The council’s regular meeting, Jan. 22, saw the appointment of a new Certified Tax Collector for the borough as well as a director for the Public Safety Committee
Stephen Finn
The Sun
Tuesday, Jan. 22, Palmyra Council held its regular meeting where the topic of marijuana came up.
During the new business portion of the meeting, Borough Administrator John Gural gave a report on New Jersey’s changing laws concerning medical and adult use of cannabis and how the borough will proceed in response to these possible changes.
Gural introduced the topic as “a complicated set of circumstances” with regard to state law and medical use versus adult usage. According to Gural, the issue is a top priority for Gov. Murphy and the state legislature so changes will be forthcoming.
“They’re still debating whether and how they are going to implement that program but it’s coming folks, and to that end we have numerous outreaches from companies that want to do business, probably everywhere in the state they can, but in particular addressed to the borough, looking to open up shops of different sorts,” said Gural.
Before making any decisions, the council decided to set up an open forum at the community center where the public could be informed about both sides of the issue and companies interested in doing business in town could state their case. No date was set for the public forum at the meeting.
During the correspondence portion of the meeting, Mayor Michelle Arnold read a letter from Beth Sawyer of Ziegfield Florists and Gifts, a staple of Palmyra’s business district along Broad Street. In her letter, Sawyer announced the shop is closing its branch in Palmyra and moving to Maple Shade.
“Our talented designers and knowledgeable staff have worked to earn your patronage with each floral order you have placed, however we have reached a point where it is no longer practical to maintain our Palmyra store and therefore, as of this date, our designers and staff are returning to Maple Shade,” read Sawyer’s letter.
In another letter read by Arnold, certified tax collector for the borough, Tanyika Johns, submitted her resignation.
“It is with great regret that I inform you that I will no longer be able to provide my services as tax collector for the Borough of Palmyra, and therefore I announce my resignation. My decision to leave is both personal and professional and does not reflect a change in my opinion of the borough,” read Johns’ letter.
“Mixed emotions, my dear. Thank you for all your years of dedicated service. You are one of the cogs in this wheel and everything revolves around you, but I realize there are other opportunities for you and I sincerely wish you the best,” said Arnold, addressing Johns, who was present at the meeting.
The council later in the meeting unanimously appointed Danielle Lippincott as the new tax collector for the borough.
In other news, Gural gave an update on the ongoing renovations to Grove Park on behalf of engineer James Winckowski, who was not present at the meeting. According to Winckowski’s report, the new LED signs located in the park and in the parking lot of the nearby community center should have been operational by Thursday, Jan. 24.
“Perhaps by the close of business on Thursday we’ll have something really catchy up on those signs,” said Gural.
Councilwoman Gina Tait addressed the rescheduling of the community center cleanup originally scheduled as a day of service on the Martin Luther King Day holiday. The event was called off due to extreme cold weather conditions. According to Tait, President’s Day is being considered as children will be out of school and available to participate in the volunteer opportunity.
The council established a public safety committee director at the meeting as no such appointment was made at the council’s reorganization meeting. Tait was unanimously voted as director for the committee, and Councilwoman Michelle McCann was chosen to serve as a committee chair.
