Town Council Notifications - Regular Meeting

It's a Are we ready? All right. Good evening

everybody. Um on this short Thanksgiving week, thanks to everyone's joining us tonight here and in person. Adequate notice of this meeting as required by the open public meeting act meetings act was provided through the posting mailing and filing of the annual notice of readily scheduled meetings of the town council on December 17, 2024. The notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building provided to the Westfield leader in the star ledger and filed with the clerk of the town of Westfield. Miss Washi, may I have a roll call? Mayor Brindle here. Council members here. here. Domo here. Keeper here. Saunders here. Armentoto here. Here. Key here.

Please rise for the invocation given by Councilman Armento and remain standing for the salute to the flag. In this gathering of our town council, let us pause to acknowledge the rich tapestry of beliefs and backgrounds that enrich our community. May we approach our deliberations with humility, recognizing that each of us brings unique perspectives and experiences to the table. Let us listen with open minds, speak with kindness, and act with integrity. May our efforts be guided by a spirit of cooperation and a commitment to serving the common good to the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation.

Jim, yeah, why don't we do that? Sure. You got it right. Oh, you name it. That's right. Okay. I think we have some important, very distinguished guests joining us. Come on, Julie. Come on, General. Come on. All three.

Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. Well, this is a fun thing to do um this holiday week. So, and this is in recognition of John Caroware. Whereas on August 29th, 1781, the allied armies of General George Washington and General Jean Baptiste, okay,

thank you. Um K to Rashimbo marched through New Jersey with one line marching through the town of Westfield, New Jersey along what is now recognized as the Washington Raj Shamboo Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail on their historic journey to Yorktown, Virginia, where the United Forces secured the victory that assured American independence. And whereas on August 29th, 2020, the town of Westfield first formally commemorated this momentous event recognizes recognizing the vital role our community played in the march that symbolized unity, sacrifice, and the enduring bond between two nations. And whereas the town of Westfield greatly appreciates the continuing work of the W trail administrator, Mr. Johnny F. Carowan whose dedication and leadership have been instrumental in supporting the town's initiatives to honor and preserve the legacy of this historic trail. And whereas the Washington Rash Shambo Revolutionary Route stands as a powerful testament to the French American alliance past, present, and future that began with the friendship and cooperation between the American and French forces during the Revolutionary War and continues to inspire our shared commitment to liberty and democracy. And whereas the town of Westfield proudly honors this alliance and its living legacy by annually commemorating the W trail through the community event known as March to Yorktown Day, celebrating not only our shared revolutionary history, but also the ongoing partnership between the peoples of France and the United States. And whereas through his efforts, Mr. Peruan has strengthened the connection between our community and the broader historical network that the trail represents, fostering education, remembrance, and civic pride among residents and visitors alike, ensuring that the spirit of the French American alliance continues to inspire future generations. Now therefore, be it proclaim that I,

Shelley Brindle, mayor of the town of Westfield, together with the town council, on behalf of all residents, do hereby offer our deepest appreciation and sincere thanks to Mr. Johnny F. Carowan, trail administrator, for his outstanding service, partnership, and enduring commitment to preserving and commemorating our shared revolutionary heritage and the everlasting friendship between the peoples of France and the United States. Thank you. [applause] Hey everyone. Uh my name is Peter Wong. Um I uh and currently the chief um the education supervisor over at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Uh but previously I served on detail uh as the chief of education uh at the Washington uh Rosha Motor Trail. Um and uh Johnny W is very sorry that he couldn't be here today. I wish that he re really could be here. And um I yeah, I just had a couple of remarks, you know. Oh, thank you so much. Sorry. Thank you.

That's probably the uniform. Um good good evening, Mayor Brindle. uh members of town council, uh town administrator Jim Gild, um assistant town administrator Heather Ray, distinguished staff, and the board of W3R New Jersey. Uh today's proclamation isn't just a recognition of the trail. It's a recognition of Westfield's place in the story of American independence. I'm grateful for your partnership and excited to keep sharing this history with your community as we move toward America 250. On behalf of the National Park Service, it is an honor to join you as Westfield recognizes the Washington Roshanbo Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. Uh thank you for making this uh meaningful proclamation and for reaffirming the importance of preserving and interpreting the revolutionary history that runs through this community. This proclamation celebrates the town's connection to the route traveled by the French and American forces on their march to victory at Yorktown. A story of alliance and shared purpose that inspires all Americans. My sincere thanks to Mor Brindle, the town council, and the town leadership for elevating Westfield's role in this national story. To the town staff and departments whose work strengthens this community every day. Thank you for your partnership and dedication. And to the board of W3R New Jersey, thank you for your unwavering advocacy and commitment to keeping this story alive across the state. This proclamation is more than recognition. It reflects our shared responsibility preserving and celebrating a legacy that belongs to all of us. Thank you Westfield uh for your support and stewardship of this nationally significant trail. Thank you. [applause]

