Council Minutes from 9/14/2011

REGULAR MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF KENILWORTH HELD ON WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 14, 2011.� MAYOR KATHI FIAMINGO PRESIDED.

Mayor Fiamingo read the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.

The Salute to the Flag was led by Mayor Kathi Fiamingo.

ROLL CALL

Roll Call at 8:00 P.M. showed the following Council Members present: Sal Candarella, Peter Corvelli, Brian Joho, Scott Klinder, Kevin Leary and Fred Pugliese. �

MINUTES

It was moved by Councilman Joho, seconded by Councilman Candarella and carried that the minutes of the Work Session of August 23, 2011 and the Regular Council Meeting of August 24, 2011 be dispensed with and approved as submitted.� (Copies furnished each Council Member prior to the meeting.)

COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS:

�Letter from Roz & Dick Deydoppel, 70 Pembrook Drive, thanking the Police & Fire Departments for all they did during Hurricane Irene.
Invitation from the County of Union to attend their Union County POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony on Friday, September 16^th at 11:15 A.M. in front of the Courthouse.
Invitation from Columbus Parade Association to attend their 23^rd Annual Christopher Columbus Celebration on Sunday, October 16^th.
Letter from Constantine & Avi Kiriakatis, 140 Boulevard, thanking Police Chief Grady, Fire Chief Giordino, DPW Supt. Ryan and the Fire, Police and DPW Departments for their outstanding help during and after Hurricane Irene.
Letter from Mayor Fiamingo appointing Charles Zignauskas to the Kenilworth Planning Board as Alternate #1 for a two year term ending December 31, 2012.

Reports:

1. Police Department Report for the month of August, 2011.

2. Borough Clerk�s Report for the month of August, 2011.

3. Construction Department Report for the month of August, 2011

4. Fire Department/Rescue Squad Report for the month of August, 2011.

It was moved by Councilman Candarella, seconded by Councilman Klinder, and carried that the above communications be received and filed and any money amounts indicated be spread over the minutes.

REPORT OF COMMITTEES

MAYORS REPORT

Mayor Fiamingo said with respect to Hurricane Irene, Union County has been designated as being eligible for FEMA and if anyone is in need of FEMA assistance all the information is on

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the TV station and the web site.� The Disaster Recovery Center is in Cranford, 220 Walnut Avenue and is open seven days a week from 8AM to 6PM.� They are asking people to register first by going on line to www.disasterassistance.gov or to call their toll free number 800-621-FEMA (3362) and register in advance.� Certain residents who suffered losses due to Hurricane Irene may also be eligible for a one-time food benefit ranging from $200.00 to a maximum of $1202.00.� This is being offered through the Union County Freeholders and to be eligible for this program you have to be in the SNAP Program.

The Mayor commended the Fire Department, Police Department, DPW and OEM for all their hard work with respect to Hurricane Irene.� She said the hurricane was tremendously destructive down at the western end of the Borough.� She said those of us that were out there and those who were bailing out their homes were under a lot of stress and Sunday was a very difficult day.� She said it was amazing how well the Fire Department, Police Department and DPW responded and they did a great job under the circumstances. She said when you hear about other towns, our response to the disaster was fantastic. The Mayor said when she was walking around the town after the storm to see how people were doing she said the Gas Company was working with Chief Giordino on the gas connections for homes that were affected.� She said Chief Giordino gave the Gas Company a list of the calls that the Fire Department went on so that the Gas Company would know who was affected.� She said there were 227 calls that they responded to. She said there were some people with 8 ft. of water and some with 14 inches of water.� They worked from August 27^th through August 29^th and they kept running around to all areas of town. The Mayor gave a �shout-out� and a thank you to some gentleman who responded to a call for help that she received from a resident who needed assistance.� The Mayor texted to the high school and was able to get help for a resident who needed some strong young men to assist him in pulling out damaged items from their homes.� She thanked Michael Christian, Anthony Tanks, Max Schindler, Nick Lospinosa and Anthony Scorese for their help. The Mayor also specifically thanked Dan Ryan for his assistance.� Anyone in town who had flood damage to their property saw that we were out there pretty quickly to pick up items.� She said we had to go to an outside contractor to get it done because we don�t have the equipment but it was done quickly and efficiently and economically.� The estimate that was given was well beyond what it actually turned out to be.� She said during the storm the State response was very well managed.� She said every night there was a conference call with the Governor and his staff and his cabinet members about what they were doing which also included PSE&G and JCP&L and all the utilities companies.� They were telling us what we could expect and how things were being managed.� She said fortunately Kenilworth came through it better than some communities like Paterson and Wayne but it was very comforting to know that we had those resources available to us and what they were actually doing.� She commended the Governor and his staff for a job well done.� She said even though some of us lost power for a few days she was pleased with PSE&G because they were in touch with us on a regular basis and she had many phone calls and e-mails from them so that we got returned to power fairly quickly.� She thanked Chief Giordino for some assistance in that regard. �

