The saga surrounding Monroe Township’s alternative treatment center ordinance is coming to a close.
At the Oct. 14 council meeting, an ordinance was introduced on first reading which would repeal the alternative treatment center ordinance in its entirety. Council vice president and ordinance committee chairman Joe Marino spoke about it at the work session, noting issues with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission as part of the reason to repeal the ordinance.
Another aspect that weighed into the decision is council’s plan to re-do the township’s Master Plan. Marino said it hasn’t been updated in 10 years.
“We have an opportunity next year to revisit this area of cannabis in the Master Plan, maybe designate a medical treatment area in town in the business park,” he added.
Council President Ron Garbowski said there is still a lot pending with licensing in the state of New Jersey.
“That should weigh into our decision to repeal this and hold off until at least next year,” Garbowski said.
Councilman Cody Miller reminded council that if a license were to be approved and the alternative treatment center ordinance was not in place, the applicant would have to go through the zoning and planning boards, which was the purpose of the original ordinance.
“Is the rest of council OK with that?” Miller asked.
Council was indeed “OK with it,” and the ordinance passed first reading and will be up for adoption at the Oct. 28 meeting.
In other news:
• Mayor Rich DiLucia appointed Andrew Halsel as a class four member of the planning board and appointed Gerald Conte as the alternate position of the planning board.
• Council was polled by Garbowski to decide whether or not to move forward with the design phase of the renovations to take place at the Williamtown Fire Department. Marino, who is a council liaison to the fire department’s building committee, said a survey has been completed and he wanted to verify if council was OK with moving forward with the design phase. Marvin Dilks, Katherine Falcone, Patrick O’Reilly, Greg Wolfe, Marino and Garbowski voted yes; Miller abstained as he is a member of the fire department.
“It’s exciting news. This has been going on for a while now, I want to thank the building committee for Williamstown Fire Station, they spent a lot of time on this,” Marino said.
• Resident and chair of the open space committee Len Fritz addressed council in the work session in regard to the ongoing recycling issues. He asked if there was a way to get the information out to all the residents on what is and is not recyclable. (Note: This was covered in a previous issue of The Sun here.) In short, only plastic bottles made with #1 or #2 plastic, paper, cardboard, aluminum or steel food cans and glass bottles or jars are recyclable. Each recycled item needs to be clean of all food debris. Plastic bags found at any supermarket or store are not recyclable; pizza boxes stained with grease are not recyclable either.
- A trunk or treat is scheduled from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Pfeiffer Community Center as well as featuring the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” To participate with a vehicle, call (856) 728-9841 or email Brandee Derieux at [email protected]. The car or truck trunk must be decorated, participants will need to bring unopened candy to distribute.
- The next council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28. A work session will take place at 7 p.m. with the general meeting at 8 p.m. Both sessions are open to the public.
