Kalitan leaves council after 16 years
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Cherry Hill Sun
12/20/2007

The longest-tenured councilwoman in the township’s history ended her 16-year service to Cherry Hill at the Dec. 10 township council meeting. Marlyn Kalitan – whose term of service lasted through three different mayors – participated in her last township council meeting and gave a tearful goodbye to her fellow council members at the conclusion of the meeting.

Kalitan, a township resident for more than 25 years, was first elected to council in 1991. She did not run in this year’s general elections. Sara Lipsett, a Democratic newcomer, will take over Kalitan’s seat.

Kalitan thanked her fellow members of council, her family and the people of Cherry Hill for reelecting her to council an unprecedented number of times for a councilwoman.

“I will miss being a member of this council so much. I’ve enjoyed being an intricate part of this very diverse community,” she said. “Thank you all for this incredible life-changing experience.”

She listed her backing of the “pay-to-play” ordinance as one of the highlights of her council career. She also said seeing the Cherry Hill Public Library being approved and come to fruition was extremely gratifying.

Her fellow members of council praised Kalitan for her hard work in the past 16 years and commended her for asking the tough questions that lesser council members shirked away from.

Council Vice President John Amato – the longest serving council member in the township’s history – said it was a pleasure to serve with Kalitan.

“Marlyn always speaks her mind, and that’s something that everyone has to respect,” he said. “You will certainly be missed.”

In other township news:

- The township council unanimously passed a resolution authorizing Cherry Hill’s application for a Public Archives and Records Infrastructure Support (PARIS) grant from the state of New Jersey.

If awarded, the $450,000 grant will provide the opportunity for Cherry Hill to team with Gloucester Township and Merchantville Borough to leverage money, technology and the market in an effort to electronically image vital records.

Last year, the township was awarded a $125,000 PARIS grant to team with Gloucester Township in order to leverage funds, reduce information-technology expenses and make each town’s records-management system more modern and efficient.

In a written statement, Mayor Bernie Platt said that he believes sharing services has a direct effect on the community’s municipal tax bill and is an effective way to increase productivity and create new streams of revenue.

“As we continue to use our technology base to assist us in efficiently operating Cherry Hill, we are finding new ways to offer services to other taxing entities,” he said in the statement. “Enhancing and improving the records retention process and preservation, and having them in electronic format, will be an asset to all municipalities in the future. We are in a unique position to help other towns access this technology and share services.”

PARIS is the largest competitive grant program of its kind in the nation.

- A group of concerned citizens from the Springdale Crossing section of the township came before members of the council to decry construction at the intersection of Springdale Road and Exton Circle.

Construction at the intersection has displaced a school bus stop, which has created a safety issue for residents with young elementary school students who depend on the bus to get to school, they said.

The residents asked if the bus stop could be placed inside the Springdale Crossing Development to make it safer for their young children to be picked up for school.

The placement of a control box at the corner of the intersection has also compromised the sight line for drivers looking to merge into the street, the residents said.

Council members Amato and Steven Polansky both pledged to drive out to the intersection to see if the control box should be moved.

However, the council members said they couldn’t move the location of the bus stop, as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Cherry Hill Board of Education.

The council members did pledge to send a letter to the board of education members to look into moving the bus stop.