Pine Barrens Tribune May 20, 2023-May 26, 2023

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BLOWING FUSES

By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

LeisureTowne resident Susan Stinson describes the “impact to our seniors” the electrical unit built on Saint Davids Place has brought about, while residents Bill and Carla Cozzi stand to her right and left with double-sided poster boards with photographs of “this gray beast” to ensure the township committee sees what has been done to their neighborhood.

LeisureTowne Residents Demand Answers and Accountability from Southampton Committee Over ‘This Gray Beast’ or ‘Big Ugly’ Electrical ‘Switchbox’ Erected in Retirement Community as Well as Calling on Governing Body to Tear Down What’s Been Compared to the ‘Berlin Wall’ As Mayor Will Only Commit to Fence, Evergreens and Testing for Electromagnetic Impulses, and Denies Committee Knew of Plan, Multiple Lawyer Consultations Observed at Meeting’s End

SOUTHAMPTON—As the fallout only further deepens over the construction of a massive electrical unit in a LeisureTowne retirement community neighborhood, an energized, standing-room only crowd of over 100 primarily senior citizens – some with double-sided poster boards in tow with pictures of “this gray beast” – descended upon the Robert L. Thompson Municipal Building for a Southampton Township Committee meeting on May 16, with another two-dozen or so people attending the session remotely via Zoom.

Fuses were blown at times over how an approximately 20-foot-long by 8-foottall electrical cabinet was approved and allowed to be built on a Southampton Township island, in front of nearly a dozen homes in a residential neighborhood comprising of senior citizens, purportedly occurring on Saint Davids Place without any advance notice to those residents, many of whom attested the project has now not only adversely impacted their neighborhood, but all of LeisureTowne, an age 55-plus community.

And further giving a jolt to attendees is a lack of a commitment from the township committee to have the “switchbox” completely removed, or bring down what one man referred to as the “Berlin Wall” having been built in front of his residence.

Rather, Southampton Mayor Mike Mikulski would only highlight a current plan to install a fence around the unit, as well as to plant evergreen trees on the island, in addition to promised testing to ensure the electrical cabinet doesn’t give off “electromagnetic impulses” that are detectable at the homeowners’ doorsteps or from the street.

“I really believe there was no thought given as to how this would impact our seniors,” declared Resident Susan Stinson See FUSES/ Page 8

INDEX Business Directory...................................14

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Local News.................................................2

Worship Guide............................................9

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Lenape Regional Mourns Loss of Mary Jane Mullen, a Lenape Graduate Who Served Since 1961 as Secretary Beloved by Students and Faculty

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Mary Jane Mullen, who spent more than six decades as a secretary at Lenape High School, following her graduation from it.

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

MEDFORD—For the past 61 years, Mary Jane Mullen has been more than just a graduate of Lenape High School, but an intrinsic part of that institution’s identity for the generations of students who have passed through its classrooms and corridors.

“This Lenape High School is my happy place … I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” was how Mullen, who served as a secretary at the school since July 1961, a month after having graduated from it as a member of its inaugural sophomore class, expressed her lifelong attachment to it in a note she penned just last month that was given to the Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) by the recipient. “This is my home.”

Mullen, 79, a Philadelphia native and longtime Medford resident, passed away on Sunday, May 14, at Cooper Trauma Center reportedly from injuries suffered in an early morning collision on May 3 while on her way to work at the intersection of N. Main Street and Route 70. The accident, in which the other driver was reportedly uninjured, was still under investigation as of this newspaper’s deadline time, according to a posting on the Medford Township Police Facebook page.

She was characterized in a statement issued by the LRHSD district office as someone who “approached each day with genuine love, kindness and caring that impacted not only students and staff, but the overall culture of Lenape High School.”

So popular was Mullen with the members of the many graduating classes that have been educated there that, according to Principal Anthony Cattani, inquiries about her have come from nearly all the alumnae who have toured the school during reunions.

“Without fail, the first thing they ask is, ‘Is Mary Jane still here?’” said Cattani, adding that he has even encountered Lenape graduates on his travels throughout the country who have shared their memories of her.

LRHSD Superintendent Dr. Carol Birnbohm elaborated on the way that Mullen interacted with students on a personal level.

“I always knew that Mary Jane spent time

writing personal notes of encouragement, gratitude and love to many of us at Lenape, but it was striking to hear, as faculty shared stories about Mary Jane, that she did this for a countless number of people at Lenape, including their family members,” Birnbohm said. “It seems nearly impossible to write thousands upon thousands of personalized notes, which touch the hearts of countless individuals, but that is exactly what Mary Jane did.”

The superintendent also noted how students were drawn to her “gregarious energy, infectious laugh and kind eyes.”

In addition to the notes, according to the district’s statement, Mullen was also known for giving out small gifts to students and staff, ranging from Christmas ornaments to desk decorations containing motivational quotes— one of the many ways she had of making people feel special, and a level of personal recognition that was credited with changing the lives of some individuals on whom she conferred it.

“Mary Jane had a knack for knowing when students needed extra attention, a friendly smile, a hug or just a handful of candy,” Birnbohm recalled.

While Mullen’s passing from the scene is one that weighs heavily on the entire school community, the superintendent added, the way she lived her life will forever fill the school with brightness, and her “legacy of love,” will “help the Lenape family, past and present, heal, as those lucky enough to have been inspired by her, will most definitely pay it forward.”

Cattani also told the Lenape staff that the school will be planning a special way to memorialize Mullen in the near future, but “for now, let’s take care of each other and our students and allow ourselves to grieve.”

A GoFundMe page was created following the accident by Nichol Beaudoin to help defray Mullen’s medical costs, anticipating that any money left over would be used to start a scholarship fund in her name. As of May 17, $49,314 had been raised toward a $50,000 goal with some 868 donations.

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Large Section of Ridge Road to Be Repaved, Restriped in Southampton

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

SOUTHAMPTON—A $365,513 bid has been awarded to Earle Asphalt Company, of Wall Township, to repave a section of Ridge Road in Southampton Township.

“I am excited to have it start,” Southampton Committeeman Ronald Heston told this newspaper. “The road needs attention.”

Ac c o r d i n g t o H e s t o n , t h e r o a d improvements will take place from Route 206 to Retreat Road.

“And I was also informed that along the road, there are quite a few dips toward the shoulder, and I inquired about it, and they are also going to be fixed to bring the road up to level,” Heston said.

There was a total of eight prospective

vendors who placed bids on the project, according to an April 16 resolution passed by the Southampton Township Committee awarding the project to Earle Asphalt, with the awardee deemed the “lowest responsible bidder.”

The project is being funded through a 2022 New Jersey Department of Transportation Municipal Aid Program grant.

According to the bid specifications, the project will include not only hot mix asphalt pavement repair with a five inches thick base, but also entail traffic striping, rumble strips, bi-directional raised pavement markers and a bicycle safe grate.

An existing storm pipe and strip will also be repaired through the project, according to the bid specs.

Complaint from Resident That Brush Piled Up in Southampton Neighborhood for 4 Months Leads to Revelation Town ‘Had to Cut Back on Multiple Things’ Residents Will Now Only See Brush Collected Three Times a Year — in April, June, October

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

S OU T H A M P T ON — Re s i d e nt s o f Southampton Township have reportedly begun taking note of what has been described by the township mayor as one of multiple “cutbacks” in township services because of purported budgetary issues.

