t even know they were being videotaped.”

Forman than lambasted officials for having given her what she called “dumbeddown” tapings, or audio-only recordings, of the meetings for the past two years “when I could have gotten video-recordings.” She pointed out “our tax dollars paid for it,” or the system, and she is “not comfortable” with what has transpired.

“I talked to the planning board,” Forman contended. “They said they knew nothing about their meetings being videoed, yet they were.”

Cosnoski responded that the “ability to video-record has been there since put the new system in,” and then revealed that “the camera is right back there, up in the ceiling.”

“I was not aware that the audio recordings also had the video-recordings on them, until you advised me, Ms. Forman,” Cosnoski maintained. “I knew the system can videorecord, but I wasn’t aware that was something on there. I am not an IT specialist! I am not an audio specialist! I am not a video

See RECORDING/ Page 12

The agency noted in the press release that during Lloyd’s tenure on the commission, it established the Pinelands Conservation Fund, which has since helped to permanently preserve nearly 9,000 acres of land in the Pinelands and has financed numerous Pinelands research, planning, education and outreach projects; adopted significant amendments to the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP), the rules that govern land use, development, and the protection of resources in the Pinelands, including requirements for the clustering of residential development throughout much of the Pinelands Area, and enhanced standards for stormwater management; as well as conducted numerous scientific studies, including a multi-year study of the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system that lies beneath the Pinelands and contains trillions of gallons of water.

“Ed Lloyd dedicated his entire career to the defense and preservation of New Jersey’s natural environment, and did so selflessly, with distinction,” Commissioner Mark Lohbaue said. “His success was assured by three qualities: his understanding and application of the law; his persuasive power and moral authority of his speech; and his dedication to the service of the public interest. His guidance, courage and friendship will be sorely missed.”

Additionally, the commission, during Llyod’s tenure, was said to have established and implemented a highly successful pilot program to test the ability of advanced wastewater treatment technologies to meet stringent Pinelands water quality standards; approved changes to the

B y D ouglas D. M elegari

Longtime Pinelands Commissioner, Ed Lloyd III, Passes Away at Age

with Governor Recalling Him as ‘Dedicated Champion of Climate Action’

File Photo

Ed Lloyd III, veteran Pinelands Commissioner, passed away on Aug. 5.

DIGITAL

virtual meetings and telemedicine have become commonplace, in addition to the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ATSC 3.0 (over the air television broadcast signals that can be intertwined with the Internet) and Smart Televisions.

But a lack of affordable and reliable connectivity has been reality for 20-year-old Pemberton Township resident Alexander Costa, a Criminal Justice major at Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC)’s Mount Laurel campus, who aspires upon graduating from the institution to work as a conservation officer for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, in hopes of protecting the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest that he now calls home, as well as other state forests like it.

According to Sondra Rafferty, a retired Methodist minister who had also been Costa’s childhood daycare provider, the current college student “spent the last year in my house, five days a week, because he doesn’t have Internet access out here.”

“Here” is E. Parkway, a narrow, gravel/ sandy fire lane off Route 70 in Pemberton Township, home to approximately seven residences, which currently reportedly lack high-speed Internet infrastructure.

“Everything done today is done online,” Costa told this newspaper in his plea for help. “It is not possible to do it the old way.”

Pemberton Township, the Pine Barrens Tribune has learned, has a “communications ordinance” providing that Comcast, which has an arm for residential Internet, cable and phone services known as Xfinity, is the official “preferred provider” in the township. However, “tweaking of the verbiage” in the ordinance is needed, according to Republican Pemberton Mayor Jack Tompkins, “that may benefit Mr. Costa and other people in his situation,” requiring that service be provided to a greater number of township homes.

(Washington Township, also in Burlington County, approved a communications ordinance back in July, the Pine Barrens Tribune recently reported, implementing a 10-year renewal of a non-exclusive franchise agreement with Comcast, and similar connectivity issues were described by that town’s mayor to have been discussed during the negotiations leading up to the approval, but the utility would not commit to guaranteeing Internet for every household in town, citing cost. Rather, the utility would only commit to guaranteeing service based on a criteria of “home’s-per-mile of 25 dwellings per linear mile from the nearest active trunk or feeder line.”)

Costa, for this story, puts a major

emphasis on the fact that the Whispering Pines community, just on the other side of Route 70 from his home, within walking distance, has Xfinity high-speed Internet service, and that those residing less than a mile away from his home, on Mt. Misery Road, have high-speed Internet service through Verizon Fios, the latter because it is located in Woodland Township, which has an agreement with Verizon.

In doing so, the college student contended his street is what is known as the “last mile” in the telecommunications industry, or what the website of ActiveReach defines as “the final leg of the telecommunications network delivery components to the end user.”

Costa told this newspaper he is currently a student at RCBC’s Mount Laurel campus, majoring in Criminal Justice, and when asked what he would like to do with that degree, responded, “to become a state game and wildlife agent” to “make sure Brendan T. Byrne is not only protected,” but also other forests like it, and to ensure proper hunting, no cheating and to protect the animal population.

“I believe as a college student, who has to wake up at 5:30 in the morning every single day just to be able to do classes online, to do online homework, or to do Zoom, that we should all have the right to high-speed Internet and to be able to do our daily business, just as you all do with your computers, and your phone calls that all run off your Wi-Fi,” Costa declared. “We just don’t have access to it. It is just too expensive, and we can’t afford it. We need a concrete solution.”

Up until Costa was in the 10th grade at Pemberton Township High School, he said that he and his family had virtually no Internet access, except for his mother occasionally using her cellphone as a mobile hotspot as needed. Then, during the Coronavirus pandemic, when schools were shuttered, he said the school district provided him with a Verizon Jetpack so that he could partake in virtual learning.

“It just was not going to work out,” described Costa of the Jetpack arrangement, with his home also in an area of the township with weak cellphone signal. “The computer would not load up. Nothing was loading.”

That is when, Costa explained, his mother purchased a mobile hotspot device, one separate from the cellphone. At most, he further explained, it has shown three bars “on a good weather day,” but otherwise it shows one or two bars out of five, representing a weak signal. And it has not been all that affordable – just 100 gigabytes of fixed high-speed data, he reported, costs $50 per month.

“With the stuff that I have to do online, it will burn right through it,” Costa told this newspaper. “And to be

able to use 200 gigabytes, you have to buy another device.”

A neighbor further down Costa’s street, according to the college student, uses satellite Internet, but has advised him that 70 gigabytes of high-speed data through that service costs $200 per month, “which maybe lasts for two weeks,” before “more tokens are needed.”

“That is not acceptable to me to pay for more tokens to use the Internet (for the month),” Costa declared.

Compare that to Xfinity, which this newspaper found, in searching through its website, is currently advertising an offering of “200 Mbps (megabytes per second) Internet service at $35 per month for 1 year, no contract required.” According to the fine print, 100 Mbps equates to .0125 gigabytes per second.

And so, for “over a year-and-a-half,” according to Costa, he has been working toward bringing high-speed Internet to his street, but has been getting, what he told Pemberton Township Council during its Aug. 2 meeting in trying to solicit its assistance and make them aware of the situation and initiative, amounts to “a lot of runaround.”

