Wednesday, May 22, 2013
League of Women Voters hosted a forum for Republicans seeking Chatham Twp. Committee seats.
The three Republican candidates for the Chatham Township Committee gathered at the Library of the Chathams Wednesday for a candidate's forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters. Incumbent Committee Member Robert Gallop and challengers Daniel Miller and Curt Ritter answered questions about public safety, the market garden ordinance, underage drinking, taxes and spending in the township during the 80-minute forum. Each candidate had a two-minute introduction, followed by one minute to answer questions and an optional one-minute extension. At the end of the forum the candidates had two minutes for their concluding remarks. Gallop has served as the deputy mayor since 2011 and has sat on the committee since 2007. He is now running for his …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Curt Ritter among three seeking GOP nods to run for two seats in the fall.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Chatham Township Committee sets rates.
The Chatham Township Committee set 2013 fees for membership to the Colony Pool and Tennis Club at its Thursday meeting. The membership rates are:
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Township Committeeman Bailey Brower says law against serving underaged individuals in private homes 'goes too far.'
It’s the time of year when warnings about teen drinking and endorsements of anti-teen drinking campaigns are as numerous and inevitable as dandelions. The Chatham Township Committee was ready to issue a proclamation on Thursday night designating May as “Don’t Be a Party To Teenage Drinking Month” when one committee member suggested a cork should be put in it. Committeeman Bailey Brower, Jr. said though he was in favor of discouraging teenage drinking, he was opposed to wording in the proclamation that outlined the possible criminal penalties if a parent is found guilty of providing alcohol to a minor. He said that such penalties are an example of the government “overstepping” its bounds. “We have a wine toast in our house at Christmas,” …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Township Committee approved traffic changes near Colony Pool despite a tentative agreement to pave parking lot.
In what was described as potentially a short-term solution to parking shortages near Colony Pool, the Chatham Township Committee unanimously approved an ordinance making School Avenue one-way from Spring Street to Floral Street and permitting limited parking on Spring Street during the summers. The new law allows on-street parking on the west side of Spring Street from Lafayette Avenue to Dale Drive from the Saturday before Memorial Day, when Colony Pool opens, until Labor Day, when the pool closes. The ordinance will also allow parking along the north side of School Avenue from the intersection with School Avenue to 500 ft. east of that point, and will make School Avenue one-way going north, from Spring Street to Floral Street. Signs will…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Chatham Township Committee ordinance in response to loss of lot along School Avenue.
The Chatham Township Committee could make significant changes to how people park for Colony Pool and, by extension, Chatham High School when they meet Thursday. PSE&G informed the township residents they can no longer use the parking lot along School Avenue, commonly used for Colony Pool members and for overflow parking at Chatham High. The lot falls within PSE&G's right-of-way for their utility poles, and the licensing agreement which let the township utilize the lot was revoked after the North Central Reliability Project was completed. The committee unanimously approved the introduction of a new law that would allow on-street parking on the west side of Spring Street from Lafayette Avenue to Dale Drive from the Saturday before Memorial …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The motion to introduce the law failed by a 3-2 vote.
The Chatham Township Committee failed to introduce an ordinance last week that would require homeowners to shovel or otherwise remove snow from their sidewalks. Committee Members Bailey Brower, Jr. and Kevin Sullivan and Mayor Nicole Hagner voted against introducing the ordinance. The vote followed a 40-minute discussion of how the ordinance could and should look. Committee Member Kathy Abbott, who eventually made the motion that the ordinance be introduced, said two-thirds of towns in the state's League of Municipalities have snow removal laws, and she wanted Chatham Township to join their ranks. Abbott said she discussed snow removal with friends in both the borough and township. Though she originally wanted the ordinance to apply to the…
Monday, April 1, 2013
Three candidates file for two township committee seats.
Chatham Township Mayor Nicole Hagner declined to file a petition to run for a fourth term on the Chatham Township Committee. Hagner has been on the committee since 2004 and has served as township mayor since 2010. She gave birth to her first child in January. No statement was immediately available from Hagner Monday afternoon. Three others, all Republicans, did file for two available seats on the committee, including incumbent Robert Gallop who has served as the deputy mayor since 2011 and has sat on the committee since 2007. The other two candidates are Curt Ritter and Daniel Miller. Ritter is a native New Jerseyan and president and founder of the Chatham Turkey Trot. He formerly sat on the township's Zoning Board of Adjustment and has …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The 2013 budget has a tax levy decrease of 3/10 of a cent per $100 of assessed value.
Four members of the Chatham Township Committee unanimously approved the 2013 municipal budget, which calls for a reduced local tax levy that will cut the average taxpayer's bill by $25.50. Mayor Nicole Hagner, Deputy Mayor Robert Gallop and Committee Members Kevin Sullivan and Bailey Brower, Jr. approved the budget. Committee Member Kathy Abbott was not present. Administrator Tom Ciccarone said the only change to the budget since his last presentation on Feb. 28 was a detailed allocation of $175,000 in emergency appropriations. He said he forgot to include the detail of where the funds would go when he submitted the budget to the state, and that all committee members now had the updated form. The budget passed without discussion or public …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The committee meets for a public hearing and final adoption of the 2013 budget Thursday.
The Chatham Township Committee is expected to approve a 2013 municipal budget with a lower tax levy from last year when they meet Thursday. The budget calls for a reduced local tax levy from 2012 levels of 3/10 of a cent. For the average home assessed at $750,000, this would mean a tax decrease of $25.50. The 2012 tax rate was at 28.8 cents per $100 of assessed value, for a total average municipal tax of $2,152. If the committee votes to approve the budget as proposed, that amount will fall to 28.5 cents per $100. The amount to be raised by taxes in 2013 will be $8,574,639. The committee already approved the budget on first reading at their Feb. 28 meeting. In 2011 and 2012, the township kept local taxes flat, thanks in a large part to …
Dan
7:34 am on Friday, May 24, 2013
I just wanted to thank The League of Women Voters for sponsoring this event. It is important to the process. The important part of the process now is that all of us go out and vote. Voting is the most important of our rights as citizens, and in most cases the only way for everyone to participate. Please vote June 4th, and of course, please vote for Dan Miller. more ›