good evening everybody It is March 13 700 PM This this is the Burough of Aldo mayor and council combined work and regular sessions Hello everybody at home as well Linda will you please read the open public meetings act announcement and call the meeting to order In
compliance with the open public meetings act the notice requirements have been satisfied The meeting dates for the year are confirmed at the annual meeting are posted on the public bulletin board in the municipal building and on the burough website published in the record within the first 10 days of the new year and copies are sent to the Ridgewood
News and Star Ledger Notice of this meeting by the March 3rd 2025 Sunshine Notice was sent to the record the Ridgewood News and Star Ledger and has been posted on the public bulletin board in the municipal building and burrow website Super roll call please Councilman Yakarino here Councilman Otul
here Councilwoman Hman Councilwoman Lisolo here Councilman Delawio Councilman Okonnell here Mayor Winski here Everybody please stand Salute the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of Americ All right just going to do a quick agenda review We have two presentations today Um we will be the mayor and council will be um reviewing our 2025 goals We actually have a town hall next
week So this is kind of like our little trial run and we told residents that we would actually do it at this council meeting as well And we also then also have our library and our library director Nancy is going to be giving a presentation of all the great stuff that they're doing at the library Our consent
agenda is also very light A couple things to point out We have uh a new building monitor Caleb Glass who just started So um we have some volunteers at the community center and we also hired somebody for the night that we couldn't
get volunteers just to make sure um everything was safe It's a brand new building We didn't want to you know make sure nothing bad happens to it And so far he's worked out great Um we authorized agreement to do more
electronic scanning Um we have our reimbursement for snow removal for the Whitney This is a project Um we actually they actually remove the snow and then we reimburse them every year Um what else We're going to be paving the grandstand parking
lot and the Did you read the bill I did All righty And Okay So I'd like to open up the meeting now on anything on the
agenda I just open first before I do that Does anybody have any comments on anything on the agenda before we move on Not seeing anybody Bring it back Um we have approval of minutes February 13th and February 27th combined and work
and regular sessions Do I have a motion So moved Second please Second Councilman Yakarino Yes Councilman Oul Yes Councilwoman Loves Solo Yes Councilman Okonnell Yes
All righty So I think now we'll go right into the presentation Woohoo That'll work Mayor Yeah Can I just make a note that C uh that Councilman Okonnell will abstain on um February 13
Sorry I will abstain on the 13th Um all right So um I'll pop down here So we started this last year um to do strategy and goals for something that
everybody would love to have done in time Um so we just thought like all the committees all the great work that we're doing that would just be nice to kind of codify it and make it into a presentation for the community and uh bring it to the community and get some feedback on it So um a lot of this a lot
of the buckets are very similar to um uh last year So we are you know using our same committee and then we each have our goals underneath it So I'm going to review you know the committee I'm going to review the team and then um each of the
council and we actually have a town hall next week for some reason love to come to town hall they don't necessarily council meeting so I think I have more people in one town hall than all so it's really nice to see everybody here tonight Um so first I'd like to just
review the team I think most people know everybody on the council So we have Lman who's not here who is in charge of utility and sewer Um Ed Okonnell who works in parks and wreck and also uh is in charge of all the Boy Scout projects
and Girl Scout projects out of town Uh Matt Oul is in charge of the um public safety with uh our chief of care Uh Suzanne Lo uh she has two committees She's also on admin finance HR but that
is led by our CFO Allison and she is also the head of and Tyler is um in charge of facilities and then Joe and that's all the heads and then there's um second So um this is our staff
uh of professionals We have Allison Alano So she is our CFO and we hired her as a CFO and then more recently we actually promoted her as our brewing distributor and she's been here two years Feels like she's been here a lot longer Um so she does it She's an
amazing addition um to our team And then we have Linda our so Linda runs all of our meetings Um and she does a fabulous job She's been here like three years Oh three years It'll be three years in May now So we're all you know sometimes new
So she's um she's great in the admin office and uh trains everybody that you know that comes in and oversees that office Uh we have Mike Dylan who's our chief of police here He's pretty good too Uh 20 years today
Yeah March 13th 20 years Yeah Yeah 20 years Thank you Thank you I think we're trying to get a calendar of anniversaries and then they I got the burl So and then w our bur attorney So
you've been our attorney now for years So um our EPW Andy and uh Kim who's down from his office and I do have a picture And then our clerk and finance office we have Gina our tax collector Um
we have Carol To get these pictures today just so everybody knows was really really really hard Nobody likes their pictures like I was doing something like some people sent me the pictures Definitely a school definitely a school
picture So she's a big tax collector So she's the one she gets a lot of heat You know when taxes do people come in you know to pay their taxes and usually are not very happy when they do it She's but she's a she's uh she's very sweet in that office Um Carol does our payroll Carol's been
here for quite some time Uh Amanda um and Daddy are in the office of admin assistance Um Amanda's now taking on more of a role at the community center Since the community center um is is brand new we're evolving on how we are going to staff that how we're going to
have usage or collecting data So she's in that role to see how uh that how that's going to evolve And then doc is uh I can uh right here So she's here helping out Um Linda and D's just you know all around great and everything she
does Always manages to have she's wonderful smile uh as to residents Um another new addition is Julia Moravla So she is our directoration So she's um great She we actually I had her on the
mural team and she was fabulous actor and she does all of our um our newsletters and she worked tirelessly on a new website that isn't technically launched yet but will be launched soon So she worked really hard on that and she did
all that So she's great and we have our business department So we have Anthony most people know Anthony but he's our code official I thought that was a good picture Uh Angela's been here for forever She's our uh she's our tax She's
like the head of the whole T association uh assessor And we have Linda So Linda is the land use board secretary She also works in land use to help residents when they come in for any building permits or signs or that Mike Latola is our
property maintenance put people out on the road if there been property maintenance any type of complaints about or to just on the road and like check make sure and then Mike Freeland is our
burough engineer we hired him about so um so for our strategy uh we are all transparent accountable and responsible government the purpose of why we're all here and that's what I always tell everybody is to make um
serve out serve residents to make Allenale a better place to live for you know for you all So we're not here obviously for paycheck um we're here to to make Allenale a better place to live I mean we all are vested in this town We all love this town We're doing this work
because we obviously love the town and and the bottom line simple is better place Um and then underneath that are our pillars of progress and um kind of the buckets that encompass all of it So we we are fiscally
