MAYOR AND COUNCIL
WORK SESSION AND AGENDA MEETING MINUTES
September 9, 2025 7:00 P.M.
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CALL TO ORDER
SALUTE TO COLORS
Mayor Wronko invited all those present to stand in a salute to the colors.
MAYOR’S STATEMENT AS TO COMPLIANCE WITH P.L. 1975
Adequate Notice of this Meeting has been provided according to the Open Public Meetings Act, Assembly Bill 1030. Notice of this Meeting was included in the Annual Meeting Notice sent to the New Jersey Herald and the Daily Record on January 8, 2025, and was placed on the Official Bulletin Board in the Municipal Building.
In the event the Mayor and Council have not addressed all items on this Agenda by 10:00 PM and they are of the opinion that they cannot complete the Agenda in a reasonable time period, the Mayor and Council may exercise their option to continue this meeting at an agreed to date, time and place. Please turn off all cell phones for the duration of this Meeting.
ROLL CALL
Council Members:
Councilwoman Riccardi – present
Councilman Thornton – present
Councilman Romano – present
Councilman Wachterhauser – present
Councilman Simpson – present
Councilman Zampino – present
Mayor Wronko – present
MOMENT OF SILENCE – Mayor Wronko asked for a moment of silence. Mayor Wronko stated Stanhope lost two outstanding members of the community this past week, Dave Hoyt and Manny Ramirez.
Netcong Request – Administrator McNeilly stated a request has been received from the Netcong Administrator for a shared service for Canadian Goose Management. In the past, they have worked with the USDA on an egg addling program to reduce the resident geese population. Administrator McNeilly stated he has requested a specific dollar amount for the program. Mayor Wronko stated he received information from Bob Hathaway with the cost of the program. They are looking to have the cost of $12,000 split between Netcong, Stanhope and Roxbury. Each town would be responsible for $4,000. This subject can be discussed during budget time if there is an interest in the partnership. Administrator McNeilly stated Stanhope is the largest contributor to the Lake Musconetcong Regional Planning Board due to the amount of shoreline in the Borough. In addition to that, the Borough also contributes to the chemical spraying of the lake. The goose addling cost would be one more layer on top of all of that. The Borough has not been informed as yet as to whether or not those budgets will be increased for 2026. Administrator McNeilly stated he is of the opinion that the $12,000 may not cover the cost of addling eggs all the way over to the park and to Port Morris. Mayor Wronko stated he did ask Mr. Hathaway to forward the information to the Borough in an email.
Halloween Parade – Administrator McNeilly stated the Recreation Committee is looking to hold the Halloween Parade on October 25th at 12:00pm. The parade would begin at Borough Hall and would end at the Fire House. The Recreation Committee is requesting approval for a temporary road closure along Main Street for the parade.
Mayor Wronko called for a straw poll and asked the council for approval to close the section of Main Street on October 25th for the Halloween Parade. The results are as follows: Councilman Zampino – yes; Councilman Wachterhauser – yes; Councilman Thornton – yes; Councilman Riccardi – yes; Councilman Simpson – yes; Councilman Romano – yes. The governing body approved the road closure.
DeskPro Kick Off – Administrator McNeilly stated he does not have any new information regarding the DeskPro software kick off. Councilman Riccardi stated he needs to meet with Administrator McNeilly to set up the software. Administrator McNeilly stated he will send an email tomorrow to schedule an agreeable date and time. Councilman Thornton asked if the meeting would include the council as well. Councilman Riccardi stated, at this time, Administrator McNeilly, who is the administrator of the Google account, has to do the initial set up first.
Canal Trail – Administrator McNeilly stated the State Park did a great job on the Morris Canal Trail and cleaned up the state owned property by the Plaster Mill and the trail back to the canal slip. The clean up should now become part of the State Park’s normal rotation. Hopefully, this will be done at least twice a year. Councilman Zampino stated he spoke with the crews doing the clean up and they were from Stephen’s State Park and Hopatcong State Park.
Brush Pick Up – Administrator McNeilly stated the DPW is currently collecting brush this week throughout the borough. After Friday, the next pick up will take place in the Spring of 2026.
Leaf Pick Up – Administrator McNeilly stated our favorite borough service, leaf collection, begins 5 weeks from now on October 14, 2025.
Budget 2026 Timeline – Administrator McNeilly provided the 2026 Budget Timeline as follows: 2026 Budget & Capital request memo has been distributed; Budget & Capital requests to be presented to the Governing Body on October 28th; Proposed 2026 budget discussion will take place October 28th and November 25th; Tax Assessor & Borough Auditor Presentations are scheduled for December 9th. Mayor Wronko asked if the CFO will be available. Administrator McNeilly confirmed the part-time CFO will be working on the budget.
