MEDFORD TOWNSHIP

COUNCIL MEETING

September 14, 2010

  

The Medford Township Council Meeting of the above date was convened by

Mayor Martin, followed by the salute to the flag and reading of the Open Public Meetings Act Statement.

           

COUNCIL ROLL CALL

 

            Mr. David J. Brown                                                      Present

            Mrs. Victoria Fay                                                         Present

Mr. Joseph J. Lynn, Jr.                                                 Absent

            Deputy Mayor Myers                                                   Present

            Mayor Robert Martin                                                   Present

           

            PROFESSIONALS PRESENT

 

            Stephen Addezio, Acting Township Mgr/Dir of Public Safety

            Richard Hunt, Township Solicitor

            Christopher Noll, Township Engineer   

                                   

MINUTES

 

            Agenda Minutes and Executive Minutes for July 31, 2010 and  Special Executive Minutes for August 11, 2010

           

Mr. Brown moved for approval of the Agenda Minutes and Executive Minutes for July 31, 2010 and Special Executive Minutes for August 11, 2010. The motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

            MANAGER’S REPORT

 

            Mayor Martin read a Proclamation for Constitution Week, September 17-23, 2010.

 

Mr. Addezio presented the bill list for payment.

 

Mr. Addezio had previously entertained and answered questions with regard to the payment of the bills.  There being no further questions, the bill list was approved for payment as presented.

 

Mr. Brown made a motion to approve bill list seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.

 

 

 

 

ENGINEER’S REPORT

 

Mr. Noll advised Council that Kirby’s Mill Canoe Launch was installed by Public Works to allow canoes to go under the bridge. Mr. Noll provided pictures of the completed project for Council.

 

Mr. Noll made reference to Ordinance 2010-31 which reduces the speed limit on Jackson Road

 

Mr. Noll advised Council that Hartford and Route 70 is out to bid with the bid opening scheduled for October 6, 2010 and will be awarded at the October 14th Council meeting. The intersection will remain open during construction.

 

Deputy Mayor Myers asked if additional solar has gone out.  Mr. Noll stated Phase II is out to bid with the bid opening scheduled for September 28, 2010. Phase III for buildings will go out to bid in the next two to three weeks.

 

SOLICITOR’S REPORT

 

None

           

            PUBLIC

 

            Mike Panarella, member of Returning Vets Committee and Nino De Pasquale, Chairman of Returning Vets Committee advised that on October 16, 2010 at 9:00 AM there will be a dedication of the Fallen Soldier’s monument from Burlington County, Burlington County Freeholders and families of fallen soldiers will be there and all are invited.

 

            Deputy Mayor Myers asked if it is all fallen soldiers regardless of combat death or non combat death.

 

            Mr. Panarella read an invitation to the event.

 

            Nancy Schade, 7 Point View Circle asked where is the dedication which she was advised is next to the Veterans Monument in Freedom Park.

 

            Mrs. Schade advised Council that she had received a certified letter from Pinelands an for amendment asking if she had any comments.

 

            Mrs. Schade requested a copy of amendment.

 

            Mr. Noll stated Pinelands asked for re-notice because of a phone number on the paperwork being incorrect.

 

            Laura Saunders, Taunton Blvd had brought up at the last Council meeting about the numbers that are needed for the reserve of funds.

 

            Ms. Saunders asked what we are waiting for to do this Ordinance.

 

Randy Pace, 46 Woodthrush Trail, thanked Mr. Addezio for getting back to him about the ELEC filing complaint. 

 

Mr. Pace addressed Council, not CFO or manager to investigate, making them aware as they are the recipient of the funds.

 

Mr. Pace gave a copy of a completed ELEC complaint to Mayor Martin only to put on file for the township.

 

Mr. Pace also brought up Pay to Play issues.

 

Mr. Pace directed a question to Mr. Brown, are we are paying the taxes for the Art Center?

 

Mr. Pace also brought up that John Paff sent a letter to the Township that addressed Council having Township e-mails.

 

Chris Buoni, 20 Woodthrust Trail advised Council he has been researching the purchase of property at Gravelly Hollow Road for the Fire Company.

 

Mr. Buoni brought up several irregularities for permits and filings of same.

Mr. Buoni stated the Building Subcode Official was fired the next day.

 

Mr. Buoni advised that Temporary Certificates of Occupancy were given without Pinelands approval.

 

Mr. Buoni was advised that permits were filed with Planning Board with documentation.

 

ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION

 

ORDINANCE 2010-29 “AMENDING ORDINANCE 2010-14; VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE CODE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MEDFORD TO UPDATE FEES AND FINES”

 

            Mr. Brown moved for approval of the ordinance, advertisement and set date of October 12, 2010 for public hearing, seconded by Mrs. Fay.

                       

            Roll call vote for approval as follows: Mr. Brown, aye, Mrs. Fay, aye, Deputy Mayor Myers, aye and Mayor Martin, aye.

