Regular
Meeting of the Roxbury Mount Arlington Consolidation Study Commission
Roxbury
Recreation Office
72 Eyland
Avenue, Succasunna, NJ 07876
Wednesday,
November 11, 2015
MINUTES
1. Call
to Order
a.
Chairman Heard called the meeting to order at
7pm
2. Pledge
of Allegiance
a.
Chairman Heard led the commission in the pledge
of allegiance
3. NJ
Open Public Meetings Law
a.
Secretary Rogers stated, This meeting has been
advertised and is being conducted in accordance with the provisions of the
“Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act,” P.L. 1975, c. 231
4. Roll
Call
a.
The following were in attendance: Paula Danchuk, Jerry Frisco, Vincent Reilly,
Chris Rogers, Stephen Sadow, Laurel Whitney, Gene Paradiso, Craig Heard, Nancy
Absalon, Larry Millus, Fred Hall, George Haeuber
b.
The following were absent: Maureen Castriotta, Chris Raths, Anthony
Fernandez, Roger Jinks
5. Introduction
of Elected Officials and/or Recognition of Their Representatives
a.
none
6. Election
and Installation of Officers, If Applicable
a.
none
7. Introduction
of Guest Speaker or Presentation, If Applicable
a.
Chairman Heard stated that Don Parisi, of the Fanwood / Scotch Plains Consolidation Study, would
not be able to attend today. He will
schedule him for a later meeting
8. Public
Comments on Agenda Items Only (Limited To 3 Minutes Per Person)
a.
Veronica Silkes, Succasunna Road in Mount
Arlington, of the Mount Arlington Mirror stated that she received a question
from a subscriber of her publication.
She asked what documents were denied from the municipal Mount Arlington
government and if the same documents were requested from the municipal Roxbury
government.
b.
Gene Paradiso stated that the items were denied
as they did not exist except for one
c.
Laurel Whitney stated that the description of
the documents were not specific enough
d.
Gene Paradiso stated that Chris Raths from
Roxbury is providing the documents without an OPRA request
e.
Paula Danchuk stated that the request is being
reformatted to fit the specific requirements of Mount Arlington
f.
Craig Heard stated that each town has specific
requirements for requested information.
9. Secretary’s
Report
a.
Correspondence
i.
Secretary Rogers stated there was no
correspondence
b.
2015- 801 RESOLVED, that the Roxbury Mount Arlington
Consolidation Study approves the minutes for October 14, 2015. See attached
i.
Gene Paradiso made a motion to approve the
minutes, Paula Danchuk seconded the motion
ii.
Laurel Whitney asked that the word minutes be
changed to treasurer’s reports under the treasurer’s report resolution
iii.
Maureen Castriotta - Absent, Paula Danchuk – Y, Jerry
Frisco - Y, Chris Raths - Absent, Vincent Reilly - Y, Chris Rogers - Y, Stephen
Sadow - Y, Laurel Whitney - Y, Gene Paradiso - Y, Craig Heard – Y Motion passes
10. Treasurer’s
Report
a.
Bank Account Balance
i.
Treasurer Whitney stated that she did research
on the 501c status. She stated that the
organization did not fit the 501c3 status, but did fit the 501c4 status. The cost to apply for the status would be
about 400 dollars. She would have to
fill out forms with the IRS and then have a non profit accountant or attorney
review the documents.
ii.
Treasurer Whitney stated the GOFUNDME account
received a 100 donation and 2 deposits were made to the bank account from the
GOFUNDME account. Each were 100 dollars
and each had fees of 8.20.
iii.
Treasurer Whitney stated there was one expense
from the Roxbury Register for 12.56.
iv.
Treasurer Whitney stated the bank balance is
currently $5080.68. Bank statements will
now be coming electronically to reduce time delays
v.
Stephen Sadow stated that we should have a
professional research the 501c status before proceeding
vi.
Gene Paradiso asked about the deposit
vii.
Laurel Whitney stated that one deposit was
already accounted for on a prior report
viii.
Craig Heard stated that his corporate accountant
could review the 501c4 status
ix.
Stephen Sadow stated he had no problem with that
x.
