Borough Council - Regular Meeting

I'm good. This meeting is called to order in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Law. In accordance with Chapter 231 of the Public Laws of 1975, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided. This meeting of July 6, 2026 was provided to the Courier News and Star-Ledger and placed on the Borough's website and placed on the bulletin board of Borough Hall. A copy of this notice is available to the public and a copy of the statement shall be included in the minutes of this meeting. Mayor Brian Gallagher is excused this evening. Council members, Teresa Bonner? Here. Andrew Conte? Here. Glenn Denis? Here. Randy Pitts is excused this evening. Gina Stravik? Here. Roger Verum?

Here. Please stand for the salute to the flag. Do I have a motion for the approval of minutes from June 15, 2026?

So moved.

Second. Discussion? Roll call. Council members, Teresa Bonner?

Yes.

Andrew Conti? Abstain. Glenn Zinni? Yes. Gina Stravik? Yes. Roger Verne?

Yes. Departmental reports and notices are as listed. Committee reports? Teresa?

Thank you. So for the Somerville branch of the Somerset County Library System, the Summer Reading Challenge is underway. Please visit the library between now and August 22nd to earn prizes for each day of reading and completing activities. Throughout July, there will be so many great programs for kids, teens, adults, and the whole family. Log on to sclsnj.org. to find out what's happening at the library and register for events like jewelry making, drop-in arts, and craft studio, historical programming, and book clubs. The Downtown Somerville Alliance had a great Somerville Family Pride Night, and it was a wonderful night of music, lip sync battles, and community involvement. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate, and thank you to all the downtown businesses who participated in making the event a huge success. And we are well into summer, and this week's Starlit Cinema begins with National Treasure this Thursday night at 7 p.m. Of course, there will be Summer Stage and Friday Cruise Nights every Friday night for the duration of the summer. For more information on all downtown Somerville activities, visit downtownsomerville.org. And the Public Safety Committee will be at the Farmers Market Community Tent on Sunday, July 19th. stop by the tent and let us know what you're concerned about safety-wise in Somerville. Thank you.

Thank you.

Andrew. Historic community did not meet this past month, so I have nothing to update.

The Borough Council, I mean, the Board of Health met two weeks ago. They reviewed the inspection reports. Looks like we're in pretty good shape. And the Somerville Rescue Squad, I have no report on their statistics for May.

Thank you, Gina. Glenn? Great. Thank you. Fire Department has been very busy. June, they had 47 calls for service, including five building fires, and have also been responding with mutual aid supporting nearby towns. So we thank them for their service with that and keeping busy. Environmental Commission will meet on July 14th at 7 p.m. Tuesday. So I don't have an update after that.

Fantastic. Thank you. Thanks on tonight's agenda. We have a discussion item, uh, chapter one 49 a, uh, stormwater control ordinance. This is, uh, in regards to the requests that went to the planning board from this body, uh, to review some recommendations from environmental, uh, the planning board looked at those recommendations. I know that hopefully everyone's had an opportunity to read their email and saw the response from the planning board. So at this time, I open it up to the council for discussion.

Well, I think that we continue to have a narrow-minded planning board that we need to look at the bigger picture. And I think that's what the Environmental Commission has spent a lot of time investing in. I know we want to protect development in our community, but I also think that we have to do it with more modern and more relevant techniques when it comes to new construction projects. especially around green infrastructure. I think that we need to look at that municipal-wide in terms of the Board of Education, the fields they're putting in, in terms of what we do in our homes. And I don't think we're getting good dialogue and good communication back and forth. It's been separate meetings and not a collective conversation. And maybe we need to move it to some type of community group meeting that meets the state laws, but the way it's working now, it has not fostered true communication, collaboration, and opinion sharing. It's been very, very narrowly presented, this against this, and I think that that's a failure on our part.

So let me just, if I may just jump in very quickly. The Environmental Commission had the opportunity and did speak in front of the Planning Board prior to their consideration and during their consideration of the stormwater ordinance. After this body made our recommendations to the planning board to have that discussion, it was put on the agenda. Um, and it was discussed again at that time, no one from this body or from the environmental commission was at that planning board meeting to bring up any concerns. The planning board did thoroughly go through all of the different areas. It was actually, I think we had a lot of, if not the entire planning board there that evening, but there was quite a lively discussion going on in concern and taking what the Environmental Commission had to say and what this board had to say very seriously. They felt as though they had touched on everything, but they wanted to go back through thoroughly and have these discussions, and they felt as though the first point and the last point uh... in regards to the concept of a major development uh... and the fact that our number is considers a smaller size than what state does and the fact that we do have uh... the uh... stormwater uh... plans on file and that we do hold on to them that's all met with this and at as a matter of I know that we want to be progressive and we want to look forward and we want to see ourselves as a leader with this based on how weather impacts our town and the towns around us. I think everyone on the planning board understands that. But there were certain concerns that were raised not only from a development concern but for folks for their own homes that some of those changes in the stormwater ordinance would have would have elicited having to go to a planning board, having to go to a zoning board. And so those were a lot of where the conversation revolved around. So based on that, after we had those discussions, and again, I think it took up a large majority of that meeting, the goal was sent back to say, these are the things that we feel like we're doing, some of these other things might be a little bit of an overreach. I know that I'm quoted in what Mr. Cole sent back, saying that I think it's up to this body for us to create incentives, for us to create ways and work with the Environmental Commission to create ways that we can incentivize green infrastructure, that we can look towards rewarding and encouraging, whether it's certainly homeowners and businesses that may be coming in or businesses that are existing to to invest in green infrastructure as you said before I think that's an important thing but it's something that we can speak about as far as incentives go here and even as a matter of course I was gonna say this before and I lost my train of thought but the state pulled back on the real rules and

