Vernon
Town Council Meetings
Below are audio
recordings of recent Vernon Township Council meetings, along with agendas and
other written materials made available at the meetings. Recordings are in MP3 format, and can
be opened with Windows Media Player, iTunes, and many other media players; they
can also be exported to iPods and most other portable digital audio players.
Except as noted, written materials are in pdf format, which can be viewed with
Adobe Reader. The sound files are very large (on the order of 50 megabytes), so
a broadband connection is highly recommended. You will probably find it more convenient to download the
audio files before listening, rather than streaming them. If you donÕt have a suitable connection
and would like a copy on CD instead, contact us at info@vernondemocrats.org.
Times noted in
parentheses in the notes indicate the approximate points in the recording (in
hours:mins) that the topics are discussed.
We apologize for the
mediocre sound quality -- you may need to turn the volume way up. Also, we canÕt promise to get
recordings for all meetings, but weÕll do our best. WeÕll try to keep up as many old meetings as our storage and
bandwidth allowances permit, but we expect we can keep them for a few months at
least.
December
10, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:37 hours, 50 MB). Agenda
(with links to resolutions and ordinances). Notes
by Rick Renfrow. Sewer
Presentation, Draft
Sewer Ordinance (courtesy of Councilman Carew). Overview
of Plan Endorsement process (courtesy of Pat Lycosky). In an agenda full of
routine bureaucratic items, the main attractions were the presentations and
special items. A draft of the proposed ordinance governing the sewers was presented (0:53). Town planner Fred Suljic discussed the
process for obtaining a Municipal Plan Endorsement from the Office of Smart
Growth (1:37). Mayor Morrison was given a plaque of appreciation for her
service (2:30). The council abandoned
any attempt to pass the McAfee redevelopment plans this year (2:13). The resolution to retrospectively approve
the Main St. change orders was again discussed (0:02), and remained
controversial, but in the end was approved unanimously.
November
26, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:06 hours, 43 MB). Agenda
(with links to resolutions and ordinances). Notes
by Rick Renfrow. Excelsior
letter to council (obtained via OPRA). Major topics included funding of upgrades to fire department
radio systems (0:25); troubles with senior transit (0:42); potential loss of
grant money due to the failure to approve Main St. change orders (0:53);
allegations of the appearance of impropriety in the effort to amend the Town
Center Redevelopment Plan (specifically sewer allocations) to accommodate the
proposed shopping center on Church St. (1:08); further discussion on whether
the McAfee redevelopment plan can be passed this year (2:04); and response to
the new draft of the Highlands master plan (2:48).
November
15, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:16 hours, 45 MB). Agenda
(with links to resolutions and ordinances). Notes
by Rick Renfrow. This well attended meeting was dominated by discussion of
redevelopment plans. For the McAfee redevelopment ordinances (0:49), the major
issue was whether there is the time and will for the council to enact them
before the end of the year when the council session expires; otherwise the new
council will need to reintroduce them in the new year. They will try (2:40).
There was also a contentious discussion on amending the Town Center
Redevelopment Plan (0:33, 2:41). Specifically the issue was whether an
amendment concerning gas stations, which was agreed to at the previous meeting,
ought to be delayed to include additional amendments accommodating the proposed
shopping center on Church St (Post meeting note: this letter
from the shopping center developer with their requests, was subsequently
obtained though an OPRA request). The gas station amendment was delayed.
October
11, 2007.
Audio recording
(1:47 hours, 25 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). Key items include the approval of the
tree ordinance (1:02), discussion (0:01) and passage (1:16) of the Town Center
Redevelopment Plan Ordinance #07-43 and plans to amend it almost immediately. Other
items include sewer bonds (0:17) parking for the Appalachian Trail by the
boardwalk (0:26), policy on conflicts-of-interest of the council members
(0:36), nomination of Glen Ventrano and Bunny Cocula for Friend of Vernon
awards (0:43), and a surprising proposal to proceed with a referendum to
acquire United WaterÕs sewer system (1:43).
September
24, 2007.
