Page 1 of 3December 5, 2009Special Meeting MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL CALL TO ORDER Mayor Neil Henry called the December 5, 2009 special meeting of the Mayor and Council to order at 9:00a.m. in the Phoenix House, 2 West Main Street, Mendham, New Jersey. INVOCATION AND FLAG SALUTE Mayor Henry offered a moment of silent meditation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. OPENING STATEMENT Notice of this meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Mendham was published in the Observer Tribune and the Morristown Daily Record, and was posted on the Phoenix House bulletin board in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act. ATTENDANCE Mayor Neil Henry Councilman Stanley Witczak Council President John Andrus Councilman David Murphy Councilman Stephen Carr Councilman Brad Badal Also present: Ellen Sandman, Borough Administrator Sue Giordano, Chief Financial Officer Absent: Councilman Louis Garubo Discussion Items: 2010 Budget Presentations Presentations were given by: Sewer Department-Douglas Wright Public Works Department-Ken O’Brien Attached is a recap summarized by Sue Giordano, Chief Financial Officer which will be a part of these minutes. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business scheduled for the consideration of the Mayor and Council at this time, on a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously carried the meeting was adjourned at approximately 11:35 AM, next to convene at the Regular Meeting to be held on December 7, 2009 at 8:00 PM at the Garabrant Center, 4 Wilson Street, Mendham, NJ 07945. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________ Maureen Massey, RMC, CMC Borough Clerk Page 2 of 3December 5, 2009Special Meeting Notes from 12/05/09 Budget Meeting held at the Phoenix House All Council members, with the exception of Councilman Garubo, were present, as well as Administrator Ellen Sandman and CFO Susan Giordano. First to discuss his budget for 2010 was Wastewater Treatment Facility Superintendent Douglas Wright. The Sewer budget is an independent utility budget. Income earned by the utility must meet or exceed its planned expenditures. Councilman Andrus hoped to increase the Sewer Surplus with the hopes of lowering the sewer rate. Supt. Wright does not foresee raising the sewer rates. Councilman Badal congratulated Supt. Wright on having a DEP fine-free year. Supt. Wright explained why he is requesting increases in his Convention and Laboratory Analysis line items, and what the line item for Environmental Services is used for. Supt. Wright discussed the benefits of going out for a longer 3 three contract for sludge hauling, and the savings the Borough is realizing. There was discussion on the WRF’s capital requests. Mayor Henry asked if there were any savings to be realized by paving the driveway at the plant at the same time as we paved Borough streets. If we use the Co-op there isn’t, because the price per ton is the same whether we pave just the driveway or do the streets too. Councilman Badal suggested getting independent quotes on paving to compare with the Co-op prices. In these economic times there may be vendors who would do the work at a lower cost. The Tempe Wick pump station rehab project was discussed. $220,000 was appropriated for this project, and when the bids came in, they all exceeded this amount. To date we have spent $62,000 on this project, and have saved a substantial amount of money by working hand in hand with Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor to do what we can in house, and hiring outside contractors when necessary. It may be possible to reappropriate the remaining funds for other capital projects. D.P.W. Superintendent Ken O’Brien was present to discuss his budgets. He started with the Buildings budget, and said that no major repair projects were scheduled for 2010. Councilman Badal wanted Mr. O’Brien’s opinion on putting new windows in the Firehouse, and new drop ceilings in the Firehouse bathrooms. These two projects were requested in the Fire Department’s capital budget. Councilman Murphy felt the windows could at least be repaired this year. Supt. O’Brien should definitely be involved in these projects, and possibly have some of them done in-house. Supt. O’Brien talked of getting a conveyor system for the dump. He felt he could possibly reduce the appropriation in the Recycling budget for brush, Leaves and Grass by $10,000.00. There was a capital request for a new compactor. This item would have to be bid out. It doesn’t need immediate replacement. Councilman Andrus suggested having a “Freon removal day” for Borough residents. Supt. O’Brien will look into it. Supt. O’Brien feels that the Borough’s method of picking up refrigerators and other large appliances is antiquated. The Shade Tree budget was discussed. In order for the Borough to be a shade tree community and a “Tree City USA” we would have a Shade Tree budget equal to $2.00 per citizen. The Clean Communities budget was mentioned – the amount of funds we receive is determined by the State, and it’s based on the tonnage of garbage that is collected statewide. There was discussion on sharing larger items of public works equipment with neighboring municipalities. Mayor Henry knows there has been some frustration with sharing equipment with Mendham Township. Supt. O’Brien had sent correspondence to Bernardsville, Mendham Township, Chester Borough and Chester Township, and Harding regarding sharing equipment and received no response from any of these municipalities. Mayor Henry felt maybe it was time to have a “Mayor to Mayor” Page 3 of 3December 5, 2009Special Meeting discussion on sharing equipment. Supt. O’Brien felt it was not feasible to share items that were used on a daily basis. There was discussion on new fencing at Pastime Field, as well as other Borough recreational areas. Supt. O’Brien suggested contacting the various sports clubs that use the fields to contribute to the cost of the fencing. Councilman Badal suggested selling advertising on some of the more inconspicuous areas of fencing. Supt. O’Brien also noted that the dimensions of Pastime Field are the same as those of the new Yankee Stadium. Councilman Andrus said the total budget would be reviewed, and we would determine how much was available for capital projects as a whole. All departments would be vying for this capital money, and projects will have to be prioritized. Administrator Sandman would like the Borough to maintain an ongoing street paving program. The MASH parking lot was briefly discussed.