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June 15, 2010

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 2, 2010”.

Under Roll Call the following members of council were present:  Council President Rosemary Fitzgerald, Councilmen Daniel Haggerty and Edward Forte, Councilwoman Kathy Lange, and Councilmen David McCollum and Stephen Berryhill.    Betsey Deitz, Esquire took the place of Borough Solicitor Richard DeMichele who was not present. 

There were no comments from the public on agenda items.

Motion was made by Council President Fitzgerald to approve the minutes from the 5/18/10 meeting, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  All members present voted yes with the exception of Councilman Forte who abstained from voting.                 

The following Governing Body reports were presented:

Councilwoman Lange presented a report which is attached to these minutes.

Council President Fitzgerald reported on the following departments/committees:

  • Construction Department activity for May:  99 inspections, 41 new permits issued which included 2 new buildings.  $10,650 in fees was collected and total value of construction for the month was $503,000.
  • Senior Citizens are continuing to meet each Tuesday for lunch at local restaurants.  She said 10 were present today and encouraged seniors to come and join them, stating it was a great way to meet people.
  • Plans for Independence Day celebration are right on schedule with events being held on July 3rd.
  • Green Initiatives – 3 new bus shelters will be installed.  She mentioned that Borough Clerk Joan Moreland and Janice Bergbauer are working on the Sustainable NJ grant.
  • Community garden looks beautiful and tomatoes are already growing.  There will be a ribbon cutting on June 25th.
  • Garden Tour, sponsored by the Heritage League to benefit the Library will be held the 25th between the hours of 4pm – 8pm. 

Councilman Haggerty reported that the court turned over $30,000 to the Borough for the month of May bringing the total to $188,000 so far this year.

Councilman Berryhill said he did not have a report, but wanted to bring up that he did not get the agenda until 3pm today.  Discussion followed.  The Borough Clerk explained that computer problems caused the delay.  The attorney said that she is not aware of any statute that addresses the 48 hour rule for agendas being distributed.  She said the Borough fulfilled its obligation, by law, to advise the public of dates and locations of each meeting, which was done in January.  Regarding the survey, Berryhill said that he, along with the help of Dave hand delivered the surveys to about 75% of the town and that he has received about 500+ responses so far.  He said he will be preparing a booklet with responses.  Berryhill said he was interested in what the responses from council were and then thanked everyone who responded.

Mayor Alexander announced that the Borough has received an A+ bond rating from Standard & Poor’s and explained that that rating meant we are in a good financial position.  He said our rating with Moody’s is A1 which explains the 3.64% interest we got in a recent bond sale.  The Mayor said revenues from rentals and exercise classes has realized $12,857 so far this year and with the court, construction permits, rentals, etc, our surplus is over what was anticipated for the year.

OLD BUSINESS:

Public hearings and final adoptions of Ordinances 2010:1333, 1344, 1346 and the 2010 Municipal Budget.

Mayor Alexander explained that there was a mix-up with the legal advertisement for Ordinances 2010:1333 and 1344 which required another advertisement and public hearing.

Ordinance 2010:1333 – 2010 Capital Items.

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

Motion to adopt Ordinance 2010:1333 was made by council President Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Forte.  Upon a roll call vote council members Fitzgerald, Haggerty, Forte and Lange voted yes and McCollum and Berryhill voted no. 

Ordinance 2010:1344 – Bond Ordinance for Fire Command Vehicle. ($30,000)

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

Motion to adopt Ordinance 2010:1344 was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Forte.  Upon a roll call vote all council members voted yes. 

Ordinance 2010:1346 – An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 1273 Regarding Chapter 75 §31 of the Code of the Borough of Haddon Heights Pertaining to Compensation, Rates and Fees Paid to Fulltime Officers. 

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

Motion to adopt Ordinance 2010:1346 was made by Council President Fitzgerald, seconded by councilman Forte.  Under a roll call vote all council members voted yes. 

At this point, Mayor Alexander asked for a motion on Resolution 2010:112 – Resolution Providing that the Budget Be Read by Title.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:112 was made by Councilman Forte, seconded by Council President Fitzgerald.  All members were in favor.

