Township Council - Regular Meeting

you Bye. Bye. Go ahead, Mayor.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. We're going to roll call on a flag salute. Madam Clerk.

Please call the roll. Councilwoman Peterson? Here. Councilwoman Scavage? Here. Councilman Zazali?

Here.

Deputy Mayor Masseri? Here. Mayor Meeker? Here. Please rise.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Adequate notice of this reorganization meeting was duly provided to the Verona-Cedar Grove Times in the store ledger on December 18, 2025. It files with the township clerk and posted on the public bulletin board in the municipal lobby in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.

Item number two.

Yes. So, Mayor, why don't you join me down there for the... presentation and comments by me I think so Good evening, everyone. Welcome to our reorganization meeting. It's a great honor for me as deputy mayor to say a few words to our outgoing mayor, Michelle Miga. Michelle, your leadership this past year has meant so much to the council and to the entire community. But I'd like to take a moment now to properly recognize just how much you've given to Cedar Grove during your time as mayor. Michelle led with grace, with dedication, and genuine love for this town. You've said it many times, you're a Cedar Grove lifer. I know you've referenced that with a lot of the many generations of Cedar Grove residents here, and your commitment to our township is proof of that. You showed up not just for council meetings, official functions, but nearly every community event Cedar Grove had to offer. Whether it was ribbon cutting, a town softball game, a senior luncheon, movie night, our residents knew that they could count on seeing the mayor there. engaged and present. That kind of commitment doesn't go unnoticed. It doesn't even go unappreciated. I just want you to know that. I also noticed that you did attend and actually participated in a line dancing fundraiser for the Historical Society. You've set the bar really high, which means... Let's start practicing.

Well, don't let me get to that point in my speech here.

You set the bar really high, what it means to serve the community. I'm grateful for your guidance as now I step into this role. For the sake of our residents, I promise not to line dance during my term as mayor. Seriously, on behalf of the entire governing body, on behalf of the residents of Cedar Grove, it's my honor to present you with this plaque. And this is a recognition for your outstanding service as mayor. You did an amazing job. Congratulations, Michelle. And we wish you the very best. Thank you.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor Massari, for those very kind words. We really appreciate it. And for all the town council, thank you very much. Everybody sitting up here, thank you. um we're gonna go on now to item three extraordinary business of the township council 3a to consider resolution designating the mayor may i have a motion to designate deputy mayor masseri into the position of mayor

motion so move second second for call please councilwoman Peterson yes councilwoman scavenge yes counselors as Ali yes deputy mayor Masseri yes yes the administration of both of office by senator state senator Kristen Carano

do sincerely profess and swear that I do and will bear true faith and allegiance to the governments established in this state under the authority of the people.

I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey

Constitution of the state of New Jersey. And that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of the office of Mayor of the Township of Cedar Grove, according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God.

Mayor, you have to sign.

Thanks.

And while the mayor is signing, sorry about that, I just want to echo his sentiments about Mayor Miga. She did an amazing job, and she did set the bar really high. But Cedar Grove is in really good hands. I have the pleasure of knowing now Mayor Massari for many years, back to our Passaic County days. And he is a true public servant. He is dedicated. He is smart. He is thoughtful. And he will always put the residents of this town first. And you are incredibly lucky to have everyone on the dais that has best interests of this town and the residents and everything they do it is our pleasure to represent them it feels like home every time we come here could be prouder of everyone on the dais and I know you're gonna do a wonderful job

