Borough Council - Regular Meeting

Let the record reflect where we've reconvened with all members present. For those who are able, please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

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

I have a motion to approve the executive minutes of April 13, 2026.

So moved.

Second. Already been discussed. All in favor?

Aye.

And a motion for the regular minutes of April 13, 2026. So moved. Second. Any corrections or changes? All in favor? Aye. Welcome all, and I apologize for Getting in here. Welcome to a Wednesday council meeting as we recognize Memorial Day on Monday. The weather did not cooperate for the parade, but we held the ceremony in Rotunda downstairs and we had a great turnout, which was what is always a very appropriate ceremony as we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. And you can hear this again, but I want to thank the Patriotic Celebrations Committee, led by Ron DiBiase for all the time they put in putting in the ceremony, and also especially putting in a parade that never was able to occur because of our rainy weekend. And a few other things that were going on over the last couple of weeks. On Friday, May 15th, we gathered with Jack Lutz and his family to get a picture in front of the former Madison Ambulance Corps building. which is now the Jack Klutz Municipal Annex. The renaming recognizes his over 60 years of volunteer service with the Ambulance Corps and also the fact that he helped lay bricks in that building. So if you haven't seen it, please drive by and take a look at his name right on that building. And then later on that day, I was at Sunrise in Madison to present Joe Fara with a proclamation for his 100th birthday. While Joe is relatively new to Madison, he's been part of our community for so many years through his daughter, Deb Starker, the executive director of the museum. Among his many accomplishments in his century is the fact that he served in both the Navy and Marines to the point of he actually had to get permission from his mother to enlist in the Navy at the age of 17 during World War II. Just think about what you were doing at age 17. Last week, I attended the annual New Jersey Mayor's Conference. In addition to attending many workshops, I led a roundtable related to legislation related to land use development and affordable housing. The conference also serves as the transition for the leadership of the Conference of Mayors as Dunn-Ellen Mayor Jason Salento stepped down as conference president. Nevshin Township Mayor Jackie Vesey became the president. time for me to rotate off of the executive committee after serving five years, including one year as president. So one less meeting a month that I can now cross off the list. And of course, Memorial Day weekend represented the opening of the Madison Community Pool. And certainly, as we know, the weather did not cooperate as we raised the flag on a new season on Saturday. But that didn't keep a handful of brave young swimmers out of the water as they were enjoying a quick swim and also taking their deep water test. And then on Memorial Day, or actually on Sunday, they had shifted from root beer floats, recognizing the weather, to hot chocolates. I think that was appreciated by those that were there. And then on Memorial Day, they had a splash contest. And for the record, I took first in the adult division, though technically I also took last because the cool air and water scared away the competition. The next youngest participant was probably 60 years younger than I was, but I think I did a nice big splash. It was fun to do, and the water was refreshing. I want to thank our advisory committee, our many staff members, some here in this room, but the list is too long to go through. Our DPW did an amazing job. Obviously, We were not planning to be in the pool business. We are, and pool opened for a great season. So it couldn't have happened without all that work. So now all we need is a sunny weekend, which this weekend does look good for that.

All right.

I'm going to come down below here. And I believe I've got some students from Madison High School Gender Sexuality Alliance. So please come forward.

Meet you right here.

All right.

So they're going to be accepting a proclamation from the Borough of Madison proclaiming Pride Month, June 2026. Whereas our nation was founded on the principle of equal rights for all people, and some of the most inspiring moments in our history have arisen from various civil rights movements that have brought one group after another from the margins to the mainstream of American society. Whereas June 2026 is the 57th anniversary Stonewall Uprising, And it should be noted that the historic significance of Stonewall has tried to be hidden, but it's great that we still recognize it. So it was the 57th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City, which is recognized as a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement. And whereas the Borough of Madison is committed to supporting visibility, dignity, and equality for LGBTQ people in our diverse community, And whereas every human being has the right to love freely and live their lives openly as who they are, and whereas while our society at large increasingly supports LGBTQ equality, it is essential to acknowledge that the need for education and awareness remains vital. And whereas celebrating Pride Month offers an opportunity to reflect on progress made acknowledging the challenges that remain, and commit to fostering an environment that is inclusive, safe, and supportive for all members of the LGBTQ community. Now, therefore, I, Robert H. Conley, the mayor of Borough of Madison, on behalf of the governing body, hereby proclaim the month of June 2026 as Pride Month in the Borough of Madison in support of the LGBTQ community. and recognize that all LGBTQ residents whose influential and lasting contributions to our neighborhoods make Madison a vibrant community in which we live, work, and visit.

So thank you for accepting this.

Step to come up here. and with proclamation for National Gun Violence Awareness Day, whereas every person deserves to live in a community where they feel safe in their homes, schools, workplaces, and places of worship and public spaces, and whereas every day more than 125 Americans are killed by gun violence and firearms are a leading cause of death for Americans age 1 to 19, the leading cause of death. And whereas gun violence impacts individuals, families, and communities across the United States and has lasting emotional, physical, economic effects. And whereas support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from people with dangerous histories. And whereas in 2013, 15-year-old Hadia Pendleton was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago one week after she marched in President Obama's second inaugural parade. Soon after, her friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color that hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. And whereas anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange on June 5th, the first Friday in June, to raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors. Now, therefore, I, Robert H. Connolly, the mayor of Borough of Madison, on behalf of the government body, hereby proclaim June 5th, 2026 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day and encourage continued efforts to reduce violence and strengthen our community and safety for future generations. And accepting this is Deb Cohen, our liaison to the Board of Health.

I'll keep it short, but as a school teacher who has listened to kids discuss prom and school shootings all in one breath, I think it's something we need to continue to work on amongst, not just in schools, but around our communities, and something we need to take a little more seriously as to how we're going to solve the problem while allowing people to legally own that have the right and ability to do so.

Thank you so much. Now move on to reports from committees, community affairs. Council President Forte.

