STILLWATER TOWNSHIP
Planning Board Meeting Minutes April 17, 2024
The Regular Meeting of the Stillwater Township Planning Board was held on the above date and was called to order by Chair Puccio at 7:32 pm.
Roll Call: Members Present:
Mrs. Puccio Mr. Pierce
Mayor Chammings Mrs. Wills
Mrs. Delaney Mr. Lippencott
Members Absent: Mr. Voris
Also Present: William Haggerty, Esq.
The Board stood for the flag salute, and it was announced that adequate notice of this meeting had been given to the public and the press under the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act”, N.J.S.A 10:4-1 et. seq.
MINUTES:
Mr. Pierce made the motion to approve the Minutes of March 20, 2024, seconded by Mr. Lippencott.
Roll Call: Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mayor Chammings – Yes, Mrs. Wills – Yes, Mrs. Delaney – Yes
MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS: None
COMPLETENESS: None
HEARINGS: None
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: The meeting was opened to the public at 7:35. There being no public comment, the hearing was closed.
BILLS:
Mayor Chammings made the motion to pay the following bills, seconded by Mrs. Delaney.
Van Cleef Engineering | |
AF & EJF, LLC 3306/2.04-2.99 | $139.00 |
AF & EJF, LLC 3306/2.04-2.99 | $367.50 |
AF & EJF, LLC 3306/2.04-2.99 | $441.00 |
Dolan & Dolan
AF & EJF, LLC 3306/2.04-2.99 |
$739.50 |
AF & EJF, LLC 3306/2.01-2.99 | $357.00 |
Roll Call: Mayor Chammings – Yes, Mrs. Delaney- Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mrs. Wills – Yes, Mr. Lippencott – Yes
OLD/NEW BUSINESS: Commercial Zoning/Economic Development
Mr. Haggerty gave a quick overview of the various zones located in Stillwater.
Discussion was held on how to generate commercial business activity, primarily through Main Street. Stillwater would like to invite more businesses to create more rateables/revenue. If some stores that are now closed were still operating, the town would attract more traffic.
Open businesses would complement each other and create synergy.
Mr. Lippencott provided a brief summary of the March meeting and proposed that the Application process for business owners and residents involve less red tape. Mrs. Delaney suggested having a preliminary step/checklist for applicants so they can determine whether they would like to and/or be able to move forward with their project prior to spending money on escrows and application fees.
Mr. Haggerty advised that meetings are open to the public who are welcome to come in to openly discuss potential ideas. This would make Stillwater more attractive to potential business owners.
The matter was opened to the public at 7:56pm. Mr. Dimitri Gatanas spoke to the Board. He owns a secondary home in Stillwater and has also purchased a few of the now closed businesses, a church and a bank. He believes this Town has a lot of potential and would like to utilize the properties he has purchased to help revitalize the town. He feels the process to open a business is more difficult than it should be. Mr. Gatanas has many ideas, but feels the mood is not favorable to individuals trying to open and operate a business in Stillwater.
One suggestion was to invite filming which would create opportunities, increase revenue, and would not require any negative changes, all the while preserving the nature of the town. We do have a lot of traffic as Stillwater is a pass-through town and new businesses would only invite more. He is willing to help promote the town by inviting other business owners to come and help bring some life to Stillwater.
Moving forward, there will be an asserted effort to put the word out to residents that Board Meetings have open public sessions, and all are welcome to come in and discuss their thoughts and ideas.
CORRESPONDENCE: None
LIAISONS:
The Environmental Commission liaison report was provided by Emily Wills.
A presentation was held by Christine Dunbar of the Food Shed Alliance regarding different programs they are working on.
Discussion was held on the water quality testing and the possible redundancy of testing. There was talk on the development of a Water Stewardship Plan for the Paulinskill River.
Two site surveys were approved.
Mr. Lippencott advised that he would be willing to assist the Environmental Commission to ensure groundwater recharge areas and wetlands are properly identified through the State GeoWeb, if needed. He advised that the Environmental Commission report regarding 932 Saddleback Road had misinformation and needs to be amended to state that wetlands and recharge areas do exist on the property.
The Committee Liaison Report was provided by Mayor Chammings.
PSE&G requested permission to spray herbicide on a small portion of property the town owns.
$455,000.00 was appropriated for Ordinance #09 (on file if requested).
The Open Space and Recreation Plan was awarded to Jessica Caldwell of Caldwell & Associates.
A contract was awarded to Completely Clean for the Community Center.
The Sheriff’s patrols have been increased from 12,500 to 20,000 in hopes to address speeding as well as the oversized trucks that pass-through Stillwater.
$55,000 will be appropriated for hazardous discharge continuation/extension.
Kyle Kavanagh was hired as a part time DPW worker was hired for 24 hours per week. A color printer donation was made by Minisink Press. Thank you!
JCP&L is doing a great job in marking well over 1,000 trees to be removed.
EXCUTIVE SESSION: None
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mrs. Puccio opened the hearing to the public at 9:23pm. There being no public comment, the meeting was closed to the public.
ADJOURNMENT:
With there being no further business, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting with all in favor at 9:32pm.
r
Penny lja1r03para ::iecretary April 17, 2
Stillwater Township offers residents a Recycling and Convenience Center for household trash and recycling.
Residents are able to view property tax information and make payments through the online system. You may find a property by entering the property’s location or block, lot and qualifier.
Stillwater Township posts all information about bids and proposals for township projects on a dedicated page.
The Stillwater Rec Summer Camp will be August 12-16 and August 19-23, 2024
Visit the Office of Emergency Management page for links and the latest information