Pine Barrens Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2025

CONTENTION AT COUNTY COLLEGE

Council Tasked with Deciding Settlement for $550K in Suit Brought Against Township, Mayor, Now-Former Administrator

Joint Insurance Fund Conditionally Approves Deal That Would Have Township Pay $50K

By D ouglas D. M elegari

Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Whether or not to agree to settle a lawsuit brought by a township employee against Pemberton Township Mayor Jack Tompkins, former township business administrator Daniel Hornickel (when he was still in his official capacity in Pemberton) and the Township of Pemberton is a “tough decision” that Pemberton Township Council will have to make during its scheduled April 2 council meeting, according to a March 19 council meeting pronouncement by Township Solicitor Jerri Dasti.

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

MOUNT LAUREL—A number of Democratic appointees seated on the Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) Board of Trustees, including those who were recently appointed by Democratic County Commissioners’ Board Director Dr. Felicia Hopson with the support of the all-Democratic Commissioners’ Board, now allowing

the Democratic party to hold majority control on the Trustees’ Board, plunged the college’s governing body into chaos on March 18 in apparently brusquely voting to reinstall the embattled Malamut & Associates law firm as college solicitor.

The Pine Barrens Tribune previously reported that Attorney Adam S. Malamut, managing partner of Malamut & Associates who is known to have strong ties to the Democratic

party and reportedly has intentions to expand his foothold in Burlington County, is reportedly at the center of an alleged nepotism in hiring scheme at the county college, the nature of which came to light during a chaotic October session of the Trustees’ Board when the college’s governing body had voted to have College President Dr. Michael

Dasti revealed that the township’s insurance company, or the Burlington County Joint Insurance Fund (JIF), has “conditionally approved a settlement last night to pay one of the township employees for her lawsuit against the town, the mayor and the former business administrator.” The settlement would be for $550,000, according to Dasti, with $500,000 paid out

Photo By Alex Costa

Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) campus.

Sycamore Hall in Browns Mills Is Listed ‘For Sale’ After Nothing Comes of Proposed Redevelopment for Former Bank Building

Pemberton Twp. Sold It Last Year for $250K to Before and After Properties, Which Sought to Renovate Building and Is Now Seeking $750K for Property; Council Voids Redeveloper Designation, But Solicitor Says It Can’t Void Sale

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Sycamore Hall, a 248-year-old former bank building overlooking Mirror Lake in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township, or commonly known as the yellow bank building at 1 Clubhouse Road, is now up for sale, the Pine Barrens Tribune confirmed on March 23 with Mark Schneider, real estate broker with Browns Mills-based Schneider Real Estate Agency.

The advertised asking price, as of press time, is $750,000.

“An incredible opportunity awaits with this spacious commercial building situated on a prime corner lot spanning over 2 acres in the heart of Browns Mills Town Center,” the listing states. “Boasting breathtaking views of Mirror Lake, this property offers endless possibilities under the Town Center Redevelopment Plan, with a variety of permitted uses. The property comes with preliminary approvals for a restaurant or bed and breakfast, making it an ideal investment for hospitality or dining ventures. Additionally, the owner holds a liquor license that can be assigned to the building, providing a lucrative opportunity for a bar, tavern, or upscale dining establishment. With high visibility, ample space and flexible zoning, this property is a rare find in a growing and revitalized area. Don’t miss your chance to bring your vision to life in this prime lakeside location!”

The real estate listing represents a dramatic turn of events for a parcel purchased from the township back on March 22, 2024, by Before and After Properties, LLC, a firm listed as based in nearby New Egypt (Plumsted Township).

That firm was previously designated

Pemberton Council President Issues Public Apology to Resident Following His Threat to Have Her Removed from Meeting by Cop Tensions Flare Amid Allegations from Local Man Concerning Animal Control; Council Hears from Woman Identifying as ‘Cat Mom’ Calling for TNR Policy

By D ouglas D. M elegari Staff Writer

PEMBERTON—Republican

Pemberton Township Council President Joshua Ward has issued a public apology after threatening to have a township resident, who is a regular council meeting attendee and ardent supporter of the local GOP, removed from a public March 19 session by a Pemberton Township cop positioned in the back of council chambers.

Setting the stage for the incident is when resident Michael Sawka approached the dais to contend, “I have not seen yet that Pemberton Township has listed who their humane law enforcement officer is,” calling it “illegal,” further charging it is “against the state law to not have one designated.”

guess that half the dogs out there are not licensed,” Sawka declared.

Sawka also alleged that officials, during the town’s Rabies Clinic, do not check to see if the dogs brought to the event are registered with the municipality.

“There is lots of stuff,” Sawka maintained. “This town is a mess when it comes to animals at large.”

He was followed by a woman who approached the dais, asserting, “What he said is not true!” Ward became testy with the woman, telling her repeatedly to “hold on” to let the members of council first address Sawka’s concerns.

in August 2023 by Pemberton Township Council as a conditional redeveloper for the tract, with the owners of Before and After Properties, Tyrone and Kerry Gillon, just before the designation was made, having given a presentation to the public body about how they planned to overhaul the second and third floors of the building into “luxury” or “high-end,” but “affordable” apartments, while the ground floor would be converted into an indoor lounge and café, with there also being a proposed gift shop.

The Gillons had also proposed transforming the outside of the former bank building into a beer garden, with hopes of also taking advantage of the recreational opportunities provided by Mirror Lake.

He then maintained “they have New Jersey Animal Control contracted” to do animal control, and while the municipality’s website says that their services are 24-7, he charged their availability “depends on the police supervisor at the time.” Sawka described reports that dispatchers are left telling residents to let captured animals go, before contending, “There are a ton of dogs always on the loose.”

“It's just a matter of time until one

Republican Councilman Harry Harper then contended “we do have part-time animal control officers working diligently, because I’ve been talking with them and giving them little tips.” Warnings, he contended, are issued as a first line of defense to those disobeying the township’s No Leash Law, and residents can call the police non-emergency number to “take care” of any issues.

“Our dog licenses have picked up since we now have our own animal control officers,” contended Township Clerk Amy Cosnoski, who clarified the township actually now has both a parttime and full-time animal control officer, but remains contracted with New Jersey Animal Control through June.

Photo Provided

Sycamore Hall in the Browns Mills section of Pemberton Township.

Medford

Township Police Officers Honored at Council Session for Quick and Decisive Actions,

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

MEDFORD—Officer Timothy Shockley was at the conclusion of his shift with the Medford Township Police Department on Jan. 23 of last year when he observed a suspicious-looking vehicle in the rear parking lot of the police administration building.

He immediately recognized the vehicle as being the subject of a recent police information bulletin for a missing suicidal male, and as having been involved in numerous reckless driving incidents throughout the county on that date, including one in which the suspect reportedly attempted to ram a police patrol vehicle. He also recognized the operator as having been subject to a recent DUI arrest in Medford Township, and, according to Medford Police Chief Arthur Waterman, based on his “continuing course of conduct, believed that the suspect had arrived at the police department with the intent to cause harm to police personnel and possibly elicit a lethal response by police.”

That initial identification by Officer Shockley, and his ability to “quickly establish control of the incident and maintain a tactical observation position until the arrival of additional patrols,” led to the apprehension of the suspect, but not before he struck a police vehicle in the parking lot, making it apparent that he posed a “significant threat to public safety” should he manage to flee the scene.

While that sort of situation might easily have ended in a violent and possibly lethal confrontation, the Medford officers were able to force entry to the vehicle by breaking the driver’s window and taking him into custody without further incident — a result that led to Shockley being chosen Officer of the Year 2024 during a ceremony at the March 12 meeting of Medford Township Council (a ceremony he was unable to attend, as he was receiving special training in New Mexico at the time, where Waterman described him as “very appreciative of the honor” when the chief notified him of it by phone.)

