FARMING’?

to Dispense with ‘Dispensary’ in Signs for Establishments Selling Recreational Cannabis Prohibition on Word Proposed in Amended Sign Ordinance; Mayor Asks Attorney if Council Required to Take Ethics Training

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

EVESHAM—A proposed ordinance that would dispense with the use of the word “dispensary” in signs for recreational cannabis businesses in Evesham Township was unanimously moved forward on first reading at a March 8 Township Council meeting.

See DISPENSARY/ Page 9

The indignant group of farmers were joined by other community stakeholders and residents who bombarded Pemberton Township Council and the cannabis “entrepreneurs” during a March 15 meeting with critical questions about the proposal, with a session of the governing body for the second time in a month lasting for some four hours, primarily over the prospect of a cannabis operation seeking local support to come to town.

And just like the initial session over a separate, unrelated cannabis retailer application, this one involving a “request to open up a cultivation facility at 195 North Pemberton Road” led to times of lost decorum.

“This is an abomination that you are even entertaining this because at the last meeting all the people were against this!” declared Resident Michelle Forman.

But unlike the retail proposal for the former Jamison’s Bar and Grill on Fort Dix Road that received 3-2 support earlier this month, with the Democrats on council backing it without much hesitancy, at least one of the Democratic members this time around expressed some reluctance in giving support in the near-term for the cultivation facility, citing what he saw as unsatisfactory answers to at least some of the questions that were asked and lack of preparedness by the applicant.

Evesham Councilwoman Heather Cooper to Face Ex-Freeholder Tiver in Race to Replace Stanfield

Democratic Champion for Disabled, GOP Labor Activist to Contend for Open 8th District State Senate Seat

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

MOUNT HOLLY—The race for control of the 8th Legislative District in next November’s election is on, with Burlington and Atlantic County Democrats having selected Evesham Councilwoman and exDeputy Mayor Heather Cooper to run for the open Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Jean Stanfield, a former

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Washington’s Send/Receive School District, Once Having Enjoyed Surplus, Formally Declares a ‘Financial Crisis’ As It Faces Shortfall Exceeding $900K New Special Ed Pupils Requiring Out-of-District Placements at ‘Very High’ Costs, Rising Transportation Costs, Cumulative $1.8M in Aid Cuts Cause ‘Perfect Storm’

By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—When the Washington Township School District became a send/ receive school district during the 2016-17 school year and later sold its shuttered, relatively-new Green Bank Elementary School building, there were discussions that a “huge surplus” would be presented to township taxpayers with per pupil costs projected to decrease from approximately $33,000 to $13,000, in addition to what was described as an additional savings that would come from both the sale of the school and the district essentially becoming nonoperational.

Local officials even discussed using that surplus money to give substantial tax breaks to residents.

But now, some six years later, a “perfect storm” of increased student enrollment, required out-of-district special education placements and nearly $1.8 million in “cumulative” state aid cuts has reportedly all come together resulting in an officiallydeclared “financial crisis” in which the Washington district in the far southeastern corner of Burlington County, which currently sends its students to both the Mullica Township and Greater Egg Harbor Regional districts, is facing a “financial shortfall” in its 2023-24 school year budget of a whopping $976,770.

It was a revelation made by Washington district Business Administrator Karen Gfroehrer in a rare public appearance before the Washington Township Committee during a March 7 session that appeared to downright stun Washington Mayor Daniel James, as well as seemingly left the whole three-person township committee both astonished and concerned.

A second revelation from Gfroehrer that the Washington district is currently slated to raise local school taxes to meet both increased costs and “unfunded mandates” from the state by $206.96 per every $100,000 assessed value and that the township is “still at that deficit of $900,000” after doing that also appeared to roil the meeting.

“So, you are looking at raising the tax rate by $1,800 a property?” asked a seemingly taken aback James, to which Gfroehrer replied that the Washington mayor’s estimate would “roughly” be the impact, though it would “depend on what the property is assessed at.”

“Even with raising taxes that high, we are still at that deficit of $900,000,” the business administrator declared.

The proposed 2023-24 school year budget, as currently written, according to Gfroehrer, raises the tax levy by $162,979, which causes there to be an increase of $206.96 per every $100,000 assessed value, with her noting that currently the Washington district cannot go even higher because of a state-mandated two percent cap that is in place, and the figures include “a two percent tax levy increase and the use of all banked cap.”