For starters, according to Costa, he reached out to Comcast Customer Service back in February, inquiring about what it would take to bring high-speed Internet to his home, and received a quote back “for $18,000 to run a wire across Route 70 to our house,” with the utility also presenting him with a “hook-up fee,” pointing out the $18,000 only includes the wiring up to the pole in front of his home, with the second fee covering the work required from the pole to his residence.

Additionally, Costa told this newspaper that he received a follow-up letter in the mail from the utility, informing him that the price is “subject to change.”

“As you can tell, we don’t have $18,000 to afford to put a cable wire up our street for not only ourselves, but our neighbors who also do not have access to high-speed and affordable Internet, like many of the residents within the town do,” said Costa to Pemberton council on Aug. 2.

Since receiving the quote, however, Costa and Rafferty informed Pemberton council that they learned that connectivity funding was allocated in the bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a $1 trillion federal law signed by President Joseph R. Biden in November 2021, to give to the states to help them close what is known as the “digital divide.”

“And we are looking for an avenue from which the council, administrator or mayor can take to acquire funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Law to be able to get the town the necessary funding to be able to fund these projects in ‘last mile areas’ like with our situation,

where my entire street has no Internet, but right across the street, they have access to the highest and fastest Internet they can possibly imagine,” asserted Costa, in referring to the Whispering Pines neighborhood. “We are looking for solutions, not the runaround we have been getting for the last year and a half. We look forward to solutions the council, mayor and administrator … or anybody else in the audience, or maybe the town itself, could maybe come together and find, ones in which we could all benefit from.

“Because I know we are not the only area in Pemberton that is the ‘last mile,’ where we are excluded from what everyone else has, in terms of equal access to the Internet.”

Costa, who despite not having highspeed Internet at home, has evidently done heavy research on the topic, and phoned the state’s Board of Public Utilities, pointed out he was forwarded a link where the mayor of a municipality could reportedly apply for a grant from the state, allowing a municipality access to the federal funds that were recently allocated to the state through the Infrastructure Act.

Tompkins, according to Costa, told him that he has since filled out the grant application, something the Pemberton mayor confirmed during the Aug. 2 council meeting that he did complete, contending that in the seven months he has been in office, he has talked to Costa about 18 different times “to get some kind of traction.”

“The Infrastructure Plan signed by Joe Biden – it (the federal dollars) is in the state’s hands,” responded Democratic Pemberton Council President Donovan Gardner. “It has to trickle down to us. You can apply for it, say today, and they might give it to us three years from now or tomorrow.”

Costa, who later told this newspaper that he is pressing for the funding to be made available immediately, declared during the Pemberton council session that “it is time for the council to be made aware of what we are trying to do, for not only myself, and my neighbors, but for everybody else in the community who may not have been able to have access to such means of the Internet.”

“We look to bridge the divide for people not as brave as we are, or doing the work we are doing to find the answers, or don’t have access or the informational needs to do this,” Costa added. “We continue to seek answers and solutions that we can all benefit from.”

Costa told the Pine Barrens Tribune that he has been in contact with the White House over the predicament. The White House, on June 26, put out a press release, titled, “Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $40 Billion to Connect Everyone in America to Affordable,

See DIGITAL/ Page 10

the zoning change at issue, gave the commission sufficient grounds for denying it, Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione explained prior to the vote.

“It’s still up to all you guys – that is what you’re missing,” Capriglione told the assembled residents in response to queries about the matter. “We’re going to vote for what the people want.”

The commissioner went on to explain that by law, once the governing panel had begun the required review of the proposed new Master Plan and opened it up to the public, the question was raised of whether some of the properties on North Maple Avenue could be converted from residential to commercial and “we couldn’t ignore the question; otherwise, we could be sued.”

“That is why we’re here tonight,” Capriglione added. “But we’re not pushing this thing through (as) something we want to do; we’re addressing the question.”

He further maintained that “the best thing you guys could have done was come out because you actually are supporting us in the decision.”

“Can you imagine what would happen if nobody showed up and we said ‘no’?” the commissioner asked. “We could be taken to court (and have) no justifications for why we turned it down.”

Instead, he maintained, “thanks to all of you people,” the commissioners now had legal standing to do so, based on their having simply acceded to the will of the public – a comment that earned him a round of applause from the audience in the packed firehouse.

While Capriglione didn’t specify who might be inclined to take the township to court had the commission turned down the ordinance without popular support for doing so, the fact remained that Blech, after being named high bidder in a public auction of the school building at the beginning of 2022, actually did subsequently sue the Bass River School Board over various issues connected with that agreement to buy the building “as is,” an action that ended up being denied by a Burlington County Superior Court judge before the sale was actually consummated.

Lest there be any doubt that the crowd that showed up for the meeting (at which no less than three New Jersey State Troopers were also present) was totally against the zoning redesignation called for in the ordinance, Buzby-Cope asked to see “a show of hands” from all those who were in favor of allowing commercial properties along North Maple to the intersection with West Road (a limit agreed to by the Pinelands Commission, which had previously rejected the idea of a longer commercial stretch extending into a rural development zone).

No one’s hand was raised in response,

eliciting a loud burst of laughter from those present.

The mayor then asked, “who is opposed, please raise your hands.”

Virtually everyone’s hand shot up.

“We don’t even live around there (North Maple Avenue), and we’re opposed,” one man could be heard shouting during the din that ensued, which only ended when BuzbyCope banged her gavel and called for a vote, eliciting a decisive “no” from Capriglione, Deputy Mayor Louis Bourguignon and then the mayor herself, at which point the firehouse erupted in cheers and applause.

Buzby-Cope emphasized when the subject came up a bit later, “The North Maple Avenue ordinance is dead!”

Objections that residents who live on that stretch of road had to the proposed zoning change, elucidated by several of them prior to the vote, focused on such concerns as the prospect of gas stations and auto body shops springing up next door to homes some have owned for decades, an increase in traffic and speeders on the street, and the fact that “the commercial area (along Route 9) we have now is completely underutilized,” as former commission candidate Carl Swanseen put it, noting that it included “a little convenience

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Photo By Nick Weissmann

Bass River Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione maintains a large crowd having shown up to register opposition to the ordinance gave the commission sufficient grounds for denying it.

Photo By Nick Weissmann

Bass River Township Solicitor JoAnne O’Connor (left) and Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope (right) listen intently to those opposing the zoning change ordinance.

reprimanded her for “going back-andforth now,” and Township Solicitor Andrew “Andy” Bayer told her that the public hearing on the ordinance was simply an opportunity for her to “comment” on the proposal, in which “council could consider it.”

“Alright, I am commenting!” quipped Forman, to which Bayer retorted, “You are not commenting, you are cross examining!”

“Are you for or against the ordinance?” asked Bayer of Forman. “What do you want to happen?”

Forman, “in making her comment,” recounted a local farmer having asked, “If her well broke down, would I be forced to be on city water?, and that the answer was, “Yes,” and upon hearing that, Bayer quipped, “That’s exactly what the mayor just said!”

