Summation of the July 19th meeting of the Mendham Borough Council.

I receive the tape "promptly" from the Borough last Thursday.... unfortunately this time I'am to blame for the delay in this information being made public. I've been distracted by other issues and just haven't found the time to compile this summation-- my apologies.

I'm not certain exactly when it was brought up.. but the town has received some $15,000 as a rebate on insurance premiums from 1997 through 2000. Apparently if a policy holder makes the company good and rich by not filing "many" claims the company offers a reward of a very partial refund.[I wonder how much slack the insurance company will offer on rate increases if you file too many claims. [Like all company gimmicks it's likely the borough has essentially paid to get this money-- no free lunch as they say]

In a later discussion regarding the joint library it was commented that a joint library director had been hired and that things were moving closer to a formal merger. There was discussion regarding the fact that more "major contributors" have been identified and that small fund-raiser produced positive results. It was stated that major fund-raising efforts have not started yet. Councilman Dolan commented that he received a mailing regarding the library. Apparently, no other council member receive such a mailing. It was joked that it might have something to do with Councilman Dolan's wealth. [The more I think about it, the more I tend to believe that this really won't be a productive "development project". In the digital age investment in a library is an investment in antiquity. If some rich people would like to make a contribution to the public I can think of a lot better ways to spend the money then to build an expensive public reading room-- when, in practical fact the standard Mendham mansion already has more than one built-in. I think everyone knows paper books really don't have a future.]

permanent link: July 19th meeting, InMendhmm 7/19/04

The oral arguments regarding defendant's (the town's) motion for summary judgment in the case of Mosher verses Mendham took place this morning. The proceedings were a 9 on the maximum possible disaster scale. (a 10 being me actually being thrown in jail). Besides the judge being an absolute Bitch, she is also a functional retard with no comprehension skills. Here is a transcript of the truly incredible proceedings. I will also be composing extensive commentary regarding my "perception" that America has lost its soul and deserves disposal on the ash heap of history. Without intellectual integrity, and a passion for justice we as a people have no integrity, or dignity, as human beings, and we become nothing but another stupid animal parasite on the face of the earth....

Related Link: Written rebuttal arguments.

permanent link: Holy Moly, InMendhmm 7/23/04

Summation of the July 6th council meeting

Next meeting Monday July 19th

[There was a delay in receiving the tapes of this meeting caused by damage in postal delivery. The package had to be delivered less than a mile and it looked like it went by way of Baghdad.]

There was extensive discussion regarding a request from Chester and Mendham Township to place a non-binding referendum on the ballot that would encourage the council to study the possibility of deregionalization. The issue as commonly understood revolves around the inequitable fact, that Borough residents pay some $20,000 per student while other communities pay as little as 12,000. Unfortunately, based on population the Borough doesn't have the political clout to demand more equitable apportionment of school taxes from the regional school board. The implications of breaking out of the regional district would be that Mendham Borough would essentially be obligated to purchase the "equity" and debt burden invested by other communities in the school system we "host".

The mayor brought up the alternative "solution" of appealing to the state legislature to rectify the inequity. Most council members seem supportive of that approach. In the end the council voted unanimously not to support a referendum "at this time". Although some council members conceded the referendum might provide some leverage... the conflicting concern that it might interfere in negotiations regarding the school board providing some compensation for extra police services (required to mitigate traffic concerns created by the high-school) prevailed. All council members expressed the general opinion that the current school system provides a quality education. [ just my opinion... but it seems to me action by the state legislature is a very remote possibility. Equitable Distribution of the school tax burden is an issue drenched in hypocrisy and has all the rich versus poor conundrums. Personally, as a single person who never contemplated reproducing I have always found financing schools based on property taxes a very inequitable way to distribute the burden. Somewhere in the system there should be "some" connection between how many children you have... or don't have... and how much you pay for the infrastructure to support them. I personally see merit in the balance of progressive taxation and I don't think the state legislature finds the idea as abhorrent as some Mendham residents do. Further complicating the issue is the fact that as the host community it is true that the Borough incurs some extra expenses... but there are also substantial benefits like increased real estate values ( having local schools) and enhanced opportunities for local businesses (which pay substantial taxes)].

The next item discussed was the 2002 audit. I have a couple of pages of summary information and I will post them when I have the time to digitally convert them. Brought up in the discussion was the fact that the town now carries some $4 million in short term debt. ( highest per capita debt level since 1995). The point was made that in the recent past fund balances used to pay ongoing expenses were drawn down to prevent tax increases. The current general fund balance is somewhere under $1,324,000 the utility fund (sewage plant I think) is somewhere around $530,000. It was stated that these fund levels probably should not be decreased any further.

