BOT Meeting recap 9-24-12

The following is a brief unofficial recap of many items that occurred or were discussed at the September 24, 2012 BOT Meeting.  Official minutes will be posted online at www.southorange.org when they are available or the video can be viewed on-demand at southorange.org/videoViewer.asp

Presentations

• Seton Hall - Adam Loehner gave an update on recent activities at Seton Hall
• Village Hall Renovation - Eric Holdermann, of HMR Architects, & Mitchell Fritz of the construction management company Jay Shapiro and Associates shared an update on the Village Hall renovation project.  The $6M+ project includes installation of geothermal for cooling, replacement of all windows and renovation/restoration of much of the interior of the building, including reconfiguring much of the space.  It is expected that the construction will go out to bid in March 2013, with construction to potentially start in June and last at least two years (asbestos abatement will begin in January/February, requiring the building to be vacated by then).  Village Hall staff will be located in "mobile offices" adjacent to the Firehouse during the project.

Public Comments

• Seth Leeb - concerned about speed on Scotland Rd; supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Neil Blondell - against traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Butch Robinson - against traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Brian Marialo - supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Axel Fisher - supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond, but also interested in more enforcement
• Ed Moore - provided background on quest for a traffic light at Scotland/Raymond and asked people to come forward to state their opinion on the issue; supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Tanya Moore - supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• David Rubin - supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Bob Adler - against traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Vanessa  Skanfeld - supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Sharon Pidgon - looking for update on Marylawn's proposed demolition of Graves Mansion
• Dana Lowe - against traffic light at Scotland/Raymond
• Lee Boswell-May - suggested installing speed bumps on Scotland Rd
• Evan Levy -  looking for update on Marylawn's proposed demolition of Graves Mansion
• Tricia Gorman  - looking for update on Marylawn's proposed demolition of Graves Mansion
• Robert Chandross - inquired why the organizer of the street fair is not being held accountable for the costs of the event as specified in the Special Events ordinance
• Dan Petersen - supports traffic light at Scotland/Raymond

Regarding Marylawn - a demolition permit was requested earlier this year, but Village Engineer believes a soil disturbance permit would be required.  Meeting was held with Marylawn over the Summer with several members of the BOT, but Marylawn was not amenable to negotiating.

Ordinances on Second Reading

Ordinance 2012-10 - Bond Ordinance to appropriate $2,546,952, passed 6-0

(Note:  This was the re-adoption of of a previously passed ordinance that needed to be reintroduced due to a procedural error)

Ordinance 2012-16 to define local landmarks, tabled 6-0

Ordinances on First Reading

Ordinance 2012-08 to restate definitions of impervious surfaces, passed 6-0

Consent Agenda

10 resolutions on consent agenda, passed 6-0

Resolution 2012-218, expanding the function of the transportation committee to include review and advice on parking issues, passed 4-2 (myself and Trustee Gould voted no)

Reports

• Curb and Sidewalk program is getting underway
• Fairview Avenue pre-construction meeting is coming up
• 3rd/Valley  - updates to redevelopment plan to be heard by Planning Board
• Financial Agreement for former Beifus site expected at next BOT meeting
• Village Administrator will issue status reports on a more timely basis
• EOWC - Counsel reports there has been a tremendous amount of activity in recent days and he is awaiting clarity before sharing an update.

Finance & IT

• Website redesign is pending funding from a grant

Legal

• Performance reviews to be completed by Sept 25

Planning & Zoning

• Meeting on October 1
• SID Budget is not yet done and will likely take effect in the new year.
• Launch event for SID and new branding is scheduled for October 29

Recreation 

• Meeting on October 4

Discussion

Remote Remonstrances - We held a discussion about reviving the old process that allowed residents to call-in or email-in to BOT Meetings to share their comments during the meeting.  After much discussion about the logistics of how this would work, it was referred to the Public Information Committee for discussion.

November Meeting date - Currently the November meeting is scheduled for Wednesday November 14, which is during the League of Municipalities conference, which the BOT attends.  It was agreed that meeting will be moved to November 12 (even though Village Hall is closed that day for Veterans Day)

For any questions or comments, please post below or email me at mgoldberg@southorange.org