good evening ladies and gentlemen in the audience and at home it is March 21st 7:30 pm and we are at our mayor and council meeting Linda will you please read the open public meetings act announcement and uh 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 11th 2024 Sunshine notice was sent to the record The Ridgewood news and Star Ledger and has been posted on the public fullon board in the municipal building and B website Council Min delu councilwoman hman here councilwoman l here councilman oconnell here councilman OU here councilman yino here mayor wasinski here everybody please stand to salute it stands Nation God indivisible withy jusice for all right T do that quite well next we have approval of minutes February 22nd and March 7th 2024 do I have a motion so moved second please second councilwoman councilwoman homman yes councilwoman Lis solo yes councilman oconnell yes to the 22nd abstain for the sth councilman oul yes Council yino yes all right next we have agenda review we are introducing an ordinance this evening this is an ordinance to uh just amend and clean up our outdoor cafes outdoor cafes have become very very popular since Co and this is the first year since covid that the governor has um not lifted all the restrictions so we just wanted to review it make sure that it is accommodating to all of our restaurants and make it um friendly and for for residents as well as um help with the Commerce with our restaurants so we just expanded the uh months a little bit and we made it open to all of our restaurants uh next we have our consent agenda consent agendas are matters that are considered routine however this Council works very hard so there's a lot that I would like to highlight we are um going to bid again to finish up the last phases of our streetscape so this piece of it is going to go by fenos restaurant and Dan Central AB along the um Railroad Station it's also going to be going along de curio Drive um let's see here we have revised fees for our Crestwood Cruisers um we are also donating a Crestwood Lake family membership to allenes Women's Club similar to what we do to Affy and the rotary so the buau constantly supports all of our uh nonprofits in town we have a resolution um for our upso contract so we've been working hard on that so that is our contract with our admin and uh we are happy to come to a resolution with that we also have a resolution calling for the review and the reform of Oprah this has been in the news lately it's been controversial um however we have a our point of view is that it is something where we we do 100% promote trans transparent government however this Oprah law has been used and abused and it's a big big burdened on little municipalities like us and actually quite larger ones as well um part of the issue is that people use it to solicit business so we have people from South Jersey and all over who are getting personal information from our residences one is one popular one is they want to know everybody's who's had dog licenses so they can promote their business another time we actually had to give out our email addresses of our residents who who gave us their email addresses so we could give them um information with our through our Constant Contact so it's been abused uh also the the police department which we've mentioned lately where they actually are doing an Oprah for body cams and they are targeting young women and trying to embarrass them in in uh posting by posting them on YouTube and their most vulnerable you know times so we actually um are very much welcoming this reform of Oprah okay so we are also uh uh are giving permission for a dedication by Ryder for the acceptance of donations for the Allen mural project which I'll talk about a little bit more in my mayor's report uh we have uh authorizing our emergency uh temporary budget Appropriations that we do every year we have a new police chaplain um and Peggy who is uh works for Mike is also going to be a radio police dispatcher we have our list of bills did you have a chance to review that councilwoman L solo I did okay excellent and we also have um the change order to finish up the Ada Firehouse bathroom which we're very happy to get that going and then also very exciting construct uh engineering we have um our Crestwood concession stand and this is to approve the architectural and Engineering Services for that which I'm assuming you're gonna talk to talk about in your uh in your report okay so with that I will open the meeting to the public did the public have any comments on any of the agenda items please come up not not seeing anybody we will bring it back and we will uh go to vote so we have introduction of ordinance 24-4 Linda will you please read the um opening of the ordinance ordinance 24-4 in ordinance to amend chapter 185 outdoor cafes chapter 185-186 entitled months of operation of the code of the burrow of Allendale do I have a motion don't move toen second second lello the second uh reading will take place on April 11th 2024 councilwoman homman yes councilwoman Lis solo yes councilman oconnell yes councilman OU yes councilman yakar yes okay consent agenda do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda no move second second councilwoman homman yes councilwoman Lia solo um Yes except I abstain from um let Jo us right for what they review the OPA review resolution 24-105 okay councilman o Connell yes councilman OU yes councilman Yaro uh abstain 24110 yes on the balance