Front Page News

Swedesboro Takes Step
Towards Property Value Re-assessment

by Katherine Harrison

SWEDESBORO -- At the March 16 Swedesboro Council meeting, members voted to sign up for a proposed county-wide property tax assessment program.

The program was proposed in a bill by New Jersey Senator Stephen Sweeney to establish state-funded tax reassessment for properties throughout Gloucester County.

If the program goes through, the entire town of Swedesboro would be assessed at no cost to the town. It would then be re-assessed every three years after the first assessment.

Swedesboro Mayor Thomas Fromm said that this is something that the town needs, because the older properties in town have not been re-assessed since 1990, and they are at about 50 percent of their real value.

“If we can't get on the county program, we're going to have to do it ourselves,” he said. However, he added that the cost to do it independently would be significant, probably costing the town between $80,000 and $100,000.

“That would have a huge impact on our taxes,” he said. “So if we can get it for free, we're going to try and get it for free.”

In other news, the council accepted the resignation of Patrolman Joseph Hargraves, Jr. from the Swedesboro police force. He has accepted a job with the East Greenwich Police Department.

Councilman Sam Casella said that there are three other police officers out on sick leave, and he noted that the shortage of police in Swedesboro's force could become a problem soon.

He said that the council should either move forward with shared services with Woolwich or try to solve the problem some other way. “We just can't keep going like this,” he said.

Fromm agreed, and said that he would be meeting with Mayor Joseph Chila of Woolwich to talk about possibly combining services. He said that another option would be to hire more officers for the Swedesboro force.

“We need to know what our options are very soon,” said Fromm. “The time is now, our budget is due, and we have to know what we're going to be doing with our police force.”

In other news, Fromm said that both the Swedesboro School District and Kingsway High School would each be getting a 5 percent increase in their state aid this year.

In economic development news, Councilwoman Diane Hale outlined the goals of the Swedesboro Economic Development Committee for 2009. She said the committee would continue to improve the appearance of downtown Swedesboro, and increase the awareness that Swedesboro is a destination center in the western Gloucester County area, and an investment opportunity.

In order to achieve those goals, the committee will try to attract new businesses and facilitate the expansion of existing businesses downtown. They will also be gathering ideas from Swedesboro residents and from other downtown areas that have been successfully revitalized.

She also said they will continue to build a pedestrian-friendly streetscape along King's Highway to make it more appealing to visitors. The committee also plans to create a more unified look for the downtown buildings, while keeping the already established Victorian architectural theme.

Finally, they plan to hold more public events downtown, and they plan to place a walking tour brochure in local hotels to attract visitors.

The council also passed an ordinance to increase the dog registration fees for Swedesboro residents to $15.00. The ordinance also will move the pet registration deadline back from April 30 to April 1. Anyone who registers a pet after that deadline will have to pay a $10 penalty.

Fromm explained that the fee increase is necessary to cover the cost of a required pet census that the town must perform each year.

There are several community events that will be happening in the coming weeks in the Swedesboro area.

On April 4, the Swedesboro-Woolwich Little League will be holding a short parade of its teams beginning at 8:30 a.m. The parade will proceed from the Walter Hill School parking lot down High Hill Road into Locke Avenue Park.

On April 11, Easter egg hunts will be held at Locke Avenue Park, beginning at 11 a.m. Councilman David Flaherty said that they are still looking for volunteers to stuff plastic eggs for the Easter event. He added that volunteers are also “desperately needed” for Fun Day, which will be held on May 30 this year.

On April 25, a Blues Jam will be held at Rode's Barn. The event will run from 6 p.m. to midnight and will feature five different bands. Tickets for the Blues Jam are $25 each and can be purchased at Borough Hall or Rode's Fireside Tavern. Seating for the event will be limited.

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East Greenwich Proposes $3.2 Million
Bond Ordinance for Water Tank Construction

by Beth S. Biermann

EAST GREENWICH – On March 10, the East Greenwich Township Committee introduced a $3.2 million bond ordinance to fund the construction of an elevated water tower. The one million gallon water tank will be located at Rattling Run and Wolfert Station roads.

The township is applying for financing through the New Jersey State Infrastructure Trust, which, if approved, will be in the form of a loan administered by the DEP at reduced interest rates. The lower interest rate will save the township as much as $800,000. Even if the township is not approved for the Infrastructure Trust loan, the project will move ahead with the funds borrowed elsewhere.

The water tower project is intended to alleviate water shortage issues in the township. Other measures being taken to address the water pressure problems are a replacement well that will be drilled at the water tower sight and new interconnect water lines being installed by New Jersey American Water along Jessup Mill, Union and Tomlin Station Roads.

There will be a public meeting for the $3.2 million bond ordinance on April 13.

In other business, the committee adopted a $500,000 bond ordinance that will replenish open space funds. These funds are used by the township to pay landowners when they preserve their land through the county. The land is appraised and the county pays 75% of the purchase price, with East Greenwich picking up the remaining 25%.