conservative Um we obviously want a safe place to live and to me this is like the bottom line of everything You're not safe and you don't have to responsibility You can't have anything So that's near you know the two main pillars Um character we really want to keep our town the way um as much as we
can you know you want to progress a little bit but you still want to try to preserve you know the town Um environmental and infrastructure You have to have your infrastructure You have to you know care about the environment the trees and and the lake and all that that makes uh burrow so
beautiful And then recreation social that's like a major part of municipalities too If you don't have fields you don't have social um component if you don't have rest you know it's it's just it's up there very very important in this in the
town So the committees that come from the R are admin finance HR and we actually put it in this Um one of the major things we want to do is drive digital innovation Um and that is something that um I've been very very
big on We switched the teams and we're trying to get everything automated Also automating all of our records So that eventually might become another committee but right now I'm just kind of put it in there and then once we go through this um each one of the count talk about
their so um underneath that also is um best place to work We want to make sure that the employees are are happy and that's why we picked you know the buildings up and it's good place to work because happy employees will make happy residents Um
and then of course safe place to live We always want to support our police We have an amazing police department We have a new police department Um we want to make sure that they have everything they need to keep um Allenale safe Of course our AVAC
which is our volunteer ambulance and our fire department They're both volunteer organizations in the burrow Uh which is very important because it' be really expensive if we had to pay for you know a paid fire department And we want to make sure that we support them We always are trying to
help them recruit who are helping them with training and everything like that Character is really you know your land use We actually um before the council meeting was looking at a couple codes things come up all the time like for example uh we noticed that some
people were building two stories on accessory structures and the and the sideyard is only six feet from the neighbor So a lot of people are building these towers and then all of a sudden they're like looking and it's not you know you're kind of losing that space and privacy So this is just something
new that's kind of come up So we we change we're going to change that to make it uh you know a little bit give a little bit more space to the side So just things like that that really help you know helps the character of the town fair share housing I'm not even going to get into but that's just a whole other
um if anybody wants to you know learn about feel free to to talk to me but I can talk about that for about three hours um but uh just in a word it's a nightmare um historic preservation of course you know that's always important our
environmental and infrastructure is our DPW and utilities uh department so that's our our trees uh if we look flooding Um we're doing like a big cold study now because a lot of birds some people don't
um clean them out and some the burrow cleaned out So we're trying to identify all of them and that's going to help with flooding with all the building that's going on in the area We really have to be positive that we've had a lot of uh flooding issues in the past Wildlife management the deer and that's
just an ongoing thing um that I'm constantly trying to update and trying to find the best approach for that And then recreation and social is our facilities parks and recck committee that time heads up and that's all about community engagement It's all about rec board uh volunteers We have all
volunteers that that run that program as well So one of our you know great program um and then this is kind of like something we all came up with last year Innovative thinking of better ways of doing things or in forms We're really
trying to push information out there be transparent We have town halls We have coffee with the mayor coffee with the mayor town hall cop Um we have a newsletter a weekly newsletter There's mayor's memos that go out We're on social media So you know we're out there
um intentional So we're really trying to make sure that we have policies that are going to benefit the entire community All we do have a lot of people that come in and they're like "Well there's speeding on my street Put in speed homes here." for like political office you know be a problem for another street So you got to watch that You have to be
intentional for everybody Can't just have you know self-interest and everybody is you know has their own self-interest So that's one thing that we have to make sure it's very fair that it's helping the whole entire um inclusive All voices are heard We we always welcome people in in touch Uh
we're transparent We're hands-on We are very hands-on burough We're in touch with with residents We get feedback We put surveys out there see what people want to talk about Again the town hall and integrity Um we're doing it for the right reason So um I'd like to give the
council an opportunity to chitchat a little bit about what's going on in their department Um so the fiscally conservative that is our budget So we worked on the budget actually today As a matter of fact we're going to have less than 1% municipal
increase So we have been very very very conservative on the municipal side Um if anybody knows the the three components of where your tax dollar is we're a small part of it county which is 10% and then most
schools and out of that 25% we really can only control about half of that because a lot of it is just um insurance things like that and it's tough because insurance went up again like 24%
um energy is going up the electric bills are going up so things you know keep on going up so we really uh try very hard to start with based budgeting um and safe place to live I will turn it over to Matt Certainly So I am the head
of public safety committee I'm chair of that committee and as the mayor said most of what we do is to support our police department and our volunteer organizations Um what we're planning on doing this year is continuing to support We have a young police department Um
everybody knows that we've had some real high turnover in the past few years We have two new officers uh through retirement Yep Um we had an agent department and now we have a very young department Um Chief Dylan is a
spectacular leader He is guiding the these young uh officers to really be a big part of the community and to be exemplary officers Um in our fire department we have the fire chief there We've done a lot to try and bring in new
members Um it's not just a problem that Allenale has All the volunteer organizations in the area are having trouble finding members So we've done things like created a new stipen program Um uh put in a new chief and really are changing the culture of the department
there to make it more attractive for people to come in And um the ambulance corps also we are here to support them and to try and bring in more uh recruits for them They're doing fairly well but
they always need more people So we've just uh finished a lease with them on the building which has been in the works for years So that should make them happy get them back into the building and hopefully help them to bring in more people too And you know in public safety just deals
with things that come up all the time like you know we see there's downtown for example you know there were some issues with parking so we got on that you know so you know we're just constantly looking for different different things and make the committee paper
so land use that's me um so our land use committee meets once a month um and usually meet the Thursday morning of the second council meeting of the month and
uh we actually met because things got kind of messed up this this month We met last Friday morning and that meeting so who is the land use committee that we're a part of Well it includes the mayor includes my second on the committee Councilman Tyler Yakarino We have our
