TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, WARREN COUNTY

Regular Minutes
April 16, 2007

The regular meeting of the Township Committee was held this date at the Municipal/Police Building located on Little Philadelphia Road. The meeting was called to order at 7:30  p.m. by Mayor John Horensky.

SUNSHINE LAW COMPLIANCE - The Mayor noted that this meeting was being held in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Law of 1975 in as much as a notice had been published in the Star Gazette and transmitted to the Express Times and posted at the Municipal Building.

ROLL CALL: Dempski, present; Elbassiouny, present; Kovacs, present; Mueller, present; Horensky, present. Michael Lavery, Township Attorney and Mary Ann O’Neil, Township Clerk were also present. Also present were Peter de Boer, Public Works Manager, Richard Vollmar, Township Engineer and Police Chief James Mc Donald.

SALUTE TO FLAG

PROCLAMATIONS
The Mayor read proclamations for Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America and Older American Month.

ORDINANCES
Mueller made a motion to open Ordinance 07-07 -  Ordinance to Amend an Ordinance Fixing the Salaries of the Officers and Employees of the Township of Washington, County of Warren and State of New Jersey, #2001 to the public, Dempski seconded. All were in favor. Nobody from the public wished to be heard. Elbassiouny made a motion to close the public hearing, Dempski seconded. All were in favor. Mueller made a motion to approve Ordinance 07-07, after public hearing and second reading, Dempski seconded.
ROLL CALL: Mueller, yes; Dempski, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Kovacs, yes; Horensky, yes.

Elbassiouny made a motion to open Ordinance 07-08  - Ordinance to Amend an Ordinance Fixing the Salaries of the Officers and Employees of the Township of Washington, County of Warren and State of NJ 2007-01 (Recruit), to the public, Dempski seconded.
ROLL CALL: Elbassiouny, yes; Dempski, yes; Kovacs, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky.  Nobody from the pubic wished to be heard.  Mueller made a motion to close the public hearing, Dempski seconded.  All were in favor. Dempski  made a motion to approve Ordinance 07-08, after public hearing and second reading, Kovacs seconded.
ROLL CALL: Dempski, yes; Kovacs, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.

Elbassiouny made a motion to open  Ordinance 07-09 - Ordinance to Exceed the Municipal Budget Appropriation Limits and to Establish a CAP Bank (NJSA 40A:4-45.14) for public hearing, Elbassiouny seconded.  All were in favor.  Nobody from the public wished to be heard.  Dempski made a motion to close the public hearing, Elbassiouny seconded. All were in favor.   Dempski brought up the figure that is used in ordinance, because there were comments from the DCA  on budget that must be responded to before it is approved.  After discussion with Lavery, it was decided to amend the ordinance by deleting the amount in ordinance and just going with the 1% increase in the budget as stated. Dempski made a motion to amend Ordinance  07-09, taking out the amounts out and using the 1% increase in ordinance, Elbassiouny seconded.
ROLL CALL: Dempski, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Kovacs, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.

Mueller made a motion to open Ordinance 07-10 - Ordinance of the Township of Washington, County of Warren, State of New Jersey to Amend, Revise and Supplement Chapter 110, Towing and Storage, Section 12, “Light Duty Service Fee Schedule” of the Code of the Township of Washington to update the range of allowable rates and fees for towing and storage, to the public, Dempski seconded.  All were in favor.  Nobody from the pubic wished to be hard.  Kovacs made a motion to close the public hearing, Dempski seconded. All were in favor. Elbassiouny made a motion to approve Ordinance 07-10, after public hearing and second reading, Dempski seconded.
ROLL CALL: Elbassiouny, ye; Dempski, yes; Kovacs, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.

RESOLUTIONS
Kovacs made a motion to approve Resolution 07-53 Refund of $5.00 to Oscar Acosta for Convenience Center Pass and Resolution 07-54 Resolution to Authorize and Approve Salaries and Wages for Certain Employees (Margaret Housman), Dempski seconded.
ROLL CALL: Kovacs, yes; Dempski, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.

