Township Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Township Council regular meeting of July 14th, 2026. The Township of Montclair welcomes you and we'd like to let you know that the meeting is being broadcast live on Channel 34. It's streaming live on Montclair TV 34 YouTube channel and it's available on demand and can and will be rebroadcast. The meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the Open Public Meeting Act. the meeting was included in the revised annual notice of the meeting schedule is set forth in resolution are 26-0 64 was adopted by the Township Council at its regular meeting of February 10th 26 it was advertised in the official newspaper on February 26 26 it's been posted on the township website and bulletin boards outside of municipal building and has remained continuously posted there. In addition, a copy of the revised annual notice is and has been available to the public and is on file in the office of the township clerk. We welcome you. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk, whenever you're ready, please, will you do the roll call? Thank you, Mayor. Deputy Mayor Anderson? Here. Councillor Birmingham absent. Councillor D'Amato?

Present. Good evening.

Good evening. Councilor Harrison?

Present.

Councilor Tolar, absent. Councilor Williams, absent. Mayor Baskerville?

Present. And I'd like to ask everyone just to send some positive energy out for the Tolar family. Councilor Tolar's daughter was in a very, very, very awful car accident this morning, and she is presently in the university hospital. So let's just send a lot of positive vibes and uplift them. may or may not be able to get here tonight. Moving right along. Whereas the Township of Montclair is subject to the requirement of the Chapter 23 PL 197 in JSA, and whereas while the Open Public Meeting Act of the State of New Jersey generally requires that all meetings of the public bodies be open to the public, there's a Section 8 in there, called the Open Public Meeting Act, where it further provides a public body that we can lawfully exclude ourselves for certain specific things. Those specific things this evening will be for four specific reasons that we will go into the executive decision where we will ask all of the members of the public who are not directly involved with these four specific things to remove yourselves from the chambers. One is the redevelopment agreement. Number two is a settlement PBA contract. Number three is council personnel. And number four is settlement of litigations. We are anticipating that we will be in the executive session for approximately two hours, so it's roughly close to 535, 35 now, that we will be removing ourselves from here at 730, at which time I anticipate we will be really excited to go into a portion of the meeting tonight, which is a promotion of some amazing officers. So, yeah. i make a motion that we adjourn into the executive session second everyone in favor any opposed okay thank you and at this time will you please uh adjourn yourselves from here we're going to start with the Ready to resume our meeting please. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion that we adjourn the executive session of our meeting and resume the regularly scheduled council meeting of July 14, 2026. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you very much. So, yeah, I know we're all very excited. I certainly am. At this point in time of the meeting, we're going to move into the swearing-in promotional and probational officers to full status ceremony. And I'm going to let Chief Comforti please take it away. And thank you. I'm excited for this evening. Welcome, welcome.

Alright, before we begin, I'd like to invite Pastor Cindy to come up and lead us in prayer.

As a parent of an active military person, I'm saying to the parents, may we pray for a hedge of protection for mind, body, and spirit for all of our family. Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, today we give thanks for those who have answered your call to serve. We pray for those who are beginning new roles and for those who are being promoted to greater responsibility. We lift up to you Captain Dean Berardi, Lieutenant Tyler Manley, Sergeant Stephen Seyfried. We also lift up to you newest status officers John Bonowski, Vincent Maniero, Mason Powell, David Tyler, Vincent Larocco, Jose Diaz, Sonia Thompson, Sebastian Geary, pour out your Holy Spirit upon them. Grant them wisdom to make sound decisions, courage to do what is right, humility to listen before they speak, and compassion to care for those entrusted to them. When the work is demanding, strengthen them. When the path is uncertain, guide them. When success comes, keep them humble and grateful. And when challenges arise, remind them that they do not stand alone, for you go before them and walk beside them. bless their families who share in the sacrifices and the celebrations of this day surround them with faithful colleagues and wise mentors and supportive friends who will encourage them in this season as they take on this new responsibility let them be served let them be serving lord We entrust these officers to your care, asking that you equip them for every good day, filling them with hope and strength and joy in the days ahead. In your name we pray. Amen.

Okay, to begin today's ceremony, I do want to thank our mayor, our council, our township manager, our deputy manager for their continued support of the police department. I also want to thank our human resource director, Alicia Dawkins, and our dedicated officers for their service in our community each and every day. In addition, I want to recognize my partner, Deputy Chief Will Young. Our PBA President Vinnie Russo. Our SOA Vice President, Ramil Karandang. And the members of our Honor Guard for the professionalism and pride they consistently demonstrate while representing this department. We are also honored to have several retired members with us today. Thank you for joining us and for the many years of dedicated service. Please join me in recognizing retired Lieutenant Danny Ng. Retired Captain Rob Brumido. And retired Detective Ben Powell. Finally, I would like to thank the families of our officers. Your support, sacrifice, and understanding are essential to the success of every officer standing here today. Today, we will be swearing in 11 officers to regular status, making an important milestone in their law enforcement careers. This will be followed by the promotion of Officer Steven Seyfried to the rank of Sergeant, Sergeant Tyler Manley to the rank of Lieutenant, and Lieutenant Dean Berardi to the rank of Captain. At this time, I'm going to ask Mayor Baskerville if she wishes to come up and say a few words.

good evening everyone I'm going to ask please if the council members would not mind if you would just come and stand with me we are a team of seven individuals and while I am the elected mayor of this wonderful township of Montclair I'm stronger because of the team that we are and we're becoming stronger as a team every day so I'm very grateful for that standing here with me is our deputy mayor Susan Anderson Our first ward councilman, Eric D'Amato. Our second ward counselor, Eileen Birmingham. third Ward councillor and our fourth Ward councilwoman who is is missed this evening her daughter was in a car accident this evening and so we just want to send up some positive energy for her quick healing but otherwise she would be standing here with us so the fourth Ward councillor who is not here tonight is councillor Amina Toler thank you I'm so sorry I'm and I've known him longer than everybody is our at-large councilman Bill Harrison I'm sorry you know that had nothing to do with what's in my heart because him and I go back about 40 years together in different services so please forgive me It's my great honor as the mayor of this township to welcome you all to this extremely special occasion and we're going to celebrate the promotion and swearing in of 11 exceptional members of the Montclair Police Department. tonight it's about achievement but it's also about leadership and it's about trust and that's extremely important the trust that you develop here policing policing at its best is not only about enforcing the laws but it's about building trust it's about protecting human dignity and it's about strengthening the fabric of the township of Montclair To each of you officers being promoted this evening, I'd like to congratulate you. you've earned this moment through years of dedication sacrifice professionalism and unwavering commitment to the people of Montclair promotions are not simply awarded because of the time served promotions are earned because others have witnessed your character they have witnessed your judgment they have witnessed your integrity and your ability to lead when it matters the most I also want to thank you families and loved ones and individuals who are here to enjoy this moment with you. Behind or I should say beside every great officer is a support system that shares in the long hours, the many missed holidays the late night calls and the emotional weight that comes with wearing your badge the promotion belongs to all of you family members as well so thank you for the sacrifices that you make every day families This evening is especially meaningful because each new rank represents a greater responsibility and leadership is not measured by those stripes on your sleeves or the little thingies on the bars on your collars. Although you guys look really sharp with those stripes and bars, but that's not. Leadership is measured by how you inspire others and how you make difficult decisions and fairness and compassion. and how you continue to earn the confidence of both your fellow officers and the community that you've been called to serve. To all of you who will newly be promoted very shortly, I would like to encourage you to remember that every interaction matters, no matter how large or how small. Every conversation, every act of kindness, every difficult decision, and every opportunity to listen, it helps to build the trust that makes Montclair the remarkable community that we are. Ours is a township that celebrates diversity. It values inclusion and believes deeply that public safety and the community partnership go hand in hand. Our residents expect excellence, but they also appreciate compassion. They want officers who are courageous enough to confront danger and compassionate enough to understand the people behind every call for service. I know each of you is prepared to meet that challenge. The badge that you all wear is a symbol of authority but it's also a promise. It's a promise to protect those who are vulnerable. It's a promise to serve without prejudice, to uphold justice with integrity and to lead with humility. Tonight, as you accept these promotions, your job becomes even greater. I hope that each of you will continue to mentor to those who follow behind you, teach them not only how to enforce the law, but teach them how to earn respect. Tonight, you will all receive new ranks and new responsibilities but tomorrow morning you return to what brought you here in the first place, a simple promise, a promise to protect those you may never know and to serve those who may never even know your name and to make Montclair safer for every individual and guest that comes here, to make Montclair stronger and to more and more unified. For that, we are profoundly grateful. Congratulations to you all and may God keep you all safe. God bless you.

We will begin with the officers who are being sworn into regular status. First, congratulations. Each of you has demonstrated the character, skills, dedication, and compassion necessary to succeed in the law enforcement profession. As you continue your careers, remember to apply the lessons you have learned and remain committed to the professional growth. never stop learning because one day there will be new officers looking to you for guidance and leadership i wish each of you continued success stay safe and good luck as you take this next step in what i hope will be a long rewarding and fulfilling career at this time i'd like to ask officer john bonowski to please come up with your family

I state your name. I, John Bonowski, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people, I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full status police officer according to the best of my ability. So help me God.

Congratulations.

I'll take it from there. Vincent Monero, please come up with your family.

Do you want to hold the mic? Do you have anything to teach your family at home?

I, state your name. I, Vincent Monero. Do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will support the Constitution.

That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the Constitution. And the Constitution. Of the state of New Jersey. Of the state of New Jersey. And I will bear true faith. And I will bear true faith.

And allegiance to the same.

And allegiance to the same.

And to the governments established.

And to the governments established. In the United States. In the United States.

And in this state.

And in this state.

Under the authority of the people.

Under the authority of the people. I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full-status police officer according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations.

Mason Powell, please come up.

I state your name. I, Mason Powell. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution. That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the Constitution. And the Constitution. Of the state of New Jersey. Of the state of New Jersey. And that I will bear true faith. I will bear true faith. And allegiance to the same. And allegiance to the same. And to the governments established. And to the governments established. In the United States. In the United States. And in this state. And in this state. Under the authority of the people. Under the authority of the people. I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full-status police officer according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations.

David Taylor, please come up to your panel.

All right.

I state your name. I, David Taylor, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States, and in this state, under the authority of the people, I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full-status police officer according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations.

Vincent LaRocca, please come up to the family.

I state your name.

I, Vincent G. La Rocca, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full-status police officer according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you.

Jose Diaz, please come up for your family.

I state your name. I, Jose Diaz. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution. That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the Constitution. And the Constitution. Of the state of New Jersey. Of the state of New Jersey. And I will bear true faith. And I will bear true faith. And allegiance to the same. And allegiance to the same. And to the governments established. And to the governments established. In the United States. In the United States. And in this state. And in this state. Under the authority of the people. Under the authority of the people. I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full-status police officer according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you.

Senia Thompson, come up with your family, please.

Ready?

I state your name. I, Sonia Thompson, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and in this state under the authority of the people I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of full-status police officer according to the best of my ability.

So help me God. Congratulations.

Sebastian Geary, please come with your family.

Thank you.

I state your name.

I, Sebastian Geary, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and to the governments established, in the United States, and in this state, under the authority of the people, I do further solemnly swear, that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform, all the duties of, full status police officer, Full status police officer.

According to the best of my ability.

According to the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations.

The officers being promoted today have demonstrated exceptional dedication to this profession, and these promotions are well deserved. Through their hard work, leadership, and commitment to serve, they have each contributed to the continued growth and success of this department. as you assume your new responsibilities i am confident that you will continue to lead by example mentor those who follow and positively influence next generation of officers congratulations on this significant achievement and i wish you continued success as you advance throughout your careers we're going to start with stephen seyfried steve joined the department in 2015 and has spent most of his career assigned to the evening shift Throughout his career, Steve has demonstrated a strong commitment to both his fellow officers and this profession. He has served as a field training officer and currently serves as a member of the critical response team. In addition, Steve serves as an instructor in physical training, defensive tactics, and firearms, playing a vital role in the training, development, and preparedness of our officers. Before joining the department, Steve honorably served the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 2010 to 2016 as an infantryman, attaining the rank of corporal, and serving as a fire team leader. Steve also has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Steve and his wife, Alexa, are the proud parents of Romy and Theodore. In a memorable twist of timing, he was born on the very morning of the sergeant's examination was administered. which I'll never forget that that was amazing today Steve will be promoted to the rank of sergeant and assigned to the patrol division please join me in congratulating Steve on this well-deserved promotion and wishing him continued success in his new role Steve please come up

Do you want to hold them up? Can you hold that for me, Barbara? Perfect. Ready? Yes, sir.

I state your name.

I, Stephen Seyfried.

Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution. That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the Constitution.

And the Constitution.

Of the state of New Jersey. Of the state of New Jersey. And that I will bear true faith. And that I will bear true faith. And allegiance to the same. And allegiance to the same. And to the governments established. And to the governments established. In the United States.

In the United States.

And in this state. And in this state. Under the authority of the people. Under the authority of the people. I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of Sergeant of Police according to the best of my ability. So help me God. Congratulations.

Oh, we need the Constitution. Tyler Manley joined the department in 2005 as a dispatcher and was sworn in as a police officer in 2009. Throughout his career, Tyler has demonstrated a strong commitment to this profession and serving our community. He has served with distinction as a field training officer and as a detective in the investigative division, where his professionalism was consistently evident. He is also a drone operator for the department and holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Montclair State University. Tyler and his wife, Dominique, are the proud parents of their two sons, Connor and Colin. Today, Tyler will be promoted to the rank of lieutenant and assigned to the patrol division. Please join me in congratulating Tyler on this well-deserved promotion and wishing him continued success. Tyler, please come up to the panel.

Ready? All set.

I state your name. I, Tyler Manley. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution. That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the Constitution. And the Constitution. Of the state of New Jersey. Of the state of New Jersey. And that I will bear true faith. I will bear true faith. And allegiance to the same. And allegiance to the same. And to the governments established. And to the governments established. In the United States. In the United States. And in this state. And in this state. Under the authority of the people. Under the authority of the people. do further solemnly swear I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of all the duties of lieutenant of police lieutenant of police according to the best of my ability according to the best of my abilities so help me God so help me God congratulations

Thank you.

Dean Verardi joined the department in 2007 after putting himself through the police academy as an alternate route candidate. Throughout his career, Dean has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to public service. Over the years, he has served the department in a variety of important roles, including field training officer, accident reconstructionist, and trained dispatcher. He has worked in both the Uniform Division Office and the Traffic Bureau, gaining valuable experience throughout his career. In recognition of his dedication to traffic safety and impaired driving enforcement, Dean was also honored with the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Award, a distinction that reflects his commitment to protecting the community and saving lives. Upon his promotion to sergeant, Dean served as a field training supervisor, helping mentor and develop the next generation of police hires. Since 2019, he has served as the commander of support services as the lieutenant overseeing the department's budget, procurement functions, and numerous other critical administrative responsibilities essential to the successful operation of this agency. Prior to beginning his law enforcement career, Dean earned a degree in economics from Rutgers University and worked as a financial analyst, bringing a unique skill set and valuable expertise to this department. Dean and his wife, Lindsay, are the proud parents of two daughters, Ava and Sienna. Today, Dean will be promoted to the rank of captain and will continue serving as the commander of support services. Please join me in congratulating Dean on his well-deserved promotion and wishing him continued success. Dean, please come up to the podium.

Ready? Yes.

I state your name. I, Dean Berardi. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution. That I will support the Constitution. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the Constitution. And the Constitution. Of the state of New Jersey. Of the state of New Jersey. And that I will bear true faith. and allegiance to the same, and to the governments established in the United States, and in this state, under the authority of the people, I do further solemnly swear that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly perform all the duties of all the duties of captain of police captain of police according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations

Okay, this concludes our ceremony. Please stand for the retirement of the colors. Thank you again. This concludes the ceremony.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. All right. I'm comfortable with it. I want to make sure you guys are comfortable with that. Yep.

Oh gosh, now we've gotta go.

I know, I haven't even gone through them yet. I don't even know who's on first. Yes.

about the tax bill. It seems like it didn't get on the agenda.

So let's just open it up at the top.

Can we do it after a public comment?

If you want to wait that long.

I'm happy to wait.

That'll be fine. Yes, thank you. I don't know why it didn't get there.