The Mayor said there is a Resolution tonight waiving permit fees for anyone who can demonstrate that they had damage from the storm.� Residents can go to the Construction Department and those fees will be waived and we will try and do the best we can to help you recover for what has been a terrible situation for those of you who have experienced difficulties.

The Mayor thanked Scott Klinder for being the Master of Ceremonies at the September 11^th Memorial Service that the Borough had on Sunday.� She also thanked the Fire and Police

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Departments as well as Dave�s Landscaping and Veselli Landscaping for putting together the memorial. She said it was good to see that the family members attended and were very touched with the ceremony.� She thanked Tom Hagerty from THS Multi Media for supplying the enormous flag that the Fire Department flew.� She also thanked Darlene Candarella for baking.� The Mayor also baked over 100 cup cakes for people.� She thanked Bella Palermo for donating and Toni Giordano for giving out the food. She thanked Rich Picerno and his friend Reggie for power washing the front of Borough Hall on Saturday so that everything would like bright and spiffy.� The Mayor said it was a tremendous event and she loves this town and this community because of everyone who turned out and she thanked everyone for being so responsive and patriotic.� �

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Councilman Joho reported the 2010 Audit has been provided to the Council and there were no significant items to report within that audit.� He congratulated the Finance Officer, Robert Ordway for a job well done.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Councilman Corvelli reported that he has spoken with Dan Ryan and he gave a special thanks to John Pallitto from Great Northern for getting the trucks together for picking up the debris from the storm.� He also thanked Mike Astone from Astone Tree who were also out in force to help with fallen trees and also the Police and Fire Departments. There was 179 tons of debris and the total cost was very reasonable at $38,000.00. Councilman Corvellli said the Bulky Waste pick-up will be on October 5^th for the north side of town and October 12^th for the south side.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Councilman Pugliese reported the Police Department received a new police vehicle and he thanked Better Auto Care for donating a push cart for the new car which they also installed free of charge.� He said the Mayor and himself were out first thing the morning after Hurricane Irene to canvass the area and saw first-hand all the devastation and how well the DPW,� Police Department and Fire Departments responded. The Union County Police Department also helped. He said he was at Harding School with some of the families that were displaced.� He said the whole town came together along with Councilman Klinder and Councilman Joho to help out.�

Councilman Pugliese said the 9/11 Memorial Service was a great event.� He thanked everyone involved who donated their time.� He thanked the bag pipers, Tom Bell, Carmen Giordano and John Kreinberg and said they did an excellent job.

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, ZONING & ORDINANCES

Councilman Candarella reported the Construction Department Report is in order and they were very busy this month.�

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He said regarding the hurricane and the 9/11 Memorial, the whole town came together and he especially thanked the Mayor for leading the town through the hurricane and putting the 9/11 Ceremony together because it took a lot of hard work on her part to get it together.� He said it was a wonder event.

DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND FIRE

Councilman Leary read an excerpt from a letter to the Mayor, Police Fire and Public Work Departments �My name is Avi Kiriakatis and my family has been residents of Kenilworth since 1970.� During that time we have lived a good life in a town that we are very proud of.� I would like to thank Mayor Fiamingo, Police Chief Grady, Fire Chief Giordino and the DPW for a great job they did in helping to remove some of our worries.� In calling the Police they were always polite and answered our questions as best they could. The Fire Department and Rescue Squad came and bailed out 5 ft. of water from our basement.� I know some of these wonderful men are volunteers who don�t get paid.� Please praise them all for doing such a wonderful job and don�t forget the wonderful job the Department of Public Works did.� Again Mayor we should all be proud of all the people who serve Kenilworth.�

Councilman Leary said our Police, Fire and DPW who take care of our Borough did a wonderful job and he was an eyewitness to that because his home is on the borderline of Cranford and he had to do some bailing out him self.� He said he had a front row seat to all that they did which was above and beyond the call of duty.� He said they broke their backs in service to our town and we should be proud of them.�

Councilman Leary said he has withdrawn his name from consideration for Council later on this year.� He will be submitting a letter of resignation tonight because of some health issues he has had resulting from two car accidents late last year.� He said he has had multiple procedures like the one he had a couple of weeks ago that had him confined to bed which is the reason he has been absent from a few council meetings.� He said going forward he will have to have more surgeries which would prevent him from giving his all to the Borough.� He does not want to be an individual who just keeps the title for the purpose of keeping a title.� He wants to be able to give service and be of good use and right now he will step aside for an individual who can put the time into the Borough. He thanked the residents and everyone on the dais and said it has been a pleasure working with everyone.� He wished everyone the best.� He thanked the residents of the town because he was a young guy when he started and they trusted him with a lot of responsibility.� It was an honor to serve the community. ��

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE

Councilman Klinder reported the Kenilworth Health Fair will be on Saturday, September 24^th at St. Theresa�s from 9AM to 12PM.� He said he was glad to be a part of the 9/11 Ceremony.

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ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

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

CONSENT AGENDA

Resolutions No. 1 thru 8 are listed on 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.

Councilman Candarella moved that all items under Consent Agenda be approved, seconded by Councilman Klinder. 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 per State Statute, the Tax Assessor, Tax Collector/Finance Officer and the Borough Clerk shall receive a 2.9% salary increase for 2011 retroactive to January 1, 2011

RESOLUTION NO. 3

WHEREAS, Zdzislaw Lesniewski paid the property taxes for the 1^st and 2^nd� quarters of 2011 for the property located at 321 North 20^th Street, Kenilworth, NJ, and;

WHEREAS, the Assessor made a change to the assessed value of the property for 2011, and;

WHEREAS, this resulted in the overpayment of taxes for the calendar year of 2011 in the amount of $877.01, and;

WHEREAS, Zdzislaw Lesniewski has requested that the overpayment be refunded to him;

NOW, THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Treasurer, after proper notation on the tax account records by the Collector of Taxes, be and is hereby authorized to issue a warrant for a refund as stated below.

Block�� Lot�� Payable To:�� Amount

�� 17�� 3�� Zdzislaw Lesniewski�� $ 877.01

455 Sheridan Avenue

Kenilworth, NJ 07033

�� TOTAL�� $ 877.01

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RESOLUTION NO. 4

Whereas, the entire region felt the devastating affects of Hurricane Irene and its aftermath this past week;

Whereas, the Borough of Kenilworth was not spared during this tragic event and our community suffered widespread flooding and power outages coupled with downed trees and other associated damage;

Whereas the Borough recognizes the need to expeditiously process permits necessary for the safe and secure return of its residents, property owners and businesses to pre-disaster status;

Whereas the State of New Jersey has declared a State of Emergency and;

