At its most recent meeting, Cherry Hill Township Council approved a resolution authorizing the police department to enter into an agreement to provide expanded law enforcement services at the local Motor Vehicle Commission office.
“We’ve been providing security at the Motor Vehicle Commission since it opened here, probably in the last 10 to 15 years. The only thing that is new is that with the previous allocation (the state) only had us there at certain times of the day, whereas this new shared service and memorandum of agreement will put us there during all hours of their operation,” said Police Chief William “Bud” Monaghan.
The commission’s office is located in a complex bordered by Route 70, Cuthbert Boulevard and King Avenue, in a building known as 1 Executive Campus. Its office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Any time the motor vehicle services is open, we’ll have a police officer inside. It’s paid for by the state, there are no taxpayer funds from Cherry Hill which fund the salaries of the officers that are in there, and those who work there are assigned through secondary employment, our internal affairs,” Monaghan added.
Monaghan also stated there was no single recent incident or compilation of incidents over the years that spurred the decision to increase law-enforcement presence; rather it was a function of increased funds.
“It’s just a decision by the state to increase it. They had additional funding and thought there was a need to ensure both the safety of the people who come to the motor vehicle commission, as well as their employees. Just to have an officer there as much as possible for security reasons,” he added.
Council also passed a resolution regarding an inter-municipal agreement between Cherry Hill Township, the Township of Voorhees and Cherry Hill Care Group, LLC, to connect sewer systems at a property located at 840 Evesham Road in Voorhees.
The property in question is Congregation M’Kor Shalom, and a 25-acre subdivision split into a pair of lots, on which a dementia-care facility was constructed. As the boundary between Cherry Hill and Voorhees exists in the middle of Evesham Road, and the property is located on the north side of Evesham, a new sewer line serving the new facility needs to be constructed from the Cherry Hill side and hooked into an existing one in Voorhees.
In other news:
- Nearly two-dozen members of Cherry Hill High School East’s swimming and diving team attended the meeting to have a proclamation of formal congratulations read in their honor. The Cougars finished their season winners of their 11th consecutive sectional final, victors of the Public A division as well as 2019 NJSIAA champions.
- Councilwoman Carolyn Jacobs also read a proclamation celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Port Authority Transit Company’s hi-speed line, which was opened on Feb. 15, 1969. PATCO general manager John Rink was on hand to accept the honor.
- Among the various designations for May, it is known as “National Melanoma Month,” and Councilwoman Michelle Golkow praised the addition of a sunshade on the outdoor pickleball courts at DeCou Field Complex on Cropwell Road intended to limit exposure to the sun for players.
