BOROUGH OF MOUNTAIN LAKES

BOROUGH HALL, 400 BOULEVARD, MOUNTAIN LAKES

973-334-3131

www.mtnlakes.org

 

JULY 22, 2013

7:30 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION

8:00 p.m. PUBLIC SESSION

MINUTES

 

 

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 8, 2013 and posted in the municipal building.

 

Deputy Mayor McWilliams called the meeting to order at 8:00 pm.

2.             ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE

 

Ms. Reilly called the roll. All Council members were present except for Mayor Happer, who arrived at 8:02 pm. Also in attendance were Borough Attorney Robert Oostdyk, Borough Manager Robert Tovo, Borough Clerk Michele Reilly, as well as Acting Chief Financial Officer D. Timothy Roberts, Police Chief Shawn Bennett and Department of Public Works Director Mark Prusina.

3.             FLAG SALUTE

 

4.             EXECUTIVE SESSION:                                                     NONE

                 

5.             COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Councilwoman Bravo remarked that Mayor Happer had recently celebrated a birthday.

 

Councilman Holmberg commented on the success of the Fourth of July festivities and thanked the Recreation Director and Recreation Commission for their efforts.

 

6.             PUBLIC COMMENT

 

Mayor Happer opened the public comment portion of the meeting with the consent of the Council. Mayor Happer 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 Happer closed the public comment portion of the meeting.

7.             SPECIAL PRESENTATION:

                Mid-Year Financial Review –            D. Timothy Roberts, Acting CFO      

                                                                                Robert Tovo, Borough Manager

 

Mr. Roberts reviewed the budget status reports he had prepared and told the Council he was pleased with the overall state of the budget. He highlighted certain line items that he felt required additional explanation since they were either over or under the fifty percent (50%) expected as of June 30th.

 

In reference to revenues, he explained that the Board of Ed – Solid Waste Collection and Board of Ed – Field Lease line items are low due to the practice of billing the Board in the second half of the year. The Energy Receipts Tax line item has realized no revenue and will not until the State’s budget is passed at the end of June. Uniform Construction Code fees are low but more activity is anticipated in the summer months and the Construction Official has just reported collecting an additional $28,000 in fees. Mr. Roberts explained that the “Amount to be Raised by Taxes” is difficult to calculate until the end of the year and therefore shows no revenue on the report even though tax money has been collected in 2013. In response to Council questions, he said he would be able to make a projection in the third quarter reports he will be providing. Additional Council concerns included surplus for trash bag receipts and tipping fees as well as FEMA reimbursement. Mr. Roberts will provide the cost of tipping fees and trash bag fees and a year to year comparison, and Mr. Tovo said that increased recycling could account for the higher surplus. Regarding FEMA, Mr. Tovo said the Borough is owed $130,000 for 2011 storms.

 

 

 

 

 

In reference to appropriations, Mr. Roberts reported that overtime for the Department of Public Works is slightly higher than anticipated. Mr. Tovo said the DPW Director, Mr. Prusina, is aware. Vehicle maintenance is also slightly high at the mid-year mark, and Mr. Tovo explained that more use equals more maintenance. He stated that most of the added expense is for parts, as the DPW Mechanic handles many of the repairs. Mr. Roberts said that Shade Tree spending appears high, but isn’t due to the fact that their pruning and removal project is completed by the first half of the year and this project accounts for most of their budget. The line item for “Buildings and Grounds” is at 80%, largely due to repairs of the HVAC system at the Borough Hall. Mr. Tovo said the existing ductwork presents constant problems and that he and Mr. Prusina are having a new vendor evaluate the HVAC system. Mr. Roberts explained that PERS and PFRS line items are at one hundred percent (100%) since these bills are paid in the first quarter of the year. Mr. Roberts reported that the biggest appropriations issue and the only area of concern is Street Lighting. He said that the Borough based the 2013 budget on 2012 figures; however, at the time the budget was passed the Borough was unaware that the electric company had not billed for an entire section of the municipality. The Borough subsequently received a bill for eight (8) months of usage from 2012, and therefore the baseline used for the 2013 budget was flawed. Mr. Roberts said that an appropriations transfer will be necessary to cover the extra costs incurred for this line item. Appropriations transfers cannot be done until the last two months of the year per State law. Mr. Tovo said that department heads would be asked to limit purchases in order to ensure funds are available to cover the transfer.

