OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL
AGENDA MEETING
May 21, 2001
An Agenda Meeting of the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge was held on Monday, May 21, 2001 in the Municipal Complex. The meeting was called to order at 8:10 p.m. by President Maher who invited all in attendance to participate in a salute to the flag which was followed by a short prayer.
Deputy Clerk Stella Ward announced that this meeting was being held in conformance with the Open Public Meetings Act and was published in the newspaper. Roll call by Deputy Clerk Ward showed the following answering present: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond,
Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher. (Councilman Sohor arrived at 8:20 p.m.)
Councilmen Cucchiara and Hoff were absent.
GUESTS - Ethics Committee
Eileen Tabert, Rev. Michael Makara, John Muir & James E. Cooney, Esq.
Eileen Tabert: It is my understanding we are here regarding the make-up of the board.
President Maher: How frequently do you meet and what is the difficulty in people becoming members of the board and do we need to change the requirements for appointment to the board?
Eileen Tabert: I would say that as far as the frequency of our meetings, we meet on an "as needed" basis, so as many issues that come up that is how many times we meet. I don't think it is the meeting time that is a burden, I think it is possibly the parameters of the job are not clear and possibly the way members of the Ethics Committee are recruited. I don't think this is the kind of appointment that could be filled by putting a notice in the paper and people would call. I think it is the kind of appointment that the Council in your wisdom, if you intend to keep the make up the way it is now with the clergy people, I think that you would have to approach them one-on-one by individual Council people because you would know the people in the town and you could give a clear definition of what would be required to serve on the Ethics Committee.
Councilman Testino: That has been tried and we still are not able to get a full constituency. People we have approached have turned us down because of the obvious nature of your work, they do not want to be involved because it involves reviewing politicians.
Clerk Saracino: About three years ago we tried to reach out to various clergy members to serve and we did not get any response.
President Maher: It is not clear to me what does the ordinance read?
Clerk Saracino: It states six members, three have to be clergy.
President Maher: How could we make your job easier, could we change the make-up?
Eileen Tabert: You can, but I think the hard part of this type of discussion is realizing what the problem is and I agree with Rose-Marie and she has been most supportive that we did write to clergy people in the town, but a town the size of Old Bridge with the number of congregations that we have, I don't think that is the way you would get people to serve on this type of committee by sending them a letter with me listed as the recipient . I think it would be again, in your wisdom, one-on-one, to meet with the person and explain that the work that is done is valuable.
President Maher: This letter that we sent out did it talk about the roles and responsibilities of the Ethics Board? Could we take a look at the letter that was sent out and maybe we can make it clearer as to the role of the members?
Councilman Testino: Isn't the issue more looming now that the ALJ has issued a ruling in the case that you have been fighting? They essentially said that your board was not fully composed and therefore were unable to justify the actions of the board.
Mr. Cooney: They stated that the board did not have a quorum. We dispute that but my feeling is why get into that issue we would like to run with full complement whenever possible. Someone had mentioned about the requirement for three clergy, although the State law does not have a requirement that there be half clergy, you may want to change that requirement. I cannot talk about the mechanics about soliciting people for the board because I have not been involved in that, but to answer your question the ALJ did find it a problem with the quorum issue and it would be nice in the future to have a full complement and not have to go down that road again.
President Maher: I think that the way that this Council can help you is to define or redefine the objectives of the Ethics Board, so I think we will take a look at the ordinance as well as discuss this further at another agenda meeting to see if we can change the composition of the board with regard to the three clergy people.
Councilman Redmond: You stated that you don't meet regularly, have you had many "as-needed" meetings?
James Cooney: Since 1995 on, I have be counsel to the Ethics Board and I think it is our goal that we not have to receive complaints because obviously when a complaint is filed, there is an issue be raised. However, there have been four cases filed and I reviewed my file this evening and over the past five years I only came up with the four cases and only on the most recent one, which is still on-going did we have to take any action. The initial cases were filed before the ethics code in Old Bridge so we did not have jurisdiction so the State Local Finance Board would have resolved those cases. We have met a few times a year in terms of complaints; we also receive requests for advisory opinions and we have one pending now, but we want to wait till we have a full board membership before we get back with a final decision. So, it is not only ethics complaints that we meet on, we are also authorized by your ordinance to deal with the financial disclosure statements and we can also issued advisory opinion to any employee or official who has a question regarding ethics.
Councilman Butler: Has anyone had any interaction with other towns in reference to their ethics committee; are they having similar problems? If you receive a complaint, what is the process that you follow?
Mr. Cooney: The process is actually set forth and the ordinance that the Council passed pretty much mirrors the state law. The first thing that we are supposed to do is review the complaint on its face and see if we have jurisdiction, as I mentioned before, we received a few complaints in which we did not have jurisdiction and in those cases we steered the complainant to the State Local Finance Board. If we look at a complaint and it looks as if we do have jurisdiction, then we are supposed to get information from the parties involved and if appears that there is a doubt about the violation we can hold hearings as well, that is the general process.
Councilman Butler: What happens when you get a complaint and you do not have a quorum?
Mr. Cooney: That has happened before. When we do not have at least four members to meet we are not able to take any action and we waited until we had four members and right now if we were to receive a complaint, we could not act. That does not mean there is no remedy, because the complainant could still file with the State Local Finance Board.
Councilman Butler: Does the ordinance also state that four is a quorum?
Mr. Cooney: The ordinance which mirrors state law states that there shall be an ethics board of six members, but we have not felt comfortable meeting with less than four members.
Councilman Butler: I think Eileen hit the nail on the head, that you need to have a personal touch with people. People do not respond to letters unless there is a personal follow-up.
