Common Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you for your patience. The meeting will come to order. Madam Clerk, would you please read the adequate notice of compliance statement?

Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the city clerk's office in the preparation of the council annual meeting notice stated December 17 2025, which was properly distributed and posted per statutory requirements. Please be advised that fire exits are to my right, your left and at the back of the room. The city has a listening system to assist the hearing impaired. If anyone needs hearing assistance, please obtain the system at the dais and return it thereafter.

Thank you. May we have the roll call, please?

Mr. Boyer. Present. Mr. Chris Foley. Here. Ms. Kalmanson. Here. Ms. Landman. Here. Ms. Saracena. Here. Mr. Smith. President Toth.

Here.

Time for the pledge.

May I please call on Amanda Block to lead us? Madam Clerk, would you please read the notices regarding the closed session and hearings and comments?

A closed session meeting as authorized by state statute was announced and held prior to the start of this meeting, and the known items for discussion were listed on the published closed session agenda. Please be advised that council meetings are broadcast live on Comcast Channels 34 and 36, and Verizon Channel 30, and rebroadcast on Thursdays and Saturdays on H2TV on Comcast 36 and Verizon 33. When invited to speak, please come to the lectern, clearly state your name and address, spell your last name, and speak into the podium microphone so that your comments can be understood by all and properly recorded. Whenever an audience or council member reads from a prepared statement, please give or email a copy to the city clerk's office at cityclerk at cityofsummit.org. To help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard, please limit your comments to no more than three minutes. Unless you are using an electronic device to follow the meeting agenda or need it for professional emergency contact purposes, please turn it off. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm going to expand a bit on the clerk's note about hearings and comments, and this will facilitate a smoother process, particularly for those watching remotely. If you're seated in one of the first two rows, please remain silent while you're seated. Anything you say can be picked up by the recording microphones and makes it difficult to hear the official proceedings. The three minute limit on public comments corresponds to a little bit less than a single printed page. If you're leaving your written remarks, please put your name on them and place them in the box near the lectern when you are done. With that, let's move on to the city's business. We've got a full agenda. beginning with the minutes for approval do I hear a motion to approve the minutes of the regular and closed session of July 7th 2026 and the special and closed session of July 15th 2026 so moved second all in favor Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Madam Clerk, would you please take the helm for the next one?

I will. Thank you, Council President. Through you, before we proceed with tonight's agenda, I would like to acknowledge the passing of longtime Union County Clerk, Joanne Rajopi, who passed away on July 16th. Ms. Rajopi dedicated decades of her life to public service, leaving an enduring impact on Union County and its municipalities. She was a true friend of the City of Summit and in particular to the City Clerk's Office. Her exceptional leadership, unwavering support, and remarkable knowledge were invaluable resources to the municipal clerks and public officials throughout her distinguished career. On a personal note, I will fondly remember Joanne for always making herself available for to answer any questions related to election matters. No matter how busy she was, she was always willing to share her knowledge, provide guidance, and offer her support. Her generosity, patience, and commitment to helping others were deeply appreciated and exemplified the very best of public service. Joanne's professionalism, kindness, and dedication earned her the respect and admiration of colleagues, across Union County and beyond, and I hope that her legacy will continue to inspire all who serve in local government. I now ask that we observe a moment of silence in memory of Joanne Rajapi in honor of her extraordinary life, dedicated public service, and lasting contributions to the community.

Thank you. Thank you. Let's move on to reports. Madam Mayor.

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here today on this lovely, crazy storm day. Our ribbon cutting ceremony for Mabee Playground has been postponed due to the nasty weather this afternoon. It will be this Friday, July 31st at 2 p.m. We're thrilled to finally be opening our revitalized space for our community to enjoy together. At the event on Friday, we will be joined with an inspirational speaker, Eric Legrand, an advocate for inclusive spaces and sports after suffering a spinal cord injury as a former Rutgers athlete. Please join us on Friday as we celebrate the completion of our city's first all abilities playground. I hope to see you there. Our National Night Out event is scheduled next week, Tuesday, August 4th. Please note that this event will take place on Memorial Field, which is not typical for National Night Out. Usually, we're on the village green. So remember, Memorial Field, and it will feature our rescheduled 4th of July fireworks. this is one of my favorite events of the year it's a great opportunity for residents of all ages to come together with law enforcement individuals and strengthen the ties that help make our community a safer and more caring place to live and i would be remiss to forget the firefighters as well so come and see see what their tricks are and there will be a variety of federal state county and local agencies at the event including our police and fire departments our dpw division of public works the first aid squad and others there will also be food trucks and bounce houses and live music and the fireworks will take place at approximately 8 45 and please be advised that certain areas of memorial field will be closed during the day to prepare for the fireworks and beginning at 5 pm roads adjacent to the field will close to vehicle traffic lastly i want to wish everyone a happy and healthy rest of the summer and i can't believe we're already heading into august boo um i hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer season and take advantage of some of our wonderful outdoor spaces such as the village green where we will continue to have summer concerts and our movie series and also our municipal golf course and the Family Aquatic Center. Please note that all pool memberships are half off beginning August 1st, which is next Saturday. And so if you're not a member, it's a great time to come and enjoy the fantastic facility.

That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. And now on to Tammy Baldwin for the City Administrator's Report. Administrator Baldwin.

Thank you, Council President. Good evening. I'm very happy we have such a large audience because there is a quick topic I want to bring up, and the more people that hear it, the better, related to rechargeable batteries. Quick reminder, we have shared some information this afternoon on our website and on social media about two recent incidents in the city, one at our transfer station, both regarding the improper disposal of a hoverboard in the trash pit, and another that was a call to the fire department about an e-bike fire at someone's home over the weekend. I urge everyone to review the safety tips that we shared earlier today to help keep everyone safe. Rechargeable batteries can explode when they are damaged, old, overcharged, or improperly disposed of at the end of their life. There are several important safety tips surrounding this topic, but perhaps the most important is that rechargeable batteries should never be placed in your household trash or in the trash pit at the transfer station. If our staff had not noticed that this hoverboard was placed in the trash pit today, it very likely would have started a fire once compressed, endangering our staff and likely shutting down the facility for several days or more. Please take a look at the information we posted on our website and social media. Share the safety tips with your friends and family and together I hope that we can keep each other safe. And lastly, the August summit free market events. They'll be held on Saturday, August 8th from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. And on Friday, August 28th, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the transfer station. Summit residents with a parking disposal permit. can attend and browse donated items and take what they want for free. Please review the donation guidelines on our website at cityofsummit.org backslash free market before bringing items to donate. And that concludes my report. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And now for my council president's report. And let me preface this by saying some of this is what we did not get to in closed session. I may surprise some of my fellow council members. I have a report on our affordable housing plan, and it's lengthy. Our plan is moving forward on several fronts. Harmon Holdings, the building to go at Ashwood, Broad, and Morris Avenues had its informal technical review with city staff. At this meeting, city staff reviewed the code, life safety and engineering specifications of the project application and provide recommendations and feedback. This is part of the standard operating procedure for larger developments. Once the application is deemed complete, it will proceed to the planning board for a formal public hearing. The project at 190 River Road went before the planning board last night. The planning board's review is focused on items such as engineering, stormwater management, and traffic impact. That hearing will continue August 17th. The planning board has already approved the small project on Old Springfield Road across from the Little Kings, and that will provide one unit of affordable housing. The Methodist Church project to convert its former school building into affordable senior housing is expected to submit its application to the planning board in August. The city has also been selected to participate in a new state program, NJ Homes ABC, and that's a long acronym. But this will provide technical assistance, training, and resources for the rehabilitation projects at the Glenwood, Weaver Street, and Gallo building. Only 31 communities in the state have been selected for this new program, so it's a real feather in Summit's cap to be chosen for it. But over the past several months, many residents have reached out to all of us in council with questions and concerns about the impact our affordable housing plan will have on our neighborhoods, our schools, and traffic. Will there be green space? Are we choosing the right locations for the people who will live there? These are fair questions and they deserve real answers from all of us on council. So here's where things stand. Summit has a housing requirement set by the state and negotiated last year. We have entered into a court ordered settlement agreement to meet that requirement. And to do so, we're looking at approximately 532 new housing units, both affordable and market rate. That's simply the reality we're working with, and we intend to meet our obligation in good faith. We have the opportunity and the obligation to ensure the plan works in real life, not just on paper, and to provide for the inevitable change in circumstances. And that's where council's job really begins. And so council will be starting the next phase of a serious review. We're going to work through this together as a council with our staff and with outside experts in real estate, nonprofit housing development, and affordable housing finance so that our plan is the strongest, smartest version of itself. One property we're going to be looking at closely is the old firehouse site, one of the most significant public assets under city control. The contract purchaser of that property withdrew and this gives us a chance to step back and ask a bigger question. Can this piece of land, which belongs to all of us in Summit, have a greater impact on our affordable housing plan? How do we balance the need for affordable housing with the city's very real budget challenges? We don't have the answers yet. What we have is the responsibility to ask the questions and to look at all of the realistic options before us. while considering our affordable housing plan as a whole and ensuring that whatever we build works for the immediate neighborhood and for Summit as a whole. We'll be doing this hard work over the next several weeks. This is an effort of the entire council, and I hope some of my colleagues will share their thoughts later in this meeting. With all of that, let's move on to our historical minute. Council Member Landman.

Thank you, Council President. Tonight we have with us Cameron Aronson, a rising junior at Summit High School, to speak about the history of Soldiers Memorial Field. Mr. Aronson has spent countless hours with family and friends playing baseball and celebrating special events at Memorial. Before I turn it over to Mr. Aronson, I would like to remind the public that Council approved $200,000 towards upgrades at Memorial Playground, and we have a survey open. For public input on how those funds should be used at the playground the survey closes on August 1st Which is a couple days from now, so please take a moment tomorrow to complete the survey if you haven't already We will reshare it on social media and any other avenues we have available to us if you haven't seen it yet But with that over to you Cameron. Thank you

Good evening, everyone. My name is Cameron Aronson, and I'm a rising junior at Summit High School. I would like to thank Councilmember Landman and the rest of the council for inviting me to speak tonight. Tonight, I'd like to talk about Soldiers Memorial Field here in Summit. While it was originally created to honor the brave men and women who served our country, it has become the site of some of the most important green spaces, sports fields, and recreation centers in our community. Soldiers Memorial Field was established in the early 1900s following World War I as a living memorial to local veterans. Community members wanted a place where people could remember the sacrifices made by those who served, while also creating something that would benefit future generations. Instead of simply building a monument, they created a space where people could come together, stay active, and build friendships. The park posed several plaques and monuments to honor those who served. After World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as more recent conflicts, additional memorials were added to recognize the local veterans and their sacrifices. Today, the park may be best known for its outstanding athletic facilities. It features baseball and softball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, a running track, and open green spaces that are used throughout the year. Some of its school and rec teams depend on these facilities for practices, games, and tournaments. As a former baseball player, I have many memories of playing games on the baseball field for traveling rec teams, as well as running multiple trips around the track during Coach Horn's practices whenever the team would mess up. In addition to sports, the park offers walking paths, playgrounds, picnic areas, and beautiful green spaces that encourage healthy lifestyles and outdoor recreation for people of all ages. The tree-lined paths contribute to Summit's environmental health. The park also provides a home for local wildlife. The original purpose of the park has never been forgotten. Throughout the grounds are memorials honoring the military service and sacrifices of Summit residents. Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies remind everyone that the opportunities we enjoy exist because of the dedication of those who serve our country. And though it had to be canceled due to the storm, our community comes together at Memorial Field to celebrate our independence on the 4th of July. In conclusion, Soldiers Memorial Field is much more than a park. It is where Summit's history is honored, where young athletes grow, and where community comes together. It honors the past while inspiring future generations to stay active, work as a team, and appreciate the sacrifices that made these opportunities possible. Thank you.

Thank you. And we have two mayoral proclamations this evening. First, we are honoring Reverend Dr. Denison Harreld Jr. on the occasion of his 50th anniversary of faith, leadership, and ministry. So, Madam Mayor, over to you. Thank you.

Whereas on July 11th, 1976, Reverend Dr. Denison D. Harreld delivered his trial sermon at St. Paul AME Zion Church in Trenton, New Jersey, which ushered him into his journey of ministry. And whereas in May of 1978, Reverend Dr. Harreld received his first pastoral appointment as pastor of Antioch AME Zion Church in Linden, New Jersey, where he served for 11 years. And whereas, on October 1st, 1989, Reverend Dr. Harrield was appointed as pastor of Wallace Chapel AME Zion Church in Summit, New Jersey, where he has served for 37 years. And whereas, Reverend Dr. Harrield has been a dedicated community leader within the City of Summit community. And whereas, Reverend Dr. Harrield serves as a liaison between the religious communities and organizations such as the Summit Interfaith Council, Summit Housing Authority, Sage Eldercare, the New Jersey Council of Churches, as well as serves as chaplain for the Summit Police Department. Whereas in 2021, Reverend Dr. Harriyold was honored with the Volunteer of the Year Award by the City of Summit, recognizing his many years of contributions and unwavering commitment to service. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Elizabeth Fagan, Mayor of the City of Summit, do hereby proclaim July 11th, 2026, as the celebration of Reverend Dr. Harriot's 50 years of faith leadership and ministry day. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Summit to be affixed this 11th day of July in the year 2026.

This is an opportunity for me to do something that I do in church. Please be seated. First, I'd like to give honor to God for his amazing grace, mercy, and love. Without him, I would not be standing here today. Secondly, I would like to thank Mayor Fagan for doing something that she did not have to do. On the 21st of July, I got an email to me saying that she would like to... given me a proclamation, and I was surprised. I never expect things, but I'm always thankful when things like that happen. So thank you so much for your kindness. Secondly, I have to take a picture of this, and I will keep the original, and I will give the other to my wife of 58 years who has been by my side throughout my journey, so she deserves as much of this as I do. So thank you. She has not, I guess she has had thought about it, but she has not kicked me to the curb yet, so we thank God for that. And then I want to thank all of you who have been a part of this journey with me in some way, indirectly or directly. When I came to Summit 37 years ago, one of the first visits that I made was to City Hall to meet with Mayor Janet Whitman. And at that meeting, I told her I was new in town, but Jeremiah, in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, he says, seek the welfare of the city. And I said, I'm here to help in any way that I can. And I've kept my promise to every mayor, city council, whatever, school board, whatever, to do that because this is a community. And I believe in building community and working together. Then I would like to thank all of the members of Wallace Chapel and friends of Wallace Chapel. Some of you I haven't seen in church, but I see you tonight. So I'm grateful that something got you out. Amen. But we are thankful for your presence. You didn't have to show up, but I thank you for your love, your cooperation. I thank the bishops, the eight bishops that I have served with, who in the Methodist Church, you get an appointment every year from a bishop to go back. So I've gotten 48 appointments, and I'm thankful for them having the faith and confidence in me to do that. So I just want to thank you for your love, support. Pray for me that I will continue. I tell people now that I'm an old, young-looking man. Just keep me in your prayers so that I may continue to serve the present age, my calling to fulfill. Oh, may all my powers engage to do my master's will. Thank you so much. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.

