Borough Council approved a motion to rescind resolution R10-103 last night citing a lack of “good faith” by Cherry Hill Township in moving forward with the Borough of Merchantville to study municipal consolidation. The resolution, passed on September 27, 2010, authorized the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commision with the township of Cherry Hill and the appointment of five commission members. February 28, 2011 was established by DCA Chairman Thomas Neff as the deadline for
submission of a joint study commission application by the two towns. To date, the Township of Cherry Hill has not acted to appoint commission members. On February 2, a letter was sent by Mayor North to Mayor Platt requesting the names of Cherry Hill’s commissioners in order to schedule a meeting for the joint members prior to the established deadline. Spokesman Dan Keashen’s non-responsive email noted only that Mayor Platt is “monitoring events occurring at the state house that would affect this process as we move forward.”
Mayor North and Council made it clear to the public that they had responded to a residential petition group five months ago when they passed R10-103 and, had satisfied all the DCA requirements for the formation of a Municipal Consolidation Study Commision with Cherry Hill. Council stated that they would reserve the right to revisit this issue if and when Cherry Hill Township demonstrates serious interest or movement towards studying municipal consolidation.