Just they pulled back because they're getting crushed by the developers, and that's a whole other issue.

Is it okay if I finish? Yes. Thank you. I really don't appreciate being talked over. I will say that they pulled back, yes. They are experiencing that, but we went through and we made sure that we did that. The planning board took it very seriously, brought it to this council. This council approved it. Um, and I think that that's an important step and we are ahead of the curve in this circumstance and, uh, and ahead of a lot of other towns and municipalities, because we did adopt the real rules where a lot of, because the state has now rolled back a lot of towns and municipalities have pulled back on passing that. Are there opportunities for us to find other ways to do things? Certainly, you know, we talked again about incentives. We talked about education and I think a lot of that can happen from here. I don't know that that's part of a storm water ordinance.

Yeah. If I may Roger.

Sure.

I hear what Gina is saying, and I also listened. I was unable to attend the planning boards, but I did watch and listen to those meetings as well, and I understand the rationale and reasoning behind why the four amendments that we were discussing to add to it were not necessarily going to do what we needed them to do here. I do think, and I heard you sort of... walking around it is I think we need to reestablish the ad hoc flood committee. I think a lot of good ideas had come from them, but those ideas are now three or four years old. And I think that might provide the working group that might be able to give some more ideas for either ordinances or policies moving forward. things to even help with the planning board as they review all the different of redevelopment areas and ways to Really incentivize that green building infrastructure because it's mentioned in there, but it hasn't really happened that way So I think that would be a great start Also, I know we're working on our tree inventory, but I think trying to come up with a way to also incentivize and increase that tree canopy would be other ways to get around the same to tackle the same issue and And I think the stormwater ordinance may not be the way to do it, but I think there are plenty of other ways that we need to start to do that.

Yeah, if I can jump in here. I do thank the planning board and everybody here and on the Environmental Commission for taking the time to go back over it and spend the time to be as thorough as we should be about this topic. I still think, you know, the general principle of the idea that we should let rainwater hit the ground and get into the ground, it should be retained on your property for a certain period of time so that we don't cause more flooding and flash flooding to be worse around town. I think these are all public benefits and things that are kind of in the commons of our discussion of how do we manage water in town. All of them are going to require every landowner and developer of any kind doing anything to have to do something slightly different than what they've done in the past. And I understand that that's inconvenient in a lot of places for all of us, right? And I understand the personal property arguments of it's here, it's what it is, you can't tell me to do that. But science is very clear that having more vegetation, more trees, more places for the water to sit and stay, having the landscaping that is more appropriate for the environment we're in rather than a lawn, things like this, which are all points to your point, Roger, and educational points. for us to get the public to understand the value that these natural services are provided to us from just what nature normally does if we let it do what it does. The problem is that we, as Teddy Roosevelt always said, conservation is as much about development as it is about actually just preserving land you have to get into the ground of and that's not a direct quote just to be clear you have to get into the idea of we are going to build something and we must do something about it so I from that perspective I commend the efforts that have been done to advance us to where we are now and I do agree though that there's more nuanced changes that need to come in the future for us to do better management of of our boroughs water so that we're not a problem for Manville and other people downstream Do I think necessarily this stormwater ordinance and going back and forth in a continuous argument about what this ordinance says is really our right path forward? I don't think that's going to get us where we need to be, right? I think incentivizing things makes sense, but only if the incentive is real enough. So if we're going to talk about incentives on, say, reductions of our property tax if you put in green infrastructure or development costs from us if you put in green infrastructure um you know maybe there's a world in which that you know incentivize we could come up with an incentive that actually gets people to adopt it but if we're going to go down that road which is a road i'm very familiar with from my my own career of working with renewable energy incentives and energy efficiency incentive programs If you actually want adoption, we have to make it meaningful. So my main point, and I'll conclude here, is that I'm happy of the efforts that we've taken. I'm happy that we've gone back to look at this. I do think there's probably more work that needs to be done. But to Glenn's point, it can be done in other areas to help satisfy and meet the same goal. But I do think that we do probably need an ad hoc committee. I like that idea. I think we should bring it back to Gina's point. We need to have more conversation about it and less ships passing in the night and messages coming through our professionals as opposed to some real just meaningful discussion like we originally had. I mean, I'm only involved in our borough government today because I got invited to sit on that committee. ad hoc committee and see how it worked and then see how I wanted to throw my hat in the ring. So the idea to me that we cannot let this conversation end here. We didn't pass a resolution or an ordinance that now solves the problem. We've passed an ordinance that gets us closer to solving the problem and I think it's on us as elected officials to continue the conversation and continue to take those steps. but tonight I'm not saying that we need to make specific edits and or changes or recommend ordinance language. I think we need to take our time and figure out how it fits into our master plan, into our approach to zoning and into our approach to trees and other items that have been on our agenda for a little while, because it's all tied together. It's all one thing. If you change an impervious surface coverage, you're affecting water you're affecting everything you cut down a tree you're affecting water you're affecting it's there's effects that happen that roll on from these decisions that we all know about and so putting our heads together and coming up with a better community-based decision that works for everyone and something ultimately that doesn't become a reason we have to spend taxpayer dollars defending it going forward is also an important principle to keep in mind there's No world in which I think any of us want to have to sit down and pay an attorney, no offense, too much money to protect, defend some of the rules that we made if our rules are overstepping for what would be a reasonable approach. Not to say that I think what we had before was reasonable, but I think what we have now is more reasonable and we need to continue in that direction. So I hear where everyone's coming from. I thank everybody for their passion and for digging into it. I don't think the conversation should stop here, but I do think that we need to have more of a formal let's put our heads together before we come up with what the next recommended iteration of this is.

