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February 3, 2009

CAUCUS:

Review of Regular Agenda - Mayor Scott Alexander

Mayor Alexander and Chief Kinkler discussed enforcing certain county statutes in the county parks. Some county laws conflict with Haddon Heights’ code. The county police stopped patrolling 12 a.m. – 8 a.m. several months ago. Chief Kinkler spoke of how we can incorporate their ordinances with ours and enforce their statutes. Chief Kinkler recommends writing sub-paragraphs into our code.

Chief Kinkler presented a power point presentation regarding a proposed one-way street on Seventh Avenue.

Mayor Alexander presented Honorable Service Medals to Sgt. Michael Valvardi and Ptl. Robert Long, Cpl. Daniel Bowman and Ptl. Steve Kelly of Barrington Police Department, Sgt. Michael West and Ptl. Thomas Gorman of Audubon Police Department. He welcomed their family and friends and thanked them for once again putting their lives on the line for our residents. Mayor Alexander then presented a Written Commendation James Bickel for his concern for fellow residents and prompt call to dispatch alerting them of a robbery in progress.

Council President Fetter presented a power point presentation regarding the survey results concerning the Finance Department and the Fire & Police Departments.

REGULAR AGENDA:

Mayor Alexander opened the meeting with a salute to the flag and moment of silence.

He 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, 2009”.

Under Roll Call the following council members were present: Lee Wentz, Daniel Haggerty, Trish Sheilds, Rose Fitzgerald, Kathy Lange and Tad Fetter.

Motion was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilwoman Fitzgerald to approve the minutes from 1/20/09, with corrections. All members present voted yes.

The following Committee Reports were presented:

Councilwoman Fitzgerald reported for Construction and Zoning. Full copy of this report is on file

with the Borough Clerk. Reporting for Green Initiatives, Councilwoman Fitzgerald reported that the meeting dates have changed to the 4th Monday of the month in the Mayor’s office so they will not conflict with the School Board meetings. Reporting for Community Wellbeing, Councilwoman Fitzgerald reported that representation was very impressive. One thing that they discovered is the need for senior citizen groups, which they will be looking into in the near future. They discussed all the programs that are available to the residents and reminded that the public is welcome to attend.

Regarding the Civic Events Committee Councilwoman Fitzgerald announced there will be a meeting held tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in volunteering for an event is more than welcome to come out.

Councilwoman Lange reported for Parks and Recreation, School Board and Historic District. Full copy of this report is on file with the Borough Clerk. Councilwoman Lange has attended several seminars the past two weeks regarding municipal budgeting, municipal liability and reducing accidents. She asked if any of the employees have ever attended any of the seminars regarding reducing accidents. Borough Clerk will look into this. Councilman Haggerty suggested reaching out to Risk Management and have them make a presentation to Council.

Councilman Wentz reported for the Drug Commission. No meeting will be held this month; they will meet next month. Board of Health meets next Thursday 2/12/09. Councilman Wentz reported for DPW. Full copy of this report is on file with the Borough Clerk.

Council President Fetter reported for Finance. He is on his second round of budget meetings with the Fire Department. Council President Fetter is very pleased with the new CFO, Sharon Smith. She is doing very well.

Councilman Haggerty reported for the Court and EMS. A full copy of report is on file with the Borough Clerk. The Shade Tree’s first meeting of the year will be held in March.

Councilwoman Sheilds reported that she sent an email to Freeholder Lou Cappelli and Gina Forte to discuss the services the county offers. She received pamphlets with this information and they are available at the borough hall and library. Councilwoman Sheilds also reminded the residents that if they cannot make a Freeholder meeting, they can watch them live on-line.

With no further reports to be presented Mayor Alexander called for remarks from the public on New Business agenda items. There were none.

OLD BUSINESS:

Public hearing and final adoption of Ordinances 1289 and 1290.

Ordinance 2009:1289: An Ordinance Determining the Salary for the Position of Acting CFO/Treasurer. ($12,672, 2/1/09 – 12/31/09).

Hearing or seeing no comments from the public, motion to close the public hearing was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. All members present were in favor.

Motion to adopt Ordinance 2008:1289 was made by Councilwoman Lange, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Ordinance 2009:1290: An Ordinance Amending Chapters 38 and 75 of the Code of the Borough of Haddon Heights.

Motion to TABLE Ordinance 2008:1290 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. All members present were in favor.

