Berkeley Heights Township : Township Council Mtg Preview For April 20, 2021

Press release from the Berkeley Heights Township:

April 19, 2021

By Council President Jeanne Kingsley

Want to know what is being discussed by the Town Council at its next meeting? 

The next Township Council meeting will be held on Tuesday April 20 at 7:00PM.  Member of Council, Mayor Devanney, and Administration staff will be participating electronically via ZOOM in this meeting.  For this and all future electronic meetings, members of the public will be able to comment by video and comments will also be accepted by email to aminkoff@bhtwp.com or by writer letter to Township Clerk, 29 Park Ave, Berkeley Heights NJ 07922.  Comments must be received by the Township Clerk by 4:00 PM on the date of the ZOOM meeting.   The meeting ID for the Zoom meeting is http://zoom.us/s/3575747364.  

The first item on the agenda is a conference session on a proposed ordinance on electric vehicle charging stations presented by the Environmental Commission.  With the increased emphasis at the State and Federal level on electric vehicles, the EC is looking at how the Township can address the increasing need to accommodate residents’ increased usage of electric vehicles.

The second item on the agenda is a conference session on the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.  This Bill legalized the sale and use of recreational cannabis in New Jersey. Municipalities may opt-out from hosting cannabis related businesses in town. However, such local ordinances must be enacted by Aug. 22, 2021. Our Municipal Attorney Chris Corsini will review the six classes of businesses which the municipality may either allow or prohibit based on the current law and our Chief of Police Jason Massimino will also provide insight into the topic. 

Council will hold a hearing and vote on an ordinance reappropriating $229,968 proceeds of obligations not needed for their original purposes to provide for sidewalk, curb, path and crosswalk improvements in and by the Township of Berkeley Heights, in the County of Union, NJ, providing a supplemental appropriation of $50,000 for such purposes and authorizing the issuance of $47,500 bonds or notes of the township for financing part of the appropriation. In 2019, the township was awarded a $410,000 Safe Streets to Transit grant for a sidewalk improvement project primarily along Plainfield Ave.  These funds represent the difference between the grant amount awarded and the total cost to complete the project.

The council will vote on the following resolutions:

• Approve Bill List dated April 20, 2021 in the amount of $521,700.90 for vouchers that have been properly approved for processing and payment.
• Authorize a Change Order to the contract with Garden State Laboratories for Laboratory Services for the Waste Water Treatment Plant, to increase the contract amount by $40,000.
• Authorize a $2,000 Sustainable Jersey Grant funded by PSEG Foundation.
• Authorize a professional service contract with Van Cleef Engineering Associates for proposed improvements to Peppertown Park in an amount not to exceed $37,008.
• Authorize changes to the scope of the Municipal Complex Redevelopment project.
• Amend the THRT Advisory Committee to expire on July 31, 2021.  This amends resolution #68-2021.
• Proclaim April 30, 2021 as Arbor Day in the Township of Berkeley Heights.
• Authorize an agreement with the City of Elizabeth to provide Sexually Transmitted Disease Services.
• Authorize the submission of the Municipal Alliance grant.

To view the complete Council agenda, click here: 

The next council meeting is scheduled of May 4, 2021 at 7 pm.

This press release was produced by the Berkeley Heights Township. The views expressed here are the author’s own.