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PERMIT NO. 1239

www.marltonsun.com JUNE 22-28, 2011 FREE

Special to The SunSeveral members of the Evesham Township Police Department participated in a charity run toraise money for the Special Olympics. From left, Patrolman Erin Gorman, Sgt. Tom Reinholt, Lt.Chris Chew, Bill Gelernt, Cpl. Trevor Short, Patrolman Joe Tavella, Patrolman Brian Libetti, Pa-trolman Tom Magee and Trooper Koehler of the state police.

Happy to help

By ROBERT LINNEHANThe Marlton Sun

The Evesham CelebrationsFoundation is hosting its FourthAnnual Fourth of July Celebra-tion on Monday, July 4, on MainStreet in the township.

Celebrations FoundationTreasurer and founder SandyStudent said the day will begin at7 a.m. with an open registrationfor the annual Marlton Mayor’sCup 5K run and one-mile fun runand walk. Registration costs $25per person on the day of the raceand $20 prior to the event.

The 5K will kick off at 8:30 a.m.All entrants will receive a freesport tek shirt while supplies last.All racers will be monitored with

a special chip, Student said, to en-sure official results for the regula-tion race.

Last year, Student said 604 resi-dents signed up for the Mayor’sCup. To register for the race priorto the event, please visit the Cele-bration Foundation’s website atwww.EveshamFun.com.

After the race, at 10:30 a.m. theannual kids’ decorated bicycle pa-rade will kick off at the intersec-tion of Main Street and CooperRoad.

“The visuals on this are justtruly incredible. There’s nothinglike kids and patriotism. We havekids doing this that are youngerthan second grade,” Student said.“Parents also come with decorat-ed strollers. We just require that

all kids must wear a helmet ifthey are participating in the pa-rade.”

Following the children’s pa-rade will be the annual Fourth ofJuly parade at 11 a.m. The paradewill feature the recently-returnedoverseas veterans as the mar-shals of the patriotic event.

The parade will feature theCherokee High School marchingband, floats, string bands, pipebands, bugle corps, fancy groupsfrom the Mummers, and repre-sentatives from both the policeand fire departments.

Last year, Student said 13,000people lined Main Street to watchthe parade. He encouraged visi-

Festive Fourth set

please see FOURTH, page 12

By MELISSA DIPENTOThe Marlton Sun

Hundreds of residents turnedout last week to the EveshamPlanning Board meeting toprotest the construction of a five-foot high, 45-foot wide helistopnear Routes 70 and 73 on LakeCenter Drive.

The residents were heard loud-ly and clearly.

Spilling into the early morninghours of June 16, members of thepublic urged the board to consid-er thinking about the residents inclose proximity to the proposedhelistop, in regard to noise,fumes, real estate value and gen-eral quality of life.

“My house faces the lakes. I’mscared of noise and the fumelevel,” Ellen Bertuglia, who livesin close proximity to the proposedsite, said. “Who’s going to buy myhouse with a heliport? Our secu-rity is risked for some rich man’sconvenience. Nothing I’ve heardhere makes me feel any better.”

However, the planning boardvoted 6-2-1 in favor of the helipadsite.

The vote, Mayor Randy Brownsaid, was not because the boardnecessarily liked the idea of a he-lipad in the township. He said theboard was charged with the taskof seeing if the application could

be found to be in accord with theordinance passed by the townshipin July of 2010.

“The planning board’s role isnot whether or not they like theproject, it’s to see if the applica-tion follows the laws of the ordi-nance. Our professionals allagreed this fits into the ordi-nance,” Brown said.

The board also heard from at-torney Jim Burns, who repre-sents Conner Strong and Buck-elew, the applicant for the heli-pad. The company’s main office islocated at 40 Lake Center Dr.

Burns presented expert wit-nesses in the fields of heliport de-sign and safety; engineering; andacoustical engineering. Burnsalso called on Robert Hoban, oneof two helicopter pilots for Con-ner Strong.

The experts spoke to the im-pact of noise, parking, traffic andsafety, should the helistop be im-plemented.

A major sticking point, the pro-jected flight pattern, resurfaced atthe meeting several timesthroughout the evening.

One of Burns’ experts, EdwardBrady, an engineer with Taylor,Wiseman and Taylor, told thecrowd helicopters would only flyalong Route 70 and Route 73, if ap-

Residentsheard onheliport

Late-night meeting attendees make cleartheir opposition to proposed helipad

please see HELIPAD, page 3

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proved, not over residentialneighborhoods, some originatingapproximately 760 feet away fromthe site. The nearest office build-ing, he said, is about 160 feet away.