Thank you, Mayor. The next meeting of the Downtown Development Commission will be held on July 16th at 7.15 p.m. in the second floor committee room of the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. The public is invited to attend. The June meeting has been canceled. The 2026 season of the Madison Farm and Artisan Market opened on Saturday, May 23rd. The season runs through Saturday, December 12th. New vendors can request the information by emailing Lisa Ellis at ddc at rosenet.org. Information regarding Bottle Hill Day 2026 on Saturday, October 3rd will be distributed this week. From the Chamber of Commerce, each year the Chamber recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations whose contributions make a lasting impact on our community. All are welcome to join this year's annual awards dinner on June 2nd, 6 p.m. at the Madison Hotel. Tickets are available for $85 each. Please contact Karen in the chamber for more information. From the Community Arts Center, every Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m., seniors play Mahjong in Canasta. Wednesday, May 27th at 7 p.m. is Show Us Your Shorts, which is every fourth Wednesday. Local filmmakers submit and show their short films. Friday, May 29th at 7 p.m. is the Come Original Showcase featuring local bands and vendors. And Tuesday, June 2nd at 8.30 a.m., the Chamber of Commerce Business Seminar, HR Essentials, Hiring Strategies, Onboarding, and Legal Considerations. Wednesday, June 3rd at 7 p.m., the Platform Literary Open Mic and Writing Workshop brought to you by Arts by the People, which is every first Wednesday. And Friday, June 5th from 6 to 8 p.m., is the Healthy Italia celebrates 10 years with food, kids activities, wine tasting, live music, and more. Saturday, June 6th at 7 p.m. is the Summit Film Society showing the Bengali. And Sunday, June 7th at 3 p.m. is Jersey Jazz Live presents the Anderson Brothers Trio. Monday, June 8th at 7 p.m. the Madison Environmental Commission and the Nature of Reading present When the Forest Breathes. Wednesday, June 10th at 7 p.m. is Music Open Mic, every second Wednesday. Local musicians perform two songs each. All are welcome to perform or attend. And tickets can be found on the Madison Community Arts Center events homepage. And from the community pool, opening weekend at the Madison Community Pool was a success despite raining weather on Saturday and Sunday. Close to 500 members visited the pool throughout opening weekend. Thank you to Jim Burke, our masons, Russ Brown, Chris, and the Department of Public Works crew for quickly resolving an important safety issue identified last week. Their swift action allowed the pool to open on time. And thank you to Madison High School students who participated in their day of service by helping spruce up the facility through spreading mulch, pulling weeds, and planting flowers. Special thanks to Rachel Curry and the DPW staff for helping manage the students. Additional thanks to Borough Administrator Ray Cody, whose green thumb helps select flowers that will continue to add color to the gardens throughout the summer season. Congratulations to Caroline Wolse and Matthew Truppia for winning the splash contest. held this past Monday. The contest was a big hit, and we look forward to hosting additional contests and activities throughout the summer. Calling all cornhole enthusiasts, the pool is sponsoring a cornhole tournament open to both members and non-members. Please visit madisonpool.org for additional information and registration details. Membership managers Chris and Josie will also be organizing weekend cornhole, wiffle ball, and basketball tournaments throughout the summer. Be on the lookout for sign-up information at the pool. Swim lesson registration remains ongoing, but space is limited. Members interested in registering their children are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible. Deep water tests are offered daily at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. while the pool is open. The deep water test is required annually for all swimmers ages 14 and under. To learn more about memberships, programs, and events, please visit madisonpool.org. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. Public Safety, Mr. Landrigan.

Thank you, Mayor. From the fire department, this past week the fire department responded to three two alarm fires. On May 17th, the department responded to a house fire on Kings Road. First arriving firefighters found a fire in the basement. The fire was elevated to a second alarm and was quickly brought under control. On May 23rd, the department responded to a fire at the Madison Plaza. Firefighters encountered a lot of smoke and the sound of rushing water. The fire was found in one of the business suites. Thankfully, the sprinkler system held the fire in check until the firefighters could completely extinguish the fire. A few hours later, the department was requested to Morris Township for a large house fire off Woodland Road. The fire pumps on the fire engine passed their yearly test. A large diameter hose was also tested as required yearly. The second and final yearly live fire drill was completed. Lieutenant Tom Boylan was awarded career firefighter of the year. Tom, who was also the training officer for the department, has done an outstanding job organizing training and pre-planning target hazards. Rick Sickinger was awarded volunteer firefighter of the year. Ryan has been a dedicated volunteer and the secretary of our volunteer division. From the Police Department, this week the Madison Police Department is undergoing on-site assessment by the New Jersey State Police as part of the agency's accreditation process. The assessment reviews the department's policies and operations to ensure compliance with recognized professional standards for law enforcement agencies, and they hope to have the final hearing sometime this fall. On June 1st, the Madison Police Department's newest officer, Patrolman Michael Ramos, will graduate from the police academy. Patrolman Ramos has been a top performance throughout the academy and will begin field training as part of his initial assignment. And finally, I would like to recognize the patriotic, Madison's Patriotic Committee. You know, the mayor alluded to the Memorial Day Parade and they really deserve a lot of recognition This committee is made up mostly of veterans themselves. And each week they would meet, and they would actually start weeks beforehand going through a list, and I have it here, of 70 items that they have to check off each week to make sure they're completed. It includes phone calls to different groups to march. And to their credit, they pivoted at the last minute because of the rain, and I feel held a very successful Memorial Day celebration right here at Borough Hall. A lot of credit goes to them. Thank you, Mayor. That's it.

Thank you. Finance and Borough Clerk, Mr. Range.

Thank you, Mayor. Relatively short report tonight from the Finance Department. As mentioned at the last meeting, the Audit Committee met on May 12th to review the draft document for the audit. The audit is now finalized and can be found on the Finance Department section of ROSENET or in this very large bound edition. As required by law, the document will also be submitted to the division of local government services and training. The consent agenda includes voting on resolution 181-2026, which pertains to the council accepting the 2025 audit. This resolution is required by state statute and certifies that each of the elected officials has received a copy of the audit. The state also requires that the chief financial officer prepare a corrective action plan after the audit is completed. The corrective action plan is in response to the recommendations that are made in the audit, and there'll be a short discussion on that plan this evening. There are two small comments that need to be resolved. One has already been resolved, and the other is a repeating one around segregation of duties, and Jim will tell us more about that in a minute. It is important to be transparent and take the time to discuss the audit and the corrective action plan in public. Fortunately, the borough does not have any significant audit issues and really hasn't ever, I don't think. Many thanks to the members of the audit committee for their support and help with this process. That's all, Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you. Open Force and Engineering, Mr. Howard Houdis.

Thank you, Mayor. Welcome, members from the community. From the Department of Public Works, short report also. The DPW assisted the police department and the borough with preparation for the Memorial Day Parade, which unfortunately was canceled due to weather, but give credit for showing up on Monday to at least have the town ready to go. The Parks Department continues preparing fields for weekly sporting activities. We have Madison soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and softball. The DPW has continued planting trees around residents' curbs. 30 trees have been planted so far. We have about 120 to go. The DPW did a lot of work getting the pool ready for the summer and will be involved in helping to do some maintenance around the pool over the course of the summer. The Sewer Department continued their jetting last week. Streets will be posted on ROSENET and future jetting services will also be posted on ROSENET's website. Be ready with your toilet closed. The MEC is launching, from the MEC, Mayor, real quick. The MEC is launching a quiet summer initiative. Residents can help protect children, wildlife, and their neighborhood, asking their landscapers to pause gas leaf blowing during the summer. Most gas leaf blowing involves just maintenance and cleaning grass clippings, which could be left on the lawn to provide moisture and nutrients. Pausing gas leaf blowing during the summer months is an easy way to improve air quality and encourage children, especially those with asthma, to spend time outside. On June 8th at 7 p.m., the MEC and the Nature of Reading Bookshop are hosting a talk for tree lovers at the Madison Community Arts Center It's inspired by two amazing books written by Canadian scientist Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree and When the Forest Breezed. To root Simard's work locally, Kristen Wallenstein, an MEC member and stewardship leader, will talk about where our local forests need to be resilient. Susan Landau will then speak as a guardian of Foots Pond Woods in Morristown, how to plant a pocket forest in your front yard. It's easier to maintain than a meadow. and supercharged with biodiversity. From the shade tree, the shade tree board has been working with the Madison Rotary on surveying the 100 trees planted by the Rotary for their 100 year anniversary, which were planted over the last three years. They're revising the maintenance plans and developing new strategy to assure these trees continue to thrive. And then from the Recreation Activity Committee, Three tournaments coming up around town. For this month, you have the Junior Boys Lacrosse Platypus Tournament, which will be this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, using the MRC fields and some of the high school fields. There's a Morris Elite Soccer Tournament, which is a pretty big event, Saturday and Sunday, June 20th and 21st. And then the Madison Soccer Club is hosting a summer tournament, Saturday and Sunday, July 18th and 19th. That's all, Mayor.