 

ORDINANCE 2010-30 “AMENDING § 5-79 OF THE CODE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MEDFORD, ENTITLED “DIVISION OF POLICE” BY ELIMINATING THE POSITION OF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS ALSO KNOWN AS DISPATCHERS”

 

            Deputy Mayor Myers for approval of the ordinance, advertisement and set date of October 12, 2010 for public hearing, seconded by Mr. Brown.

                       

            Roll call vote for approval as follows: Mr. Brown, aye, Deputy Mayor Myers, aye and Mayor Martin, aye.  Mrs. Fay abstained.

 

ORDINANCE 2010-31 “AMENDING CHAPTER 140 OF THE TOWNSHIP CODE ENTITLED: “VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC LOWERING THE SPEED LIMITS ON A PORTION OF JACKSON ROAD”

 

            Deputy Mayor Myers for approval of the ordinance, advertisement and set date of October 12, 2010 for public hearing, seconded by Mr. Brown.

                       

            Roll call vote for approval as follows: Mr. Brown, aye, Mrs. Fay, aye, Deputy Mayor Myers, aye and Mayor Martin, aye.

 

ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING

 

ORDINANCE 2010-28 “AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MEDFORD, COUNTY OF BURLINGTON, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, ESTABLISHING MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SALARIES AND WAGES FOR OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MEDFORD”

 

            Mr. Brown moved for adoption of the ordinance, seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.

 

            Mayor Martin opened the meeting to the public.

           

            There was no public comment.

           

             Deputy Mayor Myers moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

            Roll call vote to close the public portion as follows: Mr. Brown, aye, Mrs. Fay, aye, Deputy Mayor Myers, aye and Mayor Martin, aye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESOLUTIONS

 

Resolution 201-2010 “authorizing execution of shared services agreement with the borough of medford lakes for electric and plumbing subcode official, building inspector and construction official”

           

Deputy Mayor Myers moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

Deputy Mayor Myers stated another chance to do shared services to help reduce costs to the towns.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 202-2010 “authorizing adjustment of 2010 property tax block: 404.07, lot: 6”

 

Mrs. Fay moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

Deputy Mayor Myers advised this was for a disabled veteran and remarked that the state law needs improvement.

                       

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

           

Resolution 203-2010 “RESOLUTION APPOINTING SPECIAL OFFICER TO THE TOWNSHIP OF MEDFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT”

 

Mr. Brown moved for approval of the resolution seconded by Mrs. Fay.          

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

 

Mrs. Fay read that this was for Gregory Blash.

 

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 204-2010 “AUTHORIZING TOWNSHIP COUNCIL’S INTENT TO CALL LETTER OF CREDIT POSTED BY JOHNSON’S CORNER FARM SPR-5603f”

 

Deputy Mayor Myers moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

 

Mr. Noll advised bond is to expire on September 25, 2010 and their plan is to complete the punch list, crosswalk and handicap striping before expired date.

                       

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 205-2010 “cancelling the interest on 2010 taxes due on block 3202.18, lot 4”

 

Mrs. Fay moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

                       

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 206-2010 “filling vacancy on the senior citizens advisory committee”

 

Mrs. Fay moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

         Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

         There were no public comments.

           

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 207-2010 “Authorizing Sale of Surplus Property On GovDeals.Com”

 

Mr. Brown moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 208-2010 “Authorizing Layoff of Dispatchers of the Medford Township Police Department”

 

Mr. Brown moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

Chief Canale stood by his statement before that the elimination of the dispatchers will affect public safety in Medford.

 

Patrolman Mark Hunsinger, President MTPOA spoke on community projects that they host and sponsor. The MTPOA consists of both police officers and communication officers.

 

Patrolman Hunsinger asked that this be considered by the Medford residents.

 

Mary Scout, 7 Stoneycroft Court has lived in Medford since she was 7.  She would like to see what other cuts can be made to keep this service.

 

Ms. Scout stated she knows that we hired a Director of Public Safety for a $120,000 who is a retired Chief of Police.  We had made retirement deals for the Chief of Police.

 

Larry Ryman, Oak Leaf Court a resident for 30 years. Medford has experienced the outsourcing of this Township with snow and leaf pickup.

 

Janet Kochel, 1 Leatherleaf Court, resident for 25 years, doesn’t feel in this economy that we should be sending people into unemployment.

 

Ray McCarty asked Council, do they have the courage and guts to listen to all these people and keep dispatch?

 

James Thomas, 110 Medford-Mt. Holly Road, lived here most of his life and 4 generations of Thomas have served for Medford Fire.  He has been in the dispatch room and has done the job and feels that they should receive more compensation for what they do.

 

Nancy Schade, 7 Point View Circle has experienced outsourcing and we should certainly have the safety of the people in mind.  People who keep us safe should not be part of a cost cutting measure.

