Palmyra borough council voted to elect Frank Cosky to replace Shelby Tucker as councilman
At the Dec. 5 borough council meeting, Mayor Michelle Arnold announced Councilwoman Shelby Tucker will be resigning from her position. Councilman Edward Kearney and Borough Council President Bryan Norcross will also be leaving, as they were not re-elected in the Nov. 8 election.
Tucker is in a master’s degree program that requires her to take classes on Monday evenings — the same night borough council meetings are held.
“I want to thank Shelby for her service,” Arnold said. “She worked very hard and was very involved.”
To replace Tucker, mayor and council chose Frank Cosky among three candidates. Cosky was sworn into office immediately after being elected.
Cosky is a local attorney who had served on borough council previously. Cosky has also been a Palmyra resident all of his life and is trained in both arbitration and mediation.
Sue Van Emburgh and Jim Countryman were the other candidates.
Van Emburgh is a third generation Palmyra resident whose grandfather served on borough council. She works locally and is heavily involved with the Palmyra Marching Band Parents Association.
Countryman was born and raised in Palmyra and has been a resident for more than 50 years. Countryman is the facilities director for the Burlington City School District and said he wants to be on borough council to help improve the town.
Democrats Bernadette Russell and Mindie Weiner will join council in the new year. The two defeated Republican incumbents Norcross and Kearney in last month’s election.
Russell says she is looking forward to tackling issues such as perception of the school district, fostering a relationship with the business community and improving Main Street. Weiner aims to improve Broad Street and bring a farmer’s market to town.
This month’s council meeting will be Norcross and Kearney’s last. Norcross gave Russell and Weiner his best wishes and thanked the borough council staff for all they do.
“It was an honor and privilege to serve the residents of this town,” Norcross said.
In other news:
• Mayor and council decided the reorganization meeting will be held on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. at Borough Hall. Russell requested the meeting be held on Saturday as she would not be able to attend earlier in the week.
The state requires all reorganization meetings to be held within seven days of the New Year. Russell and Weiner will be sworn into office at that meeting.
• The Palmyra Police Department will be participating in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over end-of-the-year “crack down” initiative. According to the NHTSA, drunk driving takes the lives of more than 10,000 people each year. The initiative is designed to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving while including sobriety checkpoints to cut down on impaired driving.
• Arnold commended the Islamic Center of South Jersey for its interfaith event held on Dec. 2.
“It was phenomenal,” Arnold said. “It was great to spend some time there and support our neighbors.”
Arnold added the event was very informative, and more than 70 community members attended.
