Borough Council - Regular Meeting

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[Music] many fronts nothing yeah fig good evening I'd like to call the February 10th 2025 B council meeting order will the clerk please read the open public meeting statement adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 231 Public Law 1975 specifying the time date and location by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal building Municipal website providing a copy of the annual notice scheduled to the official newspapers of the burrow and is on file in the clerk's office will the clerk please call the rooll council president zamb BR here councilman Collins councilman moo here councilwoman Pay Here councilman pansi here councilman Potter here mayor Murray presid bur Attorney Peter venola pres bur engineer Mike mlen here burrow engineer L Panka here burrow administrator Fred r car here B clerk Monica Orlando here will everyone please stand for a moment of silence which will be followed by Sleep FL United States America to the stands one nation indivisible Li andice for all so I have a proclamation for National heart month whereas February is American Heart month a time when all people are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health and whereas heart disease is very common in leading cause

in death of men women and people of most racial and ethnic groups one person dies every 33 seconds from cardiovascular disease in the United States someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds and whereas one and 20 adults age 20 and older have coronary artery disease and every every year over 8,000 people in the United States have heart attacks and whereas about one out of every five deaths from cardiovascular disease was among adults that were younger than 6 5 years old and one and five heart attacks are silent the damage is done but the person is not aware of it and whereas February is National heart health month whereas the American Heart Association is committed to changing the future of Health together by promoting healthy eating and fitness and thus preventing heart disease throughout the public and professional education about the risk factors and now for therefore let it be resolved by the burrow Council the burough of miltown County of middlex County state of New Jersey in recognition of the importance of ongoing efforts to prevent heart disease we do hereby declare February 2025 is National heart month heart health month and urge all citizens in miltown to show their support by preventing heart disease by learning more about their heart health eating healthy diet and maintaining o an active lifestyle in witness thereof I have set my hand and caused the official seal on the burrow of miltown to be affixed this 10th day of February

[Applause] 2025 now is the time for public comment limited to the resolutions on the agenda only if you wish to speak please step up to to the microphone state your name and address for the record again this is the public portion is limited to the comments only un listed on the resolutions on the agenda at this time there will five be a five minute time limit as set forth by the rules of councel if someone raises their hand please come up to the F microphone and state your name and address for the record seeing none I will close a AUD public comments the minutes for the December 9th 2024 executive session are on the agenda for approval are there any comments or Corrections can I have a motion to accept am minutes as type so moved second I have a motion made by councilman Potter seconded by council president Zen Brana all in favor I any opposed okay abstain AB exension any abstain thank you sorry ordinance public hearing second reading the following ordinance was introduced on January 21st 2025 and published in accordance with the law any member of the public wishes to comment on this ordinance they may do so after the reading will the clerk please read ordinance 24555 by title ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank njsa 48 call 4- 4514 may I have a motion in a second to adopt ordinance 24-1 15555 so moved

second I have a motion made by council president Zen Brana seconded by councilman Potter um I will now open a public hearing on ordinance 24555 please state your name and address for the record these comments are limited uh on to this ordinance only I will close public comments um may I have uh will clerk please call the rooll council president zamb Brana hi councilman Collins hi councilman moo I councilwoman pay hi councilman pansi I councilman Potter I authorizing payments of M Municipal obligations next on the agenda we have authorizing payments of Municipal obligations will clerk please read resolution 202 2592 by title authorizing the payment of bills claims and statements against the burrow of miltown in a total amount of 3,365 386 and 5 you have heard of reading his resolution are there any questions yes I have a few um I'd like to go to the uh Bill list um page four I've seen it before but I'm going to ask uh the the COA uh Community grants planning um can somebody please explain that to me it's it's 1425 Home Improvement sir um could you repeat that I I didn't I didn't catch any of that at all um Comm Community grants planning um yes sir um Home Improvements Yes program right excuse me they are they are the they're The Firm that the borrow utilizes uh to meet the co obligation

for housing rehabil rehabilitations in the burrow well I understand that how how does it come to be that that we are responsible that's that's why I'm asking because I've seen it I've never asked before but I'm asking sure sure so we um we have a c obligation we have rehabilitation program uh we pay for this out of the Burrow's current funds because we don't have a fund dedicated for COA so this would be say a person's home that he's renting out we're we're paying for repairs on this person's home homeowners home owners why but I'm asking why we are responsible because you're obligated under the affordable housing regulations so have a rehab obligation plus you have a a new construction obligation and your rehab obligation is what this program is for so each municipality has to have a rehab obligation so that people who meet certain income restrictions can have certain improvements under their house so that's what this is part of and they and there there are very strict guidelines to meet those load of moderate income guidelines okay to meet this program yes sir okay um labor labor costs uh labor attorney 81 3450 um rth Stein um Can can you tell me why the figure is at at at at at that height 8134 what page is that sir um page 15 page 15 thank you General general labor I'm my question is just why it's 81 3450

I mean I mean it it's so that's uh the former labor Council right from last year uh that's their final bill for December of last year is is part of that part of the is it uh the investigation that no sir that's a different labor that's a different Council and a different part of the the bill list yes well I understand it's a different Council but wasn't she was she not involved yes Andie that she was part of that she was part of she uh uh met with Council uh if you remember on the 9th during the closed session meetings spoke to council okay and that and of course closed up the investigation yes sir that that's the last one right yes that's the that's the final bill for December thank you is that just for my future reference is that a tremendous amount for a one month bill from a labor attorney or what does that work into as an average for the year some months will be up some months will be down is that some months are higher than lower I mean in our January labor bills were considerably higher and then they sort of went down and then they go up okay is that the highest one from the year you think I I'd have to you know if you'd like to have that we can give you that data but I don't have that no wor right here with them just want to get an idea so okay um I see another one from Clear uh ja ja jacobe alfir at Jacobs um was was that also the uh inv instigation yes sir that is the investigation and that is the final bill okay did he give you a a definition of what he's billing us for because he's not done that I I I believe has he so it's in the it's in the bill list it's attached to the his the attorneys or the engineers they provide their summation attached to the purchase orders the reason I ask is because his work was done around 3 months ago um do you know why he's still billing I I understand he's in boled do

