BY SHERRY CONOHAN
Staff Writer
SHREWSBURY — Constance Lauffer is resigning as borough administrator, effective Nov. 14.
Lauffer, who came aboard as borough administrator Jan. 7, 2002, submitted her resignation at the Oct. 7 Borough Council meeting. She said she has become engaged to be married and is moving to St. Michael’s, Md.
Mayor Emilia M. Siciliano congratulated Lauffer and wished her well.
"You brought a sense of civility to this group," the mayor said.
"It’s been a very positive experience" Lauffer responded. "This is a lovely, lovely town and a wonderful place to work."
Lauffer, a Red Bank resident, had formerly been business administrator in Manchester.
"My daughter got married and I got engaged," she said after the meeting.
Siciliano instructed Lauffer to begin the search for her successor.
Under an ordinance introduced at the meeting, the hours of retail liquor sales on Sunday will be expanded to 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The hours currently are noon to 5 p.m. A public hearing will be held at the Oct. 20 council meeting.
The proposed ordinance also increases the cost of liquor licenses by $100 to $1,100 for a plenary retail consumption license and $900 for a plenary retail distribution license.
The rise in liquor license fees was not the only increase in permit costs proposed. Another ordinance was introduced to raise the fee for a cat license. The fee for a license for an unneutered cat goes up from $10 to $13, while the fee for a neutered cat goes up from $7 to $10. A public hearing was set for Oct. 20.
The council also gave final approval to ordinances raising license fees for dogs, kennels, pet shops, businesses as well as for fire code inspection fees.
Dog licenses will now be $10.80, except for guide dogs, whose owners are not required to pay any fee for a license.
The license fee for kennels and pet shops went up from $75 and $85, respectively, to $100 each. There is no fee for nonprofit shelters.
The license for a business will now cost $100, plus $25 for each vending machine or electronic or mechanical amusement device on the premises.
The increases in fire code inspection fees vary with the square footage of the building and are in keeping with an increase in fees of the Department of Community Affairs.
In other action, the council awarded a contract for improvements to the Patterson Avenue ballfields to Silagy Landscaping Inc., of Edison, the low bidder at $129,100. Lauffer said the improvements to the ballfields would begin after the Henry Street improvements and the Patterson Avenue sidewalks are completed, expected by the end of this week.
The council also awarded a contract for $11,230.54 to Timmerman Co., of Whitehouse, for emergency repairs to the 4-year-old Elgin street sweeper. Timmerman is the only authorized repair facility in the state that is recognized by Elgin, according to the resolution passed by the council.
During council member reports, Councilman Donald Burden noted that with the advent of all-day kindergarten this year, kindergarten enrollment went up to 560 from 548 students last year.