OPENING STATEMENT
Mayor Barbagallo opened the meeting at 7:04 p.m. announcing that adequate notice has been provided to the New Jersey Herald and the Sunday New Jersey Herald for publication in which notice was given of the date, time, place and general agenda of meetings in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

FLAG SALUTE
All present were asked to join in the Pledge of Allegiance.

ROLL CALL
Present were Mr. Brace, Mr. Brislin, Mr. Teufert, Mayor Barbagallo, Attorney Padula and Clerk Francisco. Mr. Utter was excused.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No member of the public wished to be heard. Mayor Barbagallo noted there was no motion to open to the public, but asked for a motion to close. Mr. Teufert motioned to close to the public. Mr. Brislin seconded, and the motion was carried with all in favor.

BID OPENING
BEERSKILL ROAD RETAINING WALL AND ROAD RECONSTRUCTION - Mayor Barbagallo opened the bids from Ferraro Construction, $329,814; Zitone Construction, $198,138.00; and Berto Construction, $245,425.41. Mr. Teufert indicated that he was to meet with the Pellow engineering firm on Monday next to get a better idea of what needs to be done. He made a motion to hold off until the next meeting for time to review the bids. The motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote. It was clarified that Mr. Teufert would review the bids with the Township Engineer.

MINUTES
Mr. Teufert made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 12, 2008 Regular Session. Mr. Brace seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a majority in favor, Mr. Brislin abstaining due to his absence during the subject meeting.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
DPW Foreman Dave Berhman submitted his report and advised the committee of various projects the crew has been working on, including screening of street sweepings. He advised the committee that the process has already saved the township about sixty-seven hundred dollars.

RESOLUTIONS

R 2008-105 REFUND OF DUPLICATE TAX PAYMENT BLOCK 4.03, LOT 20
Mr. Teufert motioned to approve the Resolution. Mr. Brislin seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

R 2008-106 TRANSFER RESOLUTION
Mr. Brislin made a motion to approve the Resolution. Mr. Brace seconded the motion, and it was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

R 2008-107 RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING ORDINANCE 2008-07 AS ORD 2008-07(A) AND RESOLUTION 2008-100 AS R 2008-100(A)
Mr. Brace motioned to approve the Resolution. Mr. Teufert seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

R 2008-108 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ALTERNATE SUBCODE OFFICIALS
Mr. Brislin motioned to approve the Resolution with an amendment that it expire at the end of this year. Mr. Teufert seconded the motion, and it was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

ORDINANCES (First Reading)

ORD 2008-10 ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 70 ARTICLE 1 SECTION 1 SPEED LIMITS ESTABLISHED
Mr. Brislin motioned to approve the Ordinance. Mr. Teufert seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Barbagallo suggested to the DPW foreman that yellow 25 mph cautionary signs be posted along several curves as well.

ORD 2008-11 ORDINANCE AMENDING THE SALARY ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE FOR ALTERNATE SUBCODE OFFICIALS
Mr. Brace motioned to approve the Ordinance. Mr. Teufert seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

NEW BUSINESS

Block 18.59, Lot 17 - Request to build a one-family house - Mayor Barbagallo indicated that this is one of a number of lots that were sold with the condition they not be built upon, and that there may be a problem that the condition did not appear on all of the deeds. He noted that construction had already begun on at least one of these properties, and expressed misgivings about granting this request. Attorney Padula requested the committee consider tabling the matter until the next meeting in order for him to follow through with discussions among the parties involved. Mr. Brace expressed his concern whether the owners obtained a zoning permit as it is possible the lot could be undersized, or the deed contains a restriction which would have prohibited construction of a home. Mr. Teufert motioned to table this matter until the next meeting. Mr. Brace seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

Budget Meeting Schedule - Mr. Teufert motioned to have a preliminary budget meeting on Tuesday, December 16th at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Brace seconded, and the motion was carried with all in favor.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Model Personnel Policy Manual - Mayor Barbagallo and Mr. Teufert will go over the proposed manual and bring it to the committee for final approval.

911 - Newton Dispatch Contract Renewal - After a brief discussion among the committee members, Mr. Brace motioned to accept the agreement and renew the contract. Mr. Brislin seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote. For the benefit of the public, Mayor Barbagallo stated the new contract price for 2009 is $43,160.00 with a 4 percent yearly increase for the following two years.

Property Next Door to Municipal Building - Possible site for a new firehouse. Mayor Barbagallo indicated that he had spoken with Richard Clark, Esq. who was having difficulty reaching the land owner. Mayor Barbagallo to call Richard Clark again.

ACO Pound Services - Mr. Brislin made a motion to accept the agreement for Animal Control Services with Wantage. Mr. Teufert seconded, and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote.

CCH Anti-icing Program and Catch Basin Proposal - It was decided to have Bill Cummings, Community Corporation of High Point Administrator, draw up a written agreement between Montague Township and CCH agreeing the Township not use grit and to clean out the catch basins, not the cross drains, next year.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION
Sharon Yarosz, Land Use Board Secretary, was congratulated on a job well done, receiving the outstanding grade of 101% on her exam in Municipal Finance Administration.

CORRESPONDENCE
GO 21 Freight - Rail - Request for Support - Mr. Brace made a motion that no action be taken on the request. Mr. Brislin seconded, and the motion was carried with all in favor.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Mr. Brislin motioned to open to the public. Mr. Brace seconded, and the motion was carried with all in favor. There being no member of the public wishing to be heard, Mr. Brislin motioned to close to the public. Mr. Brace seconded, and the motion was carried with all in favor.

Mr. Brislin spoke wanting to show appreciation to the DPW Forman for following up with PEOSH’s recommendations.

Mr. Barbagallo motioned to take a five minute break then go into Executive Session to discuss New Myrtle Drive litigation, Beerskill Road litigation and a personnel matter. Mr. Brislin seconded the motion. The motion was carried with all in favor.

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTIVE SESSION

R - 2008-109
WHEREAS the Township of Montague is authorized, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-12 to exclude the public from that portion of this meeting for purposes of discussing specific matters as permitted by N.J.S.A. 10:4-12; and

WHEREAS the Township intends to discuss certain matters which are deemed confidential pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-12, in Executive Session; and

WHEREAS at this time the Township cannot determine the time when the discussion to be held in Executive Session will be made public, but will disclose the minutes of the Executive Session when the need for confidentiality no longer exists;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Township Committee of the Township of Montague that this meeting shall be adjourned to an Executive Session (closed session) and the public will be excluded in order that the Committee may, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 10:4-13(a), discuss personnel matters and legal matters regarding New Myrtle Drive and Beerskill Road without taking action, and after reconvening this public meeting the Mayor or his designee will announce, if possible, the time when and the circumstances under which the discussion conducted in Executive Session will be disclosed to the public. This resolution is authorized and allowed by and pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-13.

NOW THEREFORE, be it further resolved by the Township Committee that pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-13(b) the time when and the circumstances under which the discussion conducted in closed session of the public body can be disclosed to the public is when the need for confidentiality no longer exists.