Residents press township on school-board conduct and urge dementia-awareness outreach at public comment

Several residents used the public-comment period at the Nov. 25 Lacey Township Committee meeting to raise concerns about school-board conduct and to urge the township to support dementia-awareness and fundraising efforts.

Regina Desenza said she was cut off at a previous meeting and accused a school-board official of behavior she described as improper. "This town has a real problem with First Amendment rights when people say things the powers that we don't wanna hear," Desenza said, and she said her lawyer had advised that proving perjury would be difficult. The committee acknowledged her comments but did not resolve the allegation in public session.

Andrew Napoleon described his longtime caregiving experience and promoted a dementia-awareness fundraising event at Murray Grove scheduled for Sunday at 9 a.m., asking the township to help spread the word and to connect him with school and senior-services staff. The mayor and committee members offered to connect Napoleon with Heather (a town staffer) and suggested inviting him to speak at a senior luncheon or in the public schools.

A representative of a local citizens' group criticized what he called unilateral actions by a board president and raised questions about transparency and the use of public funds related to school-board matters. The committee did not take formal action on those criticisms during the public meeting, but members said they would take the remarks under advisement.

Tony Rosales urged the township to consider updating historical elements of the town logo and suggested engaging youth in a design contest to reflect community heritage.

The public-comment period ended with committee members thanking speakers, wishing residents a happy Thanksgiving and noting upcoming community events such as the annual Christmas parade and tree-lighting ceremony.