Thank you very much. And utilities, Ms. Honahan.

Thank you, Mayor. From the electric utility, there were multiple standby calls. Standby was called to the area of Rose and Cedar Avenue for a power outage on May 9th. Power was shut down on part of Pomeroy Road so dead trees could be removed on the 13th. There was an upgraded transformer on Sinclair, a replaced pole on Woodcliffe. The Electric utility also came to Kings Road to cut power to the house that was on fire, which you heard about. And there were three additional calls to different areas on the 16th, 17th, and 18th for a power outage. Standby was called out for a 12K breaker trip alarm at Kings Road substation and transformer malfunction alarm at James Park substation. No loss of power was reported and relays at the substations operated properly. The electric department has also started tree line clearance, so they will be around town. Drive carefully. The water utility dug in front of 212, 214 Main Street to locate the source of a water leak. The valve turning program continues and should be completed within the next week. Flushed hydrants for water testing. also took place during May. Finalizing fiber to upgrade communications for the SCADA system continues, and please conserve water. Northern New Jersey is still experiencing a moderate drought condition, so think before you use the water. A couple of other items. Last week, the Parks Advisory Committee convened, and as a reminder, they'll meet every month on the second Wednesday of the month in Hartley Dodge at 7.30. The next meeting is on June 9th. The police department will be running the torch run. So they'll be running through town on June 5th to support the Special Olympics of New Jersey. And on June 6th, to celebrate National Trails Day, we will have a easy walk through Memorial Park to look at the trails and the improvements that continue there. from 9 a.m. to 10, and you can meet in the ice rink parking lot where there's ample parking. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you.

And health, Ms. Cohen.

Super simple. Megan Avalon, the director of our health office, is going to be presenting momentarily. Thank you very much.

Now we'll move on to communications and petitions.

Yes, Mayor. Mayor and Council, two emails on May the 12th from residents. Tori Williams and Tom Williams of Woodside Road regarding a gas-powered leaf blower ordinance. Thank you.

And now we move on to our first of two invitations for public comment. This one is limited to our agenda discussions and our resolutions that are part of the agenda. consent agenda. So these are the things you can comment on, even though they're beforehand. You'll be hearing our health department update. And also our municipal audit and corrective action plan. So those are the agenda discussions you can comment on. And these are the resolutions that you may comment on. And these will be part of the consent agenda. Resolution 176-2026, awarding professional services contract to merge design for wayfinding signage program phase two. And this is funded through ordinance 25-2025. Resolution... 177, authorizing execution submission of consent forms to the NJDEP and permits authorizing sanitary sewer main and treatment works approvals and water system improvements for one draw to farms. Resolution 178. approving raffle license for the Madison Education Foundation for October. Resolution 179, proclaiming Saturday, October 2nd, as Bottle Hill Day and authorized in the beer garden. Mark your calendars. Resolution 180, approving the 2025 corrective action plan, which you're about to hear about. And then resolution 181 is accepting the audit. So you may comment on any of those resolutions or our two agenda discussions. If you wish to comment on those, please step up the lectern, state your name, your town, write your name and address, full address on the clipboard, and then state the resolution or the agenda item you are commenting on. If you want to comment on other topics, that will be coming later in the meeting. And we ask you to try to hold your comments for three minutes. But we give you a one-minute grace period. And we will stop you at 4. Anyone wishing to comment on those topics, please step forward. Seeing none, I close this part of the meeting. And we now move on to our agenda discussions. And I invite Megan Avalon to please come forward.

Good evening, thanks for having me tonight. I just wanted to discuss a little bit tonight about some activities the Board of Health has been doing that the general public and even the governing body might not be aware that we're involved in. So the first update I have is something I'm so excited about. The Westfield Regional Health Department, in conjunction with Robert Wood Johnson, Barnabas Health, is opening a new WIC site in Summit. So the way it works in New Jersey is you can go to any WIC site throughout the state if you qualify for WIC services. WIC services stands for Women, Infant, and Children, and essentially it's a nutrition and breastfeeding support and general support for mothers and their infants and young children. But this new site will be at the Summit Community Center at 100 Morris Avenue, and it's gonna be open every Monday, 8.30 to 4.30, With the third Monday of the month having later hours, opening 10.30 and closing at 6.30. There are appointments available, but they're also accepting walk-ins as well, and we will have a flyer with how to call to make appointments or get more information. The number, though, is 908-994-5141. The health department is also gonna be providing lead testing for children at the clinic, so we're so excited about that. One thing that I learned that I did not know is that WIC benefits are available to women who qualify as soon as they learn they're pregnant. So I did not know that. So if we have any residents that feel as though they might qualify or know they qualify, as soon as you get that positive pregnancy test, you can get your benefits. So I'm really excited. The more places we have for residents to go, the more options for them, the more convenient for them. The other thing that the general public might not know that we're involved in is the opening of the pools and pool inspections. So our health inspector was very busy the last few weeks getting the community pool open. And even though the weather, left a lot to be desired. I was really happy to hear a lot of people showed up. But some of the things that we do in relation to the pool is we make sure that all the lifeguards have the proper certifications and the proper training and that emergency procedures are correct. We make sure that the pool water is safe and is being tested appropriately. We make sure that the proper drains are installed and other types of safety measures as well and then we follow all the pools all the public pools in the borough throughout the course of their opening period to make sure that the water is tested appropriately um you know during the time and that the um and that the test that they pass the water tests so um you know we're here for the season the other thing that we do a lot more of this time of year is following following up with eroding complaints So it's not uncommon this time of year as the weather gets warmer to get additional eroding complaints in all the areas, all the municipalities that we serve. But I think it's important for the governing body and the public to understand how we respond to those complaints. So when those complaints come in, the vast majority of the time we go out the very same day. So if we get a call on a Tuesday, we'll go out on a Tuesday. If the weather's really bad, if it's raining, we can't go out because we can't see anything when it's bad. But if it's a dry day, we're out there as soon as possible. Then what we do is we go to the complainant's property, we start there, and we go in a linear fashion, property by property, looking for evidence of rodents until we don't find any. We keep going until we find the source of the rodent. of the problem and then we follow it through until the rodents have been abated. One of the things that the Board of Health is doing at their next meeting is they're gonna introduce an ordinance that is going to require residents that have evidence of rodents on their property to get a licensed exterminator. Right now, we don't have that. And what happens is that the vast majority of residents are very cooperative and understanding and understand that if we find evidence of rodents, it's best to get an exterminator. But if we ever run into a resident that maybe does not want to treat that way, this will give us some enforcement power because a professional extermination is really the only way that you're going to get rid of a problem with an infestation. And then screening events. So we have a bone density screening that's gonna take place here at Hartley Dodge Memorial on June 25th from 11 to two. Registration details are gonna open next week. So as soon as that registration is open, we are gonna send it out to residents. The bone density screening, we've done it several times in the borough. It's always very, very popular. We're also in the process of scheduling skin screening, dermatology screening for residents. All of our screenings are completely free and open to any resident who is interested. The other program that we currently have going on is our Healthy Bones program. Healthy Bones is a 24-week exercise and education program for older adults who are at risk for or whom have osteoporosis. The program is currently being held at the Rexford Tucker apartment complex, and that's a program that older adults really, really enjoy because not only do they get the exercise benefits, but they get the social interaction as well. And then last but not least, the health department is spending a lot of time this year focusing on lead prevention and lead education for residents. So we've done our consumer goods lead testing program here in the borough a few times, and we're going to continue to do it in all the towns we serve on a monthly basis. What that is essentially is residents can bring any consumer goods that they have either to our events, our tabled events, or call the department and make an appointment to see if they have lead in them. I was under the impression that if you buy something in the United States, it's guaranteed to be lead free. That's not true. You know, we're testing things like children's toys, dinnerware, flatware, and you would be surprised at the types of things that have lead in them. So our next event is June 11th at the Mountainside Library from 6 to 7 p.m. Details can be found on our website, and residents can always call the department if they're interested in having something specific tested, and we'll be back in the borough probably in the next two to three months as well.

