This is the combined work and regular session of the mayor and council meeting Bur of Alia January 15th 7 p.m. Linda, will you please follow the meeting's order and read the Open Public Meeting Act announcement? >> 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 N news and star ledger.
>> Councilman Okonnell. >> Councilman Otul >> here. >> Councilwoman Lisa >> here. Councilwoman Hman >> here. >> Councilman Delisio >> here. >> Councilman Yakarino >> present. >> Mayor Wilzinski >> here. Stand to salute the flag.
>> To the one God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. So, just have a little agenda today. We have two calculations. I'm actually going to switch the order and then we're going to be swearing in our
fire uh department officer. So, once um we do the presentations and fire department, I will do a general review. So, first we will start with proclamation. Um and thank you Karen Clark.
Oh, there you bringing this to our very important topic to our attention. Uh this is a proclamation for the New Jersey coalition against human trafficking. Whereas human trafficking is among the world's fastest growing criminal enterprises and its projects from the exploitation of vulnerable
populations including minors and adults. Whereas nearly 26 years after the passing of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, an estimated 27.6 6 million people are subject to human trafficking globally with cases
reporting in every US state and territory. Whereas human trafficking is a borderless crime against individuals that violates the most basic human rights and deprivives victims of every sh of their personal freedom. And whereas human trafficking occurs when a
person is recruited harbored or obtained through force, fraud or for the purposes of sexual or labor exploitation. Whereas victims can be US citizens or non-citizens and can be any age or gender, but they have a shared experience of having been forced,
tricked, manipulated, or threatened into compliance with the criminals seeking to exploit them. Whereas broad public awareness of human trafficking that is informed by the lived experience of survivors brave enough to share their knowledge is best practice when seeking to understand and
prevent trafficking. And whereas large sporting events I did not realize this like the World Cup are known to increase the demand for sex trafficking victims and the World Cup in particular has been associated with labor trafficking cases
including construction, hospitality, retail industries, etc. It is especially important to educate our communities and raise awareness before, during, and after this event. Whereas New Jerseyy's MetLife Stadium will host eight matches
of the 2026 FIFA World Cup from June 11, 2026 for over five weeks, included the World Cup final on July 19th, along with FanFest and Liberty State Park along New Jersey Shore and other locations. Whereas the signing into law of New
Jerseys 2013 prevention, protection and treatment act officially declared January as human trafficking prevention month in the state and specifically declared January 11th as human trafficking awareness day. Whereas the Bureau of Allenale stands committed to
protecting human rights and individual freedom by raising awareness of human trafficking. And whereas the bureau of Allenale is resolved to support the goals and ideals of observing a month of human trafficking prevention during January of each year and to support all
the efforts by individuals, businesses, organizations, and governing bodies to raise awareness of and opposition to whereas the bureau of Allenale is resolved to make additional efforts to keep its residents aware of the warning
signs survivor information, prevention, messaging, and how to respond in case of suspected trafficking before, during, and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Whereas the Burough of Allenale is committed to ensuring that those impacted by human trafficking receive
services that are trauma-informed and responsive to their individual needs. Whereas the bureau commends the work of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking for its survivors, inclusive efforts to end human trafficking in our state and beyond through education,
advocacy, and assistance to survivors and to increase coordination and visibility of New Jerseys commitment to end human trafficking. I therefore in Linsky, mayor of the bureau of Allenville, on behalf of the Burough Council, hereby proclaim January of each
year as human trafficking prevention month in the bureau of Allenville to raise awareness about the signs and consequences of human trafficking, to promote opposition to human trafficking in all of its forms, and to encourage support for survivors of human trafficking throughout the state of New Jersey and across the world to put an
end to this criminal activity and restore freedom of disability survivors. Thank you very much. Um I think they wanted a picture of it. I >> I took a picture of you. >> Okay. And so I have this here if you want to take that. So
okay on a lighter note much lighter note. Oh, >> okay. Now, proclamation for the rededication of Franklin Turnpike in Allenale, New
Jersey. Proclamation for the rededication of Franklin Turnpike in Allenale. Whereas the year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, providing a fitting opportunity to honor
the true patriots who sacrificed um for our nation's founding. And whereas Franklin Turnpike in Aendelle currently bears the name of William Franklin, the last royalist governor of New Jersey who betrayed the American cause by serving as a British spy,
organizing the Associated Loyalist to fight against patriots and ultimately fleeing to Great Britain after the war. Where whereas this road passes by the historic home of John Fel, a true patriot who led Bering County resistance
against the British occupation, endured eight months of imprisonment for liberty, kept a secret diary detailing the British jail for conditions and later served in the Continental Congress where he voted to ratify our Constitution. And whereas Benjamin Franklin stands as one of America's most
distinguished founding fathers, being the only person to sign all four founding documents of our nation, securing the crucial French alliance that won our independence and making groundbreaking scientific discoveries that brought international acclaim to America. And whereas then Benjamin
Franklin founded our nation's first public library, fire company, hospital, and the academy that became the University of Pennsylvania, while his leadership during the constitutional convention helped forge our enduring system of government. And whereas it is
manifestally inappropriate that a road passing a patriot's home should honor one who portrayed the very cause for which that patriot suffered. Therefore, be it proclaimed that I, Amy Wzinski, the mayor of Bur Burough of Aenddale, on
behalf of the Burough Council and all of our residents, do hereby call upon the community to write this historical wrong by rededicating our little portion, sorry, little portion of Franklin Turnpike to honor Benjamin Franklin, a true architect of the American liberty
rather than his traitorous son who fought against everything this nation represents, ensuring that our street names reflect our values and properly honor those who sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today just >> so this is we're having a little fun
with this people um this is nothing official with the county there's going to be no change to any name on Franklin Turnpike. There's going to be no additional signs on Franklin Turnpike. >> He's our founding father. It's the 250th
year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He's the founding father and one of the signers. We're just having a little fun. It's our little secret in Allenale. And our little section is going to be named after Ben Franklin in the year 2020. >> Dedicated.
