Five Things You Need to Know...Next Monday's Council Meeting

The Township Council will convene for the first time in two weeks Monday night, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Here are five things we think the public should know about the meeting:

1. Mayor David Mayer, Council members and police brass will welcome home Gloucester Township Police Ptl. Lisa Hatcher in a ceremony recognizing her service to the United States.

Hatcher spent a year in Afghanistan with the 119th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of the New Jersey National Guard. She holds the rank of staff sergeant in the National Guard battalion.

2. Two new police officers will be sworn in by Mayer. They are Ptl. Alexander Maldonado and Ptl. Jeremie McCall. Both come to the township via the New Jersey Statewide Eligibility List after being laid off of the Trenton police force due to financial reasons, according to Gloucester Township Police.

3. The 14 local honorees of the township's 2012 Black History Month Celebration will be recognized.

The group includes three Triton High School students, two Timber Creek High School students, and a Highland High School student.

4. Tuskegee Airman John Pritchett will be honored. Pritchett was a sergeant with the 301st Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group.

5. Among a handful of township business items, Council is expected to vote on a resolution to award a contract in the amount of $367,160 to Compass Construction Inc., of New Egypt, for the dredging of Lake Renee, in Erial.