REPORTS FROM STAFF
Pete de Boer, Public Works Manager, said he would be reporting on the Report on Paving at the Brass Castle School and Port Colden School at the next meeting.

PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
Frank Cregan, 62 Merlin Drive, said they were voting tomorrow on the School Budget and he saw on the website the effects on the tax rate and taxes for the Warren Hills Regional School District, he has not seen anything on Township Schools and asked if anyone knew what it would be.  The Mayor said he had received a call from Mr. Jinks advising that the increase would be 2.5 cents per $100.

Glenn Misar, said he was present regarding the contracts for the sale of the AJR Farm. The contract had been written and he has already signed it and he was requesting Township signatures. Lavery said the document should be given to him so he can review it once again and if contract changes are correct it could be picked up tomorrow.

Bill Jelliffe, 203 Cemetery Hill Road, said he was traveling on the Cemetery Hill Road today he observed a Township Ford Pick Up that the Township Road Supervisor drives with four polished aluminum wheels on it. . He was concerned as to why a township truck would have polished aluminum wheels on it for a township employee to drive back and forth to Pennsylvania and business.   He was told the purchased wheels from Ford would have been more money than aluminum wheels.  Jelliffe asked why would the Township not buy steel wheels from the manufacturer, why polished aluminum wheels on township truck.  He was told the cost would be in the range of $725 and he was upset and the tax payers should absorb it.    de Boer said that this is an extra set of wheels. It has been the Township Policy for many years to have two sets of wheels for each vehicle. The tires on the truck are 18" tires, which is an oddball tire for a normal pick up truck, it is an in between. He does have a very aggressive set of snow tires as the other set.   The factory wheels, from Ford, are more expensive than wheels purchased.  Elbassiouny said he had discussed the matter with the township mechanic and the reason why they were purchased. Jelliffe asked again, why do you need a fancy wheel on a pick up truck that is used for township purpose, which must also be polished and maintained. Elbassiouny will check into this further and get back to Jelliffe. (Ended 7:50 p.m.)

OLD BUSINESS
1. Dempski said he had received excellent comments from various staff members on the Website Forms and will have an update  on this for the next meeting.   The Mayor said he would like to see the Website more user friendly.

2. Payment of check to Dell on software - Dempski said he had done some additional research, which he gave to Chief Mc Donald on what he found out.  He did contact Microsoft, who is the licensed holder and they expressed to him that there were certain types of users that would be qualified to purchase software from the State Website. They would be Educational Institutions, Administrative Offices of Board of Educations, full or part time facility and staff of education institutions, public libraries and public museums.
He said he would work with Microsoft or Dell to get Enterprise Pricing.  This would mean the Township would get 25 seats or whatever the minimum amount is and apply them to any pc belonging to the Township.  As you buy things through Dell, that license gets locked to a pc, so when the pc get thrown away in two years, so does the license.  The Township would get a better pricing on an enterprise license than a onesie/twosie purchase, because you would consolidate your buying power and buy enough seats for all the Township, with quick growth potential, having it on an enterprise wide basis than a single purchase. 

Dempski did talk with Dell and he believed that the statement he made was correct, that the Township should be purchasing outright, instead of using the student discount.   Elbassiouny asked if this could be used for consolidated services or local agreements.   Dempski said if they partner up with more than one township, absolutely, especially if they went through the Council of Governments.  He said you could easily say, lets pool in and purchase bulk, because once you get above a certain threshold you get greater discounts.

The Mayor asked, with regard to the issue at hand.   Dempski said, I believe that we should just pay the additional money and buy the correct version, that would be the regular software, the Microsoft 2003 Edition.

The Mayor said he and the Chief have had a lot of conversations on this within the last week regarding this issue and he wants to share his concerns with the Committee. The Chief has gotten some information, with regard to his work with Dell and Microsoft.
 
