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May 4, 2010

Council President Rosemary Fitzgerald opened the regularly scheduled caucus meeting with a salute to the flag and a moment of silence.

Council Members Dan Haggerty, Kathy Lange, David McCollum and Stephen Berryhill were present as was the Borough Solicitor Richard DeMichele.  Mayor Alexander and Councilman Ed Forte were absent.

Council President Fitzgerald introduced Mary Ann Bigelow who represented Interfaith Caregivers to the podium.  Ms. Bigelow said that Interfaith Caregivers has been in Haddon Heights since 1992 and provides services to all people, allowing them to be independent.  She advised everyone that 500 services were provided last month, ranging from companionship, grocery shopping, and respite care for caregivers, all without a charge to the clients.  She said that there are 90 clients from Haddon Heights alone, 47 from Stanfill Towers and 40 others around town.  Ms. Bigelow stressed that the reason for coming tonight was to inform Haddon Heights residents about Interfaith Caregivers’ services as well as the need for more volunteers. 

Council President Fitzgerald asked if most of their clients make the first call or does a family member make the call.  She was advised that a requirement is that the client makes the call themselves, showing they are able to make the first step and request certain services.  Ms. Bigelow said she wanted to get the word out about Interfaith Caregivers and noted that she already writes articles for the Haddon Heights newspaper.  Fitzgerald suggested that she come to the senior lunch meetings held weekly to speak with the 50 or so seniors who take part in the weekly event.  Ms. Biglelow was thanked by council for coming here tonight to inform our residents.

At this point Council President Fitzgerald opened the meeting for public comments and the following residents came forward:

Terry Chepurney said she was watching the news on TV regarding terrorist attached and heard that Public Works Departments are involved in reporting something that seems suspicious to the Police.  She said we could have gotten Homeland Security grant money if they weren’t laid off.  She then expressed the same concerns that she has expressed at previous meetings regarding overspending, etc.

Tom Ottoson, 307 3rd Avenue handed out information to council members regarding an Energy Audit asking them to look it over.  He explained that BPU pays 75% of costs for each building and if qualified, we could recoup 25% of money spent to make the buildings more energy efficient.  Councilwoman Lange asked Mr. Ottoson who is on the Green Initiatives sub-committee.  He said himself, Terry Chepurney, Kevin Murphy, Jay Joes, Mr. Hatfield and Janice Bergbauer.  Lange said she has been keeping track of gas and electric expenses since she came on council and was wondering how he received the usage numbers.

Terri Bercuzzi, 1215 Sylvan Drive advised council that Gloucester City did an energy audit using a company that was picked using Request for Proposals (Concord).  She said the cost for an audit of 10 buildings was $32,574.  Gloucester City received $25,000 from the State toward the cost and realized a savings of $8,143 in energy costs.  She said the energy audit is a “no brainer” and we could get a list of ways to cut energy expenses.

Action Items:

a. Motion to approve the minutes from the February caucus meeting was made by Councilman McCollum, seconded by Councilman Haggerty. All present were in favor.

Motion to approve the minutes from the March caucus meeting was tabled with a motion by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Berryhill.  All present were in favor.

Motion to approve the minutes from the April caucus meeting was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Berryhill.  All present were in favor.

b. With no further comments from the residents, Council President Fitzgerald invited Public safety Director Dan Haggerty and Police Chief Richard Kinkler to come up front while she read a proclamation proclaiming May 5 – 9 as Police Week.  She said it was very fitting that Police Week be recognized due to the recent events in New York where a police officer was advised of a suspicious parked vehicle and it turned out to be an abandoned vehicle rigged with explosives, thereby diverting a tragic situation for the many people who live and work in the area.

c. Resolution 2010:92 – Resolution Authorizing Payment of Bills and Claims for 1sty Half of May.  Motion to adopt was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Berryhill.  Upon discussion, Councilman Berryhill asked about a few of the items listed, one being an expense listed on page 4 of the check register in the amount of $12,479.21.  Councilman McCollum explained because he said he emailed the Borough’s CFO Sharon Smith about this 2 hours ago.  He said that she felt the expense charged to the current fund could be taken from the capital fund because it was for expenses related to the sale of the DPW property.  He explained that this simply transfers the expense from Current Fund to Capital Fund.  Berryhill asked about an items for tuition refund for an employee.  Borough Clerk advised him that the employee is a police officer and the tuition reimbursement is part of the current Police Contract.  Lastly he asked about an item for American Fence asking if it was related to the repairs on one of the ballfields.  Councilwoman Lange confirmed he was correct. 

Upon a roll call vote, all members present voted yes with the exception of Councilmen McCollum and Berryhill who voted no. 

Council President Fitzgerald advised council of the sample resolution at the end of their packets.  She explained that the resolution to be on the May 18th agenda will allow us to move ahead with the Energy Audit. 

She also advised everyone that 2 bus shelters have been installed.

With no further business to come before council, motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Haggerty, seconded by Councilman Berryhill.  All present were in favor.

___________________________________7:55pm

Joan D. Moreland, Borough Clerk