STILLWATER TOWNSHIP
RECREATION COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
November 4, 2024
MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Sylvester, Mr. Carovillano, Mrs. Minervino, Mrs. Falotico, Mrs. Trotter, Mrs. DiBattista, Mrs. Richardson, and Mrs. Tosti
LIASION: Mrs. Delaney and Mr. Manser were both in attendance
MEMBERS ABSENT: No members were absent
Mrs. Tosti called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. with the statement that this meeting follows the Open
Public Meetings Act. Regular meetings are held on the first Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Stillwater Township Municipal Building located in Middleville, New Jersey. This meeting was held at the Stillwater Township Municipal Building. The flag was saluted and roll call taken.
Approval of Meeting Minutes:
Mrs. Sylvester made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 7, 2024, meeting, seconded by Mrs. Minervino.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, yes, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
Mrs. Tosti made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 21, 2024 meeting, seconded by Mrs. Falotico.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, abstain, Mr. Carovillano, abstain, Mrs. Minervino, abstain, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, abstain, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
Payment of Bills:
Mrs. Richardson made a motion to approve the payment of the following bills totaling $972.57, seconded by Mrs. Tosti.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, abstain, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, abstain
Amazon (Office Supplies) – $42.99
Amazon (Trunk or Treat Supplies) – $35.95
Amazon (Trunk or Treat Supplies) – $22.98
Jennifer Minervino (Reimbursement Sussex County Day Candy) – $21.29
Minisink Press Inc. (Garage Sale Maps) – $135.00
Shop Rite (Trunk or Treat Supplies) – $104.31
Shop Rite (October 2024 Porta John Rentals) – $430.00
Tara Tosti (Reimbursement Fall Festival Supplies) – $30.35
Tri-State Rentals (Fall Festival Supplies) – $74.70
Valerie Ingles (Reimbursement Trunk or Treat Supplies) – $75.00
Correspondence:
There was no correspondence.
Open Public Session – Agenda Items Only:
The meeting was opened to the public at 7:06 p.m.
Mr. Doolittle, a resident who uses the pickleball courts, questioned when the nets would be taken in for the winter months. Since Mrs. Tosti does not play pickleball herself she asked how long pickleball is typically played until. Mr. Doolittle said they will play up until it snows. No date has been set, however, when the weather turns for good the nets will be taken in. Leaving them out all winter will shorten their lifespan. Mrs. Tosti asked Mr. Doolittle to confirm that the codes for nets are working properly. Mr. Doolittle confirmed they were.
The meeting was closed to the public at 7:07 p.m.
Amendments to the Agenda:
There were no amendments made to the agenda.
Old Business:
There was no old business reported.
New Business:
List of Events 2025
Mrs. Tosti reported that moving forward there will be one calendar for our town website versus two separate calendars. This will be less confusing for residents. Previously residents had to be made aware that the Recreation calendar was not on the main portion of the website and had to be guided on how to navigate the website to locate the calendar. Residents that were not made aware of this may have missed Recreation events altogether as they did not realize they were happening. The Committee discussed and set as many events as possible, some tentative, for 2025 to put on the calendar.
Christmas Decorating Contest Deadline: TBD Judging Date: 12/28/2025
Senior Valentine’s Day Dance 2/8/2025
Clean-Up Day 4/5/2025
Easter Egg Hunt 4/12/2025 Rain Date: 4/13/2025
Miss Stillwater Contest 5/3/2025 (Tentative)
Spring Garage Sale Weekend 5/17 & 5/18/2025
Stillwater Day 6/7/2025 Rain Date: 6/8/2025
Summer Camp 8/11 – 8/15/2025 & 8/18 – 8/22/2025
First Responder’s Event 9/7/2025 (Tentative)
Trunk Or Treat 10/25/2025 (Tentative – 10/26/2025 is also being discussed)
Veteran’s Event 11/9/2025 (Tentative)
Tree Lighting 12/5/2025 Snow Date: 12/6/2025
All other events to be discussed later:
Water Safety Fair (Will be discussed with Mrs. Tsadilas since she brought this event to Recreation)
Plant Exchange (Did not hold this event in 2024)
Movie Night/Nights
Sussex County Day
Pop Up Vendor Fair
Bus Trips
Sub-Committee Reports:
Clean Up Day – Mrs. Tosti
No updates.