please all righty next we have our Administration piece of the meeting and Council reports narino thank you mayor uh semi lengthy report this evening but I'll try to be concise and hit all the highlights um as you mentioned that's on the agenda for approval this evening is the approval for uh the concession stand phase two and three with construct engineering of course we've already approved phase one and we've really been in the weed so to speak fine-tuning our design what the needs of the lake are speaking with the Crestwood Lake staff working with Andy and the DPW and then Amy you and I while still going through and you know trying to figure out how we could best build and construct something that's going to last for the long term so we've really been very proactive with that and then creating something that'll be great for all Crestwood leag members uh so with phase two and three we're going to do some further design tweaks we're going to work with that feedback with the county um and also we're going to have a concept review at the April land use board meeting and then with such finalizing the phase two and three process we'll be coming up with bid specs so we can go out to bid um so we're really excited to do that it has been very helpful and going through the design so far as is everybody else that we've been in contact with so ultimately we're very excited about the projects it's been moving along very nicely um of course we'll be without a concession stand this year but we've been working diligently to provide some other options and alternatives to make sure that we have what we need to get through the season I think the kids will be having ice cream for breakfast lunch and dinner breakfast lunch and dinner that's all right we do have little outside the box there so again we'll we'll definitely have everything that we need to to be open and ready for the season Monday we did have a facilities Parks and Recreation meeting which is attended by myself the mayor Ed and Andy were very productive meeting uh mainly as we're getting into march here we're getting ready for spring at Crestwood and the fields and so forth so working at looking at rather uh general maintenance and prep for Crestwood painting The Docks and moving getting ready to move the lanes and so forth so we have a lot of prep to do but that's all moving along thanks to Andy and his team um after the facilities meeting on Monday we had an ASA meeting so it was a Monday night full of meetings um a lot of the discussion revolved around of course field maintenance planning revision to some Fields perhaps that we're going to discuss to meet the needs of Allen Dale's team so there's more to come with that But ultimately there was a lot of positive discussion about how we could get through the season in terms of getting the fields ready and so forth and then also for the end of the year heading into the winter even though we haven't even started the season about how we can um best prepare the fields for years to come so lots of great conversation around that um just finishing off two things as you know we did have the Motor Vehicle Commission mobile unit here in Allendale at the firehouse it was extremely well received residents were very positive about the event other than folks perhaps needing some different forms of identification to get their licenses overall the process was very smooth I did speak again with my contacted motor vehicle and he thanked us for being such a great host and again we're going to look to bring them back in September for a couple days um and finally councilwoman Lois solo and I did attend the Northwest Bergen council members Association um in which towns represented included Mawa Ramsey Allandale Waldwick Upper Saddle River and Ridgewood and there was a lot of conversation and it does you know being the area that we're in a lot of the issues that we're facing are all in all pretty much the same we talked about some flooding horrible housing issues deer and so forth I know Suzanne you may have more to add um but that was pretty much the the highlights if you will so I'll yield back my [Laughter] time C in um oh Connell uh thank you mayor uh other than Tyler saying everything we uh I did get I did get in touch with both Boy Scouts we're planning on meeting with Andy uh tomorrow at DPW 4 o'clock to discuss their projects and they can get busy on their fundraising Dean is under the weather so I said don't worry if you can't make it we'll schedule for next week when you feel better so hopefully we get to but we're definitely going to talk to one of them and get them rolling that's all I have mayor thank you CA solo um our land use committee will be meeting next Thursday morning um with our running agenda some carryer of old topics but as we voted on tonight we were pleased to amend the burrow code um and um really open up um outdoor dining for another two months on either side the old code said that outdoor dining was allowed from April through OCT October we amended it to be March through November um giving the opport days inch giving the opportunity right for weather permitting um our our all of our eating establishments to um have outdoor dining um the finance committee has been meeting weekly um budget's looking good thank you Allison as always um I want to remind everyone April 27th is our spring cleaning day in Allendale um that is the day uh it's also um Earth Day um where we um have Electronics Recycling styrofoam we