Also in 2016, Moorestown saw a variety of town council, township and MTPS news.
Other town council news
• In an unexpected turn of events, Mayor Victoria Napolitano resigned from her position and nominated previous Deputy Mayor Phil Garwood into the position of Mayor on Jan. 6.
In a 4–0–1 vote, Garwood was named the newest mayor and Napolitano was named the deputy mayor at council’s reorganization. The newest member on the board, Lisa Petriello, was also sworn in at this meeting.
• Following a closed session discussion on Feb. 8, council unanimously approved a resolution that expressed its intent to bond in the event of an affordable housing funding shortfall. This resolution came after Moorestown was asked by Burlington County Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder to submit a revised affordable housing plan to the court by Feb. 15.
• For Moorestown Fire District №2, incumbents Jaqueline Grant and William Ruggiano were re-elected for two open seats, winning over challenger Brandon Thompson. Grant received 128 votes and Ruggiano received 101, while Thompson received 32 votes. Incumbent Fire Commissioners Peter R. Bowman and Bradley J. Kenney were re-elected with 108 and 111 votes, respectively. Both ran unopposed.
• Council unanimously approved the 2016 budget on final reading at its May 23 meeting. The average assessed home of $441,700 was to pay a total of $1,810.97 per year in municipal taxes, which is a decrease of $8.83 from last year.
• Lee. R. Lieber was officially sworn in as chief of police at council’s Dec. 12 meeting.
General township happenings
• Dr. Jonathan E. Miller, a pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Moorestown, was chosen as Moorestown’s Citizen of the Year for 2016.
The Citizen of the Year is a Moorestown resident who has, through voluntary community service activities, significantly contributed to the quality of life of both the community and its citizens.
• Moorestown High School senior Bela Delvadia was named 2016 Moorestown Student Citizen of the Year.
• Moorestown High School’s Madeleine Morlino found out in February she was accepted into all four United States military service academies, and in March she was named Military Child of the Year for the Air Force branch.
• Alan Willoughby, previously the executive director of Perkins Center for the Arts, resigned on Feb. 1, making way for interim executive Director Karen Chigounis to take over the position for a few years before a new generation takes over. Willoughby has been a big influence on where PCA is today, and Chigounis, too, has helped the organization grow, previously the director of Arts Education Programs and the associate curator.
• Moorestown Township has begun an “Adopt a Lake Front” initiative where neighborhood groups or businesses can adopt a portion of the Strawbridge Lake frontage along Haines Drive for loving care
• Democrat Lisa Petriello and Republicans Mike Locatell and Victoria Napolitano were elected to town council in the Nov. 5 election. Petriello received the highest number of votes, 4,840, earning her 17.06 percent of the overall vote. She was filling the one-year unexpired term of Greg Newcomer, and will now serve a full four-year term. Kati Angelini, Mayor Phil Garwood and Amy Leis finished in fourth through sixth place with 4,722, 4,652 and 4,610 votes, respectively.
• On Dec. 1, remediation efforts continued at Percheron Park at the intersection of Main and High streets, which was a former gas station. The Friends of the Percheron Park group had thought the park would be completed by 2014, but soil remediation — the utilization of various processes designed to remove contaminants such as hydrocarbons from the soil — has delayed construction longer than anticipated. The work has continued periodically over the years.
Other MTPS news
• The BOE reorganization meeting on Jan. 5 welcomed J. Harry Faunce, a new member to the board, as well as previously serving members Brandon Pugh and David Weinstein. Their terms will run through 2019. Kathy Goldenberg was once again chosen as president of the board, fulfilling her second term. Pugh was chosen as vice president.
• The general fund expenditures for the 2016–2017 school year totaled around $68 million, a 3.69 percent increase over the 2015–2016 school year. Including debt service and special expenses, the total is $74.6 million. School taxes for the average assessed home of $446,500 were to increase $208.62 per year.
• On April 6, the head coach of the Moorestown High School girls lacrosse team, Deanna Knobloch, was celebrated for her 500th win when the Quakers defeated Clearview, 15–3.
• At the spring meeting of the Burlington County School Boards Association on May 5, Brandon Pugh — a pilot, law student, business owner and a Board of Education member — received recognition for achieving three levels of board member certification, various state citations and being re-elected as president of the BCSBA.
• In the past year, the Moorestown Township Public Schools Board of Education and Moorestown Education Association reached a contract settlement prior to contract expiration for the first time in 16 years.
The BOE and MEA began negotiations for a new contract in August 2015, and an agreement was made on May 27 between both parties, more than a month before the June 30 expiration. The new contract runs from Friday, July 1 to June 30, 2019.
• In the Nov. 5 election for Moorestown Board of Education, incumbents Kathy Goldenberg and Sandra Alberti were both re-elected. Goldenberg earned 29.11 percent of the vote, while Alberti received 26.84 percent. Additionally, Maurice “Mick” Weeks III held the lead over Christian Cramer for the third, three-year term seat. Weeks had 24.46 percent of the vote, while Cramer had 19.37 percent.
Incumbent Dimitri Schneiberg was elected to the one-year, unexpired term on the board of education. He was unopposed.
• National Signing Day at Moorestown High School took place on Nov. 16, and 21 seniors of the Class of 2017 signed to play collegiate athletics. Out of the students who signed, nine will play Division I athletics, while 12 will compete at Division III schools.
• As the population grows at Moorestown High School, it has remained important to the administration to provide the same opportunities for students with and without special needs. As a result, this past year Principal Andrew Seibel and Director of Special Education David Tate applied for and received a grant to allow the school to form its first unified soccer program.
• In a letter released on the afternoon of Nov. 29, Superintendent Scott P. McCartney announced that, of the 271 samples taken, all but 16 tested below the lead action level. This lead action level was established by the state Department of Environmental Protection for lead in drinking water (15ug/l [ppb]).
