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TOWNSHIP MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 07, 2007
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TOWNSHIP MEETING
NOVEMBER 7, 2007
The regular scheduled meeting of the Mayor and
Committee of the Township of Oxford was held on
November 7, 2007 in the Township Municipal Building,
11 Green Street, Oxford, New Jersey.
Mayor Lazorisak announced that the meeting had been
properly advertised in compliance with the OPMA of
1975 and called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.
In attendance were Alex Lazorisak, N. Angelo
Accetturo, Bonnie Riley, Michael Finelli, Michael
Lavery and Sheila L. Oberly.
Everyone stood and recited the flag salute.
Mr. Lazorisak stated that the tax, sewer, and
treasurer’s reports for October 2007 are on the back
table and available to the public.
Mayor Lazorisak stated that Karen Lance, Tax
Collector has requested to meet with the Township
Committee in Executive Session before 9:00 PM. to
discuss a contractual matter.
On motion by Mrs. Riley, seconded by Mr. Accetturo
and passed unanimously on roll call vote to approve
the October 16th and 17th, 2007 minutes.
ORDINANCE 2007-10
AN ORDINANCE FIXING THE SALARY RANGES FOR CERTAIN
OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF OXFORD
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMITTEE OF THE
TOWNSHIP OF OXFORD, COUNTY OF WARREN AND THE STATE
OF NEW JERSEY, as follows, until a subsequent salary
ordinance is adopted:
Section 1. The salary ranges per annum for the
following officers and employees of the Township of
Oxford shall be as follows:
TITLE SALARY RANGE
Public Works Senior Laborer $12.00 - $26.00/per hour
Public Works Laborer $10.00 - $20.00/per hour
Sgt. At Arms $50.00 - $105.00/ per court session
Section 2. All salary ranges above shall be
retroactive to January 1, 2007.
Section 3. Any ordinance or part of ordinance
inconsistent herewith is hereby repealed.
The foregoing ordinance was introduced at the
regular meeting of the Township Committee of the
Township of Oxford held on November 7, 2007 and will
be further considered for final passage after a
public hearing, second reading thereon at a regular
meeting of the Oxford Township Committee to be held
at the Oxford Municipal Building, 11 Green Street,
Oxford, New Jersey on December 12, 2007 at or near
7:30 PM.
On motion by Mrs. Riley, seconded by Mr. Accetturo
and passed unanimously on roll call vote to
introduce Ordinance 2007-10 Fixing Salary Ranges for
Certain Employees.
On motion by Mr. Lazorisak, seconded by Mr. Acceptor
and passed unanimously on roll call vote to rescind
Resolution 2007-59 Fixing Salaries of Certain
Employees.
RESOLUTION 2007-61
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Committee of the Township of
Oxford have become very concerned about the safety
of Oxford Township’s children by virtue of the fact
that the Megan’s Law Registry has revealed that
there are one or more pedophiles living in the
Township of Oxford; and
WHEREAS, the Township of Oxford believes that there
is a potential risk to the children of the Township
of Oxford by virtue of the fact that pedophiles are
living within the boundaries, and, in particular, in
close proximity to the schools, playgrounds and
other places where children congregate; and
WHEREAS, there have been several recent Court
decisions that have called into question whether a
municipality is authorized under New Jersey law to
adopt an ordinance limiting where pedophiles may
reside: and
WHEREAS, one of the legal issues raised by those
Court cases pertains to the issue as to whether the
State of New Jersey, through its regulations of
convicted pedophiles and sex offenders, has
preempted the ability of municipalities to regulate
the activates of pedophiles within their borders;
and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Committee of the Township of
Oxford believe that it is proper and necessary that
the State of New Jersey pass legislation which will
authorize municipalities to adopt lawful regulations
as to where pedophiles may reside; and
WHEREAS, Assemblywoman Marcia A. Karrow has prepared
and introduced Assembly Bill A-639 which permits
municipalities to regulate the residency of
pedophiles within its borders; and
WHEREAS, A-639 is a good first step toward
protecting the safety of their State’s most
vulnerable citizen; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Committee further request
that the Legislature of the State of New Jersey take
such additional actions as may be necessary in order
to assure that convicted pedophiles are not
permitted to be released into the community until
such time as there is substantial proof that those
pedophiles will not present a further risk to
society’s youngest members.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Committee point out that only
the Legislature may prescribe regulations that limit
the freedom of pedophiles whose reentry into the
community cannot be vouched for, and, therefore,
considering the extreme and irreparable damage that
can be done to children by pedophiles, it requests
that the Legislature reexamine the statutes and
rules that permit the release of pedophiles and
amend them so that only those pedophiles who present
absolutely no risk to society are released to live
on their own; and
WHEREAS, the Township of Oxford seeks the support of
Governor Jon Corzine and requests and urges him to
sign all necessary legislation to further these
goals.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and
Committee of the Township of Oxford, Warren County,
as follows:
1. The Mayor and Committee direct that copies of
this Resolution be forwarded to the Governor and the
Legislature of the State of New Jersey so that they
may understand the strong feelings of the citizens
of the Township of Oxford with respect to the danger
presented by pedophiles and the need for the
Governor and the Legislature to take aggressive
steps to protect the Township of Oxford’s most
vulnerable citizens from potential attack.
