City Council

BOROUGH OF BARRINGTON MINUTES OF MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 13, 2021, 6:00PM, BARRINGTON MUNICIPAL BUILDING A regular monthly Council Meeting of the Borough of Barrington was held at 6:00pm with Mayor Harris presiding. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harris called the meeting to order with the following statement: "This meeting is held in compliance with Chapter 231 of the open public meetings act of 1975 and appropriate notice has been given. Notice of this meeting was filed with the Retrospect and Courier Post and has also posted in on the bulletin board in Borough Hall where notices are primarily kept. She then led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL The Municipal Clerk called roll of Council with the following in attendance: Council President Beach, Councilman Cerrito, Councilman Drumm, Councilman Hanson, Councilman Ludwig and Councilman Robenolt. Mayor Harris, Municipal Clerk Terry Shannon and Solicitor Timothy Higgins, Esq., were also on the dais. PROCLAMATION Honoring USPS Employee Bob Meloni for 32 years of service to the residents of Barrington. Councilman Robenolt presented the proclamation to Bob. Bob talked about his history working in the town—he walked tens of thousands of miles in town. He thanked everyone for this honor and stated that Barrington will always be a part of his life--thank you for honoring me. SPECIAL PRESENTATION Councilman Cerrito and resident landscape architect Joe Sikora presented plans for the 9/11 Memorial. This will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the attacks. They explained how the memorial will be constructed and the symbolism behind the project. Joe Sikora, accompanied by colleague Joyce Chang from Wells Appel, showed the color concept renditions for the memorial and explained what each section means. Mayor and Council were very pleased with the plans which are above and said it is beyond what anyone imagined. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mayor Harris reported that council was provided with the minutes of the June 1, 2021, caucus meeting and the June 10, 2021, council meeting and asked if there were any corrections or abstentions. On a motion by Ludwig, second by Robenolt, the minutes were approved by all members of Council present. COMMITTEE REPORTS The Municipal Clerk read a summary of the June 2021 monthly reports from the following departments: Police, Fire, EMS/Ambulance, Regional Fire Alliance, Tax & Sewer Collector, Construction, Trash and Recycling, and Court Administrator report for May. On a motion by Ludwig, second by Cerrito, the monthly reports were approved as submitted by all members of Council present. ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION Clerk Shannon read the following ordinances by title: Ord. 1144 Amending Chapter 64, Recycling, in the Borough Code (this ordinance establishes the prohibition against using plastic bags for veggie waste) On a motion by Ludwig, second by Drumm, the second reading of this ordinance was approved with the following poll vote: Beach-yes; Cerrito-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes, Ludwig-yes, Robenolt-yes. On a motion by Hanson, second by Ludwig, the public hearing on this ordinance was opened. Seeing no comments from the public, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Hanson, the public hearing was closed. Ord. 1145 Ordinance Permitting the Operation of Class 5 Cannabis Businesses and Prohibiting the Operation of All Other Classes of Cannabis Businesses within the Borough of Barrington (class 5 is retail only) On a motion by Ludwig, second by Hanson, the second reading of this ordinance was approved with the following poll vote: Beach-yes; Cerrito-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes, Ludwig-yes, Robenolt-yes. On a motion by Drumm, second by Ludwig, the public hearing on this ordinance was opened. Debbie Veit of Lenton Avenue was present and asked the following questions. Veit--What does delivery mean? Councilman Ludwig explained no delivery service will be permitted to deliver marijuana. Veit--where can retail facilities be located? Mayor Harris explained they can only be located in the M-1 or M-2 manufacturing districts. Veit—how will traffic be handled and what about the smell? Mayor Harris responded that the facility will have to provide ample parking. No one has come before us yet with any plans. Councilman Robenolt responded that the Bellmawr facility allows growing and processing which is why there is a smell. We are not allowing that. Veit—the League of Municipalities is recommending that towns opt-out of this. Why are we opting-in? Mayor Harris responded that 75% of the voters voted in favor of legalization. The tax revenue from the retail sales will benefit the town. Veit—what happens if this creates a lot of problems such as an increase in crime? Councilman Ludwig and Mayor Harris responded