January 14, 2019 Re-organization Meeting/Regular Meeting

STILLWATER TOWNSHIP ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION

January 14, 2019 Reorganization/Regular Meeting

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Szabo, Mr. Dvorsky, Mrs. Branagan, Mr. Svendsen, Mr. Blanchard, Mr. Nause, Mr. Branagan

MEMBERS ABSENT: Mrs. Emmetts, Mrs. Tracey

Mrs. Wunder called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with the statement that this meeting is in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act. This was a regularly scheduled meeting of the Stillwater Township Environmental Commission. Regular meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Stillwater Township Municipal Building located in Middleville, New Jersey.

The flag was saluted and roll call taken.

Mr. Branagan was reappointed as a regular member by the Township Committee, term expiring 12/31/21.

Mr. Dvorsky was reappointed as a regular member by the Township Committee, term expiring 12/31/21.

Mr. Nause was reappointed as an alternate member by the Township Committee, term expiring 12/31/20.

All were sworn in prior to the meeting.

Reorganization

Chairperson:

Mrs. Branagan made a motion to elect Mr. Branagan as Chairperson for 2019, seconded by Mr. Szabo. There being no further nominations, nominations were closed.

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Vice Chairperson:

Mr. Szabo made a motion to elect Mr. Dvorsky as Vice Chairperson for 2019, seconded by Mr. Branagan. There being no further nominations, nominations were closed.

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Secretary:

Mr. Branagan made a motion to appoint Mrs. Wunder as the Commission Secretary for 2019, seconded by Mr. Blanchard.

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Meeting Dates/Official Newspaper:

Mrs. Branagan made a motion to approve the following meeting dates and official newspapers for 2019, seconded by Mr. Blanchard:

Stillwater Township

Environmental Commission

Schedule of Meeting Dates

2019

The Stillwater Township Environmental Advisory Commission, County of Sussex, New Jersey will hold regular meetings on the second Monday of each month, unless it is a legal holiday or is otherwise noted, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 964 Stillwater Road, Middleville, New Jersey.

The dates are as follows:

January 14, 2019 Reorganization/Regular July 8, 2019

February 11, 2019 August 12, 2019

March 11, 2019 September 9, 2019

April 8, 2019 October 17, 2019 (third Thursday)

May 13, 2019 November 14, 2019 (second Thursday)

June 10, 2019 December 9, 2019

January 13, 2020 Reorganization/Regular

The agenda for all meetings, more or less:

1. Call to Order
2. Open Public Meetings Statement
3. Flag Salute
4. Roll Call
5. Approval of Minutes
6. Bills
7. Public Input
8. Correspondence
9. Old Business
10. New Business
11. Public Input
12. Planning Board Liaison Report
13. Township Liaison Report
14. Adjournment

The Daily New Jersey Herald and Sunday Herald are hereby designated as the official newspapers for legal publication for the Stillwater Township Environmental Commission.

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Minutes

Mr. Szabo made a motion to approve the minutes of 12/10/18, as amended seconded by Mr. Branagan.

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Bills

Mr. Branagan made a motion to approve the following bill, pending availability of funds, seconded by Mr. Dvorsky:

Secretary: $ 206.93

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Following a discussion, the EC agreed that the annual ANJEC membership renewal would be placed on hold and added to the next agenda. The cost for the membership is $400 including nine EC members. Mrs. Branagan and Mr. Blanchard indicated they did not need to be members as Mr. Branagan receives the information and Mr. Blanchard is away several months during the year, decreasing the cost to $350. It was noted that ANJEC was scheduled to provide a presentation on what the membership offers in 2018 and ANJEC cancelled. Mr. Dvorsky acknowledged the information available through ANJEC, noting its value. Mr. Blanchard felt it was a good resource, however the membership is costly. Mr. Branagan will follow-up with ANJEC.

At this point, this portion of the meeting was opened to the public at 7:18 p.m.

Julia Geydoshek, Stillwater introduced herself to the Commission, indicating she is interested in the bat house project at Veteran’s Memorial Park. She has been inducted as a member of the National Honor Society at her school and as such is required to have ten hours of community service outside of the school environment. Her deadline for meeting the requirement is May 2019 and she will conduct research and obtain information on the project. Mrs. Branagan will email Ms. Geydoshek the construction information and Mr. Szabo will provide additional information. Ms. Geydoshek will meet with the National Honor Society tomorrow and will inquire as to what she needs from the township to satisfy the requirement. Mayor Chammings will provide all materials needed for the project. Ms. Geydoshek agreed to keep the EC updated on her progress.

There being no further members from the public wishing to speak, this portion of the meeting was closed at 7:27 p.m.

Correspondence:

State of NJ – Green Acres Funding

Resolution 2019-001 Schedule of Township Committee Meeting Dates

Resolution 2019-012 Schedule of Township Holidays

Old Business

Annual Report 2018:

Mr. Branagan made a motion to forward the Annual Report 2018 to the Township Committee, seconded by Mr. Dvorsky.

Stillwater Township Environmental Commission

2018 Annual Report Draft

During the course of 2018, the Stillwater Township Environmental Commission (EC) engaged in the following activities:

Published meeting dates for the coming year.

Members met each month at the Municipal Building.

Member resignations were accepted and new members were appointed to the Commission. (Eric Svendsen, Earl Nause)

Mr. Branagan was appointed Commission Chair with Mr. Dvorsky as Vice-Chair.

Monofilament fishing lines were collected monthly from various locations around the township and recycled.

A budget sheet was drawn-up and adopted.

Water testing was completed on all waterbodies that enter the township.

