July 19, 2023 Regular Meeting

STILLWATER TOWNSHIP

Planning Board Meeting Minutes

July 19, 2023

The regular meeting of the Stillwater Township Planning Board was held on the above date and was called to order by Mr. Pierce at 7:32 pm.

Roll Call: Members Present:

Mr. Pierce

Mrs. Puccio

Mr. Barta

Mrs. Wills

Mayor Chammings

Members Absent:

Mr. Voris

Mr. Venezia

Also Present: William Haggerty, Esq. and Joe Vuich, Engineer

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.

THE STILLWATER TOWNSHIP PLANNING BOARD WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND THEIR THANKFULNESS AND GRATITUDE TO MR. DONALD DONOFRIO FOR HIS 15 YEARS OF SERVICE AS A PLANNING BOARD MEMBER. WE WISH HIM ALL THE BEST!

SWEARING IN OF BOARD MEMEBERS:

None

MINUTES:

Mayor Chammings made the motion to approve the minutes of May 17, 2023, seconded by Mrs. Puccio.

Roll Call:

Mayor Chammings – Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mr. Pierce – Yes Mr. Barta – Yes,

Yes, Mrs. Wills – Yes

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: 

The meeting was opened to the public at 7:33. Mayor Chammings introduced Mr. Robert Lippencott as a community member who may be interested in joining the Planning Board. As there were no other public comments, the meeting was closed for public comment at 7:33 pm.

BILLS:

Mayor Chammings made the motion to approve payment of the above bills, seconded by Mr. Pierce.

Dolan & Dolan General (April Meeting) $359.65

General (May Meeting) $359.65

Nature Conservancy 3303/1 $161.50

Nature Conservancy 3303/1 $204.00

General $ 34.00

NJ Planning Officials $121.00

Roll Call:

Mayor Chammings – Yes, Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mr. Barta – Yes, Mrs. Wills – Yes

MEMORIALIZING RESOLUTIONS:

None

OLD/NEW BUSINESS:

• Resolution Authorizing Release of Escrow Accounts

Mayor Chammings made the motion to approve the release of the Planning Board Escrows provided by the CFO, seconded by Mrs. Puccio.

Wings Adventure in the amount of $489.57

North Shore House in the amount of $290.32

North Shore House in the amount of $80.50

Roll Call:

Mayor Chammings – Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mr. Barta – Yes, Mrs. Wills – Yes

• Nature Conservancy – Block 3303, Lot 1 and 3302, Lot 3

Block 3303, Lot 3 – Applicant’s attorney, John Ursin, Esq. presented this matter. The application in 2022 was for 2 lot subdivision of a vacant parcel. Tonight’s application requested relief of a Deed restriction in the 2022 Resolution. Applicant’s proposal was reviewed by Mr. Haggerty who agreed it would be a conforming subdivision.

Mr. Pierce made the motion to accept the Amended Resolution, seconded by Mrs. Puccio.

Roll Call:

Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mr. Barta – Yes, Mrs. Wills – Abstained, Mayor Chammings – Abstained

Block 3303, Lot 1 – The original application included giving a small portion of the proposed subdivision to the property owner across the street because his existing septic runs underneath the street and into a portion said proposed subdivision. The owner of the property originally agreed but has since retracted his consent. The Applicants are requesting that the condition of the 2022 Resolution regarding the Deed restriction to the property across the street be eliminated.

Mr. Pierce made the motion to accept the Amended Resolution, seconded by Mr. Barta.

Roll Call:

Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mr. Barta – Yes, Mrs. Puccio – Yes, Mr. Pierce – Yes, Mrs. Wills – Abstained, Mayor Chammings – Abstained

• Short Term Rentals/B&B Rules – Ordinance Discussion

The subject of short-term rentals was discussed. Short term rentals are not the same as a Bed and Breakfast. Overall, the Board feels it is not necessary to create an Ordinance to regulate this issue. It was suggested that short term rentals be treated the same as long term rentals. It is suggested that all rentals (long or short term) should be treated as a licensing issue and not through the Zoning or Planning Boards. A suggested solution could be to add a checkbox to the Landlord Registration Application asking if the rental is long term or short term.

CORRESPONDENCE:

None

LIAISONS:

The following report was provided by Mr. Barta:

The Firetruck cost from Seagrave has been increased by $121,089.00. The increase will be paid for as follows:

$42,768.00 from PSE&G settlement, $50,000.00 (from the $139,000 reserve for emergency vehicle), $10,000.00 from the OEM Grant, $18,321.00 from the Capital Improvement Fund

The DPW got a new Freightliner Dumptruck.

They are continuing to work on the Mt. Benevolence project.

DPW Supervisor Paul Hawkins gave his resignation. They are now down to 4 DPW workers but feel confident the existing employees can handle the continuation of the Mt. Benevolence project.

Mr. Pierce offered to let our DPW utilize signs from the County to ensure the safety of the workers during this and any future projects, if needed.

An appointment was made to hire Valerie Engals as a part time Deputy Clerk Monday-Thursday and Danielle Locascio as a receptionist who will work on Fridays.

Dr. William Kochis is now full time at Stillwater School. Mrs. Galante is now President of the Board of Education.

A few school projects are underway including the drainage project which will be completed this summer and prior to the fall school start.

There are 290 children enrolled for 2023-2024 and 50 of them are pre-kindergarten.

The school hired kids for the summer to do some painting in the building. The HVAC is in need of updating and the school has funding available. They also switched their service to Planet Networks saving approximately $200.00 per year.

The following report was provided by Mrs. Wills:

At the June meeting Christine Dunbar from the Food Shed Alliance came and spoke about some of their programs including water testing. Discussion was held regarding two farms that have cattle in the water. The commission came to the conclusion that it is not their role to enforce Department of Agriculture rules, but offered to serve as a liaison so the Food Shed Alliance can reach out directly to the farmers.

The water testing sub-committee will meet next week. Further information will be provided at the next meeting.

EXCUTIVE SESSION:

None

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Mr. Pierce opened the hearing to the public at 9:00. There being no public comment, the meeting was closed to the public.

ADJOURNMENT:

With there being no further business, there was a motion made to adjourn the meeting by Mr. Pierce, 2^nd by Mayor Chammings.

Respectfully Submitted:

_______________________________

Penny Bair/Board Secretary

July 19, 2023