I know, I asked her. I guess she thought she was going to be executive. I don't know, but I didn't notice it until...

I didn't either. Thank you. This is on? Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

okay everyone um please take some pictures and then know that we have to go into the rest of the township council meeting this is an exciting moment so please let's do about what four more minutes of pictures four more minutes of pictures and i'd like to start my meeting please thank you countdown

We're going to be here. Y'all will be home in bed. We can actually probably get that done tonight, yeah. Yes. What stuff do we need to pull out? Can we pull out the things that we want to discuss?

Yes.

All I need to know is what numbers they are. Yep, I'm all for it. And I believe we'll get through the consent agenda tonight. I really believe that.

Yeah, yeah. I mean...

While we have, like, three more minutes left, can you check and see if there's anything pulled from the consent agenda? I'm going to ask Councilor D'Amato. So, like, everything?

What would you want to discuss and then everything else would be discussed by Councilor D'Amato?

I don't know where all these papers are coming from.

37, oops.

okay thank you so very much everyone for joining us this evening we're going to do an approval of the minutes they've been presented to the council the minutes of which date let's see June 9th are there any corrections or additions I make a motion that we accept the minutes of the meeting on June 9th.

I second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? okay I'll abstain from that one abstention okay thank you all right now we're gonna move on to public comment the rules for the public comment are please if you have not done so please sign this if you haven't done so at this point in time I have the paper that should be signed and I will get your name when you came up I'm going to read through here and so when you come up to speak you're going to be given three up to three minutes please to speak we do want to hear from you please when your three minutes are up we ask that you please stop at the three minute time or before and before you speak please come up and just clearly state your name because we'd like to know who you are thank you so much now with that said I would like is it Laura Kenny

Laura Kenney, 51 Tremont Place, Montclair. I am here tonight representing Montclair Indivisible, a pro-democracy community-based group. Good evening. Good evening. Tonight, I want to recognize and applaud our mayor, Dr. Baskerville.

Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Susan Shin Anderson and our entire council for the leadership you have demonstrated in introducing the resolution to authorize divesting township funds from Citizens Bank. and it is our hope that it will be adopted tonight as i have noted in previous council meetings our members have been demonstrating at delaney hall weekly for over a year now we have seen firsthand the treatment the brutality the cruelty the effort to humiliate and demean detainee family members including children by ice officials Many of us were present when Governor Sherrill attempted to enter Delaney Hall to investigate the numerous reports of detainees who were in desperate need of medical attention. Many other representatives who were there in an effort to enter including Representative Rob Menendez, who was made to wait all night long before entry was permitted. Representative Menendez confirmed many of the reports we have heard about abuse and neglect in this facility. And then later that same day, Senator Andy Kim was pepper sprayed by ICE officials. When detainees are forced to engage in a hunger strike to get us to pay attention to their suffering, you know conditions are intolerable. Citizens Bank describes itself as being committed to the community, but apparently that does not include immigrants who are in fact essential members of our community. Again, we want to acknowledge the strong leadership of our council. We believe that along with Jersey City, your decision to divest will inspire others around the country to do the same. We are a part of a national De-ICE Citizens Campaign, and we will be demonstrating once again this Saturday, July 18th, in front of Montclair Citizens Bank branch on Bloomfield Avenue. Join us to make it clear to citizens that they must stop profiting off the suffering of so many, including our neighbors. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yes.

Also, please, before I call the next guest, I fail to mention, if you would like to speak on one of the pending ordinances, please do that when we get to that portion of the meeting. Next name on here is Mark Lorensky.

thank you madam mayor and members of the council what Laura Kenny just told you is very impressive and I have nothing to add about the situation at the Laney Hall but the dimensions of the outrageous national situation is hitting us every day on our news and some of us saw the footage of the murder, if that's what it proves to be, but on the face of it, of a resident of Maine yesterday or Monday, Texas a few days before, Tennessee, the brutal beating by four beefy ICE officers of a person in Virginia, And this is what we're facing with this mania for mass deportations of people who are, for the most part, essential parts of the community, very few of whom are actually dangerous felons. It is unfortunately what Citizens Bank is supporting by their private prison business. There is a need occasionally for incarceration, but what this is doing both in the manner it's being done in places like Delaney Hall and the larger enterprise of the expanding of these things which we understand that the Roxbury issue is not dead yet. But I'm a retired CPA, and I know a bit about fiscal responsibility. Of course we have to have a place to deposit our town funds, but we have choices. And everything we know about citizen banks is it's not the right choice. So I encourage the council to move ahead with this.

Thank you very much. Next guest is Mary Ann Schaffer.

Hello. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Mary Ann Schaffer, and I've been a resident here in Montclair for close to 32 years. And I'm a member of Montclair Indivisible. So there's really Laura had said it very clear, as did the gentleman right before me. I just wanted to emphasize what Citizens Bank is doing by helping to fund and support these documented cases of human rights abuses throughout our country and even the basic right of clean water and clean air throughout most of these facilities because there they weren't built with permits they were built either illegally or with some sort of underhanded way. So such basic human rights have been disregarded. And so I just wanted to ask if you would please consider switching banks so our money is used for the greater good and we can be an example to the rest of the state. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Asana Jules my name is Jasana Jules and I am a board member of the student-run organization called Mosaic good evening esteemed mayor and the rest of the dedicated council thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight I am here to talk about Citizens Bank and why I believe this resolution is important Montclair has always pride itself as welcoming and inclusive community we have spoken about and demonstrated supporting immigrants and making sure everyone and every family feels respected and valued these values that many people in this town are proud of but these But values are about more than what we say. They're shown in the choices we make. One of these choices is where we keep our money. A bank is more than just a place to store money. It's a business that decides where its money is invested and what it helps support. That means our choice of where we bank is also a reflection of what we are willing to stand behind. So that means this conversation isn't just about Citizens Bank, it is about making sure our actions match the values of what we say we believe in. If we want to stand with immigrant communities, then we should be willing to think carefully about whether our financial decisions reflect those beliefs. as a student I've learned that integrity means doing the right thing even in some of the hardest of times so I believe the same is true for our town the decisions we make today show future generations and current and future Montclairians what kind of community we are and want to be I hope we choose to make decisions that reflect our commitment to fairness compassion and accountability When our actions match our words, we build trust, strengthen our community, and lead by example. I'd like to end with a quote by Maya Angelou. Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. This quote clearly shows what Parker Chahak is trying to help us here to do tonight. Do better, not because we know better, but because we are better. Thank you.

Yes. Victoria Luna, please. I'm excited that we have students that come regularly here, so you know.

Good evening. My name is Victoria Luna, and I'm going to be a junior at Montclair High School. It has been a while since I've been here. Last time, the Montclair Trust Act was passed, a tremendous first step in protecting the rights of immigrant communities in our town. It set a precedent for neighboring towns as well, for example, Maplewood, who passed a similar ordinance recently. And as people continue to die at the hands of Immigrant and Customs Enforcement, it sent the message that in our town, that is not acceptable. And as notable as this ordinance was, it is not the only step that needs to be taken. Citizens Bank. They have been known to finance and support our country's largest private operators of ICE detention jails, CoreCivic and the GEO Group. I suggest you do your own research on it, but to say the least, they have given groups in association with ICE access to more than $2.5 billion in financing. This isn't just a matter of where we keep our money, but a matter of what actions we support on a moral level. And like I've said before, addressing these issues cannot be postponed or delayed. We need measurable and meaningful action now. Nola Kim, who has been coming to these meetings with me, wrote a speech for tonight, but unfortunately she's out of the state, so I will read it. To start with, a quote from Aristotle. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. I think the same is true of values. A town's values are not defined by what it says once. They are defined by what it repeatedly chooses to do. We have called ourselves welcoming. We have called ourselves inclusive. We have passed resolutions and made statements about protecting our immigrant communities. But values are not measured by words. They are measured by habits. One of those habits is where we choose to keep our money. Money is often treated as neutral. It isn't. Every dollar is a relationship. Every investment is a decision about what we are supporting. Across the country, communities have begun asking whether public money should remain in financial institutions that continue to finance companies connected to the immigrant detention system. This is not simply a question about banking. It is a question about whether our actions reflect the principles we claim to hold. We will ask what a town believes. They do not look only at speeches or mission statements. They look at the choices that continue after the meeting ends. Because that is where values become real. A philosopher once said that character is what you do when no one is watching. I think the same is true of institutions. Character is not found in what is convenient. It is found in what we refuse to support, even when changing course takes effort. So tonight, this resolution asks something larger than where Montclair banks. It asks whether our financial decisions should reflect our moral decisions, whether our budget should reflect our beliefs, whether our actions should finally catch up to our words.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Tony Martin, please come down. Tony, Martin, I know I saw you. I'm sorry.

know right hey Tony no yeah yeah me too these guys are great yeah okay I'm Tony Martin and here's one of my signs I'm a regular protester with Montclair Sunday's protests we're affiliated with indivisible but we are our own community group I was A couple weeks ago I was in conversation with a young man, not quite this young, but quite a young man standing with us, and he talked about taking grief for the performative nature of our protests. He said that people have said to him, well, you're just making a lot of noise and you're not really doing anything. I have my response to that. I think we are consciousness-raising, if nothing else. But this, this is something real we can do. We all have to sit and listen to these horrible events in the news. And here is something we can really do. do this and I think it will have an impact and it will consciousness raise among other communities that can follow. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Hello, my name is Noemi Maxwell-Vassilakis. Thank you so much for letting me speak. Good evening. And I applaud you all for bringing this resolution up to be decided upon. I was very moved by the swearing in ceremony tonight the police officers I think I might start crying yeah it was just such music to my ears to hear people dedicate themselves to standing up for the Constitution of the country of the state standing up for our laws and being just and serving and what we've seen on the federal level what we've seen with what's going on in these detention centers these private detention centers is the opposite of that and so I'm so proud that we are considering this year today One of the things that I think is very impactful, what this potential action is for the city of the township of Montclair, is that it's joining in what appears to me to be kind of a movement. So I have here, just on my phone here, the eight major US institutions, major Wall Street and international banks that pledged to end their financial relationships or stop providing new credit lines to CoreCivic and the GEO Group. JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, I don't know this one, BNP Paribas, SunTrust, Barclays, Fifth National Bank, PNC Bank, US Bank Corp. So what they did was make a moral judgment based on the input that they got from the community, the studies that they did, and what they saw was happening in these private prisons. and they decided not to do this funding and so to fill in the bank you have to fill in the gap you have banks like Citizens Bank and that's why it's so important I think for Montclair to join Jersey City and help this become something that other cities are more likely to do as well and other institutions to show that this really is we are just refusing this immoral, unjust violence to the people and our democracy as a culture. And I just think that local jurisdictions play a big part in standing up for what is right. And so I wanted to thank you and say, please do pass this. Thanks.

Thank you. Judith Antleman.

Good evening, Mayor and Town Council. I'm Judith Antleman. I also protest with Tony and the Montclair Sundays group every Sunday. For accuracy and efficiency, I looked up the definition of concentration camp. Merriam-Webster's defines concentration camp as, quote, a place where large numbers of people, such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, refugees, or members of an ethnic or religious minority, are detained or confined under armed guard. Used especially in reference to camps created by the Nazis in World War II for the internment and persecution of Jews and other prisoners, end quote. Replace Nazis with geo group and core civic, World War II with 2026 United States, and Jews and other prisoners with immigrants and refugees. In her 2018 book, One Long Night, A Global History of Concentration Camps, journalist Andrea Pitzer wrote that concentration camps involve the mass detention of civilians without due process or a full trial based on their identity rather than something they had done. And according to the Marshall Project, Independent Institute, HuffPost, and myriad other sources, President Roosevelt referred to the Japanese internment camps as concentration camps. ICE detention centers are and can accurately be called concentration camps. Citizens Bank bankrolls CoreCivic and the GEO Group. Combined, these two companies operate more than half of the 70,000 beds in ICE concentration camps nationwide, with a goal to reach more than 100,000 beds by 2027 and I think they'll achieve that Citizens Bank holds more than $90 million of Montclair's public funds Does Montclair Township want to be associated with a bank that continues to fund these concentration camps? I don't think so, and I hope not. With the $70 billion gift from the Senate, ICE camps are rapidly expanding, and new camps are being constructed around the country. Specific to our region, Roxbury is back on the table, and Elizabeth is expanding. In New York State, ICE is expanding its Rochester and Batavia camps and constructing a new concentration camp in Newburgh. Our neighbors are being jailed and tortured. Imagine your own family members or friends trapped inside these camps across the country, from Delaney in Newark to Dilley, Texas. no due process, no trial, locked in cages, suffering from physical, mental, emotional abuse. We have all heard the testimonies, which include being starved because the food has worms, is frozen, is moldy, sleep deprived, forced labor, beatings, extreme medical neglect, all of which has led in too many cases to avoidable death. Does Montclair Township want to be affiliated with the financial institution that bankrolls this abhorrent treatment? I hope not, and I think not. After you have heard all the comments tonight, please vote yes to stop funding state-sponsored concentration camps. Vote yes to stop funding the jailing of babies and toddlers. Vote yes to stop funding the daily torture of our neighbors in Newark and Elizabeth and Dilley and across the country. Please vote yes to divest from Citizens Bank. Thank you.

Thank you. William DeVere.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, Council Members. Good evening. My name is William DeBeer. I speak tonight as a resident and taxpayer of the township of Montclair and as a member of Montclair Sundays. I also speak as a former account holder at Citizens Bank. Divesting from Citizens Bank is not a political issue, it's a human rights issue. It's about who we are as a community and what we will and will not support. Citizens has made its choice and it must live with the consequences of that choice, big and small. You all know what that choice is. You've heard plenty from other speakers tonight about the choices it has made to fund these private prison companies. I have made the choice to close my account. Many other customers have made the same choice. Perhaps more significantly, in fact, Definitely more significantly, so has the city of Jersey City. Tonight I ask that the township make the same choice and close its accounts at Citizens Bank. Citizens may ignore what I did, and in fact they did ignore me when I contacted them, promised me a response, never got back to me. won't be so easy for them to ignore what you do tonight and I thank you for taking it up and I hope that you agree with us and do the same thank you thank you very much Doug fearless I'm so sorry I was on a roll with the names too I apologize can you

I'm a longtime resident of Union Street and I'm with the Montclair Sundays group. I want to thank the Township Council for introducing the resolution to divest its accounts from Citizens Bank. I'm very happy that you did this. I urge you to pass it without delay. I think it's unacceptable, totally outrageous that any of the Township money should be with an institution that funds the GEO Group, a privatized prison group that daily violates the constitutional rights and abuses the detainees at Delaney Hall and other institutions around the country. I hope you pass this resolution tonight as quickly as possible and thank you very much for your attention ice out thank you thank you Johanna foster please

Good evening, Mayor Baskerville, council. Good evening. My name's Johanna Foster. I reside at 168 Harrison Avenue, and I've been a resident of Montclair for 23 years. And I'm here representing the Unitarian Universalist congregation at Montclair, a congregation of over 400 members. and more specifically I'm here representing our immigration justice task force which has 70 members many of whom live in our town and we are also here tonight in strong support for the proposed resolution to divest what we know is over 90 million of our municipal and public education funding from Citizens Bank for their immoral financing of for-profit prison immigration and detention corporations such as GEO and as we know Core Civic. Many of us are aware of what GEO group has been doing at Delaney Hall and those of us at the Immigration Justice Task Force at the UU also consider what's going on at Delaney Hall and their operations around the country as forms of concentration camps and one, of course, right here in our county. And this profiteering operation literally banks on, as does Citizens Bank, the disregard for the U.S. Constitution on virulent racism and xenophobia, one that incentivized state terror, kidnapping, and the unlawful incarceration of our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our family members, including minor children. Some of you may not know that GEO also owns and operates other for-profit detention facilities here in New Jersey in a roundabout contracting system that detains U.S. citizens. Like many Montclair residents who we've heard from today and that we know are out there, the members of our congregation and our Immigrant Justice Task Force did not consent to the use of our taxpayer monies for this wholly atrocious profiteering endeavor. We wouldn't do it under any circumstances, and we are surprised and frankly angry that the town is complicit even if it's just by virtue of the decision to bank with citizens and uh bank and like many of our our friends here behind us we know that we have other choices we have many choices and we urge you strongly to avail yourself of those choices and use all the power that you have as our town council to do so thank you thank you francesca elms

sorry did you wish to speak also okay I apologize what is your name oh you're right here I apologize to Europe Europe I like her too hi my name is Jill Beckman Gaines I live at 50 Gordon Hurst Avenue I'm here tonight to ask and humbly demand that you vote in favor of the resolution to divest our town from Citizens Bank I co-lead the immigration action team at the Unitarian Universalist congregation at Montclair. It's a group that has grown to over 70 members, all answering the call of our convictions to fight the horrors that ICE is inflicting on our neighbors with acts of love and service. Some days, like yesterday, our convictions call us to keep vigil outside of Delaney Hall in the stench and the heat because we know that looking away from the crimes being perpetrated behind those walls would be even worse than not looking at them. Allow me to remind the room of some of these horrors. As we learned from the letters smuggled out by the brave hunger and labor strikers inside Delaney Hall, our kidnapped neighbors have been subjected to rotten, inedible food riddled with worms, broken air conditioning during excessive heat warnings, either scalding hot water or no hot water, making it impossible to bathe, lack of medical care, no access to medication even for cancer patients, No prenatal care for pregnant people resulting in at least two miscarriages inside the facility. Excessive wait times for court dates, coercive tactics to bully folks into signing self-deportation papers only to keep them in detention for months after because it makes them money. Those on strike were retaliated against with physical violence, pepper spray, solitary confinement, and being transferred to other facilities far from their loved ones and legal teams. And all of this is happening in a facility that is operating illegally without a certificate of occupancy to people that were kidnapped without due process. So let's call Delaney Hall what it is, a modern day concentration camp. It all feels so overwhelming. How can one person or one congregation or even one town win the battle against authoritarianism? Well, lately, I've been thinking a lot about the opening lines of the serenity prayer. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Of course, we cannot defeat ICE on our own, but we have to have the courage to change the things we can. And one small but powerful thing you all can do tonight is to divest this town from Citizens Bank. Each of you on this council has the rare and precious opportunity to actually have a real impact on the fight against ICE and the private prison industrial complex. History is watching, and future generations of Montclairians will remember what we did here tonight. Stop funding concentration camps and get Montclair on the right side of history. Divest from Citizens Bank now. Thank you. Thank you, Julie.