you know why do you know why he's still billing us so he is his investigation but uh there the final report uh which was provided to the labor attorney and to the council through the labor attorney is that final billing he just C catching up all right um one last one Supply Clooney um 6,125 for for this month how much longer will they be here and is it up to them or is it up to us how long they stay it's up to you sir okay okay I mean they uh they come in like once a week uh they still do the reconciliations uh of the uh bank statements we have like 19 bank statements as as you know at Provident Bank Plus a number of other ones they still come in and oversee the bill list uh about once a week to help the preparation of the bill list but they're they're winding down as you can probably tell from the bill is there much lower than in in former months well it's lower but to me it's it's still uh it's still pretty steep are are the women pretty much caught up there I know well you know we still have you know we have an employee in payroll who's only been there for three months is doing the payroll and the pension portion of that which is labor intensive and extremely difficult okay all right thank you thank you sir may I have a motion in a second please so moved second I have a motion made by councilman Potter second by council president Z Brena will the clerk please call the rooll council president zamb BR I councilman Collins I councilman moo I councilwoman Payne I councilman pansky I councilman Potter I a consent resolution has been prepared for the resolutions listed on the agenda all matters listed under the consent

agenda are considered to be routine in nature and having been reviewed by burrow Council will be enacted on in one motion any items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any council member and if so removed will be treated in as a separate matter any items requiring expenditures are supported by certification of funds any member of the council wants any resolution acted upon individually please give me the resolution number and it will be pulled from the consent resolution yes Mr Mayor uh 20251 8 yes Mr Mayor 20 25- 94 and 2025 d96 96 I got 94 96 and 108 okay will the clerk please read the consent agenda resolution excluding 94 96 and 108 please whereas pursuant to the rules of council the council May establish a consent agenda for any regular or special meeting upon certain conditions and whereas each of the following resolutions to be presented before the burrow council at its February 10th 2025 meeting appear to have the unanimous approval of all the members of burrow Council 202-955-9070 109 and 2025 d110 now therefore be resolved by the burrow Council of the burrow of miltown that each of the above listed resolutions be approved and adopted by the burrow council with the same legal effect as though each were read in its entirety at the February 10th 2025 meeting and adopted by separate vote May I have a motion in a second please motion second I have a motion made by councilman Collins second by council

president Zam Brana will the clerk please call the rooll council president Zan Brana I Council Collins councilman moo I councilwoman Payne I councilman pansy councilman Potter I will the clerk please read resolution 2025 d uh 094 by title 202-9447 uh what's the pleasure of council make a motion this resolution be adopted second second motion made by councilman Potter second by council president uh zambrana is there any discussion yes Mr may I I just want a question Peter uh we're refunding this person does that mean all the litigation is done with Christopher Street I don't think there was any litigation councilman Collins I think this was the land use application that was with rwn so me correctly there's nothing on the table right now right so if we wanted to pursue this for Green Acres we could go ahead and do so uh well at this point I mean when you say pursue for Green Acres this was a application to develop a particular piece of property you speaking to that property or you speaking to Christopher Street the Christopher Street altogether okay you would need to as indicated previously the council would need to decide it wanted to vacate Christopher Street and then acquire Christopher Street for open space we talked about this at the environmental commission that's why I was bringing it's just that would be the process and and you would need to get appraisals and there's I mean I can provide you with a road map for what you would need to do but um it's it's a you know it's a process yeah I'll I'll take the road map for you when you give me a little time just so we're clear this

isn't just one owner right there's multiple owners here if you wanted the green a is what would you do John you want to buy each parcel yeah whatever is that's it's on a hill so they can't develop it so you might as well preserve it this is where I guess I need to speak with councilman Collins because my understanding is there was a question over vacating Christopher Street and acquiring what was what was Christopher Street which would be uh a portion of property that most likely reverts to the property owners on either side of the street so um so it would be you know an process to say thanks seeing no further discussion um may I have a motion in a second please we have a motion in a second thank you will the clerk please call the RO council president s i councilman Comm councilman moo I councilwoman pay I councilman panski I councilman Potter I will the clerk please read resolution 2025 d96 please authorizing sale of surplus borrow property by of online auction pursuance njsa 48 12-13 uh what's pleasure councel make a motion that this resolution be adopted second I have a motion made by councilman Potter seconded by councilman Collins is there any discussion yes Mr Mayor um Monica are we using gov dud deals for this municip is who we used's municibid that's who we used for the last two or three auctions we've done since I've been here oh okay I was wondering if we could uh use them for some of the equipment in that garage that's sitting out there in some of those trailers what what's that municip municip we can sell any government property on it I reached out to the police chief and to uh John Foo and our mechanic to see what vehicles we

could put out for auction and this is what they got back right right and this says as is so we can sell it we're selling it as is we no responsibility correct okay thanks Monica you're welcome seeing no further discussion will the clerk please call the rooll council president zamb BR hi councilman Collins councilman Mano hi councilwoman pay hi councilman posnanski hi councilman Potter hi will the clerk please read resolution 2024 25-18 please granting permission to the Lions Club annual Easter egg hunt Albert Avenue Park and waving fees for same what's pleasure Council be adopted second second motion made by Council second by councilman Collins is there any discussion yes Mr Mayor the reason why I pulled this uh resolution is because I'm an active member of the Lions Club uh I do support uh this event I've also contacted uh Kim McGrath and there is no um conflict having it on this day but I since I'm a member of the Lions Club I have to abstain and I believe councilman pansy you should probably do the same you're also a member of the Lions Club okay seeing no further discussion will the clerk please call the rooll council president zamb BR hi councilman Collins hi councilman moo hi councilwoman Payne hi councilman pansky hi councilman Potter obain all right reports from elected officials Council presidents and Brandon thank you Mr Mayor uh have a short report tonight um met with our HRC committee uh last Tuesday on on the 4th uh for their

