Jackson Township Council Meeting of March 22, 2016
Page 33 of 34
save lives by fostering and looking for doctors. Ms. Barrington informed the Council that by passing this Ordinance it has diminished the demand for the supply of these animals and increased the likelihood of having shelter animals adopted. Thank you. Councilman Calogero thanked her for bringing it to Council’s attention and she deserves a round of applause.
RAE ANN WALKER – 2 EVERGREEN COURT – Thanked Administrator Schlegel for a wonderful presentation; it was broken down for everyone and was educational. Regarding the Landlord Registration Act, I’m hoping we can move along with that. Council President Nixon advised that our Code Enforcement Supervisor has proposed several ideas to the Administrator which are being reviewed. I agree with you with the number of rentals increasing in town, we need to have a more aggressive landlord registration. I can tell you that a number of things are being reviewed and hopefully within the next few weeks, we’ll have something to discuss.
Ms. Walker informed there is Court on Thursday and Attorney Cipriani stated this case has been moved to April 8th and I will send out that information. Ms. Walker indicated her concerns are the violations that have been reported to the Township regarding this and pertains to the Code Enforcement Department. A resident called and made a complaint against a Court Order and the Police notified Code Enforcement and it took them 1 ½ hours to get out there. If we’re dealing with the Court Order part then perhaps they can notify the Police Department that they’re unable to get out there quickly. This happened on March 1st and a Mr. Quinn asked for a copy of the complaint/report and as of today, it is still not available. Township Clerk Eden explained Mr. Quinn filed an OPRA request which was received on March 18th which I then sent an email to Code Enforcement requesting they provide the records requested. I immediately received an out-of-office reply stating that our Code Enforcement Officer is on vacation. When I spoke with the Code Enforcement Supervisor today, he felt that this Code Officer had the photographs and we could not retrieve them until they returned from vacation. I then called Mr. Quinn to advise him that I would need an extension until the Code Officer returned from vacation and he seemed to have a problem with that. I suggested he speak with our Code Enforcement Supervisor. Mr. Pieslak advised him he would try to get him everything the day after the Code Enforcement Officer returns from vacation. Attorney Cipriani stated that information had been forwarded directly to me and has been submitted to the Court. So when we do go in and in addition to their request for a stay, we’ll have the proofs that the Township has submitted regarding the violation of the Order of the Superior Court.
Ms. Walker understands that the Officer is on vacation and it appears there is no written report in the 22 days since this happened. There seems to be a question of how pictures are taken. Does the Township issue a camera to Code Enforcement or a phone by the Township and where is the information collected? It can’t be on a personal cell phone because then it becomes the person’s property. Administrator Schlegel believes they are issued a camera as well and if I use my personal cell phone for Township business, the relevant information is not my property. Attorney Cipriani stated it is your personal property and when it is included and submitted in the reports, it becomes the property of the Township. Administrator Schlegel wasn’t aware in this case how the picture was taken but they should be using Township property. Council President Nixon asked if we know if a report has been written. Ms. Walker felt since it’s not OPRA’ble, it wasn’t put together in the fashion it should have been. Council President Nixon felt a lot of it is speculation without knowing all the details.
Township Clerk Eden stated there is a 7-day turnaround on an OPRA as well. It came in on March 18th, and day one would have begun on March 21st and then 7 business days (we're closed on March 25th). Because the one inspector is on vacation, I don't know the specifics, but I gather she has more information. Ms. Walker advised the Code Enforcement Supervisor told me he would get back to me tomorrow about the issues that were transpiring. Council President Nixon doesn't want to speculate but we're all emotionally and financially invested in making sure this is stomped on if there is a violation of the Court Order. It's shameful enough that we have to go back to Court on this. Attorney Cipriani stated with the increase of legal fees attributed to this JR matter and to some extent Affordable Housing; the Court Order that we obtained was clear if we needed to go in on an enforcement action, we can ask for attorney fees. Ms. Walker advised that Mr. Pieslak stated if Code is not available, then he would contact the Police to let them know Code is not available.