As Haddonfield takes that final step into 2015, here is a look back at just some of the happenings and changes that came to the borough throughout 2014.
605 Warwick Development
In March, plans for 605 Warwick Road to be subdivided into three large houses were proposed to the Planning and Zoning boards. Many residents were concerned about the property being subdivided. Concerns included more water runoffs and fewer trees, creating flooding in yards and basements, more hookups to the already hurting water utilities, and that the houses would take away from the aesthetic charm of Haddonfield.
At the April Planning Board meeting, the application was deferred to May as the developers wished to submit another revised application before the next meeting. Then the May meeting was also deferred to June. Signs saying “Say NO to 605 Warwick Development” started to appear all around Haddonfield in the meantime.
During meetings between June and November, both sides of the debate had their chance to make their case to the Planning Board.
Then, finally at a meeting on Dec. 2, by a vote of 8–1, the planning board rejected a proposal to divide the property into three parcels and build three new homes on the site. For now, there will be no redevelopment project at 605 Warwick Road.
The Planning Board left open the possibility that the developer could submit a revised application that addressed concerns about drainage problems, among other things, said Commissioner John Moscatelli, who sits on the board.
Moscatelli said he voted against the proposal largely due to concerns that the project would exacerbate drainage issues. He said the proposal failed to address who would be responsible for storm-water management.
The developer’s attorney, Donald Cofsky, expressed disappointment with the decision. He has maintained that the plan conforms to zoning and borough requirements and that each of the three lots exceeded the 9,600-square-foot minimum required by ordinance.
Cofsky said the next move would likely be in Superior Court.
“They know that we’re going to appeal. My clients are in for the long haul. It’s much easier to pass the buck to a judge,” Cofsky said. “I think, ultimately, when it is all done and the houses are built, it will look terrific.”
Commission meetings
Other than the water and sewer utilities being a large issue in the borough, until April nothing large of note was discussed.
Commissioners passed preservation for a CAP Bank at the April 8 meeting.
“This is an ordinance we pass every year to preserve our appropriations … we are limited by state law this year to only a .5 percent … a one-half percent increase,” Mayor Jeff Kasko said.
Passing the ordinance gave the commissioners the ability to increase the budget by up to 3.5 percent, if needed.
The 2014 municipal budget was also officially introduced on April 8.
Commissioners announced that municipal property taxes would not increase this coming year. Kasko mentioned that the average municipal property tax bill per household would be $2,393, which was the same as last year.
“I think we all understand the burden our residents have with property taxes,” Commissioner Neal Rochford said. “This is a budget I am very proud of.”
The total budget was $15.3 million, for which $10.9 million will be raised through property taxes.
According to commissioners, state aid remained low for the fourth year in a row, at $981,000. Due to the flat aid amount and tight budgeting for the borough, commissioners did not anticipate spending more or less than usual.
• At the April 22 meeting, commissioners conducted a first reading of a highly anticipated Historic Preservation/District Ordinance.
The ordinance repealed a former one, which Rochford said has not received changes in about 40 years. The board agreed that updating the ordinance for residents living in homes within the boundaries of the historic district would be beneficial to it, as well as the Planning Board.
Kasko assured residents that the new ordinance would in no way further expand or cut the boundaries of the historic district.
“The ordinance is for land development and property development only … for the purpose of existing structures in the district,” Kasko said. “We had to clean up and modernize the ordinance.”
• Haddonfield officials and representatives accepted a plaque from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association on Oct. 14 honoring downtown Haddonfield as one of its selections for Great Places in New Jersey for 2014.
”We are thrilled to be recognized as one of the Great Places in New Jersey by the APA-NJ,” Kasko said. “We have always considered our downtown a great place to work and visit and this recognition verifies that on a statewide scale. This recognition goes to all of the shop owners and our downtown management corporation, the Partnership for Haddonfield, for their hard work in making our downtown the great place that it is today.”
• At the Dec. 16 meeting, the Recreation Commission finally became an official board of the borough.
