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October 6, 2009

CAUCUS: 

Mayor Alexander reviewed the regular agenda.

REGULAR AGENDA:

Mayor Scott M. Alexander opened the regularly scheduled 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”.

Upon Roll Call the following council members were present:  Council President Tad Fetter, Daniel Haggerty, Trish Sheilds, Lee Wentz, Kathy Lane and Rosemary Fitzgerald.  Borough Solicitor Robert A. Gleaner, Esq. was also present. 

Mayor Alexander issued the Oath of Office to Detective Stephen Graham.  Detective Graham was joined by his family and Chief Kinkler.  After the oath was issued, Chief Kinkler said that Detective Graham was one of the best officers in the Department and was privileged to recommend him for the promotion.

Mayor Alexander then read 2 proclamations.  One was proclaiming October 10th as “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day”, which he presented to Chief Kinkler.  The other was to proclaim October as “Good Neighbors Month”.  Sue Schultz accepted the proclamation and thanked the residents for their continued support of Good Neighbors. 

Motion to approve the minutes from the September 15th meeting was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. All council members voted yes.

The Mayor called for Committee Reports at which time the following reports were given:

Council President Tad Fetter said that regarding appropriations, we are at 74%, which is “right where we should be” this time of year.

Councilman Haggerty reporting for Shade Tree Commission said he met with the Commission last night and reported that the fall tree planting will be done shortly and that he will be requesting a purchase order for the trees and mulch.

Regarding the joint Municipal Courts, he reported that a monthly progress report on the study shows we are one time with the proposed schedule.   He reported that our Court’s revenue is in line with this time last year at $18,704, which exceeded budget anticipation.

Haggerty reporting for EMS said that 85 calls out of 116 were billable and the average time between when the call was dispatched to call location was 5.19 minutes.  The HHEMS answered 8 calls in Audubon Park, 48 in Audubon, 49 in Haddon Heights and responded to 11 motor vehicle accidents. 

Councilman Haggerty also reported that Assistant Chief Leah Slemmer is teaching a class on child abuse. 

Lastly, Haggerty reported that he received 4 letters of appreciation of the EMS Squad, quoting one that said “excellent emergency care”…..”grateful for wonderful and beautiful people”.

Councilwoman Trish Sheilds reported on the School Board meeting held last Tuesday.  She said she obtained the bill list and reported that the retaining wall at the High School is costing $3,500, $6,840 for landscaping and $6,240 for flowers and landscaping were also on the list for approval.

Councilwoman Rosemary Fitzgerald reported that the Construction office collected $115 in fines, sent out 15 violation letters, received 3 applications and denied 3 and collected $8,191 in fees.  She noted that the construction fees are down due to the Kings Runs Condos being completed.

Regarding Green Initiatives Committee, she said that St. Rose and Fed Ex are sponsoring a Walk to School program.  She also reported that when the County works on Prospect Ridge Blvd., they will add a bike lane.  As far as the Community Garden goes, Fitzgerald reported that Jan Ewing has check with the neighbors and she and Jan have tried to address their concerns about the project.  She said the Community Garden will be a trial, one-year program and that the ground will be tilled and ready for the Spring.  She also said that a grant from Sustainable New Jersey has been filed to bring water to the garden.

Councilwoman Fitzgerald reported that the recent Sr. Citizen luncheon had a low turnout, but expects more people at the next one.  She also reported that Councilwoman Lange and herself went to a Classic Towns meeting and reported that 11 more New Jersey towns were named as a “Classic Town” bring the total to 20 in New Jersey.

Councilwoman Kathy Lange reporting on Parks and Recreation said that the bleacher survey is about down.  She said the Mayor gave her hard copies of the survey regarding Parks and Recreation and she is trying to address all the issues.  Lange said that the Garnet Football tutoring program begins next week.  She explained that HHHS Honor students volunteer to help with this program.