Chief Mc Donald said, as he explained to Dempski last month, he purchased that from the State and Local Government Website.  Concerns were expressed that the Chief may have been improper or illegal to have done so. He also contacted Microsoft and Dell, as he is a qualified educational user. The Chief said he instructs at the Warren County Community College, Raritan Valley Community College and a Certified New  Jersey Instructor for the Police Academy.  He also teaches at the Brass Castle School, which he has done for 15 years.

Chief Mc Donald had a letter from Dell and a letter from the President of Warren County Community College. He also had the web site from Microsoft that was sent, which defines him as an educator. He felt he was fully within his rights to purchase the software.  It was much less expensive than the other software and did not see a problem with his purchase at all.  It makes no sense to spend more money on software when he falls under the licensing guidelines to use what was purchased.  The Chief said, it was Dempski’s suggestion that this software be sent back and purchase a more expensive edition, it doesn’t make sense to him and he is very budget conscious. This is one of the reasons that he purchased this in the first place. 

The Chief said he did consult with several people before making this purchase, so he wasn’t sure, if he were to send it back and purchase another, it would almost be making an admission that this purchase was improper and it wasn’t - so he begged to differ with Dempski on this subject.

Dempski said, he heard the comments and your putting words in my mouth that I didn’t quite say.  I did not once say illegal, I did not say inappropriate, I said that the Township should be using the proper licensing agreement, because it is for the faculty of that school.   The Chief said that was not correct.  Dempski said he talked with an individual who handles the account executive for New Jersey and Delaware.   Dempski said he was sent a letter that it was not a valid purchase and that you would have to be an educator in that school.

The Chef said, okay, you have to be an educator, period.   He was an educator in several schools - two colleges and an elementary school, so you have to be an educator. The Chief said, you said you didn’t say anything about criminal conduct, but in your e-mail the following day, you said it was not your intent to indicate intentional criminal conduct, that’s in your e-mail that you sent the following day. Dempski said that when they talked after the last meeting, that he intentionally said that committed illegal criminal act after the meeting, the discussion in the hall, he never once said that.   As in the verbatim copy of the meeting minutes, not once did he say that it was illegal.

The Chief said, if he was hearing properly tonight, Dempski was saying that the purchase is still an improper  one and he should not have purchased it. The Chief had several letters, one from Dell, Microsoft and two college presidents saying that he fit under the licensing parameters and that he could use this product.

The Chief said he was not sure where they were going from here.  Dempski was suggesting that we pay the Dell Bill and then order another Microsoft Product and stop using this one.  It does not make sense and it would be an admission  of his doing something improper, which it is not.

Dempski asked who the three other educational users are that are using the license, who are the other three separate people who are educators.   The Chief said that Lt. Cicerelle is one, he is a certified New Jersey State Instructor.  He has four instructors in the department, four certified police instructors who fit under these parameters.  The Chief presented the Mayor with letters received from the college president, who actually said that he should not have bought it, because he could have put in the lap tops for free, because they have an open license. So, he could have saved $125 for the same product. The Chief did not think they should stop using it or purchase another set of software which would duplicate what this does.  The Mayor asked for all the information, which he would give to Lavery to review and comment on before the meeting was over. This matter was tabled for later on in the meeting.

NEW BUSINESS
1.Health-Insurance - Finance was looking for direction from the Committee as to whether or not they should start the process of looking for new proposals for rates for coming year.  The Mayor asked for volunteers and Elbassiouny and Dempski will serve on this sub committee with Finance. The old policy expires June 1, 2007.

2. David Farkas, Cub Master of Pack 145, requested a location to place a storage shed to house their equipment. After discussion, the Committee approved this, but Clerk is to notify them a Certificate of Insurance listing property coverage for building and contents and liability in the amount of at least $1 million  dollars, naming Washington Township as insured.    The Clerk was to advise them to contact Elbassiouny about where the shed could be placed.
 
