JACKSON – If a landfill is properly taken care of, then improvements can be made to a local park, an official said at a recent Township Council meeting.
Mayor Jennifer Kuhn reported that she spoke with a representative the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection concerning the Johnson Park landfill that “has been unaddressed for I believe 60 or 50 years. According to the DEP they have never really sat with anybody from the administration to moving it forward to closing it so we can finally use our parks.”
“The application is in. That is something that will be amazing so we can use Johnson Park for the hub it is which is something we are looking forward to,” the mayor added. She said this would allow for improvements such as a pavilion to be added to that park.
In other news, Council President Mordechai Burnstein thanked those who donated toward the special food drive held prior to Thanksgiving. “Especially Joy (Rende) from the Food Pantry. We managed to put together about $5,000 in food donations and a truckload of delicious healthy-looking food. There was a lot of pasta and sauces.”
Rende leads efforts to provide food assistance within the township and has demonstrated her commitment to serving the needy by managing challenges such as supply shortages and the relocation twice this year of the food pantry facility.
Council Vice President Giuseppe Palmeri called out Governor Phil Murphy who had put the Jackson School District in a “significant disadvantage cutting state aid by more than 54% despite only a 15% decline in enrollment. These cuts have forced the district to make incredibly difficult decisions.”
“Jackson is a great town and if we all work together, it can become a greater one,” said Palmeri, who used to be the Board of Education President.
Ordinances Passed And Introduced
During that meeting, Ordinance 2025-40 which amended municipal code entitled “Land Use and Development Regulations” to revise residential density standards in the highway commercial mixed-use zone was passed along with Ordinance 2025-44 entitled “Vehicles and Traffic” “Schedules,” Ordinance 2025-45 which repealed a prior ordinance, reinstating all prior provisions were each approved.
Three ordinances were introduced that night, Ordinance 2025-49 entitled “Fees” with respect to lot consolidations and mergers which would be paid by a property owner seeking such a consolidation or merger and which would save $10,000 a year for the township. Ordinance 2025-50 would establish an additional one-way street for South Boston Road from Bennetts Mills Road to Tilford Street and Ordinance 2025-51 which would raise summer camp fees.
