TOWNSHIP OF STILLWATER
TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE
JANUARY 2, 2024
RE-ORGANIZATION MEETING
The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Municipal Clerk Valerie Ingles who stated that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided according to the Open Public Meetings Act, Assembly Bill 1030 noting the meeting date, time and place were duly published in the New Jersey Herald, posted at the Town Hall, official website, Stillwater Facebook page and advised those present that this meeting was being held in compliance with provisions of P.L. 1975, Chapter 231, Sections 4 & 13.
Municipal Clerk V. Ingles led the public in the salute to the American Flag.
Municipal Clerk V. Ingles invited Chaplin of the Stillwater Area Volunteer Fire Department Robert Scrudato to provide an invocation.
Municipal Clerk V. Ingles then invited Sussex County Clerk Jeffrey Parrott to read the Statement of Determination and announced that at the last general election, Ms. Lisa Chammings was elected to the Township Committee for three-year terms. Mr. Parrott administered the Oath of Office to Ms. Lisa Chammings congratulating her and wishing her well. Committeeman G. Scott and Committeeman D. Manser held the Bible during the Oath.
ROLL CALL: Committeeman D. Manser, Committeewoman D. Delaney, Committeewoman V. Rumsey, Committeeman G. Scott, Committeewoman L. Chammings
ELECTION OF MAYOR:
Municipal Clerk V. Ingles called for nominations for Mayor.
A MOTION was made by Committeewoman V. Rumsey to nominate Committeewoman L. Chammings, seconded by Committeeman D. Manser.
Municipal Clerk V. Ingles called for additional nominations. There were no other nominations so nominations were closed.
ROLL CALL VOTE: Committeeman D. Manser, yes; Committeewoman D. Delaney, yes; Committeewoman V. Rumsey, yes; Committeeman G. Scott, yes; Committeewoman L. Chammings, yes. The Clerk congratulated Committeewoman L. Chammings on being selected as Mayor for 2024.
Committeewoman L. Chammings accepted the position of Mayor of Stillwater Township for 2024. The meeting was turned over to Mayor Chammings.
ELECTION OF DEPUTY MAYOR:
A MOTION was made by Committeewoman D. Delaney to nominate Committeewoman V. Rumsey as Deputy Mayor, seconded by Committeeman G. Scott.
There were no other nominations so nominations were closed.
ROLL CALL VOTE: Committeeman D. Manser, yes; Committeewoman D. Delaney, yes; Committeewoman V. Rumsey, yes; Committeeman G. Scott, yes; Committeewoman L. Chammings, yes.
Committeewoman V. Rumsey accepted the position of Deputy Mayor for Stillwater Township for 2024
Mayor L. Chammings thanked everyone for their continued support. She stated that this Township Committee works together as a team with great strengths and are a very effective bunch of people with a common goal. The town is working on the website to make sure that it’s easy to navigate and informative to the residents. She thanked the township committee, staff and fire department for all their hard work. Her goals for this year include tax in rem foreclosures, vacant and abandoned properties- there are about 7 or 8 in the town that they want to see about getting cleaned up, looking into more grants to apply for, COAH, getting the businesses in the town back up and running, and building up on the experiences from the senior members in the town. She’s looking forward to working with everyone in the new year.
Committeewoman V. Rumsey stated that she’s looking forward to this year and getting things done. She welcomed V. Ingles as the new Municipal Clerk and stated how proud she is of all of the township employees, fire department and EMS. She advised everyone that if anyone has any problems or concerns with something within the town to feel free to talk to any one of the township committee members or with the staff. It’s an open environment.
Committeeman G. Scott welcomed Danielle LoCascio to being the new Deputy Clerk and V. Ingles to being the new Municipal Clerk and wished them the best. He thanked Bob Scrudato for his blessing at the beginning of the meeting and let him know that he means a lot to the town. He welcomed new Fire Chief Dwane Banghart and wished him luck with the fire department. He also addressed all those present for the meeting and thanked them for being there. It’s his 30th year sitting on the Township Committee. He stated that he gives his whole heart to the community and to this town, and he hopes that even when he’s long gone that the committee members all remember that they were this town; they’ve done a lot for this community. People want to come here because they like this community and we want them to come here. Stillwater has always been a leader, not a follower. He wants to make sure the residence in disrepair on Fairview Lake Rd gets cleaned up, he wishes the Township Committee Attorney Howard Vex, Esq all the best as he’s moving onto something else. He welcomed Committeeman D. Manser to his first full year on the Township Committee. He thanked the committee for allowing his to sit up there, when them through the years, and it’s been a pleasure working with them.
Committeewoman D. Delaney wished everyone a Happy New Year! She congratulated Municipal Clerk V. Ingles and Deputy Clerk D. LoCascio. She stated that the Fire Department is amazing and how they’re always here for the township. She thinks that comradery is very important and she feels that the Township Committee has that. She stated that they do have a list of things to accomplish and have good progress moving forward. Resident participation means the world to getting the jobs done. She feels that it will be a very productive year and thanked everyone.
Committeeman D. Manser wished everyone a Happy New Year! He stated that he’s happy to be here and that it’s an honor to serve. He didn’t think twice about applying when the opportunity came up and he was lucky enough to be chosen by four great people. He stated that it’s been a pleasure working with them. He enjoys working with the staff at town hall. He congratulated V. Ingles and D. LoCascio and stated how everything has transitioned smoothly. He took in a fire call recently and stated how the Tri-Pod is Fredon, Hampton and Stillwater. He was amazed by how well everyone worked together and seemed so in sync. He thanked everyone and wished them a great year.