all right Wow moving along this is good last year went a little longer I feel like so we're doing well not that's not a disparagement to anyway I'm very honored to serve Cedar Grove as mayor for my second term now I thank my council colleagues for having faith in me and for all their support. I want to take a moment to thank Senator Corrado for administering my oath of office today. Senator, it means a great deal to me to have you here with us. You come here every year for our reorganization meeting. We appreciate it. Those of us who live in District 40 know how hard you work on our behalf, whether it's fighting for our veterans protecting families, or preserving our open space, you've never stopped putting the district first. You always answer the phone, you show up, and you fight for us in Trenton every single day. You also never miss a township event. I think it could be a competition between you and Michelle Miga, because you're always here, and we appreciate it. On behalf of everyone here, thank you for your service, your dedication, and standing with me today as I begin this new chapter. We're very lucky to have you representing us. I also want to acknowledge and thank our District 40 team, Assemblyman Krista Phillips and Al Borlis. Again, they're here every year. They support us. They attend all of our events as well. And just like the Senator, they're strong advocates for our residents. They're always available, accessible, and never miss an important Cedar Grove event. They work tirelessly to put the constituents first. Each member of our District 40 team takes real pride in serving the people they represent. As a council member, I've heard directly from the residents who've benefited greatly from the constituent services our District 40 team provides. We each thank you for being here and for always working hard for our residents. Now I want to take a moment and acknowledge and thank my family who made it possible for me to be here today. First, my mom, who's in the front row. She's here. She wouldn't have missed this swearing in for anything. Thank you for always supporting me and pushing me to do better. I would not be here without your continued support. I know dad is looking down and is proud to see me take the oath for mayor for a second term. To my sister, Enzo, who is out of state, unfortunately, could not be here, although she's always a big supporter and never missed a life event of mine. I know that if she could be here, she would, and I believe she's watching on YouTube. So if you're watching, this is a shout-out to you. I appreciate everything you do for us and always looking out for me. Thank you. To my in-laws, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, who are here with us tonight, my brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws couldn't make it, thank you for always being here for me, especially being a part of these special occasions like today. I know it meant traveling far on a Wednesday night to be here in Cedar Grove, and that means the world to me. To my cousins, aunts, uncles, those who could be here, I see a few of you here. Two of you came in a little bit late, but you made it. I appreciate it. But thank you for being here. Without the support of my family, I wouldn't have the ability to serve as a council member and as mayor. To my immediate family, My biggest supporters to my wife Josephine, I can't express how grateful I am that you've been by my side since we were kids. You've always encouraged me and kept me focused. Without your support, there's no way I could be serving our township while also managing a law practice. Sometimes work-life balance seems impossible to navigate, but your support gets me through it. I'm forever grateful and I love you very much. To our sons Matthew and Michael, the Assemblyman remembers, you started off this tall when I first got sworn in in Little Falls. You've been to every swearing in since you were five and four years old. You never missed an occasion and you witnessed firsthand the importance of public service as well as the sacrifices that are involved. I appreciate you both making your own sacrifices so that I'm able to serve our community. We're both very proud of you. We love you very much. Thank you for everything that you do.

Now for my council family.

