All meeting minutes posted on the township website are unofficial minutes. Official copies of minutes may be obtained from the township clerk.

Minutes: July 7, 2020

A. OPENING OF REGULAR MEETING

1. Call to Order

A regular meeting of the Randolph Township Council was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Carey. This meeting is held pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act. Adequate notice of the meeting has been provided by posting written notice of the time, date, location, and to the extent known, the agenda of the meeting in Randolph Township. This notice was posted on the bulletin board within Town Hall, it was filed with the Township Clerk, and it was provided to those persons or entities requesting notification. Notice was also provided to the Randolph Reporter and the Morris County Daily Record on November 6, 2019 by emailing them the annual resolution adopted by the Council on November 5, 2019. The annual resolution, which included this meeting date, was advertised in the Randolph Reporter, the official newspaper of the Township of Randolph on November 14, 2019, and the Daily Record on November 11, 2019. The time change for this meeting was advertised on the Township website on May 29, 2020, emailed to Tapinto Randolph on May 29, 2020, and also emailed to the Randolph Reporter on May 29, 2020, and advertised in the Randolph Reporter on June 4, 2020.

2. Roll Call

PRESENT:
Councilman Forstenhausler - Via Zoom
Councilman Loveys - Via Zoom
Councilman Nisivoccia - Via Zoom
Councilwoman Potter - Via Zoom
Councilman Tkacs - Via Zoom
Deputy Mayor Veech - Via Zoom
Mayor Carey

Also present: Township Manager Mountain; and Attorney Ed Buzak from the Buzak Law Group via Zoom.

Councilman Forstenhausler asked if they had no attendees wishing to be present at the Municipal Building for the Council Meeting. Mayor Carey informed him that he was correct.

3. Pledge of Allegiance

Mayor Carey led the Pledge of Allegiance.

B. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Seeing no one from the public, the public portion was closed.

C. MANAGER’S REPORT

Manager Mountain reported the following:

COVID-19 Update—One new case was confirmed today in Randolph, bringing the total number of cases within the community to 317.

The Township Health Department staff continues to conduct contact tracing cases associated with individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have come into contact with persons associated with states currently listed on the NJ Travel Advisory list. This has become the township’s greatest challenge in recent weeks as the curve has otherwise flattened in Randolph and Morris County as a whole.

He reminded residents and businesses to remain vigilant in adhering to social distancing guidelines and face-covering requirements as the state continues to reopen. The township plans to monitor the situation closely for the next several weeks, along with the state, which may result in some changes being adopted as the situation develops.

Parks & Recreation Department—opened the Summer Day Camp this week and competitive sporting activities were permitted to resume today. All park pavilions and restrooms have been reopened for use, as have playgrounds, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and the skate park.

The township’s administrative offices reopened for limited public access on Monday, July 6th. There was quite a lot of activity today at the municipal building due to the Primary Election.

Governor’s Executive Orders—he reviewed orders issued by the Governor over the past several weeks and briefly summarized Executive Order 157, which allowed recreation and entertainment businesses to reopen as well as health clubs and gyms to resume one-on-one indoor training. The order also permitted indoor dining to resume as well, however, that order was rescinded quickly by Executive Order 158. No timetable has been provided for when indoor dining may resume again.

The state has issued a school reopening plan for this fall through the Department of Education. The plan provides guidelines for local school districts to reopen that includes a combination of in-classroom and remote schooling options. The Randolph School District has been working with the township Health Department on putting together their plan; they are planning to have an in-classroom reopening unless things change in the coming weeks. The state also issued guidelines for individuals traveling to states where COVID-19 cases are widespread. The guidelines recommend a 14-day self-quarantine for any individual returning from the states identified as “hot spots”; there are currently 19 states included on the list, which will be updated weekly. There is no consequence of legal action if it is not followed, though the state will be monitoring activity.

