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The annual reorganization meeting of the Board of Health came to order at 7:30 p.m.  Present for this meeting were Tony Berberabe, Tracy Carluccio, Les Hamilton, Tim Martin, Jim Russo, Larry Tatsch and David Wang-Iverson.  Ted Peyrek and Michael Stanbro were absent.

 

In compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act, this meeting was advertised as a Reorganization meeting in the December 20, 2007 issue of the Hunterdon County Democrat.  Notice of the meeting was sent to the applicants, filed with the Township Clerk, posted on the bulletin board, and sent to the Hunterdon County Democrat and Trenton Times on January 9, 2008.

 

REORGANIZATION

 

D. Maksymovich thanked the three Board members whose 3 year terms were up for continuing their service to the community through the Board of Health.  Those members are:  Tony Berberabe, Les Hamilton and David Wang-Iverson. 

 

D. Maksymovich called for a nomination for the Chairperson of the East Amwell Township Board of Health for the year 2008.

 

L. Hamilton nominated Tracy Carluccio as Chairperson again; she is wonderful and he does not know how the Board would function without her.  He added that he is not sure how she finds time given all her other activities, including the Highlands Commission.  L. Tatsch seconded the motion and added that it has been wonderful working with T. Carluccio all these years and he agrees, this Board would not be at the high level it is without T. Carluccio’s guidance.  The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a nomination for a Vice-Chair person.  L. Tatsch nominated M. Stanbro.  He thinks M. Stanbro has done a really terrific job on the Board’s review subcommittee and he has helped guide the Board through a lot of tough applications, seconded by T. Martin and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to nominate a Board of Health Secretary.  L Hamilton nominated D. Wang-Iverson with T. Martin seconding.  The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to nominate a Board of Health Administrative Officer.  L. Hamilton stated that he was happy to nominate D. Maksymovich; she does a wonderful job and like T. Carluccio it wouldn’t be the same without D. Maksymovich to handle all of the details.  L. Tatsch seconded and the motion was carried by unanimous vote.

 

 

 

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T. Carluccio called for a motion to appoint Well Test Witnesses.  L. Tatsch motioned to appoint M. Stanbro, D. Wang-Iverson, T. Martin and L. Hamilton, seconded by T. Berberabe and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to appoint the Preview Committee.  L. Tatsch motioned to appoint M. Stanbro, T. Carluccio and D. Wang-Iverson; T. Martin seconded the motion which was carried by unanimous vote.  L. Hamilton motioned that the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson have the power to draw on any other member of the Board to preview, with no more than three members participating at a time, seconded by L. Tatsch and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

The following ad hoc committees were appointed:

                        

Education/Health Issues            L. Hamilton, T. Martin, T. Berberabe & D. Wang-Iverson

Groundwater Monitoring            T. Martin & L. Hamilton – L. Tatsch will assist as needed

Ordinance Review             T. Carluccio, L. Tatsch & David Wang-Iverson

Meszaros Property                       T. Carluccio, L. Tatsch & T. Peyrek

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to nominate the Local Registrar of Vital Statistics.  L. Tatsch nominated T. Stahl, seconded by L. Hamilton and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to meet on the third Tuesday of the month.  T. Martin motioned to hold the Board of Health meeting on the third Tuesday of the month with the exception for April.  The meeting dates will be as follows:  February 19, 2008, March 18, 2008, April 22, 2008, May 20, 2008, June 17, 2008, July 15, 2008, August 19, 2008, September 16, 2008, October 21, 2008, November 18, 2008, and December 16, 2008.  Items for the agenda must be received ten working days prior to the meeting and the applicant and/or his/her representative should be present at the meeting.  The motion was seconded by D. Wang-Iverson and carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to appoint Frederick Allen of Mauro, Savo, Camerino, & Grant as per terms of the contract.  L. Tatsch made the motion, seconded by T. Martin and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

T. Carluccio called for a motion to appoint Hopewell Valley Engineering for soil witnessing as per the terms of the contract.  L. Tatsch motioned to approve Hopewell Valley Engineering as per the terms of the contract, seconded by T. Martin.  Under discussion D. Wang-Iverson suggested that on the Fee Schedule page the “Half-Day should indicate between 1-4 hours, “Full Day” should indicate between 4-8  hours.  L. Tatsch and T. Martin agreed to the changes in the motion and the motion carried by unanimous vote.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS/AGENDA REVIEW

 

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D. Maksymovich announced that the East Amwell Township Free Rabies Clinic will be held Saturday, January 26, 2008 from 1:00-4:00 p.m.  Pets are to be on a leash or in a carrier.

