City Council

Chatham Township Environmental Commission Meeting Agenda Wednesday April 9, 2025, 7:15pm 58 Meyersville Rd. Chatham NJ 07928 OPEN PUBLIC MEETING STATEMENT: The meeting schedule for 2025 and January 2026 is posted on the main bulletin board at the Township municipal building, in two newspapers and on the Chatham Township Environmental Commission website at https://www.chathamtownship-nj.gov/environmental. The public is cordially invited to attend all meetings, join the discussions and participate in projects. CTEC'S PURPOSE: To undertake projects and make recommendations concerning the protection or use of natural resources, including water resources and air quality, located within or directly affecting Chatham Township. The Chatham Township Environmental Commission's goal is to provide a responsible environmental viewpoint to Township committees and boards and to undertake projects with a strong educational component in order to inform officials and residents about constructive actions that can be taken to preserve the environment. DATES FOR CTEC AND GREEN TEAM FOR 2025 AND JANUARY 2026 The first or second Wednesday depending on the month: January 8, February 5, March 5, April 9, May 7, June 4, July 9, August NO MEETING, September 10, October 1, November 12, December 3, 2025 and January 14, 2026. AGENDA ITEMS: 1. Roll Call of CTEC Members: Marty McHugh (Township Committee liaison), Jessica Romeo (Chair), Cara Pacifico Feeser, Amy Mason, Jim Connelly, Celeste Fondaco, Lisa McHugh, Mike Neibert (Planning Board), Pat Wells (alternate 1) 2. Public Meeting Statement (see above) 3. Approve Meeting Minutes of March 5, 2025 4. Green Team updates – Activities that CTEC manages are all part of the Green Team, including Sustainable Jersey. 5. Adopt-A-Drain: we have renewed for 2025 and added on 25 Welcome packets for new participants. Let’s get the word out. Chatham and Berkeley Heights were featured in the Spring 2025 issue of ANJEC Report. 6. Township NRI - Sustainable Jersey/PGEG technical assistance grant application submitted on Feb 13, 2025 with letters of support from Mayor Choi, Planning Board, DPW. Notifications of funding decisions expected late April. 7. Earth Day/Month 2025 – 4/26: tree seedling giveaway, Shunpike clean up, trails day via Open Space Committee, ribbon cutting and oak tree seedling planting for Shunpike Oak Grove (date TBD), native plant sale runs from April 1-18. 8. Brainstorm ideas for passive recreation / educational programming at the Fenske property off of Southern Blvd. 9. Tree Ordinance – CTEC to review and propose updates to the Township Committee by July 2025. Next steps: merge a draft Lisa is working on with a Fall 2024 draft Jessica has.  10. Leaf Blowers – CTEC to investigate viable options for how the Township can address noise, environmental and health issues. 11. New ideas / New business – open discussion 12. 2025 events (running list, not complete): Assign 2025 events/programs to commissioners -Host at least two educational seminars (Jessica) 2/24/25, Electrify Your Home Webinar w/ LWV and CBEC -EV Expo with Madison and Chatham Borough – 4/26/25 (Amy) -Spring yard sale with Madison, Chatham Borough, Great Swamp Watershed Association – May 3rd (rain date May 4th) and October 18th (rain date October 19th) (Jessica) -Spring Tree seeding giveaway (Lisa) – Lisa is hosting a tree seedling giveaway in April, we have ordered 75 seedlings -Completion of ANJEC Open Space Grant / installation of signs and ribbon cutting (Jessica) -Plant sale with the Great Swamp Watershed Association. Sale dates; April 1-18. Distribution date: May 3 (Jessica) *seminar 1; Jan 29 *seminar 2, Feb 27 *seminar 3, March 19 *seminar 4, March 31 -Fall Sustainability Fair + tree seedling giveaway and info display; September 20th, 9am-2pm (Celeste and Pat) -Fall cleanup event / Trail workday with info on invasive species and how they impact the ecosystem + Township Fall Festival -Fall yard sale with Madison, Chatham Borough, Great Swamp Watershed Association (10/18/25) (Jessica) 13. Reports: a. Township Committee – Marty McHugh b. Planning Board – Mike Neibert c. Open Space – Jim Connelly d. Education and Outreach – e. Invasive Species – Jessica Romeo f. Social Media – Jessica Romeo g. Website – h. Pollinator / Native Gardens – Jessica Romeo i. Grants – Jim Connelly APPLICATION/ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT REVIEW – Lisa has been doing a great job, attending site visits and preparing comments for Board of Adjustment and Planning Board applications. ONLINE RESOURCES - Good NJDEP website for maps, parcels and environmental information at NJ-GeoWeb, http://www.state.nj.us/dep/gis/geowebsplash.htm - use Internet Explorer. - Very good Morris County mapping utility at https://morrisgisapps.co.morris.nj.us/apps/parcelsearcher/ , hit Map and use the i tool. Gives information about each parcel and has aerials layer. Search for more detailed information about a parcel at https://mcweb1.co.morris.nj.us/MCTaxBoard/. - View open space and Green Acres properties at https://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/ga50/docs/rosi.lite.pdf and https://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/openspace.html.