“If somebody’s well isn’t functioning, you can’t dig a new well,” Bayer said. “You have to connect.”

Forman again asked, “You can’t get it fixed?”, to which Bayer replied, “No … you have to … if you read the ordinance, ‘a property owner, whose well fails, or whose well tests positive for fecal conditions or other things, then they have to connect to the water system.’”

Bayer, however, in reading that provision aloud, acknowledged that requiring a connection might “depend on the reason – maybe if it is a pump or something … I don’t know.”

When Forman pressed the solicitor if one “gets a new pump,” would that advert them having to connect to city water, he asserted, “I suggest reading section three of the ordinance!”

That section, in part, states a connection would be required “for property owners” within 200 linear feet of a township water supply main “whose existing potable wells fail or whose wells test positive for fecal coliform/E.coli, nitrates, arsenic, mercury, volatile organic compounds or gross alpha (under thresholds established by the New Jersey Potable Well Testing Act), within six months from the date of well failure or failing test results.”

Resident Dwayne Hensley, of Ridgeview Avenue, who pointed out that he has “his own well” that is “360 feet down in the ground,” declared “my water is fine,” before asking for an assurance that “if they run water on my street, I do not have to connect.”

“You do not have to connect until the well breaks or gets contaminated,” Gardner replied.

Hensley questioned how his well would get contaminated given “it is a closed system,” with Gardner responding, “things happen.”

“I just want to make sure I don’t have to connect to this,” said Hensley, and when officials again explained there are a couple possibilities in which a connection would be compelled, the resident pointed out that “before I had this well put down in 1991, I called the township and they said we are never in the plans for running water down your street.”

“It is not there ‘yet,’” said Gardner of city water on Ridgeview Avenue.

What was proposed for passage on Aug. 2 would have again required anyone that must connect to the water utility to pay a connection fee of $2,015, in addition to a $25 application fee. This time, however, residents would only have been required to pay $650 of the connection fee up front, and then the balance of $1,365 at no interest, in monthly installments, for 24 months. Those over 65 years of age and older would have been offered a “discounted connection fee” of $1,200. Republican Councilman Dan Dewey, while indicating he was OK with compelling a connection in the event of a well failure or residence being put up for sale, declared, “the only thing that gets me in my crawl is a $25 application fee!”

Dewey called the application fee “a hidden tax for the taxpayer.”

“Everybody is in the computer!” Dewey asserted. “How hard is it for them to bring their name up and click they got ‘water,’” and give them a bill? You got their address! You got everything! And once they get their application approved, now they owe the township $2,000! And they got to pay a plumber to hook it to their house! I just think another $25 is petty and another tax on the taxpayers! It is a cheap tax and shouldn’t be!”

Josh Ward, the second Republican councilman on the five-member council comprising three Democrats, said he “kind of agrees” with Dewey, contending it amounts to “penny-pinching.”

“It just bothers me!” declared Ward, before going one step further than Dewey, appearing to disagree with the compelling of a connection at all. “If I buy a piece of property, and you have gold under it, you can have mineral rights. It is a personal freedom of choice situation, for me.”

Gardner, however, responded the $25 application fee is already in the existing connection fee law, maintaining “we are not adding or changing it.”

“It is just a cheap shot, and an unnecessary $25 bucks for the taxpayers, to, you know, make a few bucks!” quipped Dewey in response.

Gardner then asked for a motion on the proposed ordinance, but Dewey pressed the “administration” for a “response to the $25.”

“The whole purpose of this, as you are aware, is the water utility is severely

strained for finances!” Hornickel declared. “So, obviously I am not going to support cutting a $25 fee, when you guys asked to amend the ordinance to push the rate increase back another year!”

For existing water utility customers, the proposed ordinance would have increased the minimum quarterly charge for all one-family residential dwellings from $41.00 per quarter, based upon a quarterly allowance of 8,000 gallons, to $50.00 per quarter. Hornickel wanted it to take effect as soon as possible, as indicated at a prior meeting, but at the urging of Ward in particular, it had been decided to commence any rate hike in 2025 instead.

The proposed ordinance contains a statement the “township Department of Public Works, Water Division, has extended the availability of water service to several residential zoning districts, making potable water available to residents and commercial properties,” and that “on account of the township’s substantial investment into its water systems, including the acquisition and construction of wells, mains and water storage tanks, made for the benefit of its citizens, it is necessary to revise the Pemberton Township Code to update the requirements for connecting to the township’s water systems.” It is added that “the continued financial sustainability of providing potable water at reasonable rates is severely diminished on account of property owners that have previously declined to connect to the township’s potable water sources” and “the township has determined that for the long term financial stability of its water systems, that property owners shall be required to connect or to pay the connection charges and quarterly fees for the opportunity to connect, when so notified by the township.”

After Hornickel’s insistence to council that “the water utility is severely strained for finances,” Dewey asked, “Why is the Water Department so strained?”

“It is the biggest money maker in the town!” asserted Dewey, to which he began to squabble with Hornickel, who rejected that notion, contending “the Sewer Department is the biggest moneymaker in town!”

“The Sewer Department is revenue positive every year!” Hornickel further maintained. “We don’t have a struggle putting a budget together for the sewer utility!”

When Dewey pressed as to why then “the Water Utility is so strained,” Hornickel contained it was the result of a “previous administrator deciding to take the surplus from the Water Utility revenues, for a period of seven years, and divert them to the general fund to offset tax increases –that is my research!”

“Again, the taxpayers pay for mismanagement,” Dewey quipped.

Gardner, at that point, again asked for a motion to pass the proposed ordinance on second reading. There was dead silence. Ultimately, “seeing none,” Gardner made a motion to “accept” the ordinance at hand “as written,” and then asked for someone to second the motion. There was more than 20 seconds of dead air, however, before Hornickel explained that if council wanted to pursue an option of removing the $25 fee, “you need to amend the ordinance, and then we will have to have another public hearing, advertise and then you can vote.”

Someone then blurted, “do it” (or rewrite and readvertise), before Democratic Councilman Paul Detrick broke his silence, contending that he “just has a little hesitation requiring people to hook up and then when they come in to do what they are required, they are being charged for doing it.”

“I understand the financial part and worry about that,” declared Detrick, before Hornickel interjected, “The township has not recalculated its water connection fee for quite some time.”

“I would bet the odds are highly in favor of … if we were to recalculate the water connection fee, it would go up dramatically,” the business administrator added. “So, while we are complaining about $25, right, tomorrow I could call the financial consultant and order him to do a recalculation of the water connection fee. Then, I will come back and ask you to raise the water connection fee to what it should be, the higher rate!”

When Dewey asserted, in response, “then we will vote it down,” Hornickel asked, “Who loses then?”

“I am not asking for much here!” Hornickel retorted. “I am asking for a modest ordinance to start getting our Water Utility revenues (up) through connections and a modest increase in fees! Our water fees are very low for the quarterly charge! Just in Sunbury Village, our most impoverished neighborhood, they pay this amount per month (with that development having a private water utility). And we are just asking to raise it to $50 per quarter!”

But Dewey, appearing to be unconvinced, asked, “Whose idea was it to put water lines in a section of town with well water?”

