Chatham Township Construction Office - Request for Leadership Action

Several weeks ago on July 21st this letter was submitted to Chatham Township Mayor Rowland and Members of the Township Committee. So far there has been no response received. Replies are welcome - residentsofchatham@gmail.com and Township residents can participate in the 2026 survey now open https://forms.gle/MhA9NuX1M8WPF8SP8

A Fall 2025 resident survey has documented widespread and serious dissatisfaction with the Building and Construction Office. These results reflect a necessity for oversight by the Mayor, Township Committee, and Administrator to ensure the department delivers timely, professional, and resident-focused service.

While the survey captures experiences with the Construction Office, the consistently poor ratings in timeliness, responsiveness, clarity, and overall process point directly to insufficient leadership, accountability, and performance standards for Township services. Chatham residents deserve better.

We urge the Mayor and Committee to take ownership of these results, conduct a formal review of the department’s operations and standards, and implement concrete improvements to oversight. A new survey is currently being conducted so the community can measure whether meaningful progress has been made since these Fall 2025 findings. https://forms.gle/MhA9NuX1M8WPF8SP8

Chatham Township can and should have one of the strongest and most professional construction offices in the region – as we have in the past. We are prepared to support constructive efforts to achieve that standard.

The signatures below are a small representation of the 109 concerned Chatham Residents who completed the 2025 survey. These signatures are representative of homes disbursed throughout town, are not united by political party or bound by any other affiliation. There is only one signer per household to avoid any appearance that the list might be puffed up with multiple names from a single address. Every attempt has been made to show the sincerity of this letter and the findings. Many more respondents, despite sharing the desire to sign below were concerned with reprisals from the Construction Office, particularly with ongoing projects. The existence of this chilling effect on freedom of expression is alone a reason for deep concern.

Sincerely and respectfully,

Niberca Lluberes – Fairmount Ave., Knut Holzer – Hampton Rd., Kathy Matta - Green Village Rd., Syed Haider – Gates Ave., Ryan Mooney – Rolling Hill Dr., Ginny Dorflinger – Lori Ln., Liz Joanna Castro – Fairmount Ave., Milan Patel – Oak Hill Rd.

P.S. – Selected Resident Comments (Fall 2025 Survey)
(provided as executive summary of comments)

2025 SURVEY RESULTS

A new survey is currently being conducted so the community can measure whether meaningful progress has been made since these Fall 2025 findings.

2026 survey now open: https://forms.gle/MhA9NuX1M8WPF8SP8