Greenwood Lake Commission 1/28/2015 1480 Union Valley Rd. West Milford, NJ 07480
Paul Zarrillo led the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm. Paul Zarrillo read aloud the Legal Pulblic Notice law and noted that we were in compliance before roll call. Paul Zarrillo, Clint Smith, Eric Hastings, George Vurno, Ed Krull, Bill Link, Dale Van Nimwegen, and Floyd DeAngelo were in attendance. Paul Sullivan was absent. Dan Bello attended as a representative of the NJDEP and Shohreh Karimipour attended as a representative of the NYDEC.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF GUESTS
Several noted dignitaries were in attendance which included Jesse Dwyer the Mayor of the Village of Greenwood Lake, Barry Cheney a Representative of Orange County New York, as well as Vivienne Erk President of the West Milford Town Council, and Lou Signorino of the West Milford Town Council. Bill Church of the Orange County Planning Department, and Andrew Abdul from the West Milford Environmental Commission were also in attendance.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS
Paul Zarrillo began the meeting by introducing the new members of the 2015 Greenwood Lake Commission. Zarrillo began by commenting that Eric Hastings still sits on the Commission, he has become the new representative of Warwick, NY since his relocation to Warwick. Eric Hastings followed by thanking West Milford for allowing him to be their representative, and that he hopes to work with them still in the future. Replacing Eric Hastings as the West Milford representative is Bill Link, owner of Moosehead Marina. Bill Olsen resigned unexpectedly from the Commission as a representative of the Watershed Management District. His replacement to the Watershed District and Commission is Dale Van Nimwegen, a long time resident and past President of the Awosting Association.
CORRESPONDENCE
Paul Zarrillo began reading the Commission's correspondence since their last meeting in November 2014. First was a Resolution introduced to the West Milford Town Council by Vivienne Erk, which passed unanimously. The resolution called for support of establishing permanent funding for the Greenwood Lake Commission. After reading the full Resolution Paul Zarrillo thanked Vivienne Erk and Lou Signorino for their support.
The next letter was a copy of a letter we received written by Senator Pennachio of New Jersey's 26th Legislative District to Commissioner Bob Martin of the NJDEP. The letter expressed the Senator's frustration at the lack of compliance on part of the NJDEP in supporting Greenwood Lake in accordance with the founding legislation.
Senator Pennachio also wrote a letter to Captain Kirby of the Marine State Police, following up with a letter the Commission sent regarding the removal of several dangerous hazards on Greenwood Lake. Pennachio in the letter expressed his willingness to assist in the removal of these safety hazards and encouraged further communication on the matter.
The next letter was sent by John Aiello, the landlord of the property currently used by the Greenwood Lake Commission. The landlord has recently sold the property to a new owner, Caspian Real Estate Investment Firm located in Minnesota. Aiello wanted to assure us in the letter that the new landlords do not intend on raising prices and provided their contact information and detailed some planned repairs.
The next letter was sent by the Commission to Passaic County Administrator Anthony Denova, as well to the Board of Chosen Freeholders. The letter expressed our gratitude for past support Passaic County has given the Greenwood Lake Commission, but also touched on the need for permanent funding for the Commission and called to develop a long term strategy for doing so.
Another letter was sent to Kathleen Caren and Sandy Lawson of the Open Space Fund for Passaic County. The letter detailed a new change in the state budget which diverts funds from the NJDEP to the Open Space Fund. As a result the Commission lost a source of revenue, but asked if Greenwood Lake could be considered as a candidate to receive funds from Open Space. Kathleen Caren responded via phone just before the meeting expressing support for funds, but forwarded the message on to other necessary officials which need to be contacted and consulted first. After reading the last two letters Paul Zarrillo openly asked Barry Cheney for support in receiving funds from Orange County, while bringing up an agreement between Orange County and Passaic County to match funds, an agreement Orange County recently has not complied with. Barry Cheney responded by saying that the budget for 2015 is currently being arranged and he will have more to report at next months meeting.