reorganization meeting uh electing a uh or appointing a uh a chair and um happy to say that went smoothly uh and that everyone that was a member last year returned this year um we will be meeting tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom uh for the reorganization meeting for the revitalization committee meeting um anyone can can attend from the public I would go the easiest way to go is to go to the calendar uh go to tomorrow's date uh click on the link and you'll be led into the meeting uh we kicked off budget discussions last uh week uh for the 2025 budget with our B administrator Mr Carr and with our CFO Mr Zenga uh and also met with utilities DPW um and the recreation department so it's a first pass um we're looking to have additional meetings this week and next week with DPW the senior center tax and collection and the clerk's office and uh we all agreed that the 2025 budget will be introduced at the second meeting in March and it will be adopted at the second meeting in April um and that's all that I have tonight thank you thank you councilman col yes thank you Mr Mayor got a lot of material to cover uh the environmental meeting we uh Mike shakarian was elected chair Barbara wght Vice chair uh we uh all meetings are on Zoom so we're looking for new members that's the most important part and maybe Russ we could put that on the website that we're looking for members for the environmental commission you're shaking your head I don't know which way it's going the website's me John what's that the website is me oh I'm sorry Monica uh and we talked about ch Street and the schwinderman cabin and the next meeting will be February 26th 2025 and um have one uh we also have the blood drive here we had from the Board of

Health blood drive will be tomorrow 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the municipal building here if anyone would like to donate blood uh we had the Board of Health meeting and uh we need to update our licensing fees for the uh late food vendor licenses apparently some of the U vendors in town are not uh doing timely with their uh food license so what are we going to make it $100 Monica for the uh I'm going to I'm looking at the surrounding towns and what they charge and I'm going to give you guys a kind of a spreadsheet and then you can make your recommendation to council and hopefully we can get for your ordinance thanks Monica and I have the uh the library report the uh agenda for the Library events drop in play on Tuesday 2 11 10:30 a.m. Beetle Juice Beetle Juice movie and craft after school 2 February 11th Tuesday the library Board of Trustees meeting at 6:30 p.m. on 2:11 6:30 open to the public The Grapes of Wrath movie on Wednesday 2:12 at 2 p.m. craft Corner Valentine card after school on Thursday 213 crochet for beginner on saturday 2:15 at 11: a.m. read to the pooch at 12:30 p.m. drop in craft on Tuesday 2018 sorry 2 218 at 11:00 a.m. between and craft at 300 p.m. Stage Coach movie on Wednesday 2:19 at 2 p.m. after school Jeopardy Thursday on February 20th seed Library event on Saturday February 22nd at 11:00 a.m. adult yoga on February 24th at 9:00 a.m. please register rating Club at 11:00

a.m. love your library Bingo on Monday February 24th the library will be closed on Monday to febru the library will be closed on February 17th the library staff wishes a h wishes everyone happy Valentine's Day and that concludes my report Mr Mayor thank you councilman M um regarding the electric utility uh Council report for early February a call for flickering lights was investigated uh the utility department uh assisted with installation and removal of Holiday Lights some dead trees were removed on first stre uh calls for partial power investigated and restored throughout the month last couple weeks three street lights have been replaced with LED fixtures a broken ground wire on a pole was repaired calls for low hanging wires were answered department members have begun wiring a portable building for the DPW the department is involved with planning a new service uh for the storage facility on rers Lane the department is working also with New Jersey Turnpike for a service replacement line clearance was performed at several locations to keep branches away from the overhead wiring and the Burrow's diesel generators were tested several billing issues were resolved with metor related work orders and the department received a new pickup truck to replace a 20-year-old truck backordered pole Transformers were received now uh additional to that the meters believe their first installs happened today um it seems that with no occurrence all the scheduled meter installations for today went through um no news is uh or no no cust nothing's

been reported from anyone in town saying anything good or bad which uh silence is golden I think when it comes to work in a home so that is certainly good to know um regarding some other matters a a failed water clamp uh was repaired on JFK drive and there were water main brakes on Hill Street lers Lane Clay Street and First Street so far this month the fire hydrant was repaired on 29 Sou Brook Drive as well um I believe that's all I have for now thank you thank you counc uh thank you Mr Mayor the uh Public Safety Committee which consists of myself and councilman Potter and posnanski we met at the uh in during the last week of January uh with each of our um uh Public Safety Committee members uh that's the Rescue Squad um the chief of police uh as well as the fire um folks and um you know I just want to say that um I my takeaway from those meetings were that you know our our people are doing amazing work and they're to be commended um and so with that um uh the police report between January 1st uh and January 31st of this year the police responded to 1170 calls for service during this time the police conducted 91 radar details in numerous locations police made 392 Motor Vehicle stops during this period and they invested 15 motor vehicle accidents 10 arrests were made one for DWI seven for shoplifting and one arrest for aggravated assault and one arrest for active warrants um there was a commodation for one of our police employees a crossing guard um Suzanne Garis and she was given a letter of commendation so congratulations to her

