Township Committee Meeting Highlights

Township officials took time at the start of Tuesday night’s Township Committee meeting to recognize groups and individuals who helped Barnegat weather Irene two weekends ago.

got special mention in a resolution by Mayor Jeffrey Melchiondo for the long hours of volunteer work its members put in at the shelter set up for evacuees at .

Also recognized were members of the Barnegat Township School District and officials from Ocean Township, which shared responsibilities for the joint storm response with Barnegat.

“We are joined at our borders,” said Ocean Township Mayor Mayor Joseph Lachawiec. “We are brothers and sisters. And when times are tough we get together and do what has to be done to move forward.”

Among the other issues addressed were the following:

• With only one “no” vote, the Committee passed an ordinance amending its land use code to align with recent changes to the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan. The key adjustment were the rules regarding clustering of development, which have been amended to encourage developers to build houses closer together on their properties and leave more space uncleared and protected. Check back with Barnegat Patch tomorrow for a full story on the issue.

• Among the resolutions passed by consent agenda was a resolution authorizing a shared services agreement between Barnegat and Ocean Township for the joint use of construction code inspection services for plumbing.

• Also passed was a resolution authorizing administrator Dave Breeden to sign an agreement to revamp the municipal website at a cost of $3,900.

• Current public works employees Roger Budd and Mike Ball were appointed to the newly created positions of manager of municipal operations and superintendent of public works, respectively. The promotions don’t come with a pay raise, said Breeden, but the reorganization will help public works deal with the daily tasks the department performs for the township.

• During the meeting’s public comment session, Marianne Clemente read her letter of resignation as chair of the Barnegat Climate Action Committee aloud. She praised Deputy Mayor Al Cirulli for pushing for the formation of the group more than three years ago, and praised the work the commission has done since then. Clemente said other commitments were keeping her from adequately serving as head of the group, and said she felt compelled to make a public announcement of her resignation because of disparaging remarks made against the group by Committeeman Martin Lisella in the past. Lisella firmly denied saying anything to denigrate the commission, saying he’d had issues with Clemente in the past, but supported the group and its mission.