Well said. I really appreciate this conversation. It's been lacking, I think, and I think that if we, I don't know if we want to move today to reenact the committee or create a new committee, but I also think that time is of the essence. You know, we sit here today with storm threats, flash floods. It's been, what, five years since Ida, and It was fresh in their mind when your basements flooded and our community was ravished and we haven't done anything about it. I think that's where issues lie, especially when we continue to look at new development around the Brook. We don't have five more years. So I think that we need to move this along as quickly as possible, come up with the best possible solutions. We've we've bright people, bright committees, a lot with different viewpoints and that's great, but let's all sit down in the room and get it, get it worked out and not keep wasting everybody's time. So how do we move forward?

So I will say this, um, thank you everyone for your, your feedback. You know, it's good to have these, have these discussions. And again, thank you to the environmental commission and the work of the planning board. I have no problem recommending to the mayor to restart the committee. I will say, though, that the planning board in their current planning, because we're working on the ECBD, has been talking extensively at this time about what the areas along the brook look like in the ECBD and what they look like throughout the borough. So the decisions that are being made right now at the planning board in those areas that are considered by the DEP as zone AE, is that correct, Mr. Cole? Flood hazard zone AE, thank you. Those areas are, have a high, high uh expectation of flooding um at low water times so the planning board is we've had multiple conversations we had a conversation at the last meeting that conversation is going to continue on at this meeting because we're trying and starting to set the framework and and jason kraska who's the vice chair is here this evening as well with Lisa Warner as the chair. We've been having some really wonderful conversations about what does that look like for the borough going forward. To give you some kind of an idea of the things we've been talking about, You know, possibly some of that land that's closer along the Brook goes back to being land around the Brook. And those are conversations that are going to have to, uh, happen here because the planning board can only ask and recommend so much. And then it's up to the council to say, here are the things that we want to enact as far as resolutions and ordinances go to make those a reality, the incentives, you know, uh, Andrew, if you're interested. I'm sure we could talk to the mayor. I'm sure we could start up a committee to investigate with the help of the members of the Environmental Commission some incentives for green infrastructure, if you're willing to do so. I don't mean that as a glib comment. I'm serious. you know if you're in I'm interested in I think that that is something and those are the steps that we can take now to move forward we are again having those discussions about rainwater and flooding and the brook and if you'd like to attend the next meeting which is this Wednesday it's one of those great months where both meetings happen the same week we're having some very thoughtful and hard and difficult conversations but it's going to impact a lot of different things once we get to that point. We're starting to set the framework. Correct me if I'm wrong, Jason. We're starting to look at that framework and what's that going to look like. So that's happening because we actually had a little conversation about this earlier. The master plan is what's going to set that tone. Right. And that's where we really have to focus our efforts right now because those things that were discussed at that flood committee of which you were a part, of which Jason was a part, Mike was on that committee as well, those conversations are now taking place at the planning board.

