By Nicole M. Maiese

NEWS Correspondent

 Gloucester City Council expects to hire a management firm to run Chatham Square as apartments for at least one year.

City officials said that because of the economy, it is difficult to find a developer for the site near Klemm Avenue and Route 130.

The City recently purchased the apartments to \”get rid of an eyesore, and a problem,\” Mayor James said, adding that the biggest problem has been lax management for the past six years.

The apartment buildings are in better shape than anticipated, and the rents will make up for the lost tax revenue.

Resident Jim Kelly said he was concerned about the City becoming a landlord.

The 65 homes built by Beazer in Meadowbrook Run, adjacent to Chatham Square, are now all purchased and occupied.

In other business, City Council approved the 2008 municipal budget after a public hearing.

Councilman Nick Marchese said the City has applied for discretionary and extraordinary aid from the state to supplement the budget.

\”We think we have a strong application,\” James said.

If the state denies the aid, the $16,439,000 budget will raise taxes 41 cents per $100, or $287 a year on the average assessed home of $70,000.

During the budget hearing, Resident Lewis Stout asked if this included the increases in the school budget and the county budget, and was told this was strictly the municipal budget.

He then asked why the City did not simply foreclose on the Chatham Square property.

The City Solictior said he thought friendly redevelopment was the better option.

In response to a question by resident Theresa Graham concerning streamlining the budget, City Administrator/Clerk Paul Kain explained there was a major increase in the City\’s contributions to the pension funds of employees, and that no new jobs have been created.

\”Cuts were made from all operations,\” Kain said. \”We tried not to go into personnel and salaries.\”

\”We maxed out on capital expenses. We can\’t cut anymore,\” Marchese said.

After City Council came out of executive session, members passed an ordinance on first reading amending the salary ordinance. The second reading and public hearing will be Thursday, May 15, at 8 p.m.

It established the salary guidelines of the new UEZ Coordinator/Director of Community Development Howard Clark at a minimum of $48,741 and a maximum of $60,000.

Kain said that this will not be paid by the City, but rather by the Urban Enterprise Zone.

The guidelines for the Project Assistant to the Governing Body will be a minimum of $29,000 and a maximum of $35,000.

During the regular meeting, Council tabled an ordinance that would have vacated a portion of Cumberland Street near Broadway for the building of a Commerce Bank branch.

Kain explained that the City still had not heard from bank officials.

Mayor James said that Gloria Rowan of Commerce told members of the Gloucester City Business Association that the branch will still be built, hopefully by the third or fourth quarter of this year.

Council passed a resolution authorizing the Louis Berger Group, Inc., to provide an archeological and historical survey of the Water Works Plant.

Also, Council selected Remington & Vernick as the project engineers for building the new Water Works Plant at Johnson Boulevard.

During the Public Forum, Norman Hill said the old Power Plant near GAF on Water Street is historic, and asked if the City could save it.

The City Solicitor said that would be difficult, because the area is \”an environmental disaster. There is asbestos, and PCBs, and the plant now presents a public health hazard.\”

Frank Wunsch said he was concerned about the possibility of underground oil storage tanks at the Chatham Square Apartments.

The solicitor said there are oil tanks in the basements.

 

Media Release May 7

Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey shortstop Ellen Seavers (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) earned her second post-season honor as the sophomore was named Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association East Region Honorable Mention.

Seavers anchored the middle infield for the Lions starting all 42 games she played and led the team in a host of offensive categories. The 2008 All-New Jersey Athletic Conference First Team honoree finished with a .395 batting average that led the team and ranked sixth in the conference. She also topped the 1team in hits (58), runs (35), doubles (13), home runs (4) and on-base percentage (.422), while ranking second in runs batted in (20) and stolen bases (14).

She was consistent from the start hitting safely in 36 of 42 games with 19 multiple-hit games. The infielder also put together hitting streaks of eight, 11 and 12 games.

She received All-NJAC Honorable Mention as a freshman last season.

TCNJ finished the season strong advancing to the title game of the NJAC Tournament after knocking off 13th-ranked Ramapo College and fifth-ranked Montclair State University. The Lions finished the season 26-17.

