Mayor's Weekly Briefing

Weekly Briefing
Township updates brought to you from the Mayor's desk

Township Council to review school budget after defeat at the polls
On April 20, the Cherry Hill School District’s 2010-2011 budget was defeated by local voters at the polls; if passed, it would have represented a 4-percent increase over the current levy. The defeated budget is now in the hands of Township Council members, who will make recommendations on what to cut, per state statute. The Board of Education can either accept the cuts and make them at their discretion or appeal the governing body’s decision to the state Department of Education. Right now, Town Council is in the process of receiving the all material related to the proposed budget from the school board.
 
According to Council President David Fleisher, “Voters spoke out against the Cherry Hill School District’s budget. We are now prepared to enter into a thoughtful, constructive process that will yield the best possible outcome for our community. With that said, there is no question in my mind that the health of our school system is vital to our community. Moving forward, I believe this election has again shined a bright light on one thing we can all agree on – the broken tax system and budgeting process. As a community and a state, we can no longer afford to rely almost solely on property taxes because they do not measure an individual’s ability to pay the bill. This state needs new options, and I believe there should be other sustainable ways to fund public services.”

Within the next few weeks a public hearing will be scheduled where Council will share their recommendations for its revision – the date of which will be announced shortly.

Township invites community to offer input for Sustainability Plan
In late 2008, an amendment to the state’s Municipal Land Use Law (A1559) authorized municipal Planning Boards to adopt an environmental-sustainability element into the local Master Plan. This fits perfectly with our ongoing green-action and sustainability goals, and such an element has now been researched, vetted by experts, revised, and fully drafted (all in-house). It will be presented to the Planning Board for a public hearing and potential adoption this June.

However, this plan will not be considered complete until the Cherry Hill community itself examines the document and weighs in. As such, a special public meeting was held this week (April 21, as advertised) for this purpose on. Attendees learned about the plan, how it fits into the overall Master Plan, and what it means for Cherry Hill and its environmental legacy. If you were unable to attend the April 21 presentation but want to contribute your comments (by the May 19 deadline), please reach out to Jennifer Kelley in my office at (856) 910-9685, or email her at JKelley@CHTownship.com. Read the entire plan by visiting the Township Web site: www.CherryHill-NJ.com.

Art Blooms’ week of the arts features Earth Day celebration this year From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, April 24, Art Blooms Week begins! This art- and fun-focused community extravaganza is a classic local event like no other. As it has every year, the Township’s Croft Farm (100 Borton’s Mill Road, off of Brace Road) offers the perfect location, with its sprawling, tree-lined spaces playing host to a plethora of vendors, tasty food options, children’s activities, live music, face-painting, crafts, workshops, special demonstrations, and, of course, our acclaimed craft fair.

And this year, there’s a twist: We’re joining forces with Sustainable Cherry Hill to make this special community fair into the Township’s first Earth Day celebration. As such, it will feature a “green” craft show, the South Jersey Green Restaurant group serving up tasty organic fare, solar and rain-barrel displays, interactive environmental activities for kids such as seed planting, and much more. But what anchors this festival is truly the arts, beginning with Saturday’s opening reception and award ceremony in the Croft Farm Arts Center from 6 – 8 p.m., and continuing throughout the week as the gallery remains open to the public from April 24 through May 2 showcasing local artists’ work, along with a host of cultural activities for all ages. For hours and a complete rundown of information on Art Blooms 2010, visit: http://CherryHillArts.Blogspot.com.

Weekend races: 5K at Croft April 24, Kane Memorial Run on the 25th
Several special benefit walk/run races will take place in Cherry Hill. Prior to the start of the Art Blooms Earth Day festival at Croft Farm this Saturday, April 24, will be the  “Run Your Own Life without Drugs and Alcohol” 5K Run/Walk, which supports the Cherry Hill Alliance on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in their continuing effort to combat substance abuse in the community. This rain-or-shine 5K is open to all ages and skill levels, and the course is a loop that includes on and off-road terrain throughout the Croft Farm site. Registration is the morning of April 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., and the event begins at 9:30 a.m. Registration costs $15 in advance/$20 the day of the event; and kids 18 and under can register for $12. For information or to register, contact the Recreation Office at (856) 488-7868, email: Events@CHTownship.com, or register online at www.active.com.

On Sunday, April 25, members of Veterans for Education, a student group at Rutgers-Camden, are sponsoring a 2-mile run honoring Jeremy Kane, a 22-year-old Marine Lance Corporal and Cherry Hill native who was killed in action in Afghanistan this past January. Proceeds from the run will help erect a memorial at Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus honoring Jeremy and other veterans killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 2-mile run will begin at Cherry Hill High School East, where Jeremy attended high school, and will end at Congregation M’kor Shalom, on Evesham Road, which was Jeremy’s place of worship. More than 350 runners had registered for the event as of Friday, but more are welcome. Free T-shirts and water will be available for all runners, and registration begins at 9 a.m., with the run set to begin promptly at 10 a.m. For more information, go to http://jeremykanebenefitrun.webs.com.

Make every day Earth Day! A few simple tips for living a greener life:
This past Thursday, April 22, marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. But recognizing our impact on the environment is not just limited to a weekend in April. Small, simple changes in your daily routines can make a big difference. Here are a few simple ways to make every day Earth Day:
• Turn off your computer at night to save at least 40 hour-watts of energy while you sleep; and, as chargers continuously drain energy from outlets, unplug them even when they’re not in use.
• Save up to 5 gallons of water a day by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth.
• Save energy and money by turning your heat down by 2 degrees and your air-conditioning up by 2 degrees.
• Print double-sided whenever possible. For Microsoft Word, click “print,” select “finishing” and choose “double sided” (you can also default this setting) to cut your paper usage in half.
• Replace incandescent lightbulbs with CFLs – one switched bulb reduces CO2 emissions by nearly 1,000 pounds over its lifetime (in addition to saving you money on energy).
• And, lastly, help Cherry Hill reach its goal of being a “Clean Air Community” – don’t idle! Engine idling for longer than 3 minutes is not only illegal in New Jersey, but it pumps pollution into the air we breathe and wastes gas.

For up-to-the-minute updates on any subject, call my office at 856.488.7878 or visit our municipal Web site: www.CherryHill-NJ.com.

Sincerely,

Bernie Platt
Mayor