 Below please find our Council Reports from the (1/11) Pitman Borough Council Meeting. As always, please feel free to reach out at any time with questions or concerns:
Paul Blass paul.blass@pitman.org Amy Rudley amy.rudley@pitman.org Matthew Weng matt.weng@pitman.org Vanessa E. James vanessa.james@pitman.org Adam Mazzola adam.mazzola@pitman.org End of the Year Report Council President Paul Blass paul.blass@pitman.org Historic Preservation Committee: The Committee heard 62 applications this year. Most involved changes to the exterior of properties like residing of a home or replacing doors or windows. Most were easily approved as presented while some required adjustments to the application. All were sent to Planning and Zoning Board for final approval. EDC Despite being hampered by Covid, EDC continued its mission to help Pitman businesses. For example, Tenzy Frenzy was a new promotion tried this year. The group also worked hard to finish the Theater Avenue project. Ideas not fulfilled this year will be explored for next year. Sustainable Pitman: Typical projects for Sustainable Pitman were hindered this year because of the pandemic. The team did try something new by having a guest speaker through Zoom. The topic was “Calming Holiday Stress in the Covid Era.” Public Works: Despite the pandemic, our Public Works department continued to provide its array of services for our community without interruption. Besides the obvious trash pick up, Public Works collects leaves several times throughout the year, fixes potholes, unclogs drains, fixes water main breaks, repairs signs, and many other items I call and ask “can you help with this.” We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and caring crew. Some stats for 2020: Total tonnage of trash removed – 3,541 tons Recycling – 974 tons Street sweepings disposal – 52 tons Leaves collected – 4,298 cubic yards Yard debris disposed of off site – 3,196 cubic yards Brush collected – 3,510 cubic yards e-waste collected – 4.4 tons metal collected – 40.5 tons Amy E. Rudley, 2020 Year-End Report Please accept the following as my year-end report for the 2020 year from my assigned departments and commissions. Environmental Commission The Environmental Commission made the best of the circumstances presented by the pandemic. To increase public awareness and knowledge of our native trees, identification signs were placed at many trees in Betty Park. They include the trees’ common and scientific name, features, and other information. More signage will be added. Pitman was recognized for its 17th year with Tree City USA. The Environmental Commission was able to hold a socially distant tree planting event in the fall with 5 groups. The Environmental Commission also contracted the planting of 2 additional street trees along Broadway, filling our last two vacant tree pits. The Environmental Commission created the recycling subcommittee to begin their efforts for the 2021 calendar year. Additionally, the Environmental Commission provided input and consideration to several site planning and subdivision applications to the Planning and Zoning Board, as well as regarding the Bicycle Plan and its inclusion in the Master Plan. Senior Outreach Committee In February, we launched our first Senior Speaker Series event. We hosted representatives from the State of New Jersey who led our Seniors through the internet searches regarding their unclaimed property. We had a large number of Seniors who found considerable unclaimed monies which belonged to them! The remaining speakers will be rescheduled once it is safe for us to assemble together. During the pandemic, the Committee then coordinated care packages for nominated Seniors and for our regular bus rides. The bus continued to take our Seniors to the grocery store throughout the darkest time of the pandemic and our bus driver, Steve, deserves much credit for keeping the Seniors safe and able to meet their shopping needs. We are looking forward to seeing our Seniors again in person in the 2021 year. Pageants and Parades The Miss Pitman Pageant, the Fourth of July Parade, and the Santa Parade were all cancelled this year. I am sure each of the volunteers will make 2021 festivities even more amazing. Recreation Commission Despite the pandemic, we were able to hold a micro-mini soccer season, as well as summer tennis, and a basketball clinic. We used the downtime to work on our parks and fields. We were able to successfully hold the Pitman Freedom Four Miler in a virtual format and it was wonderful. For those in-the-know, you could run it in reverse and avoid the hills, which inspired me to participate for the first time (by walking!) I want our Parks and Recreation Employees, our Environmental Commission members, and our Senior Outreach Committee members to know that I thank them for making the best of a bad situation. Working with each of you has been my pleasure. Finally, should any members of our community ever wish to reach me, please feel free to e-mail me at amy.rudley@pitman.org or call me at 609-214-6342. Council Report 1-11-20 End of Year Report 2020 Councilwoman Vanessa E. James Vanessa.James@Pitman.Org 2020 Liaison: Finance & Audit, Personnel, Welfare Office, Library Board, Chamber of Commerce, Municipal Alliance, Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion 2021 Liaison: Parks & Recreation, Public Events, Library Board, Chamber of Commerce, Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion Finance & Audit, Personnel It was truly my pleasure to spend my first year as a Councilperson serving as the liaison to the Finance & Personnel Department. Thank you to