By BILL BARLOW /Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – The business before Township Committee at its meeting on Monday was fairly routine, including discussions on trash cans near the state park in Strathmere, resolutions honoring accomplishments and yet another delay in approving the municipal budget.
Perhaps the most noteworthy part of the meeting was where it took place, back in Township Hall after more than a year of remote meetings.
There has not been a regular committee meeting inside the building since March 2020, Mayor Rich Palombo said at the start of the meeting on Monday, and committee members have not gathered face-to-face since the reorganization meeting in January, which was not open to the public.
Instead, the township has conducted its public business through video over a remote meeting platform. Palombo said he was glad to be back in person. He cited Gov. Phil Murphy’s announcement that as of Friday, May 28, masks will no longer be mandated indoors for those who have been vaccinated. Murphy’s announcement came as new COVID-19 cases continued to drop, as have death rates, and the percentage of New Jersey residents who are fully vaccinated climbs.
Members of the public at the meeting wore masks, and the seats in the hall were marked with stickers to encourage social distancing. There were also new Plexiglas partitions separating the committee members from the township professionals, but the five members of the committee did not wear masks.
Palombo said they have all been vaccinated against COVID-19. He asked that anyone who was not comfortable to let the committee know.
“It’s been a long time to get to this point,” he said. He pointed out that this was the first in-person meeting for Committee member Kim Hayes since her appointment, aside from the reorganization.
The adoption of the 2021 municipal budget was on the agenda, later than Upper Township usually adopts a budget. But township chief financial officer Barbara Ludy said the township auditor recommended it be again delayed, as it had been at the last meeting. The final vote was originally planned for April 26.
Committee introduced the $15.4 million budget March 22, including an increase to the tax rate.
As proposed, the budget increases the local purpose tax rate by 1.7 cents for every $100 of assessed value. It’s an increase of slightly less than 9 percent compared to last year. The introduced township tax rate of 21.87 cents per $100 in the proposed budget will mean the owner of a house assessed at $300,000 – close to the average – will pay $656.10 in municipal taxes, in addition to school and county taxes.
But those numbers could change, as Upper Township and other municipalities await word from the state on how funds from a multibillion-dollar federal relief package can be spent. The funds could reduce or even eliminate the expected tax hike.
During the meeting, Township Committee approved resolutions honoring the Strathmere Improvement Association for its 70th anniversary and Michael Dickinson for achieving the Boy Scout rank of Eagle Scout.
Members of the Strathmere organization accepted a copy of the resolution from Palombo. All wore masks. Someone photographing the event for the Strathmere advocacy group suggested taking one without the masks, but Palombo declined.
“One shot with the mask off? I’ll get in trouble somehow,” he said.
The approved resolution praised the contributions of the Strathmere organization and congratulated it for its longevity.
Other things are set to return to normal.
Local veterans organizations plan to again visit gravesites throughout the township on Monday, a longstanding township tradition for Memorial Day that was put off last year. A schedule of the route is set to be posted at the township website.
Palombo said a Memorial Day observance is also planned for the Osprey Point community at 10 a.m. Monday.
On May 29, the township Strawberry Festival will return, but it will not include music and vendors as has taken place in other years. The Historical Preservation Society of Upper Township presents the event each year at the Gandy Farmstead at 26 Tyler Road. Hayes reported that the event will start at 10 a.m. and continue until the strawberries are gone.
She also reported on plans for a July 4 celebration this year at Amanda’s Field, with the intention of returning the event to its former numbers. Last year, with COVID-19 numbers high and strict state limits on gatherings, the township delayed or modified most events, including the Independence Day celebrations.
At the same meeting, Committee member Curtis Corson proposed returning the trash cans to the entrance of the Corson’s Inlet State Park.
The state park, which includes sections in the south end of Ocean City and in the north end of Strathmere, is technically a “carry in, carry out” site, meaning the state does not offer waste receptacles or collect trash or recycling.
Other years, township crews have placed trash cans at the site. Corson suggested they should be returned this year, even as he said it was unfair of the state to leave it to the township. There have not been trash cans there for the last two weeks and it has been a problem, Corson said.
Palombo said he has seen photos of the trash.
“You know what, Curtis? The trash cans have been there for many seasons,” Palombo said. He said he did not want to remove them to begin with. “I didn’t want to get rid of the trash cans in the first place. You’re not going to get any argument from me.”
Committee member John Coggins suggested a different approach to getting the state to cover the costs.
“My thought is, we might as well send them a bill,” he said.
Committee member Ed Barr suggested pushing for a change in the off-season but wanted to keep the trash cans available in the summer. After a Corson pun about talking trash, the township voted to approve returning the cans, to be maintained by public works.
“Another battle for another day,” said Corson.