Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the regularly scheduled Borough Council meeting was moved to Tuesday, May 26th. The agenda was fairly uneventful, except for the hiring of a new part-time administrative professional to help in the Borough office. This is great news to see staffing increasing, which will no doubt provide better support to residents visiting Borough Hall.

Councilman Lukac and Councilwoman Puia were both absent for this meeting.

After the business of approving Resolutions, the Council moved into committee reports. Mayor Richard Onderko spoke first, and he used his time to cover multiple items he has raised before. He said he had a lot of things on his mind and that "there is a lot of things that are still outstanding in this Borough that I want to get a feel for as to where we stand".

Mayor Onderko covered a large number of topics which didn't seem fitting for a Council meeting update, as they all seemed to be directed at Business Administrator Siboni. The topics and questions he asked seemed better suited to take place in a committee or administrative level meeting, and something that he as Mayor should be actively engaged and aware of.

It was surprising to see the number of in his words - "urgent" - issues related to the Borough that he did not appear to have any direct knowledge of their status. One might ask themselves if this was more about catching someone not doing their job, versus getting a progress status report.

Library Roof

Mayor Onderko started his remarks by telling those assembled that he "didn't sleep very well" worrying about the library roof leaking due to all the rain received over the Memorial Day weekend. The Mayor said that DPW Director Watkins confirmed that ceiling tiles in the library did fall due to the rain.

The Mayor asked where we are in fixing this problem. "We have a grant ready to go and the bids were prepared. Have we gone out to bid on the library roof for the pipe inspection? Does anyone know?"

Business Administrator Siboni spoke to say that Manville has not gone out to bid yet, as the original specifications had to be altered to separate the bids which are currently being worked on by the Borough Engineer. According to Administrator Siboni, the plan is to go out for the first portion which is the camera inspection, and once that is complete, the bid will go out for repairs based on how much money is left over.

The Mayor stated we cannot live with a leaky roof at the library, and he pressed that there needs to be an extreme sense of urgency to get the problem resolved. The Mayor's voice started to get a bit louder, and you could feel his annoyance as he spoke.

High School Turf Field

The next item was an issue in his neighborhood which he referred to as the "MHS stormwater turf drainage problem". The Mayor feels the school district did not take into account the amount of additional impervious coverage when the turf field was installed as well as the increased impact to the stormwater system.

According to the Mayor, we have "an umm limited opportunity between July and August to get this work done" and he again asked if that work effort went out to bid.

BA Siboni spoke to say it had not yet gone out to bid, but that they received confirmation from the CFO for the fund allocation for the project, and they had worked through a plan last week to advertise for the bid opening on June 17th.

The Mayor did not appear happy at hearing the June 17th date, and he asked BA Siboni how long into July this would go. She clarified that the advertisement would go out this week, and bids would be due by and reviewed on June 17th.

Mayor Onderko added that when there are downpours with intense rainfall, "Cedar Street by the High School gym goes under 5 feet of water, if you can believe that, and then the water actually goes up into people's basements".

According to the Mayor, funding is ready to go, as they have "a capital expenditure of $100,000 to cover the new configuration of the pipes there that will improve the flow of the water to get the water to the river and not into people's basements".

The Mayor said he is taking "a lot of heat" from residents in the neighborhood that they cannot leave their cars parked in front of their homes. He said this has been on going on since Ida, and we need a "sense of urgency here".

American Legion Embankment Restoration

The next item he raised was the American Legion embankment restoration. When Ida hit, he explained, it washed out their driveway and parking lot. Mayor Onderko stated they have a FEMA grant, and that NJDEP has approved the wetlands permit. Again, he asked "how do we get his work going," and he raised concerns hoping the grant timeframe doesn't expire. He asked for answers at the next Council meeting.

Business Administrator Siboni spoke up to provide an update. She stated she met with the Borough Engineer last week to go through all the outstanding projects. An extension was requested on the FMEA grant so they have not lost any funding, but "soft costs" of $80,000 are not included in the grant.

Colorado Avenue

The Mayor then brought up Colorado Ave and the closure since Ida. He stated he was not in favor of the road closure because "it's been a road that's been open in our Borough forever". He again asked where that one stands, and that a FMEA grant could be utilized to restore that roadway. "We have the money to fix it, and I'm just not sure what, what's taken so long."

Administrator Siboni spoke up and confirmed it was a FMEA grant, and that the grant funding was extended by Manville's OEM Director. BA Siboni indicated that a proposal was submitted from Van Cleef in June 2025 for the remainder of the project, but again there appear to be additional "professional costs" of $80,000 that are not included in the grant.

Mayor Onderko immediately questioned the $80,000 in "soft costs" saying he did not understand what is so expensive. "We need to get our engineer here and have him explain how many hours of work he's gonna do for $80,000 of soft costs," his voice clearly showing signs of annoyance.

Other Remarks

His next item where he was "not given an update" was on the codification of Manville's administrative ordinances. "We need to get these ordinances codified and online," Again, turning to BA Siboni for an update. "It will absolutely be completed this year, Mayor" was her response, and she provided some additional details on the process.

The Mayor continued to outline items as he was not sure where they stand: an open liquor license that was supposed to go up or sale, and the new resident welcome packet which he called "outdated". Again, BA Siboni provided the most current status.

Mayor Onderko at this point was visibly angry when he spoke about people moving into town breaking the rules, converting single family homes into two-family homes, and not knowing we have Ordinances. He indicated he was "frustrated" because he is "getting a lot of complaints", his voice raised and sounding angrier as he pressed the urgency of this item as well.

The Mayor wrapped up his comments by thanking the VFW and indicating he was excited about scholarship night at the High School.

The remainder of the meeting was uneventful. There was a closed session which lasted just under an hour, and no action was taken. The meeting was adjourned.

The next meeting of the Mayor and Council is Monday, June 8th, at 7pm.