Mayor Filipek Read the Following Announcement

COUNCIL MEETING

MARCH 23, 2017

The regular meeting of the Mayor and Council was held on the above date.

Mayor Filipek read the following announcement:

On January 19, 2017 notice of this meeting was e-mailed to the Courier-Post Newspaper and duly posted on the bulletin board of the MunicipalBuilding. All requirements of the open public meetings act have been met in compliance with the Sunshine Law.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00PM by Mayor Filipek with the salute to the flag.

Members of Council attending the meeting: Mr. Sandrock, Mr. Casey, Mr. D’Angelo, Mr. Sauter, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Bider, Mayor Filipek. Charles J. Sauter, III-Borough Clerk, Robert L. Messick-Solicitor, Joshua T. Tregear-Borough Administrator in attendance.

Communications: None.

Mayor Filipek stated I guess everyone knows we get a lot of Communications in the Courier Post about the house if you read the papers. The latest thing is that the State is not giving anything because they are afraid they are going to Court and being sued, they are not letting nothing go that is the latest, they asked for doors and different things and the State will not release and I have not heard from the Governor. Pastor Kovlak stated do they exist or are we just being told that Mayor responded I am only telling you what I heard and it is the same thing I was told. I called the Governors office yesterday and no one was around and they had no reply. As soon as I hear I will let you know.

Committee Reports:

Mr. Sandrock- Thank you Mayor. On April 7th, our new Court Administrator that has been selected through the Assignment Judge of CamdenCounty will start here with the Municipality. I would like to point her out as she is here this evening, Amanda. Amanda was selected from a list of Candidates by the Assignment Judge and we welcome Amanda here. I would like to brief everyone on that process obviously we had over 80 applications and we narrowed it down to 9 that came in for interviews, myself the Business Administrator Josh Tregear, the Judge and someone from the Judiciary system sat in on those interviews at the completion of the interviews obviously they selected 4 candidates who were sent to the Assignment Judge who made the final selection and recommendation. Amanda comes with a certificate for her title and she has experience with Deptford and Westville so she comes with experience and we are proud to welcome her here. The handicapped lift everyone has been hearing about obviously we had new construction of the entrance way here in the Municipality and will be delivered the week of April 3rd, it will be completed and installed on April 3rd. We are anxious to have that completed and that project done. And just a comment on the home, the Hugg-Harrison-Glover house I am sure all the other Councilman would say the same, we had no knowledge that the house was going to be torn down so quickly it is an embarrassment to the Community and it is an embarrassment to everyone here that worked hard to try to get that home saved and atleast we could have gotten some type of resemblance out of that even though they decided to proceed ahead so that we could have picked what we wanted that we could display artifacts for the future but that was not the case and certainly the Reverend here you worked hard in your endeavor and it did not work out and we were stunned everybody here will say the same thing I’m sure. That’s all I have Mayor, thank you.

Mr. Casey- About the buildings, Councilman Sandrock spoke about the chairlift. I attended the School Board meeting last Wednesday and it was determined at their budget meeting they are looking at a 1.8 cent increase which would mean that a house assessed at $168,000.00 which is the medium in Bellmawr would be a $30.00 increase this year. They are having a Blood Drive on May 12th at BellOaksSchool. I met with the Seniors on Wednesday at their luncheon. If you look on the Agenda tonight we have the Ordinance going through in reference to Leaf Avenue becoming a one way and I advised the Seniors of that and they were very happy that was going through because of so many near misses they had there with car accidents. I have nothing else Mayor.

Mr. D’Angelo- Thank you Mayor, just a couple of things. I spoke to Girls Softball today, opening day for Girls Softball is April 1st and all activities will be held at the field, no parade this year starting time at approximately 11:45AM as first game is scheduled for 12:15PM. The Easter Egg Hunt is April 8th at 11:00AM and the rain date is April 15th, don’t be late as it is the best day of the year at the RecreationCenter. Opening day for Baseball is Saturday, April 15thso Baseball and Softball are two different dates this year. I talked to Baseball today and they are still discussing and are going to talk to the Chief about having a small parade I would assume after talking to Rich the parade would start at Annunciation Church and come down Victory Drive to the baseball Field starting at Noon but if that does not work out they are just going to start their day at Noon at the Major League field. The Bellmawr Hockey Association they are installing a new rink down at the complex and they are financing the project we are helping them with limited manpower to get it up and running and have the rink ready for Nationals which are the first week of May. We are trying to help them the best we can as this needs to be done right we cannot do it wrong, it needs to be perfect. You will notice on the Agenda tonight two Resolutions that are for Grants, $25,000.00 each, one is for playground equipment at the Recreation Center and the other is for benches at the basketball court at the Rec Center and paint for the Courts depending on weather we get the Grants or not that depends on if we proceed with the projects. The playground equipment at the Rec was closed for months in the summer and after discussing it with the Mayor and Council it is probably time we move on with this to avoid certain issues, so depending on how the Grants go that is how we will go. And this is all I have, thank you.