I suggest that we advertise again, and have people who maybe have a relationship with the possible members do a follow-up and explain exactly what would be required of them and it might be possible to bring more people in.
Eileen Tabert: When I first came on to the board we did have seven people and I still remember the wisdom of the rabbi from Temple Beth Ohr and I know that this time is rich in people who have studied ethics as part of their lives vocation and I think that the richness that they offer is certainly something that we should capitalize on. Also, you all know lots of people who are a-political and who could possibly serve. It is very difficult to find people to replace those serving on boards.
Mr. Muir: In our catholic faith we have deacons and I am not sure, but are these people considered clergy?
Rev. Makara: Yes, they are ordained ministers and could serve in this capacity.
Councilman Testino: It is untenable that the board be left in this state of affairs and if we can't help, and I have been bringing this up since last January, or get the composition, we need to do something to help the people on the board and we have act to put members on or change the way we are doing business. Let's take whatever steps necessary to add other members and in the meantime we can talk to the other towns and see how they are handling this matter. I would like to see the polling of our neighboring towns and find out what they are doing to get people to serve and how their ordinance differs from ours to see if we can lift restrictions yet maintain the integrity that we have on our board. That is probably why you were invited here because I have been trying to get this matter settled for quite some time.
President Maher: I am going to ask the Clerk's office to pull a copy of the ordinance, see the composition and see if it talks about the job description. We need to see what the surrounding towns are doing in terms of the ethics board and possibly learn from them and perhaps make some modifications to our ordinance.
Mayor Cannon: I would just like to say that I agree and that you must have the personal outreach. We are finding more and more even with filling positions on other committees, that unless you do that, people are not eager to respond. If people will give us names we will make the phone calls and I don't think you will have a problem getting people to fill these spots, but again you must reach out and explain what this committee is all about.
President Maher: We are going to follow-up on this in thirty days and we will keep you advised.
HEARING:
Release Performance Guarantee - Oxford Estates (Attorney requests postponement - New date: Monday, July 23, 2001 at 7:30 p.m.
Release Reduction Performance Guarantee - Amboy National Bank (Lot 2.11 & 2.12 Block 4185)
Move-up
ORDINANCE FOR SECOND READING
ORD. #13-01 Town Centre Ordinance
President Maher: When I saw the Town Centre Ordinance here for second reading I immediately tried to get hold of Sam Rizzo and he is on vacation. There is a memo here from him dated May 17th, it was not in our council packages, but I suggest that we do read this and I did read this and I know that Sam will be prepared to report on it Tuesday, May 29th and review this matter with us.
Move-up
ORD. #30-01 Authorize Sale of Block 16004- Lot 52 (Foxboro)
Move-up
ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING
FR-1 Amending Ordinance #57-94 Chapter 11-2.16 - Reduce fees from $60.00 to $50.00 to help offset costs required by LEA (Local Enforcement Agency) fee of $35.00.
Councilman Redmond: Do we have an analysis of how that is going to affect our revenues?
Mr. Shah: It is going to cost us $12,000.00.
Alayne Shepler: You have a report from Mr. Peters and the loss of revenue is approximately $12,000 annually. We do not have to do this.
Councilman Redmond: I just wanted a sound figure.
President Maher: I am not in favor of doing this.
Councilman Testino: I did not see the report so I am in the dark about whether there was an analysis of the cost. Mr. Shah just told us what we are going to lose, I want to know what it costs us to produce that service; I don't want to be running in the red on that line item.
Mr. Shah: I think you are already with the zoning part. What we are relying on for revenue is the code enforcement area.
Councilman Testino: Just because the fire department generated another service that they are going to charge for, I don't think the township should take responsibility for that district's decision. Instead of letting the cost users bare the burden we are passing it off to the township and ultimately the taxpayers. The trend has been to let the cost causers bare the burden, now we are reversing that trend and spreading it across the general tax basis. I say let the people rise up and complain about the fire districts fee. We should point it out that it was not our decision to impose this fee. Both the mayor and administration spent a lot of time working on this and getting them to make a more reasonable fee and they denied your request.
Councilman Redmond: I think that the idea behind the ordinance, and we are talking about apartment dwellers, am I correct?
Alayne Shepler: It will also affect single family homes.
Councilman Redmond: It was my understanding that these fees would get passed off to the landlords. Are these fees going to be passed off to the tenants or are the landlords going to absorb it?
Mayor Cannon: I don't know that the landlords can pass this on because they are bound by the Rent Control ordinance.
Mr. Shah: It can be passed on when a new tenant comes in.
Councilman Greene: Actually, I was surprised to see this on the agenda because I thought at the last council meeting it was suggested that we table it until we could consider it further for the very reasons that the council members are stating now.
President Maher: Is there anyone who wants to move this forward? Seeing no show of hands, this matter dies.
No Action
A-1 Discussion Ordinance - Bond Ordinance Introduction
Authorizing the appropriation of $320,000.00 for various improvements.
ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING
TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE, NEW JERSEY
ORDINANCE 31-01
BOND ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS FOR VARIOUS IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY; APPROPRIATING THE SUM OF $320,000 THEREFOR; AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS OR BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, NEW JERSEY IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF UP TO $304,000; MAKING CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS AND COVENANTS; AND AUTHORIZING CERTAIN RELATED ACTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOREGOING
BE IT ORDAINED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, New Jersey (not less than two-thirds of all the members thereof affirmatively concurring), pursuant to the provisions of the Local Bond Law, Chapter 169 of the Laws of 1960 of the State of New Jersey, as amended and supplemented ("Local Bond Law"), as follows:
Section 1. The purposes described in Section 7 hereof are hereby authorized as general improvements to be made or acquired by the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, New Jersey ("Township").