There was brief discussion regarding this item from the administrators report.

Land Use Coordinator. As you know, Diana Callahan has broken her wrist. Her doctor has placed her on light duty and she has been coming in several hours every couple of days during the week. Karen Orgera has been very helpful with in-office paperwork and Rosalie Lauerman has agreed to handle Planning Board and Board of Adjustment meetings and minutes. You will recall that Rosalie was the Board of Adjustment secretary and has extensive experience dealing with board meetings and minutes. I have spoken to Rosalie who has agreed to cover the Planning Board and Board of Adjustment meetings, as well as prepare the minutes for the months of July and August, and possibly September if need be. I am recommending that the Borough pay Rosalie $32.39 an hour. This would be her hourly rate if you broke her salary down by the number of hours she is in the office. In order to pay her this rate I am recommending that the salary ordinance be amended, specifically the range for part time office help. Rosalie will provide time sheets for her attendance at board meetings and for preparing the meeting minutes.

[$32 an hour.... I don't even get $32 a year]

There was again discussion regarding a residents request for a street light. The general opinion was that the consent of neighboring property owners should be solicited. the Borough administrator stated that the power company would only provide a "sodium vapor" light. The mayor suggest that it be known for certain that there are no alternatives.

The proposed architect for the new library will be available to the Council for questioning at the next council meeting july 19.

There was extensive discussion regarding the ad hoc, Shared Services Committee. At issue was a pending action by the mayor to write a letter to the attorney-general office requesting a "free" evaluation of current police operations and the feasibility of a merger. there was some argument between the council and the mayor regarding official approval of this action by the shared Services Committee. There was also a dispute regarding the issue of just having the attorney general evaluate the efficiency[?] of the Borough police department. Some council members, were essentially arguing that only Borough issues should be studied... The mayor countered that there was no point in having a "shared services" if you're only going to study sharing services with yourself. It was approximated that it may be more than a year before any report is received from the attorney general's office.

As described by the mayor and the ad hoc committee is considering three options
1) A merger of the police department's
2) Cohabitation ( both departments would share a single Police Facility)
3) Contract Services ( the Borough would essentially rent police services to the Township)

Councilman Henry who has previously stated his unconditional opposition to a Police merger made the argument that the previous "feasibility study" was poor process. He contends that Township Committee members stated to him that "they thought the merger was a done deal". Mr. Henry warned that the Borough has lost credibility, and argued essentially that the Borough Council should not imply any false hope. [ it seems clear that with Councilman Dolan's replacement on the town council next year that there is no hope for a rational, sensible, efficient, merger of the police departments any time soon. The electorate has apparently bought the idea that people from Mendham Borough and from Mendham Township are too alien to one another to be served by the same police force.]

For comic relief the Mayor stated that the ad hoc committee has "no secrets"... and he announced a soon-to-be available "Shared Services Committee" website that would be providing public information and the opportunity for discussion. [ The Shared Services Committee apparently can't even engineer the merger of their web site into the Borough site It seems to me that being that both the township site and official Borough site are grossly under maintained it would be a good Shared Services project to facilitate the merger of these two websites into one well maintained site.]

Regarding the Mayor's letter the council agreed to accept what the ad hoc committee finally recommends.

The meeting closed with discussion regarding a council member being introduced as a councilman when he testified as a "private citizen" during a civil court proceeding. It was agreed by the mayor and council that in future Councilman should make every effort to make sure it is known when they are not appearing in any official capacity. [ Personally, I think councilmembers should avoid exercising certain private citizen rights that might "imply" inappropriate influence.]

permanent link: Sharing Isn't A Sin, InMendhmm 7/6/04

There have been some "events" in my legal action against the Borough. The defendants have filed the traditional "Motion for Summary Judgment". This is basically a plea to the judge to subvert justice and allow the defendant to escape any accountability. As all the New Jersey judges I've ever encountered have been corrupt dishonest shysters there is at least a 50/50 chance that in spite of the mountain of evidence the judge will declare their to be no issues for trial. I have filed my reply which is, of course, brilliant and logically impervious to rational disagreement.

Another event was a conference call with a mediator and the borough's attorney. An actual effort at mediation has been postponed until after the motion for summary judgment is decided. An interesting fact that I wasn't aware of is that the town apparently has insurance that covers liability for violating constitutional rights. It seems to me a real crime against our justice system to allow some criminals to essentially escape accountability by buying insurance. It's one thing to be able to buy insurance protecting yourself against liability for "accidents" but there really shouldn't be any get out of jail free card for "bad acts" committed out of recklessness or maliciousness.

