Pine Barrens Tribune Jan. 21, 2023 - January 27, 2023

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—An embattled Medford Township councilman has now publicly apologized for what was seen as a threat of further prosecution aimed at the Carns family during what he called a “difficult” Jan. 3 Medford Township Council meeting, admitting Jan. 17 that his “choice of words” were “inappropriate” and “came out wrong,” but is, so far, resisting growing calls for him to tender

his resignation “immediately.”

In fact, Republican Councilman Frank Czekay, who delivered the public apology during a Jan. 17 council meeting, told this newspaper immediately following the session that “no,” he would not be resigning, and when asked if he would still seek re-election later this year, responded, “that decision hasn’t been made yet.”

Czekay, who ran on the ballot nearly two-and-a-half years ago along with GOP Deputy Mayor Lauren Kochan, who

is also up for re-election this year, also acknowledged that repeated assertions he made during the Jan. 3 council meeting that the Carns siblings are “not on the deed” for their family’s farm at 265 Medford-Mount Holly Road were in fact not true.

“You are on the deed, there is no question about that,” declared Czekay on Jan. 17 after asking Brian Carns to remain at the microphone, while also addressing David Carns directly, who was sitting in the audience at that particular moment in time.

But then Czekay, after issuing the public apology and maintaining that he was being “sincere,” remarked to the twin brothers, “whether you are a current owner, I am not going to debate that,” leading Brian Carns to declare, “Dude, you should resign!”

“Right now – resign Frank!” declared Brian Carns, troubled that Czekay not only seemed to once again imply that he was not the owner of the farm in public view, but

Medford

Councilman Apologizes for Apparent Threat of Further Prosecution Made at Council Meeting, Recognizes Repeated Assertions He Made About Carns Deed Were Untrue, But Resists Calls to Resign; Woman Calls on Medford Mayor to ‘Take Responsibility’ as Town’s ‘Leader’ for What Has Happened

Councilman Frank Czekay

Resident Brian Carns

Resident David Carns

Photos By Douglas D. Melegari

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—A municipality with “antiquated” copper telephone lines that reportedly still work just enough to provide spotty and interment landline telephone service, has limited to even nonexistent cable service, and sees weak or no cellphone service at all on any given day is now boosting its efforts to push a cellphone tower application through the Pinelands Commission following a recent power outage that resulted in “no communication for half of the town.”

Washington Township Mayor Daniel James, both last month and this month, called the lack of a cellphone tower nearby the main population centers of the municipality, Lower Bank and Green Bank, a “public safety issue.”

“My power went out for four hours two weeks ago and I came to the realization that the only way that I could communicate with somebody is to go down to the river,” said James, a resident of Lower Bank, who apparently had to go the riverfront of the Mullica River, which is wide open with little obstruction, to pick up any kind of cell service. “Otherwise, you couldn’t call me, and I couldn’t get a hold of anybody at my house. This is happening more frequently anymore.”

James is not only the mayor of the municipality, who just with that position alone would need to be able to receive realtime communications in the event of an emergency, but is also a veteran volunteer firefighter for the Lower Bank Volunteer Fire Company.

It was announced early last year that a cell tower “lease has been signed with the fire department,” with a Feb. 25, 2022, legal notice stating that “Public Participation Valore, LLC, proposes the construction of a monopole-style telecommunications tower within a 80 foot by 80 foot lease area at 3 Fire House Lane, Washington Township, Burlington County, NJ.” The physical address for the Lower Bank Fire Company is 3 Fire House Lane.

“We have an application with your folks for a cell tower,” said James to the Pinelands Commission, during a regular meeting of the state agency last month, in a push to move the approval process along. “As much as I hate technology, our power went out recently and there was no communication for half of the town. And when it comes to emergency services, if someone paged us out, or if we had a fire or accident on our roads, we wouldn’t have been able to respond.”

The Washington mayor explained to the commission that the county’s current paging system is “borderline useless” to local first responders.

But what “works really well” for first responder organizations in the county, James maintained, is “911 E,” which he explained works off a “cellphone system.”

“We need to be able to communicate with emergency services,” he told the commissioners. “The big draw to our town is the Wharton State Forest, which has 800,000 visitors a year, and when you get into Batsto, you can’t call up emergency services. I don’t know what is needed to comply, but any consideration is appreciated.”

In an initial response to James, Susan R. Grogan, acting executive director of the Pinelands Commission, said “there is an application in process,” filed with the commission, for a cell tower in Washington, but she is “not sure exactly sure of the status” of it.

But Paul Leaken, a spokesman for the Pinelands Commission, previously explained

to this newspaper that communication towers are a “permitted principal use” anywhere in a “Pinelands Regional Growth Area” and a “Pinelands Town,” two of the nine land-use management areas in the state Pinelands Area.

The Pinelands Commission, he noted, has approved a number of “comprehensive communication tower plans” for other management areas, which identify sites for installing communication towers as a “principal use” in other management areas to “provide adequate service.”

“If a tower site is not identified in one of those plans for the other management areas, it is not permitted as a ‘principal use,’” he added.

Leaken then pointed out last year to this newspaper that there are no approved tower sites in the commission-approved “comprehensive communication tower plans” for Lower Bank.

“This means that unless an amendment to one of the ‘comprehensive communication tower plans’ is approved by the commission, the only way a communications tower could be approved in Lower Bank is as an ‘accessory use,’” Leaken declared.

James, last month, called on the Pinelands Commission to “look at” its “cell tower plan” to “improve communications,” noting that the “use of the cellphone has evolved since your cell tower plan was written.”

“We are dealing with public safety here,” James told the commissioners. “It is not a monetary or recreational.”

One of the commissioners then asked if there is an “emergency authorization” provision it could grant to the applicant.

“We do have emergency authorizations in the CMP,” replied Grogan, with “CMP” an acronym for the commission’s Comprehensive Management Plan, which contains the rules that guide land-use, development and natural resource protection programs in the state Pinelands Area, the original version of which was adopted on Nov. 21, 1980, and last updated on May 16, 2022.

However, Grogan, in pointing to the application in process and being unaware of its status, didn’t remark any further about whether such an authorization would be considered for the proposed cell tower.

According to the commission’s website, “in order to protect the scenic resources of the Pinelands Area,” the CMP, prior to 1995, limited the height of most cell towers to 35 feet in all Pinelands management areas, except Regional Growth Areas and Pinelands Towns.

B y D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD LAKES—Improvements are planned for Lower Aetna Lake Dam, which is across the street from P.J. Whelihan’s in Medford Lakes Borough, according to Borough Manager Dr. Robert Burton, while a local eatery has been granted an easement to expand its “cold storage” and changes are being planned for a tree ordinance.

While there is “not a structural problem” with the interlocking pavers still intact at the Lower Aetna Lake Dam, Burton explained to this newspaper that a “fairly large rain event had crested the road and washed sand off the dam,” necessitating the need for the project.

What will take place, he said, is that a contractor will come in and “pull off the growth,” laydown compact netting, put in topsoil, and replant the area with grass so it essentially “locks the soil in place.”

The size of the project area, he noted, is “not real big,” only about 15 yards by 25 yards.

“We are strictly removing some vegetation that has grown through, and are filling that in with a substance that will be compacted, applied, and then top soiled, and then we will place landscape netting over that and then plant native grasses that don’t have deep root systems to hold the topsoil in place,” Burton described to attendees at a recent Medford Lakes Borough Council meeting.

