October 10, 2006
A Regular
Meeting of the Township Council of the Township of Roxbury was held on October
10, 2006 at 1715 Route 46, Ledgewood, New Jersey at 7:30 p.m.
OPEN PUBLIC MEETING STATEMENT
Adequate notice
of this meeting of the Township Council of the Township of Roxbury was given as
required by the Open Public Meetings act as follows: Notice was faxed to the Daily Record, the Newark Star Ledger and
the Roxbury Register on January 5, 2006; notice was posted on the bulletin
board in the main hallway of the Municipal Building on January 5, 2006.
ROLL CALL
(Present): Councilwoman Kathy DeFillippo, Councilmen
Fred Hall, Jim Rilee, Richard Zoschak, Tim Smith, John Ciaramella and Mayor
Martin Schmidt
ALSO PRESENT:
Christopher Raths, Township Manager; Anthony Bucco, Township Attorney;
BettyLou DeCroce, Township Clerk and Mary Jane Parr, Administrative Aide
PRESENTATIONS
NJDOT—Route 10 /
Commerce Boulevard
Councilman Rilee
stepped down from the dais during this discussion due to a potential conflict
of interest.
Camille Fernicola, NJDOT Office of Community
Relations; Thomas Sohn, Project Manager for DOT and Bob Abbotts, DOT Department
of Engineering, presented Council with an update on the new configuration of
the Route 10/Commerce Boulevard intersection, which would lower the price from
$17 million to approximately $4 million.
The new configuration would have the “Jersey barrier” in the middle with
three eastbound and three westbound
lanes on Route 10. The existing
alignment of Commerce Boulevard would remain as is and there would be a
roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and St. Therese Road. The current Commerce Boulevard jug handle on
Route 10 westbound is proposed to be removed and the left turn lane on Route 10
eastbound at Hillside Avenue will be extended.
The plan also calls for a new signalized intersection at Mary Louise
Avenue to enable motorists to make a left turn onto Route 10 westbound and a
roundabout for smoother traffic operation at Mary Louise Avenue and the
shopping mall driveway intersection. The existing jug handle from Route 10
eastbound to Commerce Boulevard, which is used for U-turns, would be removed to
force the mall traffic to utilize Mary Louise Avenue to make a left turn on to
Route 10 westbound.
Mr. Hall
stated that he feels the expansion of the Route 10/Hillside Avenue stacking
lane on Route 10 is something that is very much needed. Also, the Mary Louise
scenario, which will provide another exit point to allow people onto Route 10
is positive. Mr. Hall still likes the
original plan for Commerce Boulevard that had the direct connection across
Route 10, which seemed like a much more simplistic approach. Mr. Hall’s main concern is the
roundabouts. A while ago Roxbury
Township got rid of a traffic circle and the number of accidents at that
particular intersection dropped significantly.
He would like to know how the Council can be assured that they are not
creating a safety issue by implementing the roundabouts. Mr. Sohn explained that the roundabouts are
not really the same idea as a traffic circle.
These are used in Europe and many West Coast States. The roundabout is for a low speed road. Mr. Abbotts stated that, unlike traffic
circles, everyone coming into the roundabout yields. Mayor Schmidt asked how drivers would know to yield. Mr. Abbotts advised that there is signage,
there would be sharks teeth in the pavement marking and the entrance would be
flared so the driver could not go straight into it. Mr. Abbotts further stated that there does not need to be
roundabouts in this scheme, but it is a place where they can be effective. Mr. Abbotts stated that roundabouts are
safer than signalized intersections in that they eliminate the “T-Bone” crash. Mr. Smith stated that he agrees with Mr.