We have a dynamic group of council members as the Senator mentioned earlier. They're always looking to do what's best for this town. We work well together. To our outgoing mayor, Michelle Miga, again, I wanted to thank you on behalf of the entire council for the remarkable leadership during your term as mayor. I was privileged to serve as your deputy mayor, and as I stated earlier, Michelle did an exceptional job as a public servant. You've worked hard this past year, and I will certainly call upon you for your continued guidance and support during my tenure as mayor. would also like to acknowledge and congratulate our new deputy mayor soon to be he's next on the agenda John's is Ali I'm looking forward to working side by side with you John I know that you pay tremendous attention to detail you work hard and you provide valuable insight to our council so I'm really looking forward to this year thank you councilwoman Peterson Your dedication, your public service, and commitment to the township of Cedar Grove is truly remarkable. Another lifer, and she doesn't plan on ever leaving, and she hopes her kids stay here too. We appreciate all that you do for the township and the governing body. Thank you for your continued service to the community. I look forward to working with you this year. Councilwoman Skabich. Your time management and your ability to be in multiple places while wearing multiple hats is extraordinary. You're an amazing member of this team, and you've made tremendous contributions to the governing body. I'm really excited about another year where we're all working together and your continued contributions to the team. And now for the township employees. On behalf of the governing body, I would like to recognize the exceptional township employees and professionals, all of whom are led by our township manager, Joseph Zichelli. I want to especially thank Joe for his leadership and his loyalty to the residents of Cedar Grove. During my first term as mayor, Joe was hired to replace Tom Tucci, who retired after serving Cedar Grove for over 30 years. I referred to Joe as our franchise quarterback that year, and over the last several years, he's delivered. Prior to Joe taking the job, Mr. Tucci devoted his career to ensuring that our residents have the best possible community in which to raise their families. Joe has continued those efforts through hard work and dedication to the employees and the residents of our township. As a result, the Cedar Grove continues to flourish under his leadership and we continue to provide great services while keeping our taxes low and maintaining a strong financial position. Every great leader has a great team that supports them. Here we have an excellent team, starting with our township clerk, Dale Ford. Dale, just like Joe, you were hired during my first term as mayor, and you also replaced someone that was retiring who had 30-plus years of experience. That was Kathy Stutz. I just want to say this year, no one's retiring. I can't do that again as a mayor. But no, it was a tremendous year. Dale, you did an outstanding job for us. On a serious note, Dale works hard for Secret Grove. She's been the liaison for the council, has done an excellent job. She's always available to us. She emails us during the weekend. She calls us. She makes sure we have everything. And we notice and we appreciate it very much, Dale. Thank you. she wrote me a little note for today not to forget to acknowledge my wife and kids because last year of course I did that's how important Dale is I also want to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated professionals including our town attorney Dan Lagana Dan is an incredible attorney, very knowledgeable, gives great counsel to all of us, and is always looking out for the best interests of this town. So Dan, thank you very much for that. Appreciate it. And all the department heads. I see some of you here. I'm not going to name all of you. Because the speech is going to go on and on and on but we really really appreciate everything that you do Without your hard work Joe would not be the success that he is managing this town. So we appreciate it all the employees DPW their staff everyone that makes the town look so beautiful And of course our police department our first responders. I see our chief in the back They're the best in the state And they make the residents and the issues concerning our residents in town their top priority. They always care about what's in the best interest of our residents. And we thank you very much for that. I'd like to also thank all of our volunteers. This town is made up of volunteers. Not just us on the council. We are volunteers. But we have... members of the community that sit on boards, committees, commissions. We have volunteer organizations. Without the volunteers we wouldn't be the success that we are. They dedicate their time. They volunteer their time. They provide services for our residents that we're not able to do. So we thank them for all their hard work. And looking back, there's a lot to be proud of, a lot for this council to be proud of. We have a brand new firehouse at North End that opened last year. We've renovated the library, over $200,000 in improvements. The majority of that money came from donations, not from taxpayer money, which is incredible. We've upgraded our recreational facilities, including the opening of our new playground that just had the ribbon cutting a few weeks ago. That was a $750,000 NJ DEP grant that funded that, and it's a beautiful facility. I mean, the turnout was incredible. Of course, our District 40 team was there for the ribbon cutting We also re-turfed Panther Park. probably a couple of years earlier than what's normal. And the reason for that is anybody that drives past Panther Park could see how many of our residents use the park. Whether they're working, walking around the track, running, participating, kids are playing on the track, on the field. It's just overly used and we're proud of that because it's really a focal point for our community. So we had to re-terf it and it looks beautiful. They did a tremendous job. and um and the manager uh jose kelly during that period we didn't skip a beat it was it was done at the right time it was you know we didn't really have too much uh lost you know people were still able to enjoy uh the facilities so we did a tremendous job and i'm very proud of that we've continued this is a big one for our town we've continued a massive paving operation and we have successfully paved 75 Township streets curb to curb through a credit-based system we negotiated with peace PSE and J by next year we will have paved more than half of our Township streets and we're looking at The majority of those funds, Mr. Zichelli, would you say, a lot of that was through our negotiations with PCA?

