Several residents also raised concerns about a lawsuit involving the Bancroft development during the July 18 meeting
The borough’s board of commissioners took the first step July 18 toward installing Haddonfield’s first four-way stop intersection.
Safety concerns at the intersection of Prospect and Springfield avenues prompted the move, Mayor Neal Rochford said. He said the recommendation to make the intersection into a four-way stop was made by the borough’s police department in consultation with nearby residents.
“That is a very high-traffic area with the Little League baseball field down there,” Rochford said during the July 18 commissioners meeting. “There’s been a lot of near-misses as people are getting their kids to the games and local residents trying to get in and out of their driveways.”
The commissioners unanimously passed the ordinance on first reading. A public hearing on the change is scheduled for the Aug. 20 commissioners meeting.
Currently, there are no four-way stops in Haddonfield, and that’s mostly due to state regulations, Rochford said. However, in recent years, the state has relaxed the rules for intersections near schools and playgrounds, he said.
Prospect and Springfield avenues meet about a block from the Little League complex, which includes three baseball fields.
“Unfortunately, we cannot keep police officers there 24/7,” Rochford said. “It is our hope that by putting this four-way stop sign in that it will slow down traffic and get people to pay a little bit more attention on their way to the ball field.”
Rochford said the borough has been approached many times in the past about installing four-way stops at intersections all around town. Although this one could be the first, Rochford said not all future requests will be granted — mainly due to state law.
“This is definitely our first four-way stop, and we’ll see where it goes from there,” he added.
In other news:
● Also during the July 18 meeting, the board of commissioners awarded contracts for several projects and purchases.
The commissioners accepted a $225,533 bid from Hunter Truck Sales & Service for a new recycling truck. The Swedesboro-based company was the only bidder.
“We’re getting rid of an old recycling truck and replacing it with a new one,” Commissioner John Moscatelli said. “We only got one bid, but fortunately it falls within our budgetary amount.”
In addition, the commissioners approved a contract with Diamond Construction, of Brick, for pothole repairs.
Moscatelli said the borough goes out to bid for an annual pothole repair contract and asks companies for estimates of what it would cost to fix the average-sized pothole.
“In the past, we used to go out with lists of potholes and bid them individually,” he added. “We found it’s more efficient to do an annual contract and hire somebody for the year.”
Diamond Construction’s bid was the lowest out of the three bids received, according to documents provided by the borough. The firm’s bid was $90 to fix an average pothole.
The commissioners also authorized a $233,480 contract with Spina Mechanical, of Voorhees, to replace a boiler and hot water heater at the Haddon Fire Company №1 station. Five other companies submitted higher bids for the project.
● Several residents at the July 18 commissioners meeting accused borough officials of not being transparent about a lawsuit involving the Bancroft site filed in 2016 by the Fair Share Housing Center, a Cherry Hill-based nonprofit that advocates for affordable housing.
The center routinely submits legal challenges against municipalities in an attempt get towns to build more low-income housing units.
In May, the developer, 2 Hopkins Lane LLC, publicly presented a plan to build 80 market-rate townhomes and an additional 10 to 12 affordable housing units on the Bancroft property. However, several residents expressed concerns over how the looming lawsuit involving the Fair Share Housing Center could impact the plan.
“You need to make this (the lawsuit) public,” resident Ginny DeLong told the commissioners. “I really think you need to do a better job in keeping the public informed.”
“We’re not trying to purposely hide something,” Commissioner Jeff Kasko said later in the meeting. “We’re not purposely trying to bury it.”
The Haddonfield Sun has filed a records request for court documents related to the Fair Share Housing Center lawsuit.
● In addition, the commissioners authorized the Partnership for Haddonfield to hold another night market food truck event on Thursday, Sept. 6, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“We’ve had one or two already this year as well as last year,” Kasko said. “They’ve been very successful (and) very popular.”
The permission allows the event to include a maximum of 19 food trucks, with a possible 16 on Kings Highway and three on Tanner Street, according to documents provided by the borough.