By Sara Martino

NEWS Correspondent

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Mayor John Soubasis and Borough Council members were asked to provide a \”wish list\” of projects needed to help the town.

U.S. Congressman Rob Andrews (D-1) will later present the resulting list to the federal government in hopes of realizing grant monies for the projects.

Among the needs is repair or replacement of sewer and storm water mains, painting of the water tower, tree removal near the circle and cleaning up of the circle area, and a safe route to school project.

Borough Engineer Chuck Riebel Jr. suggested that several of the needs could be incorporated into the re-examination of the borough\’s Master Plan when it is updated.

He also said the NJ State Historical Commission approved the start of the waterfront area bank improvements.

\”The historical group wants to monitor the progress during the project.\”

Another \”wish list\” may come from the sports users of the borough\’s fields.

Several of the girl\’s and boy\’s schedules have been a matter of much discussion among the coaches.

\”Every year there is problems with the use of the fields,\” Soubasis said. \”I will turn the fields into soccer fields if it continues.

One problem occurs when the bases are moved from the Babe Ruth\’s need of 50-feet bases to the Little League\’s need of 47-feet bases. At times, holes are created when the bases are moved.

Councilman Greg Gilbert has informed the Brooklawn Athletic Association of the schedule for this season and the coaches have agreed to follow it.

Some renovations are ongoing now at the fields.

The Borough animal control will respond to complaints concerning feral cats and the mayor has asked residents to resist feeding the cats and to keep their pet cats in the home.

\”Why the cats should be allowed to do their bodily functions on other resident\’s property?\” he asked.

There are health laws in place that state that all dogs and cats must be licensed; a limit of three animals are allowed in the home; all animals must be leashed when off the owner\’s property; clean up after \”your pet;\” and do not allow animals to damage someone\’s property.

The mayor said cat traps are available from the Borough to help deal with the wild cat problem.

In other business, the mayor said, \”We will have zero tolerance on graffiti violators. Kids mimic what they see on the internet. They are writing on the stop signs as well as in the park areas. Please call the police department to report this type of vandalism.\”

Along with the problems of juveniles, cats and graffiti, traffic on Chestnut Street was also discussed by the governing body.

Supposedly, a lot of \”out- of-towners\” use that street as a cut through to avoid a traffic wait on Broadway.

Councilwoman Rickie Boulden suggested signs be posted to suggest a specific time period when the street would be designated as one way only.

She said the signs could be a deterrent same as the school posting signs are now and would cut down on the speeding also.

The mayor advised the police chief to write a letter of recommendation to the council after investigating the violations.

 

 

By Lois Staas

NEWS Correspondent

Recently elected Bellmawr Board of Education Members Mary DiMattesa, Michael \”Juice\” Williams and re-elected Board Member Jody Mangus were sworn in by Solicitor Ronald W. Sahli at the district\’s reorganization meeting April 22.

The Board elected Jody Mangus President and Betty Sheppard Vice-President.

Next, Mrs. Holt of the Bell Oaks School as well as five middle school students gave a presentation concerning the Peer Mediation Program available to all students to help resolve conflicts that might distract their educational focus.

Mrs. Holt also cited the Peer Mentoring and the New Student programs that grew from the mediation model. Participating students raised funds for the Ronald McDonald House as well as volunteering to cook a dinner using Mexican cuisine for the families staying at the House.

Board Member Jamie Casey presented Danielle Sendler, Kristina Spenser, and Paige Kangas with the newly instituted Student Recognition Award. These three young ladies independently formed the \”Clean- Up Crew\” at Bellmawr Park Public School.

During their free time they make certain that the play area is safe and free of trash and sticks.

Counselor Lorraine Gancher\’s request for retirement was approved and outgoing Board President Ron Henry publicly thanked for her many years of significant service to the district.

During committee reports Board Member Jamie Casey offered that the search for a company to provide security cameras to the district was on going. Board Members Betty Sheppard and Ron Henry had no reports for their committees.

In routine business the Richard Hardenbergh Insurance Agency was appointed as Insurance/Risk Management Consultant. Garrison Architects were appointed as Architects of record.