Now, Francesca Elms, it's your turn.

My apologies. I'm the other Johanna. Actually, Johanna Coxeter, and I think you called me.

We have the same name. Oh, I see. But you guys are great. I'm happy to go after you. It sounds helpful.

My name is Johanna Coxeter. I live in the fourth ward. I'm also part of Montclair Sundays and I do ask you humbly to divest our town from Citizens Bank because ice melts under resistance. Thank you.

Jeffrey Grayson. Francesca Elms.

I heard my name once or twice. hello council and all I have no prepared notes but I've been very impressed with what everyone says I've lived in Montclair 135 Squire Hill Road for 35 years I've been a rabble-rouser here helped get the Bellevue Avenue library open I'm an intermittent member of Montclair Sundays I am a proud member of you UCM a new member of the immigration task force so I understand how complicated and exciting and diverse Montclair is I am a person whose children went through the public school systems my last child graduated in 2005 so I've been paying taxes here for an extra 21 years and unlike many of my peers who pack up and move out to find a place that costs a lot less to live I am committed to staying here and I am horrified that my tax money has been supporting a bank that supports domestic terrorism. I really hope and pray that you can follow through on your resolution and help this town divest from Citizens Bank. I am committed to staying here, but I do not want to stay in a place that supports concentration camps.

Thank you.

Jeffrey Grayson please good evening mayor Baskerville and council members I'm Jeffrey Robert Grayson the state of New Jersey provides many legal recourses to hold what wayward property owners accountable for the conditions of their buildings The New Jersey Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law requires units to undergo regular local and state inspections to enforce the implied warranty of livability. Townships may issue violations for pest infestations, broken elevators, mold contamination, lead paint, trash accumulation, lack of heat and hot water. When a landlord fails to correct code violations, the township can issue a summons to appear in municipal court, which can result in a substantial daily fines. For chronically distressed or dangerous properties, the township can petition the court to appoint a receiver who temporarily takes control of the complex and collects the rent and makes the repairs to bring the building up to code. The owner must then agree to court mandated conditions before regaining control of the complex. Montclair must hold the owner of Union Gardens accountable for the subpar living conditions that have been allowed to exist for far too long. What's needed is consistent advocacy by elected officials working in conjunction with code enforcement to use the full weight of all legal options available under New Jersey state law. Montclair must show these residents that their health, their peace of mind, and their lives matter. With consistent pressure applied to the owner, things will begin to improve. Speaking of things that need improvement, the upcoming reexamination of the master plan will allow the community the opportunity to make recommendations on a plan that has run amok. The current master plan has been the impetus for overdevelopment, the displacement of African American families, the cultural abandonment of the unique characteristics that gave Montclair its reputation. Just last week, a $7,000 a month apartment was listed on Zillow on Lexington Avenue in the fourth ward. Yet every time someone steps in front of a microphone, they're preaching diversity. A new vision is needed that has affordability as a concept. A new vision is needed that emphasizes more green space and less density. The dawn of a new vision comes from the unified collective consciousness of our town council, not from a duplicitous clique. A new vision requires a new architect and the dismantling of the development application pipeline that architect has created. A new vision requires correcting zoning maps that have repeatedly tied the hands of the planning board. A new vision requires someone to step down from the planning board so that Councilor Harrison can bring his 50 years of land use expertise to the proceedings. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Sarah Avery, please.

uh hi sarah avery i've been a montclair resident for about 40 years the mount laurel decision was codified into law 40 years ago and what has montclair achieved in march of 2026 the regional plan association issued a report Mapping New Jersey's Growth, Part 2. The findings of this report prove that Montclair has not complied with the Fair Housing Act or as a qualified urban aid municipality because the red line neighborhoods of Montclair, which are transit adjacent, have been gentrified. This is the exact opposite outcome the qualified urban aid municipality status was supposed to confer. As this report states, the exclusionary zoning pattern throughout the state that the Mount Laurel doctrine was designed to combat has converted Montclair from a diverse community into a socially homogeneous affluent community. Quote, the white flight that occurred led to rapid population growth and high housing demand in Mount Laurel Township. The once historically rural community of black residents was displaced as they were priced out of their neighborhoods and left with no affordable housing options, end quote. This quote describing Mount Laurel applies to Montclair with just a few edits The overdevelopment pushed by the township planner and the state of New Jersey including the transit village designation led to rapid gentrification and high housing demand in Montclair Black residents of the once historically African American neighborhoods of the fourth ward were displaced as they were priced out of their own neighborhoods and left with no affordable housing options. I repeat, what has Montclair achieved since the 1975 Mount Laurel decision 50 years ago? You all should be ashamed.

Thank you, Miss Avery. Our next guest is Lynn Stockhammer, please.

Good evening, Mayor, Town Manager, Council, and everybody on the dais. Can you hear me? Yes, thank you. I really want to thank everybody who sponsored and is supporting the resolution regarding the divestment from Citizens Bank. I've personally been dealing with it from my own standpoint, and if anybody wants to know, they can look up DI Citizens. There's a weekly action item that you can do by email, and decision makers at Citizens are being approached each different week with a targeted email, and there are other actions that you can take. Most of what I was going to say has been so well said by the speakers tonight so I won't repeat it but nearly a year ago I was up here speaking about the case of a gentleman who had gone for a standard hearing in Newark with a lawyer who by the way turned out to be a paralegal and His children were in the car, the mother of his children were in the car, and the lawyer walked back out to say, sorry, your loved one is not being heard today. He was abducted or detained and immediately taken to Delaney Hall. His case will be heard on Tuesday. That was the Friday before Labor Day weekend in 2025. He's still there. There were a series of delays. There were a series of machinations. He's still under these conditions. When the lawyer walked out, his children were waiting for him. You know, they were going to go out as a family and go home. And his daughter's birthday was that following weekend. It's coming up to her next birthday. and he was the main support economically of his family so that family you know, now has, at one point there were two people in the household, which was a wonderful thing, two adults, and so everything has changed in that. The visitation that people are talking about, I am not one of the stalwart people who have been going to Delaney Hall or to the Elizabeth so-called detention center, but the human rights and civil rights abuses are just horrifying in terms of due process, in terms of the conditions at the concentration camps. Do I have any more time? Okay. A week and a half ago, a very valued member of our Montclair community who was a chef at Cilantro Restaurant was simply walking in East Orange and was abducted. And I've got to say that the community here came together. He is now back home in Guatemala, not having been his intention to do, but he has been reunited with his family. Thank you so much for the update. We appreciate that. Thank you.

And I think we have one more guest that I have on the paper this evening. Monica Kurpiewski. Close. Let me try it again. Monica Kurpiewski. Kurpiewski. Kurpiewski. Oh, I like that. I know, right?

Okay, yes. So I'm Monica Kurpiewski. I've been a resident of Montclair for 13 plus years, I think. I don't remember. Something like that. So... I'm speaking about something completely different today. I'm speaking about Clary Anderson Arena. So it's about a year ago today I stood here and shared with everyone that we raised over $400,000 in six days to save the arena. Well, over the last couple of months, we just have some fabulous news. We raised another $775,000. Yes. um to continue the development and investment from the community into rebirthing clary anderson into this amazing asset that that we always knew it was there right it had been you know degrading for many years but now it's it's coming back to life and so Thank you, all of you, for spending your time with me and allowing us to work in partnership with you. I know you have put a lot of time and also resources into it and allowing us to help you invest that money in a way that's appropriate for a rink. right so we have a small group of volunteers that are still working with this tirelessly we are at the rink almost daily doing renovations we have repainted we have stripped all the flooring out we expect next year is going to be much better than even last year we are your there's many things on the agenda tonight talking about Clary Anderson we will have a new consultant who will help us start to take more control over the arena it will be a municipally run rank and so it will be ours it won't be anybody else's and in this time with youth sports being taken over by big business it's going to be ours right we are going to allow it's going to be a place for everyone in the community to be able to skate whether it's hockey or figure skating or just get on out there in the ice so thank you thank you we are so proud to work with you on this thank you very much

okay is there anyone here that did not have a chance to sign this but wishes to speak before we move on to the pending ordinances on second reading not at all I'd be happy thank you thank you all this is so important thank you

Thank you. Councillor Birmingham. Thank you, Mayor. Before we move on tonight, we just wanted to take just a few minutes to explain what is coming in our Q quarter three and quarter four tax bills. In New Jersey, tax bills, and this is set by state statute, they are due February 1st, May 1st, August 1st, and November 1st every year. The tax bills that you receive in February and May are not based on the current year's taxes because the budgets have not for the current year have not been established yet so what happens is state law provides that q1 and q2 are preliminary taxes based on the prior year's taxes so you will receive February and March I'm sorry February and May you are paying essentially a quarter of what each time of what you paid last year once the school board sets its budget the town sets its budget the county sets its budget and then there is library tax set by statute All of this goes to the county and the county board of taxation will take these levies and they will add them together, determine how much money needs to be raised by taxes, and then certifies the actual tax rate for that year. So as of today, what are we now, July 14? The county has not yet set our tax rate for Montclair. It is still, they're still reviewing, they are still setting the rate. So until it is set, our tax collector cannot calculate and set out what every property truly owes. And so quarter three bills cannot go out. Now, some of us are paying our taxes through our mortgage and through the bank, and others actually will get a bill and come here and pay or mail it in. But for all of us, it is a similar process, just depending on who's doing the actual payment. So what we wanted to just make sure people are aware of tonight is about this timing. So your quarter three bill, again, the rate has not been struck, so it cannot be set out. When bills go out late, state law provides for an interest-free grace period where no interest is charged. And so, as I said, technically the due date is always August 1st, and that is set by statute. but when bills are going out late there is a grace period and again by statute the deadline will be 25 days from the date of the mailing of the tax bill and the bill itself will tell you when the interest date begins But one thing to know is this deadline is firm and a tax collector has absolutely no power, nor does the council, to extend a deadline for anyone. It is firm, set by statute. And another thing to know is if the payment, this is a grace period of 25 days, but the law essentially allows that interest will be, if you're late after the 25 days, interest can start to be charged as of August 1st, which is the official tax date. So this is, just to be clear, when you get your bill, make sure you look at it and pay within the window. The other thing to know is that the November 1st bill will not have the same 25 day grace period. That typically will have a 10 day grace period allowed by law, but it will not have the 25 day. So the other thing, so your August bill will essentially incorporate the increase in the school tax it will incorporate the increase in the county tax and it will increase the um the increase in the municipal tax as we discussed many times here this was a very difficult budget year there are some towns in new jersey close by who have not even adopted their budget yet it has been that difficult If you look, when you ultimately look, I think you will see that our municipal budget, the absolute dollar amount is one of the lowest in Northern Jersey and Essex County. And that was not easy as we know, but we figured it was necessary given what is the other pressures that we're seeing. and then so the last thing that we just want to quickly discuss and i appreciate mayor you're giving me this time because we have thank you we all need this we have discussed this in our finance committee quite a bit and i appreciate um that you you know that you've um wanted just to have this conversation around the other thing obviously that is coming in the q3 bill is the um referendum the results of the referendum which will be in addition to the other increases in the tax levy and because by again as we said that the county would typically be including that in the 2026 tax bill and because we knew that there was already increases coming the council and this was something that we all agreed upon decided to try and spread out the referendum so that instead of all of it being paid in the Q3 and Q4 tax bills, which would come to, in an average tax bill, around $1,100, we are trying we are working to have half of it paid in q3 for and then the rest spread into 2027 and that was the reason for taking out tax anticipation notes that we you saw in our last meeting we did we did get favorable rates or fairly competitive rates there for that but again that was a conscious decision to try and mitigate a little bit the increase in taxes that are coming so just wanted to make this state here manager or our CFO do you have anything to add on that

So we went to market a couple weeks ago. We received from Standard & Poor's a AAA bond rating, which is the highest bond rating that is possible for a local government. The interest rate that we received for the tax anticipation notes, and I believe for the bond anticipation notes, was 4%. So borrowing the $6.3 million to cover the, or to spread the referendum over from 2026 into 2027 will cost the town an additional less than $200,000. It was like $198,000. There is a cost in doing this, but in the judgment of the governing body, it's definitely well worth the expense of spreading the, instead of having a single spike in taxes and then a drop off next year, spreading it out, because that would be unfair to homeowners and property taxpayers.

Right, right. And just want to say, I think we all recognize this is a very difficult situation. year and again thank you for explaining that so I think Thank You mayor thank you so much any any other council members wish to say anything about that I certainly know that

No one says it better than Councillor Eileen Birmingham. I learn something every time she opens her mouth and starts talking about this. So I'm very grateful that you would take your time to do that for the community. Anyone else wish to?

No. Okay. Yes. Deputy Mayor. Just to thank Mr. Marks and our CFO for their work on this.

And the rest of the Finance Committee. I know I'm just teasing you okay so now we're going to move up to the pending ordinances on second reading and I'm going to open the public hearing without objection is there anyone present here who wishes to be heard in relation to the proposed ordinance 0-26-15 an ordinance to amend Chapter 341, Water, Article 22, all services to be metered, an exception. And I'm sorry, first I should have moved this that I'm going to open this. And does anyone have any wish to be heard on that? All in favor? You second it. Okay. Is there anyone here that wishes to be heard on this? Please come forward this pending ordinance. No, council members, anyone here that wishes to be heard on the pending ordinance? Pending ordinance A on our pink paper. If not, I'd like to move that we accept the pending ordinance 02615. Will you second to pass? Madam Clerk?

Deputy Mayor Anderson. Yes. Councillor Birmingham. Yes. Councillor D'Amato. Yes. Councillor Harrison. Yes. Councillor Toller absent. Councillor Williams. Yes. Mayor Baskerville.

Yes. I'm going to open the public hearing without objection on pending ordinance 02622. And I so move. Second. Is there anyone here who wishes to be heard on the pending ordinance to repeal and replace ordinance 02563, removed from chapter 327, vehicles and traffic, and establish new article 2 in chapter 228, parking for the sale and use of temporary no parking signs. anyone wish to come forward and be heard on this pending ordinance seeing none council members do you wish anyone here wish to say anything on this yes council yes Birmingham

so in the ordinance it says all TNP signs that's the temporary no parking signs must be purchased no less than 10 days in advance and will be posted by the purchaser 24 hours in advance this is just a question but if somebody comes in eight days

before an event does it have to be rejected or what like what good evening everyone good evening um we have had this situation in the past and with the existing ordinance because that's that language hasn't changed from the existing ordinance and we've we've we've accommodated them even though we try to hold it 10 days, but we have accommodated them, because we're not going to hold somebody hostage over something like that.

