Free township initiative to be shipped in late January.
By: Lea Kahn
Pleased with the success of its first municipal calendar last year, township officials are putting the finishing touches to the 2004 edition, said Steven Groeger, township superintendent of recreation.
Township residents may begin looking for the free calendar which covers February 2004 to January 2005 in their mailboxes toward the end of this month, Mr. Groeger said.
"We got some wonderful feedback," Mr. Groeger said. "We got calls from people who asked us if we are going to do it again. I think people thought it was a worthwhile project."
The wall calendar lists information on topics such as when to put out recycling buckets and yard waste, he said. It lists makeup days for recycling and garbage collection, when the regularly scheduled day falls on a holiday.
The yard waste collection schedule also is outlined in the calendar. The township is divided into four zones, and yard waste is picked up on a regularly scheduled basis in each zone. It includes a map of the yard waste collection zones.
The dates for free flu clinics for senior citizens, as well as the dates for blood pressure screenings, are included. The calendar lists the telephone number for the township Health Department so parents may set up an appointment for the Child Health Clinic.
The calendar lists the actual dates for the Township Council, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment meetings each month, he said. A separate page in the calendar lists the meeting schedule for the remaining advisory boards and committees.
Important dates for community events are set out in the calendar. These include the Memorial Day parade, the Fourth of July fireworks display, Community Day, the Halloween parade, the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and the Col. Edward Hand re-enactment march to Trenton.
Mr. Groeger said the 2004-05 calendar will be virtually identical to the 2003-04 one except that the date on which an event falls will be different. For example, the Col. Hand march fell on Jan. 4 in 2003. This year, it falls on Jan. 3 which is the first Saturday in January.
This time around, preparing the calendar has been easier, Mr. Groeger said. Most of the information in the calendar has not changed, such as telephone numbers for various township departments.
"The information does not change," he said. "They are the kinds of things that people look for. They may not remember when their yard waste is collected, so they can look it up."
The calendar grew out of discussions at township staff meetings on the best way to get information out to residents, Mr. Groeger said. It was decided that a calendar would be a better method to do that, rather than through the Recreation Department booklet or mailings that go in the envelope with property tax bills.
Although the calendar is being put together by the township, it is being printed and mailed at no cost to the taxpayers, Mr. Groeger said. The company that prints the calendar solicits advertisements, which cover the printing and mailing costs.