In addition, he and fellow officers, Sean Riordan, Shane Snyder, Paul Kostue and Daniel Matthews, all of whom took part in the apprehension and arrest, were all awarded Certificates of Merit for their “quick and decisive actions under adverse conditions and with significant risk of harm to themselves.”

Snyder was awarded an Exceptional Duty Medal for his quick actions in providing medical aid, specifically CPR, to a three-year-old child whom he witnessed being struck by a car on Route 73 in neighboring Evesham Township while off duty last October.

Those five officers weren’t the only members of the force to be honored for their actions during the ceremony. Others recognized at the ceremony included:

• Corporal John DiBiase, Officers Josh Meeks, Patrick Hickey, Lance Sims, and Ryan Fullmer, and Detective Corporal Ryan Collins, along with Medford Lakes Sergeant Mark McHugh were awarded Meritorious Service Medals for their roles in the apprehension of an armed individual who was alleged to have pointed a firearm at a resident, and was later identified as a suspect in a double homicide in Virginia, and was determined to be in Medford searching for his estranged wife;

• Officer Greg Blash, Jr., who, along with his service dog Murph, was awarded a K-9 service medal for apprehending three suspects in the burglaries of multiple vehicles in Mount Laurel Township, after the trio fled from the scene of an accident involving a stolen vehicle;

• Detective Sgt. Patrick Robey and Sgt. Edwin McKemey , who received certificates of merit for their roles in investigating a crime spree of nearly two dozen business and car burglaries that culminated in the arrest of three suspects, with Robey being cited for an extensive and painstaking investigation of “unique patterns and modus operandi” involving physical and digital evidence and McKemey for his “proactive approach, observance of the suspect vehicle, and on-scene investigation”;

• Officer Garrett Lange, who was given a letter of commendation for locating a missing person, a 75-yearold woman suffering from dementia who was lost, after recognizing her car from a description in a Police Information Bulletin, and reuniting her with her family;

• The same Officer Lange, along with fellow Officers Paul Kostue, Cullen McHugh and Corporal Kurt Denning, who were also awarded commendation letters for locating a vehicle suspected of involvement in a burglary in progress they had stopped pursuing out of safety concerns and conducting a felony stop, during which its four occupants were taken into custody and charged with “a multitude of criminal offenses”, and

• Officer Fred Scheer, an FAA-licensed drone operator within the Medford Township Police Department's Drone Unit, who was given a letter of commendation for successfully using cellular coordinates along with infrared technology to make contact with a female subject armed with a knife who had reportedly fled into the woods near Cherokee High School last December following a domestic dispute in Evesham Township with another female, resulting in a lockdown of the school, with the officer having placed her in protective custody and credited for bringing the episode to a peaceful resolution.

Medford Officials Announce Planned Two-Month Shutdown of Key Thoroughfare to Allow for Installation of Sewer Main Lake Pine Residents Complain to Township Council About Condition of Roads, with Repaving on Hold Until New Water Mains Are Put in

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

MEDFORD—The announcement of a planned two-month shutdown of a well-traveled local road in order to accommodate the installation of a sewer main, and complaints about delays in the repaving of other streets to allow for new water mains to be situated beneath them, were among the focal points of the March 18 meeting of Medford Township Council.

The council members in attendance (which did not include Donna Symons and Charles “Chuck” Watson), were also asked by two representatives of the local transgender community to issue a proclamation in support of “International Transgender Day of Visibility” on March 31, although they took no action on the request and had no plans to do so, according to Township Manager Daniel Hornickel.

Scheduled to be closed at the end of March for approximately 60 days is Himmelein Road, a busy thoroughfare connecting Stokes and Hartford roads, due to the depth of the excavation required, which will extend to 17 feet at its deepest point, Mayor Erik Rebstock noted.

“So, we recognize it as a great inconvenience to the town,” declared Rebstock, thanking residents for their patience in the matter.

Hornickel added, “Yes, there is no way around it – it is going to be in the middle of the roadway.”

The township manager, in a subsequent phone interview with the Pine Barrens Tribune , explained that the new main will replace a pump station that has served the area up to now, but which due to its location could not be expanded, necessitating the installation of a “gravity main” instead that will “eventually flow into an existing pump station with capacity.”

Until the work is completed, he added, those living along the road will have “limited access” to it with no through traffic allowed.

The state of some of the streets in the

Lake Pine neighborhood, which was attributed to delays in the installation of water mains beneath them, was also the subject of complaints from a trio of residents during the public comment period, one of whom, John Venti, brought along some photos to back up his claim.

“As you can see, the roads are in poor condition,” Venti told the council, relating how “just last week, a neighbor on the other part, Park Court West, took a spill that required EMTs (emergency medical technicians) to assist him to get up.”

“That is how bad the road is,” Venti emphasized.

Venti added that another of his neighbors, Barbara Gardner, had been attempting since 2019 to address the situation, having exchanged some emails with Richard Parks, the now-retired director of Public Works for the township, one of whose responses in August of 2021 he shared with the council.

According to the email from Parks, “Forest Avenue was on the list to be repaved as part of the 2019 road program.” The email further noted that the township would be discussing the water main replacement as part of the 2022 capital budget. Parks then wrote to her that “once we have a plan to address Forest Avenue, I will let you know,” adding, “I apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience.”

Gardner, according to Venti, attempted to follow up with Parks in 2023, asking him whether the water main replacement had been completed and observing that “Forest Avenue continues to degrade” and “farther down the block is atrocious,” noting how a friend during a walk had asked her, “What is wrong with your roads?”

She subsequently found out, however, that Parks had retired, he said, asserting that “All too often, this is what we see in the public sector. Things just go on and on and nothing gets done. People retire and then new people come in, and you have to start the process all over again.”

Venti further noted that he had recently

By Bill B onvie Staff Writer

BASS

RIVER—The

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has shown an interest in purchasing some seven properties amounting to approximately 120 acres of mostly coastal wetlands unsuitable for development, from Bass River Township, assuming that the township can get clear title to them and no adjacent residents make an offer first.

The municipal government is now taking whatever legal steps are necessary to complete its acquisition of the sites in question, on which back taxes are owed, Township Solicitor Joanne O’Connor told the Township Commission at its March 10 meeting.

When the process of selling off this particular group of properties first began, the solicitor said, three acres were purchased by New Jersey Green Acres Program to fill in several doughnut holes in the middle of tracts it already owned at $1,000 an acre, which she indicated is the price local officials would hope to get for the parcels now coming up.

had some discussions with Hornickel, who informed him that “the plan is to invest in some equipment and training to do the water mains.”

That comment, he indicated, gave rise to some doubts on his part.

“A year ago, we were having a problem getting the budget put together and now we are going to invest in equipment and training?” Venti said. “Is this going to be done in my lifetime?”

Venti added that he has had worked as a contractor, mostly in the private sector, but also had experience in the public sector and while he appreciated Hornickel's attempts “to do things inhouse, it gets to a point where it is over and above what you can do, and you just have to leave it to a contractor to get it done.”

Medford realtor Scott Farrell, also a Lake Pine resident who grew up in Medford and currently serves as Social Committee chair of the Lake Pine Colony Club, described how the feedback he has gotten from neighbors “has been about these roads being a problem.”

“So, if we add up 120 acres, if it is $1,000 an acre, it is still going to be more than the assessed value that we have on the properties now,” O’Connor pointed out, estimating that assessed value at around $91,000.

She provided a hypothetical that if the Fish and Wildlife pays $1,000 an acre, the township would get about $120,000.

But she also noted that the township “can’t bargain or negotiate with the state or the federal government.”

“So, basically, they will let us know what their price per acre is, and we will tell them yes or no.”