>> Okay. All right. Now, we have swearing in of our fire department officers. >> Yay. Try not to run me over. >> You want to hold it up? >> You want to hold it? There you go. >> There you go.
>> There you go. >> Yes. >> I state your name. I John Captain >> I person solemnly swear >> solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of
the United States >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> I will bear true faith and allegiance >> to the same >> to this
>> and to the governments established >> the governments established >> in the United States and in this state >> in the United States and in this state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people >> and I will faithfully >> and I will faithfully >> impartially >> impartially
>> and justly perform >> and justly perform >> all the duties of >> all I didn't hear you >> of the Burrow of Allenale >> of the >> according to the best of my ability. >> To the best of my ability. >> So help me out.
>> So help me out. >> Congratulations. Excuse me. control. really okay. Perfect. Thank you. So on behalf of the residents and the
governing body, I really want to thank um all of Allenville Fire Department for your commitment to protect our families, our homes, and our neighbors. We're very proud to stand with you and grateful the dedication that you all bring to our department. And we wish you safety, strength, and success in every call that
you answer. And congratulations to Dana. You're Is it this the first female? >> Second female to hold this position. Y next we have approval of minutes 2025 cinida and the 2026 reorg. Do I
have a motion? >> So move >> second. >> Second. >> Councilman Oul. Yes. >> Councilwoman Lisolo. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Homeman. >> Yes. >> Councilman Delisio. >> Staying on both. >> Councilman Yakarino.
>> Yes. >> Um, so I am going to review our consent agenda and the rest of the agenda. Consent agenda are items that are listed as routine and they're usually enacted in one motion. However, there's a lot on this one and um I want to highlight some
of them so everybody knows what's going on. Um so we have some um some tax adjustments from the county. We are uh approving our budget transfers. We do this every year um at the beginning of the year. We
actually um have the approval for Allenale uh festival day already and um we are waving the special events permit fee for that. So we are um in support of our chamber and all they do for our town. We're also approving the
Allen holiday walk. Really getting ahead of ourselves. Um we have a resolution um opposing S4736. This is another um uh what what do what do I call it? >> Piece of legislation that wants to
bypass our local zoning laws. Um this is on top of everything that we just went through with our fourth round housing which we are going to talk about um a little bit later. I'll talk about that in my mayor's report. But this um piece of legislation brought up by to by
senators in South Jersey um want to bypass book zoning laws allow for high density. They want to uh bypass parking regulations. So uh in other words not having the proper amount of parking spots especially if you're near transit.
They want to have reszoning for religious institutions up to 50 units per acre and nonprofit organizations um up to 50 units per acre. And to top it all off, they also want to allow ADUs. These are something that's called
accessory dwelling units where you're allowed to put like a mini house in your in your backyard. Um so um these are all things that will severely alter the character of our town and this is a resolution um opposing that.
Uh we also have a resolution to uh approve the Ramadan lighting um in February. We have a a resolution um entering into shared service agreement with village for uh village of Bridgewood for expanded styrofoam
recycling. Um we actually are establish establishing some rental fees. Um nothing crazy but for any type of parties uh for res nominal fee for residents and then another fee for non-residents if anybody wants to use the community center for events. Our
nonprofits are all still uh let's see we're putting in for a grant. We literally put in for almost every grant that comes our way. So this one was a grant for parks. So we put it in for some field improvements. Um let's see. We're going to do another
shared service agreement with the town of Ramipo with our police and the firing range. Uh we are have a resolution approving state contract vendors. Um and then these resolutions at the end, these are very important and these
are going to be intertwined in my report and in um Councilwoman Holman's report, but we actually have a resolution that is offering the execution of our mediation agreement with fair share housing. Um I will go into this more in my coun in my mayor's report, but um
this was a long long time coming with a lot of lot of work and I think everybody is going to be very pleased of what uh the agreement that we came to. Um there is also an agreement between Allenale and Avalon Bay which we'll get into um a
bit later when I give my mayor's report and there's also an agreement with a sewer connection agreement between the Burough of Allenale and the Burough of Southern. So that is the consent agenda and
so right now I'd like to open up the public for comments on any agenda items. >> James Williams >> not about an agenda item. >> Oh really? Well,
>> proclamation. >> Yeah, the proclamation is an agenda item. >> All right. >> This is uh something about the salaries. >> Um okay. So then do I have a motion to approve the uh consent agenda? >> So move. >> Second, please.