And it just goes without saying none of this would be happening without the leadership of Julia. and she really has been our biggest cheerleader champion and first recognized really what role West Westfield had in this important important history and so so grateful that it will be forever remembered here um thanks to your leadership. So oh and all of us. So all right so a picture and you have something more than the hat really. Oh I thought this was mine just as cool. Thank you.

Oh, that's great. Oh, this is very special.

You get your hat. Can we move this way? [applause] That was fun.

I know. All right. Chip.

Okay. Um, thank you, mayor. Just a reminder, um, proclamation, fun stuff. Uh, if you, gentlemen, lady, like to say at the end of this meeting, the last uh legislative uh item on the agenda tonight is a resolution to rename Triangle Park to Washington Roshambo Trail Park. So, another uh official action that will be done here tonight. So, uh a couple quick updates uh for the mayor and council um leave collection, our most exciting thing in the world. Uh proceeding very well. Just a couple reminders. Um this is the second year now we have um um sort of a little revised reenhanced program which is going very well. Reminder, we of course we send the brochure out to everybody ahead of time. We do social media and NIXLE reports on a weekly basis. Um we last year we started this new process and it's worked well. We send out our crews earlier than normal. Actually this year was on the week of November October 20th, excuse me. Um, we know from our past experience where the heaviest volume of leaves are in town, the streets that generate the heaviest volume. So, we before we start sequential pickup, we go out to these streets for one week ahead of time and pick up large volumes the first week and then we start sequential pickup. The other thing we changed last year, which we're continuing on this year, we're actually changing the start of the sequential pickup. So, if we start in area one on the north side, area six or seven on the south side, we do two and eight or two and seven, uh, three and eight and so forth. So this year we started in three and eight. Um and uh the the guys are doing a great job. Again on the 27th of October, we are now into our third pass um uh in town. And with the rate they're working and the leaves, how they're falling and so forth, we'll actually be able to do everything well well uh within our our normal six week time frame, which is uh mid December. Uh conservation center hours did start earlier as usual. Uh this second year we started about on on October 14th which is about a week or two earlier than normal where people can

go without a permit, drop off leaves there, pick up free leaf bags by the way and for the public to know we still have some free leaf bags available if you want to bag your leaves which we do encourage. Uh and we've been doing that for a while and the free leaf bags are something that are popular. Um and we started this last year thanks at the recommendation of our public works director Craig Gibson. Um we if you remember many of us around for a long time you would get leaf season done and then street sweepers would follow after leaf season was over. Last year we started a situation where street sweepers would be out and follow the crews as they went along. Has made a huge difference uh not only for storm water issues but for just cleanliness of the street afterwards. Uh and that's been working very very well and we're starting to see in year two people really actually thanking the crews on the street for not just getting leaves off the street but then sweeping the street right afterwards. So, it's a clean. There's not a lot of remnants left in the street. So, uh lastly, um the crews are working on Saturdays from November 8th through December 14th. Uh and that's supplementing our uh efforts not only around the areas we can't get to during the week around schools, school parking, etc., but some of the other thorough affairs like busy thoroughares, a Lawrence Avenue, a Raway Avenue, Willow Grove Road, and East Dudley. Therapares were thinner roads, sometimes bigger traffic. We're actually picking those streets up sometimes four or five times during leaf season this year and last year versus what it used to be years ago only twice maybe three times. So um again kudos to public works working very well. We have a few weeks to go. I'll say I said it a lot in the past years but remember to the public uh leave piles are supposed to be leaves. No mums, no pumpkins, no concrete, no branches, no hay bales. Uh because we have to take the leaves that we put in the trucks. They either go to the center where we have to actually store them for a short time or they go right to the county facility. If we go there with other debris in the leaf piles, we get turned away. Uh and that goes for every single town. So, it's important that the leaf piles are are pure and clean and it's been working pretty well this year. So, again, this leaf season is going well. Um and public works is doing a

