Council Minutes from 5/25/2005

REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF KENILWORTH HELD ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 25, 2005.� IT BEING �YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT DAY�, ACTING MAYOR THOMAS FESTA PRESIDED.

ROLL CALL

Roll Call at 8:00 P.M. showed the following Council Members present:� Carmela Colosimo, Peter Corvelli, Alan Jankunas, Ed Galasso, Fred Soos and Robert Taylor.�

Acting Mayor Festa read the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.

The Salute to the Flag was led by Acting Mayor Festa.

MINUTES

It was moved by Colosimo, seconded by Corvelli carried, that the minutes of the Work Session Meeting of May 10^th and the Regular Meeting of May 11, 2005 be dispensed with and approved as submitted.� (Copies furnished each Council Member prior to the meeting.)

PRESENTATION

Detective Justine Marranca was honored for his exceptional and tireless efforts in fighting the war on drugs.

Acting Counilperson Stephanie Santos read the following report:

Tonight is a special night for a special member of the Kenilworth Police Department.� We will be honoring

Detective Justine Marranca for exceptional police work.� Detective Marranca started a drug investigation in

Kenilworth that led to a massive international investigation. As a result, on April 14^th over 200 Federal,

State, County and Local Police Officers, including 15 from Kenilworth, executed many arrest and search

warrants.� Numerous kilos of heroin and cocaine were seized.� Over $474,000.00 in cash was confiscated

as well as a large amount of jewelry and other items.� Twelve motor vehicles seized and there are five

residences that will be undergoing forfeiture proceedings.� This drug investigation was aimed at high

level dealers that actually led to one of the main dealers in Colombia.� Detective Marranca is congratulated on

being a true hero for his tireless efforts in fighting the war on drugs.

COMMUNICATIONS & PETITIONS � ACTING BOROUGH CLERK NAVDEEP CHEEMA

Letter from Kenilworth Board of Education enclosing their Resolution recommending that the Governing Body review and/or revise, if necessary, ordinances as to the eligibility of Megan�s Law offenders to live in proximity of a school.
Letter from Mariann & Joseph Finistrella, 43 Epping Drive, asking that the drainage easement on their property be cleaned out.
Letter from Minnie Leikauskas praising the Senior Citizen Handyman Program.
Letter to Mayor and Council to attend the Kenilworth Memorial Day Services sponsored by the American Legion, the VFW and Kenilworth Veteran�s Center on Monday,

May 30^th at 11 A.M. at the Kenilworth Veterans Center.

REPORTS

Kenilworth Board of Education Meeting Minutes for the month of March, 2005.
Municipal Court Report for the month of April, 2005.

It was moved by Galasso,� seconded by Jankunas and carried, that the above communications be received and filed and any money amounts indicated be spread over the minutes.

REPORT OF COMMITTEES

MAYOR�S REPORT�

Acting Mayor Thomas Festa read the following report:

� I will be out of town beginning on Friday evening May 27th and will return Tuesday evening May 31^st. During my absence Council President Colosimo will be Acting Mayor.

� The Kenilworth Veterans will be holding their annual Memorial Day Services on Monday, May 30^th at 11:00 AM. Councilman Taylor will be attending to say a few words on behalf of the Governing Body.

� Acting Governor Codey has declared the month of June as �Celebrate New Jersey� month to awaken the pride of New Jersey citizens for our beautiful Garden State. The Governing Body will be passing a resolution to show our support of the celebration.

� The Borough will be holding its Annual Fourth of July Fire Works Celebration on Sunday July 3^rd at approximately 9 PM. The rain date will be on Sunday July 10^th. All residents are urged to come out and join in the celebration.

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Acting Councilmember Jimmy Stafford read the following report:

In the past two weeks have been rather busy for the borough in the area of finance.

For one we hired a new tax collector.� This enables the Borough to collect taxes and pay outstanding bills.� This also allows the Borough to satisfy payroll.

Second I have received a call from a representative from the State who stated to me� we should receive in writing in a few week our status on receiving extraordinary aid.

My Finance Committee also met last Thursday to conduct interviews to fill the position of Treasurer and Borough

CFO. The goal of our committee is to narrow the field down to a select few and bring these candidates before the full Council to in turn select one qualified candidate.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Acting Councilmember Amber Marie Cox read the following report:

�� During the weeks of May 11, 2005 through May 24, 2005, the following has been done:

1. The men have been working on blacktop (potholes), cleaning parks, sewer maintenance, brush pick up, traffic and street sign repair , tree maintenance, stump removal� and maintenance of Borough properties.

