Welcome to You Ask ... Patch Answers, the column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked, What's going on with recycling? No pickup on Feb. 2, I assume because of the weather. No pickup on Feb. 9. If you drive down Tallmadge Avenue this morning, you will see our street looks a bit trashy! Did the Borough change recycling contracts? It used to be dependable. Chatham Borough did change recycling vendors effective Jan. 1, when Waste Management took over the picking up of the recycleables. Waste Management offers single stream recycling, which …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked, What is going on with the green garbage bags? I heard they are 'honoring' the green bags through the end of February. Does that mean we can use any bags in January and February? Or do we need the green ones?  Another reader asked, When will the borough be picking up the recycling? We didn't get our Borough Calendars this year and we don't know when to put the recycling out. Another reader asked, When will the borough pick up the Christmas trees? Since all…

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: Why is the borough considering limiting the three hour parking rule near the middle school? On-street parking near Chatham Middle School effects the residents of the neighborhood, especially of Dunbar Street, Martin Place and Vincent Street. Residents have spoken up at meetings of the Borough Council, the Traffic Safety Commission meetings and the Planning Board saying that the current traffic situation creates a danger to middle school students …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: What's going on with the Municipal Pool? They haven't formed an advisory board yet, and no work has started yet, and I can't even tell what they want an advisory board for. What kind of improvements are we talking about here? Improvements to the Chatham Borough Municipal Pool, according to Borough Engineer Vincent J. DeNave, are more improvements to the grounds and pipes as opposed to improvements of the actual pool. The size of the pool itself …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. Continuing the discussion about crosswalks on Lafayette Avenue, one reader asked: "Lafayette Avenue has no crosswalks in eight intersections and a sidewalk only on one side, which requires pedestrians to cross at all the intersections for safe walking. This is particularly critical for children crossing to walk to Southern Boulevard School. The three that concern me most are at Cresswood, Longwood and Jay Roads in the township. However, Fairview also lacks a …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: "I have been trying for weeks to sign up for alerts from the Chatham Borough website, but I never receive anything. Do you know what's going on?" Nicholas Eck, from the Communication Technology Committee, told the Borough Council last week that the online subscriptions option through the borough websites "leaves a little to be desired." The subscription option had reached the maximum number of subscribers and would not allow any more people to sign…

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: The kids are walking to school on Lafayette Avenue now without the benefit of striped crosswalks. They spent all this money to repave the road and put in the sidewalk, and those crosswalks are only marked with straight lines. Where are the diagonal stripes that are more visible to drivers? Chatham Patch asked Joe Barilla, the head of the Chatham Township Department of Public Works, about the lack of diagonal striping. He said that the money to repave…

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked, We noticed last week that, after a long absence, the bells at St. Patrick Church started ringing again. They have been a regular fixture of daily life in the neighborhood, chiming on the half-hour and hour from eight in the morning until eight at night. It's been difficult to recall when they stopped, but it seems to be about nearly a year ago. Were they broken, and has it really taken that long to repair them? Or is it possible that since they might…

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader sent in this question on Oct. 17: Why does the Chatham Township Police Department have to practice at their gun firing range at the Township Police building on Sunday morning beginning at 7:30 a.m.? The sounds of gunfire are easily heard at the churches on Southern Boulevard—the Presbyterian Church and Corpus Christi Church, and may also be heard at the Long Hill Chapel on Shunpike.  As we told you last week, the Chatham Township Police Department closes …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: Why does the Chatham Township Police Department have to practice at their gun firing range at the Township Police building on Sunday morning beginning at 7:30 a.m.? The sounds of gunfire are easily heard at the churches on Southern Boulevard—the Presbyterian Church and Corpus Christi Church, and may also be heard at the Long Hill Chapel on Shunpike.  Lt. Steven Hennelly, of the Chatham Township Police Department, said the firing range at the police …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: Is it just me, or have there been quite a few drunk driving incidents in Chatham in the last one to two months? This question came to us in late September, and to answer the question with brevity, it's not just you. Chatham Borough had three driving while intoxicated arrests in September, four in August and a total of 11 for 2010 as of Oct. 1, according to Officer Roy George, the borough's traffic officer. This trend means the borough police …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: Check out the new look for Borough Hall's front lawn. All the signs around town are awful. Camps, elections, fairs, markets, et cetera. Does this say charming bedroom community or tacky clutter city? Several borough residents noticed the 12 signs that appeared on the lawn of the Borough Municipal Building on Saturday morning. The Borough Council approved one due to size, but no ordinance prohibits size-appropriate signs from going up in front of the …

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: Why don't they pave the parking lot at Cougar Field? It's a huge gravel pit with tons of potholes. There are no lines, and each time there is a game or an event, the parking is different. The cost of replacing the gravel, spreading it, hiring police officers and more has to add up. Wouldn't it be easier to pave it, line it correctly and then everyone, even away team members, could figure out how to park and how to enter and exit correctly? Of course…

Welcome to "You Ask … Patch Answers," the weekly column  for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. One reader asked: How does the borough assess when a street needs to be re-paved in the borough? Are there any rules or borough guidance on having curbs on streets in the borough? Many streets are lined with Belgian block curbs.  I ask because my block, Edgehill Avenue, and the intersecting cross streets (Charles Place and Lafayette Place) are in pretty poor shape, and in my opinion could stand to be repaved. My block has Belgian block curbs for part of the block, …

Before we begin, let me say thank you for the great responses to this column. We received some good questions, a few of which will take some time to dig up the answers. We're going to first discuss the background, history and progress of the construction at Shunpike Field. Shunpike Field has been a hot topic in the Chathams. It's been mentioned at every Borough Council meeting and every Township Committee meeting since I started in August. Everyone wants to know what's going on, what's taking so long, and more importantly, will the field be finished on schedule? The short answer, courtesy of …

"You Ask … Patch Answers" is a weekly column that will launch next Monday for Chathamites looking for solutions to community problems or issues. Everything from pavement to treetops to eye-sores to local mysteries: Why was the big tree cut down on Main Street? Why does Chatham High School refer to its athletic teams as men's and women's and not boys and girls? Why are there no street lights on Fairmount Avenue in the township? Why? WHY?! WHY?!?! If you've got a question about something in Chatham, send it to Editor Laura Silvius at laura.silvius@patch.com and our team of intrepid reporters …