 

Mr. Roberts reported that the Water and Sewer Utilities were in solid shape. Mayor Happer said the Finance Committee had reviewed these same reports and was comfortable with the status of the budget.

 

 

8.             DISCUSSION ITEMS:

                -Cablevision Franchise Agreement

                -Council Dashboard Reports

                -Potential Stacking Lane on Boulevard

                -Parking Ordinance Change

                -Leash Law Ordinance Change    

 

 

-Cablevision Franchise Agreement

Mr. Oostdyk explained that the current agreement is expiring and needs to be renewed. Renewal of the Franchise Agreement simply allows Cablevision to operate within the municipality and offers them no exclusivity. The main purpose of the public hearing, which will be held on September 9th, is to allow the public to comment and express any concerns they might have regarding the cost of services or program content. A representative of Cablevision will be present at the public hearing. Mr. Oostdyk said that Cablevision would prefer a fifteen to twenty (15-20) year agreement instead of a five to ten (5-10) year agreement and will negotiate with the Council. Councilman Holmberg suggested sending a Broadcast email shortly before the public hearing in order to encourage residents to attend. Mayor Happer suggested that Mr. Tovo contact the Superintendent and/or Board Administrator to determine if there are any needs in the schools for equipment or services, as per Mr. Oostdyk these are negotiable items when discussing the term of the Franchise Agreement.

 

-Council Dashboard Reports

Mr. Oostdyk said that he had reviewed Councilman Holmberg’s template. He felt it could be a useful but cautioned the Council against using the report to facilitate discussions outside of a Council meeting. Mayor Happer agreed and stated that these reports would be used to facilitate the “Council Reports” section of the Borough Council meetings and would function as a tool to keep other Council members informed about sub-committee and board/commission/committee activities, goals, and agenda items.  The Council agreed to begin by having the liaisons use the dashboard report and will consider asking chairs to use them in 2014. Ms. Reilly will forward Councilman Holmberg’s template to the rest of the Council. Mayor Happer reminded the liaisons to encourage their committees to post goals and minutes to the website.

 

-Potential Stacking Lane on Boulevard

Deputy Mayor McWilliams explained that he had discussed this project with Freeholder Doug Cabana. If the Council was interested and petitioned the Freeholders it was possible that they would agree to add a lane on the Boulevard at the corner of Boulevard and Pocono Road. As this is a County road it would be a County project and the Borough would incur no expense. However, Mr. Tovo stated that if the traffic light had to be moved, that would be at the Borough’s expense. He said he had spoken to the County Engineer, Mr. Steve Hammond, and the cost of moving the light was estimated at $75,000. Councilman Borin felt that a stacking lane might change the character of the entrance to town. In addition, Council members noted that they had not heard residents requesting a stacking lane. The consensus of the Council was to pass on the project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Parking Ordinance Change

Councilwoman Bravo said one of the goals of the Public Safety Sub-Committee was to review some of the Borough Ordinances and revise those that are ambiguous and lack the means for enforcement. Chief Bennett stated that, as written, the current Ordinance prevents the Police from enforcing no parking on the street during an ice or snow event. In addition, it does not allow for towing of a vehicle, should that be necessary. Chief Bennett said that there is a least one plow versus vehicle accident every year due to vehicles left in the roadway. Mr. Prusina commented that there is also the issue of “nosing”, which means that a portion of the vehicle is left in the roadway in order to prevent a plow from reaching the edge of a driveway. Vehicles and/or portions of vehicles left in the road present safety hazards to DPW employees. Chief Bennett said if the Ordinance were changed, the Police Department would still follow the current procedure of attempting to contact the resident and/or owner of the vehicle before a summons was issued or a vehicle was towed. An Ordinance change would allow for enforcement when and if necessary. Mayor Happer pointed out that the Borough Manager, the Chief of Police, and the Department of Public Works Director all supported the Ordinance change. After discussion, the majority of Council was in favor of amending the current Ordinance to include no parking of any part of any vehicle on a Borough roadway during a snow or ice event and to include a towing provision. The Borough Attorney was instructed to prepare an Ordinance for introduction at the next meeting.

