A look back at 2015 in Mt. Laurel
This year in Mt. Laurel saw the addition of a new K-9 officer to the Mt. Laurel Police Department, discussions on the rules for feeding feral cats in town, revisions to the Fellowship redevelopment plan and a whole host of other issues. As Mt. Laurel moves toward a new year, here’s a recap of just some of the events that made headlines in The Sun throughout 2015.
Mt. Laurel Township Council and Board of Education reorganize
The year started in Mt. Laurel as it did in many townships across the state with the reorganization of the township council and board of education.
Council continued the tradition of rotating the positions of mayor and deputy mayor, with Irwin Edelson being appointed to mayor and Dennis Riley being appointed to deputy mayor.
Upon the appointment, Edelson said the biggest goal for council throughout the year would be to open more of a dialogue with the community, which was also something Riley and fellow rookie Councilman Rich Van Noord spoke about during their election campaign in the months prior.
The meeting was also notable for Riley and Van Noord as Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno swore in the two new councilmembers.
For the Mt. Laurel Board of Education reorganization meeting, incumbents Diane Blair, Christine Dickson and Margaret Haynes were all sworn in again.
At the meeting, Maureen Sojka was appointed president, and Marc Jones was appointed vice president.
For the Lenape Regional Board of Education, Mt. Laurel representative and incumbent Paula Lee was sworn in.
PARCC exams
Early this year, the parents of students in Mt. Laurel Schools voiced their concerns over what would happen to students who refused to take this year’s new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers standardized exam.
For 2015, PARCC replaced New Jersey’s former New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge standardized test in grades K-8.
The PARCC test, which was entirely computer based, tested students in English language arts literacy and mathematics over the course of several hours over several days.
The test was originally formed when a group of states came together to develop a new set of common standards in English and math to better prepare students for college and careers after high school.
Although some of the states involved in PARCC’s creation opted not to give the PARCC exams, New Jersey did give the exams, which drew the ire of parents and opposition groups across the state, including those in Mt. Laurel.
Those parents also took their complaints to the Mt. Laurel BOE, where they raised concerns over what would happen to students who refused to take the exam.
Those parents were informed that any student who refused to take the test would be permitted to do another activity in the classroom and would not have to sit and stare in front of the computer, as was the case in some districts.
However, students were not allowed to move to another area, and instead remained in the classroom with any other peers taking the test.
At the Lenape Regional High School District level, testing protocol also did not differ from the way the district treated standardized assessments in the past, with students also not allowed to move to a different room during testing.
Mt. Laurel Police gain new K-9 officer
For more than a decade, the Mt. Laurel Police Department had to rely on other townships every time the department needed the use of a police K-9, but that all changed this year when the department reinstituted its K-9 unit.
In March, Mt. Laurel Police Chief Dennis Cribben proposed a plan to township council about bringing a police K-9 back to the force, which the department had been without since 2001.
The idea began in late 2014 when Cpl. Chris O’Prandy adopted a young German Shepherd named Gunner and offered to donate him to the department for police K-9 use.
The plan came at little cost to Mt. Laurel taxpayers, as Cribben requested that council approve the creation of a trust fund program that allowed the department to engage in fundraising activities to pay for most of the costs associated with the K-9 unit.
After council approved the idea, Gunner started his training to become a dual-purpose patrol and narcotics K-9, and O’Prandy also began working to receive his K-9 handler certification.
By September, O’Prandy and Gunner had completed their training and started their regular patrol work in town.
Around that time, the department also announced the addition of another dog to the department with the donation of a puppy named Drako. The department announced that when Drako was old enough he, too, would start attending police K-9 training.
Municipal taxes and K-8 school taxes up, LRHSD taxes down
On the municipality’s side of things, residents with an average assessed home of $237,518 saw an increase of $14 on their annual municipal tax bill this year. That increase allowed the township to maintain all services and employees.
The total budget council passed clocked in at about $37.59 million, which was a decrease of nearly $500,000 from the previous year. That decrease was due to an expected loss of revenue from grants, of which the township expected to see less revenue from in 2015 than it had in 2014.
For Mt. Laurel Schools, this year the BOE approved a $71.55 million 2015–16 budget. This averaged out to about a $42.75 average annual increase for Mt. Laurel homeowners.
