Township council held its meeting of the month on June 9, when several grants were formally accepted into the fiscal year 2025 municipal budget.
One of them is a $70,000 Age Friendly grant from the state that would give the township money to support programs benefitting seniors and creating a more age-friendly community. Another state grant of $196,556 in clean community funding will be used for programs that support the cleanup of litter, education on the environment and community beautification.
Other resolutions passed at the meeting included a resolution for the purchase of office supplies, bottled water and cooler rentals from WB Mason Company that is not to exceed $40,000, and a resolution for heating and hot-water pump replacement at the library.
Another resolution authorized an increase in the contract amount for 2024 road maintenance programs of $1,985,163, bringing the total contract value to $12,498,476. The increase was necessary to revise the quantities of line items and include additional streets not originally included in the contract details.
Mayor Dave Fleisher gave opening remarks upon moving from the caucus meeting to the public meeting in council chambers, specifically making mention of the township’s trail maintenance programs.
“We’re fortunate to have such a dedicated group of trail ambassadors who often perform routine trail maintenance or lead small work groups to accomplish the improvement of many projects,” he said.
He also mentioned the commemoration of Pride Month and the upcoming Juneteenth celebration’s parade and festival at Croft Farm, as well as the Independence Day celebration that will take place at Cherry Hill High School West.
“Our diversity is one of the things that makes Cherry Hill special,” noted Fleisher, who requested volunteers for Independence Day and Juneteenth.
Public comments included residents thanking the township and council for repaving on roads in their communities, concerns about antisemitism and issues with road work that blocked access to a polling place on Primary Election Day.
When it came time for council members to give their own remarks, each commented on something important happening in the township. Councilwoman Sangeeta Doshi echoed Fleisher’s gratitude for the work done on National Trails Day.
“I also wanted to say thank you to the environmental board and to all the volunteers that came out on Saturday for National Trails Day, for all their hard work,” Doshi said.
Councilwoman Jill Hulnick thanked school district teachers and administrators for their hard work over the past academic year, and urged drivers in the township to slow down and drive carefully in school zones.
