April 26, 2008 Minutes

April 26, 2008

Mayor Scott M. Alexander opened the special meeting with a salute to the flag.

Under Roll call the following members were present: Councilmen Lee Wentz, Donald Witzig, Tad Fetter and Gordon Shopp, Council President Trish Sheilds. Councilwoman Rosemary Fitzgerald was absent as was Solicitor Salvatore Siciliano due to a death in his family. William Tobolsky, Esq. sat in for Solicitor Siciliano.

New Business:

Resolution 2008: 97 - Resolution Appointing Construction Official. (John Szczerbinski filling unexpired term to 12/31/09).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2008:97 was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Wentz. All members present were in favor.

Resolution 2008:98 - Resolution Appointing Plumbing Inspector. (Anthony Cimino filling unexpired term to 12/31/09).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2008:98 was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Witzig. All members present were in favor.

Resolution 2008:99 - Resolution Appointing Zoning Code Enforcement Officer/Nuisance Officer. (Ron Newell, term expiring 12/31/08).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2008:99 was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Shopp. All members present were in favor.

Resolution 2008:100 - Resolution Awarding Contract for Recycling Pick Up.

Before a motion was made, Mr. Tobolsky asked Mayor Alexander to give an explanation of why the lowest bidder was not chosen. Mayor Alexander read the following statement: “Scott and Rich met with all three recycling vendors, Lee met with Waste Management and Casworth. Rich and I recommend Republic Services. Lee and I have not had a chance to catch up on his opinion. Overall, we believe that hiring a large established company is the right direction for Haddon Heights and its residents. We felt that both Republic Services and Waste Management offered a level of focus on quality, safety and customer service that we think we need. Republic’s price is less than Waste Management, and when Rich called clients of both candidates his take away was that Waste Management was not as solid in supervisor support as was Republic.”

Motion to adopt Resolution 2008:100 was made by Councilman Fetter, seconded by Councilman Shopp. Councilman Wentz asked about the contract with FCR. Mayor Alexander said it was an oversight and will not make a difference. Council President Sheilds said to “wait for adoption…Recycle Bank was not included”.

Discussion ensued between Mayor Alexander and Council President Sheilds. Councilman Shopp asked Mr. Tobolsky for his opinion regarding any liability we may have with FCR. Mr. Tobolsky said he received some information at 11:00pm last night and did not have the complete information to be able to render an opinion at this time. Mayor Alexander read his statement for the second time: “Scott and Rich met with all three recycling vendors, Lee met with Waste Management and Casworth. Rich and I recommend Republic Services. Lee and I have not had a chance to catch up on his opinion.

Overall, we believe that hiring a large established company is the right direction for Haddon Heights and its residents. We felt that both Republic Services and Waste Management offered a level of focus on quality, safety and customer service that we think we need. Republic’s price is less than Waste Management, and when Rich called clients of both candidates his take away was that Waste Management was not as solid in supervisor support as was Republic.”

Discussion between most of the council members ensued and Councilman Shopp again asked Mr. Tobolsky for a legal opinion on liability. Mr. Tobolsky said he was not in the position to give an opinion on legal liability and noted that “there was a good chance we don’t have liability but cannot say for sure having not read the contract”.

After approximately 20 minutes, Mayor Alexander asked for a roll call vote on Resolution 2008:100. Council members Wentz, Witzig and Sheilds voted no. Councilman Fetter voted yes and Councilman Shopp abstained from voting. Motion died.

Resolution 2008:101 - Resolution Awarding Contract for Tree Take Downs.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2008:101 was made by Councilman Wentz seconded by Councilman Fetter. Under roll call all members present voted yes with the exception of Sheilds who voted no.

With no further business to come before council Mayor Alexander called for comments from the public.

Terry Chepurney, 1543 Sycamore Street asked if the money for the tree contract was in the budget. Councilman Fetter replied that it is in the budget under DPW.

Mr. McLaughlin, 108 3^rd Avenue said the solicitor should have been made aware of what the meeting was about because this has been a waste of everyone’s time.

Dave Gibson, 1828 Wayne Avenue asked why a meeting was held on a Saturday. He also said that more information should be available regarding meeting topics and that letters should be sent to residents explaining things.

With no further comments to come from the public, motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Wentz, seconded by Councilman Shopp. All present were in favor.

_______________________________________11:05am

Joan D. Moreland, Borough Clerk