2. Great Northern has been picking up grass every Tuesday and there have been very few problems.

3. The new signs have been installed on Sheridan Avenue.

4. All the catch basins on the south side of town were cleaned except for the deep ones.� We are currently working on the north side catch basins.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Acting Council President Samantha Hreczny read the following report:

�� On May 23^rd, Law enforcement officers in New Jersey and across the country started to

�� once again aggressively enforce the seat belt laws as part of the Click it or Ticket Campaign.

�� The goal of this campaign, which is running until June 5^th is to get everyone buckled up,

�� especially teenage drivers and their passengers.� While young people face a variety of

�� challenges every day, one of the greatest risks to their safety and well being is being killed

�� or severely injured in a motor vehicle crash.� According to the National Highway Traffic

�� Safety Administration, nearly ten 15 to 18 year olds, about a third of a typical high school

�� class, were killed in motor vehicle crashes every single day in 2003.� More than 60% of those

�� teen were not wearing a safety belt!� Together we can do something to stop this unnecessary

�� loss of life.� Please support the click it or ticket mobilization effort by making sure everyone

�� know, everyone, buckles up.� Thank you

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, ZONING & ORDINANCES

Acting Councilmember Jimmy Stafford read the following report: (Zachary Kozak was absent)

�� HVAC (Air Conditioning) has been turned on for a run through, a few more ducts need to be installed.� By the end ��

�� the month we should be in operation.

�� Contractor for 2004 roads has been in repairing lawns.

�� The design for the 2005 road program has been finalized by Schoor Depalma.

DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION, FIRE & ECOLOGY

Acting Councilmember Michelle Lohse read the following report:

�� I attended the monthly meeting of the Recreation Committee on May 12, 2005.� I am

�� very happy to announce that we are instituting a new summer program this year.� Instead

�� of our traditional program where counselors would be stationed at our three town parks.�

�� We will be running a centralized summer program on the grounds of Harding School.

�� The Recreation Department held sign ups last week and the numbers are encouraging.

�� Over 70 children indicated interest in the new program which begins in late June and

�� runs through August.�

�� I also attended the Volunteer Fire Department Memorial Day services on May 18, 2005

�� along with most of the Governing Body.� It is hoped that this weekend during the

�� Memorial Day festivities that we take a moment to reflect on those who are no longer

�� here with us that have served the public good.� Both in the service of Borough and in

�� protection of our country.� I am also in receipt of the report from the Chief Fire

�� Department Lewis Giordino which details the many fire and rescue calls our officers

�� have attended in the first quarter 2005.�

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE

Acting Councilperson Kevin McCarthy read the following report:

�� Beginning July 1, babies born to Kenilworth residents are invited to stop by the library with their proud new parents to �� pick up a �Read to Me� bib which is being offered as a gift by the Friends of the Kenilworth Public Library to all of the

�� Borough�s new �future readers�. In addition to the bib, the gift bag will contain information about the importance of

�� reading to babies and information about the library and the Friends of the Library.� Stop by the library or call 276-2451

�� for more information.

�� The library�s summer reading program for the children and teens will be in full swing before you know it.� Sign up is

�� already in full swing and the good news is that every teen and child who reads at least one book from the Kenilworth

�� Public Library during the month of July is eligible to participate in the grand event at the end of the summer- the �� library�s 4^th annual cash-free tricky tray.� This summer, it is going to be held at the corporate cafeteria of Schering-��

�� Plough on the evening of August 18 and it is an evening that you won�t want to miss.� Refreshments will be served

�� and there will be balloon artists for the younger children and special entertainment for the teens.� Last year, the library

�� raised approximately $16,000 worth of prizes and hopes to do even better this year.� And here�s a special word to teens-

�� you have to do summer reading anyway, so you might as well stop by the public library for the books you need so that

�� you will be eligible for the cash-free tricky tray.� There�s even going to be special section of the room reserved for the

�� teen participants that night and it�s going to be a lot cooler than you think, so why don�t you give it a chance and stop

�� by the library to register for this great event.

