Call Meeting to Order

Dennis Miranda called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m.

Statement of Compliance

Pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L. 1975 adequate notice as defined in Section 4D of Chapter 231, P.L. 1975 has been transmitted from the Vernon Municipal Center to the New Jersey Herald on February 5, 2010, and published on February 10, 2010. Notice is posted on the bulletin board and filed with the office of the Township Clerk.

Roll Call

Michael Cheski A
Michael Furrey A
David Gornstein P
Carol Kadish P
Allison Petryk P
Dennis Miranda, Chair P

Also Present

Aida Cahill, Recording Secretary
Ariana Miranda, Student Member

Dennis Miranda, Chairman of the Vernon Township Environmental Commission reported that Dan Boltz and Tim McCurry have resigned their positions on the Environmental Commission after their terms expired on December 31, 2010.

Pledge of Allegiance

Open Meeting to the Public

A motion to open the regular meeting to the public was made by Allison Petryk, seconded by Carol Kadish, with all in favor.

Closed Meeting to the Public

David Gornstein made a motion to close the regular meeting to the public, seconded by Dennis Miranda, with all in favor.

Michael Furrey joined the meeting at 7:40 p.m.

David Gornstein made a motion to close the regular meeting, seconded by Dennis Miranda, with all in favor.

David Gornstein made a motion to open the 2011 Reorganization meeting of the Vernon Township Environmental Commission, seconded by Dennis Miranda, with all in favor.

Resolutions

Resolution No. 11-01: Schedule of Meetings for the 2011 Year

January 3 and January 24
February 7 and February 28
March 7 and March 21
April 4 and April 18
May 2 and May 16
June 6 and June 20
July 11 and July 25
August 1 and August 15
September 12 and September 26
October 3 and October 17
November 7 and November 21
December 5 and December 19

All regular meetings shall convene at 7:00 p.m. at the Vernon Municipal Center, 21 Church Street, Vernon, New Jersey. Official action may be taken at each meeting. Any modifications to this schedule will be properly noticed.

It was agreed by all members that the official newspaper for noticing meetings will be The New Jersey Herald.

Mr. Gornstein made a motion to approve Resolution No. 11-01, as referenced above, seconded by Mr. Furrey, with all in favor.

A motion was made by Mr. Gornstein to close the 2011 Reorganization meeting, seconded by Mr. Miranda.

A roll call vote was taken:
Ayes: Michael Furrey, David Gornstein, Carol Kadish, Allison Petryk, Dennis Miranda
Nays: None

Mr. Gornstein made a motion to open the regular meeting, seconded by Allison Petryk.

A roll call vote was taken:
Ayes: Michael Furrey, David Gornstein, Carol Kadish, Allison Petryk, Dennis Miranda
Nays: None

Open Space

Dennis Miranda reported that there has been no activity on Open Space since the last EC meeting. Mr. Miranda stated that the lack of leadership on the part of the governing body is the single reason for lack of forward progress. Mr. Furrey suggested going before the Township Council, as a commission, to express strong disagreement with the current policy on open space. It was agreed that the EC would write a letter requesting time with the council.

Western Highlands Scenic Byway

Dennis Miranda reported that the request for $500 to $1000 to create an overlay map had been approved by the Town Council.

Sustainable New Jersey

Allison Petryk will get Township letterhead from Mr. Gornstein and complete her letter.

Appalachian Trail

Mr. Miranda stated that the letter to the National Park Service will be done by March. Mr. Miranda suggested holding a public walk of the Appalachian Trail to pinpoint the issues that are there. Carol Kadish suggested inviting a reporter to go along. A tentative date of April 16, 2011 was chosen.

New Jersey Wastewater Association

Michael Furrey distributed a draft of the source water protection plan to the Environmental Commission members for their review. Jay from NJWA will be attending the February 7th EC meeting, when he will make a presentation and get feedback from Commission members.

Approval of Minutes

Allison Petryk made a motion to approve regular meeting minutes from November 22, 2010, seconded by Dennis Miranda, with all in favor.

Correspondence

There was no correspondence.

Applications for Review

There were no applications for review.

Planning Board Liaison Report

There was no report. Mr. Gornstein stated that he will find out if the Baldwin application was approved by the Land Use Board.

Sussex County Health Department

The EC expressed concern that the Sussex County Health Department is not responsive to the needs of Vernon Township, and will include this as a future agenda item. The commission planned to review the current contract between Vernon Township and the Sussex County Health Department.

Earthfest

Commission members agreed that the EC does not play enough of a role in Earthfest. The EC planned to develop a day long calendar of events that all members will be involved in. Dennis Miranda will write a letter to the Earthfest Committee informing them of the activities the EC would like to conduct.

There being no further business, David Gornstein made a motion to adjourn at 9:40 p.m., seconded by Michael Furrey, with all in favor.

Respectfully submitted,
Aida Cahill, Recording Secretary
Minutes approved: January 24, 2011