MICKLETON – At their meeting on July 23, the East Greenwich Township Committee continued their efforts to make their town’s roadways safer to negotiate.
That night the Committee passed a resolution that awarded the bid for the NJDOT Municipal Aid Program for Quaker Road improvements to American Asphalt for their bid of $398,247.50.
East Greenwich Mayor Dale Archer pointed out that this was the fourth year in a row that the community has received a transportation grant.
A bond ordinance followed for the Quaker Road Improvement Project. Archer noted that improvements would be made to the curbing at Quaker Road as well as to make the walk safer for pedestrians and school children.
In February 2019 the Committee announced that they would be receiving a flashing signal from Gloucester County for the intersection of Kings Highway and Tomlin Station Road. The intersection has been the scene of numerous accidents in recent years.
Meanwhile, another resolution adopted by the Committee granted a proposal for engineering services to conduct a stop sign installation study at Kings Gate East and Curtmantle Road. Archer indicated that the Committee wanted to see if installation of a stop sign would slow speeders. He said that according to residents, drivers had been cutting through Curtmantle Road and speeding through it.
Other resolutions were geared toward strengthening the East Greenwich Police Department. One bill authorized the purchase of a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro and a 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe for use by the local police. “We’re very proud of our police department,’’ said Archer. “Another tool for our chief and our police department to deter speeding and combat crime in our town.”
Another resolution authorized the purchase of a Chevrolet Tahoe for use by the construction department. Archer has always mentioned that funds for these vehicles had already been included in the township’s budget.
Elsewhere, East Greenwich came to a shared services agreement with the Gloucester County Improvement Authority regarding usage of certain stage units. Also, a resolution allowed the extension of the grace period for the town’s 2019 third quarter taxes.
Mayor Archer commented that the delay came because townspeople were just starting to receive their new tax rates. “The reassessment has been a big discussion point in town,’’ he mentioned. “People will see the offset when they get their new tax rates from their tax cards.”
Archer said East Greenwich’s complete tax rate was 3.297 per $100 of the average assessed home value for 2018-2019, while the rate had dropped to 2.994 per $100 for 2019-2020.
Under new business, Archer revealed that East Greenwich had hired a full time police officer, Evan Kircher, currently of Swedesboro. Archer added that Kircher had received an honorable discharge from the US Army and has been working as a surveillance investigator.
Archer took note that Kircher was able to be hired due to East Greenwich’s Veteran’s Preference program.
by Robert Holt