�� Some of the library�s other highlights for the summer include live Shakespeare performances in front of Borough Hall

�� on Sunday afternoons, live falcons in the library�s main reading room on a Tuesday evening, animals, music, drama,

�� crafts, bingo, storytime, and of course there�s always the books, movies, and music.� So stop by for a complete schedule

�� of activities and check it out.

REPORT OF BOROUGH ATTORNEY

Acting Borough Attorney Kathryn Smith was absent nothing to report.

�REPORT OF ACTING BOROUGH MAGISTRATE

Acting Judge Sarah SanPedro read the following report:

Through the period ending May 2, 2005 our municipal court has processed the following case load:� 4 driving while intoxicated offenses, 220 moving violations, 25 parking violations, 10 indictables, 26 disorderly & petty disorderly persons offenses and 6 local ordinance violations.� The Borough of Kenilworth, despite its size and population, continues to be one of the busiest municipal courts in the County.� As we are all painfully aware, every municipality in the state is experiencing rapidly increasing costs to run local government.� Kenilworth is no exception.� All municipal departments are making great efforts to cut spending without cutting or diminishing services.� The Municipal Court is no exception.� Last year, with the encouragement of the Mayor & Council, I and the Municipal Court staff, in conjunction with Police Chief William Dowd, explored the possibility of scheduling two court sessions each month during the daytime in an effort to save on police overtime.� After meeting with a number of local officials, including Councilwoman Colosimo, and Councilman Soos and Taylor, a collective decision was made to implement the idea.� Municipal Court sessions are now held on an alternating day/evening schedule every Monday.� The new schedule began with a day session on April 4, 2005. While it is too early to tell what effect the new schedule will have in terms of reducing police overtime, I am hopeful it will result in some appreciable cost savings to the Police Department.

Thank you Mayor David and members of Council for your time.

FIRE CHIEF�S REPORT

Acting Fire Chief Alana Opitz read the following report:

Listed below is the 2005 First Quarter report for the Fire Department.� The Fire Department

responded to a total of 143 calls:

17 Motor Vehicle Accidents�� 4 Natural Gas Leaks

8 Smoke Conditions�� 2 Complaints of Open Burning

4 Water Conditions�� 1 Transformer Fire

39 Fire Alarms�� 1 Police Department Assists

16 Carbon Monoxide Alarms�� 2 Wires Down

3 Structure Fires�� 1 House Lock Out

3 Mutual Aid Calls to Linden �� 1 Snow Emergency

1 Mutual Aid Call to Summit �� 1 Gasoline Spill

3 Mutual Aid Calls to Elizabeth 1 Brush Fire

3 Mutual Aid Calls to Hillside�� 3 Car Fires

4 Mutual Aid Calls to Union� �� 25 Assists to Rescue Squad

Total Man- Hours: 1,037.5

Total Miles Traveled: 320.5

The Fire Prevention Bureau inspected a total of 144 businesses.� Of these 144 businesses

55 had Fire Code violations.

��

TREASURER�S REPORT

Acting Councilperson Robert Rueger read the following report:

The Borough is currently awaiting an announcement from the State of New Jersey Division of Local Government Services regarding the disbursements of extraordinary aid dollars for those communities who made application for these funds earlier this year.� We are hopeful that Kenilworth will be on the State�s list of recipients for this funding.� Adoption of the final budget cannot take place pending this announcement therefore each month a resolution appropriating funds for the following month�s financial needs has been prepared and presented to the governing body for approval.

BILLS

Consolidated Bill List appears on the following pages.� (copy attached)

CONSENT AGENDA

Resolutions No. 1 through 10 are listed under Consent Agenda and will be enacted by one motion in the form listed below.� All items will be recorded individually in full in the minutes.

Council Member Galasso moved that all items under Consent Agenda be approved, seconded by Council Member Soos.� Upon roll call the vote was unanimous.

RESOLUTION NO. 1

Be It Hereby Resolved:�� That all bills be paid when properly audited and funds are available.

RESOLUTION NO. 2

Be It Hereby Resolved:� That the Borough Clerk be authorized to issue the following Raffle License:

#831�� Kenilworth Historical Society on July 9, 2005 at No 22^nd Street Parking Lot, Kenilworth, NJ for a 50/50 On-Premise Raffle.

#832�� Kenilworth Historical Society on May 21, 2005 at No 22^nd Street Parking Lot, Kenilworth, NJ� for a 50/50 On-Premise Raffle.