“That goes back way before me!” said Hornickel, appearing to be somewhat exasperated at that point.

Dewey, however, persisted, asking, “Where was the logic, if you got wells, why spend the money to run water there?”

It was at that point Hornickel maintained he had to be “candid” with council that “whenever the township decided to get into the water business, the governing body at the time made a gross error – that

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store that went out of business three times.”

But an underlying concern of the public about the ordinance was that it might also have made it easier for Blech to convert the century-old school building into a live-in campus for Talmudic study, rather than a Jewish day school offering both religious and secular instruction. Either designation fits the definition of a yeshiva, which Blech, following the sale, told commission members he hoped to establish on the property.

In fact, the developer had submitted a floor plan to the Bass River Township Planning Board last month that indicated he had a dormitory-type arrangement in mind, a proposition that attracted a similarsize crowd to the board’s July 19 meeting, although he requested that it be temporarily removed from the agenda a couple days prior to the session – a fact that didn’t stop all those residents from showing up anyway. Buzby-Cope, when briefly interviewed by the Pine Barrens Tribune after the commission

meeting and again in a follow-up phone call, acknowledged that Blech had been the sole individual who had petitioned the commission members to put the proposed zoning revision on the agenda. Such a measure had first been “brought up years ago” as a possible means of increasing ratables in the township but not previously acted on, she noted when explaining to the assembled residents how it had ended up on the evening’s agenda.

“This has been in the works for three or four years,” the mayor told this newspaper. “You had a handful of folks who thought it would be a good idea at different meetings in the past, but not everybody.”

The suggested zoning change to “village commercial,” she said, “happened to come up again” when Blech specifically requested it as an addition to the master plan at the same time that local officials were in the process of a required reassessment of that plan. The mayor said she had informed him that while they couldn’t do that, they could introduce it in the form of a separate ordinance that, if passed, would be a proposed amendment to the master plan, which is how the ordinance that drew all the opposition ended up on the agenda.

“He was the only one in the last two months that asked,” she noted, adding that he “just wanted us to bring it up soon,” whereas it might otherwise have possibly been raised at a later date.

But the small amount of backing the proposal previously had from some residents was not in evidence this time around.

“Nobody came forward (at the meeting) saying they wanted it,” Buzby-Cope observed.

Neither the mayor nor Township Solicitor JoAnne O’Connor, however, were willing to say with any certainty as to whether Blech’s plan for the school building would have definitely benefited from such a zoning revision if approved by the commission.

“It’s possible,” Buzby-Cope responded to a question along those lines, although even if the ordinance had been adopted, “they still would have to go through all the proper channels,” which she said would include both the planning board and the Pinelands Commission, the latter having the final say on any significant change in the use of any land under its jurisdiction and even quite possibly on the holding of day-school classes in the old elementary school if it required the upgrading of the septic system.

At best, O’Connor maintained, “they might not have had to jump through some hoops” to obtain final approval for the plan had the locale been given a commercial zoning designation.

While this isn’t the first time a civic issue has generated so much public response in Bass River Township, whose population last year, according to the latest demographic data, numbered just 1,071, it is a phenomenon that doesn’t happen all that often, according to the mayor.

However, Buzby-Cope added that “when an ordinance goes into play, if the people don’t like it, we get feedback from the population.”

“They elect us to work for them and do the right thing,” she told this newspaper. “We’re there for the people, and we listen to the people, so if they’re opposed to something, we’re not going to put it through. It is the way we’ve always operated.”

Blech could not be immediately reached for comment on the decision, or to find out when and if he might bring his proposal for the school back before the planning board.

Photo By Bill Bonvie

Residents who attended the Aug. 7 Bass River Township Commission meeting raise their hands in a unanimous display of opposition to a proposed zoning change from residential to village commercial on North Maple Avenue, which was subsequently voted down.

Reliable, High-Speed Internet.” The White House called it the “largest Internet funding announcement in history.”

It is explained in the press release that the Department of Commerce announced funding for each state, territory and the District of Columbia for high-speed Internet infrastructure deployment through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program – “a $42.45 billion grant program created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by the Department of Commerce.” Awards, it is noted in the release, range from $27 million to over $3.3 billion, with every state receiving a minimum of $107 million.

The press release contains a link to a federal government website set up specifically to address “Internet for All,” touting the Biden-Harris administration’s connectivity initiative. New Jersey’s allocation of federal dollars for this purpose through the law, according to the site, is $263,689,548.65.

States were to receive their formal notice of allocation by June 30, and have another 180 days from that date to submit their “initial proposals describing how they propose to run their grant programs.”

“Once NTIA [Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)] approves an initial proposal, which will occur on a rolling basis, eligible entities will be permitted to request access to at least 20 percent of their allocated funds,” the site states.

The White House, in its fact sheet, starts out by declaring “high-speed Internet is no longer a luxury – it is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, to participate equally in school, access healthcare, and to stay connected with family and friends.”

The nation’s highest office reports that more than 8.5 million households and small businesses are currently in areas where there is no high-speed Internet infrastructure, and millions more struggle with limited or unreliable Internet options.

“What this announcement means for people across the country is that if you don’t have access to quality, affordable high-speed Internet service now – you will, thanks to President Biden and his commitment to investing in America,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Whether it is connecting people to the digital economy, manufacturing fiber-optic cable in America, or creating good paying jobs building Internet infrastructure in the states, the investments we’re announcing will increase our competitiveness and spur economic growth across the country for years to come.”

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communication and Information Alan Davidson called the funding initiative a “watershed moment for millions of people across America who lack access to a high-speed Internet connection,” adding, “access to internet service is necessary for work, education, healthcare, and more” and “states can now plan their Internet access grant programs with confidence and engage with communities to ensure this money is spent where it is most needed.”

Comcast, when reached for comment on this story, described that the utility “wants to serve as many customers as we can” and that it is “always looking for opportunities to expand services,” but that there are “some low-density areas where it just does not make sense economically for us to extend our network where we bear all of the expense.”

However, Comcast pointed out that

there is “federal money available for this,” or to bring service into unserved areas where it otherwise doesn’t make sense for Comcast to expand service using its own funds, and that the utility is “working very closely with local, state and federal government officials, where we can.”

In fact, Comcast pointed out to this newspaper that it “recently announced partnerships” with Hopewell and Maurice River townships to expand its network in “unserved areas,” and this is a way of “how New Jersey can close the gap and get residents like this connected.”

Comcast described that both towns applied for available federal funding through the Infrastructure Act and partnered with the company, with the utility throwing in some of its own funds to expand service through the partnerships (it was explained to this newspaper that there are two pools of available federal funds currently through the Infrastructure Act for connectivity purposes, with these communities apparently having gone for a pool separate from BEAD, as the BEAD allocations have not reportedly occurred yet in New Jersey).

“We are incurring costs, the townships are incurring costs themselves, but most is coming from federal money,” it was told to this newspaper.

In response to a question from this newspaper about whether the utility would consider partnering with Pemberton as it did with Hopewell and Maurice River, Comcast responded, “It is not something that we can make happen,” but “we are available for a partnership at this point” and the township “can certainly reach out and we would welcome the opportunity to partner.”