Putting those recent cutbacks in the spotlight is when New Road Resident Pat Topham, at a recent Southampton Township Committee meeting, asked two questions, “When do we do branch pickup now?” and “What months are we doing this?”

“Every third month,” Southampton Mayor Mike Mikulski initially responded.

Ultimately, in response to Topham, Mikulski revealed “at the end of 2022 … because of budget … because we reached our budget, we had to cut back on multiple things, including chipping.”

At one point, the mayor acknowledged, “chipping was turned off for three or four months.”

“We had an issue with the chipper as well, but with gas prices being what they were, we hit our limit on certain funding categories,” the mayor added. “Plus, with servicing our equipment, we did no chipping at all for a period of time.”

Topham pointed out to the mayor that “80 percent of the township is in the Pine Barrens.”

“OK – we have a lot of branches out in my neighborhood, which wasn’t picked up since October,” she reported to the township committee last month.

Topham maintained a survey had been done in her neighborhood (involving portions of Falcon Drive and New Road) and 27 of 60 homes in the area had brush that was piling up since October, until it had been picked up, but only recently. She indicated that the piles were rather large and unsightly.

The New Road resident described that one neighbor would call the municipal building and “get an answer” about when brush pickup is scheduled, and then “another neighbor called, and she got a different answer.”

Topham contended she received nothing in the mail announcing the change, and then a local school bus driver, in observing the size of the brush pile that had been stacked in front of Topham’s residence reportedly stopped “as I put branches in the pile” and “said, ‘Do you know they are only picking it up in the month of July and I got a letter about it?’”

Then Topham maintained another individual called town hall and got yet another story.

Township Administrator and Clerk

Kathleen D. Hoffman, in response to Topham, maintained the new brush pickup schedule is part of a pamphlet that is included with the tax bills that are mailed out to residents.

After Mikulski threw out his best guess as to the current, revised schedule, Hoffman interjected that brush collection will occur in “April, June and October” of each year moving forward.

While Mikulski maintained the schedule change had been previously announced at a township committee meeting in late 2022, according to the township meeting minutes, what had simply been announced by the mayor is that the “township newsletter is available on the township website full of good information.”

The newsletter corresponding with that statement is from October 2022, with page two containing an announcement, “New Procedure for Brush and Branch Removal.”

“With the increase in gas/diesel prices and the cost of operating equipment, it is necessary to change the township’s process for branch and brush removal,” it is stated in the newsletter. “Brush/branches will only be picked up on the following months: April, June and October. You must call 609-859-2736 to be placed on a list for brush/branches to be picked up on those months. You can take the brush/branches to Artistic Landscaping and there will be a fee for services.”

The township’s monthly newsletter (a relatively new feature) is not currently mailed to residents (in Southampton, because of the LeisureTowne retirement community, there are a number of residents here who lack both a computer and internet access). However, on the township clerk’s page of the website, there is a form one can download to have email notifications sent to them.

Hoffman, on May 16, provided this newspaper with a copy of the pamphlet included with the tax bills. In one of the inside pages, it states, “Brush and Branch Removal - Pick-up only during the months of April, June & October,” with those months bolded and underlined.

It continues to, “Please call the township clerk’s office at 609-859-2736 to schedule pickup during that time. Place at curb, all cut ends in the same direction, 4-5-foot lengths.”

However, there is nothing in that pamphlet drawing one’s attention to the change. This updated information is stated in a routine section titled, “What to do about …”

Hoffman was asked by this newspaper to explain the prior schedule for brush pickup See BRUSH/ Page 13

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES ♦ Page 3

PUBLIC NOTICE JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL), in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), has completed a five-year review of existing decision documents and ongoing environmental cleanup activities at the following five JB MDL-Dix Area sites: Sanitary Landfill (LF010), EPIC-8 Landfill (LF017), 4300/4400 Area (SS005B), Magazine-1 Area (SS007), and New Egypt Armory (TU026). The Dix Area of JB MDL was formerly known as Fort Dix. The fiveyear review was conducted pursuant to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act §121 (c).

The purpose of the five-year review was to assess whether remedial actions performed at the Dix Area sites continue to be protective of human health and the environment. The five-year review concluded that the current remedies are protective. As part of the review, JB MDL and EPA solicited questions or information regarding the remedial actions from the public.

The Final Five-Year Review Report is available to the public as of May 2023.

This report documents the methods, findings and conclusions of the review and also identifies issues found during the review and makes recommendations for addressing these issues.

The Five-Year Review Report and other relevant environmental documents are available for review at the Burlington County Library, 5 Pioneer Boulevard, Westampton, New Jersey and electronically at https://ar.afcec-cloud.af.mil/.

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

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Robert Shinn, Jr., Former Freeholder, Assemblyman, NJDEP Head Who Pioneered Farmland Preservation in the Pinelands, Dies at 85

Saturday, May 20, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICE

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Restoration Advisory Board Meeting Thursday, May 25, 2023, 6:30-8 p.m.

Edward Holloway Senior Citizen and Community Center, Cookstown, N.J. Public Invited to Attend Virtual Option Also Available The RAB meeting provides an update on Joint Base McGuire-DixLakehurst (JBMDL) environmental restoration projects. Discussion topics include an update on the JBMDL-Dix Five Year Review, JBMDL-Lakehurst Former Proving Ground Remedial Investigation, PFAS investigations, contracting, and updates on projects under the Joint Base Performance Based Remediation (PBR) Contract.

Parking is located at the New Hanover Township Municipal Complex located at the intersection of Main Street and Hockamick Road.

You can also attend the meeting by computer or phone through MS Teams. Please email Katrina Harris at kharris@bridgeconsultingcorp. com by May 24 if you would like to participate for information on connecting by computer or phone.

Photo Submitted By New Jersey Conservation Foundation

Robert Shinn, Jr. (at left), former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection who died May 5, confers with the late J. Garfield DeMarco at a dedication of the A.J. DeMarco Cranberry Meadows Natural Area in October 2013.

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

HAINESPORT—Robert Shinn, Jr., a longtime figure in Burlington County politics who cast a giant shadow when it came to spearheading programs designed to ensuring that farming remained an intrinsic aspect of life in the New Jersey Pinelands, passed away on May 5 at the age of 85.

Sh i n n wa s a l i felong re side nt of Hainesport Township and one-time mayor of that municipality, as well as a former Burlington County freeholder (now known as commissioner) from 1977 to 1985, member of the New Jersey General Assembly for eight years and commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) from 1994 until 2022. Shinn has been described as “one of the greatest influencers of farmland preservation in New Jersey history” by Heidi Winzinger, communication and resource manager of the New Jersey Farmland Preservation Program.

Wi n z i ng e r not e d t h at Sh i n n h a d s p o n s o r e d t h e B u r l i n g t o n C o u nt y Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Demonstration Act wh ich led to the i mp l e m e nt at io n of T DR p rog r a m s centered on farmland preservation in both Lumberton and Chesterfield Townships, with the latter going on to receive national recognition as an outstanding planning and conservation initiative.

He was also called “a true pioneer who served with compassion and devotion to public service” by Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson, who credited Shinn’s “vision and foresight” for the fact that the first farm preserved in New Jersey was in Burlington County.