RESOLUTION NO. 3

�Be It Hereby Resolved:�� That the Governing Body of the Borough of Kenilworth hereby grant Garden State Fireworks Company permission to provide a public display of fireworks scheduled for July 3, 2005 (rain date July 10, 2005) after proper proof of insurance coverage is provided and upon issuance of the required permit from the Fire Official.

Be It Further Resolved:� That the Mayor be authorized to sign the Contract with Garden State Fireworks Company at a cost of $6,500.00 (an extra 15% ($975) if on rain date).

�� Payment as follows:

�� 50% ($3,250) upon signing of contract

�� 50% ($3,250) due at event

Be It Further Resolved:� That pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:34-5.1 et seq. Local Public Contracts Law, the required Certificate of Availability of Funds has been obtained from the Chief Finance Officer of the Borough of Kenilworth.� The appropriation to be charged for this expenditure is:� Pride in Kenilworth Trust Account.

RESOLUTION NO. 4

Resolution appears on the following page.� (Award of contracts for 2005 for goods through

�� the U.C. Cooperative Pricing System)

RESOLUTION NO. 5

Be It Hereby Resolved:�� That Resolution No. 18, dated December 15, 2004, awarding the bid Contract for �Municipal Building HVAC System�, is hereby amended as per a Change Order for an increase in the amount of $5,251.00, making the total contract amount $244,311.00, as per a letter from the Borough Engineers Schoor DePalma attached.

Be it Further Resolved that pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:34-5.1 et seq., Local Public Contracts Law, the required Certificate of Availability of Funds in attached.

RESOLUTION NO. 6

Be It Hereby Resolved:�� That Ordinance No. 2005-09 entitled �Ordinance Amending Kenilworth Code � Zoning, Chapter 197, Article III, Subsection 197-60 �Prohibited Uses� which was introduced on April 27, 2005, is hereby tabled.

RESOLUTION NO. 7

Resolution appears on the following page. (Amendment to 2005 Temporary Budget)

RESOLUTION NO. 8

WHEREAS,� students of both grade schools in the Borough of Kenilworth have spent a full day actively participating in the local government of the municipality in all its branches; and

WHEREAS,� this program has furthered good citizenship and has enlightened the participating students in the actual workings of municipal government and the respective duties and responsibilities of municipal officials, employees and bodies, in a manner that should leave a lasting impression upon them because of their personal participation; and

WHEREAS,� the Governing Body of the Borough of Kenilworth has welcomed and enjoyed the experience of this so-called �Youth In Government Day� as a means of an education in municipal government and in the furtherance of good citizenship of the men and women of tomorrow whose place it will be to carry on our local government in a free society;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED� that this Governing Body go on record as favoring the continued participation of the youth of our municipality in the local government and in their�

continued interest therein and that the participants and the participating schools be commended for their efforts in bringing about this program for the benefit of the young people in our municipality.

RESOLUTION NO. 9

Be It Hereby Resolved:�� That the Mayor�s appointment of EMILY VIDAL as regular member of the Recreation Committee for an unexpired term ending 12/31/06, be and the same is hereby confirmed.

RESOLUTION NO. 10

Be It Hereby Resolved:�� That Albert Stender, Esq. be authorized to represent the Borough of Kenilworth in an appeal of an illegal garage conversion at 245 North 11^th Street at a rate of $100 per hour.

GENERAL BUSINESS

Mayor and Council congratulated Detective Justin Marranca and thanked the students for taking part in Youth in Government Day.

Councilman Soos also commended the Fire Department for all they do for the community.

MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Mayor David thanked all the students who participated in Youth and Government Day and presented them with gavels.

Councilwoman Colosimo made a motion, seconded by Councilman Taylor to proceed into closed Executive Meeting to discuss a matter of litigation.

Returned to Open Session.

Mayor David stated that a matter of litigation was discussed in Closed Session.� Action was taken by scheduling a Special Closed Session Meeting between the Governing Body and the three attorneys involved.

There being no further business, a motion was made by Councilman Colosimo and seconded by Councilman Galasso adjourn.

9:30 P.M.

�� Respectfully submitted,

�� Hedy Lipke

�� Borough Clerk

�

ADS - Applied Dynamic Solutions, LLC

email webmaster