Amy E. Rudley, Council Report
November 22, 2021 Environmental Commission The last few weeks have been very busy with tree related improvements. -Members of the Environmental Commission pruned all street trees along Broadway and the Borough parking lot at the intersection of Broadway and Holly. -A vendor was contracted to complete pruning of straight trees along W. Jersey Ave. and Pitman Avenue. -a vendor was contracted to install 2 additional street trees along Broadway. As a result, all existing tree pits along Broadway are planted. -Members of the commission installed four new trees in Borough parks, including Sunset, Sunrise, Epworth, and Betty. -A vendor was contracted to remove a tree on Fifth Ave that posed risk to adjacent private property. -Shrubs have been ordered and delivered to be installed at Glen Lake to screen an existing electrical box. This work should be taking place next week. The Environmental Commission has had a busy few weeks, thank you to everyone who has chipped in some time. These members have saved the Borough of Pitman roughly $1,600 by doing some of this work themselves as volunteers. Senior Outreach The Senior Outreach Committee hosted a successful Open House with the VFW. My sincere thank you to Former Councilman Jim Pierpont, who arranged with us for the afternoon, as well as to all members of the committee who have been tireless volunteers in support of my vision for bringing more opportunities for socialization and information to our Borough Seniors. Memorabilia The Museum is open routinely on the Second Saturday of the month and the Fourth Friday and is always staffed by volunteers. Thank you to them for their efforts and their time. As always, please feel free to contact me if you need my assistance with anything. My cell remains 609-214-6342 and my e-mail is amy.rudley@pitman.org for a few more weeks. Council Report November 22, 2021 Council President Paul Blass paul.blass@pitman.org Economic Development Committee The EDC met on November 18th. The members authorized money for the purchase of sun shades for Theatre Avenue. Jason Blackmore has taken the lead on getting an estimate for an electric car charging station. The Committee will be switching out the patriotic banners on Broadway streetlights to winter banners this Wednesday afternoon. Public Works Since our last meeting …. • Collected 119 tons of trash • Collected 35 tons of recyclables • Collected 184Yards of brush. • Collected 681 yards of leaves • Spent five hours patching and repairing potholes and sink holes. • Ran the street sweeper for eight hours • Dropped off a truck for yard debris to two residences and picked up the next day. • Completed about 40 curbside inspections per week of recycling containers. • Delivered Santa shed to Ballard Park • Repaired fence at Sixth Avenue The Water and Sewer Department… • Performed 14 water and sewer mark outs requests. • Performed routine well work, (painting, cleaning, etc.) • Took Water samples. • Read 6 meters for settlement. • Upgraded three meter heads. On Nov 16 Water and Sewer replace twelve feet of a ten-inch sewer main on Brentwood Avenue. Leaf collection is going at full throttle. Mr. Rodi is using some overtime to keep up with the rush. Council Report 11-22-21 Councilwoman Vanessa E. James Vanessa.James@Pitman.Org 2021 Liaison: Parks & Recreation, Public Events, Library Board, Great Pitman Chamber of Commerce The Santa Parade is this Saturday, 11/27 at 5 p.m. down Broadway. Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce There are a ton of fun holiday events happening this holiday season in Uptown Pitman! Santa will be at Ballard Park starting this Saturday, 11/27 and thereafter on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This Saturday is Small Business Saturday! Make sure to purchase your Pitman Bucks starting at 11 a.m. at Borough Hall and then support our Pitman businesses both on and off Broadway. December 2nd at 5 p.m. is Girls Night in Pitman December 4th is the Pitman Winter Village from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Ballard Avenue December 9th is Candlelight Shopping Night in Pitman starting at 5 p.m. December 11th is the Holiday Sing Along at 6 p.m. in the Grove Auditorium Huge congratulations to the newly elected officers and board members of the Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce! President: Jenny Lehto Mazzola Vice President: Keryl Hausmann Treasurer: Benjamin Leis Secretary: Kara Knauss Board Members: Patrick Bradley Lauren Canna Bronwyn Lyman Stacey Myers Amanda Kent Budd Ashley Elliott Shaw As always, I am available to answer any questions or concerns via email at vanessa.james@pitman.org or by phone at 336-407-8604. Council Report 11/22/2021 Councilman Adam Mazzola Adam.Mazzola@pitman.org Finance: Borough offices and services will be closed this Thursday and Friday in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. The employees of the Finance and Construction Offices wish everyone a safe and joyous Thanksgiving holiday. The new tax assessments have been sent out from the County. There have been a few explanations posted online about how this could affect taxes in the Borough. After discussing with the CFO, I can confirm that we do not yet know the average increase in the Borough and these new assessments will be used for the 2022/2023 tax calculation in August 2022. The Borough will receive an insurance dividend from the TRICO JIF in the amount of $69,102.00. As usual, we will accept the dividend in the form of a credit against our 2022 assessment. The total amount of dividends being divided among participating JIF municipalities is $1,800,000.00. Residents should be advised that the shut off moratorium for water and sewer service remains in effect until January 1, 2022. On or after January 1, 2022 charges and penalties may be imposed for delinquent payments, and any payments remaining delinquent may be referred to a tax lien sale held by the municipal Tax Collector. Clean Communities: I would like to thank the Pitman VFW for their hard work cleaning Brown and Harmon Fields since our last meeting. They spent their Saturday morning pulling litter from the surrounding brush and cleaning out the dugouts and bleachers. They collected about 20 lbs of trash in total. As the weather gets colder we are seeing fewer Clean Communities projects but if you would like to submit an application for your non-profit to receive a $500 grant in return for cleaning litter from public property, please reach out to me!