The tax level for the budget was an increase from the previous year of about 1.9 percent, which was below the 2 percent cap mandated by the state. This meant the district also did not utilize any banked cap.
Yet, despite the tax increases from the municipality and Mt. Laurel Schools, Mt. Laurel residents saw a slight dip on their regional tax bill for the Lenape Regional High School District’s 2015–2016 budget — an average annual decrease of $26.89.
The overall LRHSD budget was passed at $154.06 million, which was a 1.4 percent increase from the previous year.
Revisions to the Fellowship Road area redevelopment plan
This year, council adopted a revised Fellowship Road area redevelopment plan that allowed developer Laurel Capital Group to apply to the township’s planning board to develop a vacant parcel of land between Beaver Avenue and I-295 referred to as the RA-3 zone.
However, that decision came after several council meetings where members of the public and council itself questioned the developer about its plans to have iFly, an indoor skydiving company, build on the land.
Specifically, residents and council raised questions about the building’s signage, as iFly proposed having signs on three sides of the building, and council and residents said the signs could be eyesores with the building’s height of 60 feet.
Residents and council also raised questions about traffic on Beaver Avenue, as council felt to relieve traffic along Beaver Avenue, the property would need a driveway from Route 73.
Several residents said they felt Beaver Avenue would be used as a through street to Route 73, despite township ordinances prohibiting traffic from cutting through the neighborhoods.
When council eventually adopted the revised plan, changes included adjustments to parking regulations, a revised minimum lot area and new regulations regarding signs.
Building lights were required to be shut off a half-hour after closing or midnight at the latest for signs on taller buildings.
The township also decided to install speed bumps along Beaver Avenue to slow traffic.
Mt. Laurel and feral cats within
Feral cats were an ongoing topic of discussion this year in Mt. Laurel when the public comment portions of several council meetings were dedicated to residents and animal advocates voicing their opinions and concerns on solutions to Mt. Laurel’s feral cat population.
The issue began when council first started discussing whether to institute a fine for residents who might feed feral cats and dogs on private property in the township, similar to how it was already illegal to feed any wildlife on township property.
The idea came to council’s attention after a recommendation from Burlington County officials, as in April a fox was discovered near Burry Port Way in Mt. Laurel that eventually tested positive for rabies.
Although there weren’t any feral cats testing positive for rabies, there was a fear that residents feeding strays might come into contact with disease when interacting with the animals.
Township officials also noted there were residents in town feeding groups of 20 or more cats, yet Mt. Laurel was the only town in Burlington County to have a shared services agreement with Willingboro for animal control but not have an ordinance against the feeding of feral strays.
That discussed ban later brought suggestions from residents and animal activists from around the area who instead suggested the township institute a trap, neuter and release program that would allow volunteers to capture feral cats and take them to animal hospitals where they could be neutered and vaccinated and then released back into the wild.
Several residents and animal activists argued an outright feeding ban as originally proposed would merely cause some cats to starve and die, while not actually addressing any overpopulation issues.
Council eventually decided to do more research before moving forward with the issue.
Parkway lockdown, relocation of election polling places
One incident that occurred this year that had long-term implications came during the morning of this year’s primary elections on June 2, when Parkway Elementary School received a call from a man threatening he was inside the building with a gun.
At the time, Parkway was a location for Mt. Laurel residents to vote in this year’s primary election, and residents who under normal circumstances might not have had access to the building were coming and going from the school throughout the day.
That factor, combined with the fact that the call came during polling hours when children were still in the building, caused voting to be suspended while the building was locked down.
Law enforcement officials then conducted a search of the building, but no gun or suspect was found, and polling at the building that day eventually resumed.
Ultimately, police determined the threat was not credible, but the incident once again prompted district officials to lobby to have polling locations moved from the schools.
The issue had come up about a decade before when an incident at Fleetwood Elementary School occurred during the 2004 election where an individual wearing a hooded sweatshirt entered the area of the school where polling was located, threw a bag of white powder on the floor and ran away.
That incident caused the entire school to be evacuated and hazmat teams called to inspect the scene, although the powder was later found to be harmless.
At the time, Mt. Laurel schools went before the Burlington County Board of Elections to have polling places removed from schools, but the request was ultimately denied.
Yet, while the district was unsuccessful in getting polling places moved out of the schools in 2004, this year the district accomplished that goal with some help from the municipality.
