OFFICER SWORN IN – Recently hired full-time Police Officer Kevin Sullivan (right) is sworn in by Mayor Micheal Reader (left) at the February monthly meeting.
Bill Bates
NEWS Correspondent
On Thursday, February 1st, the Mount Ephraim Board of Commissioners general meeting was held. At the top of the agenda for the evening was the swearing in of Police Officer Kevin Sullivan. Kevin has been a part time officer for about two years and said he is very excited to become a full-time employee and to serve the borough of Mount Ephraim. Police Officer Sullivan was sworn in by Mayor Micheal Reader as family, friends, and colleagues looked on.
Commissioner Tony Chambers presented the monthly report from the Department of Public Works (DPW) on the following: all operations are running smoothly through-out the town with no major occurrences. Employee\’s removed some graffiti from both the Shining Star Park on Harding Avenue and the Norcross Memorial Park on Centre and New Jersey Avenues. A few existing stop signs will be replaced as they are out-dated and several new stop signs will be added in accordance with federal regulations. Stop signs should be strategically placed within 500 feet from every school and every playground. The DPW is still continuing with collecting and hauling our own trash. For the month of January, the borough collected and hauled 202 tons of trash. Commissioner Chambers said that the borough is definitely saving taxpayers money by independently running its own trash removal operation. He also added that the Commissioners will know a better figure within the next few months as the
end of the first year is quickly approaching.
Mayor Micheal Reader presented the monthly report from the Fire Department (MEFD) on the following: the total alarms answered for the month of January was 30 and they conducted 3 training drills for the month. Total runs year-to-date (for record keeping purposes, runs from October thru September) is 161 and 8 training drills year-to-date. Total man-hours for the month was 375 hours. The monthly Police Department (MEPD) report was on the following: the total calls received for the month of January was 590, calls ranged from 54 emergency medical services (ambulance) calls to 14 of those being motor vehicle accidents. Two personal identity thefts have occurred over the past month and Mayor Reader encourages everyone to be vigilant and to report anything that you think is suspicious or if anything doesn\’t seem right.
Commissioner Suzanne Gaglianone reported that the commissioners had received a letter from the Federal Highway Transportation Authority regarding the Route 295 and Route 76 highway project stating that they had reached a decision on a proposal. The Commissioners are very happy because the proposal that was chosen was the most favorable and in the best interest of the residents of Mount Ephraim. More information on this project will be released as it becomes available.
The Walgreen\’s project is moving along quickly. The construction company that is completing the demolition is awaiting approval from the state Department of Transportation on whether or not they are able to close any lanes of traffic when demolishing the Harwan Theater. The company would like to close moving lanes of traffic sometime at night because they are unsure which direction the building will fall and how fast it will fall due to the current condition the building is in. Officials are expecting to have the Harwan building leveled within the next two weeks.
The Kings Highway Revitalization Project is right on course. The first of several phases will be underway shortly. The Commissioners spoke with representatives from PSE&G and they stated that they are on schedule to begin installing the light fixtures along Kings Highway when the Spring weather arrives sometime in March. Once this is complete the next phase would be the brick walkways.
The traffic light that was recently installed at the intersection of Kings Highway and Market Street is complete and officials are awaiting for PSE&G to finish some wiring and to connect electricity to the lights to make them operational. We should see the lights up and running in the next week or so.
The next general meeting will be held on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at the Borough Hall located at 121 South Black Horse Pike.