The borough, Burton told this newspaper, is currently “going through the bidding process,” looking to award a contract soon for the project, with him adding during the council meeting that the municipality is

“looking to get it (the project) done by early spring.”

Council, in an unrelated matter, conveyed a 22 foot by 22-foot easement to Riviera Pizza, which Burton later told this newspaper is for a “small shed” that the restaurant would like to build.

A resolution certifying the authorization notes that the easement is being accommodated from a 3.6-acre, currently vacant parcel that the borough owns, which is behind the shopping center that Riviera comprises, and that it will allow Riviera “the need for cold storage and related improvements” for the establishment to maintain “the proper functioning of their business operation.”

It is added that the borough has “no current need” for the portion of the lot being conveyed through the easement and that granting the conveyance is “consistent with and will not frustrate the interests of the borough and its residents.”

Long discussed amendments to the borough’s tree ordinance is forthcoming, Burton revealed, with a meeting of the municipality’s Tree Committee scheduled for this month.

“The meeting will consist of recommendations to the ordinance,” Burton said. “I will be there, along with code enforcement. We have compiled a list to bring to that meeting to discuss what additions to the tree ordinance need to be in place to better secure, and make sure that when trees are taken out, they are replaced, if appropriate, and that people are following the ordinance.

“We are taking these additional steps to make sure Medford Lakes, which is in the Pines, is in the Pines forever.”

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON BOROUGH—The departure of Bonnie Haines from Pemberton Borough Council, who served as its president for a number of years during her nine-year council tenure, has resulted in a new council president being selected to lead the municipality.

Terry Jerome, who is coming up on his ninth year on council, was unanimously selected to the post of council president during council’s Jan. 3 reorganization meeting.

“I am looking forward to doing the best that I can for the borough,” Jerome later told this newspaper.

Haines choose not to seek re-election last fall.

Borough Mayor Harold Griffin, during

a preceding Dec. 19 council meeting, gave a proclamation to Haines, as well as to Robert Brock, who also departed council in December (with him doing so after having lost to Diane Fanucci in a GOP primary race last June), recognizing their years of service on the governing body.

Griffin, who has been the mayor of the borough for the past nine years, and previously served as mayor of neighboring Pemberton Township, explained that over the years of his service, he has observed that some councilmembers “do more than others” when it comes to their involvement in municipal government, particularly in overseeing municipal departments as assigned.

“These two right here ... they run a department like it should be run,” declared Griffin while bestowing both Haines and Brock with the proclamations. “Sometimes, over the years, I had wishes that the departments would be run like these two run them, with serious interest, and even coming into the office once in a while.”

According to the pair of proclamations read aloud by Griffin, Haines began her service on borough council on Jan. 1, 2014, while Brock commenced his service on Jan. 1, 2017.

“I had a great time, and a great six years,” Brock declared. “I enjoyed everything we did, so thank you.”

Haines, in her final public remarks as a borough councilwoman, thanked the “loyal and faithful attendees” of borough council meetings and had a departing message for

Photo By Andrew King

Nine-year Pemberton Borough councilman Terry Jerome is all smiles after being selected as Pemberton Borough Council’s new president.

Pemberton Boro Council Elects New President After Recent Departure of 9-Year Councilwoman, Finally Gets Update on Route 530 Properties ‘Bi-partisan Experiment’ Pair Sworn-in, New Engineer Selected After ‘Issues’

Shamong Changes Mayor for 2023 as 10-Year Committeeman Departs; Meeting Held with Firm Wanting to Start Cannabis Operations in Town

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

SHAMONG—A 10-year township committeeman’s departure from the Shamong Township Committee has led to a change in the township mayor post for 2023, and a committee newcomer being sworn in, with the departing mayor and current office holders having previously played a pivotal role toward a goal of making Shamong the “pot growing capital of New Jersey.”

And as Michael Di Croce once again assumes the role of Shamong mayor after last holding the post in 2020, it was revealed that he was to have a meeting with a “large manufacturer of vitamins and minerals” that “wants to come to Shamong” to start cannabis operations.

Timothy Gimble, who joined the Shamong

committee in February 2012, and served as the township’s deputy mayor in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and as mayor of the municipality in 2016, 2017, 2021, as well as last year, left the governing body on Dec. 31, after choosing not to seek re-election.

“It has been a true honor and privilege to be part of this committee, and to be living in this town for almost 22 years now,” declared Gimble as he closed out his last meeting as a committeeman on Dec. 20.

Gimble, previously involved with the local athletic association and a coach, explained that it was Sean Gray, a now-former township committeeman, who approached him in late 2011 to see if he would “like to volunteer” for the municipality and join the township’s Land Use Board.

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MEDFORD—Another controversy has been ignited involving Medford Township and the response of its mayor, this one over a mere $12.30 that was said to be “fined” to a township resident (as an accessed late payment fee) after an apparent accidental tax payment mix-up, the result of a recent address change for town hall that had been apparently unbeknownst to a banking institution.

An apparent refusal over the course of

several months by township officials to reverse the charge, and instead “fight me,” even after the man had gone as far as to contact the mayor, led to another round of loud commotion and disbelief at a Medford Township Council meeting, just two weeks after a councilman sparked major controversy over “inappropriate” remarks.

In fact, the public response of Medford officials on Jan. 17, even caused laughter in the audience at one point given just how “ridiculous” the situation appeared to be, with officials taking no action to “simply be done with it,” or give the 28-year resident, with proof in hand, a “courtesy adjustment” and move on to more important subject matters.

Rather, officials told the man threatening to take the municipality to Small Claims Court “over the principle of the thing” that they can’t provide answers, have “no information on this” and just because that resident had gotten proof of timely payment from the township itself “doesn’t mean they looked at it.”

Not to mention Councilwoman Donna Symons revealing “the same thing happened to her,” although she indicated that she just tolerated what amounted to be a late fee applied to her taxes, with the man retorting, “I have more principles than that.”

“I am here to express my dissatisfaction with how the mayor and the township have received my emails,” declared resident

Photo Provided

Michael Di Croce, selected Shamong Township’s mayor for 2023, bestows outgoing committeeman and mayor Timothy Gimble (center) with a proclamation for his of “unconditional service.”

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Medford resident Jim Broomell holds up paperwork that he says proves his tax payment was postmarked in time in demanding a courtesy adjustment.

EVESHAM—A woman is recovering from an aggravated assault that occurred on Jan. 16 in Evesham Township in which she sustained “severe injuries to her head,” according to a press release from the Evesham Township Police Department.

The incident, said to have allegedly involved her “biological son,” occurred in the first block of Woodlake Drive.

Police, in responding to a report of an assault, found a 75-year old woman who was unconscious, suffering from “severe injuries to her head.”

“The female was quickly treated and transported to Cooper University Hospital, where she is in critical, but stable condition,” police reported.

An investigation, authorities added, determined that the woman sustained her injuries “as a result of a physical assault,” in which she was “beaten with a landscaping

rock.”

The investigation identified the suspect as Lawrence Y. Kim, 43, of Marlton. Police said he is the biological son of the victim.

Kim was later located and taken into custody in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania after Evesham Police “quickly coordinated efforts” with the Lower Merion Police Department in Pennsylvania. He was charged with aggravated assault and weapons charges, including second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth-degree possession of weapon for an unlawful purpose.

As of press time, Kim was awaiting extradition back to New Jersey, police said.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit has been assisting in the investigation, and it is ongoing, with anyone with information about what happened asked to contact Evesham Police at 856-983-1116.