have paper shredding and it's all going to take place this year at Burl Hall um as councilman yako noted on Saturday March 9th he and I attended that Council North Westburg and council members um association meeting and I have to tell you like it's kind of comforting and yet also Al kind of sad that we all have the same sort of issues and those issues are the new affordable housing mandates which are going to come down and um really affect all of our little small towns um flooding issues um and and deer I mean the deer issue is something we're going to have to address I think in a very um Regional manner um on the 13th we were all at the beam signing for 210 the community center that was a lot of fun um on the 15th I was able to attend our department head meeting which is something the mayor has started on um uh the last Friday of every month right in the mornings and it's a really great opportunity to meet with everyone because you know you think you're communicating well but when you sit down at a table and start talking through what everyone's doing um it gives an opportunity to really kind of listen to everyone and and identify new topics that need addressing so very um it was a really good meeting um and on the 18th uh uh councilwoman homman and I were able to also join the mayor um for a mural project um meeting which um I'm sure you'll talk about some more and um this morning the mayor and I attended a breakfast at the Hope Center for um developmental disabilities awareness uh month which is this month and the breakfast was a really um nice opportunity to kind of see the facility and and see all the great things that they do there and then we also had our team meeting this morning so um lot very busy two weeks thank you indeed so hi let's see um as far as water goes it's always fun to talk about water but we are continuing to move forward actually had a wonderful meeting um Andy was there and Mike breand where we met with violia talking not only about the future about the permanent um P fo facility that needs to be built um and where that housing what they're applying through uh the njde but also we actually were seeing how they're managing the first change of media for the temporary treatment that they put in uh which is really amazing that you know they really took over and put in temporary treatment in New Street right away and already there needs to be a media change just to you know ensure that we continue to have those non-detect readings for the posos so for me it was awesome just to realize how good of a partnership we had in getting the temporary treatment up and it was nice to be able to meet with them and hear what their planning is for the uh permanent so we'll need to keep in constant contact they are at this point uh looking at keeping it in the current water building where they have the temporary treatment which is really ideal to not have to give up any other to create any more impervious coverage which really is an important goal obviously water being posos free was critical but if we can avoid having any structures that take up open space that would be helpful because there is so much water that flows down that way um so that was exciting and um we continue to have the team's meeting I don't have to be a part of all those meetings but Ry keeps me updated on the east and working with Green Acres and I'm thrilled that Ry gave me the update that they did have a conversation with Green Acres because we have some pipes that are on land that um Green Acres has uh helped purchased and so th those did not have what is it official sanctioning sanctioning and so in selling the property this was done years and years and years ago um we now have to work with Green Acres and really what it comes down to is that we may have to dedicate additional lands which you know we're looking at different options for doing that perhaps down by the DPW and um and hopefully that can work out otherwise there will be a monetary um in investment that needs to be made by Allen Del and it would be ideal that we actually preserve land which is what we love to be able to do um as opposed to actually having to um expend in any money and then on the sewer is that good for that update on yeah that was and then uh on the sewer side we uh again to continue to have discussions we signed the agreement with Saddle River as everybody's aware but we still have this uh now they now there is a developer with 275 units in Saddle River so um we at this point do not feel we have the capacity to hold that to take on that quantity of sewage through our existing pipes so that remains to be seen how that will be worked out and I got my amazing sewer book you guys will all be glad although it needs to expand a little further it has all of Allandale but I need feeders so that's that excellent that's all this two talk I got council president OU yes ma'am thank you uh Public Safety Committee met this past Tuesday I was unavoidably held up at work but I was able to call in a little bit late but it was a very productive good meeting uh avac Chief butaro reports that she's been having conversation with the nursing home to make sure that avac is being appropriately utilized there uh and they've been very busy with their casino night fundraiser coming up on Friday at the Ramsey Country Club uh fire chief bios reports that the fire department was Ed a $45,000 Grant to purchase washer and dryer specifically made for turnout deer um it's capable