Hopson noted that he was also instrumental in the development of the Burlington County Resource Recover y Complex

and Burlington County’s first-of its kind regional recycling program.

“Bu rl i ng ton Cou nt y remai ns a special place because of his long-lasting contributions,” Hopson contended.

Tom Pullion, the Commissioner board’s deputy director, characterized Shinn as “a true environmental champion who leaves behind a legacy of accomplishments that still benefit residents across Burlington County and New Jersey to this day.”

Those accomplishments include having helped pioneer numerous programs and initiatives to protect Burlington County’s natural landscape, resources and quality of life, and leading the effort to secure the first conservation easement in the New Jersey Pinelands, which was the precursor to the Pinelands Development Credit Bank and other preservation and regional planning strategies, according to a news release from Burlington County Public Information Officer David Levinsky.

In an interview with the Pine Barrens Tribune back in 2019 on the passing of his good friend and political ally, longtime Burlington county GOP political boss and cranberry magnate J. Garfield DeMarco, Shinn recalled how after becoming mayor of Hainesport, he had discovered from a newspaper article that he had been nominated for freeholder, even though he wasn’t running, only to be told by DeMarco that the county committee had decided he would be the best candidate and that he needed to get a resume together.

“After winning that race, everything I did while on the freeholder board I vetted with Garfield,” Shinn said. “Every time you had a long meeting with Garfield, you would end up talking about history or the Roman Empire. He was an amazing guy, and my relationship with him was the best part of my nine years as a freeholder.”

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Evesham Council Approves Ordinance Reducing Speed Limit to 35 mph on Crown Royal Pkwy./Kings Grant Dr., to Be Enforced Starting Aug. 15 Residents Applaud Passage of Safety Measure First Sought Three Decades Ago, Along with Resolution Opposing Transport of Liquified Natural Gas Through N.J.

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—An ordinance reducing the speed limit along the entire length of Crown Royal Parkway/Kings Grant Drive from 40 to 35 miles per hour, with the exception of the state-mandated 25 mph limit in the Richard L. Rice Elementary School zone, was unanimously adopted by the Evesham Township Council during its May 10 meeting, at which a procession of residents came forward to praise the passage of the measure that some have been requesting for decades.

“This is the only road in Marlton that I’ve ever wished had photo-enforced speed detectors on it,” declared Andrew Farrell, an otherwise self-admitted opponent of lowering speed limits who told the council he fully supported those who had long been calling for this particular one.

Enforcement of the new limit, however, will not begin in earnest until Aug. 15, according to Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller, whose department conducted a traffic study that led to a recommendation that it be facilitated.

The weeks up until then, Miller explained, will be devoted to an “educational period” during which time social media will be used to promote awareness of the change, new signs will be posted and electronic signboards put up in coordination with the Department of Public Works. He added that during the period police officers will also be handing out warnings to motorists who exceed the new limit.

“Anything the public can do to help get the

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message out, please help us get it out as well so we can reduce the likelihood of a pedestrian crash in that active area of the community,” Miller said.

But while passage of the speed limit was the No. 1 goal of a petition to the township to lower the chances of another accident such as one that seriously injured a pedestrian using a crosswalk back in December, there are additional ones it seeks to have implemented that now “have some momentum” going for them, according to Rosemary Bernardi, its originator.

One objective on which progress has been made, she noted in a recent update to the petition, is installing flashing beacons at crossings to make drivers more aware of pedestrians, three of which the township engineer has reported are due to be installed this spring at the Rice Elementary, Woodlake Drive and Yarmouth Circle crosswalks.

Additionally, the petition has called for such beacons at three other locations, including the site of the December accident.

Other safety improvements sought in the petition include painting the bike lane green, either completely or in sections, the cost of which Bernardi said the township engineer is in the process of soliciting more information on, and improving the lighting situation throughout the route, especially in heavily wooded sections and around the dog park, which she reported that Atlantic City Electric has been addressing by repairing lights, with the company’s on-site supervisor having submitted a request to upgrade light

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bulbs along the median and throughout the development.

Also, now underway are incremental repaving of the thoroughfares involved and the addition of a radar speed sign on the approach to Rice Elementary, with a temporary one now in place on Kings Grant Drive.

A further safety improvement being proposed is the creation of two more pedestrian walkways along the route, in addition to the six that already exist, four of which are part of a walking path.

In thanking the police department and the engineering fir m of Remington & Vernick for conducting the traffic study and the residents who brought the issue to the council’s attention, Councilwoman Ginamarie Espinoza asked anyone living in Evesham who notices a need for “any kind of safety improvement” to “please contact us.”

“The best way we can ever create legislation is hearing from you,” maintained Espinoza, emphasizing that she was very shocked to learn that residents had been calling for a reduction in the speed limit on those roads for over 30 years to no avail, and was ”very glad that this council is taking this action today.”

In a similar vein, Councilwoman Heather Cooper noted that what she most appreciated was how a small group of citizens can bring about such reforms, contending that “what matters in government is when we can hear from our residents, and they can drive the changes they need.”

Another public-safety-related measure approved at the session that elicited an enthusiastic reception from those present was a resolution stating that the township “strongly opposes any proposal” to transport liquified natural gas (LNG) by either truck or rail through New Jersey, which is specifically aimed at a now-vetoed plan to ship the highly flammable fuel from a plant in Pennsylvania

to a storage facility in the Gibbstown section of Greenwich Township, located on the Delaware River in Gloucester County, for distribution overseas.

While the plan involved, which has already been opposed by a number of municipalities in southwestern New Jersey, was denied last month by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the level of local concern over the possibility it might be resurrected is what prompted Eveham to come out against it as well at this time.

The resolution called for the state and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy to rescind any permitting “that would allow the export of LNG from the Gibbstown Logistics Center Dock 2, based on the lack of comprehensive, full and fair review of the potential public health and safety and environmental impacts of this project and the environmental injustice imposed by the footprint of the entire project, including transportation.”

It also urged the state “to act in furtherance of its policy to transition away from fossil fuels by taking all measures possible to prevent the transportation of LNG by truck and/or by rail through New Jersey and by conducting a public health and safety analysis, a comprehensive quantitative risk assessment, and a comprehensive environmental analysis of the potential impacts of this transportation to communities and the natural environment in New Jersey.”

One resident, Nancy Raleigh, said she “wanted to express heartfelt gratitude” for the work done on the resolution by township officials, asserting that, “It’s important to make a statement, even if it’s just a statement for the safety of our neighborhood and even people in South Jersey who are not such near neighbors.”

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Saturday, May 20, 2023

Fire Causes ‘Total Loss’ of Home in Chatsworth, Displaces Military Family

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

WOODLAND—The first building fire in about two years in Woodland Township broke out during the early evening of May 15, destroying a house and displacing a family, but there were no injuries reported.

According to Fire Chief Shawn A. Viscardi Sr., of the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS Company, fire crews, at approximately 5:35 p.m., received a report of a “fully involved house fire” at 11 Second Avenue.

“All occupants evacuated prior to our arrival,” the fire chief reported. “The residence was a total loss, but there were no reported civilian or firefighter injuries.”

The cause of the blaze, as of the morning hours of May 16, was still under investigation, according to Viscardi, who added that the cause has “not been determined by county and state investigators” as of providing the information to the press.