>> Councilman Oul. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Lisolo. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Hman. >> Yes. >> Councilman Delisio. >> Yes. >> Councilman Yakarino. >> Yes. Council reports. >> Uh first of all, congratulations and thank you to the officers who scored
this evening and of course as always a heartfelt thank you to the entire fire department. Thank you for all you guys doing as a funeral to keep us all safe. Another night Carol uh public safety committee had our first meeting of the new year this week on
Tuesday. Uh we covered quite a bit of ground. Our newest officer is Christopher Locks is doing very well. Uh >> today he's out there. >> There you see. Uh we have uh exams coming up for the candidate sergeants.
We have a number of our men taking those. Um we discussed our ebike ordinance which is coming along. who are looking at other towns, what they're doing to make sure that it is both safe for those who want to utilize ebikes and
e- scooters as well as for pedestrians and motorists. Um, it's very common sense. It's more educational than punishing. Um we're looking at doing uh finding a
date for coffee and a cop coffee with a cop in the mayor council. Uh on the fire department front we talked about uh our ladder trucks always a hot topic conversation and uh finally we are circling for our
next blood drive a date of March 31st. Um and Dr. Latia texted me a couple of days ago uh to let me know that officially the Gary Letia Memorial Blood Drive is the largest most successful
drive in the state by the 500 that there have to be a small part. Thank you very much. >> Thank you very much, Council President. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um I just echo Councilman Oul's words about our financial department. Thank you so much
for all you do. As someone who lost uh Lakehouse in that March uh to a fire, I so appreciate everything that you guys do and the risk that you take every time you help people out. Truly appreciate it. Thank you. Um
our next land use council next land use committee meeting will be Tuesday, January 27th. So I'll report on that after we have that and finance soon as we start ongoing
>> budgeting. Yes, we continue to uh get our ducks in a row with all that for the upcoming year. Thank you as always to our CFO Alison Otan. Um a little something to report out on Lee Memorial Library. They are planning for the future and understanding what our
community members need and want from their library is valuable to Lee Memorial Library. The survey of community needs went live on Monday and the library is asking all residents to participate. Links are available on the library website and through the newsletter and other community
newsletters. Paper copies are also available at the library. Your voice matters and your ideas will help guide our next steps for the library. they are looking to possibly do an expansion. So, they want to get an age on what everyone's looking for in the library
and what you currently use at work. Um, for adults, in addition to the recurring offerings, they are continuing their series of cooking classes which have been very popular. The library will be partnering with the John Fel House for a special program on Sunday, January 25th at 2 p.m. at the community center. Jim
Wright will be presenting the turncoat and the patriot. This program will focus on New Jersey Colonial Governor William Franklin and patriot John Fellow Valendelle and their roles during the Revolutionary War. Bring the kids. And speaking of the kids, they're featuring a watercolor workshop about Arctic
animals on January 21st. On the 22nd, library will have a special kids can volunteer event celebrating the legacy of Lauren Luther King Jr. Kids will learn how they can make a positive difference through volunteer. The children will be assembling snack packs and toiletry kits for local
organizations. Um for America 250, our year-long project of celebrating this moment this year, um we have reached out and encouraging organizations, businesses, and residents in town to think of fun ways to celebrate the year. I know that
John Fhouse is working on some things and this tonight was I think a wonderful start to this fun year. Um, as mentioned on January 25th, local writer and historian Jim Wright seated in the front here, will be giving a fascinating presentation on William
Franklin Turnpike except for our stretch of Allenale is named after and local hero John Fel. So, make sure you get to that. Um, and that's about it. Thank you. >> All right. Don't be council.
