City Council

BOROUGH OF BARRINGTON MINUTES OF MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 13, 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 Ludwig, 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. MINUTES FOR APPROVAL Mayor Harris announced that the minutes from the September 1, 2020 Caucus meeting and the September 8, 2020, Council meeting were submitted for review and asked if there were any corrections. Seeing none, on a motion by Councilman Drumm, second by Councilman Hanson, the minutes as submitted were approved with all in favor. COMMITTEE REPORTS The Municipal Clerk read a summary of the September 2020 monthly reports from the following departments: Police, Fire, EMS/Ambulance, Regional Fire Alliance, Tax & Sewer Collector, Construction, Trash and Recycling and the August report from the Court Administrator. On a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Robenolt, the monthly reports were approved as submitted by all members of Council present. ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION: The Clerk 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 N.J.S.A. 40A:209 et seq. On a motion by Councilman Cerrito, second by Councilman Beach, 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 Ludwig, second by Councilman Hanson, the public hearing on this ordinance was opened. John Bayan from Tavistock Boulevard asked if there was a financial benefit from having Chick-fil-A in town. Councilman Cerrito responded that the improvements will increase the tax rateable and will increase the taxes due to the Borough. This project will improve what was a blighted property and increases the property value. The PILOT gives entities an incentive to develop properties in town. Bayan asked if the PILOT is forever and Cerrito responded that it is a 30 year agreement. They start out around 65% of the taxes and it gradually increases until they reach 95% of the tax amount. Bayan asked if it is in the best interest of the town to have these agreements and Cerrito responded that it is very competitive to get these kinds of businesses and Chick-fil-A is a good solid business that will be here for years. Councilman Ludwig added that this property sat there empty and was not bringing anything to the town. This will bring revenue to the town and the property that sat there for years will now be providing good revenue. Seeing no further public comment, on a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Drumm, the public hearing was closed. On a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Cerrito, ordinance 1129 was adopted with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes; Cerrito-yes; Robenolt-yes; Drumm-yes, Beach-yes; Hanson- yes. 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. 10-2020-94 Setting the Hours for Halloween Trick or Treating 10-2020-95 Certification of the 2019 Annual Report of Audit 10-2020-96 Authorizing Liens against Certain Properties for Costs Incurred in Accordance with the Property Maintenance Code 10-2020-97 Approving an Eagle Scout Project for Improvements to the Shreve Ave Playground 10-2020-98 Approving a Girl Scout Project for Improvements to Lost World Park 10-2020-99 Appointing a New Member to the Barrington Fire Department 10-2020-100 Bond Reduction No.1--Final for CFA Barrington, LLC 10-2020-101 Approving the October Bill List in the Total Amount of: $1,120,481.27 On a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Robenolt, the resolution consent agenda was approved with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes, Cerrito-yes, Robenolt-yes, Drumm-yes, Beach- yes, Hanson-yes. Councilman Ludwig stated he is voting no to resolution 10-2020-94 as he does not think it is a good idea to allow trick or treating because of the current pandemic. He voted yes on the rest of the consent agenda. COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY Councilman Hanson—introduced Eagle Scout candidate Ben Didio who is the scout that is planning improvements to the Shreve Avenue Playground. Ben thanked the governing body for their support and for allowing him to do this project. Councilman Hanson said that once it is completed, he will send photos to everyone so they can see Ben’s work. He then introduced Jennifer Milligan who was representing the Girl Scouts on their project to remove the graffiti at Lost World Park and then they plan to plant flowers in the spring. She added they will be working with DPW and thanked the governing body for their support. Councilman Hanson then reported the Fall Fun with First Responders event is this weekend. You can pickup supplies for scarecrow kits or painting pumpkins. We hope to have a lot of scarecrows for Clements Bridge Road. We are holding a house decorating contest as well. He thanked Councilman Cerrito who cut down the corn stalks for Clements Bridge Road. Trick or Treating is 4-8pm on Halloween. On Track came out this week. The food pantry is still open so if you or anyone you know is food insecure, have them contact me. Mayor Harris thanked Councilman Hanson for running these events and having some things for kids to participate in while staying safe. Councilman Cerrito—the Clements Bridge Road paving is moving along nicely. We attended the MZH grand opening this past weekend. They have done excellent improvements to the interior and we wish them well. I attended a Camden County senior and disabled services Zoom meeting this week. There are a lot of services available to our seniors and they are listed on the Camden County website. He wished the Girl Scouts well with their project and congratulated Ben Didio on making Eagle Scout. He also congratulated Nathan for joining the fire department. Councilman Robenolt—emergency services continue to handle the Covid issues and all first responders are doing well. He thanked the fire guys and the Chief for their help with the scarecrows. He thinks we are over 65 scarecrows. Councilman Drumm—Fire Alliance is running well. Meeting with Jim Arpino this week to discuss various things. Hope to get financial from Denise to compare how we are doing compared to last year. For Project Save, Barrington has referred 185 people to the program. Project Save is a program for people who are struggling with substance abuse and if they get arrested, the police can refer them to the program for help. We are fifth in the county for referrals. Schools are going back to a hybrid schedule on Monday. The rest of the kids are going back to school on November 9. He congratulated Nathan for joining the fire department. He thanked Ben and Jen for the projects they are doing. It is nice to see residents be involved in the community. Councilman Beach—congratulations to Nathan for becoming a firefighter and thank you to Ben and Jen for their projects. Remember that it is getting darker and kids will be trick or treating so please be careful. Mayor Harris reported that three years ago, resident Pat Owens came to me with the idea for the scarecrows along Clements Bridge Road. The first year we had 12, second year 20 and this year is 65. It has been a great success. Pat is now part of the recreation committee and helps Kyle put this all together. Jen and her Daisies and Brownies asked me to be a guest speaker last week on women in leadership roles. The kids asked a lot of questions and I was happy to speak with them. Congratulations to Nathan and thanks to Ben. I appreciate the time and effort it takes to become an Eagle Scout. Regarding trick or treating, we may not all agree but we have to leave it up to parents to keep their kids safe. She wished everyone well with the event at the firehouse this week. PUBLIC PORTION: On a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Drumm, 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. Diane Schreyer said she shares Councilman Ludwig’s concerns about Halloween. She hopes parents will be cautious. Seeing no further comments from the public, on a motion by Councilman Hanson, second by Councilman Robenolt, 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 Hanson, the meeting was adjourned at 6:35pm. APPROVED: Terry Shannon ___ Terry Shannon, Municipal Clerk