Township Begins Process Of Opening Up As COVID-19 Severity Lessens

The municipal complex will re-open on May 19, and in-home inspections and other work by township employees will resume on June 1, the Township Council was told at its May 11 virtual meeting.

The news came from Township Manager Robert Vornlocker.

Vornlocker said the May 19 municipal complex re-opening is timed with the loosening of other statewide restrictions imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy at various stages during the more than year-long COVID-19 pandemic.

Municipal buildings were closed more than a year ago, although township employees have been reporting to work on a staggered basis.

Vornlocker said another aspect of the re-opening is the resumption of in-home visits by various township personnel.

For example, he said, visits by members of the “fire prevention office for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, construction code with permits, plumbing permits, the water department with in-home water meter readings, that type of work will begin on June 1.”

“What I would remind every member of the public, we are very anxious to have you come back to our buildings,” Vornlocker said. “The employees have worked in the buildings and tried to do the best that they can, but it’s always much easier to work with people in person. I would remind everyone that the standards that have been set for this and will remain in our buildings; you will be required to wear a mask unless you have a medical condition …. Hand sanitizers and mask stations are at all entrances. There are six-foot distancing decals on the floors.”

“We’re looking forward to having everyone come back to the building,” he said.

Mayor Phil Kramer said that in-personm Township Council meetings probably wouldn’t resume until teh Fall.

“I think we’re looking at September for those kinds of things,” he said. “The average Council meeting we could probably do safely tonight, but when we have something controversial and a lot of people want to come, we’re either going to wind up having to turn people away or say we have to go to virtual, and that gets very sticky.”

” I would understand their suspicion as to how we do one or the other,” Kramer said. “I think we need to treat things the same for every kind of meeting until we decide how we can change things over.”

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