that any problems will be addressed and handled by the appropriate departments. Problems will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Veit—I could not find the agenda on the website. Mayor Harris responded agendas are always on the website under Council Business. Clerk Shannon added that ordinances are posted on the bulletin board in the hallway and are available at Borough Hall upon request. Veit—will this be discussed again? Mayor Harris responded that if someone comes before us who wants to open a facility, they will have to go before the Planning Board with all their plans. That will be publicly advertised and residents can attend and express their concerns. Veit—is is true that businesses get a break on their taxes for three years? Mayor Harris responded no, only if they have a PILOT agreement as a result of redevelopment. In that case, we get a larger payment because no taxes go to the school or the county. Ken Krupinski of Albany Avenue was present and asked the following questions. Krupinski—since we will only be able to collect 2% on retail sales, which could only generate $100,000 in annual revenue, is it worth it? Will there be more impaired motorists leaving that facility? Mayor Harris responded that it won’t be a smoking lounge—people will purchase and then leave the facility. Councilman Ludwig added that our job is to be a pro-business government and to provide a location for businesses to open and be successful. Krupinski—the League of Municipalities has made it clear that we do not have to opt-in to this legislation. Once we adopt this ordinance, we are stuck with it for five years. Solicitor Higgins explained that although we cannot change the cannabis ordinance for five years, we can change the zoning ordinance if necessary. Krupinski—what is the distance permitted from the schools? Mayor Harris explained it is 200 feet from a school. Councilman Ludwig added that although it may be 200 feet as the crow flies, to drive it is actually closer to a mile. Krupinski—how many licenses will be issued? Mayor Harris responded that Solicitor Higgins said the licenses are actually issued by the state and it is unlikely that any more than two would be issued in Barrington. Alicia DeFulio of Little Lane was present and asked the following questions. DeFulio--What will be the impact to our property values? Mayor Harris responded that property values are very high in Barrington right now—Tonewood even raised property values. You will not be negatively impacted because of a legal marijuana facility. It is not that we will become a town of potheads—people will buy and take home to use the product for whatever reason they use it—recreational, medical, emotional or whatever reason they choose to use it. If anything, values of homes will go up—not down. Councilman Beach added that we do still have laws in place that control behavior. You will not be allowed to smoke in our parks, on pubic benches, etc. Kelly Klaus of Willmont Avenue was present and made the following comment. Klaus--she is in support of this ordinance, and she wanted to commend the entire Council and the Mayor for being forthcoming and she thinks it will be a tax revenue. She would like the Planning Board to be attentive to parking and traffic should someone come in to apply. Mayor advised that she is the head of the Planning Board and when someone comes, in it will be brought to their attention. There is a lot of work involved to open a business in town and the Planning Board is tough on people who are trying to open a business to make sure all concerns are addressed. Seeing no further comments from the public on Ordinance 1145, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Beach, the public hearing was closed. Ord. 1146 Ordinance Amending Chapter 128, Zoning, in the Code of the Borough of Barrington On a motion by Ludwig, second by Robenolt, this ordinance was approved with the following poll vote: Beach-yes; Cerrito-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes, Ludwig-yes, Robenolt-yes. On a motion by Hanson, second by Cerrito, the public hearing was opened. Seeing no comments from the public on this ordinance, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Drumm, the public hearing was closed. On a motion by Ludwig, second by Beach, Ordinances 1144, 1145 and 1146 were adopted with the following poll vote: Beach - yes; Cerrito-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes, Ludwig-yes, Robenolt-yes. RESOLUTION CONSENT AGENDA The Clerk read the following resolutions to be approved by consent agenda: 7-2021-80 Change Order No. 3 for the 2020 Road Improvement Program 7-2021-81 Authorizing Purchase of a Fire Truck through the HGAC Purchasing Co-operative 7-2021-82 Approving a Person-to-Person Transfer of Consumption License 0403-33-002-006 7-2021-83 Resolution Accepting and Certifying a Body-worn Camera Grant 7-2021-84 Requesting Approval of Items of Revenue and Expense for Grants