As for why the utility can’t bear the cost alone to expand service to E. Parkway and presented Alexander Costa with an $18,000 quote (the utility did not deny the figure Costa described to this newspaper), Comcast explained that there are two possible ways that the utility can “build its network” and come into E. Parkway, but that in the first instance, it would require the utility to connect to its system from a half-mile away from Costa’s home and cross Route 70, while the other possibility would involve a connection point that is one-and-a-half miles away from the college student’s home.

The utility described to this newspaper that Costa’s estimate accounts for the utility bringing service to his street from a node that is a half-mile away, with it pointed out to this newspaper that in providing the estimate to Costa, Comcast “is picking up $4,000 of the cost,” which is traditional in such circumstances, per company policy.

“Just to give you an idea of how complex of a situation this is,” Comcast reiterated to this newspaper that the home in question is a half a mile away from the utility’s nearest node – or what is described to this newspaper as “a piece of technology that feeds out a certain number of homes.” And in being able to run a wire from the node to E. Parkway, the utility described it would have to crossover Route 70, which “requires permitting and police support.”

Then, according to the utility, there are other complicated factors in this situation that must be taken into account, including that Costa’s house is “located along a preserve and near a tree.” The company maintained those latter factors “are likely going to involve New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) permitting as well, which was described as a “cost process to manage.”

Additionally, Comcast told this newspaper that “you are talking about coming down 18 poles” and “you need permits for the poles.” The company also claimed that it would also need to “do

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three bidders, maintaining “there are only 75 homes in Lebanon Lakes” and $2,000 a day for leaf collection “sounds extreme to me.”

“And it will help with your storm drain issue,” Sabatini contended. “They are just clogging it up.”

Township Solicitor William Burns, however, responded that “if the township does leaf pickup, there is nowhere to take the leaves.”

Sabatini, however, countered that there are other possible options for Woodland to discard any collected leaves, claiming there is a facility in Wrightstown “that recycles them,” before telling officials to “contact the Burlington County Landfill.”

Brown, in offering a clarification,

responded, “yes, there are a few places that accept them,” but one has to consider the “driving back-and-forth, gas, vehicle and dumping fee.” That led Burns to clarify his remarks that there is “no place in town” to take the leaves, as Woodland “doesn’t have an ecological facility and the transfer station can’t take them.”

Resident Dave Miller, of the Chatsworth section of Woodland, however, said that the township “should have a pile to drop off leaves when you drop off trash,” pointing out that Waretown is an example of where such a convenience is provided.

“Other towns have a contract with other municipal, or county facilities,” Burns retorted. “Waretown has access to the Ocean County Recycling Center. There is no ecological center in Woodland (which is part of Burlington County). The NJDEP will not allow us, with the way the transfer station is set up, to collect leaves there.”

DeGroff told the residents the

township will “look at other options” and the engineer is “going to look into the possibility of residents being permitted to take them to the transfer station.”

Meanwhile, Brown reported to the township committee that the pipe drain and trap for the municipal building’s bathroom had “collapsed” since the last governing body meeting.

“A plumber came out on an emergency basis,” explained Brown, before revealing that as a result of the collapse, “the bathroom flooded and was full of water.”

The “biggest problem,” according to Brown, is that the “pipe is in concrete, under the tile floor, and all that needs to be jacked out” before a new pipe, trap and drain can be installed.

The plumber provided a $3,250 estimate to complete the repairs, noted Brown, before asking for an emergency authorization from the Woodland committee. A motion was then approved

for the plumber to do the work “not to exceed $4,000,” with Leisse calling that amount reasonable.

However, Brown pointed out the estimate only includes the new pipe, drain and trap, as well as the concrete work, and the plumber “will have to rip everything out, including the toilet, vanity, sink and all that.” She maintained the township will also have to get someone else to “retile” the bathroom once the work is done.

This situation led to a brief discussion about the toilet in the municipal building bathroom, with Brown pointing out the “toilet is very low.”

“We’ll get a higher toilet,” vowed DeGroff in response.

In pointing to the various items that will need to be replaced in the bathroom, though Brown noted the vanity might be able to be salvaged if it is not damaged during the construction, she said, “everything is 30 years old anyway.”

Pinelands Land Capability Map that reduced the size of development-oriented management areas and resulted in greater protections to nearly 14,000 acres of land; and increased its focus on education and outreach by designing, building and opening the new Candace McKee Ashmun Education Exhibit at its headquarters, as well as by expanding its educational offerings with annual Pinelands-themed World Water Monitoring Challenge events, the Pinelands Summer Short Course, and dozens of onsite presentations and webinars.

“It has been an honor to serve with Ed

on the Pinelands Commission,” said Rick Prickett, who served on the commission from Jan. 9, 2012, to Jan. 7, 2022. “He shared his professional expertise willingly, and his contributions in shaping the decisions made by the commission during his tenure have been an immeasurable benefit to the enhancement and protection of the Pinelands and its resources.”

Lloyd was also a clinical professor of Environmental Law at Columbia Law School. He previously served for 15 years as director of the Rutgers University Environmental Law Clinic. He also served as general counsel and past executive director of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group.

In addition to all that, Lloyd served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Environmental Litigation,

and he testified before congressional and legislative committees on issues such as energy conservation, solar power, clean water standards and regulations, freedom of information, water supply planning and conservation, and solid waste.

“Ed was a great leader of New Jersey’s environmental movement,” said Carleton Montgomery, executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA).

“He was a truly decent man who always kept a level head, even in the most heated conflicts over protecting the Pinelands and all of New Jersey’s natural treasures. He was also a beloved, irreplaceable mentor to me, to his legions of law students, and to so many other advocates.”

A graduate of Princeton University, Lloyd held a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin.

“I am incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Pinelands Commissioner Ed Lloyd,” said current Democratic Governor Phil Murphy in a released statement. “A dedicated champion of climate action, Ed played an integral role in shaping and advancing my administration’s crucial climate agenda, fighting to protect New Jersey’s sensitive environmental resources, and holding polluters accountable. His decades-long advocacy at the forefront of environmental policy in New Jersey, as well as his work in protecting the Pinelands, will have a lasting impact on our state as we continue to address the escalating challenges of the climate crisis. My heartfelt condolences go to his wife, Janine Bauer, his two children, and all those who called him a friend and colleague.”

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make-ready work on the poles so that they can carry the lines, and then, finally, run fiber, and get it down the driveway.”

In pointing to the second option of the utility approaching the street from a point one-and-a-half miles away, Comcast contended it would not only require the utility to come through a preserve, but “it would definitely require another node, way more poles, permitting and labor.” It was described as simply “another expensive way to go.”

“I just want what other people have,” Sharon Costa described to this newspaper while standing in the middle of the gravel fire lane. “I feel like it is discrimination because other people have it and we don’t.”

Two questions Sharon Costa had for Comcast are, “Did the other people pay for wires to be run to their homes?” and “Are you picking and choosing?”

“It is like giving candy bars out and saying I can’t have one,” Sharon Costa contended. “That is not fair. How is that fair?”