>> Yes. Thank you very much. Uh, and I also would all want to say just thank you so much to the fire department and all that you do and all the training you have to go through and bringing together a great team to volunteer in Allenville. So,
thank you so much. Um, congratulations also, but thank you so much for your service. Um, and as far as water, there has been numerous water breaks in Allenale. And each time I get a notification about the water break, I
say, "Thank goodness we do not own the system because managing these water breaks is a lot." Um, and I thank Andy and the police department for helping. I mean, they're they're at nighttime and has consistently communicated with
Violia the break on the corner of Myrtle and um West Crescent that had that construction and repair not gotten done during the middle of the night, it really would have impeded traffic flow coming uh at the start of the day. So,
I'm very appreciative of that. Um things also continue to move forward with the construction um of the PAS permanent PAS facility that will be built uh down at New Street. And there are also continued
letting copper rule that Violia must now uh comply to all of the regulations for the state and they will be continuing to uh dig and identify if there is any possible lead or galvanized lines. So,
it's something that sometimes seems like ah there's, you know, another dig going on, but it really is to um protect homeowners um and residents in a particular home, whe they're a renter or not, and to comply with the state regulations
>> and it and it's free. The is do is paying for this. In other towns, um the residents actually have to pay for it. So, >> yeah, there are some opt >> pardon, >> we just opted in. >> Yeah. And sometimes they will they will um they will charge residents over a
period of time. So yes um obviously that always in some way comes back to water rate which we are the mayor and I are meeting with Violia uh next week to discuss um a potential rate case increase that will be discussed at the
BPU. This is a year where Allenale does on the contract that we have with Violia have a increase of 5%. Um it would be great to keep it at that. So we will be looking to the BPU. Amy and I have been in communication
um with individuals. We have registered as an intervenor. Thank you Ray Wis for um completing that for us which means we get all of the information on this particular rate case. And then what uh
Mayor Wzinski had mentioned before of the resolution 2686, we are going to be signing an agreement with Saddle River that um was uh really I think well done in the fact
that there are developments that are going in in Saddle River. Avalon Bay being the most recent one that had been approved by Saddle River and really wanted to have a direct agreement with Allenale and under no circumstances were we going to have an agreement with a
developer. It is only acceptable for us and if we maintain steady in myth that we if we are accepting sewage that is coming from the burrow of Sadd River or anywhere else that they need to have an agreement with the burrow because we don't we don't get anybody's tax dollars
from there. Um so we negotiated I think a very good um agreement and we were obviously mandated by the fourth to origin and sign a TWWA permit. So I think we did really well and to that and and Mayor Wzinski is going to talk more
about the other agreements but I just have to say as a resident I cannot thank um Mayor Amy Wolinski enough. as a council person, I get to see the intelligence and the tirelessness and
the tenacity that she works with, but I just I I don't know how to get it out into the community. Like, I mean, she was working with Ray Witz and with the team that she put together for days leading up to, you know, New Year's Eve
and it just is absolutely tireless work and we have so much to be thankful for. So I I you put together a great group of resource to work with and you did an unbelievable job. So with that, thank you.
>> Thank you, mayor. Uh I also want to echo and congratulate our Allenale Fire Department. Um several years ago, you know, we had a fire in this community. My neighbor uh lost somebody. So there's not a day that goes by that I don't pass that house and think about the bravery
and the uh effort that you guys put forth. So I want to thank you for that. It's uh definitely lucky to have such great volunteers. So thank you for that. Uh DPW has not met since our last meeting. We actually are scheduled to meet tomorrow. So I really don't have anything to report. Just want to thank
Superintendent Guggliero for the efforts with the uh snow and ice and things that uh the DPW has done to keep the roads safe and sidewalks clear and everything else. So, thank you for that. That's it. >> Thank you, Councilman Yanino.
>> Thank you. Congratulations to the fire department. My grandfather was a Richwood fireman for almost 40 years. So, we come from a family of of firemen and my father was a emergency services for the Port Authority for another 37 years. So, I understand and I greatly appreciate. So, thank you all. You're
all wonderful. Um, I'll keep my report brief. We do have an Allenale Sports Alliance and Rec Commission meeting coming up uh within the first two weeks of February. So, we'll be uh planning ahead for the year and discussing u new initiatives. Spring sports is coming up. So, I'll save lengthy report for that.
Thank you. >> All right. Staff the FL administrator Alison. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, congratulations to all the officers sworn in today. Um, I'm going to keep it short as well. Uh, I spoke with the auditors today and they're going to be start uh starting
work on the 2025 annual financial statements within the next week or two, which is great. It's being done much earlier than past years and it always holds up the budget a little bit. So, maybe we'll get the budget introduced sooner. Um, in the meanwhile, we've been busy applying for, as the mayor said,
possibly every grant that's come our way so far this week, um, for future projects, analyzing prior year data, and coming up with a solid budget. Um, we have not had a finance committee meeting in the new year yet, but in the meanwhile, we're just, you know, going
through, analyzing, and focusing on this year's expenses. This way, by the time we sit down, we're going to be pretty good to go. And lastly, for anybody who may or may not have seen it, the burrow is hosting a 250th anniversary flag design contest. So, the contest runs
through February 24th, and it's for all kids from ages 7 to 12. The submissions will be presented in the community center once the contest closes. So, we'll put it in the hallway so all of them will be up and the winner will have their flag featured on the cover page of
our newsletters for the remainder of the year and we'll also be taking the flag and turning them into stickers to have at various events as giveaways. Um, the flyer went out yesterday. So, yeah. So, something fun for the kids. >> And, uh, that's it.