“We have had a Recreation Commission, but now we are making it official,” Kasko said.
The commissioners quickly approved the ordinance with no one wishing to speak during public comment.
Water and Sewer Utility
The highly contested water and sewer utility in Haddonfield was a concern throughout 2014.
In a Jan. 29 letter that was sent to all residents, Moscatelli, director of public works, parks and property, mentioned that rates had to increase due to past neglect of the water and sewage infrastructure throughout the borough. The borough is about $14 million in debt, thanks to the old system increasing only with inflation, not appropriate usage rates. The commission described in the Jan. 29 letter, and at the meeting Jan. 28, that rates were increasing at about an average of 25 percent.
On March 25, commissioners passed a resolution authorizing the solicitations of bids for the sale of the water and wastewater utility system.
Haddonfield proposed selling its system to New Jersey American Water. Moscatelli said the system would essentially become a utility like PSE&G or a resident’s cable or telephone company, and residents would deal with NJAW concerning any water or sewer system problems.
NJAW’s bid was $28.5 million for the water and sewer system, with the condition to spend $5 million in capital improvements in the first year to take care of some issues it feels are acute, and an obligation to spend about $11 million more in the subsequent four years.
NJAW would also freeze water rates at the current levels for the first three years, but a standard sewer rate charge would be implemented for the first year.
Ultimately, the decision was made for the citizens to vote on the sale of the water and sewer utility on Election Day, Nov. 4, and they voted “yes.”
According to Kasko, the borough will still be running the systems until about February or March, as the transaction process will take about two to three months to be completed. No decision has been made as to what the borough will do with the $12.5 million access since the transfer of the funds won’t come until the closing of the transaction. However, the money must be used toward borough debt.
Teachers contracts
The contract for the teachers of Haddonfield’s public schools expired on June 30. At Board of Education meetings from July to November, teachers wearing red, along with concerned parents and Haddonfield residents, came to show their support of each other and a settlement of the contract.
The teachers gave many supportive claims as to why they deserve a fair contract. Haddonfield Memorial High School earlier in the year was ranked in the top 1 percent of schools in the nation, as well as being ranked 186th in the nation in STEM education curricula. HMHS is currently ranked as the 15th best high school in the state.
With all this success, the teachers were optimistic about the future, but voiced their concern that without a settlement, the future isn’t certain.
Board President Glenn Moramarco supported the teachers’ claims.
“The teachers and administrators have done a wonderful job in a tough time in the state,” he said. “We are going to do everything we can to reach an agreement with the teachers before the summer is over.”
However, the summer came and went and still no contract was settled. More parents and residents came in support of the teachers when the school year started. Parents were concerned that teachers teaching without a contract would affect their students’ education. Being named second in the state by New Jersey Monthly magazine in August only supported the teachers’ and parents’ comments about how they deserved a contract that reflected their accomplishments.
At a Sept. 23 meeting, the board passed a resolution to move the teachers and staff health-care plans from the state system to Horizon. The move was in anticipation of large increases in the state policy. The members will see savings with identical coverage in this move. At the meeting, the Haddonfield Education Association endorsed the move as long as its due diligence did not uncover a negative impact for the teachers and members.
Despite long, late-night meetings, a contract could not be settled without a state mediator getting involved. On Nov. 11, a meeting was scheduled between the HEA and BOE with a state mediator.
At the December Board of Education meeting, it was announced that at the Nov. 11 meeting with the state mediator a tentative agreement was reached. Both parties were happy an agreement was reached and thanked each other for their professionalism and cooperation.
“We’re delighted that a tentative agreement has been reached,” said Moramarco.
“We’re happy to have come to a resolution. It’s fair; it’s reasonable and we’re looking to continue and move forward,” Welsh said.
Details will be disclosed after both the teachers’ union and the BOE ratify this agreement. The terms of the contract might not be divulged until sometime in January.