Comcast, when asked for a response about whether its practice is in anyway discriminatory, contended that those who have gas lines put in, for example, “have to pay expenses for that gas line” and it is “similar to that.” The company continued that its founder, Ralph Joel Roberts, had planned the build-out of its service area many decades ago that was most economical, pointing to its success.

When the electric lines on E. Parkway were pointed out to Comcast and that electric utilities are also a private entity, Comcast maintained it checked that out too and learned the electric companies charge customers for having electric lines run to locations without service.

“We want to serve as many customers as is geographically and economically feasible, and continuously evaluate opportunities to deliver our innovative technology to new and existing customers,” said Jennifer Bilotta, vice president of Comcast communications, in a statement. “However, there are some low-density areas that are distant from our network where it is not economical for Comcast or any provider to build out.

“As we continue to evaluate these opportunities for network expansions, especially in rural areas where there can be significant infrastructure challenges, we are partnering with local governments to apply for federal or state grants that help change the economics so that private providers, like Comcast, are able to expand networks in the most costefficient manner.”

Comcast told this newspaper that it is currently having its local teams re-evaluate the estimate, to ensure its accuracy, and will provide any revision to the Costa family.

Sharon Costa described to this newspaper her belief that Tompkins, council and others should be doing all they could for their street to be able to access a basic necessity. She declared, at one point, “do something for this street.” Comcast confirmed to this newspaper that its agreement with Pemberton is non-exclusive and Verizon can come into Pemberton. A question Sharon Costa had for Tompkins and Gardner: “Why can’t the town contact Fios?” on the resident’s behalf.

“Really no one on this street can work from home right now,” she said, noting that after COVID, she became a teaching assistant and now wonders, “How would I do my job if there was ever a pandemic again?”

For now, however, the Costas, anxiously await word whether Pemberton will

become a recipient of any federal funding, and are urging Pemberton officials to do everything they can to become recipients of this money and plan for E. Parkway to be connected. They want to see action from council and administration.

Tompkins, during the Aug. 2 Pemberton council meeting, said that since having submitted a grant application to the state, a contractor had reached out to him to obtain some additional information, but he was not yet able to connect with him due to prior appointments.

Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, when delivering daily Coronavirus briefings back amid school pandemic-related shutdowns and remote learning programs, gave “digital divide updates.” On Feb. 3, 2021, the last one this newspaper could locate, he reported, “413 students statewide currently lack devices or connectivity for remote learning – down from 231,000 over the summer.” Of the 413 students cited, 132 students at that time were reported to have no connectivity to the Internet.

Murphy’s updates on the digital divide followed a July 2020 announcement that he was instituting a three-pronged approach “aimed to close existing gaps in student access to devices and Internet connectivity.”

The approach was to include the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) gathering “information and ideas to bridge the digital divide for New Jersey’s Pre-K-to-12 students, including philanthropic support from companies and organizations to help close the digital divide in public schools” and the state Department of Education offering a onetime $10 million grant using a portion of the state’s federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, “disbursed to public school districts to purchase digital devices and Internet connectivity for one-to-one student use based on need and the availability of philanthropic donations.”

After philanthropy and ESSER Fund grants were exhausted, according to the announced approach, the administration was to “redirect Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) funds to close any remaining gap and fill the unmet digital device and Internet connectivity needs of New Jersey students.”

The Murphy administration had announced that up to $44 million in CRF funds would be available for this purpose, with an additional $6 million available for nonpublic schools.

It is unclear if by a school district providing a student with a Jetpack, whether the Murphy administration considered that person “connected” in its figures.

The Pine Barrens Tribune sought an update from both the governor’s office and state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on its most up-to-date digital divide statistics, and where the state stands in obtaining and using federal funding from the federal Infrastructure Package for connectivity purposes. As of press time, this newspaper had not yet received a response to those queries.

Brian Woods, chief of staff for the state’s 8th District delegation, which serves Burlington County, when asked how many open inquiries his office have had reporting a need for connectivity, replied, “the person you are referring to is our only open inquiry.”

He then pointed out that the local Republican delegation has “put forth legislation to provide a $10 million Rural Broadband grant that would be awarded to towns that have broadband gaps.” The legislation, since having been introduced, has not moved, according to Woods, “but

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specialist! If you come look at my screen, right now, there is no video recording showing. It is just showing the audio part that I deal with.”

Forman, in response, quipped, “I find it hard to believe with all the people in this room, nobody knew they were being video-recorded!”

“I find that hard to believe,” Forman emphasized.

Cosnoski retorted, “You may find that hard to believe, but that is the truth!”

“I have never lied to you!” the township clerk added.

That is when Forman turned her attention to Tompkins, asking, “Did you know that, that they were being videotaped, mayor?”

“When I got elected, and was sworn-in, in January, one of the things I did do is talk to the clerk and she informed me the way the camera system was,” the mayor initially responded.

However, Tompkins appearing to provide an indirect answer to Forman’s query, led the resident to fervently ask, “Did she tell you they were being videoed?!”

“They were being used for the ZOOM, when COVID was going on,” Tompkins responded. “I believe that is when you were using the camera system.”

Tompkin’s reply led Gardner to declare, “Exactly!”

Forman, however, pointed out that she had learned of videotaping occurring “not just during ZOOM,” and again pressed the officials as to whether they knew of the other meetings having a video feed.

“The reason why I was asking (about whether the meetings are video-recorded) was, because, I know, as a resident, that there were some people interested in watching these council meetings at home, or having them streamed or saved and uploaded later on,” Tompkins said. “So, I was asking the clerk about that, and she did inform me of the camera up in the corner and that it was used during the ZOOM conferences and stuff.”

Forman yet again pressed the mayor for a direct answer to her question, asserting, “I just want to know if you knew they were being videoed!”

“Mm hmm,” replied Tompkins, before pausing for a bit. “… I was informed in January or February, Amy?”

Cosnoski, however, didn’t respond to that open-ended statement. Instead, it was Forman who responded, asserting, “You were informed they were videotaping the meetings, but Amy didn’t know?”

“Who told you?!” pointedly asked Forman, to which the mayor responded, “Clerk … Amy.”

When Forman pointed out that “Amy just said she didn’t know,” Tompkins responded, “Let me reword that – Amy

maybe informed me there is the ‘capability of doing it’ and that is how I interpreted it, that the capability is there.”

“So, you didn’t know they were being videoed?” asked Forman, to which the mayor replied, “No.”

Gardner began trying to end Forman’s cross examination of officials, by stating her last name repeatedly. But Forman continued, quipping, “I am glad I accidentally got a video, otherwise nobody would have known!”

“Ms. Forman, I learned that on the recording you got, there was video on there,” Cosnoski replied. “I didn’t even know we had that capability on what you were given.”

Forman, in response, then charged that she first brought to light the presence of a video-recording on the tape she received a “couple months ago,” with Cosnoski contending “that was how I was able to tell the mayor.”

“I said, ‘I don’t know how she has video, because the audio recordings we give you shouldn’t be able to have video on them,’” said Cosnoski in recounting her conversation with Tompkins.

