Heat. Heat. The meeting of Atlantic County Board of Commissioners is called to order. In compliance with the open public meetings act of the state of New Jersey, adequate notice of this meeting of the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners
was provided in the following manner. published in the Press of Atlantic City and mailed to the Hamilton Gazette and has been posted on the bulletin boards in the county office building in Atlantic City, the Stillwater Building
in Northfield, and in the county clerk's office in Maze Landing. Open in prayer. Heavenly Father, we ask for clarity in the decisions we must make. Help us to hear your voice above all others as you guide us toward the steps you want us to take. Open our hearts and minds to your
wisdom and give us all courage as we follow your lead. Amen. >> Amen. >> Please join us in a flag salute. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Roll call, please. Chairman Rizley is attending virtually today due to recent surgery on his shoulder and Commissioner Daz is a few minutes behind. Martino
>> here. >> Burns >> here. >> Daz >> here. >> Kern >> here. >> Parker >> present. >> Ruff >> here. >> Shanker >> here. >> Grizzly >> here. >> Commissioners have had an opportunity to review the minutes from February 17,
2026. I will entertain a motion to adopt the February 17, 2026 minutes as presented. >> Move. Second >> roll call. >> Martino. >> Yes. >> Burns. >> Yes.
>> S. >> Yes. >> Karn. >> Yes. >> Parker. >> Yes. >> Ruffio. >> Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Grizzly. >> Yes. Board of Commissioners will continue to utilize a consent agenda format for sections of the agenda that the
commissioners do not feel need additional discussion from the board and are not contested. This consent agenda format allows our meetings to run more efficiently and productively so that we
can spend additional time during the meeting discussing other important issues that are not as routine. If any commissioners If any commissioner wishes for additional discussion on any resolution or would like a resolution to
be pulled from the consent format to be individually addressed for any reason, please advise and we will do so. For the public prior to the roll call on any resolution or group of resolutions, you
will continue to have an opportunity to comment if you wish to do so. Any attendant in person who would like to speak regarding an agenda item or at public comment, please come to the
podium, speak into the microphone, state your name and the town where you reside. You will be provided up to three minutes to speak. If you are attending virtually and would like to speak, please raise your hand during the agenda item or at
public comment at the end. I will call upon your name and a request to unmute will be sent. Please state your name and the town you reside. You will be provided up to three minutes to speak.
Atlantic County 2026 budget message by Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levenson. >> Well, thank you very much. Welcome everybody. We giving something away today. Where
did all these people come from? Good afternoon, commissioners and guests. I join you today to introduce the 2026 Atlanta County budget and provide a summary of the state of Atlanta County
and our fiscal plan. This time last year, the implementation of offshore wind projects was still being debated. 12 months later, those
projects planned off our Atlantic County coastline now appear to be dead in the water. You know, I'm noticing now there's no pun there.
Dead in the water. But while we were successful in preventing offshore wind projects, we are once again facing the possibility of casino gaming in North Jersey after the approval of three casino licenses in
New York City. This brings us to also contemplate the future of our own casino pilot legislation. The current bill sunsets
in 2026. That's merely 10 months from now. We spent eight years of the 10-year pilot fighting for what was rightfully owed our taxpayers.
Despite three court rulings in our favor, the state continued to stall and delay. likely hoping we would get frustrated, run out of money,
give up, or at my age, possibly I wouldn't be here. And would it be pursued? That would be questionable. We pres uh persevere
and in the end we received 59 million in total from the state. We won. We continued to win case after case, but we were ignored.
We got no phone calls, nothing from the state of New Jersey. And it wasn't until Jaclyn Suarez came in with a clear mind and knew what was fair. I want to compliment Governor Cheryl for reappointing
Commissioner Suarez. It's a credit to our team. The county commissioners stood strong against pressure from some of our own elected officials who encourage this board to drop the lawsuit and move on. Enough's
enough. You fought this for eight years. Give up. Well, we didn't. It cost us a little more than a million dollars, but we can all agree it was money well spent.
Do the math. Those who are considering another casino pilot should be put on notice that we will continue to fight. The idea of one state elected official
or a pilot in perpetuity is absurd. Why should anyone who represents this county propose another pilot that is unfair to our taxpayers?
You know when I use that word pilot, it's payment in lie of taxes. And what it means is this in a nutshell. If they pay less, it means everybody else pays more. And that's why it's
unfair. There should be equity. There should be justice. And there wasn't. And that's what that means. So for the 10 years of that pilot, all municipalities paid more than their
fair share and the casino interests paid less. Atlantic City casinos continue to break revenue records. Less than one week ago, it was reported that three of Atlantic City's nine casinos are among the top
grossing casinos in the country. While much of that success is attributed to significant gains in internet and sports betting, even in person revenues in Atlantic City casinos rose close to
3% in 2025. They're doing well and I'm glad they're doing well. Too many people that depend on the casinos for their livelihood. We are continually told that without the pilot, at least two casinos, if not
more, will fail and thousands of employees will lose their jobs. I don't know if that's accurate, but we've been hearing it over and over and over. And I sure don't want on my conscience and I can know I can speak for the
commissioners. They don't want it on theirs either. That if we fight this pilot again and we win again that people will be thrown out of work. That's not what we want.
I cannot attest to the accuracy of those statements. But if they have any validity, I have a solution. Casinos benefit all state taxpayers. Everyone
from Cape May to High Point will tell you they benefit from casino gaming in Atlantic City. Yet only those living in Atlantic County are required to support them with their tax dollars. And that's why we fight.
If it benefits all, why should we be the only ones to take the hit? Let's require taxpayers in all 21 counties to contribute. It's really just a matter of fundamental fairness. Why
should one county flip the entire bill for something that benefits everybody? So if that is the case and if the threat of those casinos closing is real, nobody wants that. Well, let's do it
fairly. Let's spread it out. The original pilot was enacted to stabilize Atlantic City's finances and reduce costly casino tax appeals. By all accounts, the city's financial health has improved with consecutive tax
reductions and bond rating upgrades, new investment levels. I want to compliment mayor and council to get this done in Atlantic City. They are on firm footing in Atlantic City. Now, in that respect, the pilot has
completed its job. Why are they talking about another one? And why does our state senator say he once went in perpetuity? For those that had a public school education like I did, perpetuity is forever.
It is something that we cannot accept because if it is in perpetuity, and Atlantic County is the one that's fitting the book, we will pay more than our fair share forever. What is now needed and what has been
lacking all along is a regulated property tax assessment program. If properties were accurately and consistently assessed, there would be no need for a pilot.
Now consider, ladies and gentlemen, there's casinos all over this country and that all over this world. How come only in Atlantic City we can't figure out how to assess them?
Now, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. Let's just find a place where it's been successful. As hard as we work to reduce county taxes, many residents fail to benefit from these uh savings. Instead, their
tax bills reflect increases based upon inflated property values. I quoted I cited Margate last year. Their assessed value has fallen to 50%.