Bond referendum
At the Oct. 16 Board of Education meeting, the board discussed taking advantage of New Jersey’s ROD grants to help with improvements to the school. Improvements would include roof replacement, boiler replacements or updates and HVAC improvements or updates.
Two dates that the referendum could need to be voted on would be Jan. 27 and March 10. The Jan. 27 date was suggested and mostly agreed upon as the date the board would like to have a vote for the referendum. This is due to having more time to get everything together so the work it wishes to do can be done over the summer. The March 10 date, it felt, would not allow it to finish most of the projects over the summer.
After much debate and hearing from citizens at the November meeting, the board came to the agreement that the public needs more time to learn about the referendum and make a decision, so the later date of a vote on March 10 would be better.
With ROD grants, schools apply for them and are approved up to a certain amount. Haddonfield was approved for $17 million. With ROD grants, though, the state pays for about 40 percent and the school must provide the rest. These projects are paid over 15 or 20 years so there is less of a burden on the school district and taxpayers.
Originally there were three questions that Superintend Richard Perry proposed. However, since October, there have been some changes made to the possible referendum. For the first two questions, some things were taken off and added. Also the third question, asking for the high school’s stadium grandstand restoration, would not be covered by ROD grants. After reviewing the condition of the stadium, the board decided to remove the question and wait. There was some discussion of raising the money using fundraisers.
In the 2015 bond referendum, there will be two questions.
Question one is for improvements the schools should absolutely do, school board members said, including exterior renovations such as roof replacement, interior renovations such as waterproofing, building systems updates and boiler replacements or updates, and electrical construction.
“We narrowed it down to the things we thought needed immediate repair. Things we’ll have to improve anyway. We want to take advantage of this grant money,” Perry said.
In the report, the numbers were narrowed to a total cost of $8.4 million with $3.3 million being paid by the state. Perry said he and the board want to keep the burden at less than $100 for taxpayers. The local tax impact on an assessed home valued at $491,000 at 15 years would be about $98 more a year in school taxes. Over 20 years, it would be about $81 more a year.
The second question asks for HVAC improvements or updates. Board members said this would be a question that would end the debate of whether air conditioning was an important issue. If approved, HVAC improvement costs would be $3.1 million in total with the state paying $1.2 million. The local tax impact over 15 years would be about $36 more a year per household, and over 20 years would be about $29 more a year.
“I think it is a positive measure. The school buildings were built during a time when there was no technology. It is a different type of educational environment,” Perry said.
BOE
From February until June, the board decided to test a pilot safety program with high school students. The program is called STOPit, which is an app/program that allows students to text anonymous safety tips to administrators and staff, on a 24/7 basis. The board mentioned the program is a way for it to see how modernizing tip lines can improve safety and dialogue about safety between students and staff.
“Students can text tips to administrators and remain anonymous…It puts in our hands more information,” Perry said.
In September, a presentation was made about the app to high school students where the program was implemented, having it fully integrated into the school. Since the implementation, the middle school has asked for the program to be integrated in the school.
Haddonfield Public Schools were also honored for their commitment to spreading awareness of bullying and their anti-bullying implementations in general at a Haddonfield Board of Commissioner’s meeting.
“I’ll just add you’re doing a great job. It’s an important issue not only here in Haddonfield, but across the nation. Unfortunately, many of the school shootings you read about stem from bullying situations, and I think as a society, we need to have effective means to deal with it. I think some of the things you’re doing are very cutting edge, so I’m happy to be here tonight to honor you,” Rochford said.
• The Haddonfield Board of Education meeting on May 8 centered on the goals the district has planned and the goals the district has met during the 2013–2014 school year.
Perry discussed in length his report outlining four major areas the district has focused on for improvement.
The first district goal is to maintain and improve the quality of student academic performance at all grade levels. The district increased technology-based, district-wide initiatives in regard to professional development, equipment and student STEM related curricular programs.
“The district now has over 400 iPads available to students,” Perry said. “This represents an enormous increase from years past, and we hope to continue to provide the latest technology to our students.”
