April 1, 2009 

The Township Committee held a special meeting on the above date at 7:00 PM.  Mayor Hlubik called the meeting to order and opened with the flag salute and a moment of silence.  Roll call was taken showing present:  Mayor Michael J. Hlubik, Deputy Mayor Brian J. Kelly and Committeeman Lawrence H. Durr.  Also present were Nancy W. Jamanow, Township Engineer and John C. Gillespie, Township Attorney.  The Open Public Meetings Act Statement was read and compliance noted. 

Mayor Hlubik opened the public hearing on the appeal of Toll Brothers of the sewer reimbursement.  Mr. Gillespie informed the Committee that there is a reimbursement provided in Ordinance 2008-01 for infrastructure improvements and continued to explain the process as outlined in the Ordinance.  In the appeal document, Toll is proposing that the Township Committee certify the amount of $871,063.21 as opposed to the amount of $636,695.19 which Mrs. Jamanow has certified.  If the Township Committee agrees to that, this process would be much shorter.  Mayor Durr stated, and the Committee agreed, that he would like to hear justification of that change before making a decision.   

Richard Hamilton, Attorney for Toll Brothers stated that all the documentation submitted to the Township Committee has also been copied to all of the developers and there is no one else present at this meeting. 

 Mr. Gillespie entered the following documents into the record: 

          Notice of Appeal dated 3/10/2009 from Stark and Stark

          Ordinance 2008-1

          Correspondence from ERI to William Bolton dated 5/24/2001

          Correspondence from Site Blauvelt Engineers to William Bolton dated 2/16/2004

          Correspondence from Site Blauvelt Engineers to William Bolton dated 5/12/2004

          Correspondence from ERI to Chesterfield Township Clerk dated 11/13/2008

          Correspondence from TRC to Matt Markovich of Toll dated 12/16/2008

          Correspondence from DelVal Soil & Env. To Matt Markovich of Toll dated 12/22/2008

          Correspondence from ERI to Chesterfield Township Clerk dated 1/23/2009

          Correspondence from Stark & Stark to ERI dated 12/30/2008 w/ attachments

          Correspondence from ERI to Frederick Hardt dated 8/31/2007

          Correspondence from ERI to Frederick Hardt dated 12/20/2006 

Mrs. Jamanow was asked to summarize the issue and stated that Toll was required to install the sewer line through roads in the Cross Creek development in order to connect Chesterfield Greene to the pump station.  Other developers benefitted from this, thus entitling Toll to a reimbursement of certain costs.  The issue is the amount for the use of Soil Crete which Toll felt was necessary to achieve the required compaction.  Mrs. Jamanow feels there were other options available at the time.  There were wet conditions when the sewer pipes went in and wet material was used.  Soil Crete is not a product as much as a method of blending existing soils with a cement mix.  The method was recommended by Toll’s experts and the method worked. 

 Mr. Gillespie stated that there doesn’t seem to be any right or wrong in this situation.   

Mr. Hamilton stated that a lot of time and effort on the part of the Township went into setting up the sending and receiving area.  Toll was the first developer to step to the plate and begin building using the TDR program.  But they were being pushed by American Properties to get the sewer in because they also wanted to start building.  They were doing an off-tract improvement, working on someone else’s property and were not in a position to replace dirt with dirt from somewhere else on the site.  It was a choice between trucking in dirt or using the Soil Crete.  They needed a 95% compaction and knew the Soil Crete could accomplish that.   

Mr. Kelly questioned the statement by Mrs. Jamanow in here letter of 11/13/2008 to the Township Clerk and Nancy explained.  Toll was rushing against the weather and clock because they wanted their first Certificate of Occupancy and were required to have the sewer lines installed before they could receive that.

 Richard Hamilton explained that the sewer line was installed twice because the soil used the first time and to be taken out and replaced.  Toll is leaving $234,368.02 on the table as the cost of the first installation.   

Mrs. Jamanow stated that if Mr. Hamilton is representing that the cost of the “do-over” is not included in the relief they are asking for, when would not have a problem with the certification.  Her hesitation all along has been requiring other developers to pay for Toll’s mistake. 

Mr. Durr asked Mr. Hamilton to explain what happened the first time.  Mr. Hamilton stated that they started in very wet weather and couldn’t keep up with the compaction.  They had to remove all of the soil and start over.  Mr. Hamilton also stated that all the other developers have been copied on all correspondence that the Committee has and were noticed of this meeting.  There is no one here to object.  Toll is only trying to recoup a fair amount for the work that was done.   

