Pine Barrens Tribune June 3, 2023-June 9, 2023

By D ouglas D. M elegari

an D Bill B onvie

Team Coverage

BASS RIVER—A wildfire that is suspected of originating on Allen Road, in Bass River Township, and exhibited “extreme fire behavior” throughout the overnight hours of May 31 into June 1, according to New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) officials, at one point forced the evacuation of 40 seasonal residents from a local campground and threatened six residential structures.

It was the first wildfire to burn in this particular section of the Bass River State Forest in about 24 years, officials said.

AT A CROSSROADS

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

knit, traditional rural neighborhood where some of the inhabitants have roots going back generations and even more recent arrivals have lived for decades – a place described by 36-year resident Bill Ware, Jr. at a May 22 Township Committee meeting

as “a safe little nook” where “we all know one another.”

Or, as Katalin Russek, who originally came from North Jersey, put it, “I love

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

Council dominated a pair

The Proposed Conversion of a House Located on the Corner of a Rural Intersection in Tabernacle into a ‘Group Home’ for Four Physically or Mentally Disabled Adults Has Created Considerable Consternation on the Part of Neighborhood Residents —But Their Concerns About Safety and Property Values Are Said to Be Unfounded

Photo By Andrew King

Longtime Tabernacle resident Bill Ware., Jr., expresses his concern about a proposed group home for physically and mentally challenged adults to the township committee at its May 22 meeting.

B y D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

WOODLAND—Now that the Woodland Volunteer Fire and EMS Company’s new water tender has arrived and is “working out well and as designed,” Fire Chief Shawn Viscardi took to the Woodland Township Committee’s first in-person workshop meeting in almost three-anda-half years on May 24 to reiterate the need for additional municipal funding to obtain two other items that have been long on the bucket list and were promised to the company during 202122 contractual negotiations: a power cot system and LUCAS (Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System) device.

But the fire chief, who has requested these items since 2019, in observing May 24 that the governing body was again not yet ready to take prompt action to provide for the purchase of the devices for the township ambulance service, but rather deferred to the township solicitor to do additional research on how to go about potentially making the purchases, revealed it is such situations that prompt him to become “aggravated” with the local process, contending that when fire/ EMS leadership in other towns make such equipment requests for their respective agencies, they are often fulfilled without many hurdles.

However, Woodland Mayor William “Billy” DeGroff ultimately directed Township Solicitor William Burns to look into the matter and see if the municipality can make a purchase “as soon as possible.”

Additionally, it was revealed, the township’s desire to have a well installed for the Chatsworth firehouse of the company is not as straight-forward and as simple of a process than it seemed just months ago when the idea was first thought of by the chief.

According to various online sources, a powered ambulance cot features a battery-powered hydraulic system that raises and lowers the cot at the touch of a button. It helps in that first responders don’t have to manually lift a patient into an ambulance (a task that sometimes can require multiple people).

Stryker, one of the manufacturers of the device, in an online explanation, puts the purpose of the cot this way: “stop lifting patients – start loading patients.”

Ferno, a second leading manufacturer

of power ambulance cots, describes on its website “unassisted lift capacity” as the primary benefit of having one, contending their version is “the ultimate solution for both every day and bariatric transport.”

Viscardi reported that he obtained two quotes for a “power cot and load system” (excluding the LUCAS device) and both quotes are above $60,000. A third vendor acknowledged a request for a quote, the chief noted, but purportedly never provided one to him.

Chief Financial Officer Kathy Rosmando noted that Woodland officials had previously discussed its intention “to use the COVID money for this.” Woodland received a total of $173,674 from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, according to the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.

It was mentioned by both Burns and Viscardi that the power cot model the company would like to obtain is one in which “Stryker is the only manufacturer.”

However, as Township Administrator and Clerk Maryalice Brown maintained on May 24, the dilemma in making the purchase lies around a professional opinion the township received from Holman, Frenia, Allison P.C., previously appointed as special auditor for the fire company, who was reportedly asked about the appropriate ways in which the township could use the COVID funds.

“We weren’t sure about how to spend it (the COVID money) and I asked him about it, and brought that exact point up to him that it was ‘sole sourced,’” Brown said. “He (the auditor) claimed he was able to find it in various places, and he didn’t feel you could do it as a sole sourced (transaction).”

Burns, however, in offering legal counsel to the governing body in response, quipped, “You can find the same thing in various places, but it is made by one person.”

“I wouldn’t buy it from the power cot store or mart,” he added. “I would buy it from Stryker, who makes it.”

As for the LUCAS device, which provides mechanical chest compressions to patients in cardiac arrest, the chief maintained “you can go online” to different vendors and “they advertise LUCAS devices,” and one can get a variety

Photo By John Dooley Woodland Fire and EMS Chief Shawn Viscardi again requests funding for a power cot and Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System device, while giving a brief update on a fire in Chatsworth still under investigation.

CROSSROADS

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where we live – it’s the nicest place.”

