Township Committee — January 26, 2026

The Township Committee’s minutes of this regular meeting, approved at its February 9 meeting, are on the Township’s Documents-On-Demand portal, linked from its Agendas/Minutes page, in the Township Committee and Board of Health minutes folder. Mayor James Schworn called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Schworn, Mr. Thomas Young, Mrs. Anna Columbus and Mr. David Owens; Mr. Brendon Beatrice was absent. Also present were Township Administrator Gregory Bonin, Township Clerk Maggie Schmitt and Township Attorney William Willard. The minutes record no members of the public, and there were no public comments, either on agenda items or in the general comment period.

Parks, Recreation and Open Space Committee ordinance

The Committee held the second reading and public hearing of Ordinance No. 2026-1506, “Ordinance amending Chapter 24 ‘Open Space Conservation’ Section 24-2 ‘Parks and Open Space Committee’, of the Municipal Code … to include duties and responsibilities pertaining to recreation programs and activities.” The ordinance, read into the minutes:

• renames the body the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Committee, to review land acquisitions and also “the adequacy of existing recreation programs” and the development of new ones;
• sets its membership: a Township Committee member, the Planning Board Chair or designee, an Environmental Commission member, the Director of Recreation, the Mayor or Mayor’s designee, the Township Administrator, and up to five members of the public appointed for one-year terms; the Mayor or designee chairs it, the Planning Board Chair or designee is Vice Chair and the Administrator is Secretary;
• keeps its open-space duties (an open space map and inventory with priority rankings, opinions on open space purchases, guidance to the Township Committee and Planning Board) and adds recreation duties, including studying the need for parks, playgrounds and programs, evaluating the Master Plan’s Open Space and Recreation Element, inventorying private recreation activities, helping the Recreation Director with funding proposals, and an annual report to the Township Committee;
• requires it to meet at least quarterly.

Mayor Schworn said the ordinance incorporates the assessment and evaluation of recreation programs into the committee’s duties. No one spoke at the public hearing. The ordinance was adopted on motion of Mrs. Columbus, seconded by Mr. Owens. Recorded vote: 4–0 (Aye: Young, Columbus, Owens, Schworn).

Consent agenda

On motion of Mrs. Columbus, seconded by Mr. Young, the Committee approved Resolutions No. 2026-44 through 2026-50. Recorded vote: 4–0 (Aye: Young, Columbus, Owens, Schworn).

• 2026-44: agreement for 2026 Somerset County residential curbside recycling
• 2026-45: 2026 escrow rates
• 2026-46 to 2026-49: personnel: a part-time administrative assistant in Code Enforcement (Mears), a Public Works park foreman (Apsley), and a part-time administrative assistant (Sorrentino) and part-time escrow manager (Sumner) in Engineering
• 2026-50: authorization to execute a first amendment to the development and affordable housing agreement with Summit Developers, LLC

Other business

Sitting as the Board of Health, the Committee approved Resolutions No. BH2026-04 and BH2026-05, shared services agreements for health education services and public health nursing services, on motion of Mr. Owens, seconded by Mrs. Columbus; all were in favor.

Mayor Schworn read commendations for Thomas Ellsworth and Lisa Vargas on their retirements after 25 years of service to the Township, and the Committee approved Resolutions No. 2026-42 and 2026-43 on motion of Mr. Owens, seconded by Mr. Young; all were in favor. The claims for payment were approved on motion of Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Owens, recorded vote: 4–0. The minutes of the January 5 reorganization meeting and the January 12 executive and regular sessions were approved.

In the Administrator’s report, Mr. Bonin thanked the Department of Public Works for its snow removal after the latest storm, said more work remained and asked residents to be patient. He reminded residents that they must clear their sidewalks within 24 hours of the last snowfall and that failing to do so could result in a fine. In liaison reports, Mr. Owens and Mrs. Columbus also thanked the DPW crew for the snow clearing, and Mayor Schworn congratulated Bill Apsley on his promotion and wished Dave Everett well in his new role. The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m.

See open space and Township land stewardship and municipal roads and traffic.

Records

• Minutes and agenda: Agendas/Minutes page of the Township’s website, which links its Documents-On-Demand portal (Township Committee and Board of Health folder)
• Meeting video on the Township’s Granicus archive