Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
T H E JAC K S O N
Vol. 16 - No. 44
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory........................19 Community News......................9-10 Dear Joel.......................................21 Dear Pharmacist ...........................15 Fun Page ......................................20 Government ...................................7 Inside The Law .............................22 Letters to the Editor .........................6 Wolfgang .....................................23 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
April 2, 2016
Your Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving All of Jackson Township
Great Adventure Approved To Clear-Cut Forest For Solar Panels
By Jennifer Peacock JACKSON – Great Adventure won what may be a short-lived victory. After hearing nearly a combined day and a half of testimony, the Jackson Township Planning Board approved Great Adventure’s application to clear 70 acres of forest near Reed Road to make way for solar arrays. The decision was criticized by both environmental groups and residents who presented testimony against the plan. But
Board President Robert Hudak defended the Board’s decision, telling The Jackson Times “the applicant has sworn under oath that they will conform to all State, Federal, and local laws and agencies. These agencies will make periodic inspections of the site to ensure compliancy.” “GA has always been a good neighbor and Jackson citizen. They have proved time and again that they are responsible stewards
of the environment. We believe they will continue to do so,” Hudak said. However, attorney Michele Donato, representing environmental groups against the plan, disagreed. “It is unfortunate that the Plan n i ng Board chose to ignore significant proof regarding satisfaction of the conditional use criteria, the stormwater ordinance, the environmental impact ordinance,
Jackson Outlaws Sales From “Puppy Mills”
–Photo courtesy of Bonnie Barrington Animal rights activists and local officials worked together on a new ordinance to ban puppy mill sales. Front row, from left to right: Janice Fisher, Donna Kenevich, Bonnie Barrington. Back row, from left to right: Scott Martin, Ann Updegrave, Rob Nixon, Ken Bressi, Barry Calogero. By Jennifer Peacock pies. Hopefully one day that demand will those changes to kennels and pet shops. JACKSON – Pet stores in the township diminish so much there won’t need to be a According to both Barrington and council will only be allowed to sell animals ob- supply of them,” Jackson resident Bonnie members, Jackson currently has no pet tained through an animal care facility or Barrington told The Jackson Times. “I am stores within its borders. Should someone rescue organization. part of a movement to save lives of dogs in want to set up shop in town, these changes “It’s one more step in the right direction, puppy mills.” will impact how they can do business. to educate the public on adopting and not The township Council passed an ordiThe ordinance does not restrict breeders purchasing a puppy. This will help cut nance at its regular March 22 meeting to from breeding and raising animals in town, down on the demand for puppy mill pup- amend Chapter 98, “Animals,” to make (Mills - See Page 4)
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the tree removal ordinance and the decommissioning ordinance,” Donato told The Jackson Times. “The Board did not require KDC and Great Adventure to consider alternatives, a requirement at the heart of the environmental impact ordinance. The Board also allowed the attorneys for KDC and Great Adventure to violate fundamental rules of fairness by testifying to facts in their summation that were not previously (Great Adventure - See Page 4)
Township Introduces $41.8M Budget By Jennifer Peacock JACKSON – Residents will see a slight increase in their municipal property taxes in 2016. Business Administrator Helene Schlegel walked Council and audience members through the preparation, goals, and numbers of the upcoming municipal budget, all $41.8 million of it. Based on the average home assessment of $325,748, residents will see a tax increase of $27.69 this year. Schlegel broke it down even further, with the monthly increase about the cost of a 24 oz. Wawa coffee and the per-week increase amounting to two large gumballs from the gumball machine. More than half of residents’ total property tax bill goes toward schools, something Schlegel said the municipal government has no control over. The average homeowner in Jackson will see an increase of $71 in the schools portion of their bill. Municipal taxes account for 21 percent of the total tax bill, and the remainder is split among county, state, and open space taxes. She credited the township’s commitment to finding savings and streamlining services with keeping the increase’s impact on residents to a minimum without compromising or diminishing service. Almost 90 percent of the property tax
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(Budget - See Page 5)
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