Section 2. It is hereby found, determined and declared as follows:
(a) the estimated amount to be raised by the Township from all sources for the purposes stated in Section 7 hereof is $320,000; and
(b) the estimated amount of bonds or bond anticipation notes to be issued for the purposes stated in Section 7 hereof is $304,000.
(c) a down payment in the amount of $16,000 for the purposes stated in Section 7 hereof is currently available in accordance with the requirements of Section 11 of the Local Bond Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:2-11; and
Section 3. The sum of $320,000, to be raised by the issuance of bonds or bond anticipation notes, together with the sum of $16,000, which amount represents the required down payment, are hereby appropriated for the purposes stated in this bond ordinance ("Bond Ordinance").
Section 4. The issuance of negotiable bonds of the Township in an amount not to exceed $320,000 to finance the costs of the purposes described in Section 7 hereof is hereby authorized. Said bonds shall be sold in accordance with the requirements of the Local Bond Law.
Section 5. In order to temporarily finance the purposes described in Section 7 hereof, the issuance of bond anticipation notes of the Township in an amount not to exceed $304,000 is hereby authorized. Pursuant to the Local Bond Law, the Chief Financial Officer is hereby authorized to sell part or all of the bond anticipation notes from time to time at public or private sale and to deliver the same to the purchasers thereof upon receipt of payment of the purchase price plus accrued interest from their date to delivery thereof. The Chief Financial Officer is hereby directed to report in writing to the governing body at the meeting next succeeding the date when any sale or delivery of the bond anticipation notes pursuant to this Bond Ordinance is made. Such report must include the amount, the description, the interest rate and the maturity schedule of the bond anticipation notes sold, the price obtained and the name of the purchaser.
Section 6. The amount of the proceeds of the obligations authorized by this Bond Ordinance which may be used for the payment of interest on such obligations, accounting, engineering, legal fees and other items as provided in Section 20 of the Local Bond Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:2-20, shall not exceed the sum of $16,000.
Section 7. The improvements hereby authorized and the purposes for which said obligations are to be issued; the estimated costs of each said purpose; the amount of down payment for each said purpose; the maximum amount obligations to be issued for each said purpose and the period of usefulness of each said purpose within the limitations of the Local Bond Law are as follows:
Purpose/ Improvement Estimated Down Amount of Period of
Total Cost Payment Obligations Usefulness
Replacement of the Roof $168,400 $8,400 $160,000 15 years at the McDivitt School together with the acquisition of all materials and equipment and completion of all work necessary therefor or related thereto
Replacement of the Roof $105,250 $5,250 $100,000 15 years at the Shepard School together with the acquisition of all materials and equipment and completion of all work necessary therefor or related thereto
Replacement of Fire Alarm $46,350 $2,350 $44,000 10 years at the Madison Park School together with the acquisition of all materials and equipment and completion of all work necessary therefor or related thereto
Section 8. The average period of useful life of the several purposes for the financing of which this Bond Ordinance authorizes the issuance of bonds or bond anticipation notes, taking into consideration respective amounts of bonds or bond anticipation notes authorized for said several purposes, is not less than 14.276 years.
Section 9. The supplemental debt statement provided for in Section 10 of the Local Bond Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:2-10, was duly filed in the office of the Clerk prior to the passage of this Bond Ordinance on first reading and a complete executed duplicate original thereof has been filed in the Office of the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs of the State of New Jersey. The supplemental debt statement shows that the gross debt of the Township, as defined in Section 43 of the Local Bond Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:2-43, is increased by this Bond Ordinance by $304,000 and that the obligations authorized by this Bond Ordinance will be within all debt limitations prescribed by said Local Bond Law.
Section 10. The full faith and credit of the Township are irrevocably pledged to the punctual payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds or bond anticipation notes authorized by this Bond Ordinance and, to the extent payment is not otherwise provided, the Township shall levy ad valorem taxes on all taxable real property without limitation as to rate or amount for the payment thereof.
Section 11. The applicable Capital Budget is hereby amended to conform with the provisions of this Bond Ordinance to the extent of any inconsistency therewith, and the resolution promulgated by the Local Finance Board showing full detail of the amended Capital Budget and Capital Program as approved by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, is on file with the Clerk and available for inspection.
Section 12. The Township hereby declares its intent to reimburse itself from the proceed of the bonds or bond anticipation notes authorized by this Bond Ordinance pursuant to Income Tax Regulation Section 1.150-2(e), promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Code") for "original expenditures", as defined in Income Tax Regulation Section 1.150-2(c)(2), made by the Township prior to the issuance of such bonds or bond anticipation notes.
Section 13. The Township hereby covenants as follows:
(a) it shall take all actions necessary to ensure that the interest paid on the bonds or bond anticipation notes authorized by the Bond Ordinance is exempt from the gross income of the owners thereof for federal income taxation purposes, and will not become a specific item of tax preference pursuant to Section 57(a)(5) of the Code;
(b) it will not make any use of the proceeds of the bonds or bond anticipation notes or do or suffer any other action that would cause the bonds or bond anticipation notes to be "arbitrage bonds" as such term is defined in Section 148(a) of the Code and the Regulations promulgated thereunder;
(c) it shall calculate or cause to be calculated and pay, when due, the rebatable arbitrage with respect to the "gross proceeds" (as such term is used in Section 148(f) of the Code) of the bonds or bond anticipation notes;
(d) it shall timely file with the Ogden, Utah Service Center of the Internal Revenue Service, such information report or reports as may be required by Sections 148(f) and 149(e) of the Code; and
(e) it shall take no action that would cause the bonds or bond anticipation notes to be "federally guaranteed" within the meaning of Section 149(b) of the Code.