phenomenal job. Um paving. So, we've [clears throat] had a very successful year in paving. Um just a couple of quick updates of what where we started. So, Lizotown Gas uh infrastructure company doing their infrastructure work underground replacing gas manes because of our ordinance which was done in 2019. They're required to pave the entire roadway or at least the section that they disturbed uh curb to curb instead of either patching or paving only half the road. So, this year uh Lizardtown Gas had 20 roads or sections of road they're going to work on doing infrastructure work. Uh as of today's date, they have done 14 areas completely and they've repaved those 14 areas curb to curb. The last six areas are currently um in war two in the Manitou Circle um UNAMI terrace area. Uh and that's they're doing the infrastructure work now underground. They're digging the digging the trenches. So that section will be paved in early 2026. Uh, and right now all the utility companies, unless there's anything that they haven't shown us yet, so Lizardtown Gas, American Water, uh, PSG, God bless you, doesn't have a lot of things underground. Um, uh, they have basically caught up with a lot of their infrastructure work underground, gas mains and water mains being replaced. So, our list of utility work will be shrinking, if not down to very little, and we'll be able to finish our our work. So, next year, um, uh, well, go back for a second. This year the town our our road program was 41 roads. As of today 39 of the 41 roads are complete. The only two roads are not complete are the two state aid jobs we've talked about for some time. They've been out to bid. We've awarded those contracts but again we have a a delay on the state side. It is a transition of power of the state. So it's not unusual for things to be delayed. We cannot start working until they give us approval on certain things. So it looks like Elm Street which is the part of the state a job between Dudley and Broad Street and Raway Avenue between Cotting Road roughly and Willow Grove road will have to be delayed till spring of 2026. Uh we also don't want to start a project this

late in the season where you have cold weather issues where you have concrete being poured or asphalt going down or wouldn't cure properly in the cold weather. So those will be early 2026 projects but the money is there. We've awarded it and the contracts can be can be held over. Uh last thing to say is um the 2026 road program for the town has been advertised all year long. It's on our website. Uh and just a reminder, 2026 is the last year where we complete the paving of over a 100 miles of road in Westfield between utilities and the town since 2018, which is frankly remarkable. Over 100 miles of road. And again, reminder, just over half of that was done by utilities because of our road program and road requirements. So half the roads in town that have been paved um some twice because some work had to be done but nonetheless are paved by utility companies saving the town taxpayer dollars having to allocate capital funds. So uh if we go through and finish that road program next year that's already been advertised we'll have 100 roads 100 miles of road paved in the town and and since you know in what seven or eight years which is remarkable one of those years was co by the way where every town took a break we really didn't pave anything at all. Um so pretty remarkable. Um anyway, so that's road paving. Last is uh probably the most exciting thing is our our street sign auction. Um got a lot of questions about that from not only council members but the public. So just just a reminder this um we replaced every street sign in town, not only town owned street signs, county owned street signs. And I want to thank the county again for allowing us to have an agreement with them to not only allow us to replace their signs, but we will maintain them now going forward and have responsibility for them, which is something we wanted. Um all signs have been rebranded uh with the blue and white um larger signs, larger fonts townwide. Um that was done for obviously safety reasons, for um you know, read readability reasons, but also branding reasons. Um all signs have been fabricated inhouse. If you remember two years ago, we purchased equipment, technology, materials, etc. So, public

works now did everything in house, made all the signs in house, fabricated them, installed them all and going forward, if something happens to a sign, gets knocked over for an accident, falls down, whatever it may be, we can go out and take care of it right away, not only on town, but also on county roads now, which is amazing. Uh, and again, thank you to public works, Gene Watkins and his road crew who really spearheaded this. Uh, and frankly, it took just about one year, which is what we expected for everything to be done, including county road signs. So, a couple things about the auction. when we finished the the uh were in the process of the road sign replacement, what do we do with the old signs? Uh and you know now we uh decided to auction them off. Uh and so as of October 7th, we launched an auction for 995 signs to be auctioned off. We were limited on how many signs we could sell by the auction platform. That auction went until November 13th. So we offered 999 995 signs for auction. We had a total of eight 1,848 people register to bid on these signs as part of the auction. Uh there were 28 signs during this auction that did not sell. So some streets were not as popular as others. Um we had over 9,362 bids uh in total for this auction and almost half of those came in the last 24 hours. Um and it was a flurry of bidding and people on this dis I know and some people in the in the public did a lot of bidding. Um, so, uh, the sign with the highest price that sold for the highest price was Caciola Place, $550 for that one sign. Um, the sign with the most bids was Tuttle Parkway. 61 bids for Tuttle Parkway. Um, [clears throat] we had 38 signs sell for over $300 each. Um, the top number of signs, one by one by one resident was 22 at $4,200 by one resident. Bought 22 signs. Um all paid for by the way. Um and uh the second and third place uh number of signs sold by