Received 7-2021-85 Authorizing the Issuance and Sale of up to: (I) $6,200,000 Of General Obligation Bonds, Series 2021; And (II) $2,206,000 Of Taxable General Obligation Bonds, Series 2021, of the Borough of Barrington; Making Certain Covenants to Maintain the Exemption of the Interest on the Tax-Exempt Bonds from Federal Income Taxation; and Authorizing Such Further Actions and Making Such Determinations as May Be Necessary or Appropriate to Effectuate the Issuance and Sale of the Bonds (this is refinancing old bonds at a lower interest rate) 7-2021-86 Certification of the 2020 Annual Report of Audit 7-2021-87 Authorizing an Agreement with Runnemede for Sharing of a Fire Truck 7-2021-88 Adding a 2021 Tax Exemption 7-2021-89 Certifying a Lien Against a Certain Property for Property Maintenance Costs Incurred 7-2021-90 Approving the July Bill List in the Total Amount of: $1,300,516.42 On a motion by Ludwig, second by Hanson, the resolution consent agenda was approved with the following poll vote: Beach-yes; Cerrito-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes, Ludwig-yes, Robenolt- yes PUBLIC PORTION On a motion by Drumm, second by Hanson, the public portion of the meeting was opened. Mayor Harris advised that if you have comments or questions to raise your hand and you will be unmuted. Please state your name for the record. Public comment is limited to five minutes in the aggregate per person. Debbie Veit of Lenton Avenue spoke again and asked how many of you are opposed to having a methadone clinic in town if that came up? Mayor Harris responded that by law we can’t oppose it. Again, it would have to go before the Planning Board. Diane Schreyer of Nassau Drive South said she is glad to see everyone in person and commended the Governing Body and employees who have kept everything going during the Zoom period. Glad to see the 9/11 Memorial Committee members here. Mayor Harris then recognized the members who were in attendance. Councilman Ludwig asked for a round of applause for Diane who never misses a meeting. Jennifer Milligan of Lawrence Avenue asked what’s going on with the trash? Councilman Beach advised that we are working on this at many different levels. We have talked with other towns and we are working on an emergency plan, a short-term plan, and a long-term plan. We are going out for bids soon and we have an extension on our current contract. Some trash last week was picked up on a Saturday which was because of the holiday. Trash has only been an issue one time around May 14 when 13 houses were missed on Copley Rd, and the contractor was fined per their contract. Two times recycling was an issue on June 3 & 10 and DPW took care of recycling, they should be able to handle recycling should something come up again. We will meet with our current contractor to work on “out of the box ideas”; nothing is off the table; public works has done a great job getting the recycling; trash is another issue. Mayor Harris asked Council President Beach about fines, and he advised that the contractor was fined. There is an issue throughout South Jersey. When DPW picked up the recycling we charged the contractor for labor and equipment; it will never come back to the taxpayers. Ms. Milligan asked if half of the town should put trash and recycling out one day and the other half on another day and Council President Beach said no, we are not there yet. If we find out from the contractor that there is a problem not picking up trash, we will let the residents know. Seeing no further comments from the public, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Robenolt, the public portion of the meeting was closed. COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY COUNCILMAN HANSON – thanked Police, Fire, Fire Alliance, DPW and all volunteers who helped with July 4th parade and fireworks. Thanks to Civic Association for hosting Brews, Beats and Eats, it was a huge success, planning another for September. August 3 is National Night Out to be held at Wish Park, watch for posting on the website. Movie Night and Summer Nights, hosted by the Civic Association, will be in August and will be discussed next month. Mayor Harris advised that National Night Out is also caucus night so we plan to be at caucus then go over to National Night Out. COUNCIL PRESIDENT BEACH – thanked Councilman Hanson, Meg O’Donnell, and all the Civic Association for Brews, Beats and Eats. It was great to get out again and see so many people; an amazing time and they did a great job. Thanked all employees for their work during Covid, if we had any issues in town they were out and took care of any issues we had. Thanked Public Works Department with the trash issues we had, not many towns are as lucky as us to have them take care of the recycling the way they did, we appreciate all you do. Thanks to the 9/11 Committee. One thing the Council President liked about Barrington when he moved here was the community and