Section 14. The improvements authorized hereby are not current expenses and are improvements that the Township may lawfully make. No part of the cost of the improvements authorized hereby has been or shall be specially assessed on any property specially benefited thereby.
Section 15. All ordinances, or parts of ordinances, inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
Section 16. In accordance with the Local Bond Law, this Bond Ordinance shall take effect twenty (20) days after the first publication thereof after final passage.
Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Butler and so ordered on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff, Sohor.
Prior to the roll call vote the following discussion took place.
President Maher: I was informed by the Clerk's office that we cannot take action tonight because we do not have the Supplemental Debt Statement.
Mr. Shah: It was given to the Clerk's office.
Councilman Redmond: This has to do with the Board of Education. We made a commitment to these people and we have to do it this evening.
Mr. Shah: I did not realize it was returned to my office. This ordinance was supposed to be introduced at the request of Councilman Testino last week and I prepared the Supplemental Debt Statement.
President Maher: We have it here so we will take action on it tonight.
Clerk Saracino: There is the wrong date on that statement. Himanshu, as of today the State has informed us that it must be dated the date of introduction.
Mr. Shah: I have checked the statute and I was advised just to change the date. It has to be dated prior to the date of introduction.
Attorney Ruggierio: Why don't you just change the date and initial it.
President Maher: I will change the date and initial it. We need to move this forward.
Councilman Testino: I would just say that this is an ordinance recommended to us by our accountant and his staff as a way of reducing burden on the school district taxes and spreading out their capital costs over time and they are taking the benefit our reduced interest rates and I am happy to be a proponent in this matter.
Councilman Redmond: I agree with Mr. Testino. When we had these negotiations with the school board we promised that it would be done in a timely manner. I think this is us holding up our end of the bargain.
President Maher: I am going to open this up to the public for discussion. Seeing no hands, I will close the public portion.
A-2 Discussion Resolution - To Authorize the Budget Transfers in the amount of $36,000.00 between the Current SFY 2001 Budget.
Resolution No. 235
BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey that:
WHEREAS, it has become necessary to expend for various purposes which are specified in the budget, an amount in excess of the respective sums appropriated therefore, and
WHEREAS, there is an excess in certain other appropriations which are specified in the budget which are legally available for transfer; and
WHEREAS, under the provisions of R.S. 40A:40-58, during the last two months of the fiscal year, the Governing Body has the authority to transfer the amount of such appropriations as may be deemed to be in excess to such appropriations as may require it.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the transfer in the amount of $36,000.000 be made between the Current SFY 2001 Budget as follows:
General Account
Department From To
Audit Fees - Other Expenses $20,000.00
Capital Improvement Fund - Other Expenses $16,000.00
Group Insurance - Other Expenses (JIF) $36,000.00
__________ _________
$36,000.00 $36,000.00
Moved by Councilman Butler, seconded by Councilman Redmond and so ordered on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Sohor, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff.
President Maher: I will open this matter up to the public for discussion. Seeing no hands, I will close the public portion.
A-3 Bingo/Raffle - St. Thomas the Apostle
Resolution #236
BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey that:
WHEREAS, the following organizations have made application to hold, operate and conduct a Bingo/Raffle; said applications being in accordance with the statutes relating thereto:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to issue to the applicants, the following licenses:
BA61-01 St. Thomas the Apostle Senior Citizens Club
RA62-01 St. Thomas the Apostle Senior Citizens Club
Moved by Councilman Sohor, seconded by Councilman Redmond and so ordered on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Sohor, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff
President Maher: I will open this matter to the public for discussion. Seeing no hands I will close the public portion.
DISCUSSION ORDINANCE
TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE
ORDINANCE NO. 32-01
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY
OWNED BY THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE, AND SETTING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SUCH SALE (Block 17000, Lot 27.12)
BE IT ORDAINED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey, as follows:
SECTION 1: PURPOSE
The Township of Old Bridge is the apparent owner to certain property which is known as Block 17000, Lot 27.12 on the tax map of Old Bridge. This land is no longer needed for public use and the Township Council desires to authorize the sale of the property at auction in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13.
SECTION 2: AUTHORIZATION OF SALE: LIST OF PROPERTY AND SALE PRICE
The Township Council hereby authorizes the sale of the property known as Block 17000, Lot 27.12 on the tax map of Old Bridge, to the Township of Old Bridge Housing Authority, a municipal housing authority created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-17 et seq., in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13(b). The purchase price for the interest which is authorized to be sold under this Ordinance is $600,000.00.
SECTION 3: NOTICE OF SALE
The Township Clerk shall cause the Notice of Sale and Public Notice to be provided in accordance with the statute. A list of the property authorized to be sold shall be posted on the bulletin board or other conspicuous space in the building which the Township Council holds its regular meetings, and advertisement thereof made in a newspaper circulating in the Township of Old Bridge within five days following enactment of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4: AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE DOCUMENTS
The Township Attorney, Mayor and Township Clerk are hereby authorized and directed, nunc pro tunc, to execute and deliver any document necessary to effectuate the subject conveyance.
SECTION 5: INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES
All ordinances or parts of ordinances insistent with or in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
SECTION 6: PARTIAL INVALIDITY
If any section, paragraph, clause or provision of this ordinance shall be adjudged invalid, such adjudication shall apply only to the section, paragraph, clause or provision so adjudged and the remainder of the ordinance shall be deemed invalid and ineffective.