Whereas the State of New Jersey under the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code at N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19(b)5 will allow municipalities affected by this storm to waive permit fees associated with repair, renovation and alteration work directly related to Hurricane Irene and;

Whereas the Borough of Kenilworth agrees and supports the State�s efforts in this regard,

Therefore be it resolved that the Governing Body of the Borough of Kenilworth has agreed to waive all construction permit fees associated with the issuance of the required permits for work directly associated with the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene for a period of one month beginning on September 1, 2011; and

Be It Further Resolved that any fees associated with dumpster permits be waived for the period beginning on August 29, 2011 and ending on September 30, 2011;

RESOLUTION NO. 5

Be It Hereby Resolved:� That Frederick J. Soos be employed as a Substitute Senior Citizen Bus Driver at a rate of $18.62 per hour as of September 9, 2011.

RESOLUTION NO. 6

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

�#1034 St. Columcille United Gaelic Inc. for an Off-Premise 50/50 Raffle on October 1, 2011 at 33 South 21^st Street, Kenilworth, N.J.

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RESOLUTION NO.7

WHEREAS, N.J.SA. 40A:5-4 requires the governing body of every local unit to have made an annual audit of its books, accounts and financial transactions; and

WHEREAS, The Annual Report of Audit for the year 2010 has been filed by a Registered Municipal Accountant with the Municipal Clerk as per the requirements of N.J.S. 40A:5-6, and a copy has been received by each member of the governing body; and

WHEREAS, The Local Finance Board of the State of New Jersey is authorized to prescribe reports pertaining to the local fiscal affairs, as per R.S. 52:27BB-34; and

WHEREAS, The Local Finance Board has promulgated N.J.A.C. 5:30-6.5, a regulation requiring that the governing body of each municipality shall by resolution certify to the Local Finance Board of the State of New Jersey that all members of the governing body have reviewed, as a minimum, the sections of the annual audit entitled �Comments and Recommendations; and

WHEREAS, The members of the governing body have personally reviewed a minimum the Annual Report of Audit; and specifically the sections of the Annual Audit entitled �Comments and Recommendations�, as evidenced by the group affidavit form of the governing body attached hereto; and

WHEREAS, Such resolution of certification shall be adopted by the Governing Body no later than forty-five days after the receipt of the Annual Audit, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:30-6.5; and

WHEREAS, All members of the governing body have received and have familiarized themselves with, at least, the minimum requirements of the Local Finance Board of the State of New Jersey, as stated aforesaid and have subscribed to the affidavit, as provided by the Local Finance Board; and

WHEREAS, Failure to comply with the promulgations of the Local Finance Board of the State of New Jersey may subject the members of the local governing body to the penalty� provisions of R.S. 52:27BB-52 to wit:

R.S. 52:27BB-52 � �A local officer or member of a local governing body who, after a date fixed for compliance, fails or refuses to obey an order of the director (Director of Local Government Services) under the provisions of this Article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, may be fined not more than one thousand dollars (1,000.00) or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, in addition shall forfeit his office.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the GOVERNING BODY OF THE BORUGH OF KENILWORTH, hereby states that it has complied with N.J.A.C. 5:30-6.5 and does hereby submit a certified copy of this resolution and the required affidavit to said Board to show evidence of said compliance.

I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE COPY OF THE RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE MEETING HELD ON September 14, 2011.

RESOLUTION NO. 8

WHEREAS, Smith-Sondy paid for police outside duty and fees were received by the Kenilworth Police Department, and

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WHEREAS, it has been determined that all dates were not covered by police officers and a refund is due,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Treasurer be and is hereby authorized to issue a warrant to refund the following amount to:

Amount of $195.00 refunded to Smith-Sondy

Smith-Sondy

150 Anderson Avenue

Wallington, NJ 07057

Motion was made by Councilman Joho, with regret, to accept Councilman Leary�s resignation, seconded by Councilman Candarella.� All in favor.