I figured you would. Well, that's good. Thank you. Yeah, I figured you would. It's just when it's best must. It just sounds very legal. But I appreciate it. I figured you would accommodate. Good point.

Council Williams, did you want to say anything? No? OK. So I so move that we what I so move that we vote on this pending ordinance counselor I mean deputy Anderson I'm not even there you're madam clerk councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville Yes, thank you. Pending ordinance 02623, ordinance to amend chapter 341-5, section E permits required. Inspection and approval of the code of the township of Montclair, New Jersey. I so move. Is there anyone here from the audience who wishes to come forward and be heard on this? Council members, anyone? Did I see a hand in the back? No? Okay. Okay. Council members, does anyone wish to have discussion or say anything about this pending ordinance? Yes, Councilor Birmingham.

Mr. Primavera, can I just ask you a question? Because the mayor pointed this out to me, and I want to just check. We were discussing this in the Finance Committee, and I know one of the things that we've been trying to do is update our fee structures because we have some fees that have not been updated in decades. And one of the things we noticed, and this is not the topic of this ordinance, but one of the things it says here in terms of a... It says, such service, including the meter and valves at the meter, shall be inspected and approved by a representative of the Township Water Bureau. Before said water service may be put in use and operation, the charge for such permit inspection and approval shall be $5 payable in advance. And is that?

is that something we should be updating and it no it's not the topic but we could update the permit inspections we never really did just because we update the tapping fees based on you know material costs we just did that last year okay so the inspection we always kind of left at five dollars because we're there anyway and most of the time when we're doing the tap it's already ready to be set up and turned on so it's not like we're taking time out of our day to okay so we can discuss but it's yeah that's something we can discuss in the future but it's not a glaring issue

okay thank you i appreciate it when i saw the five dollars i was just i said to council birmingham you can't even get a bag of chips for five dollars and i was trying to figure out if we're going to charge them five dollars can we just you know give them a permit you know because i'm just trying to it's just normally just add it to their tap fee so the five dollars will go towards the tap fee whatever they pay for the tap and the meters when they come fill out a permit with us so that's okay that's all it's not an extra check they have to write it's all part of the process so Thank you. We appreciate your work.

No problem. And presumably, there's no such thing as a single family house that has a one and a half inch service.

You have a few. I mean, you have the larger homes that do. So they would be forced to abandon that old one? Depends on what the material is. We may force them to, or we may put it as part of our lit service line replacement program. But no, if they have an inch and a half one that is now going to be, they're going to change to a multifamily, they could just take that and put the meters on that line. so that that wouldn't be that would be at their discretion if they wanted to change it again would they if it was a galvanized line we would try to push them towards the lit service line replacement program so we can update the material meet the 2031 standard but if it's an inch and a half line then it would meet the standard so they wouldn't be forced to Most of what we're seeing the issue is, again, I'll go back, like 112 Valley Road you saw became two separate tax slots. 8686A, Wachung Ave, these large multi-family homes, two-family homes, where they have one three-quarter inch service going in with one meter. So what happens on our end, and especially with the SOAR billing is, Once that mother lot no longer exists, which is what we bill for SOAR, it becomes difficult if they don't bring us the HOA information on how to bill them. So what happens is the tax bill or the SOAR bill then comes back to us and we try to send letters. A lot of times people don't respond to our letters. And then it goes to tax sale and people are upset that their house is on tax sale because the SOAR bill wasn't paid. And then they're yelling at us saying, well, why didn't you tell us? Well, you know, we can only do so much to get...

so what this will do is if it's forcing them to split the meters it creates two separate water accounts two separate store accounts for the new plots that have been created I just don't this sentence any single family dwelling that is to be split into a multi-family dwelling must abandon the original water service and apply and pay for

But again, that would be at our discretion. If it's already an inch and a half line, we wouldn't force them to. But if it's a three quarter inch line, then yes. For a new one and a half inch. Correct. But if it's already meeting the standard, then there'd be no reason to make them change it.

It sounds like they're being constructed. That's fine.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'd like to make a motion to open the public hearing on pending ordinance 02623, ordinance to amend chapter 341-5, section E, permits required. Did I just do this one?

Yeah.

Okay. Sounded familiar. I'm going to move to pending. We didn't vote. Madam Clerk?

Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councillor Birmingham? Yes. Councillor D'Amato? Yes. Councillor Harrison? Yes. Councillor Toller absent. Councillor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville? Yes.

Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to open the public hearing on Pending Ordinance 02624, Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Section 29 of Chapter 202, Land Use Procedures of the Code of the Township of Montclair. I so move.

Second.

Anyone present in the audience that wishes to be heard on this pending ordinance? Madam Clerk? Deputy Mayor Anderson. Oh, I'm sorry. Discussion? You have discussion? No. Anyone here? No. Madam Clerk? Deputy Mayor. Oh, wait.

I just wanted to say, again, for the record, I thought, you know, this is fine, except for in Part C, partnership agreements. I think it's going to get us in trouble.

Okay.

The statute already requires it for partnerships.

The partnership agreements. So that would mean... but it's not the business agreement. Partnership agreements just means who owns what, correct? It doesn't mean the business.

Right. The only purpose is to find out who the people are.

The people are.

Yes.

Okay.

Are we good, Council D'Amato? Anyone else? Madam Clerk?

Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councillor Birmingham? Yes. Councillor D'Amato?

Abstain.

Councillor Harrison? Yes. Councillor Tolar? Absent. Councillor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville?

Yes. Thank you. I make a motion that we move to pending ordinance 02625, ordinance to amend section 18 of chapter 327, vehicles and traffic. As a code of the township of Montclair, I so move. Anyone from the public that wishes to be heard on this pending ordinance 026-25? Council, do you have any comments or discussion? Madam Clerk, please.

Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Tolar absent. Councilor Williams?

Yes.

Mayor Baskerville?

Yes, thank you. For our final pending ordinance for this evening, I'd like to make a motion that we open the public hearing for the pending ordinance 02626, an ordinance amending section 22 of chapter 327, vehicles on traffic of the code of the township of Montclair, New Jersey. Anyone public that wishes to be heard?

Any members of the council?

madam clerk sorry mayor I didn't hear who the movement in the second was I move second thank you thank you to mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes

now we're going to move to new business ordinances um letter g council your hands up yes yes before i introduced that this we sent back last one are you talking about okay for the sequence okay because it was not a accurate description of what it was trying to do i have discussed with mr germano and why don't you come up and what because

he would like to move it forward can you speak into your mic please thank you no there's an updated version in my office of this ordinance that I didn't realize this was being placed on the agenda or moved to the agenda for today in this form sorry

so it's up to council hello so it's up to council whether you want to move it to August or you want to make the changes I know I know counselor we spoke about possibly making some changes to it they were made and I received them but Manny was on vacation and our director of Complete Streets is on vacation so I again I didn't

I have something so if you wanted to pull it from me from today we can reintroduce the correct amended version yes my deputy mayor my understanding was that because I had raised similar questions to to the superintendent and my understanding was that we were we were pulling this for today no

yes council so we we discussed that possibly pulling it today or possibly making changes on the fly to it because basically if we remove all the Lots because that well that was the main concern last last last meeting was the Lots and also the clarification of what the exact uh purpose of this right that was my comment this was um i've sent since then given everybody colored maps colored maps very nice thank you of what the intentions were the intentions were to actually create a boundary that any parking street street parking meter within that boundary would be charged the uh special parking zone rates um and that does not mean that we will be adding any meters we would not be adding any meters to any of the existing streets that are inside this boundary all the meters would just stay the same the addition of meters to any of these streets is a completely different part of the code and it has nothing to do with this so it's up to the council whether you want to move it or the next meeting or

Has everyone had an opportunity to take a look at the maps, the color maps? And I appreciate you for taking your time to do that, because that was very helpful for me with the color maps. I'm a visual learner, so. And everyone had an opportunity?

let me just that the change is simply and it suggested that in the now therefore we insert the word meter between special parking meter zone so that was clarified and then deleting and parking in public parking lots and then replacing that with existing parking meters or kiosks as we're going away with meters. That is correct. That would be the only change to what was proposed. So it's up to everyone whether you want to put it off or move it with a change.

mean if they're not substance I would be fine with going forward I am just kind of curious though because this is a really really helpful map I don't know if maybe that I would suggest maybe I'm seeing if we can add it as an appendix to the to the ordinance that's that's just a suggestion yeah

thank you so I also am fine with with moving forward I like the deputy mayor some suggestion of bringing the the map in councillor Harrison okay I would like to

move the introduction of the ordinance with the following changes from what was distributed in the packet that in the now therefore be it ordained that the word meter be inserted between parking and zone so it reads special parking meter zone and that in a the phrase and public parking lots within would be deleted and replaced with with existing parking meters or kiosks and then at the end of that they're following streets as shown on the attached map and otherwise it would stay the same I second I so move to make that change my second

madam clerk did you get the changes that he's putting in yes mayor okay deputy mayor Anderson this is to make the amendments noted by councillor Harrison yep yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes thank you I move the second with that changes Deputy Mayor Anderson. Yes. Councillor Birmingham. Yes. Councillor D'Amato. Yes. Councillor Harrison. Yes. Councillor Toler absent. Councillor Williams. Yes. Mayor Baskerville.

Yes. Okay. H. Councillor Williams.

Agenda... item H fully funded capital ordinance provided for various water utility capital improvements in and by the township of Montclair and the county of Essex New Jersey and appropriating the sum of three million dollars from the water utility capital improvement fund for the cost thereof so move second council discussion yes council Birmingham

I see that lead service line replacements are part of this and I I know this is part of them it's New Jersey law right that's required I saw I believe it's Bloomfield that makes it a condition of sale of the house that if you are selling a house that has a lead line you have to have it replaced

thoughts on that so that is something we were looking into but we did not want to pass that ordinance until we had a plan that we were distributing in place first we felt as though it would be unfair so now that we have something that people can sign up for and then they refuse to sign up for and then go to sell their house i think it's fair to enforce that on them okay great that's something that'll be coming before you guys shortly okay thank you no problem anyone else please what is the vehicle We have to replace a 2004 dump truck. The dump truck has been welded back together three times. Parts are obsolete for it. It's also used in plowing operations, so the salt has eaten it up. Anytime it goes, we have to get customized parts made for it, so it's really just become a money pit. It is vital to our operation that we have two dump trucks, that we have one that stays clean, so that way when we have to add stone and asphalt at the end of a water main break, it's clean and available for use. And then the older truck is usually the truck that runs the mud and the asphalt that we tear up at back.

so for us to you know have a streamlined operation it's very vital for us to have to thank you madam clerk deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes thank you deputy mayor please would I on our pink page

okay this is ordinance it's an ordinance for fully funded capital ordinance providing for various sewer utility capital improvements in and in and by the township of Montclair in the county of Essex New Jersey and appropriating the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars from the sewer utility capital improvement fund for the cost thereof I so move second discussion

No. Madam Clerk, please. Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Toller absent. Councilor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville? Yes.

Councilor Harrison, will you do J, please?

An ordinance amending section 15 of chapter 48, Township Personnel Article 2, Vacations for the Township of Montclair, to add certain job titles. I'm not moving it.

I so move. discussion please council Harrison no anyone just have a problem with the length of vacations anyone here have discussions or comments that they'd like to offer to the rest of the council I I would just ask if we are changing department names

in this in this one no not not through this ordinance yeah but then why are we using old department names in this i'm sorry councillor d'amato i can't hear you i said um maybe you can explain the problem through the mayor um so councillor de mano asked why uh why are we we are there's a subsequent first reading ordinance that will change some department names yeah and this one continues to use the existing names and so we're going to have to at some point clean up our code correct okay so why don't we just do it now

So this ordinance is related to the vacation schedule or the vacation amount of time for department directors of existing departments. I didn't want to presume that. OK, that we would pass. Right. So the creating or merging or changing departments requires an introduction, a second reading. It's probably two months before it would get enacted if approved. So I didn't want to presume that it was being approved before it was approved.

yes but for this I mean this is only because we already we passed another measure to you know add these departments that could direct the Complete Streets Department sustainability department and change the parking and the public works department right correct yeah thank you so I moved it deputy second it

madam clerk please every mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison no not because I don't think they should have the same vacations as everyone else I think the number of days is excessive councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes moving on to number K council Birmingham please

This is an ordinance amending Chapter 153, Fire Prevention, Article 1, Administration and Enforcement of the Code of the Township of Montclair. And I so move. Second. Discussion, please. Council Birmingham. Yes. So I want to thank... lieutenant is it lieutenant Thompson fire official okay okay that's your that's your fire okay apologies thank you for that clarification fire official Thompson for going through and and doing the research to update our fees and providing us with comparator towns and as I mentioned earlier these had not been updated in many so many years and so this is very helpful and so I think this is something that will just not to give you more work to do but for us we'll just keep an eye and maybe like even next year try and get closer to where Bloomfield is just because you know when people are we'll just you know what I mean like we'll just keep we'll raise them potentially again and not wait the many many years but so really appreciate your work can I mention can I ask you one thing and this is just a thing that maybe some people are not aware about of that we have here the installation of smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors either battery operated or hardwired so be made in accordance with the regulations People should know just in general, it's now required if you're replacing, like if you're selling your house and you're replacing of smoke detector you can't it has to be a sealed battery correct right in your seal a 10-year sealed battery because that i um it can't be a regular battery that needs to be replaced every year it's by state law right okay and you have that in all that information on the website that's yes it's in our current application okay great thank you

are we I'm gonna put this on our web page and so that people will know that because suppose you know I mean I would like to know that I'm sure there's some other residents there right maybe we can add this to the website because this is in general for fire safety it's probably a great thing to know yeah yeah newsletter also right newsletter yeah

communication yes deputy mayor yeah that's a great idea I just this might be a little bit nitpicky but on page three in the table is it possible to just clarify like what in the second or the third column prior it says receive four to ten business days prior is it possible to clarify like prior to what so it's I think that will help mm-hmm make make it clear Understood. Yes. Thank you.

Did you want us to do that now before we vote on this? Yes.

I mean, would you be able to say what?

Fill in the days prior here so that we can.

Prior to filling out the application.

Prior to filling out the application. Prior to filling out application. Thank you.

yes sir councillor Harrison this is much of the question for you but this is including zoning enforcement we are keeping within planning and community development zoning enforcement and I want to understand how the tour offices are going to interrelate zoning enforcement has not been one of our strong points And maybe having two people, two offices doing it might be a good thing, but I think there needs to be coordination.

so so what's envisioned not under this ordinance but under the administrative reorganization ordinance it's envisioned that code enforcement which is now part of the department of administration code enforcement environmental affairs gets the code enforcement part the code enforcement division gets moved to under the fire department fire officials direction By doing that, the code enforcers who have been going for fire inspection training could work at the direction of the fire official and actually enforce Montclair's fire regulations. Anything else? Did I capture that correctly?

Yes. And that part I'm fully in support of. It's just we're adding here zoning enforcement. which is fine but we're keeping zoning enforcement also in planning and community development correct and just the people should coordinate so agree office actually eating the other office is it doing something and one of the other items for this evening is is a software package that will actually help that coordination great anything further

Madam Clerk, please.

Deputy Mayor Anderson. Yes. Councilor Birmingham. Yes. Councilor D'Amato. Yes. Councilor Harrison. Yes. Councilor Tolar absent. Councilor Williams. Yes. Mayor Baskerville.

Yes. So did we need to amend that to put the days prior to filling out the application or we didn't need to necessarily do that here? Madam Attorney, please. filling out the application I'd be better prior to submitting the application prior to submitting

didn't put I'm sorry it sorry I'm just gonna go right ahead but what it is is like if someone's selling their house and you're gonna do this inspection sometimes they're needed they need it quicker than correct right so it how do we describe that because the request is coming How do we describe it? Do they fill out an application?