DPW head Andyro is there Anthony Hackett as our um code official um Mike Gland as our um burough engineer and then Allison Alano as our um BA sits in on it too Um
so at the land use committees we try not to get into like really individual property concerns We try and take a look at kind of trends and issues that residential property owners may have Um and one of the things that recently did come up as as the mayor mentioned was
accessory buildings um and our code was very outdated in regard to that with the trend towards twostory accessory um buildings that a lot of people are putting on their property So how do we how do we address that I think we've come up with a with a good um solution
to to um to to letting people have their individual property rights but also not infringing upon the neighbors right to not have twostory buildings you know a couple feet from their property line Um so we take a look at things like that
Uh other things come out of this committee the Shay Shade Tree Committee is going to be up and running again Um and former Councilman Jim Stretch is spearheading that um effort which we're really happy about So they'll be doing an inventory of trees in town They're
already getting to work on that Um also with the warmer weather upon us it's time for outdoor dining in town So one of the things we do is we send out a letter to our restaurants in town once again reminding them that before they put out their tables and chairs and
their planters and their umbrellas and everything else that they do have to submit a plan to the town Um that gets reviewed by Anthony Haget who takes a look at it and make sure that it's in compliance with our code Um and then they get approval from him before they can put everything out there Um other
things that we do let's see what else You know we have a lot of crossover areas Um so for land use we will take like sidewalks and streets and what have you kind of under our purview but that also touches on public safety
That's definitely also DPW So there's a lot of crossover areas We're going to start the paving program again um in town One of the other things that's coming up is sump pumps And we have former councilwoman Jackie Mcwigan here front row who did the herculean effort
years and years ago about addressing some pumps in town from residences that drain directly into um the municipal sewer system and um and that's a no no So we are going to be taking a look at that again So it's it's a great committee We have a lot of fun There's
always baked goods and um and Tyler's gonna tell you he's a fun committee but we also have a lot of fun And then one of the other major things we're working on now the fair share housing in that too We have a land use uh uh uh master plan Yes In the master
plan you're working on now in conjunction vulnerability study We're doing a master plan and then we're doing health plan Oh it's a lot Yeah there's a lot going on there Um all right So DPW Andy's not here and Joe's not here and
um this is the DPW is basically our roads you know Um we um we recently and new So we're instilling um a road program where we have all of the roads listed the lineage of the road and then like ABC of which
ones are fixing Painting is so expensive So it's you can't just pave like 20 streets So we really have to based on the the um the lineage of the street and how much it's going to cost and that's how we determine if we try to spend about
$200,000 on um potholes We actually have pothole meeting today Uh it's just another thing you know to buy the equipment to do it The hot it's like $60,000 So we sometimes outsource that and then sometimes we have this stuff where we
kind of hatch it So um we I was I was saying the pulver program uh is also part of that flooding is becoming huge everywhere Um definitely here as well So we're trying to do whatever that we can to clean out
storm drains to make sure that bridge are cleaned out Um utility also falls under this So that's what uh council solo was talking about the sub pump program Uh we we sold our water system So water used to be
under here That's why I have to switch the committees a little bit So we really don't have a lot to do with the water anymore Um we're we're pretty much have that wrapped up but the um sewer is is another one That is our second highest item on our on our uh on our budget So
uh it's just a little high for our small town So we are actually doing a study next week where we're hammering this one area problem with some eye and ice low inration and then the somehow program that we're going to in um because when
we met with Northwest in two they said that is like the biggest culprit in all town So we haven't done it in a good 10 years So we're going to just really get the message out there and make sure that we can go in and monitor uh you know make sure that people pumps aren't hooked up to their to their sewer lines
We're paying for that Um and then fun committee the other fun committee There's two Well they're all fun Uh facilities parks and recreation as Amy mentioned is a three-prong committee Um obviously being in Burl Hall I'm sure some of you have noticed the great
improvements that we've made Um namely Allison really driving those We've done improvements by painting flooring lighting really some really uh some nice quality of life items for our staff our volunteers and then also visitors to Burough Hall to make things more
efficient and really look uh very pleasant You know of course we have the new community center which of course Amy drove that project for many years Our newest burrow facility which is here for the whole community We're so happy to see a great many of folks in town use use those facilities Um so we're
continuing to make improvements and making sure that you know we're keeping things on the up and up so to speak and to make it nice for for those groups that I said before Uh parks right now um of course we have all of our ball fields We have Crestwood Lake which is our big one Um currently we're you drive by
Brookside right out front you see that field three the Brookside field um is currently in the process of receiving a full endtoend uh renovation in our partnership with the Allenale Recreation Commission So we're really excited uh for the improvements there Our DPW has been working with the vendor who is
doing field three so that we can improve all of our fields Um over the past few years um there's been some challenges with the fields in terms of our the environment the weather and so forth So we're in the process of instituting like we've done with the roads our field
maintenance program Um we're working with our recreation scheduler uh taking certain fields out of commission for half of the season The DPW uh goes out improves the fields and then we reopen them for the following season Uh so we're going to be instituting that to improve our ball fields Crestwood Lake
Right now our big project is the concession stand uh which has been a long time coming We're really excited to be opening that up for Crestwood members this um this summer Um Amy's been part of that project Allison's been a big part of that project as well as our
engineer architect and builder Um so that's going to be a really great amenity for our members there Um our next big project long-term project for Crestwood League probably starting planning in 2026 is going to be our tennis courts up at the Red Barn Of course we know pickle ball has been a
big uh project or I'm sorry pickle ball's been a an up andcoming sport rather U so we're really going to look to work with the recreation commission to um optimize that area making sure that we're offering pickle ball basketball tennis and the high school lacrosse program Um also maybe
incorporating a lacrosse wall if we could um make that happen as well So there's a lot of things a lot of pots on the stove at the moment but we're working through it and thankful for the support of everybody and making these projects happen So thank you So that's kind of like you know what we do and all our our committee We of course have our
professionals like our our um our burough attorney Ray W who keeps us in the straight and narrow He is in constant contact with all of us I always feel like I tell him very comfortable with his advice Um so he makes sure that we're we don't do anything that's that's illegal But um everything is really on