“Two alarms were used to bring in additional water supply and manpower, the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service assisted with suppression of approximately an acreand-a-half of woods that caught fire behind the residence, and a portion of County Route 532 was closed for a time so fire trucks could use Chatsworth Lake as a resupply point,” Viscardi said.

The last building fire in the township was approximately two years ago, the chief noted.

He also reported that the Red Cross is assisting the family as needed and the military provided shelter to the family.

According to a GoFundMe fundraising page started by a neighbor, the home belonged to the Dotsons, a military family that purchased the home in December 2020 while on assignment at Joint Base McGuireDix-Lakehurst (JBMDL). Bob Dotson, it

is reported, is a current master sergeant, while his wife, Kim, is a current captain in the Air Force.

It was further revealed on the fundraising page that “our neighbors, Bob and Kim Dotson, and their two young daughters” were displaced from their home by the blaze, with the children currently in the 6th and 3rd grade at Chatsworth School.

“While Kim was coming home from work, Bob awoke on the couch to their family home on fire,” it was stated on the fundraising page.

“Within minutes of safely evacuating his two daughters and their dog to the edge of the driveway and kicking in doors to hope their family cat could escape, the fire had completely engulfed everything as dozens of first responders fought valiantly to extinguish the flames.”

“While the military base is providing temporary living quarters, the family is at a complete and total loss of everything. After spending time with the family this morning, the Dotsons are humbled by the outpouring of support from our tight-knit community and all proceeds from this GoFundMe will be directly sent to the Dotson family to help them get back on their feet.”

As of press time, $8,247 has been raised to assist the family through GoFundMe. The Chatsworth School was also accepting gift card donations to give to the family.

Multiple Woodland residents told the Pine Barrens Tribune that the home that burned down, prior to the Dotsons taking ownership of it, had belonged to Matthew Henrich, the township’s former mayor. Locals also reported that solar panels that were purportedly on the roof of the home added to the challenges of fighting the inferno.

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(Continued from Page 5) a parcel located at 545 and 540 Tomlinson Mill Road as a “non-condemnation in need of redevelopment pursuant to the local redevelopment and housing law — what Mayor Jacklyn “Jackie” Veasy described as “something we’re looking into … for solar panels, as the township does own this land that we can use for solar panels out in the Pinelands area.”

Miller, in his report to the council, provided an update on the formulation of his department’s strategic plan for the next few years that will include suggestions from the public for the first time, which residents can put forth at a meeting scheduled for May 23 (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. in the Marlton Middle School cafeteria.

“Hopefully when that plan is done it will share a lot of input which I think will be more effective,” Miller said.

The chief also commented at length on a widely reported incident in which two members of his department narrowly averted being mowed down by a car driven by an Evesham man whom he alleged had plotted with his wife to kill the first police officers they encountered. They were both taken into custody without any of the officers involved having to resort to the use of force.

Noting that “most instances like this go unseen by the public, but I unfortunately see them way too often,” Miller once again spoke of the “great feeling of pride in them and our agency” that the episode had engendered in him, along with the ability to rest easier because it had given him confidence in the ability of his personnel to “respond well even in the most adverse conditions and incidents.”

Watching a videotape of the events, he said, had allowed him to witness how his officers embodied many of his department’s policy statements and directions.

“We talk about the sanctity of human life, we talk about trying to de-escalate when we can, we talk about creating space and distance from a threat to avoid the potential use of force, especially the need for deadly force,” Miller said. “We also teach them to try to remain calm and professional even in the face of fear and chaos.”

It is training that he maintained “plays a critical role in our building of public trust and legitimacy.”

On another matter, Miller warned that the theft of catalytic converters had continued, particularly along the Route 70-73 corridor.

His department, he said, was “collecting surveillance” of the area and patrolling it in unmarked vehicles. But he urged that residents who see or hear anything suspicious, particularly the sound of an electric saw at night, to call the police immediately.

In his report to the council, Community

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WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM Development Director Kevin Rijs said he wanted those present to know about “one of the things that is kind of cool about (the Evesham) website, and a lot of people might not realize it,” which is a “user-friendly tool” that makes it much easier for homeowners to find out exactly how their property is zoned simply by keying in their address, as well as block and lot number, which gives them access to an “interactive zone map.”

The Pinelands Commission, he added, also offers a map at its website that allows residents to see what part of the Comprehensive Management Area the commission would consider their property to be in.

The council also heard a request from Ila R. Vassallo, chair of the township Environmental Commission/Green Team, for site plans in electronic form that earlier this year developers were required to submit under a revision of the township’s site plan ordinance to be made available on the township website.

“T h i s t ow n s h ip p r i d e s it s e l f o n participatory government, as well as transparency,” she said. “To that end it would seem the next logical step is for its plans to be available to the general public.”

Vassallo said she would also like “your comments on making public the remarks of the planning board chairman regarding site plans as well as the site plan resolutions when they are available,” and for “informational copies of every application for development submitted to either board” to be made available to the environmental commission.

When asked by Veasy if he could respond to that request, Rijs replied that he would “work with the town manager on how best to do that because there will be a reduction staff that will have to work through (such documents) with the clerk’s office as well.”

During an initial comment period, resident Gary Warga continued what has become his regular one-man crusade against cannabis businesses having been given the council’s permission to set up shop in the township, as well as against the state law that made that possible, this time calling it “very strange and very bizarre” that federal lawmakers and experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who since 1970 have classified cannabis as a Schedule One drug, “the highest, most restrictive category,” have all of a sudden abrogated their oversight of it and allowed the voters to decide to allow it to be sold and used “without any regard for potential public health issues.”

“And if things go wrong or bad in the future, as I believe they will, based on some research I’ve done” Warga asked, “Who will be held accountable? The U.S. Congress? No, they dodged it. The FDA? They’re silent.

State lawmakers, local lawmakers? Which one? Or maybe the voters. Yes, the voters – we can blame them.”

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Resident Susan Stinson, while resident Bill Cozzi holds up a poster board with a photograph of the electrical unit, maintains that the situation at hand has affected the resident’s “faith in Southampton’s leaders” as well as “the peace and quiet of their surroundings and their mental and physical well-being.”

FUSES

(Continued from Page 1) as other residents of LeisureTowne stood at both her right and left with the poster boards, deliberately made double sided so both the township committee and audience could see the electrical unit at the same time while she spoke. “Especially on Saint Davids Place, there has been continuous excavation, noise, dirt, trucks and strangers – day in and day out. Since the erection of this gray beast, the residents of this neighborhood can no longer sit on their front porch or look out their windows to see their neighbors across the street due to its height, width and length.

Gone is the island with the pine trees and bench. The almighty dollar – and I believe this – put this needless hardship on these residents, including the loss of property value on their biggest expenditure they make in their lives – their home.”

Stinson further maintained that the situation at hand has affected the resident’s “faith in Southampton’s leaders” as well as “the peace and quiet of their surroundings

and their mental and physical well-being.”

“Their lives have been forever changed due to the flagrant disregard to our community of senior citizens,” she asserted.

However, Navy veteran and 25-year LeisureTowne resident Frank Deal, who came up to the microphone with the assistance of a walker, was more blunt about the matter, asserting at one point to the township committee he “tells it like it is!”