after residents had contacted police administr police um pardon me residents contacted police Administration reported her amazing efforts so thank you to uh Miss Garis uh a reminder on solicitor permits um as of February 3rd there are currently no individuals who have been issued solicitor permits by the burrow of miltown through the police department it is important to note that companies cannot obtain solicitor permits only individuals each solicitor must pay a fee and go through a criminal background check to obtain a burough issued solicitor permit and in bold it says when in doubt call is out call the police and do not become the victim of a scam I actually did make a call because I had uh someone come to my door um to solicit and um I called the police department the non-emergency number and five minutes well probably 3 minutes later um there was a police vehicle came on my stre Street uh and uh they were immediately responsive um just a reminder on residential security the police are always willing to help um and last but certainly not least in terms of um announcements um parking during snowstorms uh so once again just to remind our residents um that there are Park parking rules Municipal parking rules and responsibilities that we all share uh to ensure a safe and smooth winter um so I won't go through all and repeat all of the parking guidelines um but I think um based on the weather reports right we're going to U experience some more snow this week so just a friendly reminder on the parking um and uh and to and to follow um the parking rules so that you know our DPW um folks can do their job um and in conclusion um and again an important

reminder um Community involvement is is critical to maintaining a a secure environment in our town uh and and the police always are encouraging to all of you uh to report any suspicious persons Vehicles incidents uh and the non-emergency number of course as you know is 732 828 1100 and of course always dial 911 for uh an emergency uh again I think that this is an important message uh in bold in my report uh for accurate and reliable information please contact the police directly do not in capitals underlined in bold do not rely on social media as the information shared there can often be incorrect or misleading um so that's my police report my fire report to date the total number of incidents are 28 uh of course it's the beginning of the year so that's the year to date number of incidents and month to date um man hours um manom hours maybe 503 .9 uh there were several notable fire calls um one on Clay Street another on Bernard Road and another one for South River fire department standby so our fire folks were extremely busy um during the month of January um general information on January 20th the fire department that was the response on the burnhard um fire all Crews came home safely and pro and damage to the property was kept to a minimum the fire department also responded with the rescue squad uh for several Turnpike calls uh and they also did a joint training at the firehouse with the rescue squad um uh for Swift water awareness which I am learning so much about all these trainings Swift water awareness and this class is being funded

by OEM as part of a new operation for severe storms that affect miltown um the fire department has always is looking for membership um members are needed and candidates interested in joining the miltown fire department are encouraged to stop by the firehouse Monday night at 6:30 p.m. uh or email join miltown fire gmail.com and finally my report from the rescue squad um for January 2025 the total calls were 108 uh split between miltown with the majority of those calls and the Turnpike the Rescue Squad rehab and mutual Aid uh the squad again uh like the fire department is always looking for new talent to join their ranks um they're accepting applications for spring onboarding um the presentation that I uh Dave and I attended um by the rescue squad uh was a This Magnificent PowerPoint uh and the work that they do is just amazing uh and U I learned a lot applications uh to join the Fire Squad um for April 2025 need need to be submitted by March 31st to make all the timing for EMT training and those things uh and that concludes my report thank you councilman sure um I only have a DPW report uh no senior report but I'm going to start here in my in my uh DPW report I'd like to speak about the five watermain breaks four of which I visited some multiple times I stayed out on Ryder's Lane for almost three hours on the 22nd of January in 14° weather um speaking to Ian and John who are uh they're wonderful at what they do I I call them the water main Heroes and uh our fine miltown Police Department I stayed out because I figured if they can be out there in 14 degree weather so can I um I'd like to shine the light on those that are out in the worst weather the DPW plowing salting shoveling fixing water main brakes and the police keeping them safe

they work through the night when you miltown are comfortably sleeping I'd also like to bring up um I had a chance to meet with our CFO Jo Zenga and the electric supervisor in South River to view the electric battery packs that we are considering using here in Midtown being that the electric rates are expected to rise steeply the battery packs make sense to enhance our system I know that the council is aware of our situation we will be doing everything we can to keep our Citizens Energy rates as economical as we are able and that concludes my report thank you Council Potter thank you Mr Mayor from the miltown uh Recreation Department don't miss out on getting tickets for miltown night with the New Jersey Devils the game is on Monday March 24th please visit Community pass to obtain tickets the deadline for purchasing tickets will be on Saturday March 1st registration for youth soccer clinics is still open this four-week session will be held at Parkview school from March 6th to March 27th please visit Community pass to register the fresh theater arts program began on February 4th and we're so happy with the high registration numbers the children will present their final Showcase of High School Musical on Tuesday March 25th at Joyce Kilmer school we're thrilled to share the new chess program at the senior center which began today and received a fantastic response youth basketball started on January 25th the kids are enjoying themselves tremendously while learning from our gifted coaches on Monday February 17th the recreation department will begin accepting seasonal employment applications for the miltown burough pool and Albert Albert Avenue summer W Camp please note that there will be no applications available in person at the recreation department all applications must be submitted electronically to the

recreation department at Kim McGrath Milltown bor.com all applications are due on April 1st spring registration for our adult and youth programs will will be opening soon and finally as spring approaches don't forget to get in touch with the rec department to secure your date for hosting a party at one of our burrow Parks from the planning board our meeting on February 5th was cancelled and our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday March 5th and for the miltown 4th of July organization please join us as we'll be having a dine to donate at du Sal in miltown on Wednesday February 26th and Thursday February 27th a percent a percentage of the proceeds received for these two days will go towards this year's Fourth of July event and mark your calendars the annual celebrity bartender event is happening on Saturday March 22nd at the American Legion tickets will be available for purchase at the following locations Bagel Express Mike's Country Market Maria miltown convenience Kelly and Company Hair Design and rescued by Lacy for more information about our events please be sure to visit our website miltown 4 july.com and also on Facebook and Instagram and Mr Mayor that concludes my report thank you for Attorney Peter venola no report tonight Mr Mayor B Engineers yeah thank you Mr Mayor uh two items to report tonight um the first is the water meter replacement project has commenced today um theyve visited 10 homes um which we understand they completed today and and um they will continue to work towards um addressing the other ones that are currently scheduled which as of last week was about 438 homes um we also understand they'll be reaching out to um provide

