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Trail

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Watson pointed out, served as the manager of Eastampton Township’s Public Works Department and was its code enforcement officer for over 25 years.

“During his years of faithful and dedicated service to Medford, Rich has earned the admiration and respect of his fellow township staff, colleagues, friends and residents he has served,” said Watson in honoring Parks with a proclamation. “The township council, on behalf of the township employees and residents, wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude to Rich for the integrity, professionalism and enthusiasm he brought to Medford Township.”

Watson called Parks’ service to the township

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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.

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“exemplary.” His retirement, according to the mayor, is effective Aug. 1.

In the final days of Parks’ service to Medford, the township has implemented a “new monthly brush collection program” with the “trial program” running for a total of six months, through December 2023. The specific pickup schedule can be found on the municipality’s website.

“We appreciate any feedback on this program as it runs through the next six months,” it is stated on the township website. “… No collections will be made in January as the program will be evaluated for continued implementation.”

The township has five brush collection zones. Prior to this trial program, brush was collected in each zone, once in the spring and once in the summer/fall, according to a provided Public Works brochure.

Meanwhile, a project to make additional

Summer Cleanups

Summer 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.

Legal Notices

NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED MEETING

Woodland Township, County of Burlington, State of NJ

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4 ET. Seq., the Open Public Meetings Act, please be advised that the Township Committee of Woodland Township has rescheduled the August 16, 2023 meeting to August 15, 2023. Workshop meeting, if necessary, will be at 6:00 p.m. The regular meeting will be held at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Woodland Township Municipal Building, 3943 Route 563, Chatsworth, NJ 08019. Action will be taken at the meeting. Any questions, please call Maryalice Brown at (609) 726-1700.

Maryalice Brown, RMC Clerk/Administrator

Pub. Date July 29, 2023 Ptr. Fee: $5.00 improvements at Bunning Field (a township baseball field) “has really gotten stalled,” Burger reported on July 18, with this newspaper previously reporting on plans to construct a grandstand there.

According to a statement provided on the township’s meeting agenda, among the latest developments is that Portocalis met with a Medford-Vincentown Rotary Club representative to get a status update on the project (council, back in 2015, approved an agreement with the Medford-Vincentown Rotary Club to help restore the grandstands and surrounding Medford Park.)

The July 18 township statement continued that the Rotary Club was to meet with the contractor to come up with a final list of materials, and ask if the contractor would purchase any of the existing materials that cannot be used for the project. The project architect, it said, had been

Williams

(Continued from Page 6) career in law enforcement. The leadership and energy he displayed during Superstorm Sandy rescue and evacuation efforts two years before his 2014 retirement from the LEHT Police Department, for example, were described as “phenomenal” by a local politician. And in 2010, when a resident of the Tall Timbers condominium complex went on a shooting spree in that community with an assault weapon, gunning down his brother and a neighbor from a second-story window before taking his own life, Williams was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene. working with a vendor to try to get a discounted price on materials.

He was also an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and boating when not involved in serving the community.

Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Thomas Williams lll, daughters Brittany Williams, Jillian Williams, Christina Hedgepeth, and Melissa Penk, and sisters Cindy Cranmer, Dee Gilliam, and Dorrie Pedalino, as well as several grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made in Williams’ memory to the Temple University Lung Center.

Portocalis has since found a prefab grandstand that could be purchased in lieu of constructing a grandstand, according to the statement, and a “prefab would offer less maintenance than a wood grandstand.” It is added that Portocalis is obtaining a quote on the prefab structure and a set of bleachers.

“And the materials, they gave us an updated list – it is more involved than before,” Burger told council on July 18. “So, we did look at a prefab, roof shelter and bleachers. But I don’t think we are going that route as the cost is well over $100,000.” even called the auctioneer and “told him I’d be willing to purchase it and they wouldn’t have to put it up for auction.”

Just the shelter piece alone, according to Burger, was priced at $96,000.

“Rotary asked for a special meeting, to get together to see what they could do to get the project moving along again,” Burger said.

“I wanted to donate it to the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, and to the township, as I thought it would make a nice municipal facility,” he maintained. “It was only $720,000, which was nothing.”

Agenda

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VETS(Continued from Page 9) from an outside developer that brings nothing but havoc? Wolves hide in sheep’s clothing, the residents here see the wolf, now we need the governing body to see the same.”