“I think it is a shame what the hell happ ened in th is com mun ity,” Deal declared. “I have been here for 25 years and have never seen any bullsh** like this.

You guys are like a bunch of pansies here, pushing it off on each other! Everybody is at fault, except for you people. You are the people who voted this God damn piece of sh** in here! Stop making it look like it is something we are going to live with! I feel for those people on that street. You have some God darn nerve to come up here! You all ought to look for part-time jobs in the sanitation department!”

But while demands for answers and pointed questions were thrown at the

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Navy veteran and LeisureTowne resident Frank Deal asserts, “I have been here for 25 years and have never seen any bullsh** like this.”

FUSES

(Continued from Page 8) Southampton Township Committee over the course of nearly three hours on May 16, on top of a private meeting between Saint Davids Place residents and the township’s mayor and deputy mayor that reportedly occurred the night before, and many residents heard from their mayor on the matter for the first time, the most significant development to emerge from what many attendees later described as simply hours of “finger pointing” and “I don’t knows” is that it appears the parties involved are potentially lawyering up.

While there were subtle hints throughout the May 16 proceedings that some sort of future offer or arrangement might be in the offing in the next several weeks for those living near where the unit has been built on Saint Davids Place in an attempt to avoid what could become a lengthy, costly and protracted legal battle, the Southampton governing body convened an executive session, in part, to discuss “potential litigation,” while both a lawyer for the homeowner’s association, a lawyer for the solar company and a lawyer who showed up to town hall and wouldn’t rule out defending the people of the neighborhood, were seen conferring with residents in several areas of the municipal building as the township committee meeting concluded.

This reporter, as the tense Southampton committee meeting approached its end shortly after 9 p.m., observed Gregg A. Shivers, who represents the LeisureTowne Association and Board of Trustees, initially conferring at his seat in the committee meeting room with Board of Trustees President Debbie Massey, with Trustees Kevin Boyd (secretary) and Kathy Henson (treasurer) sitting nearby. Shivers then left his seat and was seen further conversing with people outside the meeting room, in the hallway. Ultimately, Boyd, Massey and Henson left their chairs too and went out into the hallway.

Steven Gouin, an attorney for CEP

Renewables, LLC, the company which is conducting the Big Hill (BEMS) Sanitary Landfill solar project through its subsidiary, BEMS Southampton Solar Farm, LLC, also left the meeting room to take up a position out in the hallway.

Shivers, at one point, as the township committee meeting was drawing to a close, re-entered the meeting room to pull aside some of the most outspoken residents of LeisureTowne, including from Saint Davids Place, and asked that they come out into the hallway.

Resident Phyllis Peak, one of those outspoken individuals, and whom was identified during the township committee meeting as being the point person for the citizens of Saint Davids Place, was one of the residents observed being called away from the township committee meeting room

by Shivers. She, in the course of abruptly leaving after being summoned, left her purse and other belongings behind.

Mikulski, an attorney in his day job, as he observed the private attorneys making use of the hallway and conversing with various individuals, even momentarily left the dais for just a moment as the township committee meeting was still in progress, and offered the parties use of the township conference room, an offer that was taken up by at least some of the individuals.

A third man who was in the audience throughout the proceedings, who stood out because he was dressed in a shirt and tie, ultimately also left to go out into the hallway, before disappearing behind closed doors in the municipal building.

With the township building’s primary conference room in use, it forced the Southampton committee to have to utilize a now-vacant office to hold its closed session, with Township Solicitor George Morris joining the governing body for its separate closed-door meeting (the township attorney joining the township committee in closed session is customary).

Approximately 15 minutes later, with the township committee meeting room completely cleared out and the governing body in closed session, Peak returned to the meeting room to retain her belongings, and when asked by this reporter what was taking

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place in the township conference room, she replied, “talking to a lawyer.”

Then, as this reporter left to briefly exit the municipal building while awaiting the governing body’s return from executive session, Gouin and Rakesh Darji, of Environmental Resolutions, Inc. (ERI), the township’s special project engineer assigned to oversee the solar project, were observed talking to each other in the hallway, by the vestibule.

Gouin, who only gave a couple thumbs up throughout the township committee meeting in responding to requests from the mayor and did not speak at any point during the proceedings, but appeared visibly frustrated at times as resident complaints piled on about what has occurred in LeisureTowne in relation to the solar project, then left the municipal building, and upon his leaving, was asked by this reporter if he would like to provide any statement, and replied, “no – no, not under these circumstances.”

At 9:22 p.m., the township committee then returned from its executive session, with Morris declaring that among the items discussed behind closed doors was “attorney client privilege matters” and that for now “no action is required.”

Then, around 9:30 p.m., Peak was observed by this reporter having exited the township conference room with the man who had been wearing a shirt and tie.

As Peak left, Mikulski then had a brief chat with the man. As the mayor left, this reporter asked the unidentified man who he was. The man then presented a business card, identifying himself as Dan Posternock of the Law Offices of Posternock and Apell.

Posternock, when asked by this reporter if he is now representing the Saint Davids Place residents, responded, “I don’t know yet,” before exiting town hall.

See FUSES/ Page 10

Page 10 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM A couple minutes later, as the resident pressed further about what legal recourse residents might be able to seek, Mikulski revealed, “All I can tell you, so far, is they have only heard from the contractor, or owner’s representative, that they are trying to make this right and I am not going to say anything else.”

“I know they have had some discussions and I am going to leave it at that,” he said.

‘How in the World Did This Happen?’

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Dan Posternock, of the Law Offices of Posternock and Apell, who showed up to the Southampton committee meeting and was later seen meeting with a Saint Davids Place resident and point person for the street.

FUSES

(Continued from Page 9) Peak, last week, after learning from Township Administrator and Clerk Kathleen D. Hoffman that the township committee approved the electrical unit through Resolution 2022-79, with a corresponding 15-page plan containing the renderings of

what the unit would look like and the various dimensions, declared “it’s all in here,” before making a personal plea, cited in last week’s coverage, for an attorney to come to the aid of the residents, having pointed out at the time that they all have limited incomes.

Mikulski, at one point dur ing the proceedings, was asked by a woman, “Legally, can they do a class action suit?”

“I am certainly not going to give legal advice about suing the township,” he replied.

That was a question put to the township committee on May 16 by resident Patricia Perrine, who expressed concern that the eyebrow in front of her home, described as having lilacs and a red maple tree, could be the next one to be torn apart.

The Pine Barrens Tribune previously reported that the Pinelands Commission has pointed out that the Southampton c om m itte e, back on Aug. 16, 2022 , unanimously passed a resolution titled, “Accepting Temporary Construction and (an) Interconnection Easement,” which according to the state agency, represented “municipal approvals for the proposed development” in question. While the resolution states the township is agreeing to provide for an “interconnection easement under, beneath and through the township property,” referenced twice in that resolution is an “Interconnection Route Plan.”

That plan, from July 2022, having since been obtained by this newspaper, contains numerous diagrams, technical specs and location maps for the unit that has now been constructed.

A s p o ke s m a n fo r t h e P i n e l a n d s Commission previously told this newspaper that the resolution and corresponding plan represented the “municipal approvals for the proposed development” in question.