But what prompted Ware, Russek, her husband Martin and a delegation of their neighbors to show up at the Tabernacle committee session was an unexpected, perceived threat to the pastoral tranquility and seeming security of that environment –one stemming from the then-pending sale of a ranch-style, four-bedroom house located at 135 Brace Lane on a corner property

of that crossroads directly opposite the Russeks’ residence.

The consternation and even alarm they expressed to the committee members was over the proposed use of the property as a “group home” for four individuals categorized as either physically or mentally disabled by Friends of Cyrus II, a Piscataway-based service organization whose stated mission is “to create a haven of support” for adults with developmental disabilities, which has converted the old Tabernacle school house at 180 Carranza Rd. into a state-sanctioned training facility.

While there are other group homes maintained by the same organization that are located in various communities, including Tabernacle, where it already operates one, it was the shock of learning (reportedly via a casual remark dropped by the owner at a gathering) that the house in question was about to be sold for that specific purpose without any prior notification to neighborhood residents that reportedly galvanized them to seek the township committee’s help in attempting to block any such transaction from taking place.

Tabernacle Mayor Samuel R. Moore, III, acknowledged that the municipality had not been notified of any pending sale of the property to the organization, which he had first learned about in a phone call. Not only had there been “no information from Friends of Cyrus in regard to this,” he said, but “no documentation, no paperwork, nothing that has been put before us at this time.”

But that didn’t mean there would be anything amiss with such a transaction or, for that matter, anything could be legally done to thwart it, according to Zoning/ Construction Officer Thomas Boyd, to whom the mayor referred the residents’ apprehensions over the situation.

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Photo By Andrew King Resident Denise Carpenter, who told the committee May 22 that the purported plan to open the group home “Isn’t fair to us,” and that “it is almost like you’re trying to slide them in under the radar before we even find out.”

A Time to

Medford’s Memorial Day Parade and Observances

Medford Township Council and Medford VFW Post #7677 held Medford’s Annual Memorial Day Parade and Observances on May 29. This year’s grand marshal was William “Bill” J. Dorman. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 13 years from 1947-1960 as a Platoon Sergeant, management instructor, and management consultant in the U.S. and Okinawa, including for the Air Defense Command/NORAD at Ent AFB in Colorado Springs. Parade participants also included members of Post #7677, the Shawnee High School Marching Band, the Medford Township Police Department, Medford EMS, the Union and Taunton Fire Companies, the Nam Knights, the Civil Air Patrol-Air Victory Museum Composite Squadron, the Medford Masonic Lodge #178 and their Widow’s Sons Motorcycle Club, the Warrior Watch Riders, as well as many other public safety representatives and military re-enactment associations from neighboring communities.

Photos By Andrew King

Hours:

Traditional Lancaster County Food & Crafts

FRESH FOODS

WILDFIRE

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However, by 11 a.m. June 1, NJFFS officials expressed their optimism that they would be able to contain what has been dubbed the Allen Road Wildfire within an approximately 5,950-acre containment area (as shown on a map), with the conflagration by that point in time having already consumed 3,100 acres and listed as 15 percent contained. By 7 p.m., the size of the blaze reached 5,000 acres and was listed as 50 percent contained.

As officials with NJFFS explained to reporters in a midday press conference, given the fire history of the area – where firefighters have been killed in the past in battling wildfires — as well as its “high dense fuels” and the fact that the blaze “was not accessible to our equipment or vehicles,” crews opted for an indirect attack tactic versus a direct one.

“This is a tricky spot for us,” declared John Cecil, assistant commissioner of State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), which oversees the NJFFS. “Allen and Oswego roads are a location that we have been planning for a management activity for a couple years now, in working with the Pinelands Commission with the intention of getting in and thinning this area, creating a fuel break along 13 miles of road, 1,300 acres. This fire is impacting some of that area.”

According to Greg McLaughlin, chief of the NJFFS, the fire started along Allen Road at around 4:45 p.m. on May 31. He described Allen Road as being a “sandgravel road,” which runs in a north to south orientation in the Bass River State Forest.

“The particular spot where the fire started has heavy, dense fuels,” he told reporters, noting the forest floor in this location also has a “dense shrub layer of vegetation.”

The nature of the dense vegetation, McLaughlin said, led to “all the ingredients coming together” for the development of a crown fire here, or one where flames “spread treetop-to-treetop and emit burning embers” ahead of the fire line.

The forest fire service chief said the blaze had been first “detected by several of our fire towers,” or the personnel manning them and that shortly after that, “several 911 calls came in.”

“Crews responded to the fire within approximately 15 to 20 minutes,” he said of the time it took after the 4:45 p.m.

initial sighting occurred. “When they arrived on scene, the fire had consumed approximately 15 to 20 acres. The area that the fire started in was along Allen Road, and the fire was spreading in an east direction, being pushed by a light east wind. The fire was not accessible to our equipment or vehicles.”

Six homes were evacuated at the height of the fire, McLaughlin reported, as well as approximately 40 seasonal residents from Timberline Campground.

A source told the Pine Barrens Tribune that the decision to evacuate the campground was made primarily as a result of very heavy smoke conditions that quickly transpired in that location as the fire spread, as well as from backfires lit in the area.