SECTION 7: EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall take effect twenty (20) days after publication thereof after final adoption, unless the council shall adopt a resolution at final adoption declaring an emergency and at least two-thirds of all the members of the Council shall vote in favor of such resolution pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:69A-181; and upon this ordinance taking effect shall not be retroactive.
Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Redmond and so ordered on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: Councilman Sohor.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff.
Prior to the roll call vote the following discussion took place:
Attorney Ruggierio: I was hoping that Council would introduce this ordinance tonight and make it returnable for second reading at the next agenda meeting in order to comply with certain issues that came up when I got the title report from Barsel. We have to get this money in before June 30th.
Councilman Testino: Is this also why you want us to extend the closing date.
Councilman Butler: Do you have a closing date for this property?
Attorney Ruggierio: We have a date in the original documents, but we have changed it and I will be setting it up for June 26th.
President Maher: I will now open this matter to the public for discussion. Seeing no hands, I will close the public portion.
CONSENT AGENDA
C-1 Bingo/Raffle (RA-61 Congregation Beth Ohr)
Move-up
DISCUSSION RESOLUTIONS
DR-1 Amend Housing Authority Appointment for Colleen Flynn Antonis (Term expires 5/18/06 a 5 year term not 5/18/03 a 3 year term)
DR-2 Purchase for Public Works four (4) Dodge BR2500 Pick-up Trucks
Resolution No. 237
BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey that:
WHEREAS, the Township of Old Bridge wishes to purchase four (4) Dodge BR2500 trucks, under State Contract #45137; and
WHEREAS, the Township of Old Bridge wishes to purchase under such State Contract the aforesaid vehicles for the price of $109,628.00; and
WHEREAS, Warnock Fleet and Leasing, located at P.O. Box 524, East Hanover, New Jersey, has been awarded New Jersey State Contract #45137; and
WHEREAS, the Township wishes to award the State Contract #45137 for the four (4) Dodge BR2500 trucks to Warnock Fleet and Leasing;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey, as follows:
1. Warnock Fleet and Leasing is hereby awarded a contract in the amount of $109,628.00 for (4) Dodge BR2500 trucks.
2. The award of contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds #963 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.
3. The Mayor and Township Clerk are hereby authorized to sign the contract documents necessary to effectuate the award of this contract. The Township Attorney shall review any and all contractual documents prepared in furtherance of this award. This resolution s conditioned upon the following:
A. Formal execution of a contract approved by the Director of Law which is signed by the Mayor and Township Clerk
B. Issuance of a Certificate of Availability of Funds as aforesaid.
C. Compliance by the vendor with signing the mandatory affirmative action language required by law.
D. Compliance by the Vendor with filing of Affirmative Action Form AA302 or AA201, or otherwise complying with affirmative action employee information reporting.
No contract shall be considered awarded unless, and until, the above requirements are executed.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a true copy of this Resolution shall be deposited with the following township offices: the Public Works Department.
Moved by Councilman Butler, seconded by Councilwoman Hegarty and so ordered on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Sohor, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff.
Prior to the roll call vote the following discussion took place:
Councilman Butler: I do understand that we are against the clock on this. There is a State bid and it will be closing, but I think is something that we need to act on tonight.
Mr. Donatelli: We have to act on this as quickly as possible in order to be eligible for this contract.
DR-3 Award of Contract #01-05 to ARBE Landscaping Higgins Road Drainage Improvements
Move-up
President Maher: Who is paying for this the developers? When we approved the house for Zudi to build on Higgins Road they were supposed to make some improvements am I correct?
Alayne Shepler: It is part of a prior bond.
Nelson Iglesias: They are waiting for us to install this drainage so that they can connect to that and make the improvements on the back.
DR-4 Award of Contract #01-05 Resolution concurring to the installation of a traffic signal at Rt. 9 and Inverness Drive
Move-up
DR-5 Review of Tree Ordinance by CMF A Tree Expert Company - Gary Lovallo (Not to exceed $2000.00)
Move-up
DR-6 To Cancel outstanding Current Fund checks totaling $2456.65
Move-up
DR-7 Resolution concurring with installation of pedestrian control signals (Same as DR-4)
Remove
DR-8 Professional Service Contract to James D. Cummins & Co. Professional Roof Consultants in the amount of $2500.00 for Old Bridge Public Library
Move-up
Councilman Testino: Is this money coming out of their funds?
Alayne Shepler: It is coming out of the escrow fund.
Councilman Redmond: What are they doing there?
Mayor Cannon: They are having some problems with the roof and there is money in escrow about $130,000.00 and if there ever were problems with the roof we could use that money.
DR-9 Resolution to authorize SFY 2001 Budget Transfers in the amount of $5,000.00 to be made between the Current SFY 2001 Budget.
Move-up
DR-10 Award Contract #01-08 for Curb Replacement to Pioneer General Contracting Co. In the amount of $898,997.00
Move-up
DR-11 Memorialize Denial of Release/Reduction Performance Guarantee - Deer Run
Move-up
DISCUSSION ITEMS
D-1 Peoplemover, Inc. - Lots 47.12 and 47.13 Block 26009 Old Bridge/Englishtown Road - South of Lorton Road
President Maher: I want to bring to the Council's attention that there was a letter myself and the Mayor received from Ken Pape with respect to the fact he has a client who is interested in purchasing Township owned property along the Old Bridge/Englishtown Road. Mr. Cucchiara is opposed to this and I have had a call from a resident in the area who is also opposed. I have requested Sam Rizzo and the Mayor's office to supply me with a report.