However, Gfroehrer, in response to a later question from this newspaper of what the taxpayers would have to pay if the district was somehow able to raise taxes above the cap and were forced to cover the entire shortfall, responded, “ if the board were able to raise taxes to meet the shortfall, the increase would add an additional $976,770 to the tax levy” and “this would result in a total tax increase of $1,226.90 per every $100,000 assessed value.”

Gfroehrer, during the March 7 committee meeting, said she has brought the shortfall to the attention of the county, the executive county superintendent (a New Jersey Department of Education [NJDOE] employee) as well as to the NJDOE central offices, and the NJDOE’s suggestion is to “take out a loan,” which, she asserted as a person who manages money for a living, “to me doesn’t make any sense because next year I am in the same boat anyhow.”

James at one point told the district business administrator, who is also in that position for the Mullica district, “we are trying to find out where to find the money because we don’t have an idea,” noting that Washington Township municipal government has also seen reduced funding from the state over the last several years.

Charlene Lee, president of the Washington Township Board of Education, who accompanied Gfroehrer to the township committee meeting, responded that the pair is “not asking” the township for money, but rather “we are looking for ideas because this is going to be a problem that is not going to go away this year” and is “only going to be a continuing problem.”

“And that kind of money will bankrupt the township,” Lee declared.

Gfroehrer, in advising the mayor that the Washington district is some “$900,000 short,” explained that “the state has consistently cut aid” to the school district since the 2016-17 school year “and cumulatively, when you keep adding the numbers together, it is well over $1 million in aid cuts,” or what has amounted to $1,813,484 in lost funding.

The district business administrator, however, recognized that “when the school closed, we had additional funds,” which prompted James to inquire, “Can you put that towards it?”, apparently oblivious to the fact that the surplus from the transition to a send/receive district had dried up.

“It’s gone,” said Gfroehrer, a revelation that particularly seemed to astonish the Washington mayor.

Gfroehrer explained that one of the reasons the money is now gone is that the Washington district has had to raise its money to a “minimum tax levy” set by the state.

“I thought when you closed the school, there would be a large surplus, and that is because you were going from $33,000 per student to $13,000?” the mayor asked Gfroehrer, to which she responded, “Correct.”

As he attempted to grapple with the apparently shocking revelation, James asked of the pair of school officials, “How come nobody said, until right now, anything?”

“I asked every time we got together, how we can put it (the surplus) back to the citizens or to … , ” the mayor asserted.

Lee responded that “we were trying to give back to the citizens” of the township, “but since we have students now coming into the district, tuition costs are going up and transportation costs are increasing.”

“We have been slowly working at that (surplus),” Lee declared. “We didn’t have to raise taxes, but now we have had excess students move in, which is setting us over. It’s like a perfect storm.”

The district business administrator followed up on that point made by her counterpart by remarking, “Honestly that is why we can’t give back to the taxpayer, but we have been at the minimum tax levy, so we are looking at a big tax increase this year.”

“I guess you are!” James retorted.

As it was explained to the Washington committee during its March 7 session, a major driver for the increased costs is a few

Tabernacle Fire, Citing Waning Volunteerism, Asks Township Committee to Fund Daytime Program for Firefighting Once Federal Funding Expires Department Requests Town Employ Handful of Firefighters During Weekdays for $104,000 Annually Versus Transitioning to Career Firefighting Department

By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer

TABERNACLE—The Tabernacle Township

Fire Department has requested of the Tabernacle Township Committee that it takeover a currently federally-funded program late this year when the funding is due to expire that enables the fire department to employ a handful of certified firefighters on Monday through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., citing a worsening shortage of volunteers during the daytime hours, which it claims accounts for some 60 percent of all fire calls.

It was explained by Deputy Fire Chief John Gajderowicz during a March 13 workshop meeting of the township committee that back in November 2021, the fire department received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to employ four firefighters during the daytime of each weekday at a cost of $98 per firefighter, per day.

The grant, he said, will expire in November of this year, however. While the fire department intends to “put in” to receive another round of federal funding to support the program, Gajderowicz maintained that after holding discussions with a grant writer, it appears that receiving an award in this upcoming grant cycle is unlikely as the department “can’t lie” on an application and will have to check off a box on it that asks if the applicant was a previous awardee, which, he contended, “puts us at the bottom of the list” of a “very competitive” grant.