EVESHAM—A Philadelphia man has been charged after purportedly using someone else’s “personal and financial information” to purchase several motor vehicles and various other items, valued at over $150,000.

According to a Jan. 6 press release from the Evesham Township Police Department, it was on Dec. 11 of last year when some of the department’s patrol officers “took a report in which the victim reported that an unknown person had used his personal and financial information to purchase several motor vehicles and various other items, valued at over $150,000.”

An “extensive follow-up investigation” was conducted by the department’s Investigative Bureau, according to the press release, and Dajuan White, 31, of Philadelphia was identified as a suspect in the case.

He was charged with second-degree impersonation and identity theft. White, according to police, had already been incarcerated out of state on unrelated charges, and was awaiting extradition to Evesham as of Jan. 6.

It was unclear if White knew the victim, or if the victim is an Evesham resident.

Repairs to Chatsworth Firehouse ‘100

Percent’ Complete with Officials

Preparing to Reinstall Signage; New Tender Delayed, But Expected Soon

Governing Body Convenes Special Executive Session to Discuss ‘Firehouse Agreement,’ and After 90 Minutes Behind Closed Doors, Mayor Says It Was a ‘Very Simple Meeting’

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

WOODLAND—Repairs have been “100 percent” completed to the Chatsworth firehouse of the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS Fire Company, Fire Chief Shawn Viscardi confirmed during a special meeting of the Woodland Township Committee held at 10 a.m. on Jan. 17, with the township mayor adding that the signage will be installed once an inspection is completed.

“All the repairs are completed, 100 percent finally,” the fire chief said in response to a question from this reporter during the public portion of the meeting, held in a small conference room of the Woodland Township Municipal Building.

The Chatsworth firehouse, this newspaper previously reported, was struck by a Chevy Equinox in December 2021, when its driver failed to stop at the intersection of Savoy Boulevard and County Routes 563 and 532. The impact of the crash had caused “significant damage” to the firehouse.

It was in June of last year, after more than a year of back-and-forth discussion and negotiation, that Viscardi was told that he “can go shopping” for a new fire truck, a declaration that came after the Woodland Township Committee on June 23, 2022, unanimously approved a some $425,000 bond ordinance to help fund the purchase.

“It will be a tanker with a pump, capable of actual fire suppression, and not just carrying water,” said Viscardi at the time.

The township committee, on July 27, 2022, then entered into a cooperative purchasing agreement for a new fire truck in the amount of $424,737, with the purchase being made from

Alexis Fire Equipment, of Illinois.

On Jan. 17, when the fire chief was asked by this reporter if the fire company had its new tender yet, replied, “the new tender has been delayed” and that it will arrive “possibly by the end of February.”

The aforementioned discussion and negotiation had culminated with a new agreement being reached between the fire company and township on Feb. 15, 2022.

The reason the Jan. 17, 2023, special meeting had been called to order, per an agenda handed to this reporter by Township Administrator and Clerk Maryalice Brown, was for the committee to “enter into closed session to discuss the firehouse agreement.”

Viscardi was seated at the conference table, along with all three members of the township committee, Donna Mull, Mark Herndon and William “Billy” DeGroff, in addition to Brown, before the doors to the conference room were shut. Township Solicitor William Burns was not present, at least not in-person.

Before asking this reporter to leave the conference room so that the governing body could conduct the closed session, Brown read the reason for the closed session into the record (as also reflected on the agenda), asserting it was to “discuss any tactics and techniques utilized in protecting the safety and property of the public if disclosure would impair such protection and/ or any investigations or violations or possible violations of the law.”

But seemingly it was more bark than bite, at least that is what DeGroff indicated upon the committee inviting this reporter to come back into the conference room after about an hour and a half of the governing body meeting with

COUNCILMAN

from Page 1)

commented on a sensitive subject involving a private citizen.

Previously, Czekay, on Jan. 3, not only asserted that the Carns siblings weren’t on the deed for the farm, but maintained they don’t own it. David and Brian Carns responded that they do own the farm, along with their other siblings, with David Carns later telling this newspaper that, for example, when they have taken out a loan in the past for the farm, the siblings had to include all their signatures on a document, along with their mother’s signature.

Township Solicitor Timothy Prime, who following the Jan. 3 council meeting told this newspaper that the councilman probably regrets what he said that evening, explained that while “the boy’s names are on it,” they are “on the deed as a ‘remainder,’” adding the document states “it is ‘Carolyn Carns for life’ with the ‘remainder’ to her children, Jeffrey, Dale, David, Brian and Heather.”

“So, she owns the lot, and after her death, the kids get it automatically – the five kids –assuming they are still alive when she dies,” Prime told this newspaper, maintaining that because of there being a “remainder” on the deed, the five children “are not” currently owners of the farm.

Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson, who has also been the subject of intensifying calls to resign, not only over alleged retaliation and political retribution involving the Carns, but his failure to intervene on Jan. 3, allowing “decorum” to be lost and for a situation that

Czekay acknowledged “deteriorated” to an unacceptable point, faced renewed criticism both during and following the Jan. 17 session for offering no public apology or regret of his own for what occurred two weeks ago.

The Republican mayor, who forewent wearing a tie at the latest session, in very limited remarks Jan. 17, simply stated that he “echoes Mr. Czekay’s comment about trying to keep a decorum here,” and told attendees he was not going to have “shouting matches like we had before at the last meeting” and “if we have to take a break to get everyone under control again, we will.”

“But let’s try to show respect for each other,” he added.

Still, the Jan. 17 session was very tense, and in fact, there was more loud commotion when a resident, in an unrelated matter, unexpectedly gave rise to a new controversy, excoriating the mayor and officials over their “dismissive emails” pertaining to a some $12 late fee he had been assessed for a tax payment (see separate story) that he had been told was late, even though he had proof to the contrary and previously provided it to officials. He threatened to take the township to Small Claims Court over the “principle of the thing.”

“Your own residents don’t agree with you,” declared another first-time council meeting attendee, Jatinder Singh, who evidently became compelled to speak after viewing firsthand council’s latest responses to the controversies. “How sad is that – that in the kingdom, no one likes the king. I mean, how are you going to continue living there? How are you going to gain that respect?”

It was on Jan. 3 when the Carns siblings

(Continued

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Terry Sheerin, a resident and advocate of Woodland, reminds the Medford council that they “wouldn’t want your children, or your family or spouse – none of them – to be treated this way.”

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

The Chatsworth firehouse on Jan. 17 after the local fire chief confirmed repairs were 100 percent complete.

COUNCILMAN

confronted Czekay in council chambers, during public comment, about his public remarks over the ownership of, and deed for, the 30-acre tree Carns Family Farm. After Prime acknowledged that Brian Carns was “technically correct” and the sibling then immediately asked the councilman to “recant your statement because we do own it,” Czekay, asserted, “maybe we should issue some more violations to these guys,” which led to shouting, gasps and jeers from attendees.

Online and in a recent edition of this newspaper, longtime supporters of the Watson administration called on Czekay and Watson to resign in reaction to what they witnessed, referring to what occurred as “embarassing.”

Carolyn Carns, the 81-year-old family matriarch, was previously issued a pair of $5,000 fines, totaling $10,000, last November, over David and Brian Carns storing two commercial tree trucks on the 30-acre parcel she owns, as well as for having allowed the operation of the twin brother’s commercial tree service there. The monetary amounts for a first-time offense have sparked outrage in the community, in addition to the circumstances surrounding the township taking multiple actions against the Carns that only came after a firewood dispute with Watson.