Hall’s comments. He asked the purpose of the roundabout on Mary Louise
Avenue. Mr. Abbotts stated that it is
for the mall shoppers. Mr. Smith stated
that he feels the roundabout concept creates conflict. Mr. Smith stated that, unfortunately,
drivers are not courteous and he feels that roundabouts would lead to more road
rage. Mr. Smith asked the policy level
criteria that determine what projects get funded first. Mr. Sohn stated that is something that comes
from upper management and they have a priority for intersections that cause
most accidents. He does not know where
this intersection falls. Mr. Zoschak
reiterated that the Mary Louise light will work; however, he does not feel that
the roundabouts would work. He sees a
problem with the Main Street/Commerce Boulevard intersection, which is a
difficult intersection to make both left hand turns from Main Street and to
make left hand turns on to Main Street, coming south from Commerce
Boulevard. The roundabouts, he does not
feel, would slow down traffic. Mr.
Zoschak asked if there are other municipalities in New Jersey that currently
have roundabouts that the Council could look at. Mr. Abbotts stated that there are none constructed at this time,
but there are a lot of them in design. Mr. Abbotts further stated that the DOT
looked at leaving the intersection changes as originally designed, but it would
be more in right of way costs and there are wetland impacts that would delay
the project. Mrs. DeFillippo asked if drivers going eastbound would be able to
make a U-turn at Mary Louise Avenue.
Mr. Sohn stated that is one of the purposes of the roundabout at that
location. Mrs. DeFillippo has concerns
regarding the roundabouts because she has had experiences with a roundabout in
New York in an area where the traffic is not as busy as this area. The traffic built up in every direction and
you have to hope that the people entering the roundabout would be
courteous. She also has a concern with
regard to Fire Company No. 1, which is just east of St. Therese Road, and how
the fire trucks and ambulances would maneuver the roundabout. Also, Mrs.
DeFillippo pointed out, there is a lot of traffic coming out of the St. Therese
parking lot. Mrs. DeFillippo reiterated that the Commerce Boulevard/Main Street
intersection is a very difficult and very heavily traveled intersection. Her concern is that this will cause more
traffic to cut through the condos on Commerce Boulevard. Mrs. DeFillippo stated
that by causing all the traffic to go to the roundabout, plus all the traffic
on Main Street, they will all pass the Commerce Boulevard/Main Street
intersection, making it more dangerous.
Mr. Smith asked why there could not be a left turn stacking lane on
Route 10 westbound for Commerce Boulevard and do away with forcing cars to
travel on Main Street. Mr. Sohn stated that would have a lot to do with the
volume of traffic and they do not feel that would work. Mr. Abbotts stated that to add a left turn
stacking lane would increase right of way impacts. Mr. Zoschak stated that by
putting all the traffic on to Main Street, the Commerce Boulevard/Main Street
intersection will be even more dangerous. Mr. Hall stated that one area of
major concern is the traffic back up on Hillside Avenue to Route 10. He asked
if the DOT is considering a left hand turn signal on Hillside Avenue to
alleviate the back up. Mr. Sohn stated
that is not in this particular project. Mr. Hall stated that there is a left
turn signal on Hillside Avenue northbound to go to Route 10 eastbound and if
that were put in on Hillside Avenue southbound to go to Route 10 westbound, it
would help the situation. Mr. Sohn stated that the DOT will look into
this. Mr. Smith stated that by fixing
the problem with the Hillside Avenue light, it may alleviate some of the Commerce
Boulevard problems. Regarding the “Jersey Barrier”, Council members requested a
brick façade, which has been done in other parts of the State. Mrs. DeCroce
advised that a Resolution was adopted in 1997 supporting a design for this
intersection. In 1999 the DOT came back
advising that the original design would fail in 4 to 5 years because of the
stacking lanes and they drew up the existing design, which would last 10+
years. Mrs. DeCroce will copy Council
with the documentation. The representatives
of the DOT will take the Council’s concerns back to management and report back
to the Township.
Mayor Schmidt
opened the discussion to the public at this time.
Robert Kluska,
Emmans Road, asked how the residents who live in the condos on Howard Boulevard
would get to their homes from Route 10 eastbound, if the turn around on Route
10 eastbound is eliminated. Mr. Abbotts
stated that they would make a left at Hillside Avenue.