In the meantime, O’Connor said, once she has gotten all of the information she needs on the tracts in question and ascertained that no previous owners of the properties would be coming forward to pay the taxes owed to the municipal government, those owning adjoining properties will be given an opportunity to make an offer on them before the township entertains any from the federal government.

One result, he said, has been that during the group’s annual turkey trot race on Thanksgiving Eve, “almost every year, a kid will trip and fall in one of those potholes and scrape their knee.” In addition, the poor condition of the road surface has been known to cause children to fall off their bikes, he contended.

“I know that you have to do water mains or sewer mains first, so I guess if we could get that going along, we could have smooth roads,” asserted Farrell, citing the progress made on Lakewood Avenue where his mother is now living, which went from being “a mess” to having “a smooth, great surface. “If we could just get the rest of the neighborhood taken care of, the residents of Lake Pine would appreciate it.”

But a third speaker from the Lake Pine community, Amy Bosack of Pine Boulevard, voiced some skepticism that completing such projects necessarily meant the roads involved would be adequately resurfaced.

See MEDFORD/ Page 5

PEMBERTON

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by the JIF (a regional pool of shared resources comprising 27 different municipalities to insure for property, liability, and workers compensation coverage), and the remaining $50,000 coming from the township.

A former judge who mediated the settlement, Dasti claimed, Hon. Orlando, while not having made an official ruling in the matter, “has indicated that he believes if there is $50,000 to be paid by one of the defendants – the township, the mayor, or Mr. Hornickel, that it should be paid by the township” because the “allegations in the complaint” were about things “that occurred during township time.”

He emphasized this was an “opinion” of the mediating former judge, who Dasti described as being “excellent” during his time on the bench.

While Dasti did not identify at the meeting which lawsuit it is that is nearing a possible settlement – the clues the attorney provided, by describing how Tompkins had attempted to remove an employee from her position, only for the council to put her back in the

MEDFORD

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“If they replace the water main, it doesn’t mean they are going to pave the whole road,” Bosack maintained, contending that “one doesn’t go hand in hand with the other.”

Citing her own street as an example, Bosack claimed it was never properly repaved after the main was replaced.

“They just kind of take out half the road and pave it, so all of our driveways are half torn up and patched,” she asserted. “They are sinking. There are potholes.”

She further claimed of the water main replacement that it “actually made it a lot worse.”

Hornickel, when subsequently asked by this newspaper whether any repaving of the streets in question was likely to take place in the near future, replied that the township was indeed “waiting for water mains to be installed” in that section of town, naming Forest Avenue and Lake Boulevard as two streets where

position, points to it being the suit brought against the parties by Recreation Director Nichole Pittman, alleging, as Dasti put it, “business, day-to-day harassment.”

The allegations in the suit were previously chronicled in detail by the Pine Barrens Tribune. Dasti confirmed to this newspaper on March 26 that the suit at issue is in fact the one entailing Pittman.

“The judge felt that this should be a township responsibility (to pay the $50,000), not the responsibility of one of the individuals,” Dasti declared. “Because the allegations are that this all occurred by township people, during township time, in the normal course of township stuff.”

Dasti pointed out that the township also has in place, like most other municipalities, an “indemnification ordinance,” in which “we indemnify our employees if they get sued for normal day-to-day type stuff.”

“If a police officer is in a police car, and God forbid he is in a crash and he hurts somebody, and that person sues the town, they sue the police officer,” explained Dasti in putting the situation into context. “Well, we defend the police officer because he was doing something in his official capacity, and that is what he does.”

Only if the police officer would have

such “subsurface” work would have to be attended to before any repaving could be done, although he didn’t yet have a “time frame” for it to be accomplished.

“But we’ll see what we can get done on this year’s capital budget for utilities,” he added.

Hornickel, however, did point out that the repaving of Main Street in the vicinity of Historic Medford Village, where South Jersey Gas had done some major upgrades, would be starting the following week.

“It should take two weeks to get that done,” he said.

Also addressing the council was Mary Hepler, of Medford-Mount Holly Road, who voiced concern about another situation – a box near the municipal playing fields, in Freedom Park, labeled AED (Automated External Defibrillator) that she claimed has been empty since the fall, thus giving people a “false sense of security” when they see it there that they can use it to revive someone in an emergency.

Hepler said she had inquired about it and been informed back in October that the defibrillator box and a shed it’s

driven a cruiser while drunk would the township be in a position to not “indemnify him because that is not what police officers are supposed to do.”

However, Dasti recognized, to settle the case naming Tompkins, Hornickel and the township is the ultimate decision of council.

Dasti said he was preparing a “memorandum” for council’s consideration, identifying the “what ifs,” or “indicating what happens if you do agree with it, and what happens if you don’t agree with it.”

According to Dasti, “if the council, for instance, were to say, and I am not making any judgment, it is obviously their decision, ‘No, we don’t want to agree to that because we don’t want to pay $50,000, somebody else should pay the $50,000,” then “the settlement does not go through.”

Dasti recognized in that instance, “then the township has issues” because the JIF “is going to say, ‘We’re out of here. … You have $550,000 to play with. Hope you try the case, and it comes in under $550,000, because if it comes in at $551,000, the township pays that extra dollar and whatever else might be involved.”’

Dasti pointed out that “at this point” any settlement “does not include punitive or intentional damages.” However, if the case

attached to are actually the property of the Medford Youth Athletic Association (MYAA), and that both it and the township knew it was empty and were awaiting the delivery of new batteries and pads for the unit, but she believed the “ultimate responsibility” for it lays with the township, which “might want to address that,” and that it should be clearly labeled “out of service.”

“We’ll get it addressed,” Hornickel told her, after Deputy Mayor Michael Czyzyk noted that he serves on the MYAA board as well as a softball commissioner and knows that “the township professionals and MYAA have gone through all the AED locations, not only in Freedom Park, but all the other municipal parks that are shared by MYAA, and I believe that they are working on finalizing all the AED locations.”

“It is in process,” Czyzyk added.

One of the two self-described transgender individuals requesting that the council issue a proclamation on their behalf, who self-identified as simply “Melissa,” said it was intended to “raise awareness of the discrimination and violence that we face every day, potentially

proceeds to trial, Dasti raised concerns that there is a risk that there could be a finding of discrimination “because the plaintiff was a woman,” as well as a risk that if any of the defendants “committed intentional malicious acts, then much more than the normal damages would be assessed.”

“The possibility is there could be up to three times what the normal assessment, or the normal damages would be, plus the attorney’s fees to their attorney,” Dasti warned. “Now you are really talking big money. And keep in mind that, assuming for the sake of the discussion that the council were to say, ‘no, we are not going to agree to this,’ that additional money would come from you.”

Dasti went on to declare of any settlement decision, “we’re damned if we do, we're damned if we don’t.”

“If we do, and we agree to settle and pay the $50,000 and pay it out of taxpayer funds, well, I suspect these people are going to get blamed for that,” Dasti said. “If we don’t, and we take the chance to go further, the monetary issues could be really, really, really difficult for the town, if the case goes south.” He then told council, “Effectively, you guys are going to make the ruling.”

every time we interact with others,” which is associated with “an onslaught of anti-transgender propaganda” over the past two months that includes “abusive executive orders and hate-filled proposed legislation at both the federal level and in other states around our great country.”

“This is how we combat hatred and bigotry, with visibility, with civil discourse, and community,” Melissa told the council, adding that it is part of “a group effort with many churches and synagogues.”

COLLEGE

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A. Cioce investigated, the latter who purportedly tried to ward off purported nepotistic hiring practices, including one such alleged matter just prior to a pair of complaints being received entailing the college president.

