On February 22nd, the Mount Laurel Township Council held one of its regularly scheduled council meetings. The agenda included:
· A resolution to rectify a deed from a now defunct Tuition Agreement repealed in 1971
· A resolution to formally reject submitted proposals for RFPs regarding Paws Farm
· The adoption of an ordinance allowing a private residence to have a designated handicap parking spot in front of the property.
During the closed session of the meeting, interviews for appointment of an unexpired term for a regular zoning board member and an appointment for an alternate zoning board member were conducted. After the closed session, Council appointed Brian Sharp to fill the unexpired term for the regular zoning board member and Charles Holmes as 2nd alternate zoning board member.
During the public participation section, multiple residents spoke about PAWS Farm. Questions about the RFP process came from Katherine Weeder, who represents her parents, Charles and Kate Tweedy, as well as an organization who hopes to see PAWS farm be re-established and continue to operate. Ms. Weeder’s concerns were:
The third round of RFP’s for PAWS had just concluded and the council appears to be shifting the goal posts for the PAWS RFP process She said that there are many groups that want to work together to re-open PAWS. Ms. Weeder suggested a lease agreement between the township and an organization, which is allowed under NJ state law. Ms. Weeder also stated that she received a favorable estimate of $20,000 worth of work that would need to be done to restore the barn on the PAWS property. The township in its RFP had cited a much larger $100,000 estimate for work that would need to be done on the barn.
Other residents expressed concern that the Paws Farm property and buildings will continue to deteriorate if they remain vacant.
Regarding traffic in the township; during public participation questions were raised about the Centertown Bridge that once existed between Mount Laurel and Willingboro. One resident asked about the plans for the bridge being rebuilt. In response, Meredith Tomczyk, township manager, cited the results of a study about potential plans for the bridge. The study concluded that a pedestrian bridge would be feasible. In a previous traffic study conducted since the bridge’s closing, impact on I-295 traffic has been shown to be minimal. Another resident asked about the plans for the NJ route 38 and I-295 interchange update. Tomczyk stated that on a federal level the plan has been moved to the top of the list for being considered, however a traffic study that had been planned last year has not been conducted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Less people are on the roads because more people are working from home, therefore an accurate traffic study on the interchange can’t be conducted at this time.
Mt. Laurel encourages all residents to view and participate in Town Council meetings. Residents can register to attend meetings at https://www.mountlaurel.com/government/meetings/zoom_registration_for_council_meetings.php
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