 

D. Maksymovich added the following items to the agenda:  item 6.A.3.a. Letter of December 24, 2007 to Hunterdon County Department of Health from Randall Grant, AzMarc re:  withdraw corrective septic application; item 6.A.4.a. Letter of December 12, 20, 2007 from Hunterdon County Department of Health from NJDEP re: Notice of Approval of Extension Request.

 

PRESENTATION OF MINUTES

 

The November 19, 2007 Executive Session Minutes were approved by L. Tatsch, seconded by L. Hamilton and was carried unanimously.

 

The December 18, 2007 regular minutes were approved with minor corrections by L. Tatsch, seconded by L. Hamilton and was carried with T. Berberabe and J. Russo abstaining.

 

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

 

There being no statements from the public L. Hamilton motioned to close to the public, seconded by T. Martin and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS

 

A.            HUNTERDON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH INSPECTOR’S REPORT.  Daniel Wyckoff, Hunterdon County Department of Health representative was present for this portion of the meeting.

 

            1.            MTBE VICINITY OF ROUTE 202/31 & ROUTE 514 OLD YORK ROAD – UPDATE.  D. Wyckoff commented that the County has not received any communication regarding this site.  T. Carluccio reported that she called Mr. Souders a few times and now he is out of the office for another week.  She suggested that the Board send a letter to Mr. Souders and copy his boss, who she has also spoken with in the past, and ask the question why the Board is not receiving copies of these reports.  She continued by saying that the Board had verbally asked  for the reports and Mr. Souders was going to speak with the consultant and make sure that the Board was once again copied on these reports.  T. Carluccio and D. Maksymovich will work on a letter to Mr. Souders. 

 

            2.            MESZAROS, LINDBERGH ROAD – UPDATE.  D. Wyckoff had nothing new to report.  L. Tatsch commented that the Township is working on how the land can be preserved.

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            3.            WILLIAMS, BLOCK 27.01 / LOT 11 – SEPTIC SYSTEM MALFUNCTION – UPDATE.  T. Carluccio reviewed the correspondence.  D. Wyckoff said that the letter from Randall J. Grant N.J.L.S. dated December 24, 2008 actually satisfies the conditions of the second request to resolve the Notice of Violation (NOV).  It

explains what contributed to the outbreak and how that was corrected.  A brief discussion followed.

 

At the conclusion of the discussion it was agreed that the Hunterdon County Department of Health will continue to monitor the septic system on site.   T. Carluccio suggested that in the letter the County issues to excuse the NOV the County should put them on notice that if there should be a malfunction in the future the system may need an alteration.  The County should also recommend that there be signs posted for the benefit of the employees to conserve water use.  She also suggested that in the letter the County could recommend water saving devices; that all of the plumbing fixtures be retrofitted with water saving devices, including the apartments, to cut down on wastewater flow to the septic system. 

 

            4.            WOODROW OWENS ESTATE, BLOCK 16 / LOT 11 – POTABLE WELL WATER ANALYSES – UPDATE.  T. Carluccio reviewed the correspondence listed on the agenda.  The Board will wait to review the workplan that is to be submitted by March 20, 2008 regarding the Remedial Investigation Report/Remedial Investigation Workplan.

