At the recent Civic Association Candidate Forum, I had the opportunity to discuss key issues facing Haddonfield, including diversity and inclusion, securing county funds for local projects, and the future of dormant properties like Boxwood Hall. Below are my responses to questions on how we can foster a more inclusive community, bring back tax dollars from Camden County, and preserve our town's historic charm while encouraging responsible private investment in local properties. Below are 3 questions and answers from that forum.

Question:
How will you address issues of diversity or lack thereof equity and inclusivity in our Borough?

Answer:
Where you can start is by determining that it's not a flip of a switch; it's a long-term commitment to diversity and inclusion. It starts with programs that the borough can promote at the school district level to help our children break the cycle of less-than-ideal inclusion in our community. The next thing we can do is really encourage more foot traffic into our downtown with diverse events. People exposed to our town through those events often become home buyers who fall in love with Haddonfield. Haddonfield is a welcoming community for people of all races, creeds, ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses, to the degree that the most expensive town south of Trenton can be, as well as those of all sexual orientations. We have a lot to offer these families; we just need to better expose them to the warm welcome that Haddonfield has to give.

Question:
After school taxes, our next largest cut goes to Camden County. Aside from the usual and reasonable items, these funds support roads, parks, and county policing. What can you do to bring back money from the county to support or fund projects in Haddonfield?

Answer:
The county takes 24% of our total tax for their general obligations like park maintenance, snow removal on county roads, and other related services they provide for us, including stormwater management and events on our roads. Additionally, they take about 1% in county open space tax, which is double our own local tax, and they've been doing that for years, totaling millions of dollars to date. We haven't seen a single penny from that investment, while our neighbors reap the spoils, like Woodcrest Country Club, which was preserved from high-rise apartments, and other parks along the Cooper, saved by our money. It's high time some of that gets steered our way, especially since we have real needs in our own open spaces, like Crows Woods, the fields, and the woods themselves, as well as the borough-owned Radnor Field Complex and even the football field on Lincoln. All these places where we've put our own money into fixing major problems in the town.

I will put pressure on our county officials to help identify projects to fund. It's overdue, and for those who say we have used open space money, it's been State open space money that we've tapped into to date, not county.

Question:
What is your short-term and long-term plan for our dormant properties, such as Boxwood, that provide no current value to residents?

Answer:
Take Boxwood Hall for example—a borough-owned property that's falling apart. Different groups have come in with ideas, and we try to assess their business plans for sustainability. That's not our goal. Our goal is the rehabilitation of a historic property to preserve the charm of Haddonfield. If a private entity wants to take a risk on the property, so be it, but the very first thing they need to do is raise money and fix up the place. Then they can try to make money or not.

So, I think the idea of evaluating a plan based on anything other than their ability to spend money to fix up the building is not the purview of the government. It's been that way, and it's unfortunate because it has scared off some folks. These properties are a drain. We need to get them back on the property tax rolls. Give them away for a buck (something below market), because they're worth nothing right now, but hold them to strict preservation guidelines—like Boxwood Hall, Lullworth Hall—and the RFP process should be a very public event.

I'm not saying we should put out all 10, 15, or 20 RFPs that come in, but let us do the work to find the best three or four, then let the public have their say to influence our decisions. Let's get private entities spending their money to fix up our charming buildings. If they can make money, that's great, and they're taxpayers. If not, they sell it to the next person who's already got a fixed-up building ready for them to make money and become a taxpayer. That's all we should care about.