https://www.cityofsummit.org/DocumentCenter/View/4834/Fox-Council-President-Preview-080120
The next Common Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 1 at 7:30PM. Members of Common Council, Mayor Radest, and city staff will be participating electronically in the meeting. For this and all future electronic meetings, members of the public will be able to comment by video or audio conference. The access codes and instructions for public comment on the Zoom platform are posted on the city website.
Every Common Council meeting is broadcast live on HTTV Verizon channel 30 and Comcast channel 36 and 34. The meeting will also be broadcast live on the City of Summit YouTube Channel.
At this meeting, representatives from The Summit Foundation (formerly The Summit Area Public Foundation) will present on its mission and how the foundation and city can partner to benefit the community. Members of the public with questions for the presenters can call in or participate on the Zoom platform.
The Finance Committee will introduce two related resolutions that concern the city’s financial audit and its corrective action plan. State law requires that every municipality have an annual audit conducted by a registered municipal accountant. Members of the local governing body – in this case, the Common Council – must certify that they have reviewed the “comments and recommendations” section of the audit. The first resolution is certification of the audit review. The second resolution approves the corrective action plan detailing the actions that the city will take to address the findings of the audit. The city’s corrective action plan has three recommendations that must be implemented to address three minor deficiencies identified in the audit. Those deficiencies are: (1) a nominal fee charged by the Health Department was not in the fee schedule ordinance, but has since been corrected; (2) emergency purchases that were made without a requisition having been submitted prior to the purchase; and (3) a record-keeping defect in which unissued tickets from municipal court ticket booklets were not reassigned by the municipal court within 180 days.
The Law and Labor Committee will introduce three resolutions. The first renews liquor licenses within the City of Summit for a one-year period from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The other two resolutions authorize the extensions of sick leave for a Department of Public Works employee and a Fire Department employee.
The Safety and Health Committee will introduce four resolutions. The first resolution confirms the appointment of a police sergeant to fill a vacancy caused by a promotion. Next, council will consider a resolution to authorize the emergency purchase of a vehicle to replace the second of two vehicles that were declared a total loss by the city’s insurance carrier following motor vehicle accidents. It will take five to six months for the current state contract vendor to deliver the vehicle, so the Police Department is seeking to purchase from a vendor outside the state contract. The cost of two replacement vehicles from the vendor exceeds the total $44,000 bid threshold and, therefore, the purchase of the second vehicle must be approved by resolution. The purchase will be covered by the insurance settlement associated with the vehicle loss. The third resolution will authorize submission of a grant from the Firehouse Subs Foundation for Fire Department turnout gear in the amount of $24,470.56. There is no match required for this grant. Finally, council will vote on a resolution to declare a vacancy in the Fire Department for an Office Manager as the current office manager will be retiring effective October 31.
Council will consider two resolutions from the Community Programs and Parking Services Committee. First, council will vote on a resolution to authorize a reduced fee for the food service concession at the Summit Family Aquatic Center. This fee reduction reflects the reduced revenues available to the concessionaire because of the shortened pool season and the reduced membership due to the health emergency. The annual concession fee under the contract is $21,000, however the negotiated amount for 2020 will be $7,500. The second resolution authorizes the submission of a grant application to the Union County Kids Recreation Trust Fund to refurbish basketball courts at Soldiers’ Memorial Field. The grant amount being sought is $59,250 and the city will provide an equal match.
Finally, council will hear three resolutions from the Capital Projects and Community Services Committee. The first resolution authorizes the submission of the 2020 Greening Union County grant application for the planting of 250 trees in the spring or fall of 2021. This will allow the city to be reimbursed for 50% of the cost of purchasing and installing 250 trees. The cash match for the grant would be $48,000 and would be included in the 2021 capital budget. Second, council will consider a resolution to support a grant application by Morris Habitat for Humanity for a $700,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for affordable housing funds. This grant will assist in funding site work and the purchase of modular units for the 12-unit project on Ashwood Court. Finally, council will vote on a resolution to increase the contract amount for vegetative waste grinding by $50,000 to dispose of storm debris caused by Tropical Storm Isaias.
To view the complete Common Council agenda, go to https://www.cityofsummit.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/484?fileID=24334
Next Common Council Meeting: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 7:30PM.