“And unfortunately, we are not the only ones hurting for firefighters,” he declared, maintaining the number of firefighters, nationwide, is down by 20 percent in the latest statistics.

That national trend, he further asserted,

“doesn’t stop with Tabernacle,” and while the department continues to “actively seek” members, “it is just not what it used to be – we are just not getting them.”

“One of the biggest reasons,” Gajderowicz said, this program is “needed” and must be continued is that there is a “lack of volunteers during the week,” particularly “during the daytime because people work.”

He maintained that of the local crew of firefighters, “more than 90 percent have either school or work during the daytime,” and therefore, without having paid firefighters in place during the daytime, the fire department “doesn’t have the manpower around” to meet state and federal operating requirements, including those from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Gajderowicz, in light of the circumstances, requested March 13 the Tabernacle committee fund three certified firefighters from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a cost of $104,000 annually, beginning in December 2023.

“Having them in the station helps on multiple fronts,” Gajderowicz maintained. “It helps with insurance (obligations), response times and helping people in need.”

Currently, with the program in place, the fire department’s daytime response time is “under a minute,” or averaging around 56 seconds, while in the evening, when volunteers take over, the response time is “averaging five minutes and 12 seconds.”

Gajderowicz pointed out that last year was a “very busy year” with the department responding to 371 calls and providing 194 mutual

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Measures Being Drafted to Further Protect Log Cabins from Demolitions, Make Property Owners Responsible for Sidewalks in Medford Lakes Boro Former Borough Councilman Questions Virtual Attendance of Councilwoman, Demands Meeting Minutes Be Posted, ‘All’ Department Reports Be Provided

By Douglas D. M elegari Staff Writer MEDFORD LAKES—Officials

in Medford Lakes Borough, with an aim to conduct “preservation” of log cabins in its Historic District, are looking to require more than simply expert word that one is beyond repair or that it would be cost prohibitive to repair one before it can be demoed, and are also looking to pass on maintenance of any sidewalks in the borough onto adjacent property owners.

Borough Solicitor Doug Heinold revealed these intentions during a March 8 Medford Lakes Borough Council meeting, and while proceeding with drafting the sidewalk law, asked the governing body if he had its consent to also move ahead with working to amend “our existing demo ordinance,” to which he received no objections.

According to the solicitor, the issue of demoing log cabins had been raised at a recent Borough Planning Board meeting and the issue of home demolitions in general has become a “hot button” issue in Burlington County with a “a couple issues” occurring, though he didn’t expand on what those issues entail.

“I am not sure why all sudden it is a hot button issue, but it is,” declared Heinold, in asking the council to for permission to work with the borough planner to develop amendments to the municipality’s existing demo ordinance.

Borough Clerk Mark J. McIntosh later explained to this newspaper that the planning board recently heard an application to demolish a log cabin in the municipality’s Historic District at 140 Chippewa Trail and that it is “one of our original cabins,” with part of it having been built back in 1929.

The application, he said, “kind of caused concern with the planning board” because the “planning board felt the current ordinance doesn’t support the kind of questions they wanted to have answered,” and that despite the applicant’s professionals having “provided answers to the board,” the body “felt the historic ordinance should be reviewed by the governing body and beefed up a little bit more.”

“Yes, the applicant’s professionals made a case for it, and since their engineer met the requirements of the current ordinance in his review of the property, they didn’t really have a choice but to allow it to come down,” replied McIntosh when this newspaper asked if the log cabin’s demolition had been approved by the planning board, with the borough clerk adding that in this particular instance, the log cabin being torn down will be replaced with a new one.

The borough clerk explained that “anything within the Historic District, you can’t do without planning board approval,” and described it as being a “very obscure” geographic boundary, but including the Lower Aetna and Upper Aetna portions of the borough, as well as by the municipal building and Nokomis Elementary School.

The intent behind any amended ordinance, the solicitor explained, would be to address the “concerns” of the planning board that “we are making sure we are doing everything that we can so someone couldn’t just come in and demo a current log structure.”

Heinold maintained that by going to a planner to “get advice,” it would be the “best way to craft the best preservation approach ordinance to prevent demolitions.”

“At end of the day, if a property is beyond repair and that can be established with engineer reports, and it is private property, there is only so much that can be done,” Heinold declared. “But certain measures are lawful and need to be explored to meet the concerns being raised by the board.”