Carolyn Carns was reportedly in attendance at the Jan. 3 meeting when Czekay – involved in a previous email exchange asking for a zoning investigation into a resident the day following that person

speaking out a council meeting over a triaxial dump truck issue – made the apparent threat of further prosecution.

“I think we can all agree, with regard to the Jan. 3 meeting, it was difficult for everyone and certainly not a situation that should be repeated,” said Czekay in making the public apology right before Jan. 17 public comment was heard. “I want to apologize for the comment that I made when I was interacting with Brian Carns, as well as to any member of the public who was present at the meeting, or viewing it on the livestream.

“There is no reason why a meeting should ever deteriorate into the situation that occurred on Jan. 3. We should all be able to have a rationale, calm discussion, and calm interactions about issues that affect our residents, or the township – even those in which we disagree.”

David Carns, however, the first member of the public to speak on Jan. 17, didn’t appear to accept the apology, and in fact doubled down on his calls for the councilman to resign.

“You know Frank, you apologized, but I got to tell you, I feel like it was because you said it on the record,” said David Carns, whose brother previously revealed he was in touch with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. “I don’t think you are sincere about that.”

The Carns sibling pointed out that unlike some of the previous meetings in which his mother was in attendance, she was not in attendance Jan. 17.

“She is not going to come back here,” David Carns asserted. “She was threatened – she literally thinks that there is a letter, or something coming in the mail, because that is what happened when we spoke at the other meeting.”

This newspaper previously reported that Carolyn Carns received a number of Notices of Violation, and eventually the two summonses, after the twin brothers had become outspoken at council sessions about the series of township actions that followed a firewood transaction dispute with Watson (Watson and Prime have since denied the firewood has had anything to do with the township).

It was “two days after” one of those meetings, David Carns maintained, “we were issued tickets.”

“Honestly, I am not surprised you (Czekay) said it at all because we have been saying all year this is what is going on – this is retaliation,” said David Carns to Czekay. “If one of you guys got pulled over for speeding, and went in front of a judge, and got a $10,000 fine, when normally the speeding tickets are $100, or $150 – yeah, you might be scratching your head saying there is more to this.”

Answered Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests, David Carns maintained, show that another tree service/landscaping business has been given some 17 letters, as well as violations, over a five-year period for similar issues, but was only given a $100 fine for a first-time offense, and for a third offense, only $1,000. The public records, he contended, contradict other highly controversial statements aired by various township officials during a Dec. 20 council meeting.

“Mayor, you sat up here four weeks ago and said everybody else went into compliance (after receiving a Notice of Violation), and the paperwork that I have does not support that,” David Carns said. “And I would like for everyone on this council to look at this paperwork, do the OPRA requests, send

them to Kathy, and take a look at it and say, ‘Hmmm, maybe we didn’t know what these other fines were before we rolled out that speech and thought it was fair.’”

David Carns, who maintained at this point he was not seeking for the fine to be completely vacated, but rather assessed based on what other businesses received for a first-time offense, added that, “I would love for you guys to tell me another landscape company or tree service that was fined $10,000.”

After Brian Carns made the point that “265 that is ‘my address,’ Frank,” the Carns sibling maintained the councilman’s apology “doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“I actually thought you were going to resign,” Brian Carns told the councilman during public comment. “I am asking you to resign. You threatened my mom with more tickets. By the way, more tickets to us means, if the first offense is $10,000, what is the judge going to say if we are back in front of them again? Whether it is a joke, or whatever reason you said it, it is exactly what we have been saying you guys have been doing for the last 10 or 11 months. You could have called me any kind of name, or any kind of stuff, but what you say is what if we issue more tickets.”

Brian Carns, in further referring to what was seen as a further threat of prosecution, remarked that it is “honestly one of the most truthful things I have heard from council in the last year,” or that he saw it as an admission of retaliation.

The Carns sibling also took issue with the way in which the councilman apologized (which Singh also later took issue with), with him discussing in his remarks “how the

Photos By Douglas D. Melegari

Councilman Frank Czekay as he listens to calls for him to resign on Jan. 17.

Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson as he listens intently to a call to take responsibility for what has happened.

David Carns as he states he felt as though Councilman Frank Czekay’s public apology was not sincere, and that the fines issued to his mother were unfair.

meeting was out of control” and seemingly indicating that even members of the public bear some shared responsibility for the loss of decorum Jan. 3.

“Well I am just a resident here, but you are part of the council,” Brian Carns retorted. “You are leading the township. I can come up here and act as crazy as can be, but you are supposed to stay professional – and that goes for all of council, and you are supposed

TOWER

Then, in 1995, the commission amended the CMP in “recognition of the growing demand for wireless services within the Pinelands Area,” with the rules changed to provide municipalities with the option of permitting wireless facilities with heights exceeding 35 feet “provided that the facility met the CMP’s procedures and siting standards.”

The rules created in 1995, according to the commission’s website, required any potential carriers to “include the locations of all existing facilities, as well as the approximate location and search area extent of future facilities expected to be needed within a 10-year time

to be looking after this town and doing what is best for everybody.”

When Brian Carns moved to take his seat, Czekay asked him to “stay at the microphone for a second.”

“And I want to say to Mr. David Carns, as well, my apology was sincere,” Czekay declared. “The words I stated were inappropriate. They weren’t meant to say we would be ‘issuing more’ (tickets), they were meant to say that if you were an (additional) owner (as the Carns siblings suggested in confronting the councilman about their ownership), the same violations would be issued to you, as well as to your mother. It

horizon,” with a “major objective of this planning process, as required by the CMP, to ensure that the least number of facilities necessary to provide adequate service are sited in the most ecologically sensitive management areas of the Pinelands Area.”

Once a plan is approved by the commission, applications to construct individual wireless facilities are “reviewed in accordance with the CMP’s environmental regulations and standards for siting wireless facilities, as well as the approved comprehensive plan (which specifies the approximate locations of planned facilities).”

According to the commission’s website, the “first comprehensive wireless plan” was approved in 1998, and since that time, “the spatial configuration of existing and proposed facilities outlined in the initial plan has been expanded through subsequent

years to come.” Fenster and Fanucci, sworn in on Jan. 3, are longtime council meeting attendees who have often taken to the floor to question decisions of the public body.

was not intended to mean that. I know how it came out, that is why I am apologizing for it because it came out wrong.”

Brian Carns, in response, reiterated, “I am the owner,” telling the councilman that he “should apologize for literally arguing with me for two minutes at the last meeting suggesting I don’t own the property.”

“Why are you even bringing that up to begin with Frank?” Brian Carns asked.

In responding to that question, Czekay said he was “not going to debate that issue,” further remarking, “We will disagree on that.” But the councilman’s seeming doubling down of that prior sensitive

plans approved by the commission,” with there having been, to date, six plans in total.

James, during a Jan. 3 Washington Township Committee meeting, indicated his hope for another that would easily allow for a cell tower in Lower Bank, or for an emergency authorization, optimistic that “everybody seems to be on the same page” that by not having a local cell tower, it is a public safety issue, declaring of the commission, “hopefully they will move on it.”

“They seem receptive,” he told Jan. 3 township committee meeting attendees of his conversations with the commission. “But they have rules they have to go by, and they had a cell tower plan made 10 years ago that is pretty antiquated and that is why there is so many problems in getting a cell tower down here.”

