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 and The Star Ledger on January 4, 2011 and posted in the municipal building.

Mayor Charles Gormally called the meeting to order at 8 p.m.

2.  ATTENDANCE AND FLAG SALUTE

All Council members were present except for Councilman George Jackson.

Also in attendance were Borough Attorney Marty Murphy, Borough Manager Barry Lewis, and Borough Clerk Christina Whitaker.

3. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Councilman Doug McWilliams informed the Council that the ML Fire Department, along with neighboring fire departments, responded to a fire at 100 Laurel Hill on Sunday. Some firefighters received minor injuries and one firefighter broke his thumb.

Councilman Peter Holmberg noted that 100 people participated in the Woods and Lake Run on May 1^st.

Councilman McWilliams said that the Fire Department made $580 at the paper shredding event which was held concurrently with Trash Day. The funds will be donated to the Boonton Kiwanis.

4. PUBLIC COMMENT

       Mayor Gormally opened the public comment portion of the meeting with consent of the

       Council.

Mayor Gormally explained the Council’s policy of limiting each speaker to five (5) minutes      

       and no yielding of time to another person.

With no one wishing to be heard, Mayor Gormally closed the public comment portion of the meeting.

       5. *RESOLUTIONS

           R 74 Hazard Mitigation Plan

           R 75 Payment of Bills

6.* MINUTES

April 25, 2011 Executive

April 25, 2011 Regular

Council Member	By:	2^nd:	Yes	No	Abstain	Absent
McWilliams			X
Holmberg			X
Jackson						X
Bravo	X		X
Shaw			X
Happer		X	X
Gormally			X

     7.  DEPARTMENT REPORTS

          A. Construction Official

          B. DPW

          C. Fire

          D. Police           

Deputy Mayor Dan Happer inquired of the Manager regarding any trends in traffic stops.

     8. ATTORNEY REPORT

     Mr. Murphy had nothing to report.

     9. MANAGER REPORT

     Mr. Lewis said he met with Auditor Tim Vrabel to discuss outstanding finance issues.

     Members of his staff will be in this week to work on the budget.

     Mr. Lewis said he also met with DPW Director Mark Prusina to review a 5-year capital plan.

     Improvements to well # 3 and # 5 are completed and the Borough is waiting for final State

     approval.

     Hydro-raking of Grunden Pond is completed.

     Allied Biological is waiting for DEP permits before beginning lake treatments.

     The permit application for the Wildwood dam has been filed, but the Borough is still waiting

     on the DEP approval.

    Cove Project

    Councilwomen Blair Bravo said the Committee has met numerous times but there are

    portions of the project that scheduling is still an issue.

    Councilman Stephen Shaw said that he did not remember the incorporation of curbing in the

    original plan.   He noted that putting in proper curbing can be a massive undertaking.

    Mr. Lewis said that Borough Engineer Bill Ryden recommended the curbing and estimated

    the cost to be about $7500, which would still fit within the designated budget. Councilwoman

    Bravo said that curbing was in the original plan; however, due to the cost factor had not been

    placed in the budget.

 Deputy Mayor Happer said that he was disappointed that the issue of curbing was just being

 introduced for discussion when Memorial Day was just a couple weeks away.

 A lengthy discussion ensued about the merits of concrete curbing versus Belgium block.

 Mr. Lewis said the price would determine which type of curbing would be installed.

 Councilman Shaw said there would not be much of a difference between the two.

 Mayor Gormally said it seemed unrealistic to assume that the work could be completed before

 Memorial Day and warned that rushing the project was not wise.

 The Manager will provide the Council with details of the capital and police department budget  

 by the next meeting.

The Council discussed issues relating to the Borough’s web site, including the community calendar and long term plans to make the site more user friendly.

Councilman McWilliams informed the Council that public interest in a community garden was being handled by Celia Flynn.

Mayor Gormally said Councilman Holmberg suggested that a discussion on the expansion or on improvements to the Borough offices should be reopened. Councilman Holmberg noted that it was one of the items on the Council’s priority list. He suggested the Council revisit the matter and look at long and short term plans for the facilities.

Mayor Gormally wanted to know if Council members supported an in-depth discussion on expansion.

Councilman Shaw said that he believed the Council should agree to fix the existing building and maximize what is already here. Councilwoman Bravo agreed with Councilman Shaw, noting that this year’s budget was an indication that the Council wanted to be more cautious in its spending. 

However, Councilman McWilliams said that the functionality of the Fire Department was becoming challenging. He said Police Chief Tovo recommended expanding the existing building and use the additional area for a Council Chamber, Fire Department, and for group meetings.

Mayor Gormally said he did not sense much support from the Council on the Chief’s recommendations, particularly since the Shared Service Committee was still reviewing options.

Councilman McWilliams said he was surprised that there was not more support from the Council since there was an apparent need.

Councilwoman Bravo said she felt the timing was all wrong for the Borough to be spending more money.

Councilman Shaw said the Council needed to be upfront and let the Chief and Fire Department know that that there did not seem to be much support for expanding at this time,  

Councilman McWilliams restated his feelings that the employees and volunteers deserve better working conditions.

10. COUNCIL REPORTS

Councilman Shaw said that the Lakes Management Committee is asking that additional aerators be included in the Capital Budget.  In addition, Committee members asked that the permit process for lake treatments begin earlier next year.

Councilman Shaw said the Shared Services Committee is continuing dialogue with Boonton Township.

Councilman McWilliams said that a May 18^th meeting exploring interest in a Community Garden will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Library.

The Borough Guide is almost completed. Councilman McWilliams will be reviewing the draft being compiled by Joan Best. The next Borough Guide Committee meeting is planned for May 17^th at 3:30 p.m. in the conference room at Borough Hall.

Councilman McWilliams said the Environmental Commission hopes to have the ERI finished soon.  The Commission has two openings for alternates.

Councilman Shaw informed the Council that the Briarcliff School will hold the 8^th grade municipal government program on May 25^th   at 1 p.m. There will be a presentation on the function of the local government and a mock Council meeting. Members of the Governing Body are invited to attend.

11. PUBLIC COMMENT

Mayor Gormally opened the second public comment portion of the meeting with consent of

the Council.

With no one wishing to be heard, Mayor Gormally closed the public comment portion of the meeting.

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion by Councilman Shaw, second by Councilman Holmberg, to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m., with all members in favor signifying by “Aye.”

*Consent Agenda

Attest: May 9, 2011

________________________________       _______________________________ 

Christina Whitaker, Clerk                                  Charles Gormally,   Mayor