Crossing Guard – Administrator McNeilly stated the Police Chief has a Crossing Guard request. Currently, the Crossing Guards are paid for an hour at the beginning of school and an hour when school closes. The Chief is requesting to extend the shifts to an hour and a half. This would give them a three hour day. In addition, the Chief would like to hire an additional Crossing Guard that would assist the guard at the Route 183 and Linden Avenue location and that person would also be a primary floater. When a Crossing Guard calls out sick, a patrol officer has to fill in. If there is only one officer on patrol, that person is completely down until they are off crossing guard detail. The salary is currently just shy of $19.00 per hour. Adding $10.00 per guard per day is not a huge expense. There are funds available in the Police Department Salary and Wages budget. No transfer of funds would be required between now and the end of the year. Administrator McNeilly stated he is still working on the details of hiring an additional person.
Councilman Thornton asked why the Police Chief is of the opinion that an additional half hour is needed. Administrator McNeilly stated it is difficult to hire someone to be there for just an hour twice a day. Most towns have crossing guards hired for two hour shifts for a total of four hours per day. Mayor Wronko asked if the Police Chief has spoken with the current Crossing Guards to see if they would be agreeable to staying an extra half hour for each shift. Administrator McNeilly replied he does not have an answer to that question. If the governing body is agreeable, formal action could be taken at the next scheduled meeting. Salary wise the Borough is also low by a few dollars. Every little bit will make the position more attractive. There have been occasions where two Crossing Guards have called out on the same day and that poses an additional problem. If the Chief is in the office, he will fill in but if an additional police officer has to be called in, that gets expensive. Councilman Wachterhauser stated paying a police officer overtime is exponentially more expensive than paying a crossing guard straight time. Councilman Wachterhauser asked if this issue has to wait until the next meeting or can something be decided this evening due to the fact that school has already started. Administrator McNeilly stated he would like to get a decision on approving the extra time and then maybe by the next meeting a decision could be made regarding the hiring of an additional person. Councilman Zampino asked if the crossing guards will have people to cross with the extra time or will they just be standing there. Councilman Zampino asked if it might be better to increase the salary so it is more aligned with other towns as opposed to increasing the time. Administrator McNeilly stated there would be students to cross. Councilman Zampino stated he would rather see the pay increased as opposed to wasting someone’s time by just standing there. Councilman Riccardi stated if there are students there to cross during that time, it would be advantageous to have the crossing guards present. Administrator McNeilly stated there are high schoolers walking. There are no requirements for having to have crossing guards for high school students. Administrator McNeilly stated he will discuss this with the Police Chief.
Leaf Machines – Councilman Riccardi asked if both leaf machines are ready. Administrator McNeilly stated both machines will be operating. The machines are being brought over from wells #3 and #4 to be tested tomorrow.
CFO Position – Councilman Riccardi asked if there is any update on the CFO position. Administrator McNeilly stated finding a CFO, in any configuration, is nearly impossible. This is not just a problem for us but for the entire state. Administrator McNeilly stated he is trying to formulate some other options. A meeting can be scheduled with the Finance Committee and then a plan can be presented to the governing body. The Borough may very well go past the one year mark without a new CFO. There are no CFO’s out there. The certification takes four years. The Borough has operated with a part time CFO in the past.
Tax Collector – Councilman Romano asked for a update on the Tax Collector certification. Administrator McNeilly stated the employee’s certification should be complete by the end of 2026.
Construction Secretary – Councilman Wachterhauser stated correspondence was received with regard to the Construction Secretary position. Administrator McNeilly stated he would like to meet with the Finance Committee and come back to the governing body by the next meeting with suggestions and possibly a resolution to address some of these very real and very correct things that are listed in the letter. There are short term and long term issues to be taken care of. Councilman Romano asked if the discussion would have to take place in closed session. Administrator McNeilly stated, once we get to that point, we may or may not have to discuss this in a closed session. No employees were riced for this discussion to take place this evening. There are some very real issues that we can address. Mayor Wronko stated he wants to respond back to them in a timely manner because this has been going on for awhile. Administrator McNeilly confirmed he will follow up and will set up a meeting with the Finance and Personnel Committee. Councilman Thornton stated he is surprised to hear this has been going on for a while because the correspondence is his first knowledge regarding the level of frustration.
