BOROUGH
OF
M I N U T E S
1.
CALL TO ORDER; OPENING STATEMENT: This
meeting is being held in compliance
with Public Law 1975, Chapter
231, Sections 4 and 13, as notice of this meeting and the agenda thereof had
been reported to The Citizen and the Morris County Daily Record
on
Mayor Stephen Shaw called the meeting to order at
2.
ATTENDANCE AND FLAG SALUTE
All Council members were
present except for Deputy Mayor Gormally, who arrived at
3. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Resolution 56-09
WHEREAS, the Borough Council of the Borough of
Morris, State of
· Attorney – Client Privilege / Settlement – Trash Bag Agreement
· Tax Appeal – King of Kings Property
WHEREAS, the Borough Council believes it to be in the best interest of the public to discuss such matters in closed session.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mountain Lakes, that it shall
enter Executive Session to discuss only those matters mentioned above; the
results of which will be disclosed when the matters are resolved and upon vote
of the Governing Body to release the minutes.
Motion
by Councilman Gormally, second by Councilwoman Wilson, to enter into
Executive
Session, with all members in favor signifying by “Aye.”
Motion
by Councilwoman Wilson, second by Councilman Jackson, to close the Executive
Session
and return to the public portion of the meeting at
signifying by “Aye.”
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor
Shaw congratulated the men’s & women’s swim teams, as both are sectional
champs. Mayor Shaw also thanked those who assisted the Borough with the recent
power issues.
Councilman
McWilliams pointed out that several surrounding towns helped the Borough
including Boonton,
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
Mayor Shaw explained the
Council’s policy of limiting each speaker to five (5) minutes and no yielding
of time to another person.
Mayor Shaw explained that the
agenda tonight would cover the current budget appropriations, with the capital
budget & utilities to be discussed at the March 9th meeting. The
Council would like to introduce the 2009 Budget at the March 23rd
meeting.
Mayor Shaw opened the public
comment portion of the meeting with the consent of the
Council.
Fred Kanter –
Mr. Kanter expressed his displeasure with some
members of the Council and the former
Borough Manager.
With
no one else wishing to be heard, Mayor Shaw closed the public comment portion
of the
meeting.
6.
2009 MUNICIPAL BUDGET
·
Legal
·
Engineering
·
Construction
·
Recreation
·
Library
·
Courts
·
Boards, Commissions, Committees
·
Water and Sewer Utilities
Mayor Shaw recognized
Mr. Moody, the President of the Library Board of Trustees. Mr. Moody explained
that the library is a free public library and not a municipal library and therefore
the operating budget is lower than if it were Borough owned. This meant that
there was a savings to the Borough. He explained that the Library Board
believed the budget as presented was reasonable and asked the Council to accept
it as submitted. If the library goes over its budget the additional money would
be recouped from its own funds. Mr. Chris Sullivan, a library board member,
also spoke on behalf of the library budget.
Legal
Councilwoman Wilson
asked what the legal expenses were in reference to fair share housing, and Mr.
Tempesta explained the money would be used in connection with COAH, if
necessary.
Engineering
Mr. Tempesta said
Borough Engineer Bill Ryden was charged to several different areas in the
budget and that there was no increase in his hourly costs for 2009. Mr. Ryden and Kimball & Kimball are
expected to play a big part in the Highlands/COAH review. The Borough has
submitted an application for $50,000 maximum reimbursement for its COAH fees,
and hopes to receive some of the grant money.
Planning Board
The Planning Board
attorney’s contract was changed to billable hours versus retainer. This has
resulted in a savings as the attorney was not needed in January and February.
HPC
Money was budgeted for
the author of the Centennial book.
Zoning Board of
Adjustment
Mr. Tempesta said the
Zoning Board of Adjustment has seen more activity compared to the Planning
Board. Councilman Jackson commented on the decrease in the zoning officer’s
salary, and Mr. Tempesta said that it was a direct result of personnel changes
made last year.
Construction Office
Mr. Tempesta said there
would be no increase in salary for certain officials due to lack of activity.
Councilman Happer had some questions on the salary structure, hours, and number
of employees, which was explained by Mr. Tempesta. Councilman Jackson discussed
cutting back hours and/or resizing the department but Mr. Tempesta explained it
was too early in the year to do that as activity might pick up.
Insurance
Mr. Tempesta explained
the Borough did well with the Joint Insurance Fund because the costs actually
went down. Also the health insurance cost increase was reasonable.
Board of Health
Mr. Tempesta reminded
the Council that some of our Health Services are combined with the
Environmental Commission
The budget has stayed
fairly flat. Councilwoman Emr said the Borough is looking for grant money.
Mayor Shaw said grant money might be available from one of the modules as the
Borough participates with COAH/Highlands.
Woodlands Committee
This is a new line item
for the budget. Councilwoman Emr asked if the budget included the cost of
pesticides for the removal of invasive vegetation. She asked if volunteers
would be required to have pesticide licenses. Mr. Tempesta said it was possible
the Committee may have already talked to Mr. Prusina, because there are DPW
employees that have the necessary licenses. Councilwoman Wilson explained that
the Woodlands project included work for the future, and its project with the
High School would help the Borough with the aging tree canopy.
