MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - Hudson Essex …



MINUTES OF THE HEP-SCD BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING

June 7th, 2018

The meeting of the Hudson Essex Passaic Soil Conservation District was held at the district office in Bloomfield, NJ. In accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act, advance notice was given to the press (The Star Ledger and Herald News newspapers) and posted. The meeting was also advertised on HEP’s website.

Members and public present were as follows: Supervisors Matt Ward, Mario Tridente, Gray Russell, and Jerry Flach; Glen Van Olden, Director; staff members Matt D’Alessandro, Fran Aguirre, Janet Rekesius, Dave Malka, and Sal Zerbo; and Dr. Amy Rowe, Environmental and Resource Management Agent for Essex and Passaic Counties.

The public meeting was called to order by Matt Ward at 7:02 p.m.

In opening, Mr. Ward thanked the staff for their service and dedication.

MINUTES

The minutes from the May 3rd, 2018 meeting were reviewed. M/M Gray Russell, M/S Jerry Flach and passed unanimously to accept the minutes.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Glen reviewed HEP’s Treasurer’s Report and banking accounts for the month of April 2018.

Glen recommended transferring $150,000 from the Valley National checking account into the NJ Cash Management Fund since the interest would be double. M/M Mario Tridente, M/S Gray Russell and passed unanimously to effect the transfer.

M/M Gray Russell, M/S Mario Tridente and passed unanimously to accept the Treasurer’s Report for the month of May 2018.

SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL PLANS

Glen Van Olden reviewed the Soil Erosion & Sediment Control Plans certified in May 2018. M/M Gray Russell, M/S Mario Tridente and passed unanimously to accept all actions taken on Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Plans certified in the month of May 2018.

EXTENSION - Dr. Amy Rowe, Environmental & Resource Management Agent

4/29 - Biloxi, MS – Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals

5/3/18 Conference. Poster on East Orange Sustainable Food Alliance project.

5/8/18 Newark – PVSC tour for Rutgers Environmental Stewards

5/10/18 Totowa – Passaic County Green Infrastructure Plan meeting

5/12/18 West Caldwell – Hosted lecture by Dr. Doug Tallamy for Rutgers Environmental Stewards, Essex County Environmental Commission, Master Gardeners.

5/16&17/18 Cumberland County – Ag Agents Association of NJ Spring Meeting

5/19/18 Wayne – Master Gardener Association of Passaic County plant sale

5/22/18 Wayne – Rutgers Master Gardener graduation and awards ceremony for Passaic County class

5/24/18 Wayne – Last Master Gardener class

5/25/18 Hackensack – Bergen Master Gardeners lecture on water conservation

5/30/18 Belleville – Belleville High School all day water workshop

6/5&6/18 Ithaca, NY – Northeast Region Climate Hub meeting at Cornell

USDA/NRCS – Dan Mull, District Conservationist, USDA/NRCS

Absent – No Report

CORRESPONDENCE /NEWS

National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) North East Regional Meeting

The NACD North East Regional Meeting is scheduled for July 15-17, 2018 at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Matt Ward stated that he spoke to the NACD rep regarding HEP’s input on the agenda but was told that the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts was driving the agenda.

2018 NJ Joint Annual Conference - Fall 2018

Chairman Ward informed that the tentative date for the conference is November 18-20 which is the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday right before Thanksgiving. Chairman Ward has continued investigating possible conference sites in Northern NJ. Mr. Ward petitioned the SSCC and NJACD to host a poll regarding the Conference. So far 64% want a two-day conference with no tours and many opine that $300 is expensive for a hotel room when

factoring in the additional expense of registration for many supervisors and staffers. The NJACD is going to decide on a location at the June meeting keeping in mind that cost, distance, and travel difficulty might be a negative factor for many attendees.

Soil and Water Stewardship Week

The district received a proclamation from Governor Phil Murphy declaring April 29th to May 6th 2018 Soil and Water Stewardship Week, emphasizing the important programs of the Conservation Districts and the dedication of the many professionals and volunteers and landowners who are the stewards of soil and water resources.

NJ Envirothon

The 25th annual NJ Envirothon was held on May 5th at Camp Grice in Elmer, Salem County, NJ. The winning team was West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North. Local teams that did well were High Tech H.S. Team #2 (fifth place), High Tech H.S. Team #1 (tenth place), and James Caldwell H.S. (eleventh place).