the up and up Like I said is one of our our high you know values And um if anybody does anybody have any questions and thank you to Amy for all of her hard work Thank you Chair Mayor Hearing our um USB computer
Thank you Thanks Yeah you don't want Yes question I'm sorry Record last night right If you had any questions but I'll open it up I'll open it up for the public after this presentation Don't you know
how this goes those two miss by what's her name and they went to overtime um disconnect you have the standard signs I don't know how to disconnect unless I just shut shut it off
the truck I just had to shut down We're getting somewhere Okay Is that better Okay All right Well thank you first of all everybody for coming and for inviting me to mayor and council I very much appreciate you giving me an opportunity to provide this overview to
you guys for um basically bring you up to date on our operations for 2024 uh the changes that we've made over the last year and a half and u to preview our plans for 2025 So I you have the handout and it's up there But
um before I get into some of the details about what happened in 2024 I really want to address a question that comes up every now and then And that is why do people still need libraries I think you hear this every now and then from people And I think it's a common
misconception that libraries are becoming obsolete due to the rise of digital materials and content and all the access to online information Personally I work in a library so I rarely hear it this people that are in libraries generally understand what libraries do and the value of the
library However usually when I hear that kind of a thing it's somebody who really hasn't been in a library in a lot of years So they don't really necessarily know how we've changed and how we are addressing the needs of the community So but the
sorry the um numbers that I'm going to share with you now are surprising I think it may be surprising to some you even to me it was a little surprising the the magnitude of some of these numbers because not a large town excuse me yet many of these numbers
were quite were quite large to me So a couple things I wanted to call out in 2024 we had almost 68,000 people visits person visits to the library and that was a considerable increase over the year before and the year before that So more and more people are coming to the
library and using the library We have incredibly strong community engagement with over 2200 active newsletter subscribers And our weekly newsletters we have one for adults kids and teens And often it's opened It's one of the first things that people open on Monday
morning And we know that because when we advertise things and people have to sign up through the newsletter we we they usually go out The kids one goes out at 5:30 the adults like at 6:30 And by 6:35 we have you know 15 people signed up So that's how we know that it is something
that people look for and they're they're highly engaged We have a very robust ESL program where we provide training for volunteer tutors and then we match them with people who are in need of tutoring And this number actually shocked me 780
hours of tutoring last year And that's that's a huge number and it's a it's an important need in the community that we're meeting Um also even without setting foot in the library people are using our resources Um anybody who creates any resident who creates a
library account can have an access to a wide variety of digital resources including ebooks audio books e magazines the digital New York Times and Wall Street Journal are super super popular and growing um and other you know online
streaming videos music etc The digital resources in total are a huge growth area for us Increased over 105% in 2024 versus 2023 and the first couple of months of 2025 are showing similar
increases People are also seeking experiences through the library Um in 2024 nearly 900 residents visited museums by using the um museum pass program which is generally generously funded by the friendly library And uh
that was a 67% increase over 2023 Our library of things which we have dubbed borrowing beyond books had a um 83% increase And people can borrow and I think Matt you've borrowed a couple of things so far I have books But we have
things like paper shredders projectors and movie screens to host like a summer movie night Um hotspots so that you can have access to Wi-Fi you know when you're on the go traveling all over the world And speaking of experiences we also offer a diverse range of programs
for all ages So in 2024 we had a total of 274 programs for adults 210 for kids 18 for teens So there over 500 programs and this number always shocks me The attendance was at over almost 9,000
people attended programs in 2024 through the library I think most people are familiar with the summer reading programs That's a fairly you know common program in libraries but our program last year was our biggest to date And that's also
another program that the friends of the library helped support We had um it was our most successful children's program in recent history And we had more kids sign up in the first three days than all of last year Okay So the people look for
it they know they come in they sign up Um we've done a lot of special programming some new things in 2024 and some things that we've enhanced in 2024 and we're going to continue into 2025 Uh we collaborated with Hocus Library to create a new neighborhood book club And
this club meets outside the library and we are trying to create a little bit more of a relaxed environment And the books that we choose we're trying to provide book titles that aren't your typical book fairs book club fairs So uh just having people stretch and read things that they wouldn't normally read
And it's been very successful We're actually approaching our uh one-y year anniversary of that And uh we have which you'll see a picture later Bentley our therapy dog who comes every week And he's actually helped many many children not only overcome their fear of dogs because many
of them are afraid of dogs but also uh their reluctance to read because they read to him and he's kind of an easy and he's a boy Um and then this is one that I'm particularly proud of our dementia caregivers group We started
that about two years ago with partnership with Alzheimer's of New Jersey and it's sadly it's an important need and it's a growing need and in fact we have one group meets once a month and recently we have basically the group has
maxed out in size they can only have like you know 10 maybe 12 people at a time so now we have a waiting list for that group so I've been working with the Alzheimer's of New Jersey to create a second group and um one of the other groups actually they might want to meet twice a month and then we may add
another once a month group So it's it's a very important resource for people in the area We have tech time which I know Jim you've taken advantage of a couple of times uh as well as other many other people in the community We have the National Honor Society students come in on a Tuesday You just if you're
interested and you need some help you drop in you know with cell phone computers you know just little things but it's it's definitely a need in the community And we also um going forward in 2025 we are starting uh we're going to be working with um Mike Police
Department and Stu Leonards for a water safety program It's going to be held in May with Stewie the Duck from uh this a little mascot of Steu Leonard's organization Okay So now I only have a couple of slides really but it was just some things that I thought would be
easier to see picture than for me to try to explain So in 2024 some of the physical changes that happened and of course we invite all of you if you don't already to come and and take a look and keep coming because we're making a lot more changes But some of the things that
we've done this is our barn beyond books collection that I mentioned So we created a new space for this And these are objects that are large and you know in some case bulky They don't really you can't really um have them displayed So we came up with this idea of having the
picture and the little card and then you basically can see everything that we have in a small area and if you're interested you just have to go to the desk and and then you can check it out We also have enhanced our local history section with um some pictures