Councilman Testino: What property is it?
Alayne Shepler: It is a "paper street" known as Lorton Road very near to the brook.
President Maher: I want to make it clear there are residents who are opposed to this. I have responded to Mr. Pape in saying that we would put it on for discussion, but I don't think we need to discuss it until Administration as well as the engineer and planners have reported.
Councilman Testino: This is in front of planning right now.
Alayne Shepler: It went through planning and received preliminary and final site approval with a "C" variance. You have a report on this.
Councilman Redmond: That has not gotten approval yet.
Mayor Cannon: It is still before the board.
Nelson Iglesias: There was a question about or not the road we are talking about was ... (unintelligible)... it is a paper street crossed by two streams and there is no way we can use that road.
Councilman Redmond: It is going to need stream encroachment permits for what he wants to do there. He got some type of approval from the State which states that they are not allowed to make a left turn onto Englishtown Road. I cannot believe that Planning Board approved it. I think they requested more information.
President Maher: Nelson and Sam, please provide us with a report and we will decide the direction that we are going to go with this.
D-2 Codification of Code Book
Clerk Saracino: The present book that we are using is ten years old and we are running into a lot of problems looking up ordinances and we do have to move on adopting the new code book.
Attorney Ruggierio: I am probably responsible for having this stuck in my office and I will say that Council can expect an ordinance or final review from me somewhere around July 15th.
President Maher: I believe that Councilwoman Hegarty was shepherding this back last year. Did you sign off on it?
Councilwoman Hegarty: I highlighted some of the areas that needed attention.
President Maher: Were they revised?
Attorney Ruggierio: That is the final task. I have a bunch of comments and I need to get the time to do a final review and then I will present it to the Council with the ordinance and then in the future we will have to employ a codification company to put all our ordinances into the book. Basically, Rose-Marie is right we do have to get this done.
President Maher: Could you give us two copies one with the changes?
Attorney Ruggierio: I gave that to you once before and I would be hard pressed to review it again now, but I did give you a list in the recent past of things that were changed in the ordinance. There are still little housekeeping things that need to be worked on and I will plead guilty to not devoting enough time to this. I would like Council to put this on review for July 15th.
Councilwoman Hegarty: It is not an easy task and with the summer approaching, is there any way of bringing in an intern who would be able to work on it?
Attorney Ruggierio: We do hire interns, but we are that close to having this codification in front of you, but I think I have to do a final review and revisions where I think it is indicated.
The bottom line is that I would not feel comfortable delegating it to someone who did not have my level of experience. It really is very close to being completed.
President Maher: If I am going to approve a codification book, I would like to see what we have changed or deleted.
Councilwoman Hegarty: That is what I was suggesting that an intern do, highlight the changes.
Clerk Saracino: As it is, we are already two years outdated on the brand new book. I know most of the questions were with regard to Chapter II, perhaps we could approve the rest of the codification book and address Chapter II at a separate time.
Attorney Ruggierio: The law dictates that we have to approve the codification in total and frankly out of all the things that you are going to adopt, the codifiers have rearranged the sections and Section II, Chapter II is most important, it is the thing most out of date and we have offices and positions in this town that I tried to address that are not covered. We have divisions within departments that were just created and did not exist in the code book. There are a lot of changes, but I think that out of all the chapters I feel most comfortable with. Maybe the Council has some questions about it because it deals with administration.
Clerk Saracino: The Police Department is having a lot of problems, we have no updated traffic ordinances and when something comes in we have to back track for ten years.
Attorney Ruggierio: I understand and I will make it a priority and you will have something in front of you before the July 15th date.
D-3 Cheesequake Village Dam (May 29, 2001)
Attorney Ruggierio: Nelson completed the work that we talked about before and I needed to take a look at it myself and during that time period, engineering discovered that there might have been a few mathematical transpositions so they did a new item and I just okayed the letter today sending the material out to the other attorney. Basically, Nelson has given me a complete description subject to field verification, when and if we go to acquire of all acquisitions.
I have asked the other attorney if this presented any problems from the association point of view and I have people in Barclay to contact about the acquisitions there, but I took care of all those issues last week so we will be ready next week.
D-4 Decrease in Police Overtime - Report by Administration and Police Department
Alayne Shepler: Today, Capt. Cerra called my office and said that he was not quite complete with his report and he asked that you carry this to the next agenda and he will have the report complete by that time.
Councilman Butler: While we are on discussion items, Alayne had a meeting with the contractor about taking the house on 15 Villanova down, can we have an update on that?
Alayne Shepler: This Council and Administration had made a commitment to the residents of Madison Park to remove this unsafe structure. In the meantime after we sent out the notice of violation and order to demolish, it was ascertained that the mortgage holder had effected a foreclosure, which then changed our notification. Last Friday afternoon, Mr. Amabile and I met with representatives of the mortgage holder who have given permission to demolish.
As of last Friday, a container was placed on the site and another was placed there today and the demolition commences tomorrow and Mr. Amabile will follow-up. In a way this is much better for us so we do not have to expend the money to demolish the house and they are using the contractor that we recommended and received the quote from and we will not have to place a lien on the house and there is no burden to the taxpayers.
Councilman Redmond: What about the rodent problem?
Alayne Shepler: That has been taken care of and we will pass the cost for the extermination onto the mortgage holder.