>> Thank you, Clerk. >> Uh, thank you, mayor. I have nothing to report from the clerk's office. I just want to congratulate the officers who got sworn in today. >> Working out and thank for another uh winry weather coming this
weekend. >> Uh contin Christmas trees are probably on the east side of town. Just a reminder to residents to please not put the Christmas trees in bags. Um they're not they're just supposed to be the trees. They're just supposed to be put out in the curve. Um the green team has
a collection event coming up this weekend um at Pearl Hall from 10 to noon on Saturday the 17th. Uh they're collecting EPS uh reusable bags, food, and a coat collection. Um lastly, congrats to our chief Greg Anderson and
the rest of the fire for today. Okay. Um, so I'm gonna have my report before we have Ray um, do his report. Um, I wanted to talk about uh, Octure Housing. Um, because this is actually a monumental day that we are we came to this agreement. Um when the fourth round
was coming up, um we were very proactive and we assembled a team, a team of experts, um including Ray Wis, another fair housing lawyer, a planner, um Councilwoman um Homeman and Council President Logos Solo, myself and we um
really were trying to form a plan. We updated our master plan and we also did what's called the hazard vulnerability study which identifies vulnerable areas in the town that have been affected by climate and flooded areas. So, this was an addition to our master plan. And this is important. You'll see later because
it really did set us up for um for success in the long run. And that was the whole idea behind this. Um when we got our number, our number was massive. It was 260. Um that's affordable units. You always have to take that number and you have to multiply it by five because
developers, that's the ratio that they have figured out that they can make a profit. Um there's three factors that determine that number. One is the equalized non-residential allocation factor. It's confirmed by our tax assessor. There's nothing we could do about that. The second is the income
capacity allocation factor. And this is derived from census records. There's nothing we could do about that. And the third is the land capacity allocation factor. And this is where the number was flawed. Uh for example, they said that we had 24 buildable acres in Allenville.
We absolutely do not. They identified all the areas that were completely not buildable. So this was the number that we could at least go in with and challenge. Um and we did and we um we our projected need then was was uh was
adjusted from 260 to 200. Still a massive number. And remember this is the fourth round. The third round we still had a massive number and we still have this like unmet need. So what happens is if the burrow and the municipality lacks sufficient land for 200 units times
5,000 units which we do um you have to identify an adjusted number which is your realistic development potential. Our number was adjusted to four. So four was our what we call the RDP. But you can't just like forget about all
the rest of the number. So you actually have to take that number and you have to address it and you have to find different area of the burrow land that you have to adjust it to. This is called the unmet need. So we have an unmet need from our last round of a couple hundred
and we have couple hundred on an unmet need from this round because we don't have available land. So it's almost like this black cloud that's you know over our municipality but it's all municipalities. It's not just us. But um we had to create these overlay zones and this is where the thing has got like a
little bit dicey. So as councilwoman H Homeman mentioned Sadd River has all of their fair share housing on our border. S River does not have infrastructure for all of this building. Um one of our lawyers called them paper buildings because basically they are but they have
literally 500 units going in and no infrastructure to support it. Um and it was this battle back and forth. So they came to us and they wanted to use our sewer and we said absolutely not. And then the judge basically told us yes they have to use your sewer. So the
judge want like demanded us forced us to sign me to sign a TWWA allowing this monster project at 275 units by Avalon Bay right on our border to come through our sewer system. So we appealed. Um there's a lot more to the story you know
back and forth. They wind up suing Saddle River for hund00 million dollars and then um this back and forth they dropped it. It's too too dicey to to get in all of the weeds. But um
what what Fairshair Housing wanted us to do is start looking at our downtown and they wanted us to put three to four stories on our little downtown. So they wanted us to have this big kind of tall corridor um on on Allen down and on our
main street and we just said you know no way no way and it this back and forth and there was this back and forth um the challenge that we had with fair share housing is that we didn't have any shovel in the ground ribbon projects and Saddle River did and it became known
very quickly that they wanted fair share housing they wanted Avalon Bay like there was no way that they they wanted this project it was in their props that they had to have this project. So, we held on as long as we could because we wanted something for it. We're like,
we're not just going to, you know, they obviously have to pay super fees and all that but >> we wanted something else. We're like, this is, you know, not very fair. So, we held out as long as we can and um and we pushed and we had leverage because we had the appeal on the TWWA. I hope
everybody's following. I know it's kind of confusing, but um the the the end the happy ending of this story is that um we we did not have to put any of our overlay zone on on our
downtown. Our overlay zone now is on Burrow Line Road, which will not affect the character of our town. And in addition, we got $500,000 from Avalon Bay, which was really unheard of because it's a project that's not even in our town. So, we got off-site improvements
at $500,000 from Avalon Bay. We h used that leverage made fair share housing happy. We got what we wanted and um we got approval for our plan. So that's what was actually on the agenda this
evening was the fair share housing plan as well as the agreement of Avalon Bay to pay us $500,000 and as well as the sewer agreement with which uh Councilwoman Homeman was talking about because they were really pushing us to have this agreement with Avalon Bay. And the the problem like with this fair
share housing, it happens every like 10 years and a lot of mayors and council are not around for 10 years. So they just say, "Ah, whatever. We don't care. We don't care." So they kick it down the road and we didn't want that. We didn't want down the road to have Avalon Bay be in charge of our sewer line if something
happened. So we made sure that Allenale was secure for decades to come that if anything happened with that sewer line that we could go right after um Saddle. So um the process was was crazy. The commitment to our team was significant.
