§ 184-19. Meetings.

The following provisions shall apply to the meetings of the Board.

A. 

Schedule of meetings; special meetings.

(1) 

The Board shall by its rules fix the time and place for holding its regular meetings. Regular meetings of the Board shall be scheduled not less than once a month and shall be held as scheduled unless canceled for lack of applications for development to process. The schedule of meetings shall be filed with the Borough Clerk, posted upon the Borough bulletin board, and sent to two newspapers with circulation in the Borough, one which shall be the official newspaper of the Borough.

(2) 

The Board may provide for special meetings, at the call of the Chair, or at the request of any two of its members.

B. 

Meetings open to public; executive sessions.

(1) 

All regular meetings and special meetings shall be open to the public except to the extent that the public may be excluded from any such meeting or portion thereof in accordance with requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act.

(2) 

Meetings shall be held on notice to the Board members and the public in accordance with this chapter and the Open Public Meetings Act.

(3) 

Executive sessions within the meaning of the Open Public Meetings Act and for the purpose of that Act are permitted.

(4) 

The "executive sessions", as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-9(b) for the purpose of discussing and studying any matters to come before the Board, shall take place at an agenda meeting and shall be open to the public.

(5) 

No formal action can be taken in an executive or agenda session unless formal notice has been given in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

C. 

Quorum; conflict of interest. No action shall be taken at any meeting without a quorum being present. No regular, alternate or temporary member shall be permitted to act on any matter in which he or she has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or financial interest.

D. 

Majority vote required. All actions shall be taken by a majority vote of the members of the Board present at the meeting, except as otherwise provided by this chapter and the Municipal Land Use Law. For actions requiring an affirmative vote of five or more, see N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70.

E. 

Participation of alternate members. Alternate members may participate in all matters but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member of any class. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 shall vote in that order. Participation of alternate members shall not be deemed to increase the size of the Board established by this chapter.

F. 

Minutes.

(1) 

Minutes of every meeting of the Board shall be kept and shall include the names of the persons appearing and addressing the Board and of the person appearing by attorney, the action taken by the Board, the findings, if any, made by it and reasons therefor, and any other resolutions or business to come before the Board. The minutes shall thereafter be available for public inspection during normal business hours in the administrative offices of the Borough after their approval by the Board.

(2) 

Any interested party shall have the right to compel production of the minutes for use as evidence in any legal proceedings concerning the subject matter of such minutes. Such interested party may be charged a reasonable fee for reproduction of the minutes for his or her use. All actions taken by the Board shall require a formal written resolution of memorialization which shall be part of the minutes of that meeting.

(3) 

A copy of all minutes shall be filed at the Fanwood Memorial Library to facilitate public inspection during those hours when the Fanwood Borough Hall is closed.

G. 

Transcripts of hearings. Pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law, the Board shall provide one of the following for each hearing:

(1) 

An electronic recording of the hearing and any discussions relating to the application leading to a decision by the Board. This recording shall be reduced to typewritten form.

(2) 

A stenographic court reporter who shall transcribe verbatim the hearing and any discussion relating to the application leading to a decision by the Board. This transcript shall not be reduced to typewritten form unless requested. The cost of producing the transcript to typewritten form shall be borne by the applicant and shall be ordered directly from the court reporter and the cost paid directly to the court reporter.