Public Meeting of the Mayor and Council March 27, 2012

Transcription

1 A REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF ORADELL HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE ORADELL BOROUGH HALL. 355 KINDERKAMACK ROAD, ORADELL, NEW JERSEY, ON MARCH 27, 2012 AT 7:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER- OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT FLAG SALUTE AND INVOCATION Mayor Murray called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and read Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act. At roll call the following members were present: Koth, Alonso, Murphy, Shuler, Meo, and Pfleging. Borough Administrator Graham, the Borough Attorney and the Borough engineer were also present. Father Tom Iwanowski, St. Joseph s Church, gave the invocation at this meeting. Councilman Pfleging led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 2. PRESENTATION Mayor Murray, Jr., presented Mr. Charles May, a Certificate of Commendation for his 50 years of dedicated service to the Oradell Fire Department. Mayor Murray, Jr., asked Mr. May to accept the request to be a Grand Marshall at the 4 th of July Parade. Councilman May thanked the Mayor and Council for taking the time out of their busy schedule to honor him and he really appreciated it. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT. Mayor Murray, Jr., opened the meeting to the public comment. Mrs. Anne Reynolds, Oradell Avenue, stated that she sent a letter to the Mayor and Council that OPUS is not listed on the Borough Calendar under committees or as a volunteer organization. She had not been informed that OPUS would not be part of Oradell s Committees.. Mayor Murray, Jr., stated that he spoke with her after the Reorganization Meeting and informed her that OPUS is an entity that involves the school and not the Borough. It is a function of the school. The School administration determines the schedule of the readings. On motion by Mr. Shuler, seconded by Mr. Pfleging, the public portion of the meeting was closed. 4. CORRESPONDENCE 1. Letter from Charlotte Magid re: Senior Citizens Advisory Board. 2. Letter from Haig Buchakjian re: 801 Midland Rd; Tributary to Van Saun Mill Brook. 3. Letter from James Winter re: open issues Block 222 Lot Letter from Maggie Harrer re: Thank you letter for Mayor Murray, Jr. 5. Letter from National Trust for Historic Preservation re: Letter for Bergen County Freeholds on Waterworks property. 6. Letter from Anne Reynolds re: OPUS (Oradell Persons Uniting With Students). 7. Notification from Bergen County re: Pre-Construction meeting for Elm Street Bridge. 24

2 8. Letter from Hackensack River Keeper re: Mayors Kayak Race at the 3 rd Annual Reservoir Challenge. On motion by Mrs. Alonso, seconded by Mr. Shuler, the correspondence be filed in the Borough Clerk s Office. 5. CONSENT AGENDA: RESOLVED, that 25a(made part hereof) Resolution 12-90: amount of $ 3,477, be approved. RESOLVED, that 25b(made part hereof) Resolution 12-91: a total amount of $5,478, be approved. Payment of all bills and vouchers in the Amendment to Temporary 2012 Budget for RESOLVED, that 25c(made part hereof) Resolution 12-92: Solicit bids for various purposes: Electric, Plumbing, Tree Trimming/Removal and existing Cell Tower Perpetual Easement be approved. RESOLVED, that 25d(made part hereof) Resolution 12-93: RESOLVED, that 25e(made part hereof) Resolution 12:94: Officer Foschino be approved. Fire Department Memberships be approved. Request for unpaid leave of absence for Councilwoman Alonso requested that Resolution # Bills and Vouchers be voted on separately because she has a voucher for reimbursement on the list. On motion by Mr. Koth, seconded by Mr. Shuler, it was RESOLVED, that the Consent Agenda be approved with the exception of Bills and vouchers. On motion by Mr. Koth, seconded by Mr. Shuler, it was RESOLVED, that the payment of all bills and vouchers in the amount of $3,477, be approved. AYES: Koth, Murphy, Shuler, Meo and Pfleging ABSTAIN: Alonso 25