Joyce
Dargel, 67 Carey Road, stated that by eliminating the U-turn on Route 10
eastbound, it would impact the small strip malls on Route 10 westbound. She stated that the traffic on Main Street
is bad when people leave St. Therese Church and having the roundabout at that
location will only increase the traffic.
Jim
Rilee, 192 Eyland Avenue, stated that there are many concerns involving the
north side of the realignment, which need to be discussed. The current configuration will be forcing
more traffic on to Main Street. Mr.
Rilee asked if the parking lot of Wine Country would be made smaller when St.
Therese Road is made wider. Mr. Abbotts
stated they would have to check into this more closely.
Mayor Schmidt
closed the discussion to the public.
At this time
Councilman Rilee returned to the dais.
At 8:45 PM
Council took a short break.
At 9:00 PM
Council returned to the Regular Meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
August
15, 2006 Regular
Sept. 12,
2006 Regular
Sept. 12,
2006 Executive
Mr.
Hall made a motion to approve the above Minutes. Mr. Ciaramella seconded the motion.
Roll
Call:
Mr.
Hall – yes Mr. Ciaramella – yes
Mrs.
DeFillippo – yes Mr. Rilee – yes –
(abstain on September 12th
minutes)
Mr.
Smith – yes – (abstain on September 12th minutes)
Mr.
Zoschak – abstain Mayor Schmidt – yes
Motion
carried 6 – 0 with three abstentions on September 12th and one
abstention on August 15th
PUBLIC PORTION
Doug Sclar, 19
Wright Court, stated that there is a small portion of Reger Road which does not
have a sidewalk and he would like the Council to look into constructing a sidewalk
in this area for the safety of the children in the neighborhood. Mr. Raths will look into this and report
back to Council.
Deon Wright, 412
Mt. Arlington Boulevard, requested an update regarding the ongoing flooding
issue at his home. Mr. Raths stated
that the Resolution is on tonight’s Agenda.
REPORTS OF
COUNCIL LIAISON REPRESENTATIVES, COUNCIL COMMITTEES AND NEW BUSINESS/OLD
BUSINESS
Mr. Smith stated that the Township’s Open
Space presentation to the County will be
Monday evening, October 23rd.
Mr. Smith will provide Council with a
budget spreadsheet for them to look at and discuss during this year’s budget
process.
Mr. Zoschak stated that the Lake
Hopatcong Commission met and they are looking into establishing an Alternate
Funding Committee. They are looking at
the possibility of user fees at the
Lake.
Mr. Zoschak advised that he received a
complaint from a resident regarding speeding on Laurie Road and cars passing
stopped school buses. Mr. Raths will
follow up with Chief Noll.
Mr. Rilee stated that Freeholder Schrier
advised him that the proposed project
for the bike path was met favorably at the Morris County Municipal Utilities
Authority meeting. The Township will meet with the MCMUA on November 6th.
Mr. Rilee attended the recent Fire Chiefs
meeting and advised that there are still problems with the radios. Mr. Raths is working on the problem.
Mr.
Ciaramella stated there is a 2 year old girl in Roxbury Township with cancer
and he has been advised that four local high school girls have raised $3,000
for the Salazar family. The Roxbury Rotary is contributing $500.00 to the
family and he would like the Rotary Club to present their check to the girls at
the next meeting.
Mr.
Hall commended the staff on the paving job on Mooney Road. Mr. Hall also stated that the new “Welcome
to Roxbury” signs look very nice.
Mr.
Hall stated that he attended the Buddy Walk this past weekend and it went very
well.
Mr. Rilee advised that he spoke with Mr.
Freund on Mooney Road and he was happy
with the paving job.
Mrs. DeFillippo stated that Tom Potere,
Zoning Officer, gave a presentation at
the Economic Development Committee meeting showing the significant improvements
to Route 46 and Route 10.
Mrs.
DeFillippo requested an update on the possibility of changing the recycling day
in Kenvil & Landing. Mr. Raths received a report from Mr. Blood
advising that it is very difficult to change the recycling days. Mr. Blood will
speak to the homeowner advising her of the difficulties.
Mrs. DeFillippo advised that the railroad
ties are still on Emmans Road. Mr.