Well, there's one thing I want to jump in and just, since you're having the conversation and with my small children, I have find it hard to attend any meetings other than the ones that we already have on the schedule. Um, but that all being said, uh, There's an idea called transect zoning that came out of new urbanism, which was more meant for zoning based on density and this whole style of how do you grow a city out of a suburb. But it can also be reversed engineered and used for environmental protection. In the idea of setting a zone around for building style and bulk and use and what's possible there, what's required there from green infrastructure, things like that, if you are going to develop, that's related specifically to the environmental hazards that are related to that area. And then branching out our zoning from there as opposed to thinking of it in what's normally called Euclidean zoning where we're kind of just drawing lines around things, defining it as a single use and that's what it is. We might allow different uses. We might look at it, but really basing the decisions on what's the environmental impact that's going to happen because of this. And I'm not saying every decision should be that because I think that that would also lead us in a weird direction as well. But ultimately, just the idea, as you think of it, as you look at it, of this idea of setting up the the the planning rules, the rules for development that happen around the brook. And what plan of how do we vacate some of that area or makes, as I like to say, make space for the water to go. Right. There's nothing we can do. The water is going to be there. Let's give it somewhere safe to be. That's not going to hurt us. That strategy could be paired with a land use approach that makes it easier for us as a municipality to continually have decisions that protect those properties and the people that are stuck within that flood zone and aren't leaving, and also protect the rest of the borough from the impacts of that brook. So just think about it. It's a slightly different approach to zoning than what is normally our traditional form of zoning, but it's an idea that might give us some new thoughts about how do we treat those areas, those neighborhoods, those properties that surround the Brook. It's just a thought.

Thank you.

Anyone else on council?

I don't really have anything unique to add. I have enjoyed the conversation. I think it's really important, and I'm thanking the Environmental Commission for being here and the Planning Board for everything they've done. And I'm just really glad we're having the conversations continuing forward. Should we open it up?

Since obviously we've had quite a lively discussion here, if anyone from the public, I will open it up since this is a discussion item. If anyone from the public would like to speak, you can certainly do so now on this topic that we've discussed. Yes, it is on. You're good.

It is on. Can you hear me? Okay. Hi guys. Tim Ray deal 76 Culver street. I'm the chair of the environmental commission. Um, was not planning on speaking about stormwater tonight. Um, but I am very glad that we will be continuing this conversation and that it sounds like it'll be a more open and cross collaborative situation moving forward. Um, The Environmental Commission would be happy to be part of the subcommittee or ad hoc committee, whatever it's called, if that makes sense. I did just want to clarify. So before we even submitted the ordinance last September to the Borough Council and then it moved to Planning Board, Our commission had actually been working on it for almost two years Jeff Kaiser had worked pretty tirelessly on it for a very long time and I inherited it from Jeff as the previous chair and so we had already done a lot of work behind the scenes and then we came to the planning board a few times with our different concerns that we tried to evolve as we understood what the planning board's kind of lens was on things and we tried to express what we were, where we were coming from in the hopes that maybe we could try to meet in the middle somewhere. So I'm bringing this up because you mentioned that we weren't at the meeting when you know you guys sent it back down to Planning Board and the reason being that we had put in the time and effort to make that presentation. Jeff did that video that was you know like a 10 minute pretty comprehensive overview of exactly what our concerns were. So we felt that we had moved it through the right channels to get to the right Solution for our town and we're kind of leaving it to the Borough Council and Planning Board to make those decisions So just wanted to clarify we weren't you know, like boycotting the meeting or you know coming because we didn't care we felt like we had said our piece and Wanted to leave it with you guys. So and then I did want to mention too I think You know you mentioned about some of the issues being around kind of the more minor development pieces. I think when we made kind of our adjustments for the four main focuses we were kind of thinking that those were more for the major development size projects so trying to lessen the burden on the standard resident and then education is also something that the Environmental Commission takes very seriously. We use our social media to help educate the public on various different environmental impacts and what people can be doing to help alleviate that on their own little parcel of land and for our community. So we definitely will continue to push that and make sure our residents know what they can be doing to try to help the collective in terms of stormwater management. So thank you very much.

Any other comments from the audience? Thank you. No, and honestly, thank you for the work that the Environmental Commission has done. I realize how what I said came off as a dig. That was not my intention. My point was that We had, we had the discussion. Yes, Jeff did provide some fantastic videos. You didn't necessarily have to be there. I was only saying that it was, there was nobody. I don't think there's anybody in the audience that night. That was really kind of my point of that. So I apologize if it came off as throwing you guys under the bus was not my intention. Um, the, the work that you've done so far has been spectacular and I've, I've said that multiple times and I, and you know, I've said that to these guys as well. Uh, so that's it. All right, moving on. to bring the Environmental Commission back up.

Any close discussion?

Oh, yes. Well, it's just a discussion, so we can move along, right?

Did we want to make a motion to reestablish the ad hoc committee?

Yeah, we have to speak with him. I will do that. Okay. I'll make the recommendation based on the conversation we've been having, and we'll go forward from there.

Sounds good.

Perfect. Okay. I'd like to invite, obviously, Timree back up to discuss the Somerville Community Energy Plan.