Deputy Mayor William Fields revealed that with the “way our ordinance is written, it just says you need an engineer to state that (or that a structure is beyond repair and/or fixing it up is cost prohibitive) as opposed to providing figures showing that.”

He agreed that requirements “in excess” of the borough’s current ordinance need to be considered, or “something a little more than just a letter” that would perhaps require a property owner to at least provide the borough with “actual concrete figures.”

“At end of the day, the planning board has to make a decision to tear down an existing log cabin to make those repairs,” he maintained.

While the borough “doesn’t have a lot of sidewalks,” said Heinold in discussing the second ordinance officials are looking to draft, “which is probably why there was not extensive regulation on it,” the solicitor maintained “there does need to be some provisions put on the books.”

Heinold explained that the intent behind the proposed law is “we handle the curbing” while “abutting property owners are responsible for everything to that.”

It was felt that curbing should be excluded from being a homeowner’s responsibility, he added, because “most of the curbing around town actually was put in place by us and a lot has to do with stormwater management in trying to direct water to drains” and that it is motorists that are hitting them and creating damage.

State Earmarks 250 Acres of Bass River Township for Spraying with Nontoxic Biological Pesticide for Gypsy Moth Infestation

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

BASS RIVER—Some 205 acres of Bass River Township are due to be sprayed for gypsy moths by the State of New Jersey on a schedule yet to be determined, it was announced at the March 6 meeting of the township Board of Commissioners.

The area designated for the aerial spraying, which is largely municipally owned and was based on the results of a survey of egg mass counts, includes some 41 acres off Leektown Road at the Chatsworth Road intersection, 64 acres off West Road, 36 acres off Golddecker and Chips Folly roads, 56 acres off Allen Road at the Stage Road intersection and another 39 acres further down Allen Road.

Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope, responding to a question, noted that the spray used in the program (Bacillus thuringiensis, or B.t., a biological pesticide that is lethal to the caterpillar when ingested), does nothing to eradicate lantern flies, an invasive species that residents have been asked to kill on sight “even though they’re beautiful.”

An Internet post by the Minnesota Department of Health reports that B.t. is non-toxic to humans but advises anyone concerned about its effect on a health condition to stay indoors during application.

In other business, the board adopted two ordinances updating the rules governing the transfer of property titles to put them in compliance with state mandates.

The two property sale ordinances that were adopted call for code inspection of the premises involved for fire and CO2 detectors and the proper numbering of homes to enable fire and emergency crews to immediately identify the properties to which they’re responding – including “knockdowns” that are vacant but where a fire might endanger neighboring structures.

McCooley’s Contract as Pinelands Superintendent Is Renegotiated After She Resigns from Shared-Service Role with Little Egg District Board Submitted Tentative Budget of $42,149,346, Calling for Small Tax Hike

By Bill Bonvie Staff Writer

LITTLE EGG HARBOR—The Pinelands Regional Board of Education has tentatively voted to renegotiate Dr. Melissa A. McCooley’s contract as superintendent of schools for the Pinelands Regional School District, with her tenure extended for another five-year period, based on her having submitted her resignation as superintendent for the Little Egg Harbor (LEH) School District, a post she currently occupies under a shared services agreement.

This renegotiation will now make her a full-time employee of the Pinelands Regional district beginning with the upcoming 202324 school year, the superintendent later confirmed to this newspaper.

The Pinelands board, at its March 20 meeting, also was presented with a $42,149,346 budget (including special revenues and debt service) by Business Administrator Amanda Miller for the 2022-23 school year, some $24,521,016 of which is scheduled to be raised through property taxes in the fourmunicipality district. A year ago, the amount to be raised in local taxes was slightly less at $24,091,900 on a total budget figure of $41,432,836.

McCooley’s new contract, which is scheduled to commence, on or about July 1 of this year, provided she is granted early release from her 180-day resignation obligation from the LEH district, will involve a $10,000 cut in salary from what she presently earns working

McCooley for both districts, bringing her total salary to $180,000 a year. Her previous shared service contract was scheduled to run through June 30, 2026.

In her resignation letter to the LEH district staff following the meeting, a copy of which was obtained by this newspaper, McCooley wrote that “It is with a heavy heart that I am

See McCOOLEY/ Page 7