When Forman moved to deliver another rebuttal, by reviewing what Cosnoski “just told me,” Gardner began shouting, “Ms. Forman! Ms. Forman! Thank you! Thankyou! Ms. Forman! Ms. Forman! Ms. Forman!”

The resident, however, continued, contending she “wrote down on the 27th” (the month of which is unclear) that Cosnoski told her there are no videorecordings, and “an hour later I was told you did do video.”

“That is not what I told you!” Cosnoski declared.

Initially, when having asked about the existence of video recordings, Forman had made another demand: “I want to know why the mayor recused himself from the Country Lakes development.” Forman is referring to Tompkins, also a member of the local planning board, reportedly not having been seen partaking in some of the latest board sessions held specifically to discuss a controversial, prospective senior housing development that would be built on a nearly 700-acre tract off Lakehurst Road.

After grilling officials over the video recordings, and after Gardner kept trying to get her to leave the podium, Forman asked once more, having not gotten an answer from Tompkins, “Can you tell me why you recused yourself?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, since Ms. Forman … this meeting is off for the next five minutes, Gardner declared. “We need to adjourn for five minutes, until Ms. Forman realizes and respects this podium. It is not her podium alone! It is for everyone in this room!”

The meeting was then adjourned, before officials would eventually return to the dais, but Forman did not get an on-the-record response about Tompkins’ purported recusal.

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WATER

(Continued from Page 8)

is they didn’t compel connection to the water system as they were running the lines, unlike the PTMUA (a now-defunct Pemberton Township Municipal Utilities Authority) that actually did compel connection to sewer. So anywhere where we have a sewer line, everybody is connected.”

Dewey then made an assertion that the “Water Department was the most profitable business in town” and that “it

is not that department’s fault the money got ripped out of it,” to which Hornickel replied, “I don’t disagree.”

“Alright, I am still waiting for that second!” quipped Gardner, with that explanation given by Hornickel having compelled Detrick to give it.

With Gardner and Detrick having voted to approve the ordinance, and Dewey and Ward voting in opposition, and Democratic Councilwoman Elisabeth McCarney absent, Gardner confirmed the measure “failed, this time.”

A revised ordinance could return, however, on the docket as early as Aug. 16.

TABERNACLE TOWNSHIP

LEGAL NOTICES

PUBLIC

NOTICE OF SALE OF VARIOUS REAL ESTATE PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT BY PUBLIC AUCTION

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13, the Township of Tabernacle (“Township”) is the record owner of properties and equipment listed below. The Township has determined that the properties and equipment are not needed for public use and has authorized the sale of the Properties and equipment at public auction.

The public auction will be conducted by GovDeals, an online public auction site for the sale of governmental, educational and related entities surplus assets to the public.

Interested parties must register with GovDeals and may submit bids at https://www.govdeals.com/tabernaclenjre

Bids may be submitted, and the on-line auction will commence on Monday, August 21, 2023 and will continue until Thursday, October 12, 2023 per the online listing. The Township reserves the right to adjourn or cancel the sale.

PROPERTIES:

at any time prior to the sale, with or without cause.

6. The sale of the Property shall be subject to other terms, conditions, restrictions and limitations contained in the Agreement of Sale, a copy of which is on the GovDeals auction site, and in the Tabernacle Township Clerks office.

7. The successful Bidder will be required to execute the Agreement of Sale and pay the required Ten Percent (10%) deposit to Tabernacle Township within forty-eight hours and prior to the date that Purchaser’s bid is accepted by Resolution adopted by the Tabernacle Township Committee. The $5,000 or $1000 bid fee will be applied on account of the required 10% deposit for the successful bidder. The successful bidder shall properly execute the Contract in the signature spaces at the end. Failure to execute the contract properly shall not affect the obligation of the successful bidder or the validity of the sale.

8. As set forth in the Agreement of Sale, the closing of title to the Property must take place within thirty (30) days from the date of the adoption of the Resolution by the Township Committee accepting the bid of the successful Bidder. In the event that the successful bidder shall fail to make settlement prior to thirty (30) days from the date that the bid is accepted, the deposit shall be forfeited as liquidated damages.

There will be two “open houses” when interested parties may inspect 81 Hawkin Road:

Friday, September 22, 2023, from 1 to 4 pm

Thursday, October 12, 2023, from 1 to 4 pm

ALL PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT ARE SOLD “AS IS”.

9. The Property is being sold in as “AS IS” “WHERE IS” conditions. Likewise, no representations are made as to the topographic condition of the Properties. The Properties are being sold subject to existing encumbrances, liens, easements, zoning ordinances, other restrictions of record, such facts as an accurate survey would reveal and any present or future assessments for the construction of improvements benefiting the Properties. The successful bidder is responsible for conducting any and all inspections and testing of the Properties at its own cost and expense, including but not limited to a survey. No representation is made by the Township as to the utility, usability, or environmental condition of the Properties, except as otherwise set forth herein.

10. As set forth in the Agreement of Sale, the governing body makes no warranties or representations of any kind or any manner concerning the title or condition of the property and building. No title contingencies or conditions are permitted. Title will be conveyed by Quitclaim Deed, to be recorded by the Township after closing. See the Agreement of Sale for all additional terms and conditions of sale.

11. The successful bidder shall also be responsible for an administrative fee in the amount of ONE PERCENT (1%) of the winning bid, which will be added to the winning bid. The Township will provide a settlement statement with the total amount due from the successful bidder prior to closing.

BID FEE: a bid fee of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) is required in order to place a bid on 81 Hawkin Rd in this auction. A bid fee of One Thousand Dollar ($1,000) is required in order to place a bid on remaining properties and equipment in this auction The bid fee will be fully refunded if the Bidder does not win the auction. The bid fee shall be applied to the 10% deposit required by the successful Bidder at the time that the agreement of sale is signed.

AUCTION SOLD FEE: In addition to the purchase price to the Township, the successful bidder shall pay the GovDeals auction sold fee of FIVE PER CENT (5%) of the purchase price.

ADMINISTRATIVE FEE: In addition to the purchase price, the successful bidder shall pay a ONE PERCENT (1%) administrative fee to the Township for preparation of the deed, closing statement and recording fees.

TERMS OF SALE:

The sale will be in accordance with the following terms and conditions and all bids must comply with the following requirements:

1. The Property will be sold subject to Federal State and Municipal Laws and Regulations, including applicable ordinances, easements, conditions, restrictions and rightsof-way of record and such facts as an accurate survey may disclose.

2. The minimum bid is listed for each property. No bid less than the minimum will be accepted by the Township. The highest bid in excess of the minimum bid price may be accepted by the Township.

3. Any party intending to bid shall be required to register at https://www.govdeals.com/tabernaclenjre and pay the Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) bid deposit for 81 Hawkin or the One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) for remaining property and equipment.

4. Anyone registering on behalf of a corporation or limited liability company must either submit a copy of a resolution of the corporation / company or a letter on corporate stationery, signed by an officer of the corporation, authorizing the bidder to bid on the property on the corporation’s behalf at the time of registration. A person bidding on behalf of a partnership or using a trade name must submit a copy of the certificate of trade name and a letter of authorization from the other partners at the time of registration.