James also informed residents that

buildings torn down and lots of reduced size, but still buildable, now sitting empty.

ownership claim, only renewed calls for him to resign.

“Dude, you should resign!” Brian Carns declared. “Right now – resign Frank!”

The latest developments in the Carns matter, one that has gradually played out “over the last 10 or 11 months, now,” which a past member of the mayor’s inner circle, Joe Maggelet, told over 20,000 of his local Facebook group members in a posting last week is now resulting in an “ongoing disaster” for the all-Republican council (with Maggelet again this week calling

he recently met with the Board of Public Utilities during a League of Municipalities Conference and learned that a lawsuit from a “couple years ago” to compel Verizon to “upgrade” its “antiquated” copper phone lines to fiber optic wires (known as Fios service) in rural areas that he thought “fizzled out” is actually “still active.”

“Since we don’t have cell service in the entire township, we wanted to get the phone lines upgraded to at least work,” James said. “I know my phone line goes out once every two weeks and I have to get someone out here to switch them to work. In the meantime, we are trying to work on a proposal to get another cell tower in town (the other being north of Jenkins, near cranberry bogs in a very remote portion of County Route 563, away from the rural town’s two main population centers).”

that “doesn’t even meet every month.”

residents that it is “important to be here” and “not just when you are mad.”

Griffin, who concurred with Haines, recounted a time when he served as township mayor in which he was disappointed with the meeting turnout at the time that a well-traveled bridge happened to be out in Country Lakes, quipping, ‘“If this meeting hall is not filled next month, I am not going to put the bridge on the agenda.’”

The next month, he said, so many people showed up to a council meeting, there was standing room only with a line out the door of council chambers.

“You may not believe this, but we would like you to come to a meeting,” Griffin said. “We like you to make comments, and whether you praise us, or whether you say something that needs to be done, it is no different. … We appreciate you coming to every meeting. Even if one person is here, we appreciate that person coming.”

Haines wished her borough council successors, Democrat Steven Fenster and Republican Diane Fanucci, “good luck in the

Fenster, in running with Fanucci last fall in a “bipartisan experiment,” vying for two seats up for grabs on borough council, defeated Republican Stewart Thompson (a former councilman). It is Fenster’s second term on borough council, with him returning to the body after having been previously defeated by voters in November 2021.

“I am happy to be back on council,” Fenster said. “I always at least want people to come out, and tell your neighbors that we want as much town participation that we can get.”

Fanucci, a retired employee of the Pemberton Township School District, is a newcomer to borough council. One of her campaign promises has been to get several properties in the borough back on the tax rolls (and as ratables), particularly those along County Route 530 that had been taken by the county and vacated to make way for a widening project of the county highway.

While the road widening project has since been completed, a motel and hardware store ended up shuttering as a result, with the

Fanucci, even before she was swornin, had been pressing local officials as to whether there is any update on the borough “getting these properties back” from the county. For months, there had been no update to share, but this time, declared Borough Solicitor David Serlin, he had one, but it “won’t make you happy.”

“Federal regulations prohibit the county from giving the property away,” he explained. “So, the property would have to be purchased, or some other arrangement made. Our engineer was requested to confirm the lots (block and lot numbers) and then send that information to the person at the state. The state would then have the properties appraised, and then we would have to determine whether it is worthwhile for the borough to buy them. We can do many things with them, but one question is can we consolidate the lots, and would that serve the same purpose.”

Serlin added that due to a “scandal” in the state “many years ago” in which a governmental agency “sold a property below market value,” any such sale has to go through a particular state agency, one

“They would have to approve the sale, and it is complicated,” Serlin declared. “It is not going to happen quickly. But there is progress.”

That “progress” in just obtaining the information that Serlin was finally able to share with borough council after many months of queries seemed to satisfy Fanucci for the moment.

Through Fanucci’s questioning, just prior to taking the oath of office, Griffin revealed that the borough is also “thinking about selling” a parcel with asphalt that is otherwise empty next to a shopping center currently comprising a dry cleaners, Chinese restaurant, laundromat and food mart.

“If we sell it to someone, we are hoping they will develop it,” the mayor said.

Griffin later told this newspaper that the parcel is zoned commercial and the hope is that whatever might be built there is a commercial enterprise. In an exchange with Fanucci, the mayor said that the municipality, if it decides to put the lot up for sale, would place a contingency on it that the prospective buyer “has to put something there.”

“It is worth a try,” he added.

Meanwhile, Fenster, just before being sworn into office (with the Dec. 19 session continued to Jan. 3, and closed out that day, before the Jan. 3 meeting was convened), questioned the location of a “tot lot” reportedly installed last year in the borough, with Griffin later telling this newspaper it is located behind the school building, or near a baseball diamond.

While Griffin said he couldn’t attest to the exact location as it had been sometime since he was over in that particular area, according to Fenster, one must “roll a stroller across 100 feet of grass to get to the ramp” for the tot lot.

“It should be next to something with a stroller, or something where someone with an assisted device can get to it,” the councilman asserted. “I don’t know if we can move it, but if we don’t, we should make a pathway. And in the future, it should first be brought to council.”

He also said the tot lot location has left him “concerned” because it “prohibits us from expanding the ballparks, which I thought was a possibility.”

Fenster failed to obtain a straight answer as to who approved the location of the tot lot, with Griffin only calling it a “good question,” but when Fenster maintained council should decide such things in the future, Griffin replied, “You are exactly right.”

Griffin, when later asked by this newspaper if the tot lot wasn’t easily accessible, replied, “We haven’t gotten any

MAYOR

(Continued from Page 4)

A couple months later, Gimble added, he was informed that Chris Norman, a thentownship committeeman, had to step down and he was asked if he would like to be on the township committee in his place.

Gimble said serving as a township committeeman made him “a better person,” a role where he “learned compassion” for people and became a “better listener” and “better communicator to people.”

In turning to Committeeman Brian Woods, Committeeman Chris Zehnder and newcomer Committeeman Neil Wilkinson, Gimble declared, “you guys actually share the same vision I have.”

“We run this town in a sense, but we just let people do what they do,” said Gimble of that vision. “We don’t want to be involved (or heavy-handed) with them, and trust everybody, and if issues and things come

complaints that it is not.”

Fenster, upon taking office, in pointing out that the borough is changing its engineer for 2023, asked about “what criteria was used” in making the change. He also inquired if there “were any issues” with the previous one (Anthony Maltese, of Abbington Engineering).

Griffin replied to the second inquiry that “yes, we did,” and that the borough has instead decided to go with another firm recommended by Serlin, which he said works with Moorestown, adding that the new firm has “some very good ideas” that will soon be shared with the community.

It was later shared with this newspaper that the new engineering firm is Pennoni Associates.

Griffin, when asked in an interview with this newspaper what the issues were with Abbington, replied, “Let me put it to you this way, when Mr. William Wentzien (who retired in late 2021 from Abbington) was there, everything was fine, but when the new fellow came in, he was very abrupt with some of the people in the office.”

“And he made some remarks I don’t think he personally should have made,” Griffin added.

A member of the borough council, last year, previously expressed some frustration with Abbington for not having put improvements to Jane and Egbert street out to bid, describing a lengthy delay, and since that time, while the project was ultimately put out to bid, on Dec. 19, the bids were rejected by council with no further explanation. However, the mayor vowed that the project would be put out to bid again.

It was also announced that a grant application to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) for Cedar Lane

up, then that is our job to help navigate that. I know you guys share that vision, and the future of this town is in great shape. Shamong is still going to be a great place and will be a better place because of the rest of you guys.”

