September 15, 2020 Regular Minutes

STILLWATER TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING

September 15, 2020 – Regular Meeting

A REGULAR MEETING of the Stillwater Township Committee was called to order by Mayor Chammings at 7:01 p.m. noting the meeting date, time and place were duly published in the New Jersey Herald and posted at the Town Hall and advised those present that this meeting was being held in compliance with provisions of P.L. 1975, Chapter 231, Sections 4 & 13. Mayor Chammings added the meeting was being held virtually on Zoom and this meeting was also advertised with the link in the New Jersey Herald, the Stillwater Township website (www.stillwatertownshipnj.com) on the Stillwater Township Face Book page. PRESENT: Committeewoman Rumsey, Committeeman Morrison, Committeeman Fisher, Deputy Mayor Scott and Mayor Chammings, Municipal Clerk Lynda Knott, Attorney Angelo Bolcato ABSENT: None

Roll Call was taken and the flag was saluted.

MINUTES:

July 21, 2020 Executive Session Minutes – Part 2

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt the Minutes, seconded by Mr. Morrison. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, abstained, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes Mayor Chammings, abstained.

Regular and Executive Session Minutes of September 1, 2020

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt the Minutes, seconded by Mrs. Rumsey. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, abstained, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, abstained and Mayor Chammings, yes.

REPORTS: Recreation Commission Report of August 2020

DPW Report of August 2020

Registrar Report of August 2020

Building Department Report of August 2020

ACO Report April-June 2020

QPA Report of August 2020

Zoning/Code Enforcement Report of July and August 2020

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to accept the Reports as presented, seconded by Mr. Morrison. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

BILLS LIST #14: $122,297.13

RESOLUTION 2020-120 Authorizing Payment of Bills

WHEREAS, the Chief Finance Officer has certified that funds are available in the proper account; and

WHEREAS, the Chief Finance Officer has approved payment upon certification from the Township Department Heads that the goods and/or services have been rendered to the Township;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Committee of the Township of Stillwater that the current bill lists, dated September 15, 2020 and on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief Finance Officer and approved by the Chief Finance Officer for payment, be paid.

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt Resolution 2020-120, seconded by Mr. Fisher. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Mr. Scott reported the Recreation Commission met on September 9, 2020. The DPW will move the Recreation Commission’s pod container to the Community Center. Mr. Scott said he spoke with Mr. David Manser to purchase and plant an evergreen tree to be used as the Township’s Christmas tree at the Community Center. The Recreation Commission plans to hold their Halloween and Christmas Tree decorating contests. Tim Reilly will organize the contests for 2020.

Mr. Scott also reported he and DPW Supervisor Josh Raff will interview candidates for the DPW opening on Friday, September 18, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. The top three contenders will come before the entire Township Committee for their second interview on October 6, 2020.

Mr. Scott noted road construction will begin on Old Foundry Road between Fairview Lake Road and Five Points Intersection beginning on Tuesday, September 22 for milling and then paving on September 23 and 24, 2020.

Mr. Scott reported the Planning Board will meet on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.

Mrs. Rumsey reported the Stillwater Board of Education met on September 14, 2020. They discussed their HIE training on Intimidation.

Mrs. Rumsey said the Church has given permission for the PTA Trick Tray attendees to use their parking lot.

Mr. Rumsey reported the Public Safety Committee met on September 10, 2020. CERT discussed their desire to form a CERT tripod for Stillwater, Hampton and Fredon to align with the tripod already formed for emergency responders. CERT has requested the use of the Community Center to hold classes. Once the classes are set up the Clerk will have CERT fill out the community center use form and give them a key to the building.

Fire Chief Steven Sugar reported the fire department has answered 126 call year to date with many calls utilizing the UTV vehicle. Mr. Sugar noted the EMS has answered 220 calls year to date and the night crews are working well to keep the community covered. Mr. Sugar also reported the new pick-up truck body will be ready soon.

