Dear Neighbors,

I hope you had a great New Year.  I decided to not send a December newsletter because there really was not much going on.  In this issue, you will find:  one item left over from last year, some information on some organizational changes in the township government and some insight into the challenges facing the Board of Education again this year.

Flying W and Golden Pheasant Lawsuit Settlement:   At the December 1, 2003 Township Committee meeting, the outgoing majority forced a vote to approve the settlement of the first of the three Transfer and Development Rights (TDR) lawsuits.  The Committee approved the settlement by a 3-2 vote along party lines.  The three Democrats voted in favor of the settlement and the two Republicans vote against it.  The details of the settlement are detailed in the November 16th E-News (http://www.lumbertonenews.com/backissues/111603.htm).  Many residents who live around the Flying W and Golden Pheasant attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the settlement.  The residents opposed the construction of a sewage line to the Flying W and Golden Pheasant because they believe there is a potential that some of them may be required to hook up to public sewage at their own expense.  

Township Re-Organization:  On January 5th, John Pagenkopf and Mike Mansdoerfer were sworn in as new members of the township committee.  In doing so, the Republicans took control of the township committee from the Democrats.  The committee then elected DeWitt Pennypacker and Paul Mitchell as mayor and deputy mayor respectively.  

Township Re-Organization (Part 2):   The Township Committee has proposed two new ordinances that abolish the Planning Board, Zoning Board, Environmental Commission and Open Space Advisory Committee and replaces them with a Land Use Board and an Open Space and Environmental Council.  The reasons cited for these changes is to make the government more efficient and less expensive.  Last year, the owner of Suddenly Farm was bounced between the Zoning Board and Planning Board which resulted in a four month delay in starting his expansion project.  Also, the township is required to pay professional staff for both a Planning Board and Zoning Board.  The changes will help hold the line on the township's professional services costs.   Opponents of the changes charge that this is just an attempt by the new administration to replace the board with their appointees.  There will be a second reading and probably votes on these ordinances during the January 20th Township Committee meeting. 

TDR Credit Reallocation:  In keeping with a campaign promise, the Township Committee has proposed a new ordinance reverting the Transfer and Development Rights (TDR) credit allocation formula back to the original formula of 1 credit per 2, 4 and 50 acres for slight, moderate and severe soil quality.  The previous administration changed the formula to 5, 10 and 50 acres respectively.  The new changes leave in place the five acre minimum lot size, but change back the underlying formula for the allocation of credits to landowners.  The supporters of the changes stated that the changes are needed to address several illegalities in the changes that were made to the program in 2002 and resulted in three lawsuits against the township.  Two of those lawsuits are still pending.  For a complete explanation of the TDR program, you can read the September 17, 2003 E-News (http://www.LumbertonEnews.com/backissues/091703TDR.htm).   There will be a second reading and probably a vote on this ordinance during the January 20th Township Committee meeting. 

More School Construction and Higher Taxes?:  The Board of Education has retained the services of a consulting company to assess options to increase classroom capacity in the short-term.  The consulting company will also do a demographic study to assess any future school construction requirements.  The consulting company is scheduled to present their short-term assessment at the February 12th Board of Education meeting.  Since construction started on the Ashbrook Elementary School, over 200 new homes have either been completed or been listed for sale as new construction.  On average, each house provides 2.1 students.  

In the next few weeks, the Board of Education will start work on the 2004-2005 budget.  The Board is still waiting to hear how much funding will be provided by the State Department of Education.  For the last two years, the state has frozen funding at the previous year's funding level.  If the state does this again, it will create significant pressure on the school budget and potentially our property taxes.   This year, Lumberton's public school student population has increased by approximately 125 students.  

As always, I hope you found this interesting and please continue to share it with your friends and neighbors.  Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,