WORK SESSION
Fire Department Bucket Drop Request – Mayor Wronko stated the Fire Department is requesting approval to conduct a bucket drop. Ellen Horak, Borough Clerk, stated if the governing body agrees with the request, a resolution will be placed on the next meeting agenda. The Fire Department has stated the rain date will be September 28th. Councilman Riccardi asked if the bucket drop will be held at the same locations. Ms. Horak stated the Fire Department is only asking to be at the intersection of Sparta Road and Brooklyn Road. They are asking for two different dates at the same location. The governing body agreed to have a resolution placed on the next meeting agenda.
Refund Municipal Portion of Handgun Carry Permit Fee – Mayor Wronko stated a gentleman spoke at the last mayor and council meeting with regard to how other municipalities are refunding the municipal portion of the handgun carry permit fees. Mayor Wronko stated, at that time, the Borough Attorney, Ursula Leo, was asked to research the issue and Attorney Leo did send her findings to the governing body. Mayor Wronko asked the governing body for their input. Councilman Riccardi stated he has some additional questions for Attorney Leo and asked if the topic could be discussed when she is present. Mayor Wronko asked to table the discussion until the Borough Attorney is present. The governing body agreed.
NEW BUSINESS
Mayor Wronko offered the following resolution which was read by title.
Resolution 152-25 RESOLUTION PROTESTING A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT BETWEEN NJDEP AND THE 3M COMPANY REGARDING PFAS
WHEREAS, the Borough of Stanhope has received notice of a proposed Judicial Consent Order (JCO) by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the 3M Company (3M), wherein the State of New Jersey proposes to enter into a settlement agreement regarding its claim for pollution by 3M (Settlement); and
WHEREAS, this proposed Settlement intends to resolve all current and future state, municipal, and county claims against 3M for the contamination of New Jersey land and natural resources with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); and
WHEREAS, in May of 2025, NJDEP and 3M agreed to the terms included in their JCO, which propose settlement in the amount of $450 million over a 25-year period, paid directly to the State of New Jersey, and, if entered, the terms set forth in this order would preclude current and future municipal and county PFAS-related claims from being brought or litigated against 3M in exchange for the agreed-to monetary payments made to the state; and
WHEREAS, the NJDEP has solicited public comment on the proposed Judicial Consent Order Approving Settlement with the 3M Company in the Matter of NJDEP, et al., v. E.I. DuPond De Nemours and Company, et al., Case No.: 1:19-CV-14766-RMB-JBC (D.N.J.) by September 19, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Borough of Stanhope objects to the proposed Settlement due to the preclusion of the Borough’s PFAS-related claims, particularly since the Borough currently has filed claims and has received settlement payments from 3M related to the pollution, and such funds will aid the Borough in updating its current system and treat PFAS; and
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Stanhope hereby objects to the Proposed Judicial Consent Order Approving Settlement with the 3M Company in the Matter of NJDEP, et al., v. E.I. DuPond De Nemours and Company, et al., Case No.: 1:19-CV-14766-RMB-JBC (D.N.J.); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Borough Clerk is directed to submit this resolution to the NDEP, as a public comment by the Borough of Stanhope, prior to September 19, 2025.
This resolution shall take effect immediately.
On motion by Councilman Romano, seconded by Councilman Riccardi and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote, the foregoing resolution was duly adopted.
Councilman Wachterhauser asked if the funding which the Borough has already received would have to be refunded. Administrator McNeilly stated he has not received any information regarding the Borough’s agreement which was already set. Mayor Wronko asked if other municipalities are protesting this. Administrator McNeilly stated they should be because the AEA has been very active. Councilman Romano stated the MSA had a presentation this past month. The municipal dollars are being cut completely out of this. It is a bad agreement and it would relieve 3M from any responsibility and prevents anyone from suing. Administrator McNeilly stated this will also serve as framework for the others. They will go get their deal with the State and then the State will police all the money out of it and it gives up the municipalities right to go back at them in the future. When the time comes that requirements are made to install all types of expensive equipment, there will be no way to go after the entity that created the problem. Administrator McNeilly stated he is aware that there is a big problem in Penns Grove and the State is going to take all that money and put it into that site but it is not going to solve the problem. Councilman Riccardi stated for the MSA to be upgraded it will cost approximately $30 million. Administrator McNeilly stated what is frightening, with regard to the sewer treatment, is when the treatment is done the liquids are purer and better than what is coming into the plant and is then pushed out into the river. The solids are trucked out and that facility composts it. If there is PFAS in it, and we have not treated it out, we have now created a hazardous material. The material was being used as fertilizer forever and it would then have to be treated as hazardous waste and have to be burned. The loads being trucked out will increase 100 times in price and how will those costs be covered. Mayor Wronko asked if it would be better to do a group protest. Administrator McNeilly stated a copy of the resolution will be sent to several entities. The MEL has also notified its members to send something out as well. Councilman Riccardi read the list of municipalities and representatives who will receive a copy of the resolution. Administrator McNeilly stated the resolutions protesting this all need to be received by September 19th.