Which means a $500,000 home in Margate will be paying taxes as if they were worth a million. That is not how the system should be set up. A fair, equitable, countywide assessment
where everybody is as close to 100% as possible. Refals are extremely expensive, tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes over a h 100,000 and many times close to a million depending
on the amount of homes. So if it was continually reassessed at true value, you wouldn't have that burden. We face other difficult decisions this year. One being what to do with our
Atlanta County Justice Facility. Up until a few weeks ago, we had the option of joining the regional jail with Camden and Cumberland counties that was to be built in Winslow Township, which many felt was an ideal site. Winslow
Township, you go up the expressways around, I guess, exit 33 and we know it down here as Anora. It was a place for people with special problems. Right now there's criminally
insane that are there and the idea and we're putting the largest juvenile facility in the state there. So the idea was why not put a jail in that on that property. Well, after some strong push
back, not from us, but from their own residents, Camden County has decided not to pursue that project. So, as far as we're concerned, we will go this alone. If we agree to build a new county jail
next to the current jail, we will need to complete construction prior to demolishing the current jail, which is only common sense. We can't knock the jail down and have 700 inmates, you know, on a ball and chain waiting
for us to build the other one. So, we will have to demolish the present jail after we build the new one. If we build a new one, I will rely on the board's jail committee
to perform its due diligence and assist us in developing a plan. I've assigned special projects director Steven O' Conor to that task. the commissioners are more than capable to figure out what
we're going to do. What how are we going to and and by the way, we're going to have to have a jail. And there are no votes in jails. There's no votes in repairing bridges. You lose votes when they collapse, but as far as politicians
are concerned, uh it's it's not a winner, but a necessity. We're moving forward with plans to sell Me View at auction to the highest responsible bidder. We continue to lose money and have a difficult time
attracting qualified staff. We have a 100 empty beds over there now, and you're kind of in a catch 22. If we fill the beds, we don't have staff. And obviously, uh, and by the way, it's
a tough as job is. I mean, they do things for our loved ones that, uh, you know, pretty tough for us to do. And, uh, it's it's tough. We kept it as long as we possibly could. And, uh, it's just,
uh, to lose. Last year, we lost millions of dollars and we no longer can carry it. When I first became the county executive, there were 23 county operated nursing homes. 23 uh there's 21 counties and some of
them had two and uh today Meadow View is one of only three. Bids are to start at 23.5 million and any interested party must meet our
criteria to protect the current residents and the staff. They will not be thrown out on the street. The residents can remain there and the veterans wing will remain there and our staff will be taken care of with
equal or better salaries than they have now and also medical equal or at least as uh or better than they have. That's an obligation that we have. I've discussed this with the commissioners at length and they all agree. When we put
that caveat in for the sale, we know we're going to be getting less than we would ordinarily. But, uh, we all agree that's the very least we can do for these employees, which you can use, uh, Angels of Mercy, and we'll still know
what they do. You tour any nursing home, you'll see what these individuals do on a day in dayout uh, basis. And, uh, it's tough and it's uh, I mean, I've gone through there and it
takes a toll on on them mentally. They wash, they clean, they hug, they kiss, and then they pull the sheet over them. It It takes its toll. Last year, yes, last year we completed a
feasibility study for fire EMS centralized dispatch. Ideally, it makes sense to have a single system that would include police and be accessible to all partners. But there is continued
resistance from singling out police because uh the police have not been cooperative through the years for a centralized dispatch system.
It's uh kind of interesting why the uh few years ago I was called over to a chief's meeting in Abseen uh and at the firehouse and they all wanted centralized dispatch. We put it together. In fact, we got subsidized
and uh died. We can't dictate the commissioners and I cannot dictate to the municipalities what they ought to be doing. it died on the vine. Now, we got another grant this year to do a study.
I would have preferred just given the money to the uh the homeless uh the indigent because we knew what the study was going to say. You should have a centralized system, but it said exactly what we wanted. We presented it over at
Canali and uh we'll see where we go. We were unsuccessful several years ago and now we are the only county without some form of centralized dispatch. And you can say why not? Well, each one
of you live in a municipality can ask them why not. We don't have that power to dictate to the municipalities and to the mayors what they can do. You got this dopey home rule that we've had for 150 to 200 years in this state and it has certainly
made this an expensive place to live. As technology and equipment changes, they become more cost prohibitive for local governments. Sharing our resources helps reduce those costs, but our towns must have the will to do so.
Now, I'm going to use a case in point. I formed the central municipal court, which means instead of 23 towns having their own municipal court, let's consolidate.
Let's do more with less. Let's have less administrative staff. Let's have less prosecutors. Let's have less judges. Let's have less of everything so the taxpayers can have more.
Well, case in point, mine may go off, too, so I'm not going to give him a dirty look. Case in point, the Central Municipal Court of Atlantic County. Despite towns realizing significant savings,
we still have only nine of 23 towns as members. The word significant is significant. And I'll tell you why. In 2025, just last year, the nine towns that were that
joined realized an average savings of 44%. And that's well over a million dollars overall. Since its inception in 2022, the court has saved participating towns,
their taxpayers over $5.5 million. So you may ask yourselves, those of you that live in Summers Point, those of you that live in Margate, those of you that
live in Abekin Brigantine. Why haven't they joined the court? Well, there's an open mic in each one of those towns. You can ask them and they will
tell you. We want our own judge. We want our own prosecutor. We want our own administrative staff. We believe in home rule. Nobody dictates to us what we do within our borders.
Well, the commissioners and I cannot dictate to them. All we could do was put together the first municipal court in the state of New Jersey and show them that millions can be saved. Little tiny Estelle Manor,
not tiny in area, but tiny in population has saved 78%. 100,000 is saved in Egg Harbor Township and they complain about taxes. Join the municipal court. I know it's a great luxury being able to
appoint your own judge. I will not give you all a reason why you would like to appoint your own judge, but you can figure out why they would prefer their own judge. And you ought to be ashamed of yourselves if you're thinking that they
could compromise someone that wears a black robe. That certainly couldn't be the reason, could it? Or have a prosecutor that's a friend. That certainly wouldn't be the reason. So I most certainly would not say that. They must have their own
reasons why they want their own judge, their own prosecutor, their own administrative staff rather than save their taxpayers money. Going to repeat this since we started this $5.5 million
for those towns and only nine of the 23 are in. In addition to reducing duplication and increasing savings, the consolidated court continues to improve. The first court of its kind has the additional distinction of being the first to
incorporate AI technology. An assisted phone system can answer inquiries or direct callers to appropriate resources 247. Always open.