The campground posted a picture on Facebook showing heavy smoke obscuring visibility on a roadway in Bass River during the early evening hours of May 31.

As of the morning of June 1, Allen Road and Oswego Road were closed to traffic, as well as Stage Road between North Maple Avenue and County Route 679, and County Route 679 between County Route 563 and Leektown Road.

McLaughlin, in noting some roads might be closed for at least two additional days in the vicinity of the wildfire, asserted at one point during the presser, “it is important for people to be aware that this is going on and this is an unsafe area.”

The road closures, he said, “will allow our firefighters to be safe and move around quickly, and efficiently throughout the fire containment area.”

The Batona Trail was also reported as being temporarily closed in the Bass River State Forest.

On the Timberline Lake Camping Resort (TLCR) Facebook page, a company official posted around 12:30 p.m. on June 1 that the campground has been advised the “fire is expected to burn up to 6,000 acres,” but that “firefighters do not feel TLCR is in danger at this time.”

“Roads are closed, and campers are asked to stay out to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles,” the campground wrote on June 1, with Timberline initially expected to be closed at least on the following day as well, though a township official later reportedly informed the campground that campers could return by late afternoon June 1.

Trevor Raynor, assistant division fire warden of the NJFFS, in “setting the stage for this wildfire,” pointed to the 1936

See WILDFIRE/ Page 10

Come in and experience alittle slice of Lancaster County,Pa. right hereinMedford, NJ.Among our stands, you’ll find everything from wooden furniturehand craftedbyAmish ar tisans, to delicious handrolled softpretzels, made fresh beforeyour very eyes. We also feature fresh homemade salads, jams and jellies, mouthwatering baked goods, farm-fresh eggs, bulk candies, afresh deli and meats, hand-dipped ice cream, homemade mustards, pretzels and chips, the best barbecue chickenand ribs, Corner Café, good food and friendlyservice .So, come in and treat yourself to a“goodie,” bring the kids and let ‘em play on the wooden swing sets and takea break from the ordinary. See you at the Market! 109

Photo Courtesy of Timberline Lake Camping Resort

Smoke billows from the wildfire that had consumed more than 3,000 acres of woodland in Bass River State Forest by the morning of June 1.

Forget Lest We

Southampton’s 144th Memorial Day Celebration

Southampton Township held its 144th Consecutive Annual Memorial Day Celebration on May 29, with it being described as the oldest, if not the oldest continuous Memorial Day Parade in New Jersey. August “Guy” Handt, just shy of 80 and a 12-year resident of LeisureTowne, served as distinguished grand marshal. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968, rising to the rank of Specialist Fourth Class. He served in Vietnam in the 25th Division, 27th Infantry of the Army. According to officials, he was drafted just after graduating high school in Gloucester County. His service obligation was said to have been cut short after having stepped on a landmine in Vietnam. Handt is a Purple Heart recipient, as well has earned medals for good conduct, national defense, Vietnam service, and partaking in the Vietnam campaign. He also holds a combat infantry badge. At an ensuing ceremony at the Veteran’s Monument on Main Street, Col. Mark Preston, Retired U.S. Army, served as guest speaker. Preston retired from the Army in 2016. His last military assignment was as director of Army Aviation and Safety for the New Jersey National Guard. The colonel is also the director of the Fiscal and Administrative Services Division of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. He has been with the department for 31 years. Preston is a 33-year veteran of the New Jersey National Guard, who enlisted in 1982 as a Private Second Class – supply specialist. After obtaining the rank of Specialist Fourth Class, he became part of the returned forces to Germany (West Germany) in 1985. Following his enlistment in the state National Guard, he became commissioned there as a Second Lieutenant. At one point, he deployed with the 29th Infantry Division in Bosnia for Operation Joint Forge in August 2001. Later, in October 2004, Preston became Battalion Commander of the 150th Aviation Battalion General Support of Fort Dix. That saw him sent to Iraq, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2004 to 2005. His numerous awards and decorations include the Merit Bronze Star. He is an active-life member of the Medford VFW Post #7677, currently serving as post commander. The LeisureTowne resident is also a district VFW commander for Burlington County.

Photos By John Dooley

Pemberton Township Memorial Day Parade

Scenes from the 2023 Pemberton Township Memorial Day Parade, the first held since the COVID-19 pandemic transpired in 2020. The parade on May 29 was hosted by Pemberton Township, Pemberton VFW Post #10065, and the Pemberton Township Veterans’ Advisory Council. One of the organizers told this newspaper that “it was one of the best attended such ceremonies” held in town that he knows of. The parade distinguished grand marshal was Darryl Wilkins, a past commander of the District 11 New Jersey VFW and Post #10065. Wilkins is also a member of the Buffalo Soldiers’ chapter and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and that is in addition to his service as a Tuskegee Airmen of the Hannibal M. Cox Chapter at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL). Serving as this year’s keynote speaker was township Mayor Jack Tompkins, also a veteran.

Photos By Nick Weissmann

andof different accessories to fit the device from the vendors, “but when you go to get the device, it refers you right to Stryker.”