They do fill out an application. Which application? This is just for when they're selling. So just when someone's selling and they're notifying us of their intent to sell, I figure the easiest way to track it would be when we receive that application. so there wouldn't be any confusion as opposed to if they're emailing us inquiring about it and then that's when it starts you know be when we receive it yes okay

so we don't need to make anything in writing I'm here if that's okay with the deputy mayor to me counselors oh I'm sorry yes mm-hmm then we need to add that my concern was that we voted on it as it was so now we're going to no I get it I'm just trying to figure out do we need to figure out you know what to do to put the amendment in now after we voted on it without the amendment No.

Yeah. So I think if we are able to, if we're going to have this on the website, I would suggest that that addition be made to the table that's going to be on the website. I'm fine with that. Are the rest of the council members okay with that?

Thank you so very much. Then let's move on to the next one. Where are we? We are L. L. Is it Councillor D'Amato? Did you go, Councillor Birmingham?

I did.

okay councillor D'Amato an ordinance to amend chapter 27 fire department article 1 general provisions chapter 157 fire prevention article 1 administration and enforcement chapter 157 is that correct it's L mm-hmm we're still on this

Chapter 153, Fire Prevention of the Code of the Township of Montclair.

I was skipping ahead. An ordinance amending section 11.1 of Chapter 153, Fire Prevention, Article 1, Administration and Enforcement of the Code of the Township of Montclair. And I so move.

Second. Discussion, please.

yes deputy mayor so the um so i i guess this is the certificate like it's adding this certificate of compliance requirement um my only question is that um it says that the owner has to apply to the local enforcement agency no less than annually. And I was just curious how are they reminded prior to, you know, reminded to do that annually or how does that work?

Yes, so they wouldn't be required to make payment until they receive the form from us and then they would have 30 days after that to submit it to us so they would be notified.

that's good anyone else council madam clerk please deputy mayor Anderson yes Councillor Birmingham yes Councillor D'Amato yes Councillor Harrison yes Councillor Tolar absent Councillor Williams yes Mayor Baskerville yes thank you Councillor Williams M please

agenda item M an ordinance to amend chapter 27 5 department article 1 general provisions chapter 153 fire prevention article 1 administration and enforcement chapter 157 fire safety act enforcement so moved second discussion please council Birmingham

so this seems as if this is creating the position of fire marshal it's not creating a position okay so my position would still be the same it would just be adding and making us up to the standards of what the state says so the term fire marshal and fire official are considered interchangeable by the state So I would just be, instead of being referenced as the fire official, it would be as the fire marshal.

I see. So establishing this distinct title, fire marshal. Got it. So that's you. That's going to be you. That would be me. I'm not a new person. Awesome. Well, then you will be called fire marshal. Oh, but not for another time.

Anyone else? Madam Clerk, please. Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Tolar absent. Councilor Williams?

Yes.

Mayor Baskerville? Yes, thank you.

And Deputy Mayor? Ordinance amending chapter three, administration of government of the code of the township of Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey. This is changing the department of community services to public works, which makes sense. And then the other big change is the department of administration code enforcement and environmental affairs is that the new name of that is department of housing services. Those are the main changes. I so move.

Second. Discussion? Manager Marks, I'd just really like to thank you so much for this. I think this is great work and something that is very much needed. So thank you very much.

Mayor.

Yes, Deputy.

I just wanted to clarify, and I'm sorry if I already asked this question and you answered it. The Department of Housing Services, would that report up to who?

Um, So all department heads, so the three direct reports of the mayor and council are the township attorney, the township clerk, and the township manager. Under the township manager, under this form of government, all department heads report to the township manager.

Okay, so I just wanted to make sure that was the case. Okay, thank you. Good.

Okay, Madam Clerk, please. Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Taylor absent. Councilor Williams? Yes.

yes mayor Baskerville yes deputy mayor Harrison will you please do that er Oh

this is an ordinance repeal chapter 134 article 3 single-use food and beverage items because the state law has preempted that and that's the same thing as the ordinance does I so move second discussion please yes thank you so as many of you may know this council passed in was it 2025

yes I think so yeah yes prior to the state law being passed same subject matter the main difference is that the full service so you know many of our restaurants food service providers are already aware of our skip the stuff ordinance but the main change really is that full service restaurants with seating for 10 or more will be required to have washable utensils for their eat-in customers instead of giving them you know disposable plastic cutlery they can still you know ask for single-use items and then effective so that goes into effect next month August 1st 2026 And then in, this is all per state law, as of August 1st, 2027, so a full year later, these establishments will no longer be allowed to provide bundled packages. packaging like you know those packets of like plastic forks and knives and you know condiments and things so of course schools and jails and health care facilities on there are a number of types of establishments that are not subject to this law and the Environmental Commission we wanted to just share that the Environmental Commission is working with the Department of Sustainability to you know on a communication plan So that's all I wanted to mention.

Thank you. Anyone else?

I just feel like it's like when you are really into a niche rock band and then it becomes a big hit statewide and you're both proud but also kind of sad because you're not special anymore. But it's great that we did it. We were ahead of the curve.

anyone else madam clerk please mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes okay we are on P councillor Harrison

This is an ordinance to further amend and supplement Chapter 51, Article 2 and Article 3 of an ordinance entitled Police Department. This is an amendment to the Police Department composition. I so move.

Second discussion. You want to lead the discussion?

What is this? We're just seeing it tonight.

So this was discussed actually previously in the finance committee meeting. New Jersey state law allows municipalities to create special law enforcement officers for class 2 and class 3. Class 2 are typically the police officers who you may see in commercial areas during busy times or working special events. Class 3 officers are often assigned to schools so in order to use class 2 officers you have to create or authorize it by ordinance that's what this does last year through the salary ordinance we created class 2 and class 3 officers with the pay scale of approximately 35 to 45 dollars per hour and this actually authorizes it in the administrative code so If approved, we would be able to hire up to two class two officers. Why is this different or why is this special? Class two officers are basically per diem. Police officers, they report to the police chief. They are used to augment the municipal police force. They're not to supplant the police force. And they're a cost-effective way of adding police resources to the town.

Yep.

I was very much in favor of this, and thank you very much, Manager Marks. I think that you were the person that suggested this as we were trying to figure out a good way that we could, in a humanitarian way, make sure that all of our unhoused residents felt comfortable and safe in neighborhood without necessarily having to have a full-fledged officer there so I'm very much in favor of this use and I thank you very much other people madam clerk

Anderson yes Councillor Birmingham yes Councillor D'Amato yes Councillor Harrison yes Councillor Tolar absent Councillor Williams yes Mayor Baskerville yes thank you okay so that ends our ordinances for this evening we're going to now move on to

agenda items on resolution I'm going to call the ones that I have that should be pulled for discussion or because people want them pulled for another time and after I do that then I'm we're going to do a vote for the other right we're going to do a vote for all the rest of them as a consent I have Agenda item number two. I have number six. If I go past your number and it's not on here, please call it out. I have two. I have six. I have nine. I have 18. I have 22, 24, 25, 30. 32, 33, 34, 37, 40, 42, and 45. Anyone else? And which one? 47 and 47. yes yep so these are the ones that are yes go ahead I'm sorry right ahead 53 okay so all the ones I'd like to move the other ones madam clerk that we did not call out yes deputy okay okay we're going to pull number 19 pull it yes absolutely and yes thank you anything else that I didn't call that we need to pull for a number of different reasons that will not be in the consent agenda that I would like to move yeah now I'd like to make a motion to move all the rest of the items as a consent agenda is there a second madam clerk

yes yes yes yes yes don't worry I'm gonna do it now

what number is the one about the Citizens Bank 37 thank you thank you now see teamwork okay so we're gonna go to number 37 first and council Birmingham

yes this is a resolution authorizing a divestiture of Township funds from Citizens Bank and I so move second any discussion and I should say any further discussion people anyone yeah I just wanted to say um I believe I mean I

believe that this is the right thing to do I think that we're not going to be you know we're obviously not going to be able to solve all the world's problems and you know but this is something that we can do we can make the choice the conscious choice of not to be complicit in putting our taxpayer, our residents' taxpayer dollars into a financial institution that financially supports these concentration camp private prisons and works with these federal agencies that violate the Constitution daily and engage in all sorts of human rights violations so you know we do have a choice and I also wanted to just say to my colleagues that this is this is not to me this is not just a performative thing we do have a good amount of money in and funds within this this bank this is part of a more national larger movement by other you know municipalities we have Jersey City that's already decided to do this right and other municipalities other organizations private citizens who are deciding to pull their funds and you know together I think we can hopefully try to persuade this institution not to engage in this anymore so yeah

so I just like to say that I am very much in favor of this I'd like to thank all of the people who began to bring awareness about what was going on and offered us many many emails and other opportunities to understand what was going on and the reasons why we needed to do this as quickly as possible but I'd also like to say that for me It's not just a one-out. It's like a wake-up call that I think that we need to be more diligent about who we're doing business with, who we're investing with, what contracts we're giving out. And really, you know, when we're doing these things, maybe we should be just a little bit more aware and take a look at the behind the scenes types of things and even when we were talking about you know well what next you take it from citizens and I'm saying well let's make sure that we know wherever we go whether it's Valley Bank of America whoever it may be that we know who you know they're doing banking with because there's a lot of other categories none as urgent as this is immediately in this setting here and now it's what's going to Delaney but a lot of others and I'm sure many of you will agree with me that we need to just you know really understand what it is that we're doing when we're putting our money in different places and whatever so I'd like to thank you all very much for everything that you did to help us to get to this point yes mm-hmm

I don't have my microphone on I would like to ask if the CFO would be able to provide some sense of how quickly the divestment could happen

So Jersey City was able to move its money from citizens in about a two-week period. So I think we would be under the same impression that we could do the same thing. Our cash management plan prequalifies approximately a dozen banks. The chief financial officer is already soliciting proposals. I am pleased to report that one of the other banks that's already pre-qualified gave us a proposal whereby they're offering us a quarter percent increase or a quarter percent more interest rate on our investments. So I think this would be a case of doing well by doing good by going to another bank. I think it's a very competitive market and we could do better than Citizens.

Thank you. Okay, yes.

Yeah, I just say that this is a good example of why markets are good because we're a customer and we have money and we have a choice. And people do this all the time actually now in investing. You invest with a mutual fund or something that reflects your values. I would hope in the future that we do not do this a la carte, fully issue based, but instead find a bank that most people can agree reflects the values. of the township, and I would be in favor of going far in the direction of something that's progressive. I'm sure at some point, because there are other issues that people might bring. When I was younger, it was about defense manufacturers. and things like that, and there's a healthy debate about this. We can all have a difference of opinion, but I think we should agree that we would want a bank or a progressive institution. On the issue of having a slight disagreement, a difference of opinion, I would slightly caution people to be a little careful in the use of the term concentration camp. My father spent years in a Nazi, in a German prisoner of war camp and narrowly survived summary execution. And he would never have called it a concentration camp, which was up the road. Birkenau so I will not I don't like to you know tome police people but would just say please be very thoughtful and use that expression that's all but I very much support this and thanks for you know speaking up thank you and counselor I'm extremely saddened to hear that your dad had to experience that he survived yeah that's a blessing okay madam clerk

Deputy Mayor Anderson. Yes. Councilor Birmingham. Yes. Councilor D'Amato. Yes. Councilor Harrison. Yes. Councilor Toller absent. Councilor Williams. Yes. Mayor Baskerville. Yes. Okay.

So. Yep, that's right. Good. Okay. Yes. The Barry Anderson?

Yeah. It's

Anybody there know what number Clary Anderson is? 34. OK. Council of Birmingham, 34.

Do you want to read it? I'll just. Resolution authorizing the acceptance of a donation by gift from Clary Anderson Arena Association. And I so move. Second. And I don't have it in front of me, but hold on one second, one second. this is a gift with an estimated total value of eight hundred and seventy thousand dollars which shall be provided at no charge to the township through an existing agreement the Clary Anderson Arena Association and I am very happy to so move that second double-second yes and what can we say I know it's it really I mean if we look at the last council before right before they left they authorized seven million dollars debt to fix Clary Anderson and in the short time that manager marks has been here and Monica and everyone has been involved it's to me it's remarkable example of and there's still work to do and there's still a lot going on but just really it's really very inspiring and so is there anything that I mean

we didn't really look at the full number so since last year it's over 1.2 million in community funding not just from the township race the township has done done amazing work with the health and safety issues but the community got together and raised 1.2 for I believe million dollars in less than a year and we have plans for phase two three and four so this is a big I want to invite you all to come to the rink and see the work that's being done so far it's remarkable

Thank you. Thank you. Madam Clerk, please.

Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Tolar absent. Councilor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville?

Yes. Okay, so let's go back now to the top of the list. You had something else that you wanted to do? Okay, so let's go to number two, please.

yes lucien awarding a non-fair and open contract to gov pilot LLC doing business as spatial data logic LLC for proprietary software license agreement pursuant to NJSA 40 a colon 11-5 1 double D I so move second discussion please

mr. close good evening thank you for joining us good evening mayor and council I'm Devin close director of IT first time saying that tonight I'm asking the council to adopt a resolution for a three-year agreement for gov pilot for the use of the township our current permitting system which is SDL the contract ended as of June 1st however before renewing it I mean my office my team and I wanted to take a look a hard look at another platform to see if we can find a better use case for it I'm sorry that are currently there are only two departments that are you utilizing SDL and it has a license cap of 55 users however after reviewing it just doesn't make sense because there are for the cost that we're paying for only two departments are able to use it and the other departments are not able to and it just doesn't make sense because we're not able to see the information for other departments there are The permitting system's lackluster. And then there was also a security incident in May with SDL, which kind of pushed the drive for us to look towards a better system. More about the May outage. On May 12th to the 13th, there was a credential, credentials got compromised, so SDL took the platform offline for 33 hours. so that's roughly two days that not the two departments that were utilizing the service were not effectively able to issue permits and just do their jobs so and this wasn't a one-time failure there were other problems that started back in February staff were still reporting issues up until June and all of this has been documented through our previous help desk ticket so I can obviously send you the information on so my recommendation would be to move to gov pilot specifically gov pilot unlimited which allows their platform uses 150 modules that don't that aren't specifically designated for the two departments would say just about every department can utilize the platform whether it be fire public works or I guess DPW potentially Health Department and rent control Oprah god forbid a multitude of use cases for it I was able to get The difference, oh my God, sorry. It allows unlimited users, which versus the previous platform, SDL was currently capped at 55 users. So we're no longer, if we were to move forward, capped with the number of users. They'll allow for full data migration with the fleet fees being waived. They'll include training and GIS mapping would be included. managed to negotiate the price which was originally $173,000 I know a bit of a scare down about 22% so there's a cost savings of about roughly $40,000 the first year that discount also include any data migration fees they were waived and it's kind of contingent if we were to make a decision that kind of has to happen as soon as possible given the cutover As I said, this isn't for just two departments. Every department from public works, health, fire, get modules at no extra cost. Residents will be able to apply, pay, and track 24-7. Plus, there is also a report to concern, a report to concern mobile app that they can use to route their issues right to the right department automatically. The staff will be able to use real-time dashboards. Inspectors will have field access on a mobile app. And we will be shifting from SDL's hosted desktop environment to Microsoft Azure, which is much more secure.

I'm sorry, Microsoft what?

Azure. It's their cloud platform. Okay, thank you. I'd like to introduce Justin Thompson, give a bit of background as to the use cases for the fire department, because he was the main person that experienced or had some feedback about the demo.

Great. Thank you.

Good evening again. Justin Thompson, the fire official from Montclair. I just wanted to speak about GovPilot from the perspective of the fire department. I would like to express my support for moving forward with the GovPilot platform. This resolution is not simply about replacing one software program with another. It's about replacing a system that has limited interoperability with other township departments. Fire prevention does not operate in a vacuum. On a regular basis, we work with building, code enforcement, health planning, and other departments. A common platform allows all of us to work from the same information rather than maintaining separate systems that cannot communicate effectively with one another. Our Fire Prevention Bureau currently uses Red Alert software and we are the only department in the township that uses it. As a result, no other department has access to our inspection records, permits, or enforcement information. Our current software has also resulted in a tremendous amount of unnecessary paperwork due to its limitations. Currently, we still operate on paper for our inspections because the mobile application has never fully worked. Communication between departments is another significant concern. Our inspectors frequently have to call or email other departments to ascertain various types of information. Having that information readily available in one system would improve efficiency and public safety. GovPilot would also modernize how we serve the public. Today, most of the payments from the public are still made by check or cash. Providing residents and businesses with the ability to apply, schedule, and pay for their inspections online would make the process more convenient while reducing administrative work for township staff. This resolution is more than a software purchase. It's an investment in better government. It will improve communication between departments, reduce administrative burdens, modernize the services we provide to residents and businesses, and ultimately improve public safety by ensuring that critical information is available to the people who need it when they need it.