 

Ms. Schade hopes that the MTPOA never has to print an ad like that again.

 

Kim Cochran, Dispatcher for 23 years in Medford spoke to Council about looking at the numbers more.

 

Ms. Cochran provided statistic numbers to Council.  Stated she is not saying the service at Central is bad, saying the service from our dispatch is superior.

 

Mike Taggart, Dispatcher received a call this week of a minor having seizures and Central dispatched to the wrong address.

 

Terri Palmer, 30 Allen Avenue has lived here her whole life and comforting to know the calls come here where they live.

 

Mrs. Palmer said as for taxes, look at the schools.

 

Chris Buoni, 20 Woodthrush Trail stated Council sat here last meeting and Council wouldn’t grant motion for more review of legal bills.

 

Nancy DiCochensa, 4 King Arthur Court, stated at one time she was proud nobody knew where she lived.  Ms. DiCochensa has a 92 year old mom and when she calls she knows that help is on the way.

 

Deputy Mayor Myers stated as of January 1st, 2011 we will be the only township in Burlington County with our own dispatch.

 

Deputy Mayor Myers would be happy to carry this Resolution for more review and consideration so they can get more facts and answers. At the end of the day it is a duplicate service

 

Mrs. Fay, read a statement as to why she was going to abstain from this vote. She believes this proposal has not been studied enough.

 

Mr. Brown stated this was not a hasty decision and supports Mayor Martin.  We sit up here and have people come up here and say don’t raise taxes.  Maybe it has to go to the voters.  We have a $6 million budget gap.

 

Mayor Martin stated he has lived here for 64 years and loves this town.  He has known Kim Cochran since she was a child and does not want to see this happen. 

 

 A motion was made to carry the resolution to the next Council meeting.  Deputy Mayor Myers moved for approval seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Resolution 209-2010 “resolution authorizing medford township to apply for funding under the 2010 burlington county municipal park development Program”

 

Deputy Mayor Myers moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

RESOLUTION 210-2010 “Appointing special counsel to represent medford township”

 

Mr. Brown moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.

 

Mayor Martin opened the meeting for public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

COMMUNICATION

 

NONE

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

NONE

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Volunteers for Medford Emergency Medical Services (Station 258) – James Parent and Kyle Brandt

 

Raffle Permit RL-81 St. Mary of the Lakes starting January 9, 2011 – October 2, 2010

        

Deputy Mayor Myers moved for approval of James Parent and Kyle Brandt applications seconded by Mr. Brown.

 

Mr. Brown moved for approval of the Raffle Permit for St. Mary of the Lakes seconded by Deputy Mayor Myers.  Mrs. Fay recused herself.

 

The motion for approval was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

PUBLIC

 

Bill Schade, 7 Point View Circle, asked Council what is the use of the property vacated by Mount?

 

Mr. Noll stated that is still being used for Public Works.

 

Mr. Pace, 46 Woodthrush Trail inquired what the debt of the Township is.

 

Mr. Pace advised Council that we pay more legal fees than any other municipality this size in the State.

 

Jim Bennett, 11 Nelson Drive wanted to compliment Lt. Switick for the crosswalks at Nelson Drive. 

 

Mr. Bennett stated that a traffic counter was out there within a few days.

 

Jim Thomas, 110 Medford-Mt. Holly Road inquired who backs up County if their dispatch system goes down.

 

Mr. Thomas stated maybe the County should be throwing some money towards Medford.

 

Mark Sander, 7 Corsham Drive complimented Council on revisiting Dispatcher situation.

 

Mr. Sander directed question to Mrs. Fay if she had seen any improprieties to NJ ELEC concerning contributions.

 

Mr. Sander asked her about the e-mail from her campaign chairman.

 

Bill Schade, 7 Pointe View Circle questioned the resolution we did on lowering the speed limit and asked why.

 

Deputy Mayor Myers explained that we had numerous complaints from residents.

 

Chris Buoni, 20 Woodthrush Trail, commended Vickie Fay.

 

Mr. Buoni made a statement that everything is not always a yes.

 

 

 

 

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION MEETING

 

Mayor Martin advised that the purpose of the Executive Session is to discuss Litigation-Medford Village East, Personnel, Litigation - Buoni and Land Acquisition.

 

Resolution 211-2010 “Authorizing Executive Session”

 

Deputy Mayor Myers moved for approval of the resolution, seconded by Mrs. Fay.

 

The motion for approval to adjourn to Executive Session at 9:05 PM was duly made, seconded and affirmatively voted upon by all Council present.

 

Mayor Martin provided that action may or may not be taken in Executive Session.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

There being no further business, Deputy Mayor Myers moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:55 PM seconded by Mrs. Fay with all members in agreement.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

           

Katherine E. Burger

CFO/Township Clerk

 

Next meeting scheduled for: September 28, 2010