The rift between the two boroughs has existed since April, when Collingswood announced that its police would stop patrolling Woodlynne a year before the agreement was due to expire. Collingswood officials said at the time that local police lacked the resources to cover both towns.

Woodlynne threatened to sue and Collingswood agreed to continue patrols until the two-year agreement ends in June.

The divide deepened this month when Woodlynne withheld its $175,000 quarterly payment over concerns whether Collingswood was providing adequate police coverage.

"When you start to hear that officers are leaving the department and they're not replacing them, we just want to make sure we have the coverage," said Woodlynne Mayor Jeraldo Fuentes. The mayor said he will release the payment when Collingswood agrees to meet with him to address Woodlynne's concerns.

Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley said there will be no such meeting.

The borough notified Woodlynne that if it does not receive the payment by the end of the month, it will stop patrolling the town.

"Having discussions about public safety issues by withholding a check is amateurish," Maley said.

Maley said this year's tight budget, coupled with the loss of revenue from Woodlynne, could result in police layoffs.

"We may be laying off people as soon as in a few weeks if we don't get that check," Maley said.

Both mayors said Collingswood handled 80 percent of all police calls from Woodlynne before the police-sharing agreement was signed.

When it comes to an end, Collingswood will respond only to the most serious of calls.

"We will not be Woodlynne's unpaid police department," Maley said. "They've had a year. The sooner they set up their own (police department), the better for us."

Retired Camden Police Chief Edward Figueroa assumed the post Monday of Woodlynne's police coordinator, a temporary civilian position created to get a police department up and running.

Figueroa will earn $60,000 a year with no benefits or pension and will continue to work until Woodlynne has a self-sufficient police department.

"We have no experience starting a police department from scratch. That's why we need someone with experience, like Ed Figueroa," Fuentes said.

Figueroa said Woodlynne hopes to hire 10 full-time police officers and between three and four part-time officers for additional support on weekends.

"There's a lot to be done," Figueroa said. "Woodlynne is a civil service department and you have to look at hiring procedures -- individuals have to go to the police academy, background investigations have to be done."

The borough offered to rehire officers who were laid off in June 2006 when Woodlynne entered the police-sharing agreement and disbanded its own police force. None has responded, Fuentes said.

So far, Woodlynne has interviewed only one candidate -- one of three police officers from Camden County recently laid off.

The borough also invited nine Woodlynne residents who have passed the civil service test to apply for the job, and seven responded, Fuentes said.

"Not only will you have protection in Woodlynne, but they'll be living right here in the community," Fuentes said of the candidates.

Those seven candidates would have to attend the Camden County Police Academy before reporting for duty. The next available class starts in July, which means Woodlynne won't be able to establish a police department until November, when the candidates graduate from the police academy and become full-fledged police officers.

With the police-sharing agreement to end June 2, that means Woodlynne may have to rely on State Police or Camden County for police protection for nearly six months.

"One way or another, we would definitely have police coverage," Fuentes asserted.

Fuentes estimated it would cost roughly $700,000 a year to run the new police department, the same amount Woodlynne pays Collingswood. He said Woodlynne's former police department had eight full-time officers and a budget of $800,000.

Fuentes said he expects to save money by paying police officers a starting salary of $32,000, with annual raises over a five-year contract. That's lower than what officers earned before the department was disbanded.

"That's pretty much the ongoing starting salary," Fuentes said.

The borough hopes to take out a bond to purchase three police vehicles at $30,000 each. It also hopes to buy police equipment and uniforms with $350,000 that would have gone to Collingswood for police protection in the second half of 2010.

"We're also trying to secure some grants to help offset some of the cost," Figueroa said.

The new police department's administrative duties will be shared among existing borough employees, eliminating the need for an additional hire, Fuentes said.

A separate agreement to share a municipal court with Collingswood will also end in June, Fuentes said. Woodlynne currently pays Collingswood $90,000 a year, plus a fraction of proceeds, to handle its municipal court matters.

The borough hopes to reinstate its own municipal court with one full-time and one part-time employee.

"I'm hopefully looking at a savings," Fuentes said of dissolving its court-sharing agreement with Collingswood.

Reach Lavinia DeCastro at (856) 486-2652 or ldecastro@courierpostonline.com

Construction of the greenhouse, which will be available to residents who want to grow their own plants, is expected to start by March 31 at a tract of land along Cattell Avenue between Dwight and Harrison avenues.

The borough has owned the land, purchased with a $4 million state grant, for about five years.

The tract once housed 13 flood-prone homes that were demolished before the state replaced the Collingswood Circle, where routes 130 and 30 meet, with a signal intersection.

Now that the $35 million project is complete, the borough is ready to put the land to good use.

"As part of the agreement, the land has to remain as open space," borough manager Bradford Stokes said.

Because the greenhouse will be built mostly by volunteers, Stokes said he expects it to cost less than $2,000.

"We're also going to plant trees and shrubs to help mitigate flooding in the area," Commissioner Joan Leonard said.

Leonard said the borough will plant about 50 native trees, shrubs and perennials "that like watery spaces" like the bald cypress and swamp white oak.

"The main goal is to prevent runoff," Leonard said. "It's a cross between a biofiltration natural system and a rain garden."

Biofiltration systems are swells filled with vegetation and rocks that slow down the water flow and direct it toward rain gardens, which are filled with plants that absorb most of the runoff.