 

-Leash Law Ordinance Change

Councilman Lester, one of the members of the Public Safety Sub-Committee, led the discussion. He stated that the current Ordinance is ineffective and lacks enforceability. Chief Bennett agreed. Councilman Lester said the Sub-Committee advocated changing the definition of “strict control”, which as currently stated in the Ordinance means “when a dog is leashed, carried, or at heel beside a competent person and obedient to that person’s command”.  Pet waste and dogs running at large complaints are prevalent specifically in the Birchwood Lake and Village areas of the Borough. The Council consensus was to have the Borough Attorney prepare on Ordinance changing the definition of strict control to “when a dog is leashed or carried”, applicable only to dogs off-premise.

 

9.             *RESOLUTIONS:

R130-13                Resolution Authorizing the Execution of An Amendment to Developer’s Agreement Between the Borough                                  of Mountain Lakes and Hornrock Properties Mountain Lakes Limited Liability Company

R131-13                Resolution Accepting Performance Guarantee - Hornrock Properties – Block 88, Lot 18

R132-13                Resolution Awarding the Award of Contract for the Powerville Road & Briarcliff Road Improvement Project

R133-13                Resolution Authorizing the Refund of Overpayment of Taxes – Block 100, Lot 1

R134-13                Resolution Authorizing 2013 Municipal Employees’ Salary - Walsh

R135-13                Resolution Authorizing the Payment of Bills

 

Prior to the Consent Agenda vote Councilman Bradlee asked that Resolution 134-13, Resolution Authorizing 2013 Municipal Employees’ Salary – Walsh be pulled from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration and vote. Councilman Lester asked that Resolution130-13, Resolution Authorizing the Execution of An Amendment to Developer’s Agreement Between the Borough of Mountain Lakes and Hornrock Properties Mountain Lakes Liability Company, Resolution 131-13, Resolution Accepting Performance Guarantee – Hornrock Properties – Block 88, Lot 18, and Resolution 132-13, Resolution Awarding the Contract for the Powerville Road and Briarcliff Road Improvement Project, also be pulled from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration and vote.

 

10.          *MINUTES:                          

                June 24, 2013 (Executive)

                June 24, 2013 (Regular)

 

 

11.          *DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

                Construction Department                 June 2013

                Department of Public Works             June 2013

                Fire Department                                  June 2013

                Health Department                             June 2013

                Police Department                              June 2013

                Tax Department                                   June 2013

 

 

12.          *COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS:                                See Attached

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Council Member

By:

2nd:

Yes

No

Abstain

Absent

Borin

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bradlee

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bravo

X

 

X

 

 

 

Holmberg

 

X

X

 

 

 

Lester

 

 

X

 

 

 

McWilliams

 

 

X

 

 

 

Happer

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resolution 130-13

Resolution Authorizing the Execution of An Amendment to Developer’s Agreement Between the Borough of Mountain Lakes and Hornrock Properties Mountain Lakes Limited Liability Company

 

Councilman Lester made a motion, second by Councilman Bravo, to pass the Resolution. Councilman Lester asked Mr. Tovo what triggered the payments of $8,333 to the Borough and Mr. Tovo replied that payment was due once the Certificate of Occupancy (CO) was issued. Councilman Lester made a motion that the language in the agreement be changed from “obligation” to “contribution”, second by Councilman Holmberg. The Resolution passed as amended and Mr. Oostdyk will have the language changed in the agreement.

 

Council Member

By:

2nd:

Yes

No

Abstain

Absent

Borin

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bradlee

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bravo

 

 

X

 

 

 

Holmberg

 

X

X

 

 

 

Lester

X

 

X

 

 

 

McWilliams

 

 

X

 

 

 

Happer

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resolution 131-13

Resolution Accepting Performance Guarantee - Hornrock Properties – Block 88, Lot 18

 

At Council’s request, Mr. Oostdyk explained the basis for the Resolution. He stated that the developer has agreed to certain improvements as outlined during the Planning Board process. The Borough Engineer developed an estimate of the cost of the improvements and the developer is responsible for posting cash and a bond in an amount representing 120% of the estimate. If the developer does not complete the improvements and/or does not complete them within the agreed upon time frame, the municipality is able to use the bond money to complete the improvements. The Borough Council accepts and releases the bonds based on recommendation from the Borough Engineer.