training to everyone on the installation portal that they set up for the project second item is um on the f Avenue improvements um we are scheduling field survey work this week unfortunately the weather looks like it's going to repat us but um we're going to get it done as quickly as we can um once the base mapping is done we will schedule a meeting with committee um to go over the scope of the project that's all we have tonight thank you business administrator Fred car sir I have nothing thank you for clerk Monica Orlando thank you mayor I'd like to start by thanking everyone for their patience with the clerk's office as you know Mary my Deputy resigned and her position hasn't been filled I've been working alone and I've been out sick with the flu so I know many of you came to renew your dog licenses and I was not in and I apologized for the con inconvenience in the month of January we processed 253 dog licenses as a reminder dog licenses were due for Renewal by January 31st a $5 late fee will now be charged for any dog licenses that are renewed going forward with an additional $5 each month tomorrow February 11th as councilman Collins said we are hosting a blood drive here at Burrow Hall the hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. here in council chambers wkins are accepted uh let's see what else do I have the clerk's office will be closed this Friday February 14th burrow Hall is closed on Monday February 17th in observance of President's Day lastly uh resolution 2025-the of my heart my resignation was not an easy decision thank you to all my fabulous poll workers who made election days of Breeze with their hard work and professionalism thank you to the miltown Police Department chief Johnson you have a wonderful group of officers and dispatchers that I will miss working

with miltown fire miltown rescue squad thank you for all you do thank you to Beth Vidia Alexa Marie for all your hard work with opah requests I know that there are pain thank you to Kim and Lauren and Recreation for always being willing to lend a hand to my understaffed office Stephanie and finance thank you for always being ready to learn something new jump in and work with me to keep things running smoothly every day Charlie thank you for a friendly face and chat every morning Deb Cy and the Senior Center thank you for always being willing to jump in and help as well Library staff Charlie and Debbie thank you and to everybody over at DPW for coming over and moving my furniture or hanging something up for me basically every other week because I always changed my mind uh my last day in the office will be Tuesday February 18th if you have any clerk related business please make it a point to come to my office before then I will be in all day that day as well and I will miss you all and that concludes my report thank you does any member of council have any whole business for Council yes speak okay um some may not appreciate what I'm going to say here so be it I'd like to speak about the Injustice in local government trying to find resolution for problems that affect our burough residents I'm very disappointed by those able to thwart the best intentions of those elected to represent voters and the citizens interest and concerns I'm referring to the administrative State unelected bureaucrats and the judicial system we have had residents come to us for help regarding abuses at St Paul's Church time and again the agreed parties have pled with Council for help once the issue was delivered to the judicial system there's been no justice for the helpless residents elected represent versus unelected bureaucracy the State wins the people lose and I will speak out on unequal Justice the same also goes for the

owners of Fort Avenue they owe the miltown citizens over $6 million in tax money they have ownership of a contaminated site asvestis and other toxins and if needed I will supply the documents to back up my statements the litigation has been ongoing for 24 years with no end in sight the disgraceful blight will continue on the judicial system is helping some while endlessly hurting those that see plummeting property values and possible health issues from the poisons in and around the 23 Acre Site we each here are elected separately for our own hopes goals or dreams for our beloved miltown I am accountable and answerable to the voters the citizens I'm also accountable to our volunteers and employees not to a party or a person thank you yes Mr Mayor I got Peter uh where did the battery pack Mike's working on that do we own the property on that or do we have to acquire it I I think part of the process right now councilman col is figuring out where that can go so there's um uh you know we don't own the property excuse me so we don't own the property well it's it's whether or not you can fit it on your current substation site so it may be capable of being placed there if it can't be placed there then you may need to figure out where else it can go and I think that's initially what Mr mclin's firm is going to be doing okay thank thank you Mr thank much seeing no further comments I'd like to close Old business uh any new business does any member of council have any new business to bring before Council yes I do I'm going to start with um I'd like to ask I know this has been brought up already but I'd like to ask respectfully council president sanano to create a subcommittee with two or three council members to look into the viability feas ibility or improvements to the schwen property and report back at to report back at the next meeting being a real

realist I will state here that we do not have access to extraordinary funds as of now not even a buffer our buau is not flushed with cash individuals and groups could do well by sharpening their grant writing skills I'd also like to bring up the firehouses I think it's about time to consider looking into the sale of one or both Firehouse we need to move forward as status quo only takes us backwards kicking the C down the road let's be Innovative and do something positive for the citizens in miltown thank you yes Mr Mayor I I got one thing anybody else have anything I just I'd like to uh re see that we can reintroduce the fireman's clothing statement that was eliminated a couple years ago and see if we have money in the budget for that I don't know how anybody feels but the what firemen's clothing St I was here before you sorry bica okay uh I have two items I'm glad you brought that up councilman panski I actually reached out to attorney uh bolo uh to create two resolutions one for the firehouses and one for the schwindaman Homestead Property um if you could give an update to that Mr venol thank you sure um thank you Mr Mayor um drafts of those resolutions have been prepared and I believe they been looked over by the mayor um the mayor or I can forward those in advance of next meeting and and certainly the council then has the ability to consider whether it wishes to create uh a subcommittee for one or both of those items thank you Peter Mr venol sorry can you send that out tomorrow please I can George Mr Mayor thank you um anything else I would like to close Old bu uh new business we still have something under new business on the agenda propos rule change propos