and you know material and other materials and we're hoping to expand that in the future as well And then in January we launched our community showcase This has been extremely popular so far We have this was our first um display which is of one of our local
volunteers and she's also a watercolor artist so she did her first display but we've got this every month we rotate displays and we have it booked through the entirety of 2025 So every month come in take a look see who the latest uh local person is displaying collections
or things that they've done things that are important for them They're going to be on display They're also notice they're also in the newsletter you'll see a notification of what's coming up And then we also redesigned the signs for the library um stacks in the main
room So we've created um kind of a consistent look and feel with the the graphics and the color and um it's really made a tremendous difference in terms of just findability And now we have it seems like a simple thing but now we have um aisle numbers So you can
say instead of like oh the fourth aisle from the left and you know halfway down now we have now simple but it's and then just some uh basic to some practical things throughout the uh first floor we've recarpeted the the entire building actually we've recarpeted the
loft and painted the 204 and in 2024 the burl provided funds for us to upgrade our electrical system and do some other um electrical work in the building So these types of lights we also have in the whole first floor and we upgraded the LEDs in um the main area
So it's very bright and we used to have a chronic problem with the lights in the stacks going out because they were fluorescent bulbs and now these lights are they're bright They're on all the time They look great Another uh benefit of the money that was provided by the bureau for the
electrical upgrades was we were able to line So we able to reposition our computers which used to be right in the middle of the library So you could never you you always anything you did you had to kind of work around this fixed object So we were able to move them to the sides which created a lot of extra space
and a lot of flexibility for programs and things And then in the kids' room we've done some changes last year The summer reading program theme was um adventure finding adventure So our children's librarian created an
enchanted forest theme I think all the bur walked her in the light and everything that she did in there So it came out so great we didn't want to take it down after summer eating So now we just every season we you know we add like snowflakes and winter things in the winter flowers and you know woodland
animals in the summer So it's just been uh very appealing and and just a nice way to keep it fresh In terms of uh 20 2024 community events we had our second annual newcomers reception This was something
we started a couple years ago Um just anybody new who's come to town we invite them to come It's an evening in May They come to the library They can meet other new people in town learn about the resources that we can provide and um just get to know other people And then
last year we had a our first annual family day which we did over at the red barn in Preswood Lake We had a lot of activities and we had over 400 people attend that and we got great feedback and we're planning another one uh for September 13th now coming
up So that was 2024 2025 A lot more coming Uh one of the big things that we're doing is we're extending our service hours So instead of uh we currently open 54 hours a week we're going to be moving that to 62 We're going to be opening Wednesday
nights And this is the big one We're going to be opening on Sundays Wow That was a couple of years ago there was a survey done and that was one of the things that came out and you know where you are to make it happen going forward So it's going to be 12 to 4 on
Sundays between uh basically just for like the school year We won't have those hours the summer but for the rest of the year we'll have those hours And then Wednesday night is great because we'll have additional people are are asking for more programming and that gives us another night that we can provide programming to the public And I think
earlier we alluded to um uh just some kind of news about fines you were talking earlier about you know fines on books and um basically effective uh April 2nd we are going to be going fine free which is something that's going on in many
libraries in the country but specifically the libraries immediately surrounding um Allenale is it's basically a trend and we just feel um strongly it's been very successful in other libraries other libraries have been doing it for two three years and
they found it that it brings uh makes it much more welcome wcoming for people It it removes barriers for people to come in and to borrow things and um it it just it's the right thing to do and it's it's the the trends in the in the um in the industry We're also looking at physical
changes to uh the first floor Um much like you mentioned about upgrading um a lot of things in the bar in the burough hall we're looking at physical changes in 2025 We're calling it the year of the refresh So um with the electrical work behind us now we're ready to start to
move on with some other cosmetic changes One is going to be hopefully very very soon we'll be painting the whole first floor and also laying new carpet throughout the first floor except for the kids room which is basically the kids room Carpet was not is not that old and it's still in good shape We're going
to be adding new furniture and desks for the computers in the main room And then recently really recently like this week uh the bureau created a recycling center um outside It used to be in the little hallway as you go up to the club room So
that's in the process of being moved outside and that's going to enable us not only to refurbish that area paint and do some um upgrades to flooring but also we are hoping to be able to put in a locked caged area where we can add some additional items to our barn door
books collection which are be things that are bulky or like uh things that we haven't been able to have a place to store before So specifically things like uh power washers and maybe some outdoor games and things like that and we'll be able to store them in the building
accessible for the staff to get for patrons but it's you know now we would have some space to and those to be stored in the building and uh we are next week we're going to be upgrading the Wi-Fi in the build in our side of the building for the library So that's
going to be a nice upgrade for people who use the Wi-Fi in the building And also a lot of people use the Wi-Fi in the parking lot when we're closed You know they'll see people that are you know just using it out there which is great Uh we're going to be replacing the computers in the YA room And we're also
going to be renovating the processing room to create a better more efficient and work space and a more pleasant environment for the staff We have a small area back there and the space could be better used So we're looking to redesign that and have just a better working environment Um and then just some of the
new and expanded services that we've uh planning for 2025 we're adding a mang a mango language learning service It's an online learning platform It's over 70 languages and they're um practical lessons and you can have an app on your
phone and it it's just extremely uh userfriendly and it's focused on uh really learning practical phrases So if you're going to travel somewhere it's like you know how do I how do I rent a car What words do I need to you know buy something or to you know out dinner or to order food So it's a very practical
approach And it also has an ESL component which is great because we have our our very active ESL program So we're going to be able to let have those people have access to that as well I don't know if you're familiar with Hoopla and uh Libby Those are some
digital services Hoopla's basically streaming content so like ebooks videos music and audiobooks And Libby is audiobooks ebooks and magazines Um we're expanding those We're investing more heavily in all of our digital content uh including the New York Times and the