Another letter was sent to the Commissioner of the NYDEC expressing the Commission's frustration for the lack of compliance to the founding legislation by not appointing a full time representative and for not supplying resources to help with administrative overhead.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Eric Hastings reported that we have received $98,000 from the Morohan Grant, but $28,000 still remains in the account. The Commission as well as the Village of Greenwood Lake are re-sending all receipts and invoices to assure there are no outstanding bills for the dredge that occurred in the northern arm of Greenwood Lake. Eric also reported that there is only $2,700 dollars left in the New Jersey bank, which is used for administrative costs and to pay insurance and utility bills.
Eric Hastings also reported that the Commission has spent $3200 to repair a weed harvester in order to comply with the provision in the transfer of ownership agreement to West Milford that the machines had to be in working order. The money was used to replace a high pressure hydrolic pump. Several vouchers were then passed around to the Commissioners in order to pay several bills which included utility payments and office supplies. Paul Zarrillo asked for a motion to pay the bills.
Resolution: Payment of Bills, January 28th 2015
Motioned by: Ed Krull Seconded: Floyd DeAngelo Name Yes No Abstained Paul Zarrillo Co-Chair X
George Vurno Co-Chair X
Paul Sullivan
Clint Smith X
Bill Link X
Dale Van Nimwegen X
Ed Krull X
Floyd DeAngelo X
Eric Hastings X
DEP
DEC
COMMISSIONER REPORTS
Eric Hastings opened by commenting that he was away on a trip in Canada so he did not have a report; but did want to comment that after visiting the provinces Quebec and Ontario, he observed that Quebec which is run and supported by businesses gave a far better impression than Ontario. Eric Hastings followed by saying he was glad to see Bill Link as a new addition to the Commission and believes his experience as a business owner on the lake will be of value. Eric Hastings also inquired about polices concerning dredging during the drawdown, and if the limit of 10 cubic yards out from the property line could be raised to 32. Dan Bello is following up.
Paul Zarrillo began his report by going through a budget which he created for the Commission which included anticipated expenses. Clint Smith commented that the budget should be shared with local officials that we ask for financial support. Zarrillo then read aloud a press release sent to the West Milford Aim detailing the efforts of the Commission over the last year. Zarrillo also brought to the Commission's attention several positive articles regarding several stumps and floating islands which have been recently removed. Zarrillo also reported that he was contacted by a sergeant in the New Jersey National Guard. The sergeant expressed an interest in holding a bass fishing contest on Greenwood Lake, exclusively open to military veterans. Bill Link volunteered to follow up. Zarrillo also reported that he along with Vivienne Erk and Bill Olsen met with officials from the Lake Hopatcong Foundation and discussed ways the Watershed Management District could fund raise using their existing 501(c)3. Zarrillo has been inquiring about renaming the Watershed Management District to the Greenwood Lake Foundation, and has urged the need for finding a competent Board of Directors. Zarrillo ended by asking the DEP and DEC representatives if they knew of any regulations on bubbling systems in the lake, both did not know of any but are following up.
OLD BUSINESS
Resolution: Approval of Minutes for Commission meeting in November 2014
Motioned by: Eric Hastings
Seconded: Floyd DeAngelo
Name Yes No Abstained Paul Zarrillo Co-Chair X
George Vurno Co-Chair X
Paul Sullivan
Clint Smith X
Bill Link
X Dale Van Nimwegen
X Ed Krull X
Floyd DeAngelo X
Eric Hastings X
DEP
DEC
X
Paul Zarrillo followed with noting that the Commission is still short two members, one from the NJDEP and one from the NYDEC. While Dan Bello and Shohreh Karimipour were present as a representative of each respectfully, neither were yet confirmed as voting members. Dan Bello followed up by reassuring he would continue to attend the monthly meetings and provide support, but he must wait for the necessary official documentation before becoming a voting member. Shohreh Karimipour of the DEC also commented that she was unsure if she would be able to attend every months meeting, or if several representatives from the DEC would share the seat. Floyd DeAngelo expressed concern over continuity if there were several DEC representatives. Shohreh Karimipour also commented that there was a belief that the DEC is not as well suited for the Greenwood Lake Commission as other angencies and felt it necessary to forward suggestions. George Vurno commented that according to the founding legislation the DEC was mandated to supply a representative.
