By RYAN VENEZIA and MELISSA DIPENTO
Members of the newly appointed Cherry Hill and Merchantville commissions held two public meetings on Monday night; the first for Cherry Hill residents, followed by a joint meeting of both municipalities, to give residents a chance to voice their opinions about a potential merger of the two entities.
The 10-member joint commission, representing Cherry Hill and Merchantville, recently applied to the Department of Community Affairs for consideration to study a potential merge, which would combine the two municipalities’ government services and school districts for the 70,000-plus residents of Cherry Hill and 3,800 residents of Merchantville.
Last month, Merchantville council passed a resolution to support a grassroots group, Merchantville Connecting to the Future, to study a potential merge between the two entities.
Earlier this month, Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt appointed a five-member commission to look into a potential merge as well.
During the first public hearing, residents were introduced to Cherry Hill’s group, which includes Platt; Roger Dennis, dean of Drexel University Law; Tom Yarnall, a member of the Cherry Hill reform committee, a civic action group; board of education president Seth Klukoff; and township business liaison Natalie Barney.
Dennis opened the meeting with remarks about the fragmented nature of municipalities in the state, noting that this can contribute to higher property taxes. Dennis, a 30-year resident of the township, said he feels that a successful merger between the two towns could be used as a consolidation model for other municipalities in the state.
During the second public hearing, residents met and questioned the five members of Merchantville’s grassroots commission. The group, headed by borough council member Anthony Perno, also includes residents Kathy Birmingham, Rosemari Hicks, Richard James and George Wilkinson.
At the meeting, dozens of residents from both Cherry Hill and Merchantville addressed members of the commission with their questions and concerns about potential changes to schooling, possible consolidation in the police and fire departments, layoffs for municipal employees, changes to residents’ tax bills and trepidation about potential loss of the borough’s downtown character.
Residents approached members of the commission with opinions both for and against the potential merge.
“Merchantville could be the downtown district for Cherry Hill,” said Craig Malone of Merchantville. “It’s an incentive in my mind for Cherry Hill.”
Many residents focused their comments on the potential implications the merger could have on the two school districts.
Currently, the borough has one K-8 school and a sending/receiving agreement with Pennsauken High School. Merchantville Mayor Frank North has previously said that many families chose to send students to private schools in the region.
According the state Department of Education, the K-8 school currently serves 322 students. At the meeting, residents pointed out that there are about 125 students of high school age in the borough.
Many residents had questions that centered around how the schools would change.
“I have four children; my big concern is in the schools,” said Nykea Owens of Merchantville. “How would Merchantville students acclimate to a larger class size?”
“I moved here for the schools. We would be diluting our high school and making it worse (by taking Merchantville’s high school students),” said Al Harvey of Cherry Hill.
Others supported members of the commission in taking a deeper look into how the schools would be affected.
“We’re all Americans and we have one common goal; we want to educate our children,” said Sue Carlin of Merchantville. “I think this is a good idea. We need to wake up. The state will eventually say you might have to take them (Merchantville) whether you like it or not.”
A number of residents voiced concerns about the commission’s ability to remain unbiased throughout the process. Several asked commissioners if they had already made up their minds about merging.
“We’re not the people physically doing the study,” Barney said. “The questions are not just driven by this committee, but by the people in this room.”
Residents also sought ongoing transparency and communication about the potential merge. Members of the commission assured residents they would be kept abreast throughout the process.
“I’m not dead set against it, but I’m skeptical,” said John Tremble of Cherry Hill. “There does not appear to be an obvious tax savings.”
Questions later surfaced about how the study would be funded, should it be approved by the DCA.
Dennis said members of the commission have already begun seeking alternate ways of funding, including speaking with his connections in higher education. Dennis said some academic officials have already expressed interest at potentially conducting the study at no cost to either town.
John Rasimowicz, DCA Manager of Regionalization and Special Services, was present at the two public hearings in Cherry Hill, along with one earlier in month in Merchantville, to oversee the process.
The DCA Local Finance Board is expected to make its their decision on whether the commission can move forward with a joint study on August 13.
If the DCA does approve of a merger study between Cherry Hill and Merchantville, the members of each commission would be sworn in and become a public entity, said township spokesman Dan Keashen.
If the merger study is denied by the DCA, Keashen added, both commissions would dissolve and no further action would be taken to merge the two towns. Cherry Hill would continue to explore shared services with Merchantville, he said.