of washing seven sets at a time but only drying five sort of like the hot dogs in the Buns uh the ADA Bathroom replacement project at the firehouse is underway and moving along well uh demo is ongoing and the fire department approved two new members this past Friday so we welcome them family we're happy to have them board in that vein we're setting dates with the Chiefs to see how we at the burough level can best assist them with attracting and retaining volunteers uh volunteerism is down everywhere so finding those special people to hop on an ambulance or a firet truck is taken some outside of box strategies um on March 11th the Bergen County prosecutor's office gave a presentation of Brookside School eth graders on the dangers of fentel laboratory Resorts of seized elicit narcotics are showing that over 98% of drugs that have been seized contain some amount of fenel so it is a nationwide epidemic that is ongoing uh on the 12th numerous Allendale police officers teamed up with the sheriff's department for directed enforcement of Motor Vehicle violations in five or six known areas of concern around town they was very successful not only issuing summonses for violations but also educating motorists on the dangers of speed violations and aggressive driving um April is National distracted driving month distracted driving comes in many forms texting and cell phone use is the most prevalent type so if you're chief asks if you're expecting a text or you need to send a text pull over and stop don't engage in social media scrolling while you're driving um and a couple of reminders the police department will be hosting an FBI Outreach class uh designed for the public to teach you how to react to an active as salant the mayor is very excited uh taking place on the 26th next uh Wednesday wait it's it's this Wednesday next week yeah and it's gonna be held here in council chambers from 7 to 9: and finally I say it every meaning the uh the blood drive the G lum Memorial blood drive will be taking place next Thursday at the firehouse from 1: to 7: so far we have 35 donors registered we have space for 60 but our goal was 28 so we're doing all right do we have to pre-register negative you can walk right in roll up your sleeve and they'll get you that's all I got thank you very much thank you okay staff reports uh are cfba Allison Alano do you have anything to report for us uh to make it as minimal as possible we've been working very hard on numerous projects um from the mural to contract negotiations we've made some internal changes within burrow uh with the Personnel to provide additional administrative he to the DPW to assist our new superintendent we've made a lot of progress with our kitchen which will hopefully be completed within the first week of April thank you to everyone involved it's been quite uh eventful um within the finance department our tax collector will be executing a new feature to our online payments soon to allow for auto pay for tax payments more information on this new feature will be going out in our March newsletter to let all the residents know how and when this is going to be available it's a new feature that edms which is our software is going to be um allowing residents to use lastly our annual will audit will be starting next week um and we've also made a lot of progress on the 2024 budget which I'm hoping to have introduced on April 11 and that is all all righty Linda Serino AR CL do you have a report um just short um just a reminder compost permits can be purchased online through our website for Allendale residents only the compost site opens April 6th through December 7th Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2: p.m. and Wednesdays from 400 p.m. to 7 P.M yeah that's it thank you very much DPW supervisor Andy a googly era thank you mayor um I just wanted to um thank first of all thank Dan Richards uh for his 18 years with the DPW his last day was last Friday um he was a great asset to the burrow um he'll definitely be missed and maintain all our burrow vehicles um so this month we've been fixing a lot of potholes throughout Town um we've had a lot of complaints about that but we've been tackling them very fast um we PR preparing for the new concession stand like uh Tyler was said earlier um we've also been preparing all the ball fields for the 2024 Sports season along with Crestwood Lake um we've been preparing for a compost opening and um just so talked about the compost hours and um lastly in the near future we'll be hiring a uh DPW laborer um anybody's interested there's applications on the bough website or you can drop off your resume in the town excellent thank you very much very much for attorney Ray West a lot of the uh things that we've been involved with were mentioned in Council committee reports but I'll just briefly our involvement some of the agreements relating to the uh the mural project uh ordinance revisions the outdoor dining one which was on this evening's agenda um as was mentioned uh theou with the white collar unit uh was approved by resolution this evening the contract has already been submitted to the union for their review so hopefully at the next meeting we'll actually have contract approval uh we did have negotiations with the the DPW uh earlier today with their uh their Union I will say no more of that uh hopefully the uh the avac lease is uh progressing through channels uh and is in their attorney but uh you know I think from the Burrow's vantage