D-5 Rent Stabilization Ordinance 11A-2 (Fair Rent Committee requesting a percentage increase of 1.75% to current rent)
Councilman Butler: There was a committee that put this together. The tenant's association is here and they are coming off of a big battle in reference to the State legislature wanting to get rid of rent control completely, so they followed up with that and it worked out quite well for them. Now, they are looking at an increase of 1.75% over the 2% approved rent increase. We have people on fixed incomes, we have people losing their jobs, it is a hardship right now to pay the 2% now if you add another 1.75% you will have some major problems. I think that we should review this and do the best thing for the people.
President Maher: Rose-Marie when will this be ready?
Clerk Saracino: It is my understanding that this is only a recommendation and no changes have been submitted to my office.
President Maher: Since all you folks are here this evening, I am going to open this matter for discussion. I want to hear from the committee and the tenants. We have a letter in our Council packets dated May 14, 2001 and I would like the Council to bring it.
Jerry Rhodes: I think the letter pretty much speaks for itself: "We the members of the Fair Rent Committee, upon analyzing the income and expenses from the multi-dwellings, unanimously agree that an increase to 3.75% is more than justified. This increase of 1.75% over the current 2% would add an additional $11.27 per month to the current average rent of $644.00 for an increase of $24.15. The landlords have endured increases in the following areas in which they have little or no control, natural gas, health care, water and sewer, payroll, material and supplies. In analyzing increases vs. expenses, the following is noted: income is up 3.24% per year from 1997, expenses are up 13% from 1997. Signed Mr. Rhodes, Don Canestra, George Greco, Tracy Hildreth, Stewart Simon, Steven Brunell, Anthony Spirito and Elaine Liebowitz.
Councilman Greene: I understand the 1.75%, but where is the 2% coming from?
Jerry Rhodes: The 2% is in the ordinance, we are allowed to pass through a 2% increase on a renewal. We are asking that be increased from 2% to 3.75%, which is 1.75% above the approved increase, this is for one year, and since 1997 the increase has been 2%.
Councilman Butler: Can I know what the make-up of the committee is?
Jerry Rhodes: It was three landlords, three homeowners and three tenants.
Councilman Butler: Can this Council also know how the vote went down in reference to this 1.75% increase?
Jerry Rhodes: It was unanimous.
Councilman Butler: Can you tell me how many members were present at that meeting?
Jerry Rhodes: We were one homeowner. One of the tenants who was on the board resigned so the seat was vacant and we were missing one homeowner.
President Maher: Looking at the letter can you identify of the people who signed the letter how they voted?
Councilman Butler: So you had two people who were not available to vote on this am I correct?
Jerry Rhodes: Yes.
Councilman Butler: So all those that were present voted in favor of the increase, correct?
Jerry Rhodes: Yes.
President Maher: Now help me out. Of the people who signed this letter, who voted for this?
Jerry Rhodes: Jerry Rhodes, Mr. George, Tracey Hildreth, Mr. Simon, Mr. Brunell, Anthony Spirito. Elaine Liebowitz did not show for any meetings.
Councilman Testino: Last time we reviewed this we got financials, didn't we?
Jerry Rhodes: I chaired the Rent Control Board also, Councilman Redmond wanted to know about the inspection fees, the Rent Control Ordinance prohibits the landlord from passing through to any tenant any fees involved in getting a certificate of occupancy. So if you reduce that fee from $60.00 to $50.00 is not going to make one iota of difference.
President Maher: That was another issue. With respect to Mr. Testino's question, do you have supporting documentation.
Jerry Rhodes: I don't know what you got the other years. Let me explain how we did this. We took three years of income and expenses from two of the large properties and one of the medium properties. We broke it down to a landlord, a tenant and a homeowner to analyze the income and expenses of these properties. It was extremely difficult to pull those items out. I was not interested in mortgage payment, I was interested in those fixed incomes for which the landlord had little if any control. Those areas that he has control of, let him reduce his costs as best he can. I was more concerned where costs for the landlord had risen over which he had no control. This is what we looked at for the income and expense statement. The town gets income and expense statements from every project in this town every year. We have a CPA who sits on our board with us and it is almost impossible to take them and compare them year to year and pull out the hard costs. That is why in the letter I submitted to the Council I gave you the hard costs over which the landlord has no control.
President Maher: What were the three study years?
Jerry Rhodes: I went back to 1997, 1998, and 1999.
President Maher: I am going to ask any of the tenants who would like to speak to come forward.
Roberta Weintraub: I live in Glenwood and my rent is almost $950.00 and an additional almost 4%, I could not live there anymore. With the 2% increase I could just make it, but not if they raise it almost double that amount, so I am really frightened and I am sure there are a lot of other people here who feel the same.
Irene ------: I am the vice-president of the Old Bridge Tenant Association. We really did not have enough time to study this. We found out about it at approximately 12:45 p.m. this afternoon. However, I deal with disadvantaged people every day of the year and I know that at this point there is a great deal of difficulty for the senior and disabled population of any town in New Jersey, let alone Old Bridge. I would say that taking it and almost doubling the increase would bring a severe hardship on the seniors, disabled and even the working man who will have to bear this cost.
Monica Walsh: I live at Glenwood and I have the lowest rental there, an efficiency apartment and I pay $665.00. I take a lot of medication and I have to go to the doctor frequently, and you know that drugs have gone up, HMO's have gone up and we just can't afford this increase.