We have also implemented the use of an AI chat assistant on the court web page and most court procedures are conducted virtually. So if they use an excuse to you, why aren't our isn't our town in? Well, we don't want to go all the way to
Maze Landing. Well, they don't have to. They'll put kiosks in. can do it all virtually, which they do anyway in many cases, but they have their reasons and uh we believe
that they're wrong, but they may give you a reason why it's not for them. Well, we've heard that many times. We've taken it on the road with the judges and try to explain to each municipality that are not in, why don't you come on in. Well, we'll think
about it. Well, they think about it or they put it in committee where any good idea dies. And that's the unfortunate part about the system itself that we have in the state of New Jersey of home rule. Follow
me. There's 611 school districts, each with a superintendent, each with a board, each with a solicitor. There's 565 municipalities. We have more here in this little tiny
state of New Jersey than they do in Maryland and Delaware put together. Now, how come? Because it's home rule and they fiddle feas. We have streamlined the court, reduced
costs, and improved efficiencies without sacrificing service. The Central Municipal Court of Atlanta County stands as a model throughout the state. Its success should breed further success and yet we are unable to convince others to
join. Once again, archaic home rule dominates the decisionmaking process. It's difficult to understand how towns could continue to pass up opportunities to save tax dollars, especially at a
time when local governments are facing significant funding challenges and unsustainable increases in utility costs and health care benefits. Local governments that participate in the state health benefits program have been
expected to absorb unprecedented cost increases over the past several years. In 2026, we face a 38% average increase in premiums. These cost increases are shared by the
employees and the taxpayers. The health benefit packages were once a carrot to attract quality staff when our salaries cannot match the private sector. We use that. Come on board. Join us. You get a
pension. You'll get uh you have your days off. You'll have your weekends off and we'll give you a health plan. Family of four pay $40,000 for it. We no longer can use that as an incentive because we have to have our
employees pay a portion and of course the taxpayers because health costs have gone up so tremendously. But with the unheralded costs the cost shares increases this perk has lost its luster adding to our difficulty
in attracting and retaining staff. Excuse me. We continue to explore other options. This past October during open enrollment, we were able to offer employees a new high deductible plan option. Approximately 500 employees
voluntarily made the switch, which should help reduce their out-ofpocket costs without sacrificing quality of care for themselves and for their family. 500 seems like a lot, but we have 1,700 employees.
So, we're looking at quite a few, the great majority that have not decided to take uh what we put before them. And we met with all of our units. And if you think that's an easy job, we have 22 bargaining units.
So, each bargaining unit represents our employees. And uh it's a it's a heavy lift. Uh if this proves successful what we've done, we believe more employees will consider opting for next year. We
believe it's in their best interests. But you know, we're the bosses and we're suspect. But we'll see how this works with the 500 that are in and hopefully we can save the taxpayers and our employees money. Within the next few
weeks, we will complete construction of the second building of the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park. That's the NARTP. It'll be on time and on budget.
You like that from a government entity? Thanks to Tim Edmonds and the Atlantic County Improvement Authority for its successful management of this project. The 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art building will house an aviation
strategic innovation center. AI and other new technologies are rapidly transforming how aviation systems operate. By investing in them, we are positioning Atlantic County to be on the cutting edge of aviation research
and ensuring our region is a leader in the next wave of technological advancement. Here in Little Atlanta County, we're making a name for ourselves nationally and internationally.
I developed the idea of this park following the closing of four casinos and the loss of 8,000 jobs in 2014. The need to diversify our economy could no longer be ignored. Our longtime
reliance on a single industry, that being of hospitality and gaming, was no longer viable. So, we took a risk and invested $20 million to start the park and begin to build a new industry.
Had our decision been questioned, we would have been hardpressed to justify spending millions of tax dollars on speculation for construction in a 58 acre parcel between Ameilia Airheart
Boulevard and Delila Road in A Harbor Township. The naysayers would have had a field day. Why in the world would you think anyone would come here? Why in the world would you invest $20 million of our hard
earned money for a dream? Well, we took a shot. Thankfully, the members of the board of commissioners were willing to gamble their own political futures to push this forward. As a
result, that vision for our future has become a reality. The citizens of Atlantic County and this region should be eternally grateful as I am for the cooperation of this commission board. It could have died on the vine with one
commissioner questioning it. It didn't. And uh I truly find that to be uh I appreciated their support and their belief in me and
uh and my belief in them because we do have another industry. And for those of you that have lived here your whole lives, wherever we talked about, we have to diversify. Holy cow, we can't just have uh the beach and boardwalk. What
happens in the wintertime? Everybody's on unemployment. Well, we diversified it finally after all these years. In 2019, we opened the first building at the NARTP. That building is fully occupied with the
likes, follow this now, everybody, NASA, General Dynamics, Walpert, Signature Sciences, the FAA, and more premier aviation companies. If not for the co We would probably be talking about a
third building. Now, the growth and development of the park could not have been achieved without Howard Kyle, my former chief of staff and my dear friend. I told Howard I wanted him to go down to
Emory Riddle University, the top aviation university in the world. And they're in two places. They're in Florida and they're also in Arizona. He went down there
and I directed them. I directed him to absorb as much as he could. I wasn't paying for more than two nights. He returned with a genuine passion to explore our opportunities
coupled with his intelligence and determination. concept took root and continues to flourish. We tried to sell this to elected officials. We sat down one meeting after another
and some told us this is the dumbest idea we've ever heard. It'll never take place. You guys are wasting your time and you're wasting money. It's a career ender. Well, we took the shot and aren't
we all glad that we did. Just last month, we received notification of a million dollars in federal funding. The NARTP will work Atlanta County Economic Alliance and Embry Riddle
Aeronautical University to establish an aviation maintenance training academy at Atlantic City International Airport. The academy will create a pipeline for job opportunities and aircraft
maintenance. The ACA the ACA under the leadership of Lauren Moore has also been integral in the development of the park and our efforts to diversify. Aviation has become one of the most
promising sectors of our local economy with the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center and the Atlantic City Airport. We've always had worldclass assets. Through a shared vision with strong
partnerships, we built an ecosystem around their assets. We believe that our airport was underutilized and we also felt that we have the premier testing facility in the world here. Why not capitalize on it? It seemed like a
no-brainer. but to get people to get on board. We didn't advertise it too much, you know, for uh for nine commissioners and myself. Uh we did it quietly and we got
it done. By the way, had we had failed, it would not have been quiet. Through a shared vision and strong partnership, we built an ego system around these assets. We've established the only aviation innovation hub in our
state by capitalizing on these unique resources and turning them into a powerful engine for economic growth. The aviation and aerospace industry is our future. Everybody, our kids can stay here, get good, solid
jobs. And I'm not demeaning the jobs that they have now and what we have to offer, but it's seasonal in many cases. And uh we want them to stay. I have seven grandchildren. I want them to stay in
the area and I'm sure you all do. I must point out that despite all the disbelievers, this commissioner board never once questioned this project's feasibility. I thank you for your unwavering support.
