The year 2013 was one of triumphs and challenges in Cherry Hill Township.
On one side, township officials were forced to deal with a failed bid to purchase Woodcrest Country Club, and a subsequent lawsuit by new owner First Montgomery Group a few months later started a battle that will carry into 2014.
On another end, the township had success with the approval of a master bike and pedestrian plan and its ability to keep municipal taxes flat for a second straight year.
Cherry Hill Public Schools faced their own difficult decisions with closing a shortfall in their budget and trying to avoid staffing cuts. Thanks to the exploration of alternative changes, no jobs were lost.
The Board of Education also created a new school attendance policy to help a small portion of students from Johnson Elementary School in their transition to middle school.
It was a very eventful year in the township; so before we step into 2014, let’s take a look back at 2013.
Woodcrest Country Club
A year-long battle for the Woodcrest Country Club property raged on for most of 2013 and will continue to be a hot topic heading into 2014.
Cherry Hill Township announced plans to make a joint bid with the Camden County freeholders on April 3. Both the township and the county expressed a great amount of optimism in purchasing the land to preserve the open space.
“We don’t want to leave anything for chance,” Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn said. “I think there are a number of serious bidders.”
One of those serious bidders turned out to be First Montgomery Group, a Marlton-based real estate consortium. The group managed to outbid Cherry Hill and Camden County, paying $10.1 million for the site.
The amount was almost $4 million higher than the property’s appraised value.
Immediately following the purchase, First Montgomery launched a website that lauded The Village at Woodcrest, a re-branded public club that would offer golf, swimming, tennis and banquet facilities.
Concerns remained with township and county officials about development on the property. The township said it would only want to commit to two options: maintaining the property as a golf course or keeping it as open space.
“We can’t control [the bidders], and there are no guarantees,” spokesperson Bridget Palmer said. “The mayor met with several people who want to develop it, and we have said we would not want to develop it. We want to ensure the taxpayers have a say.”
In September, things heated up again as Fair Share Housing Center appealed to build affordable housing at Woodcrest.
Fair Share Housing Center lawyer Kevin Walsh stated that Cherry Hill is bound to developing low-income housing on the property because it became available as a property and Cherry Hill needs to meet its affordable housing obligation.
To do so, Fair Share Housing attempted to overturn a decision by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that kept the country club off the township’s sewer plan.
The county had no intention to make any changes to sewage.
“The owners should have known the county has to approve sewer connections and the county has no intention to do so,” County freeholder Jeffrey Nash said. “We find it to be very unfortunate. I think it’s a fruitless effort on their part. It’s a frivolous effort.”
Walsh stated that Fair Share Housing would be forced to file suit if First Montgomery Group decided to not build affordable housing on the property.
One month later, on Oct. 9, First Montgomery filed a lawsuit against Cherry Hill Township over the sewer service issue.
“When the town then moved to have Woodcrest stripped of its property rights by removing it from the sewer service, we needed to act to preserve our property rights,” First Montgomery Group Principal Matthew Haydinger said in an email.
Haydinger said the group intends to maintain the property as a country club, but develop a portion of the property that is zoned for medical, institutional and senior housing.
The township maintained that First Montgomery Group’s claim about having a fundamental right to develop at Woodcrest was false.
“We don’t have any legal obligation to build on Woodcrest,” township Palmer said.
Entering 2014, Woodcrest Country Club remains a fully operational golf course by First Montgomery Group.
Victory Refrigeration Redevelopment
While the future of Woodcrest Country Club remains uncertain, Cherry Hill Township is moving forward with development at another location.
The planning board is moving forward with a redevelopment plan for the property owned by Victory Refrigeration on Woodcrest Road.
Robert Melvin of GroupMelvinDesign said the property fit the criteria of being an area in need of redevelopment due to it being obsolete and underutilized. After he made a presentation, the planning board and council started the process of getting a redevelopment plan put together.
Melvin was commissioned to investigate the property by the planning board after Council inquired about it in June.
“This was the site that was on our radar for a while,” Palmer said.
The redevelopment project is in the early stages entering 2014, however Palmer said that the township hopes to turn it into a modern office space for various companies. One of the companies that inquired about moving to the property was Subaru.
“Regardless of whether Subaru wants their headquarters there, we want it to be a first-class corporate campus,” Palmer said. “Something we really don’t have is a marquee corporate center.”
Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan
Meanwhile, a plan that was three years in the making was finally pushed ahead by the Cherry Hill planning board in February.
The township, to allow for residents to safely use major roads for walking, running and bicycling, drew up a bicycle and pedestrian master plan.
The idea was drawn up by the township’s “Way to Go” committee.
“They approached the Department of Community Development to see if there were ways to enhance the safety and connectivity,” Cherry Hill Senior Planner Lorissa Luciani said.
The planning board pushed the initiative ahead as part of master planning. Early in the year, a bike lane along Kings Highway from Route 70 to the border of Haddonfield was installed as the first part of the plan. In total, the plan included 35 miles of new bike paths and 15 miles of new sidewalks.