Viscardi described a situation in which every time he contacts a different vendor for a quote, his request for pricing is then referred to the regional Stryker representative, and as a result of him being told the request is being made on behalf of Woodland, “this guy is like, ‘Oh, yeah, you are the second or third guy that has called me” on the town’s behalf.

It has come to the point that, according to the chief, the vendors are no longer coming back to him with quotes.

Viscardi, on a couple occasions during the workshop meeting, emphasized “the problem is we talked about this for so long that everything has gone up (in price) about 20 percent total,” with the chief at one point noting “we are up $5,000 since we started this,” or since the chief made the initial request for the items back in 2019.

The chief pointed out that the bid threshold is $17,500, and revealed that the LUCAS device itself “with one battery and a soft case” is about $18,000. However, the official suggested a hard case be purchased “because it will be bouncing around the ambulance” as well as the purchase of a second, backup battery, and therefore, “we are probably talking about $19,000 or better.”

“Since seeing how these prices keep increasing,” Viscardi asked if the township committee could just put the power cot and LUCAS device out to bid “separately,” and actually ask for bids (rather than seek quotes) on the LUAS device (going out to bid now would avert an even longer waiting period from developing if the quoted price should end up exceeding the bid threshold as, if it does, the township would have to go out to bid anyhow, which is a process that entails advertising, etc.).

Viscardi explained his fear is “if we don’t do it” now, then we will have to “wait” and “wait again,” to the point “we are talking another 3 to 4 months where we might see another increase” in cost during that time.

It was said the ambulance items at issue are not available through state contract.

Brown, in response to Viscardi’s plea, asked Burns if an item is soul-sourced, “Can we just buy it outright?” from the manufacturer.

That led to the township attorney asking a follow-up question of Viscardi, “Is there any other power load system you are aware of?”

“Not off the top of my head,” the chief responded. “I can’t think of any, but I can check. Ferno is the other good cot company. The rest are just like ‘you get what you pay for.’ Ferno and Stryker are the best cots for repetitive patient care.”

That led Burns to declare, “Let me do some research to see if there is another comparable power cot with a load system.”

“I can’t imagine why, if there is only one manufacturer who makes it, why you can’t do a contract with the manufacturer as a sole source,” Burns asserted.

After Brown pointed out the lowest quote received thus far is $60,888, which is from Stryker, Viscardi emphasized that is “just for the cot and system to load it in.”

“The LUCAS device is not even included in that price,” the chief further emphasized.

Rosmando then asked the chief if he was aware of any other local EMS companies that recently made similar purchases, and how they went about it.

“Well, there are,” Viscardi responded.

“And this is why I get aggravated. You (the fire officials in other towns) bring it up in a meeting – it is approved, and they buy it.”

The Woodland chief added he has “talked to other chiefs” and one told him he merely had “got the quotes to cover my butt,” while another told him “he got one price and the town wants to buy it” after only obtaining the single price.

“We have been dealing with this since COVID, when we started talking about it, and then we got the COVID money and it was like, OK, we can buy this,” said Viscardi in seemingly further venting his frustration with what has become a nearly five-year process, noting someone from the auditor firm was supposed to touch base on how to go about the purchase, but that he “never heard from them at all.”

DeGroff, in appearing to take in the quotes in a township with limited ratables (but that recently received a report it is now financially “very healthy” with a recent gain in surplus), pointed out the total cost of everything could be around $80,000.

“Bill, can you look into that (whether you can soul-source purchase directly from the manufacturer) and see if we can get that as soon as possible?” asked DeGroff of Burns. “If that is the case, we can go right to Stryker.”

The mayor then asked a question of Township Engineer Tom Leisse, “What is going on with the fire hydrant?”

The Pine Barrens Tribune previously reported that at an earlier Woodland committee meeting, DeGroff publicly raised the prospect of installing a hydrant and well at the Chatsworth firehouse for use by the Woodland fire company to obtain water supply to fight fires. In discussing the idea with Woodland Deputy Mayor Mark Herndon, it was revealed that the hydrant would work off a “separate well and pump,” and that the idea is to “have one somewhere, in a central location.”

DeGroff revealed at that time that Viscardi was said to have “made a suggestion” that the township use some of its “COVID money” to “put a hydrant at the firehouse.” Last month, the mayor noted how a neighboring community’s fire department “recently put in a well outside of their firehouse,” which reportedly proved useful during a recent blaze.

Leisse, on May 24, in response to the mayor’s question on the status of a prospective well for Woodland, replied it has turned out to be “a little bit more involved with permitting.” He confirmed approval is needed from the Pinelands Commission (which, from past history, can be a potentially burdensome, costly long process to obtain).

“It just blows my mind,” declared DeGroff in response. “Here is something that would benefit the town! We don’t have a fire hydrant in town!”

Viscardi asked if there is an exception to the Pinelands process in addressing “public safety concerns.”

“I am not saying violate rules or regulations,” Viscardi added. “But we have been dealing with a cell tower issue for nine years now, and we know we could have really used an additional water source last week (to fight a blaze in town).”

