Mr. President members of the Township Council, distinguished guests and residents of Mount Olive Township; it is an honor to present to you the 2010 State of the Township Address.  I look forward to working with our new Council President Phil Tobey and all councilmember’s in what is certainly going to be a challenging year.

Tonight we begin video taping Township Council meetings which will be broadcast on channel 32 for Verizon FIOS customers and on channel 21 for Cablevision customers.   The meetings will be taped by students enrolled in the television production program at the High School. Credit goes to Bill Sohl who took the lead on this project and made it a priority for the start of 2010.          

The Finance Department which includes finance, tax assessment and collection, conducted a one-time reassessment to stabilize property values which we will be completed early within the next few weeks.  We reduced our outstanding debt by $3, 4 and overall debt percentages from .84% to .76% of overall property worth. 

Property assessments increased by $5.6 million which resulted in $145,000 in additional revenue to the township.  Our collection rate was 98.54%.  The annual audit and budget documents are now available to the public via our website. 

Our bond rating improved from AA- to AA which translates into better debt interest rates and lower payments.

The Planning Department met the requirements and submitted a petition to the Highlands Council for Plan Conformance in the preservation area (79%) of Mt. Olive.  We funded this effort through a $50,000 Highlands Plan Conformance grant.  As part of the process the Township was successful in working with the Highlands staff to change the land use capability zone classification on Combe Fill North in order to facilitate its development.

The Planning Board adopted the Third Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan.  The Township Council authorized the petition for certification to the Council on Affordable Housing and the review is underway.

In November 2009 an application for construction of 227 single family age restricted active adult dwellings and 57 affordable family units on the Marveland Farms property was submitted to the Planning Board. 
Upon receipt of additional plans and reports the application will be scheduled for a public meeting.

An application to construct a CVS Pharmacy consisting of approximately 12,000 square feet on Route 46 was approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.  The store will be open 24 hours a day with a drive thru service.

In November 2009 the voters approved via referendum the elimination of the Board of Adjustment with all land use responsibilities transferring to the Planning Board.  This change will result in a savings of approximately $30,000

Negotiations are under way for two major open space acquisitions;

Mt. Olive Complex which consists of 566 acres is a multi million dollar acquisition that includes 6 partners, with Mt. Olive Townships contribution at $2,600,000 all of which comes from grants previously approved.

Rezamir/Deerfield is 130 acres which is also a multi million dollar acquisition that includes 4 partners with Mt. Olive Townships contribution at $1,650,000 all of which comes from grants previously approved.

Two soccer fields and one football field have been added to Turkey Brook Park.  The cost of construction of these fields was paid for by the Football and Soccer Associations.  Lacrosse is planning construction of three fields at Blue Atlas with all cost of design and construction being donated by area businesses.

We received a grant of $180,000 for the development of 8’ wide paved trails that will wind around Turkey Brook Park.  

The Recreation Department continues to serve the needs of the community.
The 4th Annual Mt. Olive Carnival and Community Weekend was a great success.  This year about 20,000 attended over the five days with Saturday night’s fireworks attendance estimated at 12,000.

Our day camp programs served over 900 children during the six weeks of summer camp.  New summer camp programs included Fun & Fit for older students and Morning Start for children ages 4-6.

This year the Municipal beach saw 10,721 visitors with 822 family passes issued.   A very generous benefactor donated funds to help cover the cost of operating the beach, and continued to allow residents to enjoy the beach without paying for season passes.  Non-resident guests were allowed to access the beach via guest passes, season passes and daily passes.     

Several special events were held including Concerts, Movie Nights, teen events and a family Camp-out.

The Recreation Department has gone green.  Families can now register on-line from the township’s Recreation web page.

At my direction the Police Department has begun the process of seeking accreditation with the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police which will bring the agency better in line with best practices and as a by-product will lead to reduced insurance rates.

