January 17, 2006 Minutes

January 17, 2006

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 3, 2006”.

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

Motion to approve the minutes from the December 20th and January 3rd meetings was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by councilman Witzig. All members present voted yes.

The following Committee Reports were presented:

Councilman Donald Witzig, reporting for Public Safety reported that the traffic problems at 8th and Kings Highway seem to have straightened out.

Council President Trish Sheilds, reporting for Recreation said that she is waiting to hear about the soil test results and then hopefully we would be able to move forward with the land behind the tennis courts on Devon Avenue.

Councilwoman Barbara Cortese, reporting for Public Works reported the following activity for December 2005: @0 reported sewer blockages, 7 being homeowners line; 7 preventive maintenance performed; 1 pump station repair. Regarding recycling, 56.7 tons of paper and 26.45 tons of glass and cans were collected. 1,950 yards of leaves were collected along with 50 yards of brush. 1 ton of cold patch was used to repair potholes. There was no tree work done due to the fact that the crew was used for leaf pick up.

Mayor Griffith reported on the following items: 1) The Motor Vehicles office will be closing January 26th; 2) DPW has scheduled 2 more days to complete the leaf pickup. She noted that the schedule has been posted on Channel 19, the web page and in the calendar. 3) Brookfield Academy is up and running and things are going smoothly; 4) Frank Lafferty reported at this morning’s Department Head meeting that the State is mandating that volunteer firefighters have to have 80 hours of training; 5) January 2nd the full membership of the Barrington and Haddon Heights Fire Departments met to discuss the merging of both departments. The merger will start slowly, with training the members on each other’s equipment. 6) The Municipal Court has started their new hours, 8:15am – 5:00pm and they do not close for lunch. She explained that each of them take turns having off a day every other week. 7) The Mayor said that the Tax Assessor reported that the process of updating the tax maps is almost complete and he will be scheduling a meeting with the County regarding the new software that all Camden County Assessors will have to use. 8) Regarding Public Safety, the Mayor reported that the Police Chief has advised her that neighboring towns have had violent bank robberies. Our police are randomly parking police vehicles in the parking lots of the banks in town. 9) The Mayor said she has noticed that a lot of people are using tents to cover their vehicles and that there is an ordinance in the Code saying they are not to be used. She will ask the Zoning Enforcement Officer to look into this matter.

At this point, Mayor Griffith asked for remarks from the public on agenda items; there were none.

New Business:

Introduction of Ordinance 2006-1205. Public hearing and final adoption will be held on February 7, 2006 at 8:00pm.

Ordinance 2006-1205 – An Ordinance Requiring Grading Inspections.

Motion to introduce Ordinance 2006:1205 was made by Councilwoman Cortese, seconded by Council President Sheilds. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2006:35 – Resolution Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2006:35 was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Shopp. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2006:36 – Resolution Authorizing Payment of Bills and Claims for January.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2006:36 was made by Councilman Shopp, seconded by Councilman Witzig. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2006:37 – Resolution Regarding the Borough of Haddon Heights Deferred Compensation Plan. (Mandatory Distribution Amendment provides for automatic rollover distributions following termination of employment for those whose vested account balances are between $1,000 and $5,000).

Motion to adopt Resolution 2006:37 was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Witzig. Upon roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2006:38 – Resolution Awarding a Contract to Old Dominion Brush for the Purchase of a 20 Cubic Yard Leafer at the Cost of $24,324.00.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2006:38 was made by Councilwoman Cortese, seconded by Councilman Witzig. Upon roll call all members of council present voted yes.

Resolution 2005:39 – Resolution Supporting Assembly Bi8ll 4392 Regarding Eminent Domain.

Mayor Griffith called for a motion to adopt. There was no motion made therefore the Resolution died.

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

John Rayser, 611 W. High Street showed council the box of various debris, ranging from pieces of concrete, a traffic cone, to other debris. The Mayor asked the Borough Clerk to contact PSE&G and advise them to clean up the area they used for parking their equipment while working on Station Avenue. On another matter, Mr. Rayser said he noticed the pedestrian crossing sign was missing on Station Avenue at 7th Avenue and observed Ms. Adena Adams, Manager of Commerce Bank in Haddon Heights almost get hit tonight. She was in the audience and confirmed the fact. Lastly, Mr. Rayser asked if the lines on Station Avenue would be painted now that the work is finished. The Mayor said is would be done in April. She also said that we are in the process of finishing the streetscape project.

Bill Troutman, Chestnut Avenue said he notices that more cars are parking on East Atlantic Avenue.

David Ragonese, 603 Sycamore Terrace commended the Mayor and Council for taking Ordinance 2006:1204 off of the agenda, noting that it is a bad law. Mr. Ragonese said that in response to Councilman Shopp’s request for “evidence” regarding Commerce Bank, he said he brought it tonight. He then held up several newspaper articles referring to several officials in Commerce Bank, Philadelphia. He said that there are criminal investigations ongoing. He then asked if “we” were following the Pay to Play laws, regarding certifications from vendors that they have not contributed to campaign funds. Solicitor John Kearney said we should have the certifications on file.

With no further comments to be made, motion to adjourn was made by Council President Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Witzig. All present were in favor.

__________________________________ 8:25PM

Joan D. Moreland, Borough Clerk