Despite the passage of the plan, the board was still faced with a number of obstacles that included excessive traffic, wide streets and intersections and a lack of sidewalks.
The plan overall was an effort to increase alternative transportation in the township and encourage residents to get fit as well.
To help promote the township’s new initiative, “Way to Go” held a Family Fun Bike Ride during the Art Blooms Earth Festival on April 27. The route started and finished at Croft Farm and included a free bike safety check for all residents.
Municipal budget
Cherry Hill Township’s budget saw taxes remain flat for a second consecutive year, but not everyone was thrilled with the results.
Cherry Hill Council passed a $64.7 million budget for the 2014 year during a meeting in September. The budget included a slight decrease of $542,000 from the previous year.
There were some questions raised by Stephen Cohen and John Galie, two men who would be on the ballot for council in November. The pair raised questions about the surplus that was built in to the budget.
Business administrator Lenore Rosner re-assured them, saying there would be no shortfalls in the budget and that the surplus keeps the challenge on “solid financial ground.” The township had a credit rating of Aa2 from Moody’s in 2013. Cahn cited this as coming from “a strong tax-collection rate.”
“This budget continues to give Cherry Hill taxpayers a responsible and efficient government,” Cahn said. “We have kept taxes stable and reduced government spending, while continuing to provide a high level of programs and services.”
School budget
Cherry Hill Public Schools did not have the luxury of avoiding shortfalls like the township did. When budget talks started on Feb. 5, Superintendent Maureen Reusche revealed that the budget had a $628,000 shortfall, even with a 2 percent tax levy increase included.
Staff cuts were discussed at the preliminary meeting, with 80 percent of the district’s expenditures consisting of staff costs.
Some board members, such as Steve Robbins, said they were fine with the 2 percent tax levy increase and didn’t believe the district should be making more cuts than it needs to.
Others, like board vice president Carol Matlack, wanted to look at a 1.87 percent tax levy increase and see if additional cuts to staffing could be made.
However, staff cuts ended up off the table a week later, as the administration found a way to close the budget shortfall.
“The district has instituted a budget freeze for the current budget and will carry over funding from this year to close the gap,” District Spokeswoman Susan Bastnagel said.
Ultimately, the final budget put $628,000 worth of projects on hold to avoid making cuts from staffing. When the final $173 million budget was approved on March 21, state aid remained flat at $12.7 million, and the 2 percent tax levy was maintained.
“When this process began, we weren’t sure how ugly it would be,” Board President Kathy Judge said.
Open enrollment at Rosa
A discussion that went on among members of the Cherry Hill Board of Education for much of the fall involved the open enrollment policy at the Rosa International Middle School.
Board members discussed making two changes. One would be making an application to Rosa a commitment if the student were selected. The other was to eliminate the waiting list for Rosa; meaning fifth graders who weren’t selected would go to either Beck or Carusi Middle School based on geography.
The debate was spirited, with board members looking at both sides of the issue. Some felt as though the proposed changes would help eliminate some of the hurt feelings in the selection process. Others, however, liked the current system as it was.
“We had three students come into Rosa in the eighth grade this year for whatever reason,” Rosa principal Ed Canzanese said. “Parents will want the waiting list for that.”
The majority of comments from parents, according to Reusche, suggested making Rosa a geographic school like the other two middle schools in the district, however, the board did not discuss that topic.
Instead, as the discussion evolved, the topic swung to focus on Johnson Elementary School, the only school in which kids fall in both the Beck and Carusi sending areas.
Because of Johnson’s unique arrangement, children could end up split from their friends strictly due to location. This ultimately led to the only change in the policy, which now allows Johnson students in the 08034 zip code to choose whether they want to go to Beck or Carusi. The new rule applies to students who are not attending Rosa. After many discussions, the Rosa open enrollment policy was untouched aside from some language changes.
The new policy was passed on second reading on Dec. 17 and will take effect in January.
Boundless Field opens at Challenge Grove Park
Thanks to funding from the Camden County freeholders, Cherry Hill was able to open Boundless Field at Challenge Grove Park on June 22.
The new field gave children with disabilities a chance to play their favorite sports in a fun and safe environment.
It was a dream for Jim Cummings, a board member of Build Jake’s Place, to build the field at the park. The park already had a playground specially equipped for children with disabilities.
Jake’s Place was originally inspired by Cummings’ grandson, Jacob, who died from complications after open-heart surgery when he was just 2. Jacob was unable to use the playground equipment because of his condition, inspiring Jim to create a playground that all children could use.
Cummings came up with the idea for the field after visiting one in Gloucester County. With the playground used every day, it seemed like a good fit to have a field in Cherry Hill as well.
“It’s already working for us,” Cummings said. “That was our whole purpose from the very beginning.”
Camden County Freeholder Edward McDonnell led the project. He helped the freeholders approve the funding for the project through Green Acres. McDonnell also worked with others to get input about the field.