Gene Paradiso stated that he supported having a
professional look at the details
xi.
Fred Hall stated that several Roxbury sports
teams had problems with this a few years back and we want to make sure to get
it right
xii.
Craig Heard stated that he will seek an opinion
from a professional if all agree.
b.
2015- 802 RESOLVED, that the Roxbury Mount Arlington
Consolidation Study approves the donations from October 14, 2015 to November
11, 2015. See attached
c.
2015- 803 RESOLVED, that the Roxbury Mount Arlington
Consolidation Study approves the expenditures from October 14, 2015 to November
11, 2015. See attached
i.
Gene Paradiso made a motion to approve the
treasurer’s reports, Paula Danchuk seconded the motion
ii.
Maureen Castriotta - Absent, Paula Danchuk – Y, Jerry
Frisco - Y, Chris Raths - Absent, Vincent Reilly - Y, Chris Rogers - Y, Stephen
Sadow - Y, Laurel Whitney - Y, Gene Paradiso - Y, Craig Heard – Y Motion passes
11. Chairman’s
Report
a.
Chairman Heard stated that the commission
meetings need more order. Please do not
interrupt others and wait to be recognized.
b.
Chairman Heard stated that he contacted Senator
Kean and Senator Bucco regarding state funding of the Municipal Consolidation
Act. Senator Kean told him to contact
Senator Bucco. Senator Bucco has not
replied to date. Craig Heard stated he
would send an email to Senator Bucco reminding him to respond.
c.
Chairman Heard stated that Fred Hall had a
budget book for Roxbury copied and arranged for the commission. He thanked Fred Hall for his efforts.
d.
Craig Heard stated the commission was on
schedule for the December meeting.
e.
Craig Heard stated he planned to reach out the
school superintendents and the town clerks to clarify requests before they are
made
f.
Fred Hall stated he would like to be present for
the meeting with the Roxbury municipality
g.
Gene Paradiso stated the commissions goal should
be to reduce expenses during the process
h.
Laurel Whitney stated the requests should get
out as soon as possible as to not bottle neck the clerks
i.
Chairman Heard reached out to Gina Genovese
regarding the video from the last meeting.
He stated her organization incurred a significant expense on our behalf
and she felt comfortable she could raise 10 to 20 thousand dollars for our
effort by using the video. In turn, this
money could be used to pay for a professional to review the commissions
findings.
j.
2015-804 RESOLVED, that the Roxbury Mount Arlington
Consolidation Study approves the video prepared by Courage to Connect New
Jersey. The video will be used to
educate the public and raise funds for the consolidation study of the Roxbury
Mount Arlington Consolidation Study Commission.
i.
Gene Paradiso made a motion to approve the video
prepared by Courage to Connect New Jersey, Paula Danchuk seconded the motion
ii.
Gene Paradiso asked if she would be distributing
the video or would it be a joint effort
iii.
Craig Heard stated it would go to her mailing
list as well as ours
iv.
Laurel Whitney stated the need for the video and
the need to pay for a professional to review the commission findings. She stated we have the capacity to do the
report, but we should have an extra layer of security.
v.
Stephen Sadow stated he was not sure how that
comment fits, but disagrees on the ability of this board to finalize a
report. He stated he was sorry that the
representative from Fanwood / Scotch Plains was not here as he believes the
commission is doing this backwards. He
stated we should have a professional gather the information and the commission
should then interpret the information and make a recommendation. He stated there are 30 thousand lives
impacted and we do not have a professional doing the job properly.
vi.
Nancy Absalon stated that this conversation was
off topic and the video is good and will help to have a paid professional
verify the numbers
vii.
Gene Paradiso stated that he agreed
viii.
Maureen Castriotta - Absent, Paula Danchuk – Y, Jerry
Frisco - Y, Chris Raths - Absent, Vincent Reilly - Y, Chris Rogers - Y, Stephen
Sadow - N, Laurel Whitney - Y, Gene Paradiso - Y, Craig Heard – Y Motion passes
12. Committee
Reports
a.
Data
Collection – Chair Craig Heard
i.