While the chief’s question wasn’t answered, this newspaper previously reported that the mayor of neighboring Washington Township, Daniel James, recently approached the Pinelands Commission about having a cellphone tower erected in his town as a matter of public safety. The agency’s rules currently prohibit a cell tower in the planned location.

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WILDFIRE

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and 1977 Bass River Forest Firefighting Memorial that was behind him at the presser, asserting, “The reason this memorial exists is because there were nine firefighters killed here in these woods two miles behind us.”

It was in 1936, he noted, that five Civilian Conservation Corps wildland firefighters were killed approximately nine miles from where he was standing, and in 1977, “four Eagleswood Volunteer Fire Company firefighters were killed on a wildfire just on the other side of the road where this wildfire occurred yesterday.”

“So, what we have learned and what has gone on since then is that we know these woods are very overstocked, with very high dense fuels,” Raynor said. “The fuels are your trees and pine needles and it gives way to extreme fire behavior and accessibility issues. So, we have learned some serious lessons from the past, obviously. And we have taken actions to protect life and safety. We bettered our equipment and used different tactics to put people at better safety.”

Discussing those tactics in more detail was John Earlin, Jr., section forest fire warden and incident commander of the Allen Road Wildfire, who made a point that the response to the fire relied, in part, on the “fire history in this area.”

“When we arrived on scene, the fire was exhibiting extreme fire behavior,” Earlin

said. “That plays a role in us not being able to get our equipment in to directly attack the fire. Then we go back to the lessons learned in the past, and like Trevor said, nine firefighters died in the past while combating wildfires here. So, we decided to step back and use indirect tactics to ultimately stop the forward progress of the wildfire.”

As of midday June 1, according to McLaughlin, the fire was listed as only 15

percent contained. By 7 p.m., while the size of the blaze had reached 5,000 acres and was listed as 50 percent contained, structures were no longer threatened, the state fire service reported.

“We do have fire around the entire perimeter,” the state forest fire service chief reported earlier in the day. “We are at 3,100 acres that the fire has consumed in the forest. We will probably be working on this fire for several days to come with continued warm and dry weather.”

Those antecedent “extreme dry conditions we have exhibited continuing from last year into this year,” Earlin noted, resulted in “this fire having exhibited extreme fire behavior throughout the night, even with the higher humidity (typically occurring during the nighttime hours).”

What to expect in the days ahead was highlighted by McLaughlin as he added that “within the fire containment area, there are several wet areas, several streams, and several swampy areas.”

“There is also an area of about 300 acres that earlier this season we conducted prescribed burning in,” McLaughlin told reporters. “So, in a lot of ways here, where this fire occurred, we have been lucky that these things helped us control, manage and contain the fire.

“What we expect to see with this warm weather and dry conditions, is this fire will move around within this containment area. We will see flare ups and smoke. The fire behavior will increase and diminish over time. That is normal. The fire will make runs, go into wet areas, diminish, and then pick back up again.”

It is a process that McLaughlin

described that “we want to happen” so that “fuels are consumed to the maximum extent possible.”

“That way we are confident the fire not going to reburn,” he said.

According to Raynor, in 1999, there was a “wildfire that occurred in this block of woods that was about 11,000 acres.”

“So, this piece of forest this fire occurred in has not burned in 24 years, which leads to an accumulation of fuels,” he declared.

The cause of the latest fire, McLaughlin reported at midday June 1, is “at this point undetermined,” but “we have a really strong task force out there at the moment conducting an investigation of the fire,” including officials from both the Burlington and Ocean Counties Prosecutor’s Offices.

Art O’Brien, who rents a home adjacent to the campground, told this newspaper that he first became aware of the fire shortly after 5 p.m. on May 31 and saw a “little plume of smoke,” then received a call from the owner of the property about three hours later advising him and his wife to evacuate. By that time, he said the backfires being lit to contain the blaze were causing quite a bit of smoke.

O’Brien said he and his wife took a few necessary items like medicines and clothes, but after leaving the house, the couple realized they “hadn’t grabbed enough stuff” and remembered all the items they had forgotten to take.

By the time of the press conference, however, the couple were advised it was safe for them to return, but O’Brien said that from now on, they’ll be better prepared to leave in a hurry.

Photo By Bill Bonvie State fire service officials gather for a press conference at the Bass River Forest Firefighter Memorial to firefighters, who died near the site in 1936 and 1977, to give an update on the latest wildfire in Bass River State Forest on the morning of June 1.

Photo By New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

A ground view of the wildfire that began in the Bass River State Forest on the afternoon of May 31.

CROSSROADS

Typical of such concerns were those expressed by a number of Bozarthtown Road residents.

Michael Wilk, for example, whose property adjoins the one at issue, expressed apprehension about any “mental challenges” that the potential occupants might have and inquired whether those living nearby would “be informed of any violence these folks have engaged in in the past,” further asking, “Is our safety at stake?”

Resident Thomas Williams indicated he was especially worried about the safety of children who wait for the school bus at that corner.

“I’m hoping you guys will do everything you can to discourage them from buying this land or direct them to a property that’s more appropriate, because it is absolutely going to have a horrible impact,” declared Williams, adding that “no responsible parent would ever buy a home to raise children next to a group home with mentally challenged people” with what he claimed were unknown backgrounds and minimal supervision.