Wall Street Journal And then we're just always trying to keep it fresh with new programming ideas Uh next week we're starting a Proche workshop for kids in grades four through eight There's still time to sign up Um and our children's librarian has started an artist series
where every month she chooses a different artist She has the kids come in and she'll teach them about the artist themselves the style that they work in and then the children create a painting or an object in the style that they've just learned about this this
artist And that's been a a very popular program We also recently received an arts grant uh for multicultural musical pro programming that we're going to be um first one is going to be in April or May So we're going to have like two in
the spring and two in the fall Those are going to be at the community center And um another very very special event that's coming up at the end of the year in December It will be the Memorial Library or Allenale Library It wasn't called the Memorial Library at that point but it'll be our 125th anniversary
So the trustees and friends are working together to come up with some plans to do some nice celebrations So so just to kind of wrap it up a little bit um we do still have a big challenge
and that is space you know in the building especially programming and also for uh basically accommodating the adults kids after school I think if anybody's been in the library or walked to the library between 3:30 3:15 and 4:30 it's
wall to wall and it makes it difficult because it's you know the kids are great We love having them there We welcome them and we're doing a lot of programming to help make the time that they're there not just that they're sitting there but to try to make it more interesting and so they can learn things but it's difficult for adults who might
want to be in the library at that time of day because it's very busy It's very loud So that is one of our biggest challenges uh we we think this is just going to continue to grow uh with more working couples and then also the fact that you know during co a lot of people
were able to work from home but now more and more companies are requiring their their people to come in at least you know two three days a week so that's going to be you know creating more need in the library for kids after school so we have done some created some activities some clubs and things we
finally figured out a way to attract kind of the teen audience because they're not big on signing up for stuff and showing up for stuff You know you can have all these great programs and nobody comes So we started these clubs and more like drop in type programs So we have something called the Swifty Club
There were Swift I say more um a Zen club and anime Lego building material type club So that's really been very successful And if the kids are going to be in the library and we want them to have a good time and you know everything
to be a positive experience So having these activities for them these little clubs that they can get involved with is has really been very successful And so our goal you know longer term is to be able to offer quiet spaces in a larger programming room We're working with the friends uh to actively fund raise and
we're hoping that we can expand our good friends you know with also with the support of the bureau and just in general um I mean I think hopefully throughout this presentation you've been able to see that uh what we do is try to change and adapt and make sure that
we're meeting the needs of the people That's what we're here for to serve So we're trying to always change things and adapt and and make sure that everything we're doing is centered on town So I wanted to share this next just
because in closing we can certainly have questions if you have questions but this is a little video about the library and why Mhm Well I just want to thank you for coming tonight and presenting Um you know I
know um Patty did a few years ago and we took away so much from when she came before us And so it's so great that you were here to once again let all of us know how important the library is to Allenale and everything that you guys do for us So we thank you You're welcome Yeah absolutely Um yeah
that was that was wonderful I mean each time that you come there's always something new that we you know learn So thank thanks so much for that great presentation I only wish the library had open on Sundays Ah he needed it projects last minute I was going to say
the same I think you guys opening on Sunday is going to be huge for the community Library is free and we're doing the Wi-Fi upgrades next week and my mom loves the little bookstore She comes by once a week and says she loves it So that's great Well thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Nancy Oh and
just anybody also our museum and thank you to the other board members who are here tonight as well Thank you for all you guys do All right so to continue um we have the consent agenda Actually there was one thing on here that I did uh forget to
talk about which was the resolution approving the consent order This is uh something very important This is also something that just you know shows that we are always thinking and trying to um you know innovate This is a a property that was on our on our uh
lowincome um uh roster if you will and it became just completely destroyed by the people you know who lived there So we worked something out with the bank So we actually have AHI now is going to uh Allenell Housing Inc that is the
organization that oversees our special needs housing is going to take over the property and we're hoping to regenerate that into our uh our our fair share housing members So with that do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda So second please Second Councilman Yakarino
yes Councilman Otul yes Councilwoman Lovolo yes Councilman Okonnell yes All righty Um council reports Councilman Yakarino I know we've talked a lot so probably don't have much more No I think I gave a pretty good overview We had u
two or three meetings this week touching upon a wide range of topics Concession stand red barn events for the year So we're getting ready for the spring and summer I'll keep it brief but things are in motion Super Councilman Oul certainly Uh Nancy saw my thunder with Stewie the
duck So I'm gonna tell who's gonna be Stewie the big question We the our committee met on Tuesday We had a change of venue Chief Dylan thought it would be nice to do it at the new community center So it was a nice change of pace Um provided us with an
update on our two hires We're looking to have swearings in at one of our April meetings Um Lieutenant Griffith updated us on some signage around town which has been down and is now going back up Um some parking including our new five-minute parking spot uh in front of
Terry Oconor for people who are picking up food or for food delivery services Uh hopefully this cuts down on people stopping at the middle of the road or double parking or using the handicap spot uh to just run into stores Um also speaking of parking a quick reminder
that overnight parking is prohibited in the burrow Um a great job by the fire department our mutual aid partners extinguishing a house fire on Hillside out last week Uh Chief Anderson reported at the meeting that about 50% of the
time we're getting old trucks out which is great but they can always use more people Um so anyone interested in becoming a member of the fire department stop by the firehouse during their monthly meeting which is the chief second Friday of every month They they're there every Thursday evening
starting at 7:30 and then uh every second Friday Got it Except for tomorrow which is the installation dinner So congratulations to all the officers who are going to be installed tomorrow night Um Chief Barara reports that they're doing well but they can also use help So if you want to volunteer but the fire
department might not be your thing The ambulance corps world they're uh they're a great group of people They have a lot of uh great events every year including their upcoming beef steak and scavenger hunt at uh guardian angel on the 29th Find information about those tickets on
Facebook or allale ambulance.org And finally the Gary Latiz Memorial Blood Drive will once again be held at the firehouse two weeks from today Thursday March 27th Mark your calendar Walter Uh reservations can be made online or walk-ins are always
