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Year | Resolution Number | File |
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2019 | 19-01 | Download |
2020 | 20-18 | Download |
2020 | 20-13 | Download |
2020 | 20-14 | Download |
2020 | 20-17 | Download |
2020 | 20-19 | Download |
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2020 | 20-21 | Download |
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2017 | 17-05 | Download |
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2019 | 19-06 | Download |
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2019 | 19-02 | Download |
2019 | 19-11 | Download |
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2019 | 19-25 | Download |
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2019 | 19-30 | Download |
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2019 | 19-35 | Download |
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2019 | 19-37 | Download |
2017 | 17-01 | Download |
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2017 | 17-03 | Download |
2021 | 21-16 | Download |
2021 | 21-01 | Download |
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Year | Month | Description | File |
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2019 | January | January Agenda | Download |
2019 | February | February Agenda | Download |
2019 | March | March Agenda | Download |
2019 | April | April Agenda | Download |
2019 | May | May Agenda | Download |
2019 | June | June Agenda | Download |
2019 | July | July Agenda | Download |
2019 | August | August Agenda | Download |
2019 | September | September Agenda | Download |
2019 | October | October Agenda | Download |
2019 | November | November Agenda | Download |
2020 | January | January Agenda | Download |
2020 | February | February Agenda | Download |
2020 | March | March Agenda | Download |
2020 | April | April Agenda | Download |
2020 | May | May Agenda | Download |
2020 | June | June Agenda | Download |
2020 | September | September Agenda | Download |
2020 | August | August Agenda | Download |
2020 | July | July Agenda | Download |
2020 | October | October Agenda | Download |
2020 | December | 2020 December Agenda | Download |
2021 | February | February Agenda | Download |
2021 | January | January Agenda | Download |
2021 | March | March Agenda | Download |
2021 | April | April Agenda | Download |
Mission StatementHopewell Borough Fire District No. 1 is an autonomous entity responsible for providing fire protection and extinguishing fires within the geographic boundaries of the fire district, in general the Borough of Hopewell, Mercer County, New Jersey. The Fire District is funded through a fire tax and governed by a five member Board of Fire Commissioners. Its mission is to protect life, property and the environment from damage due to fire and environmental emergencies in our district, and to assist neighboring communities in their mission to do the same. The Fire District's administrative office is located in the Hopewell Fire Department firehouse in Hopewell, New Jersey.If you wish to send correspondence, please send it to: Hopewell Borough Fire District No. 1 Attn: Board of Fire Commissioners PO Box 141 Hopewell, New Jersey 08525 |
Election April 20, 2021 2 PM to 9 PM
NOTICE OF ELECTION
HOPEWELL BOROUGH FIRE DISTRICT NO. 1
The annual election and budget referendum for the Board of Fire Commissioners, Hopewell Borough Fire District No. 1, will be held on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department firehouse, 4 Columbia Avenue in Hopewell, NJ. Polls will be open from 2p.m. to 9 p.m. Mail-In ballots may be obtained from the Mercer County Clerk after March 22, 2021. Written requests for Mail-In ballots must be received by the Mercer County Clerk, 209 So. Broad Street, PO Box 8068, Trenton, NJ 08650, telephone (609) 989-6464, anytime not less than seven days before the election, or ballots may be obtained in person up to 3:00 p.m. on the day before the election.
BOFC Meeting Calendar
BOFC Public Meetings
Pursuant to the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Law, in
December, 2020, the Board of Fire Commissioners of Hopewell Borough Fire
District No.1 designated the following regular monthly meeting dates and
special or work session dates (second meeting date for each month) for the
year 2021 and January, 2022:
All meetings commence at 7:00 p.m. and will be held on:
January 13,27 July 14,28
February 10,24 August 11,25
March 10,24 September 8,22
April 14,28 October 13,27
May 12,26 November 10,24
June 9,23 December 8,22
January 12,26 2022
Until the declared COVID-19 Public Health Emergency is cancelled and until
further notice, all public meetings of the Board of Fire Commissioners
will be conducted remotely as telephonic and virtual meetings via Google
Meet. When in-person public meetings resume, room capacity and/or other
restrictions pursuant to federal and/or state guidelines will be followed
and the board may employ a hybrid public meeting format. This Notice will
be updated at such time.