55 Plus
Councilman Jackson said
the Council needed an accounting on how the money was being spent. Mr. Tempesta said he would get more
information for the next meeting.
Utilities/Electricity/Telecommunications
Councilman Happer asked
if the Borough had looked at other options for telephones. According to Chief
Financial Officer
PERS and PFRS
Mr. Tempesta explained
that the budget fully funds these two accounts. Although there has been
discussion in the press about only funding 50%, Mr. Tempesta said he still
recommended putting aside the money that was due. The Council supported his
decision.
Court
Councilwoman Emr asked
about the line item for the prosecutor. Chief Financial Officer Mooney explained
this was in a different part of the budget.
Recreation
Councilman Jackson asked
Recreation Director
Water & Sewer
Deputy Treasurer Kenny
Huelbig explained the Borough had reallocated costs for energy to 80% current
fund, 10% water and 10% sewer. The Borough had a cash-operating deficit for
water and sewer, which had to be raised in full. Mr. Tempesta spoke about the
excellent job the Borough does in water conservation. He said the Borough was
using less water today then ten (10) years ago, however, this means revenues
are down. Also, the DPW has worked hard to repair and stop leaks. Councilman
Jackson asked for a spreadsheet of water usage. Mr. Tempesta said more
information regarding utilities would be forthcoming at the next meeting.
Mr. Tempesta spoke about
the areas where the Borough was able to make cuts, such as lakes management and
some police items. Councilman Happer asked about the current fund surplus, and
was curious as to what caused the decrease. Mr. Tempesta said the increase in
tax appeals and raising the reserve for uncollected taxes were contributing
factors.
Councilman Jackson asked
whether or not other members of Council would support asking the Library Board
to decrease the four percent (4%) raise to three percent (3%). The majority of
Council members supported the four percent (4%) raise.
Councilwoman Wilson indicated she felt Borough
Manager Joe Tempesta should receive an increase. Councilman Jackson said the
Personnel Committee should discuss the matter.
Mayor Shaw asked members
of the Council how they felt about the budget as presented. The majority of
Council members were comfortable with the current budget figures as long as
State aid remained the same.
7. *RESOLUTIONS
R54-09
Award of Contract/Lake Management Treatment
R55-09
Payment of Bills
8. *MINUTES
Councilwoman Wilson made some changes to the
minutes regarding the date of the Fire
Department Pancake Breakfast.
|
Council Member |
By: |
2nd: |
Yes |
No |
Abstain |
Absent |
|
McWilliams |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Emr |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Gormally |
|
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
Happer |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Shaw |
|
|
X |
|
|
|
Consent
Agenda Vote
9.
ATTORNEY’S REPORT
Mr. Murphy addressed the
Ippolitto matter, which was brought before the Council at the last meeting. He
spoke to the Ippolitto’s attorney, who was going to do title searches and then
contact Mr. Murphy. There was a discussion on what it meant to vacate a paper
road. Mr. Murphy explained that it meant
there was no public interest in the road. Mr. Murphy will report again on the
matter at the next meeting.
10. MANAGER’S REPORT
The Manager’s memo
regarding power outages was discussed earlier in the meeting. Mr. Tempesta
addressed the question of liability for volunteers. He spoke to a
representative from the JIF, and was told that any committee created by and for
the Borough was covered under its liability provision.
The Council discussed
creating a policy on the use of power equipment; i.e. power saws, etc.
Mr. Tempesta said
JCP&L has been contacted regarding the lights at the train station,
and the issue is being addressed. A
survey of the town has indicated that many streetlights are out. In addition,
the lanyard was repaired at Memorial Park and the Pickwick Lane Street sign was
fixed.
11. COUNCIL REPORTS
Resignation of Ralph Loveys/Planning Board
Appointments
Citizen of the Year Award
Janice Hunts Award
Motion
by Councilwoman Wilson, second by Councilwoman Emr, to appoint Jim Bailey as
the first alternate to the Planning Board and Martin Kane as the second
alternate, with all members in favor signifying by “Aye”.
Peter Holmberg and Paul Selver have been moved from
alternate to Class 4 positions.
HPC
Councilman Jackson said Andy
and Peggy Bulfer will continue as co-chairs of the HPC for the time being.
Web Site Committee
Councilman Jackson said Andy
Bulfer will continue to chair the Web Site Committee.
55 Plus
Councilman McWilliams
had nothing to report on Fifty-Five Plus.
Joint Ordinance
Committee
Councilman McWilliams
said the Joint Ordinance Committee was very close to bringing something to the
Council.
Recreation Commission
Councilman Happer said
the Commission had a speaker from
Woodlands Committee
Councilwoman Wilson said
the Woodlands Committee reviewed its program for the year, as well as the
tree-planting program at the High School.
COAH/Highlands
Mayor Shaw said the
COAH/Highlands Committee met twice and was working with the town engineer and
planner on module 1.
Deputy Mayor Gormally asked about the break-ins which recently occurred
in the Borough. Mr. Tempesta said Chief
Tovo informed him about them today, and they are all under investigation.
12. ADJOURNMENT
Motion
by Deputy Mayor Gormally, second by Mayor Shaw, to adjourn the meeting at
*Consent Agenda
Attest:
___________________________ _____________________
Joseph Tempesta, Deputy
Clerk