3 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS ENGINEERING: Councilman Pfleging and Marisa Tiberi Ms. Tiberi stated that there are two active projects The Borough s Road Program. Roads were picked from the road rating survey as well as what could be budgeted for. The roads will be 600 feet of Oradell Avenue, McKay and Golf Place. Westwood is the lead agency and Job and Job are the engineers. The bid opening will be in April. The Bellis Parkway Sewer Project is complete with all of the punch list items complete. Boswell has also submitted for Phase 2 which had a March 5 th deadline. The construction estimated cost is $840,000. The overall cost for the entire project including administrative, soft cost engineering, inspection and contingencies is 1.2 million Dollars. Councilman Pfleging asked for an update on the Ridgewood Avenue Project. Ms. Tiberi stated the project will be going out for rebid because they have been having a problem with the contractor J.A. Alexander. Mayor Murray, Jr., reporting: Mayor Murray, Jr., stated there is a preconstruction meeting on the Elm Street Bridge at the County scheduled for Thursday, at 11:00 a.m. Mayor Murray, Jr., stated to make sure that Mr. Stauffer is informed of the meeting. Police, Emergency Management and Education: Council President Koth stated that the FAR Committee appointed by the Mayor as ad hoc committee consists of 6-7 people. They met for the first time last week and organized what their goals will be. They are looking at FAR, density, and setbacks, Mr. Joseph Polyniak was elected as Chairperson. The OEM Coordinator has been working diligently getting ready for the upcoming season. The Committee is working to outfit the Borough Hall He received correspondence regarding the absence of traffic control devices at certain intersections of the Borough. The Police Chief will be looking at Ackerman, Elizabeth and McKay. Councilwoman Alonso stated that the sign at McKay and Pyle has been turned and needs to be corrected. Council President Koth stated that the Fire Department has been the benefactor of homes dedicated for destruction that they use for training purposes. It is an invaluable tool for the Fire Department to be able to use for training. Recently the Chief of Police suggested that the Police also use the houses for training. The Police will be able to use the house for simunition training. Library, Insurance, Ordinance, Recreation and Historic Councilwoman Alonso stated that the Library Board presented their budget for their 2012 Calendar Year with a $22,000 deficit. The deficit will be funded out of the surplus of $62,000 leaving $40,000 at the end of the year. The Library hopes to maintain their hours and their level of service. The Recreation Committee submitted their Budget to the Finance Committee. The increase was to the proposed expansion of the recreation program. The Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday for children Pre- K-3 at 1:30 p.m. The Recreation Committee is having the fields prepared for the spring sporting events. The Insurance carrier is requiring that all coaches complete a new concussion program. A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony has been scheduled for the Tennis Courts for April 28 th with a rain date of April 29 th. On May 1 st our Employment Practices Handbook that has been updated and will be approved by the Council in order to be in compliance with the JIF requirements. May 1 st is also the deadline for the Harassment Intimidation and Bullying Training for all employees and Employees Practice Training for the Chief. 26

4 Councilwoman Alonso would like to book the Caucus Room for the Ordinance Committee meeting on April 3 rd at 6:00 p.m. She requested that Mr. Depken also attend the Ordinance Committee Meeting. The Historic Committee met last night and it was unanimous to withdraw the Historic Ordinance. The Committee would like to begin the process again to draw up a less restrictive ordinance to the homeowners of historic houses. ORDINANCES: On motion by Mrs. Alonso, seconded by Mr. Shuler, it was RESOLVED, that Ordinance #12-2 (An Ordinance to amend chapter et seq and Establish a Historic Preservation Advisory Committee) be withdrawn. Councilman Koth asked if there would be a benefit to have a public hearing so that the council could hear the residents concerns pertaining to this ordinance. Councilwoman Alonso stated that there is no reason for a public hearing because the ordinance is going to have changes. Councilwoman Alonso stated that the Historic Committee meets the 4 th Monday of every month and anyone that is interested in offering feedback is more then welcome to attend the public meeting. Mayor Murray stated that the Special Meeting of April 17 th for a Public Hearing on Ordinance #12-2 has been cancelled. Finance, Shared Service and OPTV Councilman Murphy stated that this year s budget is very difficult. The Committee has been working through the budget process. It should be ready for introduction in April. Councilman Murphy commented on the donations from ABC. An inventory will be completed and whatever materials are not utilized can be auctioned for revenue. Fire, Ambulance, Bd. of Health and Special Events Councilman Shuler congratulated and thanked Mr. May on his years of service to the Borough. Councilman Shuler stated that the Fire Department made 16 calls in the month of February with a total of 47 calls to date. Councilman Shuler stated that the batteries should be changed in the Smoke Detector at the same time as we change our clocks for daylight savings time. Councilman Shuler stated that the Special Events held their Beefsteak Dinner and they had over $13,000 in prizes. They made over $3, Administration, Regional School Funding, Economic Development, Communications & Technology: 27