point the draft is now is now done subject to their comments um involvement with uh one of our affordable housing units uh the owner had died and the unit was in foreclosure so we had uh quite an involvement over the last couple of weeks trying to sort through that process uh likewise with the uh May 31st expiration of the existing cell tower lease there's been quite a bit of time spent on cell towers and we had the presentation here I guess the meeting before last uh uh about future opportunities there uh as councilwoman homman mentioned um we're in a I think a very formative stage and try to conclude certain things on the uh the sale of the utility uh in particular we did received from bi's attorney the list of U easements that need to be recorded little bit of historical problems when the burrow was both the odor and also the water utility so you know going back decades some of the agreements weren't done we uh last week sent to them our response to their list so that's that's getting fine-tuned um and uh we did have a rather lengthy conversation Mike Breeland and I today with the Green Acres representative on the easement that councilwoman home in mention um and I think we have a game plan and now it's you know up to us to meet with uh with Andy and with Mike uh uh and and sort of come up with a game plan in terms of the property that will be offered um had a discussion yesterday with Mike uh and he's been in touch with Larry our luse board attorney um with respect to the the Saddle River issue uh and uh you know our ability uh to have the capacity and then also what it might mean to us in terms of future usage and obsolescence of the system uh if anyone were to use it and we do have to keep in mind in that same context that 2025 is our next next uh year on affordable housing uh and if there is development in the community as a result of that uh obviously we want to prioritize our own needs before we you know look across the border to accommodate a neighbor um and uh I have been in court a couple times on the PK litigation which is still going on and on which has been a little bit of a saga in and of itself because of a dispute between the principles of PK and their own insurance company um but hopefully that's getting straightened out and I guess lastly I learned that the kitchen doesn't have a [Laughter] I I this is not I'm not updated on that we're not allow aove it's too much construction and we don't need a stove nobody's cooking if for a all right as I always say there's a lot going on in a little town I'm not so in addition to everything everybody said I'm going to emphasize on a few things but I'm not going to repeat everything and one of the things I want to emphasize on is uh this deal signing for uh 2 210 uh it was very very exciting it was such a long time coming um you know actually Ray is the one that's been really on it the whole entire time with with me from the very beginning to the end and then everybody else had very int uh uh integral Parts councilwoman Homan was a huge part of it going through and then of course mayor Meritus uh barah in white um from the very beginning and then the rest of the council with all the support so it was really ve very um not say emotional but it was exciting and it's going to be such a wonderful thing for the community I mean it's just going to be such a a great space that we just have never had before so we're just very lucky and you know it was really it was really good planning we bought that property because we did not want it developed into 350 units and we have it and we developed it the way that we wanted to develop it we had to put some of our Fisher housing I know some people aren't happy with the 70 units but compared to what it could be and what we're getting out of it is a community center so that was all part of the negotiations a lot of up and down so it's really exciting to be where we are here and every time you go by it looks different so they are really coming along nicely uh we've talked about the fair share housing this is going to be the bane of our existence in 2025 I had a meeting with the New Jersey Mayors I wrote to the governor I wrote to every single state senator opposing the new conditions of the reform that actually did wind up getting passed our numbers are going to be 15% higher than last time our numbers were unattainable last time um everybody is having an issue and we're talking about all the flooding issues and we're talking about all the traffic issues and we're talking about the deer issues well if you kind of look from the birds I view they are kind of all are intertwined so you can't say that oh we have to you know we have flooding issues what are we gon to do about it and then you have the governor saying we have to pretty much Keep On Building in New Jersey because there's not enough housing so they really want every single piece of land that is open space zoned for multif family housing and then if you don't have they want you to build up so they really want to make Suburban towns look like cities um there's absolutely an affordable crisis in New Jersey but this is not uh going to help it this is my rant that I'll probably feel here for the next couple years but it's something that we all it's not it's not a partisan issue it's something that we all really H you know have to have to worry about because it it is a problem there is no consideration for the schools for the police for the environment um etc etc etc