Mayor Chammings reported the Environmental Commission met on September 14, 2020. The Enviromental Commission members decided to continue their stream water testing and collecting samples themselves. The EC members wanted to make sure the new lighting for the Community Center would shine downward and not out which was verified by Mrs. Rumsey. Ms. Chammings also reported the Environmental Commission had an opening for an alternate and would like the opening posted on the website and town hall sign. The Environmental Commission also discussed writing a letter in support of eliminating plastic bags.

Mayor Chammings attended a zoom meeting with the Board of Public Utilities for JCP&L. They discussed more aggressive vegetation maintenance and tree trimming.

AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA: None

OPEN PUBLIC SESSION:

Mr. Charles Wistuba, 941 Edgewood Drive, discussed his concerns regarding the Water District #1 billings. He feels the homeowners are being mislead as to what they are being charged for and calling them Stillwater taxes. Mr. Wistuba has been in communication with Water District #1 many times and he is not getting any answers. Mr. Wistuba provided the Township Committee with correspondence to support his claims. The Township Committee and Mr. Bolcato will review the correspondence and get back to Mr. Wistuba with their findings.

Marcia Bradley, CERT Coordinator, discussed their desire to set up a CERT tripod and said she will meet with the Fredon Township Committee soon. Mrs. Bradley reported the next Sussex County CERT meeting will be on September 30, 2020. Mrs. Bradley also noted CERT has received new activation report sheets and CERT is interested in encouraging the communities’ youth to get involved.

Seeing no one else from the public wished to speak so this portion of the meeting was closed.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

Foreclosure of liens/sale of Township owned properties/appraisal reports: Mayor Chammings reported the Township Committee was in receipt of two appraisal reports from Mr. Holtzhauer. Mr. Holtzhauer addressed many items in his determination of their value and has found the following: Block 903/Lot13 on Plymouth Lake Drive East has a value of $55,000.00 and Block 2601/Lot 8 has a value of $60,000.00. The Township Committee discussed having a public auction for both of these properties starting at 70% (seventy percent) of the value in their appraisal reports. Mr. Bolcato will prepare an Ordinance for the Township Committee to introduce at their next meeting on October 6, 2020 to get the auction moving forward. The Clerk will also supply Mr. Bolcato with a list of undersized lots which has been requested to purchase by adjoining property owners to be included in the ordinance and auction as well.

Baldwin Gate – the only access to lower Crandon area: Committeeman Fisher reported he visited the area in question and taken pictures for the Township Committee to discuss. Mr. Fisher said the reason the road was impassable is a pipe collapsed. The area must be cleaned up from the vegetation and a new pipe installed before it is usable. The Township Committee agreed there should be an additional access road for residents to use in an emergency. Mr. Bolcato will find out if there is a filed map that shows the road, and any deeds conveying title to the road to the Township.

CERT using Community Center: CERT has requested the use of the Community Center for meeting and classes. The Clerk will have CERT fill out a facility use form for the center and also send Mrs. Bradley the number for Gary Croft a CPR instructor.

Safety Committee: The Safety Committee’s remaining meetings for 2020 are October 15^th and November 19^th. The Clerk will advertise the meetings as public meetings so Mrs. Rumsey, Mr. Fisher and Mayor Chammings (in her OEM position) can all attend. The Clerk will speak to Mrs. Bradley about someone doing minutes now that the meetings will be considered public meetings.

Election inserts in tax bills: Mr. Jeffrey Parrott, Sussex County Clerk, has asked if the Township would add an inset into their new tax bills to be mailed to residents with information about the upcoming November General Election and mail in voting. This insert would save a lot of money for Sussex County tax payers in avoiding an additional mailing of just the voting information. The County would be suppling folders letters for the insert. The Township Committee okayed the addition of the insert in tax bill mailing.

Old Gallagher Property on Fairview Lake Road/complaints of dumping and possible other suspicious activity: Mr. Homer Wannamaker who lives across the road from the property and other residents from the area have complained about the property’s appearance and other concerns. The Township Committee discussed the disrepair of this property. The Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer has sent numerous letters and violations to the property owners with no replies. The large building department file for this property can not be located. Mayor Chammings will call the DEP Community Outreach Manager to discuss options for the township in addressing these concerns.

