Well... after a several months hiatus, I make it back to a council meeting. This was a short one... only thirty minutes long, but it did have a lot of great information. New officers, Planned Parenthood meeting scheduled, Landfill project update, and a new Checkers fast food restaurant coming to town!
So here are my notes… not necessarily in order of the evening’s proceedings, but close to it…
Public Works Thanked
A letter from the principal of Ethel M Burke was read, lauding Joe Ciano and his public works crew for the work they did at the school, repaving and adding benches.
Police Department Thanked
A letter from a family in Holmdel was read, thanking officers Vance and Kenny for the exceptional way they handled a relative in the family who needed assistance when visiting Bellmawr.
Drunk Driving
Councilwoman Pointkowski read a proclamation in support of a program that took place earlier in August that focused on cracking down on drunk driving.
Budget approved, Tax bills going out.
After significant delays, the budget was approved and tax bills were being mailed August 24th. The deadline for paying taxes was set one month from the mailing, and will be due Sept 24. The mayor added that we lost $300,000 in state funding.
Planned Parenthood
The mayor spoke, identifying Pastor Kovlak who had been to prior Council Meetings complaining about Planned Parenthood’s use of town buildings for meetings (and the discussion of abortion). The mayor restated that the building is not owned by the town and he has no jurisdiction, but he did organize an open meeting to take place September 5 at 4:00 pm, with County officials, and Planned Parenthood, to discuss concerns with the public. Pastor Kovlak seemed very happy with this progress.
New Officers Sworn In.
The largest groups of attendees in the meeting were family and friends of new officers Christopher Wilhelm and Jared Walton. With their very proud families at their sides, they were sworn in as Class II special officers.
During the course of the rest of the meeting, all Council Members and the Mayor congratulated them on their success. It was mentioned that these two officers are life-long Bellmawr residents, and they were thanked for staying within the community as they move into thier careers.
Admittedly, I don’t understand the progression of Officer Classes… but it seemed to me that these officers have been a part of the force for several months, but this next step is very important as they now head to the Academy for training.
So you want to be a Police Office in Bellmawr?
Councilman Jim D’Angelo recalled when Officers Wilhelm and Walton were youths, participating in Bellmawr sports programs. He also commented that the two officers have participated in the Bellmawr Police Explorer Program since they were 14 years old. On hearing this, I thought to myself that it amounted to a 6 year interview for these officers, and it showed a lot of drive, determination and success for these new officers to have stuck with it all this time. I also thought about most 14 yr olds that I know who change their minds about everything, every 2 weeks. So for these young men to stay with this for so long is a good indication that Bellmawr is making the right decision.
Sometimes you get weighed down by people spewing negativity of “these kids today…” but it was nice to witness the swearing in of these officers to be reminded there are great people in this town, but too many people want to focus on the bad. I don’t know the officers, but I couldn’t help feel, as a resident of Bellmawr, a feeling of pride in hearing their story, seeing how proud their parents are, and how happy the leaders of our town and police department are in having these two young men advance in their dream to protect our town.
National Night Out
A council member commented on the success of the National Night Out program, saying the Bellmawr Police department did an excellent job of organizing the event. (See pictures at BellmawrBlog.com, under the gallery)
Landfill Project
The mayor again spoke, volunteering a short status on the Landfill Project. There is a lot of activity taking place at the landfill, and the mayor commented the project is already 18 months ahead of schedule, and that he is very confident the first building will be erected next year in 2008! He commented “For those who thought this project would never happen, this is definitely going to happen and even faster than was expected”. The mayor also commented that there will be enhanced access to roadways for Bellmawr residents (I believe he was referring to the Missing Moves project and new access ramps).
Checkers Restaurant
During his discussion on the landfill project, the mayor commented that a Checkers Restaurant will be built on Harding Avenue. Checkers is a drive-thru only restaurant. Not sure if they are still there, but if you want to know what "Checkers" is, I remember one on Blackwood-Clementon Road next to the McDonald’s and another in Stratford on the Pike, near Kennedy Hospital. See http://www.checkers.com/
For those who don’t know, Harding Avenue is the small road leading to Rt 42 south and the main entrance to the landfill. Knowing that there is no available land on that road, and its mostly commercial business space, I drove down to see where this could be built. I noticed a very small house and lot one building from the 42 entrance that had a bank “Project Financed By” sign on the front lawn. This must be the location for Checkers, although it really looks like a small lot.
What’s interesting is this is a one way road, off the main path, and “all of a sudden” a national food chain decides to put a restaurant there? While the mayor didn’t make the direct connect… You have to assume that the Waterfront project is the reason this fast-food restaurant is being developed, which implies that others also believe that the Bellmawr Waterfront project is going to happen. Checkers must think “let’s grab a prime spot now, because in a few years the availability (and cost) of land around the Bellmawr Waterfront project will make it difficult to enter the market”
Update
Today (Sat Aug 25th) I took a ride down Harding avenue with my camera, and I captured the following shots of the POTENTIAL location:
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Checkers Location?: Click for larger photo
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Public Discussion: Alcyon Drive.
A resident from the 100 block of Alcyon Drive returned to the Council meeting to complain about the conditions of the property behind her home. Residents of Alcyon had been at prior meetings to complain, and this resident was one that felt the need to return before Council to complain she was not happy with the progress.
The resident stated that problems still existed with trash not being cleaned up (trash, strollers, shopping carts) and that the erosion and the associated erosion project were threatening her home. The resident commented the work on the erosion project was to stay 4 feet from her property, and is now within one foot, and she was concerned for her home.
The Mayor addressed her, and he expressed some confusion as he had been told the project was taken care off after he initiated several actions to help remediate the problem.
The mayor commented that since hearing of the problem at the prior meeting, he spoke to the owner of the property (who ironically is the Mayor of Brooklawn) the day after hearing about the problem and at least 5 other times. He also dispatched the health department to check on the problem and they spoke to all the residents on the block. The mayor said he will call the owner of the property (the Mayor of Brooklawn) again and will check with his staff again, but also suggested to the resident that she may need to seek legal council to address the accused property owner.
Update
Today (Sat Aug 25th) I took a ride to the lot behind Alcyon drive, and took the following pictures. They seem to match the resident's description. I'd add that, the cliff from the street, even tho it has plastic fencing, is somewhat concerning.
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Alcyon Lot: Click for larger photo
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Street Re-pavement: Awarded “Bond Anticipation Note” in the amount of $301,206.46 to Commerce Bank at an interest of 3.82% for the reconstruction of Benigno Blvd, Cardinal Drive, and Dewey Road.
Youth Sports Code of Conduct:
Final adoption of an ordinance, establishing a Youth Sports Code of Conduct. This was apparently developed in coordination with Town Sports Organizations. Mayor Filipeck asked that copies of the Ordinance be sent to all town Sports Organizations.
Mark