Half and half.

Half and half.

Yeah, we made a linear footage agreement, so. did not cost the township would have won if we did not reach that agreement.

So we this is a project I mean prior to Joe and Mr. Tucci we we'd always invest on our infrastructure and we would have a schedule of repaving streets every single year and we've continued that during this process when Joe took over but now we've had the opportunity with our negotiations with PSE&G that now we have more than half of the town has been paved which is an amazing amazing accomplishment for cedar grove and it just makes the community you know much better township is moving forward we we want to continue to improve infrastructure We want to continue to provide the best services for our residents while also continuing to be fiscally responsible and keeping our taxes low. That's something that we pride ourselves on the council, and Joe has that mentality as the manager, and we're going to continue to do that. We have approved funding in our capital budget that will continue to maintain the Peckman River to reduce the risk of flooding for our residents. That's a top priority. We also want to work on improving our facilities, recreation, so all the residents can enjoy the beautiful facilities that we have in Cedar Grove. So in closing, as your mayor, I will do my part to lead. I will continue to work with our team and ensure that we continue to provide the best services for our residents. I want to personally thank everybody again for being here for our reorganization meeting. On behalf of my colleagues on the council, I want to wish everybody a safe, healthy, and enjoyable summer. Thank you, everybody. All right, John. Next up. Oh, is that me? You ready? We're ready to flip this? Yeah. Wow. Thank you. All right. Let's move on. I'll take over the meeting. Let's see. We are... 3B. 3B. To consider resolution designating deputy mayor. May I have a motion?

So moved.

Is there a second? Second. Roll call.

Councilwoman Amiga? Here. Councilwoman Peterson? Yes. Councilwoman Scavage? Yes. Councilman Zazali? Yes. Mayor Messary?

Yes. All right, John.

Okay.

Do you mind if I say a few words before? Okay.

Please bear with me. Yes, of course. I felt I had to say something. Deputy Mayor Zazali, I just wanted you to know that this is a profound honor for me to administer your oath of office today. If memory serves me correctly, each time you came up, you asked me to administer your oath of office. And I just wanted to say that I'm grateful that you continue to trust me to share this milestone in your life, a new chapter in your book. So with that, I wish you successful and very impactful term as a deputy mayor.

It means a lot to me.

Now, if you please, please place your left hand on the Bible, raise your right hand, and repeat after me. I, John A. Zazali I, John A. Zazali Do sincerely profess and swear Do sincerely profess and swear That I do and will bear true faith and allegiance to the government established in this state under the authority of the people. I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of the Office of Deputy Mayor of the Township of Cedar Grove according to the best of my abilities and understanding.

So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you. so good evening senator Corrado Assemblyman de Phillips Assemblyman borlas mayor Rosario the council mr. Zichelli Dale, Mr. Lagana, everybody here, the residents of Cedar Grove. So to the district representatives, as Mayor Musseri mentioned, they are at everything. They support everything. I did not coordinate with Mayor Musseri, but I had the same comment. So it's an honest opinion. So we appreciate everything you do. To Mayor Miga, I think Mayor Musseri may have hacked my computer because I wrote about how you attended everything without fail, and you accepted all the challenges of being mayor. You rose to the occasion, and we're lucky to have you. So thank you. Mayor Masseri, you didn't like this part. Congratulations. I look forward to working with you. You have a very, I wrote it down, hold on. You have a very practical approach at problem solving and it's often very helpful in life but in particular with the council. So we appreciate that and congratulations. To the council, sorry, you're getting my shoulder. To the council, thank you for this honor. Thank you for supporting me. It's a pleasure to work with you, and I admire everything you do for the township. Mr. Zichelli, Ms. Ford, and Mr. Lagana. Your tireless efforts to support the council and serve the residents do not go unnoticed and are greatly appreciated. Your oversight of the township affairs and legal matters is a great value to Cedar Grove. I have learned that if we can survive budget season and snowfalls, with your continued help, we can survive just about anything. so to the residents of just to Cedar Grove it's an honor for me to serve as your deputy mayor I wanted you to know that that as your deputy mayor along with the mayor the council the township staff We're going to focus on improving Cedar Grove, and we're going to do it working with you. As your deputy mayor, I'll remain approachable, accessible, and serving with the council and staff that comes together with the residents and puts Cedar Grove first. An integral part of a strong community are the departments that work the day and night to keep us safe and show up when we need to help. I wanted to acknowledge the departments that keep Cedar Grove safe. Their service gives residents the reassurance and security to feel at ease and safe in their homes. Thank you to the Cedar Grove Police Department, the Cedar Grove Fire Department, Cedar Grove Ambulance and Rescue, Montclair Ambulance and Rescue, and our Public Works Department for everything that you do. I put this at the end because it was the hard part. to my family thank you for your support and what you do in closing I just wanted to for everyone to remember that great great communities aren't just with elected officials it's elected officials working along with the residents so thank you