NEW BUSINESS:

RESOLUTION 2020-121 Authorizing Reimbursement of Recreation commission Summer Camp Registration Fee

WHEREAS, the Chief Financial Officer has certified that the following summer camp volunteer provided change to (2) families that did not have the correct cash payment amount for registration fees for the Recreation Commission Summer Camp; and

WHEREAS, $5.00 was deposited to the Recreation Trust Fund in excess of the actual registration fees; and

WHEREAS, the volunteer needs to be reimbursed from the Recreation Trust Fund to correct the overage;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Committee of Stillwater Township that a reimbursement be issued in the amount of $5.00.

Name & Address Funding Amount

Alicia Gardner Summer Camp Receipts $5.00
921 Millbrook Road
Newton, NJ 07860

A motion was made by Mr. Fisher to adopt Resolution 2020-121, seconded by Mr. Morrison. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

RESOLUTION 2020-122 Authorizing the Renewal of Stillwater Township Liquor Licenses

WHEREAS, THE Township Committee of the Township of Stillwater, County of Sussex and State of New Jersey, pursuant to the authority vested In it by an act of Legislature, has heretofore by ordinance, provided for the sale of alcoholic beverage in the Township of Stillwater; and

WHEREAS, the following named Liquor License holder has filed an application for the license renewal and the Municipal Clerk has received the Tax Clearance Certificate for this establishment and all fees have been paid.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the following liquor license known as Plenary Retail Consumption License be granted renewal for the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

LICENSE NUMBER LICENSEE AND ADDRESS

1920-33-003-002
Stillwater Area Volunteer Fire Company
929 Stillwater Road
Newton, New Jersey 07875

1920-33-010-003
North Shore House, LLC
P. O. Box 167,
912, Route 622 Swartswood Road
Stillwater, New Jersey 07875

1920-33-006-007
Hyde-Away Restaurant & Tap Room LLC
901 Route 521
Stillwater Township, NJ

1920-44-008-004
Main Street Liquors, LLC
P. O. Box 123, 906 Main Street
Stillwater, New Jersey 07875

1920-33-011-005
The Boat House at Swartswood Lake, LLC
P. O. Box 26, 1040 Route 521
Swartswood, New Jersey 07877

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Township Clerk is hereby authorized to issue the License herein granted, the same effective as provided by Law.

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt Resolution 2020-122, seconded by Mrs. Rumsey. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

RESOLUTION 2020-123 Authorizing the refund of overpayment of Permit Fees – block 2201 Lot 14.01

WHEREAS, the Chief Financial Officer has certified that Fees for Permit Number 20200131 in the amount of $576.00 were collected for electrical work to be performed at 996 Route 521, Block 2201, Lot 14.01, and;

WHEREAS, the permit fee was calculated incorrectly and an overpayment was made in the amount of $561.00;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Committee of Stillwater Township, that a refund be issued in the amount of the overpayment.

Name & Address Funding Amount

Sam Wykoff Permit Fee $561.00
996 Route 521
Newton, NJ 07860

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt Resolution 2020-123, seconded by Mr. Fisher. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

RESOLUTION 2020-124 Authorizing a Change Order #3 for West End Drive Phase I & II

WHEREAS, the Township of Stillwater awarded a contract to Road Safety Systems in the base bid amount of $60,330.00 for the West End Drive project, via engineers estimate provided by VanCleef Engineering Associates, LLC; and

WHEREAS, the Township Engineer has recommended a change order to the Governing Body in the amount of a $1,977.50 reduction of the original purchase order of $60,330.00 in order to reduce the amount of total payment to $58,352.50; and

WHEREAS, Change Order 03 in the amount of $1,977.50 has been prepared by the Township Engineer to authorize the credit to the original purchase order; and

WHEREAS, the Governing Body must approve the change order to authorize payment to the contractor with Change Order 03.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Committee that the Township does hereby authorize the issuance of a change order to Road Safety Systems in a reduction of $1,977.50 for a total amount of $58,352.50.