All right. Hello, everybody. Okay, Timree Deal. I'm the chair of the Environmental Commission. This is David Dvorin. He is on our green team, and he sits on the Somerset Energy Council. So you can see why for the community energy plan, he would be part of the A team, keeping it moving. We met with you guys back in May about this, so we'll try to keep this short. We know the USA team has a, an important game tonight. So, um, uh, essentially, um, what we had provided to you back in May was essentially the list of initiatives that we had determined. And there's been a lot of movement since then and what you guys have in front of you and on the agenda. is the final draft that was authored by T&M Associates, which is our consulting partner. And yeah, we'll just talk a little bit more about it. They weren't able to be here tonight to do the presentation, so David and I are going to handle it. But it is a pretty dense plan, so we are still doing a little bit of a digesting of it as well. So we'll do our best to handle any questions if they should come through. Yeah, so we'll go ahead and jump in. How do I change? Oh, gosh. Okay. Okay, so the 1,000-foot view. Why do we need a community energy plan? So as many of you will know, the state of New Jersey passed a resolution and goal to reach 100% clean energy by 2050, So this is our municipality's portion in trying to help meet some of those goals. The plan was created based off of some climate data. So the community of Somerville in 2020 emitted 155,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide. So that is the baseline that we are working to try to decrease through all of the initiatives stacked together for the community energy plan. So they address different strategies to reduce that carbon emission, but that's the baseline that we're working to reduce over the next four years and forward. And then 62% of those 155,000 emissions come from on-road vehicles and commercial natural gas. So that's factored into the plan. And then there also are some supplementary benefits outside of just carbon emissions for the initiatives that we're attacking here. So cleaner air for the community, lower energy costs, and a more resilient energy grid, which can only be a good thing as the climate continues to evolve, and so do our energy needs. As a refresher, what is the CEP? So it's essentially Somerville's four-year action plan for reducing energy-related emissions and also kind of a guide for the borough to reach towards cleaner and more affordable energy. So as mentioned, we worked with the borough administration to determine the initiatives that were approved by this council. I think the mayor had an addition that we swapped one of them out for, so that was really good feedback. In addition, the Environmental Commission conducted a community survey, which we'll talk a little bit more about. And then TNM authored the actual draft in front of you. So tonight, what we're really asking is to adopt the CEP by resolution and that will kind of open the door to some grant funding. Okay, so we had, as part of the CEP, we wanted to open up kind of a public comment for the initiative list. So we ended up having a few different channels for providing comments. One was a comment board in the Borough Hall. um one was through email through the environmental commission email address and then we also created an online survey which drew 87 responses which was far more than i was expecting um and i think for a borough about our size that just kind of signals that residents really care about how we're handling um energy and uh we we got some really interesting results which david will talk through

So the feedback clearly showed that solar and green buildings were enjoying the broadest support. EV chargers, interestingly, was the most divisive. And it's only because the survey respondents noted that they wanted the EV chargers to be for residents as opposed to visitors onto Main Street. That came up a few times. Equity was also seen as essential. In addition, the survey response also pointed out gaps compared to the initiatives that were being proposed. and they wanted to make sure that we kept those gaps in view. Examples include flooding, heat, and getting around town as examples. Now whether they're related to the community energy plan is a different question, but still nonetheless they're topics that the respondents did want us to keep in mind. Here are a few more call outs. People were remarkably consistent on where solar should go. Roofs, lots, brownfields, yes. Parks and open space, no. Costs and affordability came up often. And data centers surfaced as another concern. I have the understanding that you all have access to the full report that includes further analysis of the survey and all of the raw data associated with the survey.

Yes, and the survey is also going to be posted on the town website. We should be able to search that. We should have had the URL up here.

Sorry about that. Back to you, T. Yes.

So thank you to everybody who took the time out of their day to respond to the survey. All of the data was really taken into account when creating the actual draft. Oh, actually, this one's you.

If you look at the initiatives that we're moving forward with or proposing to move forward with, they do fall into these buckets. We wanted to make sure that the initiatives that were chosen covered a broad set of goals. Those goals are listed here. The one in the middle, the energy efficiency, that's the one that the mayor had called out that we should include in addition to the ones that we had initially proposed. And you'll see that these initiatives align with what we saw in the survey results.