Summation of the June 21st meeting of the Mendham Borough town council.
I requested the tape of this meeting on June 18th and did not receive it until July 1st
Next Meeting July 6

The first item on the agenda was more discussion regarding the [India brook] bridle path.
From the administrators report:

Item #4 ­ India Brook Park:
Bridle Path. The issue of bridle paths is listed under discussion topics for Monday night. During my review of this subject I have determined the following: · The "new" bridle path is in fact an old walking path that was widened to accommodate equestrians. · The intent of widening the path was to provide a safer way for horse back riders with access to India Brook Park and Patriot's Path. Doug Wright witnessed several near misses between large vehicles making deliveries and pickup trucks making deliveries and horseback riders.

· The tape and trail markings were most likely placed along the trail by someone from Mr. Backer's barn. The Backer's have offered to investigate and help remove them if so directed. · It is Doug's recommendation that the use of the path be continued due to the aforementioned safety concerns.

Regarding the bridle path trail ordinance Section 143-19, which is attached, prohibits horseback riding on any public land other then those bridle paths identified on a map in the Borough administrative offices. As I had reported, no such map exists. As such the Borough Council has two options: repeal that section or have a map created. Repealing the section without addressing where horseback riding can take place will lead to problems. Therefore, I have had the Engineer's office use the GIS program to prepare a draft map which you can review Monday night.

The council was basically agreeable to the concept that there should be defined public trails for horseback riding. A council member raised the question of how often the trails are used for horseback riding. The mayor suggested that council members do some inquiring and the issue was tabled until the Land Use Committee provides its input.

The next-- related-- issue was the haying of the sewer plant field.
From the administrators report:

Item #5 ­ Sewer Plant Field Haying:
The second issue for discussion is the haying of the field adjacent to the Water Reclamation Treatment Facility. Many years ago the Borough entered into a "handshake" agreement with the Backer family to mow this field. In return the Backers were allowed to keep any hay. As you will recall from the last meeting this practice was called into question. The field in question is approximately ¾ of an acre and is adjacent to the plant's closest residential neighbor. The Backers perform two cuttings a year and take a total of between 140 and 160 bales of hay. Hay is being sold for $3.00 to $3.50 per bale. This would place a value on the hay of between $420 to $560. Even if the price or the amount were doubled the value would be well below the threshold for obtaining informal quotes. Doug has reported that the only reason to hay the field is aesthetics and noted that area will be impacted in the coming months by the new construction at the plant. Part of the field will be used as staging and parking for contractors and plant staff.

The general opinion of the council is that there should be a formal agreement with whoever does the heying. The concern of liability and was brought up. There was suggestion that it might be advisable to solicit bids, but the circumstance of the construction at the sewage plant will likely inhibit that taking place in the near term. Also noted was some minor concerns in the past regarding the fertilizing [horse manure] of the field. [It seems probable that the town will reach a formal agreement with the Backer family to do the haying as it seems a mutually beneficial relationship]

Two ordnances were slated for final approval at the July 19th meeting. One regarding Non Life Hazard Uses. "Non-Life Hazard Uses. In addition to the registrations required by the Uniform Fire Code, the following non-life-hazard uses shall register with the Bureau of Fire Prevention. These uses shall be inspected once per year and shall pay an annual fee as set forth below". The other regarding salaries. Both ordnances can be viewed at the bottom of this agenda document.

From the administrators report:

Item #17 ­ Wireless Phone Antenna ­ Police Building:
On Monday Geoff Price and I will be meeting with representatives from AT&T Wireless who would like to perform a design visit at the Mendham Police Department. The purpose of this visit is for the creation of the conceptual design.

A council member made the point that previous discussions regarding whip antennas should have eliminated the need for a 110ft. cell tower. The mayor made mention of the fact that it was a different company. [there was no issue decided by the council, and it seems probable that AT&T will be permitted to outline their proposal to the town council]

Councilman Dolan inquired of the Borough administrator what progress had been made regarding the spreading of the "mulch" at India brook Park. The administrator replied that they were still attempting to schedule the renting of a larger bulldozer [earlier this week the "mulch" was flattened out by what appeared to be just an average size bulldozer-- I assume owned by the town. It looks nicer, but I don't know if there will be another phase to the project i.e. spreading and seeding]

The probable absence of a administrative staff secretary do to health problems was brought up. It was suggested that if other staff can't perform the duties ( includes composing minutes of the Land Use Committee) that a "temp" should be hired. The administrator noted that composing minutes was a bit of an "art". [Bet he would call this summation just fingerprinting]