OK. And next, the mayor gets to recognize Grace on the occasion of its 10th anniversary of service to the Summit community.

Whereas on August 1st, 2026, Grace, giving and receiving assistance for our community's essentials, will celebrate its 10th anniversary, providing an immeasurable service to the city of Summit. And whereas in 2016, Grace was founded by Amanda Block, whose vision, compassion, and unwavering commitment to helping neighbors in need, inspired the creation of an organization dedicated to ensuring that individuals and families facing financial hardship receive assistance with dignity, hope, and respect. And whereas over the past 10 years, Grace has become an indispensable community resource, providing financial assistance for housing, utilities, food, transportation, medical expenses, and other essential needs, helping residents overcome temporary hardships and regain stability, and whereas Grace provides support services to over 750 local families every week, free of charge, with volunteers logging more than 1,500 hours every month, And whereas under the leadership of its board of trustees, executive director, staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners, Grace has grown from one person's vision into a trusted organization that embodies the spirit of generosity, compassion, and neighbors helping neighbors that defines the city of Summit. And whereas Amanda Block's leadership and dedication laid the foundation for an organization whose impact continues to strengthen the Summit community, inspire countless individuals, businesses, faith-based organizations, and civic groups to work together in support of those facing difficult circumstances. And whereas the city of Summit is proud to recognize Grace's many contributions to the community and to celebrate a decade of extraordinary service that has improved the lives of countless residents while reinforcing the values of kindness, service, and civic responsibility. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Elizabeth Fagan, Mayor of the City of Summit, do hereby proclaim August 1st, 2026, as Grace Appreciation Day and extend the gratitude and appreciation of the City of Summit to founder Amanda Black, as well as the organization's Board of Trustees, executive directors, staff, volunteers, donors, community partners, and supporters for their dedication and generosity over the past 10 years. I encourage residents to join in celebrating this milestone and to recognize the lasting impact Grace has made and will continue to make in strengthening our community. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Summit to be affixed this 28th day of July in the year 2026.

The thing about Grace is that it is a small army, and I was wondering if I could please invite our board, our staff, our core volunteers, Claire, Chantal, our partners, Jackie and Michelle and Jamal. Would you mind coming up? You're a part of our team, and I'd really like for all of you to join in this particularly special moment. We're a small army. So grace stands for giving and receiving assistance for our community's essentials. It's also my daughter's name. The idea isn't just that we care for our neighbors as we would care for our most precious loved one. It's that we believe that it is everyone's birthright to be healthy happy and secure. And every single week, it is an unbroken chain for the past 10 years. The past 10 years, we have not missed a week of service, not for weather, not for COVID, not for vacation, not for any reason, but to dedicate ourselves to making sure that our community members can thrive. that they have access to nutrient-dense food, that they have access to medical care. We now have a copay-free clinic, thanks to Overlook. We now make sure that every single week, as we did August 1st in 2016, when it was just Family Fun Night, that our people can fulfill that dream of Summit Living and they can thrive. But it is thanks to our neighbors, it is thanks to our leaders, it is thanks to our visionary partners, and I can only imagine with this team behind me and this team in front of me what the next 10 years will bring for our neighbors. Thank you so very much.

Well, now we're going to move to something a little less feel-good. I'm sorry, Chief, but Police Chief Ryan Peters is going to share the department's crime statistics for the first half of the year, and there is a lot of good news in these. How's that?

Thank you, Council President. Through you, first of all, I would like to congratulate Reverend Harry Eld.

50 years. Happy to work with you, sir.

And Amanda as well. The police department works closely with Grace whenever we can. So semiannual statistics. I'm not sure who's sticking around. Everybody sticking around? OK. Semiannual statistics. The uniform crime report. I know council's heard this, but I feel compelled in an effort to stay consistent to kind of just go over the parameters of the statistics. Again, Uniform Crime Statistics, UCR, Uniform Crime Reports, are imperfect and they're simply taking a snapshot of a moment in time. So essentially, whenever a call for service comes in, dispatch receives that call and they pretty much put an identifier on it and they categorize it as a CFS code. So that's initially done by dispatch. However, sometimes officers will respond to that call. For example, sometimes they respond to a noise complaint. And when they get there, it turns out to be a domestic violence situation. That being said, there are situations sometimes where the officers fail to update the CFS code. So again, when it comes to the UCR statistics, there are certain parameters of which those CFS codes are not completely up to date. In addition, until proven otherwise. So reports come in, stats are displayed on the UCR table. However, at the completion of an investigation, we find an incident did not take place or something else that would classify it as a different CFS code. So this stat can change. You know, we might investigate initially a fraud and come to find out it actually, over the course of the investigation, it's something else. So those statistics do change over time, sometimes. Also, we often encounter initial allegations with no further cooperation from victims, resulting in a case being closed by exceptional means, which means we can't prove or disprove an incident took place. However, because an initial report was made, the stat still counts towards our data. Also, CFS codes always reflect the most severe criminal activity. For example, stolen car data must be retrieved from our internal spreadsheet as opposed to the UCR stats due to home burglaries. So essentially, if somebody were to break into a house and then ultimately steal a car that was in the driveway, the UCR statistic would report a burglary, not the stolen car. So we have to keep internal records as well to ensure accurate reporting. Additionally, there's always a delay in reporting, which we often find with sexual assault allegations. For example, someone reports a sexual assault in 2026, but it actually occurred in 2024, that statistic would actually show up in the wrong reporting year. And lastly, in 2025, the Summit Police Department handled 52,478 calls for service. While we have checks and balances in place to ensure proper reporting, there are times where CFS codes do not accurately reflect the final disposition as I led with. Sometimes officers mistakenly misidentify them or don't update them after dispatch puts them in.

That being said, let me just pull up the stats.

Okay, so this is for the first half of the year. First six months, January 1st to June 30th. So violent crime. So violent crime is made up of several categories. It's made up of homicide, in which we had zero. Rape, in this first half of the year, we had one allegation of rape, three of attempted rape. One, robbery. So this one is pretty unique. If you guys saw our press release, very troubling incident happened down on Park Avenue a few months ago where a woman was pushing a baby in a stroller and someone pulled up in a car and decided to conduct a robbery right in the middle of the day. Due to the diligent response of our detective bureau and hard work and fast action, they were able to identify a suspect. find out through a geolocator, find out his location, and ultimately bring him into custody within three hours of the initial robbery down in Newark in Essex County. So I do want to applaud our detective bureau on that. And then lastly, aggravated assault accounted for three of the eight reports of violent crime. So again, it's made up of homicide, rape, attempted rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Similar to years past and reports past, our aggravated assaults aren't typically people out in public fighting or beating each other up. They tend to be more so simple assaults against either medical facility workers, because they get elevated to an aggravated assault, same as if you committed a simple assault on a police officer, and then also domestic violence, which tends to happen within the confines of the households. So violent crime is, in comparison to 2023, 2024, higher, but coming down since 2025, which is encouraging. When we get to assault, that's simple assault. So that can be anything from just pushing someone, punching someone, and again, oftentimes tied to domestic violence as well. That seems to be trending in the right direction, which is encouraging. burglary as well if i included the stats from 2021 and 2022 you would see it's been on a pretty good decline since then we are down to three larceny which is theft of movable property that varies depending on the time of the year and what we're seeing right now we're at 41 which is a little up from last year But again, that could be as simple as somebody taking change from a tip jar at Dunkin' Donuts. And lastly, my most encouraging would be the motor vehicle theft, something that we were dealing with almost on a weekly basis a few years back. We're down to just two this year. Both were taken at the same time from a local car dealership during the overnight hours. Nobody was there. And I'm happy to report that the day the car dealership identified that the cars were missing, they came in and did the report. Our detectives quickly mobilized. They went down to an area. One of the vehicles was the geolocator was sensing it. They were able to locate that vehicle and bring it back in for processing. And in addition, another one of the vehicles was actually geolocating in New York and with the help of the NYPD. We were able to locate that vehicle as well. So both vehicles were recovered the day they were reported stolen, and within two weeks we had a suspect in custody. So our detective bureau is doing great. I can't say enough about their hard work and their dedication. When it comes to burglaries and attempted burglaries to motor vehicles, again, encouraging to see 39 and 23, down to 14 and 24, and now we're tied with last year at four to date. This stat is actually my most encouraging stat. So this shows the effectiveness and pretty much the capabilities of our officers and their hard work. Back in 2023, when crime was a bit higher than it is now, to date, we had 44 arrests. In 24, we had 51. Last year, crime was a little higher. We were at 79. But this year, we're still at 72. So what that's telling me is as crime is going down, we're actually getting more effective at arresting suspects. Our detective bureau, we're a young police department. We're very motivated. What they lack in experience, they make up in effort and motivation. So the fact that there's an inverse relationship between the amount of crime that's happening and the people that we're able to identify that are committing those crimes and bring them to justice is very encouraging. So that's the crime stats. Now we'll slide into some of the other stats that we document. So this is general traffic statistics and calls for service. So back in 20, we are busier. There's a variety of reasons why we could be busier, but we do document pretty much everything that we do on a daily basis. So again, in 2023, we're just shy of 25,000, a little over 25,000 in 24. We kicked up to 27,000. That was when we hired two additional officers to our table of organization. And then obviously in 2026, we have those other two. So we increased our table of organization by four. in the last three years, and as you can see, the calls for service are going up. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's because people are calling the police more. It could also have to do with we have four extra bodies on the road, and they're checking more schools, they're checking more businesses, they're stopping more cars, more proactive, preventative measures in terms of good policing. And that leads us into our next number that not many people are going to be too happy about is our motor vehicle stops. We're up almost 1,000 at the six-month mark. So what I can tell you is we do receive quite a few complaints. Anybody who's on the safety committee will know. There's no short of speeding complaints, stop sign complaints, pedestrian complaints. And we always try to practice the three E's, education, enforcement, and engineering. You know, we attempt to educate people. We do social media posts. We'll put Nixles out. In addition, you know, we'll work side by side with Patrol and Traffic Bureau to ensure that they're doing enforcement measures, whether that be radar or just monitoring stop signs or pedestrian areas that we see a lot of our statistics drive us to. So motor vehicle stops are up, again, about 1,000. We are using our discretion. We're really probably between the 20 and 25 percent. One in four drivers get a ticket. um so again education is not just social media we could be just stopping people just to educate them on the law sometimes people just don't know title 39 they don't understand what we often find especially with pedestrian related issues is that um there needs to be a break in traffic before the pedestrian has a right of way so if i was standing at the corner of union and summit and i wanted to cross near franklin and just pressing that pedestrian crossing sign where the yellow beacon starts to flash That's not a green light for the pedestrian to enter the crosswalk So the pedestrian by law should stop and wait for there to be a break in traffic Identify that whatever drivers are approaching do see them then enter the crosswalk once they enter the crosswalk. They then have the right-of-way I've dealt with several residents that had complaints where they press the button and nobody stops and I kind of Relayed that information to them and it brought a sense of clarity to why people aren't stopping It's like a yellow light. Some people are gonna hit the gas other people are gonna break. So Um, that being said, I always encourage people to stop for pedestrians. Um, so moving summonses are up, uh, but so are the stops. So I'd say the correlation between the percentages are probably pretty consistent with our discretionary measures. But again, we're out there. Nobody could say we're not trying to slow people down. Um, and we're, we're trying to, you know, um, encourage good behavior as far as, um, operating motor vehicles. I think we all saw post 2020, once people started getting back on the road, they kind of forgot how to, how to drive a little bit. Parking summonses maintain consistency. You know, again, that's between overnight parking is our number one contributor to that, the overnight parking restrictions and ordinance. And then obviously we address handicap parking and illegal parking. Parking services does address the two hour parking. So we typically don't do that. And they do the meter parking. So total summonses are up 2,930. As we go down to crash data, motor vehicle accidents tend to be a recurring issue here. They've gone up, but not too far up, 261 and 23, 278, 296, and 301. um so the fact that they are going up is you know it's not a number a trend that i'd like to see but i do think there are more people on the road again back in 2023 there were a lot of people still working remotely and then as time progressed they went hybrid and now a lot of people are back to work so there are more people on the road minor motor vehicle accidents are leading the charge at 301. Not minor, which would be where there's injuries, where it's on the highway, they hit a pole, they hit a building, or there's a rollover, we're at 67. Hit and runs are at 61. I don't know why people are not stopping when they hit things these days. It seems to be going up. I don't think they understand that we have license plate readers and cameras in certain places. And then pedestrian, again, down from last year, but also a number higher than I'd like to see. And believe it or not, when you heard those sirens, that was a pedestrian getting struck just now. um seems to be conscious alert everything seems to be okay but it was right here around the corner so total motor vehicle accidents to date were at 438 just two higher than last year um so again that's the uh the semi-annual stats um that's where we stand to date my assessment is things are going pretty good thank you um yeah do we have any questions for chief for members of the public do we have questions from members of council

Council President?

Yes, Council Member Boyer.

Chief Peters, thank you for your report, appreciate it. Question, on the burglaries, were they home invasions or?

No.

Okay. No, no home burglaries. Larcenies, do we see a increase in our downtown district?

We've had a few thefts at some common places in town that we see thefts happening. If you monitor the police blotter, you'll see certain areas on Springfield Avenue, there are. But again, there's a wide variety when it comes to theft of movable property. I mean, it's a wide variety of categories that falls within. But I haven't seen any specific trends that need to be addressed. We do try to mitigate some of the thefts that we see at the same locations by either increasing our patrols or parking EDA cars out there, which are actually duty assignment cars, just to deter criminals. Because a lot of these criminal elements are not locals. They come in from other town. The direct access to the state highways is an inviting attribute to this city. You got two ways in between 24 and 78 where they can go north, south, east, west, and get back to wherever they came from. We've had people even come up here and commit larceny from Delaware, from New York. Being this close to Shore Hills Mall, we get some of the spillover for that as well.