Mr. Sauter- Under Public Works our Water and Sewer Departments were busy on February 28th our Water and Sewer Superintendant, George Rennles who is here tonight was notified that the Browning Road overpass was struck by a truck that was overloaded with scrap metal which created a problem with our 8inch main that runs under Browning Road he immediately sent out his Foreman and Senior Licensed operator and instructed them to isolate the water main and shut down the valves. He then proceeded to go onto Route 295 under the overpass identify the issue and put the wheels in motion to get the emergency work done, it was all taken care of on March 3rd, total expenditures was $18,855.49 that will be totally reimbursed per agreements. I would like to personally thank George for his efforts and quick response in remiding the situation. Also under Public Works we had winter storm Stella and mostly it was 3.5 inches of snow, ice and sleet the storm gave us and caused several road closures, low hanging live wires on large tree limbs and roadways. I would like to thank all of the employees of the Highway Department, Bellmawr Police and Fire Companies for working together and really taking care of keeping this under control for our residents. Total expenditures $6,163.67 for that storm. Total snow expenditures for 2017 were only $20,907.00 thanks to Mother Nature. Temporary Road Construction scheduling has been completed. Road projects scheduled will begin with Belmont Avenue and Salem Avenue scheduled for early May and they are due for total reconstruction. We have applied for C.D.B.G. money and will be used for the reconstruction of Center Avenue from Park Drive to Catherine Avenue. I am not sure if everyone has noticed by now that has been reported in the past the tree removal on West Browning Road has been done. The Highway Department is working closely with P.S.E. & G. Co. and the Sub Contractors and removed all the dangerous trees on West Browning Road, Vaughn Avenue and Kennedy Blvd. The trees were diseased and were causing severe tripping hazards. Once all removed and the ground is settled and the water and sewer lines inspected the Highway Department will replacing those sidewalks along West Browning Road will commence. That is about all I have.

Mr. Hagerty- Thank you Mayor. Unfortunately we had two fires this past week. I would like to congratulate the Police, Fire and EMS for responding quickly, everyone got out safely. Obviously damages to the homes and the families were relocated to different places while they are in process of rebuilding those homes and fixing them up. Good job by our Police, Fire, and EMS responding quickly and making sure everybody was safe. Last night our Police attended the Gloucester County Police Academy and Mark DeBerardinis graduated last night, Mark is a Bellmawr resident, Mark will be sworn in shortly and begin his field training in town. Under Zoning you see the construction at the Church. Saint Joachim Rectory the Borough did not tear down the Diocese of Camden made the recommendation as they own the property and the trees being removed are part of the State project not the Borough. They will be starting soon on construction of the temporary bridge and the parking lot at the Church, other than that, that is it Mayor.