Thank you. So questions and comments from the council? We'll start with Deb.

Just real quick, first of all, thank you for coming and the update. And Mayor and Council, just so you know, I did forward Megan's report in email. So I apologize for not getting that to you before the meeting. And as Megan said, we do have the Board of Health meeting on Monday night down the hall. And it sounds like you kind of covered it. Thanks for the pool. I know that was a group effort from everybody. And I think every department in town tested it. And I think one of the things we're working on with the health department is trying to make sure people know about the meetings we meet quarterly. Agendas are posted on Rosenet beforehand. And some of this information is shared there. And then I share updated information at the council meetings just so you can continue to get This was a little more detailed, so we had Megan come and take care of it.

Eric and then Tom.

Thanks, Megan. Just want to thank you and the Board of Health and the Health Department for the continued good work. One of the great things about our shared service model that we've now had, I don't know, 15 years between the two shared services or more, is that we get a deep bench and we get a lot of resources that, frankly, if we had our own standalone health department we would be paying a lot more for a lot less and that was an analysis we did back when we had the agreement with bloomfield so you guys have done an incredible work and continue to do incredible work so thank you for all that you guys do and the staff the nurses the inspectors

you know having lived it back in the day um it's it's a tough job to have so thank you for continuing to do what you do it's our pleasure uh tom did you have yes thanks thanks maybe for coming good to see you again so thanks a lot for uh you know your explanation about how we're going to approach any issues in the borough when there's rodents involved and i know firsthand from something that i was involved with like a year ago that the borough was Right on top of it, support of talking to a neighbor who had the issue, and it didn't last very long. So I could attest to the fact that we don't neglect those situations, from my experience, of course. And the other thing I want to ask you about, which I've asked you about many times, is are we going to be doing a little more enforcement about our commercial recycling? Because you said you were going to start with permit renewals for them.

We added it to the application this year, and as we're doing inspections, we're double-checking as well.

Okay. Because that's in a borough code also that they have. That's great, because we are one of the greenest towns in the state. Right, Mayor? In addition to making us greener. Thank you very much for coming out.

John?

Megan, thanks for coming. It's good to see you again, and I had the pleasure of serving on the Board of Health with you and have a real understanding of the unsung heroes that you and your whole department are. And I really, until I was on the Board of Health, had no true appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes work that goes on on a daily basis to keep so many things moving around the borough of Madison, whether it's pools or restaurants or phone calls in the middle of the night from parents who are worried that their children have a severe illness, and the fact that there is 24-7 coverage for those sorts of things is just amazing, and I don't think your group gets enough credit for it. I do have one question. Can you clarify for me the proposed ordinance around the rodents in terms of what's going to be mandated for whom? If someone calls and reports rodents on their property, are they going to be mandated to get the exterminator, or are we going to go to the neighboring property that might be more responsible and have them, or is it a both?

So the way the ordinance is worded, and the way the proposed ordinance, I should say, is worded, and the way that we use this, actually all the eight towns other than Madison, the eight municipalities that we serve, have this currently on the books, and we think it works really, really well. So how it would work is, Resident called and said, I'm seeing rodents in my yard. Can you come investigate? We would start at that resident's property and then we would move in a linear fashion like I explained before. If we find rodents on the caller's property, they're going to be required to get pest control services. Now what we find is typically people who call us are concerned about it and they're going to get an exterminator anyway, right? But if we go to the neighbor's property and we find burros on the neighbor's property, then that neighbor would also get a notice from us giving them a set amount of time to get extermination services. The goal with this is not to be punitive at all. It's really to help residents understand the types of things that maybe, you know, cause rodents to move into the area that they might not be aware of. Bird feeders, right? Number one thing, you know, bird feeders that are messy. Rodents love those. Not everybody knows that. The inspectors will also go out with the homeowner and show them what a burrow looks like. Also, we have all of our inspectors are licensed exterminators. I'm a licensed exterminator. So we have this pest control operator, I should say. So we have.

Right.

Yeah. So we do have the knowledge, but we also contract with a pest control operator that does this day in and day out. And in complex problems, that group will come out with us and do the walk with us and help us determine, you know, what where the problems are so so the goal here is really uh just to make sure you know because if you have um a problem in a neighborhood and right now um where the rodents are living if that property owner decides they don't want to get professional services we can't make them and then the problem is the problem gets bigger and bigger it doesn't go away thank you yeah bob so just i want to understand a little bit better so this approach is more or less like a

I don't want to say regional, but a neighborhood approach, meaning you start at one, you go to the other, you go to the other, and if they all get this professional exterminator, in theory, it should alleviate that problem in that neighborhood.

Correct.

As you mentioned, the ordinance is already in place in multiple towns, and I assume right now that... When the process is going through and you find the source, that is different than the exterminator, because not only do you have to eliminate the rats, if you don't take care of what attracted them to begin with, it's going to come back again. So talk a little bit about how that process

absolutely so when we go out and do these complaints um we're not just looking uh for um we're not just looking to eradicate the current problem we're looking at preventing future problems so let's say we go to a property um in a neighborhood and we don't see evidence of rodents but we see that messy bird feeder that's really my pet peeve right so what we're going to do is we're going to explain to the resident that um you know this the way that this bird feeder is set up could cause a rodent problem. And then we'll explain to them how to keep it in a tidier fashion. And again, it's to educate residents, right? We're not looking to be punitive at all. We're just looking to educate them. Another common thing that we see are um piles of wood um either like uh usually branches um people pile them usually by the fence line um that is a place that rodents really like to burrow too so if we see that you know we'll ask the resident to move them and we'll explain why and the vast vast majority of time when we explain we're in the neighborhood because you know somebody has been seeing rodents and these types of conditions can cause rodents you know to um to to live a better life of residents for the most part you know don't want that on their property

Deb?

