A couple weeks ago for “National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” we honored and thanked our incredible police department for their dedication to our community. It’s with mixed emotions, that we congratulate one of the department’s invaluable leaders, Captain Brian Grady on his retirement. Captain Grady has served the township since 1997 as a police officer and has risen through the ranks to second-in-command. He has resided in our community since 1997 with his wife, Tammy, and has raised his family here. We want to wish Captain Grady the best of luck in retirement and thank him for his many years of honorable service to the residents of Mantua Township.
On Jan. 17, our Land Use Board held its annual Reorganization Meeting. At this meeting, the board appointed long-time resident’s Robert Harris as Chairman, and George Huston as Vice Chairman. Nelson Moyer, our previous Chairman, resigned from the board on Jan. 16 in preparation for his retirement this March. Our Land Use Board membership is comprised of strictly volunteers. They spend countless hours without compensation volunteering for the betterment of our community. We thank Mr. Moyer for his close-to twenty years of service to the board, and we thank him and all board members for their unwavering commitment to volunteerism.
Mantua Township has been awarded a $3,000 Sustainable Communities Environmental Stewardship Grant. This grant was available to municipalities for projects focusing on open space preservation, improvements to park and recreation resources, and environmental conservation. With this opportunity, we have installed seven brand new 32-gallon, Global Industrial trash cans at our beautiful Chestnut Branch Park. We’d like to thank Brett Fleming, our Administrative Project Coordinator for overseeing this grant process through to fruition. We pride ourselves in utilizing grant opportunities in various ways to enhance our community, and in-turn to save local tax dollars. Every little bit counts!
A quick note regarding Chestnut Branch Park. We are requesting that park visitors pay close attention to the posted park rules such as no dogs, no alcohol, no littering and no smoking, etc. We ask that you abide by these rules when visiting Chestnut Branch so that we can provide a safe and enjoyable environment for all park goers. We’ll be sharing more particulars on this very topic in the near future.
I’ve had the recent opportunity to meet separately with both Mayor Lou Manzo of Harrison Township and Mayor Jessica Doheny of Wenonah. We discussed our working relationships forging forward, and some ways that we can work more cohesively to better serve our respective communities in areas such as shared services and saving taxpayer dollars.
February is American Heart Month. You probably know that I’m a heart disease survivor. Each year, I present a Proclamation on behalf of the Township Committee recognizing Heart Disease Awareness in Mantua. This year’s recipient is my good friend and longtime Mantua resident and local business owner, George Gaughan. Stay tuned to hear more about George’s story and his battle with this ugly disease that’s the number one cause of death in our country.
On behalf of myself, Deputy Mayor Pete Scirrotto and the entire Township Committee, we look forward to serving you with honesty, integrity and trustful leadership!
