Hot off the presses! On April 1st Mayor Brennan introduced The Borough Brief - a digital newsletter containing updates on Borough of Merchantville happenings. Please subscribe on the front page of the Borough's website. Articles in this first edition include conducting virtual Council meetings, how to track the spread of coronavirus across the state by county on the dashboard at NJ DOH, the re-opening of The Blue Monkey Tavern and some ideas on how you can support our businesses to keep our local economy going during this difficult time. Links are also provided to the coming virtual Council meeting, NJ 2-1-1 and Camden County Covid-19 updates.

Aunt Charlotte's Candies is full of delicious Easter goodies, pretty giftware and many beautifully decorated baskets! You can call in an order to be picked up - pay by credit card over the phone and ring the door bell on the side of our building - and a sales girl will bring it out to your car if you don't want to come inside. We also mail candy all over, just call (856) 662-0058 and ask for Paige who will take good care of you and, if you really can't get out we would be pleased to do local deliveries. Get those orders in soon so you can start filling those baskets!

Mark your Calendars for our 2020 First Friday Markets Season. Downtown Merchantville will host markets each month from June to October with food trucks, vendors, live music, movies and fun for the whole family. Announced themes for this year are May 1st 'Merchantville Art Walk', June 5th 'Summer Kick-Off Bash', August 7th 'Dog Days of Summer', September 4th 'Mini-Golf Tournament' and October 2nd 'Welcome to Monsterville'. The market will take the month of July off so you can enjoy the 4th with friends and family. We look forward to seeing you on First Fridays!

Mayor Brennan provided an update to the community about the Covid-19 status in the Borough. He reminded residents that Merchantville's parks, sports fields and the multi-use path are all closed at this time and while he feels and understands the frustration with these closures and desire to exercise it continues to be necessary. He thanked everyone for their cooperation. He noted that additional testing sites are now available and this has lead to a corresponding increase in positive cases in our neighboring communities of Cherry Hill and Camden. The mayor informed residents that the Primary election has been moved to July 7th and encouraged  anyone concerned about on-site voting to apply for vote by mail through the county. He assured residents that he and Council are working with their partners in government, faith based groups and our schools to support businesses and obtain the resources that our community needs.

Census 2020 starting April 1, 2020 means Merchantville Counts Too! MerchantvilleTambienCuenta! It's Easy. Es Facil. It's Safe. Es Seguro.  It's Important. Es Importante. Between March 12-20: Initial invitations to respond online and by phone will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Areas that are less likely to respond online will receive a paper questionnaire along with the invitation to respond online or over the phone. March 16-24: Reminder letters will be delivered. March 26-April 3: Reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not responded. April 8-16: Reminder letters and paper questionnaires will be delivered to remaining households that have not responded. April 20-27: Final reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not yet responded before census takers follow up in person. May 13-July 31: If a household does not respond to any of the invitations, a census taker will follow up in person.

Merchantville's Mayor Ted Brennan spoke at the February PMAC meeting on partnerships to create a thriving downtown. He remarked that Merchantville has worked hard to re-engage with the business community to find opportunities to expand economic development in the Borough by streamlining the process for new businesses and entrepreneurs. Mayor Brennan is soliciting mixed use ideas for a redevelopment area in the West End hoping to create a combination of retail and restaurants that will demonstrate an investment in that part of town.