McCarroll Reports on Animal Control to Middle

COURT HOUSE – The work session of Middle Township Committee Nov. 21 saw Animal Advisory Board Chairperson Madelyn McCarroll provide a presentation on challenges facing animal control and treatment in the largest municipality in the county. With over 70 square miles bracketed by bay and ocean, Middle Township, according to McCarroll, is the “most bio-diverse town in New Jersey.”  
To support that claim, McCarroll enumerated the many township environments that provide habitats for that diversity: the zoo, the wetlands, the National Wildlife Refuge, Lizard Tail Swamp Preserve, Sunny Beach Preserve, and the Atlantic Flyway to name a few. 
Clearly, domestic animals, mostly dogs and cats, are the bulk of the work for animal control issues, but McCarroll wanted the committee to understand that the diverse animal population of the municipality has a broad impact on animal issues beyond those defined by companion animals.
McCarroll noted that the last two years witnessed over 1,000 calls for service each year to animal control. These numbers are measured by the calls to police dispatch and don’t count the many actions that can result from just one call.
McCarroll cited statistics of 13,000 to 15,000 pets across the township which does not include wildlife that can range from skunks and raccoons to turtles and escaped zoo peacocks.
The major complaint is loose dogs, especially in areas of heavy traffic like Routes 9 and 47 or the parkway. Yet the range of issues can be almost as diverse as the animal population.
Thirty-four percent of the calls involve wildlife, not domestic animals. With two shelters, five veterinary clinics, and three kennels, the township does an admirable job of responding. One statistic McCarroll was especially proud of is a low 5 percent euthanasia rate at the county shelter. 
McCarroll spoke of the challenges, but she also highlighted the accomplishments. A now ten-year history with the county animal shelter, ordinances in place to protect animals from mistreatment, township-focused animal control, free rabies clinics, and new multiyear licenses, and the establishment of a township advisory board, all were used as examples of progress in the effort to ensure the wellbeing of township animals.
Affordable Housing Developer
Jonathan Lubonski, vice president with Michaels Development Company, (MDC), engaged the committee in order to present the company and gauge potential township interest in new affordable housing development. MDC bills itself as the nation’s number one affordable housing developer “with $3.5 billion in development and substantial rehabilitation since 1973.”
Lubonski said that MDC has not yet done work in Cape May County, but he cited a project about 65 percent complete in Egg Harbor Township.  He presented a possible development site on Rio Grande Avenue near the entrance to the parkway but admitted that MDC had not yet begun the process of even a conceptual design. His purpose, he stated frequently, was just to gauge municipal interest.
Lubonski spoke of a potential 75-unit complex which he said would be sufficient “density” to justify live-in property management and several amenities like a community center and playground. Noting that state requirements for affordable housing obligations are in flux and that “municipalities are not sure what their numbers are going to be,” Lubonski was laying the groundwork for potential future discussions. His brief presentation ended with committee members and administrators gathering up offered material that displayed MDC projects elsewhere.  The job of introducing the company had been accomplished.
Rio Grande Street Lighting
In what should be her last meeting as Township Administrator, Connie Mahon presented the committee with two options for increased LED street lighting along Route 47 in Rio Grande.
Two pricing plans provided by Atlantic City Electric allow for options in the proposed upgrades. Under either tariff, the current 18 street lights on poles in the area would be upgraded. With additional lights, the total would rise to 33 poles with LED lighting along that heavily-traveled corridor.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.