Raths will follow up with the County.
Mrs. DeFillippo requested an update on
the compression brake sign for Dell Avenue.
Mr. Blood advised that it is installed.
Mrs. DeFillippo stated that she attended
the Buddy Walk and it was a great success.
Mrs. DeFillippo stated that a walk will
be held on October 28th for the Salazar’s two year old daughter who
has a brain tumor. Mayor Schmidt asked
if there are any signs at Town Hall regarding the walk. Mr. Raths stated that we will post the
flyer, but we cannot take collections at Town Hall.
Mayor
Schmidt advised that there were 700 participants in the Buddy Walk and the
Parents for Exceptional Children (PEC) was very pleased.
Mayor Schmidt asked if the sign at the
Hunter Street/Route 10 intersection has been moved. Mr. Blood has it on his schedule.
Mayor Schmidt requested an update on the
DPW Committee. Mr. Raths stated that
the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 16th. Since there is nothing new to discuss, Mr.
Raths will cancel this meeting.
Mr. Smith stated that the “Welcome to
Roxbury” sign on Hillside Avenue seems to be placed too far into Roxbury. Mr. Blood advised that due to site distance,
the sign was placed in the current location.
Mr.
Raths advised that he will send Council a copy of the membership of the old
traffic committee.
Mr. Raths stated that he looked into the
possible shared services with the Board of Education regarding the tractor and
the bus; however, neither one meets the Township’s needs. Mr. Raths stated that
another meeting regarding field maintenance shared services will be held in the
near future.
Mr. Raths advised that the Fire
Department requested the purchase of 40 to 50 pagers this year. Mr. Raths advised them to place it in their
Capital Budget for 2007.
Mrs.
DeCroce stated the County is doing a shared service application for the PARIS
Grants. She has signed on with Susan Pinto who is leading the funding and
application process. Hopefully the Township
will qualify for some money. Mr. Hall
stated that this is for document storage.
Mr.
Raths advised that Lisa Palmieri has been in contact with the County regarding
the feasibility of Countywide
borrowing in regards to the pension obligation. She has also spoken to them about taking our Capital borrowing,
which runs approximately $1 million a year and looking at doing this through
the County’s bonding process which they have promoted. However, the County will not go out for less
than $5 million and they are not interested in putting anything together at
this time.
Procurement Policy
This will be
discussed at a future meeting.
Appointments
Rockaway River
Watershed Cabinet—2 Members, 1-year term
Economic
Development Committee—1 Member, 3-year term
Raritan
Highlands Compact—2 Members
Sussex County
208 Water Quality PAC
Planning Board
Alternate No., 2, unexpired term of Michael Hawley, 1/1/06 – 12/31/07
Citizens Cable
Committee, unexpired term of Michael Hawley, 3/8/05 – 12/31/07
The above appointments
will be discussed at a future meeting.
MATTERS
REQUESTED/REFERRED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, MANAGER, ATTORNEY OR CLERK
Council Meetings 2007
Council
agreed for the Reorganization meeting to be held on January 2, 2007 at 7:00 PM.
Mrs. DeFillippo stated that the tentative
dates for the Township Neighborhood Meetings are January 31, 2007, May 15,
2007, August 15, 2007 and October 16, 2007. Council agreed to these dates. Mrs. DeCroce stated that the dates will be
placed in the Township Calendar and the Roxbury Image.
State Planning Area Map Cross
Acceptance
Mr.
Raths discussed with Council an area off of
Railroad Avenue, Kenvil, which the State would like to rezone from PA2
to PA5. This is a piece of property
that is predominately owned by Mr. Crimi.
The Master Plan Committee has advised that they have no objection to the
zone change. A resolution will be place on the next meeting agenda for
approval. Mr. Rilee requested that the
changes from 2004 that are not reflected in the State map also be included in
the resolution. Mr. Raths will contact
Mr. Crimi and advise him of the potential change.