Good, thank you. Councillor Williams.

You mentioned something about residents, if they have a complaint, it goes to the department.

They can actually create a module based off per department and report a concern. Well, it's one module, and it can be assigned to any department. They'll be able to select drop-down as far as I'm understanding. And if there's a concern outside of, you know, I believe you can use, I think there was another platform that we used, but GovPilot does offer that as an option per not just one department, but any department that's associated with it. Did that answer your question?

yes miss marks where did Devon get that shirt and why didn't you get the email why didn't I offer this shirt HR just sent something around speak about this later they it comes in pink too you should see the director of HR

So we in our communications committee had been looking before you came at solutions and talking about this and I felt I'm a little conflicted here because I felt a little sore that we weren't given the opportunity to take a first look but I know for sure that this is actually probably the result we would have ended up with. And since I'm lazy, that means that I didn't have to work and look at it. But seriously, I have kicked the tires on a lot of these things down at the League of Municipalities. I met with GovPilot and all these people, and I do think it is best of class. having the scalability and that 150 modules, we will be able to, it's probably the single greatest thing, and I've been advocating for years.

You have been, that's why I know of it, yeah.

The single greatest thing that we can do to get off of a lot of management through emails that disappear down what happened, and then you never know, having a dashboard which will be terrifying for a lot of people because it will always be flashing red that you have a million things to do but things will get done better cases of any very type will be closed and resolved and it is I think it could make a difference if we make people do it so thanks for doing the work and that we didn't have to

cool I'm glad to know and also I wanted to know that Susan Anderson as well as Eileen Birmingham was also able to take part in some of the demos for gov pilots specifically with not to put you on blast sorry specifically for the tree modules for the Department of Sustainability and there will be there'll be a lot of new spaces for it so I highly recommend that you guys could

adopted it will actually benefit the township tremendously but did we did we discuss this council of the model because I know gov pilot for some reason and I know you mentioned it but did we so we were demonstrate this we were talking at the you know the in many meetings about yeah

specific smaller pieces of software and about the eventual systems integration that we would want to do, we met and talked about the Everbridge which is going to stand alone. I don't know if that's going to change, Everbridge.

No, we have it active. The communications director is currently in the process. It's in use, so that's not going to disappear. Okay.

And we have an existing 311, so generically all the reported things are called 311 systems.

From Civic Plus. Yeah, QAlert.

They have like five names. And it's not a very well-designed system from what I can tell.

I agree.

And so we talked about a lot of those things. We spent time talking about the public-facing website.

Yeah.

And so the only little twitch here was that we had two meetings or three meetings about $10,000, and then it's a bigger number. But again, I think it is the right decision.

Yeah. Good. Thank you. I agree. Thank you. Deputy Mayor?

well I'm really excited about this I in my my regular my paying job I've been involved in developing software platforms where we're actually I mean I'm actually in the middle of you know being on a team for a new platform and so this could really be so transformative for the staff and you know for residents I guess, and just the unlimited license, user licenses is fantastic. I guess my question, I mean, I'm sure a lot of people are asking, like, if we approve this, how quickly could we have these modules up and running?

45 to 60 days. Awesome.

Okay.

Yeah.

Great.

thank you anyone else yes councillor Birmingham so I'll be able to renew my dog license that's been my dream since I

came on council online any module you have if there are custom modules like if you have a special permit that you guys want to implement they can do it as a part of the agreement it's just gonna take a bit longer to implement but it's possible I was told it's possible so okay anything you can throw at them you can give it a whirl and see how far we can take it okay

And then, like, one of the things that we're hearing or seeing is communication around things like road closures that are not emergencies but are very annoying. You know, our quake can be annoying and really disruptive to people. Is this... Is this the kind of platform that, like, the Department of Public Works could say, like, there's going to be... To send a mass notification. Yeah, or people could sign up for, you know, specifically, like, I want to be notified of road closures and that kind of thing.

Adjustments will need to be made, but it still needs to be verified. As far as I was told, it's possible.

Okay, great. And then my last thing, you did mention a security breach, and we're very sensitive to that because we did have a cyber attack. There was no breach of people's data or anything? No.

It was more specifically, as far as what SDL communicated to me, was just a compromise of passwords. So they didn't necessarily access the data. What they did, what they had to do was decommission the original servers that they were hosted on and migrate them onto a new server. So as far as I was told, none of the information was compromised. You can also have them verify before cutover, but I just felt like it was... an important decision to migrate to another vendor as soon as possible rather than having to deal with this happening again and the ongoing issues. So as far as I was told, no security as of now, no security issues because they've had to implement two-factor, which was kind of ironic for a company that's been around 20 plus years to finally implement and still remain on a legacy hosted system. So yes, but I would like to get it off this.

Okay. And then just on this topic of security, several months ago we authorized funding to really spruce up the security of our IT infrastructure. Is that project... Complete or where do we stand? Okay, where do we stand now?

I would say we're about 90, let's drop it down to 75%. So we have the animal shelter, water department, what else, what else, what else? DPW slash DCS completed. Here, Wi-Fi is working as well. Network switches have been replaced. The only remaining items are just the network firewall. That we're saving for the very last as it's a very sensitive item. We just wanted to make sure that we focus on the remote locations first. Police department, so it's just fire and police as far as I'm aware. Skating, Clary Anderson Arena was just actually finished, so that's up and running. It's just we're now focusing on the two last locations, which are police and fire so it'll be police first but then fire for the remaining items because that includes the server firewall and a few more switches so great roughly 75 okay well thank you for your work and thank you fire official Thompson as well for your your input no deputy mayor has one more and the deputy mayor has I just have one more question just in terms of the data migration

right I think for us yeah right I'm sorry I'm going we're off security now how is how is how are we gonna validate that the the day all of the data has migrated properly so they're going to keep our existing SDL instance open up to 18 months so if there anything if there any

if there's any data that's missing uh typically they do triple checks before they do migrate the data depending on the department it's only two departments that they're doing rather than um the other departments that we're looking to integrate or implement oh that's a lie fire department has red alert so we'll have to migrate that data um separately but i believe how it's going to go is fire takes priority since he assisted with this and then construction and code but they'll be able to do all three at the same time they'll do triple text triple checks and then they'll obviously keep it open for an 18 month window nice thank you

Anyone else?

Madam Clerk? Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councillor Birmingham? Yes. Councillor D'Amato? Yes. Councillor Harrison? Yes. Councillor Tolar absent. Councillor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville?

Yes. Number six, oh, we're at number six, right? Who wanted number six pulled, please?

Me.

Councillor Harrison?

Just to ask a couple quick questions to follow up what I asked. So these can be used either for garbage or recycling, is that correct?

That is correct. Good evening.

short answers are good at this hour and we there have been discussions about having eventually switching to uniforms municipally supplied receptacles will these trucks be capable of picking those up automatically

They will still need assistance from a loader, but they will have rear-loading tippers. So they will automatically dump the cans once they're manually loaded onto the tippers. But they can, yes.

They will have the capability. We don't have the cans.

No, but if you drive through town, a large majority of homes already do have cans that could be utilized, that these tippers could utilize. They're not uniform. They're all different sizes. There's problems with that. but if we run into cans that are oversized and are too heavy for our employees to lift, they can utilize those tippers, thus eliminating, hopefully, back injuries, lifting injuries.

Nothing further.

Anyone else?

to purchase three refuse and recycling collection trucks through cooperative pricing agreements I so move second madam clerk deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams

yes mayor Baskerville yes number eight who on a discussion on that please I'm sorry number nine number nine is me come to Harrison this is simple I

the original contract was for one year the current provision says until the work is done is there a reason we can't put a deadline on getting this done it's tied to number 24 getting mapping the outfalls which you would think you would need to map where the storm sewers are to do that and why is it open-ended versus saying you know December 31st of this year

because the the reason we need more time on this contract I'm comfortable with more time I want to know is why are we saying if you get it done in ten years that's fine okay it's just the nature of what what is left that needs to be done is requires the coordination between our department the the sewer truck to clear out catch basins and whatnot that need to be surveyed and that can that's a hard thing to put a time period on you want to put another year on to it or year and a half that's fine that doesn't have to be ten years I don't envision it taking a long time but I can't give you an exact estimate it's just things without a deadline tend to drag on and a year should be sufficient yeah more than sufficient amended so be completed within

What was the original deadline?

The original deadline was December of last year. That's when the contract expired.

And you probably want more than December of this year.

Correct. A year from today would be fine.

Okay. I move the resolution with that change.

Second. Madam Clerk?

Mayor, I need clarification. What is the change? And if you can reference the paragraph, that would be helpful.

No. Is there a change?

No. Councillor Harrison did want a change put in there.

Wait, does this mean that it would extend to...

It says it shall be extended from one year to such time.

It says for a term of one year. To such time. from one year to such time and do you want to say like for another year this is for a term of one year is it one year from yes from from January 20 now I thought he said from today's day yeah a year from today yeah no because it says for a year so that would be a year from today which would be the 14th of 2027 July at the satisfaction of the township you want to strike that is that what I'm hearing councillor Harrison

been having problems how to read this which is why I brought it up as to so I think it to change number one shall be extended till July 14th 2027 and the project is fully completed to the satisfaction of the township yes I second that

madam clerk did we need to give you some additional information I'm gonna read the sentence thank you

Section 1 of Resolution R25011 is hereby amended to provide that the contract term shall be extended from one year to July 14, 2027. That's the added language from July. I'm sorry, to July 14, 2027. And such time as the project is fully completed to the satisfaction of the township.

you should delete the one year okay should be extended to July 14 2027 and to such time as the project is fully completed to the satisfaction of the township I think I would delete to such time and so just to July 14 2027 and the product and and the project is completed

the project is fully completed to the satisfaction of the township I just wanna yes I just want to be careful I just want to ask because this is weather dependent right like is it or just depend on the number of factors yet whether it's one of them but there there isn't that much work I think we can accomplish it within a year okay all right I just don't want like the alternate like there's the dragging it on but then there's also the like let me brush brush brush brush just to meet this deadline and wind up not doing it right but you're saying July a year is fine yes and you said the work is 99% done correct yes it's mop-up work at this okay that's fine

madam clerk please so we're moving this with that amendment where it says shall be extended to July 14 2027 period or we still keep it like to July 14 2027 and the project is fully completed to the satisfaction of the township second okay

Sorry, no. And, or. And, or. And.

okay so this is the roll call vote for that change deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yep councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes okay now this is the roll call well somebody move it second okay now this is the roll call vote for the amended resolution deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes thank you who wanted to have discussion please on number 18 designating certain properties in town to mock clear an area in need of rehabilitation no I just wanted to make sure that people understood what this was there

a planner tally please come forward this is regarding 14 Miller Street the area in need rehabilitation thank you for being here with us oh good evening so this resolution is to designate 14 Miller Street which is a property that we own yeah you see it was owned by Home Corps they wanted to sell it several years ago we acquired it the plan in our housing element and fair share plan is to sell that property to a non-profit housing developer or organization to adapt it improve it adapted or perhaps expand it or rebuild it affordable housing in order to do that and not necessarily sell it to the highest bidder which is how you'd normally disperse municipally owned land we the best the best way to go about this is using redevelopment which will allow us to create a redevelopment plan for the property and issue an RFP and give us a lot more flexibility in identifying the entity to whom we want to sell the property the one that most aligns with our objectives okay thank you did you move that and yes I I move it second

Roll call, please.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I did not vote for this resolution, as I recall, on the planning board. understand the desire to have a negotiated sale you know direct sale rather than then go through a thing I get that but I think that I believe the vice chair and I believe that basically it wasn't fully in the spirit of the underlying law and that we had to go searching for a reason to make the decoration which was the old service line which I thought was a little flimsy so

and I just councillor Harrison I mean I don't like the amendments they did to the rehabilitation statute because virtually every property in Montclair's qualifies yes and but it qualifies the building itself would qualify the utility lines would qualify I have a problem with what the statute says but there's no question that qualifies under the statute

and just to give you a little advance notice we've done this before we have a read of a deteriorated properties redevelopment plan and so what we will be doing if this is designated is updating our deteriorated properties redevelopment plan to include 14 Miller Street so it's we're not it's a good it's a good humor trying to just draw attention to the fact that the government's power is

when you go looking for a reason to you know to do something it's the city of Newark declared the whole city it's an area need of rehabilitation getting some green I fully agree with what this reason what you're saying but for this property it actually logically makes sense that it's declared an area need of rehabilitation

madam clerk please oh I'm sorry and Janice just so we have just so we're clear here because when people hear redevelopment they this will only be used for affordable housing absolutely okay yeah madam clerk deputy mayor Anderson yes counselor Birmingham counselor Birmingham

yes councillor D'Amato Epstein councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes number 22 please deputy mayor civil rights 19 was pulled yeah and so was 20 so we're down to 22 don't have a record of 20 being pulled I have 19 being pulled I'd like to pull number 20 please 20 was voted on so I have to rescind it okay that was a resolution that you and councillor told or sponsored to appoint Jeffrey that I'd pay to parks and rec I'm sorry, what did you say? Item number 20 is a resolution appointing Jeffrey Peralta to the Parks and Rec. I'm so sorry.

I'm looking at the civil rights one and above it. It's just a lot of stuff on here. Thank you for helping me. You're absolutely correct. Thank you. We're on 22. I value you so much. Thank you. My apologies. I was looking for a lot of civil rights.

22, please. Item number 22 is a resolution appointing a member to the Civil Rights Commission...

did you all hear that okay I would like to make a motion to amend this resolution to add the following names when you're ready ready I have them okay Ashley few few Jordan Stewart right Madeline Guthrie and I think Daniel Kuhn is already on okay right correct and the high school student his name is mr. Rahman I have him okay great

Rahman r-a-h-m-a-n is his last name his first name is hama hama my memory sir yes names okay thank you I second all right all in favor oh I'm so sorry madam clerk do you wanna call the roll okay deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams

yes mayor baskerville yes thank you number 24 please whoever wished to talk about the open and fair and open

We're giving a huge amount of business to Naglia and without any bidding process and I'm just very uncomfortable. There are lots of engineering firms in the state and I'm not sure without going through a bidding process we're getting the best price.

I tend to agree with you regarding the best price but my reasons would be a little different because I am still trying to get a really good idea of what it would be for us to have a full-time in-house engineer at a certain salary with benefits and I have yet to be able to get a good understanding of what that's like and don't know whether it's just because we haven't been able to find a lot to compare it with I don't know why but I know that's been something that I have been trying to get a solid answer for for about the two years that we've been here as far as Naglia I have nothing except for great things to say about the services that I believe that we're getting there and I think Norberto is doing an amazing job but along with you and the amount of money that we're spending I'm not sure that that's you know the best way to do this other people wish to council Birmingham anyone else I'm just wondering is this linked to the one we just passed yes okay so it kind of makes sense though for like it just because it seems like phase one is complete a stormwater inventory

by mapping required MS4 features, which is what they're doing now. Correct. So it seems like it makes sense for them to complete this plan.

Yes, absolutely.

Councillor Harrison?

agree in part of my point on the first one was the fact it is tied to this one and they both and there's a deadline on this one and because of the deadline I'll support this but I wanted to make the point that we need to think about doing this differently to save money I you know I think we're locked in given where we are and given the DEP deadline for this one, that we don't have a choice. But I reiterate, I am concerned. I mean, we're well over a million dollars that we have agreements for Neglia to do this, that, and the other thing, and not all in your world. Right.

Understood.

Okay, so are you going to move that? Or do you want me to move it? And I so move. Madam Clerk, please. Deputy Mayor Anderson?

Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Toller absent. Councilor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville?

