When it came to snow removal during a storm that hit the township just after New Years, Mayor Randy Brown had some good news and bad news.
The good news was the township’s snow removal was excellent.
The bad news was the county’s effort was, as Brown put it, “an embarrassment.”
During his comments at the end of last week’s council meeting, Brown made it known that he was extremely disappointing with Burlington County’s effort in removing snow from county roads, which were reportedly a mess compared to the roads the township treated.
“I really do not need to be at the corner of Main and Maple with three of our police officers at 5 o’clock on a Friday just about punching the lights out on a county worker finally showing up with a truck,” Brown said.
Brown read an email from a longtime Marlton resident who complimented the township’s roads, but said the county roads were still dangerous even 48 hours after the storm.
This brought up a plea by Brown that council consider entering into a shared services agreement with Burlington County in which they would be permitted to assist in treating county roads.
Township Manager William Cromie is working on crafting an agreement that should be on the agenda at the next council meeting on Jan. 21.
Brown asked Cromie if the township could take action on county roads if a snowstorm takes place prior to the next council meeting.
“We’re going to talk about that when we talk about the details,” Cromie said. “If we need to have a special meeting to get it done, then we’ll do that.”
In other news:
• Evesham Township council continued its tradition of rotating the deputy mayor’s role as Ken D’Andrea was named to the position at last week’s reorganization meeting. He will be taking over for 2013 deputy mayor Debbie Hackman.
The appointment was one that Brown was particularly excited about.
“What you’ve done and where you’ve come, I’m proud to have you sitting next to me, I’m proud to have you as my deputy mayor, I’m proud to call you my friend,” Brown said to D’Andrea.
D’Andrea emphasized how the harmony and cooperation among council members has allowed them to make progress with various aspects of Evesham Township.
“In 2014, we’re looking to move forward,” D’Andrea said. “We have a great team, a great expanded team, a great town that together, we can solve a lot of the challenges and enjoy the great rapport that we have.”
• Council made most of its professional appointments at the reorganization meeting. None of the appointments differ from 2012.
There are still a handful of seats open on boards and committees that need to be filled. Brown said the planning and zoning board each had one open seat, while the environmental committee had two open spots. Brown asked council to come forward in the coming weeks with any candidates who would be a good fit for the open spots.
• Evesham Township’s next council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. in the township’s municipal building.