Councilwoman Riccardi – yes
Councilman Thornton – yes
Councilman Romano – yes
Councilman Wachterhauser – yes
Councilman Simpson – yes
Councilman Zampino – yes
CONSENT AGENDA (All items listed on the Consent Agenda are considered routine by the Borough Council and were enacted by one motion of the Borough Council with no separate discussion.)
Resolution 153-25 RESOLUTION ACCEPTING A DONATION FROM CHIEF PITTIGHER TO THE DPW DEPARTMENT FOR VARIOUS LUMBER
WHEREAS, Chief Pittigher had a small supply of lumber that the DPW Department desired to utilize; and
WHEREAS, the Chief has donated said lumber, estimated to have a value of approximately $350.00, to the DPW Department; and
WHEREAS, N.J.S.A. 40A:5-29 authorizes the Borough to accept this donation made by Chief Pittigher;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Stanhope does hereby accept the lumber donation of a small amount of lumber from Chief Pittigher to the DPW Department for their use.
Resolution 154-25 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING REFUND OF REDEMPTION MONIES TO OUTSIDE LIEN HOLDER
WHEREAS, at the Municipal Tax Sale held on October 30, 2024, a lien was sold on Block 10610 Lot 15, also known as 122 Brooklyn Road, for 2023 delinquent sewer and water charges; and
WHEREAS, this lien which is known as Tax Sale Certificate #24-00005 was sold to Bala Partners, LLC at 0% interest and a Premium of $600.00; and
WHEREAS, Cotality, mortgagee, has effected a redemption of certificate #24-00005 in the amount of $2,429.70; and
WHEREAS, the Tax Collector certifies that the reimbursement is now required to be made for the required redemption amounts as shown below:
Redemption Amount: Outside Lien #24-00005 and Interest $2,429.70
Premium Paid by Lienholder 600.00
Total From Current Fund: $2,429.70
Total From Tax Premium Account 600.00
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Borough Council of the Borough of Stanhope, County of Sussex, State of New Jersey that the Governing Body acknowledges that Bala Partners, LLC is entitled to the redemption in the amount of $3,029.70 and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chief Financial Officer be authorized to issue a check in the total amount of $3,029.70 for the total redemption of certificate #24-00005 payable to Bala Partners, LLC, PO Box 303, Pottersville, NJ 07979; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the Borough Chief Financial Officer and the Borough Tax Collector.
On motion by Councilman Riccardi, seconded by Councilman Simpson and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote, the foregoing resolutions were duly adopted.
Roll Call:
Councilman Riccardi – yes
Councilman Thornton – yes
Councilman Romano – yes
Councilman Wachterhauser – yes
Councilman Simpson – yes
Councilman Zampino – yes
PAYMENT OF BILLS
Resolution 155-25 RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF STANHOPE AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF BILLS
WHEREAS, the Chief Finance Officer has certified that funds are available in the proper account; and
WHEREAS, the Chief Finance Officer has approved payment upon certification from the Borough Department Heads that the goods and/or services have been rendered to the Borough;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Stanhope that the current bills list, dated September 9, 2025, and on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief Finance Officer and approved by the Chief Finance Officer for payment, be paid.
On motion by Councilman Romano, seconded by Councilman Thornton and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote, the foregoing resolution was duly adopted.
Roll Call:
Councilwoman Riccardi – yes
Councilman Thornton – yes
Councilman Romano – yes
Councilman Wachterhauser – yes
Councilman Simpson – yes
Councilman Zampino – yes
AGENDA ITEMS
All items listed on the Agenda for September 23, 2025, were approved.
CITIZEN’S TO BE HEARD
Mayor Wronko opened the meeting to the public after advising attendees that there is a five (5) minute time limit for each speaker.
Seeing no one from the public wishing to speak, Mayor Wronko closed the public portion of the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
On motion by Councilman Romano, seconded by Councilman Thornton and unanimously carried by voice vote the meeting was adjourned at 7:28 P.M.
Approved:
Linda Chirip
Deputy Clerk for
Ellen Horak, RMC
Borough Clerk