The most recent meeting of the Voorhees Township Committee was one of routine business.
Two ordinances topped the agenda, one being the first reading of the 2015 fee schedule, and the other being a second reading and adoption of an ordinance amending the township code regarding sewers and the restrictions on the discharge of stormwater.
According to Voorhees Township Administrator Larry Spellman, the change to the sewer ordinance was due to the previous ordinance allowing stormwater to be discharged in such a way that it would sometimes freeze and become a danger to the public.
“Our ordinance before had allowed some pumps to be discharged into the street, and we have a couple of places where pumps can be discharged into the street and it’s caused the street to ice,” Spellman said.
Spellman said the previous allowance of such discharge was an oversight and therefore corrected.
Also approved at the meeting were several resolutions, including two regarding changes to the 2013 road program contract and 2014 road program, respectively.
The change to the 2013 road program contract with American Asphalt Co. was a decrease of $43,733, with the remaining contract adjusted in the amount of $704,619.
According to Spellman, that decrease was because of a drop in gas prices.
The change to the 2014 road program with Gerald Barrett, LLC was an increase of $11,611, with the remaining contract adjusted in the amount of $962,027, which, according to Spellman, was a result of additional work necessitated by last winter’s harsh conditions.
Also approved at the meeting was a grant application for $90,000 from the Safe and Secure Communities Grant Program through the state Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice.
According to the Department of Law and Public Safety, the grant provides municipalities with funds to maintain additional law enforcement employees vital to crime-related strategies and police operations, as needed by a community.
The program can free-up officers for direct law enforcement activities by allowing for the funding of additional officers or law enforcement support staff.
According to Spellman, Voorhees agreed to match the grant with $302,700, for a project total cost of $392,700, which would go toward police salaries.
In other news:
• A small lien was placed against a home where a fire occurred, as the owner did not have fire insurance and the township was forced to go in and board-up the structure as the fire left the property in an unsecured and unsafe condition.
• Wendy Flite was appointed to the position of technical assistant land use, and Elaine Powell was appointed the position of housing inspector.
• The next meeting of the Voorhees Township Committee is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be the last for the year, and, according to Spellman, the township will “shut down the books” for 2014 as well as swear in five new police officers. The officers will start the academy in January, and upon completion begin their positions with the township sometime in 2015.