Yes, thank you. Number 25? the vacant property did anyone want to have that or did I circle it in error no no no one wanted to have 25 yes that wasn't consent we voted on it in consent no maybe you bet okay because I had that yeah the question I have and I got what they did and is there any oversight of the property that we're responsible for

there was IV going up the house I had same thing done at my house bigger house lots more IV just I looked at the house on Montague know what it cost me and how long but is there how how does this come about that I understand why they did the work but in terms of oversight to make sure we're being billed correctly is my concern did you please speak time vacant properties are expected monthly by a dedicated resource in the code enforcement office that's what I understand I understand they went out and said we have a vegetation is eating the house and we need to do something and we hired angels to do the work the question is is Is the price they charged, understand we have a contract, they did X hours worth of work, and that came to what the bill is.

the the billing that we received is checked I can I guarantee you very diligently and when it when the work doesn't match what the supervisor thinks he asked for it to be rebuilt so that he is very very very careful about resources and how they're spent and that the job is done to the satisfaction and standards of the township

And how does he verify the hours worked is consistent with what was done?

Well, nobody can. I mean, there's no way for somebody to be on site, sit in a truck, watch, make sure they've worked in two hours and billed for two hours. There's no way to really do that. But in terms of keeping billing per the contract, they are very, very careful with that.

Just it's I understand you're not be counterproductive to have someone watching them. Yeah. But they did almost 45 hours worth of work and driving by ones to see how many people are there and were they there all day to make sure those hours match up with

That particular property was in such disrepair, there's no way that it would take less than, that property was in extreme, extreme disrepair.

Thank you, Mayor. From my knowledge, how are the vacant property owners charged for this? Is this kept as a log that then when they go to sell their house? It's a lien to the property. It's a lien to the property. Okay.

Councilor Harrison? No.

I so move. Second.

Second.

deputy mayor did you want to say anything or can we do the roll call vote Thank You madam clerk please deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes moving forward to number 32 that's the next one I have number 30 yes

animal shelter who wanted to do that one deputy mayor please yes I know that I post some questions to mr. scandal Barry this is an awful lot of money and I just really I don't I'm not very comfortable voting for this without knowing what the you know the review I mean I'm not sure that we can talk about it but I you know I would be very curious to see what that report of the review actually said is this something that there's time sensitive and we have to vote on it this evening deputy manager

no you don't have to vote this evening on this but we have the IT director from and he was working with Millennium who actually did the overall review of the animal shelter mr. close

don't hurt that leg again oh unfortunately this quote does expire as a we just got a note like that there had been a review done of the shelter and the animal was there a report generated or not of the animal shelter What do you mean by report? Like for the assessment for the equipment, for the boat? I'm not interested.

I just want to know what the, I mean, this resolution is asking us to offer like 101, like over $100,000 for security solution. And I just, I would really like to understand better.

What's happening, yeah.

Okay. Just to get a bit of background, Mr. Scandalberry looped me in a particular situation that occurred at the animal shelter, and based off of what he informed me of, there weren't any cameras around to detect the situation there weren't any panic buttons to kind of be pressed during the emergency situation so this quote was to So the main concern right now is with our current security system. It's an on-prem server that is about 15 years old. With this solution, it's cloud-based. These cameras have a 10-year license, meaning if anything were to go wrong, they would be repairable up to a 10-year period. That cost is reflecting of the hardware and the licensing for it. It doesn't require any management with on-prem equipment that's been degraded for quite some time now. There have been a number, I would say, I've had a conversation with Mr. Marks, there have been over 20 outages with the existing video server. so this solution is meant to not only be for the animal shelter but potentially be proposed for the other township locations to better improve the camera system access control system panic buttons which would you know alert the police department for any emergencies what else I believe that that's the just of the quote also your question common access to the premises I'm sorry the card access to the access control a better system that would integrate with the other time

this number the one hundred and one thousand dollars five twenty nine seventy is just specifically for the small animal shelters because as you talking about moving it to other areas now I'm trying to imagine you know what that would be for somewhere that's like you know say as large as this location so I'm just trying to I don't know that much about the cost of these things in terms of numbers of cameras numbers of panic buttons whatever what are we getting for our buck

So again, it's just a better security system, more reliable, and it's long-term. So the goal is to kind of get a cost-effective system that will last us a while, as I mentioned, the 10-year license period, due to the reason for that cost. so I want to kind of have a set it and forget it system not just for the animal shelter but I'm planning to put out the municipal building as well because again these cameras are a bit outdated that also follows suit for the other departments as well just reducing the risk of just relying on an outdated server that will have to be replaced eventually. I just kind of want to get us into a cloud-based system in the long term so that way we don't have to effectively worry about having to make the change later on or rely on equipment that's on-prem.

thanks so with next steps include a line item where I can see we're going to get four cameras and three panic buttons or whatever they're the animals over here the animal shop was that not oh we don't have the numbers I'm sorry that's why yeah oh we have and I appreciate you yeah playing it the way you did but we don't have like the brain number of cameras the number of panic buttons I believe they were seven okay I'm just trying to go back I thought they had okay

believe there's seven six panics four to six panic buttons they're wireless and they're movable access control I believe we've had four doors assigned and then I'm missing something cameras record cameras I believe I said it was roughly six okay that is correct however I do have an additional quote where I'm sorry this marks no no after after you this also included two additional demo cameras I was as a part of the network modernization project it's from the same vendor they're actually going I've actually got a pull out to get the cameras installed in the parking lot area because there have been concerns where their residents have been not necessarily doing a hit-and-run but scratching view we just need vehicle edit video evidence of their activity so it doesn't will have two cameras multi-image cameras which has full full 360 okay so well I'm sorry yeah yeah yeah

oh manager I'm so sorry if I may the reason why this is necessary is that recently there was a dog bite of a kennel attendant at this location because the kennel attendant was off by themselves with a lot of barking dogs the other staff who are in the different part of the building or the front of the building in the office we're not able to hear the kennel attendant and So it created a situation. So what this contract, what this proposal does is install panic buttons in and around the animal shelter in case you have another dog bite or another incident of that nature, as well as security cameras and swipe. Swipe card access isn't so much for to prevent dog bites or to address the emergent situation, but it's just a good secure, like a best practice for security, for building security.

sorry and where's the screen gonna be for the cameras like who's gonna be looking at it me and then any obviously Brian Rebecca essentially again as I said if we do this location as well as potentially other locations as well it really just depends on the basis also the police department sorry they will also have visibility to those cameras as well

but sorry within the animal shelter is there yes there's a screen there

To show what's going on. No, however, they do have a device that's inexpensive versus the camera pricing. You can essentially just use an Apple TV and cast it on a television because they literally have a cloud application that you could just literally produce a grid and show all of the camera feed on that as well. accessible on your phone, accessible on the computer. If you have a browser, there's no app required. It's ease of use. Tremendously, I would say 20 times more than what our current top platform is.

Okay, so you're saying that the

think animal shelter director can have on her phone like I'm gonna look at the cameras in room four I'm gonna look at the location logs will obviously be review if they're just you know miss you it'll be mine but they can look at cameras they can even access doors directly from from their phone and a lock it all out the doors as well okay

council williams yeah not not to believe this um so a lot of money just wondering if you're gonna do something similar here would it make sense i'm sorry to uh no uh would it make sense to do everything together so that you can get a better pricing

um so i would agree with you but i would need to work with our great cfo to figure out where the funds would be coming from and also we can acquire a quote however the reason for this change due to the request that brian had there's going to be a price it will there's already been a price adjustment with ricotta and they just increased the camera prices as far as what the vendor told me as well as what our contractor who will be potentially installing the cameras there could be 15% increase if we decided to do this later on it was already in the past again I can't attest to I would prefer to get the cameras for the entire building, but considering we just did the network modernization, I wanted to take it one step at a time.

Can I ask why you're going to do this building? Is this system movable? So let's say we're not going to be here at a certain point in time, we can pack it up and move it to some other place.

Yep, the equipment is movable. The only concern is the cabling. That will have to be redone, but again, the full-term warranty will kind of help with that for any issues.

Okay, thank you. Anyone else? Yes, oh, Manager Marks.

Mayor, I would just say there's a little bit of urgency for this contract, so if there's any thought of holding it up for a better price or to merge it with a different project, I would just urge you to move forward with it.

not on my part I don't know about anyone else I was just you know asking about this particular location you know because I don't want to put a whole bunch of money somewhere and if things are going to move at some point in time but no the the the clerk's office what do you have going on in there you don't have a panic button you just have bulletproof glass and what else do you have a locked door yeah I don't think this discussion since it's open to the public would be is everybody we have nothing we're working on

excuse me devon uh what is the date the date before the 15 increase oh that passed oh okay so uh if we were to do another quote it'll be it's just a little bit more but that'll be a conversation for another time i don't want to expose us anymore thank you okay um roll call please was there a movement and a second i shall move madam clerk please deputy mayor anderson

yes council Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes thank you next is which number we have to 32 thank you

Two questions, one of which I know what you're going to say, but I'm not happy with that, which is, why is this taking so long? And two, why are we doing a contract that guarantees it will take so long by deferring half the money until the first half of next year?

quite frankly when we got the estimate to do the work and this is a contract to retain a a team to renegotiate the New Jersey transit lease it includes a planner an attorney and a engineer landscape architecture firm that specializes in working with transportation and transit related entities so the the price to actually take us through completion was a hundred and twenty three thousand dollars we didn't have the I didn't have that in my budget for this year but since this year is half over that's why we decided that we pay for half of it out of this year's budget and we could do the remainder out of next year's budget the additional cost it includes preparing a concept plan and plot plans for for a lot of the train stations to designate boundary between what's under control of New Jersey Transit and what will be the responsibility of the the township the historic mapping is really poor you've probably heard me say that before so we have to figure out exactly where the appropriate lines are as well as a concept plan for development of a concept plan for the Walnut Street train station because that's the station where we anticipate the most viable commercial reuse with a long-term tenant and want to have a concept plan that we will tie to an RFP that we will issue for the tenant for that space so there's a lot in this proposal it's not it's gonna get us not only through the lease negotiation process

but prepare us for the provide us the documentation to issue the rfps mayor it's also anticipated that the lease that we are planning to negotiate will be for at least 30 or 40 years oh even more yeah okay long-term lease great thank you if i can ask what is the current like what are the financial flows of these leases look like the financial blood did I mean like how do we I just can't hear you what if anything are we paid by New Jersey Transit for these for these leases

we are able right now in the past we were able to collect the the rental income there was a lot of questions who was responsible for the repairs and the maintenance for their facilities um if a boiler had to be replaced that was new jersey transit not not the township so those are some of the kinds of issues that we're working working out details that we're working with them right now

but so what if we were just to say no thank you like we're not gonna spend this money like they would have to maintain the buildings right like what is what like you're gonna tell New Jersey Transit they have to maintain the building they've been doing a poor job of it now I mean it's okay the ultimate absentee landlord yes no I just want to I just want to make sure we're clear on what the benefit to our taxpayers is here because this is a hundred twenty thousand twenty three thousand dollars just to negotiate leases I think it just seems like a lot of money to negotiate six leases in the end we want to have a an agreement that's in place that guarantees us the income from these stations but

particularly the Walnut Street station the plan is to that's the most valuable station the watch on Avenue station is really not viable for a commercial use because of its location but we do want to include that in there make improvements it could be community space it could be rent it out to a local coffee provider it's a little bit more limited and then there's the parking the there is no parking there there's the Mountain Avenue station which was historically a residential station and the proposal is in its historic it's a very historic building and the proposal is to get grant money to renovate that building and restore it back to its residential use as affordable housing that's in our housing plan so there's a lot of pieces to this puzzle we have five stations that are part the sixth station which is the Bay Street station is not part of this agreement because that's a separate agreement so it's it's a lease agreement for five stations which is I believe the only one in the state of New Jersey where you have a master lease with five stations so and it covers the one in Upper Montclair which is a restaurant already it does at least it doesn't recover the building itself because the owner of that restaurant has a separate agreement but it includes the common area around there and who's responsible for what along the platform area and the parking and the parking and the parking yes yes yeah who rebuilt the upper Montclair station when it burned um it was whoever was it used to be lots of pasta yeah i don't know what the name of the entity might have been frank robacki's brother and i'm dating myself he was involved the whole bird the whole building was rebuilt correct it was rebuilt yeah jerry robacki frank robacki's brother he was the one of the key entities that was involved with rebuilding that

he originally ran the restaurant right yeah again she may want to know that the existing leases over 40 years old at this point I think they expired and went to a monthly basis 30 years ago it's so far so Lisa I think that was 1983

yes deputy mayor yes thank you um I mean I knew about the their involvement in assisting with the lease negotiation but on this your memo also says that the proposal includes professional planning legal and architectural design service yes it's a team it's so we have a planner who based who will do the day-to-day management of getting this done

he has a lot of experience working with with railroads and train stations he brought he's bringing to his team and a turn this team an attorney who's familiar with lease negotiations New Jersey Transit it's a specialty as well as a landscape architect slash engineering firm who can do the work on the concept plans so you're getting a lot for it's not just one person it's a team more discussion well I don't know I think what we can talk about that you we're going to issue an RFP for a commercial tenant I don't know if you want to determine the use of before you issue the RFP or select from the RFP such we receive so that's the process that we will be using You don't want to limit yourself.

Right, and if we don't like what the RFP is for, then we don't have to go with that, right?

Well, you'll be in the driver's seat. That's what I'm saying. We want to draft the lease to put you in the driver's seat so that you can... And there's another issue here is historic preservation. Many of these stations are historic, and our team is very familiar with dealing with SHPO and also trying to...

streamline the process because Shippo can delay things yeah yeah so good point that's one of our goals is to get this done quickly so yes um so I know a lot of the greenery around the train stations like in Watson Plaza it's kind of a mess yeah that's the kind of thing that we once this is settled we would be able to

that's one of the issues we took a tour this uh last fall with uh people from community services with rodney deprenda and about discussed who is in charge of maintaining the landscape because new jersey transit doesn't do it so we need to make sure that we have in our agreement the ability to go in and the right access because there's there's a lot of sensitivity in terms of access and who can work on their platforms to make sure that we have the right to maintain that landscaping okay I'm still confused about the finances of this but yeah well I won't trust let let me

guess my concern is we're doing to what I view is different things one is we're negotiating with New Jersey Transit as to what we're leasing who is responsible for what and I only see a minor connection with that and what we're going to do with the buildings after we lease it from them

Well, they're integrated. We want to make sure that the lease gives us the ability to choose the tenants, choose the use. We don't have to run it by New Jersey Transit.

Right, but that's the lease negotiation.

Right.

And separate issue of what use goes in, you know, the only one where there's a real issue is Walnut Street.

And I'm not talking about use, but where do you draw the line in terms of responsibility around each of these stations? And that's the nature of the conversations that we've had. Where do you draw the line? And New Jersey Transit is responsible for this and we're responsible for that.

But that's the negotiations with New Jersey Transit. But once we complete those negotiations, and on a separate but parallel track is an issue of what are we going to do with the station we'll have the we'll define who's responsible for the landscaping who's responsible for the maintenance have our ability to lease it to whoever that doesn't interfere with the train operation makes clear their responsibility in terms of maintaining the platform but this whole planning what we're doing with the stations um which seems to be an integral part of this contract i and which seems to be and i'd like to get the lease done with new jersey transit as soon as possible i don't think i've been talking about the use but but the but they have an architect they're

that was something that again that was suggested that we include the concept plan so that as part of the discussion I've I was not the the planner said that he's done this with other use leases and he said he recommended that we include that in the process I that's all I can say is I don't want to get lost in that but we I know there's a lot of details that we're trying to unwrap in terms of whose response where we're drawing the lines and where we're plotting out the lines in terms of responsibility as part of those so we have mapping as part of the lease agreement

i'm sorry i know the hour is very late and i'm i i just but i just need to so new jersey so hundreds of people i'm just going to use watch on as my right hundreds of people take watch on go to watch on plaza they buy a ticket from new jersey transit we are going to negotiate a lease with them potentially that says we will maintain we will pick up the garbage we will mow the we will weed this landscaping

we will maintain this property we will right who's paying who like that's like who's paying who we if we are leasing that space if a community if a coffee company wants to use the station we want to have the right to sub-lease it to that to that company and take the rents and get the income right yeah but let's say that let's say that we never can rent it like let's say let's just i'm hopeful that we can but but in other words like we're negotiating to say we will take care of this property and and we're going to pay you to do so well we will no no some of the some of the improvements if we get a tenant the idea is to get tenant in those spaces and some of those payments those improvements will be the responsibility of the tenant that's right so we have to make sure that that we have the right yeah if the language in the lease so that there's we have the responsibility for something and the ability to transfer those responsibilities to the tenant because certainly you know we may not have the same kind of tenant at Wachung Plaza but there has been people different people yes I know that there are people interested and the same thing with with the Mountain Avenue train station you know though they will be payments made by the tenants their responsibilities for the tenants in terms of maintaining the space

I don't really understand this so also what why would we both be bullish that this is going to work as like being a landlord if for example Walnut Street clearly the most promising one has been a bust like we cannot there's been no luck in keeping a business going there. And that includes their special liquor license that has been deployed in that spot by the last two tenants.