5. The Township Committee does hereby reserve the right to reject any and all bids received, or to withdraw this offer to sell

12. The Township does not guarantee the construction of any road, water or sewer line, curb, gutter, sidewalk, drainage facility or other improvement on, at or near the property that is sold.

13. By submitting a bid, bidder certifies that bidder has not, directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement, discussions, or participated in any collusion or otherwise taken any action in restraint of free, competitive bidding for the above property.

14. By submitting a bid, Bidder certifies that Bidder has read and understood all of the conditions herein and agrees to same. Bidder further certifies that Bidder has had the opportunity to review all of the terms and conditions of the Agreement of, with an attorney of Bidders choosing, if desired, and agrees to same.

EXHIBITS:

This notice, along with copies of the Agreement of Sale, is on file with the Tabernacle Township Clerk, 163 Carranza Rd, Tabernacle, NJ 08088 and may be reviewed during regular business hours, and on the GovDeals auction site.

It is suggested and recommended that potential bidders perform title searches and/or last owner and lien searches on the property prior to the date of their bid submission in order that the potential bidder may be adequately apprised of any encumbrances or restrictions of record affecting the use and enjoyment of the Properties. It is further suggested and recommended that potential bidders exercise due diligence with respect to every statement of facts, including open permits, local fines, penalties, taxes, assessments, etc., which may not be of record, but which may nonetheless affect the use and enjoyment of the Properties. The Township of Tabernacle shall not be responsible for the costs associated with such searches in the event that the Township is unable to convey title and/or if a bid is rejected.

The Township has compiled this Notice to benefit prospective Bidders. To the best of the Township’s knowledge, the information contained in this Notice is accurate. The Township and any of its officials, officers, employees, assigns, designees, agents or contractors shall not assume any liability for inaccuracies and respectfully instructs all interested parties to independently verify this information.

Maryalice Brown, RMC Clerk/Administrator

(Continued from Page 12)

we have a written request to post letters to the leaders of the legislature.”

“You mostly see these gaps in Salem and Gloucester counties and the northwest region of New Jersey, but there are a few gaps in Pemberton,” Woods reported.

The chief of staff pointed out that “our legislators have also written to the governor to advocate for new funding in the federal Infrastructure Bill passed, called BEAD funding,” and that “New Jersey is expected to get at least $100 million in funding that will go to fill these gaps.”

“We wanted to get ahead of this funding,

SAFETY

(Continued from Page 3)

there are already boulders there.

“That particular car (involved in the rollover crash) hit one of the boulders in front of that house and it was up on the boulder,” Martindale said. “I have been in the logistic and transportation business for over 20 years, and I can show you scenes where those easements actually make cars airborne at the right speed.”

Reynolds & Sons Tree Service

which hasn’t been awarded yet, and let the state know we have a couple of streets in Pemberton that could use this funding to pay for extending broadband wires to the houses,” Woods said.

That being said, however, there was one thing that Woods pointed out to this newspaper: “As it stands, there is no law that requires broadband Internet in houses.”

“People can use cellphone hot spots or go the dish route,” he said. “To extend to areas that are remote and not economical for an Internet company, the investment has to be made by the township or the individual households have to pay to extend the lines. That is why we are advocating for grant funding.”

Alexander Costa told this newspaper on Aug. 9 that he had been in touch with the 8th District office earlier in the day and that it had been conveyed to him that towns have until Dec. 23 to apply for the BEAD money.

Sharon Costa wondered just how many towns in the state, as well as state residents and business owners facing a similar predicament as her and her son, currently know about this funding opportunity.

Woods, in confirming a deadline had

Tompkins, after Martindale raised the issue of the intersection of Four Mile and Mt. Misery roads, pointed to another “dangerous intersection,” this one at Four Mile and New Lisbon roads.

“You can’t see the people coming down Four Mile Road at 75 mph, coming around that corner,” Tompkins said. “I know the speed limit is a lot lower than that, but you and I both know that people come around there at double the speed limit.” Martindale, however, retorted that there isn’t a “house directly across from it,” or that intersection, like there is at the junction of Four Mile and Mt. Misery roads.

been described by his staff to Costa, noted “towns would have to apply for it,” or the grant funding, “and if they receive the grant,” the municipalities “decide how they want to use it.”

“We will certainly endorse any applications towns in our district complete,” Woods added.

As the BEAD funding is federally sourced, Alexander Costa told this newspaper he has personally reached out to Rep. Andy Kim, of the Third Congressional District, whose district includes Pemberton, and in discussing this matter with Kim’s office, learned there are others who have reached out to the congressman with similar circumstances such as his with the congressman having many open cases.

Kim’s office responded that there are several other open cases besides Alexander Costa’s case, maintaining that the “office continues to help community members who contact the office with broadband or Internet access related issues” and that “we have dealt with cases on these issues in the past, with a spike during COVID-19, and continue to help as best we can.”

The congressman’s office also made a point that Kim “helped pass” the Infrastructure Law to “make a historic investment in broadband” and that the bill included “millions of dollars for New Jersey to close the digital divide, or gaps where students, workers, families, are being behind without Internet access.”

It was also pointed out that the

Resident Terry Maldonado noted that “she travels Four Mile Road five days a week” and “out of those five days, I would say there are at least three” where she encounters “an aggressive driver, if not drivers.”

The morning of the council meeting, she maintained, a pickup truck passed her vehicle and four others all at once, and “almost lost control,” purportedly seen swerving in trying to “squeeze” back into the lane of travel, after encountering oncoming traffic.

While she “does commend” the Pemberton Township Police Department

Infrastructure Act “aims to lower the cost of Internet and make it more accessible for all,” including through the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which gives up to $30 per month toward Internet costs.

“Our office continues to spread the word about programs like this,” the office contended. “Around 41,000 households in NJ-03 are eligible for the ACP, but have not participated.”

Rafferty, during the Aug. 2 council session, pointed out that Alexander Costa is one who was recognized at the township high school as the “most-kind person of the year,” asking, “What doesn’t he do?”, noting that if “someone gets off the bus, and is disabled, he is there to help them,” and if “someone forgot their money at lunch, he buys them lunch.”

“If someone needs something, they can count on Alex,” Rafferty declared.

But now she is hoping Costa and others like him can count on government officials to bridge the digital divide on his street, and elsewhere in Pemberton.

“I know the federal government provided money for every citizen, and every student like him to be able to have Internet access,” she said. “He has been calling the previous mayor for the last year. And basically, he was told it is not a priority for them. The money is there, the children are here! The most important thing you can do for your future is for your children. Let them become everything God intended them to be!

for having an officer nine times out of 10 sitting at a Co-op on Four Mile Road during the morning rush hour, the instance she cited “happened just before PL (Presidential Lakes).”

“It is one stretch of road people think is the Atco Dragway,” Maldonado maintained. “Somebody is going to get seriously hurt on Four Mile. It is a serious issue, and something is going to happen.”

Gardner suggested that the road could be “double striped” or to establish a nopassing zone, but after inquiring if it is definitely a county road and learning that it is one, he said, “we can’t.”