Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Voter turnout was heavy for the hotly contested $12.5 million referendum in Haddonfield.
Haddonfield voters rejected a $12.5 million bond referendum Tuesday for the public purchase of the 19.2-acre Bancroft property at 425 Kings Highway East. The final vote was 2,387 against and 2,136 in favor of the referendum, according to unofficial returns. The total does not include provisional votes cast on Election Day, which could take up to two days to count. "Who says you can't beat city hall?" said Brian Kelly of Haddonfield United, a group that spearheaded opposition to the proposal. "We really made our voices heard on this one." Opponents said the purchase was overpriced and would just be the beginning of more tax increases needed to cover spiraling costs, none of which will be addressed with the Bancroft referendum, they say. The…
Voters flock to the polls to decide $12.5 million bond referendum.
Bill Herrmann said he has never seen his voting district at Tatem School on Glover Avenue as crowded as it was today for the $12.5 million Bancroft bond referendum vote. "I've been coming here for 25 years and this is the most crowded I've ever seen it," Herrmann, 56, an employment recruiter, said shortly after 4 p.m. today. "This place is packed. I had to wait 10 minutes to vote, which is the first time I've ever had to wait. It's the most crowded I've ever seen it. Politics are local, I guess." Herrmann said he voted "yes" on the controversial referendum to buy the 19.2-acre Bancroft property at 425 Kings Highway East, next to Haddonfield Memorial High School. A sampling of other voters in two other voting districts turned up more who …
Follow the conversation about the Bancroft referendum in real time, and post your own thoughts and comments, as well as photos and videos related to the vote.
Update: The chat is closed, but you can still read the transcript above. For info on the referendum, see Bancroft Referendum Rejected by Voters. Have something to say about the results or Bancroft's future? Email your letter to the editor to Bill Duhart, bill.duhart@patch.com. ------------ Starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22 you can chat live about today's public vote on the $12.5 million referendum for the public purchase of the 19.2-acre Bancroft property at 425 Kings Highway East. The borough and the local school district have a joint agreement to purchase the property for the expansion of athletic fields for Haddonfield Memorial High School, and for use as open space.
Five things you need to know about the important vote today.
1. The $12.5 million referendum being decided today is for the public purchase of the 19.2-acre Bancroft property at 425 Kings Highway East. The Board of Education and the borough have entered into a joint purchase agreement "to seize the opportunity of acquiring this historic and prominent 'gateway into Haddonfield' for use by the community at large, for educational and recreational purposes, to allow for possible future school expansion and development of a high school campus, and to secure an open space legacy." 2. Opponents of the referendum say: "Supporters of the bond referendum may claim that the property tax increases will be ‘small,’ but our town’s middle-class residents and seniors on fixed incomes can't afford more we already …
Saturday, January 19, 2013
The reported thefts come in the homestretch of a hotly contested referendum battle.
Free speech has a price this week in Haddonfield. It adds up to the cost of replacing a limited number of lawn signs urging residents to vote no on the $12.5 million referendum on the public purchase of the 19.2-acre Bancroft property on Kings Highway East. Haddonfield police reported three 'Vote No' lawn signs were stolen Sunday. The incidents occurred in the 100 block of Hawthorne Ave., and two in the 400 block of Estaugh Ave. The signs were distributed by Haddonfield United, a group opposed to the Bancroft purchase. The group released a statement about the thefts earlier this week. "Long story short, each theft can have an impact on our small supply and residents’ free speech," the group said. "Whether you’re for or against the purchase…
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Jan. 22 will be judgment day for a $12.5 million referendum on the Bancroft property.
Haddonfield residents will have an opportunity to go to the polls next Tuesday to decide a $12.5 million school board bond referendum on the public purchase of the 19.2-acre Bancroft property on Kings Highway East. The school board and the borough have a joint purchase agreement for the $16-million acquisition which includes $3.5 million of guarantees for open-space preservation funds from the borough, county and state. If the proposal does not pass the BOE will drop its proposal for acquisition, and the borough, acting as the redevelopment authority, will be forced to consider other plans proposed as a result of the designation of the property as “in need of redevelopment,” according to a school board statement. These alternate proposals …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The group explains why it's against the Bancroft bond referendum on Jan. 22.
This statement is from Haddonfield United: Haddonfield United, a grassroots organization of local residents advocating responsible government for the borough of Haddonfield, continues to oppose the Haddonfield Board of Education’s proposed $16.8 million purchase of the Bancroft property. Haddonfield United is behind its “Vote No to Higher Property Taxes” campaign ahead of the Haddonfield Board of Education’s Jan. 22 bond referendum, in which local residents are being asked to vote to approve or reject the school board’s proposed purchase of the 19.2-acre Bancroft property. Founder of Haddonfield United, Brian Kelly, said his organization’s primary reason for opposing the bond referendum is economic. “If approved, the school board’s $12.5 …
Monday, January 14, 2013
It's their last public meeting before the Bancroft referendum vote on Jan. 22.
The Haddonfield Board of Commissioners are scheduled to meet tonight at 5 p.m. at the Municipal Hall for a work session. The Bancroft public purchase is at the top of the agenda for the work session, which is a public meeting in which no votes on resolutions or ordinances will occur. Typically work sessions are meetings in which a quorum of officials are present to discuss matters of public policy and action. The 2013 budget and seven other items are on the agenda. Please look for a full report on Tuesday morning. Don't miss any Haddonfield or Haddon Township news. Sign up for Patch's free daily newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
In this excerpts from a blog from Herb Hess, the Haddonfielder explains why he supports the Bancroft referendum.
Today, many in town are making arguments for or against the purchase of the Bancroft property. If you don’t know right now I’ll say clearly that I support the purchase but I see the merits of both arguments. Times are tough, can we afford this? Have we (personally, as a borough and county) managed our current responsibilities as well as we should or can? Is this the best use of the money? For the conspiracy theorists, are their moneyed influences exerting an agenda here? My decision comes down to my personal faith in the future, as simply explained in Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Having children has taught me a lesson about faith and hope. Why would I invest diligently in …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Reynolds shared his thoughts on the Internet chat room Haddonfield Talks.
This post from former Haddonfield mayor and prominent business leader Bill Reynolds is from the local Internet chat room Haddonfield Talks: I'm an old guy. I have lived here almost all of my 74 years, and I have seen "hot" issue controversies come and go. These controversies almost always involve a proposed local change. Clearly, the upcoming referendum and the possible change that will come if it passes fall into the "hot" category. Here's what usually happens with "hot" change issues. The arguments on both sides will become very passionate. There will be charges of plots and hidden agendas from those who are against the change. In the old days, the folks who opposed change would call the people who were for the change "communists…
Brian Kelly
11:56 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013
Dave, The bottom line is how many of the repairs are essential today and how much more they'll be down line. BOE or Borough, they are both inept at maintaining the infrastructure of the town. Our next big expense is the water system. These were just some of factors that contributed to the no vote to Bancroft. We have to fix what we have before we take on more debt. As much as I commend the BOE … more ›