 

            5.            SCHAEFFER, BLOCK 5 / LOT 9 – SEPTIC SYSTEM NOTICE OF VIOLATION – UPDATE.  D. Wyckoff reported that the homeowner has had the septic tank pumped out; the County has a copy of the pump receipt.  The County has not seen a proposal for a new alternate system.  He said that a plan is forthcoming and the owner is aware that the SludgeHammer system is not allowed.  D. Wyckoff said that the owner is to continue to have the tank pumped as per the Notice of Violation and plans are to be submitted within thirty days.  He said the plans should be to the County by the end of the month for review.  He said that he will have more information on this at the February meeting.

 

B.            PREVIEW COMMITTEE

 

1.            EQUINE CENTER, BLOCK 8 / LOT 26.01 – EXPANSION.  T. Carluccio reviewed the correspondence as listed on the agenda with a brief review of the history of this site.  Greg Barkley of Barkley Engineering and Dr. Bousum came forward for this portion of the meeting.  G. Barkley stated that he prepared the analysis of the waste water flow without referencing the September 21, 2007 letter from the Board.  T. Carluccio said that she did re-read the letter of September 21st and read his letter and it appears that G. Barkley addressed the items in the letter. 

 

 

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T. Carluccio mentioned that the Board would not be voting on this tonight, the review is for guidance because the Equine Center will be moving forward with their plans and the Board of Health review may impact the site plan and what the Equine Center is going to be allowed to do there.

 

G. Barkley commented that what is being proposed is that the Equine Center wants to expand to create more space for employees, stall space and some operating room space for their facility.  He said the new buildings are a couple of barns and one surgery office building.  There are no restroom/toilets associated with the new buildings.  Discussion followed regarding the specifics of the expansion and the site.  

 

At the conclusion of the discussion it was determined that if the Equine Center water use is increased by 20% or more, recertification of the well will be required.  The Board will need numbers from the Equine Center about how much additional water will be needed for this expansion in order for the Board to determine whether or not the well needs to be certified.  T. Carluccio asked if the Equine Center application would need any waivers or any kind of changes with the septic reserve area.  G. Barkley said that they would hope they will not need any waivers.  T. Carluccio said that the plan looks reasonable.  This application will be before the Board when the Planning Board forwards the most recent information to D. Maksymovich.

 

C.            SLUDGEHAMMER – DISCUSSION.  T. Carluccio reviewed the correspondence as listed on the agenda.  She stated that NJDEP will be developing guidelines as they did for the Peat Moss Filtration systems.  However, NJDEP has not finalized them yet.  At this time it is not recognized as a technology that repairs a malfunctioning system.  A brief discussion followed.  At the conclusion of the discussion it was determined that the Board will not approve the use of the SludgeHammer technology for malfunctioning septic systems in East Amwell when the State issues guidelines, then the technology will be revisited.

 

D.        HOLD HARMLESS CLAUSE – DISCUSSION.  T. Carluccio explained that the Board wanted to standardize the wording of this clause because the County is now doing this.  She asked D. Wyckoff why the County started doing this.  He responded that it was strongly suggested that this wording be put in place when an alternate system is being utilized under unfavorable conditions.  He said that when less then optimum conditions would allow a traditional system then R. Vaccarella strongly advises that this hold harmless clause be added to any waivers.  L. Hamilton asked D. Wyckoff to ask the County attorney for advice on the use of the hold harmless clause because this is an issue for all Boards of Health.  D. Wyckoff will report his findings at the next meeting.

 

E.            CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.  T. Carluccio reviewed the correspondence as listed on the agenda.  L. Tatsch explained that it is a sensitive issue; if you feel that something might be a conflict of interest the best thing to do is to inform the Board of the Conflict and let the Board consider the reason and if the Board feels there is no issue at

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all fine; if the Board feels that maybe there is a conflict then you should recuse yourself, remove yourself from the dais and the recommendation is that you actually leave the room because even your presence in the audience can influence other members. 