Miss Stillwater, Little Miss and Mr. Stillwater – Mrs. Minervino
No updates.
Mrs. Delaney and Mr. Manser met two of the three firework companies. This will be decided on and set by next week at the latest. The Recreation Commission voted to hire the band Snake Oil Willy for Stillwater Day Bicentennial celebration at their workshop meeting held on October 21st. All were in favor. The band is available for the rain date as well. The band will play three, 50-minute sets. In addition, they will provide a PA system for use during the entire day. The cost is $1,200.00. We will pay them in full the day of the event, no deposit is needed. We also discussed possibly hiring some other form of musical entertainment, but no other decisions have been made at this time. Ed Caffrey will be in contact with Mrs. Tosti this week regarding the bounce houses. Information from the workshop meeting was given to any member who was not in attendance. Please refer to the 10/21 workshop meeting minutes for mor information. We will be utilizing our 12/16 workshop meeting to further discuss Stillwater Day/Bicentennial.
10/19/2024 & 10/20/2024
The Spring Garage Sale Weekend has been set for 5/17/2025 & 5/18/2025. There will be no Fall 2025 townwide Garage Sale due to a repetitive low turnout for the Fall.
Summer Camp – Mrs. Tosti
No updates.
Sussex County Day
No updates.
Decorating Contests (Holiday) – Mrs. Minervino
10/25/2024
The group traveled together to see contestants’ decorations.
Winners:
Most Interactive – Terry and Bill Starr
Scariest – Chrsitina Fisher
Most Creative – Jeffrey and Penny Bair
Mrs. Tosti will secure the gift cards for Mrs. Wunder. Mrs. Wunder will send out the gift cards to all winners.
The Christmas decorating contest deadline is set for 12/18/2024. Mrs. Minervino will update the flyer as soon as possible. For future contests, remember that if you see a house that should be submitted, please put an application in their mailbox as they may not be aware there is a contest.
The Commission discussed eliminating categories for future contests and strictly doing first, second, and third place. Since we did not hold a Fourth of July decorating contest, the Commission would like to increase the first place amount to $50.00 and do $25.00 for both second and third place for the December decorating contest.
Mrs. Tosti made a motion to utilize the money set aside for the Fourth of July contest to increase the first-place winner of the Christmas Decorating contest prize, seconded by Mrs. Minervino.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, yes, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
Tree Lighting – Mrs. Tosti/Mrs. Richardson
Considering we will not have an additional meeting before the event, any other information not discussed this evening will be sent via email. There will be cookie decorating (Mrs. Tosti already purchased the prize), wreath decorating, ornament decorating, Santa on the Fire Truck (Mrs. Tosti will be in contact with the Fire Department to further discuss this), and letters to Santa. These are activities that have been done successfully and enjoyed in the past so we will be doing them again. If there are any new suggestions, please feel free to send them via email. Our new tent may be utilized for all arts and crafts to save room inside since it was crowded last year. Mrs. Falotico mentioned that we had previously discussed lighting as an issue (it was dark getting to the tree) and blocking out a few spaces near the entrance for additional space while entering and exiting the building for safety reasons. Luminaries bags with flameless tea lights will be used to light a path to the tree. Mrs. Richarson mentioned that the icing for cookie decorating tends to get messy, so she will be looking into a cleaner option. She also offered to send out the group email for the Tree Lighting discussion to alleviate Mrs. Tosti since she has a full schedule of events.
The Community Center tree will need to be replaced. The limbs are losing their strength, and the lights no longer work. If there is leftover money in the budget for 2024, the Commission would like to do so in 2024. If there is not, it can be replaced at a later date but has at least been noted to revisit in the future. It was discussed possibly dedicating the new tree to someone who the Commission would like to pay tribute to.
Mr. Sylvester made a motion to ask the CFO if we can purchase a new tree for the Community Center for no more than $200.00, seconded by Mrs. Falotico.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, yes, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
Egg Hunt – Mrs. Falotico
The Fire Department will not be collaborating with the Recreation Commission this year. Unfortunately, it is difficult to commit to the event with a lack of members. They will be in attendance if members can be available, but this should not be dependent upon. We will need to budget for the lack of financial assistance from the Fire Department (eggs, candy, etc).
Field/Pavilion Application Approvals, Scheduling – Mrs. Tosti
No updates.