2. The Mayor and Committee direct that copies of
this Resolution be sent to the following:
A. Governor Jon Corzine
B. Each member of the Legislature of the State of
New Jersey
C. The Board of Chosen Freeholders of each of the 21
Counties of the State of New Jersey.
3. The Mayor and Committee respectfully request that
the governing body of each county and municipality
of the State of New Jersey adopt a Resolution in
similar form and transmit same to the Governor and
each member of the Legislature to demonstrate the
dept of feeling of this citizens of the State with
respect to the danger presented to children by
pedophiles.
4. The Mayor and Committee of the Township of Oxford
support Assembly Bill A-639 introduced by
Assemblywoman Marcia A. Karrow and urge that this
Bill, or one providing similar or stronger
protections, be adopted by the Legislature of the
State of New Jersey.
5. The Mayor and Committee urge the Governor and the
Legislature to reexamine the statues and rules
concerning the release of pedophiles and to adopt
new legislation that limits the release of
pedophiles into the community until such time there
is complete assurance that a released pedophile will
not present any risk to children.
On motion by Mr. Lazorisak, seconded by Mrs. Riley
and passed unanimously on roll call vote to approve
Resolution 2007-61 Endorsing Assembly Bill A-639.
RESOLUTION 2007-62
REFUNDING TAX SALE CERTIFICATE #446
THAT WAS REDEEMED
WHEREAS, the property owned by John K Murray, Jr. &
Linda Murray known as Block 1.01, Lot 48 located at
92 Mine Hill Road had unpaid 2004 sewer service
charges and was sold at a Tax Sale held on November
28th, 2005 by the Oxford Township Tax Collector; and
WHEREAS, Crusader Servicing Corporation of 179
Washington Lane, Jenkintown, PA 19046 was the
successful bidder of the above stated property; and
the amount of the Tax Sale consisted of unpaid sewer
service charges, interests and other costs, and
totaled $686.60 and is represented by Tax Sale
Certificate #446; and
WHEREAS, Countrywide Tax Services paid $4,434.85 on
September24th, 2007 to the Oxford Township Tax
Collector to satisfy the outstanding Tax Sale
Certificate, subsequent taxes, and delinquent taxes;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and
Township Committee of the Township of Oxford on this
17th day of October 2007 that the Chief Financial
Officer be authorized to draw a check payable to
Crusader Servicing Corporation in the amount of
$4,434.84 for the redemption of Tax Sale Certificate
#446
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tax Collector be
directed to return the satisfied Tax Sale
Certificate to Countrywide Tax Services at 2375
Glenville Dr., Bldg A, MS: RGV-A-24, Richardson, TX
75082.
On motion by Mrs. Riley, seconded by Mr. Accetturo
and passed unanimously on roll all vote to approve
Resolution 2007-62 –Redeem Tax Sale Certificate
#446.