Administrator O’Donnell and CFO Considine for your patience and responsiveness in my new role. The entire finance department is an extremely dedicated group, and they should be commended for all their hard work, especially considering the challenging year that we faced in 2020. As the Council liaison I was proud to pass a budget in 2020 with no municipal tax increase. We were also able to refinance some outstanding bonds which will save the Borough over $500,000 over the life of those bonds. I also had the opportunity to work on the redesign of our Borough website, which just went live last week. Thanks to our Borough Webmaster Andy Fox and Borough Administrator Judy O’Donnell for their help with this project and to Mayor and Council for their support and feedback. I also want to thank all the Pitman residents who contributed photos and videos for this project. I am very pleased with how the website turned out and I am certain it will be a useful tool for Borough residents. Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce The pandemic made 2020 a very challenging year for the Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce. Despite the adversity they faced, the Chamber still managed to support each other and the community by shifting to outdoor and online events. Thank you to all the residents who continued to support our local businesses through the Chamber’s online gift card sale, Pitman Bucks sale and online ornament sale, as well as choosing to focus on eating and shopping local. Your patronage of our businesses is appreciated. The Chamber is looking forward to a brighter 2021! McCowan Memorial Library While many other local libraries remain closed to the public, McCowan Memorial Library has worked hard to come up with creative procedures that allowed it to reopen and remain open safely once it was allowed to do so. Not only does the library provide books and other media materials to the public, it also provides free computers and internet which is a resource in high demand. The library also managed to maintain its children’s program throughout the year through both virtual and in-person programming. During 2020, 26,581 people visited the library. There were 1,231 internet users. There were 241 children’s programs with 1,127 people in attendance and 11,258 views virtually. Thank you to Director Coldren and the entire library staff for all your hard work. Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion This summer, Mayor and Council voted by resolution to create the Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion so they could make recommendations to Mayor & Council on ways to promote diversity and inclusion in our borough. More than 50 people volunteered to serve on the Task Force and the group that was ultimately selected by Mayor & Council is comprised of a diverse group of representatives from our schools, business community, faith community, residents, the Pitman Police Department and Borough Administration. The members have been working diligently over the last six months on researching Pitman Policies, Procedures & Training; opportunities for Community Outreach & Education; and Business Outreach & Accessibility. They anticipate presenting their recommendations to Mayor & Council in the summer of 2021. Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, it has been a rewarding first year being able to serve the residents of Pitman alongside the Mayor and my fellow councilmembers. I’m looking forward with hope to 2021 and a new challenge as I take on the role of liaison to the Parks & Recreation Department. As always, I am available to answer any questions or concerns via email at vanessa.james@pitman.org or by phone at 856-244-1854. Council Report 12/14/2020 Councilman Adam Mazzola Adam.Mazzola@pitman.org Annual Report: Clean Communities - Despite a later than usual start and strict social distancing guidelines we were still able to pull off several Clean Communities projects. The Scouts, Girls Soccer Booster Club, Women's Club, Knights of Columbus, VFW, and the Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce were all able to conduct clean up projects in various locations around town and raise much needed funds to continue to give back to the community. In 2021, I will remain as the coordinator and I look forward to returning to a more normal schedule of cleanup activities. I will also be looking into ways to possibly use these grants to do recurring litter patrols along Broadway, keeping our Uptown district looking its best. Public Property - This year the EDC was able to procure new tables and chairs for Theatre Ave as well as 3 box planters to improve the pocket park. Discussions are underway to provide greenery once the weather is more conducive. Sunset Auditorium saw significant use this summer and fall due to the indoor restrictions on events. Unfortunately a tree has fallen and damaged a section of the roof and we are waiting on assessments to the possible repair and insurance. Board of Education - While the hybrid learning model is in place, Pitman Schools are still providing a week's worth of breakfasts and lunches for pickup at Pitman High School in the Auditorium parking lot. This past week they provided food for 550 children (7,700 meals). Pickup times this week resume the regular schedule of Tuesday 1-4 PM, Wednesday 4-6 PM, Thursday 4-6 PM. All Pitman families with children 18 and under are encouraged to participate as there are no qualifications to receive the food. Check the District website for more information at pitmank12.nutrislice.com.
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