The Trustees’ Board, following the chaotic October session, did not convene another meeting until this past February, having missed a November reorganization meeting deadline. Consequently, the board did not vote on an option to extend Malamut & Associates’ contract by another year, with such an action reportedly required by Dec. 31, 2024. The college executive staff, as previously chronicled by this newspaper, subsequently determined that Malamut & Associates was no longer college solicitor and sought Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the reportedly vacant college solicitor post.

While Attorney Malamut disputed being held to the deadline in the absence of the Trustees’ Board convening another meeting by the required renewal date, as emails previously obtained by this newspaper indicate, he did write that his firm had submitted a bid anyhow in responding to the advertised RFP.

As a second batch of emails obtained by this newspaper indicate, however, Cioce had raised grave concerns that “any outreach from a perspective vendor” during the procurement process is “improper and could lead to disqualification of that vendor and potential ethical charges,” in pointing to Attorney Malamut having maintained contact with the Trustees’ Board during the process to the point that he even referenced his firm having submitted a bid.

Attendees at the March 18 Trustees’ Board meeting arrived to find listed on an agenda for that evening a recommendation by the Finance/Facilities Committee to “award a contract to Adams, Lattiboudere, Croot & Herman, as the college’s solicitor of record, for an amount not to exceed $200,000.”

Sean Kennedy, new chairman and sitting member of the Trustees’ Board following his recent appointment to the public body by Hopson and the county commissioners, immediately upon the March 18 proceedings commencing, called “for a motion to amend the agenda to extend the second-year renewal option of Malamut & Associates solicitor’s contract through Dec. 31, 2025.”

He didn’t even wait until that section of the agenda came about, making it apparent he was eager to see an attorney with Malamut & Associates seated at the dais. His actions delayed a planned presentation by a student with disabilities, causing the student’s parent to later publicly bemoan how what happened disrupted what was supposed to be an otherwise celebratory occasion for her child.

As previously reported by this newspaper, Kennedy is also the state director of technology services firm CGI, which was not awarded by the Trustees’ Board a contract for IT services last spring, at the purported recommendation of Cioce.

Kennedy is well connected to the Democratic party, and the decision by

Cioce allegedly commenced the chain of events that purportedly led to the investigation into the college president, with the complaints against him allegedly lodged by the college’s chief financial officer, Kevin Kerfoot, a relative of powerful Democratic 7th District state Senator Troy Singleton, the latter a purported close associate of Attorney Malamut, and who, earlier this year, also swore Hopson in to another term on the county commissioners’ board.

Upon Kennedy making a motion on March 18 to reinstall Malamut & Associates, Cioce declared, “Point of Order.”

“Your bylaws do require that any contract or agreement that will be executed by the college has to first be recommended by the Finance/Facilities Committee,” Cioce told Kennedy.

Amending the agenda, the college president further told the board chairman, is “inconsistent” with what the Finance/ Facilities Committee “advanced last week” in having met and affirmed its recommended appointments.

Kennedy, however, persisted in seeking a motion to reinstall Malamut & Associates to the post, maintaining he believed the individual Trustees have the right to call for a motion at any time, to which he received a motion from Board Vice Chair Gino A. Pasqualone.

“It is illegal,” declared Cioce of the motion. “It would be improper to do it.”

William Burns, serving as special counsel to the college and who counseled the Trustees’ Board’s belated reorganization meeting in February amid the college solicitor dispute, asked if Kennedy could clarify what motion he was seeking, to which Kennedy replied, “I was just asking for a motion to extend the second-year renewal.”

Cioce again interjected, telling the board that “you are potentially violating” the college governing body’s own bylaws, and the law.

Dorion Morgan, treasurer of the Trustees’ Board and who chairs the Finance/Facilities Committee, then told the Trustees’ Board that “extending” the contract of Malamut & Associates was discussed at November, January and February meetings of the committee and “it was decided in committee that we would not put that up for an extension at that time.”

Morgan pointed out that “we didn’t even have a full meeting” of the Trustees’ Board in November, before asserting, “it is my understanding that the contract, being a one-year contract with a renewal option,” is one that “expired on Dec. 31, 2024.” It is why, he said, the committee decided against putting such a recommendation forward to the full board.

Adding “additional context” was Cioce, who claimed the “respondent that is being recommended” by Kennedy and Pasqualone “did breach the communication clause outlined in the RFP.”

“So, that recommendation would be invalidated as it does not comply with the RFP, and renders it ineligible for consideration,” Cioce declared.

The college president warned “to disregard this would both compromise the integrity of our entire procurement process, but could also expose the college to both legal and reputational risks.”

Burns then called to the attention of Kennedy an item on the agenda to “award a contract” for the position of college solicitor through “a fair and open process,” before asking the chairman if his motion is to “retroactively” extend the “previously terminated contract” that “expired on Dec. 31.”

“The motion is to just extend the secondyear renewal since we didn’t have a chance to do it at the reorg,” answered Kennedy, which saw Pasqualone attempt to make a motion for a second time to reinstall Malamut & Associates.

“There is no extension option, as the contract did expire on Dec. 31, as Dorian (Morgan) pointed out, so hence, that is why there is an RFP, and hence why there is a recommendation of a firm for that response,” Cioce asserted.

As Kennedy tried to interject, Cioce emphasized “legally, there is no extension availed to the former solicitor.”

“There is no clause or provision in the previous contract, and there is no active enforced contract, so there is no mechanism to extend a contract that expired under its own terms,” said Cioce, before again pointing to the recommendation for college solicitor listed later in the agenda that he maintained can either be “accepted” or “rejected” by the board.

Morgan, who is an attorney who once worked in the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, said Cioce is “correct” in stating there is “nothing in the previous contract” of Malamut & Associates to provide for “an extension on March 18.”

“There had to be a proactive move on behalf of the board, prior to Dec. 31, 2024, and there was no proactive move,” Morgan told his colleagues. “The board allowed the contract to expire.”

While the board could have called for a special meeting prior to Dec. 31, Morgan pointed out, it did not do so, nor did it avail itself “a number of mechanisms that could have been put into place, if necessary.”

Morgan emphasized it was also “not just that it accidentally expired,” but rather “it expired on terms.”

“It was not mutually agreed that there should be an extension at that point,” Morgan attested.

Kennedy, however, cast aside the concerns, pointing to a motion having already been made to reinstall Malamut & Associates.

Kennedy, attending the session via a video conferencing platform, and Cioce in-person, began talking over each other, with the college president offering a “Point of Order.” Cioce was ultimately successful in making a “clarifying statement on the

record” that “this board voted last month to approve an RFP process, the RFP process was conducted through the Community College Contracts and Procurement Rules and Laws consistent with college policy and this board’s bylaws.”

“There is no extension eligible to make a motion on,” Cioce asserted.

The college president, in noting the submission period for RFPs was closed in January, also contended “the response of the one vendor was disqualified,” before calling any motion to appoint that vendor “invalid and irregular.”

“It is an unavailable motion to be made,” said Cioce of Pasqualone’s motion.

Burns pointed to “RCBC Board Policy No. 10, Section B, Purchasing Contracts/ Agreements,” and in reading it aloud for the board’s consideration, noted that it, “states ‘all contracts, leases and agreements, including but not limited to annual and multi-year employment contracts, professional service contracts, sales contracts, commercial leases, purchase agreements and consultants agreements shall be reviewed by the Board of Trustees Finance/Facilities Committee.’”

He further noted that the policy states “no contract or agreement shall be executed by the college until it has been recommended by the Finance/Facilities Committee,” in addition to it requiring full board approval.

When Pasqualone appeared to point out there is a motion and second on the floor to reinstall Kennedy (with new Trustee Janine Veasy, sister of Evesham Township Democratic Mayor Jacklyn “Jackie” Veasy having given a second), Morgan, in light of RCBC Board Policy No. 10 cited by Cioce and read by Burns, attested, “the Finance/ Facilities Committee is not putting forth a motion,” emphasizing that the committee is not asking the board to consider “an expired contract.”

