Township Committee Member Likely to Resign

Committee Member Kevin Tubbs announced Thursday he will likely resign his office before his term expires on Dec. 31.

Tubbs said was not sure "how many more meetings, if any, I will be able to attend in person." He said he intended to attend via speakerphone as long as he could, and he has "not quite yet decided exactly what the date of a resignation or a stepping-down from township committee would be at this time."

Tubbs announced at the March 22 committee meeting that he would not run for re-election. He has accepted a new job in Wisconsin. "Hopefully," he said, it will be "a good career move for the Tubbs family."

The former mayor said he hoped to see several pending matters before the committee through to their conclusion. In a veiled allusion to the pending , which is up for final adoption at the April 26 committee meeting, Tubbs said he and Deputy Mayor Robert Gallop "would perhaps vote no on" the ordinance and "go down in flames together."

Gallop voted against the market garden ordinance at . Tubbs was absent. The ordinance passed 3-1.

Tubbs' wife Michele and two teenage children will remain in the township until after the school year ends, "but I will be spending more and more time outside of Chatham Township starting in the not-too-distant future, ... which is going to make it increasingly hard for me to continue [in] active community service."

The decision, Tubbs said, has been a difficult one because of how much he has enjoyed his time on the committee. He said he does not intend to seek public office in his new home. "Part of this deal is Dad spends more quality time with the kids at home," he said.

Each of the members of the township committee, as well as Administrator Thomas E. Ciccarone and Attorney Carl Woodward, took it in turn to thank and commend Tubbs on his nearly eight years on the committee.

Gallop called Tubbs a man of "class and character" who "redefined the position of mayor in Chatham Township."

Tubbs thanked past and present committee members, local volunteers and municipal professionals he has worked with over the years.

Replacement Appointee to Joint Recreation Advisory Committee

Larry Ioffredo, a member of the Joint Recreation Advisory Committee representing Chatham Township, has resigned from his volunteer position, Hagner said Thursday.

Ioffredo's term was set to expire in December. He was an alternate member of the committee from 2005 to 2010, when he became a full member.

In executive session, the committee discussed his replacement. When they came out of private session, they announced his seat on the advisory committee will be taken by Alexis Davies.

Davies is currently the head coach of girls softball at .