A Voorhees resident has started a petition to urge for monthly cleanups of Laurel Lake behind the Vogelson Regional Branch Library
A resident interested in having more regular cleanup efforts at Laurel Lake behind the Vogelson Regional Branch Library spoke at last week’s Voorhees Committee meeting.
Susan Festa brought this discussion to township committee in hopes of moving the effort along with the help of the elected officials.
Officials said Echelon Common Facilities Management owns both the lake and the area surrounding it. According to Township Administrator Larry Spellman, ECFM has cleaned up the lake and the surrounding area in past years.
However, Festa spoke during public comment to urge for more regular cleanups by ECFM, as well inquiring about the possibility of trash cans and recycling bins being installed around the lake, as currently there are none.
“I ask the township to urge and pressure ECFM to clean up the lakes, do it monthly and provide rubbish and recycling bins,” Festa said during public comment.
Multiple members of the committee agreed the lake needs to be cleaned more regularly.
“There’s no reason, as you suggested, that we can’t encourage [ECFM] to do what they need to do,” Mayor Michael Mignogna said. “That is unacceptable, I agree with you.”
Mignogna also said the committee would mention the matter to the environmental commission as well.
Spellman said he spoke with a member of ECFM who recently toured the area to check the litter buildup, and that the township and ECFM are exploring a date to get a cleanup crew out to the lake. Additionally, Spellman said the township has a litter collection grant that can assist in the process.
Deputy Mayor Jason Ravitz commented on the collection of plastic bags around the lake, saying individual municipalities would benefit greatly from the state implementing one uniform regulation regarding plastic bags, rather than each township having their own “which creates chaos.”
Many New Jersey shore towns, such as Stone Harbor, Avalon, Brigantine and more, have issued bans on either plastic bags or Styrofoam to go into effect later this year. Meanwhile, as Ravitz alluded to, the state has had discussions in recent months to change the way plastic bags are used in the state, such as by charging per bag or banning them altogether.
Deputy Mayor Michelle Nocito thanked Festa for coming to the meeting to discuss this issue, saying she had recently discussed this issue with township officials in hopes of seeing progress.
“I’m very, very grateful that you’re here,” Nocito said. “Sharing with us what you’re seeing, it brings attention to the issue and raises awareness.”
Festa has started an online petition to have Laurel Lake cleaned up more regularly. The petition can be found here.
Also at the meeting:
· The committee authorized a shared services agreement with Laurel Springs for uniform construction code services, and an interlocal services agreement was agreed upon with Gibbsboro for leaf removal services.