Construction Update:

• Brookside Road—the resurfacing project has been completed. The project also included some minor drainage improvements as well as curbing and sidewalk work. Many residents have expressed their appreciation for this project as a section of the road was long overdue for paving which was held off due to some other utility work and projects being completed in that area.
• Meadowbrook Road—the final phase of the Meadowbrook Road project (between Old Chimney and Butternut) is well underway. The curbing and drainage work is complete; the contractor is scheduled to complete milling and paving the road this week, weather permitting.
• Veterans Community Park—Rochelle Contracting continues to make excellent progress. The band shell, pavilion and pickleball courts are nearing completion. The entry road into the park has been paved with a base coat along with associated parking areas. The contractor has also begun the process of grading and putting top soil in the open areas of the park. Paving work for the project will continue into the coming weeks.

Manager Mountain also reported that the Community Garden was now in full operation. The feedback he has received has been positive, and Deputy Mayor Veech could provide more details on the feedback from the gardeners.

Mayor Carey inquired about enrollment at the Summer Day Camp and Sports Camp. Manager Mountain explained that the enrollment at the Summer Day Camp was lower than previous years, but it is at a high enough level for the township to be at, or above, break even for operating. It was too early to tell how enrollment was affected for the Sports Day Camp; travel teams were operating on a full level. The drop off in enrollment has been on the recreation side.

Councilman Loveys asked Manager Mountain if the seeding, haying, and stabilization plan for the Veterans Community Park project is waiting on cooler weather. Manager Mountain explained that the plan is to get everything graded and top soiled, and wait for cooler weather for the seeding and haying.

Councilman Tkacs commented that Manager Mountain might want to announce the upcoming Drive-In Movie Event at the County College of Morris on July 17th. Manager Mountain informed him that the event sold out within the first half-hour of tickets being made available. The capacity for the event is 100 vehicles due to the licensing arrangement. Due to the large amount of public interest shown for the event, the township is considering holding another event with the possibility of utilizing a larger capacity license agreement.

Deputy Mayor Veech inquired about the possibility of holding similar Drive-In Movie events on a weekly basis, due to the significant demand for it. Manager Mountain explained that the Parks and Recreation Department used department funds to keep the cost of the event down. Holding the events by utilizing the department funds in this way cannot be done on a weekly basis, the true cost of the event is much higher. Presently tickets for the event are $10 per vehicle; the true cost is estimated to be at about $30 per vehicle. The licensing costs are the largest expense for the event; the physical set up is not expensive.

Councilman Loveys inquired about the car capacity limits CCM had in place for the event. Manager Mountain explained that it was not CCM placing the limits, but the licensing agreement being utilized for the event that sets the capacity to 100. They didn’t have any sense of what the demand was going to be for this event. The township will consider utilizing a higher capacity licensing agreement for future events, though it may be more costly.

Deputy Mayor Veech commented that she was aware of a Drive-In Movie Theater in South Jersey that charged $35 per vehicle and sold out. She stated that because of the success and high level of interest in the event, she would like to get a poll of the number of residents who would be interested in the event even if it were more costly. Manager Mountain replied that the township would look into it.

