Lebanon Township Committee Minutes of Regular Meeting

September 5, 2007

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Edward Post called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and stated that in compliance with the “Open Public Meeting Act” this is a Regular Meeting of the Township Committee as published in the Hunterdon Review, the agenda has been posted at the Municipal Building and distributed to the Hunterdon Review, Courier News, the Express Times, the Hunterdon County Democrat and the Star Ledger.

FLAG SALUTE

Mayor Post asked everyone to stand for the flag salute.

ROLL CALL

Present - Ed Post Patricia Schriver Jay Weeks

George Piazza Francis Monahan

Absent -

Also Present – Attorney Eric Bernstein and Clerk Karen Sandorse

PRESENTATION OF MINUTES

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 27, 2007.

Motion by Mr. Piazza, seconded by Ms. Schriver and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the Minutes of the Executive Session of August 27, 2007.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved Resolution No. 65-2007 and convened in executive session at 7:03 p.m.

TOWNSHIP OF LEBANON

RESOLUTION NO. 65-2007

BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Township Committee of the Township of

Lebanon, that in compliance with N.J.S.A. 10:4-12, this meeting will be closed to the

Public to discuss the following matters:

Contract Negotiations – Police Chief

Motion by Mr. Piazza, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee reconvened the Regular Committee meeting at 7:28 p.m.

Attorney Phil George stated that there was one topic of conversation in the executive session which was the fine tuning of the contractual agreement with the incoming Police Chief, with regards to carry over issues which resulted from his prior contract.

Motion by Mr. Monahan, seconded by Ms. Schriver and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the Police Chief’s one year contact with amendments as discussed in executive session.

OLD BUSINESS

Oath of Office – Lebanon Township Police Chief Chris Mattson

Chris Mattson was sworn in as Lebanon Township Police Chief by Attorney Phil George.

Chief Mattson stated that when he thinks back to 1960, when he moved into the Township as a young pup, the last thing he thought was that he would be standing here as Police Chief, and here he is. Chief Mattson thanked the Committee for giving him the opportunity to sit as Chief and stated that he appreciated all of the members of the public who were in attendance. He said that he will be doing the best he can and his department will continue to serve this community in the way it has been.

NEW BUSINESS

DPW Supervisor Request – Participate in Cooperative Purchasing of Deicing Salt

Motion by Mr. Weeks, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee authorized Paul Jones to proceed with participation in the cooperative purchasing with Hunterdon County for deicing salt for the 2008 winter season.

Approve Raffle License Application – Voorhees High School PTSA – 10/19/07

Motion by Mr. Piazza, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the Voorhees High School PTSA Raffle License Application which is to be held on 10/19/07.

Police Office Manager Request – Police Chief Luncheon

The Police Office Manager has requested committee approval to have a welcome luncheon for Chief Mattson at Tony’s Bistro.

Motion by Mr. Monahan, seconded by Ms. Schriver and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the Police Office Manager’s request upon certification of funds.

PRESENTATION OF VOUCHERS

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the September 5, 2007 bill list in the amount of $44,861.53.

CORRESPONDENCE

Scott Rhoades - Email Requesting Left Turn Arrow – Route 31 and Van Sykles Intersection

An email was received from Scott Rhoades asking the Township Committee if they would make a request to the DOT to place a left turn arrow at the intersection of Route 31 north and Van Sykles Road.

The Police Chief will have a police study preformed and will make recommendations based on the outcome.

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Monahan and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote the Township Committee authorized the Chief to perform a traffic study and to submit recommendations to the DOT on the Township’s behalf.

Tax Collector Report for the Month of July

The Tax Collector submitted her collection report for the month of August 2007.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Piazza and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee opened the Public Comment portion of the meeting.

Ms. Mary Lamperti and Ms. Susan Limbo, of Hollow Brook Road, were in attendance to inform the Committee of concerns they have with the gravel on the street ending in the ravine. Ms. Limbo stated that this is having a negative impact on the eco system. Ms. Lamperti stated that she discussed the matter with Paul Jones and also the possibility of leaving the road alone and letting it become natural. The question of who owns the road was raised. Ms. Lamperti and Ms. Limbo would like to see the road no longer improved and to find a better way of improving it with out affecting the ravine. They stated that paving the road is not the answer.

The Township Engineer, Paul Jones and John Trontis, from the County Parks Dept., are to meet and make suggestions or recommendations to the Committee for consideration.

Mr. Bruce Cunningham of the LTFAS, reported to the Committee that the Coin Toss the squad held on 09/01/07 and 09/02/07 was very successful. The squad received $2,650.00 in donations. Bruce acknowledged the Township Police and DPW for their help in the Toss. There were no problems to report. Bruce thanked the Committee for their help with the paperwork.

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Piazza and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee closed the Public Comment portion of the meeting.

Request for Clerical Assistance

The Municipal Clerk requested the assistance of Wendy Harding in the Municipal Office to perform clerical duties during the 6 -8 week time period in which the Planning Board Clerk will be out on medical leave.

Motion by Ms. Schriver, seconded by Mr. Piazza and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote, the Township Committee approved the request for clerical assistance during the Planning Board Clerk’ medical leave.

ADJOURN

Having no further business to come before the Committee, a motion was made by Mr. Piazza, seconded by Ms. Schriver, and carried by unanimous favorable roll call vote to adjourn the meeting at 7:53 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

_______________________________

Karen J. Sandorse, RMC/CMC

Municipal Clerk

Approved ___________________________

Edward L. Post III, Mayor