There is hereby established a History Advisory Committee. The History Advisory Committee shall be made up of seven members, all of which shall be residents of the Borough of Metuchen. Each member's term of office shall be for a period of three years on a staggering basis. The initial appointment of its seven members shall be as follows: two members for a term of three years; three members for a term of two years and two members for a term of one year, all of which shall expire on December 31st of the respective term. Thereafter, the term of its members shall be for a period of three years.
[Adopted 4-28-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-07]
The Mayor shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Borough Council, appoint all members of the Committee. The Borough Council liaison shall be annually selected by the Borough Council at the reorganization meeting of the Borough held in January of each year. The members of the Committee shall annually select one of its members as Chairperson. Vacancies occurring on the Committee otherwise than by expiration of their term of office shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term in the same manner as an original appointment. A vacancy shall exist in the event that a member fails to attend and participate in or at Committee meetings for a period of eight consecutive weeks without being excused by a majority of the Committee members at the conclusion of such period, provided, however, that the Committee may refuse to excuse only with respect to those failures to attend and participate which are not due to legitimate illness. The Committee shall promptly advise the Mayor and Council upon a vacancy in its membership.
The Committee shall have the following powers and duties:
A.
To establish, amend, and supplement its own bylaws to the extent not inconsistent with this article nor with any other municipal, state or federal regulation or law. The Committee shall schedule and meet after advanced written notice to the Borough Clerk, as decided by the Committee and as may be directed by the Mayor and Council;
B.
To advise the Mayor and Borough Council regarding matters of historic significance to the Borough;
C.
Foster the historic heritage of the Borough by encouraging the preservation of resources within the Borough which reflect elements of its cultural, social, economic and architectural history;
D.
Encourage and conduct historic and genealogical research and create resources to be approved by the Borough Administration for print and on-line publication so that residents may learn more about the history of the community;
E.
Seek to coordinate, assist and unify the efforts of public and private agencies and organizations of local, state and national scope in accord with the purposes of this article;
F.
Recommend content for the Borough website and publications;
G.
Upon notice and written approval of the Mayor and Council to seek and apply for grants and outside public funding to enhance history-related programming within the Borough;
H.
To make a written annual report to the Mayor and Council detailing its activities for the previous year and to make presentations before the Mayor and Council at such time as the Mayor and/or Council shall request;
I.
Carry out other such duties and responsibilities as may be assigned from time to time by the Mayor and/or Borough Council;
J.
The Committee shall be advisory in nature; it nor its members have the authority to contract, bind or act on behalf of the Borough of Metuchen. Its sole function is to assist the Mayor, Council and Administration of the Borough of Metuchen in matters provided for above in the Borough of Metuchen.