I'd also like to applaud Dr. Dr. Phil Gunther and his team at Atlanta County Institute of Technology, which has strongly embraced the opportunities for high-paying sustainable employment in the aviation industry. It should really come as no surprise that this blue
ribbon school that is recognized as one of the finest high schools in the state has incorporated an Academy of Aviation Studies. The ACIT is no longer limited to cosmetology and automotive repair. We
used to call that votech in the old days. Well, we expanded it. And uh we have a school right now that has a 99% graduation rate. And the unfortunate part about we have to turn away between
four and 500 kids a year because of our we're overcrowded. We just built an additional and we're already having kids that are want to come in. We just cannot uh we can't accommodate them. Um it is
teaching to the need and preparing students for unlimited possibilities. Now I spoke to Phil the superintendent and I said that one of my great heroes is F. Buckminister Fuller R. Buckminister
Fuller. He designed the geodessic dome. One of the most brilliant men that ever put on shoe leather. In fact, in the who's who, he probably has the most space of anybody. And he felt that education was the key. But he also said you have to teach to
the need. And that's where the success is of our high school. Our high school now is teaching to the need. And yeah, we're putting out terrific cooks and chefs, and we're putting out uh small engines,
electrical, carpenters, but there's a need there. Got to get a plumber. So, we've ex expanded it and expanded it to the point where once again going to have to come to the freeholders and
decide whether we want to put another expansion on. When discussing our future, we must also address the status of the ACUA landfill. A plan for the expansion of the existing ACUA landfill will extend the operation
of landfill to 2040. This board must now decide with a vote today whether or not to proceed. Some of our commissioners attended a hastily prepared press conference last
year when the suggestion was made to sell and privatize the ACUA despite having the lowest fees in the state and perhaps one of the finest reputations among public organizations. I know all of you
that were there that day were blindsided and now stand firmly behind the ACUA just as I do. I know how upsetting it was to the 350 employees and also to their families when they heard right
before Thanksgiving that our state senator wanted to sell and privatize the ACUA without an alternative. And the people standing behind them, five commissioners behind me, take my word for it. They had no idea
that this was happening. They were totally and completely blindsided. And it died a quick death, but it did occur and gave a a lot of trepidation to these hardworking individuals.
Just think of this ice storm. You hanging off the back of a trash truck in 10 degree weather. Well, got done, didn't it? Continually got done. Our roads department under
Greg Bookings, same thing. 375 miles of county roads 247 they worked. These are the individuals, the un I guess the unsung heroes. We could not survive without them. Stop and think about it.
We have a landfill that's clean. We have a landfill that we can expand. And yeah, there are people that complain because it smells flash. It's a dump. They smell. And we've done
everything we can to hold down the smell and to make people's lives comfortable. And if it's so bad, how come Egg Harbor Township located 640 homes with Horton is building it closer to the landfill than they are at this
present time? So it's the loud mouths that you hear. People that want to make trouble that you hear. I repeat that. 600 homes are going in on West Coat Road.
They not only have the airport, but they also have the dump right there. It's uh a few individuals. And by the way, why this was so trying what happened that day when our commissioners were
blindsided is there is a lawsuit against us. And it doesn't help when we have an elected official that shoots his mouth off and decides without knowing, by the way, what are you going to do with tons and tons of garbage on a float again like it did years ago.
Those of you old enough to know with that garbage scout that went all around the world trying to find a place to dump it. about one of the highest points on the east coast is fresh kills
the dump in New York. Holy cow. It's like Mount Everest, the garbage. Some of you attended. Okay, I did that. ACA President Matt Dafo and his team do an outstanding job. Earlier this year,
the ACA added to its accolades when it was awarded the 2026 National Environmental Achievement Award for its microlastics removal project. The first of its kind. This is the first of its kind system that captures microplastics
from treated wastewater before it's discharged into the ocean. I applaud this innovation to help preserve our oceans for our own residents and visitors and also for our commercial and our
recreational fishermen. The scientists that we have at the ACUA are second to none. We produce these things and this is a national award y'all. This is a country that uh they're looking at not only they're looking at
us for the innovation that we have. And for those that want to complain about the windmills that we have over there, Matt, to date, how much have we saved with those windmills, $8.8 million, and they're not out at
sea. It's the first land-based uh wind farm in the country. We took a shot with that. Also, repeat that number. Close to $9 million were saved. How many birds were killed, Matt? Less than five birds. So, don't listen
to all that crap you hear from the naysayers. Atlanta County remains financially secure. Here's the good part, y'all. We continue to retain our top tier credit ratings in addition to 26 consecutive
years with a perfect audit. We are the only place that can say this. When I became county executive, I changed the auditors every three years. They didn't check their own work. You all remember when we checked our own papers in school, don't you? We always
seem to do a little better than if we exchange papers or they were sent up front. I change auditors every three years. They're checked by somebody else. And for 26 years, they've been perfect. I don't know of any other county in the
state or maybe even the country that can make that claim. As we look ahead, our 2026 spending plan will include increases in salaries and wages driven by a need to incorporate competitive pay
and uh also our contractual agreements with 23 bargaining units. I thought there was 22. I just got another one added here. Meadow View and the Justice Facility each saw increases of a million. An additional 1 million was required to meet contractual obligations
for the operation of Harbor Field's youth detention facility. To help offset these increases, many vacancies will remain frozen. Contributions will also increase by 775,000 for pension and benefits and nearly
400,000 for social security. To continue our use of AI technology to promote service uh e efficiencies, we are dedicating 200,000 for information technology application. We
have already seen the positive impact of AI in making uh is making in our central municipal court as well as our emergency assistant unit under Forest Gilmore in the department of family and community
development. These innovative tools do not replace employees, but help supplement their efforts to provide timely and efficient customer service and expand accessibility
beyond traditional office hours. In 2026, I'm adding 22.5 million of surplus, a little more than 50%. Pretty good with our little county, huh? We have over 40 million in surplus. We
can apply half of it which we which we do every year. With the $283 million budget I introduced today, the county tax levy would be 198 million
and the general purpose tax rate will be reduced by 2 cents. In the 26 years I have served as county executive, this will be the 18th time we've lowered the tax rate. Again,
I know of very few counties that could match our record and even less that could do so being the second poorest county in their state. We're not rolling in cash, everybody.
We're efficient and we make sure that taxpayers come first. and the commissioners and I, we sit down with this budget page by page, line by line, dollar by dollar to put this together. And then we repeat, you're
going to see a two cent increase. Public health and library taxes will remain flat. Final numbers will be determined after the municipal values are submitted to the Atlantic County Board of Taxation. Preparation of our annual budget is an
extraordinary team effort that requires extensive time by fiscal staff throughout county government and in cooperation with our own budget subcommittee on the commission board.
The direction of those efforts starts with county administrator Jerry Del Rosaso. not only a dear friend, a extraordinary human being, but most competent person I've ever worked
with in my life. Our county treasurer, Bonnie Lindal, administrative services department head Tammy Robbins, and budget manager Julie Shy. I'd also like to thank Chief of Staff Linda Gilmore for her talents and
relentless dedication. We are fortunate to have the services of these knowledgeable and dedicated individuals among many others. You notice it's mostly women. I learned that at home.