The police department successfully managed another busy year which included, in part;

• 25,688 business, residential and vacant home checks
• 1,039 Traffic accidents
• 686 Disabled motor vehicles
• 1,124 alarms
• 206 Domestic Violence calls
• 410 noise complaints
• 85 mental health calls
• 159 welfare checks

In addition the police made 150 arrests for driving while intoxicated and an additional 1,016 arrests for warrants or criminal charges.  The department provided School Resource Officers to the High School and Middle School and conducted the D.A.R.E. program to Sandshore, Chester M. Stevens, Tinc and Mountain View Schools.
They also delivered the “Alive at 25” training to new drivers and their parents.  Code Red and Code Yellow Drills were performed at each of the township’s schools.

The Building Department issued 1,277 permits compared to 1,285 issued in 2008.  There were 5,438 inspections completed in 2009 compared to 5,276 in 2008.

Most permits and inspections were for renovations of existing structures.

There has been an increase of renovation work in the trade zone, including Wal-Mart, TJ Max and Old Navy.  We expect an increase in new home construction this year with Toll Brothers starting up both the Morris Chase and Morris Hunt projects.

The Municipal Court saw 10,336 cases and disposed of 10,439 compared to 12,638 cases in 2008.

Department of Public Works completed storm drainage up-grades for the Country Club Estates area using a $54,000 community grant.  We continued with installation of residential water meters with an additional 58 installed in 2009.

In addition to our regular paving program we also paved Manor House by the Bridge area near Route 46 to address flooding issues.

The installation of the State mandated truck wash water recycling system has been completed.

In our continuing effort to improve the Budd Lake Beach area we installed an 8’ high fence for both safety and privacy. This year I’d like to propose we plant trees alongside the fence using funds already available in the Tree Bank Fund.

The Goldmine and Morris Chase water system interconnect has recently been completed and the residents in Goldmine Estates will begin to see an improvement in the delivery and quality of water.

We received a recycling grant from the county in the amount of $74,500 second only to Rockaway which received $77,000.

We received the Sustainable Jersey Certification; we were certified in the first year as one of only 34 towns in the state. 

We completed the energy audit and presently analyzing the data with recommendations for improvements due early this year.  

The Health Department has successfully completed its routine goals and responsibilities to assure the health and safety of Mount Olive residents and the contract communities that we serve. 

The most significant accomplishments for 2009 have been the following;

• We successfully negotiated a shared services agreement with the Borough of Wharton for a 3 year period that began on January 1st and continues through December 2012.
  
  
•  The contract will bring to the Township a $150,000 in additional revenue.
  
  
• We applied for and received a $90,000 health services grant to plan for the H1N1 Flu Pandemic and administered to the general population the H1N1 Flu vaccine.  To date, Mount Olive has vaccinated over 2,850 individuals for this virus.  This will been an ongoing and continuous endeavor into 2010.   

Mount Olive Social Services was able to alleviate the burden caused by a difficult economic year because of the kindness and generosity of residents, civic and religious organizations.

 We organized help for 51 families on Thanksgiving and distributed presents and food baskets to 78 families and individuals during the Christmas and Hanukah holidays.

It’s the little ever day things we do that go unnoticed to most but make a big difference to those in need.  With that in mind, I will dedicate all proceeds from all of the wedding ceremonies I perform in 2010 to the Mount Olive Township Food Pantry.

The current financial landscape facing not only our community, but also our nation has brought about unforeseeable circumstances and events that we would have never anticipated a few years ago. 

Our future, while still holding promise, is full of challenges that will require decisions that some may not fully understand or agree with, but must be made in the best interest of the overall community at large. 

Now is the time for strong, non-partisan leadership.  We must look to our future and prepare, so that together, we can meet the challenges and cease the opportunities which will appear before us. 

In preparation, we must as a community examine our successes and failures and design new ways to succeed moving forward.

As your mayor, I am prepared to make the difficult decisions and lead Mount Olive in a positive direction.

Thank you and happy New Year. 

David M. Scapicchio, Mayor
Mount Olive Township