Regarding the Historic Preservation Commission, Councilwoman Lange reported that there are 3 cases coming before the Commission.    She also reported that she read in the Philadelphia Magazine, that Haddon Heights public schools were listed on the best school list.

Regarding the Borough’s recycling contractor, she noted that the other day, 4 tree trimming trucks arrived at a section of town the same time as the recycling truck.  She was happy to report that the men on the recycling truck moved very quickly tree trimming work could proceed.

Councilman Lee Wentz reported that the Drug Commission’s 5K run raised $6,077.34 and that they donated $500 to the Haddon Heights Youth Football program.

Councilwoman Fitzgerald reported that the Fall Festival went well and was glad the rain held off.  She said “a good time was had by all”!   The Mayor said he had a good time and came across many friendly people.

With no further reports to be given, Mayor Alexander announced the Public Hearing for reallocation of CDBG Funds.  He explained that the Borough is requesting that funds be moved from Barriers to Improvements to Senior Center Room in the Community Center. 

The Mayor opened the meeting to the public for comments.  Hearing or seeing no comments from the public on this matter, a motion to close the public hearing was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds.  All members were in favor.

There were no comments on new agenda items.

 NEW BUSINESS:

Introduction of Ordinances 2009:1323 and 1324.  Public hearings and final adoptions are scheduled for October 20th at 7:00pm.

Ordinance 2009:1323 – An Ordinance Fixing and Determining the Salaries, Wages or Compensation to be Paid to Certain Sub-Code Official Employees of the Borough of Haddon Heights Effective October 1, 2009.  (All Sub-Code Officials (Plumbing, Fire, Electrical and Building) shall be paid $25 an hour beginning 10/1/09.  Estimated hours per week 10-11 hours for Building Sub-Code Official, 5-6 hours weekly for the others.)

Motion to introduce Ordinance 2009:1323 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  Councilman Wentz questions the timing of the ordinance.  Mayor Alexander explained that some of the positions were salaried and some were not and that he is trying to break even at the end of the year.  Upon roll call all members voted yes.

Ordinance 2009:1324 – An Ordinance Amending Bond Ordinance 2007:1234, as Amended by Ordinance 2009:1314, and Ordinance 2008:1262 of the Borough of Haddon Heights, in the County of Camden, New Jersey.  (Amends the capital budget to include $38,600 for various improvements to the Borough’s sewer utility system.)

Motion to introduce Ordinance 2009:1324 was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  Upon roll call all members voted yes.

Resolution 2009:188 – Resolution Authorizing a Refund from the TTL Account. (Two liens were recently redeemed by BAC Tax Services Corporation and were not filed with the County; therefore a $40 fee collected for each certificate must be refunded to the lien holders.)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:188 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Council President Fetter.  All members votes yes.

Resolution 2009:189 – Resolution Cancelling Outstanding Checks in the Municipal Court Account (Particular checks have been outstanding in the Municipal Court Account for several years and best practices are to cancel them.)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:189 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Council President Fetter.  All members voted yes.

Resolution 2009:190 – Resolution Setting the Hours for Halloween Trick or Treating and Curfew Hours for Mischief Night and Halloween Night.  (Curfew both nights 8:30pm for persons under the age of 18.  Trick or Treat Hours are: 3:00pm – 5:00pm and 6:00pm – 8:00pm.)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:190 was made by Councilwoman Sheilds, seconded by Council President Fetter.  Councilman Haggerty asked Chief Kinkler what about kids coming home from the football game on Mischief Night? 
Chief Kinkler said it would be okay of kids were on their way home from the game, but if they were up to something, they would be brought into the station and their parents would be called to pick them up.  All members voted yes.

Resolution 2009:191 – Resolution Authorizing the Refund of Taxes Paid on an Exempt Property.  (The Borough purchased the NJ American Water Company property on 7/17/2009 and the former owners paid the 3rd quarter taxes in error.  Refund of $7,601.62 is thereby due NJ American Water Company.)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:191 was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilwoman Fitzgerald. Under roll call all members voted yes.

