Council Considers Amending Underage Drinking Ordinance

At a Borough Council meeting on Monday, council members discussed amending a current borough ordinance that would allow police officers to enter homes of any underage individuals who are illegally consuming alcohol.

Under the current ordinance, police officers can only enter homes of individuals under the age of 17 who are illegally consuming alcohol, which has created a number of problems for the New Providence Police Department.

“What that’s done to us is make it even more difficult to enforce the underage possession of alcohol,” said Chief of Police Anthony D. Buccelli. “It’s not something we go and look for, but usually we get a call that there’s a loud party going on at that location and the law enforcement action is to [take] the juveniles [aged 17 and under] to their parents.”

But for those individuals aged 18 to 20, there’s not much the police can do.

“Currently, possessing alcohol on private property under the age of 21 is not a violation and is not something we can enforce,” said Deputy Chief Scott Torre. “Where the problem arises is when our officers respond to a house and it’s a full blown, out-of-control party and we walk up to the front door and we can see there’s stuff going on inside the house and we ask to enter the house and check on the welfare [of those inside, but aren't permitted entrance inside].”

Torre noted that in 2000, the state passed legislation enabling municipalities around the state to pass an ordinance that would be more restrictive that the state statute on the underage possession of alcohol on private property.

Although such an ordinance is in place in New Providence, it does not allow police to enforce the borough ordinance for individuals aged 18 to 20, which the NPPD is trying to amend as it is both a safety and law enforcement issue.

Torre recalled a house party last year where one parent was present, but officers were not permitted to enter the house. If it wasn’t for a couple of individuals at the party acting responsibly, one young individual could have died.

“A couple of kids that were responsible came down and spoke to the officers and said, ‘you know, there’s a young girl in the basement that’s throwing up, she’s passed out and she hasn’t been awake for several hours, and we’re concerned about her welfare,’” Torre said. “Our officers entered that house under a community care taking exception to the warrant requirement and found this person, passed out in the basement, in need of medical help. She may have died… had those kids not been responsible.”

Torre said with this amended ordinance, police would be able to gain entrance to any home where there is underage drinking and ensure the welfare and safety of those inside.

New Providence would not be the first to enact such an ordinance in the state. Out of 566 municipalities in New Jersey, 454 responded to a survey sent out by the borough. A total of 305 municipalities were found to have such an ordinance already in place, including the neighboring communities of Summit, Chatham, Berkeley Heights and Mountainside.

To make matters more complicated, many young individuals in the area know that New Providence does not enforce the underage possession of alcohol for individuals aged 18 to 20 on private property.

“Currently, we’re the only town in this area that doesn’t have it and the kids know it,” Torre said. “We did many presentations where the kids would … joke around about it and say ‘yeah, we’re the only town where you can’t come in the house.’”

If the borough amended this ordinance to include anyone aged 18 to 20, Torre said those individuals could be issued a borough ordinance violation, similar to a motor vehicle summons, which would not effect their future application to a college or eventually for a job, but would include a fine.

A few council members asked why all age groups were not included in the initial ordinance.

Councilman Armand Galluccio said he recalls that at the time, there were a few council members concerned with including all ages under 21 in the ordinance.

“Their concern was well, you’re 18, you’re off to college, you’re 18, you can go off to war, which is true. But again, the law is you have to be 21 to drink,” Galluccio said. “That was one of the concerns. To me, that wasn’t a concern. Being on the Municipal Alliance and being a former liaison, I also wanted it to be 21. But again, as Tracy [Beckerman of the Municipal Alliance] was saying, at least we had something to start with and go from there, and hopefully we can get it changed to include 18, 19 and 20 year olds.”

But Councilman Vince Vyzas voiced his concerns about including all age groups in the ordinance, as it may have an effect on privacy rights.

“Our forefathers came forth and gave us some rights, specifically rights to privacy and the sanctity of a home, too,” Vyzas said. “There are some issues we have to consider. Obviously, there are some community care issues, there’s safety issues.”

When Mayor J. Brooke Hern asked if there are any constitutional issues with such an ordinance, Borough Attorney Carl Woodward said, “I’m not aware of any court decision that has said such an ordinance is unconstitutional or the underlying statute from the legislature that was adopted is unconstitutional.”

Although Hern wanted a council vote on amending this ordinance, it will be placed on the next meeting agenda. Both Torre and Buccelli will be available at the meeting to answer any further questions from the council and questions from the public.

Emergency Generator Update

The council further discussed the placement of a new emergency generator, which would provide power for the Municipal Center and the Rescue Squad, with Buccelli and Borough Engineer Andrew Hipolit at the meeting on Monday.

