BOT Meeting recap 3-26-12

The following is a brief unofficial recap of many items that occurred or were discussed at the March 26, 2012 BOT Meeting.  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

Harac Consulting presented a summary of the recent report he did on the finances of SOPAC.  His conclusions included the following:

• Mr. Harac feels that SOPAC performs well, but there is an underfunding of the institution and the original plan for funding needs to be revisited
• Mr. Harac feels that SOPAC  requires an annual subsidy from the Village of  $576k (up from the current $400k subsidy provided today)
• Mr. Harac recommends that the building be taken back and should be owned by the Village, because there is no way for SOPAC to ever pay back the $15M in debt service
• Mr. Harac recommends as a next step, a business plan for growth

Redflex

After discussing the idea of implementing automated Red Light traffic cameras in South Orange over the past few years, the vendor was invited to provide a brief presentation and to answer any questions.  In summary:

• The system requires no out of pocket cost. All fees come out of the cost of each ticket
• The vendor provides all maintenance
• The system presents evidence to police to determine whether a citation is warranted, but all summonses are issued by the Police.
• The vendor provides both still cameras & video cameras that provide context to an officer reviewing the violation
• The vendor shared statistics that  show the system results in a decrease in crashes and red light violations
• During a 12 hour study in 2010 - 19 violations occurred westbound and  20 violations occurred eastbound at the intersection of South Orange Ave and Scotland Rd
• Currently, NJ has a Pilot program - a municipality has to apply and is only allowed to participate if they have a documented problem
• 25 municipalities have been approved in NJ, so far
• The vendor would do an intersection analysis up-front to determine which intersections would be prime candidates for the system
• The vendor estimates South Orange would see approximately 200 
  violations/month and with 5 intersections being monitored it would generate approximately $600k/year for the Village
• Video from the system can be obtained (i.e., to prosecute other crimes), only with issuance of a court order

   

Public Comments

• Sharon Pigeon - Inquired about the status of the Historic Preservation Commission (Trustee Rosner shared that the Committee has met several times to discuss the idea, an ordinance has been drafted and a follow-up meeting is to be scheduled in the next couple weeks)
• Meredith Sue Willis - requested funding for the CCR
• Liz McMahon - requested funding for the CCR
• Alan Noel - requested funding for the CCR
• Mila Jasey - requested funding for the CCR
• Alyssa Aronson - requested funding for the CCR
• Robert Chandross - expressed concerns about presentation from Harac Consulting regarding SOPAC

 
Note:
At the March 3, 2011 budget workshop, the idea was proposed of providing physical space for the CCR in South Orange in lieu of financial support. At the July 18, 2011 budget workshop, that idea was agreed upon by a majority of the Board of Trustees. From the minutes of that meeting: "After much discussion, the Board of Trustees agreed to appropriate $22,500 in funding to the CCR in the 2011 budget, less the pro-rated value of office space offered by the Village as an in-kind contribution. The Board of Trustees further agreed that as of January 1, 2012, the Village would only be providing in-kind office space, plus telephone and utilities, with no monetary funding."  This was communicated to the CCR on July 20, 2011, in January 2012 and again via email on February 8, 2012.

 

Ordinances on Second Reading

Ordinance 2012-03 Requiring bicycle storage for new construction, passed 6-0

Ordinances on First Reading

Ordinance 2012-04 Requiring the retrofitting of existing storm drain inlets - this is a required ordinance from the State, passed 6-0 

Ordinance 2012-5  Ordinance to establish a CAP bank - this is a formality that is done each year, passed 6-0

 

Reports

• Alex attended a League seminar this weekend 
• Barry Lewis provided an update on the status of the budget - He still expects it to be just under 2% and it will be introduced at the meeting on April 9
• The Village received a $230k DOT grant for improvements to Turrell Ave

   

Committee Highlights:

Finance

• Expressed frustration in obtaining consistency with financial reporting.  Service Level statement is being developed 
• Meeting with Seton Hall to discuss networking and plans for using servers in new location

Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Committee 

• Reviewed a resident's request for speed humps on Mayhew/Harding to reduce speeding.  There is no money in the budget for this year, but it will be considered for next year. 
• Reviewed the decision to install electric lights on Fairview avenue to increase light on the street

Public Safety 

• Award of a contract for new Ladder Truck for SOFD will be on the next BOT Meeting Agenda 
• Reviewed a resident's request to add turn arrows on Ridgewood Rd at the intersection of Ridgewood and South Orange Ave.  To be followed-up at the next Public Safety Committee 
• The Citizens Public Safety Committee is sponsoring a Toy Drive for the DVRT (Domestic Violence Response Team) which begins on April 1st - bring any toys to the Clerk's office during normal business hours

  

Legal 

• Reviewing the Performance Evaluation process 
• Discussed what happens to the  Board of School Estimate if the BOE election moves to November 
• Reviewed the holiday schedule for Village Staff with the intent of normalizing Village holidays down from the current 15 paid holidays that are observed today

Public Works 

•  Single Stream recycling moving forward

Recreation 

•  Regulations for parks are being reviewed by Counsel

   
Discussion

Village Hall renovation - An oversight committee will be formed consisting of Nancy & Janine as the BOT representatives, along with the Village Administrator, Engineer and Construction Manager

 

Amendment to Satellite Antenna Ordinance - Based on a resident inquiry it was determined that our current ordinance was  unconstitutional because antennas smaller than 1 meter are protected;  Counsel has drafted a revised Ordinance which creates new definition.  This Ordinance will be listed for First Reading at the next Meeting.

 

Vacant Storefront Ordinance - Counsel drafted a temporary ordinance to be introduced at next meeting which will provide options to utilize more attractive materials  for vacant storefronts as a stop-gap measure, until the newly formed SID can address in greater detail.

 

Consent Agenda

 14 resolutions were passed on Consent Agenda, 6-0, including the awarding of a contract to Giordano Company for Single Stream Recycling, awarding of a contract to Stony's for the Pool Concession, awarding of a contract to Joseph Bauman as Redvelopment Counsel and terminating the Administrative Consulting contract with John Gross.   

New Business

Trustee Gould raised the question to confirm that funding for Youthnet is included in the 2012 budget.  There was a lot of back and forth among the Board and in the end, there was uncertainty among the Board if the funding was or was not agreed to last Summer for Youthnet, when it was conclusively agreed to cease funding for the other non-profit (CCR)  in 2012, and to provide in-kind office space, in lieu of monetary funding.