Audio recording
(2:20 hours, 32 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). After starting off with a closed
executive session, the meeting opened to the public with the announcement of
the hiring of Melinda Carlton as the new township manager (0:00). There was discussion of the 2006 audit
report (0:04) and the associated corrective actions (0:21) (see report
excerpt). There was also a brief status report on the Town Center &
McAfee Village redevelopment plans (0:34); the current plan for McAfee is to
treat the Legends property separately from the surrounding area. An older version of the Town Center
Redevelopment Plan Ordinance #07-41 was defeated (2:18), and the revised
version #07-043 was introduced (2:16).
September
10, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:32 hours, 48 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). The key highlight of
this meeting was an extensive discussion of the investigation of
the unapproved change orders for the Main Street project, and the causes
and corrective actions (0:23). There was also an update and discussion on the
town center redevelopment plan (1:32).
August
27, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:45 hours, 51 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). Osias sewer
presentation (793 KB). Ferraioli
sewer report (1.5 MB). The meeting was dominated by two items. The first was a set of presentations by
Gene Osias and Chuck Ferraioli on the proposed acquisition of United WaterÕs
sewer operation by the Township. The second was a presentation by Jack Smith
and his associates on their proposal to build a shopping center on the
properties opposite the municipal building. The second reading of the town center redevelopment plan
ordinance was postponed because of comments from the planning board.
August
13, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:41 hours, 51 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). Major topics
included a lengthy discussion on possibly buying United WaterÕs sewer operation
(0:07), discussion of an ordinance updating salary ranges of many municipal
employees (1:14), introduction of the ordinance establishing the Town Center
(1:35), discussion of the forthcoming tree preservation ordinance (2:03), and
passage of a $1.6 million bond ordinance for general improvements (excluding
Maple Grange Park) (3:30). There
was also an interesting discussion in which the Council changed itÕs mind about
permitting Legends to fix a deficiency in its sewage system before it pays back
taxes (00:38). Councilman Carew
proposed establishing an economic development advisory committee and it was
agreed to draft up a charter (1:07). Councilman Desmond proposed setting up
regular ÒCoffee with the CouncilÓ sessions with the public (1:12).
July
23, 2007.
Audio recording
(1:45 hours, 24 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). This was mostly
routine. Major topics included awarding contract for construction of Maple
Grange phase 2 (0:04, 1:41), the report on the Whispering Woods detention basin
failure (0:26), and introduction of a $1.6 million bond ordinance (0:56).
Ordinance 07-30 was voted down after extensive input from the public on its
impact on sidewalks in Highland Lakes (1:18).
June
25, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:12 hours, 44 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). Revaluation
presentation (1.2 MB). Although there were no earthshaking developments,
there were several interesting items. The public hearing on the latest version
of the budget (0:05) included discussion of the merits of funding economic
development, a promise to do an operational efficiency study to identify
potential cost savings, and debate about outsourcing of janitorial services.
The issue of space for the Historical Scociety to store documents was presented
by Jessi Paladini (0:41). Plans for the upcoming revaluation (0:58) were
presented by township engineer Lou Kneip and municipal assessor Lynne
Schweighardt. Review of the capital budget (2:58) included consideration of
whether in-house support of capital projects should be included as capital or
current operating costs. Former mayor Ira Weiner was recognized as a
"Friend of Vernon" (0:00)
June 11, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:25 hours, 47 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). Revised
McAfee Redevelopment Plan (1.9 MB); summary
of changes (196 KB). Redevelopment
fiscal impact (104 KB). Proposed
budget amendments (348 KB). Introduced budget
(from May 14 meeting, 5.9 MB).
The status of
redevelopment was discussed (0:15), focusing on the proposed
McAfee Village plan, which consultant Bob Benecke had slightly revised. The
council agreed to refer the revised plan to the planning board for a joint
public forum or workshop. The public hearing on the introduced 2007 budget
(1:57) generated little public comment (given how little documentation was
provided to the public, this was not surprising). It raised the municipal tax
rate from 0.789 to 0.820 (i.e., 3.1 tax points, or 3.9%) from 2006. However, some line items needed to be
increased over amounts in the originally introduced budget. The council
discussed possible offsetting cuts, and especially the economic development
budget. Eventually it decided (2:51) to further increase the tax rate by 0.3
points, or a 4.3% increase from last year (a public hearing on the amendments
is planned for June 25). The $2 million bond ordinance to fund the Maple Grange
Park phase 2 construction (#02-024) (3:09) and the ordinance to increase the
budget cap (#07-025) (1:49) were passed with little discussion. The proposed referendum on an open
space tax (ordinance #07-18) was discussed at some length (1:12). VTHS teacher
and golf coach Karen Mayer was recognized as a "Friend of Vernon"
(0:07). Note: Budget and
redevelopment documents were not provided to the public; we obtained these via
an OPRA request.
