Council Woman Denise Carra was absent.
and thus were well prepared for the debate with the attorney representing
the developer on Orlando Drive.
The town officials felt that the developer would not lose any of his "construction rights"
if he demolished the building now. The developer had wanted to wait till he was ready to
build and had all approvals before he demolished the building,
That would probably have been a minimum of 6-9 months, but the town held firm.
The building is an eyesore and a detriment to the community,
so they ruled that he has 90 days to demolish it.
They want him to apply for the demolition permit in 30 days & provide an update in 60 days.
Good Discussion - 23:37
Lou Gara has requested a "Habitability Hearing" with the owner of property that
has 3 uninhabited buildings on the Somerville Circle / Rt 202
Three of the four buildings on the property are unfit and have not been used in years.
In fact the old Denny's and Popeye's Buildings closed 25 years ago in 1991.
Perhaps tablets or laptops for council people. He said that communication would be a lot better -
and that we should consider getting into the electronic age.
Councilman Foohey added that we could get Wi-Fi in the Council Chambers.
That would allow for checking things on the Internet mid-meeting.
The mayor added that currently there is no screen to show a slideshow.
He said that the Freeholders have a screen.
So at their meetings they display information on a screen for the public to view.
These are just things that are being looked into.
Click to see video - 4:51
the cable channels. He wants to purchase a computer to do this.
Verizon Channel 37 is Raritan's exclusive channel so it could be done on Verizon.
But on Cablevision, we do not have our own channel.
Thus Councilman Foohey is looking into getting an exlusive channel for Raritan on Cablevision.
Another idea he had was to purchase another video camera for the purpose of filming events in town.
All just ideas for now.
Click to see video - 5:40
It was the last council meeting for Borough Clerk Maggie Schmitt.
Thus many on the council thanked her for the good work and wished her luck in her new job.
An ordinance was passed that exempted Borough Owned Property from Site Plan Review and Approval by The Planning Board.
The vote was 4-1 with Councilman Bray voting "No"
bypass the Planning Board. Thus the town when it has a new project no longer has to notify the local residents within 200 feet.
Click to see video - 0:51
Click to see video - 1:36
Click to see video - 2:07