The second district goal is to develop a broad-based communication strategy both internally within the district and throughout the community. Haddonfield has worked diligently to improve its social media presence, and the work has paid off. The district has seen an increase of more than 300 Twitter followers since November 2013. The district is now using Twitter and Facebook on a daily basis to share essential information to the public.
The third district goal is to develop a long-range plan to meet student enrollment growth and infrastructure needs to support its students. The district has established and implemented pre-school programs in all elementary schools to free up space at Tatem Elementary School, which should decrease classroom sizes.
“The school is also investigating alternate sources of funding for capital projects,” Perry said. “We have met with several energy consultants to explore energy grant opportunities.”
The last district goal is to support greater involvement of community volunteers in the education of students and the community. The district continues to add and expand academic and extra-curricular opportunities for students. This year saw the addition of a Literacy Symposium, a dog walker’s club, an expanded drama program and Students Helping Honduras.
HMHS sports
Haddonfield had a successful year with sports.
On the night of Jan. 18, Haddonfield residents were treated to an impromptu celebration. Firetrucks and police cars paraded through downtown Haddonfield that night to commemorate a special victory for the Bulldawgs of Haddonfield Memorial High School.
Earlier that Saturday, the indoor winter track teams won the state Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 1 Relays. More than 18 teams competed at the relays, which were held at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
Both teams claimed State Group 1 victories and set some personal records in the process. While the boys and girls competing in track practiced together this year, and enjoyed joint bus rides all season, the teams were considered separate by the NJSIAA at the Group 1 meet.
The girls’ distance medley was swiftly won by Haddonfield, in a time of 12:43.68. Carly Bonnet, Alyssa Fortinio, Lauren DeCoursey and Shelby Cain outran the rest.
A surprisingly controversial race was the girls’ 4×200. Haddonfield’s top competitor, Roselle High School, was disqualified after unsportsmanlike running of the race. Haddonfield then re-ran the race. In the process, the Bulldawgs beat their own school record.
“The reason was because an anchor from our team got knocked down to the ground,” said Robert Keegan, HMHS student track captain.
Keegan had an outstanding meet himself. He ran a 7.7 on the group shuttle hurdle. Keegan also ran on the 4×200, among other group races.
The winning streak continued as Haddonfield won the 4×800-meter relay, by surprise.
“The four by eight team placed first even though they were not expected to,” said Robert’s mother, Jane.
As to why so many momentous victories occurred all at one meet, and coincidentally the most important meet of the season due to the statewide, Group 1 status, Keegan explained: “The main reason we won was basically, we have very talented kids, great coaching and the performances, just amazing. We broke four personal records in one meet alone.”
• Football this year was successful as well. On Dec. 7 Haddonfield and West Deptford met at Rowan University for the South Jersey Group II title.
The Bulldawgs rolled to a 27–0 victory, clinching a perfect 12–0 season as well as the team’s second South Jersey Group II title in as many seasons.
After a tightly-contested first half that ended with Haddonfield leading 7–0 on a Jacob Klaus one-yard rushing touchdown, the Bulldawgs ran away from the Eagles in the second half — literally.
Klaus and senior quarterback Mike Alberto combined for 237 yards rushing as well as three rushing touchdowns in the game. Alberto also threw a 17-yard touchdown to Tyler Klaus.
Trailing 7–0, West Deptford fumbled on the opening drive of the second half. Alberto and the Dawgs took full advantage of the turnover, as he scampered for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play that followed the fumble.
After another Eagle turnover and the touchdown pass to Klaus, Alberto sealed the win with a six-yard rushing touchdown. Haddonfield missing the extra point after that score was about the only thing that went wrong in the third quarter, as the team forced two turnovers and scored 20 points.
The win gave the Bulldawgs their second consecutive championship and third in five seasons. Overall, the team has won 10 South Jersey titles. This was the first time Haddonfield has won consecutive titles since the 1963–64.