rule change okay propose change of rules of council and nobody brought it up it's on the agenda it's on the agenda it's on the agenda okay so talk about it or don't yeah so uh do we need to take a vote here or do we need to explain it's not a vote you just need to acknowledge that someone want to make a change to the rules of council I would like to make a change to the rules in councel um the details are in the uh proposed changes uh what the council uh changes were what the council rules were before and what way it will be after uh it is first introduced and then adopted at the next meeting so a resolution will be placed on uh next meeting's agenda fourth I'm sorry 24th right the 24th yes that's it notice has been given okay open to the public the public comment portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to council's attention or concerns or comments Council will respect the Public's Time by refraining from any comments till the F the speaker has finished it should be further noted that this public comment portion of our meeting is not structured as a question and answer session please state your name and address for the for the record when you come to the podium just a remind Remer that under roles of councel individuals wishing to speak during the public input part of our meeting shall be limited to 5 minutes May after other speakers have finished be allowed to speak for a second five minute period uh good evening Mr Mayor Keith cook 219 Northbrook Drive miltown uh I just wanted to comment on resolution uh 2025 110 uh m Orlando wanted to thank

you on behalf of uh those in town you've been a great Ambassador uh a leader and somebody that uh you know whether we were coming in for dog licenses or needed help on our committees uh you were always there uh and we wish you all the best on whatever's next thank you so much hi good evening my name is Mark Kyper I live at four grow drive my wife and I moved here in April of 1990 from Jersey City and we lived on Reva Avenue for about 12 years and then moved to grow in 2002 um we greatly value the Serenity and peacefulness of the town and uh in fact my wife started a business on M stre by that name Serenity um so it is with uh great uh difficulty that I am here to notify you about my neighbor uh Denise click who lives at six grow um she well the first two things is the F her inground swimming pool over the last five years has deteriorated to the point where the walls are crumbling um all kinds of vegetation has found its way there the water is long leaped out and about two three years back a nest of brown rats was I discovered in there and I that prompted me to call the Department of Health and complain as the rats had also um you know found their way into my yard uh my concern of course is you know

property value um there are two three other homes that border her property and uh the the pool is without a cover and it just gets worse every year that's the first thing the second thing is um Denise is running an unpermitted Airbnb out of her home and this is prompted um more congestion on GRC Drive throughout the month sometimes as many six and seven short-term renters on grow a week um and that has again contributed to um her I suppose just anger at other people taking what she thinks are parking spots for her renters and um this has led to some problems between me and her and and between her and specifically my daughter who I would like to come up my wife also would like to address the council about what's going on and but specifically my daughter has um something to say about what's been going on as well thank you good evening council members my name is Stephanie Harris Kyper wife to Mark Kyper mother to Mary Treadway Harris Kyper as Mark alluded to already we have lived peacefully in Midtown we I believe we have been upstanding citizens to the point that I wanted to uh have my own private practice in Psychotherapy right on Main Street and it is Serenity mental health services so I'm very proud of that to add to our community what has been going on in the culdesac in terms of I'm very concerned about the

transient uh the transient people that are coming and going to the point I don't feel safe uh I don't even walk in our culdesac at night because I don't know who's coming who's going we can one weekend we can have at least six up to six different cars coming and going from New Jersey to to Colorado to Massachusetts etc etc and the noise is also an issue for us when some of these I guess you would call them Airbnb renters have their parties late at night or are up we hours in the morning and I understand trust me I'm dual licensed therapist that cannabis is legal but I don't like smelling cannabis all evening when they're having their parties that is another issue I don't know what miltown can do about that in terms of an ordin but we also have young children that have we have as family members come visit so that is that is a concern I very aware what cannabis can do to to someone that's inhaling it even if it's secondary cannabis so that is my concern in terms of my safety and I have been peaceful I have not said anything I have never Disturbed anyone in our culdesac or mtown as a whole um while my children were attending Joyce Kilmer I think I was a very active parent and did as much as I could to contribute to our community which I have loved and felt safe until the since before Co things have changed in our cue saac in miltown and and I find it very disturbing the other part I could talk to you about in safety where I don't walk in our own cue saaca especially at evening I have forbidden my daughter since she will tell you her experience how I will not allow her to even walk our dogs anymore at night um lastly I want to talk about

how our neighbor given whatever her issues are I understand there is an ordinance to miltown in terms of dogs and barking and I adhere to that because of what is going on with this neighbor if you want to call her a neighbor I have my doubts about that right now um we'll call the police and I time our Poli our dogs outside we have four dogs three Chihuahuas so that's huge barking for chihuahua yeah they're very yappy they don't have big barks so that is a disturbance as as recent as last week our dogs were not outside for more than five minutes again I have a timer because and it was not 10:00 at night and the police came so there was a disturbance to me that the police came um bogus it was bogus so this has been an ongoing thing and I'd like my daughter to now come and tell you her experience with how verbal assault has started not just the fear of transient people coming in and out on the cue saac moving in and out of our neighbor neighborhood um it's has escalated to verbal assault and I am one concerned about physical assault I do not trust our neighbors if you again if you want to call them that so my I'd like you to come up excuse me ma'am yes has a zon officer been to your house and he has he been a help excuse me has the zoning officer been to your house has he been a help Mar can speak to that yes so I spoke to Marty he came over um he did not at the time he was uh responding to a complaint by Denise at six GRC which was unfounded um but I sent him um an email last week and he called me and said that she was receiving a letter about the

swimming pool now what was in that letter I don't know I didn't seen it I I saw pictures of the pool yes okay if someone will be around if it's possible tomorrow I'd like to take a look if it's possible if you're not not there we can make another time not our pool no no I I know but I'd like to see Council pansy I would say why don't we let Mr O'Neal in the short-term Handel handle it if he's already begun a process well the pool is a major issue this isn't new um my spouse didn't just do this last week we have we have gone to the New Jersey Department of Health about this after not receiving uh significant communication or any progress from miltown well that's why I'm asking about the pool because I I saw what it looks like it's it's falling apart and I'm sure there's some kind of uh zoning ordinance yeah in regards to that and and that's why I'm asking if the zoning Welter has been a help to you I would say no I'm going be quite honest and transparent no this has been going on okay we've to be honest with you we have had an outing in our yard and my daughter said oh there's some rats walking by that it's it's been that bad sure well that's why Mr binola when they're talking about mice we're talking about sure nice siiz rats I I will we talk to to Marty and see if he's he's got something ongoing okay all right thank you thank you morning it's important to hear from our daughter too very important hi everybody um I just wanted to say hi to council president Zam BR I went to school with your daughter it's really nice to see you I see you sometimes when I'm driving but of course you I'm sure you don't see me but it is nice to see I don't think I've seen you since I was like exactly 13 yeah um yeah so I'll be brief and concise um I honestly don't really know where me