CONSENT AGENDA:
ALL MATTERS LISTED BELOW ARE CONSIDERED ROUTINE IN NATURE AND WILL BE ENACTED BY ONE MOTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THE ITEMS. IF ANY DISCUSSION IS DESIRED, THAT PARTICULAR ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND WILL BE CONSIDERED SEPERATELY ON THE REGULAR AGENDA.
RESOLUTIONS:
2024-001 Adopting Schedule of 2024 Meetings
2024-002 Designating the Official Newspapers
2024-003 Authorizing Awards of Non-Fair and Open Contracts for Professional Services
2024-004 Authorizing the Cancellation of Tax Overpayment or Delinquent Amounts
2024-005 Authorizing the Cancellation of Delinquent Amounts for any Charges/Fees
2024-006 Setting Property Tax Due Dates, Delinquency Charges and Year-End Penalty
2024-007 Temporary Budget
2024-008 Establishing Mileage Reimbursement
2024-009 Adopting Cash Management Plan for 2024
2024-010 Authorizing the CFO to Invest Idle Funds
2024-011 Authorizing the CFO to sell Bond Anticipation Notes and Bonds
2024-012 Establishing 2024 Holiday Schedule
2024-013 Approving Mayor’s Appointments of Township Officers with Committee Concurrence
2024-014 Approving Appointments of Boards and Commissions with Committee Concurrence
2024-015 Appointing Tax Assessor and Attorney to Represent Township before County Tax Board
2024-016 Authorizing the CFO or Tax Collector to Impose Service Charge For Returned Checks
2024-017 Authorizing Signatures on Checks
2024-018 Striking the 2024 Tax Rate for Funding the Stillwater Open Space Trust Fund
2024-019 Authorizing Purchases under New Jersey State Contract
2024-020 Authorizing Compliance with the US EEOC
2024-021 Authorizing The Waiver Of The Signature Requirement On Purchase Orders For Certain Vendors
Resolution 2024-02 and 2024-21 were removed from the Consent Agenda for further discussion.
A MOTION was made by Committeewoman V. Rumsey and seconded by Committeewoman D. Delaney to approve the Consent Agenda as listed minus Resolutions 2024-002 and 2024-021.
ROLL CALL VOTE: Committeeman D. Manser, yes; Committeewoman D. Delaney, yes; Committeewoman V. Rumsey, yes; Committeeman G. Scott, yes; Committeewoman L. Chammings, yes.
Resolution 2024-002: Mayor L. Chammings stated she wanted Resolution 2024-002 pulled to also add The Township Journal to the list of official newspapers for Stillwater Township.
A MOTION was made by Committeeman G. Scott and seconded by Committeewoman D. Delaney to approve the changes to Resolution 2024-002.
ROLL CALL VOTE: Committeeman D. Manser, yes; Committeewoman D. Delaney, yes; Committeewoman V. Rumsey, yes; Committeeman G. Scott, yes; Committeewoman L. Chammings, yes.
Resolution 2024-021: Mayor L. Chammings asked CFO T. Leonard to explain the resolution further. CFO T. Leonard was present for the meeting via Zoom and responded that the Resolution was so that she would only need to receive claimant’s signatures for Refunds, Advance Payments, Employee Reimbursements and for all Construction Related Work.
A MOTION was made by Committeeman G. Scott and seconded by Committeewoman V. Rumsey to adopt Resolution 2024-021.
ROLL CALL VOTE: Committeeman D. Manser, yes; Committeewoman D. Delaney, yes; Committeewoman V. Rumsey, yes; Committeeman G. Scott, yes; Committeewoman L. Chammings, yes. Motion carried with all in favor.
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
There were no amendments to the agenda.
OPEN PUBLIC SESSION
Public Session Open. No Public Comment. Public Session Closed.
Mayor L. Chammings stated that they would be going into Executive Session after a brief break.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: held in the Stillwater Township Municipal Building.
A MOTION was made by Committeewoman D. Delaney, seconded by Committeeman D. Manser, with all members in favor, to adopt the Resolution permitting the Committee to go into Executive Session at 7:11 p.m.
STILLWATER TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE
RESOLUTION FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION
WHEREAS, Section 8 of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting under certain circumstances; and
WHEREAS, this public body is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Committee of the Township of Stillwater, in the County of Sussex and State of New Jersey as follows:
1. The public shall be excluded from that portion of this meeting.
2. The general nature of the subject matter to be discussed is as follows: Personnel, Contracts
3. As nearly as can now be ascertained, the matter or matters to be discussed at this time will be disclosed to the public when such matters are resolved.
A MOTION was made by Committeewoman V. Rumsey and seconded by Committeeman G. Scott to go back into Regular Session at 8:02 P.M.
ROLL CALL: Committeeman D. Manser; yes, Committeewoman D. Delaney; yes, Committeewoman V. Rumsey; yes, Committeeman G. Scott; yes, Mayor L. Chammings; yes. Motion carried with all in favor.
A MOTION was made by Mayor L. Chammings and seconded by Committeeman G. Scott, to have Municipal Clerk V. Ingles contact the attorneys as discussed in Executive Session.
ROLL CALL: Committeeman D. Manser; yes, Committeewoman D. Delaney; yes, Committeewoman V. Rumsey; yes, Committeeman G. Scott; yes, Mayor L. Chammings; yes. Motion carried with all in favor.
A MOTION was made by Committeewoman V. Rumsey and seconded by Committeeman G. Scott, to refund the $50.00 community center deposit to Jodi Shaw.
ROLL CALL: Committeeman D. Manser; yes, Committeewoman D. Delaney; yes, Committeewoman V. Rumsey; yes, Committeeman G. Scott; yes, Mayor L. Chammings; yes. Motion carried with all in favor.
ADJOURNMENT
A MOTION was made by Committeeman G. Scott and seconded by Committeewoman V. Rumsey, with all in favor, to adjourn the meeting at 8:06 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Valerie Ingles, RMC
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