Under the Municipal Park Development Assistance Program, Burlington County’s freeholders recently awarded $200,000 for improvements to Spencer Fields and Memorial Park in Mt. Laurel.
The improvements will be discussed in further detail in an upcoming work session meeting of town council, said township manager Maureen Mitchell at the Monday, Aug. 6 council meeting.
The third round of awards, which were released in late July, in the county totaled $5 million in grant funds to 28 towns.
$10 million in grants were awarded in the prior two rounds, with the maximum amount of funds allowed to be granted to a specific town being $250,000, according to a statement from the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
“We are making it possible for towns to achieve their local recreational goals during a time when they must address other priorities due to budgeting constraints,” said Freeholder Director Bruce D. Garganio in the statement. “Our goal has been to extend this funding to all of the towns in the county, so that ‘no town is left behind.’”
Eagle Scout recognized
A proclamation to commend Daniel Jay Kutzik for reaching the highest rank of the Boy Scouts was read at the meeting. Kutzik’s project, explained Deputy Mayor Linda Bobo, was out of the ordinary.
A member of Troop №15, he built a meditation labyrinth at the New Covenant Presbyterian Church to provide for “meditative contemplation and religious prayer for the church’s congregants as well as non-congregants in the local area,” according to the document.
“It was a bit intimidating,” explained Kutzik, when he was greeted with the community service project.
However, with research and thought, he quickly found the idea to be an interesting one.
“It was cool,” he said, pointing out that a labyrinth is similar to a maze.
The document continues to say that the design, which is 30 feet in diameter, is a seven-circuit labyrinth with seven layers of path that wraps around a central area. Bricks line the paths and a stone bench was erected at the edge to allow for “quiet contemplation.”
Police department was to be reassessed
During the meeting, Mitchell explained that the Mt. Laurel Police Department was about to be reassessed by the New Jersey Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.
The assessment was to be performed between Sunday, Aug. 12 and Monday, Aug. 13 to review the department.
According to a police department release, “As part of the accreditation program all law enforcement agencies must be reassessed every three years. This assessment is the first for the department since initially being accredited in Nov. 2009.”
All areas of the department were to be assessed, including 112 standards, such as officer code of conduct, internal affairs, prisoner transportation and handling and officer training.
Comments regarding the department can be received via mail to Harry Delgado, Program Manager, C/O New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, 1 Greentree Center, Suite 201, Marlton, N.J., 08053.