one resident 10 and seven. So many people bought more than one sign. Um so drum roll the entire amount raised. We still have a few stragglers out there. We've had some about you know handful of people that um didn't decide to pay at the end. Uh the bidder the bid now goes to the next highest bidder. So we still have a few stragglers less than $1,000 yet to collect. But as of today, we've collected over $86,000 as for this auction. So, pretty amazing. [applause] And as as previously talked about, that money uh as mayor has said in multiple times and a good public arts commission projects uh which we have many of uh not only for murals, but also we have some parks coming on to uh in into our our place next year and the year after. Central Avenue and South Avenue. Uh Westville Crossing Park that's going to be started very soon. So, a lot of public arts projects will be well funded going forward. Um, last thing to say is um because we were limited on the amount of signs we could sell on this auction and not all the signs sold and we didn't have authority to sell county signs because we don't own the signs technically. We look we will look to have another auction for the remnant signs next year which will hopefully hopefully include county signs assuming they we can work out a deal with them. Any signs that didn't sell and there were a few streets because we had to limit the amount of street or signs sold. some streets that were longer streets such as Lawrence, such as Rawway, such as Will Grove, such as Forest Avenue, and the list goes on and on. We limited how many signs we could sell on those streets. Um, so we will have an opportunity to sell other signs next year in a separate auction, much smaller auction, I'm sure, but uh for those that may have missed out, we'll do that again next year. But all in all, a great auction, a great opportunity, a great activity for the residents. And just want to thank the staff again, public works, amazing job. I mean, they did replacing the signs. Some of the signs were repositioned because they were in bad spots, were invisible. They had to trim trees. Um, they put new poles in in certain cases. Um, some poles were not able to be replaced, but

they just did a phenomenal job in really a year. Also, the staff here, it took a lot to do this auction, um, to find out the company to use, a lot of behind the scenes work. Kim Ford, uh, we had some seasonal staff, uh, Heather, our assistant administrator, um, our IT staff. Uh, this is not an easy thing to do, but I think for those that used it, it was pretty easy to use, pretty intuitive, and um, and again, the fact that almost everybody paid, not everybody, but almost everybody paid when we asked them to pay shows that people were eager to do this, and we're excited about it. So, again, thank you for letting us do this, and I think it really was a good result. So, thanks. Yeah. Is there an award that the state has for creative undertaking?

Yeah, we're we're not we're not the first one to do this um uh in this way. Again, we we do sell a lot of uh municipal assets on a site called a municip. But when you think about municipal assets, it's mostly vehicle older vehicles, larger pieces of equipment. Many towns do this across the state. um this the other um experience we have with this number of years ago, if you remember, we did a butterfly uh program uh public art downtown and then after that it was maybe 15 or 20 butterflies we sold. Um and that was something that went very well. But this is definitely a much larger process. Um and there are municipal signs that are sold sometimes through municip but we that public site doesn't have as much um you don't have as much control over the product to the res photos and how you can bid and so [clears throat] forth. So this auction site we found was much more conducive than other ones. But um no this is innovative thing and definitely uh produced some dollars for public arts commission.

Sustainability there are awards you can win. Yep. There is a an innovation governance award. It's the one that we won for the ice rink like years ago. Correct. Y thank you.