Electronic sign-in for each meeting is
https://meet.google.com/aem-snde-hba
For telephonic participation dial
1-954-241-3223
Pin: 194853709#
The information on how to participate in a meeting, as well as available relevant
documents for each meeting and the board’s Standard Procedures and Requirements
for Public Comment Made During or Submitted Prior to a Remote or Hybrid Public
Meeting will also be available on the board’s link (BOFC) at www.hopewellfire.com
Members of the public may make public comment by audio, or by audio and video
during the Public Comment period of a meeting. Public comments and questions may
also be made in advance of any meeting by submitting an e-mail to
hvarrasse@hopewellfire.com by 10 a.m. on the day of the meeting or in written
letter form mailed to the Secretary, Board of Fire Commissioners, at PO Box 141,
Hopewell NJ 08525 and received in the post box by 4:00 p.m. on the day before the
meeting. Any timely question or comment submitted will be read aloud and
addressed in the Public Comment period of the meeting. Questions or comments
received after the stated times will not be read aloud or included in the Public
Comment period.
At each meeting the board will conduct all business to come before it and/or as
needed or desirable for the continuing operation of the fire district. Formal
action of the board may be taken and an executive (closed) session may follow a
meeting if necessary.
Roll call Yes No Absent Abstain
Chairman Morehouse X
Commissioner Bovenizer X
Commissioner Davies X
Commissioner Evans X
Commissioner Myers X
Greg Davies
Secretary of the Board
Our Commissioners
-
Greg Davies
Commissioner
Something about the person -
Mark Bovenizer
Commissioner
After graduating HVCHS in 1989 Mark received his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance with a minor in German at Lehigh University. He Lived in Princeton and started his first retail business before moving to Hopewell Borough in 2006. He has been a commissioner for the last decade. -
Mel Myers
Commissioner
Mel Myers About -
Paul Evans
Commissioner
Paul Evans About -
Schuyler Morehouse
Commissioner
Schuyler Morehouse About
Greg Davies
Commissioner
Greg Davies | |
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About |

Mark Bovenizer
Commissioner
Mel Myers
Commissioner
Mel Myers | |
![]() |
About |
Paul Evans
Commissioner
Paul Evans | |
![]() |
About |
Schuyler Morehouse
Commissioner
Schuyler Morehouse | |
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About |

Founding of the Fire Commissioners
Ben Franklin is quite often considered the First American Fire Chief, but he also was known as an early pioneer of American Fire Insurance, which was already well established overseas in England. Many rumors exist about Fire Departments that would not extinguish fires in places that were not insured or display insurance placards (called firemarks) on their homes. Rumors also surfaced that firefighters worked more quickly on homes that were insured. While most of these tales are fictitious, there is some truth to some myths, as many of the firemen worked for Franklin and other insurance companies. Insurance companies still play a large part in Fire Services since the typical home insurance premiums quite often depend on the fire services and infrastructure a municipality has. The creation of the fire tax was created to offset this cost to meet the requirements of insurance companies and citizen needs around the country.1
From its creation in 1911, until the mid 1980’s, The Hopewell Fire Department depended upon donations from residents and various fund raising activities to finance the volunteer fire department’s activities. On occasion, large donations and grants from individuals, estates and major business enterprises also made it possible for the volunteer fire department to acquire needed fire fighting units. Soliciting needed donations “door to door” was a major time consuming effort requiring up to six months of effort each year.
By the 1980’s these efforts became insufficient to ensure that the long term needs of the volunteer fire department could be met and therefore the voters of Hopewell Borough approved a referendum to establish a municipal “Board of Fire Commissioners”. The Board consists of five elected, unpaid members who must be residents of the Borough and serve three year terms.
Every year, two seats on the Board are up for a public election, which is conducted on the third Saturday of every February pursuant to state law. Every third year, only one seat on the Board is up for election. The Board of Fire Commissioners establishes a proposed fire district budget which is submitted for approval by the voters of Hopewell Borough. Also on the third Saturday of February, every year pursuant to state law, a “temporary budget”, not to exceed fourteen percent of the proposed budget, is allowed under state law until a final budget is approved by the voters. The temporary budget exists because the annual budget for the Fire District is on a calendar year basis, i.e. January through December, and operating funds are needed prior to the February budget vote.
Upon approval of the annual budget, a fire district tax is calculated and included in the quarterly tax bills, which the Borough of Hopewell submits to all property owners. The Borough subsequently makes distribution of the fire district tax collected to the Board of Fire Commissioners in a percentage and on dates as prescribed by state law.
The Hopewell Borough Board of Fire Commissioners have an established an agreement with the Hopewell Township Board of Fire Commissioners whereby the Township Board has agreed to reimburse the Hopewell Board for seventy percent of the Hopewell Board’s annual operational and capital budget. This is because it was determined that seventy percent of the fire and emergency medical calls to which the volunteer Hopewell Fire Department and Emergency Medical Unit responds are within the boundaries of the Township of Hopewell. Accordingly the fire district tax levy paid by the property owners in Hopewell Borough is only thirty percent of the total annual fire district budget.
1. Shea, R. M. (2014, March). AMERICAN FIRE MARKS - A GOOD STORY. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from https://firemarkcircle.org/images/files/goodstory.htm