Gloucester Township Council passed several resolutions during its June 28 meeting.
Officials want to obtain funding through a matching grant and a loan from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program to pay for the replacement of playground equipment at 31 Mayapple Road at Mulberry Station and at 92 Sturbridge Drive in Sturbridge Oaks.
The resolution states that if the township gets less funding than the total project costs, it has the balance of funding to complete the project. Another resolution passed was to approve the appointment of three Special Class I police officers.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Brian Burns brought up a recurring question about the possibility of buying land from Dottie Murray and Helen Hayes to preserve open space. Burns revealed that after he wrote to both women, they responded positively to the prospect of selling parts of their land for preservation to protect endangered species and the wildlife that takes refuge in it.
According to Burns, preserving the land means that after it is acquired, nothing can be developed on it, though there can still be trails made on the property.
Solicitor David Carlamere responded that even though the women may have agreed to sell their land, there needs to be a meeting about whether or not they want to purchase the property and make sure it would have a value to the community. After that meeting, the land would have to be assessed for fair-market value and Green Acres value — a program in the Department of Environmental Protection — before moving into contracts and funding.
“There could be other properties in the community … that add a greater value to the community,” Carlamere suggested.
“When you have enough money, more than enough money, and you have an ecologically sensitive property that is supported by the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), SJ (South Jersey) Land and Water Trust, Trout Unlimited and they’re telling you, ‘This needs to be preserved,’ to me, it’s mind boggling that any thought has to go into this,” Burns replied. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone, folks. There’s no going back.”
Council President Orlando Mercado concluded discussion on the topic by noting the need for due diligence. Later in the meeting, resident Jacqueline Thompson suggested community lawn mowers and weed wackers for Brittany Wood Development, as well as speed bumps. Mercado said he would take the first idea into consideration, but directed the second question to Police Chief David Harkins, who explained that speed bumps are largely cost ineffective and the department has better ways to target speeding.
He also cited their expense and the liability the township takes on when a car gets damaged from running over a speed bump too fast.
“We’ve found through enforcement and some of the other traffic notices and plans … we’ve had very effective enforcement in certain areas,” Harkins observed.
He explained that thanks to the help of active members of the community who provide information, the police are usually able to target speeders.
“We find that is much more cost effective than installing them throughout the neighborhood,” he said.
The next council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on July 26 at the Gloucester Township municipal building.
