During its Monday, July 10, meeting, the Livingston Township Council passed several resolutions and introduced an ordinance that would repeal the recent introduction of a redevelopment plan for Northfield Road.
The Council also honored longtime Livingston League of Women Voters president Judith Friedman upon her retirement, and heard an update from the Livingston Pool Committee. Stories about both may be seen elsewhere in this edition of the Tribune.
Also present for the meeting was Angela Vega, who will enter fifth grade at Harrison School this fall. Curious about what the mayor does, she shadowed Mayor Michael Vieira during the evening, sitting beside him in the conference and regular meetings.
Council member Shawn Klein was absent from the meeting.
Ordinance Repeal
An ordinance was introduced to repeal the introduction of another ordinance that had been introduced earlier this year.
Previously, an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan for the property at the intersection of East Northfield Road and South Livingston Avenue was introduced during the May 30 Council meeting, but did not have the votes to be sent to the Planning Board. As a result, a second hearing could not be held to pass it.
This new ordinance would officially repeal that previous ordinance, and it states that “the Township Council no longer believes it is in the best interest of the township to have the (original) ordinance introduced.”
Township attorney Jarrid Kantor said that the Council chose to introduce the unusual ordinance because the town has been threatened with litigation after the original ordinance had been introduced but not referred to the Planning Board. Kantor said that while he believes the town’s position – that since the introduction of that ordinance was incomplete, it has no course of effect – is correct, this new ordinance to repeal the original action taken is an additional safeguard to avoid litigation. Making the repeal be an ordinance – as opposed to a resolution, which would only take one meeting instead of two – was “cleaner and safer,” according to Kantor.
The second hearing will be held during the July 24 meeting.
Developer’s Agreement Released
A resolution was passed to release the developer’s agreement for 75-89 East Northfield Road. The property is currently home to the Summit Health building. The developer has completed all obligations of the developer’s agreement and has posted the two-year maintenance bond.
Technical Review Fees
A resolution was passed to establish technical review fees for commercial, minor and major residential subdivision, and site plan applicants. The fees are effective August 1.
Applicants will be assessed $185 per hour of necessary work in attorney fees for the Planning Board and Zoning Board.
Additionally, should town personnel be needed for any services, they will be paid 200 percent of their hourly salary by the applicant. This ranges from $176 for the township engineer to $72 for the audio/video technician.
Sales and Contracts
A 2009 Chevy Tahoe used by the Fire Department is no longer needed and was approved for sale as surplus property.
A $29,950 contract was awarded to M2 Associates, for professional well redevelopment monitoring engineering services.
A six-month extension of an existing contract was approved for Beacon Planning and Consulting Services, in an amount not to exceed $15,000. The town uses Beacon for professional planning consulting services. Council member Ed Meinhardt, during the conference meeting, expressed displeasure with the services provided. He did not wish to hold up the extension but requested that this contract go out to bid in the new year, seeing what the town’s options are rather than simply re-upping with the same company.
Okner Field Improvements
At the end of the meeting, some of the Council members noted that there was $1.5 million in state aid to Livingston included in the New Jersey budget for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024, which was passed last month.
Listed as Okner Complex Field Improvements in the budget, that money, Council member Ed Meinhardt said, will be used to construct a turf field at the Okner complex.