NEW BUSINESS:

Introduction of Ordinance 2009:1291. Public hearing and final adoption will be held on February 17, 2009, 7pm at the Municipal Building.

Ordinance 2009:1291: An Ordinance Amending Chapters 38, 75 and 86 of the Code of the Borough of Haddon Heights

Motion to introduce Ordinance 2009:1291 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Council President Fetter. All members present were in favor.

Resolution 2009:54 – Borough of Haddon Heights Temporary Budget Appropriation Increase for 2009 (Permits an increase in the temporary appropriation to provide for the period between the date upon which the budget was scheduled for adoption pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:4-5 and the extended adoption date of the 2009 budget)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:54 was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2009:55 – Resolution Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations Reserves (Transfers of $52,140.00 for extensive labor matters, 4th quarter payment and chemical purchases)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:55 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilwoman Lange. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2009:56 – A Resolution Certifying the List of Fire Department Volunteers Who Have Qualified for the Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) benefits for the Year 2008

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:56 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilwoman Fitzgerald. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Councilwoman Sheilds noted that social security numbers are printed on the paperwork attached to the resolution. Borough Clerk will be sure to redact that information.

Resolution 2009:57 – Resolution Awarding a Professional Services Contract to Pennoni Associates, Inc. In the Amount of $93,011.40 for Site Investigation with Report Preparation of the Haddon Heights Landfill Property (The Borough of Haddon Heights has received a grant in the amount of $161,291 from the Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund Municipal Grant Program through the Department of Environmental protection and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for the site investigation with report preparation of the Haddon Heights Landfill property.)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:57 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Wentz. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2009:58 – Resolution Authorizing the Extension of Contract for 1 Year Between Camden County Cooperative Members and Office Basics for the Purchase of Office Supplies (The new contract will go into effect on February 1, 2009 and will expire on January 31, 2010)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:58 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Wentz. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2009:59 - Resolution Approving the Payment of Bills & Claims for 2nd Half of January.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:59 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Council President Fetter. Under roll call all members present voted yes, with the exception of Councilwoman Sheilds who abstained from several vendors. This list is on file.

Resolution 2009:60 – Resolution Authorizing a Tax Refund.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:60 was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

Resolution 2009:61 – Resolution Awarding a Contract to Pennoni Associates Inc. for the Construction Phase of the Haddon Heights Historic Corridor Project in the Amount of $16,800.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:61 was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. Under roll call all members present voted yes.

With no further business to come before council, Mayor Alexander opened the meeting for comments and concerns.

Terry Chipurney, 1643 Sycamore Street commented negatively on the survey. Council President Fetter stated that he just presented the results and a lot of folks value the survey.

John Raysor, 611 W. High Street and Sandy Ragonese, 603 Sycamore Terrace distributed information to Council regarding the proposed one-way on Seventh Avenue. A copy is on file with the Borough Clerk. Discussion ensued between Council members, Chief Kinkler, Mr. Raysor and Mrs. Ragonese.

Barbara Robinson, 1341 Chestnut Avenue commented on Seventh Avenue situation. More signage is needed.

Mayor Alexander suggested that we look into what Atlantic Avenue School does. Children are dropped off and picked up on the corner, and accompanied in and out of school by a teacher.

John Schmidt, 1357 Chestnut Avenue commented that the one-way at Glenview is okay, but the real problem is when the trash trucks go down the wrong way. Can this be addressed? Mayor Alexander said he will speak to them about it.

Carolyn Di Medio, 106 Kings Highway spoke of the 2009 assessment postcards that were recently mailed. She asked if the tax assessor could maybe meet with their group to explain the appeal process. Council President Fetter stated that would not be a problem; he will speak with Tom Colavecchio and then contact her. Mrs. Di Medio also commented on the survey response. She stated that if a nasty email didn’t get spread throughout the town, that maybe more residents would have responded. Discussion ensued between Mrs. Di Medio, Mayor Alexander and Council President Fetter regarding the appeal process and deductions available to senior citizens and veterans.

With no further comments from the public, Council went into closed session to discuss litigation and a legal matter.

Resolution 2009:62 – Resolution Authorizing Closed Session

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:62 was made by Councilwoman Lange, seconded by Council President Fetter. All members present were in favor.

Motion to open the meeting to the public was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. All members present were in favor.

Motion to adjourn was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. All members present voted yes.

_______________________________ 7:27PM

Joan D. Moreland, Borough Clerk