During the Monday, February 5, Township Council meeting, Captain John Drumm was honored by the Council. Drumm retired at the end of January after working more than 34 years with the Livingston Police Department. February 5, 2024, was named John Drumm Day in his honor.Each member of the Council, township manager Barry Lewis, deputy township manager Russ Jones, and township attorney Jarrid Kantor all spoke fondly of Drumm, saying that he was a friend and that the Livingston community would miss him.Chief of Police Gary Marshuetz called Drumm a brother over the past five years. In September of 2018, he was sworn in as chief at the same time that Drumm was named captain along with Tom Smith, who will also retire from the department in a few months. Marshuetz noted that it was a pivotal time for the department, citing challenges in recent years that have included the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, which put the Livingston community on high alert; dangerous flooding; and navigating the COVID pandemic.“It was fate that three humble individuals just happened to take the reins at that point in time,” Chief Marshuetz said. “We worked together as a team and I’ll be indebted to (Captain Drumm) forever.”Ordinance PassesThe Council passed an ordinance to amend the township code to establish re-inspection fees for any limited food establishment, public eating establishment or food establishment identified in Section D (1), D (2) or D (3). The first re-inspection will be $75 and subsequent re-inspections will be $150. Council member Ketan Bhuptani, who was sworn in earlier in the meeting but was not present when the ordinance was first introduced, abstained from the vote; the other four members approved it unanimously.Ordinances IntroducedThe Livingston Township Council introduced five new ordinances during the meeting.The first ordinance would amend the township code on streets and sidewalks by adding verbiage regarding damage to structures and improvements within the right of way.Under the ordinance, neither the Township of Livingston nor its contractors would be responsible for the replacement or repair of any damage caused by public maintenance, repair or improvement activities to private structures or improvements placed within the public right-ofways, including fences, retaining or decorative walls, landscaping, sprinkler pipes or heads, lamp posts or lighting, and private electrical conduits, as well as improperly installed mailboxes. An exception would be made for “legally placed” mailboxes.Another ordinance would designate as stop intersections the intersection ...