RESOLUTION 2007-63
BUDGET TRANSFER #1- TOWNSHIP OF OXFORD, WARREN
COUNTRY, NJ
WHEREAS, N.J.S.A. 40A: 4-58 and 59 authorizes
transfers from certain budget appropriations where
it is expected that it will be insufficient, and
WHEREAS, it is reasonably expected that certain
appropriations will not be sufficient for
contemplated expenditures;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Chief
Financial Officer of the Township of Oxford, County
of Warren, is hereby instructed to adjust the
financial records in accordance with the provision
of this Resolution:
Current Fund
Account From: To:
Workmen’s Compensation Insurance $ 5,147.00
Administrative & Executive O/E 8,377.00
Revitalization Planning 31,748.50
Recreation - Other Expenses 10,000.00
Recreation - Salaries & Wages 3,801.47
Planning Board - Legal 4,000.00
Computerization $ 8,377.00
Audit Services 9,348.26
Tax Collector O/E 2,000.00
Planning Board - Salaries & Wages 5,723.00
General Liability Insurance 2,561.00
Police - Other Expenses 7,000.00
Buildings & Grounds - Other Expenses 1,500.00
Vehicle Maintenance 500.00
Street Lighting 20,000.00
Fire Hydrants 4,000.00
Landfill/Solid Waste Disposal 2,000.00
Interest on Notes 64.71
____________ __________
$ 63,073.97 $63,073.97
On motion by Mr. Accetturo, seconded by Mrs. Riley
and passed unanimously on roll call vote to adopt
Resolution 2007-63 Budget Transfer #1.
On motion by Mr. Accetturo, seconded by Mrs. Riley
and passed unanimously on roll call vote to approve
red light permits for Peggy Hissim and Erik Heller
of the Oxford Emergency Squad.
Mr. Finelli stated that the Flood Mitigation Plan,
which is through the County, is moving forward. Joe
Naglio has submitted the worksheet, attended the
required meetings, and a public hearing was held. At
this time, everything is on board with all the
requirements. The next step in the process, DRBC
(Delaware River Basin Commission) will be submitting
a draft report to all municipalities that have
joined and at that point, Mr. Finelli’s office will
review the report and a second public hearing will
be scheduled.
He also stated that his office has not received any
response as of yet from NJDOT Trust Fund Grants. He
is hoping maybe by the end of this month or
beginning of December.
Mr. Finelli said that the vast majority of results
of the arsenic testing on residents’ wells have been
returned. He distributed a spreadsheet showing one
hundred and forty-three results. The spreadsheet is
in alphabetical order by street names, the names of
the property owners, addresses, blocks and lots and
the result of the sample. Mr. Finelli also said that
fourteen out of the 143 samples came back above the
state limit, which is five parts per billion; of the
fourteen, five were between five and ten parts per
billion which ten is the federal limit. All the rest
of the samples came back N/D-meaning none detected.
The concentration of the arsenic results above the
state limit is clearly the Upper Denmark, Lower
Denmark area a somewhat linear configuration that
runs in a North, South, Northeast, Southwest pattern
with a few high results on Belvidere Avenue and
Henry Street.
Mr. Lazorisak said that he has talked to Kevin
Cavetta, of The Warren County Health Department. Mr.
Cavettta has been given a copy of all the test
results and a copy of the spreadsheet from Mr.
Finelli’s office. The Health Department is sending
letters to all residents that wells were tested and
came back above the state limit of .05. The letter
states that these homes must be retested by another
lab to confirm the results from QC Labs. Also
enclosed with the letter is a form to be completed
by the resident, which is called the Spill Fund.
This form is from the DEP, which will give the
applicant reimbursement for the water testing.
Mr. Lazorisak, Mr. Finelli and Mr. Schwartz of New
Jersey American Water Co. discussed the possibility
of running a water line on Denmark Road. Mr.
Lazorisak said he was told by DEP there is funding
available to the Township and the State of New
Jersey is willing to help with grants. There are two
ways the state would help; either running a water
line up to Lower Denmark Road or installing
filtration systems. NJDEP will determine how Oxford
Township will receive the money.
Bob Gallagher and Rocky Richards of the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection is planning
to come to Oxford Township on November 20, 2007 at
10:00 AM to do a site inspection of Lower Denmark
Road. They will walk around, get an idea of the site
and location and then reassess the situation. By
November 20th, NJ American Water will have worked up
an estimated cost to run a water line up Lower
Denmark Road and will give this estimate to DEP at
the meeting. Mr. Lazorisak and Mr. Finelli will also
be available to meet with them on November 20th.