2026 will be another busy year. We have a lot on our plates, but I am confident we have the resolve to put in the hard work and do what is best. As long as we keep our residents interests in the forefront, we cannot go wrong. As
elected officials, we must always remember that it is not about us, but rather about them, our county taxpayers. I am proud and grateful to work with the most com committed
board of commissioners in the state of New Jersey and I look forward to working with our newest commissioners Collins Days and Art Shanker who are following in the footsteps of their
extraordinarily dedicated predecessors. a dear friend, the late Ernest Corsy, and another dear friend, Amy Gate, who just decided she want to take a little time off. You know, I also want to mention we have
three of the most competent constitutional officers that I've ever worked with in the 26 years. our sheriff, our clerk, our surrogate, uh, Geralo and, uh, Hersio
and Tokyo Joe O'Donnell something, they work to hold down their budgets and uh, they're the unsung heroes and I am very, very pleased and proud to have
them as our constitutional officers. Let's ensure our efforts continue to uphold Atlanta County as the bestrun county in the state of New Jersey. Thank you and God bless you all. And I'm sorry I was so longwinded,
but uh we're in good shape for another year. And uh let's all remember our servicemen at this present time. Uh we're at war and uh
I don't know what's more horrible than war but sometimes circumstances ne necessitate. So uh keep our service people in your prayers. Thank you so very much y'all.
By the way, any questions commissioners? Anybody? >> Only two cents. big pardon. >> I had to fight like hell with these commissioners. They all had their pet they all had their pet pro projects, but
uh we still got it down to where it was. Yes. A two cent decrease. And uh that's the big news, y'all. >> And thank you all once again. >> Thank you. >> Got a wounded warrior too, don't we? >> How's he doing? online. He's online.
>> He's online. >> Yo, John, >> is he online? He fall asleep. >> That one's all doped up, so maybe >> county executive. Yes. Yes. >> D, how you how you feeling, pal? >> Uh, pretty rough, quite frankly. Uh, I
just had surgery Thursday and um my other arm has got a hairline fracture in it as well. So, I'm really um really in a bad way. But I want to thank of course the uh county
and leadership there on the budget and we got through another year successfully. the county always keeps the commissioners fully involved and up to date on on the numbers and that's what's important. So with that uh I will say
thank you John. You sound great and God bless you as well. >> Thank you. Thank you all. And uh I forget our great solicitors,
Lynn Hughes, which by the way the the the aviation is named after her dad. That's the former ambassador and our congressman and Arthur Murray. And we also have the Michael.
I didn't put you to sleep, did I? The head of public safety. Michael was out every single night all the time through those ice storms and uh he was uh what a great asset he is to our our
community. So with that y'all, thank you ever so much. Once again, Pat, you ready? Secret to my success right here. Of course. >> Yes.
>> This is their meeting, not mine. >> Okay. My name is Rosemary Leads. I live in Upseekin. And three minutes. Okay. Um we I live in Upseekin and I the board of the community that it's giving our community I'll represent the community
of Belair Lakes, my husband of ongoing community health problems. The hydrogen sulfide seeps into our homes and wakes you up at night with nausea. When I get that, I get migraines. I'm throwing up on the way to the bathroom. Going on. We moved there in 2019. It is not pleasant. I welcome anyone to come
to our home where we cannot have Thanksgiving dinner because it seems to our friends cars. It's not nice. Okay. Um also flocks of seagulls have a murmmoration around the community into obscin and into Pleasantville who
border on the other side. It is not nice. Our friend you come out of Shopright Obseen you can smell it coming out of the supermarket at days. They also sit on our roofs and it looks like a cake frosting. They drop chicken bones all over your yard. They poop in the
pond behind us which pollutes it. They're pooping all and we have wildlife. So if you don't care about us, you can care about the wildlife. We have river otterters. We have a a variety of birds that come through including the egrets, the blue herand who feed off of
that. And by the the amount of seagulls are pooping in there, they're polluting their food source. more low-flying planes are going through on the southeast way over the the um ACUA and there have been goals crashing into historically into the engines. If the
more planes are flying closely, which they shouldn't be even flying that low over our community, they will be now crashing into the Guls will be crashing into the engines, which is not safe. Um, in 2023 I contacted several top US mitigation companies work to uh work on
reducing the airborne pollution. Each person I spoke to had contact the ACUA and Mr. Dy in particular who was the previous director and he said we're not interested in mitigation. I am Rosemary Leadeds. I have an
advanced degree for Jackson University information systems and sciences. I work closely with research statistics and know how they work and don't work. We are a county, this is a county um utility authority and the county government is crucial in
the community health. It acts as a safety net for the community. It's a shame that a community agency as large as ACA isn't protecting the community residents. I end it there. Thank you. >> Any further public comments? We are not
in a public comment portion of this meeting. We are just hearing the budget address. There will be time for a public hearing coming up soon. Excuse me, sir. Excuse me. Thank you. We're not in a public comment
just yet. We'll be in public comment soon. Okay. Let me just say if I if I may, Commissioner, we don't live in a perfect world. We're a throwaway society. It's unfortunate.
There are undesirable places to live near. It is undesirable to live near a landfill. It is undesirable to live near an airport. The FAA is responsible and the state of New
Jersey, they have come here down here many times and given us a clean bill of health. There are going to be problems. We bury at night to make sure that the uh the bird population is held to a minimum which is extremely expensive but
it is a necessity. The unfortunate part about it what is your alternative? The alternative of course is to stop with the throwaway society. I was raised in Ventner. We put our trash out and we also put down a a a smaller pale of
garbage slop that were picked up. But that's not the case anymore. We took bottles back to the supermarket and got two cents on the little ones and five cents on the big ones. We didn't have the throwaway society that we have today. And it is a sign of, you know,
uh, the way things are going and we're doing the very best we could. It took me five and a half years to move the bird sanctuary away from the airport. Now, you may ask, what was it doing there in the first place? boat was there
and it it would cost us a fortune. The commissioner's eyes said that what are we going to do? We had to buy other land. We had to trade it off to get the bird sanctuary out of there. It is a problem and I understand your I understand that your way of life, you
know, you can't have people over. It smells. I get it. And I said, as I said earlier, it's a dump. And the unfortunate part about it is, you know, it was And I don't want to say this to be mean, but it was there prior to y'all
moving in. You knew it was there. You knew the airport was there. I have people call me all the time. The planes are flying too low. I'm the county executive. You know, I'd like to do something about it. Can they take another route in uh when the wind blows
in a certain way? Yeah, you do smell it. It is a problem. And the only thing I can say, and this is not going to ease your uh It's a dump and dumps smell and we're doing everything in our power to make
sure that we hold it down the very very best we can. And it is unfortunate. We're at war right now. It's unfortunate people die. But it's uh these are these are things that you know we have to
absorb. You give me an alternative to that dump and I'll take it. when we had somebody saying we wanted to close a dump. Where do you want to put it? How many tons how many tons we have over there, Matt? 330,000 tons a year.