When Kennedy again appeared ready to dismiss the objections, it is when Cioce revealed that on March 17, in response to the allegations being made public of an alleged nepotism in hiring scheme, the college’s accreditation agency, or the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), has now sent the college an inquiry seeking answers as to what is going on.

According to Cioce, the commission has posed two questions to the college that it wants answered, one pertaining to “Standard 2: Ethics and Integrity” and “Standard 7: Governance, Leadership and Administration.”

Photo Provided

Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) President Dr. Michael A. Cioce (Left) and RCBC Board of Trustees President Sean Kennedy spar over motion to reinstall Malamut & Associates as college solicitor.

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The college president then indicated it was not advisable to advance any such motion as proposed by Pasqualone, but that tabling a decision on a college solicitor would be a better option.

“I appreciate everyone’s input,” Kennedy declared. “But was there, or was there not, a motion?”

Cioce snapped, “There was an improper motion, Mr. Chair,” to which Kennedy retorted, “Well, the board will make that determination.”

It was again reiterated, at the request of Kennedy, that Pasqualone made a motion, seconded by Veasy, to reinstall Malamut & Associates to the post of college solicitor.

But yet again the board fell short in completing a roll call vote, with Morgan instead deciding to reveal “why” the “renewal was not exercised” by the Finance/Facilities Committee, with the Trustees’ treasurer charging there was “turmoil between our past solicitor and our administration.”

That purported turmoil, he added, “has caused quite a bit of disruption in the business, at least, at the board level” and it “created an atmosphere” that nearly rendered the college “almost inoperable for three to four months.”

“As a result, to extend a contract that is creating turmoil would be, I believe, derelict in our duties because what we need to do as the board is make sure that this college continues to operate at the level that the students have come to expect,” Morgan declared.

Morgan also charged that Malamut & Associates did not “provide much guidance” since the fiery October session in how to move forward, and “so the easiest thing for us to do with a contract that was expiring of its own terms is not extend it.”

The Finance/Facilities chairman told the “members of the board who are new” that he wanted them to have “full disclosure” of why it was decided to pass on Malamut & Associates.

Kennedy again appeared willing to cast aside the concerns, but interjecting this time was Phillip Corradino, chair of the RCBC Foundation’s Board of Trustees. After explaining that the Foundation “raises money for the college and provides scholarships for the college,” Corradino described difficulties in having to “explain to our donors and perspective donors what has been going on since October,” decrying the “same conversations” extending into March.

He ripped into the Democratic affiliated Trustees for propelling a “motion to the floor on an unextendible contract,” calling it “unbelievable” that the Trustees’ Board would attempt to extend a contract to a firm “that is part of the cause of this issue.”

“I really think a conversation needs to be had with the Finance/Facilities Committee, and the chair of the board, about proper procedure before we get to a meeting like this,” declared Corradino, telling the Trustees that “this isn’t the board we look up to at the Foundation.”

Again, Kennedy cast aside the concerns, simply asserting, “There is a motion made and seconded,” asking, “Can I get a roll call, please?”

Morgan cast the lone opposing vote, with recent Democratic appointee Patricia Kolodi abstaining. The rest voted in the affirmative, including Democratic Governor Phil Murphy’s appointee to the Trustees’ Board, Justin Braz (who up until recently was a member of Murphy’s inner circle, and whose wife, Stephanie Lagos, is chief of staff to First Lady Tammy Murphy and is deputy chief of staff to the governor), as well as Commissioners’ Board appointees Kennedy, Veasy, Pasqualone, Dr. Anthony C. Wright (an assistant commissioner for the state Department of Education) and Kevin Brown.

Kennedy then requested of Pasqualone to “make sure” any representative of Malamut & Associates in attendance is seated in the college solicitor’s seat, to which Jeanne Paulsen, executive assistant to Cioce, could be heard shouting, “Are you kidding me?! We haven’t signed a contract!”

The meeting briefly descended into a shouting match, with Paulsen excoriating Kennedy for “pretending” to have made peace at the board’s February reorganization session (a meeting at which he sought to distance himself from the past controversy, despite his purported involvement).

After somewhat cooler heads prevailed, Kennedy appeared to be unfamiliar with the proper process in ramming the motion through, with Burns explaining to him that the board would have to first vote to amend the agenda to add an item (which Burns assumed the board had just voted to do), and would then require a second vote to take an action, or in this instance, reinstall Malamut & Associates.

Kennedy briskly called for a second roll call vote, in response, with one woman questioning why Malamut & Associates doesn’t “have to follow the RFP process,” while Paulsen asked, “Why not?!”

Corradino inquired, “Can we see the proposals?”

The vote was repeated, and Kennedy again called on Pasqualone to have any representative of Malamut & Associated “seated.” Kennedy also asked the representative to be identified, to which he was told it was Kelly Grant (who notably sat silent as the chaos played out and didn’t say a word the entire evening, but was observed text messaging someone on her phone.)

“How is this legal?” one man shouted of the Malamut & Associates appointment, while Paulsen answered, “It’s not!”

There are also questions about whether certain members of the board should have abstained to avoid any appearance of there being a conflict of interest, given public knowledge of the circumstances at issue.

Pasqualone, who proposed the motion, is a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

The Pine Barrens Tribune has learned that IBEW Local 351 is reportedly closely aligned with Singleton. The organization’s “IBEW LOCAL 351 STATE PAC FUND” has already donated $2,000 to Singleton’s 2027 primary campaign, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), and organizations using Local 351 in its title also previously donated to his campaigns, public records show, (including when he was a state Assemblyman) at least as far back to 2014,

when a $5,000 contribution was made. Janine Veasy’s sister, Jaclyn, as the mayor of Evesham, successfully voted with the rest of her council colleagues, following a change in the makeup of the local governing body at the start of this year, to return Malamut & Associates as the township’s law firm in January after a similar dispute that involved similar claims about the firm and led to dissention in the Evesham Democratic organization.

The New Jersey Globe reported in January 2023, when Malamut & Associates lost its solicitor’s seat in Evesham, that “Veasy and Heather Cooper (a councilwoman there who is also the vice chair of the Burlington County Democratic Committee) voted to keep Malamut, a firm run by Adam Malamut, an ally of Veasy and State Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Delran).”

This newspaper found, according to the ELEC, that the election fund for newly sworn-in Democratic Evesham councilmembers Joseph Fisicaro and Christian Smith, whose votes helped to propel Malamut & Associates’ return to Evesham, donated $10,000 to Singleton’s 2027 re-election campaign back on Dec. 10, 2024.

Also, in leading to questions about Kennedy’s vote, is not only his ties to CGI and how a purported decision last year involving the firm is allegedly related to the events of late, but a discovery by a Courier Post reporter, in reviewing public records, of a meeting that allegedly took place between Kerfoot, Kennedy and Malamut over the CGI proposal, with the reporter for the daily newspaper questioning the circumstances behind that meeting at the end of the wild March 18 Trustees’ Board meeting. He received no answer.

Also apparently having made a contribution to Singleton’s re-election campaign is Braz, contributing $500, according to ELEC, this past October. Braz, when he was first appointed to the Trustees’ Board, had made the following statement in a press release, “I am very grateful to Governor Murphy and Sen. Troy Singleton for their confidence with supporting me for this position.”

Braz did not return a request for comment, including asking about his having not abstained in light of the campaign contribution, given the circumstances at issue.

In responding to the RFP for the post of college solicitor, Attorney Malamut certified on Jan. 13, “that neither Malamut

& Associates, LLC, or any of its employees has any existing Conflict of Interest with Rowan College at Burlington County, its Trustees and employees that would preclude representation of the college pursuant to the New Jersey Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct.”

