City Council

BOROUGH OF BARRINGTON MINUTES OF MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING September 12, 2023, 6:00PM COUNCIL ROOM AT MUNICIPAL BUILDING A regular monthly Council Meeting of the Borough of Barrington was held with Council President Hanson presiding. CALL TO ORDER Council President Hanson 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 the meeting was filed with the Retrospect and Courier Post and is also posted in the main office of the Borough Clerk where notices are primarily kept. He then led everyone present in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL The Municipal Clerk called roll of Council with the following in attendance: Councilman Beach, Councilman Cerrito, Councilman Drumm, Council President Hanson and Councilman Ludwig. Councilman Robenolt arrived at 6:06 pm. Municipal Clerk Terry Shannon and Solicitor Timothy Higgins were also on the dais. Mayor Harris was absent with prior notice due to an emergency. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Council President Hanson reported that council was provided with the minutes of the August 2, 2023, caucus and the August 8, 2023, council meetings and asked if there were any corrections or abstentions. On a motion by Drumm, second by Beach the minutes were approved with the following abstentions: Councilman Ludwig for caucus. PROCLAMATIONS: The following proclamations were read by various councilpersons: National Recovery Month; as read by Councilman Beach; Prostate Cancer Awareness Month as read by Councilman Drumm; POW & MIA Recognition Day as read by Councilman Cerrito; and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month as read by Council President Hanson COMMITTEE REPORTS The Municipal Clerk read a summary of the August 2023 monthly reports from the following departments: Police, Fire, EMS/Ambulance, Regional Fire Alliance, Tax & Sewer Collector, Court Administrator for July, Construction, and Trash and Recycling. On a motion by Cerrito, second by Ludwig, the monthly reports were approved as submitted by all council members present. ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION – Ord. 1174 Ordinance Adding Article VI, Tree Removal and Replacement, to Chapter 95, Property Maintenance, in the Borough Code Councilman Ludwig asked about the tree replacement and if it also included fixing broken concrete. Clerk Shannon advised that this has nothing to do with broken concrete and is for tree replacement on public and private property. This is a DEP mandated ordinance and part of their plan to help alleviate flooding due to heavy storms. Trees drink a tremendous amount of ground water and the goal is that any tree that is removed is replaced. Anyone who wants to take a tree down has to come in for a permit. The permit is free but the tree will have to be replaced. They don’t have to replace on their property but they will have to deposit funds with the borough and we will replace the tree somewhere else. On a motion by Beach, second by Cerrito, the second reading of the ordinance was approved with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes, Cerrito-yes, Robenolt-yes, Beach-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes. On a motion by Cerrito, second by Ludwig, the public hearing on the ordinance was opened. Seeing no comments from the public, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Drumm, the public hearing was closed. On a motion by Beach, second by Drumm, the ordinance was adopted with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes, Cerrito-yes, Robenolt-yes, Beach-yes, Drumm-yes, Hanson-yes. RESOLUTION CONSENT AGENDA The Clerk read the following resolutions to be approved by consent agenda: 9-2023-95 Requesting Approval of Items of Revenue and Expense for Grants Received 9-2023-96 Adding a 2023 Tax Exemption 9-2023-97 Canceling Outstanding Checks Drawn on the Court Accounts 9-2023-98 Resolution to Renew Membership in the SNJREBF Benefits Fund 9-2023-99 Authorizing Liens Against Certain Properties for Property Maintenance Costs Incurred 9-2023-100 Approving the September Bill List in the Total Amount of: $961,881.69 On a motion by Ludwig, second by Drumm, the resolution consent agenda was approved with the following poll vote: Ludwig-yes, Cerrito-yes, Robenolt-yes, Hanson-yes, Beach-yes, Drumm- yes. PUBLIC PORTION On a motion by Drumm, second by Robenolt, the public portion of the meeting was opened. Council President Hanson advised that if you have comments or questions, please come forward and state your name for the record. Public comment is limited to five minutes per person. Diane Schreyer – with school in session Diane expressed well wishes for the administration, teachers, support staff and everyone involved in the education of our children. She added stating it is not an easy job and we need to appreciate our teachers. Peggy Reed – stated that she is a