um hundreds and hundreds of hours to get this done with our planners, attorneys, administrators, staff, engineers. Um quite frankly, all these funds could have been used to build affordable housing, but this is just how this process works. Um it's a very complex system. It's a very flawed system in my
opinion and very disorganized system. Um but this issue, you know, it's it's far beyond Allenale. Um it's all across New Jersey and um the unmet need that kind of black cloud that I was talking about this big number it's every town has it and if that's all built out throughout
New Jersey we're it's just going to be it's it's going to be absolutely crazy. Um the sad part about all of this is that this numbers that they give you they have no market studies done. They don't know if there's any jobs. There's no um a lot of times there's no uh
schools if they can't handle it, doesn't matter. Environmental impact. Oh, what I was talking about the environmental impact, the hazard vulnerability study that helped us with our downtown because some of that area was a flood zone. So, that was part of our defense to get the overlay zone out of out of our our
downtown. So, um anyway, we did it. We're here. Um really everybody, you know, the town should be very very pleased with our with our settlement because um uh it's it's not going to affect us like some other towns and and for for our four
units that we have to do. We're not going to have to build another veil um or another, you know, larger complex because we are extending deed restrictions. So we have we have uh six units that their deed restriction from
prior rounds is coming due. We're extending those deed restrictions. So for our for our realistic development potential RDP this round we will not have to rebuild the next road. >> Um so we had to increase the density
from um 15 units per acre to 24 units per acre. So it's probably around three three and change significant. >> So think about that new legislation that's saying 50 >> Oh yes.
>> More than >> um Okay. And lastly, our report from our burough attorney a comments. >> Yeah. Well, if anybody needed to be reassured of how immersed the the mayor
is in the process and how it's almost hard to follow that that presentation. Um, but you know, I've had the the pleasure of being buried for more than a decade now. We've had some rather big nights. Uh, you know, I'm thinking of uh the Violia transaction that Councilman Homeman talked about um
where uh basically all municipal debt, all utility debt was forgiven and looking forward uh the costs of repair and upkeep of a uh an old system has been avoided uh and probably unquantifiable in the amount of dollars that might be spent by by the community
over the ensuing years. Uh I'm thinking of the Hampshire transaction that led to the community center being there. another, you know, another a big win for the community. I'm thinking of our environmental liability lawsuit where we settled and had about a million dollar settlements for the burrow. All big nights. Um, but I think that less it be
understated, this agenda is one of the biggest nights that we've ever had. Um, and for a lot of reasons that the mayor and council went home and deluded certainly it it's probably very easy to talk about, you know, having a a good team. Um, but here I I think that that really needs to be accentuated. um the
mayor leading the team, Councilwoman Hman, Councilman Lovacella, our special counsel, um our bur engineer, Mike Freeland. Yeah. >> Uh and our planner at Sneakers. um that we really all worked together and and the reference to uh New Year's Eve that
that wasn't uh by way of analogy that that was the day uh this was literally put together and that was the legislative day on which um either settlements had to be achieved or you wound up in the litigation process. Uh so this was worked on um by a team
literally uh almost round the clock you know whether it was 7 o'clock in the morning or it was uh you know emails being exchanged even um this was a uh a major undertaking by uh uh by a group of dedicated people uh in in terms of outcome and the mayor alluded to some of
this um there were there were very formidable challenges that the burrow uh faced in putting together its deal uh you know I've been known to sit around a poker table too in my time I'm not I want to play poker with the mayor um because uh she basically stood down some
significant obstacles here uh and and some of which he alluded to. Uh we had our neighbors in Saddle River um who had an affordable housing project uh uh on our border um uh actually two one the Avalon Bay one that was alluded to and also their own inclusionary project.