Now, it's going to smell because it's garbage. We can't even get some towns to recycle. And uh but we don't live in a dictatorship. We don't rule by decree. There's a lot of things that we could
prevent if we could airports making noise. We can't prevent. We can't prevent uh landfills from smelling. I get it. And there we do have pollution. We have pollution everywhere. It's because of
our society until you all are ready to change that. Commissioners, I tried to ban plastic bags. We were laughed at. And uh we made a comment about plastic straws. We were laughed at. We're doing the very best we can. You have
recycling. We pay uh these these gentlemen and ladies a lot to go pick. There's towns don't even bother. And why is that? And the towns that do bother, only maybe 40 50% of them do.
Either way, now we could start finding people. We could do a lot of things, but then we're going to have a society we're not going to like. And if you think we don't care, ma'am, you're wrong. We most certainly care. We uh we are doing
everything we possibly can do to make your life easier. You're going to hear from Matt Dafo in a moment. He's here to give a report and uh he'll tell you everything that we've been doing. We don't live in a perfect society. I understand.
>> And it's not >> Excuse me. We are not in public comment. We'll get to it in a second. >> And look, I don't know what else to tell you except that the dumps were there. The air the the the airfields were
there. And you all knew it when you moved in. And I don't want to sit there and >> No, we didn't. >> You didn't know that the dump was there? >> No. >> Well, how's this sound, my friend? You should have. >> I'm not your friend. And no, I shouldn't. >> Well, you're not my friend. I guess you
should. >> No, we're not. >> County Executive, we appreciate your budget address and uh >> thank you. And um you for members of the public, as stated, we'll have uh a solid
waste management plan update coming next and you'll be able to voice your opinions there. >> Thank you, sir. Matt, when you get up, you know, see if you can take care of what we've been doing. And 300 how many thousand?
330,000 tons. And uh you have a solution for it. We'll all be willing to listen. You have a committed uh commissioner board that will listen also. And I'm sorry I referred to you as
my friend. You're not my enemy. >> So you and you're not an acquaintance. It was a slip of my tongue. >> Oh, there's no need to. >> Well, you're fine. Out of my face, please.
>> It's your turn to speak. >> Oh, I don't have a problem with that, sir. >> All right, we're going to move this meeting forward. Up next, we'll have the solid waste management plan update by Matt Dafa, president of the ACUAT.
>> Hackets. >> All right. And I have a presentation online too. So anybody that's online can also see that as well. Um commissioner board I just want to you know thank for the opportunity to uh kind of move this forward. Um we start
with just the the next slide which is was just a little bit of background on kind of why we're here you know um how we got here and it really starts 1975. uh the Solid Waste Management Act in
1975 was put in place in New Jersey to make sure that all the defunct municipal landfills that there was 46 of them in Atlantic County um were closed and that the county took the lead in every single
county in the state of their solid waste. So back to 1975. Um but fast forward to how the ACA kind of got involved. That was 1988. All right? So, I won't give you the full, but Rick was always very good giving that that history, but but I just want to let you know that that's where it starts. It starts from from, you know, legislation.
Um, there was actually even a an administrative consent order that was signed um by at that point freeholder John Gaffne and um county executive Dick Squires uh because Atlantic County was actually behind on their plan saying,
"You need to do something." So, um fast forward to 1988. Um the county commissioners um had already created the ACUA. They had changed the sewage company to the ACA in 1981. Uh in 1988 is when they passed the ordinance that said the ACA is going to be in charge of
the solid waste plan in Atlantic County. From that time forward, the ACUA has handled all the trash and recycling for the county um for the last, you know, 40 years. um over the as far as the landfill, the
landfill went through a whole sighting process and it wasn't until 1992 that we actually got our landfill uh open. So 1992 is when our landfill opened uh it's Delilah site. Actually just read through a SWAC meeting from uh actually uh October 3rd, 1988 about them site. They
had 11 sites and our site was the highest priority one there because there was nothing around. It was zoned industrial. There were no houses. the airport was there. There was a reason they put it here. It wasn't until years
after that Obseen and EHT changed the zoning to residential. That's how these houses got here. Our landfill opened in 1992 and it was in the process of again making sure all the landfills in the county, the 46 online landfills, think of Price's Pit, Pinelands Park, uh s uh
EML's uh septic and Galloway, there's a several landfills. There's one in Buuna Vista that the the residents still can't drink their drinking water. Uh it's still contaminated and there's no public water there. They actually have to give them filters. These are the landfills that we forget about. Those are the ones that closed and this was the facility
that was put in place to protect the environment and that's how we got here. Over the last 34 years, the landfill has evolved. As for the next slide real fast, this is the process of how a solid waste agency in the county operates when
it comes to managing the solid waste for the county. 250 plus thousand residents in Atlantic County. who service millions of visitors, hundreds of thousands of businesses, right? This is who we are serving.
The timeline again of of our landfill has changed over the years. 1992 we opened. 97 we increased the height for capacity. We were only at 77 acres. We we optimized some sides so grabbed some more capacity. Uh 2006 we did a lateral expansion again to continue to service
the essential need. Everybody in this room today, yesterday, tomorrow, tonight will throw something into their trash. Nobody here is not generating trash. And everybody can stick their head in their trash can, give it a whiff, have an
odor, so does our waste treatment plant. We all want to flush our toilets, right? It's an essential need for this county. What we're proposing tonight is similar to this, a continuation. There's 12 landfills in the state. 10 of them are
going through the same exact process we are. We're not unique. I know we love to be special. We are not a unicorn, right? There are 10 other counties that are going through capacities. There's one that's going for a 55 acre expansion right now. 55 acres. And and New Jersey
is dense. There's houses. There's communities in those proximities to those landfills that are concerned. Absolutely. But this is an essential need for the community, for economic development, for for health and safety. Um the next slide, please. So just to
give you an idea on the plan amendment process. Um this is this is a really public process and this is why we're here. This is one of the steps in that process. So we started this in August of 2023. So we're talking almost three years ago. Two and a half years ago, we started this process. And this was a
concern. Um, I I presented the first time in front of this board June 6th, 2023, and the concern was what are we going to do about landfill capacity? Cost is going to increase. Everybody's talking about it. What are we going to do about landfill capacity? And I had just been, you know, appointed or or or
put in a position as a president. I'm introducing myself and I'm going, "All right, here we go. I'm going to give you the plan. I'm going to give you my plan." And I said, "I'll come to you with a silver platter with that golden ticket, which is more capacity." And that's what we have tonight.