Late last week, despite two township committeemen telling this newspaper they never saw that plan, Township Administrator and Clerk Kathleen D. Hoffman responded via email “yes it was” when asked if she or

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

A standing-room only crowd listens intently to explanations from Southampton Mayor Mike Mikulski about “how did this happen.”

Saturday, May 20, 2023 her office provided the township committee with the plan prior to the Aug. 16, 2022, vote.

Hoffman’s admission came a half hour after Peak was provided with both a copy of the resolution and plan at town hall, following town officials “telling me for a week and a half that they had no knowledge of it,” or the electrical unit.

In opening remarks on May 16, Mikulski maintained “the specifics of the switchbox were not on any of those individual things passed.”

“It is apparently a quirk of New Jersey Land Use Law and BPU utility regulations that it didn’t need to be, and it wasn’t on all those documents that I looked at,” the mayor maintained.

Mikulski made a point, however, that “nothing should be interpreted as an excuse” and “nothing I am going to say tonight should be interpreted as trying to shift blame to anybody.”

“And nothing I am going to say tonight should be interpreted as trying to duck responsibility,” he said. “We are your elected officials. And we are responsible for what happens in this township and we own it.”

About 20 minutes into the meeting, the mayor advised residents “we are trying to learn about why the box is so large” and contended “we learned of the size of the box when it was delivered to the site.”

“There is nothing on the plans that came before this committee that had the dimensions of the height of the box,” he said.

“You don’t have to like that answer, but that is the factual answer.”

He added, however, “there are a few things that maybe would have led the township, but not necessarily the five of us, to some information on the size” and “also, maybe the HOA, potentially, to the size.”

“We will talk about those in a little bit,” he quipped.

A few minutes later, Mikulski contended that “we didn’t know where the exact connection was going to be,” and maintained that when the township committee approved the project, “the actual path of the electrical interconnection was not finalized because the BPU (Board of Public Utilities) has to be involved.”

The mayor said his “recollection” is when the solar project went before the Planning Board, “there was a reference to Saint Davids, but nothing specifically,” but then Committeeman Ronald Heston, one of two committeemen who sit on the planning board, retorted, “I remember Buckingham (Drive).”

Deputy Mayor Bill Raftery, also a planning board member, stayed silent during the electrical unit discourse, and when it came time for his committee comments later in the session, told the public he had “nothing.”

“The committee essentially approved what the planning board also approved,” Mikulski said.

That remark prompted Peak to interject, “Say that again.”

“It came back from the planning board, to the township committee, and the township committee approved the interconnection plan on Resolution 79 of last year,” Mikulski said.

When Peak asked Mikulski to clarify whether the mayor meant the approval was for Buckingham Drive, he replied, “based on the drawing attached to the program – that resolution.”

“At the time, and I am speaking for myself, we were of the understanding the contractor met with the LeisureTowne Board,” Mikulski added. “I want to be very, very clear. I am not blaming anyone. I am just trying to give the facts as they happened.

The LeisureTowne Board, to my knowledge, was never told it was going to be an 8-foot (tall) box. I want to be very clear about that.”

After Peak inquired as to whether the board was ever told where the unit might be, Mikulski pointed to a 2022 meeting “with over 200 people” that occurred in LeisureTowne, See FUSES/ Page 11

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LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES ♦ Page 11

FUSES

(Continued from Page 10) but noted “we weren’t invited.”

“I can’t be certain of what was or was not said,” he said of that 2022 meeting.

“Originally, I was told there were blow up pictures of an artist rendering of the island.

Later other people said there was no artist renderings at that time.”

Mikulski maintained, “I didn’t see the artist renderings until two weeks ago,” emphasizing, “I didn’t see it and my understanding is the other committee people didn’t see it until two weeks ago.”

The mayor then asserted that while he is “not here to cast any aspersions on anybody,” he was told the “artist rendering was specifically given to the then-president of association” and that it was “done in early August 2022.” When a resident asked who told the mayor that, Mikulski responded, “the contractor who provided the renderings told me.”

Mikulski ultimately added that “we were under the impression the LeisureTowne Association was in favor of the project” and pointed out that “the then-president (of the Board of Trustees, Larry O’Rourke) went to the planning board and said LeisureTowne is ‘fully in support of the project.’”

“LeisureTow ne rec eived a total of $400,000,” the mayor said. “Again, I am not suggesting LeisureTowne was paid $400,000 for this box. A whole lot of negotiations went on with LeisureTowne, on behalf of the board for the association, but we knew LeisureTowne was going to receive a significant amount of money.”

Mikulski’s remarks led to a rebuttal of sorts from Shivers.

“When there was the large meeting in LeisureTowne, in April, and when the then-president went to the planning board and said that we supported the solar program, at that time the switchbox was not planned for Saint Davids Place,” Shivers maintained. “The only aboveground facilities ever discussed with LeisureTowne was the possibility of an aboveground piece of equipment in the maintenance lot and a switch out on Big Hill Road. Yes, at that time the association absolutely supported the program, and when they had the meeting with all the members, the members were told what the plan was at that time.

“At no time, up until the big piece of equipment was delivered on Saint Davids Place, was the LeisureTowne Board told that there was going to be a change in the plan and that there was going to be a switch at Saint Davids Place.”

As for the artist rendering presented at the LeisureTowne meeting, Shivers maintained, “I know you have been told by the contractor the artist renderings were

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Attorney Gregg A. Shivers, who represents the LeisureTowne Association and Board of Trustees, declared, “At no time, up until the big piece of equipment was delivered on Saint Davids Place, was the LeisureTowne Board told that there was going to be a change in the plan and that there was going to be a switch at Saint Davids Place.” given” to the trustees’ president in August 2022, but O’Rourke, he pointed out, was only the president until June 2022.

“If the renderings were given to him, I can’t confirm or deny that,” Shivers said. “But I can tell you the renderings were never given to the board.” If the board was to have become aware of what was planned, he contended, “they would have asked some questions.”

Shivers continued that he has “also done a lot of research” and he has “not ever seen a document that described what this switch was.”

“When I look at plans and hear about a ‘switch,’ I am thinking about a green box that is on my lawn that is this big,” Shivers declared. “Nowhere did I see any document that was submitted, so far, that was either submitted to LeisureTowne, or the township, that described this box.”

Mikulski, in response, declared “that is absolutely true.”

“We didn’t see it either,” he asserted.

The plan referenced in the township committee resolution, and that Hoffman previously maintained was circulated to the

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township committee, however, contains a diagram on page 10 with the dimensions of the electrical unit, including the height of the cabinet.

Additionally, as reported last week by this newspaper, the plan contains notations that it was revised several times based on comments from ERI, and that the final revision is said to have occurred on Oct. 27, 2022, “per 9/13/22 review letter from ERI.” Resident Bill Cozzi, who identified himself as an electrical engineer, and was one of the individuals holding up the poster boards, along with his wife, Carla, asked the mayor if he visited the closest solar fields in the county, in Mount Holly and Moorestown, before voting to approve the project, pointing out the switchboxes for them sit on the solar sites. The mayor responded, “No, I didn’t go out.”

“And, if I had gone out, I would say those are solar projects,” the mayor added. “That is why we have our own engineers; that is why the contractor has their engineers and the engineers check the things that could be done.”

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Coz z i’s w i fe, who came up to the microphone afterwards, called the electrical unit the “big ugly.”