Paul Zarrillo asked Lou Signorino and Vivienne Erk in the audience if the West Milford Town Council had followed up with West Milford's Town Administrator in regards to software that can be used to enforce the Township's current septic pumpout ordinance. Lou Signorino was happy to report that after several meetings with the Township's Environmental Commission and Health Department they are making the ordinance more organized and enforceable, and they intended to obtain the software, but were still looking into different options. Paul Zarrillo asked if West Milford was coordinating with the Village of Greenwood Lake, Warwick, and Jefferson Township and if not would like it to be considered. Lou Signorino, Vivienne Erk, and Jesse Dwyer had no objections.
Andrew Abdul from the West Milford Environmental Commission was available for comment. He stated that the Township planned on procuring equipment to measure the levels of certain pollutants such as nitrates and phosphates to aid in monitoring the lake. Eric Hastings asked the representatives from the DEP and DEC about format and procedures relating to collecting samples, specifically noting that regular samples are needed to keep current dredge studies on the lake relevant. Both representatives are following up with this question and plan on forwarding copies to the Co-Chairs. Zarrillo also commented that Montclair, Seton Hall, and Drew University have offered free water testing and various studies; and is connecting with those departments to implement a working relationship with the universities.
NEW BUSINESS
Paul Zarrillo handed out copies of the Greenwood Lake Commission's By-Laws and Procurement Procedures with the intention of reviewing and amending them. It was decided before proceeding that there will be a special notation on the dates these policies were reviewed, amended, and adopted. It was also decided that changes would be presented at all once, to the Commissioners at the next meeting highlighted in red to mark the amended section. Several changes were suggested. Two extraneous sentences were removed from the document. An incomplete sentence in the middle of the “Awards to other than lowest responsible dollar offerer” was removed, as well as a duplicate sentence in number 3 of “Awards to other than lowest responsible dollar offerer.”
Procurement: 1. Number 2 under Procurement Procedures states that two signatures are needed for checks between $1000 and $2500. The Commission suggested the limit be changed to $1001-$4999.
Motioned by: Eric Hastings Seconded: George Vurno
Name Yes No Abstained Paul Zarrillo Co-Chair X
George Vurno Co-Chair X
Paul Sullivan
Clint Smith X
Bill Link X
Dale Van Nimwegen X
Ed Krull X
Floyd DeAngelo X
Eric Hastings X
DEP
DEC X
- First paragraph under “Awards to other than lowest responsible dollar offerer” the Commission changed the wording of the last sentence from, “as follows” to, “according to specifications.”
Motioned by: Dale Van Nimwegen Seconded: Paul Zarrillo
Name Yes No Abstained Paul Zarrillo Co-Chair X
George Vurno Co-Chair X
Paul Sullivan
Clint Smith X
Bill Link X
Dale Van Nimwegen X
Ed Krull X
Floyd DeAngelo X
Eric Hastings X
DEP
DEC X
By-Laws: 1. Section 7 of Article V regarding absentee voting as been amended to comply with existing Open Meeting regulations. The format for absentee voting has been changed from a signed letter to a two way televised screen.
Motioned by: Eric Hastings Seconded: Floyd DeAngelo
Name Yes No Abstained Paul Zarrillo Co-Chair X
George Vurno Co-Chair X
Paul Sullivan
Clint Smith X
Bill Link X
Dale Van Nimwegen X
Ed Krull X
Floyd DeAngelo X
Eric Hastings X
DEP
DEC X
- Paul Zarrillo also mentioned the need for committee assignments in order to comply with Article IX of the By-Laws and introduced several Ad-Hoc Committees. Floyd DeAngelo motioned to table to discussion until next meeting, Clint Smith seconded.
Paul Zarrillo made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Eric Hastings seconded. The meeting adjourned at 9:45pm. Our next meeting will be February 25th at 7pm, in the Senior Center located in the Village of Greenwood Lake. If you needed to contact us you may do so you by visiting our website GWLC.org, emailing us at info@GWLC.org, or calling our office at 973-506-7800.