Apparently because of some county clause in the police car lease agreement Mendham borough's new police cars will be black-and-white. [Personally, I thought the blue-and-white cars looked kind of wimpy]

From the administrators report:

Item #13- Street Light Request: I have received a request from Chris Regan of Wilson Street to have a street light installed. The Regan's have had instances of vandalism and their vehicle was damaged while parked on the street at night by a hit and run driver. They feel a light will help prevent these types of activities in the future

It was pointed out that the town would have to pay the electric bill and that the electric company would probably only install a high-energy light. The issue was tabled for further investigation. A council member pointed out a light at the Mendham Borough pond has still not been repaired. The mayor noted that the police department should report street lights they notice to be out.

From the administrators report:

Item #8 ­ Wastewater Management: Permit Required Plant Upgrades. On Wednesday, June 16th, bids were open for the project. Six bids were received with prices ranging from $2,939,000 to $4,822,000. The staff at Metcalf & Eddy is reviewing the bid packages.

I&I Repairs. As was requested at the last Borough Council meeting I spoke with Jim Wancho of PS&S regarding methods of addressing inflow and infiltration. At my request, Jim was already working on a sewer system evaluation and rehabilitation technical memorandum. He will add information on methods of correcting I&I to this memo.

The council again discussed the need to gather more reformation regarding all the available technologies to deal with the problem of water infiltration. The administrator stated that this information would be provided to the council.

There was brief mention of last year's high school representative who attended council meetings. Apparently, he's been awarded some scholarship from some church. It was stated that the is going to college to prepare for a career in "law enforcement". [A college course in how to bash the darky with a club?]

There was a brief mention of fund-raising regarding the new merged library. It was stated that the fund raisers were going to set up an office and get a secretary. Apparently the plan is to soak 'big contributors" before they go after the general public. There also was mention of the good reputation of the architect preliminarily chosen. There was some statement that the council should have final approval on which architect is chosen.

Councilman Dolan congratulated the candidates that defeated him in the primary election. He suggested that they be provided copies of the work material Borough Council members are given, to get them up to speed. The Mayor stated that Mr. Dolan had "stole his thunder" and endorsed the idea... but pointing out that the candidates had not been elected yet and were only entitled to public information. [The town better make them pay for every piece of paper or electronic file they are provided or I will try to make sure the rest of us (this website) who are also unelected, get the same courtesy]

There was brief talk regarding the council's desire that the school board pay for the police at the Drake Road exit from the high-school. The mayor said something about scheduling conflicts that have prevented progress regarding these discussions..

The mayor also brought some problems with some illegal giant fense that some new property owner has put up that illegally blocks access to some Borough property.

The mayor reported that the ad hoc committee on the merger of services "has done nothing yet" . There was talk about a proposal to allow the attorney general's office to perform a "free" review of the police department's and provide recommendations.

There was quite a bit of discussion regarding a Mendham Township and Chester proposal to dissolve the Regional School District. A first step is an initiative to put a non-binding referendum on the November election ballot. The issue involves the fact that Mendham Borough pays a much higher percentage on a per-capita basis for school services. [ current taxation is based on assessed value of all properties within a town]. Most council members saw the referendum as a no lose proposition that could intimidate the district into agreeing to a more equitable financing scheme. A couple of council members expressed concern that the town could lose credibility, or negotiating power if things didn't go the borough's way. The council made no decisions regarding the issue.

permanent link: Pay To Hay, InMendhmm 6/21/04

Summation of the June 7th meeting of the town council: The first item of business was the swearing in of the new Borough clerk Maureen Massey. Contrary to the advice of the outgoing clerk [and me] the mayor and council have decided to, again, overpay the overqualified to accomplish the light, legally mandatory, duties of an official Clerk. She has apparently been offered a three-year contract at an undisclosed salary. She was sworn to "support" the Constitution and bear true faith and allegiance to the same....so help me God. [I think it would be better if she was sworn to respect and protect the rights of the people as defined by the Constitution]

Next was the swearing-in of a new police officer, Christopher Gobbi. As he is from out-of-state he will have to be retrained in New Jersey specific tactics-- [You know, racial profiling, teenage girl propositioning, and such.] before he will be allowed to work alone. The officer was described as the "strongest" of the applicants for the job. The emphasis would indicate one of those muscle bound type cops probably with a lot thicker neck than one would need to intimidate the average Mendhamite.

In a minor dispute over some issues in the "noncontroversial" consent agreement Councilman Dolan made the rather prophetic statement, that he wasn't going to recuse himself from council issues because of minor conflicts... anymore. [unfortunately, for him, the voters have decided to recuse him from all council issues starting January 1, 2005.]