personally I got involved in the in the drama with my parents and not my parent yeah my parents and our neighbors we've been there I've been in miltown forever and uh I believe yeah Melanie and my brother were even friends at one point and went to JK together I would remember Alan my brother being in the garage hanging out with um Melanie so it's just it's so strange to see her me as a grown woman now almost 30 and her behaving this way but the fir very first incident I think happened in the summer or so definitely a couple months ago I was just I usually park I used to have a Jeep I usually park my Jeep across the street just because it's a little more convenient for me just to leave and not you know do a k turn you know just more easier for me but I think for some reason for whatever reason they have so much disdain with me parking across the street which is totally I can do that um but I think because of me parking across the street it ignited something in them but I came home one night was walking across the street into our driveway and both of them called me a three times they said and I didn't say anything I actually acted like they weren't there like they were ghosts but I have done nothing for this I I don't even talk to I don't talk to them um so that was the first occasion and I think their anger was maybe uh what's the word like they were projecting their anger on to me and then the second occasion happened very shortly after maybe a couple weeks afterwards um they drove by and and I think Melanie blue Subaru and they just gave me the finger both of them and it was again I was coming home walking across the street and that happened so

now you can imagine every every time I walk outside it's just natural for me to just look at to look over at their house just to see if they're there just out of fear like anxiety it's anxiety wring I'm just and my mom's right I wouldn't even walk down the cuac even if she didn't force me not to I don't walk down the CAC because I it's just out of anxiety and nervousness of passing your name neighbor so yeah I used to be feel safe now I don't and it's very clear I do have to mention this it's very clear that we are not um the typical miltown family I suppose I mean we are a biracial family so just imagine the things that they say to my face just imagine what they're saying in their house behind our back so I would just appreciate anything that you want to do to help us you know I went to JK class of 2011 you probably know Mrs Gart um I remember my gym teacher I remember everybody so fondly you know so I I just just appreciate you hearing me and I thank you thank I'm Roger Bartholomew I live at 43 AR Avenue uh I came to the council a little more than a year ago but then uh we had a change of council some of the members and uh trainer ran out of time uh for what I had uh originally proposed so to briefly uh rehash it uh my late father-in-law was Dr John vute he was mayor he was on Council from 5758 and then he was mayor until

the end of 67 and he always had his heart buried deeply in this town he did whatever he could for it uh early on he was a co-founder of the little league and he coached one of the the Lions Club team and as a member of the Lions Club believe he was President for quite a while and during that time according to to some newspaper articles I uh came across the Lions Club set aside some money for about 10 years to work on the conversion of the old mud hole into the first official burrow pool and that was done in 1958 and according to uh article I came across recently the the project to convert the Mud Hole was somewhere a little over $40,000 in the lines contributed over $10,000 to that project and finally uh when he was mayor uh early on in the game some of the members of the council at that time had looked into selling our electric utility to Public Service they would have gotten a couple million bucks for it and well we know where that money probably would have gone pretty quickly been dispersed uh so he got into a little bit of a tiff with him and he said look we're able to buy the power in bulk from and sell it to the people cheaper than they can get it from public service IT employs people in town and I said for God's sakes it makes money for the town and right now I think that is an even more imp important issue than it was back then but what I proposed was I not looking for a street to be named after

after him or Park what I would like to do is have a plaque placed somewhere on the new electric substation and I think uh the mayor has a copy or Dave has a copy of a proposed uh plaque and uh I I would like to see something like that put there in his memory and his honor as a former mayor thank you thank you so thank you Mr Bol I actually uh mayor and councel I actually asked Mr parol to come and speak to us because you know he had proposed this and I felt it would um be more you know through his passion for his father-in-law to come and speak to us so with that I mean if we go if we decide to go forward with it would would have to be a resolution um to move forward with a plaque on the substation I mean it's I I guess you could adopt a resolution to allow a plaque to be placed you have to figure out where you want it you have to figure out I mean think we can talk about it offline if you like absolutely okay all right thank you thank you seeing no further comments I'll close public comment portion uh Council comments is there anybody from Council that has any thing that they'd like to bring up at this time go ahead thank you um sure so um just a couple quick things to mention um I did have the uh I met with some of the DPW guys it was good to understand what they do what their future uh plans are for and what was kind of started uh no do know just uh last year I heard people say you know ask questions like what has been done to try and make our water our utilities more efficient and uh we are replacing fire hydrants inhouse now that used to

cost us a substantial amount of money uh when they were done by subcontractors and that's all about the people we've hired and some of the equipment that they have they certainly could use more and that would uh that would help with town uh with some of the water Bing brakes some of the other things just interesting that things I'm finding out I do know everything that happens on Ryder Lane Ryder's Lane apparently there's a section that was not replace that runs from blueberry to the Acme and that's what's causing it's what's caused a lot of convenience and a lot of uh a lot of money to fix because it's a ma big major road requires equipment specialized equipment that we don't have currently um that in future consideration um we would do well to try and provide for them um beyond that um just a couple of thoughts that I had from tonight don't know who to say them to so I'll pass them out here and deliver them to where they may go um it sounds expensive to try and turn Christopher Street into a green acre thing because if we have to buy Parcels it involves the word buy buy is usually done with uh money maybe if we just uh empower the environmental committee to really bolster up that steep slope uh statute that they have that blocked what was trying to be built last time maybe we could uh get some future protection out of it or bolster it up and it would seem just to be an economical way not really my area of expertise just thinking out loud the last thing was uh pursuant to the idea of smelling cannabis which um if we could talk to Target Walmart every time I'm walking my dog and a car has an open window but maybe this is the wrong way to look at