INTRODUCTION OF PROPOSED
ORDINANCES
None
HEARING AND ADOPTION OF
ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING
None
INTRODUCTION AND ADOPTION OF
RESOLUTIONS
06-342
A
resolution incorporating by reference herein and approving the following
numbered
resolutions listed on the regular council meeting
agenda for this date:06-335, 06-343, 06-344, 06-345, 06-346, 06-347, 06-348,
06-350, 06-351, 06-352
Mr. Rilee made a
motion to adopt Resolution 06-342. Mr.
Zoschak seconded the motion.
Roll Call:
Mr. Rilee -yes Mr. Zoschak – yes
Mr. Ciaramella –
yes (recuse on check #41479)
Mrs. DeFillippo
– yes Mr. Hall - yes
Mr. Smith –
yesMayor Schmidt – yes
Motion carried 7
– 0 with one recusal on check #41479
06-335 A resolution authorizing the award of a
contract to Spatial Data Logic Corporation for
the expansion of Geographic Information
System (GIS) software.
06-343 A resolution authorizing refund of unused
escrow monies previously deposited with the
Township
of Roxbury for development matters pursuant to Chapter XIII (Land Use) of the Revised General Ordinances of the
Township of Roxbury.
06-344 A resolution urging the New Jersey League
of Municipalities’ support in opposing the
New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection’s proposal to lower the total
phosphorus limitations to 0.1mg/l.
06-345 A resolution urging the New Jersey League
of Municipalities to seek changes in the New
Jersey mediation and arbitration processes with respect to public sector
employees.
06-346 A resolution authorizing the sale of
municipal personal property.
06-347 A
resolution authorizing the acceptance of a cash bond for tree removal permit
for
Emanse Estate LLC located on Route 46, Block
7502, Lot 6.
06-348A
resolution authorizing the award of a negotiated contract to Pave-King Inc. for
the
project known as 412 Mount Arlington
Boulevard drainage improvements.
06-349 A resolution authorizing the award of a
contract to Ionni Signs Inc., for the purchase of a
new sign at Horseshoe Lake Entrance, 72
Eyland Ave., Succasunna, NJ – PULLED
06-349 A resolution authorizing the acceptance
of a deed from 2-3 Manor Parkway, LLC
(Towne Toyota) across Lots 49 and 50, Block
8602 for road purposes.
06-350 A resolution urging the New Jersey League
of Municipalities to support an amendment
to Title 59 requiring the state to provide a
defense and indemnification of municipal and
county employees performing state or county law
enforcement activities.
06-352 A resolution authorizing payment of bills.
PERSONNEL CHANGES
None
COMMUNICATIONS
September 29,
2006
October 6, 2006
Mr. Smith made a
motion to file the above communications.
Mr. Rilee seconded the motion.
Roll Call:
Mr. Smith –yes Mr. Rilee – yes
Mr. Ciaramella –
yes Mrs. DeFillippo – yes
Mr. Hall – yes Mr.
Zoschak – yes
Mayor Schmidt –
yes
Motion carried 7
– 0
PUBLIC PORTION
Robert Kluska,
Emmans Road, asked where the “Welcome to Roxbury” signs are located so that he
can advise the Seniors at their next meeting.
Mr. Raths advised that they will be located on Center Street in Port Morris, South Hillside Avenue by Emmans
Road and Howard Boulevard by the Hercules entrance.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
06-353 Resolution of the Township Council of the
Township of Roxbury, in the County of
Morris,
New Jersey, authorizing conference of the Township Council with the public
excluded
Mr. Zoschak made
a motion to adopt Resolution 06-353 for Executive Session. Mr. Smith seconded the motion.
Roll Call:
Mr. Zoschak –
yes Mr. Smith - yes
Mr. Ciaramella –
yes Mrs. DeFillippo – yes
Mr. Hall – yes Mr.
Rilee – yes
Mayor Zoschak –
yes
Motion carried 7
- 0
ADJOURNMENT
At 10:10 PM Mr.
Smith made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting. Mr. Ciaramella seconded the motion.
All In Favor -
Yes
Submitted By:
_________________________
BettyLou DeCroce