Field Maintenance – Mr. Sylvester/Mr. Carovillano
Mr. Sylvester thanked the Township Committee for following through with the paving plans. He also wanted to send a thank you letter to the DPW for all their continued improvements to our parks and sheds. Mrs. Tosti will draft the letter and Mrs. Wunder will be sending the letter. Mr. Sylvester mentioned utilizing pickleball courts on the Veteran’s parking lots as this has been in discussion for at least five years, possibly six. There appears to be $5,000 left from our Recreation budget in 2024.
Mr. Sylvester would like to encumber the unused portion of our 2024 budget money leftover to be spent in 2025 for lining of pickleball courts at Veteran’s Park. Mr. Sylvester received two quotes from Mr. Fitzpatrick – one for just layout and painting of the regulation game lines of four courts for a total of $2,200.00. The second quote is with the addition of a solid painted kitchen of courts for $1,025.00 per court. The color of the pickleball lines/tennis court lines can be confusing for players. This is unavoidable to an extent, but choosing different colors than what was chosen at Swartswood Park (recommended by Dave Pierson and widely used amongst most tennis/pickleball courts) may alleviate confusion while playing. Mrs. Delaney expressed her safety concerns about this plan due to activity at the field and the heavily used parking lot. Mrs. Tosti agreed. Mr. Sylvester responded to the safety concerns sharing that the courts would only be able to be utilized when park activity was low. There is very little or no activity occurring during the day and outside of sporting events. Mrs. Tosti had also expressed her desire for a basketball court at Veteran’s Park, which had also been discussed in past years.
Mrs. Delaney relayed a message from Vera Rumsey regarding an event to be held at Swartswood Park on 11/23/2024, the same day as our vendor fair at the Community Center. Mrs. Rumsey will be advising Heidi Mountford to let pickleball players know this will be a particularly busy and congested day in both parking lots. The Commission discussed asking the church if their parking lot can be utilized that day.
Mr. Sylvester made a motion to recommend spending $4,100.00 on up to four courts ($1,025.00 per court with full solid painted kitchen) funds permitting, seconded by Mrs. Tosti.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, yes, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
Mr. Carovillano will be ensuring all fields are ready for closing. He noted that the Swartswood Field’s mound is ready for replacement as well as home plate. Little League is willing to pay for three quarters of a new mound. The estimated cost for a portable reputable brand one is $5,000. No metal cleats may be used as they will destroy it. Storage is a foreseeable issue. They are extremely heavy and cannot be left out all winter. Mr. Carovillano surveyed other towns and most store them away as well to avoid damage and to extend the life of the mound. Tarping is an option, however, with the vandalism of our parks, he worries the tarp will aid as a target for destruction. Rebuilding is an option, but it is a lot of work. Can we hire someone to do so?
Community Center Activities:
Senior Citizen Game Night – Mrs. Richardson
11/21/2024
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Community Center
Mrs. Richardson will be hosting is a game night. Prizes have already been secured. This is a low workload event, so there is not much work needed to be done. There will be coffee, popcorn, pretzels, and cookies.
Educational Activities:
Bus Trip – Mrs. Tosti
December City Trip
The date has been set for 12/14/2024.
11/9/2024
9:00 a.m.
Almost everything for this event has been donated. Joe Sugar has donated sausage as well as his time to cook it (he also offered to help cook the bacon, eggs, and pancakes as well). Stillwater Café has donated a tray of scrambled eggs and a tray of oatmeal. He has also donated one hour of his time to help cook whatever else may be needed. Door prizes have also been donated. Please let Mrs. Minervino know if you can volunteer for this event. Mrs. Tosti spoke to our CFO regarding the thank you banner for our Veteran’s. Approval is needed to spend up to $20.00 on a banner that reads, “Thank You to Our Veteran’s.”
Mrs. Tosti made a motion to spend up to $20.00 on the Veteran’s Day banner, seconded by Mrs. Richardson.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, yes, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
10/10/2024 & 11/14/2024
1:00-2:00 p.m.
All are welcome to these events!
Upcoming Prosecutor Hosted Events:
11/14 Safe Firearms Storage
Mrs. Minervino will not be scheduling anymore events until 2025 due to our Recreation calendar being filled for the remainder of the year. Events will be offered quarterly in addition to the K-9 demonstration during Summer Camp due to its popularity. Mrs. Minervino will be asking for feedback on this to determine which future events would be of most interest to our residents.