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt Resolution 2020-124, seconded by Mr. Fisher. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

RESOLUTION 2020-125 Authorizing the public sale of Township Property through Municibid

WHEREAS, the Township of Stillwater is the owner of certain property that is no longer needed for public use consisting of a 1985 Ford 340b Tractor w/Broom and a 1995 Autocar Tandem Axle Roll-Off truck VIN #4V2SC BCF1S R5146 08; and

WHEREAS, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-36 authorizes municipalities to sell public property that is no longer needed for public use at a public sale by an online auction to the highest bidder as surplus property; and

WHEREAS, N.J.A.C. 5:34-5.8 authorizes the sale of property through an online auction, and there is a New Jersey State Contract for Online Auction Services (19-GNSV1-00696) that was awarded to Municibid and is authorized for use by local governments; and

WHEREAS, the Township of Stillwater desires to sell such surplus property in “as is” condition without express or implied warranties.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Township of Stillwater hereby authorizes the sale of Township property no longer needed for public use by an online auction to be conducted by Municibid; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the public auction shall be conducted beginning on September 25, 2020 and ending on October 2, 2020, through the Municibid.com public online auction, pursuant N.J.S.A. 40A:11-36, Local Finance Notice 2019-15 of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services and New Jersey State Contract for Online Auction Services (19-GNSV1-00696); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the sale of surplus property to be sold in “as is” condition without expressed or implied warranties is as follows:

ITEM MINIMUM BID

1985 Ford 340b Tractor w/Broom $1,000.00

1995 Autocar Tandem Axle Roll-Off $2,000.00

VIN #:4V2SC BCF1S R5146 08

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Township of Stillwater reserves the right to accept or reject any bid submitted; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the successful bidder(s) shall be required to pay the full amount of the sale and shall be required to make arrangements for the pick-up of sold property from the Township of Stillwater within 10 business days of the auction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all other Township officials and employees are hereby authorized and directed to take all action necessary and appropriate to effectuate the terms of this Resolution.

This resolution shall take effect immediately.

A copy of this Resolution shall be placed on file with the Clerk of the Township.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase in this resolution is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this resolution.

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to adopt Resolution 2020-125, seconded by Mr. Fisher. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

RESOLUTION 2020-126 Amending Committee Departments

WHEREAS, on January 21, 2020 the Township Committee adopted Resolution 2020-035 establishing committee departments and;

WHEREAS, the Stillwater Township Committee has chosen to amend Resolution 2020-035 to add the Stillwater Community Center as an additional area of oversight, and;

WHEREAS, it is deemed necessary to establish Departments within the Township government to provide for the orderly and efficient transaction of Township business and to promote public service.

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 allegations of the preamble are incorporated herein by this reference.

2. The following Departments are hereby established within the Township of Stillwater, effective immediately and to remain in effect until the next Reorganization Meeting of the Township Committee, unless sooner modified or terminated and the member of the Township Committee assigned to oversee the operation of such Department is as follows:

Committeewoman Rumsey: Fire Department, School Boards, Community Center

Committeeman Morrison: Finance/Auditors, Board of Health, Personnel

Committeeman Scott: DPW, Recreation, Planning Board

Committeeman Fisher: Recycling Center, Gypsy Moth, Public Safety

Mayor Chammings: Environmental Commission, Engineering, Personnel, Legal, Zoning Board

A motion was made by Mr. Morrison to adopt Resolution 2020-126 as amended, seconded by Mrs. Rumsey. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

ORDINANCE 2020-06 Capital Ordinance Appropriating $7,500 for Purposes Authorized to be Undertaken by the Township of Stillwater, in the County of Sussex, NJ Introduction [Public Hearing and Adoption October 6, 2020]

BE IT ORDAINED by the Township Committee of the Township of Stillwater, in the County of Sussex, New Jersey, AS FOLLOWS;

Section 1. The several improvements described in Section 3 of this capital ordinance are hereby respectively authorized as general improvements to be made or acquired by the Township of Stillwater, New Jersey. For the said several improvements or purposes stated in said Section 3, there are hereby appropriated the respective sums of money therein stated as the appropriations made for said improvements or purposes, said sums being inclusive of all appropriations heretofore made therefore and amounting in the aggregate to $7,500.00, which has heretofore been set aside for the improvements or purposes stated in Section 3 and now available therefore by virtue of provision in a previously adopted budget or budgets of the Township for capital improvement purposes.