The ordinance placating the narrow interests of the residents of Forest Drive and prohibiting parking during specific school hours was passed. It won't be relevant until September when school starts again because the school year is almost over and they have to wait 6 to 8 weeks for custom [$?] signs to be made. [ I would advise they install them using some "angry-child proofing" cement.]

There were a couple of salary resolutions passed... Councilman Dolan and Haverkost voted no on one of them citing objections to the amounts listed. [ I will work on getting some details]

The plan to lease police vehicles has apparently been finalized. The first lease will cover 4 marked patrol cars... a second lease will include two unmarked cars. [Repeating myself: Considering the retrofitting and abuse these cars are going to take I think the town would be better off buying on the 'lightly used" market.]

There was rather extensive discussion regarding sewage plant issues. It was suggested that instead of financing repairs and upgrades to the system with higher fees on new hookups, that a general "temporary" rate increase be applied to all customers. The kind of convoluted argument that new construction isn't responsible for capacity limitations was made. [seems to me the water infiltration problem, would not be a problem if use wasn't beyond capacity. There for, I think it would be fair to pro-rate any fee increase based on how long the customer has been hooked up to the system]

........
Regarding the "infiltration" problem the Mayor emphasized the importance of choosing the right technology [religning system] and suggested allowing manufacturers to explain the efficiencies and benefits of their religning/repair system. [Seems to me, if ground or rain water infiltration is a problem some blame has to be dumped at the door of whoever did the original installation of the feed pipes. The system really shouldn't be leaking water in or out.] The part that is a little hard to figure out is there seems to be a consensus that religning is necessary, yet it is conceded that robot exploration hasn't found any specific problem. ?? In General the Counsel seems to have more questions than answers as to what exactly is "broken" and what exactly can be done to fix it.

.........
Described as 5 ft. of greece, there was a blockage in a sewage feed line leading from the shopping mall/Plaza. The event happened over the Memorial Day weekend and led to the closing of the mud hole Park because of probable contamination. Apparently the town has a greece ordinance and it was suggested than it needs updating to include a regular inspection schedule of grease traps that are apparently required to be installed at certain commercial locations [ie restaurants]. The Mayor mentioned a similar problem that occurred at the Black Horse some years back. 27 years ago, when I was working there, the parking lot had to be dug up to replace a pipe intersection inpacked with greece and dozens of Roto-Rooter cutting knives. [Some time, when I have the time, I will write the mini novel that is the story of my adventure in sewage hell working in the [than] Foxes Den the weekend before the clog was repaired.] . Regarding this recent event, the Borough administrator mentioned a videotape-- I will try to get a copy or at least some stills.

The towns 4.5 million of debt has been financed at 1.62% [this must be a variable interest/yield rate]

There was discussion regarding the hiring of another police officer. It is apparently a done deal and is only contingent upon the official retirement of Sergeant Bashall [August 1st ?]. In a letter to the town council suggesting a pension buyout the sergeant states " after 13 years of loyal employment to the Borough of Mendham, regretfully my personal life and business bring me to this." [ Business?? investment banker no doubt].

The mayor suggested a Memorial [like the naming of a street] to honor a recently deceased long-time public servant/volunteer.... Mr. Sned-ick-er [?]

The issue of the bridle path was again brought up during the public comment session, this time with a new twist. Bob Orgera made the accusation that a member of the town council "harassed" his daughter inlaw [who works for the town] over the issue of Mr. Orgera speaking his mind at town council meetings. The Mayor promised to personally look into the matter, and assured Mr. Orgera that he should not feel intimidated to speak his mind at public council meetings.

On the subject of the bridle path there was this note in the administrators report:

Item #3 ­ India Brook Park:

Bridal Path. Tom walked part of the path this week and did not see any hazardous locations. As I reported at the last meeting, we could not locate any map which designates bridle trails in the Borough. My recommendation is to have the Recreation Committee work on identifying bridle trails which could be incorporated into a map by the Borough Engineer.

Mulch Spreading. Tom is waiting for the R&R Contracting to get back to him on a date when the large bulldozer will be available.

I would comment that the path is rarely used by horses [maybe once so far this year]. The path really wasn't designed to be a "public trail" [I should know since I cut the trail some 20 years ago] ... but regardless the statement that there aren't any hazardous locations can't be reconciled with the facts. Do to extensive landscaping work on a neighboring backyard, water runoff changed significantly, and the trail to the park ended up being the path of least resistance for excess rainfall. Shortly after my stroke, traversing this section of the path certainly was "hazardous" for me.