All right, moving along. 3C, comments from our council members. We'll start with Council Member Peterson.

Good evening, Mayor. Good evening. Just for the sake of time, does our LD40 people need to...

I'm a little bit of a time... We're going to take pictures right after comments from council. Okay, so we'll make it really short.

I'm sorry. I just have time anxiety, and I'm like, oh, it's 6.30, and they have to go, because in line with everything that we said, they are going to the parade in Fairfield. God bless their souls in this heat. So anyway, I was like, oh... Anyway, not to be redundant, sometimes I feel redundant every year, but I echo what the mayor said and what the deputy mayor said, and I do just have to say, Michelle, I can't. You just, not only did you go to every event, you went to it enthusiastically. But you were, like, psyched, you know? And I just really, really admired you beyond words. So you did a fabulous job, and I wish the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor much success. And Councilwoman, always a pleasure working with you. Looking forward to the next year with all of you. So thanks very much.

Thank you. You're welcome. Michelle?

Well, I always have words. Yes. That's why you're next. Thank you, Mayor. The only part of my report that I have today is to say a big thank you. Thank you to everyone up here who had the confidence in me to be the mayor of the township of Cedar Grove. This is the very town that I grew up in. And I support, with the support of everyone up here, our state legislators, the council, the manager, the clerk, and our attorney, along with the voters that elected me, I thank you. I did have a very busy year, but it was fun. I know. I'm crazy. I know. I know. It was fun. I met a lot of wonderful people of all ages and different interests along the way. There are so many wonderful people in this town. and I appreciate them all. It is conversations with the people of this town that help to bring us, not just me, but all of us up here, new ideas to help keep moving this town forward, to keep this town as great as it is. I wish Mayor Masseri and Deputy Mayor Zazali all the best in the upcoming year. I'm sure they're going to do a wonderful job, and Cedar Grove is in good hands.

Councilwoman Peterson, Councilwoman Skabage.

I'm taking over tonight. Can't hear what you said right now. Thank you very much for all you ladies have done for me. You're very good to me. Thank you, and I hope everyone has a great summer. I'll have more at the next meeting, Joe. Councilwoman?

Thank you, Mayor Masseri. Congratulations to you and Deputy Mayor Zazali. I know you will both do a wonderful job, but just some inside information on these two. I've counted, and there are 17 cough drops between the two of them. I'm not kidding. That's not an exaggeration. So we need to keep these guys healthy. And there's always a cough drop within arm's reach. So when Joe asked me who I wanted to sit by, I was like, well, John and Joe both have cough drops. But all seriousness, it's a fantastic team. We're very lucky to work together because we all have the same goal, which is to keep Cedar Grove affordable and to control the development that's happening and to keep that under control here in town. We all love living here. I am not a lifer. I'm a transplant from Jersey City. So to me, Cedar Grove is my dream. It's what my family and I have worked hard to achieve is to live here. And I'm very proud to serve this community along with my council colleagues. And just one quick note on Michelle Miga. My daughter adores her and she is eight and plays softball.