Thank you, Chief. I get a lot of concerns about the kids coming from middle school to our downtown district. No incidents with the kids this year? Good? No.

Kids are going to be kids. We're out there. We're doing our best. We have a great juvenile detective. I was the juvenile officer for five years. The thing about juvenile policing is there's a lot of unconventional ways to find solutions to some of the problems. One of the things that's been concerning to me over the last few weeks since summer started is the groups of kids on bikes doing wheelies in and out of traffic. We had our traffic bureau out there confiscated one bike. I think it went a long way because we have seen a little bit of a reduction once the word gets out. In addition, over by the Soldiers Memorial Field, we had a situation where there was a group of teenagers knocking on doors but unfortunately some of these knocks were a little aggressive we had a couple window panes that broke some tennis balls hit some windows that broke so we did locate a group two weeks ago and spoke with some of the parents and since then we have seen a decline so I'm hoping that our interaction with them kind of put that

that behavior to bed good i was i was just more concerned with um safety to our children not really oh what what they're doing okay cool um uh motor vehicle stops are up let me let me ask you i know when stops are up contact with residents are up or not even non-residents Maybe an increase in internal affairs complaints? None? Zero?

Very little. What I have seen an increase in is emails from residents and other people that acknowledge our officers for the professionalism. I just got one yesterday. Officer Ortiz stopped a, I think he was actually a former mayor or council member from another town, and he felt the need to, he was having a rough Monday morning. He was running late. He got caught up, I think, going a few miles an hour of the speed limit, and one of our officers was very polite, very professional, and he felt the need to acknowledge him and send an email, and we've gotten quite a few of those. And whenever that happens, I make sure we make a copy. I send a memo to the officer acknowledging their hard work, and then it goes in their personnel file to be considered whenever there's an opening for an assignment or a promotion.

Two more questions, Chief. We lowered the speed limit at Bryant Pond. Have you seen a lot of motor vehicle stops there? Because I know it was too fast before, and it was, well, we can't pull these folks over because they're actually going to speed limit, which was too fast anyway. So now it's 25. Do you see an increase? Do you see people slowing down?

I haven't. I haven't seen, we haven't had any complaints from the residents. You know, whenever we enact a new ordinance, it tends to be mixed feelings depending on what the ordinance is. But I can tell you the speed reduction down on Orchard and Springfield, in addition, the implementation of the mobile speed signs that flash on Orchard I firsthand have seen people, you know, again, because it was, I think, 35 or 40 prior to the reduction. It tends to work. When people see that they're going over the speed limit and the red and blue light flashes, you see the brake lights and they slow down. Every resident in that area seems to be happy with them. So we haven't had any complaints down there.

One more question. Summit Avenue and Union Place, hot spot where people are crossing, commuters getting out of their train, seems like a very busy and kind of scary spot. Yep. I've been getting a lot of complaints for it. Are there any recommendations in... Solutionizing that area. There's not a lot that you can do. I mean, you know, you don't want to put a stoplight there. It's been in safety for a while.

We talk about it every safety meeting. There's been several measures and again, enforcements out there, education. We just ordered a few press. If you go over one of those pedestrian beacons, you'll see a little sign that just says press the button and enter the crosswalk. What we did was we redesigned that sign. We're just waiting for them to get delivered. We just put stickers right over it. That lets pedestrians know pause, wait for a break in traffic, ensure the driver sees you, then enter the crosswalk. We're hoping with that educational aspect, more pedestrians will be less likely to just step into traffic, which typically is one of the contributing factors for people getting hit. Another one is drivers turning. Whenever you're making a left turn, depending on your type of vehicle, that pillar, that block that goes between your driver's side door and the windshield can block pedestrians in your line of sight and your trajectory. I think of the 14 pedestrians that were struck on that stretch between Broad Street up to DeForest over a five year period, I think I ran that for Bob a few months ago, 13 out of the 14, the vehicles were turning. So that seems to be the number one contributive factor to pedestrians getting hit. But again, back to your question, we are replacing those signs to better inform the pedestrians. Aaron had submitted an engineering suggestion as far as striping. One of the other things that I made a suggestion to the safety in the last meeting was possibly doing rumble strips as you approach that intersection just to draw attention to slow people down. So there are a variety of engineering revisions that we're discussing, but I'm sure anybody can say, if you've sat at the Summit Diner, you'll see one of our police cars in the Chase Bank drive-through. They're monitoring pedestrians' traffic at any given point throughout the days. But we do have a variety of areas that we get complaints about, so we try to spread it out. We don't want to just focus on one area.

And just more of a statement, I think that you have one of the most diverse police departments in the state of New Jersey. Pretty diverse, yeah. I mean, people who've come from the Newark PD, Irvington PD, Patterson Police Department, Rutgers Newark University Police, right? And you do have a young police department. So kudos to you and your leadership team viewing the body cameras, going over the situations, correcting actions, and also letting these young officers know that they're a part of the community, which is why they are happy to be here. But good report, Chief. Good job. Thank you.

Yes, Council Member Calmington.

Thank you, Council President. Not a question, but more of a thank you. Thank you for your responsiveness, Chief Peters. He mentioned earlier that a lot of times we talk about these emails we get when people are, you know, they have concerns about safety, and we talk about them in the safety committee. And that's why I have a bunch of stop sign, ordinance for a bunch of stop signs coming up soon. But also what he didn't say is that usually within that meeting, he's like, I'm going to get a detail out there. They're going to be out there tomorrow. And usually it's the very next day that a detail goes out. He'll tell us how many people were pulled over. And then based on, you know, then he has the recommendations. Like, you know, we think enforcement was good. You might want to take a look at engineering. And residents on these streets are usually very happy when they see this. And they'll email and they say, thank you. I can't believe you came out so soon. So I just wanted to say thank you and make sure the residents know how responsive you are. And we really appreciate that. I appreciate that. Thank you, Chief.

Council Member Landman.

Thank you, Council President. I also want to echo my thanks. I want to also, I have an ask, I guess, as it relates to the motor vehicle accidents. I'm hoping that, okay, we made an investment in the police department this year out of the capital budget with five new police cars. It was a tremendous investment. I'm excited to do it. I'm going to reschedule my ride along in one of those new cars. um but for next year i guess my ask for the capital budget planning process which is kicking off soon is to think about a higher ratio investment in motor vehicle accident prevention so pedestrian safety traffic safety measures i know you guys do a ton of this in the safety committee as it is i'm just putting that out there as my ask i had a few requests in for the capital budget this year but we were just it was a little tight with the increase for the state health court we jumped from state health benefits to a hip

With the increases for salaries and benefit, it was unfortunately one of the things that did get cut. That being said, our finance director, Jen Kabliska, did find some capital money that was about to expire, and we were able to invest in three more of the mobile solar-powered speed signs that I was just talking about. So we do have three en route, and then we also have another message board en route.

Okay.

um those were two of the things that actually didn't make it through the capital process but we were able to again find money that was kind of sitting around and we're going to make that investment so we'll continue to do that i i similar to the reduction in speed um the implementation and deployment of those have been nothing but positive there hasn't been one resident that said i i don't want this on my street because it tends to work it does slow people down so we'll continue to do that if we have to do that on every street i don't know if that cost effective that is, but again, they have been working and will continue to do so.

Yes, Council Member Saracena.

Thanks, Council President. Just very briefly, Chief Peters wanted to take this opportunity to thank you publicly for meeting with me a few weeks ago with Council Member Kalmanson and a few of our faith leaders. We are just so very fortunate as a community to have the benefit of your servant leadership. I knew it already, but the meeting that we had together, the materials you prepared, as Councilman Boyer mentioned, you have very thoughtfully made sure that through recruiting, hiring, mentorship, we have a police force that is a reflection of the community. That is so very important. The way that you prepare our officers for the mental game, the physical game, the tactical game, the way that you serve the whole person and the whole department. We have exceptional leadership. We're so fortunate across police department, our fire, and ERMS. We have just the most excellent first responders. So I thank you for being an excellent role model of servant leadership and protecting the community so well.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I actually had a question. I mean, I can echo what my fellow council members said as compliments. But could you speak a bit, I mean, we've got, recently entered into the contract with Bridgeway. I know you've reassigned Sergeant Majuli, and you've spoken to me casually about what a great impact it's been. I would like you to do it a little more publicly.

Sure. So we have an opioid committee meeting tomorrow, actually, and she's going to be presenting some statistics I wish I had now. So Sergeant Majuli, who's worked very closely with our veteran community, she works with faith-based organizations in her community. We had an opportunity, as we see some of these criminal statistics to go down, and I know I've said it here before, unfortunately we have seen some other statistics go up. Calls for mental health service, calls for substance abuse and suicidal ideations and suicides. So that being said, in an effort to kind of mitigate some of those numbers, we felt the table of organizations supported kind of an internal restructuring, and it was only one or two bodies, but we created a position, the Addiction Coordination and Treatment Officer, the ACT officer, to work side by side with Bridgeway, with Atlantic Health, with Summit Oaks, with our local faith-based organizations to ensure that similar to the people that Amanda had referenced, that are in need of help, get the help that they so do need. Historically, prior to this position, we would go to a call for service for whether it be mental health or substance abuse or even domestic violence, and we would take the report, we would handle what we had to handle, and we would clear and Typically, we would wait for the next call to come because I go over my weekly report with the mayor and we see trends. It's unfortunate, but some households just can't get out of this reoccurring cycle. Is it because they have issues internally? Yes, but it's also because they don't have access to the help that they need. Not only is Sergeant Majuli working with all those organizations that I referenced before, but she's following up on almost more of a customer service end. So we flag these calls for service, and when she comes in, if she's working throughout the day, she works Tuesday through Friday, 10 to 8, similar to the ARRIVE program, and there's any call for service that comes out involving any of those categories, she'll go. As an expert, she's a CIT, not only just a CIT-trained officer, which is a crisis intervention-trained officer, she also teaches. She's assisting and teaching that class now. She's also our liaison for the ARRIVE program and for Bridgeway and for the Mayor's Homelessness Task Force. But she'll go to that call for service and assist our patrol officers who might not have the experience. Again, we're young, we're motivated, we could stop cars, but we don't have the life experience to kind of handle some of these domestic situations or mental health situations. So she brings that experience into the calls for service. And then if calls come out, maybe on a Friday night or a Saturday, and she's not here, she'll follow up the next day she's in. She reaches out to the family, checks in to see how everybody's doing, and then provides access to resources. If they have insurance, we can go down that route. If they don't, there's plenty of resources that Union County and the state of New Jersey do offer, as well as the city of Summit. So she's pretty much the bridge. She bridges the gap between the families in need and the individuals in need and the services that they need to better manage their situation. It's been working out well. To say that she's busy is an understatement. She's always running it out. We have her dressed down. She's wearing plain clothes. We tend to find that people, especially in crisis, respond better to people not in uniform. Sometimes it doesn't matter the words that I'm saying or how nicely cut my hair is. They see the uniform and they shut down. So the fact that she's in plain clothes, I think kind of breaks down a little bit of that barrier. And she also works very closely with our Bridgeway representatives to find common ground. So things are going great with that. Everything seems to be... You know, things are pretty good. From an administrative standpoint, you know, we feel it's our duty to make sure the boots on the ground have the training, the tools, policies, procedures, equipment they need to do their job because we understand their job out there is much more difficult than our job here as administrators to assist them. So that's our goal. It seems to be going well. We're going to continue that mission, and hopefully things continue to go well.

Thank you so much, Chief. Thank you. Really grateful.

That went a lot better than the introduction.

OK. We're getting to ordinances. Madam Clerk, would you please read the ordinance for hearing number 26-3392?

an ordinance amending the code chapter 7 traffic section 7-11 through streets stop intersections and yield intersections subsection 7-11.2 stop intersections designated uh thank you council member gallaminson

Thank you, Council President. This is ordinance ID 26-3392, and this ordinance will add stop signs to the following intersections, Canoebrook Parkway and Beverly Road, Colt Road and Pembroke Road, Maple Street and Linden Place, Portland Road and Warwick Road, Tulip Street and Linden Place, Tulip Street and Oakland Place, Wade Drive and Hartley Road, Wade Drive and Karenway. I move to open the hearing on this ordinance.

second thank you um do we have any comments from members of the public on this ordinance hello adelia hamlet 59 new england um quick question on this one i should have been prepared for this because i was speaking with a resident yesterday but can anybody update the stop signs on canoe brook and woodland the uh I can't remember where we were on that. We just did the sidewalk. So just, I saw, I know you said, uh, Michelle, you said, which one did you say again? Yeah. Okay.

You said Beverly. Yeah. It's, it's canoe broken Beverly. Okay.

If you don't know now, just maybe get something out this week. Uh, the residents last night, the planning board, someone came up and asked me, I just, I can't remember what the status was. So that's it. Thank you.

Mm-hmm. Any other comments from members of the public? Okay. Council Member Kalemanson, it is back to you then.

Thank you, Council President. There will be an upcoming ordinance. I spoke with Aaron today and asked about this, and it will be in September. There are a few other stop signs that need to come, so that will be coming next. Thank you.

Do we have any other comments from members of council?

Council President. Yes, Council Member Boyer. The only thing that I would say as it relates to Ward 2, last year there was a rash of accidents. Councilwoman Comminson was on the safety, we were on the safety committee together and we were dealing with that and there was a call for action there. And I think these stop signs are much needed and especially in the areas of Tulip Street and Linden Place. I if it if I had my way I would make the speed limit 25 miles an hour maybe I'm just getting older but I think people drive too fast so this will be a game changer I believe and it's right around the schools as well where people should be more cautious so I'm in support of this and good job to the safety committee for getting this done thank you

I'll simply say, yes, residents have told me, particularly in the morning at school drop-off time, the sun glare can be such that it's almost impossible to see. So the more people are forced to stop, the better. OK. Let's call this hearing closed. And Madam Clerk, would you please read the ordinance for hearing number 26-3393?

Ordinance of the City of Summit County of Union, New Jersey, amending and supplementing Chapter 35 of the City Code entitled Development Regulations, Subsection 35-9.2, Prohibited Uses. Thank you.