“It is absolutely dangerous, and it is going to hurt all of our property values,” contended Williams, adding that while he thought it was important “how mentally challenged adults get rehabilitated, there is a right place to do it, and impacting our children and our neighborhood like that is the wrong way to do it.”

Also voicing concern about the safety of any youngsters who might be in the vicinity, as well as whether any occupants of the house might possibly be “off their medication” or administered the wrong one was Lisa Kotzker, who said that while she was “very open” to disabled people that definitely need a place to go” and didn’t think there was “anything wrong with their being in Tabernacle,” they should be situated on a site of at least five acres, rather than the much smaller one where the house at issue is located.

Then there was Denise Carpenter, who told the committee that the purported plan to open the group home “Isn’t fair to us,” and that “it is almost like you’re trying to slide them in under the radar before we even find out.”

Boyd, however, sounding more at times like the legal counsel for Friends of Cyrus than a zoning official, dismissed the fears voiced by the residents about anyone who might end up living in the house posing a potential threat to the safety of neighborhood families as unfounded, emphasizing that all candidates for occupancy would be carefully screened in advance. To that end, he read the relevant language of the New Jersey code that governs who is and isn’t allowed to live in such a facility.

In the inadmissible category, Boyd noted,

is any individual who has been convicted of an offense that includes murder, manslaughter, death by auto, robbery, simple, aggravated or sexual assault, recklessly endangering another person, making terroristic threats, kidnapping, interfering with the custody of children, lewdness or endangering the welfare of a child or incompetent person, as well as any violation involving a controlled dangerous substance or a financial crime. Such exclusions, he added, should answer the question of whether any “drug addicts” or “violent people” would be permitted to reside in a group home of this type, the occupants of which “are not considered to be dangerous folks.”

By contrast, Chris Tretola, the attorney temporarily filling in for Township Solicitor William Burns, pointed out that there is little such assurance provided to neighbors when someone who isn’t in a program of this sort takes possession of a home.

“One thing I can certainly tell you is that a private person with numerous convictions can buy that house and be more dangerous than any of these other people,” Tretola told the attendees.

As for people living in the neighborhood not having been notified of the pending sale (which was reportedly scheduled for June 1), Boyd explained that “the state does not require any notice to be made until such time that they apply for a license,” at which time the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) would provide official notification to the township.

The zoning officer also addressed the idea that the presence of this type of group home would tend to lower the values of surrounding properties, as Williams and other nearby homeowners had suggested. Instead, he maintained, statistics show that real-estate prices “are higher in areas that have group homes” meeting the uniform construction code requirements for R-3 and R-5 Occupancy Classifications (the house at issue being in the former category).

“The state mandates they have a certain level of maintenance on their house” that the township otherwise doesn’t require, he said.

Boyd also attempted to debunk another claim put forth by opponents of the group home: that it was actually not a residence, but a business misrepresenting itself as one.

“This is not classified as a business,” he assured them.

In response to a charge that state oversight of the facility was likely to be inadequate, Boyd said he knows from personal experience that state inspectors come out and periodically check on conditions in group homes, and that in any event, as the township fire official, “I guarantee you it will be inspected once a year, either by myself or a licensed fire inspector.”

He also denied an allegation that Friends of Cyrus would be “renting out” rooms in the house, likening the group-home

arrangement to that involving a family with foster children, each of whom is given his or her own bedroom, only “that can be more troublesome,” he quipped.

When asked by one resident, “Are we taking care of our own folks, then?” Boyd replied, “We are absolutely taking care of our own folks, and these people will be our own folks as well, no different than any other individual who lives in this town.”

As long as they are assigned living quarters in the facility, he added, “This is their home, and they have every right to live in their home.”

As for Friends of Cyrus not having sent a representative to attend the meeting, as a resident made a point of noting (which the organization had reportedly attempted to do, according to founder and CEO Kamelia Kameli, by going to the old township offices, but wasn’t informed the address for the meetings had changed to the Tabernacle firehouse), the mayor read a statement the organization emailed to town officials.

“Thank you again for reaching out to us,” it said, before describing how the organization had been founded 10 years ago, named after Kameli’s son whose disability inspired it, and currently operates some 25 community residences and three day programs through the state Division of Developmental Disabilities, with all of its activities licensed and regulated by the state Department of Human Services.

“Friends of Cyrus provides a safe and nurturing environment for people who choose to exercise (their) right to live in the community,” it continued, noting that the

organization offers a 24/7 on-site staff that provides support to the residents in areas of daily living, community integration, socialization, etc.

The message also noted that “we hope to continue to build strong relationships within Tabernacle, to provide opportunities for our residents to reach their fullest potential.” It also invited local residents to reach out to the organization with any further questions they might have.

Contacted by the Pine Barrens Tribune, Kameli responded with an email further elucidating how the organization currently provides “structured, person-centered services to 140 adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities,” and that its “Day Habilitation Programs create opportunities for each individual to explore and develop skills in horticulture, technology, culinary arts, painting and music, just to name a few.”