"These are ways to help improve the water percolation into the earth instead of the water unnaturally being forced into our creeks and rivers and making it overflow," Leonard said.

Landscaping at the tract, which is roughly the size of a football field, is covered under the state grant.

The green space will also serve as a buffer between busy Route 130 and the backs of the homes that face Richey Avenue.

Residents will likely have to pay about $25 for space in the greenhouse, Leonard said.

"It'll be all organic, no pesticides allowed," Leonard said. "It'll be for Collingswood residents, but if we have room, we will accept people from neighboring communities."

The borough is still deciding what to do with a smaller tract of land across the street.

Stokes said that may become a practice soccer field.

The same group of volunteers is also planning a community garden in another borough-owned property nestled among Washington, Lincoln and East Collings avenues.

"You can plant seeds at the greenhouse and you can take that home or you can join the community garden and take your seedlings there," Leonard said.

The borough paid $400,000 for that plot, which housed a duplex and 50 storage garages, about two years ago, Stokes said.

"They were in bad shape and it was just a blight in the neighborhood," Stokes said.

The borough has converted the duplex into a single-family home, which it hopes to put on the market in about two weeks, Stokes said. The borough is asking nearly $300,000 for the home.

The remainder of the property is shaped irregularly and nestled between several homes, making it unsuitable for building.

"It's landlocked, so we can't really put a house there," Stokes said.

Instead, borough volunteers are turning it into a community garden.

About 50 Collingswood residents will be able to secure a 10-by-10 foot plot for $35, Leonard said. The spaces will be divided by wood chips, recycled from trees the borough cuts down or trims.

"We don't really have any open space, but we do have a lot of little pieces of land," Leonard said. "They have perfected (community gardens) in urban areas because they don't have the space. Collingswood does have more space, but I think it could work here."

Many Collingswood residents live in rowhomes with small yards and may be interested in more gardening space, Leonard said.

"We actually accomplished two things at that site," Stokes said.

"I think it's worth the dollars we ended up spending on it."

Reach Lavinia DeCastro at (856) 486-2652 or ldecastro@courierpostonline.com

Wine Tastings and Tapas…

perfect together!

Our select accompaniments blend the perfect wines with perfect flavor combinations

…in ways that say, “Green, sustainable and environmentally friendly!”

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Our Special Wine & Tapas begins at 6:30pm

Small Plate 1

Mimosa fire grilled shrimp over fried masa plank with mandarin orange vinaigrette

With Col Vetoraz Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut NV (sustainable practice)

Small Plate 2

Sauteed mushroom queso dip with blue & orange corn chips

With Ukiah Cellars Chardonnay 2008 ( "sustainably farmed")

Small Plate 3

Pan seared sea scallop with avocado cream sauce & toasted pine nuts with cilantro rice

With Vigneau-Chevreau Vouvray Sec Cuvee Silex 2007 (biodynamic)

Small Plate 4

Open faced strip steak torta with queso fresco & rajas poblano
With Ukiah Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ("sustainably farmed")

Small Plate 5

Twin coffee braised baby back rib with bacon wrapped redskin potato
With Chono Syrah 2007 (sustainable practice)

$29.95/person

(excludes tax & gratuity)

She did both very well Saturday afternoon in her team's 36-23 victory over Haddon Heights in a Colonial Conference Liberty Division game.

Robinson finished with a game-high 15 points and added seven rebounds and five steals for the Panthers (15-10). She and fellow starter Samantha Gregg, who added 10 points, helped their team outscore host Heights 22-13 in the second half, including 12-5 in the third quarter.

"We got a motivational speech from Coach (Nancy O'Neill) at halftime," said Robinson, who scored nine points in the second half. "She told us to work harder. The team got more involved, scoring, steals, rebounding. We just picked it up from there and played hard on defense."

According to O'Neill, "We actually struggle greatly in the first quarter. We've only won six first quarters all year. It's a big point of emphasis for us. The kids, for whatever reason it may be, really kick in in the second half. We're a much stronger second-half team as long as we don't dig our hole too deep."

Gregg, who also plays field hockey and lacrosse for Collingswood, nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Panthers ahead 26-13 with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Those baskets capped a 10-0 run for Collingswood, which was never threatened thereafter.

"Huge threes," said O'Neill, whose team also got eight rebounds from Imani King. "Sam did a great job of shooting the ball. The timing of those shots was the biggest point of it. It gave us that little bit of a cushion. When Sam or Ellie (O'Neill) hit, along with Nadirah, we're a pretty good team. It's just a matter of which night it's going to be."

Gregg wasn't really aware of the score after she hit the two 3-pointers, but she was aware of how her team had picked up its defensive intensity.

"I'm better when there's no pressure, but we came out and played hard," Gregg said. "It was a good win. Once we start getting moving on defense, our offense comes together better. When we play hard on defense, we play good offense."

It was Senior Day for Haddon Heights (11-13), which led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter. Collingswood took a 14-9 lead after four straight points by Robinson with about a minute left in the half. The Panthers led 14-10 at halftime and picked it up from there.

Haddon Heights got a team-high 12 points from Kierra Smith and nine points from Alexis English. Jackie Eppright had a game-high 10 rebounds. All are seniors.

"We had a Senior Day, and we had some jitters," said Haddon Heights coach Angela Scott, a former standout basketball player at Williamstown High School.

"I was hoping, coming out of the locker room at halftime, we'd turn that around, but we just couldn't get it all together."