Council Member Chris Zafouli. Thank you, Council President. Ordinance 26-3393 would amend Summit's ban on data centers. Summit was an early mover in banning data centers, one of the first 30 towns in New Jersey to ban this undesirable use of land that would have negative impacts on energy use, utility rates, water use, and noise pollution, among others. Council unanimously voted to ban data centers on June 16th. And tonight's ordinance clarifies the rather technical language from the prior version approved in June. The purpose remains unchanged, banning data centers in our town. We are fortunate to have committed and knowledgeable residents who shared their views at council listening sessions and during the council meeting on June 16th. We requested the input of Burgess and Associates and I also refer the ordinance for review to Summit's planning board on which I also serve. At last night's meeting, the planning board determined that the ordinance under consideration tonight is not inconsistent with Summit's master plan. That's their technical designation. And they also recommended adding language to ban off-site customers or users. Council had excluded these three words from tonight's version, which was submitted at the July 7th meeting, because of residents' concern that it could open a back door to onsite customers. The Planning Board determined that this was not the case, putting that fear to rest. Council will consider how to best address the Planning Board's recommendation. In any case, tonight's ordinance further confirms that data centers are banned in Summit. I move to open the hearing.

Second. Thank you. Do we have any comments from members of the public? Okay.

Will von Klemperer, 156 Colonial Road. I have a thank you and a suggestion. I hope you'll pass the ordinance tonight. Between this ordinance and your ban last month on ICE detention centers, you've done a lot to protect the community. Thank you for being alert and prompt. I recall when Mr. Crisafulli introduced the first round of the data center ordinance, he explained the considerable thought that had gone into it, and he said, nonetheless, he expected that it would be amended. That was good. gave us something protection immediately and that it also opened the door for community participation. And I thank you all for the way that you handled the many suggestions and adopted some of them. Some were freely given, some came packaged at vitriol. You all stayed with content and I salute you for that. Now, I have a suggestion, friendly. When you get your breath on this, think perhaps about publishing a short survey of what the six towns that border summit are doing or not doing on data centers. We have a stake in something that happens 20 feet over the line. I'd be interested in knowing what's around us and I'd suggest that we could play a role we could gain as a community and by being an active neighbor in the region and I think we would be strengthened if we and our neighbors were all strong on this issue so again thank you for the technical and difficult work you did the poise you had please keep going Thank you.

Thank you so much. Are there any other comments from members of the public? Low there.

Hey, my name is Chris Thiro. I live in Somerville. I'm representing Climate Revolution Action Network. We're a Gen Z led nonprofit, the largest Gen Z political advocacy group in the state. And we've been traveling all over the state trying to push for these bans in different municipalities, different counties. So I just wanna say thank you for the initial ban and thank you for extending it with clear definitions. It needs to be okay for communities to say that we don't want this unnecessary infrastructure leeching off of our communities and raising energy rates. New Jersey's seen the sharpest increase in energy prices all over the country. 30% to 40% as part of the PJM regional operator grid, which also services states like Virginia that contain areas known as data center alley in Loudoun County. And we're seeing rates being preemptively risen because of increased expected demand from data centers, not even existing demand but the anticipation that these things will be built in communities. So I just want to say thank you for introducing this ordinance and extending it and we hope to see it pass. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Do we have any other comments from members of the public? Do we have comments from members of council?

council president council member boyer the only thing that i would say is uh first i'm happy that we're passing this um the original uh ai ordinance that is in the law today that we passed several weeks ago um was not sufficient because it would allow the thing that we wanted to PROHIBIT. SO THIS IS A GOOD ORDINANCE THAT WE'RE PASSING HERE. HOWEVER, WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IS SOME THINGS THAT CAN SCALE WITH TECHNOLOGY. AND I SAID THIS ONLINE BEFORE WITH THE ELECTRICAL CAPACITY. AND ONE OF OUR RESIDENTS PROVIDED US THOSE NUMBERS. IT WAS A MISSING BLOCK THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE WAS Well, what is the electrical capacity of a normal data center in Summit, like a BMS or an Overlook? Well, we got those numbers. And I'd like to see that in there. Because we could get to a point where if we're prohibiting 1,000 square foot dwelling from having data centers, it just doesn't go far enough because we will get to the point one day where we'll have several decks and the electrical capacity may be for a thousand homes in Summit. Right. So even though we made the actual structure smaller, well, chips can get smaller and things like that. So if we put the electrical capacity in there, it really distinguishes between what are good data centers. Well, not that AI data centers are bad. Right. But what data centers are that we all agree should be in town and what data centers shouldn't. So I'd like to see that. The other thing is I think the noise should be addressed. My experience with noise, especially living across the street from Overlook Hospital, is once you don't put that in an ordinance and you leave it up to the health department, that creates a problem. You end up with years of complaints and no enforcement. So I'd like to see that in there as well because we also have the measures for the noise that will really protect the residents that live next to BMS. I think the residents in East Summit won't have a problem with that area because they're a little ways from that property. So I'd like to see that. I'd like to see us come back in September and put those things in there and just tighten up the ordinance a little bit. But this is a great step because tonight we are banning AI data centers like we should have. So thank you, Council President.

Any other comments from members of Council? Council Member Lucera-Cina.

Thank you, Council President. On those two points, just wanted to briefly touch back when we had Mr. Joe Burgess, who is our external, the head of the firm that serves as our external city planner. On the issue of the electrical capacity, again, this is a very fast evolving issue and we will, see what's trending with other municipalities and there are several groups that are working on model language. But on that point in particular about including language with respect to the electrical capacity, because we're dealing with the zoning regulations, the DRO, we have to plan for how our zoning official would deal with all of the particular provisions. And Mr. Joe Burgess shared that, you know, on his view and in discussion with some of his colleagues, it's just in this moment, it would be difficult for the zoning official to know what to do with that, right? Like there, we don't have the, the standard practices the tools and procedures for the zoning official to be empowered to know how best to implement the electrical capacity so we will continue to monitor for that but that is one reason why we have not in this ordinance that that is up for discussion this evening includes the electrical capacity on the noise again as mr. Joe Burgess shared back on I believe it was July 7th There certainly is work to do with respect to our nuisance regulations that apply across the municipality, both with respect to the language and potentially with the enforcement, and we are committed to taking a look there. But as Mr. Joe Burgess said, this is a full prohibition, so we don't need necessarily to include, management of the noise because it's a null set right this is a prohibition of AI data centers so there won't be noise emanating from data centers but again we will look at through the master plan re-examination and in the work that we are able to do on council we'll take a fresh look at the nuisance regulations and also on enforcement thank you council president thank you do we have any other comments

Council President, there's no more comments. Just as a follow up, several weeks ago I made recommendations and the council didn't follow those recommendations. And now a month later, we're here. amending an ordinance that we should have done correctly in the first place. So one of those lessons is to actually listen to what your colleague is telling you, right? And so that we don't have to repeat certain things. So I'd like to take, you know, this summer and really take a look at it and the electrical capacity also the noise so that we don't have a repeat of things that we had to deal with before as opposed to just outright saying well you know we're not doing that because of mr. Joe Burgess because in fact if that was the case when our planning official wrote his ordinance for us we took things out of it. So we can't say, Mr. Joe Burgess, Mr. Joe Burgess, Mr. Joe Burgess. But when it landed on our desk originally, we took stuff out. So I think we just have to take a step back look at the past events that happened that led up to why we are here today, a month later, and reflect on that, right? That, hey, we made some mistakes. Because originally, I was the only one that voted against the ordinance that's in law today that would allow a 19 megawatt facility, actually several of them, because it wasn't in the aggregate. So it's really good to listen to your colleagues. And in this case, I was included in the process. So I'm glad that we got here and hopefully we can progress on this. Thank you, Council President.

Thank you. Any other comments?

The existing ordinance was a unanimous vote. So I'm not clear what you voted against, Jamal.

Um, okay. Okay. Let's talk about this ordinance.

Are there any other, this is new information for me.

We're, we're talking about the, I'm sorry, the AI ordinance that is in place.

That is law today. I did not vote for that.

Okay. We're talking about the proposed ordinance in front of us. Could we please just want to clear the record? Thank you. Yeah. Council member Kalman.

Thank You council president. I mean, I just wanted to go back to originally when we had the prohibition for the detention centers Councilman Boyd just wanted to add two words to that AI data center and I just if Since we're going back. I just wanted to point to point that out.

Yes I think Does anybody else have something to say about the words that are in the ordinance in front of us?

With that, I'll close the hearing. Yes, Council President. I would say I think there's a lot of gilding the lily here. There's a lot of amateur hypothesizing. We have benefited from a lot of resident input, but we have an ordinance which is strong. We will continue to monitor it, and I will support further changes as necessary, but not nitpicking with an ordinance that's strong and is recommended by the best professionals that we can find.

Thank you. With that, I think I'll close the hearing. And let's move on to ordinances for final consideration. So Madam Clerk, would you please read the title of ordinance number 26-3392? Just back to my page here. Mm-hmm.

Okay. An ordinance amending the code chapter 7, traffic section 7-11 through streets, stop intersections and yield intersections, subsection 7-11.2, stop intersections designated.

Thank you. Council Member Kalman. Thank you, Council President. And this is ordinance ID 26-3392 to add stop signs to various locations. Having closed the hearing on this moments ago, I move to adopt this ordinance. Second.

May I have a roll call, please?

Mr. Boyer? Aye. Mr. Grisifulli? Yes. Ms. Kalmanson? Aye. Ms. Landman? Aye. Ms. Saracena? Aye. President Toth? Aye.

Motion carries. Madam Clerk, would you please read the title for ordinance number 26-3393?

Ordinance of the City of Summit, County of Union, New Jersey, amending and supplementing Chapter 35 of the City Code entitled Development Regulations, Subsection 35-9.2, prohibited uses. Thank you.

Council Member Chris Zafouli.

Thank you, Council President. Having closed the hearing on Ordinance 263393 a moment ago, I move this ordinance for final adoption.

Second. Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Boyer? Aye. Mr. Chris Foley? Aye. Ms. Kalmanson? Aye. Ms. Landman? Aye. Ms. Saracena? Aye. President Toth?

Aye. Motion carries. Let's move on to resolution. First up is Council Member Landman.

Thank you, Council President. Resolution ID 12664 authorizes the city CFO to make payments between council meetings. These are budgeted payments that include payroll, debt service, utility bills, taxes, et cetera. Approving this resolution will improve the operating efficiency and avoid disruptions in services, especially during periods like August and late December when the council is in recess. I move to adopt this resolution.

Second. Are there any comments from members of the public? Do we have any comments from members of council? Okay, then I think it's all in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Council member Boyer.

uh thank you council president uh this is id number one two six six three amend the personal policy manual uh as we discussed in closed session i'd like to move this forward for adoption um there a second second do we have any comments from members of the public

Hello, Bonnie Morrison, 24 Rotary Drive. Just curious, can you tell us what it's about? OK. Any other comments?

Comments from members of council?

Yeah, so this is the personal policy manual. It governs different HR functions. It governs new policies that came from the state. with about family leave, it's about 35 pages. Marina, is there anything new that's in this personnel policy that hasn't been in the last several years?

Yes, there are updates that were recommended by the city's insurance fund and policy related to alcohol and drug free workplace artificial use of artificial intelligence vacation paid sick leave. State family leave health dental all other general recommended employment policy or employment and personnel policy guidelines and our office recommended the adoption and nothing was out of the ordinary so recommended by our insurance okay

So, yeah.

Oh, okay. We're going back to comments from members of the public. Excuse me? Yeah.

I thought it was still public.

Yes, yes.

Denison Harry on one quarter Broad Street Summit. I just think that in reference to the previous person who came up, that if you have an ordinance, not an ordinance, but a resolution of this nature, it should be more specific. It's very general. Attorney just said, I heard it, but believe me, I don't remember what I just heard. Because, you know, she spelled out some things, but I think maybe a primer, a list of what this is going to be can be put on the website or put somewhere so the public can know what, you know, many of us don't know what the original personnel policy manual was. So if you're amending it, you don't know what it was before. We need to know what you're amending to just list the things that are being changed or added or taken out. That's just a suggestion.

Thank you.

Real quick, Delia Hamlet, 59 New England. I forget how we have done it in the past, but I would say articulate to the fine reverend here. It's just important to have a red line for the public to see. Probably only three people will look at it, but it's just a good thing to post. There's so many just tiny minutia that changes from year to year that I think it's important for the public to see. So I agree with you, Reverend.

Thank you.

It's a closed session matter. Once the resolution is adopted, it will be public through the minutes.

Yeah. Okay, so yes. The city clerk reminded me that assuming we adopt the resolution, it will be included in the minutes that we'll approve in early September. But it's a closed session matter, so we can't put it out there in advance of the meeting. Any other comments from members of the public? From other members of council? OK. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Resolution carries. Council Member Christopher Lee.

Thank you, Council President. Resolution ID12392 would adopt the Union County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, and I'm sure there's an acronym in there somewhere, which identifies critical infrastructure in Summit and is a prerequisite for Summit to request federal grants to pay for priority projects to reduce our risk to natural hazards and disasters. A resident who happens to be here this evening brought to my attention the link on the agenda packet today that linked to the original document was no longer working. And so we determined the county link, it was not working. So our heroic city clerk established a new link. So this document is available and has been available to the public just for transparency sake. I move to adopt this resolution.

Second. Okay, looks like we have comments from members of the public.

Sorry, I promise I won't come up that much more. Delia Hamlet, 59 New England. I spoke with Dan around 5 tonight, so I'm glad Dan fixed the link issue. I think it's important, so thanks for your attention to that, Dan. I know we're super short-staffed right now, and I spoke to Dan about this tonight. I definitely think that we can strengthen this. I know there's a deadline of August 15th or so, and Dan and I spoke about some of the changes that we both probably agreed could be in there. So thank you, Councilman Chris Foley, for your attention to that. uh for everybody's had a bunch of questions about the saltbrook the saltbrook's one of those things that's in this policy and it's really important that we we annotate some of the actions that we've done and and at least when i was on council one of the first things we did in june of 2025 we authorized the funding to stabilize the portion of the stream which the reason we did that was that so we that we could eventually fix the union county pipe First and foremost, before we could de-snag or do anything, we had to stabilize the funds because, sorry, we had to stabilize the bank because we had to fix the pipe. We also talked about several things. June 16th was simply not about helping an individual homeowner. New Jersey Supreme Court's decision, Posey versus Bordentown Sewage Authority, recognized that a public entity may face liability when a dangerous condition originating on public property foreseeably causes damage to private property. We got advice from our city solicitor that was important to do that. So I would hope that, I know there's a lot of things going on in the city, and Director Schrager's only here a few days a week, and I'm sure there's 8,000 reasons why it hasn't been done yet, but it's really important to make sure that we do that because some really good things have happened recently. I actually just got off the phone with Congressman Kane's office tonight at 6 o'clock. Some of the things they informed me that are in the works right now, they helped secure the salt brooks inclusion in the 2026 WRDA Act, so the Water Resources Development Act. More specifically, the salt brook is included in addressing emergency stream bank erosion and shoreline protection. In practical terms, this would explicitly authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to work with Summit to address a project addressing salt brook flooding, erosion, and stream bank instability. It doesn't really guarantee a timeline or a funding amount, but it's really, really important that Congressman Kane got that in there because it gives us a pathway. Once we stabilize that stream bank, once we fix the county pipe, that's the number one. The third thing that is really good news, there is a $4 million regional funding request. As my fine counterpart running mate pointed out the other day, Liz, they submitted a $4 million, Congressman Kane's office submitted a $4 million fiscal 2027 community funding request for the Passaic River Regional Flooding Mitigation Project. So this would work with Mayor Fagan and other municipalities for a long-term impact for all this area. And it's really important that we get all of this information in that document. And I know that Councilman Christopher Lee is going to do that. But this is really one of the ways that we can get funding from FEMA. And it's important that we progress. We keep track of that progress. So thank you. Thank you.