From June 6, 2023, I have presented to this commission in whether it's ad hoc committees, done tours, or formally here 11 times on this expansion, on the plans, on what we were doing 18 times in public. That could be at council
meetings, that could be at SWAC meetings, or that could be here. In less than three years, that's how much I've talked in public about this. And it's even more. And I'll explain why it's even more. Um, the first step in this was to go to SWAC. We put our our application in. And you'll see there's some packets. Um, there's some other
information. So, there's a presentation in here, but there's also a whole detail of all the public stuff and the notifications that we've had to do in this. This isn't done in secret. It won't continue to be done in secret. Um, there's 16 resolutions there. We met with every single municipality when we
do our budget, which we do every single year and we've been talking about capacity for three years with them and they actually pass resolutions supporting our landfill because they understand the cost implications of what we are talking about here. Not a secret process by any means of
imagination. Every single clerk January 23rd received a handdelled package of the entire application sat in the clerk's office with the notification that was required by the NJD and our solid waste plan.
December 9th, we had our presentation at the SWAC meeting. That was the first public hearing. second meeting was uh January 12th and that's where SWAC voted passed a resolution to support it and take it to the commissioner level and then we had our meeting at the commissioner's meeting on the 17th which
was the first introduction and now we're here at the second step with the county commissioners which is March 3rd I cannot stress how important this timeline is three years we started this August 2023 I presented June 6th we had
an RFP out August 23rd the D is going to take 18 to two years to approve this. We're not doing anything special. We're not asking for anything that's going to raise red flags. That is the process and we really have a tight time crunch because we all know how the
bureaucracies work when it comes with when you send something over to the D or any of the regulatory authorities. So I I cannot stress that that timeline is is is critical. Um so that's our next step if this board decides that they want to move this forward.
Next slide, please. So, three things I want you to think about as we're talking about this. Affordability, and I think that the county executive and the commissioner board and and county administration has done an incredible job. And I think that the uh presentation talks a lot about
affordability, right? What every municipality is is dealing with right now, what every resident is dealing with, electric, gas costs, grocery costs. This is a decision on affordability that this commission actually has a say in that can actually
make a difference for every single constituent and rateayer. U transparency and environmental impact. And I'll go through each one of these real quick in detail. Next slide please. So we talk about affordability. 15 years is what we're looking at. So
we're looking at expanding for uh 11 years. That'll get us to 2040. the cost for the construction of this half of what we paid in the past. Our last expansion, our last phase that
we did, $18 million got us three and a half years. $25 million is going to get us 11 years. Do that math. It's it's less than half of that cost. So when we talk about the lowest tip fees in the state, talk about affordability and you talk about the municipalities and what one of their
biggest items is a lot of you are are sitting there as county commissioners but also sat on the local level as a municipal official and know what those costs are, know what those pressures are. We're talking about 15 years of stable rates at practically flat flat. We've gone 2% this year for trash. We're
still the one of the lowest in the entire state. We double handle our trash. um this not happening burdens. So there's a $25 million mix in here twice. There's $25 million for capital to build this portion, but the
services and the additional cost to say transport the waste out to another facility. We're talking at least $25 million a year that's burdened for each municipality. It's a significant cost. It's this is affordability. This is the
one of the biggest topics right now. Uh the next slide is is talking about the environmental impact and I know we'll hear from residents that are concerned about odor, right? And I and I and I there's never enough that you can do and really the
expectation should not be zero. But I'll show you where we've been and where we are now when it comes to odor and complaints. But when when you look at what we've done as far as an environmental impact and the surrounding area, I talked about the 46 landfills. I talked about the
groundwater contamination that they provided in the 70s and 80s, but the facilities and the things that we've done. So, put two things in perspective, two really obvious things that we've done. We've taken almost 100 trucks off the road that were diesel. You see the
big black smoke that comes around. And we replace those with renewable natural gas. press natural gas first. The third are the emissions. You drive behind our trucks, they're quieter and you don't see black smoke. That's because the emissions are less. The second thing, the renewable natural gas project, what
we just cut the ribbon on on October, first project for a public landfill do this. We're doing this voluntarily, we took the equivalent, we've reduced our emissions at our flare by 95%. What does that mean? 90,000 cars, the
equivalent of taking 90,000 cars off the road. That is what that impact is. So when you stack our facility up to any other county facility in the entire state and you look at our stressors and what we're doing as far as air emissions
and the impact, you're not going to find another one that's going to be able to hold a light to it. Not a single one. 90,000 vehicles is the equivalent of what we just reduced our emissions for in October voluntarily. The county executive brings up the microplastics project. It's waste water,
but again, the first in the nation to do that. This is what our organization has prided itself on. Not being bad neighbors, but being integral in the community, affordability, environmental impact. What's the second one? Transparency.
Next slide, please. transparency. Look at your packet as that that's not the first packet that you've gotten. Not the first presentation I've done. I've put a lot of people to sleep to talk about landfill and trash. Um
we are here. We have been here. We have meetings with every single municipality. We go through 26 meetings every single year. And everybody goes, "Well, there's 23 municipalities. 26. There's MUAS as well. We also meet with the county. We also meet with you. Some of those are in front of commissions. So, EHT is in
front of the committee. Boston's in front of the committee. Hamilton is in front of the committee. We do those in public. This is what our organization has been. Transparent, affordability, environmental impact, transparency. Those are the things that we're talking
about today. Uh, next slide, please. So, the project details are pretty straightforward. We're not doing anything special. We're not doing anything that any other landfill isn't looking at or already doing or in the process doing or actually already approved to do. Uh, and we did that on
purpose. We know there's a short timeline. So, the first slide uh in this is is just kind of a detail of what we what we're what our plans are. So, we're looking at two small options. Again, there's another landfill in the state that's looking at a 55 acre increase. We're looking at 5.74
acres, right? We're just optimizing. And if you see the highlighted area, that little corner, small little spot, but again, we're smart in what we do. The second part of that is a MSE wall that comes around, which has gone from the one end all the way around already, which has gained our
capacity. One interesting part about the MSE wall, which is just a stabilized earth wall. It's made of dirt, geocynthetics, but allows you to green capacity on the side. were the first landfill in the state. There was a big issue with uh millings. Everybody knows they've been down road and seen the
mountain of millings at a stone. It was there. We've noticed that mountain has come down. It's because we did three years of research sending samples out to Wisconsin for testing to make sure it was compatible with using at our MSSE wall. Instead of using virgin soil, we
saved millions of dollars in construction and we solved the problem locally. First one in the state to do that to get that approved. again, let's think, innovate. Let's h how do we how do we solve the problem and make it, you know, a lot more efficient. So, so two things, 5.74 acres um in that gap area,
and you'll see a better picture of that on the next slide. Um but but that's coming with an MSSE wall, small little area. It's next to the parkway. The second part of that is a vertical expansion. It's free airspace. This is what brings the cost down. Doesn't cost us to go a little higher.