Kennedy was not finished changing up the agenda for the March 18 board session to advance an apparent political agenda. He made a motion to “strike” the awarding of a contract to Adams, Lattiboudere, Croot & Herman for college solicitor, calling it “moot.” It was approved in a similar fashion to the other votes.

Next, Kennedy made a motion to “table” the recommendation of the Finance/ Facilities Committee to award a contract to retain the services of “DiFrancesco, Bateman, Kunzman, Davis, Lehrer & Flaum, P.C. as Special Counsel to the Board for specific legal matters, in an amount not to exceed $70,000,” with it told to this newspaper that the firm was to be hired to carry out the investigation of Cioce, and that there was great confidence that the firm would have been independent and not tied to Burlington County.

When Cioce sought to question the motion, Kennedy told him to “let me finish, please,” but the college president, in pointing out he was named in the complaints to be investigated, pointed to it being an ordeal now extending into its sixth month, indicating he wanted closure.

“I understand there were nine submissions, and I want the committee to have an opportunity to review them,” Kennedy said. “That’s all.”

When Cioce said that the proposals have already been evaluated by an ad hoc Evaluation Committee, in addition to the Finance/Facilities Committee, Kennedy said he understood that, but “it is a new board.” The two then squabbled over whether any objections had been raised over the proposal of DiFrancesco, Bateman, Kunzman, Davis, Lehrer & Flaum at the committee level, with Cioce denying that was the case.

“Listen, we are not going to move forward on a recommendation from one person on nine different proposals,” snapped Kennedy, to which Cioce contended there was never any recommendation on how to move forward from a single person.

The motion to table ultimately passed, but this time Morgan abstained along with Kolodi.

Photo Provided

Jeanne Paulsen, executive assistant to RCBC President Dr. Michael A. Cioce, details how an alleged nepotism in hiring scheme unfolded at the county college.

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ON PAGE 9

COLLEGE

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As previously reported by this newspaper, Wright tried to propel a motion in October to have the Weiner Law Firm undertake the investigation into Cioce, and Wright ultimately found himself the subject of a vote of no confidence by the college’s two largest faculty unions after it was claimed that Attorney Malamut is purported close friends with an attorney working at Weiner Law.

This newspaper has learned from a source at the college that Weiner Law has submitted one of the nine proposals to be further reviewed, and the delay is reportedly raising concerns given the firm now purportedly remains in contention for the job.

Also tabled was a measure that would have awarded a contract to “Marketsmith, Inc., for digital marketing services for $250,000, for fiscal year 2026.” Kennedy contended Janine Veasy had a “question about it” and he “felt more information is needed.”

All the Trustees except Morgan voted to

table this item, with Morgan questioning whether the entire Trustees’ Board would now be reviewing every recommendation made at the committee level.

The final motion Kennedy propelled to the forefront, without following the agenda, was one “directing the college staff to provide information required to the solar consultant, Pennoni Engineering, no later than March 21, 2025.”

This newspaper has learned that the Trustees’ Board had voted in April 2024 to ask “prequalified vendors” to submit proposals to the college for the “design, installation, maintenance, and ultimately, removal” of “vendor-owned solar systems at the RCBC campus,” and such proposals were supposed to be reviewed, but no further action had taken place since then.

Paulsen, in later breaking her silence during a public comment portion of the meeting, alleged “Mr. Malamut decided that RCBC should be involved in the solar business, which is why Gino (Pasqualone) has gone to the dark side.” Paulsen subsequently clarified to this newspaper she meant “doing his bidding,” or the bidding of Attorney Malamut.

See COLLEGE/ Page 9

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COLLEGE

(Continued from Page 8)

“The cost of that exploration is an estimated $300,000 to date, and we still don’t know if it is good for the college, and President Cioce has been cut out of the project all the way through,” she charged. “He was willing to meet and explore if it was in the best interest of the college, but Mr. Malamut decided it was none of his business about a year and a half ago.”

Pasqualone’s connection to the IBEW has prompted concern, according to a source at the college, given that any such solar project could potentially benefit the IBEW’s members, as it is purportedly the electrical union workers who would most likely be tasked with any construction at the behest of the selected contracted firm.

Additionally, this newspaper learned from ELEC that Pennoni made three separate contributions last year to Singleton’s 2027 re-election campaign, totaling $4,000.

Kennedy, during the March 18 session, said the move to have college executive staff give Pennoni the information by March 21 would allow RCBC to “receive

proposals prior to the expiration of the state contract.”

When Kennedy contended this vote would just be “making sure that there is a communication with Pennoni,” Cioce retorted, “But Pennoni has not been in communication with the college” to date, leaving him “confused.”

Morgan abstained along with Kolodi, but the rest of the Trustees voted to approve the solar motion.

It was 45 minutes into the meeting when Kennedy finally began following the order of the agenda, with Paulsen slamming Kennedy at one point for having “hijacked” the meeting.

Paulsen, during public comment, shed further light on the alleged nepotism in hiring scheme, charging that Malamut’s wife, Nicole L. Tavares, and Kerfoot, “brother-in-law of Senator Singleton,” were “placed” in $155,000 positions two years ago and “despite better candidates in the pool, President Cioce was forced to take them.” (Tavares, as previously reported by this newspaper, left the position last year, and Paulsen revealed at this meeting she has now landed a job at the Burlington County Bridge Commission.)

Also, Paulsen detailed what had occurred with the IT services procurement

Classified Ad Form

last year, contending 18 proposals were received at the time, then subjected to “thorough vetting” with ultimately an “evaluation completed,” but Malamut, she charged, “had other plans.”

“He tried to force CGI on RCBC at three and a half times the cost!” Paulsen charged. “Our fearless leader said, ‘No,’ and Mr. Malamut had CFO Kerfoot remove it from the agenda a year ago – the award that we wanted to make. We caught it and put it back on (the agenda), and Mr. Malamut asked President Cioce to make a personnel complaint against his wife disappear.

President Cioce said ‘no.’”

What followed, she contended, was four employment hearing notices sent to President Cioce (which have led to the investigation of the college president).

Paulsen then charged that Attorney Malamut “used his influence at the county” to have Kennedy installed on the Trustees’ Board “so he could hijack the board,” pointing out it is “unheard of” for someone to assume the chair role of the full board “when you haven’t even served any time here.”

Paulsen, whose husband, Glenn, a former county GOP chair and attorney who had switched to working for Attorney

Malamut’s law firm when the GOP lost control of the county back in 2019, and who was dismissed from the Malamut & Associates last year amid the feuding, further contended, “Tonight, we were going to appoint an independent solicitor, again, no connections to the college, but Mr. Malamut gets the board to illegally put a retroactive contract back on the board agenda and has them vote on it!”

“No rules followed,” she declared. “No laws followed! He squashes the investigation. There you have it!”

Jeanne Paulsen said the board members, except for Morgan, “should be ashamed of themselves!”

Corradino, “who works with the donors” for the college, pressed both Kennedy and Pasqualone as to “why an RFP that was put out was just thrown by the wayside, and a vote taken so hastily,” to which he was told by Pasqualone “this isn’t a question-andanswer period, this is public comment.”

Mike Henry, the senior lead of Facilities for RCBC, pointed to CGI not having received the contract for IT services last year, before pointing out “I believe our illustrious chairman, Mr. Kennedy, works for them,” asking, “How does that

SYCAMORE

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Construction, however, never commenced as called for in the redevelopment agreement, with Pemberton Township Mayor Jack Tompkins, amid public questioning about the delayed construction, claiming that “one of the principal investors” who was “going to do a lot of their renovating,” shortly after Before and After Properties took possession of the property, “was in a car accident and passed away as a result of that car accident.”