Alice Church, a resident of LeisureTowne, after hearing the explanations from Mikulski and Shivers, contended that she is “trying to grasp how this was allowed to happen – this big monstrosity, and nobody knew about it.”

“What about the company?” she asked.

“T he company k new, and the s e are residential homes, and they had no legal obligation to let anyone know (about this)?

This is going to impact people’s lives!”

Mikulski responded that while he has “no ill will” toward the solar company and it his job “not to defend” the firm, he contended, “they also didn’t know the size of the box until PSE&G said it,” which led to audible gasps from the audience.

The mayor, however, added “that is not what PSE&G told me today” and because of that he is “going to the next level in trying to get an answer.”

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Page 12 ♦

LOCAL NEWS / FEATURES

WWW.PINEBARRENSTRIBUNE.COM As for residents of Saint Davids Place not receiving a required 200-feet notification for a site plan application, the mayor told attendees, “by land use law, for this project, it wasn’t required.” After residents made various sounds of shock and awe from their seats, Morris clarified, “notice was made for the landfill site – 200 feet,” but that “further than that wasn’t required.”

Resident Jim Walker, in light of the May 16 denials heard from officials of having any advance knowledge of the plan to install the electrical unit on Saint Davids Place, declared, “it seems like fraud has been perpetrated on the board and people of LeisureTowne.”

“I wonder if the board is looking at any kind of legal action since it has been subject to fraud,” he said. “It seems like nobody knew this thing is being built. Everybody that is except the company.”

Mikulski responded, “even if we are or were to do that (take legal action), I would not even be able to comment on any potential legal action while it is being contemplated.”

‘Is This a Done Deal?’

Photo By Douglas D. Melegari

Steven Gouin, an attorney for CEP Renewables, LLC, the company which is conducting the Big Hill (BEMS) Sanitary Landfill solar project through its subsidiary, BEMS Southampton Solar Farm, LLC, appears visibly frustrated as the complaints pile on.

FUSES

(Continued from Page 11) “That is ludicrous,” Church replied. “It is unacceptable we didn’t know the specific height of the box at the time the decision was made.”

St i nson, who u s e d to work for a mu n ic ipal it y, de clare d “she do e sn’t understand the fact that you people didn’t know certain things.”

“The fact the previous mayor said you are given paperwork and you don’t know what is in that paperwork, but yet you are giving a rubberstamp to it – I don’t understand that either,” she said. “I worked for a municipality. You were able to read it – 1, 2, 3. You were able to peruse everything before the meeting. Why didn’t that happen here?”

Mikulski responded that he has since “shared my frustration about what we knew and didn’t know” and that after having “looked at every piece of paper that came to me as part of a vote,” there “was simply nothing that was given that had the dimensions of this box provided to us.”

He added that “all that can be done now” is to determine “did somebody make a mistake along the way by not having that there.”

Peak, who claimed to have attended the 2022 LeisureTowne meeting, maintained it was said “everything would be underground,” and therefore she “didn’t have concern.”

The planning board meeting minutes, she noted, also don’t contain any mention of there being anything aboveground related to the project.

“Everybody wants it torn down,” she declared. “I personally feel right now I don’t want to live here anymore. I am sorry, I don’t trust you people! You are putting your heads in the sand, and saying you didn’t know! I talked to the township manager when she came out to visit us. I thought it was great.

She said, ‘We know nothing about this.’

She told us, ‘We know nothing.’ Two days

later she gave us the resolution where she signed it, and all of you signed off it was OK to do this. I have the resolution. I was dumbfounded.”

LeisureTowne political activist Evelyn “Evie” Doherty, also previously a three-year member of the township planning board and 12-year member of the Zoning Board, in returning to the original approval that set the solar project as a whole in motion, declared, “in my opinion, the planning board made the biggest mistake ever.”

“The site plan process was flawed,” she contended. “There was nothing in the site plan for any of the outlets on the streets where this was to take place. Statements were made that PSE&G had to decide where the hookup is. PSE&G was not even invited to give testimony to that.”

While there has been some suggestion by township officials that PSE&G is the one that had final say over the location for the interconnection, Doherty maintained she spoke to PSE&G the day prior to the May 16 township committee meeting and “found out the solar company is responsible for outlining the route.”

“So, I don’t understand why the planning board ever allowed anything to take place without first knowing the information, so that way Saint Davids and everywhere else would have known what could have happened,” Doherty said.

Prior to Doherty’s remarks, Mikulski maintained that he was “told by two different people that the switchbox for PSE&G could not be left on the solar panel footprint” (on the landfill) and explained that “originally, the switchbox was to be on Big Hill Road, but has since been told that the Pinelands Commission would not allow it to be on Big Hill Road because of wetlands.”

“I read the letter today from the Pinelands Commission, and I have some questions about it,” Mikulski declared. “I am an attorney, but it is written in legalese that I am not used to, and I don’t have a full answer as to this.”

That was a question asked by Resident Juliane West, who, in referring to that “great big thing,” demanded to know, “Could it be put somewhere else?”

“Yes, we have thought outside the box,” Mikulski said. “The short answer we got so far is that it has to be within a certain distance of the solar field. We were not allowed to put it on Big Hill Road.”

Earlier in the meeting, Mikulski described the “box itself will have a fence around it.”

“Last night we had a discussion of what the fence would be made of and the original thought was wood,” he said. “Then the question became now we have to paint the wood. It was a terrific suggestion. So, now I believe the revised plan has vinyl. I made a suggestion to our engineer we look at composite because that is supposed to last 25 to 35 years and it is maintenance free. No decision on the fence will be made, without (the residents of Saint Davids Place) being told what it will be.”

Mikulski told the crowd that he got a “commitment last night that the fence will be at least equal to or greater than size of the box and the plantings around it, the trees, will be equal to or higher than the fence.”

“They are going to be evergreens, so the leaves don’t fall, and you don’t see it,” he added.

After West had posed the question later

Saturday, May 20, 2023 in the session about whether the box could be moved somewhere else, the mayor noted he asked PSE&G if the box could be taken down in size, from 8 feet to 6 feet height, or if the utility could make “it a little wider, longer, but lower.”

That led to someone shouting from their seat, “How about asking them to take it out?”

Mikulski added, “The same person who told me they had nothing to do with the design of the box told me it couldn’t be changed.” He described that “person A and B” provided conflicting answers.

West pressed Mikulski as to “who will make the decision” or otherwise “these people are going to have to live with that.”

“I can’t stand here and make a promise the thing is going to go away,” the mayor responded. “I am also not going to not say we are going to continue to do everything we can to either have it moved or minimize the disruption. I can’t say a lot more.”

Mikulski noted he asked about the “electromag netic field and radiation type of stuff” and “confirmed with three independent sources” that “there is no electromagnetic field that is going to be emanating from this box.” One of the “suggestions” to come from the private meeting, he reported, is “when it is finally turned on, to have the meter that reads electromagnetic impulses” utilized to take measurements to ensure what, if anything, is being given off is as “compared to your washing machine, your vacuum, etc.”

A fter some more g r u mbl i ng from the crowd, Mikulski suggested that the measurements be taken before and after the switchbox is turned on to ensure further confidence in the process, and that they not only be taken from the street, but also at each resident’s doorsteps, with Gouin giving a thumbs up from his seat, interpreted by the mayor that the “solar company’s representative is agreeing to that.”