It might be the fact that it's been a month-to-month lease for years. Who's going to invest in that building without having a long-term lease, the right to stay in there? So that's why it's important that the lease is structured properly.

Manager Marks, please.

So it sounds like there's a lot of questions perhaps that you may want to refer to, like the Economic Development Committee or another committee. We can invite in the consultant to answer any questions. He could give you his bona fides as a planner who's dealt for 40 years with railroad rights-of-way and trains. I believe he negotiated a similar agreement in Philadelphia with SEPTA. What's his name? Andy Strauss.

Okay. great thank you so we're gonna withdraw this I mean that's one option if you're so inclined okay yeah so we have to move the table it second all in favor aye any opposed any abstains okay thank you the next one we have is what do we have 40 did I skip something 33

who wanted 33 please I think we just wanted to notify the public that the contract with the PBA yes local 53 Union had expired in just in in December of 2024 and that has been negotiated and we this resolution is to approve the contract and this the details of said contract are obviously in this resolution but will be posted in the there is a page web page that has all the labor contracts in our township so just that's just a notification you want to move it I so move second

Madam Clerk, please.

Deputy Mayor Anderson. Yes. Councilor Birmingham. Yes. Councilor D'Amato. Yes. Councilor Harrison. Yes. Councilor Toler absent. Councilor Williams. Yes. Mayor Baskerville.

Yes, thank you. What's after number 33? Did we do number 37? I thought we did that already. So we're at number 40, please. Number 40. Councilor Harrison. Let's see, number 40.

Jake you don't have to come up I'm gonna vote no I think this goes far beyond what's necessary I've voiced my concerns I take says we'll look at it after we do the demonstration project I think demonstration projects gonna verify we're doing too much any other council members second any other council members madam clerk please

I don't know I'm sorry is Jake here do we want to have an explanation since welcome home hello everyone please pardon my appearance I got off a very long flight I like it so I saw it hadn't come up yet so figured I'd try to come answer any questions thank you for being here um so the the the proposal involves uh introducing two neighborhood traffic circles um that's what we're looking at considering um they're basically small format roundabouts appropriate for a context of a residential neighborhood they're designed to allow larger vehicles to go straight through intersections but not necessarily turn so austin will still be able to get his trucks through the fire department will still be able to get around but they won't they won't be able to necessarily make like a left turn because these are smaller intersections. The benefits of these sorts of interventions are that they calm traffic in both directions, right? So both the cross street and the through street. But they also don't impact flow the way stop signs do. We know when there's stop signs in neighborhoods, you can have a lot of stopping and starting, which is unpleasant from a sound perspective but also increases brake dust that sort of thing and isn't always necessary something like a traffic circle is traffic calming which slows folks down which is the goal makes the intersection safer helps us improve sight lines while also managing the flow of traffic and so that that's the proposal along with some bike facilities in the area appropriate to the section of the road where they're in as park street approaches watch hung avenue it narrows and so for example we're gonna have a different facility there than we would further up where there's less parking demand and and and more cartway to work with I hope that made sense I haven't slept

foolishly came up okay so I my observation I've seen these small local circles and places and part of the problem but it's not my concern is people do what the bigger trucks can do and kind of run over them and damage them and cause problems but One, I actually think for Gardenhurst and Park, a four-way stop is a better idea, because there's a lot of traffic and the cars going on Park go rapidly, particularly after they escape Huachang Plaza. They say, aha! But my real concern is bicycles. You create a very confusing situation for someone on a bicycle figuring out how they fit in. They're on this protected bike lane. which is part of what you're proposing, then that protection isn't going to be there for the circle. And I'm concerned that that's going to create a dangerous situation for cyclists because they're not going to be sure what to do with cars entering the circle and how they fit into it when there's no protected space for them.

Understood. So it would be really important, and this would be worked out in the engineering, to appropriately transition any sort of bike facility into the circle, and there's many different paths you can do to do that. The benefit of the circle is it forces everyone to slow down, right? Through physical means, it forces you to drive more slowly, and driving more slowly means driving more safely. And so one of the goals of traffic circles and traffic calming is to make any conflict that does happen, and we know conflict happens on our roads, we know it's going to happen on our roads, and make sure it happens at a slower speed because you physically are incapable of driving as quickly and you're cued to drive more slowly because you're in a situation where you have to take a beat, you're a little more uncomfortable, that forces you to drive a little more safely because you have to be more aware and so I understand and appreciate the concern I believe we're able to transition appropriately through to ensure that cyclists know how to how to behave and that everyone knows where to expect the other road user something they're not going to be used to in Montclair and not sure how they're going to acclimate quickly and four-way stop

I'm not sure about Wildwood because I've never really had a problem any of the directions there but Gordon Hurst I'm not sure the bike riders are not going to be a lot safer with a four-way stop than with a traffic circle so yeah understood

Can I just, this is a major, so I walk this every day with my dog, Park Street, down to Watson Plaza from Gronersen, every day. I'm like, these cars, Park, it's just a straight shot, it is, and the cars are driving very fast. But this is a fairly, seemingly significant change in that roadway. Yes.

what what are our timelines for like community discussion of this like what what is the pathway for that yeah so this is a big proposal yeah much like the Upper Mountain project that's that's ongoing we anticipate applying for it in multiple grant cycles so probably over two years so we've got plenty of time to do significant community outreach and to make sure that whatever changes are ultimately proposed and implemented or appropriate for the for the community and that they're aware of it and that they're comfortable with it and you would have visuals like we can have have you come and have visuals so what are what are we doing tonight I guess is the question you're in terms of what are we committing to

you're saying this because this is a big project so what it certainly the the the mayor and council are giving their support for the grant application I submitted to the state of New Jersey saying we are in support of this grant application okay yeah and if let's say the community or you know it's determined well hey maybe a four-way star this would be better like putting one circle here and then a four-way stop like there's flexibility here yes of the acts the ultimate design is

Yeah, we're going to implement, and we have the flexibility to implement what's best. An example on the Upper Mountain Project, we had originally planned to use Belgian block, but for reasons involving historical preservation, we couldn't use Belgian block curbing, and so we made the change. Everything's going to be in compliant with the necessary AASHTO standards and necessary state rules and regulations, and it's always going to be appropriate to the context.

we're not gonna take money to do a project that isn't the right project if it's not the right product thank you so yeah the communications part of it is interesting I mean so obviously it's in my ward I've had a lot of recent concerns about that, you know, that became just the focus of concerns with people living on Wildwood, mostly east of Park. And so I believe you have that. information those people and you know I do feel like this should have been a discussion because people weren't necessarily fixed on what should be the solution there but I don't think more than one or two of them that I've talked to would have any idea that this was being discussed and I think it is not necessarily it's kind of open to question because of the way the westbound aspect of Wildwood because of the of the blind of the intense blind spots on the westbound on both sides uh have very high hedgerows which led to you know the the infamous bus accident that that we talked about um and so This is a tough one that I believe that the community really should have been brought in almost before this stage because people will see this and they'll go, oh, I didn't even know that that was being talked about. And concomitant with that, I have gotten a lot of complaints recently about the condition of Wildwood itself, and I've gone and inspected it, and it's in pretty lousy shape, and it's not on the road paving plan, I don't think. So there will be people who are saying, this sounds interesting, but two years and not doing anything? And then needless to say, the idea of a protected bike lane will, when the orientation of that becomes public, will be

issue so none of this has been communicated correctly yeah but can I just that just for my knowledge is this something that's discussed at Complete Streets Oversight Board like not to the degree to move on but we did have no I know I'm yeah like yeah we're approving the grant but this was discussed that we discussed the in overview of the grants that know that the department was going to be applying for at the most recent meeting I believe it was okay And again, it can be changed if it seems like it's best to change it.

Yeah, we will not implement a project that is not appropriate for the context. so I have two things one is that so if we don't get the grant then we just we're done with that for now not necessarily what the next steps be the the next steps would be basically determining where it lies on our list of priorities and and what resources are available to implement the project right and so to use a contextual example the current or the Work that's been discussed for Harrison Avenue, and I believe it went out to bid, that was an application for a grant last year that was unsuccessful, and the township decided that it was worth committing township funds to make that possible when grant funds weren't available. That same conversation would have to happen for this project should grant funds not be received for it.

And I think that that's where I get a little bit concerned about not having more discussion about this in complete streets or where that discussion would take place because at a time when we're pretty strapped financially, I would maybe like to seen the priorities done first before we decided to do this this way you know put the grant grant money that we don't have here versus put the horse before the cart you said after it doesn't go then we'd have to look at the priorities but I'm not clear that we exhausted this conversation in terms of priorities

I think I understand what you're saying, Mayor. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Park Street is a priority. It's identified on our local safety action plan, the draft is as a priority roadway. It's an area where we've had fatalities, I believe two. It is a significant area of concern and it is a priority. But any resource allocation question goes to those issues of that question of priorities. And so we would have to have a conversation about does this remain the same, does the priority remain high enough that we are willing to put municipal funds behind it? And maybe if we are doing that, right, it maybe is a change project, maybe we take it off in smaller bites, right? We wanted to take advantage of the grant opportunity because it is a big project with a big scale. And the municipal aid grant allows us to kind of have those ambitions that with only municipal funds are a little harder to come by. so that's why we went for the grant application that that doesn't mean that it's the end of the conversation there that doesn't mean priorities weren't considered in putting out this grant application that's exactly why we are doing it because it is a roadway of a real priority oh yeah we were going through that but I'm just trying to figure out

anyway it's fine I'm not going to stay here all night to figure it out but it just in terms of some of it with the bikeways and the different things like that when we start funding things I and I definitely agree that there needs to be traffic calming there my other question is when do we decide that the township manager is the one that signs off on this versus the mayor because I know I get about a thousand these grants that come across my desk and I need to sign them so and what conditions would it just be the manager what conditions is it the mayor and manager what conditions is it the mayor um how do we decide these things hmm correct but at the bottom where it just says the township manager I'm just wondering why it doesn't say mayor and manager or mayor I mean I really am trying to figure out because as the madam clerk knows I'm here every day signing things and I just want to know under what conditions it just goes to the manager under what conditions does it go to the mayor and manager under what conditions does it goes it just you know pick something out of a hat or what is the formula for these things

Typically, the manager, because people would report to the manager, so in applying grants, there's no requirements of the council to do the grant.

So we don't have to approve this. My understanding is for these state grants, I do need a council. Right. Yeah.

and I would just like to suggest that moving forward if it's something that the council has to to vote on if the mayor be involved in in that part too as has been historically what was done anyone else just

In future years it would be much better if we saw these before the grant was submitted and there was not only council input but public input because I think number of residents on that stretch of park and the intervening side streets will be very surprised at what's proposed and they might have useful comment yes so you know it would be good to do it before it's submitted rather than please pass this resolution for what we already submitted understood madam clerk I'm sorry is any anyone else okay

yeah understood that it should be you know I'm okay with that I'm not quite sure what flexibility we have once we put the grant in you would have to authorize receipt of the grant as well

but I'm just talking about in terms of deputy mayor saying as long as there's flexibility I'm trying to figure out what would that just give me some examples of what the flexibility would be the for example engineering documents were not submitted for this project right there's there's a scope of work which outlines the general goals and was shared with

shared with you all but there's not you know hard and fast hard and fast engineering documents saying this is the exact width of the bike lane this is the exact width of the parking lane this is how each intersection is going to look this is where the speed humps are going to be placed right and those are all not saying all of those are going to be all over but just as an example the the grant outlines a scope of work in the the more general goals of the project and the actual design doesn't come about until we do engineering and so you know to use the example of uh the maple uh maple avenue project you know that was applied for cdg grant funds it described the general outline but we didn't know what the actual engineered plans were going to look like until much later because we have to go through engineering and design where the engineer considers all the factors, the driveway placement and what's appropriate for a stretch of roadway that has many driveways versus very few, heavy parking demand, et cetera. And so we are outlining to the state our goals and the general concept, but we're not binding ourselves to a specific placement of paint on the roadway.

Great. Thank you. Anyone else, please? Council Williams.

no okay madam clerk you have a motion please to second deputy mayor Anderson yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison no councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams yes mayor Baskerville yes 42 thank you thank you very much yes

made the speech already about Naglia this one is not tied to and I guess at what point are we going out to bid on engineering projects well so the engineers are selected through a process of RFPs which would happen every two two or three years I don't remember exactly And there's a list of qualified engineers. We choose to use Naglia because they have institutional knowledge and they're working as our in-house engineers.

I'll repeat, I'm concerned that we're overpaying because they know we're just going to contract with them. And I know what has happened in other towns when they keep working closely with the same professional firm, and it ends up being a very cozy relationship that costs some taxpayers money.

So if it's the will of the mayor and council, we can see competitive proposals going forward.

Yep.

and can we um can we also get a total of like what we're spending on engineering yeah so that we would be able to compare like in-house as has you know was mentioned and um just so we can get a sense of how much is being spent well so yes i can provide that for the public works there's other aspects that have there's engineering from other yes yeah for for anything that you have control over and then we can

find yeah thank you I'm assuming the CFO can provide yes everything gets been paid to legally over it's a set period of time madam clerk may I have a motion

Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councilor Birmingham? Yes. Councilor D'Amato? Yes. Councilor Harrison? Yes. Councilor Tolar absent. Councilor Williams?

Yes.

Mayor Baskerville?

Yes. Thank you. Moving on to number 45. This is a resolution to reappoint council member to class three member to the planning board, mayor and council. There was full council. deliberation on this matter and i'd like to read now therefore be it resolved by the mayor and the council of the township of montclair in county of essex new jersey that counselor d'amato is hereby appointed to serve as a class three member of the planning board for a term of one year to commence um i'd like that to to be backdated to the 26th or whenever um june well actually july july 1st 2026 and end on june 30th 2027 and i so move discussion uh thank you for that mayor thank you

um i would just say that i will work hard to do the do the job that is expected of a class to remember um it's been an interesting and challenging experience that i've sat next to you on on the planning board and we have a lot of things coming up and it's going to be a lot of extra work but but it's worth it and I'd like to thank counselor Harrison who I know was interested in this position as well for being a sport And that's about it. I mean, it's an honor to serve. Thank you.

Madam Clerk? Deputy Mayor Anderson? Yes. Councillor Birmingham? Yes. Councillor D'Amato? Yes. Councillor Harrison? Abstain. Councillor Toller? Absent. Councillor Williams? Yes. Mayor Baskerville?

Yes. moving on what is the next one please 47 47 please somebody oh we had 47 yeah you pulled 46 but you didn't pull 47 do you want to pull 47 yes please okay thank you and then we're down to number 53 according to my account anybody else have anything okay who wants to do that resolution authorizing confirming

I'll read it out.

Okay, thank you.

So a resolution authorizing and confirming settlement in a matter entitled Matteo V. Dedes, et al., docket number ESX L171825. And this I just wanted to pull aside so that people know that there's a settlement that involves a sidewalk where there was an injury. the township I yield the taxpayers paid some money not a huge amount of money but money and the property owner in the case paid significantly more so if people are we are going through a very difficult continuous time with the issue of the sidewalk portion of our public right-of-way it's impossible to make that easy but but this is an illustration this is an illustration of what it of why we need to do it one illustration of why we need to do it somebody got hurt so that's more important than the actual money that change hands but both things should be should be recognized that's all anyone else somebody move that

I so move second madam clerk yes councillor Birmingham yes councillor D'Amato yes councillor Harrison yes councillor Tolar absent councillor Williams mayor Baskerville yes anyone else have anything that they feel that they can't wait to say some other time and certainly this would be the moment seeing none I'd like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting please Madam Clerk.

Deputy Mayor Anderson. Councillor Birmingham. Yes. Councillor D'Amato. Yes. Councillor Harrison. Yes. Councillor Toller absent. Councillor Williams. Yes. Mayor Baskerville.

Yes. Thank you. Great meeting.