Then, in eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd, she asserted, “stand up, stay strong and listen to our cries for help.”

Further complicating the matter was another item on the planning board agenda – an update of a re-examination of the township’s master plan required every 10 years by law, which because Bass River is under the jurisdiction of the Pinelands Commission, according to Norman, requires any related zoning changes to be adopted simultaneously in ordinance form, which wouldn’t be the case in a nonPinelands community.

There are, however, “certain activities where they don’t have to go to Pinelands first,” one being

But by the time he got around to making that offer, he said, the building had already been sold. Now, however, Sherwood said he would like to get his enterprise reorganized and start an organization geared to local veterans, to be called the Bass River/New Gretna Veterans Society. He said he thought Bass River would present a particularly receptive environment for such an endeavor because it has “a lot of patriotic people—more so than the rest of New Jersey,” something that the real estate agent who sold a user variance application, one member of the board pointed out.

“If what someone is proposing to do doesn’t require any exterior changes to the site, and all the renovations are on the inside of the building, it does not have to go to Pinelands,” that board member added.

O’Brien, speaking as a lifelong local resident whose family “has been part of this town since the land was first settled” and whose “roots run extremely deep as do many of yours, beseeched the board “not to change the zoning ordinances,” which she said “have protected us in this quaint little village that we love.”

“Changing the zoning ordinances are going to be the beginning of the end for this town as you know it …,” O’Brien declared. “And that is all that they need to take over – a change in our strict ordinances. What we have currently in effect is our only defense.”

The zoning issue, in fact was one reason why many residents may have decided to attend the meeting despite the variance application being tabled. A posting on the Facebook site New Gretna News and Views the previous day, in him the property, which he thought somewhat “resembled a military base,” had said was “a good reason to be there.” fact, called it “URGENT” that people attend the meeting, saying the proposed zoning change was on the agenda and it was “what the LLC (referring to the applicant) wants.”

“What I tried to do with Tom’s Retreat was to make it as American as apple pie,” he added, noting that he had indeed paid $800,000 for it (as originally reported), plus a $90,000 commission.

But when he first saw it, despite the previous owner’s attention-getting display of eclectic objects on its wall, “the place was a wreck,” he contended.

At one point in the proceedings, Bass River Mayor Debra Buzby-Cope, who is also on the planning board, tried to provide some clarification by telling the residents: “I think a lot of you folks are here for a different ordinance.”

“You’re here for an ordinance that was introduced, which is separate from the Master Plan and the zoning ordinance,” she said.

That ordinance, which she said was introduced at the last commissioners’ meeting and will be up for a public hearing on Aug. 7, would involve making both sides of North Maple Ave. a commercial zone up to West Road (including the area where the former elementary school is located).

“I know there has been a lot of feedback on that,” the mayor added. “Three or four years ago a lot of people wanted it, maybe (now) not so much. But the next meeting, that is when the public hearing will be for that specific ordinance.”

She then invited the residents to “give us your

“It wasn’t safe to walk around there,” Sherwood said. “We had to make sure it wouldn’t be dangerous for the veterans. But I’m in the construction business, so that was no big deal.” thought process on that.”

As for the litany of complaints the Bass River commissioners heard from the neighbors of Tom’s Retreat, Sherwood said he hoped that “we can all move forward and laugh about that situation” adding that “the last thing I want to do is offend my neighbors,” who he said are all invited to attend future events at the estate.

Norman noted that one thing he thought the public is losing sight of is that “we’re subject to the Pinelands master plan, and their master plan is very restrictive to begin with.”

“A lot of residents in Pinelands towns complain that they can’t use their property fairly compared to other parts of the state,” he added. “This town cannot adopt any ordinance that is inconsistent with their standards.”

Norman then quipped, “I hear a lot of the sky is falling with these zone changes.”

But in reply to any questions regarding the requested variance that was off the table for this particular session, the attorney would only say, “I prefer to not discuss the application because there’s a prejudgment issue.”

One thing that was evident by the end of the session, however, was the sudden surge of community interest in a governmental process that is usually conducted out of public view. As 51-year resident Pearl Koteles put it, “Shame on all of us, we should be at more meetings, so this crap doesn’t get out of hand.

“After tonight, I will be at every meeting.”

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The fence now causing angst among residents was described by Gouin as merely “an interim measure to provide some screening as CEP and CS work through the specifics of the relocation.”