They do not have infrastructure. They do not have sewers. Um so we are the uh the one that needs to facilitate that and apparently um the the players that they uh they do not uh uh view that to be an impediment that we have to uh uh according to them welcome with open arms
projects that are not within our borders while trying to address the future projects that may be within our borders. So one of the things we did face was uh a little bit of a uh I'll say an adversarial relationship with Saddle River in terms of their desire and fair share housing's desire that we
accommodate what uh uh would refer to as the Michaels 2 project which is an inclusionary project on Saddle River Liver and secondly as the mayor said uh the Avalon Bay project was an insistence by both well really by fair share housing council that it had to be done. Um so so in the wake of that we had the
numbers that the mayor referred to that they were threatening us with uh the density that Allenale was facing uh a complete redo of the downtown area um three-story buildings um really changing the pace of the community downtown uh and uh uh the mayor and her team
basically hung in there and said uh unless uh um we get our way in terms of no zoning in the downtown decrease in the density um the overlay only being in really our um uh border town road area that you
know town and I and I think all that became very very important and that's that was the starown poker game that ultimately resulted in what I think is if it's not capitulation it was near capitulation by fair share housing and saying uh mayor you you get the downtown
area preserved uh you get the density reductions uh we agreed to accommodate the the projects in Sav River uh And then to boot u and we went through the litigation process and played again a little a little state on poker game on
that one. Uh we get $500,000 from the developer of the Avalon Bay project for accommodating their sewer flow. Uh and that's not a small number to pick up a half a million dollars uh to comply with our obligation. So you know when I talk about good days, a good day is having
our fourth round approved which gives us an immunity for builder's revenue for the next decade. Very very important. Uh it's it's a plan that vacates the character of the community. Very very important. Um it should not impact on any residential areas in the town. Very
very important. Um it uh uh solves a uh a problem with a lawsuit which now gets to be settled. Uh and somebody gets to write a half a million dollar check to the barrels. Uh so when I talk about good days, I think when we put all those pieces together, uh it's it's yeah, we
take it every time. So, bear my my commendation and kudos to you and the team you put together. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. >> All right. >> Um, any unfinish or new business? >> Can I say >> Wait, hold on. It's public. It's coming up. >> No, I think I was an agenda. I
understand how it all works. >> Oh, wait. Well, you can one second. >> Okay. And unfinish or new. >> Now, I'd like to open up to the public. First of all, I want to thank you. >> State your name and address. >> Who are you?
>> You're right. Sorry. >> You're the troublemaker in town. >> And I first want to thank you for the name change to the Franklin turn. >> Much appreciated. Thank you. New names. I just like to ask you to
change the name Allenale Avenue. >> Very funny. Very >> Which Allen would you like to pick? So, uh, here tonight for a couple of reasons. One is just to bring up a problem at the salary farm with skaters.
Uh, back in the day was a local skating rink. Um, most people just come and skate. Uh now with texting and all kinds of communications uh the celebr skating is being overrun by outsiders and uh sorry farm
volunteers aren't equipped to deal with skaters who are dealing with raccoons or something and that people uh alcoholic drinking uh littering vandalism whole list of things. Uh the one thing that the council could do I really appreciate
and I've talked to Mike Lumatollah and the fight board about this uh change the hours the salary form from dawn to dusk and half hour before and half hour after dusk because people are standing at
night and very hard to enforce parking on the the sidewalk etc. So, we're going to come up with a list of rules. Hopefully, we can post in the winters saying, you know, skating at your own risk. That's another thing. >> We do have signs. Yeah. That say that
all over. Yeah. >> Probably not where people are. Anyway, there's whole list of things we need to to say no drinking, uh, no parking on the sidewalk, whole list of things like that. And I'd love for the town to be important to change
the curfew at least through the hours, the operating hours. >> That's a land use. We'll bring that up at our land use meeting in our committee. Thank you. >> And uh the other thing I like to mention is uh long term the Celery Farms lake is
shrinking like many lakes all around and if something isn't done we're going to lose the lake. >> Greg Midies. >> Yes. Greg Midies is the biggest uh chapter. We had that issue in Pretzwood Lake actually that we've been dealing with in the past five years and this latest
treatment was very successful. >> Yes. So we have to figure out how to do it. >> Yeah. Talk about that >> and uh but at the very least the sorry farm would love to uh ask the town's grant writers to help us write grants to help pay for the fragment.
>> Yeah. No, we we definitely it's a fiveyear process I think that we have. We have a report done by David Epstein, the Land Conservancy of New Jersey, and I can pass that along to everybody. >> Okay. Yeah, please. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Anybody else from the public wish to speak on any matter? Come on up. State your name and address, please. >> My name is Kevin Floyd. I'm at 57 Maker Avenue. I just wanted to say thank you so much for what you guys are doing on the fair share of housing. as somebody
who's about to be AICP certified, American Institute of Certified planners, it is a very challenging uh issue that we're facing. I was >> Yeah, that's interesting. I and I said that to our planner, too. Like, you know, it goes against all planning principles that you all go to school for
and that defies everything that you've you've learned. So, it is frustrating for planners. I'm sorry. >> Yes, definitely. And it's definitely unique in the sense that we're the one of the only states in the country that's constitutionally mandated. I know >> uh the question that I had is if additional housing had to be
constructed, is there any way that there would be a provision where co-ops would be able to be included in that? >> It there there's not a restriction on the the nature of the resultant entity.
