MANVILLE: Donation bins coming under council scrutiny

By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
   In an effort to comply with a state move to monitor charitable clothing bins in municipalities, Borough Attorney Francis Linnus offered a draft of an ordinance last week that, if introduced and approved at later dates, will allow the borough to regulate the collection bins.
   According to Mr. Linnus, in a separate interview, recently-considered state legislation requires all municipalities to pass an ordinance regulating the bins.
   ”This is a disclosure kind of ordinance to make sure they really are charitable,” he said.
   Borough Administrator Gary Garwacke said the state introduced this mandate, which is expected to come into effect in March, in order to keep track of these charitable bins that have been “popping up” in New Jersey municipalities.
   ”People had problems about whether they were really charitable,” he said, noting that some of the bins did not have a charity name, phone number or address, all of which are now being required by the state. “No one knew who to call with any problems.”
   In addition, Mr. Garwacke said, there was a problem with garbage being dumped outside the bins that were never maintained.
   Now, with the state mandate, each municipality will have an ordinance, allowing it to regulate what charities have bins and ensure they are being kept clean.
   Through an application process, Mr. Linnus said, a company wishing to place a bin in town will have to provide information about the charity organization, and other pertinent facts. The application will then be sent to the borough engineer and must receive approval from the Borough Council before a license can be issued for the bin.
   This application process, Mr. Linnus said at the meeting, allows the borough to judge location for it, in comparison with already existing bins.
   The ordinance, if it is introduced Mr. Linnus said, can also serve as a zoning regulation to determine the best places for the clothing bins.
   ”Up until now, the bins have been deemed for accessory use in nonresidential zones,” he said. This ordinance, he said, could change that. “We may want to look at zoning opportunities to place them elsewhere, but that would be a policy decision by the Borough Council and the Planning Board.”
   Currently, Mr. Garwacke said, the borough has one bin in the Chester House Bar & Grill parking lot, on North Main Street, and another at Rhythms of the Night, on South Main Street.
   ”These are both well-maintained, with no reports of problems,” he said.
   According to the ordinance, each bin will cost a licensee $25, and they can only be up for a certain amount of time, as designated by the permit.
   Councilman Ed Komoroski questioned at the meeting whether the council could limit the amount of bins being placed around town, or if they could limit the time for the bins to about four months each.
   ”I would rather see limited locations and a better turnover rate,” he said. “If we mandated for every four months, there wouldn’t be as many around town.”
   Mr. Garwacke said, however, that allowing for a shorter turnaround would make the bins more difficult to keep track of because there would be more around. He said they need to be taken care of on a yearly basis.
   As for any violations of the permit, Mr. Linnus said, licensees would have 45 days to correct any problems before the bin is actually removed from its location.
   ”Then the items inside would be auctioned off or tossed,” he said.
   In addition, Mr. Linnus said, the state mandates that the Borough Council has the authority to charge up to $20,000 for each penalty by a licensee. The penalty would have to be presented either in municipal court or State Supreme Court, he said.
   Because the ordinance has not been officially introduced, Mr. Linnus said, Borough Council members could suggest changes to it at this point.
   Once in affect, the ordinance will simply serve as a way to regulate these bins through a permit, probably on a yearly basis.
   ”This ordinance ensures permission from the town,” Mr. Garwacke said.