All right. Great job. It's amazing. That's great. Great. Great. Um so just a few short public comments tonight. want to remind everybody that there is uh the call out for volunteers for boards and commissions. Um the you can apply on the website on the town's website. Um the they are going to be filled by the incoming Burman administration and the deadline to apply is next Friday, December 5th. And once again, really grateful to those who have stepped up to vote their time and energy to benefit us all. Um, I also want to remind everybody in spite of the fact that the SNAP um uh issues have somewhat uh been uh resolved or they're no longer disruptive, I should say. Um, but we actually there's still a desperate need at the local food banks um to uh to address certainly during the holidays food insecurity. Um, so the Westfield Food Pantry continue ex continues to accept non-p perishables and it is located at 425 North Avenue East here in Westfield. Open Monday through Friday 9:30 to 11. And they also have collection boxes at the YMCA entrance and the Westfield Police Department entrance um 247. Um, and also the Westfield Fire Department, uh, the FNBA Local 30 is once again collecting non-p perishable food and grocery gift cards for families in need. donations are accepted at the main firehouse and firehouse 2 through December 18th. Um I also learned through the food pantry when you give gift cards um they also enable them to buy like milk and fresh produce and so forth so so forth like that. So um so gift cards are also really really welcome. Um uh I also want to line it very exciting not only is Thursday holiday uh Thanksgiving but it kicks off a very eventful downtown holiday season. Um mo very excitingly free holiday parking begins on uh Friday um through January 1st for the pay station lots and street meters. Um s holiday shopping will be in full swing beginning with this next Saturday um small business Saturday where you'll

find lots of activities and great deals. Um Santa will be arriving Saturday evening. So stay in town, shops, shop local, and then stay in town beginning at 5:00 for the festivities. Um, and the Christmas tree lighting and Santa's arrival beginning at 5. And there's going to be a DJ and all kinds of treats for the kids. So I encourage everybody to come in town. Um, the DWC has lots more information on their website about other holiday happenings. Um, the return of miracle on Elm Street, the promotion, photos with Santa, Santa, free holiday gift wrapping is going to be available heirloom on Elm Street. Um, and the recreation is also sponsoring their annual holiday lights contest and registration is open through December 10th on the Civic Red W website. And uh also want to let remind everybody that the Manura lighting is also scheduled Sunday, December 14th at 5:00 pm again at the North Avenue train station to celebrate Hanukkah with the Union County Tour Center Shabbat. And that is also always a really fun outing. Um tonight's agenda is relatively light, especially with this holiday week. However, we do have one very important resolution that Jim has already alluded to. Um, and that is to rename Triangle Park to Washington Rashambo Trail Park. Um, this proposal comes from Julie who has been a tireless advocate for Westfield's historical roles in the Washington Rasho Trail as we just discussed. Um, so and you and she's also established the Charles Adams Heritage Trail and the attendance in that has been overwhelming. Um, but it's really important that this trail is recognized by the National Park Service as a nationally significant historic corridor. And we now have a section of that trail here in Westfield that borders what is currently known as Triangle Park at the intersection of Mount Avenue, Lawrence Avenue, and Walnut Street. So, the renaming is timely in advance of the America 250 celebrations coming up in 2026 as we continue to highlight Westfield's role in the history of the region. In

addition, the Historic Preservation Commission endorsed this renaming, and that's important because this park was locally designated as an historical site back in 2019. So, once again, incredibly grateful to Julie for her dedication to preserving Westfield's history, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to formalize the town's role on the Washington Rashambo National Historic Trail that will hopefully be remarked and uh and and remembered there in perpetuity. So, thank you. Um, okay. So with that, tonight's agenda. Miss Lashy, are there any advertised hearings?

Yes, mayor. We have three advertised hearings tonight. Starting with general ordinance 202520 in order to amend the code of the town of Westfield chapter 13. Anyone wishing to be heard on general ordinance 202520, please come to the microphone, state your name and address for the record. Seeing no one, mayor, you may close the hearing. This hearing is closed. Next is general ordinance 202521, an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield the posting of signs displaying advertisements or offensive language in public spaces. Anyone wishing to be heard on me or 202521, please come to the microphone, state your name and address for the record.

And uh mayor and council, I just want to uh note the amendment that we've made to this since the introduction of the ordinance. We did have a resident uh who sent an email. It's good to know that residents are reading so closely. uh raised a concern about um the language related to u prohibition against lewd, indecent or obscene language um that we have in this sign ordinance. Um we intended to track the New Jersey hate crimes law which has language with respect to um outlawing that. And so what we did by amending it was simply put the statutory site the NJSA2C col 34-3 uh to make clear that we're tracking the hate crimes law under state law uh and and that we weren't being too vague in how we described uh that language. So that's the only amendment that we've made. It's a clarifying amendment. Doesn't require reintroduction.