So So um a project could go forward as a condo, apartment, co-op. So, so that the law doesn't restrict the the nature of the entity that develops a project. >> Okay. Because I was going to ask if you know just in future consideration if
something like a co-op maybe was to come up a smaller co-op that might be a good idea because I figure you know people who want to stay and go down their whole lives and the process of aging in place like you can live there from the time they're born to the time you die. co-ops have proven to be really successful in
that. And I was curious if the borrower look into doing something like that, whether the state permits something like that or whether we could try and put pressure on our state legislators to try and tell them like, listen, why can't we include co-ops as part of this solution
to like >> Yeah. Yeah. I don't I don't think that there's anything that proscribes it, but you're 100% right that it it has not I said caught the the fancy of any developers. I'm assuming in part is since uh the developers make their money off of these projects and include the
20% set aside as the inclusionary the money is in other things beside co-ops. >> Okay. And then I guess the other question I had was I know that this is something that's been ongoing with the church having you know the guardian of the
church issue. Uh is there a plan that if that church does close what will happen to that land? Does the town have an appointment started with that? So um so I had a meeting with the bishop and um actually I just um involved in this
other group who also met with the bishop um and he it was ex it was actually very excellent meeting and we all feel very good about it and we feel very good about the future of the church and how it was explained to us by the bishop was that if that church is not a church anymore um which isn't necessarily going
to happen because it is a solvent church and it's actually growing in numbers but if it was to that that that would not be sold and the money would not go to the arch dasis. It would be something else that kind of like a church will bait it and it has to go in front of a committee and it would be something that does help
like some Christian type ministry type work. >> That's >> and yes and um they were they were very adamant about that. He was very clear about that. Um you know the the whole reason for all this consolidation there's just a lot of areas uh for example that might have five churches in
a town and there's no Catholics left in that town. There's a lot of churches that are in old buildings that are costing hundreds of thousands of years in repairs. It just doesn't make any sense. There's some churches that are literally adjacent to each other, one right next to the other. And you know, quite frankly, the attendance has
declined. Um I feel very good that we're we're in very good shape at um Guardian Angel. We actually had the most amount of responses to the bishop. Um our name is definitely in their in their head >> um and on their radar. So, um I do I
feel very comfortable with it. I think the bishop um was just very smart businessman um and was just trying to, you know, kind of be logical about it, but he's not really looking to close down any churches where the community is is vibrant size. >> I just have two more questions. Is that
okay to ask me? Okay. So, the other question I was going to ask, why is there an opposition to building housing on church land by far counsel? Is that I thought that was said before or >> Oh, so no, it's it's not necessarily that it's church land. It's that it is
forgoing local zoning laws >> and they they are the ones in this law that specified churches and nonprofits at the density of 50 units per acre. >> Okay. >> Probably for the reason that some of the nonprofits are, you know, rebuilt.
>> Yeah. I was just curious because I know some churches that have had convents in the past or schools converted their schools and convent that we're against it. It's just this legis piece of legislature and high density. >> And then on the issue of ebikes and bikes in town, is there any looking into
like implementing bike infrastructure in the town, particularly downtown, maybe like bike racks or like looking at a way to make the downtown more uh biker friendly with the parking situation? you want to address that?
>> We haven't specifically discussed that. Uh but I think that downtown is a little congested to to really make that done properly. So what we're trying to do with our ebike legislation is more, like
I said, more educational, talk to people about how to ride properly, how to ride harmoniously. uh you know pedestrians and motorists uh just try to make it safer for everybody.
Um I don't think that any opposed to bike racks of some sort, but I don't know that would >> Yeah. I don't even know that regular bike break racks would fit those bikes. >> I know that the school doesn't even allow them on school property anymore. They don't they don't allow to go on
there. It's it's um it's challenging, but um we're going to look at if there's anything that can help as Matt said them be more harmonious with cars and pedestrians to it. There's no debating that they are
useful for for quite a lot of people, but you know, >> there's just Yeah, there's no >> I definitely one of the reasons I asked him is I'm a daily commuter in New York City and I ride my bike to the train station here and it's so helpful that the bike racks are there, but I don't
know if they ever come to NBA Transit people if we could ask for more bike racks just because in the morning. >> Yeah. So, >> so that's a good that's the request is what I was saying that they >> security. >> Yeah, that would be super helpful just
because I love riding. I prefer that to drive. >> It's easier to chain up, get some fresh air and thank you guys so much. >> Anybody else from the um anybody else from the public wish to
speak on any items? See about that. >> All right. Well, then motion to adjurnn. >> All in favor? >> Good night, everybody. >> Good night.