HARVEY CEDARS, NJ May 5, 2006
The regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Borough of Harvey Cedars, NJ was called to order by Mayor Oldham at 4:32pm who stated to the best of his knowledge all requirements of the State Sunshine Law had been met. Commissioners Gerkens and Garofalo and Board Attorney John Cerefice were present.
The Mayor asked all to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting, April 25, 2006, was made by
Commissioner Gerkens, seconded by Commissioner Garofalo.
The Mayor read the following ordinance by title and number.
This ordinance, which was mandated by the State, provides for water meters to be installed for new construction. Attorney John Cerefice said this ordinance could not be introduced until the State provides and signs a settlement agreement with the Borough.
The Mayor read the following resolution by title only and asked for a motion to adopt.
A copy of the resolution is attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Motion to adopt: Commissioner Garofalo
Second: Commissioner Gerkens
The Mayor read the following resolution by title only and asked for a motion to adopt.
A copy of the resolution is attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Motion to approve the bills for payment was made by Commissioner Garofalo, seconded by Commissioner Gerkens
REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONERS:
Commissioner Garofalo –
· The Commissioner is working on the defeated school budget.
Mayor Oldham –
· The Mayor has been working on the beach project. The State provided the new easement deeds this afternoon and gave a deadline of June 15th to get them signed. If this project does not happen, the Mayor is concerned about property safety, the property values, the tax rate and the way of life.
Commissioner Gerkens –
· Public Works is working on the beach – bulldozing and putting up snow fence only for those properties that have signed deeds of easements.
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR –
The following members of the public were in attendance: Wendy Mae Chambers, 13 East 75th Street, Joe Krug, 44 West 80th Street, Tony Cannizzo, 45 Cedars Ave., Richard and Lona LeSchander, 35 Cedars Ave., Al Wright, 3 Cedars Ave., Rosemaur Leonardo and Erma Metz, 67 Cedars Ave. They discussed the following issues with the Board:
Beach Project:
· The Mayor will be personally contacting each property owner who has not signed the easement deed. The new deed will then be mailed to them.
· No deed will be filed (with the County) until the project is ready to commence. Escrow agreements will be mailed with the deed.
· If the project dies, property owners will still need to sign a deed of easement for sand replenishment.
· The Army Corps designed the beach project by doing several different scenario models with lost/cost ratios. Based on the worst 3 storms in the last 100 years, they engineered a beach that would give the best protection and least amount of loss. They brought this design to Washington, DC to be funded. It is funded only for that design. If they re-design the project, it would have to start at square one and the funded money would go somewhere else.
· The Commissioners tried to get the designed dune height of 22 feet lowered, but the project would have to be re-appropriated and would most likely be abolished.
· The sand project that took place last fall has been somewhat successful. Although the beach still erodes, the sand seems to come back more in that particular area.
Trees blocking views:
· The trees that are in the borough right-of-way have been either planted by people or have grown naturally. If trees or bushes block site triangles, the Borough will have them trimmed. Otherwise, the Commissioners encourage neighbors to work together in this issue.
School Tax Study:
· The first step is the feasibility study; the second step is to go to referendum, which will most likely fail; then the next step is to appeal to the Department of Education to come up with a solution. It would be the governing body’s decision to join in on the study.
Hurricane Evacuation:
· A public meeting will be held in June on hurricane evacuation. The State, County and local emergency operations personnel will be speaking and answering questions.
· Public Works collects pet crates for evacuation situations.
· The Commissioners encouraged all to attend the June meeting to ask questions about pets and other concerns.
Defeated School Budget:
· The member municipalities meet with the Board of Education to look at the school budget and to see where cuts can be made. The towns recommend cuts to the Board and look at capital projects first. There is no public vote.
· Harvey Cedars is the most disproportionate in the State (pupils vs. taxes) and the hardest type of school system to get out of.
· Funding is measured by property values. Stafford residents pay more in school taxes than the island residents. Combined elementary and high school taxes for Stafford are much higher per household than combined school taxes on the island.
Cedars Ave fishing pier:
· Commissioner Gerkens and Frank Little went to Trenton to appeal the $3000+ tidelands license fee for the fishing pier. The State based the fee on neighboring property values, even though it is public property and for public use. The State’s questions were how public is this area, and is there parking? The barricades were relocated to the bulkhead for that purpose. If the fee can be reduced, it will not only help in the renewal of the park license, but will also help all other waterfront communities that are fighting the same battle of high fees.
· Commissioner Gerkens apologized for not advising the Cedars landscaping committee of the barricade move.
· Landscaping will take place once the shell groundcover is available. Commissioner Gerkens will visit the site to show the landscaping plan.
· Police will study the speeding issue at Cedars Ave.
Motion to adjourn: Commissioner Garofalo
Second: Commissioner Gerkens
Meeting adjourned at 5:42pm.
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______________________________ Daina Dale, Municipal Clerk
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_______________________________ Jonathan Oldham, Mayor
_______________________________ Judith Gerkens, Commissioner
_______________________________ Michael Garofalo, Commissioner |