Thank you. Uh, good evening. Sean Mullen, town resident. Uh, I'm sorry, your street address. Uh, I'm going to decline to in in accordance with Daniel's law to give my street address.

All right. First and foremost, I'd like to thank the Institute for Justice for its intervention in this matter and for the specific efforts of attorney Ben Field. The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit public interest law firm whose mission it is to end the widespread abuses of government power and secure const the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams. Now, it's important to note how we got here. This wasn't just some random lawyer at a public interest firm who scoured the internet and somehow found Westfield's signed ordinance. According to the uh police report from 109 2021, I quote, "Council m Councilman Michael Dardia states the Republican party candidates for the township of Westfield have a table and sign set up inside of the park and he states it is quote illegal for them to have their signs on public property and would like an officer to respond and tell the individuals to remove their signs for the remainder of the weekend." Now, there is no record of this town ever issuing a summon for the violation of what's formerly known or soon to be formerly known as section 32-4i of the town code. There's no record of anyone ever requesting permission from the town or the town council to display a sign. And there's actually no process for anyone to obtain a permit to display a sign in the town of Westfield aside from building codes and things like that. that what you had here was a partisan councilman and a candidate for him for office himself who was the head of the public safety committee in the midst of the highest crime rates in a decade with no official business there. He went to a town park in order to the police to prevent his political opponents from doing the same exact thing he and his colleagues have done on innumerable occasions. Now, this wasn't about a flag football game, a breast cancer fundraiser, having campaign signs in front in a park or in front of kids. The mayor and council majority have done this before and on many occasions. I have plenty of examples here I'm I'm happy to share with you guys.

This is about hypocrisy and the weaponization of an unconstitutional, outdated, and previously uninforced ordinance in order to violate the civil liberties of your political opponents. An ordinance that you yourselves have violated more times and can be highlighted here. The question was not whether it was wrong, which it was on so many levels, but instead how far was Mike Dardio willing to take it, but he had us fined, arrested, jailed. We were your fellow citizens, your neighbors, and you treated us like criminals. Mike Daria ordered an armed police officer to stop us from doing something you all have done yourselves on multiple occasions that allowed your followers, acolytes, and sickans to take so to social media and label us as lawb breakakers. At its best, it was an act of complete ignorance. At its worst, it was provincial deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal civil rights violation. Perhaps the worst thing of all is that Mayor Brindle, you knew it was wrong and did nothing to fix it until now on your way out the door. I came here and addressed this body over a year and a half ago about this matter. I met with you and you refused to change the ordinance and even lamely attempted to explain that this was somehow different than what you and your colleagues had done. Most disappointing was the reaction of the town's professional bureaucracy. The reaction there that this was somehow routine and acceptable. I can tell you from personal experience that the bedrock of good law enforcement is a rigorous adherence to the Constitution. Yet, it appears that no one who works in this building has ever bothered to read it. It's pathetic that it took the intervention of the Institute for Justice and the prospect of litigation to write this wrong. Now, the town attorney referred to this incident quote as an apparent dispute between two political opponents of opposing parties and that the town does not either in its language ordinance ordinances or in its enforcement of such ordinances ever engage in contentbased restrictions on speech. Really, this statement shows he's both unfamiliar with the matter itself. There were four candidates and a sitting councilman present besides

Councilman Dardia or the actions of the town. In fact, he told this council in February of 2021 that there was when there was a question that was posed about signs on town property. He said, quote, "With respect to public spaces and where residents stand on political issues, the town would not police content because it is protected under the constitution." So then, how did this happen? Now, Councilman Dardia owes an apology to everyone who was present at Tmacquas Park on October 9th, 2021, though I'm sure he'll never give one. That seems to be the way it is here. Rules for everyone else, but not yourselves. Display signs whenever you want, but call the cops on your political opponents. This type of behavior is a chilling effect on free speech and the kind of thing and is the kind of thing that happens in dictatorships. You preach about the importance of democracy and even signed a proclamation recognizing Constitution Week. Yet you allowed this to go unressed until now. I thank the council for finally taking necessary steps to make its ordinances constitutional.

No further comments. This hearing is closed. Last is general ordinance 202522, an ordinance amending chapter 8 buildings and chapter 35 exterior property maintenance code of the town code for the town of Westfield to establish regulations for the control of plastic dust and contaminants. Any motion to be heard on general ordinance 202522? Please come to the microphone. State your name and address for the record. Seeing no one may hear. This hearing is closed. Council Hood, please move for the adoption of finance policy committee ordinances. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to move for the adoption of general ordinance number 2025-20, an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield, chapter 13. May I have a second?