D. COMBINED ACTION RESOLUTIONS

1. R-180-20 Refund parents/guardians registration fees paid for various recreation programs due to withdrawal and cancellation as a result of COVID-19—$10,668.00
2. R-181-20 Authorizing the Settlement of Certain Residential Tax Appeals for 2018 and 2019 for 10 Skyline Drive, Block 146, Lot 72.27 to Jiahua Ye and Mei Chen
3. R-182-20 Release cash road opening bond posted for the purpose of connecting to the township catch basin at 64 Heritage Ct., Randolph, Block 93.01, Lot 3 to Michael Milazzo—$500.00
4. R-183-20 Release cash road opening bond posted for the purpose of resurfacing the driveway at 3 Brandywine Ct., Block 116, Lot 13.10 to Sonia Tacinelli—$500.00
5. R-184-20 Refund cash road opening bond for the purpose of connecting to the township water service at 33 Meadowbrook Road, Block 154, Lot 21 to Lauren Rupeikis—$500.00
6. R-185-20 Refund cash road opening bond for the purpose of connecting to the township catch basin at 24 Meadowbrook Rd., Block 207, Lot 1—Shri N. Singh—$500.00
7. R-186-20 Refund cash road opening bond posted for the purpose of resurfacing the driveway at 6 Olde York Rd., Block 21, Lot 162—Marc Peo—$500.00
8. R-187-20 Release Police Detail Escrow to J.A. Alexander, Inc.—$2,930.00
9. R-188-20 Authorizing the approval of items of revenue and appropriations per NJSA 40A:4-87—Clean Communities Grant—$55,437.89
10. R-189-20 Authorizing the approval of items of revenue and appropriations per NJSA 40A:4-87—NJACCHO LHD COVID-19 Grant—$29,716.00
11. R-190-20 Supporting the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Freight Concept Development Study, Dover and Rockaway Railroad Realignment Project
12. R-191-20 Authorizing the award of MCCPC Contract #37—Traffic Signal Maintenance and Repairs to Allan Briteway Electrical Utility Contractors, Inc.
13. R-192-20 Refund registration fee paid for Rompers Nursery School due to portion of the program being canceled because of COVID 19 to Ozgur Yoral—$400.00
14. R-193-20 Authorizing the award to and rejection of MCCPC #20-B—Sporting Goods to multiple bidders
15. R-194-20 Authorizing the award of MCCPC Contract #40—Personal Protection Items & Equipment for Emergency Personnel to various bidders
16. R-195-20 Authorizing the award to Rio Supply, Inc. and the rejection of Core & Main, LP for MCCPC Contract #47—Water Meters/Data Recorders & Radio Frequency Meter Interface Units
17. R-196-20 Awarding a contract for the rebid-remount/refurbish 2000 Road Rescue Type III Ambulance Project to SIV Ambulances—$101,500.00
18. R-197-20 Authorizing the award of a Professional Services Agreement to Suburban Consulting Engineers, Inc. for a Sanitary Sewer System Master Plan update for the period of July 8, 2020 through July 7, 2021
19. R-198-20 Authorizing Liquor License Renewals for the 2020-2021 Season
20. R-199-20 Release of performance bond/project retainage for $10,850.06 and acceptance of the maintenance bond for $24,700.30 for the Woodlawn Sanitary Sewer Project—Shauger Property Services, Inc.
21. Raffle License, On-premise 50/50, RHS Cheerleading Booster Club, Inc., at the Randolph High School, 511 Millbrook Ave, Randolph, NJ on the following dates: September 11 & 17, October 2, 16, and 30, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Councilman Loveys made a motion to approve the Combined Actions Resolutions. Deputy Mayor Veech seconded the motion, and the following roll call vote was taken:

AYES:
Councilman Forstenhausler (Abstained for #15: R-194-20)
Councilman Loveys
Councilman Nisivoccia
Councilwoman Potter
Councilman Tkacs
Deputy Mayor Veech
Mayor Carey

NAYS: None

E. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Seeing no one from the public, the public portion was closed.

F. COUNCIL COMMENTS

Councilman Forstenhausler reported that Phil Sheehy, Chair of the Trails Advisory Committee, created a newsletter with input from the committee for the Friends of the Randolph Trails; it will go out shortly.

Councilman Forstenhausler read the following statement into the record on behalf of the Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee:

“The members of the Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee (DISC) have been continuing to meet regularly and last met on July 1st.

