Citizen Observer
Shirley Pietrucha

These comments are my observations and understanding of the events of the council meeting of March 23, 2004. Anyone interested in obtaining more information should contact the Township Clerk or speak with others who attended the meeting.


The meeting of March 23 was a combined work session/regular meeting. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 7 pm but didn't convene until 7:18 p.m. While waiting for the meeting to begin members of the public were chatting and someone near me said, "I don't see John." Another answered, "No I don't see him either, I wonder where he is." Mr. John Grosso was missed by many of us that evening. The space is different when he isn't there. My sense of loss surprises me, but when I learned Mr. Grosso would not be returning I felt great sadness. Mr. Grosso was a model for concerned citizenship and there is no one quite like him to step forward and fill his shoes. For many of us his spirit will always be present in the council meeting room, we will miss him very much.

The first activity of the evening was the swearing in of two new police officers and two promotions to sergeant. Several dignitaries and family members and most of our police officers were present for the event.

The Community Development Block Grant proposal hearing was next. Ms. Bonnie vonOhlen opened the presentation and four people came forward to present their requests for funds. There were some questions and discussion among the council members. The proposals will be considered in the April Finance Oversight Committee meeting and recommendations brought to a May council meeting.

The Mayor gave his report and started by thanking Rush Holt for holding the town meeting. He then mentioned that the first Mayor's Advisory Committee meeting went well and that the Council sponsored property tax forum was also productive. Beginning in April, cable cameras will be in Council chambers. They are scheduled for permanent installation in June. Council meetings will be shown on Channel 8 and then later on Channel 25. Mr. Chivukula mentioned that a tape of the property tax meeting is available in the library and on Channel 8.

The Deputy Mayor's report was next. He mentioned that we now have a total of 101 police officers. Five years ago the Dept. of Justice said we should have 108 officers and now our population has grown and we need 115. We will continue to add two each year. He expressed concern about identity theft issues, especially among the senior citizens. He also said that there have been meetings the last couple of weeks about property taxes. He agreed that something must be done; there must be a way to fund the schools without continuing to increase taxes.

After the council reviewed the prepared agenda the meeting was opened for several reports. Mr. John Brewer presented the Little League's annual report; a preservation plan for the some of the town's "open space" was presented; and members of the Audubon Society gave a slide presentation and recommendations for a passive recreation and habitat management plan.

Approval of minutes of the March 9 meeting followed next and warrants were approved in the amount of $5,079,915.38.

Five ordinances that had been introduced at previous meetings were passed.

The meeting was opened for a maximum of thirty minutes for Public Discussion. A time limit of two-minutes per speaker was imposed.. Some of the citizens who planned to speak had prepared the usual ten-minute presentations and were disappointed with the two-minute limit. Only eight citizens spoke. Fiscal issues, taxes and the Township's use of eminent domain were the main topics.

Then the Mayor said "This ends the public portion" and everyone with the exception of one person left the room. Actually it was the end of the period for public discussion, but several people commented that we were being thrown out for an executive session. As the one person who remained I can tell you there were four new ordinances introduced and twenty-five resolutions passed on the consent agenda. Mr. Regan had questions about the allocation of $49,040 for the consulting services for the police radio system. Mr. Daly responded that it was within the budget and planned for. Mr. Regan was the only one who spoke during the Council Comments section. He once again asked that an executive summary be drafted to explain ordinances that were being presented for votes. He was emphatic with his request and we can expect that these documents will be prepared.

The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be at 7 pm on April 13. The work-session for the first week of April was cancelled.

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