The Shamong Township Committee met on June 14 for a regular session in which members discussed multiple actions and a request from local Girl Scouts for a field.
Girl Scout Piper Worrell said her silver award project will be at Dingletown baseball and softball fields, where a music station will be added near a back snack stand. The idea was sparked by Worrell’s mother, who wanted to keep her eye on both her daughter and her son at the fields.
Committeeman Chris Zehnder praised the idea as a benefit to families with small children. Mayor Tim Gimbel told young Worrell she did a “fantastic job” with the idea and cited the committee’s full support.
“I think that would be such a big help to other families,” the Girl Scout said.
“Very good job, very unique and very cool,” Committeeman Brian Woods noted.
The committee adopted a 2022-’23 budget introduced at its May meeting. The financial plan includes a minimal tax rate of 2.5 cents that is the same as last year and it uses less surplus than in 2021, according to Township Auditor Rob Inverso. The yearly budget stands at $3.8 million, with an increase from last year of $3.3 million from total general revenue.
In other news, the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company, whose primary purpose is to provide fire and rescue services to residents of Shamong and surrounding mutual aid communities, was approved for a coin drop at the intersection of Indian Mill and Oak Shade Roads on Nov. 12.
Eric Trozzo was appointed to the Rent Control Board as an alternate member for a three-year term that will expire at the end of 2023.
The committee also approved making Shamong a Stigma-Free Zone for Mental Health Awareness. Burlington County got the designation in September 2021. The initiative seeks to eliminate stigmas surrounding mental health and substance disorder and assist those suffering from those conditions by pushing for educational awareness.
The township joins other stigma-free zones in the Shamong and Lenape Regional school districts and at Rowan College at Burlington County. For more information, visit shamong.net.
