Mountain Lakes Environmental Commission

Meeting Minutes

June 7, 2006

 

Meeting called to order 7:40 p.m.

 

Attending: Todd Terhune (chair for this meeting), Steve Butera, Tom Carr, Laurel Durenberger, Armen Melikian, Murray Robertson, Paul Shorb, Council Liaison Blair Wilson.  Guest: Phil Notestine (Woodlands Committee).

 

Administrative:

 

Minutes. No draft minutes from the May meeting were submitted.

 

Membership. Steve Butera was introduced and welcomed as a new member of the EC.  Blair suggested Kevin Edwards as a new EC member, and the EC expressed support for Council appointing him. Laurel Durenberger will step down after this meeting as an official EC member, but expressed interest in continuing to help on specific projects on an ad hoc basis.  The July meeting is the last that Paul Shorb can attend before moving out of state; he will resign as necessary to allow Kevin to be appointed. At that point the EC will have seven members and two alternates (Butera, Carr, Edwards, Macleod, Melikian, Robertson, Rogers, Stitt, Terhune).

 

Chair. Todd Terhune said he would not be able to serve as chair on a regular basis. The EC discussed who could serve as chair. Murray Robertson agreed to chair the July meeting. No long-term resolution was reached.

 

Summer schedule. The EC agreed to meet again on July 5 (planning to attend include: Butera, Carr, Robertson, Shorb, Terhune; not Durenberger, Melikian, Rogers, presumably). No discussion on August meeting.

 

Gulf Station

Murray had not yet drafted a letter but said he saw excavation work at the site, suggesting a response to a recent fuel spill. He agreed to draft and circulate to the EC, prior to the next EC meeting, a draft letter to go out over Gary Webb’s signature to the site owner/operator at to NJDEP. As discussed at prior meetings, the letter will ask for an update on the status of efforts there to remediate contamination; ask for copies of additional related reports as they are generated on an ongoing basis; and state the EC believes that the groundwater flow direction stated in a prior consultant report is incorrect. The EC aims to finalize the letter at the next EC meeting at the latest, so Gary Webb can send out. The EC’s objective here is to evaluate the adequacy and appropriateness of remediation efforts or inaction being allowed by the NJDEP, especially since a major water supply well for the Borough is downgradient, so the Boro can push for better action or schedule if necessary.

·        Action: Murray will circulate draft letter to EC members prior to July EC meeting.

 

Setback tree protection ordinance alert and education

  • Action: Laurel will email Ray Rogers to request text of postcard he previously drafted. [Per Nov. 2005 EC minutes: We should add to the postcard text the address to the webpage on the Boro website where the ordinance and a summary of it is posted.]
  • Action: Laurel will give postcard text and address list to Borough Hall, who will handle printing and mailing, as suggested by Blair.

 

Fusee property

Blair said that the Council is scheduled to hear a presentation at next Monday’s meeting from the developer (Weber?). Current issues of concern to Council include how much the proposed site plan has deviated from the conceptual plan and the setting to one end of the two buildings (out of eight) to be price-controlled as affordable housing. The developer is requesting an ordinance amendment from the Council, to resolve a height restriction issue. Armen said that the Planning Board has not yet approved the site plan, and will take up this matter again at a special meeting on July 29.  He said the Planning Board won’t vote on the site plan application at least until the ordinance amendment is adopted, and therefore not until at least August.

 

Meanwhile, the current site owner (Roy Digness) apparently is continuing to do work on the site, including screening and removing soil. Armen said the remediation plan has been changed from capping contaminated soil onsite to removing it to offsite. Murray expressed concern about whether airborne dust being generated thereby might by transporting arsenic and other contaminants known to exist at the site. Murray also expressed concern about whether the old unregulated dump was sufficiently studied in connection with the development of the new playing fields nearby, and suggested that the redeveloper of the Fusee property be required to study it further. He suggested that the Planning Board not approve the site plan until the EC has been able to sufficiently study the matter and the NJDEP has provided a No Further Action (“NFA”) letter.

 

The EC voted to ask Blair to report to Council at its meeting next Monday that the EC has concerns about subsurface contamination issues associated with the Fusee property and how it is redeveloped; the EC wants to obtain and review relevant documents and advise Council and the Planning Board; and site plan approval should not be granted before EC concerns are satisfied.

 

·        Action: Blair will ask Gary Webb to obtain from the developer and provide ASAP to the EC (care of Todd Terhune) copies of all documents related to the developer’s remediation plans and progress.

·        Action: Blair will report to Council next Monday the EC resolution above.

·        Action: Blair will give Murray a copy of environmental investigation report previously done on the old dump near (and partially on?) the Fusee property.

 

Deer

Phil Notestine reported and Tom Carr concurred that the understory in our woodlands seems to be growing back somewhat, apparently as a result of our reducing deer density. Phil reported that he has heard the song of wood thrushes again (which need forest understory), and that the rate of deer-vehicle collisions reported to Borough police seems to be substantially reduced. 

·        Action: None at this time.

 

King of Kings property

Murray summarized the idea behind the one-page position paper he had circulated to the EC in draft as requested. Laurel suggested some changes in emphasis.  After discussion, the EC voted to submit a revised version to Council by Friday, whose position in essence will be as follows: The EC recommends that the Borough work to cause redevelopment of the parcel to be concentrated in a single structure on as small a footprint as possible, so as to preserve as much of the property as possible in a contiguous area of woodlands or other natural state. The EC believes that, as contrasted with erecting single-family homes scattered across the property, thus concentrating the development will better (1) maximize groundwater recharge and surface water quality and (2) preserve woodlands as wildlife habitat and as buffer for noise and air pollution.

·        Action: Paul will draft revised position paper and circulate to EC members ASAP. EC member should email any comments by 9 p.m. Thursday June 8. Paul will provide final version Friday morning to Blair Wilson, so Council members can get in their packets Friday for review prior to meeting on Monday.

 

Meeting adjourned about 9:30 p.m.

 

Next meeting: October 4, 2006, 7:30 p.m., Mountain Lakes Borough Hall