Awesome. And we figured that one of the first questions we would get asked here is what is the cost to the borough? So good news is nothing new to adopt tonight. So no new appropriations or anything at this point. Essentially what the CEP does is it opens us up to the possibility of outside grant funding, which is really exciting. Some of the budget will be folded into the municipal budgets as part of the planning process, and that will be incorporated and planned for ahead of time. And then we also do now qualify for various state and utility incentive programs. So that's really great. So this step essentially allows us to access outside funding for various initiatives and funding opportunities. Okay, so the Environmental Commission has been very excited and excited little bit honored to be part of this process this feels like a really big big project to be a part of and it's been great to work with the borough staff and with T&M associates so the next step after adopting the plan is to carry it out so I think that will take a lot of upfront work in figuring out processes and The plan does include ownership for different pieces of the plan overall, but there will still be a lot of collaboration required ahead of that. But we will help in any way needed, and specifically in stewarding the implementation of the initiatives. We will continue to lead community outreach and education, which is already part of what we do. Actually, a couple of the ongoing outreach pieces didn't quite make it into the plan, but they're already part of the EC book of business, the EV outreach, and the residential energy efficiency, which is through the PSE&G grant. And then also, of course, making sure that low to moderate income residents share in the benefits. So really your vote tonight helps to turn this simple plan into Somerville's commitment to cleaner and more affordable energy. So, yeah, figured we would open it up if there are any questions.

Questions, daggers, darts.

No, I'm thank you everyone for putting in the time and the work into this I know that these aren't the simplest things even though They try and pretend like they're just small one small step along the path They're kind of kind of the first big leap is really what it is But what's I think amazing about what has been pointed out here? Some things are important to understand the low amount of support for EV charging rules from what it seems like or even just using it as a way of trying to draw people to the community is not necessarily the most popular way of doing it.

But EV chargers in the residential areas was something that was seen.

John Potter, yeah I think that that we have some ordinances that have addressed that recently about. John Potter, Where they can put them, but in general, I don't know anybody who's not supportive of you know as much as we can I do think maybe some on street in the areas where there's more multifamily housing or rental housing is. John Potter, worthy of discussion, and I think we were talking about something around veterans. including something in that space as well but um i hope it works for all um but what i i think is really important here is that like when it comes to municipal vehicle fleet efficient uh alternative fuel vehicles electric vehicles kevin already has an inventory of all of our trucks and what they could be transitioned to should the money be available through grants and other things when it comes to renewable energy we're already working on And you'll hear more about a resolution tonight where we're progressing our 10 megawatts of community solar that we expect to market directly to low and moderate income in the municipality. The energy efficiency stuff, good ad, but at the same time, it's taking care of itself. I mean, everybody these days are looking at their bills trying to figure that out, right? How do I spend less? And that's the easiest way is to spend PSE&G's money or the money you've already paid PSE&G to get back in an incentive. I do hope that this plan, though, continues to push us along. I know that some of these items that are in here are kind of, I wouldn't say superficial by any means, but are outreach to the community, notifying educational, that's great. But getting an actual green building policy in is a different level of effort and work and change. So I'm happy to hear about all the efforts. Glad that the report and plan is finished, submitted, and that we're gonna have that opportunity for more money, for more programs in the future. I just wanna see us pick up the more difficult items first, because I think the easier items will take care of themselves. And great to know we've already made progress on a lot of this, to be honest.

So I have a question. Would there be a ability to have third-party energy source at a lower rate for residents?

So can I jump in there and answer that question for you guys? Okay. So that's comes from a program called, um, or an opportunity that we have as a government where that we can do something called government energy aggregation, where we would go out and grab all small businesses and residents in the municipality, uh, and say, Hey, tell us if you want out of this, but otherwise we're going to procure a third party supplier for you. To my knowledge as of recent and late, the way the electricity pricing has been, there hasn't really been an advantage to have a third-party supplier. You might get an introductory rate that ultimately slams you in the end. There's a lot of predatory kind of partners out there looking for those things. If we were to run a procurement, I'd be interested to see what we would do, what the response would be. But also my understanding from having done these is that there's a large run-up to it from us as a municipality. There's a lot of work that falls into collecting all of the information from PSE&G. Also, we have to pass some ordinances or resolutions beforehand in order to be able to just even go out to bid when the timing's right. So I would suggest that if that is something we want to pursue, perhaps we could lay some of the groundwork, but not necessarily expect that we're going to do this anytime soon. But I also would want it to be very clear to everybody that while we would try and include everyone in this, it is an opt-out program. If you do not want to participate, you don't have to, right? It's not something that we're going to mandate that if we were to go out and get a third party supplier through government energy aggregation that you have to be a part of this. We would expect that everybody gets notified. They get to tell us and make a decision whether they want in or out. The benefit is that if we all go out together, economy of scale being such that we're buying more electricity, we should get a lower price. That's the idea behind the whole thing. But again, market being where it has been with electricity over the last few years and where it's going in the next few years, even third-party suppliers have had a hard time making money at this. Things have changed. This summer might be a little different. I'm going to get some better information about some of that sooner. But ultimately, you know, that's probably why we haven't done it and why it's probably good to get prepared to maybe do it is because I think that in the near future, it might be advantageous. um but if we don't have the ordinances passed then we can't take advantage of market timing we got to get ready for it beforehand so it is something that's possible for us to do it's not and it's something that we can ask for a green energy product while going out to bid for it but we have to expect that any supply that includes 100 green energy is going to be more expensive and if our goal is Affordability by doing this then we don't want you know as much as we want to make sure that we're getting a green carbon-free Electricity source for everyone that's not necessarily going to be the most economical solution So there's a lot to consider as you embark on that journey and a lot of steps along the way I think maybe we could get two or three steps into it and then see what the market has to offer if at all at that point so To your question, Gina, I think it's something maybe outside of the Environmental Commission specifically, but it is something that we can get running on. And if we get it, we do do it, and we do get a heavy renewable energy product as our solution, then we can get some credit for it for our sustainable Jersey stuff, right? If we can actually do it. but between here and there is a pretty big trip and we got to make sure the electricity is cheap enough to want to do it.

