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Residents press county to repave Maple Avenue and lower speed limit; AFSCME raises pay and workload concerns for waste facility workers
Summary
A Merchantville resident urged Camden County to repave Maple Avenue and return its speed limit to 25 mph to protect park users; an AFSCME representative said waste-facility workers face sharply increased tonnage and insufficient pay increases, prompting upcoming negotiations.
During the public-comment period, two speakers urged county action on safety and labor issues.
Pamela Matakonis, who identified herself as living at 501 West Maple Avenue in Merchantville, said PSE&G left temporary road surfacing after work last summer and the street has not been repaved. She said traffic speeds rose after the posted limit changed from 25 to 30 mph near Wellwood Park, making crossings dangerous for children and residents. “It’s really it’s really bad,” Matakonis said, describing near-miss incidents and urging the county to repave the road, restore the previous speed limit, and consider speed bumps at park crosswalks. County staff said paving was scheduled to be completed before November and advised Matakonis that municipalities typically control speed-limit ordinances; Matakonis said she would follow up with borough officials and keep in touch with the county public-works representative.
Renee Defebo, a staff representative for AFSCME New Jersey Local 2278, raised concerns in negotiations with the authority (naming a recent counterproposal) and said the authority’s last counterproposal was “2.75% for a 4 year contract.” Defebo said the bargaining unit is small but now handling multiple times the pre-pandemic tonnage, and that workers have not received pay increases that keep pace with the volume and cost of living. An unidentified facility employee who spoke during the exchange said daily tonnage had increased “4 point something” times compared with earlier years, described fatigue and retirements among skilled staff, and said employees were earning “minuscule” annual increases compared with consumer price shifts.
County officials responded that negotiations cannot be conducted in public and that comments would be taken under advisement. The board noted an upcoming negotiating session where a further counterproposal was expected from Michael DePiro. No formal board action on either matter was recorded at the meeting; staff advised residents to contact their municipal officials regarding speed-limit authority and to follow up with county public-works contacts about paving schedules.
The speakers’ remarks tie to infrastructure maintenance, public-safety concerns near a park, and labor negotiations at a county service facility—all items the board said it would forward to appropriate staff and union negotiators.