But Kerry Gillon, following the mayor’s comments, had maintained to this newspaper this past November that they had still intentions to redevelop the site, pointing to one change from the original plan in that the second and third floors was going to “house a bed and breakfast.”

However, as no signs of any construction carried on into later fall and winter, calls grew, including from two key communitybased organizations, Pemberton Township Historic Trust and the Browns Mills Improvement Association (BMIA), for Pemberton Township officials to “save” and “preserve” the building, and acquire it back.

Despite it reportedly not being listed on any historic register, some residents attested to the building being “very historic,” with Marti Graf-Wenger, president of the BMIA, having previously pointed to the story of late New York railway tycoon, Col. James Fisk, having spent many vacations in the late 1800s at the “Browns Mills Hotel,” as the hall was once called.

Ultimately, she recounted, it was rebuilt in 1910 by real estate developer James B. Riley, and for a time it served as a place where “wealthy folks could stay at, while looking at the property that they bought in town with newspaper subscriptions,” observing, “As we now know, this single act spelled the end of the Grand Hotel Era in Browns Mills as it brought in many landowners and homeowners.”

Sherry Scull, of the Pemberton Township Historic Trust, previously described that the building “has gone through several uses,” including serving as a residence for a former Pemberton Township Clerk, Kay Stull, following the 1920s prohibition, when her original home that she had in town had “burnt down.”

At one point, it was also turned into a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, recounted Scull, and later became a gift shop, before, in 1973, it was acquired by Sun Bank. The bank operated a branch there, but after several decades, it was closed in April 2012.

The building has sat vacant ever since. The interior has been said by Tompkins to have deteriorated quite a bit to the point that it may collapse if something is not done soon to preserve the structure, with the mayor previously describing that thieves “stripped the plumbing” from various parts of the building, and someone had also started a fire in the center of one of its rooms, instead of in a fireplace.

Councilman Dan Dewey previously charged, “I don’t see how they can renovate that building for $2 million, and it is going to be a gem of the town that we are going to lose,” asserting, “What is going to happen

is they are going to start working on it. They are going to run out of money, and next thing you know, it is going to be on the ground, and we have nothing!”

Resident Marie Reynolds, who has led the charge for the township to take the building back and has pointed to apparent irregularities during the township’s transaction process, during a March 19 Pemberton Township Council meeting, said of an item appearing on council’s agenda that would “void” Resolution 260-2023, or one that had designated Before and After Properties as the conditional redeveloper, “If you void the redevelopment contract with them, you have to void the seller.”

“You have to void the sale,” she told the council, in contending none of the conditions of the redevelopment agreement were ever met. “I don't know how. … The contract says, ‘sale and redevelopment.’ It doesn't just say ‘redevelopment.’ They weren’t just named the conditional redeveloper for that property. They were sold that property.”

Reynolds claimed Before and After Properties “had a $25,000 deposit,” and then on March 26, “they had settlement” when “$248,166 was wired to the current fund.”

“The only signer on the contract was Mayor Jack Tompkins on behalf of the township,” she maintained. “He was the seller. He was the only signer on the contract.”

She further contended of her research that “two second mortgages were recorded,” one for “$480,000 and the other for $270,000, for a total of $750,000 mortgage, all in the name of a longstanding local charity in this town.”

“It’s been a very strange transaction,” she charged.

Reynolds was ultimately followed by resident Patricia Guthrie who declared, “everything should be voided with Sun Bank, and hopefully we can get that property back and use it for something beautiful for the community.”

It prompted Councilman Perry Doyle, Jr., to proclaim, “I haven’t seen it yet, but I am being told that there is a ‘for sale’ sign up in front of that bank.”

Councilman Harry Harper, amid further public questioning, contended that the forsale sign was not there when he had drove past the building at 2 p.m. on the day of the March 19 council meeting, but “it was up when I came to the meeting.”

Resident Debra Skipper, who in response to the reports the building is now for sale, asserted, “I sure hope the township council takes that building back before that is allowed to be sold.”

“Now with our knowing that the bank is up for sale, is there anything that we can do to go after them to stop that sale?” Harper asked.

Township Solicitor Jerry Dasti answered, “No.”

“Whoever buys the property will have to come to us, or the Planning Board, for approvals,” Dasti added. “There is no redevelopment agreement which would be in force. So, they would have to do the normal thing and comply with whatever the zoning ordinances allow.”

The township had sold Sycamore Hall to Before and After Properties for $250,000. In light of it being listed by the Gillons for $750,000, Doyle declared, “It is going to be another situation like the old Acme.”

“We sold the Sun Bank for $250,000 and

we are going to have to pay $800,000 to get it back,” he further declared.

Harper maintained he would “offer less” than $250,000 for it, contending “they let it get in worse repair.”

Skipper pointed to another property that the proprietors of Before and After Properties reportedly purchased in the Country Lakes section of Pemberton for a purported $260,000, contending it later sold for $587,000.

“Now, I don’t know how many of you know of many houses in Country Lakes that sold, and made that kind of profit in less than a year,” Skipper said. “At that time, that is when the bank was purchased.”

In the wake of the suggestion that Before and After Properties obtains properties to simply turn around and sell them for a large profit, this newspaper asked Realtor Schneider, who acknowledged to this reporter the Gillons were asking for “triple” the amount they had paid for the building in listing it for sale, how the listed sale price of $750,000 was determined, to which he responded that “they got an appraisal for more” than what it has been actually listed at.

Tyrone Gillon could not be reached for comment on this story, as of press time.

“The sad part is everybody knows what they paid for it, and it has got all funny money against it,” Dewey charged. “And I hate to say it, but I’ll guarantee you it’ll be on the ground!”

Dasti cut the councilman short, asking council to please decide on whether to void the redeveloper designation, to which it did unanimously.

Reynolds, who raised concerns with a collapse nearing given a “leaking roof,” said she hopes the action taken by council, although not fully to her satisfaction in wanting the sale also voided, is “the start of something,” but later appeared to offer a concession of sorts in area Facebook groups pertaining to the township being able to reobtain the property, writing, “Offering my deepest thanks to all of those who supported efforts to Save Sycamore Hall by signing the petition, speaking out at council meetings and spreading the word online over the past year.

“As of yesterday, our goal would seem impossible to achieve. The 248-yearold building sold by the previous administration on March 26, 2024, for $250,000, is currently on the market for $750,000. That expense, coupled with the tremendous cost of renovations after so many years of neglect, is not something we can ask our community to bear. I’m so grateful for the support and caring extended by so many, and I hope you’ll continue to fight for that property to comply with the 2018 Town Center Waterfront Development Plan stipulations going forward.”

This newspaper asked Schneider on March 23 if the property is still up for sale (in light of someone claiming online, in response to Reynold’s post, that the property was purchased in just five hours after the for-sale sign went up, a posting which has since been deleted), and he responded that “it has only been listed for a few days” and “we’re good, but not that good.”

APRIL

APRIL 6

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PRESIDENT

(Continued from Page 2)

GOP Councilman Perry Doyle, Jr., attested that he was present for two animal control calls “within the last couple of months” and the officers were “exemplary” and have received “topnotch” training.

The woman who approached the dais, in not being immediately acknowledged to speak by Ward, sat back down, as video of an encounter filmed by community activist Alexander Costa shows, and in the process of doing so, quietly told a standing Sawka, “You don’t know what you are talking about!”

But Sawka shot back that the situation he was describing is “black and white on paper,” to which resident Michelle Forman, who successfully led the charge in recent years to end the privatization of animal control in favor of the township returning the service in house, telling the woman, “He didn’t know because they are new.”

It was when Ward declared, “Michelle, we are not going to have a back-and-forth and have this room out of order – there is a process, I explained that!”