Do we have other comments from members of the public?

Adriana Alarcon, 720 Springfield Avenue. Reference Southbrooke, the mitigation plan mentions nothing for Summit. Looking at our closest neighbors, Berkeley Heights, who know it's cleaning out their waterways since the last revision and planning to do more going forward. New Providence adopted new ordinances for stormwater management intended to address flooding conditions and minimize environmental impact, and they plan to continue on their own in addition to government development. Regional flooding mitigation project is unknown until it's passed and the Passaic River Mayor Flooding Coalition has no definitive answer yet. And it's being led by another town. Members of this current council have stated the importance of helping all Summit residents along the brook and chastise previous members who pass mitigation efforts for a damaged and dangerous section. In the mitigation plan, if adopted, Summit states it will make physical improvements and adopt policy in planning to mitigate impacts from storms. So as we approach storm and hurricane season, I'm hoping that this means that the council will not waste time standing by while other storm damage is done, but instead taking meaningful steps forward. And for policy planning to limit overdevelopment, especially in the areas whose added runoff will further add to the Brooks floodwaters in the area of Summit. Thank you.

Good evening. Diane Leuda, 606 Springfield Avenue. I also have the salt brook behind my home. And I am one of the people that have spoken out to say that it's not just one property. And I have personally met Adrienne and her husband and visited their property, which was very nice of them to show my husband and I the damage that has been done to their property. And some of the cause and factors of it and other things that we recognize that have never been brought up at these meetings. And maybe it's Adrian that should be the one that can bring up what was in her yard that may have caused a lot of the damage that has occurred.

Can you speak louder? I think people in the back can't hear you.

Sure, sure. But I'll just begin reading my statement now. I'm asking if you would please tell me about what this plan can do for the properties bordering Salt Brook, most specifically the properties where no retaining walls were ever built, which as far as I know begins after Salt Brook passes behind the Albion Hotel and crosses under Blackburn Road. Thereafter, the homes on Springfield Avenue have never had retaining walls built by the City of Summit or Union County. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DOES NOT ALLOW RETAINING WALLS TO BE BUILT ALONG THE BROOK. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU TOLD ME, MAYOR FAGAN, AT THE FIRST LISTENING SESSION, COMMON COUNCIL LISTENING SESSION, AND I ALSO LEARNED IT FROM ADRIENNE AND HER HUSBAND THAT THEY WERE TOLD THE SAME THING BY MEMBERS OF LAST YEAR'S COUNCIL. If this is true, I would like to know why the city of Summit built a gabion basket wall at the end of Brook Court so that their city street does not erode into the Brook. For anyone that is not familiar, a gabion basket retaining wall is made of wire mesh cages and stone and used for erosion control and slope stabilization. We've all seen them along highways, et cetera. I would like to also point out that a neighbor at 24 High Street received a permit to build a gabion wall on their property and the home at 614 Springfield Avenue also built a gabion basket wall. Both property owners built the walls to protect their properties from erosion and stabilization as the brook Exits the county bridge over High Street. These walls are each built on the homeowners property and at their expense The gabion walls have also been built on properties on Division Avenue and Sunset Drive as the brook enters beneath Division Avenue Do not know if those properties if it was built by the city of summit Union County or the property owners and The gabion walls do not obstruct or change the flow of water as it travels further east towards our neighboring towns. I understand the hazard mitigation plan is required by the state and federal agencies in order for the communities in Union County to be eligible for certain types of state and federal disaster relief funds. As I've discussed before, if I can just finish my sentence here, and long-term strategies to reduce hazards. I have been before council last year, I think it was June 23rd. And like I said, there isn't just one property. I also have an easement. I also have a pipe. Our pipe was broken before 1972 when the previous owner moved in. So just because we have done what's needed by putting boulders underneath so that it does not affect our property or our neighbor's property doesn't mean that our property doesn't deserve attention. have never had anyone reach out I have spoken to you Claire because we did see each other and and discussed it and I took up your recommendations and reached out to to Aaron and sent a letter to him and never heard anything and included pictures of the city's property which is eroding

And if you, okay. It's gonna say, then the entire statement will be included in the.

Diane, is your name on there? I do.

Thank you. Okay. Do we have other comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council?

Council president.

Council member Boyer.

Yeah so this is one that has been close to my heart because I was engaged in it even before I was elected and last year we had passed funding to have this stabilized and it feels like we are pulling teeth. I mean the hardest part about doing things is getting the money. Well, we did that last year. So the question is, well, what's going on? So I just want to bring people back if they don't understand. So I'll give you a historical point. So there is a pipe that the county owns. That pipe is damaged. As a matter of fact, it's almost non-existing. And when the water, like tonight probably, runs out down Springfield Avenue, it runs in almost a pit. And that pit is causing erosion at the property that it abuts. And it happens to be Adriana's property that is losing yards. I mean, yards of property. So the county came back and said, hey, you know what, we'll fix the pipe. only if you stabilize that area. So it wasn't about fixing one person's, one resident's property. It was about getting the county to fix the pipe. Now, we still haven't done our part, and I don't know why. I'm at a loss. I've been sending emails since January about what's going on at the property on Springfield Avenue. I just sent one last week, and no one has said anything about it. We're supposed to be meeting with the developers and DPW. Okay. Well, all right, well, what happened in January? Well, it's the winter, I get it, right? But then it was the spring. What happened then? Well, now it's almost the end of summer. What are we doing? The pipe still hasn't been fixed. I mean, the poor woman's house is gonna fall into the frigging ravine there. I mean, this has been almost three years. Right? Now, the former councilwoman, Delia Hamlin, and I, almost two, three years ago, was on a call with Congressman Kaine's office saying, hey, you know what? This, the salt brook is not, the city can't fix the entire salt brook. We need help, right? Because this is not a one person problem. It's the entire brook. It goes from Brayton School all the way down to New Providence, right? Now, getting residents to fix each and every one of their homes so that one resident fixes theirs, the stream comes down and the other resident doesn't fix theirs, that doesn't solve the problem. It just diverts the water. So this is why we have the PISAG funding, and I hope we get that money and participate. And I hope that goes into, Councilman Cristofolio, I hope that goes into the packet here. But that's the long-term plan. right the long-term plan is to stabilize the entire salt brook but right now as a council there's no reason why we're so delayed almost a year later after passing an ordinance funding to get the salt brook stabilized so that the county can fix the pipe i just i i just don't understand it so thank you council president council president

Yes. If I may, a little bit of information, not a lot, but probably the hardest part is funding. The second hardest part is permitting from DEP. We have received the permit. There was a meeting I followed up with our engineer when he was in today. He is here on a part-time basis at this point. And they did have a meeting with DPW, with the consultant engineer and the city engineer. They're going to be out on site having the next scheduled meeting to determine the scope of the work. And that's supposed to happen in the next week or two. That's all the information I have, but it's some information.

Council President, just a quick follow-up. So DEP, I met with just about all of them last year. We walked to Salt Brook together. They said, Councilman, we can give you an emergency permit. Emergency permit, right? We walked to Salt Brook together. So, I mean, again, I'm at a loss. I'm at a loss. I'm not on the CAPS committee, you know, but I'm just at a loss because these people literally came down and said, we get it, we understand. They looked up at the property and said, okay, yeah we can do some emergency stuff here but now we're making excuses all over again like i mean this is serious stuff we got to get on our game here you know if the city's got to go out and and hire some some other engineers or something like that i mean we gotta we have to be able to secure this town you know this is a security issue right this is a safety excuse me this is a safety issue You know, I mean, I hate to be up here in the next couple of months when somebody's house is, you know, in the in the ravine. I mean, they did it up in Middletown. They fixed it. Their town fixed it. It was like the same thing. But but we can't get our act together. I mean, it's really it's very frustrating. Thank you, Council President.

Any other comments from members of Council?

Okay.

Council President. Council Member Christopher.

Thank you, Council President. Stormwater is an issue all across Summit. I've heard about it in all neighborhoods in the least likely places across town. We've heard from our city administrator that the city is taking action to address this particular incident for one resident, which is very important to address. I acknowledge that. We've also requested that the city engineer create a list of recommended modifications to the development regulations that govern zoning for the entire city so that any future developments not only don't contribute to stormwater, but they help the situation. And this is true both at the residential level and the non-residential level where the city engineer has been developing these proposals to strengthen the policy in our town that helps all residents. And so those will be important initiatives as they're further developed, hopefully with more input from Erin and other professionals as we move forward. The funding situation is slow and tricky. To take the example of the vaunted sidewalks on Glenside, They were approved a year and a half ago before they were voted against at the federal level. So federal funding is very risky, very difficult to achieve. We did apply for a grant this spring to focus on the Salt Brook. And so we are taking those initiatives. I have been encouraging the city to move forward on the specific individual residence properties, while we also take the interest of all Summit residents into consideration in a more systemic way. Thank you. Thank you.

So all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Let's move on to the next one, Councilmember Cressifulli.

Thank you, Council President. Sorry, I got mine.

Lorraine.

Resolution ID 12678 would award the bid for Lorraine Road and Place, Sherman Avenue Road, Sir Sherman Avenue Road and Sanitary Replacement Project in the amount of approximately $600,000. I'm told that we, I believe the number was eight bids. We've had multiple bids from contractors for this project. I move to adopt the resolution.

Second. Okay, do we have any comments from members of the public? Do we have any comments from members of council? Okay, with that, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Council Member Crisafulli.

I request to bundle the next two resolutions. Go right ahead. Yeah. To declare vacancies in the Department of Community Services. Resolution ID 12638 would declare a vacancy in the position of the technical assistant to the construction official known as a TACO. Yes, we have a taco right here in Summit. She's retiring after many years of service. Resolution 12674 would declare a vacancy for a full-time staff assistant. I move to adopt these two resolutions.

Second. Any comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Resolutions carry. Back to you, Council Member Christofoli. Council President, if I may? Yes.

Thank you, Council Member Lent. No problem. Before we move this resolution forward as discussed with council, I'd like to make a motion from the floor to make a minor change to the committee structure to remove the affordable housing committee member designation for three of the five seats with that designation on this committee. We received a number of applications from the same neighborhoods and we'd like to be able to appoint them to the round four task force, not limited to one per neighborhood. Making this adjustment to the committee structure allows us flexibility to do that while maintaining the spirit of the structure we plan for, which is to have representation from each of the neighborhoods that are most impacted by the planned affordable housing developments. I move to amend this resolution. I believe there was one other change you wanted to make. And adding a representative from the neighborhood adjacent to the old firehouse site. I move to amend the resolution.

Second.

Okay. Any comments from members? Do we have comments from members of the public on this amendment to the resolution? Do we have comments from members of council?

Council President, just only if maybe the councilwoman or councilman can explain the nature of the Affordable Housing Committee. I think there's some confusion about what the roles are and what people will be doing.

That was in my introduction.

That's coming up. Thank you for previewing our coming attractions. Okay.

I think, and I defer to our attorney, are we now making a motion to appoint, or is that a separate resolution?

No, we vote on the amendment, do we not?

Yeah, vote on the amendment first, and then you can cancel it. Okay. I'm sorry.

yes council member lucera cena sorry i just want to say in brief so on on this motion um this this was a bit my fault uh i helped in proposing the governance structure for this round four affordable housing task force and i was too prescriptive i put too much it it binds us too much uh in the governance structure that's my fault And we had a great problem. We had many, many excellent applicants apply from each of the neighborhoods. So this is just correcting my error of giving the council a little bit more freedom to bring on some of the applicants who have very graciously raised their hand to serve. So just wanted to note that.

Thank you. You weren't alone in that. Okay, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. Councilmember Cresafulli. So here's the horse after the cart.

Resolution ID 12650, as amended, would appoint the initial members to the round four common council task force, which will help guide the city as we work to meet our affordable housing commitments agreed with the state. The new homes will affect our roads, our traffic, our schools, and our neighborhoods. We can't stop housing from coming, but we residents can help determine how to deal with the effects. That's where the implementation task force comes in, advising the city on infrastructure changes, reducing negative impacts on the community, and serving as a voice for their neighborhood. The members to be appointed are Mr. Wally Gonzalez, Sydney Williams, Reverend Harriot, Carrie Phillips, Carly Mulvey, John Calabrese, and Kevin Ballack. These are excellent individuals, residents who have stood up to help their communities and the city.

Do we have a second? Second. I move to adopt the resolution. Do we have any comments from members of the public?

Yes, excuse me. I wasn't sure whether I was going to be a part of this committee or not, but whether I was or not, it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'm going to be working. But I wanted to find out, in this committee, will it be meeting on a quarterly basis, on a as need basis, as a, you know, the frequency of meetings and also exactly what impact will we be able to have in this particular area going forward? Because I know this is a complicated, you know, an ever changing area. So you're reaching out this committee. Some committees are formed in their name only. They, you know, their name only. They have great names, but their name only. So I just need to know a little more about the impact that it can have in making a difference in what we're doing going forward. That's the question.