Just real quick, and Joe B., who's our Board of Health president, is in the audience. For Monday's night's meeting, it may be worth, when we're talking about the ordinance, we've been talking to the Environmental Commission about educating about gas leaf blowers and getting some public education out there. in general, so it may be something worth talking about at Board of Health for stuff like this. We can take advantage of Michael Plessier and social media and stuff, just so that people know what to look, I would never have known that about a bird feeder, you know, sort of thing, so that people have information and can keep that eye out, you know, just so that they're aware.

We have that ready to go so I can work with Michael to push that out. The other big thing this time of year is fruit trees. So if the fruit falls to the ground, you want to pick that up daily. The rodents love that.

And if you're able to stay, I know we'll anticipate some comments. Of course. So that'll be helpful.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you. And now we'll move on to our municipal audit and corrective action.

Mayor, I'm required to present the corrective action plan to you. Here it is. You got it earlier in your packet. Very simply put, there were two findings. One was that we needed to have an adequate segregation of duties. If you've seen this, this is a repeat item. We don't have the ability to have a centralized cashier function because of the buildings that we have all over town with different functions going on. The second one was we got a little bit behind on our minutes. That's already been resolved, so that has already been corrected. um there's resolution as uh council president uh forte or council council member range mentioned there is a resolution for both accepting the correction action plan and accepting the audit sounds good any questions just real quick i think i've made this comment before just for the public's knowledge

The reason we have not done anything, quote unquote, about that first one is it's to prevent you from having to go to the police department for something or buildings, you know, now in the Madness and Ambulance Corps, old building, and coming here and paying and then going back to them with the receipt showing payment. So that's why what they mean by segregation of duties is they would like one central cashier, and we've said we're not doing that to our residents. We've got

checks and balances in place to ensure that everything's okay the way we have it and the auditors i believe usually just say okay but they have they're required to put it in year after year after year and we're not alone yeah we're not alone there's about 350 municipalities in the state that have this same um finding annually any other questions or comments all right and i had mentioned before we have these separate but

Since we've had this report, we'll have this as part of the consent agenda. We don't need to separate them out. Two resolutions, one accepting corrective action and one acknowledging the audit. We now move on to ordinance for hearing. Will the clerk please read the statement?

The ordinance scheduled for hearing was introduced by title and passed on the first reading at the regular meeting of the council held May the 11th, 2026. It was posted and filed according to law and copies were made available to the general public requesting same.

I call up Ordinance 26-2026 for a second reading. I ask the clerk to read ordinance by title.

Ordinance of the Borough of Madison, amending Chapter 195-48, Section C of the Code of the Borough of Madison, entitled Land Development, regarding affordable housing inclusionary development requirements.

I open the hearing on Ordinance 26. Anyone wishing to comment on Ordinance 26, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing.

Mayor, I move ordinance 26-2026. Second.

Any council discussion?

Mr. Landrigan? Yes. Mr. Range? Yes. Mr. Harlan Pudas? Yes. Ms. Honahan? Yes. Mr. Forte? Yes. Ms. Cohen? Yes.

I declare ordinance 26-2026 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice there of a newspaper and file the ordinance in accordance with the law. We're now on to our second invitation for public comment. This is when you make comment on any topic. Again, the other rules apply, such as step up the lectern, state your name and town. Write your full name and address on the clipboard. Try to keep your comments to three minutes, but we give you the one-minute grace period and ask you, you will stop at four minutes. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward.

Hi, my name is and I live at 23 Greenwood Avenue. As you know, Mr. Mayor and council, or maybe some of you don't know me, but most of you do. My husband and I have fought the zoning board several years ago regarding putting the dumpster from 17 Greenwood so close to our property. You approve this regardless of our concerns. Here we are nine years later with exact issues we had then, but with an added health hazard, a rat infestation. The infestation of rats at 17 Greenwood has migrated to our property and it is overwhelming. We are seniors. So we feel we are being maybe taking advantage of. Mr. Mayor, you indicated to me that you had rats on Britain Street a few years back, and maybe that was a red flag. Not to put a garbage dump so close to residential property. It is actually right across the fence between my house and the 17 Greenwood, and it backs up to the fence. Our quality of life has been severely impacted. I can't sleep at night, we can't garden, we can't sit out on our small patio in fear of the rats. The smell, noise, constant idling of trucks on top of the rats are more than tolerable. This has caused a financial hardship for us. We have incurred additional expenses to remediate the rats. We have a tenant in jeopardy of moving out because of the rats. We rely on the rent for our livelihood. My property value has diminished. Who will buy a house that has a rat infestation? The initial use of this property was a small cafe and it has grown to a restaurant. After several other little businesses. Same owner though. Let me see. The hours of operation have increased with no notification to us. The amount of garbage has quadrupled with no modifications. You are continuing to allow Mr. Raiosa to run the business with no interruptions while our life is negatively impacted. The solution is simple. Move the dumpster. Your zoning approved the permit. You have the power to rescind it. Or are you all afraid of Mr. Raiosa? Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else wishing to comment? Please step forward.

Teresa Romano, 29 West Lane. Clearly you know why we're all here. I'll begin by saying that not one of you has been out to my parents' property at 23 Greenwood Avenue to evaluate the problem. Oh, wait a minute, not your job. Health Department. Yep, Bo Preston, he did go down my parents' driveway a few weeks ago. Didn't get out of the car, handed her his business card. Until today. Yep, he went over today, actually got out of the car, walked around, walked around her next door neighbor and the neighbor next to them. I wonder if he knew this meeting was happening today. Unbelievable. My parents built their home, I think in 2005, lived closer to his family. But if you recall, nine years ago, they stood in front of this town government to fight the location of that dumpster, which is located feet from their property. You approved it, ignoring their concerns. Now there's a rat infestation at 17 Greenwood Avenue. The overcrowding of the rats has caused them to migrate over onto their property. The solution is simple. Move the garbage dump. It should not be near residential homes. 17 Greenwood Avenue has a huge parking lot. My parents' quality of life has been compromised. They have an expense every week now for the exterminator to come to try to eradicate the rats. They have a tenant in jeopardy of moving out and they depend on that income to live. As my mother said, they can't garden. They can't sit on their patio. She can't sleep at night worrying that these rats may get into the house. Their safety, health, and quality of life has been diminished because of this problem. Mr. Mayor, you sent my mother an email telling her that you had a rat problem several years ago on Britain Street. Britain Street's not that far from Greenwood. Did you ignore a red flag? Or was the New Jersey pet control report, which indicated there were rats in the three homes that were torn down to build 17 Greenwood Avenue, was that a red flag? Land use permits are not valid for eternally, especially if the use changes. And the use of 17 Greenwood has changed several times and so have the hours. none of which was communicated to the neighbors. Again, the solution is simple. Move the garbage dumpster. I took this right from the Rosenet website. The municipal government of Madison will continue to build a friendly, attractive, safe, and well-maintained community for citizens in which businesses prosper, public services and educational opportunities excel, History is preserved, and the people live in good health and harmony. My parents don't feel safe. One minute. And they're not living in good health and harmony. It's time for the town government to step up and do their job. Fix this. You approved that garbage dump. You have the power to rescind it. The solution is simple.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward.