The mayor also maintained he was assured “by multiple people” the electrical unit “will not make noise when it is operational.”

“What I was told last night was if you are inside the fence that is eventually going to be around the box, and put your head up to or against the machine, you might hear a slight hum, like what comes from an air conditioner, but that you won’t be able to hear it from the street,” Mikulski said.

“Those of you at the (private) meeting last night, you heard that. I heard that. And I See FUSES/ Page 15

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information from the administration and we are into a new budget year,” Heston said.

Heston noted that curtailing services at the end of the year, when the fiscal year budget draws to a close, is the “best way to handle that” or a situation in which a department sees over expenditures.

The township committeeman, however, confirmed he was told that a decision had been made that brush will be picked up “for only three months of the year.”

“I am not sure,” responded Heston when asked if the cutbacks on brush pickup were budgetary in nature, or were the result of an equipment failure. “I can’t give you an answer on this. It could be manpower. It could be budget.”

However, Heston noted, any “budget for Public Works should have that (brush pickup) covered.”

Heston once warned that by the municipality not raising taxes a little each year, it could come back to haunt the governing body, perhaps to the level where a significant tax hike could become necessary at some point.

“If finances allow, there is always a year or two in a row that you can have a zero increase, but due to inflation, it needs to be looked at very carefully, because the buying power of the existing money doesn’t go as far,” Heston told this newspaper for this story. “And we all know that in personal budgets, and it is amplified in our municipal budgets.”

Mikulski, in opening an April 2023 committee meeting, described, “We are faced with some large budget issues,” but at one point, also stated, “And we have been fortunate enough, thanks to the hard work

by Kathy and our staff here, that we haven’t raised taxes for five years – municipally.”

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and how the new schedule reflects a change from prior years, as well as about what other services have seen recent cutbacks as the mayor stated.

Her initial response was to provide this newspaper with the 2023 pamphlet. Then, after a second inquiry, she wrote, “You can compare last year’s information that was sent with your tax bill to the one that was attached.”

While the Pine Barrens Tribune could not immediately locate a copy of last year’s pamphlet, this newspaper was able to locate one from 2018, when it was told to residents in the section titled, “What to do about …” that they simply needed to “place at curb, all cut ends in the same direction, 4-5 foot lengths.”

Back then, it said in bold print, the “township does NOT need to be notified.”

Also, the township, back then, as noted in the 2018 pamphlet, had offered to take in wood chips for $20 per truck load.

Hoffman, in a follow up email, later contended to this newspaper that she did not have a copy of the pamphlet that went out in 2021, “but in talking with (Public Works Manager) Ryan (Hagerthey), the only thing changed was the brush pickup.”

Committeeman Ronald Heston, who is the budget liaison to the township committee, following the latest pronouncement from the mayor that there were budgetary cutbacks, told this newspaper, “That was a surprise to me that we ran out of funds.”

“However, I am sure he was given that

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FUSES

(Continued from Page 12) am going to make sure that is what happens.

That is what you were promised, and what I was promised. When it gets turned on, I am going to be there in 24 hours to make sure I can listen to it for myself.”

The mayor’s inability, however, to guarantee the complete removal of the electrical unit, which he recognized at one point is the wish of Saint Davids Place residents, led to several tense moments.

“You are telling us nothing can be done?” asked Peak, who became very emotional, wiping tears away from her face. “You are telling us nothing can be done! We have to live with this? My money is tied up in my house, for my future, and for my children. I don’t know what to do. I have lost like hundreds of thousands of dollars (in property value). This is all I have. I live on Social Security. I have nothing else. I have my property. I live alone! I am devastated – I am devastated!”

Resident Sandra Fell, who noted “we face that monstrosity,” called it a “travesty – what has been done.” She noted she lost both her husband and son to cancer, and that before her husband had died, he arranged for her to have a house in LeisureTowne.

“It was a lovely, perfect, nice, quiet spot,”

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she said. “We didn’t know the size of this behemoth until it was put in a few weeks ago.”

Fell also described having “put a lot of money into my house over the last six years” and “I know that I am losing money, because somebody does not want to live in front of that” as it is “not natural for a residential community.”

Drawing jeers from the audience is when Mikulski contended that he has been told “these types of things are in other residential neighborhoods, though not in Southampton” and “what I have been shown is there is not any other adverse property impacts once it is finished.”

“I will agree with this, watching this happen is problematic and disturbing,” the mayor said. “It is like watching sausage get made. It is an ugly process.”

The mayor added that “if someone believes the value of their house has been diminished once it (the project) has been done, I will have the tax assessor go out there and make a determination.”

Resident Jennifer Gonzalez, a licensed realtor, shot back, “I have a real estate license and I know they did lose value.”

“And you know what, a home is supposed to be a haven, not a stressor,” she declared to applause. “… I can’t understand why any resident in LeisureTowne was blindsided.

None of us would want to live like that.

That should have never happened and when you sit there and say you don’t know the

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NJ Lic. 13VH06395500 dimensions, from an engineering standpoint, I don’t have any trust in your (while pointing to Darji) or their work. It should have never happened. As far as I am concerned, just by being a decent human being, you just don’t do this to people! None of us want to live like that. I am truly sorry for the people who live in Saint Davids – from the bottom of my heart.”

Resident Mark Preston, “who lives behind the monstrosity,” after pointing out he is a “combat veteran who has been to Iraq, Bosnia and West Germany when there was one,” declared, “I put my life on the line to come back to this?”

“I am going to say it again: no one told us,” Preston declared. “The plans we all got said ‘underground’ and showed that the monstrosity is supposed to be on Big Hill Road. Pinelands may have moved it, but nobody told us. This is wrong! Somebody royally screwed up!”

The reports of lack of notification and Mikulski acknowledging he has only had about 92 percent of his questions answered, led resident Donna Haines to ask, “Why couldn’t there have been a halt, while you find answers to your questions?”

“Why did it continue, continue, continue and why can’t it be stopped for now until you get answers to all your questions,” asked Haines, after pointing out three weeks have now gone by since the controversy started with the Southampton committee yet to take

Keith Abrams Lic# 1283

any action to stop the project.

(Mikulski, at the start of the May 16 committee session, announced the “project is four to five weeks from being done” and that the planting would be done within four weeks [Hoffman previously told this newspaper the planting would not occur until the fall as any trees would die from the summertime weather conditions].)

Mikulski replied it is “complicated” because of there needing to be a “legal analysis of contracts, obligations, and easements LeisureTowne has signed, and easements we have signed.”

“I am not trying to not answer it,” the mayor added. “It is not something I can answer legally in this forum because it is not a one-word answer.”

Resident James Corson, after declaring that he “lives in front of this Berlin Wall” or that “I call it the Berlin Wall,” explained “we were happy before this started.”

“Our quality of life is being affected,” he declared. “Secondly, most of us always praised, trusted LeisureTowne. How am I going to sell my house the way it is? You said you are going to beautify it. Well, we didn’t make the mistake. The buck is going to be passed around. Everyone would be happy if you just got this damn thing off the property. Other people are finding out about this outside of LeisureTowne. If people don’t come in here to buy a home, there is no chance at all (the homes will sell).

Page 16 ♦

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