Any other comments from members of the public? I'm going to pull rank and address Reverend Harrell. Because at this point, I suspect that the committee is going to meet more on an as-needed and perhaps in subcommittees as different neighborhoods get developed. As I had said, both Harmon Holdings and 190 River Road are moving along fairly rapidly. So those are likely to be addressed first. 190 River Road is pretty much baked as to what it will look like. But other neighborhoods, there's plenty of opportunity to address what the structures, how they will look facing the street. I don't know how open the developers will be to that. Hopefully they will. They'll want to be good neighbors. But you'll be addressing, should there be traffic calming measures? How do the schools deal with this? At this point, having been a little overly prescriptive when we designed the committee, we don't want to be overly prescriptive in saying how it is going to run.

Real quick, Delia Hamlet, 59 New England. The one thing I would like to comment on is, with all due respect, Council President, I would say 190 River Road is definitely not baked. We are in full planning board mode with that right now. And I would encourage the residents to come up and be with Councilman Chris Afuli and myself. It's really important to hear and I know you probably didn't mean it that way council president, but Any comment is a good comment whether it's lighting last night We were talking about lighting may mean one thing to one resident another thing to another resident So I would encourage all residents at least for the 190 River Road to come to meetings And I know that's not exactly what you meant Claire, but just wanted to refer that I

Okay, we have other comments from members of council.

Just real quick, Council President.

Yes. First, I wanted to thank the council majority for being flexible. It was actually a really good move to include some members in this affordable housing committee. And I actually I really appreciate that. So I want to thank them and to the residents, especially Reverend Dr. Hariel. You can hold us accountable, right? Because we're on the committee, too. All right. So if we're not doing our job, you're raising issues and we're not bringing them to council and we're not taking action. Well, there you go. You hold us accountable. And everybody on that committee should probably have you know our direct phone numbers or emails or some kind of direct contact uh where you can get in touch with us you know and we can make change because i think that's the point of the committee um council president good job for putting this together but like you said reverend uh it needs to be actionable thank you okay any other comments all in favor aye any opposed

Resolution passes. I'll note that it is 9.30. We've got a ways to go yet, and I think two hours is long enough for anybody to plant themselves in one seat. Let's take a really fast five-minute break. I'm going to hold this to five minutes, and we can plow through the rest of it. We are moving on to safety and health, and you are leading us, Councilmember Calvenson.

Thank you, Council President.

Oh, wait. Oh, no, I can go. I'm confused. You're good.

I don't have to read it. No, okay. Thank you, Council President. This is Resolution ID 12649, and this resolution authorizes the purchase of a new fire truck, more specifically a 2026 Ferrara Inferno 1500 GPM custom pumper for $1,175,000.00. This was approved in our 2026 capital plan and the new fire truck will replace a reserve engine. I move to adopt this resolution.

Second. Do we have any comments from members of the public? Any comments from members of council? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? No. We look forward to it, Chief. Back to you, Council Member Kalmanson.

Thank you, Council President. This is Resolution ID 12662, and it authorizes the purchase of five new police vehicles through co-ops or state contracts for a total of $226,259.17. Vehicles being purchased are one Ford Interceptor, two Ford Explorers, one Ford F-150, and one Dodge Durango. I move to adopt this resolution.

Second. Do we have comments from members of the public? Any comments from members of council?

I just want to know one thing. It's been on my mind. So in Europe, you know, they got the ugly neon cars, right? But you can see them from a mile away, right? You deter crime. I'm wondering when the police department will move away from the stealth back to, like, normal-looking black and whites, you know? And Chief, you don't have to answer it. I'm just throwing it out there, you know?

More visible patrol cars.

aren't we already in that mode yeah yeah okay okay okay good good um okay okay all in favor aye any opposed no motion passes you've got your cars chief um back to you council member calvin

Thank you, Council President. This is resolution ID 12679, and this resolution supports bills A5274-S-4448, authorizing municipalities to lower speed limits on certain roads without engineering and traffic investigation. This legislation would allow Summit and other municipalities to reduce the speed limit by five miles per hour on roads with current speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less. I move to adopt this resolution.

Second, we have comments from members of the public.

Vito A. Gallo, 10 Euclid Avenue, Apartment 203, Summit. I need not summarize. I think you've summarized the bill quite well, Councilwoman. I had an opportunity to talk to Assemblyman Andrew Curdie, our District 21 Assemblyman on the bill, and to discuss it with him and with Peter Corso, his Chief of Staff. And I just want to enthusiastically urge you to seriously consider passing this resolution, supporting this effort by the assemblymen. This bill will, obviously it's an early stage. It was only introduced the 15th of last month. But it will go to the Transportation Committee. I did ask the Assemblyman if there was anything else I could do to help support this bill. It's so important for Summit. And he invited me to do whatever I could do, specifically to go to Trenton. And I'd love to go to Trenton to say that this community has supported the bill and bring that message. if you choose to pass it. I certainly want to acknowledge the efforts that this council has been making over the last five years that I've been observing what you're doing on pedestrian safety. You truly demonstrated and you continue to demonstrate a commitment. The things that are on the agenda tonight in terms of traffic stop signs and the like demonstrate the bipartisan If there's any issue in town that has earned the support of this entire governing body, everyone on the dais and your predecessors, it's pedestrian safety. So I really want to thank you for the kind of support you've had. This is why I speak very personally on this specific issue of working in the downtowns. And I think of Summit Avenue, starting at Woodridge, going straight across the downtown. And just think of all the issues that are involved, whether it's multi-family housing, offices, public parking, street parking, shopping, train stations, Overlook Hospital visitors passing fire vehicles, emergency vehicles going up and down the street. Now the barrier-free playground that you were to dedicate today, all of those issues are in that one street, every one a worthwhile, important element to the city, and yet pedestrians have to navigate that. The notion of just modestly dropping the speed five miles an hour, without going through rigorous, the kind of procedural processes and regulatory reviews at the state level that you've been lamenting from the dais today, how difficult it is to get those levels of approval. This bill, if it passes, will give you as a governing body the opportunity to make that decision in consultation with your staff engineer And you're traffic experts, you don't need to beg another agency to do this. This would be permissive. So I just want to urge you to adopt this. Thanks very much.

Thank you. Okay, good, okay. Any other comments from members of the public? We have comments from members of council.

Just a quick question.

Yes.

Would this eliminate or alleviate the issue with going to the county for all our county roads and asking?

I can actually answer that. No, this gives us the ability, this gives, counties and municipalities the ability to lower speed limits by five miles an hour on roads that are close to schools or that are pedestrian heavy what this does do is when we ask the county to lower the speed limit on say mountain avenue which is near Brayton school the county doesn't have to go through the expensive traffic studies and all that they can rely on their own engineers so ideally it will be easier for the county to say yes to us as well as for us to make our own determinations on any street and summit that's a straightaway is a racetrack we have to ask the county for County Road but hopefully it's an easier yes yeah thank you council president i i did i did um call the county engineer he's out of the country um but i spoke to the deputy engineer um who who was not familiar with the bill but was seemed very enthusiastic when i described it and i sent it to her and just to be clear the county has been amazing to summit i just want to make that put that on record um they have been great

Whatever we asked them for in the last couple years the county Union County has been amazing and support the county They're a good County but I'm thinking that once we Alleviate the cost to do it. The county would be more receptive of saying yeah good Reduce it Thank You council president for that explanation any other comments from council?

Okay all in favor aye any opposed aye Motion carries. You are still on, Council Member Kalmansohn, as we move to community programs and parking services.

Thank you, Council President. This is Resolution ID 12659, and this resolution authorizes approval to enter the Shared Services Agreement for Year 52 of the Community Development Block Grant. The County of Union has approved grants as part of this year's program. The purpose of this resolution is to continue the Shared Services Agreement to make the funds available to the City of Summit. This is a continuation to the existing agreement. The programs that are made available through this program aim to provide services to individuals of low and moderate income. Each year, the city must pass this resolution for all City of Summit applications, including those filed by non-profits in the community. The City of Summit programs share the fund club for $7,000, Senior connection bus for $5,000 the city also enters the agreement Acknowledging the nonprofit applications from other summit based nonprofits this year senior housing $60,000 and grace $9,000 I moved to adopt this resolution second Do we have any comments or members of the public?

Sorry, Delia Hamlet, I didn't even mean to comment on this one, but I would say having been deeply involved with SAGE, and Council President, I know you, and I'm not sure who else is involved with SAGE up on the dais and in the community, but SAGE has turnover just like any other nonprofit, and I notice that they're not included in this. I actually reached out to David Guida today, they have some turnover right now, and I said, Let's find something to put on our calendar to make sure that we at least put a notice out to all our nonprofits so that they can be included because a lot of the nonprofits do have turnover. And SAGE is probably one of the most significant organizations that we have in our community. And I just don't want to see them miss out. I think I'm hoping that they'll be on the page for this September to get in for next year. But maybe we can come up with a list for all the nonprofits that they have an opportunity if they forget or they have staff turnover. That's all. Thank you. Thank you.

Any other comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council?

Just only to say that this grant is so important. Councilwoman Lucerosino and I were at the Summit Housing Authority meeting the other day when they talked about the block grant, which is, they depend on that money. I'm sad to hear about SAGE, If anybody knows, SAGE does the Meals on Wheels. So they deliver meals to all types of folks. And that's a much needed organization here too. So I think we could really look at that as well. Thank you.

Any other comments? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Council Member Kalmanson.

Thank you, Council President. This is Resolution ID 12667, and this resolution authorizes the purchase of the East Summit Playground for a total of $370,946.46. I move to adopt this resolution. Second.

Okay. Any comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Council Member Kalmanson.

Thank you, Council President. This is Resolution ID 12680, and this resolution authorizes the purchase of a PA system for Tatlock Field for the amount of $26,708. I move to adopt this resolution.

Second.

Do we have any comments from members of the public? Do we have any comments from members of council? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Council Member Lucera-Cena.

Thank you, Council President. Resolution ID 12675 is to confirm Mayor Fagan's appointment to the Rent Commission. The Rent Commission is an advisory body here in town. They can make recommendations for landlord-tenant disputes. They can educate landlords and residents about their rights and responsibilities, make recommendations about ways to implement new laws adopted at the county, state, or federal level, et cetera. um it's a great body we thank the volunteers who serve there we have a wonderful gentleman in town joseph mcnamara who has raised his hand to serve i also want to acknowledge councilman boyer who has been very forward thinking and creative about new ways to engage the rent commission across the city and who has also had mr mcnamara on his short list and we're very glad to have found the right opportunity for him So I move that we adopt this resolution appointing Joseph McNamara to the Rent Commission. Second.

Okay. Any comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council?

Council President.

Yes, Council Member Boyer.

I'm sorry, but all this stuff is important to me, so I keep talking. So, Joe McLemara, kudos to Joe for hanging in there. He just wants to serve, and quite honestly, the two members that are on the Summit Housing Authority that La Saraceno appointed are excellent. We just have good residents. And now we have a place for Joe, especially during this transition where we're gonna be doing something a little difficult, turning the rent commission to become not just a advisory board, but a decision-making board to have oversight of the housing authority grievances is a big deal. And it's something that the housing authority supports because as we know, they're going through some issues with rent calculations and security deposit stuff. They don't want to see that happen again. And this is something that also is heavily supported by HUD because the rent commission is a third party. They're not a part of the Summit Housing Authority, not a part of the Maple, the, was it Madison, the Madison Housing Authority. There's no connection there. And it's a group of our residents making these decisions. But I'm going to work with the councilwoman because we have some things to figure out, especially with education on these very difficult HUD rules and understandings. But I think the people that are on this committee are very smart. And with the addition of Joe and his financial background, we're going to be able to make it happen hopefully by the end of summer. But thank you, Council President.

Okay. Any other comments from members of council? Looks like the mayor would like to say something.

It is my appointment, so I do feel obligated. No. I just want to say that Joe is a, I've known Joe for probably 20 years, and he's super level-headed, he's very intelligent, and I think he's a great addition, so I'm grateful for the support of the appointment. Thank you.

Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Okay. Then, um, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

So moved second.

Do we have any public comments on the consent agenda? Ooh, it looks like we may. No. Okay. Um, any comments from members of council on the consent agenda? Yes.

I just want to call out the sidewalk sale that SDI is putting on. It's the end of August, and it's something that they're bringing back that used to happen, and it's kind of fun for downtown. So support our local businesses, shop small, and it's a great asset, I think. So definitely look out for it at the end of August.

Okay. Anything else? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Well, thank you to our city staff. You are free to head home to your families. And we'll move on to the public comment period. I'll do my little spiel. As we begin public comment, we ask that the residents of Summit step forward to speak first. We value input from everyone, and any member of the public is welcome to speak. We simply ask for your courtesy in allowing our local neighbors to lead the public discussion.