Following the Parkway incident, township clerk Meredith Tomczyk worked with the district to compile a list of locations other than schools where polling places could be relocated.
Of the township’s 27 voting districts, 15 had their polling places located within schools.
By the fall, the county had approved the move, and for the Nov. 3 general election, no polling place was located within a Mt. Laurel school building.
After the election, Tomczyk reported the move had gone smoothly, and even though some locations had more polling places than before, there didn’t seem to be a noticeable increase in the time those residents had to wait to vote.
Superintendent Antoinette Rath leaves Mt. Laurel school district
In September, the 13-year tenure of Antoinette Rath as superintendent of Mt. Laurel Schools came to an end when she left the district to take a new position as chief executive officer at Collegium Charter School in Exton, Pa.
Rath first came to the district in 2002, after having previous worked as the deputy superintendent for Cherry Hill Public Schools.
At the time of her departure, Rath said there were a number of factors in her decision to leave her position in Mt. Laurel, including that her family had wanted to move closer to their extended family in Pennsylvania for some time.
When the opportunity in Exton presented itself, Rath saw what she described as a fantastic opportunity.
During her time with the district, Rath was instrumental in a number of initiatives, including adding science, technology, engineering and math classes to the district’s curriculum, and purchasing Chromebooks to help upgrade the district’s technology.
“I’m most proud of the fact that all of those initiatives put the students first,” Rath said. “That has been our undercurrent since the day I got there. Every initiative that has been relatively new over the past 13 years has been developed and at its foundation has been what we needed to do for the community.”
Upon Rath’s departure, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment Sharon Vitella was appointed interim superintendent.
Vitella has been with the district since 2007, and upon being appointed interim superintendent said her favorite aspect of the school district is the feeling of unity and family among the district’s students, staff, administrators and community members.
“There are great people everywhere,” Vitella said. “But the family feeling here, that we’re all part of this amazing organization, is really noteworthy.”
RCBC announces shift of main campus to Mt. Laurel
It was June when Burlington County College transformed into Rowan College at Burlington County after signing a partnership with Rowan University.
Not long after that, officials announced Mt. Laurel had been chosen to be the county college’s new epicenter, as all main campus activities would eventually transfer there from Pemberton.
According to officials with the college, there were a number of factors that affected the decisions, the biggest of which was the fact that more students are now attending classes on the Mt. Laurel campus than any of the other college’s campuses combined and have been for some time.
The college’s original main campus in Pemberton was also revealed in a college study to need about $50 million in infrastructure repairs and improvements, while at the same time Rowan officials had already showed interest in making Mt. Laurel the main campus.
Later in the year, RCBC officials also unveiled plans for a new 75,000-square-foot Student Success Center at the Mt. Laurel campus to face Route 38 and create a quad with the campus’ existing buildings.
Mt. Laurel EMS Chief Francis Pagurek retires after 16 years
This year, Francis Pagurek retired after 16 years as Mt. Laurel EMS chief and emergency management coordinator.
Pagurek served those roles from August 1999 through Sept. 30 of this year, and during the last meeting of council before his retirement took effect, Pagurek was honored by the township for his time spent serving the town.
It was during that time Edelson presented Pagurek with an honorable discharge award in honor of his service and loyalty.
Upon giving Pagurek the award, Edelson said the impact he had on the EMS and the team he built would last the town forever.
“Putting together a core like this is what you do, what you’ve done for Mt. Laurel, and the residents deeply thank you for that,” Edelson said.
Former Councilman Larry Chatzidakis and former township manager Pat Halbe, who were each part of the team to originally hire Pagurek, also attended the meeting where Pagurek was honored and offered their gratitude for Pagurek’s work.
“He really brought the EMS squad into the modern times, and I feel probably if it’s not the best, then it’s one of the best EMS squads in the entire state — very proud,” Chatzidakis said.
Mt. Laurel 2015 election results
There were no municipal elections in Mt. Laurel this year, but there was an election for the Mt. Laurel BOE. In that election, incumbents Maureen Sojka and Ronald Frey won re-election, along with newcomer Melissa M. DeClementi. All three ran unopposed for three open seats, each for three-year terms.
For the Lenape Regional High School District Board of Education race, John Jeffers ran unopposed and won re-election for a Mt. Laurel seat on the board.
