Catch up on the biggest stories in Moorestown this week.
Council passed an ordinance on first reading, and the township is working on bringing building permits into the digital age. Catch up on everything from the past week in the Weekly Roundup.
Council takes first steps toward implementing affordable housing plan
An ordinance rezoning the lot located at 160 W. Route 38, colloquially known as the Pennrose Property, as an affordable multifamily district passed on first reading at last Monday night’s meeting of Moorestown Township Council. The ordinance was the first in what will be a series of rezonings as the township takes steps toward implementing its affordable housing plan. “The ordinance is specifically intended to rezone the property to permit multifamily affordable housing as specified in the settlement agreement with Fair Share Housing Center,” said the township’s Affordable Housing Planner Beth McManus. The ordinance will go before the planning board on May 3 before returning to council for a public hearing on May 7. Councilman Michael Locatell said everyone in the affected area will receive proper notice of the meeting.
Moorestown’s newest athletic director ready to step up to bat
Shawn Counard said he grew up around the Moorestown community and taught near it for years all the while hearing about the overwhelming sense of community support for the local school district. Come July, Counard is excited to join that community as he steps into the role of Moorestown’s athletic director and supervisor of health and physical education. “It’ll be nice to be part of that culture that really has a tremendous amount of pride in their academics and their athletics,” Counard said. Counard spent his childhood in Mount Laurel and attended Lenape High School. Growing up, his father coached athletics, and he knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps. In high school, Counard played football and baseball before attending Rowan University where he played baseball for four years.
Upon graduating, Counard took on a one-year position teaching history at Eastern Regional High School, filling the vacancy of a teacher who was in the reserves and had been called to Iraq.
Tech talk: Council discusses how to streamline building permits in the digital age
At one point in time, Moorestown was on the cutting edge of community development software, according to Township Manager Thomas Merchel. With the municipal budget on the horizon, council discussed how it could utilize new software to continue to make township procedures more efficient. Councilman Michael Locatell said he has had discussions with the Economic Development Advisory Committee about creating public portals so applicants can view the process as their documents are reviewed by the zoning board, public works, planning board and other entities in town and see what stage their application is at in the process. Township Management Information System’s coordinator John Polkiewicz said the township’s current software has portal capabilities, but the biggest obstacle to overcome is the software does not properly format the quarterly reports required by the state Department of Community Affairs.
More than “a mayor in office”: Jordan reflects on her terms
Having served two terms on town council, Jordan announced in late March she will not seek reelection. With her seat set to expire on Dec. 31, Jordan said her plan for the remainder of her time in office is to make sure Moorestown maintains its assets and continues the work that was got started during her time in office. Raised in a family with a strong sense of civic engagement, Jordan was involved in community service from a young age. She said her father was always involved in government having served as mayor and a Burlington County Freeholder.