The Commission is working on recommendations to revise the recycling ordinance.

Sightings of threatened and endangered species were recorded on a monthly basis.

Outstanding volunteers were recognized on a monthly basis.

An amphibian crossing survey was completed.

An information board was planned and constructed at the Recycling Center.

Commission members walked application properties and reported their findings to the Planning Board.

ANJEC annual membership was maintained.

The Commission is working with the Recycling Center to design new signage.

A rain barrel was constructed by a Commission member and installed at the Municipal Building.

Members attended Coalition of Lakes Association (COLA) meetings.

Members attended the Paulins Kill Watershed Group meeting in April.

The Commission is working on having bat houses constructed and installed at Veterans Memorial Park (VMP).

An Open Space Stewardship Grant was obtained and used to construct a large sign which was placed on the bridge in VMP. Signs were also designed and constructed and have been placed in VMP along the trail on the passive side. Signage provides information regarding turtles and dragonflies. Funding was in conjunction with Clean Communities.

A final progress report, photos and billing information was provided to ANJEC to finalize the Open Space Stewardship grant funding. ANJEC commended the Commission on the project.

Ed Szabo obtained cedar for signage.

The Commission received a request from a Township resident to have the Master Plan updated with respect to Camp Towadena with regard to the chestnut tree restoration and preservation of four stone chimneys.

A tri-fold holder was constructed and installed at the Recycling Center to contain current information regarding recycling rules.

Members provided copies of newspaper and magazine articles which would be of interest to the Commission on a monthly basis.

The Commission Chair will build six tree swallow birdhouses to be installed in the spring at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Commission informed the public by updating the Recycling Center information board indicating FREE Styrofoam disposal is available at SCMUA.

William Gettler of Wantage, formerly of Stillwater, attended the December EC meeting to provide a presentation on farmland assessment with respect to soil types.

Roll Call Vote: Mr. Szabo, yes, Mr. Dvorsky, yes, Mrs. Branagan, yes, Mr. Svendsen, yes, Mr. Blanchard, yes, Mr. Nause, yes, Mr. Branagan, yes

Stream Water Testing:

Mr. Svendsen reported the final results are forthcoming. The purchase order has been received by Test America. The results will be emailed to Nathaniel Sajdak for his review and comment.

ANJEC Open Space Stewardship Grant Update:

Mr. Branagan reported the final progress report has been submitted to ANJEC and all requirements satisfied. He read an email from Liz Ritter of ANJEC commending the EC on the project.

Fishing Line Collection: All line is to be cleaned of litter/leaves, hooks and lead sinkers. Lead sinkers are to be provided at the meeting for recycling.

Plastic Bag Collection:

Mr. Branagan reported that ShopRite is willing to take the bags once collected. The bags will be collected at the Recycling Center and Mrs. Branagan offered to pick them up and deliver them to ShopRite. Mr. Dvorsky mentioned his recent experience with single use plastic containers and felt all plastics should be addressed, not just plastic bags. Mrs. Branagan agreed but felt the plastic bag initiative was a good place to start.

New Business

Spotted Lantern Fly:

Mr. Branagan reported the main tree of habitat/laying eggs for the Spotted Lantern Fly is the ailanthus tree or “tree of heaven.” He stated there are many trees of this species located at Veterans Memorial Park and he offered to mark the trees for removal by the DPW. Mr. Dvorsky stated the Pennsylvania Forestry Commission was very concerned with the Spotted Lantern Fly, noting there are many other plant and tree targets for the fly other than just the ailanthus. Mr. Branagan will research the matter further and will contact ANJEC for information.

Volunteer/Member Recognition:

-Mrs. Wunder and the Municipal Building employees were commended for their work and service to the township.

Endangered and Threatened Species: Eagle sighting.

Mr. Szabo distributed the following articles to the EC:

-1/12/19 WSJ: “Only Nuclear Energy Can Save the Planet”

-1/14/19 WSJ: “Carbon Tax: An Optimal Solution or Folly?”

Green Living Guide Website Link:

An email was forwarded to the secretary from the Municipal Clerk asking if the Commission would be interested in the information. A link was provided to the “Green Living Guide.” Mrs. Wunder will email the link to the EC members for their review and input on whether it should be added to the EC website page.

Recycling:

Mr. Nause asked if the EC has ever discussed the decline in recycling, noting China is no longer accepting many recyclables. Mr. Blanchard added they are not taking paper, cardboard products or computer parts as well as other items. It was noted a glass recycling facility in Andover Township recently received County Planning Board approval.

At this point, this portion of the meeting was opened to the public.

Tonya Stark, a new member of the Recreation Commission, was present. She is interested in attending all township meetings to obtain information on each board.

There being no further members of the public wishing to speak, this portion of the meeting was closed.

Planning Board (PB) Liaison Report: No report – December meeting was cancelled.

Township Liaison Report: Committeewoman Chammings

-Reorganization was held on January 2, 2018 – Mayor Chammings/Deputy Mayor Scott

-Budget review process has started.

-Continuing to review land donations (owners wishing to donate their undersized lake community lots to the township)

-Township owned lots will be offered to adjoining property owners.

-The DPW contract has been signed.

-West End Drive flooding issue will be discussed at the next meeting.

Birdhouse:

Mr. Branagan displayed the tree swallow birdhouse he constructed. He will make six in total and will install them at Veterans Memorial Park.

With no further business to come before the Commission, Mr. Szabo made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m., seconded by Mrs. Branagan. In a voice vote, all were in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

________________________________________

Kathy Wunder, Secretary