So as a single individual, one can easily sign up for any community solar project. That's true. Uh, I personally am involved. I subscribed to a community solar and by, by law I get at least a 20% discount on the cost of the electricity. Uh, and as a shameless plug, I am giving a talk September 9th at the library on how to fight the high energy costs where I discuss not only community solar, but also PACNG's energy assessment program, which is of no cost. Any other questions? No more darts.

I just want to thank you all for, you know, I know how much work has gone into it and the debate and the long list of things. It's hard to narrow down. There's so many good ideas, but we appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Uh, well before you go, hold on, hold on. Does anybody have any comments or questions about, uh, from the, from the public in regard to this rich would, would the council like to take this resolution now? Uh, and, and while the, while they're up here.

On the sixth paragraph where the whereas and the list of strategies the strategies are going to be replaced with the five strategy Areas that team marine David had spoken about in that paragraph, okay?

so then so then a motion for resolution 202 adopting the borough of Somerville community energy plan second so moved I don't think we need a discussion, right? Fantastic.

Roll call. Council members, Theresa Bonner. Yes. Andrew Conte. Yes. Glenn Deney. Yes. Gina Stravick. Yes. Roger Frum.

Yes.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. At this time, the meeting is open to the public. Please present your name and address and your questions or comments. I always say questions, comments to me. Or wait, do I have to ask for it? I have to ask for motion in second. Yeah, it's not, it's not a requirement. I didn't think so. Okay. Seeing none a motion to close.

So moved second discussion.

Great roll call council members.

Teresa Bonner. Yes. Andrew Conti. Yes. Glendon. Yes. Tina's traffic. Yes. Roger. Yes. Was to close to close.

I didn't know I was going to do this today, so. All right, so we have three ordinances for introduction. The first ordinance for introduction is two eight zero seven. It is a bond ordinance providing an appropriation of $850,000 for the design and resurfacing of South middle street and Washington place for, and by the borough of Somerville in the County of Somerset, New Jersey, and authorizing the issuance of $700,000 in bonds or notes of the borough for financing part of the appropriation. Um, I know that the mayor likes to open these up for the public, so I will give anybody an opportunity if they'd like to speak. Seeing none, motion to introduce. So moved.

Second.

Discussion.

I just, why are we borrowing this money?

There's actually two grants on this project, one for $226,800 and one for $316,190. There's a gap that we have to fill. So while you're seeing a large number there, It is going to be backfilled by about a little more than a half a million dollars worth of grants.

Okay.

So it's basically the offset. It's our skin in the game for a DOT grant. Got it. Roll call. Council members, Theresa Bonner.

Abstain.

Andrew Conte. Yes. Glenn Deney. Yes. Gina Stravik. Yes. Roger Firm.

Yes. Uh, next we have two eight zero eight amending chapter 61 entitled cannabis section five entitled classes permitted subsection B, uh, nine entitled hours. Again, opening up for a discussion or not discussion, public comment. Seeing none motion introduced. So moved second discussion.

So this was just an extending of their hours that they're permitted to be open, correct?

Correct. Monday through Saturday, it'll change our hours to be equally competitive to the other municipalities around us.

Thank you.

Housecleaning. Housekeeping. Housekeeping. Whatever. You're tired, man.

I am, man. Go call. Council members, Teresa Bonner. Yes. Andrew Conte. Yes. Glenn Denis. Yes. Gina Stravick.

Yes.

Roger. Yes. All right. And the last one is 2809 entitled Amending Chapter 133 of the Borough Code entitled Retail Food Establishments. Again, open up for public comment. Seeing none, motion to introduce.

So moved.

Second.

Discussion.

So this did not come before the Board of Health.

Yeah, so the intent here is there is going to be some tweaks to this ordinance as well. The Board of Health will get a somewhat of a mirrored consideration after the governing body introduces and adopts it for their consideration.

So we're going to adopt it, then have them look at it, and then change it?

Well, we're going to introduce it with the tweaks that several of the members had asked me about. Nothing substantive, but what I could do is I could send them the copy of the introduce ordinance before adoption for consideration. They actually have a different code than the governing body does, so the governing body is in a different chapter related to this. The Board of Health provisions are really supposed to be about the inspections and things like that, but the fact that they would have some of this stuff in here would also make some sense as well. So after it's introduced, I can certainly send it to the Board of Health, hold off the public hearing and adoption until they're able to take a look at it. I think that would be a good idea.