Trunk or Treat – Mrs. Ingles (Clerk)
Mrs. Ingles chaired this event as she has had experience running this type of event. There was a great turnout. Mrs. Trotter set up the table and tent – thank you! Mrs. Ingles did a wonderful job. There was pumpkin picking, stickers, and snacks. It was simple, yet so festive. The Fire Department was in attendance for the touch and sit on the fire truck. Our CFO was also in attendance with a decorated trunk. Cert was also in attendance. A thank you letter was sent to Mrs. Ingles from the Recreation Commission.
Pop Up Vendor Fair – Mrs. Tosti
11/23/2024
Time – TBD (the time last year was well attended. Mrs. Tosti will refer to her previous notes to determine the time frame we utilized)
Recreation Budget 2025/Capital Request 2025
The Recreation Commission reviewed the Expenditure Budget for 2025 provided to us by our CFO.
Recreation Secretary $3,000.00 – Requested $3,500.00
Advertising $600.00 – No change
Community Events $3,000.00 – Requested $3,500.00
Office Supplies $100.00 – Requested $200.00
Porta-John Rental Fees $4,500.00 – No change
Stillwater Day $5,000.00 – Requested $6,000.00
Equipment $5,000.00 – No change
Miscellaneous $170.00 – Commission was unsure of what this was for.
Field Maintenance/Improvements 2,000.00 – Requested $3,500.00
Holiday Decorating Contests $250.00 – Requested $300.00
Miss Stillwater $1,500.00 – No change
Since walking trails were discussed during our last meeting, Mrs. Tosti asked our liaisons how we would begin the process on getting a quote in order to write a plan to present to the Township Committee. Mr. Sylvester suggested getting the Township Committee’s “blessing” on this first and foremost. Mrs. Delaney, Mr. Masner and Mr. Sylvester all said there are many hurdles to overcome to get the ball rolling. The walking trail was mentioned during the Open Space meeting – hopefully the walking trail will be included in that plan as well. Mrs. Tosti mentioned possibly joining forces with the Environmental Commission again to get the discussion started and a plan of some sort in place.
Mrs. Tosti will be securing at least three prices on three different types of silent generators as recommended by Mr. Manser. She will present these quotes from Ed Caffrey at our December meeting. This is all tentative based on what is leftover from our 2024 budget.
Mr. Sylvester made a motion to submit the 2025 budget as recommended by the Recreation Commission, seconded by Mr. Carovillano.
Roll Call Vote: Mr. Sylvester, yes, Mr. Carovillano, yes, Mrs. Minervino, yes, Mrs. Falotico, yes, Mrs. Trotter, yes, Mrs. DiBattista, yes, Mrs. Richardson, yes, Mrs. Tosti, yes
Open Public Session:
The meeting was opened to the public at 9:04 p.m. No one from the public wished to speak during Open Public Session. Open public session was closed at 9:04 p.m.
Committee Member Comments:
Mrs. Minervino suggested two possible new events:
Holiday Wood Décor Paint and Snack –
It is $40.00 to attend this event. This covers registration and payment. It can be offered any evening or Sunday afternoon during the week of December 2nd or 9th. The minimum number of attendees is 10 people. Holiday music can be played, and hot chocolate/light refreshments can be served. Mrs. Minervino even suggested that each attendee bring a snack to share with the group.
Breath and Nature –
This event allows our seniors to experience transformative nature practices including forest bathing walks, deep relaxation sessions and coherent breathing meditation for harmony, resilience, healing and wellbeing. While this is typically offered for a fee, the host is willing to offer a free event to our seniors. There are two options:
1.5 hours of breathing and relaxation or a 4-week series (45 minutes per session).
Liaison Report – Mr. Manser and Mrs. Delaney
It was reported that the paving is complete from Middleville to the Town Garage, Community Center parking lot, Swartswood Park parking lot, Veteran’s parking lot, and Mount Benevolence.
Executive Session/Session Actions:
None.
Adjournment:
Mrs. Tosti made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:19 p.m., seconded by Mrs. Richardson. A vote was taken, and all were in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Danielle Wunder, Secretary
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
2024 STILLWATER-TOWNSHIP-SUMMER-CAMP REGISTRATION FORM
Visit the Office of Emergency Management page for links and the latest information