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Dear Neighbors,
As 2006 draws to a close, there are several
interesting news items around town including updates on
the Reassessment, Super Wal-Mart, the new
recreation facilities, the Farm Fair, changes
to the Township's Sex Offenders Ordinance, and
the Safe Routes to School Program.
Reassessment
Update: The Township has completed
all the inspections and revaluations for all
the properties in town. In early
December, the tax assessor will be sending a
letter to all property owners informing them
of their new assessed property value.
The tax assessor will be available via
appointments to answer questions from property
owners starting in December. To schedule
an appointment, residents can call the tax
assessor at 267-3217. The
Township Committee plans to hold public
information sessions starting in January 2007
to help residents better understand the
process. Residents will have
opportunities to appeal their assessment
between December and April. The new
assessments will take effect in the August
2007 tax bill.
Super
Wal-Mart Update: The Super Wal-Mart
expansion is on hold pending lawsuits filed
against both Wal-Mart and Lumberton Township
by a local resident and Karl Eickhoff.
Mr. Eickhoff represented himself to the
Lumberton Land Development Board as the
owner of the Shop Rite in Hainesport.
The lawsuits are in the preliminary stages so
it is hard to tell where or whether these
lawsuits will go anywhere.
Recreation
Fields Shaping Up: The Township is
almost finished receiving fill dirt from the
Medford Lakes Colony and the rough grading the
land for
the construction of a sledding hill, two more
multipurpose fields, a BMX (dirt bicycle)
track and a new
playground. A final grading and permanent
seeding is expected to be done in 2007 so the
hill and fields can be opened in 2008. A
new playground will also be constructed in the
next few months. The Township is paying
for this phase of the project with
money from the Medford Lakes Colony and fees
paid by developers into the Township's
Recreation Fund.
The Farm
Fair is Staying: The Burlington County Farm Fair will
remain in Lumberton at the Village Green for
three more years through 2009. The
dates of the 2007 are July 18th-21st.
Sexual
Offenders Residential Restrictions:
On November 20th, the Township Committee
introduced an ordinance increasing the
penalties for violators of the Township's
Residential Exclusion Ordinance for Sexual
Offenders. In 2005, Lumberton was one of
the first municipalities in the state to enact
restrictions on where convicted sexual
offenders could live. Lumberton
prohibits registered sex offenders from living
within 2,000 feet of any school or day care
facility. In December, the Township
Committee is expected to increase the penalty
for violators to a fine for each day a person
is in violation rather than one fine per
citation.
Safe
Routes to School: A NJ Department of
Transportation study group has completed its recommendations for creating
safe walking and biking routes to the Ashbrook
School. The Township and the Lumberton
School district are preparing a grant
application for improvements to the public
infrastructure and to help promote walking and
biking to school. As part of the
application, the Township is hoping obtain
100% grants for sidewalks along parts of
Municipal Drive, Main Street, and Eayrestown
Road. The Safe Routes to School Grants
are funded 100% by the federal government.
New Liquor
License: The Township Committee has
temporarily placed the auction of a new liquor
license on hold to investigate options for
using the new liquor license to help spur some
needed redevelopment along Route 38.
With an auction, the Township has to award the
license to the highest qualified bidder.
With a Redevelopment Agreement, the Township
can sell the license to the redeveloper with a
lot more conditions.
Community
Calendar: Here are some upcoming
events in town. Move events can be found
on the Lumberton E-News Community
Calendar.
You
can also add your own events to the Community
Calendar - no middleman!
- Senior
Holiday Party: The annual
Lumberton Seniors' Holiday Party will be
held at the Bobby's Runs School on Sunday,
December 3rd from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
There will be entertainment, door prizes,
food and fun for all. Call 267-3217
to RSVP.
- Annual
Tree Lighting Ceremony: The
annual Lumberton Tree Lighting Ceremony
will be held on Sunday, December 3rd 6:00
PM - 7:00 PM at the Municipal
Building. There will be
entertainment, singing and light
refreshments. In past years, Santa
came riding in on a Fire Truck. The
event is free and open to everyone in the
community.
As always, I
hope you enjoyed this issue, and I appreciate
your support. I hope you have a very
enjoyable and safe Holiday Season, and see you
in 2007.
Pat Delany
Founder &
Editor
122 Kingsbridge
Drive
Lumberton, NJ
08048
(609) 560-8045
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