City Council

BOROUGH OF BARRINGTON MINUTES OF MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 8, 2020, 6:00 PM, VIRTUAL MEETING HELD VIA ZOOM A regular monthly Council Meeting of the Borough of Barrington was held via Zoom with Mayor Harris presiding. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harris called the meeting to order via Zoom at 6:00pm with the Sunshine Statement announcement and pursuant to the Executive Orders and guidance issued by the State of New Jersey due to the Corona virus state of emergency. She led everyone present in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL The Municipal Clerk called roll of Council with the following in virtual attendance: Councilman Cerrito, Council President Robenolt, Councilman Drumm, Councilman Beach and Councilman Hanson. Also participating via Zoom: Mayor Harris, Municipal Clerk Terry Shannon and Timothy Higgins, Esq. Councilman Ludwig joined the Zoom meeting at 6:05pm. COMMITTEE REPORTS The Municipal Clerk read a summary of the August 2020 monthly reports from the following departments: Police, Fire, EMS/Ambulance, Regional Fire Alliance, Tax & Sewer Collector, Construction, Trash and Recycling and the June report from the Court Administrator. On a motion by Councilman Ludwig, second by Councilman Robenolt, the monthly reports were approved as submitted by all members of Council present. PROCLAMATION OF THE MAYOR: Mayor Harris read the following proclamation Certificate of Appreciation and Gratitude Presented to Shane and Amy Colwell for the generous donation of a JennSwing ADA Swing Seat for the Wish Upon a Star Playground. Amy Colwell was on the Zoom meeting and Mayor Harris thanked her directly and said she would have Mike Ciocco contact her regarding pickup of the swing. Amy thanked the governing body for helping to make the playground more accessible for children like their son Chase. ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION: The Clerk read as follows. Ord. 1128 Amending Chapter 49, Brush, Grass and Weeds and Chapter 95, Property Maintenance, of the Borough Code (establishes regulations concerning bamboo) On a motion by Councilman Ludwig, second by Councilman Drumm, the second reading of the ordinance was approved with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes; Cerrito-yes; Robenolt-yes; Drumm- yes, Beach-yes; Hanson-yes. On a motion by Councilman Drumm, second by Councilman Hanson, the public hearing on this ordinance was opened. Seeing no public comment, on a motion by Councilman Robenolt, second by Councilman Drumm, the public hearing was closed. On a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Beach, ordinance 1128 was adopted with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes; Cerrito-yes; Robenolt-yes; Drumm-yes, Beach-yes; Hanson- yes. ORDINANCE FOR INTRODUCTION ON FIRST READING: Clerk Shannon read as follows. Ord. 1129 Approving and Authorizing the Execution of a Financial Agreement with a Long Term Tax Exemption and PILOT Agreement between the Borough of Barrington and 301 White Horse Pike Urban Renewal, LLC, Pursuant to NJSA 40A:20-9 et seq. On a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Drumm, the first reading of ordinance 1129 was approved with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes; Cerrito-yes; Robenolt-yes; Drumm-yes, Beach-yes, Hanson-yes. Mayor Harris announced that this ordinance will be considered for adoption after property notice and a public hearing to be held during the October 13, 2020, council meeting. RESOLUTION CONSENT AGENDA The Clerk read the following resolutions to be approved by consent agenda and announced that resolution 93 is being added to the consent agenda. 9-2020-85 Authorizing the Execution of a Redeveloper’s Agreement with 301 White Horse Pike Urban Renewal, LLC, or its Assigns, for Purposes of Implementing the Phase I and II Redevelopment Plan as it Relates to Block 126, Lots 17, 17.02 and 17.03 in the Borough of Barrington 9-2020-86 Approving the Application of 301 White Horse Pike Urban Renewal, LLC, for a Tax Exemption Pursuant to the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1, et seq., in Connection with a Certain Redevelopment Project 9-2020-87 Authorizing Release of Street Opening Escrow 9-2020-88 Authorizing a Shared Services Agreement between the Borough of Barrington and the Borough of Bellmawr Relative to Sewer Service for Block 21, Lot 1.02 in the Borough of Barrington 9-2020-89 Authorizing the Sale of Holiday Wreaths to the Borough of Bellmawr 9-2020-90 Requesting Approval of Items of Revenue and Expense for Grants Received 9-2020-91 Authorizing Renewal of Liquor Licenses for