Resolution 2009:192 – Resolution Requesting Approval of Items of Revenue and Appropriation NJSA:4-87.  ($6,000 grant was received from State of NJ, Dept. of Law & Public Safety for “Over the Limit Under Arrest” program.)

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:192 was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilwoman Sheilds.  All members voted yes.

Resolution 2009:193 – Resolution Approving Payment of Bills & Claims for 1st Half of October.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:193 was made by Council President Fetter, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  Upon roll call all members voted yes with the exception of Councilman Sheilds who voted no or abstained on the following items:  Metropcs Penn, $883.75, playground mulch, $500, Shire Interactive, $1,671.04 and ABACI I.T, $1,346.43.

Resolution 2009:194 – Resolution Awarding a Contract to Friendly Tree Service, in the Amount of $16,000 for the Purpose of Take Down and Removal of 26 Trees.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:194 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Council President Fetter.  Upon roll call all members voted yes.

Resolution 2009:195 – Resolution Authorizing a Closed Session for the Purpose of a Personnel Issue.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:195 was made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  All members voted yes.

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

David McGee, 301 4th Avenue once again brought up a resolution adopted at a previous meeting regarding the appointment of Marie Holcombe to the position of Operations Manager.  He said there was no posting in the Courier or Retrospect, noting that they are the 2 legal papers for the Borough, instead it was put in a Trenton based publication. He read the original job description and said that the Clerk could not produce the original application for Ms. Holcombe.  He said that “she should have brought experience with her”, and said it is not an” on the job-learned position”.  He stated that this is a “non-compliance situation” in lowering or changing requirements without notifying the public.

Jack Merryfield, Lake Street, said she is doing a wonderful job.  He then said that Mr. McGee was not a citizen of the United States and that he can’t vote.

Jim Jenkins said he works for an executive search firm and Human Resources.  He said it was terrible to address a young lady like Ms. Holcombe who has been an employee of the Borough since 2003 like that.  Jenkins also said continuity is good for government and that best practices uses promotion from within.  He also stated that she has proven herself recently.

Karyn Errington, 1645 Sycamore Street said she agrees with Mr. McGee’s comments, stating that Ms Holcombe does not have experience.  She also said that “the Mayor should have known better”.

David McGee, 301 4th Avenue said he may not be a citizen, but he has been a resident and taxpayer of Haddon Heights for 19 years and has a right to say what he likes.

Carol DiMedio, 106 Kings Highway said she agrees with Mr. McGee regarding being a taxpayer and asked him if he realized that more than 50% of his taxes goes to the school.  Mrs. DiMedio said she wants money spent on education for kids and not on raises, retaining walls, etc.

Roni Olizi, 424 3rd Avenue advised council members that PSE&G is in town fixing the problem on Atlantic Avenue trees caused by Louis Company.  They will be taking down 13 trees and removing brush down to ground cover.  Councilman Haggerty asked Ms. Olizi if her being on the Shade Tree Commission and staying on top of tree removal/trimming companies was the reason for this repair being done.  She responded yes.  He thanked her for her efforts.

With no further comments to come before council, Mayor Alexander called for a motion to go into a Closed Session.   Motion made by Councilwoman Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  All members voted yes.

Council President Fetter had to leave the meeting at 8:10PM.

8:30PM:  After the Closed Session was completed, motion made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Wentz to open the meeting to the public.  All council members present were in favor.

Resolution 2009:196 – A Resolution Regarding the Borough Solicitor’s Representation of Mayor and Council Members.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2009:196 was made by Councilman Haggerty and seconded by Councilwoman Fitzgerald.  All members present voted yes.

Motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Wentz, seconded by Councilwoman Fitzgerald.

 

______________________________________8:43PM
Joan D. Moreland, Borough Clerk