so it is something that we're all going to dealing with in the next couple years when those numbers come down but we have heard that the numbers are 15% higher so I don't know what we're going to do um I really really don't I mean I'm trying to think outside the box but it's going to be a challenge for sure for sure okay so um we've met with a lot of um Community uh organizations to talk about the mural and to talk about everything about uh the burough in general so we've met with the chambers the Women's Club girls SC SP of Ed so it's been really nice kind of making the the tour around town um the mural mural as we've been talking about is a community project that is uh we're bringing together community art and history and we're working with um uh local artist to bring our mural back to life we also met uh Armed Forces Day we're actually going to have on the June 13 mayor and council meeting is going to be our Armed Forces Day this year Linda Take note so we met with we had our first meeting about that so we're trying to talk about how to bring all the families together it's such a wonderful thing I think there's we found over I think 20s something families in our town alone that that have active people serving in the military so not only is this honoring those people but we're also going to have these connections and bring them together where they can you know meet each other support each other if they needed so um like we did last year we'll have a nice little uh ceremony after and it'll be um we'll honor all the the new people going in as well as the ones that are in there still you mentioned the Hope Christian breakfast which is a wonderful special needs Community um thank you to the budget uh me budget committee the finance committee and Allison our budget is looking nice um thanks to all the hard work so I really do uh appreciate all the hard work that we've been we've been plowing along in that department the 27th uh we have our first town hall so in an effort to increase transparency among the bureau we are going to have four town halls and and probably more you know meet with coffee you know mayor and Council coffee cop cop and the mayor and Council and and coffee because um most people don't like to come to these meetings let's face it um so we're going to have it we are going to have it here present company here but um most people so we're gonna have it um We're not gonna be up in the D we're going to be out on the floor we we you know it's in the paper so we can have a quorum and we're just going to talk to Residents so we're going to actually the the first one we are going to let everybody know what our 2024 goals and strategy are for the buau in each of our departments and the buau as a whole we want to get the community feedback and then the four subsequent meetings we actually put a QR code out there for for residents to let us know what you want to hear so we already actually had a ton of feedback so those agendas are going to be crafted for what the needs of the community are and it's going to be just open discussions um and I think it's I think it's going to be a good way to really connect with the community so we're really looking forward to that and then lastly I just also want to relay my sentiments to Dan Richards he was a very valuable employee for many years in the burough and we wish him uh luck in his future endeavors so with that any unfinish business any new business I'd like to open the meeting up to the public on any matters anybody from the public wishing to speak nope nothing oh come on up number one I like to thank Walter with 30th Hamilton uh thank you ever so much for this booklet what purpose it'll serve I don't know but I'm always willing to learn uh you mentioned young lady the uh cleanup day what day is it April 27th it's a Saturday April 27 and it's um that's number two where where um at Burl Hall and here outside outside in theed parking lot and I think bring bring the junk here to the par not it not to this room outside [Laughter] sorry so this is our third year I believe of doing it um and they they have con set up and actually we have one of our thirt volunteers here who helps on that day and they set up cones and they take you depending on if you want to go the paper shredding which where your car should go and park so do you have to take a laps if you want to go to maybe is uh number two with regard to the cleanup chemicals also included you know uh old paint cans things yeah I don't think so no I don't think the pain cans and stuff I don't think there's any hazardous somewhat a restricted cup um yeah is it online what's what's yeah there should be a flyer um if it's not yeah there's a flyer going out soon and it's also is it going showing right now and it lists under each category what is allowable is Mark involved with that Sao yeah Mark is head of our Green Team and you mentioned the Green Team uh do you know when they meet um It's usually the first Tuesday of every month in the evening and it's it's via Zoom so if you want to be LinkedIn um let Mark know I can let him know yeah I I volunteered to have work with him and he's never contacted me oh all right I'll pass that on follow up well I I can call him I have his number so I'll find out what's going on with that I'll back you up on that Walter uh a lot more questions I can hold them they'll come all right okay thank thank you all right anything else motion to adjourn so moved all in favor thanks everybody