Palmyra Council held its regular meeting on Monday, July 15 where several items were brought up for discussion, including Palmyra’s participation in the Burlington County Energy Aggregation Program, landscaping efforts throughout the borough and the upcoming dedication ceremony of Chief Payton I. Flournoy Park.
The correspondence portion of the meeting included an email from state Sen. Troy Singleton inviting Palmyra officials to an informal breakfast event to learn more about the Burlington County Energy Aggregation Program on Thursday, Aug. 8.
According to the email, the BCEAP pilot program originally operated from September of 2016 through December of 2018 and was the first program in the country to offer a guaranteed percentage of savings pricing structure for a government energy aggregation program. Ten Burlington County municipalities, including Palmyra, participated and the program resulted in over $1 million in savings for residents of those municipalities.
“They will be launching the program again, new and improved, and I was the first to sign up because, as you know, Palmyra was part of the original energy aggregation program, so I’m anxious to learn about the new program that they have available. I’ll bring all that information back to you,” said Mayor Michelle Arnold.
Issues with landscaping efforts throughout the borough were a matter of discussion at the meeting as Borough Administrator John Gural addressed comments he had received from members of the governing body on the topic.
“Public works is shorthanded, and remains to this day, all summer long. I recognize that the landscaping isn’t what we had hoped it would be, there’s just no other way to say it than that bluntly. They’ve got a lot on their plate, we are still down two part-timers, those do not replace two full-timers,” said Gural. “They are working on it.”
According to the borough administrator, it has been suggested that they hire a company to cover landscaping, leaving just the responsibility of maintaining that landscaping work to public works. Council decided tentatively to shop around for quotes from contractors with a set budget of roughly $5,000 and see what they can have done for that amount at major intersections around town.
“It certainly was our intent all along to avoid that but here we are in July and everybody’s doing their best to maintain,” said Gural.
During public comment, resident Carolyn Furrer expressed concerns that given future plans like the rain garden portion of the ongoing Temple Boulevard Improvement Project, the borough is adding to the problem of overgrowth and creating a situation they will not be able to maintain when it comes to upkeep. She suggested a more minimalist approach to borough-owned plots that would require less landscaping.
The upcoming dedication ceremony for the newly christened Chief Payton I. Flournoy, Sr Park was also an item of discussion at the meeting.
Celeste Flournoy, daughter of the park’s namesake, was present at the meeting to discuss details of the ceremony with council.
“This has really blossomed into something not just for the family but for this whole community. There are a lot of people in the community that are new and they don’t know the contribution that my father made,” said Flournoy.
She requested Saturday, Sept. 7 for the day of the ceremony. Final details about the dedication will be available on the borough’s website and social media pages.
The community spotlight portion of the meeting included recognition of a Palmyra resident, Edna Washington Webb, who will be celebrating her 100th birthday on Aug. 2. According to information provided by a family member, Webb graduated Palmyra High School in 1937 and spent 35 years working as a teacher in the Moorestown School District.
Arnold requested that anyone with fond memories or interactions with Webb contact her as she will be drafting a proclamation to be delivered to Webb on her birthday.
