Township Committee — October 15, 2026

What happened

All five members were present. The meeting ran about forty minutes before the Committee went into executive session.

Wastewater funding. At about 3:40 the Committee received a check presentation of fiscal 2027 state funding for the Wastewater Treatment Consolidation Project, the plan to close the Cherry Valley sewage plant and pipe its flow to the Skillman Village plant. The Mayor thanked the district’s legislators, Senator Andrew Zwicker and Assembly Members Roy Freiman and Mitchelle Drulis, saying the appropriation “will help us improve reliability, protect water quality and ensure sustainable wastewater services” (uncorrected captions). The amount was not stated in the captions; the state’s fiscal 2027 budget includes $600,000 for the project.

Cherry Valley cell coverage. In the Mayor’s report, at about 8:50, the Mayor said that on October 8 the Mayor and the Administrator attended a listening session with the Cherry Valley homeowners’ association, where cell service was the main issue, and that “there is definitely an effort by the township to get a cell tower there.” Later, after Committeeman Martin, a Cherry Valley resident, said residents look forward to the new tower, the Mayor clarified at about 20:10 that “the cell tower can only go up when we have someone who’s going to lease” and “we don’t have anyone who’s taken a lease,” and that residents had been asked to write to the FCC about the coverage gap.

Deer. At about 25:05 Committeeman Herring, the Board of Health liaison, reported that the Board had received correspondence about the deer population’s effect on public health, and that “the Board of Health was going to urge that the town look into additional ways to reduce the deer population.” The Board’s own discussion the night before ended without a vote.

Other reports. The Administrator and Deputy Mayor pointed residents to the October 12 Planning Board video for the Master Plan reexamination presentation. A Committee member thanked the Planning Board, on behalf of the Agricultural Advisory Committee, for adopting the Farmland Preservation Plan. Members also reported on the county’s plan for a maintenance building in Skillman Park, which they said the Environmental Commission had not objected to. The township attorney said there was no legal update in public, with several items for executive session.

Public comment. At about 26:08 a resident of Route 518, speaking for neighbours, said they welcome the Montgomery Promenade project but that the developer, SJC Ventures, has gone outside the agreements made with neighbouring owners. The resident said the developer’s attorney had stated on the record “back in 2019, I believe it was,” that the agreements would be honoured and would transfer to future owners. According to the resident, no construction screening was provided, a berm was built in the wrong place and removed, and the boundary fence went in late, was not set 24 inches off the property line, wanders and is not level, and is the wrong style. The resident said the developer’s representative had called the agreements “more of a guideline.” The Mayor asked that the agreements be left with the Clerk, saying the Committee wants to support residents.

Votes. The Committee adopted, 5-0, a resolution certifying review of the state Best Practices Inventory (45.5 of 48 points) and the renewal of a shared-services agreement providing the township’s CFO to Tewksbury Township. Remaining 2026 meetings are November 12, December 3 and December 17.

Why it matters

Four issues the site tracks moved, though none by a vote. The wastewater project gained state money but still has no public financing plan for the rest of its cost. The Cherry Valley tower cannot go up, the Mayor said, until someone takes a lease. The deer concern has now reached the Committee, which sets deer management. And the Promenade neighbours’ complaint arrives while the Planning Board has Montgomery Promenade Phase II on its future-agenda list.

Worth watching

• Wastewater funding presentation (3:40)
• Mayor’s report: Cherry Valley (8:50)
• No tower without a carrier (20:10)
• The Board of Health on deer (25:05)
• Public comment on the Promenade agreements (26:08)

Sources

• The township’s archive: October 15, 2026 Township Committee meeting video and transcript. Quotations come from uncorrected closed captions, and timestamps are approximate.
• Township Committee agenda, October 15, 2026
• FY2027 Appropriations Act, P.L.2026, c.27
• Minutes for this meeting had not been posted as of October 19, 2026.