Mr. Bider- O.K, thanks a couple of items, first on the Agenda you are going to see starting this year all appropriations for collecting taxes for the tax sale are going to be done online which is different and it should allow us better collection process, more income and less expenditures advertising and it will be a lot easier, this is for the Tax Sale only bidding process. I have to apologize because at the last meeting I said we would have a budget presentation at this meeting, however today I would like to give you a couple of budget updates and then tell you why it has to be at the next meeting not to our choosing. The Finance update is the Chief Financial Officer, Borough Administrator and Finance Committee met with every department Head for their budget needs for 2017. Each Department this year was asked to submit a 5 year plan and that will help long range projections especially for Capital items. The User Friendly Budget however will be on the Bellmawr Website as introduced, you can go on the website now and see how the User Friendly Budget works and shows where we are heading. We the Borough are anticipating a 1.2 cent increase. Mayor Filipek stated to Mr. Bider before you go on I am sorry to interrupt you I think we will come in at a “0” increase with no tax increase for the Borough that is County & School Board to. Mr. Bider said at this point we are in the range of a 1.2 increase and as based on $100,000.00 assessed valuation would be a $21.84 cant increase. But as Frank said the goal is Black Horse Pike Regional School District at zero increase which they have said and as Jamie just told you Bellmawr School District just under 2 cents at this point and us just over 1 cent increase if everything works out with County giving us there totals which is the hold up then it could be as low as zero or in our case with the School and is just under a 3 cent increase. So we really do not have a final total so appropriations could be changed slightly but the goal would be as close to zero as possible. So right now between 1.2 and zero for the Borough. April will be the official presentation by Maria, Josh and I. that is all I have. Mayor Filipek stated to Mr. Bider he would like to apologize because he did not get a chance before the meeting to talk to him, as I had meetings all week about this and if the County comes is a zero which they are trying to do, we are waiting for there figure and if they come in with a zero and the School Board is 1.8 and we are 1.2 we may come in at a minus 8 and the whole town would be a zero, we are going to cut as much as we can and hopefully for the first time in 20 years the Borough of Bellmawr will not have a tax increase because of the work of the Council and the Business people we held our line pretty well and even the School did at 1.8 which is good. God Bless next year. Hopefully we come in at a minus 1.8 to cover the School increase so it would be a zero increase. This all depends on the County and if they come in with an increase there is no way we can cover that amount. No department budgets will be cut we will not hear our departments and will have no layoffs. Ray I apologize again as this was just worked out this afternoon. Do you take my apology, yes I do.

Mayor Filipek- I would just like to go over it again with the House being demolished, there is nothing more I can do, if I have to take them to court I will. I am waiting to see what the Governor says. The next thing is we met again on the road and I have all of the legislators working on our behalf and the County to try to get the road so it can be used for the Redevelopment project which is the future can save the taxpayers a lot of money for not only bringing in industry and restaurants and a walkway park for the Seniors. If anyone is interested the Bellmawr Waterfront will take you on a boat ride around the landfill and you will see how beautiful it is on the water. There will also be a bike path, restaurants and hotels are interested in coming to Bellmawr, bowling alley but it all depends on the road. We are waiting for the approval from the State for the road and waiting for their decision from the State for the road and waiting for their decision where they are putting the missing moves. Tonight you will see on the Agenda we have a Resolution that that landfill will be owned by the Borough. The Resolution is to submit an application to the State of New Jersey that the owners will give to the Borough of Bellmawr and the Commissioner will be involved and the landfill will be referred to as the Bellmawr Waterfront Development.

Public Portion:

Mr. William Hagerty- 240 Roberts Avenue- I understand that or I see they are building a batting cage on Essex Avenue, Mayor said yes did you not know about that, yes I did but I also heard that there are not going to be any bathroom facilities or water, Mayor said who told you that, Mr. Hagerty said that is what I heard, Mayor responded that is not true. Mayor remarked that the building cost $540,000.00 that the State is paying for and the reason the State is paying is because the Mayor negotiated when the State took the ground behind the Little League and removed the trees was part of the deal that they build a batting cage. If you take notice the black top, batting cage that is being started and the Engineering fees is being paid by the State. Mayor stated Bellmawr Baseball or the Borough of Bellmawr are not paying one cent for anything for the batting cages all being reimbursed by the State of NJ. The project went out for bid and three companies bid on the project went out for bid and three companies bid on the project and all three bids came within 10% of each other. Mr. Hagerty stated the only reason I am asking is because I heard from several people that there were going to be no bathroom facilities or water and that is the only reason why I asked Mayor, but as long as you are telling me there will be then O.K. Mayor stated as far as I know they were to have facilities unless due to the cost the facilities had to be eliminated but I don’t know. However if they do not have bathrooms we have the Little League Hall right down the street. The batting cage is being built for the kids to hit, Mr. Hagerty said I understand but are they going to leave the building open every time they are using the batting cage, Mayor said yes we will because the building will be owned by the Borough of Bellmawr and we will have an employee there every time the batting cage is open it will be supervised, regulated and reserved for Organizations and will come under Gary Sauter at the Recreation Department and someone will be there working at all times. Mr. Hagerty said as long as there is a place for them to use a bathroom. I do not know if the batting cages are having bathrooms, Josh Tregear, Administrator said they will not have bathroom facilities. Mayor reinstated it will always be supervised for a $600,000.00 first class building.