Environmental Commission Presents Annual Stewardship Awards At Council Meeting
A long-time public servant and the Board of Education were given Environmental Stewardship Awards Nov. 27 by the township Environmental Commission.
The awards were given out during the Township Council meeting.
John Clyde, a former Township Councilman and current Environmental Commission member, was presented with the individual award for his years of service. The school board was honored for building the environmentally friendly Claremont Road Elementary School.
Commission chairman Walter Andrews made the presentations.
Clyde, noting that he had spent “many, many years” in the council chamber, said he wanted to “thank the past, present and future.”
The past was represented by people who helped him early in his political career, while the present was the Township Council, “for continuing this town’s legacy in the preservation of open space.”
“We have a lot to be proud of, a lot of green space out there, and it makes this a very very special community,” he said. “I spent 16 years on the council, but some of my best years have been spent on the Environmental Commission.”
“In all three categories fits Councilman Ted Chase, whose service to the environmental community on his own has been unparalleled,” said Clyde, who will be leaving the commission at the end of the year.
The school board received the award for building the township’s newest elementary school to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) “Gold” standard.
Former school board president and board member-elect Ed Potosnak, speaking for the board, thanked Andrews or recognizing the board’s efforts.
“It’s not easy to build a school to LEED gold standards,” he said. “Every investment you make on the front side costs money, and it’s taxpayers money and you want to be responsible with that. But I think the people of the township should know, and be very comfortable that the stewardship of your funds is being used in a way that not only helps the environment, but also helps our pocketbooks.”
“The schools use half the electricity and half the water of our other schools, and in the long-run, you’re going to recoup that money from the front side,” he said.
The school is “also a laboratory for students to see first-hand what conservation means and how you can protect your environment in a healthy school,” he said. “The board stayed committed to that goal.”
Potosnak also thanked the council and township administration for their help in bureaucratic matters concerning the school construction.
Current board president Nancy LaCorte accepted the award on behalf of the board.