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Environmental Minutes | March 2, 2022

TOWNSHIP OF MONROE

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 

March 2, 2022,                            7:00 PM

1. CALL TO ORDER- Chairwoman Karen Polidoro

                        Pledge to Flag

2. Sunshine Law- Read into the record

3. Roll Call – (Commissioners and Associates)

                    _√_ Karen Polidoro (Chair)

                    _√_ Renee Haider

                    _√_ Roger Dreyling

                    _√_ Ken Konya

                    _√_ Joe Slomian

                    _√_ Giada Schwam (Student Liaison)      

                    __ Daria Ludas

                    _√_ Mihir Majmudar

                     __ John Riggs

                     __ Lucille di Pasquale

                     _√_ Surabhi Agarwal

                     __ Irene Goldberg

                    _√_ Theresa Zamorski (Secretary)

Adoption of Minutes:  Karen motioned the March minutes, Joe Slomian first approved the motion, Mihir Majmudar second the motion.

 4. Application Review

                Speaker:  Ronald Aulenbach

                                      Mark Mauriello

                                     JSM at Monroe LLC

                                     Monroe Parke Section 4

                                     Block 36 Lot 15

 

The commission had the following concerns:

  • The Monroe Township Environmental Commission understands that this stockpile site will be used to temporarily locate soil which has been removed from other active construction projects currently underway within the Monroe Parke properties operated by JSM. The stockpile is expected to be the for up to a year and as presented will not impact the surrounding wetland area.
  • The stockpile is to be completely surrounded by a silt fence at all times to prevent soil runoff into nearby wetlands and waterways.
  • Soil tracking pads will be used to limit soil from entering the roadways and the Monroe Township Environmental commission understands that soil on the roadways will be limited and kept clean via frequent street cleaning.
  • Trucks entering existing the stockpile property are expected to follow township traffic ordinances and safety rules. Traffic police and flagmen are expected to be used to direct roadway and truck traffic when appropriate. If possible, truck traffic entering and exiting the stockpile property should not interfere with peak traffic demands on Mounts Mills and Spotswood-Englishtown Roadways (commuting school bus hours).

 5. Committee Reports:

     Student Liaison- Giada Schwam

  • The Monroe Township Green Team appointed two new members to the Green Team who have been working towards completing the application towards the access to healthy water action and hope to implement a series of refillable water bottle stations throughout the school if we receive the grant.
  • The Third annual eco night will hold its flagship event on April 8th from 5-7PM to showcase local youth progress in sustainable research, experimentation, projects, and innovative ideas for sustainability. Members will create exhibits that will be posted on the website, and all preparation will be covered by the club members on the event team. The Event will be fully digitized, and we hope to showcase the work of the township students, create a sense of community, and demonstrate academic and extracurricular achievements. Additionally, we will be hosting our eco night panel discussion with professionals who are educators or researchers involved in the environmental field, as well as local environmental leaders and sustainable business leaders.
  • Every action podcast, there will be a new season that is available on all podcast platforms. The newest season will cover a variety of niche environmental topics, such as ocean acidification, space pollution, natural disasters, deforestation, and poaching. There will also be many new guest speakers who are active members in EAC and will be featured in each episode.

    Trails and Bike Paths Committee - Karen Polidoro Nothing to report

    Storm Water & Streams Committee - Joe Slomian

  • The Watershed Stream Clean-up is scheduled for April 23, 2022, from 9-11AM.  The registration will be advertised with the link on our website.

    Energy Committee – Ken Konya

  • Renee Haider presented a Power Point on the NJ Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program Community Energy Planning grant opportunity. Community Energy Plans help communities effectively organize to rapidly lower greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy use and expanding sustainable energy production. A Community Energy Plan establishes priority sustainable energy initiatives based on demonstrated effectiveness, unique local factors, and co-benefits, such as improved local air quality, energy savings for residents, and workforce development.
  • The plan is intended to be developed by a team of local municipal staff, elected officials, relevant municipal board and commission members, and community representatives. This planning team integrates the perspectives of the broader community with established best practices for effectively lowering greenhouse gas emissions on the local level. The Community Energy Planning grant would provide $10,000 to support the development of Monroe’s plan. The public was invited to the meeting to seek input and support for pursuing the development of the plan.
  • The Environmental Commission expressed support for pursuing the grant opportunity. Harold Klein reported that based on that support the next step would presenting a Resolution of Support from the Monroe Township Council for our Application to the NCEP Community Energy Planning Grants Program. The Resolution was passed at the March 7 council meeting and the application was submitted on submitted the application on March 18.

   Open Space - John Riggs Nothing to report

   Education Committee Report- Renee Haider

  • Applications for the MTHS $500 Joe Harvie Scholarship should be sent to the commission soon for us to review and select this year’s recipient.

    Sustainable New Jersey - Renee Haider

  • The green team is meeting the 3rd Wednesday of the month to pull together documentation and complete initiatives for our Sustainable Jersey certification application. The first submission is due May 22. To that end we are working on planning and hosting a series of educational programs at the library. The first will be March 19, 2022 focused on the upcoming ban of single use plastic bags to become a law on May 04, 2022. Followed by a program on pollinators on April 9 and one on composting on May 21.

   Green Fair Committee Report - Coordinator Mihir Majmudar

  • The committee has reserved space to hold an in person Green Fair on Saturday, October 15 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.  Set up will take place on Friday,  October 14th, 2022, from 6:00 PM -8:00 PM

    Planning Board – Nothing to report

 6. Old Business – New Business –Nothing to report

7. Open to Public – Nothing to report

8. Adjournment 8:58 pm MOTION: Karen Polidoro    First: Renee Haider     Second: Joe Slomian

 9. NEXT MEETING DATE: April 6, 2022