Steven Brunell: I am presented with an unique opportunity, I am actually on the Fair Rent Committee and I am also the vice-president of the Old Bridge Tenants Association and I am somewhere in the middle of this mix. In talking with Jerry Rhodes and several of the other landlords, it was very hard to get a fix on what we could recommend to the Council. They claim that natural gas is up 300%, the health care was 19% and we had to find a way to translate this into a recommendation to the Council. We do understand that it is still up to the Council to decide what the increase will be. At first the recommendation was going to be 4% and both myself and Tracy thought this was going too far and as a group we did decide that 3.75% would be the recommendation. We did discuss trying to keep the rent increase for the seniors at 2%, but we don't know how the landlords would feel about this. As a tenant I understand their feelings, I don't want my rent to go up either. As a business man I understand that as costs go up you to have to make up the difference, so it is up to you to try to reach a happy medium on this matter.
Grace Fields: I have been a resident at Nieuw Amsterdam Village since 1989. When I moved in I worked for a Fortune 500 company, then I became disabled in 1992, so I am on a fixed income. The reason I am addressing this committee is because I don't think that Nieuw Amsterdam Village deserves an increase for the following reasons: heating, during every winter for the past 5 years,we have had to put plastic over our windows, they no longer caulk the windows and there are holes where the windows and sills meet. Four years ago I reported that our garage was broken, the panels were kicked out and it took them until the year 2000 to fix it.
My stove has not been working for a very long time; my refrigerator makes so much noise at night (sound of loud engine). When David came to my house he told me to try and defrost it. I defrost it every month, the refrigerator is just not working. I have applied three times for a handicap spot and I was told that I had to get it from the State. I came down to the police station at Old Bridge and was told by Capt. Bonfante to go back to our office and tell them he said that I have to get it through them. I went back and told this to David Wilson, the manager, that I was disabled and had a back injury and knee replacement and he told me he had health problems too, but he works. I went out of that office despondent.
President Maher: I appreciate your coming down here, but you did not have to put up with these issues. Doesn't code enforcement handle this?
Jerry Rhodes: She could bring this problems before the Rent Control Board, she could put them in writing and they will be addressed at the next meeting which is in June.
Dwayne Fields: I am the husband of Grace. I would just like to say that along with the other tenants I understand that expenses have gone up as far as natural gas, but I would also like to say "welcome to the club", gas, food have gone up and we cannot go to our jobs and say look boss we need 3% more in our pay because of expenses. There are a lot of costs that we have as average citizens and we have no control over them. I sympathize with the landlords, but we have other expenses that are going up too. A lot of people here are seniors and their income is not going to go up.
Lucille Panos: I am just curious as to why they don't take into consideration a mortgage. Many people when their expenses go up, they refinance, can't these landlords refinance?
Jerry Rhodes: Can I explain why I excluded that from the criteria? I am a landlord and I built the property ten years and have a $5 million dollar mortgage on it and over the years I have paid the mortgage and the property has gone up. I go out and take a second mortgage and put money into my pocket, however now my payments are increased because I have two payments, should I pass that increase on to the tenants?
Councilman Redmond: If I might just make a comment, if you talk about averages, and if you go out into the job market, the raises the last couple of years have been between 2 and 2 ½%, it is still less and an increase over what you are asking for. Where is the money going to come from? I don't think that as a Council we could approve this. I am not saying no increase but this seems high.
Councilman Sohor: Mr. Rhodes, I just want to verify something that you said. The study period for your cost determination was 1997 thru 1999, am I correct.
Jerry Rhodes: The financials we received included some 2000 figures, but I made the cut-off 1999. It was a problem to pull out hard costs, but I went back to my project at Brentwood and I could not get hard costs from other landlords. One example I used the heating costs at Brentwood for the year 1999, 248 apartments, the cost was $75,000.00; for the year 2000 it had gone up to $90,000. For 2001, the months of January thru March my cost as Brentwood was almost $65,000.00. My gas back in 1999 was 33 cents a therm, for the first three months of 2001, my cost was $1.10 per therm. I cannot control these costs and I don't have an answer.
Councilman Sohor: The reason I asked the question about the timing on the numbers, because through 1997 thru 1999, several favorable things occurred for property owners within the township including property taxes decreasing significantly. We also went through a period of utility deregulation and there were savings on that end.
Jerry Rhodes: My taxes at Brentwood did not go down one cent during that time.
Councilman Sohor: Obviously, we want to make sure that any increases that come along are fair to both sides. I would really be interested in seeing the financial details upon which you based your recommendations for this increase so that we can make sure that the numbers are not skewed one way or the other.
Jerry Rhodes: I will see if I can get them for you. I don't think I can get them from the other properties, but I will provide you with my numbers.
President Maher: I think the Council will welcome the convenience of reviewing the financials that you have mentioned and I would appreciate your getting them to us. Also, I would like to know if the various condominium associations and apartments where you are buying large quantities of gas and electric, are pooling to get better rates to reduce your expenses?
Jerry Rhodes: We buy our natural gas through the market not thru PSE&G. We are three complexes doing this and if we went through a supplier we would lose our 15%.
President Maher: I don't agree. Anyone who aggregated or pooled received the 15% it is a guarantee.
Motion
Motion to table this ordinance made by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Butler and so moved on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Sohor, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff.
REPORT:
R-1 Duhernal (Engineering, Legal & Administration to meet with representatives of Duhernal to resolve water and drainage problems.
Councilman Butler: I believe Mr. Cucchiara put that on and out of respect for him I think we should save this for the next meeting.
Motion to adjourn at 9:45 p.m. made by Councilman Butler, seconded by Councilwoman Hegarty and so ordered on the following roll call vote.
AYES: Councilmen Butler, Greene, Redmond, Sohor, Testino, Councilwoman Hegarty, President Maher.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Councilmen Cucchiara, Hoff.
______________________________
Dennis M. Maher, Council President
_______________________________
Rose-Marie Saracino, Township Clerk
vo
dist. |