Second. By Councilman Saunders. Any discussion? Please call the role. Council members, yes. Yes. Yes. Keeper, yes. Saunders, yes. Yes. Contra. Yes. Yes. Mayor. Yes. This motion is carried. Councilman Contract, please move the adoption of OD and town property committee ordinances. I'd like to move for the adoption of general ordinance number 2025-21, an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield to prohibit the posting of signs displaying advertisements or offensive language in public spaces. We have a second. Second by council mento. Any discussion? Please call the role. Council member Tag. Yes. Yes. Yes. Keeper,

yes. Saunders, yes. Mmentoto, yes. Contract, yes. Yes. Mayor Rendle, yes. This motion is carried. Uh, I'd also like to move for the adoption of general ordinance number 2025-22, an ordinance amending chapter 8, buildings and chapter 35, exterior property maintenance code of the town code for the town of Westfield to establish regulations for the control of plastic dust and contaminants. May I have a second? Second. By councel Dagala. Any discussion? Please call the role. Council member, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. This motion is carried. May I have a motion to approve the minutes from the town council executive session held January 14th, 2025, March 25th, 2025, April 8th, and June 24th, 2025, and town council conference and regular meetings of November 12th, 2025. So moved. Moved by Councilman Dardia. Second. Second. Second by councilman contract. Any discussion? All in favor? Yes.

Opposed? This motion is carried. Now it's time for open discussion by citizens. Anyone may come up to the microphone, speak to the council of any subject on which we have jurisdiction. Your name and address for the record and limit your comments to five minutes. Okay. Hearing none, I close this portion of the meeting and move to bills and claims. Councilman Hapood. Thank you again, Mayor. I'd like to move bills and claims in the amount of $377,139.11. We have a second by Council Dagala. Any discussion? All in favor?

Opposed? This motion is carried. Next, report committees finance policy committee. Council happen.

I have five resolutions, four of which I'd like to move as a package. The first, a resolution authorizing the CFO to draw warrants for overpaid taxes. The second resolution authorizing an affordability assistance grant pursuant to the town of Westfield's affordability assistance program for a tenant of an affordable housing unit at 1312 Echol Lane unit 1312. The third, a resolution to approve insertion of a special item of revenue in the municipal budget for local rec for a local recreation improvement grant which is $84,000. It's going to go toward um tennis court renovations at Memorial Pool and resolution to approve insertion of special item of revenue for the national opioid settlement. May I have a second?

Second. Sec contract. Any discussion? All in favor? Yes. Yes. Opposed? This motion has carried. I'd also like to move a resolution to make a budget transfer. May I have a second? Second. By Councilman Saunders. Any discussion? Please call the RO. Council member Tu. Yes. Yes. Yes. Keeper, yes. Saunders, yes. Armentoto, yes. Contract, yes. Yes. Mayor, yes. This motion is carried.

I'd also like to move general ordinance number 202525 on first reading. An ordinance to amend general ordinance number 2024-26 entitled an ordinance to amend the code of the town of Westfield chapter 2 administration article 3 town officers and employees division 3 personnel positions and salary schedule section 2-128 schedule. May I have a second? Second by council. Any discussion? Please call the council member. Yes. Yes. Yes. Keeper, yes. Saunders, yes. Yes. Contract. Yes. Yes. Mayor,

yes. This motion is carried. Next. Code reviewing town property committee council. I'm excited to move the resolution meeting to Washington. May I have a second? Second. Second by council. Any discussion? Oh no.

