Shamong Township rings in the new year
As we turn the page on the year that was and prepare ourselves for a fresh calendar, we peak ahead at what there is to look forward to in the township of Shamong.
Shamong Township projects
In 2015, the Shamong Township Committee dedicated itself to several project opportunities in an attempt to bring in some extra income to go toward housekeeping tasks.
“Our whole motive was to grab new revenue other than taxing residents,” Mayor Kenneth Long said. “Shamong Township doesn’t have much of a local purpose tax. We do whatever we can to keep taxes as low as possible by bringing revenue in elsewhere. That’s our whole job as the committee, to pursue projects that will bring in money to get maintenance things done like getting the roads fixed without raising taxes.”
The committee plans to come to terms with the new cell tower lease over the next couple of months. The plan is to have a cell phone company build a wireless antenna tower within town that could bring in as much as $40,000 a year over a 25-year span.
The company is going through the process of getting Pinelands approvals and then bringing its plan before the Joint Land Use Board.
The township has also passed four new redevelopment zones that will provide huge tax benefits, according to Long. The zones are located on Oak Shade Road, Route 206 and Industrial Park. These zones will allow commercial entities to take advantage of tax benefits granted when existing facilities are updated or rehabilitated, as well as those entities that are interested in building new facilities on vacant land.
The committee has also been doing extensive research on purchasing a cemetery. It is looking to get land approved before they begin detailing the process. According to Long, the gross revenue for the potential cemetery is upward of $14 million, which comes out to about $4–5 million in net revenue for the town.
“We’ve done a lot this year (2015). It’s been a huge year for Shamong, and we look to carry that into next year,” Long said.
A large topic of discussion for the Pinelands area in 2015 was the Motorized Access Plan that the New Jersey Park Services attempted to implement to restrict vehicle use in Wharton State Forest.
Long said park services will be reverting back to square one with this policy as they move into 2016.
“It is really back to the drawing board for them after their initial presentation of the idea was shot down,” Long said. “It comes down to the fact that towns aren’t necessarily saying no to restricted access, but if you’re going to restrict big vehicles, you’re obviously going to need to get some enforcement and there is no budget for that.”
Long also highlighted a potential change to a major event for 2016. The committee has been in talks with the Burlington County freeholders in an effort to team with them and move the annual Valenzano fireworks show to the fairgrounds. The possible change to the popular region-wide July 4th celebration will take a lot of traffic out of the town and will truly make it a countywide function, as Long pointed out.
Shamong Township School District
In 2015, the Shamong School District Board of Education spearheaded a multitude of construction projects to enhance the district’s facilities.
The second-grade classroom windows were replaced, the fourth-grade classrooms received new blinds, the doors were replaced at the middle school, the athletic facilities were addressed and the technology was upgraded with the implementation of several Smartboards and Chromebook carts.
Along with multiple other projects, the air conditioning has finally been installed. However, board secretary Marie Goodwin joked it will not be running when the kids return from their holiday vacation, so no need to pack them another jacket!
Goodwin also emphasized the highlight of the projects that will be completed for the New Year will be the security project.
The district received a grant that provides 40 percent state funding for security enhancements that include new cameras and a swipe card system to enter the building.
“We’re very excited about our new security,” Goodwin said.
The district also recently received its first ever PARCC results back from the state.
According to Superintendent Christine Vespe, the results have been mailed home, and the curriculum coordinator will now be taking time to review the data to help provide instructions regarding what the district can do to help next year’s students even more.
“We’re happy with how things went, so we will continue to do what we are doing, but we are always looking to improve,” Vespe said.
Vespe has also recently nominated middle school Principal Tim Carroll for the innovative leader award at the state level.
The Burlington County Principals and Supervisors Association honored Carroll for his dedication and commitment as an exemplary professional leader in 2015.
Vespe felt so strongly about this award she will be taking it to the next level to try to get him recognized statewide. The district plans to hear back about the results in the next month or so.
As far as programs go, the new inclusive preschool will pick up again in the new year after beginning in September.
“It has been a very good program,” Vespe said. “It’s starting to expand as word gets out.”
The program has already grown significantly as the district has received numerous new parents interested in enrolling in 2016. The Shamong School District has never had an integrated preschool program. New enrollment will start in January.
Along with the basketball season being in full swing when the students return, Vespe is also looking forward to the cheerleading season and the band, string and chorus winter concerts that all are invited to come out to see.
Lenape Regional High School District
Although it may be a new year, Seneca High School will still be focusing on the same values in 2016.
High school students always have their typical ceremonial events such as prom and graduation to look forward to in the second half of the school year, but Seneca students also have their big drug/alcohol free events.
The student council is already busy putting together its annual Prom House 110 Carranza event, which will take place after prom at the high school. All students in good standing are invited to bring their dates to take part in a laundry list of activities that will run until 5 a.m.
It is all made possible through the teachers who donate their time and the local business who donate money and prizes.
“Medford Ford has been huge for us,” Principal Jeffrey Spector said. “They’ve donated a car the last two years.”
According to Spector, 80 percent of kids who go to prom attend the event afterward, and it creates a much more safe environment than the other options students are often faced with such as renting a house down the Shore.
Seneca additionally puts together a sendoff camp event at Camp Inawendiwin from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. This event also give students the option of a variety of activities, though playing laser tag in the Pinelands seems to be the highlight of the night, as Spector pointed out.
This event is put together by the Seneca Parents Group, which serves as a PTA for the high school.
Spector also touched on a number of other events that will be taking place in 2016 that he wanted to extend an invitation to the public and get the community involved with.
Along with a bevy of sports teams getting their season’s started, he also mentioned the jazz band competition, the spring concert/musical and the annual robotic competition.
“The robotics competition usually turns out to be a big one each year,” Spector said. “It’s spread out over an entire weekend, and we typically see about 35–40 teams get involved.”
As far as matters going on inside the school, Spector didn’t mention any major construction projects the students will have to work around. The school will be enhancing its security with some grant-funded upgrades, but they will not be seen by the public.
After receiving the results back from PARCC testing and observing half a school year of the district wide Lunch N Learn schedule, the district plans to continue to evaluate progress and make changes where needed.
“Lunch N Learn has been an overwhelming success thus far,” Spector said. “We plan to continue to revise procedures and monitor updates with that and our PARCC testing as we look toward preparing our students for next year’s test.”
Spector also wanted to recognize two staff members moving forward into 2016 — Maj. Sean Hoggs for his legacy award from the NAACP he was given for his volunteer commitment to help young people in the Burlington County community, and the school’s substance abuse awareness coordinator Erin Lawler for her Volunteer of the Year award she was selected to receive from the New Jersey governor’s council on alcoholism and drug abuse.
“They are both great examples of civic responsibility and leadership in our school,” Spector said.