My name is James Tramberg. I live at 23 Greenwood Avenue in Madison. You may have remembered my wife and I when we came to the Planning Board and Zoning Board meeting several years ago. we did not want the property next door to us to have a dumpster so close to our property for several reasons you approved it regardless of our concern today we are dealing with rats infestation from 17 greenwood avenue the rats have been ingrained into our property and caused damage not only to our property but to our quality of life the smell of the smell the noise and the rats are ruling our quality of life while the owner of 17 greenwood avenue makes money and we lose money the town has failed to do the job the dumpster needs to be moved the parking lot is used moving it away from this residential home like we asked nine years ago. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward.

Good evening, I'm Sam Romano from 29 West Lane. As you just heard, my grandparents, Ruth and Jim Tranberg, have lived in Madison for almost 20 years. That's almost as long as I've been here, too. Also, they built their dream home at 23 Greenwood, expecting to live out the rest of their lives in relative calmness, especially after my grandfather had been a firefighter for 45 years and had been in the Army for almost four years during the height of the Cold War. Lately, though... Their peaceful existence has been absolutely ravaged by severe rat infestation, which has been pouring on for the property line over at 17 Greenwood for years, with the rats themselves burying underneath their house and digging a vast tunnel network underneath all of my grandparents' property line, going from the garden all the way down to underneath their steps, too, as well. And every day, they inch closer and closer to going on to neighboring properties. Many of them have young families, too. So the last thing you want to have something happen is maybe a rat biting a child. Now that's going to be a big problem if that does happen. Hopefully it doesn't, though. I honestly believe there is a fairly reasonable expectation for rats just to not be present on their property. It's really not that much to ask for. And additionally, it's not their fault. More than enough evidence shows the rats have originated at 17 Greenwood and have been there for years. And we don't know how long they've been going over down to my parents' house right next door. We just knew about it only several months ago. Additionally, this is primarily caused due to an inconsiderate placement of a dumpster right along the fence line with also a grease trap being there. And we know that rats absolutely love that grease, especially if it's bar food, which is pretty tasty, I will say. However... The rat infestation has been so bad. The rats have gone from about the size of maybe your pointer finger all the way down to a shoe. And I wear a size 10. And I usually say that I got big feet. And I have seen rats that are, in fact, bigger than a size 10 shoe. Also, the rats have been getting more and more aggressive. We go over there casually just to check in, making sure they're doing all right. And you see rats running right between my feet. I personally have seen the rats even try and keep my grandparents out of their garden, which they have painstakingly built for almost over 20 years. Now they can't even go get, I don't know, their zucchini. And additionally, the fact is that they've been dealing with this for months. That's all we know, that they've been there for months. Who knows? They could have been there for longer. Rats, they're not that dumb. They're as smart as cats and dogs, maybe even smarter depending on what dog you got. Additionally, the fact that they've been dealing with this for so long and have barely gotten a response out of this is a lot of things about a lot of people here today. All due respect. One minute, Sam. That's fine. And all that they've been really essentially given is words on paper and cold emails instead of direct action. And I would like to ask everyone one simple question and then I'm all done. What would you do if your grandparents did not feel safe in their homes as a direct result of someone else's neglect and not managing their rat problems, which have clearly originated from an improper and fairly inconsiderate and honestly kind of rude dumpster placement and also grease trap placement? Would you stand idly by and just simply let this happen and hopefully that email will solve problems? Would you rather go to the source of the problem, the owner and operator of 17 Greenwood, and keep them held accountable for all their actions of gross neglect and being respectfully, quite frankly, a pretty bad neighbor, if I do say so myself? Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Anyone else wishing to comment? Please step forward.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council members and neighbors. My name is Aaron Witte and I'm here tonight regarding the dumpster situation behind the Hartley at 17 Greenwood Avenue. I'm resident of 25 Greenwood Avenue where I reside with my wife and five children ages four through 17. It's no longer a minor nuisance. This has become a real public health and safety issue that the families living directly next to the dumpster are being affected by. The residents are seeing rats regularly during day and night. We have found dead rats within our yard. There is a raccoon that has emerged over the last couple of weeks that now prowls our backyard at night. We have video evidence of both. My four-year-old daughter does not want to play beyond our patio in the backyard, and we bought our our house because of the what that yard offers to us it's directly adjacent to the parking lot of the hartley we have an l-shaped and the rats are burrowing and living in the back of that yard there's visual evidence to see that i think what makes this especially frustrating is that this this situation seems especially very preventable the hartley property has a large commercial lot with substantial space available. There is a opening on the other side of the property that has chairs in it. There appears to be, there's very reasonable opportunity to relocate the dumpster further away from the bordering residential homes. So the burden is not concentrated on a handful of neighboring residents that are feeling this burden. Right now, the people paying the price are those residents. We've heard from Jim and Ruth, Our house is directly next to that. The houses behind us are all being affected by this. This is an easy fix, and all we're asking for is for that dumpster to be moved. We want it to be secured in a better location. Even moving it, I don't think, goes far enough. It needs to be masonry. Otherwise, they're going to infest other neighbors as well. So that was my comments. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Aaron. Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward.

Hi, my name is Hillary Rahman. I reside at 27 Greenwood Ave, which is right next to Han and Aaron and, um, two houses down from Ruth and Jim. Um, I want to first say that, um, I love this town and I volunteer in this town and I think this town is amazing. I am like everyone else deeply, deeply I'm embarrassed that this is going on. I have lived next to Ruth and Jim ever since I bought my house 13 years ago. And now this is the second time in 10 years that I have a rat problem. And Mr. Mayor, I've gone to you before 10 years ago, and thank you. You helped me. And that was when they tore all three of those old homes down and we know it was hoarded. There were animal situations. I get it. The homes needed to come down. Um, at that time they were only building a small Madison market with apartments above. And we did petition the dumpster, which is not directly next to my house, but next to my neighbors, Ruth and Jim. Um, Every day I am walking my property like a crazy person. I'm sure they see me in my backyard. looking for rodents, rats, whatever. I've hired an exterminator as soon as, um, I was notified about this situation just because of what happened to me 10 years ago. Um, this time it is much, much worse. I have to tell you, this is not us, you know, trying to trash a business I've eaten at the Hartley. I think it's very good food. I enjoy eating there. This is about the health of our children. I have a son who's 10. I also have an older daughter. My son's friends came over to play the other day in our backyard. Now boys are different. Boys will grab sticks. They'll hit the rats. They don't care. It is a health issue right now. What we are asking for, we're not asking for a lot. We're asking for the dumpster to be moved. I don't think that is a huge ask. And all of my neighbors around me, we spend a lot of time put into our homes to make them nice, to keep the yards clean, to do whatever. As I said, I'm not here to bash anyone. I love this town. I am a volunteer. I served as PTO president at my son's school. But this is not okay for me. I do appreciate Mayor Yu emailing me back. I do appreciate Bo calling me and talking to me about this. He explained what's going on, get the exterminator. As I said, I do have an exterminator. He comes out weekly. I think you guys have yours weekly as well. But the solve is so, so simple. Great. One minute is fantastic. The solve is so easy. Just move. Just move the dumpster. Like my son will still play in the backyard because it's fun for him. He'll hit him. And that may be funny for some of you. And it's a little funny to me, too. But if I think about it, it's a health issue. And I'm very concerned. Not only my son, but five of his friends were at my house. And I'm like, oh, my God, what am I going to tell their parents? So I'm going to leave with this. As I say again, I love this town. I have nothing against the restaurant or anything. Um, I think Madison has become a very, very elite place to live. Cost of housing has skyrocketed. I have brand new neighbors who just bought a very lovely home and this wasn't in the first sale sign when they purchased the house. So that's all I have to say. I need you guys, all of you, to do your job. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else wishing to comment? Please step forward. One more. I'm sure you're looking forward to me.