Mayor Hlubik stated that he is comfortable with Mrs. Jamanow’s recommendation and Mr. Kelly agreed that, with the clarifications presented, he is comfortable as well.   

Tom Gestite, Division President stated that Mrs. Jamanow’s is mistaken about the reasoning behind the need to re-do the first installation.  The weather was not a big factor, the soils at the site were bad and the groundwater conditions caused the lack of compaction.  Since they were working on someone else’s property, they did not have the ability to have the soils tested.  Soil Crete was their only option.   

Mr. Durr questioned the dates of the project’s approval and the starting date of construction.  Mr. Hamilton responded that he is not sure of the exact dates, he believes approvals were received at the end of 2003 and work began in the beginning of 2004.  The work on the sewer lines was one of the first things done.   

Mrs. Jamanow responded that the installation of the sewer lines was one of the last things done and was done completely the opposite of the way she thought it should be.  Mr. Gestite was not on location and has no idea of the soils on that site,   

Mr. Durr asked why there wasn’t time to get the sewer line in without being rushed against the clock.  Mr. Hamilton responded that, no being sure of the dates, it’s possible that Toll did not have the required easement from American Properties.  Mr. Durr asked Mr. Gestite why soils were not exchanged on Toll property.  Mr. Gestite stated that the process would have required the construction of roads to go back and forth from site to site.   

Mrs. Jamanow stated that the roads were constructed.  Mr. Durr continued that it seems that there was a lack of planning or poor planning on Toll’s part which resulted in additional costs.  However, there are no other developers present to object, so he does not have an objection. 

 Mr. Gillespie stated that it seems the scope of the appeal has been narrowed by the statements made during this hearing and the Township Committee should be comfortable now certifying the new amount, subject to verification that the $234,368.02 cost of re-doing the installation is not part of the calculation.  The Township Committee could certify the amount of $871,063.21 tonight and ratify that certification by Resolution at the next meeting, as long as Toll will accept the number.  Mr. Hamilton stated that Toll Brothers will accept the number. 

 Mr. Gillespie further stated that all affected parties and developers were noticed of this meeting and notice was published in the March 22, 2009 edition of the Burlington County Times. 

On a motion by Mr. Kelly and second by Mr. Durr, the reimbursable amount of $871, 063.21 was certified by the Township Committee.  All agreed. 

The Committee took a brief recess at 7:52 PM. 

The Committee resumed the meeting at 8:01 PM with members of the Joint Land Use Board.   

The Land Use Board meeting was called to order by Chairman DeFellippis.  Roll call was taken showing present:  Donald Coover, Lawrence Durr, Brian Kelly, Deborah Kelly, Joseph Malison, F. Gerry Spence, Brian Wilson, Lido Panfili, Matthew Weismantel, John Nunziato and Chairman Rocco DeFellippis.  The following Open Public Meetings Act statement was read by the Township Clerk:  Notice of this meeting was properly given for both the Township Committee and the Joint Land Use Board by posting notice of the meeting on the bulletin board in the Township Municipal Building, filing written notice in the office of the Township Clerk and publishing written notice in the Burlington County Times March 29, 2009 edition in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act.   

The Township approved Resolution 2009-4-1 on a motion by Mr. Kelly and second by Mr. Durr to enter Executive Session for the purpose of Discussing Litigation Captioned “Liptak v. Mayor et. al., Docket # Bur-L-3199-08”. All agreed. 

The Land Use Board approved Resolution 21-2009 on a motion by Debbie Kelly and second by Donald Coover to enter Executive Session for the purpose of Discussing Litigation Captioned “Liptak v. Mayor et. al., Docket # Bur-L-3199-08.  All agreed. 

Both the Township Committee and the Land Use Board entered executive session at 8:03 PM.   

The Township Committee and the Land Use Board resumed open session at 9:25 PM.  Chairman DeFellippis asked the Land Use Board members to please get in touch with the Secretary concerning their attendance at the next two scheduled meetings.  On a motion by Mr. Malison and second by Mr. Spence, the Land Use Board adjourned their meeting at 9:28 PM.  All agreed. 

On a motion by Mr. Kelly and second by Mr. Durr, the Township Committee adjourned their meeting at 9:28 PM.  All agreed. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Bonnie J. Haines, RMC

Township Clerk

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