Section 2. For the financing of said improvements or purposes and to meet the part of said $7,500.00 appropriations, the Township will use $7,500.00 from the General Capital Improvement Fund.

Section 3. The improvements hereby authorized and the several purposes for the allocation of which said obligations are to be spent, the appropriation made for an estimated cost of each such purpose, and the estimated maximum amount of funds to be spent for each such purpose, are respectively as follows:

Building and Grounds: Swartswood Community Center

Bathroom Remodel $ 7,500.00 General C.I.F.

All the aforestated improvements or purposes where applicable, are in accordance with specifications on file in the office of the Township Clerk, which specifications are hereby approved.

Section 4. The following additional matters are hereby determined, declared, recited and stated:

1. The said purposes described in Section 3 of this capital ordinance are capital expenses and are each a property or improvement which the Township may lawfully acquire or make as a general improvement, and no part of the cost thereof has been or shall be specifically assessed on property specially benefited thereby.
2. The average period of usefulness of said purposes within the limitations of said Local bond Law and taking into consideration the respective amounts of the said obligations authorized for the several purposes, according to the reasonable life thereof computed by this capital ordinance, is five (5) yearsSection 5. The capital budget or temporary capital budget of the Township is hereby amended to conform with the provisions of this ordinance to the extent of any inconsistency herewith and the resolutions promulgated by the Local Finance Board showing all detail of the amended capital budget or temporary capital budget and capital program as approved by the Director, Division of Local Government Services, are on file with the Township Clerk and are available for public inspection.

Section 6. This capital ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days after the publication thereof after final adoption.

A motion was made by Mr. Scott to introduce Ordinance 2020-06, seconded by Mr. Fisher. Roll Call Vote: Mrs. Rumsey, yes, Mr. Morrison, yes, Mr. Scott, yes, Mr. Fisher, yes and Mayor Chammings, yes.

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

Job Description: The Township Committee discussed the now vacant receptionist’s position in deciding how to move forward to fill it. The former receptionist did far more than answer phones. The Township Committee discussed having someone come in and do job descriptions for all positions in town hall. Mayor Chammings and Mr. Morrison will put together a description for the next meeting on October 6, 2020.

Recreation Storage Trailer relocation: This item was discussed during committee reports.

Town Hall Renovations for COVID/Flu Season Safety: A discussion was held about how the building could be rearranged. Mr. Fisher noted when the building was designed the four offices for Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, CFO and Clerk were equipped with locking doors and moving one of them to another area without this protection would not be beneficial. The now empty closet in the file room will have the floor sealed and shelving purchased and installed to handle document retention.

Four (4) free tire disposal days the weekend of clean-up day 9/26-9/27/2020 – The Township Committee okayed the disposal of four tires clean-up day weekend.

OPEN PUBLIC SESSION

Seeing no one who wished to speak this portion of the meeting was closed.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT: Mr. Bolcato said he has a report for executive session.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

After the reading of the following Resolution to enter into Executive Session, a motion was made by Mrs. Rumsey, seconded by Mr. Scott and carried by roll call vote to adopt the resolution permitting the Committee to go into Executive Session at 8:40 p.m.

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: Attorney Client

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.

There being no further business to attend to, a motion was made by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Scott to conclude the Executive Session at 9:30 p.m., unanimously carried by roll call vote.

There being no further business, Mr. Scott made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mrs. Rumsey at 9:31 p.m. In a voice vote, all were in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynda Knott, Township Clerk