Forman, in hearing Ward mention her name, asked, “Are you talking to me?”, to which Ward replied, “I am talking to everybody!”

“I thought you said, ‘Michele,’” said a surprised Forman, who has been a major backer of the local GOP, which recently gained absolute control of the council from the local Democrats.

Forman could be heard quietly mumbling her displeasure that Ward had singled her out, leading to some snickering in the crowd, occurring while another resident signed up to speak to council.

“Michelle!” said Ward in a raised voice. “One more word, and I am going to have the officer remove you from this room!”

When Forman shot back, “Are you kidding me?”, Ward declared, “No, I am not kidding you! I am doing the best that I can up here tonight, with the rest of these council members!”

At least some of Ward’s colleagues appeared stunned at the council president’s outburst.

“I do not appreciate being threatened to have a police officer escort me out of this room for a minor infraction, as far as I am concerned!” Forman told Ward when it was finally her turn to make public comments, in initially asking if any of the officials “can silence me” during her allotted five minutes to speak.

Forman, when speaking during a preceding March 5 council meeting, was “interrupted” when a resident was purportedly making critical remarks of some sort in the audience, the nature of which led another resident to call on attendees to be more respectful.

As Forman observed on March 19, Ward did not have the same reaction during that preceding session in addressing the person who had interrupted her, rather she was told to just “ignore” what was being said and “keep going” while making public comments.

“Nobody said anything to her,” Forman said. “But I say a small thing, after other people were clearly speaking loudly in this room, and you’re going to call me out, Mr. Ward?!”

Ward attempted to answer Forman at that moment, but Forman told him, “you don't have to answer me,” and to let her finish, with Dasti appearing to ask the council president to reserve himself.

Forman continued that she “feels like I am a respectful citizen” and a “loyal neighbor.” She went on to describe that she does her “best to fight something very difficult” and she is “not well,” but stays for the entirety of township meetings (running two to five hours as of late) “because I want to hear what you have to say, because you sat there for hours listening to us.”

“And I feel like I respect each and every one of you, and I supported and voted for each and every one of you,” Forman told the council. “I would have done more for you all, if I could have. And I don’t regret, at all, voting for you.”

Forman pointed to GOP Councilman Matthew Bianchini, calling him “courageous,” before turning to Doyle and saying she has “no regrets” for voting

To promote your event on this page contact Jayne Cabrilla at 609-801-2392 or email news@pinebarrenstribune.com

APRIL WEEKENDS

Train Rides Through the Woods of New Gretna

Location: Bass River Township

Details: The Woods of New Gretna Park and the New Jersey Shore Live Steam Organization provide train rides for all each Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The small steam locomotives, and other trains, wind their way through the beautiful park. The rides are provided by a group of dedicated volunteers who have revitalized the park and laid out the railroad track, based on the historical Tuckerton Railroad. The volunteers maintain the railroad and walking trails, and are constantly expanding them. Riding the trains is free, but donations are very much appreciated. The train rides are outdoors.

for him, calling his father a “great man.”

She then detailed how Doyle’s father always was “courteous” and showed her “respect” during school board meetings, before telling Ward, “I feel like I got disrespected. I didn’t appreciate it.”

Forman previously got into heated exchanges with some of the previous Democratic councilmembers, particularly when their viewpoints differed on issues.

“I am sorely, sorely, sorely disappointed because I got this treatment with the Democrats,” declared Forman in recounting that former Democratic council president Donovan Gardner had “threatened to kick me out of this room” on previous occasions, although she maintained she felt then that her actions had never warranted such threats, and she subsequently “told him off.”

Forman concluded that Ward having threatened to have her removed from council chambers by police “was definitely an overreaction.”

“And I feel like I have been targeted tonight by you, and it is going to take a long time for me to forget that,” Forman told Ward.

One of the people to follow Forman was a lady who identified herself publicly as “Cat Mom,” who sought “guidance” on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

“Why don’t we have that in Browns Mills?” she asked. “This is a beautiful township with all this greenery, all this woods, people walking down the streets, cleaning and picking up animals.”

The woman demanded to know of TNR, “ What can this township do to get that started?”

“We don’t want to be ducking and diving to feed these animals,” the woman continued. “We just want them to be in a safe environment.”

Ward replied that when he and Dewey first came on council about two-and-ahalf years ago, he had discussed TNR with the county and that he was provided with a model ordinance. He claimed that when he had presented that model ordinance to the previous business administrator of the township, he was told “no.”

But Cosnoski has since gotten “new

information,” Ward proclaimed.

“Actually, I had a meeting today with the TNR people regarding getting TNR started in the township, and I now have the model ordinance,” Cosnoski declared.

The township clerk recalled that back in 2008, she was “vilified” for having pursued TNR, recognizing, however, what was proposed back then would have “included having cat licensing.”

While she said that she would “not be going down that road again,” she recognized “back in 2008, the TNR program did require more input financially from the township,” and “that is not the case anymore, which I was happy to learn today.”

The township clerk maintained she had not had a chance to “digest it all,” but that she would be “definitely looking into it” in conjunction with the police and township attorney, exploring what resources would have to be committed by the township.

Cosnoski said the next step would be calling other townships to see what their experiences have been, before declaring a TNR program “would be very helpful.”

Ward closed the latest council meeting by publicly apologizing to Forman for “lashing out at you,” maintaining an apology is something she would not have gotten from Gardner.

Then, in addressing the “community,” he asserted, “we've got to have some kind of decorum in this room,” maintaining he “dislikes” when neighbors turn to each other “in this room” and “lash out at each other for reasons that baffle my mind.”

“Everybody has an opinion,” Ward said. “Everybody is granted that opinion. That is a God-given right. So, the next time that a community member decides to turn around and attack somebody in the audience, why don’t you just take a moment and shake their hand, as opposed to yelling at them, or getting mad at what they have to say. It goes a lot further.”

He then expressed his “hope that everybody in the community would like to be a good neighbor.”

Afterwards, GOP Councilman Dan Dewey is reported to have given Forman a hug.

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COLLEGE

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happen?” in referring to the fact that he is now on the Trustees’ Board and serving as its chair.

Donna Podolski, president of the RCBC Support Staff Association, contended that she and her members “all have watched and waited for the other shoe to drop, and the shoe dropped tonight.”

“I have never seen a board meeting like this,” she said. “I have never seen such partisan politics, except in Washington. … This was unbelievable. Everybody now knows what is going on – there is partisan(ship), there is nepotism and there is cronyism!”

Samantha Russell, of the college’s Office of Information Technology, a 21-year employee, declared, “I have run a lot of board meetings, and I have never seen such blatant corruption and (it being) just obvious - like just putting it out there.”

“None of the decisions tonight could possibly be good for the students and that is a severe disappointment to me,” said Russell, contending she was “blown away” by what had just occurred.

Burlington County Spokesman David Levinsky was asked by this newspaper if Hopson approves of the Trustees’ actions and would demand an Attorney General’s investigation, or remove any of the Trustees, and he responded:

“Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Veasy were duly appointed by the Board of Commissioners based on the recommendation of the RCBC Search Committee and that board elected to make him its chair,” Levinsky said. “The RCBC Board of Trustees is an independent governing authority and their actions are independent of the County Commissioners. Mr. Kennedy has the full faith and confidence of the commissioners.”

But perhaps the most devastating comments to the board came from the parent of the student with disabilities whose scheduled presentation to the board was shoved aside for the apparent political motives and had to follow the ugliness, with the parent telling the board members that they simply “had no idea” how excited her son was in coming to the Trustees’ Board meeting.

“I have to explain this,” the parent said. “We came here to celebrate, and we leave here … . … Remember who you are serving and what your purpose is – and it is education. It is learning. It is not this.”