Kameli concluded the message by pointing out that, according to 2021 data from the New Jersey Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, there are 1,402 students with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities in Burlington County alone and that “these children are growing up and aging out of the school system and will all need services.”

She added that she would also like to bring to everyone’s attention that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 clearly states that “People with disabilities have the same rights as all people to non-discrimination, access, equality of opportunity, inclusion and full access and full participation in society.”

Photo By Andrew King Construction and Code Enforcement Official Tom Boyd, of Tabernacle Township, responds May 22 to resident concerns.

ABSENTEE

(Continued from Page 1)

sessions, to the point that the borough mayor came to the defense of one of the members in reading a prepared statement into the record.

The accusations, levied by Former Borough Councilman Joseph A. Aromando III, a frequent council critic and challenger, apparently against Councilwoman Gail Caputo and Councilman Thomas Cranston (the latter under fire for his having reportedly missed numerous borough Planning Board meetings as also a sitting member of that public body) are not necessarily new ones, but Aromando has significantly stepped up his public criticisms of the pair since April as both Caputo and Cranston have missed additional meetings since the start of the year.

According to public official attendance records later provided by the borough to the Pine Barrens Tribune in response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, there were 10 borough council meetings held last year and Caputo was marked absent for four of them.

There have been seven borough council meetings held so far this year. Caputo is recorded as having missed three, including two consecutive meetings held April 26 and May 10, respectively.

“Is she absent of her own volition?” asked Aromando during a May 10 council session, with the former councilman apparently referring to Caputo, with her having been absent from that session and the only woman currently serving on council (Aromando, in the past, has called her out by name when challenging the councilwoman’s attendance record). “Are you guys picking on her? Are you guys upsetting her? Is there some reason why she can’t make the meetings?”

Medford Lakes Mayor Dr. Gary Miller initially responded that he “doesn’t know” if the former borough councilman is being “facetious or not.”

“Rest assured, for the record, nobody is picking on her,” Miller declared.

Aromando first raised the borough councilwoman’s attendance record last year. At that time, Caputo had been recorded as having missed the four council meetings for 2022. And for some of the sessions that Caputo did attend, she did so remotely, at times setting herself apart from the rest of her colleagues.

“What is going to happen here?” pressed Aromando of council on May 10.

After not receiving an immediate answer to that question, Aromando walked away from the microphone, but in the process of doing so, shouted, “Does she want to be here?”

Medford Lakes provides two public comment periods at its meetings, one at the very beginning and one at the conclusion of regular business having been conducted.

Aromando returned to the microphone for a second time on May 10, declaring, “With regard to the state statute, it says for people who ‘vacate’ their seat, the council has an obligation to act, and their remedy is to either ‘remove’ or ‘excuse.’”

“I am not the solicitor here,” the former borough councilman added. “I don’t know whether you have gone to him. But is there any action happening in the near future to address this?”

Aromando, after not receiving a reply to that question, pressed the council as to whether “something” is going to be done. He further demanded to know whether it will take action to either “excuse” or “remove” the councilwoman. He contended there is a “violation here” that is “clear to the statute.”

“Some action needs to be done,” Aromando quipped. “It can’t just be ignored.”

Aromando then seemingly turned his attention to Cranston’s planning board attendance record, though for the May 10 council meeting he simply referred to him as “that person,” instead of by name. (In April, however, he mentioned Cranston by name in criticizing the councilman’s planning board attendance record.)

According to the public official attendance records obtained by this newspaper, there were a total of 10 local planning board meetings in 2022. Cranston missed seven of them.

So far, this year, according to the records, there have been a total of five local planning board meetings. Cranston has only been marked present for one of them, having missed four of the five sessions.

“The other thing is, the planning board administrator, in his role, is to make a ‘referral’ to council in regard to an absentee member of the planning board,” said Aromando during the May 10 council session. “That person (Cranston) also met the threshold. His (Borough Clerk Mark McIntosh’s) obligation was to do that. Did you do that?”

McIntosh responded, “I have not referred anything,” which led Aromando to ask, “Is there any reason?”

“Our solicitor said that was your responsibility and obligation,” Aromando

See ABSENTEE/ Page 13

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Councilwoman Gail Caputo during a 2021 Medford Lakes Borough Council appearance, who is described as having missed several meetings since that time as a result of having an “ill mother that she has to care for” and “a young child she can’t leave alone.”

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Councilman Thomas Cranston, whose recent purported spate of absences from the local planning board have been said to be the result of “a professional commitment.”

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WOODLAND

(Continued from Page 9)

“We do have emergency authorizations in the CMP,” replied Susan R. Grogan, acting executive director of the Pinelands Commission, 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.

Grogan, however, didn’t remark any further about whether such an authorization would be considered for the proposed cell tower.

Woodland’s cell tower project has also been stymied, in part, by the CMP regulations.

DeGroff, on May 24, agreed with the chief that having a well in place at the Chatsworth firehouse of the Woodland

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ABSENTEE

(Continued from Page 12)

added.

Before McIntosh could respond, Miller interceded, contending he would not allow the meeting to turn into a cross examination of a public official.

