MINUTES
OF THE
CRANBURY TOWNSHIP
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION
CRANBURY, NEW JERSEY
MIDDLESEX COUNTY
TIME AND PLACE OF MEETING
The regular meeting of the Cranbury
Township Environmental Commission was held in Town Hall on April 18, 2005 at 7:15 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER
With a quorum present, Bill Mikula,
Acting Chairman of the Cranbury Township Environmental Commission called the
meeting to order and acted as the Chairman thereof, and, Linda M. Scott acted as Recording Secretary of the
meeting.
STATEMENT OF ADEQUATE
NOTICE
Pursuant to the Sunshine Law,
adequate notice in accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act (N.J.S.A.
10:4-6) was provided on January 4, 2005 of this meeting=s date, time, place and agenda, was
mailed to the news media, posted on the Township bulletin board, mailed to
those requesting personal notice, and filed with the Municipal Clerk.
MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE
James Applegate, James Gallagher,
John Kobland, Thomas Patterson,
and Bill Mikula; Acting Chair.
NON-MEMBERS IN
ATTENDANCE
Connie
Bauder, Katy Birckmayer and Kayathri Thangavelu.
MINUTES
The minutes of the March 21, 2005 meeting were
reviewed, amended, and approved on a. motion by James Applegate,
second by John
Kobland, all in favor, Bill Mikula
recused himself.
WORK SESSION
Cranbury residents, Kayathri Thangavelu
and Katy Birckmayer were present to introduce themselves. These two women are interested candidates
regarding the 2nd alternate vacancy.
The website committee held a meeting
and Tom Patterson was present to represent the EC.
He updated EC regarding items that should be included, such as past minutes and
updcoming agendas, links, and FAQs. The
Cranbury site has a projection of being up and running by May.
Jim Applegate,
Dave Stout, and Pete Sibley
walked Cranbury Brook Preserve with Betsy Clarke
and Laura Coover of the NRCS in March.
Recommendations for a Management Plan were discussed which include
seeding of the large open area with native grasses and brush management along
with other ideas. A written conservation
plan will be drafted within the next few weeks for EC to review.
Park Rules
Signage has the Parks Department taking the lead on this issue. A suggestion was made regarding a welcoming
sign or kiosk near the entrance of the Preserve as a possible scout project.
Stream
Corridor Ordinance is moving forward.
During a TC meeting, the committee gave the EC approval to develop a
SCO. EC will work with the Planning
Board, Township Engineer, and any other entity involved. Bill
will take the lead on this, but is looking for volunteers to help with this
project.
A concerned citizen brought to the
attention of EC that there was a meeting of the Regional Stormwater Management
Plan Advisory Committee on April
13, 2005. An agenda and a
map of Devil’s, Shallow, Cedar, and Cranbury
Brooks, with information
regarding the scheduled surface water monitoring was distributed. This information will be copied for inclusion
with the next agenda.
EC will
include BMPs with the local Stormwater Management Plan. Vehicle washing is one area to reach out to
the public and educate them about the runoff.
A filtering device should be used to minimize the amount of suspended
solids from reaching the inlets; environmentally friendly soaps would also be
utilized. Bill
will investigate inlet devices and environmentally friendly soaps.
It was
reported that twelve soil test kits have been distributed to date. Jim Applegate
will call Stephanie
Murphy to get an update of how
many kits were actually mailed to RU for results. Perhaps a tally spreadsheet of soil types
throughout the community could be mapped and used as a Cranbury Day
idea.
Pete will present the Mt. Laurel Soil Testing
Ordinance to Trishka. This will enable
her to advise whether such an ordinance is within the legal authority of the
township.
The NJDEP
Matching Grant has received approval for the Surface Water Sampling and
Evaluation. Bill
is seeking volunteers to help with this project. It was suggested that Cranbury
Township coordinate their efforts and
share the details of the test results with Middlesex County,
who are testing local streams and waterways.
APPLICATIONS
PB084-05
Gentle Healing Wellness Spa, Block 5, Lot
16.01, Tom Patterson gave EC a brief overview of this
project and recused himself after the briefing.
EC recommends when the existing septic system is abandoned; it is done
in accordance with the Middlesex County Health Department practices for
approval. Storm Water Management
Agreement between the Spa owner and Staybridge Suites was reviewed by the Township
Attorney.
PB066-03,
Ozbotkins,Inc. Hannah & Mason’s on Main, Block 23, Lot
54. EC reviewed the supplied application
and plans. EC has no comment.
PB060-03,
Rock-Cranbury, LLC Middle Campus, Half
Acre Rd.,Block 8, Lot
1.01. Final Major Site Plan - Bill recalls that EC previously requested a
demolition plan. Secretary will research
files for this memo. EC recommends that
the demolition plan be done according to the original memo.
PB043-02,
Rock Cranbury, LLC-Station Rd.,
Block 8, Lot 5.01, Amended Preliminary Major
Site Plan, appears that interior allowances are being made for additional
retail space. The amount of parking
spaces is decreasing by one. EC has no
comment.
CLOSED SESSION
The EC entered into closed session
for discussion of personnel matters (potential alternate member) and review the
minutes of March 21 closed session.
Meeting was reopened to the
public. Action was not taken on the March 21, 2005 exec
minutes.
ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING
There being no further business, on motion duly made,
seconded, and carried, the meeting was thereupon adjourned.
CERTIFICATE OF SECRETARY
I, The undersigned, do hereby certify;
That I am duly elected and acting secretary of the Cranbury
Township Environmental Commission and,
That the foregoing minutes of the Environmental Commission,
held on April 18, 2005
consisting of 2 pages, constitute a true and correct copy of the minutes of the
said meeting.
IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed the name of said Environmental Commission
the May 17, 2005.
______________________________________
Linda M. Scott, Secretary