“As always, I understand the sensitivity associated with this matter and I know that you are all frustrated with the process,” he added. “I would like you to know that we are working hard to create a solution that should be acceptable to all parties.”

Specifics about three “possible” locations on Big Hill Road being entertained for moving the unit were shared in Gouin’s June 30 letter, among them, “directly across from the PSE&G manhole on Big Hill Road on Block 3301, Lot 1,” “further to the south along Big Hill Road, also on Block 3301, Lot 1, but approximately 318 feet from the manhole,” “and on Leisuretowne HOA property (Block 2703, Lot 3), behind Block 2702.25, Lots 45 and 46.”

Additionally, he noted, the Pinelands Commission, “going only by aerials,” has identified two other locations, “one being located about 750 feet to the north of the PSE&G manhole on Big Hill Road at an existing turnoff by the cranberry bogs and the other on either Lot 45 or 46 in Block 2702.25 itself.”

Previously, when residents put the question to Mikulski about why the electrical unit was not constructed behind the homes in LeisureTowne, either on or around the landfill, or on Big Hill Road, he responded that the Pinelands Commission would not allow it due to wetlands. The Pinelands Commission previously pointed to a Southampton committee resolution approving the interconnection plan as the approval for the current location of the unit, and also told this newspaper the agency’s original approval was based on the local one that had been given.

“None of these locations has been ‘selected’ as a new location of the switchgear and we are still evaluating all potential locations for relocation,” wrote Gouin on June 30. “Each of the above locations that have been identified has pros and cons associated with it and we need to meet with Pinelands and discuss the best possible solution.”

While negotiations continue, Gouin recognized, “I know that some people noticed that PSE&G continues to do work both on Big Hill Road and on Saint David’s Place.” In explaining why the work hasn’t been halted, the attorney said “PSE&G is contracted by the owner of the solar facility (Luminace, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable – my client’s tenant) to complete the physical interconnection work for the solar facility” and “PSE&G has its own deadlines to meet to satisfy its contractual obligations with Luminace.”

“Additionally, there are safety requirements that dictate that PSE&G must complete certain work and not leave work unfinished or partially complete,” Gouin added. “Very likely, PSE&G will be finished with any construction work within the next week and then there will be a phase for testing and ensuring that everything has been safely constructed. In any event, the fact that PSE&G is continuing to perform its work is completely independent of what my client is doing in pursuing potential options for relocation. My client will continue to work through that process and will coordinate with PSE&G as, ultimately, PSE&G will also have to approve any new potential location.”

What hasn’t been touched on in any of Gouin’s or the township’s communications is whether PSE&G has been cooperative, or at the table. PSE&G has said nothing publicly since the controversy erupted several months ago.

But in anticipating the possibility of an approval, Gouin told Saint David’s Place residents “my client is working with various contractors and subcontractors to gather estimates of costs associated with the relocation” and “those costs will likely be significant.”

Meanwhile, in adding to the debacle, Gouin confirmed what several residents told this newspaper – that a sewer line belonging to Pinelands Water and Wastewater Company was struck in the vicinity of the unit construction work. The residents who phoned this newspaper with the reports expressed fury with having to only endure more heavy machinery and intense street digging in their neighborhood over the last couple of weeks.

“I understand from CS Energy that Pinelands Water Company has returned to the site to do repairs to an existing sewer line that was damaged,” Gouin wrote. “The cause of the damage is still under investigation. I have had some people reach out to me about the return of heavy equipment to the site of the switchgear, but I believe this to be the cause.”

As Hoffman put it, “day-after-day, weekafter-month” there has been “persistent noise, dirt, heavy truck traffic and garbage in the street,” a situation she referred to as a “disgrace.”

“There is no respite from either the junk, the noise, or the lies we have been told,” she said. “No resident here on this street has ever been dealt with in good faith. Not from day one. The solar guy lied right in peoples’ faces, and our beloved township? Well, they seem to be trying to turn ignorance into a virtue.

“They obviously think because we are older, we are stupid. We now have the metal cabinet, 8 foot tall, and about 4 foot wide, add on the horrible dark brown 10-foot tall panels, in addition to the chain link fence and the rest of the garbage there. I think there is a light there as well, and I guess we’d fully expect others. How sad. … As usual, there is outrage regarding noise, dirt, and construction truck traffic, but who cares?

The character of this sweet and lovely neighborhood is destroyed. For now.”