It's actually it's just a public service announcement because we're talking about the Revolutionary War with the with this um with this resolution which is great. Um and I just wanted to share that in case people aren't aware there's a wonderful wonderful documentary right now on PBS by Ken Burns on the American Revolution. Um I'm geeking out on it huge. huge. I'm a big history buff to begin with, but you don't have to be a history buff to appreciate it. It's six parts, 12 hours, two hours each. It goes by really fast, and the best part is it's free uh on the website streaming. So, I've been watching it on the training since it's a little hard to sit down with two hours at home a lot of times. Um but highly highly recommend it for for anybody who's interested. Well, I think it's important to discuss the context of this long march uh that took place in uh 1781. Uh the area in which we live, Union County, uh was the scene of some very important uh uh encounters prior to the march in 1781. The first battle in this area uh was way way way before that in 1777 known as the Battle of Short Hills. It wasn't fought anywhere near Milburn. It was fought in Scotch Plains and Edison in the area of the Planefield Country Club and Ashbrook Golf Course. But the in the British notes, what did they call it? The Battle of Westfield. because the Westfield troops uh when uh it was kind of a British victory uh not a big victory, but Westfield uh troops ran through Westfield and up into the mountains uh where Washington was safe. All through the revolution, Washington used the Watch Mountains as essentially

his fortress. So that's way back in 1777. Uh the American Revolution was a handoff once once Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas night in 1776 after losing New York in the summer of 76. When Washington defeated the British at Trenton and then followed up with Princeton, the Revolutionary War became essentially a standoff for several years. The British always had New York City and environments and they also had a lot of ships which the Americans did not have. In the in June of 1780, uh the British said, "We're going to take we're going to go after Washington's troops up there in Marstown area." And they attempted to come from Staten Island, cross the Arthur Kill into Elizabeth, marching up what's now Morris Avenue. In those days, it was called Galloping Hill. Uh, and Vauxhall Road, which were both still there, still parallel. Uh, and they were stopped at what is known as the Battle of Connecticut Farms, which is Union. Uh they attempted they were attempting to go up through the Hobart Pass which is the passage really in the area of the Sheriff Short Hills Mall where you could get up the mountains and possibly attack Washington. They failed at the battle of Connecticut Farms and withdrew. But a few weeks later they tried again and they marched up the same path again. They split on Vauxhall Road and Mars Avenue or what's then called Galloping Hill and uh they were defeated by a smaller group under the leadership of Nathaniel Green in the Battle of

Springfield. It's a very uh un underestimated battle that led to the British giving up their attempts to come in New Jersey and attacked Washington's army. I will say that shortly after the Battle of Springfield and the Battle of Connecticut Farms, a little activity occurred up in West Point where uh Benedict Arnold was in charge of West Point uh the fortress there and of course he worked with Major John Andre of the British uh to attempt to give up the fort. And uh that that summer is when Benedict Arnold successfully fled to the British. Uh John Andre was not so lucky. He was convicted and hung. Uh the British decided to take their ships and go down south where they thought were they were stronger. The Americans didn't have ships. Rashambo of the French landed in uh the spring of 2000 I'm sorry 1780 but they stayed in place and Washington and Rashimbo met I believe in the New York New York area and decided well we don't have any choice we got to go find them we're going to go down and do this march and they did in fact march back through the Hobart Pass and down through Mountain Avenue in Springfield a little on Route 22 which was then called Mountain Avenue. Then Mountain Avenue Westfield, right past Triangle Park. Take a right at the Rialto Theater. There was no Rialto Theater at the time. On Broad Street, all the way down to Lambert's Mill Road and then Raritan Road and all the way down to defeating the British once and for all in Yorktown, Virginia, same state where Mayor Bindle went to school. And not well it's not that close

but no it's I grew up in Yorktown. There you go. I ran cross country on the battlefields in There you go. Okay. So the battle of Yorktown resulted from this fabulous march that went right through our little community Westfield. It is so appropriate. I'm sure all council members agree. So appropriate that we mark this. Believe me as a child I never knew anything about the Washington boat trail. And when I tell people, hey, you know, you live 100 yards from Washington. They never heard of it, but they're really happy to know it. I happen to live about 150 yards from the from the actual line of March. I'm very proud of that. And I tell people all the time about it. Thank you very much, Mayor.

So now you can skip that. Oh, I forgot. You can skip that PBS episode. We have a representative from the National Park Service here tonight. This is a gorgeous foldout brochure that the National Park Service put out long time ago or maybe not that long ago. I I urge the town to purchase these to again enhance the history. Uh it's a pretty detailed map and actually has the whole route showing Westfield right on the right on the the map. Thank you very much. All right. So, all in favor? Yes.

Opposed? This motion has carried. Congrats. [applause] [applause] That's great. And I assume we'll be marking it appropriately, right? Naming signage, the whole bit. All right. May I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Moved by Councilman Hood. Second by Councilman Dardia. All in favor? Opposed. Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Have a great week. This meeting is adjourned.