I promise I'm leaving after this. I just want to say congratulations to Reverend Harrild. You're a true patriot and it's an honor to know you and you're a good friend and you're a good community leader and we're just lucky to have you. So thank you for everything and congratulations to Grace as well. Just one thing that I wanted to mention tonight, as Claire, you mentioned in your council president's statement that, I'm not gonna paraphrase exactly what you said, but you said we're figuring out what to do with the firehouse. And I would urge the firm of Giacobi and Marina Brown to make sure that number one, the document for the public is posted. I think the document right now is 156 pages. And I actually called Mr. Crisafulli tonight and I said, hey, Dan, I want the council to be able to make the decisions that they can, but they have to have all the information. So it's important that the council looks at the document when K&K submitted their bid. It's a very long document, but it does include concept and it does include parking plans. And I would encourage and I would hope that the taxpayers deserve that information. They deserve to, regardless of what you decide to do at the firehouse, they should be able to look at all of the documents that were in the data room, which Mr. Tchaikovsky and JLL spent many and many weeks upon redlining, and that is all public record. And all of the bids were public record, but I don't believe that they are The actual bids are part of the city website. So I would encourage that the taxpayers make their own decision regardless of what you all think is the best use of the taxpayer funds. I think all those important documents will hopefully be in the discovery that our lawyers will make sure that the taxpayers will have access to. So thank you very much. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Fagan, Council President Toth, members of Council and staff. I'm Jim Bennett, B-E-N-N-E-T-T, 38 Fairview Avenue. First, I want to thank Rosemary for her tribute to Joanne Rajapi. I have a personal reason for saying that. Joanne Rajapi was my wife's cousin. My primary concern tonight is what happens with the old fire headquarters. And before I get to the prepared remarks, I'd like to make a suggestion. And this was motivated by a document I received from Delia Hamlet. Delia gave me a copy of the complaint that was filed by KNK. And I'd like to recommend, if it's feasible, for the city to have a link in its website to the Superior Court's website, and specifically the docket page, so that the members of the public could see the documents that are a public record. And that would lift some of the shroud of secrecy that otherwise the public encounters when it hears discussions about the website due, understandably, to the attorney-client privilege. Now, once this litigation is over, the old fire headquarters is resolved, I call on council to stay with the original plan, sell the property, get it on the tax rolls, and use the proceeds to reduce the municipal debt. the debt municipal debt as of december 31st is about 63 million dollars and it's on a parity with the municipal budget if the sales proceeds are applied to the debt that would reduce the debt in one stroke by nearly nine percent And we know that Summit has a AAA bond rating, which is good, but I repeat my caveat that the ability to borrow, even at a good rate, does not compel Summit to carry more debt than it absolutely has to. The less debt, the better. Another benefit to selling the property at market value would be putting the property on the tax rolls. Future pressure on budgets will only grow. Now, this invitation I'm about to extend is not mine to extend, but I hope council will take me up on it. I'd like to invite city administrator Tammy Baldwin to give her views on the impact of using the proceeds to amortize the debt. I'm interested in hearing the effect on debt service and putting the property in the revenue stream. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, can you hear me? Yeah. My name is Catherine McKeever. I live at 16 Clearview Drive. I've been a resident of Summit since 2002. I'm a former Tatlock resident of eight years. And for the past 15 years, I've lived on Memorial Field. I also wanted to note that I am a prolific Summit volunteer, formerly of Summit Junior Baseball Softball, now called SSBL. For 15 years, Summit Youth Football. For 15 years, Summit High School Football. YMCA Soccer, Summit Sharks, Brighton Elementary School, Summit Lacrosse Club, and many of the high school athletic programs. Good evening, President Toth, Mayor Fagan, and members of the Common Council. I'm here tonight to urge the council to stand firm on Ordinance 25-3363 and resist the temptation to settle the current litigation regarding the Tatlock Field Lights. We cannot allow the threat of a lawsuit by a taxpayer association to dictate or rewrite the laws of our town. Doing so sets a dangerous, unsustainable, precedent. It signals that any group with enough capital to file a complaint can successfully bypass our democratic public process and force a council rewrite. Litigation should never be the catalyst that forces a municipality to compromise its legislative integrity. Furthermore, settling this case is fundamentally a losing strategy. When a town operates with a limited legal budget funded by the taxpayers, stretching out back and forth negotiation only drains public coffers while producing a watered down compromise that satisfies no one. The best, most responsive strategy is to move forward and schedule this matter for a formal hearing. Let the facts speak for themselves in a court of law rather than conceding ground in private chambers. We must also consider the devastating long-term impact a settlement would have on a community's trust and future for municipal funding. These lights were made possible because dedicated local citizens stepped up to raise over a half of a million dollars in private donations to support investors' field. If this council chooses to settle and bind the city's hands to a restrictive agreement, you send a clear message to every civic group, booster club, and resident. Your generosity will be compromised. Why would anyone ever raise funds for a town project again if the rules can be rewritten the moment a lawsuit is filed? You gave other people extra moments. I'm gonna finish my statement. Why would anyone ever raise funds for a town project if the rules can be rewritten the moment a lawsuit is filed before an ordinance even goes into effect? Our student athletes deserve a place to play, our donors deserve to have their generosity honored, and our residents deserve a government that stands by its votes. Do not alter the ordinance under duress. Schedule the hearing, defend our public process, and let the light shine. Thank you.

Is your name Amanda? Yes. Yes, thank you.

And my address, Memorial Field.

Yes, thank you.

Well, I did have good evening, but I think I should say good night. My name is Rowanne Carson. I live at 69 Beekman Road, and I am speaking on behalf of residents of Beekman Road adjacent to Wilson School.

Ms. Carson, could you just pull the mic down? Is that better? Yes.

We understand and support the city's goal of ensuring student safety and maintaining access for emergency vehicles. However, the parking restrictions implemented pursuant to the ordinance passed on March 17 have created significant challenges for residents. The current signs prohibit parking, standing and stopping on both sides of Beekman Road between Oakley Lane, excuse me, Oakley Avenue and Oak Forest Lane from 7 to 4 p.m. on school days. These restrictions make it difficult for residents to accommodate landscapers, household repair services, childcare providers, healthcare workers, and other visitors who need temporary street parking while allowing residents to come and go freely during the day. Due to the lack of predictability and number of service calls needed, arranging for parking exemptions is not a viable option for residents. We believe a more targeted approach would accomplish the city's safety objectives while minimizing the impact on residents. According to the Wilson School Primary School Handbook for last year, instructional hours are from 830 a.m. to 315 p.m. Student drop off occurs between 805 and 825 and dismissal begins at 315. Therefore, we respectfully request that the council consider limiting the parking restrictions to the periods when congestion actually occurs from 8 to 830 and from three to 330 p.m. on school days. When there is a midday arrival and dismissal period, school staff have indicated that it involves approximately 15 students, and prior to the installation of the signs, residents did not experience congestion or safety concerns during those times. We respectfully ask the council to revisit the current restrictions and adopt a schedule that addresses school traffic while also organizing the legitimate parking needs of the residents who live on Beekman Road. So I have collected signatures from neighbors supporting this request for parking restrictions of no standing, stopping, or parking between 8 to 8.30 and from 3 to 3.30 p.m. 22 signatures will be attached. And signatures of neighbors who support consideration of limiting signs to one side of the street, 20 people signed that. And we realized that observation of the traffic flow is probably needed or recommended to determine whether signs on one side would be sufficient. And I will put a copy in the bin. Thank you. And I want to just, since I got a couple seconds, thank Jackie, Claire, and Chantal for giving me of their time and helping me understand the issues.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Dennis McKeever. I live at 16 Clearview Drive, and I am married to Catherine, who just spoke. I have prepared remarks, but per usual, I'll probably go off script just a moment. My understanding, or at least the understanding of The folks I speak with is that there is a settlement being contemplated. I was at the planning board meeting actually last night. Delia was presiding, or at least there was presiding over the 190 River Road application. I was listening to that tentatively because on that agenda in executive session, a discussion about the settlement agreement was going to be had. note this evening a discussion executive session was had I'm a municipal attorney I'm very familiar with the process so I'm not gonna ask any questions about that what I will say is that the understanding is at least maybe the mistaken understanding of the community is that council is considering adopting a watered-down version of the ordinance that would bind future councils by four years that is essentially what is understood by the people I speak with As a municipal attorney, I find such a precedent to be shocking, candidly. To bind future councils to some ordinance for a period of time or to rule from the grave, so to speak, so that new and elected officials can't now adopt new ordinances, I think is a grave, grave mistake. Furthermore, having read the complaint, the amended complaint, the Judge Walsh's decision on the motion to dismiss, and considering the fact that a good chunk of this case is already dismissed, I question why we would in any way settle at this moment when the momentum, at least from a litigation perspective, is in the hands of the town. I think of that only as a litigator and somebody who litigates cases like this quite often, and I wonder why you would even consider a settlement at this moment. But most importantly, most personal to me, is I participated in the listening sessions. I attended the meetings that had experts weigh in on this. I listened to people who did not agree with having lights on that field, and I listened intentively. I did that because I think there are good reasons and good things that need to be done as a result of having lights on that field and the impact to the surrounding communities. If you settle that, all of that work, all of those meetings I attended, were really a waste of my time. It was a waste of my time because I thought I was watching the democratic process take place. An ordinance was adopted, I didn't agree with it, but I know the other side didn't agree with it either. And now to change that, to throw away my time, is an insult to me as a taxpayer. If you settle this case, the message out is going to be get a lawyer, file a lawsuit. In this town, there's plenty of people who can hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit and change an ordinance. There's also people who donated $700,000 to put the lights in who could also hire a lawyer, who could also file a lawsuit. I submit to you that doing this or having a settlement given the litigation landscape. Oh, I typed.

Thank you so much. Do we have other comments from members of the public? Comments from members of council?

Council Member Landman. Thank you, Council President. I'm editing as I start my reading. First, I wanted to share with the public some important work being done by the Finance Committee. One thing that was new to me as a council member, which I didn't know as a resident, is that the city manages a number of trusts, trust funds valued at millions of dollars. that are outside of the operating and capital budgets. There's the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which I did know about as a resident, but there's also trust funds for community programs.

I wish the McHeavers would come back if they can hear me.

I have something to say about . and a fund for managing the national opioid settlement. New Jersey is distributing over a billion dollars for local addiction treatment, harm reduction, and prevention programs. Earlier this year, council approved using a portion of these funds to hire an outreach worker and case manager through Bridgeway to support some of its unhoused who may need treatment and recovery programs. Now the finance committee is going deeper and are going to partner with the safety committee, the rest of council and the mayor to take a close look at how we can put these funds to their highest and best use. Summit's opioid opioid settlement fund currently has approximately $900,000 in it. We have a responsibility to be transparent about when, how, and why those dollars are being used. And I'm excited to take this on and look forward to sharing more with the community soon. Second, I'd like to give an update on Tatlock lights. Unfortunately, litigation has not yet been resolved and now we are waiting on the court to schedule a conference between the parties. We understand that many in our community, including those who spoke tonight, are following this closely and we will keep you posted. In the meantime, the lights are up, the camera contract was awarded and they are being ordered. should be up by Labor Day as planned and the sound system upgrades were approved by council this evening. We continue to be on track to fight the field for night practices in September as planned. We look forward to seeing our residents our students our athletes in particular benefit safely and courteously from this project in the months ahead. We commit to keeping the public posted on any developments that occur including during the August recess. And then finally, I'd like to take a moment to follow up on council president's remarks about affordable housing. Um, and I want to restate something we've said multiple times at the top summit has an affordable housing obligation and council is committed to meeting it in good faith. But meeting this obligation does not mean that we stop asking whether every part of the current plan is the best way to get there. We should be asking how we can meet the obligation in a smarter way. As with the AI data center ordinance, we have a mindset of continuous improvement, and we should continue that on this council. Council President's comments are welcome news and probably not a surprise if you've been listening to residents speak out at council since the plan was finalized last year, and frankly, even comments from many people who sit on this dais. This council's goal is to make better decisions with the resources we have, including the old firehouse property. I agree with the council president. We have a responsibility to do this, an obligation to those who elected us and to those who have come to this council to voice opposition to parts of the plan like Shun Pike and Wilson Park. we can do this differently than how this was done last year we can do this openly and with public input if we can make the plan even a fraction better shouldn't we do that i know i want to i know residents have made it clear that they want us to and that's going to mean a lot of hard work and i'm excited to get that going so thank you thank you council president thank you

Council Member Boyer.

Council President. Earlier today, I sent an email to you, Council President, and to our city solicitor, Jacqueline, CCG, I better have, and the mayor. This is a time-sensitive thing. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has retained a hearing, its order to show cause proceeding against JCP&L, New Jersey Central Power and Light, concerning the company's failure to meet the board's minimum reliability level standards for the calendar years of 2022, 2023, 2024. There is a docket out there. It's E, I think it's O, but it could be zero. EO02570453. If it's an O and it doesn't come up, just replace it with a zero. Good. uh by order dated july 15 2026 the board designated commissioner christine gold savoy as presiding officer and directed that any person or entity seeking to intervene or participate file the appropriate motion on or before august 12 2026 and that is the key there august 12 2026 the order further states that On April 13th, 2026, the board staff concluded a penalty was warranted and indicated its intention to recommend a penalty against GHCP&L in the amount of $44 million. roughly by letter dated april 16 2026 jcp l stated that it disagreed with the magnitude of the recommended penalty but would work toward a balanced resolution that preserves the company's ability to make long-term investments necessary to support the reliability and the grid resilience My concern is that a settlement built around investment commitments can end up recovered through rates, which would mean Summit customers fund the remedy. So that means that they pay a penalty of $44 million. That $44 million is then now passed on to the residents. I don't want to see that happen. If that is the direction this takes, I would rather Summit be on the record asking for direct consumer relief and enforceable reliability standards than be absent from it. So I have four questions for our city solicitor. Probably, you could probably answer all of them in a nutshell. The biggest one is, if we wanted to be a part of this, because it's not litigation, it's just really being on the record saying that we wanna be a part of the settlement and not have the settlement go on and be passed to our residents. Do we need a resolution to do that or is that something that you as the city solicitor can do on your own with the consent of council? I know this is a tough one, I'm kind of throwing this at you, but I just found out about all of this and there's a date coming up soon, so.

If the majority of council want to participate one way or the other, then I would rather have something on the record directing our office to take action or not. But if a deadline is coming up and we can't do a resolution tonight, we could ratify action at a future date if we need a resolution.

Okay, great. So that means that we would have time as council to kind of digest this a little bit since I just emailed it today. And my apologies, but it just popped up.

You emailed it at 4 p.m. Yeah, I know, right?

It just kind of popped up, and I was like, oh, we can't miss this. So I would recommend that all the council members... Please read it so that we could get on this docket as a community that's looking for a remedy as well. Just don't want these costs passed on to our residents, especially after the weekend that we had a couple weeks ago. I have two other points, because I know this is the last meeting of the year here, so I've got to get this out. Just give me a second here. Scroll all the way up. Okay. Sorry, y'all. One second.

Okay.

Okay. Council President, if you just want to come back to me or if I can.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Well, I know what I can do briefly.