the 2020-2021 License Term 9-2020-92 Approving the September Bill List in the Total Amount of: $643,757.32 9-2020-93 Authorizing a Cash Match to Barrington Little League in the Amount of $23,000 for the PSE&G Facility Upgrade Project On a motion by Councilman Ludwig, second by Councilman Drumm, the resolution consent agenda was approved with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes, Cerrito-yes, Robenolt-yes, Drumm-yes, Beach- yes, Hanson-yes. COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY Councilman Hanson—PSE&G awarded a $54,000 grant to Little League for upgrades to the lighting at the field and the cash match the borough is contributing is in lieu of the annual contribution of $5000 we give them. We will not be giving them that contribution for the next four years. This will allow them to save a lot of money in energy costs. The Harvest Festival is cancelled and we are working on the scarecrow making event. It will be a pickup and dropoff event to minimize contact. Councilman Cerrito—last month Tim, Denise and I attended a virtual introduction to meet the new owners of the Chick-Fil-A project. The financial agreement is consistent with what we did previously Delco. We met with the residents of Copley Place North about the trash and urinating taking place on their street. They were very pleased that the police took action and we will be installing signage to deter motorist from going onto their street. Best wishes to our business community as they begin to reopen to the public. They have been under a tremendous burden during the Corona virus emergency. Councilman Drumm—Jim Arpino, our new Fire Official has started and is doing well. He wished Steve DePierri well in his retirement. Mayor Harris added that Mike was contacted by a young resident who wants to explore some recycling programs. Councilman Drumm said he reached out to Assemblyman Moen but has not heard back from him yet. We will look more into the young resident’s suggestions and possible additional recycling programs. Councilman Robenolt—all emergency services continue to operate and function at a high level. Everyone is doing a wonderful job. Councilman Beach—thanks to police officers and Public Works for the water main break on his road on Sunday and everyone reacted quickly. Senior events are cancelled and the bus is still out of service. There is a pasta dinner for seniors on September 17 and we will deliver it so call Eileen at borough hall to be added to the list. Councilman Ludwig—school started today and so far everyone seems to be working. They seem to have a good plan and there is a meet and greet tomorrow. Mayor Harris thanked Kevin, Mark and Billy for thinking outside the box and looking into the PSE&G grant program for lighting upgrades. This year they could not hold any fundraisers so anything they can do to lower costs is great. They have done a great job applying for grants to upgrade the little league facility to a state-of-the-art facility. She reported on the current number of Covid cases in Barrington and encouraged everyone to wear their masks and stay safe. PUBLIC PORTION: On a motion by Councilman Ludwig, second by Councilman Hanson, the public portion of the meeting was opened. Mayor Harris advised that if you have comments or questions, state your name and address for the record. Public comment is limited to five minutes per person. Billy Dunworth of Kingston Avenue said he is the treasurer for Little League and he thanked everyone for their support. This, including the Camden County grant we got, will exceed $100,000 in funding and with these upgrades, it will reduce our operating costs. Kevin Camarote of Haines Avenue added his thanks to the governing body. When we first got in, we needed a lot of improvements and with their support we have been able to make a lot of improvements. We work hand-in-hand with Patti all the time and everything has been great. Mark Baus from Cedar Avenue added his thanks as well. This town is amazing including the small businesses that have been so supportive. This town is a great place to raise your kids and they will benefit from all of these upgrades. Mayor Harris thanked them as well and added that this will bring tournament traffic into town which will in turn benefit the small businesses. Seeing no further comments from the public, on a motion by Councilman Ludwig, second by Councilman Hanson, the second public portion of the meeting was closed. With no further business to be transacted, on a motion by Councilman Ludwig, second by Councilman Cerrito, the meeting was adjourned at 6:29pm. APPROVED: Terry Shannon ___ Terry Shannon, Municipal Clerk