Mayor Fiamingo said it was a pleasure serving with Kevin for the past three years.� She said she hopes he recovers well and that he will be back to do the same good job he has done in the past.� She said Kevin brought quite a bit of interesting opinions and work to the table and she appreciates that and he will be missed.

Councilman Pugliese said Kevin had one of the hardest departments to chair with the lawsuits and drama in the Fire Department and also in the Recreation Department but he handled it with grace.� He did a very good job and he will miss him.

Councilman Candarella said he will miss Kevin and sometime in the near future when he is feeling better he may be back, if not on council then somewhere else in town.

Councilman Joho said it has been a pleasure working with Kevin and he looks forward to seeing him across the street.

Motion was made by Councilman Pugliese to nominate Councilman Scott Klinder for Council President, seconded by Councilman Joho.� All in favor.

Councilman Klinder thanked everyone for trusting him in this position and he will work his hardest to do a good job.

Mayor Fiamingo read a letter from the Kenilworth Republican Municipal Chairman, Jay Woloshen that said �I would like to submit the following candidates for consideration to fill the open Council chair created by the resignation of Councilman Kevin Leary:� Toni Giordano, Jay Woloshen, Richard LoForte.

Motion was made by Councilman Candarella, seconded by Councilman Pugliese to appoint Toni Giordano to fill the vacated Council seat.� Roll Call Vote: Candarella voted yes, Corvelli abstained, Joho voted yes, Klinder voted yes and Pugliese voted yes.

Mayor Fiamingo administered the Oath of Office to Toni Giordano.

Mayor Fiamingo welcomed Toni to the dais.� She said she has known her since she was on the Board of Education and she has been a Toni fan since then.� She is very happy that she has joined the Council.

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Councilwoman Giordano said she is honored and humbled to join the Council and she vows to do the best she can for the Borough of Kenilworth.

Mayor Fiamingo asked for a moment of silence for Rudy Cammorata who passed away last week.� She said Rudy has been a fixture in the Borough for more years then he would have liked her to mention. She said it is a great sorrow personally to her and a great loss to the Borough.� She said Charlie Vitale passed the baton to Rudy as being �Mr. Kenilworth�.� Rudy was a friend to almost every organization in the town and he donated to everybody.� He was very visable and cared so much for the town and the people in it.� She said she will miss him terribly and to her he was a great mentor and someone she respected and looked up to.

Motion was made by Councilman Joho seconded by Councilman Candarella to open the meeting to the public.� All in favor.

MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

John Bury, 417 North 15^th Street � Mr. Bury said he will miss Rudy a lot.� Mr. Bury asked the Mayor if UCUA has come to the Borough with a revised anything?� The Mayor said no.� He said� they promise to do it before October.� He went to the UCUA hearing and he pretty much knows what they are doing.� According to the filing that the UCUA did to get this change that you have to sign, they state �the extended local waste agreements require the local municipalities to deliver a guaranteed annual tonnage of waste.� In the event that a municipality does not deliver the guaranteed level of waste, the municipality is still required to pay as if that guaranteed level of waste had been delivered�.� Mr. Bury said he has looked a lot into this stuff and �at the meeting you had with the Decotis lawyer back in October, 2010 it was said that Kenilworth did 3,000 tons which is a lot because Kenilworth has not done 3,000 tons since before 2005.� They stuck that in because that was from way back when Kenilworth was doing more.� He said in 2009 Kenilworth did 2,673 tons.� In the last few years the Union County Utilities Authority chose not to enforce the guaranteed tonnage.� He said as it turns out the agreement in 2002 was left blank so possibly Covanta is going back and trying to get that number in there but they are telling the State that they will enforce the minimum.� He said at the meeting on Tuesday, the lawyer for Decotis and the UCUA said they have every right to enforce the minimum even though they have not done it in the past. He said when that comes around and that 3000 number appears in the guaranteed tonnage, that you either cross it out, leave it blank or put in a number like 1,000 or whatever number you are comfortable with but 3,000 is not attainable. He said the tonnage has gone down, in 2005 Kenilworth�s tonnage was 2950 and it is down to probably 2,600 tons now.� He said there are a lot of factors like recyclables, less people, less business, less garbage and it will continue to go down.� He said it is pretty obvious that either this year or next year or whenever you sign the agreement, you will get a bill for the full 3000 tons.� He said that is terrible because looking down five or ten years from now you might have 2000 tons of garbage and you will be paying for 3000 tons and that will go on forever and you will be locked in till 2031.� Mr. Bury asked the Mayor would keep him informed if they come to the Borough because he said they are pretty much afraid of him.� The Mayor thanked John and said yes she will keep him informed.