Oh, I'm good. You're good. I got it. Sorry. Okay. Okay. So earlier this year, the council approved a 3% raise for city employees, and that was the right thing to do. But there's a group of workers who serve the city every day who make our streets safer, who show up in the cold and then the rain and in the heat, and sometimes even get hit by vehicles.

you

who did not get the same raise. It's our crossing guards. So 29 of them. I could be wrong, city administrator, but I think there's 29. So two hours a day, eight months a year, no sick days, no vacation days, no health benefits. They currently make $25 an hour. So let me put this in context. A 3% raise would move them to $25.75. That would even be unacceptable as well. But that's what we would give them just to keep them up with everyone else who got a raise this year. But I want us to do more than that because Summit is a town that is consistently talking about affordability. and consistently telling its residents that it cares about the working people who keep this city running. That has to mean something. So I looked at what the neighboring towns are paying their crossing guards. Chatham Township is at $27.50. Long Hill is at $27.00. is at $27, and Summit is behind them, specifically Union. We're in Union County. And so I'm asking the council to match Union County at $27.22. That's a $2.22 raise per crossing guard. The total cost to the city is roughly $25,000. So let me say that, again, with a city with a $63 million budget, it's a nominal cost. You know, we spend more than that on things every two weeks. I mean, the city of Summit's spending role is five or six pages. We can all check it out. It's public record. So I am asking my colleagues on this council to bring this forward. Match union at $27. Do it before the school year starts and send the message that this city sees people who show up for us and pays them fairly for a week. The last thing that I will say is I got an email a couple of weeks ago that the city will no longer be... buying hotel rooms for the council for the League of Municipality. And that was extremely upsetting to me. So the League of the Municipality is a chance for elected officials to go down and to meet people, to go to their conference halls, to find different things that they want to buy and invest in the city, to take classes. Last year I met the local uh 54 that they do all affordable housing projects we invited them to come to the summit housing authority gave a presentation i met other people who provide some relief for electric bills and energy savings costs This is a time where elected officials can do what we do best, which is make connections. Now, some folks go down there and act a fool, right? But that's not us up here, at least from what I see. We bring things back with us. And if you're telling the council that, okay, we're not going to put you up in a hotel room, you have to spend your money, well, that is a loud message. That means that when you're on council, you have to be able to afford to be on council. And that's a new low. What I like to see, even after I leave, is other elected officials from our modest means, maybe low income or whatever. And we have to make being in this seat affordable. I have to take the days off. That's not free. I have to drive down there. That's not free. I buy my own food. I never ask for a refund for that, right? Yeah, I can't afford to stay at a hotel in Atlantic City for a couple of days away from my family. But... No one asked me if I could or not. They just took it away. So this year, I'm not going because I can't afford to go. I think that's a new low, right? We're doing things that's just not considered. Now, I know some people will come up here and say, well, Councilman Boyer, you're blowing this out of proportion. I don't think so. And this is not just this council here. This is being on council. My eyes have been opened to a lot in this town. And to me, sometimes it's a tale of two cities. And this position should be open to anyone in town, regardless of your economic status. And the appropriate thing to do would be to say, Councilman Boyer, we're taking this out of the budget. Are you OK? Do you still want to go? Because if you can't afford it, well, maybe we'll think about putting it back in or something like that. I mean, we're talking about a hotel, right? So that was really disappointing, right? So, you know, I won't be going this year, but maybe that doesn't matter anyway. But the most important thing is if we can at least give our crossing guards some extra money, that would be great. So thank you, Council President.

Thank you. Anyone else? Council Member Christopher Lee.

Sure. Thank you, Council President. As we've heard this evening, there's a lot on Council's plate this summer from banning data centers, improving safety and sidewalks, building playgrounds, working to carry out the affordable housing agreement while we minimize the negative effects on our neighborhoods. But on a very different track, and this plays into Jamel's comment, we're now moving forward to make Summit a certified film-ready town. On July 7th, we approved the film-ready ordinance, an opportunity I learned about at last year's event in Atlantic City, where I attended a bunch of different events. And this is one that caught my eye. We followed up on it. You supported me, Jamal. We got the city staff behind us, and the ordinance was approved, and now Rosie's taking the final steps to get us certified. So I think that's a fun thing I would say to residents to stay tuned. You'll be able to include your own home as a filming location once we get the certification. There will be a website up, and there will be a link available to do that. um i gave a preview in my earlier remarks uh that i'd like to highlight an area i'll be focusing on more increasingly and increasingly publicly in the fall sustainability and stormwater resilience let's face it our weather continues to change and it's getting weirder high intensity rainfall wind tornadoes and even the risk of wildfire All in the middle of a long drought that's killing our trees and some of its beautiful rose bushes along Broad Street. In short, we need to prepare and protect our town. The natural hazard mitigation plan was approved tonight as one step forward. I would say it's a modest step forward, but it's a step forward. We've begun a deep dive into our development regulations and looking at our infrastructure vulnerabilities and I'm also having these conversations with the planning board chair as well so we can coordinate particularly any regulatory changes we need. And I would say more broadly, my goal would be to create a set of policies and sustainability investments that protect our town both from the physical impact of storms, including stormwater, while they also ensure reliable power supply for essential city services, which can also insulate us from price spikes in utility rates, and ensure that all new development meets requirements based on how our weather is evolving rather than the weather we used to have. If you have ideas on how to make Summit more sustainable and resilient, please reach out. I would love to hear them.

Thank you. Yes, Council Member Cowlinson.

Thank you, Council President. Two quick comments. One, Ms. Carson, thank you for your comment tonight. We are continuing to discuss the parking restrictions on Beekman in our safety meeting. So I look forward to updating you as those conversations continue. Also, I can't remember if it was Mr. Bennett. Somebody was asking for the K&K. Am I right that somebody asked for that?

Yes, Mr. Bennett asked for the link to the- Yes.

Is that on the city site? If not, can we get it on the city site? It's a public document, right?

I'm sure we can post the complaint.

Yeah, it's a public document. It's a public document. People are asking for it. Anything we can do to make it easier for the public.

And at the risk of making this a conversation, I mean, if we merely link to the court website, that requires an account and a login. It's free, but it's... it's a hurdle that somebody has to step over and probably would not. Um, so, so that, that, that can certainly be something to, to follow up with. Yes.

Okay. Thank you. That's all. Yeah. That's it.

Council member Lucera. Thank you, Council President. I first want to acknowledge our wonderful city clerk and our deputy city clerk, Sinead Green. Our council packet for the meeting tonight was over 800 pages, and it's easy to take it for granted that there's so much work that goes into producing a well-organized packet that we can navigate through in addition to preparing all of the materials and making sure that all of us up here have the right information. They are the quiet heroes of Summit, and so I just wanted to take a moment to extend our gratitude. On the Tatlock lights and Tatlock litigation, I want to add briefly to what Councilwoman Landman said. We do have a trial date that has been set for that matter. It's at the end of September. I believe it's September 29th. As we, as Councilman Landman noted, as we have additional updates to share, we will. But I also want to share just more personally, the neighbors who are participating in the litigation are Summit. They are Summit just as much as anyone who donated to a particular cause or may be involved in any particular athletic. They are our neighbors. They are us. And so I hope that we all hold that in our minds as we proceed through the next weeks and months. on affordable housing, want to add my additional thoughts for whatever they're worth. As I've said several times, we want to make affordable housing work better, both for affordable housing and for Summit. And so here's what I believe we can do right now. I agree with several of my colleagues. I agree that we have a responsibility to reevaluate the proper use of the firehouse site for the benefit of the community. to consider whether it makes sense and admitting we have a lot of work to do over the next several weeks and months to have more affordable units, perhaps 30-35 additional affordable units at the old firehouse site to relieve pressure on some of the other sites in the Round 4 plan. We have a lot of questions that we will need to answer again together as a group over the next weeks and months. Does this make sense financially? Can we make the finances of it work? Does it make sense for the taxpayer if we could potentially partner with a non-profit developer for a portion of the site, apply for tax credits to cover a large chunk of the cost, and also have another portion of the site for a small private development of market rate units that could be sold at top dollar. Does it make sense for our schools, for our first responders, city infrastructure, traffic, et cetera? I think the big question, right, is can we make a smart investment today to provide better protection against overdevelopment in five or seven or 10 years? to protect against what has happened and what is happening in downtown Milburn? These are the questions again that I believe we have a responsibility to answer. I think it's helpful, at least it's helpful for me to ground in the who and the what of what we're talking about. I struggle to think of a better way to honor the decades of service that were based out of that old firehouse site than to potentially welcome 30 to 35 new first responders and nurses and teachers and city staff to our community, not just to work here, but to live here. That's, for me, what we're talking about, and that's who we're talking about. I also want to share a little bit of news, the little bit of information I have, and then to share a bit of my experience with it. As some may have heard, I understand there's been some discussion on local social media. My understanding is that immigration enforcement did come to Summit this past Friday on July 24th. I have not verified this, but my understanding is that it happened quite early in the morning as certain individuals were headed to work and at least one individual or several individuals were taken into custody in the East Summit neighborhood. I got a call that Friday morning by someone who happened to witness what was going on. And so I've been through the trainings about seeing safety and what to say and what not to say. So I jumped in the car and I started driving around. And I did that for a few hours. And for me, I hold my feelings right here.

So that whole time I felt like this.

And then a few hours later, when we knew a little bit better about what had happened and we believed that immigration enforcement was no longer here, I realized that that feeling that I had is how so many of our neighbors feel every moment of every day. So I would urge you, if you are someone who is being impacted by immigration enforcement or if you know someone who is, please feel free to reach out to me. If you are someone who may be able to help in some way, please also reach out to me because we are all in this together. Thank you.

Thank you.

Mayor thank you I two things one I'm gonna put our city administrator on sorry I'm gonna put you on the spot a little bit because I want to follow up on what mr. Bennett asked about the and I believe you're on record as saying, giving your professional opinion about what we need to do with the firehouse and why the firehouse site. So I just would like to ask you if you don't mind to go on record again to repeat what your professional opinion about this particular property is for the for the good of the city in the long term.

through you, Council President. When I got here in 2019, the then Council voted to, it was 2019 or 2020, when they voted to adopt the ordinance to bond for $16 million for the new firehouse. and part of those discussions were around the fact that they anticipated selling the old firehouse property and then they were talking about eight million dollars it was the whole Broad Street West redevelopment that eventually crashed and burned And then everybody knows that we did try to sell it and that fell through. So the plan always was to sell the property and to use that money to offset the debt. Plans can change, councils can change, that's the way it works. It would not be a one-time benefit if we had netted $5 million, let's say, in the K&K sale if that went through. That would have been put into a reserve and it would have been appropriated by a formula as to what the debt service payments are and how much is for the firehouse so it might have lasted uh i think i did one projection it might have lasted um to pay off that portion of debt for about 10 years and you're talking about you know somewhere between three and five hundred thousand dollars a year that would offset so that's the reality of how it could have gone or could still or might have or

Thank you. I just think it's important for the public to know, and I think Jim, Mr. Bennett's question was a valid one, so I appreciate you answering it. And then secondly, I just want to make sure that the public understands that building affordable housing in Summit doesn't mean that our teachers and our firefighters and our policemen we'll have first dibs it doesn't mean that at all there's that's just not how it works and we all know that so representing that any affordable housing that we build in summit is going to first go to people who work here is just not accurate isn't that what i said no um

We all know how affirmative marketing works, Mayor, you're correct. Someone who lives in Summit may work in Chatham, and someone who lives in Chatham may work in Berkeley Heights, and someone who lives in Berkeley Heights may work in Summit. Our neighbors don't stop at our borders. But I wanted to wrap this up.

Before you, I just have one more thing. Cause I forgot I was thinking about crossing guards. The Reverend, Reverend Hariel, congratulations on your service for the City of Summit. I would be remiss by not saying this publicly to you because I love you, man. And you have been a beacon Especially to me, you give me this look and I'm like, oh man, I'm in trouble now. But I appreciate you. You've been so valuable to the city of Summit. And I also want to thank Amanda Parrish Block, my classmate. I call her for everything. you know and she she comes through she does come through so I appreciate her and grace as well and last but not least I was just hearing the councilwoman talk and driving around with the the ice stuff and I know people want to get involved but just as a former law enforcement person who worked street crimes and everything else I just want people to be safe I just don't want any residents to get involved in any police actions. Just do it the right way if you want to get involved. Get a person, an attorney, and help them out that way. But just don't interfere. I don't want to see anybody get hurt. Right. It's you know, it's that that's serious stuff out there. Right. It's not it's not a game. No. So just do it. Do it the right way. All right. Support these people if you need to financially with lawyers and whatever. But don't roll up on on the cops, at least here in summit. All right. All right. Thank you, Council President. Yes.

Also, President is public. COMMENTS CLOSED.

YOU HAVE AN ENVELOPE THERE. WE WILL NOT DISSUADE YOU FROM PRESENTING AN ENVELOPE THAT'S NOT A PUBLIC COMMENT. HOW IS THAT?

I CAN SAY SOMETHING?

YES, YOU ALWAYS MAY. That's OK. I was going to say, one of my strongest memories of you was your 100th anniversary service at Wallace Chapel a few years ago, where the theme of the sermon was, when God says no.

yes and you remember i remember so but i'm not about to say no to you thank you for your kindness i wasn't going to say anything until i heard some remarks from the council persons and i just wanted to address three things uh briefly During my past being pastor of Wallace Chapel, I've had two members who worked as crossing guards. They are both deceased now. They were seniors. And the dedication that they put into it during all times of the year, weather, whatever. So I just want to appeal to the council to increase their salaries. I think somewhere you can find the money. I believe you can. You know, they work very hard and just think how what the city would be, our schools would be without them. They serve us like the sanitation workers. Think about what our homes would be without them. So I'm asking you to do that. I'm glad you are. I'm glad that you raised that, Councilman Boyer. I think it's a moral thing to do, and I think it's the right thing to do. I believe in creativity, and I've spoken about that in terms of affordable housing and other areas, so piggybacking on what you also said, about the legal municipalities, over the years I've known good things to come out of people attending those meetings. So being creative, I think if the council would maybe look at instead of sending the entire council, if it's a money issue, why not be creative and just pick one council person from each ward and alternate it each year and one of those years include the Councilman-at-Large because it's an opportunity to bring back information to the town and get information from fellow Council people from other municipalities that can benefit us. So again, this is creativity and action and compromise. And finally, listen to Councilwoman Saracena ICE was here Friday, I know, because our church is used by one of our Latino congregation who had no place to worship. And they're using our church during the week, Friday night, Saturday night. So Saturday, I... The pastor and wife of that congregation approached me with a panicked look and said that Friday evening worship, someone from ICE was around the building and it frightened them so much they turned off all the lights in the church. ran downstairs in the fellowship hall but then after that you know they left so oftentimes we don't know what's going on I didn't know that I live right next to the church in the parsonage but I had no idea so to piggyback on what you were saying we have to be vigilant in in watching and knowing that And I didn't mention that to Chief Peters because I wasn't sure, but hearing what you said, it confirms that they were here. And sometimes they show up without maybe you even knowing about it. But it created a condition of fear and the panic in that small congregation that uses our church. So I just wanted to share those things with you.

Thank you.

And I will wrap this up by going back to the business portion of the meeting, because if there was a theme, it was public safety. Um, and I wish everyone in the community felt safe, but from buying police cars and a fire truck. to adding stop signs and endorsing legislation that lets us better control our own speed limits, to integrating mental health into our police department responses, even strengthening our AI data center band. This council has acted to make Summit safer for all of us. The first job of any government is to provide for public safety, and I'm proud of the work we have done. With that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? See you in September.

That was a song.

See you in September.