“We held a meeting with people who work with special education kids. We wanted to get their input,” McDonnell said. “We wanted to talk about the fact we’re building this field and to say ‘here it is if you want to play.’”
The field hit home with other county officials as well.
“It’s pretty special because I have a niece and nephew who have autism, and it’s a remarkable experience to see them playing there,” Freeholder Jeffrey Nash said.
Sustainable Cherry Hill
Sustainable Cherry Hill continued its mission toward making the township a national leader in sustainability in 2013.
In April, Council approved a two-year pilot program with Sustainability Dashboard Tools Inc. The program will track the township’s consumption of resources such as electricity, water and fuel.
The new pilot program will allow the township to cut costs in the future, according to Cahn. The program is funded through a $10,000 grant.
Sustainable Cherry Hill executive director Lori Braunstein supported the program and said Council was being proactive in taking a long-term interest in the township.
“It’s not just what you’re measuring…but the great thing about dashboards is the way that information is presented visually,” she said. “It’s wonderful to engage the community, the employees, in seeing what’s going on.”
“I think it’s a terrific idea and a no brainer,” Jack Braunstein of Sustainable Cherry Hill said. “This seems like it will pay off in the long run, many fold.”
Alcohol sale ordinance
Council passed an ordinance early in the year to create a set of rules for the sale of alcohol that hoped to please both business owners and residents.
The new ordinance created stricter rules for alcoholic beverages, forcing stores to confine them to a separate area that can be closed off during hours when alcohol cannot be sold. Stores that sell liquor must have at least 15,000 square feet and have separate cash registers for alcohol sales.
The ordinance was drawn up in a cooperative effort between Council and the Drug and Alcohol Alliance. The groups worked together to write an ordinance that would create guidelines for liquor sales while also allowing sellers, such as a supermarkets, to remain competitive.
“We’re confident that the ordinance that was adopted addresses a lot of the concerns that were voiced,” Palmer said.
Just a few months after the passage of the ordinance, the township approved a license for the first liquor store inside a supermarket. The license was awarded to Empire Liquors, a group that planned to open a store in the ShopRite at 2240 Marlton Pike.
“The license was awarded because there’s verification and background checking that needed to happen,” Palmer said.
Secondhand goods ordinance
Cherry Hill Township followed in the footsteps of many towns across the state with the passage of a new ordinance to track the transactions of secondhand goods.
The ordinance was passed on first reading on Jan. 28 and adopted on Feb. 11. The new ordinance puts all transactions for secondhand goods into a database that can be easily searched by police. Shops will have to pay an annual fee of $300 for registration.
“This is new,” Palmer said. “Right now, there’s no formal registration in place. It’s important to us that these places are registered.”
The new ordinance was passed to help police track secondhand transactions. Prior to the electronic database being used, all of the transactions were recorded through paper transactions.
The increase in secondhand shops in the township also led to the ordinance. Palmer said the number of secondhand dealers in the township increased from five to 27 in just a five-year period from 2008 to 2013.
Cherry Hill crime rate drops
The township received good news during the summer as the state’s Uniform Crime Reporting rate showed that crime was down 30.6 percent in the township when compared to 2012.
The biggest number was the large decrease in theft. There were only 694 reports of theft from January to June in 2013. This was well down from 963 thefts in the same six-month period in 2012.
Lt. Sean Redmond cited the drop in crime to a number of factors, but added that the police’s presence in business areas helps to discourage theft.
“There is either a police car in the area or police walking around. I think both of those factors dissuade people from committing crimes,” Redmond said.
There was also a slight decrease in the number of assaults in the township. Just 102 incidents were reported in 2013, down from 130 in 2012.
Redmond’s message to residents was to get involved and report suspicious activity to police.
“What we say every year is be aware of your surroundings,” Redmond said. “Don’t be hesitant to give us a call to help you out. If someone sees something or feels unsafe, give us a call to let us help you out.”
Long-time East teacher passes
The Cherry Hill High School East community lost a beloved long-time staff member in the spring. Charlie Musumeci, who started at Cherry Hill East as a substitute teach in 1977, died at the age of 58 after a two-year battle with adrenal cancer.
Musumeci was heavily involved with the theater department among others around the school. The school happened to be putting on its spring play “Peter Pan” the same weekend Musumeci passed.
“Charlie would’ve been very upset if the kids had gone into the last show with this weighing over their heads,” play director Tom Weaver said.
The students performed all of the shows that weekend before being informed of his passing. After finding out following the final show, students stayed together to comfort each other.
Musumeci’s passing hit the school community hard, as he was often found administering SATs and coaching several sports teams.
Just days before passing, Musumeci helped the theater department put together the final touches on “Peter Pan.” His presence always put a smile on the faces of those present.
“That’s what he was good at,” Weaver said. “His laughter was extremely contagious. It wasn’t a polite giggle. It was a hearty laugh. He held nothing back.”