The DISC is planning to conduct its first intimate affinity town hall with the community. Other town halls will follow—feedback ascertained from the first listening session may reflect changes to this format:

• Each town hall will have under 25 attendees. The process of contacting the first group of attendees has begun.
• Each town hall will be facilitated by the Morris County Human Relations Commission (HRC).
• The function of the Township Council and Board of Education (BOE) members is to listen and learn. The HRC, as moderators, will interact with the attendees.
• Meetings cannot be recorded by the DISC or attendees.
• The HRC will have members dedicated to creating a report at the end of the string of town halls summarizing the listening sessions.
• The town halls will enable listening for:
  • Experiences -personal stories about incidents in Randolph of acts of bias based on race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity.
  • Governance—specific examples of any laws, procedures or policies that cause barriers to reporting acts of bias or that directly or indirectly create an atmosphere or culture of bias.
  • Aspirations—dreams of how the Randolph community and school district could be better in our future years.

As a follow-up to our statement at the last council meeting:

• Thank you Steve, for posting the Bias Crime flyer to our communication channels. The flyer educates the public on what is a bias incident, what are some common types of bias/hate crimes, what you should report, what you should do if you witness a bias/hate crime in progress, what to do if you are uncomfortable reporting incidents to the local police, etc.
• We have met with the Randolph Interfaith Council. The council has held programs in Randolph in the past to foster unification of our faith communities. They are excited to continue their programs within the Randolph Community. We briefed them on our current status—that we are in the assessment phase of our project—and we hope that when the HRC report is finalized, they can be part of the program policy implementation phase.
• Thank you to the Randolph Township Library for putting together a reading list of materials to help educate our community on antiracism. Located on the library’s website, three lists have been created: a non-fiction booklist, a fiction booklist, and a booklist for children/young adults.”

Councilwoman Potter had nothing to report.

Councilman Loveys had nothing to report. The Wildlife Management Advisory Committee will meet on July 22nd and the Board of Health will meet in September.

Councilman Tkacs attended a Planning Board meeting on July 6th at the municipal building; everyone complied with social distancing guidelines and wore masks. There were a couple of projects presented including the approval of minor upgrades at Rosie’s Trattoria for additional patio space and outdoor seating, and proposed modifications/improvements to a previously approved manufacturing warehouse that will be going up on Middlebury Boulevard.

Councilman Nisivoccia had nothing to report.

Deputy Mayor Veech thanked Manager Mountain, Parks & Recreation Department Director Russ Newman, and the team that contributed to the work at the community garden for their efforts on the project. She reported that she had received positive feedback from the growing number of gardeners and families utilizing and visiting the garden. She also briefly mentioned that the community garden committee was discussing the possibility of holding educational sessions that can comply with social distancing/safety measures. She encouraged everyone who has not yet visited the garden to do so.

Mayor Carey thanked Township Clerk Donna Luciani for her work during the Primary Election; it’s been a busy day. Mayor Carey reached out to the Morris County offices who informed her that it could be weeks before the results of the election were announced.

Mayor Carey also reported that some members of Council will be attending the Table of Hope and Morris Habitat for Humanity Free Mobile Food Distribution event at the Morris Habitat Restore on Wednesday, July 8th.

Councilman Loveys asked Manager Mountain for an update on Randolph Lake Beach. Manager Mountain replied that the operation at the lake was going well, with the exception of a few comments about overcrowding. The majority of the feedback has been positive, with residents understanding that it is being managed as well as it can be given the present circumstances. His information does not include the holiday weekend as he has not yet had the chance to discuss it with the Russ Newman. However, the previous week Russ reported that the staff was very happy, and that the system being utilized was working well; if there was any challenge, it was that of managing the crowds. Thus far residents have been following the reservation system with no complaints.

G. EXECUTIVE SESSION

There was no Executive Session.

H. ADJOURNMENT

Councilman Loveys made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:28 p.m. Councilman Tkacs seconded the motion, and the following roll call vote was taken:

AYES:
Councilman Forstenhausler
Councilman Loveys
Councilman Nisivoccia
Councilwoman Potter
Councilman Tkacs
Deputy Mayor Veech
Mayor Carey

NAYS: None