JACKSON – A home owners association in the township will need to revise some of its bylaws concerning the election of trustees to their board.
The issue was addressed during a recent Township Council meeting, after they discussed it in closed session.
A few months ago, the council had passed a resolution regarding residents of Harmony Farms serving as trustees of the Harmony Farms Association.
Resolution 196-24 appointed five residents to serve on the Board of Trustees of that association “but it appears that resolution was improperly adopted based on limited information provided to the Township Council,” said Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin.
“As a result, the Township Council wishes to rescind Resolution 196-24 retroactive to its adoption on May 14, 2024,” the attorney said. He advised the Harmony Farms Association to immediately amend their bylaws to establish a procedure to elect their trustees and warned that the township governing body could take further action if such a procedure was not established by the Home Owners Association within 90 days.
That resolution was unanimously approved by the council following McGuckin’s explanation of the issue.
Traffic Study
Council President Jennifer Kuhn also provided an update concerning an issue at Robin Estates. The mayor and council in partnership with the Jackson Police Department, and traffic safety and civil engineers from T&M Associates, announced a traffic safety study would be conducted in that neighborhood.
Robin Estates is a small community of single-family homes with two major connector roads passing through it, Manhattan Street and Cooks Bridge Road. Those roads are both heavily traveled and shared with the Meridian healthcare building, Holman Elementary School, Johnson Park, West Lake, Winding Ways, Sixty Acres, Johns, and multiple commercial strip malls.
Residents voiced concerns during a recent council meeting about their neighborhood being used as a pass-through and ‘shortcut’ to bypass the major roads and lodged multiple complaints regarding speeding drivers and even reckless drivers exceeding the speed limit through the quiet 25-mile-per-hour side streets.
“Residents came out to the meeting and let us know their concerns, and these are not new issues at all,” said Councilman Mordechai Burnstein. “These are issues the town has been grappling with for years, and in the past, we’d conduct a speed enforcement operation, but once we leave, the problem comes back. We’re now looking at a permanent solution for these residents.”
The councilman added that township officials, including himself, along with Director of Public Safety Joseph Candido, and Department of Public Works Director Shawn Bolinsky, recently met with traffic safety and civil engineers with T&M Associates.
The engineers told officials that one of the problems with the neighborhood was its design. The neighborhood was built in a 20th-century grid-style layout, which makes it easier for the community to use as a shortcut.
“We don’t design neighborhoods like this anymore,” the engineers stated. The study will examine traffic patterns and identify hot spots and problems within the design. After data is collected, the engineers seek to deliver a plan to remedy the problems, which could involve many possibilities.
Kudos On Memorial Day Parade
Kuhn spoke about the recently held Memorial Day Parade, “which thankfully the (rainy) weather held off. Mike Basso does this every year and he said it takes a year of planning. We had so many of the kids from sports and we had the (Jackson High School) Memorial and Liberty bands. It was a really great event. The weather got a little rainy at the end.”
“It was another wonderful Memorial Day parade and ceremony in Johnson Park. Much thanks to (Jackson Police) Officer Mike Basso and others in our town who organized it. Without a doubt, our town of Jackson is one of the most patriotic places around,” Councilman Nino Borrelli said.
He added, “we owe a debt of gratitude to our veterans like Sgt. David Watson who so movingly spoke at our town’s ceremony about his and his fellow soldiers’ experiences and we owe a debt of gratitude to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our great country and who protected the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.”
Summer Concert Series
The township Summer Concert Series began on June 5 at Johnson Park with Reggae Night featuring Random Test. There were food trucks on site and guests brought their own lawn chairs and blankets. The event was sponsored in part by the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission.
Mayor Michael Reina said, “we are happy to share unique events to get residents together to enjoy an evening in the park with family and friends. The summer concert series will be one to remember.”