While Gimble is exiting the township committee (as well as the mayoral post), he pointed out that the “very methodical,” over 15-year Township Solicitor Doug Heinold, reappointed for 2023, has been the “voice of reason and guidance,” while Sue Onorato, township administrator and clerk, also reappointed for the new year, is the “true brains of this operation.”

Onorato, in particular, according to the outgoing mayor, “shows up and makes us look good.” He called on her to “keep doing what you are doing.”

Heinold responded that it is a “bit of an end of an era” with Gimble departing, maintaining the outgoing mayor “did a fantastic job” at the helm.

After Di Croce and Wilkinson, a member of the township’s Cannabis Subcommittee

and Pleasantview Avenue was “rejected,” with Fannucci remarking that she thought other borough streets, such as Reynolds Street, are “in much worse shape.”

Maltese, the day following the Jan. 16 interview with Griffin, when asked by this newspaper if the relationship between the borough and Abbington had become adversarial and soured, responded that he would “defer to the borough to truthfully answer these questions.”

“I am unaware of what ‘remarks’ were made during their decision making in choosing a much larger firm,” he added. “We were the borough’s engineer since 2015 and successfully received grants for new projects every year.”

Borough Administrator Kathy Smick, following the response from Maltese, was also queried as to whether the relationship with Abbington had become adversarial.

“I would definitely not describe the borough’s relationship with Abbington as adversarial,” she responded. “The borough worked side-by-side with Abbington on many projects with positive outcomes. It was felt that this new engineering firm would better suit the needs of the borough.”

Maltese, however, when asked about the Jane and Egbert street improvements situation, did indicate that there has at least been some breakdown in communication between the parties.

“Our office was asked to combine both projects, Jane Street and Egbert Street, for the possibility of receiving a more competitive bid from a contractor,” he said. “We went out for bid and the borough decided not to award it due to the prices received. The project will need to be rebid either separately or jointly,

since pretty much its inception, were both sworn into three-year terms on the township committee Jan. 3, the governing body voted to select Di Croce township mayor for 2023.

One of his first orders of business was to present a proclamation to Gimble for his years of “unconditional service as a volunteer, committeeman, mayor and deputy mayor.”

Di Croce, whose long-held vision has been to make Shamong the “pot growing capital of New Jersey,” both to increase ratables and job opportunities, as well as lower or eliminate altogether local property taxes, last served as township mayor in 2020, when he worked to help establish the Cannabis Subcommittee in December of that year, which has since helped form the current local zoning regulations for cannabis, and recommended to the governing body where cannabis operations should be a permitted land use.

Martin Mozitis, a 14-year township committeeman, was appointed Jan. 3 as the township’s deputy mayor.

Photo Provided 8th District Assemblyman Michael Torrissi Jr. (center) stands with newly appointed Shamong deputy mayor Martin Mozitis (left), a 14-year township committeeman, as well as with Michael Di Croce, selected Shamong Township’s mayor for 2023.

Photo By Andrew King Pemberton Borough Mayor Harold Griffin (right) swears in Diane Fanucci and Steven Fenster to Pemberton Borough Council on Jan. 3.

Appearing on a township committee agenda was a resolution that would have denied a letter of support for Grass State Nutrition to establish a cannabis operation on Old Indian Mills Road.

The reason the resolution appeared on the agenda, according to Onorato, is that the property that the firm was interested in setting up shop at, said to be somewhere on Old Indian Mills Road, is actually outside the areas currently designated by the township for cannabis enterprises.

Di Croce was ultimately successful in convincing his colleagues to “table” the measure, however, not because he necessarily agreed with the location, but because he did not want to send a message to the firm that they weren’t welcome in town ahead of a meeting that he revealed had been scheduled at his law office.

“I am meeting with these people and they are a large manufacturer of vitamins and minerals and indicated through their lawyer that, ‘We want to come to Shamong,’” Di Croce said.

While Onorato pointed out the resolution addresses “one specific property,” Di Croce suggested the firm is open to other alternatives.

“They want to see what else is in town,” Di Croce contended. “And when somebody tells me they ‘want to come to Shamong’ … first of all, I saw their organization and they are for real. They are making FDA approval up there (in North Jersey) and making big bucks.”

While the township committee agreed to table the measure, a couple of its members expressed that they “still stand by what the resolution says” and that any future decision to approve of them setting up shop where they originally intended on Old Indian Mills Road “kind of defeats the work you (Di Croce) and prior committees have done to create these (cannabis zoning) districts.”

Di Croce, in a Jan. 17 interview with this newspaper, said that he had since met with the lawyer for the firm and, “they were trying to get relief from the town” because the property of interest to them “is not in the cannabis zone.”

“They were trying to get relief from the

town and change the property (uses),” Di Croce said. “But we tabled the item.”

The current mayor said he proposed another property for them to set up shop, on Route 206, which is in the current cannabis zone, but “I haven’t heard anything since then,” noting that there had been a “drop dead date of Jan. 10, 2023” voiced to him due to state-set deadlines.

“They are for real – a first class company that is already operating a great business in Farmingdale,” Di Croce declared. “They would be perfect, I think, for Shamong. So, I had been doing everything I can, but I haven’t had any updates since then.”

Di Croce told this newspaper that “nope,” he would “not be opposed” to amending the cannabis zone to allow for the firm to set up shop on a six-acre parcel on Old Indian Mills Road, describing the property as far enough away from residences, or near a parcel currently owned by Valenzano Winery. He expressed optimism that the state deadline might have been extended as typically “everything moves slowly when it comes to the state.”

In emphasizing the company is “for real,” Di Croce said that they currently have about 100 employees, in addition to what they currently manufacturer having been “already FDA inspected and approved.”

Onorato, meanwhile, during the township committee sessions, announced that she successfully “renegotiated” a shared services agreement with Medford Lakes Borough for court services, in which “the amount we have to pay them” has been “reduced” by $7,706, or from $31,706 to $24,000. Previously, she informed the township committee that Shamong was “losing money” through the previous deal.

“Hopefully things will turn around and this will stop some of the bleeding there,” said Onorato, with Di Croce, who praised the township administrator for saving the town significant money through the renegotiation process, or what he called a “great business decision,” maintaining that the issue was created by a reduced number of tickets being written during the COVID pandemic, before expressing his optimism that “it looks like they are ramping up” now.

“We are really happy with Judge (Peter) Lange and what they are doing in Medford Lakes,” the current mayor added.

a point of is that Abbington, in which he serves as its chief executive officer, has “successfully received grants” on the borough’s behalf during the course of its business relationship.

but the business administrator, Kathy Smick, has yet to respond to my inquiry from an email I sent on Jan. 4.”

And then, when asked about the NJDOT grant denial, he replied, “I am unaware of a recent denial for two borough roads.”

But one thing Maltese wanted to make

“We received two grants recently for Hearthstone Boulevard, and a Drainage Improvement Grant for Davis Street,” he pointed out. “We also inquired with Kathy on Jan. 4 about how these two projects will be handled moving forward and we have not received any response.”

TAX

Jim Broomell. “I feel like they have been very dismissive. I am going to explain the ramifications of what is going to happen out of this and let the council decide what is going to happen.”

Apparently, from what was described by Broomell, last February he had mailed in his tax payment “on time,” but the banking institution handling the process for him had sent the payment to the address of the old Medford Town Hall that was on file, unaware that the township’s tax office had been recently relocated to 49 Union Street, or the site of the new Medford Town Hall.

