Mayer, Schmidt, Hutchison and Gentek reached out to Congressman Robert Andrews to ask for his assistance in urging military officials to look at the many acres of tax exempt property currently utilized within the township. Relocating a tax-exempt military facility to the proposed Berlin-Cross Keys Road would be costly to Gloucester Twp. residents.
Additionally, Mayer has opened a dialogue with Camden County Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli, asking the county to consider tax exempt land owned by the County as possible alternative sites for the military training facility. Locations include vacant property at the Lakeland facility, the vocational school in Gloucester Township and Camden County College.
"Gloucester Township residents are proud to host an assortment of the government services and institutions and proudly support our nation's armed forces, but the proposal sprung upon residents last week simply doesn’t make sense," said civic activist Michelle Gentek. "There are several other suitable locations in Gloucester Township that may serve the military's needs with far less impact on our already cash-strapped taxpayers."
Mayer also urged incumbent Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton to get back to business and put Gloucester Township taxpayers first, after seemingly missing critical correspondence from federal officials in the months leading up to the recently announced proposal to locate a military training facility along Berlin-Cross Keys Rd.
"Where was the Mayor when the military reviewed the options and
put together this proposal?" asked Mayer. "The military is known for many things, including attention to
detail and outreach to area officials. It seems strange that somehow our Mayor was asleep at the switch on an
issue that is so critical to our township, our budget and our taxpayers."
"We need a mayor who pays attention to what is happening not only in township hall, but in our communities. We need leaders who build working partnerships with federal, state and county officials, so residents aren’t caught up in avoidable intergovernmental battles like this," said Frank Schmidt.
Councilman Dan Hutchison noted that "[Council] will be pursing legal action to see if we can halt the progress of the facility to review our options completely."