At the Common Council meeting on December 4, there will be a discussion on the recent discovery of swastikas and reports about hateful speech in our middle and high schools. There will be two presentations. The first presentation will be by the students from Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School on ideas to improve our community; the second presentation will be by the chair of the Recycling Advisory Committee. Council will vote on an ordinance to fund the resurfacing of the pool at the Summit Family Aquatic Center and to obtain design and construction documents for the new fire station. Three ordinances will be introduced - one ordinance is on the placement of stop signs, a second ordinance focuses on parking limits on Chapel Street, and the third ordinance is on affordable housing requirements.
There will be a number of resolutions for consideration, including extending periods that public art can be displayed, authorizing execution of a contract with an architectural firm for design and construction documents for the new fire station, adopting an affordable housing marketing plan as required by the COAH regulations, New Jersey statutes and our settlement agreement; authorizing spending $400,000 from the affordable housing trust fund to rehabilitate 40 units at Glenwood Place; authorizing the execution of a one-year lease extension for Family Promise; approving the 2019 salaries for all city department employees; joining a Hunterdon County cooperative pricing system; extending the wastewater operations and maintenance shared services agreement for two additional years; and seeking a grant to plant 70 trees.
To view the complete Common Council agenda, go to: https://www.cityofsummit.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12042018-608?html=true
Presentations
In October, eighth grade students held a public policy forum where they identified municipal issues or concerns and proposed certain solutions. Among issues raised included parking, amenities at parks, use of plastics, pedestrian safety and bicycling. A few students will be presenting their ideas to council. The Recycling Advisory Board chairperson Karen Raihofer will speak to council about initiatives accomplished by RAC in the past nine months and plans for future endeavors, including the Skip the Straw campaign and composting.
Ordinances
There will be one ordinance for consideration and voting on the issuance of bonds to resurface the Summit Family Aquatic Center pool and for obtaining the services of an architectural firm to produce design and construction documents for a new fire station. There are three ordinances for introduction. The first ordinance will address the placement of stop signs at Springfield Avenue and Hobart Avenue, Cleveland Road and Colt Road, and Westminster Road and Whittredge Road. The second ordinance will address a prohibition on parking on the west side of Chapel Street between Broad Street and Morris Avenue. The third ordinance will address a change in the affordable housing ordinance by requiring that any multi-family development of five or more dwelling units to include affordable housing regardless of the zone within which the multi-family development occurs.
Resolutions for Consideration
Contract for the New Fire Station:
As previously noted and to address certain time constraints, council will consider approving an architectural firm to draft design and construction documents for the new fire station. As part of the Broad Street West redevelopment, the city will need to move the fire station. To ensure that Broad Street West redevelopment moves forward in 2019, architects need to begin working on design and construction documents.
Installation of Public Art:
This resolution requests that public art be permitted to be displayed for a period of 12 months instead of the current nine months and for special pieces to be able to be displayed longer than 12 months.
Affordable Housing Marketing Plan and Maintaining Affordable Housing Units:
As required by the COAH regulations, state statute and the city’s settlement agreement, the city has drafted a marketing plan for affordable housing that will be part of the city’s Fair Share plan for council’s approval. There is also a resolution to provide the Summit Housing Authority $400,000 from the affordable housing trust fund to address needed repairs in Glenwood Place.
Shared Services and Cooperative Arrangements:
There are two resolutions related to shared services and cooperative arrangements. The first resolution proposes to join a cooperative in Hunterdon County and the other is to extend a wastewater operations and maintenance agreement with New Providence for two years.
Family Promise, Trees and Salaries:
Council will consider extending the lease at the old City Hall located at 71 Summit Avenue to Family Promise for one year. The city will submit a grant application to Union County to obtain 70 trees to be planted in town. Council will vote on the 2019 salaries for all city staff.
Next Council Meeting: Tuesday, December 18th at 7:30PM.