BOT Meeting recap 12-19-11

The following is a brief unofficial recap of many items that occurred or were discussed at the .  Official minutes will be posted online at www.southorange.org when they are available or the video can be viewed on-demand at southorange.org/videoViewer.asp

Presentations

• Cougar Soccer Program shared a summary of who they are, where they play, issues they face and how they contribute to the community
• SOPAC shared an update for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 and events that have occured since.  They confirmed that they have obtained a liquor license for the loft without restriction to the number of guests.  Their audit has been completed and they expect to receive it in early January.  A summary of events held in 2011/2012 was shared.

Ordinances on Second Reading

2011-17 Salary Ordinance - provides salary range increases for all noncontractual personnel ; passed 4-3.  A corresponding resolution to effectuate 2% salary increases will be on the January 9 meeting agenda.

20111-20 modification of pay to play ordinance which allows additional services without bidding if subsequent service is necessary; if subsequent is unanticipated or needs to be phased;  passed 5-1

2011-22 ordinance to refund $12M in bonds to take advantage of reduced interest rates ; passed 6-0

2011-23 ordinance to exclude definition of landscaper those people who are subject to State registration; make ordinance compliant with state law; currently all landscapers are subject to SO licensing; passed 6-0

Ordinances on First Reading

2011-21 Requires bicycle storage and racks.    Planning Board to consider on Jan 11 (ordinance remains tabled)

Discussion

Reassessment Update - 2 weeks of informal meetings (210 hearings) have been held so far, with Wednesday the last day for appointments.  New assessments will be filed with County by January; Village will draft explanation of new assessments on resident's taxes.

EOWC - Village is filing motion to have overseer appointed which will be heard on Jan 5;  EOWC has received additional violations, including for DEP being denied access to information; Village's independent testing shows exceedence of tetrachloraethylene continues, but is not exceptionally high;  The Village is still concerned that EOWC is manipulating the pumping of wells.

Proposed Salary Study - Interim Administrator Burkholder proposes looking at a comparison with other communities and determining how salaries would be administered

YMCA Agreement for supervision of the basketball courts - BOT agreed to move forward again next year with a similar program

Redevelopment Counsel - to be discussed at legal committee meeting on Tuesday evening.

Village Hall renovation  - I shared a presentation outlining the history of Village Hall, the timeline to-date, the proposed timeline for construction (2 years, starting in Summer 2012) and potential costs ($5.644M as a best case scenario, depending on change orders, unknown unknowns and what the Construction Bids actually show).   See presentation attached to this blog post for full details.

Public Comments

• Leslie Pogany - suggests sharing services with Maplewood SID
• Alyssa Aronson - asked questions about SO
• Claudia Matheiss  - Expressed concerns about EOWC and their business practices and requested more frequent updates
• Erna Laves - Recognized former Village staff (Trudy Schneider, Patty Wolf, Mario Luciani) and thanked them for their service.

Consent Agenda

17 resolutions were passed on Consent Agenda

Happy Holidays to all!