Rutgers Cooperative Extension and NJ Farm Bureau Legislators Tour/Workshop

RCE and NJFB will be hosting a Legislators tour/workshop of agriculture programs at 10 a.m. on June 12th at the Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland, NJ. Glen commented that there is a push to get more funding for the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station.

Educational Materials marketed by Water Education Group

The district received three booklets designed for outreach and client education from Marisa Medina, Business Development rep, for Water Education Group.

Sussex SCD - Successful Court Order – Vernon, NJ

A judge fined a Vernon resident accused of illegal dumping $75,000 after finding him guilty of engaging in illegal soil disturbance and violating a SCD stop-work order for the past four years.

Passaic Valley Water Commission – Thank You letter from the Bonsal Preserve

HEP coordinated with the NJ DEP, PVWC, and the DOT to correct an erosion issue occurring on PVWC land due to a broken water main. The Bonsal Preserve sent an e-mail thanking the district.

CHAPTER 251

Stop Work Orders (SWO)

Bloomfield: 121 Weaver St., Block 427, Lot 45

Soil Disturbance exceeding 5,000 sq. feet with no SESC plan certification

Subsequently submitted SESC plan #218-E-5286.

Certified on 6/1/2018.

HEP has concerns regarding Bloomfield as the construction official only works part-time and weekends with very limited hours.

Little Falls: 26-46 Paterson Ave., Block 112, Lots 2-10, & 16

Soil Disturbance exceeding 5,000 sq. feet with no SESC plan certification

Subsequently submitted revised SESC plan#218-P-4660.

Certified on 5/25/2018

Roseland: 45 Ridge Rd., Block 34, Lot 41, HEP File #215-E-4458

Failure to adhere to Deficiency Notice dated 4/25/2018

Wayne Township Chapter 251 Response/Correspondence

Heather Vitz-Del Rio, Wayne’s Director of Public Works, recently questioned the Conditional Report of Compliance (CRC) / Report of Compliance (ROC) process and HEP provided an explanation and subsequently Wayne sent the district many CRCs and ROCs. Per Frank Minch’s suggestion, Matt D’Alessandro will call Heather once every quarter to touch base.

GENERAL BUSINESS

Chapter 251 Electronic Tracking – Progress

Freehold SCD is tweaking the ACCESS application which they have been using for two years. Frank Minch recommended the application which other districts are also using. It will promote uniformity in the program. HEP will get the new system after this process is complete. All HEP computers have been upgraded but still need software upgrades. Janet Rekesius is working with Next Century Systems, the district’s computer consultants, to complete this task. Matt Ward requested an update be prepared for the 9/6/18 HEP meeting.

New Staffer Proposal

Janet Rekesius has been training Steven Stephansen and would like the supervisors to consider retaining him on a full-time basis. M/M Jerry Flach, M/S Gray Russell and passed unanimously to discuss in closed Executive Session since this is a personnel matter.

SSCC/NJDA – Absent – No Report

The next meeting of the SSCC is scheduled for 6/11/2018. Glen Van Olden indicated that he would probably attend. Chairman Ward also plans to attend and to also participate in the NJACD meeting to push for having the 2018 Joint Annual Conference in Northern NJ.

CLOSE PUBLIC SESSION

At 9:05 p.m. M/M Jerry Flach, M/S Mario Tridente and passed unanimously to close the public session of the meeting.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

M/M Mario Tridente, M/S Jerry Flach and passed unanimously to go into executive session at 9:10 p.m. to discuss personnel, salary, staffing and financial issues.

M/M Gray Russell, M/S Jerry Flach and passed unanimously to come out of Executive Session and return to Public Session at 10:37 p.m.

PUBLIC SESSION

M/M Mario Tridente, M/S Jerry Flach and passed unanimously to hire Steven Stephansen as a salaried full-time employee effective 7/1/2018.

M/M Gray Russell, M/S Jerry Flach and passed unanimously to approve the following yearly salaries effective 7/1/2018 for the HEP-SCD staff.

Glen Van Olden $110,452

Matt D’Alessandro $ 75,684

Frances Aguirre $ 60,686

Janet Rekesius $ 57,264

David Malka $ 45,634

Sal Zerbo $ 45,100

Steven Stephansen $ 40,000

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, M/M Jerry Flach, M/S Gray Russell and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 10:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Matthew J. Ward

Chairman

MEETING NOTICE

The next meeting will be held on Thursday,

September 6th, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

at

The HEP-SCD District Office

80 Orchard St.

Bloomfield, NJ 07003

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