May 21, 2007. Special Budget work session
Audio recording
(3:28 hours, 48 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions linked therein). Draft
Budget summary (4.4 MB)
No surprises here. To ensure the town could comply with
the spending cap, departments were asked to cut 15-20% from their operating
budgets. Most departments cut
their training, memberships, and publications budgets rather severely.
Note: although summary budget was
provided to the public, the detailed line item budget reviewed by the council
was not available.
May 14, 2007.
Audio recording
(2:40 hours, 37 MB). Agenda
(on town site; resolutions and ordinances linked therein). Draft
Budget (4.4 MB), introduced budget
(5.9 MB)
The redevelopment
resolutions scheduled for action were postponed. The council voted to hire
consultant Gregory C. Fehrenbach to conduct the search for a township manager
and to serve as interim township manager (0:02). The budget discussion (0:56) was short, and emphasized the
need to raise the cap for spending increases, and to introduce the draft budget
quickly in order to get tax bills out in time to avoid further short-term
borrowing. A budget work session
was scheduled for May 21. Once again, no budget information was made available
to the public; this issue was discussed extensively in the public comments
(1:34 & 1:58), and consequently the Council agreed to post this information
on the town web site by the end of the week (it is posted to the agenda
for the May 21 meeting). Other
highlights were a lengthy discussion (0:26) on why only one vendor bid on the
town's purchase a new fire truck (eventually approved), introduction of a $2
million bond ordinance to fund Maple Grange Park Phase 2 construction (1:22),
and initiation of an eminent domain process (ordinance 07-26) to obtain a small
sewer easement (1:23).
April 30, 2007 Special Meeting.
Audio recording
(4:15 hours, 58 MB). Agenda
(on town site). Economic
Analysis (384 KB). Draft
McAfee Village Redevelopment Plan (92 KB). Financial info
(416 KB).
This special meeting was
devoted to Redevelopment and town finances. The town's consultant on economic development and
redevelopment, Bob Benecke, discussed several aspects of redevelopment,
starting with his economic analysis of the Mountain Creek redevelopment (0:08),
which recommends financing the project with PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes)
and RABs (redevelopment area bonds).
This report was not made available to the public (despite claims to the
contrary made by Benecke at the meeting), but Councilman Carew graciously gave
us his copy after the meeting (Thanks Austin!). The Town Center plan (1:18) is essentially unchanged from
that previously presented (though not yet readily available to the
public). The McAfee village plan
(1:27) would allow six hotels (up to a total of 3000 units), a 10-story indoor
water park and hotel complex, 500 vacation units, and also permit development
on steep slopes and ridge lines. The council did not like it in its current
form, and there was discussion on how it should be revised. Resolutions will be
voted on at the May 14 Council meeting to designate Mountain Creek as the
redeveloper of the Mountain Creek property (possibly including the PILOT
agreements) and to refer the draft Town Center and McAfee Village redevelopment
plans to the Planning Board.
Financial consultant
Chuck Ferraioli discussed financial matters (2:36), with a focus on capital
spending and borrowing (the 2007 budget will be discussed in detail at the May
14 meeting). Handouts were not
provided to the public, though we later obtained some via an OPRA request.
Increased debt service alone almost surely guarantees a rise in taxes this
year. Substantial tax increases are inevitable in the next five years (2:57)
unless capital spending (and hence borrowing) is significantly trimmed.
Possible cuts and deferrals were discussed (2:58), including road maintenance
(3:02) and emergency services equipment (3:11).