crossing guard on the White Horse Pike and a member of the Green Team. Said a Retrospect article mentioned a Safe Routes to Schools grant application. She said the White Horse Pike is very dangerous. Council President Hanson said there will be a meeting next week with school administrators, Engineer Greg Evans, and county officials to work towards applying for the grant. Councilman Ludwig asked about having an officer there and the Chief said they are usually covering other corners. Peggy added that she is switching corners and there will be an officer there going forward. She said you have to hit the button to stop traffic at the Pike and it is not safe. She invited anyone to go stand in the median to see what it is like. Chief Minardi added they are working with Haddon Heights to do a speed study on that block of Highland. The crossing at the Pike will be involved in that study. Seeing no further comments from the public, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Cerrito, the public portion of the meeting was closed. COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY COUNCILMAN LUDWIG – Eagles won last week! School has started so please pay attention and be careful. COUNCILMAN CERRITO – addressed Diane’s comment that teaching is a tough job, we all try to do our best in all that we do. We are all under a microscope and attempt to be the best that we can be. Our borough employees and council do a great job. I am really proud to live here in Barrington. Thanks to all for coming out tonight. Remember kids are going back to school and take a second to slow down. COUNCILMAN ROBENOLT – thanks all for coming out tonight. As mentioned, the kids are back in school. Please watch your speed, look out for the crossing guards that are out and trying to control traffic to keep our kids safe. Also, a friendly reminder to not drive your vehicles into standing water. With the storm last week there were six or seven calls in about 40 minutes for help because cars were stuck in standing water. COUNCILMAN DRUMM – commended Council President Hanson, the Civic Association and all the volunteers, DPW and Police who worked Saturday at the Brews, Beats and Eats. A lot of work goes into that and then the rain comes. The pop-up tents didn’t fare well, but it was nice to see the residents come out after the storm. It says a lot about this town and all the hard work the Civic Association does. DPW, Fire, Ambulance, and Police, the storms are crazy and all of these departments respond in this weather, thank you all for what you do. COUNCILMAN BEACH – thanked all first responders for their help with another storm that was substantial on Saturday, all went according to plan and drained out properly. The chief and the police department responded to everything. Thanks to the Civic Association for the event on Saturday, to DPW for helping and working together after the storm so the rest of the night could be enjoyed. The Seniors have a golf event on September 21 at the Camden County Driving Range and an indoor picnic on September 28 from 5:30-8pm. Reach out to Eileen or Meg for all events. The senior bus takes seniors from their homes to go shopping. As all have said, the students are back in school. We have crosswalks all over town and speed is 25mph so watch for the kids going to and from school and sporting events. COUNCIL PRESIDENT HANSON – thanked Fire, Police, DPW, and EMS, all who pitched in over the weekend with the storms. Thanks also to the volunteers from the Civic Association who were attempting to hold down the tents through the storm, until they had to go for their own safety. DPW did a phenomenal job at the events as well. We know flooding is an issue. Statistics from 2019 the storm that caused damage was 5” of rain in 3 ½ hours; the storm this past Saturday was 4.12” of rain in less than half that time. We had flooding issues, we had hardly any damage, the sewers are doing their job, and the water receded in a timely manner. That is due to the efforts of DPW who are working to clean those out and make sure they are maintained on a weekly basis. We did a study with Audubon, Haddon Heights, and Haddonfield through a DCA grant on flooding issues. One of the big suggestions was a green infrastructure. Our engineer is working with the Green Team to develop ideas that will help alleviate the flooding issues. We are staying on top of this, working with the county and CCIA. This is a regional and statewide problem and we are doing our part. Reminder that our Harvest Fest is October 14. Fall Fun with First Responders is being worked on and we will have that date at our next council meeting. The Townwide Yard Sale is October 7, information is on the FaceBook page and website. Seeing no further business to be transacted, on a motion by Ludwig, second by Drumm, the meeting was adjourned at 6:29PM. APPROVED: Terry Shannon Terry Shannon, Borough Clerk