 

L. Tatsch said that he would also like to bring up another issue which is not exactly a Conflict of Interest but regards the way the Township does business and the way communications can be effected if the Township gets an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.  He said any member of the public can request information.  He remarked that the Township Committee has had to provide copies of e-mails going back, in some cases a year.  He said that what the Township is doing now as an interim measure to cope with this is that any e-mails that pertain to Township business must be copied to Terri Stahl, Municipal Clerk so she can keep a record of these.  Accordingly, he suggested any e-mails amongst the Board of Health be copied to D. Maksymovich so she can keep a record of them.  That way if the Board is ever given an OPRA request she will have them.  L. Tatsch told the Board that the Township Committee will be looking at an e-mail system.  T. Martin commented that he has already started looking at creating such a system for the Township.  He has made contact with T. Stahl and her husband and he has background information.  He has already been looking at the suggested software.  He said he is going to try to put our home computers at arms length so if there is a question regarding e-mails the Township can simply get it off of a common server.     

 

F.            TABBY’S PLACE, BLOCK 9.01 / LOT 5.  T. Carluccio acknowledged receipt of the water meter reading Quarterly report.

 

ITEMS OF DISCUSSION

 

A.            SOURLAND MOUNTAIN SMART GROWTH/SOURLAND REGIONAL STORMWATER PLAN/EAST AMWMELL MUNICIPAL STORMWATER TASK FORCE.

 

T. Carluccio told the Board that a copy of the comment the Board approved at the last month’s meeting regarding the WAWA was sent to West Amwell on January 2, 2008.  She informed the Board that the WAWA has not re-submitted its application to West Amwell.  She said West Amwell has received the Board’s letter.  The West Amwell Planning Board secretary told T. Carluccio that she will know 10 days before the next Planning Board meeting so she will let the Board know if it is on their February agenda.

 

Sourland Mountain Smart Growth:  Nothing to report.

 

Sourland Regional Stormwater Plan:  Nothing to report.

 

East Amwell Municipal Stormwater Task Force:  Nothing to report.

 

 

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B.            EDUCATION/HEALTH ISSUES.  T. Carluccio reviewed the correspondence as listed on the agenda.  T. Martin remarked that he has not yet plotted the Winter Road Treatment Well Sample results.  He commented that in every case the sodium is elevated. 

 

D. Maksymovich informed the Board that for Radon Mitigation month she has arranged with the principal of the East Amwell Township School to share the information from the State with the children.  She said that the magnets will go home with the 1st and 2nd graders and the sixth grade science teacher will use the other information.

 

SECRETARY’S ORAL REPORT

 

Welisewitz Road Farm Trailer:  D. Maksymovich reported that one of the farms on Welisewitz Road installed a trailer several months ago for farm labor housing.  She added that she sent the County inspector to investigate because it was reported to her that someone was living in the trailer.  She sent the County to determine how the waste from the trailer was being handled.  The County received pumping receipts from the person living in the trailer; they are having the trailer holding tank pumped.  The County Inspector said that this is a zoning issue, not a County issue.  D. Maksymovich referred this complaint to the Zoning Office.

 

Amwell Valley Vineyard, Block 17 / Lot 16.03:  D. Maksymovich reported that she wrote Amwell Valley Vineyard asking them to bring the Board up to date on where they are regarding the memo the Board had sent in August 2007 asking them the status of the suggestions the Board had made and to also submit the receipts for the port-a-potties used at the last wine tasting event.

 

Rutgers Training Center:  D. Maksymovich announced that Rutgers State Operator Training Center Spring 2008 Brochure of seminars is available to all Board members.  L. Hamilton expressed interest in receiving a copy of the brochure. 

 

Outdoor Wood Burner:  D. Maksymovich told the Board that another outdoor wood burner is being constructed in the Township on Wagner Road.

 

CORRESPONDENCE

 

T. Carluccio acknowledged the correspondence as listed on the agenda. 

 

BILLS OF THE EVENING

 

L. Hamilton motioned to pay the bills of the evening, seconded by T. Martin and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

 

 

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There being no public present L. Hamilton motioned to close to the public, seconded by L. Tatsch and was carried by unanimous vote.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

T. Martin motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:12 p.m., seconded by T. Berberabe and was carried by unanimous vote.                                                                                                               

 

                                                              __________________________________________

                                                              Darlis Maksymovich, Administrative Officer