Superintendent Annette Castiglione reported that the NJQSAC Committee members are Ann Garcia, Ron Henry, Betty Sheppard, Michael Williams, Patricia Bartley, Anthony Farinelli, Elizabeth Calabria, Frank Jankowski, Jr., Dottie Specht, Eileen Barr, Rose Ann Yezzo, Colleen Cullen, Melissa Gleason, Joan Crane, Pat Jombe, and herself.

\”This committee will assess the health of our district,\” Castiglione said. Instruction, personnel, and governance are three of the five areas that are evaluated by the district and state.

During the public portion of the meeting, parent Mrs. Loscata expressed her concerns about the 80-minute block schedule in Language Arts and Mathematics for 2008-2009.

The superintendent reassured all parents that this was in compliance with state mandates for required instructional hours in these disciplines.

Parental concerns also extended into availability of band classes as well as scheduling students for appropriately challenging classes.

The superintendent said that many extracurricular activities were provided for the students. The Academic Challenge is for students who are eligible and meet the guidelines of the district policy that is already in place.

As of press time, the Bellmawr Board of Education and Bellmawr Mayor and Council had planned to meet April 28 in the Borough Hall in regard to the defeated school budget.

MEDIA RELEASE, MAY 7th

Gloucester City — Law enforcement officers from the Gloucester City Police Department will be cracking down on unbuckled motorists and their
passengers as part of the national \”Click it or Ticket Campaign.\”

Beginning May 19 and running through June 1, local police agencies will conduct a zero tolerance seat belt enforcement campaign and will issue
tickets to motorists who are not buckled-up.

\”Using a seat belt is the simplest way for a motorist and his or her passengers to protect themselves when on the road,\” said Pam Fischer, Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. \”Motor vehicle occupants who buckle-up are between 45 and 75 percent less likely to face life threatening injuries in a car crash. That\’s a statistic that should make every one buckle-up, every ride.\”

Last year, the seat belt usage rate in New Jersey rose for the 11^th consecutive year to 91.4%. Fischer noted that while seat belt usage rates continue to increase in New Jersey, law enforcement and safety officials will not rest until the state achieves a 100 percent compliance rate.

\”We\’ve seen the seat belt usage rate steadily increase during the past decade with the help of focused enforcement efforts such as Click it or Ticket,\” Fischer added. \”But our work isn\’t done. We\’ll continue to use both enhanced enforcement and public outreach efforts to educate all motorists on the life-saving value of seat belts.\”

Nationally, between 1975 and 2000, seat belts prevented 135,000 fatalities and 3.8 million injuries, saving $585 billion in medical and other costs. Seat belt use is particularly critical for teens and young adults, with motor vehicle crashes cited as the leading cause of death for people age 15 to 34 in the United States.

\”We are committed to the Click It or Ticket strategy,\” added Tom Louizou, Regional Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. \”Tickets are a strong deterrent and the results are meaningful: fewer deaths on our roads.\”

Source http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/sam_carchidi/

Speaking of Gloucester Catholic, the Rams will host Overbrook today in a game that will have a major bearing on the Tri-County Diamond title. Gloucester Catholic will be trying to avenge a 7-6 opening-day loss.

The Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic has several great first-round matchups on Saturday. My favorites: Shawnee vs. Bishop Eustace at Deptford, 10:30 a.m.; Sacred Heart vs. Vineland, a city rival, at Washington Township, 10:30 a.m.; Northern Burlington at Washington Township, 1 p.m.; Winslow Township vs. Mainland at Overbrook, 10:30 a.m.; and Millville vs. Lenape at Maple Shade, 1 p.m.

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The Best Insider Tip of the Day

In my mail today was a letter written by A Concerned Cop. I need to check out some of the statements he makes but here are a few lines from the first paragraph.

\”Bill, at the last couple of (Gloucester) council meetings I’ve heard Councilman Brophy and other councilpersons tell the public that one of the budget problems the city is having is a $600,000 increase in police pensions. I am a police officer and it infuriates me when I see our political leaders intentionally misleading the public like this.\”

I will post the remainder of his letter after I look into the matter further. To contact me by snail mail, send your comment to Post Office Box 164, Gloucester City NJ 08030. Or by email [email protected].