Frank Kacerek, 310 North 20^th Street � Mr. Kacerek said he sent a letter to the town back in May regarding the condition of his street which is North 20^th Street between Sheridan and Via Vitale.� The street is in terrible condition, there are no curbs, no sidewalks and there are large sections of the pavement that are missing and it�s uneven. The DPW comes out and patches it

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every year.� The middle of the street is fine but the sides of the street are absolutely terrible, there is mud and since there are no sidewalks, people have to walk in the street and kids have to ride their bikes in the street.� It is a busy street that people use to get to Michigan Avenue. He said before he came over tonight he took a quick drive around from Michigan Avenue to Fourteenth Street and from the Boulevard to Black Brook Park and the water tower and he looked to see what streets had curbs and which ones didn�t.� Every through street in that whole area has curbs, most of the dead ends, except for 2 on 15^th and 16^th Streets did not have curbing and there may be some at the dead ends that do not have curbing.� He said his family has owned the house for 50 years and they have been paying their taxes and he would like to have some of the tax money that he spent to fix everyone else�s street, spent on his.� He said there are about 8 or 9 homes on the street with two in the process of being built. He said before someone gets hurt on the street and they sue the town, someone should take a look at the street.� He asked if someone will get back to him and how does he find out?� The Mayor said she will get back to him.

Mayor Fiamingo said she saw the letter that Mr. Kacerak brought into Borough Hall yesterday and she will have the engineer take a look at the street. �

Motion was made by Councilman Pugliese, seconded by Councilman Joho to close the�� meeting to the public.� All in favor.

GENERAL BUSINESS

Councilman Candarella said he dealt with Rudy Cammarota for many years on the Planning Board and had many discussions and every time I spoke with him I knew his heart was in this town. He said he loved this town and will be sorely missed.

Councilman Joho expressed his appreciation to the Fire, Police, Rescue Squad and DPW for their efforts before, during and after the hurricane.� His neighborhood was severely affected by the flooding and he appreciates the many hours of dedicated service that was provided during those tough days.� He said thanks again to those groups who went above and beyond.

Councilman Pugliese said Rudy was a great singer and when he sang �It�s a Beautiful Town� at the Centennial it was a great moment. Councilman Pugliese told a Rudy story about how during the riots back in the 1960�s the Kenilworth Police came to Rudy�s house when they ran out of guns to borrow his guns because he had an arsenal of weapons at his house.�

Councilman Pugliese welcomed Councilwoman Giordano to the dais and he is sure she will do a great job.

Mayor Fiamingo said the Kenilworth Historical Society will sponsor the Freedom Run/Walk on Sunday, September 25^th and she asked people to register in advance.� The forms are at Borough Hall.� The Community Garage Sale is October 1^st and 2^nd and those applications are also at Borough Hall.� The Four Centuries in a Week End is on Saturday, October 15^th and 16^th at the Oswald Nitsche House.

The Mayor said she will miss Kevin Leary and he did a good job as a Councilman. �

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ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before the Council, it was moved by Councilman Pugliese, seconded by Councilman Joho and carried, that the meeting be adjourned to the call of the chair.

8:45 P.M.�� Respectfully submitted,

��

�� Hedy Lipke, Borough Clerk��

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