“Bring it up offline with the clerk,” Miller advised Aromando.

But that led the former borough councilman to assert, “I don’t understand why these things aren’t done,” further maintaining “out of respect for a citizen” an “answer” should be given for something as “simple as this.”

“I don’t want to go home with these mysteries,” Aromando declared. “It keeps me up at night.”

Aromando, after raising a number of other issues, including quipping that council meetings are a “place where ideas go to die, sadly,” returned to what he saw as chronic absenteeism by the pair of elected officials, declaring, “When people are doing things wrong like not attending meetings, it would be good to know they are held accountable.”

“The way things are now, they are totally not acceptable,” added Aromando, a statement that also covered his concerns about a purported continued lack of routine updates to the borough website (where minutes haven’t been posted in months), as well as departmental reports not being submitted by a required deadline. “I just hope, and believe, you all know that, and know you can do better. And the only way we can do that is by the leadership of the

See ABSENTEE/ Page 15

ABSENTEE

(Continued from Page 13)

people elected.”

Miller acknowledged “Aromando raised a few issues” and asked “if there is anyone who wishes to address them,” but only one about another item was addressed May 10.

Caputo attended council’s subsequent May 24 session, and in person.

And during the session in which she appeared, Miller referred to Aromando’s May 10 remarks about the “attendance of one of our councilpersons,” before declaring, “I think it needs to be clearly presented as to what our position is on this.”

“The individual in question has an ill mother that she has to care for,” explained Miller in reading from a prepared statement. “She has got a young child she can’t leave alone, and she can’t leave the mother, either. This puts real constraints on her to be free and to do certain things. She makes every effort to make the meetings, and when she doesn’t, she is in contact with me and the borough manager to find out what is going on.”

Miller maintained that both he and Borough Manager Dr. Robert Burton, in the event of knowing that Caputo is going to be absent from a council session, “ask for her input at that point in time so we can consider it.”

“Council understands these constraints

she has got, and is alright with this,” Miller said. “The law provides for us to make exceptions to allow for a certain amount of absenteeism that is acceptable, and we are simply going to continue on and hope the councilwoman can make the meetings when she can, and if she can’t, she will be in touch with us. We will leave it at that – I think that is a reasonable accommodation. It works for us. It hasn’t impeded us in any way shape or form, and we are able to get our work done as a council.”

Caputo, in her only comments of the evening, remarked, “Thank-you, mayor.”

Several municipalities in the state have a codified absentee policy along the lines of, “In the event that an elected official or member of a board, committee, or authority established fails to attend and participate at meetings of such body for a period of six consecutive weeks, or three consecutive meetings, whichever shall be of a longer duration, without being excused for just cause, the municipal clerk or secretary of said body shall notify the governing body, in writing, of that determination. Said council, board, committee or authority may refuse to excuse said absences only with respect to those failures to attend or participate which are not due to just cause.”

As for Cranstons’ absences from the local planning board, it remained an issue that had largely not been publicly addressed by the councilman – that is until this newspaper emailed him an inquiry for this story.

“Due to a professional commitment, I have missed a number of planning board meetings recently,” the councilman told this newspaper. “However, I do not anticipate this being a long-term time conflict.”

Cranston, who has missed only one of the seven council meetings so far this year, pointed out he did attend the planning board meeting held in May.

A LinkedIn profile page for Cranston identifies him as the owner of Scafidi, Cranston & Associates, LLC, since 2004, a certified public accountants’ group. He is a co-founding partner, according to the firm’s website.

Cranston, in the response to this newspaper’s query, did not address a question posed to him about whether he was at all concerned that there could be a resulting lack of scrutiny, from a councilperson’s vantage point, being given to any of the recent applications heard by the planning board.

However, the councilman did maintain in his response that, “I have been a member of the planning board for approximately 16 years, and overall, my attendance has been good.”

Aromando, during an April 26 Medford Lakes Borough Council meeting, also declared, “the attendance on the planning board has really been bad” overall.

According to the public official attendance records, 11 people serve on the borough planning board. Not one member is recorded as having attended all

10 sessions held last year.

While about half of the members missed only one or two meetings last year, there was one individual who attended only half of the sessions held, while two other appointees missed approximately 43 percent of the sessions.

“They have barely been getting people to show up,” said Aromando on April 26. “Your one appointment here – I made a point at the last meeting, and now he is here – the state law says that when you miss an ‘X’ number of consecutive meetings, that is grounds for you to be removed. … I would ask Mr. Cranston to just step down and let somebody else be appointed, because I understand you have responsibilities, jobs and a life – but not attending is an insult to the residents of Medford Lakes.

“And missing three consecutive meetings, along with the number of meetings that you have missed, is just wrong. I don’t know why you would let somebody get away with this. Anybody who had a job here, who missed that much time, wouldn’t have a job anymore! And it is really upsetting!”

Aromando, when he raised the attendance record of both Caputo and Cranston last year, had called on both of them at that time to resign from their positions.

The overall attendance of the planning board has been somewhat better so far this year, according to the public records provided to this newspaper.

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