RiverWinds Advisory Board Set

After going through more than 20 applications for seven spots, West Deptford Mayor Ray Chintall appointed the first group of members to the new advisory board Thursday night.

Chintall touted the board’s members as being “well-respected members of the community,” noting their various qualifications, including several members with MBAs, law degrees and other experience in management.

The advisory board, which was largely a creation of Chintall and committeeman Sam Cianfarini, both of whom pushed the idea as part of their campaign platform last year, is aimed at trying to make RiverWinds run more efficiently, Chintall said.

The two Democrats on the township committee raised concerns about the appointments, though.

Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo questioned whether it would’ve been better to more fully develop the idea behind the advisory board before filling the slots.

“How can we select members if we don’t have the mission of the board?” she asked.

Chintall said it’d ultimately be up to the board to draft a mission statement, and talked in generalities about it being a sounding board for finding ways to keep RiverWinds cost-efficient. He and the other Republicans on the committee have argued the center hemorrhages cash, year after year.

That’s something DiCarlo took issue with both on the campaign trail and at the reorganization meeting, where she made a point of hammering the idea that RiverWinds is a community center, and not necessarily a cash cow.

“I’m not 100-percent sure the original intent was ever to make money right away,” she said at the reorganization.

The founding members of the advisory board are:

• William VanKat
• Stephen Murtaugh
• Carlton Bogan
• Jeff Hansen
• Michelle Maher
• Jonathan Leise, Sr.
• Christine Strano

The new board could convene as early as this week; meetings will be open to the public.