happily accepted Uh please come out and donate This drive is growing and growing and it's helping to put a lot of much needed blood back into the system So every drop counts so please come out and roll up your sleep A pint for a pint That's right ABG is on
board So so don't one final we can't we can't just make sure you're still awake You gota you got to get through the whole thing together You got to eat your dinner before dessert or dudes Go That's
all I can All right Thanks Councilwoman Lethal Thank you Mayor Yeah I kind of touched on a lot of the stuff So we had our land use meeting last Friday yesterday morning That yesterday morning we had our fair share housing kind of
huddle Um which is I mean Allenale's really been ahead of the curve on this a lot and it just seems like every year they just reshuffle the deck and add to our numbers and what have you So I just I'm
very happy with the team we have in place and um everything that we're doing to provide affordable housing um as best we can with some really astronomical numbers handed to us Um this morning we had our finance meeting and um and that
was great We were able to take a look at our budget for the upcoming year We reviewed our expenses and revenue from last year and made some projections and some estimates going forward And as always Allison's just done an amazing job with with spearheading all of that
She's incredible Um I want to uh add to Matt and in backing up the blood drive I think I've gone since you and your friends started it in town and he's fantastic and it's wonderful and our residents really do come out and I
think he's always very impressed with how many residents we have come from our small little town and he's doing an incredible job and he was recently honored for all of his work that he does Yeah Yeah He's constantly getting um and then the green team is going to be having our spring cleaning environmental
day um May 3rd May 3rd Saturday May 3rd um might be buriat submitted a sketch I'm going to send that link to you just to make sure you don't have any concerns and if you give us the approval we'll So once again we have green team members here and um
it'll be a day of being able to drop off um styrofoam and your electronic recycling and what else is there There's everything Yeah I think the X-ray film you mentioned Oh and then there's the
drug the needles Yeah Um so uh and they'll be shredding Yeah The shredding is really I I underestimated how popular that really is but it it's great So it's a great day It's a good service um that um the burrow and the green team
provides for our residents And um that's about it Thank you Mayor Thank you Councilman Okonnell Thank you Mayor I continue to work with our uh scouts to try to get them to completion with their eagle project I had a couple of uh
visits with cyan about her receptacles for the lake So we made a couple changes there So she's going to improve upon that And we're working with Jacob for a uh a wall behind the fire pit to be built to hang some plaques on And uh
Joshua is going to have a demonstration for fire safety a two-day demonstration So uh we continue working on that and once I get the dates for that demonstration I'll announce it at a council meeting Perfect Thank
um our staff Linda Cerino our mayor Thank you mayor Um I want to welcome Doy She's from the clerk's office um she's been a wonderful um asset to the clerk's office um as well as um Amanda Richards I'm very lucky to have both of them in
the clerk's office They're very um they're just wonderful with the residents on the phone in person um email exchanges So I'm very lucky Um compost permits Um as of yesterday you can apply for a compost permit the satellite I'm sorry the recycling center
um will be open on Saturdays Wednesdays and Saturdays um starting this Saturday no I'm sorry April 5th Um and then this morning I spoke with the uh New Jersey Film Commission representative We're
just talking over um whether or not Allenale wants to be film certified or not There's some steps that we have to do Um I I after speaking with the clerk's office we just don't know if it's very
beneficial to be uh film certified Um but there's going to be more discussion on that And um I'm sorry scratch It basically means so the film commission has um it would mean like we would take our locations
pick some locations out in Allenale and we would upload the pictures and the brief description and then scouters would contact would go go to that website and look for um the locations that they're kind of looking for for their movies like Netflix movies things
like that Um however you know just like the the um looking over the ordinance I just don't think it's uh beneficial for the for Allen Yeah So the film ready program is something the state's offering up through the New Jersey was
it motion picture group whatever And um so Linda was great She went and actually attended the program and saw what they had to offer And we kind of thought "Oh that'd be great." you know how how how great to have you know revenue stream kind of come in and you know have that
kind of benefit from that But um you know we already have our fee schedule for when uh motion picture associations and and and um television shows want to come in Some people remember when who
was it Ed When Ed was filmed downtown That's right Um and they're already kind of finding us I mean there's already interest in it So um we're not quite sure if film ready really benefits us other than the advertising that they might provide to
um on via their website Right The film industry is the biggest growing industry in New Jersey So we were just trying to seize an opportunity because as you know uh councilwoman Lobosa said we have been getting some people coming in So we're like why not see if we could actually
get some money for this and make it easier for people to find us But of course you know the police have to be involved because sometimes some of these productions have they're disruptive to a town So everything has to be weighed So we're just we're just exploring it because it's a new opportunity that might be out there There's there's about
21 uh towns participating at New Jersey that have already that have alreadyated or just taking a look Uh no they are And then there's like 43 that are kind of like in review like just starting the process Um so I don't think that's a lot
21 in New Jersey right now Yeah we'll see Um anything else Yeah Perfect Sorry Die just reminded me So Die has been looking into having an event at the community center Oh good Yeah Um it's the um satellite office and P passport
outreach services So um sorry Yeah Um they will offer senior IDs passport services and swearing in of notary um public
Yep Anything else That's all I have Thank you very much Chief Mike Dylan Well thank you Madam Mayor It's a busy time at the police department We're working on working to onboard two new officers renew our accreditation status uh new training and equipment as well as
establishing a program that puts a mental health professional in our police station a few times a week to assist with community outreach Um we are also looking at options for dispatch as we are in need of high cost upgrades Now is a time we should look to leverage regional technology while staying
fiscally responsible for the burrow and providing the level service our residents expect Excellent Thank you very much B attorney Ray West Thank you Mayor Uh a lot of what we've been involved in in the last two weeks are matters that have been referenced on the reports uh from the uh the council this
evening Uh but I I I think one of the the biggest uh time consumers that the mayor and I have been in constant contact is uh the affordable housing and related litigations that we have with our uh our neighbors in Saddle River Um obviously the Allenell sewer system is a
very valuable commodity that serves the residents uh our neighbors do not have uh that type of infrastructure and uh both towns as part of the uh the overall picture on affordable housing are grappling with the obligations that have been referred to Uh and obviously we want to prioritize Allenale residents
and Allenale developments over those in adjacent municipalities So uh there is a a large interplay between our affordable housing litigation and the uh the matters involving our our sewer infrastructure So uh needless to say there's a couple of court proceedings