NJDEP would like to attend next month’s Township
meeting and inform the Committee and the public what
options are available to the Township.
Sharon Cooper of Brown and Brown Insurance attended
the meeting and gave the Committee a little history
about their insurance coverage. She stated that in
January 1994, Oxford Township became a charter
member of the Community Alliance Pool, which was a
joint insurance fund for public official liability
and law enforcement liability. In January 1997,
Oxford became a charter member of the Public
Alliance Insurance Coverage Fund. This was done for
two reasons; each joint insurance fund provided
broader coverage at competitive pricing. Three years
after each fund was organized, the insurance started
returning surplus money to the municipalities. Over
those years, Oxford Township has received $19,505
from the Community Alliance Pool and $28,697 from
the Public Alliance Insurance Coverage Fund totaling
$48, 202. This year, 2007 Oxford Township has
received $2,035, which is being applied to the final
installment. Mrs. Cooper submitted a list of the
amounts of the returning surplus given to Oxford
Township from 1997 to 2007.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mrs. Docker of Washington Avenue asked what steps
she would have to take to purchase a small piece of
property that the Township owns next to her
driveway. Mr. Lavery will call her attorney and get
a survey of the property and will try to have an
answer by the next Township meeting.
Diane Hooper asked if there was any more information
on the Cambridge property. Mr. Lavery stated that he
received a letter from NJDEP asking for more
information and has received some paperwork from the
Clerk and has received a resolution from Peg
Housman, Land Use Board Secretary that he has sent
to Trenton. There has been no RFP’s.
Loraine May stated that New Jersey is enacting a law
in 2008 saying that people in an elected office,
there cannot be no “Double Dipping”. She asked if
this law carries over to the local level. Mr. Lavery
stated that state law, covers everybody-state and
local. The law states that anyone that has an
elected office in State, County, or Local Government
cannot hold two elected positions. Mr. Lavery said
that you can be a State, Municipal or County worker
and run for an elected position but as of 2008, any
new elected official cannot be enrolled in the state
pension system.
At 8:15 PM, the Public Comment period was closed.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
WHEREAS, Section 8 of the Open Public Meeting Act,
Chapter 231, P.L. 1975, permits the exclusion of the
public from a meeting in certain circumstances, and
WHEREAS, this public body is of the opinion that
such circumstances presently exist.
1. The public shall be excluded from the discussion
of any action upon the hereinafter-specific subject
matter.
2. The general nature of the subject matter to be
discussed is: potential litigation (Sewer
Back-Up-Poole Property), contractual matter, (Oxford
Textile& Karen Lance –sewer charges), litigation
(Two Tort Claim Notices & Corson Tax Appeal) and a
personnel matter dealing with police documents.
3. It is anticipated at this time that the above
stated subject matter will be made public at the
conclusion of the litigation. The motion carried
with the following roll call vote.
On motion by Mr. Lazorisak, seconded by Mr.
Accetturo and passed unanimously on roll call vote
to enter into Executive session at 8:30 PM. No
official action was taken.
Entered into open session at 9:15 PM.
On motion by Mr. Lazorisak, seconded by Mrs. Riley
and passed unanimously on roll call vote, to extend
the Redevelopment Agreement with Oxford Textile for
an additional six months as per their request. Also
to amend the agreement to include language set forth
in Attorney Selvaggi’s, November 1st letter to the
effect no permits will be issued for development of
that property until such time a bond is posted for
the clean up of the property.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Diane Hopper asked if the money from the Recycling
Grant could be held over from year to year. Mrs.
Riley will ask the CFO if this money can be used
next year, if not she will be in charge of getting a
group together to clean up around the Township by
December 31, 2007 in order to use the funds
available.
The Committee reviewed the November, 2007 bills and
withheld the following bills for payment:
Pollution Control Finance Authority 336.03
Pollution Control Finance Authority 829.38
Pollution Control Finance Authority 634.11
Pollution Control Finance Authority 737.10
On motion by Mr. Lazorisak and seconded by Mr.
Accetturo unanimously on roll call vote to pay the
remainder of the November 2007 bills listed on the
Bill List.
On motion by Mr. Lazorisak and seconded by Mr.
Accetturo unanimously on roll call vote to adjourn
at 9:50 PM.
____________________________
Sheila L. Oberly, RMC
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