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Council Report 11-8-21
Councilwoman Vanessa E. James Vanessa.James@Pitman.Org 2021 Liaison: Parks & Recreation, Public Events, Library Board, Great Pitman Chamber of Commerce Parks & Recreation All basketball programs are on, as of now, and they will begin the first week in December. Director Fox recently met with a construction company and is working to get quotes so that all options can be weighed in order to repair the Shertel Park Tennis Courts. Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce The Pitman Winter Village returns to Uptown Pitman for the Holiday season on Saturday December 4th from 11:00 a.m. -4 p.m. on Ballard Avenue and Ballard Park. The Chamber will also be selling house flags and ornaments this holiday season, both showcasing the “Small Town With A Big Heart” logo. The GPCC is currently looking into purchasing a cleaning station for Theatre Avenue. The next meeting of the Chamber will be held on Tuesday, November 16th at 7 p.m. in Borough Hall. McCowan Memorial Library Thanks to all the local businesses who donated candy for the children’s Halloween Parade this year and thanks to the Mayor and Council for their assistance in handing out candy. During the month of September 2021, 3,215 people visited McCowan Memorial Library and there were 110 internet users. There were 14 live children’s programs with a combined attendance of 158 people. During the month of October 2021, 2,810 people visited McCowan Memorial Library and there were 115 internet users. There were 27 live children’s programs with a combined attendance of 271 people. As always, I am available to answer any questions or concerns via email at vanessa.james@pitman.org or by phone at 336-407-8604. Council Report November 8, 2021 Council President Paul Blass paul.blass@pitman.org I would first like to congratulate Courtney Milward and Vince Kelly on their election to Council last week. The votes have been counted. The election is done. The transition to a new Council will begin, and I wish them luck. Sustainable Pitman Sustainable Pitman met on October 28th. I am happy to report that they have once again achieved Bronze Certification. The group has now set its sites on silver certification and sees that as an achievable goal within the next couple of years. Daughters of the American Revolution On October 30th I was happy to help facilitate the dedication of two benches in Campbell War Memorial. The DAR donated these benches to commemorate the 90th anniversary of their Red Bank Chapter, which was established in Pitman. The original charter hangs in the Pitman Museum. Public Works – October Recycling Totals 19 Loads of Single Stream Recycling - 70.60 tons - at a profit of $2,190.72 There was a cost added of $700 for bag fees – please remember no plastic bags in recycling. 3 loads of Metal to Sims Metal – 2.12 tons – for which we received $429 258 cubic yards of mulch and brush hauled to various locations at a cost of $2,322 Solid Waste Totals 24 loads to Wheelabrator – 281.61 tons – at a cost of $21,641.75 5 loads to the Gloucester County landfill – 53.52 tons – at a cost of $4,130.13 Doing approx. 40 curbside inspections per week of recycling containers. Dropped off Barricades for Food Truck Festival On October 29th Water and Sewer fixed a break on Canterbury Avenue. Amy E. Rudley, Council Report November 8, 2021 Environmental Commission The EC met during its regular date and time on Thursday last week and will meet again on the first Thursday in December in Borough Hall at 7:30 p.m. Senior Outreach The Senior Outreach Committee is holding an open house with the VFW on November 17 from 2-5 at the VFW. Come meet some fellow 55+ residents of Pitman and enjoy some games and snacks. Memorabilia Thank you to Council President Blass for attending Memorabilia on Wednesday evening in my place, so I could spend a few days visiting with family. Public Property A tree infested with Spotted Lantern Flies will be removed shortly from Fourth Avenue. It is on public property and is an invasive species of tree, in poor health. Thank you to Councilman Weng for bringing this tree to my attention. Should you need to reach me, please feel free to contact me at amy.rudley@pitman.org or via my cell at 609-214-6342. Council Report 11/08/2021 Councilman Adam Mazzola Adam.Mazzola@pitman.org Finance & Audit: Tonight there are bonds on the agenda that ensure the Borough's ability to provide critical services to the residents of Pitman. Police services, trash collection, and clean water delivery are covered in this round of borrowing. There are two main reasons why this course of action makes sense. One, it takes 18 months or more from the time we initiate a heavy equipment purchase to the time we take delivery. We cannot wait for trucks to become inoperable or we risk impacting weekly trash pickup. Two, interest rates are low and our bond rating is high. Doing this now ensures that we do not pay more later. Paying cash for large equipment purchases in the past led to financial issues for the Borough such as a low bond rating, an inability to make obligated payments, and the need for the state to provide emergency aid. Bonding keeps Pitman from being in such a dire position again. During budget conversations we solicited the opinion of CFO Considine to ensure that the Borough would not be impacted negatively. He repeatedly informed us that these bonds would NOT negatively impact our bond rating or the Borough in any way. In addition, for the past two years that I have been on Council we have avoided raising taxes during a time when many residents and local businesses were hurting. In numerous discussions, the majority of Council felt strongly that we owed it to those we represent to not add to the burdens already on their plate. Clean Communities: On Saturday the Pitman Grove Community Garden came out and cleaned up the border of Alcyon Woods, Track Ave, and Holly Ave to the dam. When that was done they also walked through Alcyon Park and cleaned up along the walkway. This area of the Borough is often a first impression point for people visiting Pitman and to have this area cleaned makes an impact. They filled 10 bags over halfway with litter. As a reminder if you have a non-profit and would like to set up a cleanup project, please reach out to me! |
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