the amount of volunteers who step up to help others. COUNCIMAN DRUMM – thank you all for coming tonight. The plaques for the trees came in. Jennifer Milligan and her family wanted to plant a tree to honor those affected by Covid and her neighbor wanted to plant one for front line workers. We dedicated two trees that are at wish Upon a Star Park and the plaques will be cemented in at the trees. Thanks to Jennifer and her neighbor for the idea to plant trees. Since we asked to pass that resolution for residents not to put brush in plastic bags, we wanted to give out new cans. It was paid for through the Recycling Tonnage Grant and thank you DPW for delivering the cans to every residential household in town. MAYOR HARRIS - thanked Michael Ripa, owner of Kid Rips, who bought and donated two Barrington Bottling Company bottles to the Historic Society that he found at an antique store. Congratulations Bob Meloni; great work to Kyle, Meg, and the entire Civic Association, it was wonderful to see so many residents out on Saturday. Welcome to Chick-Fil-A; great parade and fireworks, thanks Kyle and his committee. The 9/11 Memorial is so much more than was even envisioned and the story behind it, can’t wait for all to see it. Someone had said we need to focus on trash and not a fountain at Wish Upon a Star Park. A fountain at the park is for the children to get a drink of water and we get grants for the things we do at the park, we will also be installing a bike rack. Trash has nothing to do with a water fountain. If you come to caucus and council you will see there are many things we are all working on daily. The grant can’t be used to pay for trash. We will be honoring three students who came up with the idea to remodel Wish Upon a Star Park, a plaque will be at Wish Park honoring them for their idea. We will address any issues people want to talk about, send us an email and we will get back to you. The Barrington neighborhood page is not the place to get your information for the borough. Come to us and we will tell you what is going on. COUNCILMAN ROBENOLT – good evening everyone, its nice to be back in person. Thanked all department heads including EMS, Police, Emergency Management and Fire Alliance for their efforts with fireworks, it’s a very long day and they did an excellent job. The Ambulance Squad is still looking for employees so if you know an EMT looking for work, Chief Kate Bowen would be happy to speak with them. If you want to have a role with the firehouse, please reach out to Chief Ken Baus or President Felicia Robenolt. We have active and associate members who help with fundraisers, and they are always looking for more help. In the news, other states are concerned with volunteerism and we are doing better but can use more help. Thanks to Terry and Denise for helping the Fire Company get all moving along so the new truck could be purchased. Our roof project is coming along, and we can wrap it up soon. MAYOR HARRIS added that we had our audit done and it has been certified; thank you to our CFO Denise Moules for your hard work, you do a fabulous job, you are an asset to the Borough, and we appreciate all you do. And we did not have a tax increase at the municipal level this year. COUNCILMAN CERRITO – nice to see all out and voice your concerns and support, coming out tonight shows that you care about your town and that is important. Council is here too because we do care about our town so come to us personally if needed. Thanks to the 9/11 Memorial Committee for coming out today, thanks Joe and Joyce for being her tonight, thanks Mayor and Council for giving us the opportunity for this project. We look forward to unveiling it on September 11 of this year. COUNCILMAN LUDWIG – the One White Horse Pike project is now done, and we have a new owner. He thanked Mike Ciocco, DPW foreman and employees, for all the work at the 9/11 Memorial site, it was a lot of work, good job. To Councilman Hanson, great job on Saturday, a lot of work and a great job. Councilman Cerrito doing great job with the 9/11 Memorial, Councilman Cerrito passed the credit to DPW, it was hot, and they did a great job. It’s good to see everyone here tonight and for them to ask questions so we all know what’s happening. MAYOR HARRIS – again we welcome all to our meetings the 1st and 2nd Tuesdays of the month; they start at 6 pm, it will be in person, and we will be using this room as opposed to the smaller room due to Covid and people being uncomfortable. Stay vigilant and please be careful; the Camden County vaccine site is not open but there are other sites if you still wish or need to be vaccinated. The Borough is open Monday through Thursday, all our emails are listed, and many have my phone number. I will answer you. With no further business to be transacted, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Hanson, the meeting was adjourned at 7:26 pm. APPROVED: Terry Shannon Terry Shannon, Municipal Clerk