it but it's a good way of looking at it um if anybody's uh anybody's got any type of legal time they you know about um um if you can't have an open beer in public right an open container is there you know there's a I don't know if that falls under a decency or how that works or what the concept is but cannabis in public even though it's legal such as alcohol yet you can't walk around with an open container I just wonder if there's some way that you could we could as a town you know kind of work that just to kind of go like just go over there I I don't think there is the ability to consume cannabis in public microphone please I think there already are regulations for that Mr Moo I think what what was discussed earlier tonight was someone consuming on their own property we there there's an ability to consume it in private right not in public well I mean so if um yeah I mean I just I guess and I get it but I mean like um if I'm in my front yard sitting at the edge of my yard by a sidewalk and I have open containers is that still considered public or private in a front you can drink beer on your property microphone you can drink beer on your property to your heart's content gotcha right up to right to the edge of I guess you can't force them to take the marijuana inside is kind of what I'm but yeah good just a thought thank you that was it anybody else want to go sure um I just like to clarify Mr mano's comment on Green Acres that's public funds that doesn't cost the taxpayer anything and there are other grants we could get so it probably wouldn't cost the taxpayers almost nothing so you have to clarify that I'd also like to thank the mayor for his proclamation of heart

disease being that this has affected my life so uh personally both my father and my wife passed away from heart disease but I'd also like to say how we we should make a pro Proclamation for uh one of the m members of the uh muscle Mill last year saved a uh who was a nurse who worked 25 hours and who saved a uh another member of the uh who was a woman by the way uh on the treadmill from uh heart attack and I think we should make a proclamation to that I'm not sure all the names on there I believe councilman pansy knows and he can speak about that and I'd also like to say how much we're going to miss Monica uh can't say the words Monica I'm just going to miss you intensely because you're just so knowledgeable to your job and you've always given to this town and like nobody I've seen who's been here so short you you it's like you were here 20 years uh just like to say we're going to thanks thank you you can give this to Monica first I'd like we're going to miss you if there's anything we can ever do to get you back I I'll I'll do it I I had something prepared to read about Monica but then I I believe you're still going to be here to help in at meeting nights because if not I'll read it I I don't I don't know what's going to happen I haven't heard anything I I I I have offered if if the need is for a part-time uh I have made the offer to to do that until so that everybody's not left hanging but I have I I don't know what's going to happen would you like me to read to you then sure okay I'd like to say thank you and farewell to an employee that was here but a short while yet left an indelible

Mark not easily replaced our clerk Monica Orlando who brought organization professionalism and a steadiness to a chaotic situation is moving on she embodies strength resilience and a will to persevere under difficult circumstances employees residents and elected officials alike appreciated her help and thoughtfulness she leaves a void in many ways that will not easily be replaced I hope from here I hope from here on out that you are respected by all whom you interact with and keep your dignity intact we'll miss you we will move on but please remember us with a smile and thank you thank you [Applause] I I have some other things i' like to talk about um one is heart health month John brought this up but I I had actually I had it detailed I'd like to bring up an incident being that it is heart month last year a miracle was performed at the muscle Mill gym that John and I are both members and I'll explain a friend her name is Fran zatz suffered major heart attack and a cardiac arrest the manager at the gym her name is Melissa lazark who happens to be a nurse jumped into action and she worked on The Afflicted woman bringing back a beating heart um her heart had stopped for for minutes she saved her life and God was working through her hands I tried to reserve a proclamation for her last year and I was not successful I appreciate that we are honoring heart health however I want to honor a true Miracle of the heart and the saving of a human life by another human with the help and will of God um i' I'd like to have a roll call vote if it's possible for a proclamation honoring Melissa lazark for next council

meeting um Gary we don't need a vote if you just email me the information I'll make sure to put it together before okay the 18th okay I have the information Gary real I believe there was a police officer too that was involved he he was there um he was a help yeah but and I don't mean but as if he didn't help but she saved that woman saved her life I believe they both did if you were going to do one I could put him in also yeah just email me the information I'll I'll take the proclamation um I I'd like to bring up also um we've been having multiple issues with our televised Council meetings preventing transparency to our residents at times uh I've had residents who had watched the meetings Faithfully tell me they no longer try to watch as there's been so much inconsistency and I had a meeting with a businessman administrator and burough clerk in MX to discuss the successful system that they use and just to see if it's possible to bring that to miltown if the council is interested I have details of the camera type placement function and the vendor that I will supply um although we do not have to televise our meetings we fund the system we use and we don't we don't want to lose any more viewership and uh that concludes thank you no we have an executive session going to so I've uh going to close Council comments I have no comments will clerk please read Resolution 2025-the Act Public Law 1975 chapter 231 permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting in certain circumstances and whereas this public body is of the opinion that such circumstances presently exist whereas the governing body wishes discuss personnel and attorney client privilege and whereas minutes will be kept and once the matter involving the confidentiality of the

above no longer requires that confidentiality then the minutes can be made public now therefore be resolved by the burrow Council of the burrow of miltown County of middlex state of New Jersey that the public be excluded from this meeting we need a motion in a second may we have a motion in a second please motion second a motion made by Council con second by councilman Potter council president zamb Hi councilman Collins councilman moo hi councilwoman pay hi councilman posnanski I councilman Potter hi okay stand all right we're closing this portion to the public we chasing the m