Sentinel Comments
Will be posted after I have a chance to review draft minutes due about August 3rd.
Agenda
Meeting Packet
Video – 2 hours, 32 minutes
Minutes
Draft minutes wlll be available about August 3rd.
Author: Bob Yager
Parks and Recreation Commission July 14, 2021 Meeting Information
Sentinel Comments
Reading or at least scanning the draft minutes below is the best way to keep up on Parks affairs.
Agenda
See Meeting Packet below.
Meeting Packet (Includes agenda)
Click on + or – below to enlarge or shrink page size. Then use slide at bottom to re-center page if needed.
Video (3 hours 21 minutes)
To watch just one agenda item, scroll down when the video appears and select the item you want to watch. Click on “show description” to check if you have the desired agenda item. Times for agenda item are also shown, so you can gauge if you want to devote that much time watching a particular agenda item.
Minutes
Board of Trustees July 13, 2021 Meetings (2) Information
6 PM Special Meeting
Sentinel Comments
Special meetings like this one are often scheduled with the primary purpose being to hold a closed session as the main agenda item instead of just adding a closed session to the 7 PM regular meeting. Sometimes, but rarely, the meeting does include a board decison. In this meeting, three items were discussed in a 45 minute closed session but no decisions followed in open session. Residents can attend these special meetings and make comments at the beginning before any decision to go into closed session.
Item #3 on the agenda below was decided in the 7 PM regular meeting that followed. I have no clue what items #1 and #2 were about, nor why the Board felt a closed session for them was in Township’s best interest.
Unfortunately, at least in my view, the Open Meetings Act has a loophole allowing discussion of just about anything in closed session. All that is needed is a confidential legal opinion on the topic to discuss it, regardless of topic.
Closed sessions are never required, just allowed, if the Board sees it as in the best interest of the township. Unfortunately I have rarely ever seen a debate on whether or not going into a specific closed session is in the township’s best interest. The last incidence of such a debate that I am aware of occured in Parks Commission in maybe 2013 or 2014 led by Andy Zale’s comments. I find the lack of debate by the Board on the need for a specific closed session troubling.
Agenda
Video
None
Minutes
7 PM Regular Meeting
Sentinel Comments
Take a few minutes below to read the meeting minutes below.
Unrecorded Citizen Comments
I will attempt to summarize the comments for items not on the agenda not now summarized in minutes.
John Markel had three concerns – 1) Erosion along the berm of Rochester Road north of his sub threatens the pavement integirty, 2) He was not able to access the virtual Board meeting recently to raise this concern. He felt that lack of clear instructions was a violation of the Open Meetings Act and asked this be addressed for any future virtual meetings 3) His email communication on these two matters has gone unanswered.
Later in the meeting, Manager Kline said RCOC was addressing the road. Clerk Buxar asked him to follow up with RCOC. There were no comments during Board Reports and Correspondence on concerns 2) and 3).
Agenda and Meeting Packet
Video – (2 hours, 36 minutes)
You can easily select only the agenda item you want to watch.
Minutes
Safety Paths and Trails July 7, 2021 Meeting
Sentinel Comments
The take-away is that SPTC is now starting in earnest to consider what their next trail or path construction project will be. So this is the time to attend meetings and lobby for your favorite trail or path to be built. Recording Secretary Courtney Wahnefried (township employee) did an excellent job summarizing what the SPTC individual members are favoring at this time in the minutes below.
My comments at the meeting were that in light of a personal survey I did of most paths, I thought SPTC needs to consider how to make professional safety inspection and maintenance of HOA owned paths mandatory. To me, without that, the entire SPTC effort is questionable value. Consider the desire to have paths down Rochester Road. How can that ever come about if sections like the boardwalk just south of Blue Heron Environmental Area are allowed to deteriorate to an unusable state?
Agenda
Meeting Packet
None (usual for SPTC)
Video – 90 minutes
Minutes
Planning Commission July 6,2021 Draft Minutes Available (Birch Grove Academy)
Draft Minutes
Meeting Packet
Board of Trustees June 18, 2021 Special Meeting – Birch Grove “Out of Court Settlement Agreement”
Sentinel Comment
The main outcome is a signed agreement where Birch Grove agrees to tear down the school building and restore the land if Special Land Use approval is not obtained from the Board. See the agreement at the link below This was obtained by FOIA #2127 (not available on township website).
Agenda
Meeting Packet
None
Video – 15 minutes (open session portion only)
Minutes
Historic District Commission June 9, 2021 Meeting Draft Minutes, Meeting Packet, Video Available
The meeting packet which gives background detail of each agenda item can be seen here:
All or part of the 2 hour meeting video can be seen here:
Parks and Recreation June 9, 2021 Draft Minutes, Meeting Packet, Video Available
The meeting packet that gives detailed background on each agenda item can be seen here:
All of part of the 2 hour meeting video can be seen here:
Zoning Board of Appeals Denies Front Yard Garage, Allows Deck Set-back Encroachment (6/15/21 Meeting)
See details in draft minutes here:
In Court Document, Birch Grove Maintains it is OK to Start Construction without Special Land-Use Approval and to Ignore our Buildng Department STOP WORK Order
See their nine page summary ($11.50) to the Township’s 98 page complaint. Although I have not chosen to pay $98 for the township complaint; the Birch Grove summary and response summarizes the case as it stands. As a layman I will resist the strong urge to make editorial comment. See the document below. Birch Grove is finally tyring to rush Special land-use approval at Planning Commission 6/1 after not being ready in Feb, March, April, May.
Oakland Township Sentinel 