Evesham Town Council Meeting 5/7/219 Summary - Benefits for Veterans, Livestreaming

The May 7th Town Council meeting began with the swearing in of the two newest members of the Evesham Township Police Force.  Patrolman Zachary Amiss is from West Deptford and graduated from the Cape May Police Academy in November 2018.  He previously worked for the North Wildwood and Mantua Police Departments.  Patrolman Carley Szwajkowski is a Cherokee High School graduate where she was a member of the Police Explorers.  She graduated from the Camden County Police Academy in December 2018.

Patrolman Zachary Amiss being sworn in by Mayor Veasy


Patrolman Carley Szwajkowski being sworn in by Mayor Veasy

A recognition of service proclamation was read for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Burlington County.  They volunteered more than 15,000 hours last year, with 184 volunteers giving their time with Bookmates and tutoring programs, giving money management advice and other volunteer programs through RCBC.  You can find additional information on their website here.

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Burlington County


In recognition of National Military Appreciation Month, any veterans attending the meeting were asked to come up front to receive proclamations.  I apologize I was not able to get the name of one of our honored veterans, as the tape wasn't clear.  If anyone can help, I'd like to fix that!

Mayor Jaclyn Veasy, Christopher St John (Army), Bob DiEnna (Marines), ? Friedman (Army), Jack Veasy (Navy), Ken Mills (Army), Evan Scott (Air Force), Tom Shanahan (Army), Councilwoman Pat Hansen, Deputy Mayor Heather Cooper, Councilman Ken D'Andrea

The next proclamation was for Relay For Life.  Relay for Life is a yearly 12 hour event to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  This is the 11th year of the event in Marlton and $1 million has been raised to date.  The goal this year is $200,000.  All are welcome to attend the event which will be held on Saturday June 1st from 12pm to 12am at Cherokee High School.

This week is also the 50th anniversary of Municipal Clerks Week, and our Municipal Clerk Mary Lou Bergh and Deputy Municipal Clerk Rebecca Andrews were honored with a proclamation and flowers for all their hard work on behalf of the township and all its citizens.

Will McDonald from the Department of Veteran Affairs of New Jersey was invited to attend the meeting to give a presentation to veterans to advise them that they are all entitled to benefits from the government, regardless of income level.  "All veterans are entitled to health care benefits from the VA", including hearing aids, eyeglasses, medication and more.  There is a new VA clinic on Lincoln Drive in Marlton.  He would advise any veteran to contact a VA office.  He works out of the state office in Mount Holly, and there is a county office in Westhampton.

Following this presentation, the agenda items were voted on.  The complete agenda can be found here.  All items passed by a 5-0 vote.

After the ordinances and resolutions were voted on, Mayor Veasy appointed 12 residents to the newly created Disability and Veterans Advisory Board.

During staff comments at the end, Township Manager Barth made note that Heritage Park had reopened.  Mayor Veasy raised a question about whether the park was fully ADA compliant, as there was no ramp from the street directly in front of the park.  I had raised a similar question when I wrote about the park being opened earlier in the week.  (You can find my post here, along with a lot of pictures from the new park.)

Earlier in the week, after reading my post, Director of Golf, Recreation and Open Space Bob Hennefer reached out to me via email to let me know the park was indeed fully compliant with the ADA.  The sidewalk that meets the entrance to the park has ramps on both ends.  They considered having a ramp at the entrance but decided for safety issues it was not prudent.  During the meeting, Director of Community Affairs Nancy Jamanow also stated if they had a ramp directly in front of the park, they would need to have one on the opposite side of the street as well, along with a mid-block crosswalk which was deemed unsafe.

A few other items:

  • Rumble strips have been added to Barton Run Boulevard to slow traffic.  When the road is repaved later this year, flashing speed limit signs (like those on Greentree Road) will be added.
  • This was the first Town Council meeting that was livestreamed.  The video came out great, though when presentations were given on the floor, some times the audio wasn't the best.  This was a valiant first attempt and I would assume it will get better in the future.  You can view the livestreams (including this past meeting) on the Township website
  • The Marlton Farmers Market will take place the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, beginning on June 12th.  The market will take place at the Marlton Greene Shopping Center from 4 to 8pm.
  • Continuing the theme honoring of current and former military members, Bob Hennefer announced that the golf course will be hosting a Veterans Golf Program in conjunction with the Philadelphia PGA called HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere).  It is free to all veterans and will be held on Wednesdays May 15th and 22nd, June 5th and 12th from 5pm to 7pm.  More info can be found here.
  • Important Dates
  • Next meeting Monday June 3rd.


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