Lawrence Township to Demolish Abandoned Building

While much of Lawrence Township Council’s final meeting of 2011 was dominated by , some business was still conducted.

Among that business on Dec. 22 was the approval by council of an $8,500 bid contract with Rosario Contracting Corp. for the demolition early in 2012 of the former Craft Cleaners building in the 1800 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1), at the corner of Trumbull Avenue.

The building has been vacant since the mid-1990s and is in a rundown condition. The owner has abandoned the property and failed to respond to numerous letters and other correspondence sent by the township over the years.

Earlier this year, to evaluate the condition of the building and, after finding it was an unsafe structure, obtain permission to have the building knocked down. The township will seek reimbursement for demolition costs by placing a lien against the property, according to Township Manager Richard Krawczun.

Another bid contract – in the amount of $17,600 to TM Painting and Construction of Neptune – was approved by council for the repair of $13,800 worth of damage to the Lawrence Township Public Works facility on Bakers Basin Road from flooding caused by and performance of $3,800 worth of painting to the ceiling trusses in that building to address a rusting condition.

Also during the meeting, council honored . As a winner, her artwork will appear on the cover of an upcoming McGraw-Hill third-grade math text book, and Slackwood School will receive $15,000 in fun and functional classroom prizes including a Smartboard and a computer. 

Thirteen resolutions were also approved by council on Dec. 22. Among these were resolutions that:

• amended the adopted 2011 municipal budget in anticipation of $45,605.83 to be received from the New Jersey Department of Transportation Highway Safety Program for use in purchasing police cars and upgrades to police car camera systems;
• authorized the purchase of two unmarked 2012 Chevrolet Impala police cars for $39,789 from Winner Ford of Cherry Hill;
• authorized a change order in the amount of $2,200 to Golden Crown Contractors for .
• raised to $42,000 – a $10,000 increase – the authorized maximum amount for the professional services contract of attorney David Roskos, who is representing the township in concerning the denial of his zoning board application for a use variance needed to open an inpatient drug and alcohol detoxification center in a building he owns on Federal City Road;
• and authorized the firing of muskets and a cannon during the .

Also on Dec. 22, council adopted that an ordinance amending the fees for certain recreational programs offered by the township. The ordinance was previously introduced at the council’s meeting on Dec. 6.

Township Manager Krawczun, in his pre-meeting memo to council members, offered this explanation of that ordinance:  

The ordinance “amends selected recreation program fees. Non-resident participants are required to pay twice the prevailing program fee that is paid by township residents. This same fee structure will be amended to include organizations that have their operating base outside the township. The minimum program fee to be paid by a participant that receives a ‘scholarship’ due to financial hardship will increase from 20 to 25 percent of the applicable program fee. The next item for amendment is clarification that refunds for withdrawing from a program that has been registered for will be made minus 25 percent of the established fee and not the amount remaining due. The final amendment will extend a waiver of a temporary food license fee for Community Day participation to non-profit and not-for-profit organizations based in Lawrence Township. It will not negate the need to file for the license; only eliminate the fee for said organizations.”