3. WTYA Using Meeting Room - Elbassiouny made a motion to approve the WTYA using the meeting room on Friday May 18 from 7pmto 9pm and Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. until noon for Fall Sports Registration, Mueller seconded.
ROLL CALL: Elbassiouny, yes; Mueller, yes; Dempski, abstain; Kovacs, yes; Horensky, yes.

4. Historical Commission/Auto Giro Historic Day - Elbassiouny made a motion to approve the Historical Preservation Commission hosting the Washington Township History Day on Saturday, May 19, 2007 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Kovacs seconded.
ROLL CALL: Elbassiouny, yes; Kovacs, yes; Dempski, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.

5. Tax Collector/Conference- Mueller made a motion to approve Evan Howell attending the Tax Collectors Conference on May 15, 16 and 17, Dempski seconded. All were in favor.

REPORTS FROM OFFICIALS
Barry Mueller said, with regard to the Warren-Morris Council of Governments, he handed out the minutes from the February 3rd Meeting.  They did get their final survey.  Dempski will review the information.  They have to come up with an idea of what they all may want to participate in with programs.  The group is proceeding with an assessment on the Records Management,.  The County is doing reassessment as first step to see what direction they may go that.  This would be no cost to the Township.

David Dempski said the first application has been received by Clean Communities from Washington Township Cub Pack. They do a leaf clean up around town and is eligible for funding. They have applied for a mini-grant.  Dempski made a motion to approve the mini grant to the Cub Pack, not to exceed the amount of $222, Mueller seconded. 
ROLL CALL: Dempski, yes; Mueller, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Kovacs, yes; Horensky, yes.

Samir Elbassiouny said the Construction and Code Office is on track, the office is done and the sign is up.  He and Lavery have been in touch, they have called DCA . They expect to get their files Thursday or Friday and hoping to be up and running on Monday.

There was a fire in the bathroom at the park.  The insurance company has been contacted and they are working on it.

He spoke with the engineer throughout the week.  They are catching up on some of the old information and gaining some ground on things.

Michael A Kovacs said, because of the way the calendar fell this year, they missed the adoption of the 2007 budget by one day. They will be doing it at the May meeting.  It should not delay getting the tax rate certified.

The Brown and Brown Building is on schedule. They hope to start construction sometime in June. 

Mayor John Horensky said, regarding COAH, the Committee has to identify two individuals under COAH regulations, one would be a township employee to answer any questions that arise regarding COAH and the other individual is a COAH Administrator that would take care of actually compiling all the data and statistics that have to go forward. He said, in speaking with the State, he asked who would typically be administrators of the program and they provided him with a list of outside consultants who do this work.  The Mayor will distribute to Committee to review. After discussion, it was recommended that Carolyn Quinn, Code and Construction Secretary would be the one to fill this position. She would have access to all the records.  The Mayor said there will be training that will be starting in May.  Elbassiouny will talk with Quinn about this.

The Mayor read the Police Chief’s Monthly Report and distributed to the Committee.

The Mayor said the Committee received a letter in their packet with regard to training being offered by the County Safety Center for Incident Command Situation (ICS)  402 Training that would be used in emergency management situations. There is a Governor’s Directive that Municipal Officials be knowledgeable on the use of Incident Command Structure when it comes to emergency situations so they know how to operate.

There is a new Block Watch and new CERTS Training being set up.  The Hawk Pointe Residents will be doing the CERT Training and will be an asset to the Community and will be able to assist the Township Officials.
 
Chief Mc Donald told the Committee that the Police did ABC Inspections on all the holders of liquor licenses in the Township. All passed with flying colors, with the exception of one.  They found nine violations at the Grape Vine on Route 31.  The Chief would like to have permission from the Committee to have a discussion with Lavery on what action could be taken with reference to these complaints.  The Mayor said he has spoken with Lavery and this will be discussed in Executive Session.