So Sam Romano, 29 West Lane, lifelong Madison resident. Mr. Mayor, thank you. Mr. Burnett, between the three of us, we got like 200 years in Madison.

So my question is... 643 on Monday night...

How many rats should you take from your parents?

Sam, you have to address the- You're picking up rats.

And I've sent you these videos, but nobody ever responds to me for them. These are from the driveway right next to the restaurant.

Sam, you have to address the council.

You have to see it? But you've seen it. I emailed you. You know what it is. So what's the number of rats that's acceptable to pick up from your 90-year-old in-law's property? So look, let's keep this simple, and I'm not gonna take much time. Number one, first off, between 1975, 74, 74, 74, 77. Thank you for all what you've done for the town of Madison. This is not just a nuisance, but it's also a significant health threat. These rats carry significant viruses. And we've got 90-year-olds and kids. And God forbid something bad happens from all of it. As government officials, you are all custodians of the welfare of the citizens of Madison. So please keep the seniors safe. Please stop letting mothers worry about the health of their children. Please keep the children safe. Mothers and seniors should not be worried about their health. And honestly, I don't have much hope for this meeting because you're all going to say, well, we tried. We tried, we tried, we tried. And I'm going to tell you something Not many, I don't know how many of you are local. Mr. Burnett, you are a Madison guy. Coach Monica grabbed my mask on the football field 50 years ago and yelled into my face and it says, you know what? Trying is for losers. It's about performance. Because I let a running back get outside me. So I'm hoping that you're not just triers, that you're performers. Anything I can do to help you with this, I'm more than happy to. I appreciate everything that you guys do for government. But this is a situation that needs to be fixed. Because you've got mothers and children and seniors that are concerned. Thank you very much for your time, and I appreciate your concern for this issue. Thank you, Sam. Did you ever play for Coach Monica? I did not.

You're lucky.

You're lucky.

Anyone else wish to comment on any topic, please step forward.

Ah, print my name.

I can do that.

Mayor, council, Jerry Schreck from Madison, Britain Avenue, or Britain Street. I wasn't going to say anything today. I just came to listen. But two things struck a chord with me. One was that you said we had a rat problem on Britain Street, and I never knew about it, which scares me a little bit, number one. And number two, Megan, it's nice, and I don't know the law, so you guys tell me if I'm wrong. Just to address the council, please. I'm happy to address everybody. You can hear me from wherever I speak, my friend. It's nice that you're going to put a law in place that will require a resident to hire an exterminator and solve a rat problem. Does the same thing exist for a business? And if it does, why hasn't that been done? Because it seems to me, if you're gonna come to me on Britain Street and say, hey, you got a rat problem, you're responsible to fix it, because I've got a new ordinance from my friend Megan over here, who I hate to point at, I'd rather look at, but you get mad when I look over there, so I won't. But a business can just say, oh, we'll worry about it later, it's not us. And I know you're shaking your head because there's an ordinance, but obviously they haven't done anything about it, right? They haven't solved it, right? Because the problem is still there. So interestingly enough, because I was having this conversation with my wife, and I said, you know what? And not that I'm a radical. John, you would know this. I'm not really that radical. But if the borough doesn't solve the problem, is the easier solution to just say, why don't we just boycott the business? And if there's no business, there's no trash. And if there's no trash, there's no rats. How's that for a solution? Probably not one that we want in the borough probably not one that we want for the business owners Probably not one that we want for the community But it is a way to solve the problem So think about that one, thank you, thank you Jerry anyone else wishing to comment please step forward No

Hello. Uh, my name is Han witty and my husband, Aaron and I reside at 25 Greenwood Avenue with our five children. Uh, we moved in, in September, uh, the backyard sold us. Like my husband said, it's an L shape. And on April 30th, I had an appointment with the landscaper to talk about the plans for our backyard. As I'm standing there, the L part, it's like an upside down L and where that, um, we have a big soccer goal in the back. And, um, literally nine, nine, 11 o'clock in the morning, we see rats running along the fence, going to the dumpster. Hence why I called the health department, Ruth and Jim called the health department. And I went over to inspect the dumpster open and there was wooden pallets. There's holes everywhere. It was on their property. It was on ours. This is, I'm not here to cause conflict. I, there is a reasonable solution here. And then the fact that poor Jim and Ruth, when we moved in, We saw them out every single day. I mean, poor Jim. I just feel like these people are so burdened by this problem that is easily, there is a simple solution given the fact of the massive parking lot that is there. If you see, have you guys, do you know where the dumpster is on that lot? Imagine yourselves living there. Imagine yourself having to deal with this on a daily basis. I'm becoming neurotic. Every day, I'm like Hillary. going in my backyard. Let's see if there's more holes. Let's see where they are. We found a dead rat. My four year old and husband on Friday was seeing a bunny and a rat duking it out. A bunny and a rat. He swore in his life. I'm like, did you have the camera? No. Like he was outside playing with my daughter and this is happening. I have five kids. My son is a senior. He was part of the soccer state champ. He scored the golden goal. He's running a business of training kids. He was using the backyard to train and earn some money for college. And he can't do that now. What parent in their right mind would send their kid to train in the backyard? One minute. OK. Please, please, I beg you to put yourselves in our shoes. Why are we having to deal with this? When there is a constant food source, you will find the rats there. We are finding a huge raccoon. We have security cameras. And we ended up having four motion floodlights in the backyard to trigger them. You can see from our cameras that they are moving back there. With the summers coming, I would love for my children to be out in the backyard, to have their friends come over and enjoy and to be kids. So please put yourselves in our position and do the right thing.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to comment on any topic, please step forward.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mayor, members of the council, neighbors, and friends. My name is Barbara Hannon. I live at Alexander in Alexander Avenue. It's the street over from Greenwood, and it's up a little bit from this dumpster area. Our house actually is behind Hillary's house, and I have heard from other neighbors that they have also seen rats on their property. So this isn't problem that's just contained to Greenwood Avenue or the houses that are just a few Lots away from this dumpster You know these people their quality of life is being affected and this problem is getting bigger So anything that you can do we would certainly appreciate your assistance in getting this Excuse me matter resolved. Thank you.