 

 

Council Member

By:

2nd:

Yes

No

Abstain

Absent

Borin

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bradlee

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bravo

 

X

X

 

 

 

Holmberg

 

 

X

 

 

 

Lester

X

 

X

 

 

 

McWilliams

 

 

X

 

 

 

Happer

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resolution 132-13

Resolution Awarding the Award of Contract for the Powerville Road & Briarcliff Road Improvement Project

 

Councilman Lester inquired about quality controls and whether specific language was required in the Resolution. Mr. Tovo said that quality control issues are covered in the bid packet, which had been reviewed by him and the Borough Engineer, Bill Ryden. He stated that he had called all references provided by the bid winner and was satisfied with the vendor’s capability to complete a quality project. Mr. Oostdyk said bonding is built into the bid specifications to facilitate quality completion of the project and he has reviewed the bond posted by the bid winner. He also stated that quality specifications would be listed in the contract and should not be stipulated in the Resolution.

 

 

Council Member

By:

2nd:

Yes

No

Abstain

Absent

Borin

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bradlee

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bravo

X

 

X

 

 

 

Holmberg

 

 

X

 

 

 

Lester

 

 

X

 

 

 

McWilliams

 

X

X

 

 

 

Happer

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resolution 134-13

Resolution Authorizing 2013 Municipal Employees’ Salary - Walsh

 

Councilman Bradlee questioned the need to add a thirteenth police officer. He stated that this was no reflection on Mr. Walsh but the department was currently running with twelve officers and he felt they could continue to do so. Mayor Happer said that the department was functioning but not functioning as well as it could, and that both the Personnel and Public Safety Sub-Committees had vetted the addition of another police officer. The decision to add the additional police officer had been affirmed by the Borough Council at the previous meeting.

 

 

Council Member

By:

2nd:

Yes

No

Abstain

Absent

Borin

 

 

X

 

 

 

Bradlee

 

 

 

X

 

 

Bravo

 

 

X

 

 

 

Holmberg

X

 

X

 

 

 

Lester

 

X

X

 

 

 

McWilliams

 

 

X

 

 

 

Happer

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

13.          ATTORNEY’S REPORT:

 

Mr. Oostdyk had nothing additional to report.

 

14.          MANAGER’S REPORT:

 

Mr. Tovo reported that the Canal cleaning project was completed and the staging area was being restored. Twelve hundred (1,200) tons of material had been removed, considerably more than had been anticipated. He said he had received many favorable public comments.

 

Mr. Tovo has provided the first four (4) chapters of the revised Policy and Procedure Manual to the Personnel Sub-Committee for review. Chapters 5 and 6 are now ready to be reviewed as well. He expects chapters 7 and 8 to be completed within thirty to sixty (30-60) days.

 

 

 

Mr. Tovo reported that the part-time administrative position has been filled by Danielle Sekula. Her hours will be from 11:30 am – 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. She brings ten (10) years administrative experience to the position.

 

Additionally, the two (2) new police officers started at the Police Academy on July 15th. They will spend forty (40) hours a week at the Academy. They are expected to graduate on December 12th.

 

Mr. Tovo thanked Mr. Prusina and Ms. Reilly for their help with Borough operations while he was on vacation.

 

Councilman Lester asked about the status of CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) and Mr. Tovo said that he and Chief Bennett were working on a curriculum that he expected to be ready at the end of the summer.

 

 

15.          COUNCIL REPORTS:

 

Communications Committee – Councilman Lester said the first meeting would be in September.

.

DPW Sub-Committee – Mayor Happer reported that the Sub-Committee was auditing Borough venues in order to develop a list of projects. Mr. Tovo said the main focus of the audit was the beach facilities. Councilman Bradlee suggested coordination with the Board of Education, and Councilman Holmberg said that Board Member Cathy Mitchell was spearheading a field audit.

 

Mayor Happer stated that he would like to review fee structures in October, to determine if there were any necessary adjustments. If so, the fee Ordinance could be amended and new fees could be effective in 2014.

 

16.          PUBLIC COMMENT:

 

Mayor Happer opened the second public comment portion of the meeting with the consent of the Council. Mayor Happer 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 Happer closed the second public comment portion of the meeting.

 

17.          ADJOURNMENT at 10:32 p.m.

 

Motion made by Deputy Mayor McWilliams, second by Councilman Holmberg, to adjourn the meeting at 10:32 p.m., with all members in favor signifying by “Aye”.

 

*Consent Agenda (Matters listed are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion of the Council and one roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council member requests an item be removed for consideration.)

 

 

Attest: July 22, 2013

 

 

____________________________________                                            _______________________________ 

Michele Reilly, RMC, Borough Clerk                                                               Daniel J. Happer, Mayor