I also, you know, street cafes, do we mean sidewalk cafes?

Yes, that's one of the tweaks. There was a couple of things that were pointed out to me, like I said, nothing substantive. But the idea of this ordinance is the borough council currently has one paragraph in the code regarding retail food establishments.

Okay.

We practice, we have a lot of policies and rules and practices that are really not ordinances, and they really should be pulled into an ordinance. And in our efforts to kind of clean our ordinance book over the past this year, this is one of the areas that not only makes sense, but it has come up multiple times this year as to where certain things appear in the law. So this is the purpose of that. Roll call. We had an introduction, yes. Council members, Teresa Bonner? Yes. Andrew Conte? Yes. Glenn Dene, yes. Gina Stravick? Yes. Roger Ferrum?

Yes. So we have our consent resolutions. Resolution 209 is being pulled at this time, and we've already done 202. Do we have any other that need to be set aside? No? All right. 195 is approving the hiring of full-time lifeguards for the 2026 pool season. 196 is authorizing an award of a non-fair and open contract to NV5 Incorporated for construction support engineering services for the Safe Routes to School project along Veterans Memorial Drive East. 197 is awarding a contract to ACCESNJ... Janitorial services at the Somerville Emergency Services Facility pursuant to state cooperative pricing system contract number 77110 under the New Jersey Rehabilitation Facility Set-Aside Act. Number 198 is amending Resolution 250804227, authorizing Council President Roger Vroom, that's me, to execute documents and awarding a contract to Association for Choices in Community Spaces and Employment, Access NJ for Janitorial Services through New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Program, removing Police Headquarters 24 South Bridge Street. 199 approval to submit a grant application and execute a grant contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation 2027 state aid grant program for MA 2027. Is that 2026 27?

No, it's MA 2027 for the 2027 Road Improvement Program.

Understood. Road Improvement Program including North Doughty, my goodness, Avenue and Prospect Street. 200 is authorizing the execution of a contract with first new software and hosting contract for Raritan Borough. 201, authorizing and memorializing the issuance of a request for proposals for construction, management, and inspection services. for the Safe Routes of the Schools along Veteran Memorial Drive East, Road Diet and Pedestrian Improvements Project. 203, approving event permit for Somerville Elks to use Carol Pager for Jack's Kids Softball Tournament on July 11, 2026 from seven to three. 204 authorizing the 11th annual somerville 5k turkey trot on thanksgiving day november 26 2026 205 is approving downtown somerville music fest on september 20th 2026 from 12 to 6 on main street from warren to maple and south bridge from Main to South Street. Road closures will be from seven to seven. 206, approving project closeout and release of retainage to Millennium Communications Group for emergency services facility improvements in the amount of $30,348.54. 207, authorizing and memorializing the issuance of a request for proposals for construction management and inspection services for the Safe Route to Schools along veteran memorials drives east road diet and pedestrian improvement projects 208 authorizing the borough clerk to execute an agreement with public service electric and gas company for outdoor lamp post lighting repairs on certain streets within the borough of somerville 210, approving tax sale costs for 2026. 211, authorizing tax collector Paige Elster to execute electronic tax sale agreement, participate in the 2026 electronic tax sale. 212, approving the release of the maintenance guarantee for Shantana LLC, 132 North Gaston Avenue, block 43, lot 1.01 application. in the amount of six thousand one hundred and ten dollars and seventeen cents to thirteen authorizing the executive execution excuse me of it assignment and assumption of redevelopment agreement with c s energy hathaway solar l c and c e p renewables l c and the interim escrow agreement with CEP renewables LLC and lastly 214 amending the borough of Somerville policy and procedure manual to adopt a pregnancy and maternity leave policy do I have a motion there was an add-on oh I'm sorry yes we've got a walk on this evening and this is a really great project that's going to be coming up this is number 215 And it's approving Chapter 159 from the Somerset County Community Development Block Grant Program Project for the Carroll Pager Ball Field renovation, which I know a lot of folks around town will be thrilled about. Now do I have a motion?

So moved.

Second.

Council members, Teresa Bonner.

Yes.

Andrew Conti. Yes. Glenn Denis. Yes. Gina Stravick.

Yes.

Roger Vroom. Yes. I make a motion to pay bills and vouchers in the amount of $925,366.16. Do I have a second? Second. Roll call.

Council members, Teresa Bonner. Yes. Andrew Conti. Yes. Glenn Denis. Yes. Gina Stravick. Yes. Roger Vroom.

All right. Teresa, motion to adjourn.

I'd like to make a motion to adjourn, please.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Anyone opposed? Fantastic. Meeting is adjourned.