And Michelle said, you know, let me know when they're playing and I'll stop by.

Michelle's version of stop by is stay for 90 minutes and watch almost the whole game in blistering heat while poor Tom and the rest of the family were probably home waiting for dinner. That's the type of leader Michelle Amiga is and I'm so proud to have watched her really flourish in that role. and really just set a great example to everyone in Cedar Road, but especially the young people and especially little girls who for things like that really matter. So thank you for doing that for us. Thank you for everything you've done for the community. And I look forward to serving with you for a few more years up here. So that's all. Thank you, guys.

Thank you, Councilwoman. All right, before we go to the consent agenda, why don't we take pictures of District 40, because they have to go to another... We're not walking into the parade like this.

Yeah, trust me.

Pass out. The AC here is better. Do you want to come down?

These guys are sick. Let's sit down. We just eat them at every meeting. They're comfortable.

Yeah, there you go. Now it's better. Junior high prom.

all right bring it in

perfect thank you yes thank you

all right moving along on the agenda we'll go to item four consent agenda May I have a motion to approve consent agenda 4A through 4N. Is there a motion? So moved.

Second.

Roll call, please.

Councilwoman Mika. Yes. Councilwoman Peterson? Yes. Councilwoman Skabich? Yes. Deputy Mayor Zazali? Yes. Mayor Misere?

Yes. Item 5, new business. To consider resolution authorizing an award of emergency contract for repair of a sinkhole and collapsed and failed retaining wall on the bank of Taylor's Brook. Mr. Zichelli.

Yes, Mayor. As the council and the public's aware, we usually don't take business at the reorg meeting. However, this is a circumstance that does warrant that. Last Tuesday, we were informed that there's a 12-foot sinkhole on the bank of the Taylor's Brook, which is a tributary to the Peckman River, outside a town hall adjacent to the driveway off of Bowdoin Road. The engineer went out there, I went out there, and... The sinkhole is causing the fieldstone retaining wall to collapse. The engineer identified three specific concerns if this wall were to collapse, one being a damming effect of the bridge and upstream properties should there be significant water flow. to the collapse of the driveway of the municipal building going into the parking lot. And the most important, there's a very large telephone pole there with three transformers and all of our public safety communication for police, fire, EMS, 911, as well as the telephone lines to the township. If that pole were to fall and collapse, we'd have no communications in and out of the building. She certified it as an emergency. I spoke about it with council, with our CFO, and with our auditor. We are going to issue an emergency contract to get this repaired quickly. My hope is that if the council considers this this evening, they will be out here as early as tomorrow or next week, depending on their availability, to get this fixed and repaired, hopefully before the next council.

Thank you, Mr. Kelly. Anybody have any questions or further discussion on this? All right, can I get a motion?

So moved, Mayor.

Is there a second?

Second.

Roll call.

Councilwoman Miga? Yes. Councilwoman Peterson? Yes. Councilwoman Savage? Yes. Deputy Mayor Zazali? Yes.

Mayor Masseri? Yes. Item 6, public comment. Anyone from the public wishing to be heard? This is your opportunity to come up. Seeing none, I'll close that portion of the meeting. Item 7, our next meeting date. Next public council meeting is scheduled for July 13th. that's it's regular time seven o'clock okay we don't have an executive session today this is easy to a German already wow this is gonna be my easiest meeting of the year all right so can I get a motion to adjourn second roll call

Councilwoman Miga? Yes. Councilwoman Peterson? Yes. Councilwoman Skavage? Yes. Deputy Mayor Zazali? Yes. Mayor Misani?

Yes. Thank you, everybody. I appreciate it.

Stingray Music. All good vibes.