MILLSTONE – No recommendations for corrective action were made in the 2017 municipal audit of Millstone Township.
At a Township Committee meeting on July 5, committee members passed a resolution adopting the audit. Under state law, the governing body of every municipality must have an annual audit of its books, accounts and financial transactions. The municipal audit was conducted by Holman Frenia Allison, P.C.
According to the resolution, the audit contains no recommendations and because no recommendations were made, officials were not required to prepare a corrective action plan.
By passing the resolution, the committee certified to the state Local Finance Board that all members of the governing body had reviewed, as a minimum, the sections of the annual audit entitled “General Comments and Recommendations.”
In other business, committee members passed a resolution authorizing a shared services agreement between the township and the Millstone Township K-8 School District Board of Education for maintenance services for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and for electric.
According to the resolution, the agreement was authorized because the township has the need for HVAC and electrical maintenance services to be provided to facilities owned by the township and the Board of Education wishes to assist and cooperate with the township to meet that need. The agreement is effective from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.
The committee also passed resolutions granting two-year mining permits to Stavola Realty Company and Preston Pit Inc./Preston Pit II (formerly Sahara Sands). Both permits are effective from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020.
According to the resolution granting a permit to Stavola Realty Company, mining at the site resumed in 2017 after the site had not been mined since 2002. Approximately 40,000 cubic yards of material has been removed since 2017 and approximately 175,000 yards of material remain on the site for removal.
Vehicles transporting mine material for Stavola Realty Company are only permitted to travel west on Back Bone Hill Road to Schoolhouse Road and south on Schoolhouse Road to Stagecoach Road. Vehicles transporting mine material for Preston Pit are only permitted to turn left onto Sweetmans Lane and travel east to Route 527.
The operator of each mine is required to contact the New Jersey State Police, which provides police services to Millstone, and authorize enforcement of no trespassing provisions. The operator of each mine must also agree to prosecute all signed complaints.
Finally, committee members passed a resolution granting a six-month extension to the current mining permit of Buck Mining and Materials Inc. The extension to the permit, which expired on June 30, will be effective until Dec. 31. The extension was granted so the firm may receive Freehold Soil Conservation approval.
