April 19, 2005 Minutes

April 19, 2005

Mayor Susan R. Griffith opened the regularly scheduled meeting with a salute to the flag and moment of silence.

She then stated, “In Accordance with Section 5 of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975, notice of this meeting was posted on the bulletin board designed for that purpose and notice was mailed to the official newspaper provided by Resolution adopted January 5, 2005”.

Under Roll Call the following council members were present: Councilwomen Wyman, Cortese and Sheilds, Councilmen Hamburger and Witzig. Borough Solicitor John B. Kearney was also present. Councilwoman Haven was absent.

Motion made by Councilwoman Wyman, second by Councilman Witzig to approve the minutes from the March 1^ST meeting. All members present voted in favor of the approval of minutes.

The following Committee Reports were presented:

Councilman Donald Witzig, reporting for Public Safety apologized for being late and explained he is coaching track and will be late for caucus until the season is over. He also met with Council president Sheilds, and Sergeant Simmons for the first time to discuss the police contract. Meetings will resume after Labor Day. The new breathalizer has arrived and is in use. In closing, he cautioned council that the police department is in dire need of two new computers, which have not been budgeted for in 2005.

Councilwoman Sheilds said that a trip was made to Trenton to plea the borough’s case for extraordinary aid. The state’s response was do not to get their hopes up. We would not know the status of any aid until July.

Councilman Hamburger said he would attend the planning board meeting, in response to an invitation from Mr. Spaeth who had sent out flyers regarding the “Heights at St. Martins, LLC” subdivision This case is scheduled to be heard on 4/21/05. He will also pay a visit to Rosemary Fitzgerald, who had sent a letter to Mayor and Council objecting to renaming of streets (Hillside and Thirteenth Avenues for John Norcross and John McLaughlin.

There were no comments from the public on agenda items.

There was no old business.

Under New Business:

Resolution 2005:70 – Resolution Refunding Tax Overpayments. (Resident was approved for Senior Deduction in 2003. Due to an over site, the deduction was not pickup for 2004).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005:70 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilwoman Wyman. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:71 – New Jersey Department of Transportation Resolution, Application and Agreement for State Aid to Counties and Municipalities. (State Aid application for road work on West Atlantic Avenue from Garden Street to the Rt. 295 overpass).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005-71 was made by Councilwoman Wyman, Seconded by Councilwoman Shields. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:72 – New Jersey Department of Transportation Resolution, Application and Agreement for State Aid to Counties and Municipalities. (State Aid application for road work in the vicinity of Glenview Avenue School along Glenview Avenue between Sycamore Avenue and West High Street – Glenview School flashing light).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005-72 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilwoman Wyman. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:73 – Resolution Amending Resolution 2005:58. (To correct the transposition of accounts done in error)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005-73 was made by Councilman Witzig, seconded by Councilwoman Cortese. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:74 – Resolution Authorizing Payment of Bills and Claims for 2^nd Half of April.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005-74 was made by Councilwoman Wyman, seconded by Councilwoman

Cortese. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:75 - Resolution Authorizing the Borough of Haddon Heights Tax Collector to Prepare and Mail Estimated Tax Bills in Accordance with NJDA 54:5-66.3.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005:75 was made by Councilman Witzig, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:76 – Resolution Amending the Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual of the Borough of Haddon Heights. (Regarding Military Leave to confirm with NJAC 4A:6-1.11 that became effective January 3, 2005).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005:76 was made by Councilwoman Wyman, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:77 – Resolution Dedicating Certain Streets Within the Borough of Haddon Heights to the Memory of John Norcross and John “Jack” McLaughlin who were Killed During an Attempt to Issue a Warrant on April 20, 1995. (Hillside Avenue will be dedicated to John Norcross as “Norcross Way” and 13^th Avenue will be dedicated to John “Jack” McLaughlin as “McLaughlin Lane”)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005:77 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds. All members voted yes.

Resolution 2005:78 – Resolution Awarding a Bid to Bellmawr Truck Repair for the Purchase of a Used Trash Truck in the Amount of $25,000.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2005-78 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilwoman Cortese. All members voted yes.

With no further business to come before council, Mayor Griffith called for comments from the public

Mr. Kevin Spaeth 801 St. Martins – for the benefit of Councilman Witzig, who arrived late, stated he circulated the flyer regarding the subdivision/planning board meeting and urged council to attend.

He also asked if there was any closed door meeting with Canuso (contractor) Mayor Griffith answered none that she was aware of. He also asked what happens when maximum capacity is reached (227 chairs/ 366 standing room. Mayor Griffith stated the board won’t vote until all issues are resolved.

John Rayser – 611 W High Street asked if Resolutions 2005:71 and 2005:72 were grants – and was answered in the affirmative. He voiced his concern about the parking and traffic of the ball fields and suggested a police presence could generate a lot of revenue through tickets. Councilman Witzig will talk to the chief.

Motion to close the meeting to the public for a discussion of a personnel matter was made by councilwoman Wyman, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds

8:20

Closed Session

All members of council present except Beth Ann Haven who was absent.

Solicitor Kearney brought up the recent Courier Post article which stated the construction official, zoning officer, plumbing inspector and code enforcement employee – Mengste Thomas El and

Duane Wallace – who is building, electric and fire inspector as well as a fire sub code official are both full time employees with Camden and work part time in several towns, including Haddon Heights. Mr. Kearney checked with the DCA, who had no regulations about working for several towns. He suggested council sit tight for now. Apparently, they have cleared up a backlog of outstanding permits in the construction office. Mayor Griffith noted she asked Mr. El for a list of all the towns he was working in.

Replacement of Assessor (Christine Wahl, who gave her notice of retirement effective 5/1/05 – Mr. Kearney stated there are two options an inter-local or hire our own part-time certified assessor. He knew of two possibilities, Steve Kessler who does Audubon Park, Barrington among a few others. And Mike Rayo who is the assistant assessor in Cherry Hill. Mr. Kearney suggested two hours per week – Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm. He’ll contact both of them to see if there is an interest.

Closed session was over.