Pennington Board of Health elects Marjorie Kaplan chair, adopts community health-assessment goal

The Pennington Borough Board of Health on Jan. 13 elected Marjorie Kaplan as chair and unanimously adopted a goal to assess community health priorities and expand outreach and education.

Mariya Brown nominated Marjorie Kaplan for chair and Gail Cooksey seconded; the board voted to elect Kaplan unanimously. Kaplan then nominated Mariya Brown for secretary; Brown was elected unanimously.

The board approved minutes from its Oct. 21 meeting after a motion by Mariya Brown and a second from Gail Cooksey; Cooksey recorded an abstention because she was not on the board at the prior meeting. The agenda lists the minutes as “October 21, 2025,” a clerical inconsistency given the meeting date; the minutes were approved as presented.

Members reviewed and agreed the board’s annual meeting schedule, including a proposed lunchtime meeting on June 9, 2026 to accommodate a council liaison’s travel. The board unanimously passed a motion—proposed by Chair Marjorie Kaplan and seconded by Gail Cooksey—to make community-priority assessment the board’s primary goal for the coming year. The goal directs the board to conduct an assessment of community health priorities and to facilitate outreach and education in response to identified needs.

As part of that outreach, Mariya Brown will meet with Dr. Andrews and a Pennington School class that performs water testing of Lewis Creek to explore a future presentation to the board. Kaplan will also coordinate with borough staff to ensure the board’s web pages link to Hopewell Township’s health department resources.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed unanimously; the session ended at 8:15 p.m.