At the Feb. 28 meeting, Buccelli explained that the borough installed a new generator following a major snow storm in February of 2001, but the transfer switch was never changed along with it. Although the generator works fine, it can only power certain portions of the police station.

At that meeting, concerns were raised by council members that a new generator will be loud and discourage people from living in the area. But Hipolit said it is essential to place it in-between the Municipal Center and the Rescue Squad so it can allocate power to both equally.

The estimated cost for a new generator is $300,000, with another few hundred dollars in maintenance costs over the course of a year.

At Monday’s meeting, Councilman James Cucco voiced his concerns with spending so much on a new generator if there is an option of still utilizing the old generator.

“It seems to me that we’re talking about spending $300,000 so we can get electricity and an elevator working in this building when the main thrust was to provide for people in an emergency situation. And in that situation, the gym doesn’t have air conditioning. The numbers to me sound astronomical,” Cucco said. “I’m just a little puzzled why we continue talking about this $300,000 and to me, it doesn’t make sense to spend it just because it’s in the budget.”

Buccelli said right now, the transfer switch for the generator is old, the ventilation has never been upgraded and should have been ten years ago, and the generator should be moved outside.

“We’ve entered into an agreement with the Red Cross to use this as a regional shelter as well,” Buccelli said. “At the last meeting… I explained what our needs were from an emergency management standpoint and to do nothing is not a good option. So we need to do something because of the age of my transfer switch, because of a generator that is not enclosed and our own ordinance says we are violating the ordinance with the amount of decibels that generator is running on now.”

After much discussion among Hipolit, Buccelli and council members, Council President Michael Gennaro said it was clear that there were two options on the table.

“Either we go ahead with it as designed or we follow Mr. Cucco’s advice and consider using the current generator,” Gennaro said. “But I would suggest taking that generator and not just putting it outside, but moving it to where we are talking about putting the new generator and seeing what we would have to change circuit-wise in this building, to be able to handle it, and make sure it can handle the Rescue Squad and portions of this building that we want it to handle.

“I would ask for the council to provide some direction,” Gennaro later said. “This is going to require some work in the expenditure of funds on Andy's firm and I would think we would want a proposal from Andy telling us what that’s going to cost.”

Hipolit agreed to have a proposal ready for review and discussion by council members for the April 11 meeting.

Council Creates the Department of Planning and Development

The council approved Ordinance 2011-2, creating the Department of Planning and Development, by a 5-1 vote. Cucco was the only council member to vote against the ordinance.

After much debate at the last few council meetings, the ordinance was introduced at the Feb. 28 council meeting. All council members voted in favor except for Cucco, who voiced his opposition to the ordinance in previous meetings. Councilman Armand Galluccio was absent from the Feb. 28 meeting.

The department will consolidate the Engineering and Construction Departments, and provide supervision over the divisions of engineering and code enforcement. It will also attend to the administrative needs of the Zoning and Planning Boards.

Proclamations

Hern made a few proclamations at the council meeting on Monday, including March as American Red Cross Month and March 20-26 as National Poison Prevention Week.

Hern also congratulated Leon Drone for his many years of dedicated service to New Providence.

Drone was a volunteer coach for boy’s baseball and girls’ softball with New Providence Recreation, as well as a referee for boys’ and girls’ basketball, an umpire for girls’ softball, mens’ softball and womens’ softball, as well as manager of Basketball Fundamentals and a coordinator of youth basketball leagues, Hern said.

Drone has been a volunteer at Our Lady of Peace Church for more than thirty years. His time was spent as the Finance Chair for the County Fair and he currently serves as the Chair of the Church’s Finance Council, Hern said.

In the proclamation, Hern stated, “Leon has demonstrated his integrity, fairness, work ethic and sportsmanship to countless young athletes, parents, and coaches he has interacted with over the years.” Hern congratulated Drone for “his many years of outstanding service to the community, and especially for his tireless work with the youth.”

Appointments

Hern appointed the following individuals to the Diversity Committee:

• Barbara Babcock
• Abby Dragos
• Rabbi Gershon
• Glen Herrigel
• Peggy Hodgkins
• Peter Lederman
• Pastor MacPherson
• Pat Moschetti
• Harb Nayar
• Leo Piovano
• Beverly Rivkees

Council President Michael Gennaro was appointed as the Council Liaison to the Diversity Committee, with Councilman Robert Munoz as the backup liaison.

Munoz was also appointed as the Council Liaison to the Board of Education.