Craig
Heard stated he already made his comments during the Chair report
b.
Municipal
Government – Chair Laurel Whitney
i.
Laurel
Whitney stated that no further information was needed and she will have an
updated draft to the committee shortly
c.
Education
– Chair Gene Paradiso
i.
Gene
Paradiso stated that he was fine tuning the report and was waiting on requests
to be made for documentation. He stated
that he has been receiving a warm response from Jane Jameson and Robin Tedesco.
d.
Finance/Administration
– Chair Jerry Frisco
i.
Jerry
Frisco stated he was waiting on a few responses from Chris Raths and then he
will submit information requests to Data Collection
ii.
Craig
Heard asked if he could meet with someone from both towns before making the
request
iii.
Stephen
Sadow stated the request is to be made to the Mount Arlington clerk and then it
will go to the borough attorney
iv.
Gene
Paradiso asked why the request had to go to the attorney before the commission
met with the clerk?
v.
Jerry
Frisco asked if we can find out what documents are standard from town to town?
vi.
Fred
Hall stated that audit reports and capital budgets were standard
documents. The commission just has to
ask.
vii.
Paula
Danchuk stated that council members have copies of these documents. Could she give them to the commission to
reduce costs?
viii.
Larry
Millus stated that unapproved documents should not be released by anyone
ix.
Vincent
Reilly asked if financial statements and audit reports are the same?
x.
George
Haeuber stated they are different.
xi.
Gene
Paradiso stated that an audit report is to make sure the flow of money goes to
the right place
xii.
George
Haeuber stated this was correct
xiii.
Fred
Hall stated that the commission should request a statement of controls
e.
DPW /
Utilities – Chair Paula Danchuk
i.
Paula
Danchuk stated that she will get a final document request list once the
committee meets. She stated that both
towns have unusual water supplies.
ii.
Fred
Hall stated that the Roxbury garbage contract was coming due this year
f.
Police/Fire/EMS
– Chair Larry Millus
i.
Larry
Millus stated that the insurance company will not cover the commission as the
risk level is unknown
ii.
Laurel
Whitney sent him information on the request for the JIF
iii.
Larry
Millus stated that he spoke to a superior at Bernardsville and he has a better
understanding of what information to look for.
He will report back at the next meeting
g.
Personnel
– Chair Vincent Reilly
i.
Vincent
Reilly stated that he had nothing more to request at this time and that all
information was on the websites.
However, both towns are not in the same format. Once he views the copies made by Fred Hall,
he may have additional requests
h.
Shared /
Social Services – Chair Fred Hall
i.
Fred
Hall stated that all departments are in the Roxbury Budget Book. He is a bit behind right now, but he will
have more to report at the next meeting.
ii.
Stephen
Sadow stated that he has additional information on Mount Arlington Shared
Services
iii.
Fred
Hall stated he will meet in committee
i.
Grants Committee – Chair Jerry Frisco
i.
Jerry Frisco had nothing additionally to report
13. Resolutions
a.
none
14. Old/Unfinished
Business
a.
Insurance
i.
Larry Millus explained why the insurance
coverage was denied. The company has no
experience dealing with an organization such as this.
ii.
Laurel Whitney stated that the high quote still
stands.
15. New
Business
a.
Chairman Heard asked if all commissioners will be
in attendance at the December 9th meeting?
b.
Jerry Frisco stated that he would be out of town
and will not be in attendance
c.
Laurel Whitney stated that per the bylaws, it is
time to audit the financials.
d.
Craig Heard appointed Nancy Absalon and Vincent Reilly
to the ADHOC committee
e.
Chris Rogers stated that he would be resigning
from the commission at the end of 2015 as he and his wife plan to sell their
home in Roxbury
f.
Gene Paradiso asked the procedure to replace a
sitting commissioner
g.
Chris Rogers stated that per the bylaws, Larry
Millus should assume the commissioner seat and the commission should then
choose a candidate to be a Roxbury alternate.
h.
Craig Heard stated that the commission would
have to elect a new secretary
16. Public
Comment
a.
none
17. Adjournment
a.
Chairman Heard adjourned the meeting at 8:07pm
