Dear Community Friends,
We trust that everyone had a wonderful Christmas while spending quality time with family and friends.
I’d like to touch on some of the highlights for 2024 as we welcome in the new year.
Enhanced communication and transparency has been a main focus of my tenure as your mayor. I’m extremely proud of Mantua Township, and want to ensure that important information is constantly being disseminated to you in a timely fashion. My weekly mayor’s messages and periodic mayor video updates can be found on our social media platforms and on our website at mantuatownship.com/mayors-message.
This Spring, we enthusiastically anticipate the expected opening of the world class Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University. The museum is expected to attract an estimated 200,000 guests annually. This will boost our economy, provide educational opportunities, and create jobs in our community. Check out rowan.edu/fossils for progress and updates on this project.
The township committee and I are excited to announce that by mid-year, it will be permissible to bring your dogs to Chestnut Branch Park. Of course, leashes will be required and owners will be responsible for cleaning up waste. As a dog owner myself, I can’t wait.
We are also thrilled to report that we are bringing back “National Night Out” in 2024. This community building event helps to promote the police-community partnership. Historically, this was always an amazing and fun filled time for our residents. This year’s program should be no different.
It warms my heart to know that we have continually been a model of excellence for free and cost effective services provided to our senior citizens here in Mantua Township. Even through the most challenging budgetary cycles, our township committee has always insisted that senior services remain paramount and that our senior friends be a priority.
We have some exciting news for our Mantua senior friends as we’re bringing back our 6 p.m. monthly dinners for the entire 2024 calendar year. Below is a list of the six dinners we have scheduled for the community center next year:
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024
To compliment our community center dinners, we will be scheduling the following additional dinners for our seniors:
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at Peking Buffet (Glassboro)
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at Empire Diner (Brooklawn)
Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 at Empire Diner (Brooklawn)
Our hope is to also add a senior picnic or two during the coming year, modeling what is already offered at the county level.
As many of you know, we officially opened the initial nine holes of the Tornado Crossing Disc Golf Course at Chestnut Branch Park on Oct.14 of this past year. With work continuing by our volunteers on the remaining nine holes, we anxiously anticipate the projected completion of this project by September 2024.
Regardless of what happens at other levels of government, we will continue to tighten the belt, and keep our local property taxes in check. In 2021 and 2022 we did not raise taxes, and in 2023 we had a very minimal increase in order to pay our bills. There was no fluff in this past year’s municipal budget, and this will stay true for 2024.
As a couple last minute reminders, our township offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 1 for the New Year’s Day holiday. Also, we will provide a second consecutive week of holiday bulk trash pick-up during the week of Tuesday, Jan. 2 through Friday, Jan. 5.
To kick-off the new year, our township committee’s reorganization meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 at 5:00 pm. I’d like to congratulate Committeeman John Legge on his reelection and look forward to his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 4.
The township committee and I would like to wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2024. We look forward to continuing our service with honesty, integrity and trustful leadership during the upcoming year.
Respectfully,
Mayor Robert T. Zimmerman, MAS