Finally, the current committee honored two former committee members, former Mayor John DeGeorge and former Deputy Mayor Peter Miskofsky. Both men were presented with a framed resolution that honored each one, in part, for having “served with honor as an elected member of the township committee” and for their “untiring and selfless service to the community.”

DeGeorge served as committeeman for six years and as Mayor from January 2005 through December 2007. Miskofsky served on the committee from August 2003 through December 2008 and as Deputy Mayor for the 2007 calendar year.

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Committee Tables “In-Law Suites” Ordinance

by Beth S. Biermann

WOOLWICH – A proposed ordinance updating the township code to include zoning and building code requirements for in-law suites was tabled by the Woolwich Committee on March 16.

Introduced on Feb. 17, the ordinance was forwarded to the Joint Land Use Board for review. In response to their recommendations, the township committee decided to table the ordinance and reintroduce it at a later date.

While current code does not allow apartments in residential zones, it does not address in-law suites, except to state that they are “not preferred”.

According to the text of the originally proposed ordinance, its purpose is to “provide an economically feasible alternative to nursing home and boarding home care so that immediate elderly relatives (62 years of age or older), or disabled relatives over the age of 18, can live with family members while maintaining some degree of overall independence.”

The proposed regulations require that only a family member may reside in the suite and must have access to the common areas (kitchen, bathroom, living room, etc) of the dwelling.

The ordinance also prohibits the suite being located in a separate building or having separate gas and electric utilities from the original home. The suite must have access to the outside only through the dwelling and not through its own exterior doorway. The proposed requirements allow for the suite to have its own kitchen and bathroom.

The Joint Land Use Board requested that the age requirement be lowered from 62 to 55 years of age and the committee agreed.

One issue was not resolved, however. The Joint Land Use Board recommended including an exception to the utilities clause, allowing an additional propane tank on a separate meter. According to Anthony Zappasodi, Director of Community Development, the construction department opposed this zoning exception and stated that there can be as many propane tanks as needed, but they all must be on the same utility meter.

Mayor Joe Chila made the suggestion that the propane exception not be included in the ordinance, as “that leads to what we want to avoid”. The committee agreed that this may lead to situations where in-law suites become separate housing units, which is undesirable.

Township Solicitor Timothy Scaffidi suggested cleaning it up and reintroducing the ordinance with language acknowledging the Joint Land Use Board’s requests and explaining why not all suggested changes were made.

In other business, a resident asked when the new municipal building is expected to be complete. Mayor Chila stated that the substantial completion date was scheduled for March 23. This is the date by which the work would be completed according to the contract, with only punch-list items remaining. He predicted a move-in date sometime in April or May.

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Logan Township Retires Horace Spoto
as Tax Assessor and Appoints Brian Schneider

by Amie Simpson

LOGAN TWP. -- March 17 marked the official retirement of Logan Township’s Tax Assessor Horace “Butch” Spoto and the appointment of Brian Schneider.

Spoto worked for Logan Township as their tax assessor from 1978-2009. Within that time span Spoto was responsible for expanding the industrial parks within the township and assessing the township. Spoto also made himself available to Mayor Frank Minor when he was making his transition into Mayor.

Minor commended Spoto for working with Logan Township stating, “There are not enough words to describe the 30 plus years of service and loyalty Horace Spoto gave to the township of Logan.”

Spoto was presented with a plaque as a token of his appreciation. Spoto went on to thank the mayor and council for their appreciation, where he stated that he was honored and touched by the remarks of the people he had the pleasure of working with. Spoto continued to thank the department heads, taxpayers and lastly his family.

Spoto went out giving nothing but praise for the new tax assessor, Brian Schneider. “My replacement is an excellent choice and although it is currently a difficult time to make a replacement, I wish Brian the best and know that he is capable of doing the job correctly.”

Brian Schneider accepted the new job of Tax Assessor declaring, “I have big shoes to fill, but I will work hard and won’t skip a beat.” He went on to thank the Mayor, Council members and Horace Spoto for the opportunity.

In other business, Council members voted to authorize the conveyance of three police vehicles to the city of Salem. The proposal is a way of providing assistance to towns in need. “When we have surplus to donate to sister towns, we will do so,” Minor remarked.

Salem County is one of the poorest per capita counties in New Jersey, in addition to being the least densely populated in the county.

Minor and Council talked to Police Chief James R. Schmidt about donating the cars to Salem County instead of auctioning them off. An agreement was made, council voted and now Logan Township is prepared to spearhead the operation.

Councilman Lyman Barnes declared, “It’s our way of trying to amend issues within the town and state.”

Logan Township presented its monthly reports for each department for the month of March. The police department had a total of 1,140 calls, 134 reports, one juvenile arrest, two adult arrests and two drunk driving arrests.

The fire department reported 15 total calls, two drills, four motor vehicle accidents, one HAZMAT and 25 engine responses.

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