Township of Long Hill
Environmental Commission
Regular Meeting Minutes
Monday, April 17, 2006
1. CALL TO ORDER AND STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE
The Environmental Commission (EC) of the Township of Long Hill, in the County of Morris and State of New Jersey convened in a regular meeting at the Municipal Building, 915 Valley Road, Gillette, New Jersey on Monday, April 17, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
The Chairman, Mr. Len Hamilton, called the meeting to order at 7:08p.m. He read the following statement:
Pursuant to the requirement of Chapter 231 of the Public Laws of 1975, adequate notice of the meeting including the time, date and location was posted on the Municipal bulletin board; the Echoes-Sentinel and Courier News were notified of the 2006 Meeting Schedule sent to them on January 1, 2006. This agenda was emailed to the Deputy Clerk on April 17, 2006 for posting.
2. MEETING CUT-OFF
Announcement is made that as a matter of procedure, it is the intention of the Environmental Commission (EC) not to continue any matter past 9:30 p.m. at any regular or special meeting of the commission unless the members, then present, pass a motion to extend the meeting to a later specified cut-off time.
3. ROLL CALL
The Chairman called the roll as follows:
Present: Len Hamilton, Chairman, Bruce Meringolo (late 7:15pm), Member, John J. Walsh, Member, Olga Neville, Member, Joan McCloskey, 1st Alternate, Alexandra Hennessey, 2nd Alternate
Absent: Michael Bergen, Vice-Chairman, Scott Soldan, Member, Bill Hopcraft, Township Committee Rep.,
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The Regular Meeting Minutes of March 20, 2006 were read. A motion was made to approve minutes by Jack Walsh; the motion was second by Olga Neville. The EC unanimously voted to the approve minutes.
5. PUBLIC QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
The meeting was opened to the public for questions or comments. As there was no one present, the meeting was closed to public questions.
6. SECRETARY’S REPORT
None
7. CORRESPONDENCE
·Letter of Referral- Application 06-01Z, Block No. 13404, Lot No.39, 159 West Cottage Place. Applicant: Charles R & Janet Faig. Proposal: Seeking variances to expand kitchen and living area; Increasing impervious coverage from 26.76% to 27.89% (20% permitted). No Meeting Date noted. Len will draft a letter with EC comments to be sent to the Board of Adjustment. Closed.
7. CORRESPONDENCE cont’d:
·Letter of Referral- Application 06-02Z, Block No. 13004, Lot No.30, 346 Elm Street Applicant: William T & Diane E Gurnee. Proposal: Seeking multiple variances to expand living area; Increasing impervious coverage from 29.2% to 33.9% (25% permitted). No Meeting Date noted. Len will draft a letter with EC comments to be sent to the Board of Adjustment. Closed.
·Warren Township EC Minutes from 2/7 & 2/21/2006. EC has no comment at this time. Closed.
·Injecting Environmental Culture into Local Government, NJ Municipalities, APR2006 (via Mayor Genovese), circulated to all EC members. EC has no comment at this time. Closed.
·Announcement from ANJEC for GIS Workshop. EC has no comment at this time. Closed.
·Notice from ANJEC that check for 2006 dues not yet received. Notice sent to Finance to follow-up. Closed.
·Notice on Mendham Township’s Conservation Easement Project; circulated to all EC members. Discussion held on possibly instituting similar project in LHT in the future. To be discussed further at next meeting. Open.
·A draft copy of ‘Conservation Plan Element’ was circulated to all EC Members. Discussion held. Len asked all to review and submit comments to him to incorporate into the final draft prior to next meeting. Open.
8. STATUS REPORTS
·Environmental Assessment Form: Discussion held: 2 revised examples were presented by Len: 1 for the homeowner and 1 for the designer/planner. The EC reviewed them and the forms will now be forwarded to Justin and Kevin for their comments, approval and recommendation to the Planning Board. Open.
·Discussion of BMP retrofits for Town Hall parking lot. Also, possibility of a letter to Township Administrator to assist in getting contractor's attention about removal of unauthorized fill. Drawings of Town Hall parking lot reviewed. Several possible BMPs discussed. Len spoke to Justin and Justin is still looking into the most cost effective way to remove the dirt. Len is also researching documents on BMPs. He will follow-up when additional information is obtained. Open.
·Capital Budget: some items were mentioned as possible expenditures: LCD Projector and screen, large format plotter (architect quality), Environmental consultant. To be discussed further at next meeting. Open.
·Letter to EC Chair from R. Hurford and A. Lea of Hopewell NJ, urging the EC to invite Mayor of Long Hill to join the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. This program, initiated by Seattle's mayor, is a Municipal commitment to try to meet the Kyoto Protocol targets. Discussion held. Len will send a letter to the Township Committee stating the EC supports this project. Closed.
8. STATUS REPORTS cont’d
·Recycling: Discussion on reports of recyclables in Long Hill's bulk garbage. Alexandra continues her research and will report at next meeting. Open.
9. DISCUSSION ITEMS:
·Environmental Commission computer for GIS per Justin Lizza’s request; Mike has already contacted Justin to connect the EC computer to LHT. Closed.
·Possible scheduling of presentation (EC?/TC?) on Integrated Pest Management by Kathy Abbott. Discussion held. Len will contact Ms. Abbott and set up a presentation for a future EC Meeting. Open.
·Environmental Commission archives. Discussion held. Closed.
·Environmental Resource Inventory: Schedule for updating; to be discussed further at next meeting. Open.
·Solar panels for municipal facilities discussed. Bruce will research feasibility and follow-up at future meeting. Open.
9. NEXT MEETING
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Environmental Commission will be Monday, May 15, 2006 at 7:00pm.
10. ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Bruce Meringolo and second by Joan McCloskey. Upon proper Parliamentary procedures, the regular meeting of the Long Hill Township Environmental Commission did duly adjourn at 9:13 P.M. by unanimous vote.
Respectfully Submitted,
Karen Shear, Secretary Environmental Commission