Thank you Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward

My name is Paul Zitelli. I live on Alexander Avenue behind one of our neighbors on Greenwood. There are about ten children in the close proximity to this issue. A couple weeks ago, we had a little meeting in that parking lot. And within a half hour period, I visually saw 12 or more rats running in and out of the holes behind this dumpster. I also agree with my neighbors about the movement of the dumpster, but I disagree with them in that the dumpsters need to have tops on them. I just came from the parking lot prior to the meeting, and one of the dumpsters does not have a top on, and the other one doesn't seal properly. Even moving it 20, 30 yards away I don't think would solve the issue. Again, prior to coming to this meeting tonight, I found out that one of our neighbors farther down the street, away from the said issue, closer to Britain, is experiencing rats on their property. So it's not limited to the close proximity to the dumpster. Whereas I have not seen rats on my property, I, like my neighbors, go back and try and determine if I have an issue like they do. But it's concerning now that Several houses down the street, down Alexander, closer to Britain, is experiencing issues with rodents, rats. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

I'm Bill Cuco. I live at 23 Alexander, further up the block, closer to Britain. I'm a couple doors from Britain. I'm in Madison, in that house, 41 years, I think. I have a big vegetable garden. I have my own compost barrel. I actually have two compost systems for all my garden waste and vegetable scraps. while i've had raccoons and my share of groundhogs in the 40 years we never had rats before this year i too took a look at the dumpster the one doesn't even have a cover and and that's where all the holes are right behind that dumpster but they're going up the block um I don't know that if the restaurant is filling the dumpster and the rats are feeding from the dumpster, why do I have to pay for an exterminator? It doesn't make any sense. I don't know the history. I don't know if there's been a citation to the restaurant about the dumpster situation or not. But if there hasn't, then somebody else has fallen down on the job. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else wishing to be heard, please step forward.

Can we leave their phone here?

one last thing i can't say it's nothing sam no i just want to say thank you okay i just want to say thank you all right i'll i'll excuse that thank you appreciate seeing no one else i closed this part of the meeting uh just a few comments and um obviously uh megan avalon is still here so i thank you for uh being here and uh listening to the concerns and neighbors It's certainly, there's a whole host of quality of life things that get to us and rats is probably number one. Just having been there and from what I've had communication with and all that, what I saw at my end of Britain Street was not to this level. This is obviously not the first time we've had an issue like this in Madison. It will not be the last time, but they do come up for different reasons. My reason was similar to the 10 years ago tearing down of an old house that creates problems. Sometimes it's as simple as reconstruction, redoing stormwater and disturbing the rats down in the sewer system. And these are things that make, I know, really probably get people a little upset to hear. And we've heard something as benign as a bird feeder. Bottom line is, you know, we heard the comments about the location of the dumpster, and we will look at what steps can be taken. There are limitations. But the bottom line is, wherever it is, whether it's on a property line, deep in there, if it's not maintained properly, we're going to have a problem. Typically, rats will go about 100 yards searching for food, which is why multiple neighbors have seen the issues. hold, whether it's this business or any other business in Madison, accountable if they do not live up to standards to protect our lives. And so we've had conversations with Megan and our health department. They are committed to follow through and follow through and follow through. And I ask you to, you know, the challenge with a rat infestation is it doesn't disappear overnight. But we are making progress. But please communicate any issues you see coming up that you think is slipping in the wrong direction. We will communicate the steps that we are taking. And again, if there are violations related to maintaining a property, we will come down hard on them. I don't think there's anything else I can add. And again, I understand the concern about the location. We will discuss what options we have. did have a call out to the property owner. He was traveling, and then I had my conference, and so I will follow up with him too as far as, because to be successful, you need to be a good neighbor, and we want him to be successful. All right, thank you. We now move on to, and thank you for all those that took the time to come out here, and we will continue to communicate. We move on to introduction of ordinances. Will the clerk please read the statement?

The ordinance listed for introduction will have a hearing date set for June the 8th, 2026. It will be posted and filed according to law and copies will be made available to the general public requesting same.

I ask, by memory, the clerk to- I have it right here. Set ordinances by title and ordinance 27-2026.

Ordinance of the borough of Madison, amending and supplementing chapter 195 of the borough code entitled land development to prohibit data centers.

Mayor, I move ordinance 27-2026.

Second. Council discussion.

So as outlined in the ordinance, This topic was brought up by the Land Use Subcommittee of the Planning Board and generally it just states that data center use is not in line with our master plan and not in line with, frankly, the land we have available. It's not a moral objection to data centers or AI. It's simply that based on the intensity and the areas and the zones that we have in Madison, it's not appropriate land use here in Madison.

I just want to say I appreciate that our administration is kind of getting out ahead of this. There have been huge fights in other towns as companies have come and said, well, we'll do this and we'll do that. And big issues. So I appreciate this because it would be a detriment to Madison. And we may have a disagreement on whether or not it's moral against data centers and AI. But I support it regardless. And I appreciate that it's, again, being taken care of before it becomes an issue rather than after the fact.

Comments like this did come up by the hot topic at the mayor's conference last week, which I said, you know of course people are doing research on data centers by using AI and So yes, they need to be somewhere but they need to be appropriately sort located a four square mile town of 17,000 with very limited spaces is not the location so, you know, certainly the planning board will review this compared to the master plan and I think they will come back with a Yes, it is consistent. Any other comments? We'll call vote, please.

Mr. Landrigan? Yes. Mr. Range? Yes. Mr. Harlan-Cudis? Yes. Ms. Monahan? Yes. Mr. Forte? Yes. Ms. Cohen? Yes.

We now move on to consent agenda resolutions. Will the clerk please read the statement?

Consent agenda resolutions will be enacted with a single motion. Any resolution requiring expenditure is supported by a certification of availability of funds. Any resolution requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda. All resolutions will be reflected in full in the minutes.

Mayor, I move resolutions R-176-2026 through R-181-2026. Second.

Any discussion or anything that needs to be pulled?

I have one comment, Bob. Mayor Bob, when I was looking at the resolution, it's something very minor. For bottle hill day, it says October 3rd, Saturday, October 3rd. Does it matter if it's really October 3rd or October 2nd? I didn't even look at my calendar on my phone.

I was going to bring that up. Did you see that? It's actually the 3rd. We have the 2nd on here.

Yeah. Okay. It doesn't matter. I'm going to come Friday to the beer garden and Saturday.

Administratively, it's been posted for the 3rd. We will administratively correct that. Okay. It will be a Saturday.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So we will. The title has the right name. The title has the right name. The title has the right name. Okay. Another question.

Another question. So the Wayfair signage did phase one, and it might have started, and I don't know. I'm just asking you, do we already start installing?

No, we approved it all and everything. Yeah, we approved the production. Oh, great. It's a matter of time.

Okay, so we might see it maybe by the summer. Do you have any idea? Right? Yeah? Great. Thank you.

Any other comments? Roll call vote, please.

Mr. Landrigan? Yes. Mr. Range? Yes. Mr. Harlan Putis? Yes. Ms. Honahan? Yes. Mr. Forte?

Yes.

Yes.

All right, there is no unfinished business. Move on to approval of vouchers. Will the clerk please read the voucher totals?

From the current fund, $8,281,364.38. From the general capital fund, $110,286.77. From the Electric Operating Fund, $831,380.30. From the Electric Capital Fund, $98,277.59. From the Water Operating Fund, $76,731.42. From the Water Capital Fund, $53,560.18. And from the trust, $71,605.46. The total is $9,523,206.10. Mayor, I move approval of the vouchers. Second. Any discussion? Roll call vote, please. Mr. Landrigan? Yes. Mr. Raines? Yes. Mr. Harlan-Prudis? Yes.

Ms. Honahan? Yes. Mr. Forte? Yes. Ms. Helton? Yes.

There is no new business. I'll entertain a motion to adjourn