Recap of the June 17, 2020 Meeting of the Morris Township Committee

June 26, 2020

Recap of the June 17, 2020 Meeting of the Morris Township Committee – by Mayor Cathy Wilson

Dear Residents,

Following is a Recap along with video of the June 17, 2020 Morris Township Committee Meeting. A major discussion topic at this meeting was The Abbey: how to accomplish a public hearing that allows a large number of people to safely attend in person. Uncertainties continue in the face of the ongoing challenges the pandemic continues to create. Updates will be shared regularly.

To keep up with everything that’s going on in our town, including especially The Abbey, it has never been more important for residents to sign up to receive the Municipal Messenger (the Township’s email). The homepage of the Township’s website contains a sign-up link or you can sign up HERE .

Due to ongoing COVID-related restrictions, this meeting was conducted remotely via Zoom. Complete video of this meeting can be viewed here: Township Committee Mtg 6/17/20 . Following is the Recap:

Pride Month Proclamation

The Township Committee was pleased to support a proclamation in which “we recognize and proclaim the month of June 2020 as ‘Pride Month;’ and we celebrate and support the LGBTQ community’s right to live their lives with visibility, equality, and dignity – during this month and every month.” You can read the full text of the proclamation HERE

Public Comment/Inquiry

Pride Month Proclamation: Expressions of appreciation and support for this proclamation.
The Abbey: Questions and comments re: upcoming public hearing currently scheduled for July 21^st. Township Committee (TC) members agree with residents on the importance of holding this meeting at a time and place when/where all who are interested can safely attend in person with remote-access (Zoom) as an additional option. How to accomplish this given current (and ever-shifting) COVID-related considerations is yet to be determined.

Ordinances

Passed on second read Ordinance #15-20 which provides a pro-rated formula for determining pool membership fees. This ordinance was introduced at our Special Meeting on June 5^th.

Introduced Ordinance #16-20 which raises towing and storage charges. These fees have not changed in five years. Discussion of what these charges are used for.

Standing Committee Reports and Commentary by Township Committee Members-

Township Committee members shared comments on a wide variety of topics including: the June 29 ^th Special Meeting to honor new-hires, promotions, and retirements among our Fire Department staff; pool operations in light of state-mandated COVID guidelines; discussions with developers by TC members; expansion of the Township’s social media presence to now include Instagram; Pride Proclamation; infrastructure improvements at Convent Station; appreciation to our Health Department for their extraordinary efforts in working to meet COVID-related demands; discussion of ongoing health-related concerns posed by re-opening public meetings to in-person attendance; our Police Department’s policies, training, values and their participation in a rigorous accreditation program which reflects the high level of professional standards they have achieved; encouragement to stay vigilant in maintaining physical distancing and wearing masks; our Environmental Commission’s resumption of its work on many different projects as it met on June 11 ^th via Zoom for the first time since March; highlights of our plans to turn words into actions in the wake of the brutal killing of George Floyd.

2nd Public Comment/Inquiry

Ongoing discussion of the Abbey. Residents emphasized the need to accommodate in-person attendance by a large number of people and requested that the public hearing be postponed until such time as that can safely be accomplished. Given the importance of this project to our community, the ongoing tech challenges (such as those experienced by several people that evening) were cited as a reason why remote-access was not an acceptable stand-alone option for this hearing. Confirmation that everyone who lives within 200 feet of the site will receive notification of the public hearing. The people who live in the townhomes on Old Turnpike (who back up to the parking lot where overflow parking is proposed) will be notified as well. Township encouraged to notify people who live near the site but beyond the 200-foot radius. Extending that notification range is likely but the exact streets are yet to be determined.

Upcoming Primary Election that will be almost exclusively vote-by-mail only: Township urged to make voting procedures clear to residents. Ballots must be postmarked no later than July 7^th. There will also be five drop box locations across Morris County where ballots can be dropped off. The nearest to us is the courthouse in Morristown. There will be NO drop box at our Municipal Center. Ballots CANNOT be dropped off at the one (and only) polling location that will be open at our Municipal Center on Election Day, July 7^th. With the exception of handicapped individuals, anyone who shows up in person will have to vote by provisional ballot, not by machine voting. Everyone is strongly encouraged to carefully follow all instructions on your vote-by-mail ballot and send it by mail or drop it at a drop box well before July 7^th.

Questions/Comments re: Virtual Attendance at Public Meetings: While Zoom offers many benefits during this time of significant restrictions on in-person meetings, tech problems including poor internet connectivity and difficulties activating the hand raising mechanism created frustrating circumstances at this meeting. Suggestion that changes be enacted so that residents can see each other during the meeting. Question raised re: how to accommodate residents who do not have the tech access needed to participate remotely. This continues to be an issue (statewide) that has not yet been resolved. Participation via remote access is likely to continue as our “new normal” evolves in ways yet to be determined.

Following are links to all sections of our June 17 ^th Township Committee meeting. Residents can view past videos of Township Committee meetings on our YouTube channel which can be accessed by googling Morris Township Videos - You Tube . Video of our meetings can also be viewed on Monday evenings, from 7-9PM, on Cablevision channel 21 (their public access channel).

Links to All Sections of June 17th Township Committee Meeting

00:00:50 APPROVAL OF MINUTES

00:01:30 PRIDE MONTH PROCLAMATION

00:08:05 PUBLIC COMMENT/INQUIRY

00:10:35 ORDINANCES – PUBLIC HEARING AND FINAL CONSIDERATION

00:21:15 15-20 - ORDINANCE CREATING PRO-RATED FORMULA FOR POOL FEES

00:22:55 16-20 – ORDINANCE TO INCREASE TOWING AND STORAGE CHARGES

00:34:20 BID REPORT

00:37:00 RESOLUTIONS

00:47:00 GENERAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

00:47:10 STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS AND COMMENTARY BY TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE

01:26:40 PUBLIC COMMENT/INQUIRY

01:57:49 CONSIDERATION OF MONTHLY REPORTS

01:57:49 CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT

01:58:36 ADJOURNMENT

For anyone who would like written information about our June 17th meeting:

The full meeting agenda can be found here .

The full text of each of the ordinances for Intro can be found here .

The full text of teach of the ordinances for adoption can be found here .

The full text of resolutions that were adopted can be found here .

Next meeting is scheduled for July 15th, 2020

Best to All,

Mayor Cathy Wilson