The piece of mail was ultimately “forwarded,” but for reasons unbeknownst to him, the forwarding process of the U.S. Postal Service “took five days.”

Broomell then learned he was assessed a late fee of $12.30, or “fined for being late on my taxes for five days.” Despite having a “postmark that I was within the timeframe” and “doing the right thing,” when he “politely” came into town hall and asked local officials to “reverse the charge,” he was told “it couldn’t happen” because “the state controls this.”

“The state Department of Taxation told me they have no authority over the matter,

and then the township came back and responded they are under the control of the state,” said Broomell of what happened next, contending the situation had evolved into finger pointing.

Then he involved Mayor Charles “Chuck” Watson, he said, as well as Township Manager Kathy Burger, but after some 15 emails “back and forth,” there has been “no action, no resolve.”

“The bank said the township is being ridiculous with this, and that in any case, when someone calls and the bank verifies it was done on time, there is courtesy adjustment. Why don’t I get a courtesy adjustment after 28 years? Why don’t you have a forum to appeal a process?”

The response of the mayor and local officials, he declared, has been “very dismissive,” and in expanding upon that point, Broomell explained that he learned the township has “no forum and no process to formally appeal, or challenge, a decision made by the township regarding a process.”

“In essence, the township, through their emails, basically told me they are always right and don’t make mistakes,” Broomell declared.

Broomell pointed out that this was his first council meeting he has attended in 28 years of living in Medford, asserting his attendance should “indicate the level of how upset I am over this.” He maintained that his attendance Jan. 17 was also the result

of Watson asking him to plead his case to council.

But after he did, Watson declared, “I don’t know that we have the authority to do anything.”

Broomell noted that just last week he had once again gone to the tax office to ask “if they can remove this,” but that he was told, “‘We can’t do it because we get audited by the state.’”

“I said what accounting system in the world does not allow you to audit a $12.30 reversal of a charge and put documentation in it that the payment was here on time,” Broomell recounted. “So, I am asking you, do you want me to take this to Small Claims Court because that is the next step. I am going to go, and you’ll have to spend money on an attorney, while I spend $20 to take this to court for $12.80. You tell me if that is a good use of (taxpayer) money.”

In further response to Watson’s remark that he didn’t know if the council had any authority to take action to reverse the charge, the man retorted, “you can reverse the charge.”

“The state gave me a letter and said you have authority in this matter,” he said as he

held up a number of papers in hand. “I am not going to get pointed back and forth, and spend another 20 days going back and forth, arguing over this. Why can’t you reverse a $12.30 adjustment on the accounting with proof?”

He then held up the paperwork once again, asserting, “that is your proof!”

Deputy Mayor Lauren Kochan, appearing visibly exasperated by another round of loud commotion with her soon having to make a decision about whether or not to seek reelection in the fall, replied, “We don’t have information on this.”

“I can’t answer this,” she said, asking other officials if there was any paperwork available on the matter. That led Broomell to once again hold up his paperwork, declaring, “If you want documentation, it is right here.”

Township Solicitor Tyler Prime, in response, asked what the $12 charge was actually for, and after Broomell again explained it was a late fee, the resident posed two questions to the solicitor: “What is the process (for an appeal)? What do I do?”

Deputy Mayor Lauren Kochan, appearing visibly exasperated by another round of loud commotion with her soon having to make a decision about whether or not to seek reelection in the fall.

Photos By Douglas D. Melegari Township Manager Kathy Burger reacts to a claim by resident Jim Broomell that officials, including her, were “very dismissive” toward his effort to have the charge reversed.

AUTOMOBILES/TRUCKS

Cash Paid for Your Car. Looking to buy better than junk cars. Call 1-866-261-5277. We come to you.

CA H$

PAID FOR YOUR CAR

CAREGIVER

Caregiver companion for elderly and sick people, by Polish woman, 24/7. Please call or leave message. 20 years’ experience and has a car. Call 856-879-8410.

FURNITURE REPAIR

Adam’s Furniture Restoration, LLC. Fully insured. Furniture repair, kitchen cabinet refinishing, touch-ups, and in-home services. Call 1-856-979-6210. Visit www.facebook. com/adamsfurnres .

HAULING

Household appliances. Televisions, furniture, etc. for disposal or transport. Garage and yard cleanups along with lawn cutting and gutter cleaning. Free estimates. Call or Text Bob at 1-609-880-3789.

HOME HEALTH AIDE

Experienced certified home health aide. Companion and caregiver. References available. Call or text Cindy 609-227-9873.

TAX

“I don’t know,” the younger Prime replied. “This is the first I heard of it.”

After Broomell indicated he had already emailed Watson, Burger, as well as Township Tax Collector Rachel Warrington about the situation, the resident asserted he was “giving you guys an opportunity to fix this,” before giving the officials an ultimatum, remarking, “Do you want to fight me in court for $12.30, or simply reverse charge and be done with this issue.”

“This is ridiculous that I am wasting my time,” Broomell declared.

After Symons confirmed with the resident that he paid his taxes through his bank and that it was an address mix-up on the bank’s end, she acknowledged, “the same thing happened to me.”

“Were you happy about it?” asked a visibly angry and frustrated Broomell.

When Symons began to respond that “I just paid it because …,” Broomell cut her short, declaring, “I have more principles than that.”

“You should have a forum to appeal, and hear both sides of the story instead of telling me ‘I am wrong,’ and, ‘You should have known about an address change.’ It was an accident.”

Broomell pointed out that if he takes the township to court, they will have to pay an

LAWYERS

Erwin Apell Attorney, Browns Mills. All legal matters - free hotline 24/7. Visa, Mastercard. Call 609-220-3059 or email Erwinapell@gmail.com .

WINTER CLEANUPS

Winter cleanups, lawn cutting, and gutter cleaning. Shrub pruning and some tree work, along with hauling. Free estimates=reasonable rates. Call or Text Bob at 1-609-880-3789.

attorney to respond, and noted it would not be cheap for the municipality, as any attorney would have to “file an answer” and attend mandatory “arbitration.”

“You figure out if that is the best use of funds,” he quipped.

Councilman Frank Czekay, who residents have demanded resign from township council (as well as Watson) after a loss of decorum Jan. 3 in council chambers that included Czekay making an “inappropriate” remark that many saw as a threat of further prosecution against a township family whose mother was already the subject of a $10,000 fine in unrelated matters, asked Broomell if the check was in an envelope with a “postmark date prior to the due date.”

“Yes, do you want to see it?” asked Broomell as he yet again held up a stack of papers. “You guys gave me this.”

The younger Prime then retorted, “Just because the township gave you this, doesn’t mean they have seen it,” which led to most meeting attendees bursting into laughter given just how “ridiculous” the situation had become.

When Broomell yet again pointed to his emails between Watson, Burger and Warrington, Prime added that he “did not get them.”

“I am just trying to gather the facts,” responded Prime to the commotion, while Burger said she would “pass on” those emails to the council the following day.

But the council did not arrive at any decision before then.

ISLAND

FIREHOUSE

Viscardi behind closed doors.

“Basically, all we discussed with Woodland Township Fire and EMS was tactics and techniques utilized in protecting the safety and property of the public,” remarked DeGroff in resuming the public session of the special meeting. “Pretty much, we discussed this upcoming year. Other than that, there really was not much more discussed. A very simple meeting. I wish I had more for you.”