April 23, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:40 hours, 50 MB). Agenda
(on town site). Ordinances for
second reading (140 KB). Maple Grange
Presentation (5.7 MB)
Key items covered in
this meeting were the proposal to move forward with Phase 2 of the Maple Grange
Park this year (0:08), and a presentation on the 2007 budget (1:16). Not surprisingly, the municipal tax is expected
to rise significantly (and this does not reflect the additional debt for Maple
Grange phase 2). There was also a
lengthy discussion in the Open to the Public section on the ongoing erosion and
water runoff problems from the Whispering Woods development. The Mayor
announced a new initiative to make supporting information from the council
meetings available on the township web site (0:02). However, only a limited number of hard copies of the Maple
Grange presentation were available at the meeting, and the budget information
was not available at all; neither are yet posted to the town web site.
March 26, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:52 hours, 53 MB). Agenda (68
KB). Ordinances
(30 KB). Chamber
of Commerce Proposal (128KB).
This was a very full
meeting, with major discussions on the wetland discovered adjacent to the
proposed town center (0:02), the fire department budgets (0:29), redevelopment
(0:57), code enforcement at Legends (2:40), and the Vernon Chamber of
Commerce's specific proposals for using some of the hotel tax revenue to grow
tourism (2:52). The proposal for
redevelopment in the McAfee zone (1:10) was quite astonishing, and was not
looked on favorably by most of the council.
March 12, 2007.
Audio recording
(2:58 hours, 41 MB). Agenda (68
KB). Ordinances
(64 KB).
This meeting features a
discussion on the proposed budget with the town's Chief Financial Officer
Monica Goscicki (0:24).
Regrettably, this discussion was not very transparent to the public, as
the budget documents were not made available at the meeting. A substantial amount of time was
devoted during the Open to the Public section to the sorry state of Legends and
the grievances of the timeshare owners against Legends' management (1:25). Other highlights include Councilman
Oroho's statement on his interactions with the Township Manager regarding
financial oversight (2:12), a report on the planning and fundraising for
EarthFest (0:10), and debate on the proposed ordinance 07-12 on fees for use of
athletic fields (2:45).
February 26, 2007.
Audio recording
(1:30 hours, 20 MB). Agenda (72
KB).
A mercifully short
meeting, with little discussion of most agenda items. The exception was the
proposed ordinance 07-12, which would permit (but not require) the town to
charge fees for use of recreational facilities; this is mainly intended to
apply to outside groups. Other items included planning for a public budget work
session, the townÕs new policy on detention basins, canoe access points,
swearing-in of the fire and ambulance squads, and a proclamation that March is
Red Cross Month. The situation with the Township Manager did not come up.
February 15, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:53 hours, 53 MB). Agenda (80
KB). Ordinances
(76 KB). Chamber of
Commerce presentation (48 KB) (Many thanks to the CoC for sending it to
us).
Another marathon
session, highlighted by a very informative presentation on the townÕs
affordable housing and COAH situation. The Chamber of Commerce presented a
proposal to create a commission to recommend ways to grow tourism and to
dedicate 60% of the townsÕ hotel occupancy tax revenues to fund implementation.
Other points of interest included
extended discussions on the use of RVs as temporary living quarters in
residential lots (in connection with a resident whose home burned) and a short
report on the negotiations regarding Legends redevelopment.
January 22, 2007.
Audio recording
(3:42 hours, 51 MB). Agenda (70
KB). Ordinances
(240 KB).
What had looked to be a
short, routine meeting tuned out to be much more interesting. Most noteworthy was a long and frank
debate among the council concerning the desire to move the redevelopment
project ahead rapidly, versus the need for informed oversight of spending by
all council members. Other
highlights included a debate on COAH RCAÕs, parking for the Appalachian Trail,
promoting and branding the town, Planning Board appointments, and improving
communication to the townspeople by having town-hall meetings on the
redevelopment and town center projects. Note: the last 5 minutes were cut off because the
meeting duration exceeded the battery life of the recorder. It was agreed that
the finance subcommittee would include several members from the public.
January 08, 2007.
Audio recording
(approx 3 hours, 40 MB). Agenda (80
KB). Documents
from finance presentation (720KB).
This meeting featured an
extended presentation on the townÕs debt and financial outlook. It explains why our taxes will continue
to increase even if there is no additional spending, due to the debt
service. The township has incurred
considerable debt in order to finance the town center and other improvements in
hopes of increasing ratables. The
council is counting on the increased income from the anticipated ratables in a
few years to be able to pay down this debt. However, if the redevelopment areas
are not built out as hoped, the town will be in serious financial difficulty.