5 Councilman Meo stated that the Administration Committee has been meeting to discuss the Employee handbook and various other topics as well. There is a deadline to adopt the resolution and the updated employee handbook will be presented to the Council for review at the April Work Session. The River Dell School Funding he attended the school budget vote and the average household will increase about $41.00 for River Dell. There is a hearing date scheduled on the River Dell Inequity for Monday, July 16 th and July 17 th at 9:00 a.m. in Newark. Anyone from the community that is interested may attend. Councilman Meo, Ms. Graham and the Mayor will be attending. Councilman Meo thanked the Beautification Committee for decorating the town. The committee will begin to start the planting of the Borough flower pots along Kinderkamack Road. They are always looking for volunteers. Council President Koth stated that they may want to consider hanging baskets from the lamp posts so that they can get the pots off the sidewalks. Councilman Meo will discuss it with the Committee. He has also been working with the Chamber of Commerce to get the businesses involved in the fundraising for the decorating of Kinderkamack Road. DPW, Building Dept, Real Estate, Zoning Bd. and Environmental Councilman Pfleging stated that the DPW, the Building Department, Buildings and Grounds and Real Estate met on March 26 th. The DPW worked very hard in submitting a Budget to the Committee. The Zoning Board met on March 14 th and no new applications were presented at that meeting. The Board did approve the 2011 annual report and in the year 2011, the Zoning Board took action on 5 separate occasions. The Environmental Committee met on March 14 th and the Committee is registered and can log on to Sustainable Jersey. This is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey who want to go Green and Oradell wants to go Green. The next step is to create a Green Team and the Mayor and Council to adopt a resolution 7. Borough Administrator/Municipal Clerk s report: Ms. Graham stated the borough received $146,000 on a grant from the DOT for Section II of Martin and Lake. The grant application was for the maximum of $150,000. Last year the Borough participated in a program by PSE&G Lime Energy, they came in and went through the Borough buildings and upgraded lighting with motion detectors. The second round for the year is for HVAC. The DPW and the Fire Department need upgrades to their boiler and air conditioning at the Fire House. The amount received for this project is $20,000. The Borough will be receiving approximately $110,000 in connection with part of our FEMA application from the Halloween storm. Councilwoman Alonso stated that the Recreation Committee had asked her to follow up on the fee ordinance. Ms. Graham stated that she discussed it with the Department Head. They were asked to submit any increases so that the Fee ordinance can be updated once instead of multiple times throughout the year.. 8. Borough Attorney s report Nothing to report 28

6 9. Old Business: Mayor Murray Jr., stated that last week s Town News published that Oradell made a motion to acquire the Blauvelt Mansion. That is not true. We made no such motion and we did not adopt a resolution. 10. New Business: Councilman Koth congratulated Mr. May on his 50 years as a member of the Oradell Fire Department. Councilman Koth congratulated Councilman Shuler and his son Michael in attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. 13. PUBLIC COMMENT Ms. Sylvana Rasso, 351 Grove Street, thanked Councilwoman Alonso for taking the initiative for the withdrawal of the Historic Ordinance. She was pleased to see that the Ordinance will be reworked.. Mr. Robert McConnell, 415 Oradell Avenue and Chairman of the Historic Committee, stated that:he was amazed that this ordinance has generated such interest. He agreed with Councilman Koth to continue with civil dialogue. Mr. Nick Besink, 177 Country Club Drive and Chair of the Video Committee, stated that although the Borough did receive equipment from ABC it lacks: digital cameras and character generator. We received a lot of ancillary equipment. We cannot do anything until we receive new digital cameras. Ms. Margaret Vogler on behalf of Coldwell Banker, 537 Kinderkamack Road, sent a letter with pictures of cars parked on Ellen Place. On January 23 rd she and a co-worker received tickets and each ticket was $ Coldwell has been there for 12 years and no one has ever been ticketed. The ordinance states that if you park in the morning for 3 hours and come back and park in the afternoon you are in violation. Clients park their cars and get into the realtors cars. Ticketing a prospective home buyer is not a good practice. Please review and revise the ordinance. Mayor Murray, Jr. stated that it will be forwarded to the Police and the Ordinance Committee. Ms. Nancy Shapiro, of Briarwood Court, stated that the OPS Website has a notice that Memorial Field will be treated on April 9 th and children should be kept off the field. This is where many children play. She is against the Borough treating the fields with toxins. It is within the power of the Borough to stop this because there are many natural ways of fertilizing the lawn. Even though the school was notified, this does not make it OK to use toxins. Mr. Sam Tripsas, of 327 Maple Avenue, stated that the latest in tear downs is 411 Prospect Avenue. The Historic Ordinance is too late to save this house. The Oradell Sign Board at Schirra Park is being repaired. He thanked Councilman Meo for expressing his appreciation of all the decorating that the Beautification Committee has been doing and will continue to do in our town. We are in constant need of volunteers. He stated that the Beautification Committee will look into the hanging baskets on Kinderkamack Road as Councilman Koth suggested. Ms. Diane Sayers, a resident of Bogota and a candidate for the US House of Representatives in this District in the Democratic Primary stated that last year Marcy Captor introduced HR1489 to reinstate the Glass Stegle Act to help with the economic recovery. She asked the Council to pass a resolution to support HR Mr. Dan Mallett, of Lincoln Avenue, asked if the Environmental Committee has scheduled a Spring Clean up. Councilman Pfleging stated that he will discuss it with the Environmental Committee. 29

7 Mr. Mallett would like to compliment the Oradell Fire Department for the great job that they do and praised the Special Events Committee for the excellent work that they did with the Beefsteak Dinner fund raiser. On motion by Mr. Shuler, seconded by Mrs. Alonso, the public portion of the meeting was closed. AYES: Koth, Alonso, Murphy, Shuler, Meo, and Pfleging 14. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Borough Mayor and Council, on a motion by Councilman Shuler, seconded by Councilman Meo carried unanimously by voice vote the Borough Council s Meeting was adjourned at 8:29 PM.. Laura J. Graham, RMC Borough Administrator/Municipal Clerk 30