Many residents questionedwhether or not the pilots wouldstick to the proposed flight pat-terns, which also include a no-flytime from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

Hoban reiterated to the crowdseveral times that his job as apilot is to follow the rules and or-dinances in place.

“I’ve been flying helicopters for30 years. Noise and safety are ourbiggest concerns. I know and un-derstand the flight plan,” Hobansaid. “If there’s one path in andout…if we can’t do it (because ofsafety issues or wind conditions),we won’t.”

Hoban also said he does hisbest to land the Agusta A–109 hel-icopter and leave in under aminute.

Residents additionally voicedtheir concern over the frequencyof trips. Hoban and Burns con-firmed that the heliport would beused up to 12 times per week.Hoban said there are sometimesperiods where the heliport wouldnot be used for a week or so at atime.

When questioned by a resident,Hoban said the company is usinga temporary helipad site nearStowe Road and Greentree Road.

Another concern residentsquestioned was the level of noisethey could expect to hear.

Norman Dotti, an acousticalengineer with 40 years of experi-ence in the field, testified that thehelicopter would comply withFederal Aviation Administrationstandards.

He said one criterion the FAAuses for assessing sound is theDay/Night Sound Level, which isthe average of sound over a 24-hour period.

The dBA, he added measures

sound at the same frequency asthe human ear and is commonlyused by the FAA, the DOT, OSHAand HUD.

The FAA standard ratio is 65decibels. Dotti said 65 decibelscould sound like a typical conver-sation between two people. Headded that interior sound levels,when a helicopter takes off orlands, remains in the 55 to 65-dBArange.

At the maximum noise level,he said, the helicopter will reachdecibels in the mid-70s indoorsand the low 80s outdoors. Thislevel of sound, he added, lastsabout 10 seconds, with a lowerdecibel count as the helicoptercomes closer and departs.

Dotti said he was confident thesound levels for this particularsite would receive FAA approval.

Another issue discussed at themeeting was the availability andnumber of parking spaces in thelot.

To incorporate the helipad, 39parking spaces would need to beeliminated. Brady said the lotcurrently contains 405 spaces,even though the township re-quires 366.

Some spaces would receive ad-ditional signage that reads “Parkat your own risk” in the immedi-ate vicinity of the helipad.

These signs would be imple-mented to inform drivers of thepotential risks, including helicop-ter downwash and dust.

Raymond Syms, president ofRaymond Syms and Associates,said the downwash would notlikely affect cars.

Syms was accepted by theboard as an expert in heliport de-sign and safety, with 40 years ofprofessional aviation experience.He said he has also designed over400 heliports worldwide.

“We go out and check it with aleaf blower to check the results.They were much higher than thatof a helicopter downwash,” Symssaid. “The parking meets the FAAand DOT requirements.”

Many in the audience still hadconcerns about the parking.

Bill Hyland, an attorney repre-

senting Virtua Hospital, said theparking was a concern for the or-ganization. Virtua occupies twooffice spaces at 40 and 50 LakeCenter Drive, the same buildingas Conner Strong, with about 200combined employees, Highlandsaid.

“We’re concerned with how thefacility will be managed. There’sthe parking aisle and peoplewalking out of the building.These are security issues,” Hy-land said. “The operational reali-ties in a helicopter have not beenaddressed at the point.”

Planning Board Solicitor Stu-art Platt responded to the ques-tion of parking, relating the“Park at your own risk” spaces to“Dedicated employee spaces”sometimes found in parking lots.

“They are still counted (in thetotal number of spots available).There’s no legal precedent. Andthis parking is for the helistop,not for the office,” Platt said.

Hyland presented his own ex-perts at the meeting and ques-tioned the four experts Burnsprovided, as well.

Some residents also questionedthe board and the mayor for theirconnection to Conner Strong.Many expressed displeasure inthe thought that the board couldpossibly approve of a helipad forprivate business use.

The helipad, Burns statedthroughout the meeting, will beavailable for use by any and allemergency aircraft, should theyneed to land in Marlton.

Platt stated to residents thatthere was no conflict of interestin dealing with an applicationfrom Conner Strong.

Brown said he thinks the heli-pad will be good for the township.

“It provides us with a full-fledge heliport. If it saves just onelife, it’s worth it,” Brown said.“Nobody wants a helicopter intheir back yard. Our experts saidit is far enough away.”

Now with the planning board’sapproval, Conner Strong will nextapply to the FAA and the New Jer-sey Department of Transporta-tion for approval.

Helipad debateHELIPAD

Continued from page 1