Resolution 2010:90 – 2010 Municipal Budget.

The Mayor opened the meeting to the public for comments on the 2010 Municipal Budget.  There were none presented.

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

At this point, Mayor Alexander called for a motion to approve Resolution 2010:109 – Amending the 2010 Municipal Budget and explained that the amendment reduces the amount needed from surplus by $35,000 due to the new trash contract and will reduce the tax levy from 2.4% to 2.2% with a reduction of appropriations in the amount of $47,000.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:109 was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Forte.  Under a roll call vote, council members Fitzgerald, Haggerty, Forte and Lange voted yes, Councilman McCollum abstained from voting for reason(s) not specified at that time and Councilman Berryhill voted no.  Motion passed.

The Mayor then called for a motion to adopt Resolution 2010:90 – 2010 Municipal Budget, as amended by Resolution 2010:109.  Motion was made by Council President Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Forte.  Under a roll call vote council members Fitzgerald, Haggerty, Forte and Lange voted yes, Councilman McCollum abstained from voting for reason(s) not specified at that time and Councilman Berryhill voted no.  Motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS:

Introduction of Ordinance 2010:1347.  Public hearing and final adoption is scheduled for July 13th at 7:00pm in the Municipal Building.

Ordinance 2010:1347 – Ordinance Entering Into a Lease Agreement with the Sons of Italy.

Motion to introduce Ordinance 2010:1347 was made by Councilman McCollum, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  Upon a roll call vote, all members voted yes with the exception of Councilman Forte who abstained from voting because he is the President of the Haddon Heights Sons of Italy.

Resolution 2010:113 - Resolution Certifying that the CFO Has Reviewed the Budget. 

The Mayor asked CFO Sharon Smith to explain the reason for the resolution.  She said that towns in good standing financially are permitted by law to perform self-examination of their budget and that this resolution certifies that she has completed the review.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:113 was made by Councilwoman Lange, seconded by Councilman Forte.  Upon a roll call vote, all members voted yes.

Resolution 2010:107 – Resolution Amending Resolution 2010:93.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:107 was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Forte.  Upon a         roll call vote, all members voted yes.

Resolution 2010:108 – Resolution Authorizing Tax Refund.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:108 was made by Councilman Forte, seconded by Council President Fitzgerald.  Upon a roll call vote, all members voted yes.

Resolution 2010:110 – Resolution Authorizing the Payment of Bills and Claims for 2nd Half of June.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:110 was made by Council President Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  Upon a roll call vote, council members Fitzgerald, Haggerty, Forte and Lange voted yes, Councilmen McCollum and Berryhill voted no.  Motion passed.

Resolution 2010:111 – Resolution Awarding a Contract to American Asphalt Company in the Amount of $141,865.85 for the 2010 Road Work Program.

The Mayor explained that four (4) bids were received earlier today and that the Engineer has determined that American Asphalt is the lowest most qualified bidder.  He also said that funding is provided by the NJDOT Aid to Municipalities for roadwork projects.

Motion to adopt Resolution 2010:111 was made by Council President Fitzgerald, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  Under a roll call vote all members voted yes.

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

Dave McGee, 301 4th Avenue said he noticed an orange paper in the latest newspaper and began asking the Mayor the same questions he has asked in the past.  Councilman Haggerty said that this was a public comment portion and that this was his opportunity to make a statement.  Mr. McGee asked the Mayor another question regarding the survey.  Mr. McGee called the Mayor arrogant and then sat down.

Greg McAdams, 1006 South Park extended his congratulations to the people who worked so hard on the Borough Budget, stating is was a “great job” leadership under the Mayor.  He thanked Council President Fitzgerald for her part and then said that all the employees are doing a great job.  He was thanked by the Mayor and council members for his kind comments.

With no further comments to come before council, motion to close the public portion was made by councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Forte.  All were in favor.

Motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Forte, seconded by Councilman Haggerty.  All members were in favor.

_____________________________________7:50pm

Joan D. Moreland, Borough Clerk