The Mayor also met with the Fire Department and the Economic Development Commission.

OTHER
Elbassiouny said that the Committee discussed identification tags for the Code and Construction Employees at last months meeting.  They all have them now. It was suggested that all members of the Township Committee should get identification tags made as well, just in case there would be an emergency in the Township.

Ric Vollmar, Medina Consultants, said there were a few things he felt they should touch on.  They are meeting with the Hawk Pointe Residents tomorrow to go over many of the issues and the Township has some issues as well on the infrastructures.  He is also meeting with Finance tomorrow to get an update on all the escrow accounts, and  performance bonds and where they stand.

Vollmar said, on New Hampton Road Calming Project, they did the survey for this and they are presently preparing base mapping.  This should go out to bid and they should meet the May 31st deadline.

On the Brown and Brown Building, they hired a boring contractor and they did two borings, one where the elevator is going and one where the future building out is going off the back.

Vollmar was able to procure some old site plans that can be used to design any site amenities for the municipal building. 

On the sewer, they are still waiting for an answer from Washington Borough as to how they want to proceed. They are presently designing the septic, expansion of the disposal field if they have to go that.  If not, they will be tapping into the Borough Sewer. They may have to make some revisions to the sewer service area, which could be timely.

Vollmar has met with the storm water people. The Township passed, with flying colors. They are on track for submitting the annual report, which is due the end of July.  They need to move forward in identifying and labeling all the outflow structures in the Township.

PAYMENT OF BILLS
Dempski made a motion to approve the payment of bills, Mueller seconded.
ROLL CALL: Dempski, yes; Mueller, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Kovacs, abstain;  Horensky, yes.

EXECUTIVE SESSION
Dempski made a motion to go into Executive Session at 8:40 p.m., Mueller seconded. All were in favor. Lavery said there was one item that Chief Mc Donald brought up earlier, which the Township may be making a decision after Executive Session.

The doors were opened. Elbassiouny made a motion to come out of Executive Session at 9:20 p.m., Dempski seconded.  All were in favor.

Lavery said the Committee came out of Executive Session at 9:20 p.m., where they discussed a contractional matter known as AJR Contract, another contractional matter dealing with the Unity Bank contract, potential litigation/attorney client privilege matter dealing with some violations of the Alcohol Beverage Act.  No official action was taken a copies of the minutes will be available at such time as the Committee determines there is no harm to the public.

The Mayor asked for a motion to authorize the Township Attorney to speak with the Prosecutor to prepare for litigation with regard to matters discussed in Executive Session.  Kovacs made a motion to approve the Township Attorney to speak with the Prosecutor to prepare for litigation regarding a matter discussed in Executive  Session, Dempski seconded.
ROLL CALL: Kovacs, yes; Dempski, yes; Elbassiouny, abstain; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.
Lavery asked that the record reflect, for that particular discussion in Executive Session, Elbassiouny left the room, did not  participate in the discussion and left the room.
 
Dempski made a motion to authorize the Mayor to execute the revised AJR Contract and that it be released after Lavery reviewed it against the original that was sent out, Mueller seconded.
ROLL CALL: Dempski, yes; Mueller, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Kovacs, yes; Horensky, yes.

Kovacs said they had to clarify the retroactive pay for the two road employees.  Elbassiouny said there was a discussion on this at the last meeting, but Finance needs clarification if it is retroactive from the beginning of the year for overtime. Kovacs made a motion that the two road employees be paid retroactive for their overtime from the beginning of the year, Elbassiouny seconded.
ROLL CALL: Kovacs, yes; Elbassiouny, yes; Dempski, yes; Mueller, yes; Horensky, yes.

Kovacs made a motion to adjourn at 9:24 p.m., Elbassiouny seconded.  All were in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Ann O’Neil RMC/CMC
Township Clerk