There appeared to be no sense of real urgency, at least in public view, and officials, including Viscardi, were all smiles and friendly

towards each other.

When asked if officials anticipated any changes to the existing firehouse agreement, DeGroff declared, “We don’t anticipate any changes – I can tell you, as of right now, we don’t anticipate any.”

DeGroff, after this reporter had asked the fire chief about the status of the Chatsworth firehouse repairs, added that “we did discuss that” and “we are waiting to put the name back up there,” and that “once everything has been inspected, we can put our name back up there.”

“Sorry I did not have more (to share), it was a pretty simple meeting,” DeGroff declared.

At a preceding reorganization meeting, on Jan. 5, DeGroff was reappointed mayor for 2023, while Herndon was reappointed deputy mayor, according to Brown.

COUNCILMAN

on both Czekay and Watson to “resign immediately”), was not only enough to draw Medford residents to the latest council meeting, several for the first time, but also those from other towns, including Woodland Township resident Terry Sheerin, who is a known advocate in Woodland, as well as a member of Woodland’s Land Use Board.

“I worked all day today and came here because it is important,” declared Sheerin after having watched the video of the Jan. 3 council session. “Because I don’t believe any of you – any of you – were raised to be bullies. And perception is everything, especially for politicians. Right now, you wouldn’t want your children, or your family or spouse – none of them – to be treated this way.”

Sheerin, in apparently referring to Carolyn Carns as an “octogenarian” who has “been in this township (Medford) for years,” pointed out that she had been “unscathed” and a “decent person” all her life (also beloved by many), until the township decided to take the actions that it did (or as Brian Carns had put it on social media, “give her a criminal record.”)

“Regardless of what happened with her kids, I don’t care, we are looking at a situation where that fine, to me, is excessive,” Terry Sheerin declared. “And I really believe you can go and instruct your solicitor to speak with the prosecutor and try to be reasonable about it and get it straightened out.”

Sheerin maintained that she “doesn’t have a bone in this fight,” but rather “I see what it is.”

“And I live in a township where people used to say, ‘Do you live in Medford?’, and I would have to respond, “‘Oh, I live in Chatsworth,’” Sheerin said. “Medford was important. Medford is a little hamlet that has

so many things going for it. This is not one of those things. You are not bullies, but that is what your legacy is going to be with this. It is hard to say ‘I have a transgression and I have to step back from it.’ But you know what, sometimes that is the way to solve things.”

Sheerin ended her remarks by calling the 30-acre parcel in dispute “a farm.”

Prime was watching the session remotely via Zoom, with his son, Tyler Prime, also an attorney, in council chambers.

David Carns, when he was up at the dais, in protesting that the pair of fines were unfair, asked the council if they can ask the solicitor to have them vacated, or reduced. Tyler Prime responded that “as I understand it … there is a motion for reconsideration” that has been filed in Superior Court.

“There is a pending court case now, and the prosecutor is handling that on our behalf and yours assuming you are represented as well,” Tyler Prime added. “We need to speak to the prosecutor to see where this is.”

Also attending a Medford Council meeting for the first time was Singh, a resident of Mckendimen Road who is a local CPA. The Medford resident, who described moving to town from Marlton after her very young brother passed away and relocating to a residence that resembles a farm that her father has since come to love, described to the Medford Council that she had previously watched video clips of the last council meeting online, but wanted to attend in-person to see what was going on firsthand for herself.

“This is my first meeting, and I am amazed to see this,” she declared of the dysfunction, including that involving another man over a late fee, in which council and officials went back and forth with him, resulting in him coming away unsatisfied. “That is not what leadership should be. As leaders, you are supposed to guide people.”

Residents, she maintained, expect their tax dollars to be “put to good use” on their behalf, but that instead, “what I am looking at is the residents here, who are actually putting that money out for you to spend, are being harassed” as well as being “talked to” in an off-putting way.

“Frank, I know you apologized, but with some positions, an apology doesn’t do it,” Singh declared. “Because you hold a position, and then you have consequences of that.”

“Time,” Singh continued, will decide what Czekay “needs to do,” as well the decisions he makes for himself, “but, as a leader, I feel like we should set an example for everybody” as well as “I feel like you should make best use of the funds that you have been given by the residents in this room here.”

“You can have differences with your leadership, and you can agree to disagree, but people literally said, ‘You can never get across this council,’” Singh said. “That is not a good thing. And I don’t know any one of you personally, but to hear that constantly now, out there, and then to hear what is going on in this room (for myself), it is really sad.” Singh, who explained that she came to the U.S. from another country “many years ago,” made a point that she came to America “for the American Dream” and “looking for fairness.”

“And when there are issues, they are recognized,” she said of what that fairness she looks for should entail. “Yes, you (Czekay) apologized, but the way you initially apologized, was not very well done. It started as, ‘Everyone had disagreements …’. Yes, you will have that, regardless, but it is how that disagreement was dealt with – that is the issue.”

Singh called on the “entire council” to “take responsibility for what happened last time,” with Councilman Erik Rebstock, Councilwoman Donna Symons, and

Kochan also not making any statements Jan. 17 denouncing Czekay’s remarks or apologizing for what occurred (Symons simply thanked Czekay after he apologized).

Singh then specifically addressed “the leader” of Medford, or “Mayor Watson.”

“Mayor Watson, if you allow it, that will happen,” Singh declared. “But if you run your ship tight and say, ‘Listen, this is unacceptable, and as a leader, I will take responsibility for that,’ that is your action to take.”

She then pointed out to the Medford mayor that “your own residents don’t agree with you” with what has unfolded.

“How sad is that?” Singh asked. “How sad is that, that in the kingdom, no one likes the king. I mean, how are you going to continue living there? How are you going to gain that respect? So, I think the final blame is something you have to take, Mayor Watson. Whatever happened here, yes, Frank did something, but this is your council. You are the leader here.”

Singh added that Watson “should set the example, so the next person would not be able to do that.”

“This is my first time coming here, and I hope this gets better,” Singh declared. “I hope to have a council that is for the people, not a council that is for itself, and talking to people like if they are their slaves. An apology later doesn’t cut it. Someone needs to take responsibility and do what needs to be done and make sure it never happens again.”

Singh’s remarks were met with loud applause. Brian Carns, who lingered outside the meeting hall afterwards with his brother to talk with supporters and reporters, told this newspaper he found Czekay’s apology “offensive” in suggesting “we all acted up and lost control,” maintaining Czekay “is one of the leaders of the community” and should be held to a different standard. Brian Carns added he was “surprised the mayor didn’t offer an apology.” David Carns also expressed similar surprise, declaring he thought “the mayor would do more” and “should have gone on the record to say we don’t tolerate this.”

Watson, after everyone spoke, simply moved on to agenda items, with the passing of a series of consent agenda resolutions, before convening a closed session to discuss redevelopment and “something I have as well.”

Maggelet’s reaction to Czekay’s apology was, in part, a question he put to his group members (his group of over 20,000 members having been originally created to help get the current administration elected): “How can the residents of Medford continue to elect power hungry, vindictive, greedy dictators that are quick to threaten the people who elected them?”

“It appears the entire township council is afraid to come to the aid of those being prosecuted,” he added. “Frank Czekay and Chuck Watson have to step down. That socalled apology was a big joke.”

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Township Attorney Tyler Prime tells David Carns he would “need to speak to the prosecutor” on the status of the case when asked if the council could request for the fines to be vacated or reduced.

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari Brian Carns calls on Councilman Frank Czekay to resign “right now.”