pending uh most recently this morning uh back in court on Tuesday afternoon Um and you know they'll they'll develop over time Uh clerk's office uh TJ certainly been working on open requests some of them related to what I just talked about uh and also the uh the cell
towers uh which have been u a a a a a a a a a a a fiscal source of of of benefit to the to the burrow Uh but we have a couple of uh naysayers on the tower that we have to take some uh action either get them off and have them rebid one in particular Okay Um and uh uh working with the committee we have ongoing PBA
negotiations on a new contract So that's uh that's pretty topical And I guess this morning we had the the ongoing uh telephone conference with the uh as was mentioned the water utility has been sold Uh but there's a lot of uh followup to that in terms of easements and
conveyances Uh and that has been an ongoing thing We meet with Bolia once uh every other week That's it Perfect Thank you Mayor I do have one more I'm sorry I forgot Um I just wanted to remind everyone that the primary election for 2025 has been moved to June 10th Um and
the last day to register to vote for the primary is May 20th And we will be open the clerk's office will be open until 9:00 p.m for um for that Get that in the newsletter Yeah Um okay to my report We've talked a lot uh today So um this
evening uh I just like the community center is always you know top of mind I just wanted to thank all the residents for their patience as we rolled this out I mean it was something that we've never endeavored before and it really is working out great It um it's like you build it they will come So it is being
used all the time Um as Die was saying we are trying to bring in some programs for residents I mean we're really there to manage the space We're not going to be um like direct directors but we are trying to bring some educational um uh services for for residents like the
passport one for example that the county offers So we're really excited about it Um I've have a lot of news uh memos coming out So um the there's a big memo on fair share housing that we'll be sending out to um everybody to so people
kind of get an idea of you know what we're going through that is really taking up so much you know time and effort um of of the burrow But um I feel like our we have a solid team and we're doing everything that we can Um we just you know learned today some towns are just kind of like not doing anything and
then they're stuck So we have been very proactive We had this team like months before we even got our numbers Um and there's also going to be a mayor's memo coming out on our new website We're not ready to launch it yet because there's still some quirks So that is going to be super user
friendly for the community I'm really excited about it We've been playing around with it and it's like one of those intuitive so you can find information very very quickly Um and then there will be another um mayor's memo on the community center just because you know we just have to keep on telling people you know what's what's
going on in there Just one thing that Ray brought up um and this is in my mayor's um report is about the cell towers Um and this is just another thing that we're really proud of in the bureau because we could have easily we our cell towers are basically they have a lease
and on the actual cell tower you rent out space to AT&T and all these other things Um we had a third company that was actually managing it It was a contract for over 30 years So when that 30 years is up a lot of times you just take it and you just roll it back over
and that's when I became a new mayor and I wasn't sure and I kind of wanted to learn about it because I didn't even you know it's just kind of a different world And then Allison our you know CFO did and with the help of Ray and TJ we were like you know what we're not going to roll it over again We're going to take
this over So we actually are getting significant revenue that would have otherwise gone to a third party So um just really really excited about just because there's not a lot of revenue opportunities in a municipality So we are really excited about that So that was great That was like the perfect storm That was the contract ending you
coming on board Allison coming on board and all of you kind of like just being curious taking a look at that Yeah it was awesome So um and that's it uh for me Uh so do we have any unfinished business or new business Anybody All
righty I'd like to open up the meeting to the public for anything that they'd like to chat about Anything um anybody want to talk about Jim come on up This is one of our This is good I was here to uh support our wonderful library
Please uh Jim Wright and Franklin Turnpike And uh one of the reasons I'm here is I want to change the name of the Franklin Turnpike Uh I want to change it uh for being in honor of William Franklin the
last royalist governor and traitor Uh change the name to honor Benjamin Franklin So we just need a resolution saying as Franklin Turnpike in Allenale will henceforth be named after Ben Franklin not the traitor's
son I don't know how you do that but it'd be great I love this We have We have the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War coming up and William Franklin was a real nasty turncoat
Turncoat traitor Oh all right It'll be our little secret Ben Franklin's son And I'm going to try and get other towns involved but I thought I'd like you guys to have the first crack at it Sure Did you send us an email on it Okay And on another note uh we've had uh nesting red
shouldered hawks in town for over 20 years I think it's 25 now They're an endangered species where nesting and they they nest all over town We hear them calling and uh Hoboken just made uh the common turn their official city bird
and I thought it'd be great if Allenale made red shouldered hawks the official make that happen Burrow raptor All right that's it Thank you Yeah we got Allenale birds I like both I like both Good job All right anybody else from the public
which to speak Walter come on up Walter 38 Hamilton I've been exposed to uh three mayors in this
town I conduct I want to compliment you on being outstanding Thank you Walter We think so You do so many things to us that did not exist before And I I mean the staff your staff
is fantastic really are Yes Could not do it without the staff and this team And when you love a town and you love what you do it makes it easy right So true Thanks Pencil paper I'll go through this fast Who is going around about breaking sound
people breaking into the house Oh uh yes that's true So that has always been an issue right Not just for Allenale for every jurisdiction right basically people from outside the the burrow come into the town to to break into houses
right We've uh recently arrested six uh of uh they're basically South American burglars or burglars that originate from South America and with the help of the federal government we able to apprehend six of them uh while they were in town But they we stopped them because we uh
responded with a very robust police response and they never had time to actually burglarize a house before Thank you Awesome Agreed Uh the mural Mhm What's happening It's
going to be going up around May Around May Yes after when the weather starts getting better Yep There are um I have some pictures I can show you some updated pictures Like that very much Yep I'll show you after the meeting I know there are three or four other things Quarts Tennis
courts No Oh one more There is one more The speaker system for the birds I know We I know We got to get We got to put that in the capital We'll have to get a new one on the list It's on the list Yeah I know The buzzing sound everything
Yeah we apologize Um everything's so expensive Walter So we got to put it in our budget So we I think we have it in the budget for is it this year or next year It's close Real close We got to talk loud Staff is fantastic Yes they really are Thank you Walter
I've given them enough shovel and they have healthy group signs I swear you guys It's a good team for sure Thank you Thanks Anybody else from the public wish to speak All right With that uh motion to
adjurnn So move All in favor I All right