Nope, that you're good. You're good. So, that's the second part of it. So, uh, the next slide right now, what what you're seeing is that's that wedge. That's that 5.74 acres. You can see what's there. There's nothing there. We're not taking over farmland. We're not taking over any kind of sensitive area. It should have been done in 2006
when we had our expansion. Whatever reason, wasn't done. I wasn't there. I started in 2007. Um, but now we're looking at that. Now, we have space. So, if you look at the next slide and it kind of visualizes what we're talking about, that's the area,
right? Makes a lot of sense. We're just taking advantage of geometry. There's a corner in there. We're going to round it off. And some of the commissioners I've taken on tours and we've sat up on top of the wall and I said, "You see where we're at? We're going to go straight. That's it. We're just going straight. We're not adding 55 acres. We're not
clearing wetlands. We're not doing anything that's environmentally irresponsible." The second part of that is the the vertical portion of it which is the next slide. 40 feet. It sounds like a lot. It's actually one of the lowest. Our landfill
is the lowest not just tip fee height in the entire state. Kate May County landfill is 220 ft from the ground. Ours is 114. Kate May is almost double the height of ours. So when we talk about K having a lot of capacity, well, we
double our height, we'll get a lot more capacity, we get double our capacity, right? Not not exactly because it kind of goes up in a slope. But that that that visualization kind of shows like we're just mounding it up in this darker green area. It's 40T at the peak, but it has to slope out. So it goes from zero to 40 is
what it really does. I'll get to questions about what we're going to see. Can you see it? How does that impact the community? So, these really are the two basic straightforward things. 5.74 acres that includes an MSSE wall and a 40 foot height expansion that
gets us 11 years of capacity at half the cost of what all of our other projects have cost us right now. Portability. The next slide talks a little bit about the concerns or the questions that we
may have. So, we're going to skip to the next one, which is the first question is is how much does it cost? Which again, I kind of went through this already. So, the spoiler alert is again, we're estimated at 25 million. That's 2.27 million a year. We were looking at 5.14
at the time for construction costs. That is what ensures municipalities affordability. And again, we all generate trash here. We all generate the need and necessity for essential. This is not unique to any
other county. We all have a trash problem. The next question that comes up a lot is odors. More trash, more odors. It sounds good. It's got a good ring to it, doesn't it? Good. More trash, more odors. Unfortunately, it's not the case.
We've seen a 98% reduction in our odor complaints. We've seen a 30 to 40% increase in our gas collection. And in that same time frame, over the last two years, we've disposed of over 600,000 tons of
trash. 600,000 tons of trash. And we've seen odor complaints from a peak in 2023, this past December, go down 95%. More trash. No, no, not not more trash,
more odor. No, actually you can say more trash, less odor. No, it's the way we manage it. It's the way that we've been kind of changing the way. We have a new solid waste director. We have a new solid waste vice president. We have a new solid waste manager. We now have a
landfill assistant manager. New staff, new ideas. We have new partners, the RNG project, Opal Fuels, South Jersey Industries Resources. This has all helped us get to the point where we're at today. The next slide just kind of shows a
little bit of that representation of this is where we were at. I wasn't coming here in 2023 asking for this. This issue in 2023 wasn't unique to Atlantic County. Every single county landfill was experiencing what you see
in 2023. And you can see this steady flatline out. >> Mr. Bertino, do you have a question? Yeah, I recognize it's okay. Yes. Thank you. Just a quick one while you're talking about the um odor complaints out dropped off. I think you want to touch
on uh the ACA did that manifold project in there where you injected piping in to recapture. I think that's a big part of this because there was action you guys took and we extended the money to do that at the time based on the complaints we were doing to try to mitigate some of that. I think you want to touch on that for these residents.
>> Absolutely. You're you're you're beating me to my presentation, Commissioner Martino. >> All right. Um but but honestly though, if you look at that chart, you'll see that we actually put them on there for for the timeline. So you can kind of see what that is. So you know that 2024 number, the first one there is the 19 wells we installed. When you talk about
manifold, you're talking about the gas collection system we put in miles and miles of piping. We've invested $22 million into a system. This isn't just like, hey, we're we're guessing what we're doing, right? This is this is how a a modern landfill operates. Third party engineers
help us with all this stuff. Third party help us with all this stuff. So you can see over the course of the last two years the improvements that we've done and you know that really is is the difference. You know we were able to to look at things a lot differently uh
provide a lot more resources to it. The county commissioners providing $7 million to fasttrack you know a 16 acre cap helped us get more efficient reduce our leech generation increase the amount of vacuum that we can put on the landfill because we're not pulling in air. You can't just open these things
wide open. you'll create a fire and and that'll be a headline. You don't want a headline that says the landfill's on fire. I promise you that because that'll be a headline that lasts for several several years because you can't put landfill fires out. That's the balance. It's not this simple, you know, idea that, hey, we're trying to hurt the
community. This is a 102 acre site, right, with 30 years of trash in it. But yes, all every single one of those things every year we're doing a lot of the stuff and keeping up with it. temporary capping, permanent capping, uh gas wells, sumps that we've put in. All
this infrastructure is going in on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis. We're not just waiting for things to happen. Um so that that timeline, thank you, Commissioner Bertina, for kind of pointing that out. That but that's those are the improvements that we've done. Um the next slide talks a little bit about
how high will the landfill be, right? Are you going to see this thing from Galloway? You going to see it from Hamilton, Brigantine? No, you're not. We're going up 40 feet. You can see it in a few spots in the county, but a
third party engineer do a line of sight. There's no new spot that you're going to see this landfill if we put 40T on it or not. Nowhere. See it on the Parkway. We're 75 ft to 100 ft from the white line on the Parkway. You're going to continue to see it there. Actually, the MSSE wall makes
it a little bit nicer because it's a green wall instead of a black tarp. Do you see uh Mil Road just before the reservoir? you see it there. You're going to continue to see it there. There's no new spots that you're going to see this site because we're on a 365 acre plot that was remember cited
because there was nothing around. We're bound by wetlands. We're bound by the parkway. Um, addition to the height is the next slide. How do we stack up against other are we doing something special? No, we're the
landfill to the left. Right now, we're 115 feet from the ground surface. The one all the way to the right is Kate May, sister agency. Very comparable topography, 220 ft. The green are the height expansions. So, are we the only
one looking for height? Nope. Four other landfills looking for height. Warren County is looking for 100 ft. And you can see even with the height expansion, we're still one of the lowest heights in the entire state. We're not doing anything special. We're
not doing anything crazy, outrageous that's going to raise flags. We're trying to be as responsible as possible to fulfill the needs of a community of over 250,000 residents. That's what we're doing.
The last slide on the height really is again the visual analysis that we've done. These are the five points that we've taken and you can't see in the slide, but if if you can see in your um your papers, there's the areas that you can see them and there's no new areas that you that
you're going to experience this with a height expansion. Nothing. So, if you hear I'm going to see this from Hamilton or I'm sitting on the beach and bring it to you, it's not accurate. It's not based off of data. It's not based off of engineering. It's not based off of fact.
Rumor people stirring the pot. Uh, the last thing I'm going to talk about, we talked a little about this, is innovation. There's two things right now that we can do with our trash. We can burn it or we can bury it. There was actually going to be an incinerator at our site years ago.
They got shot down. Governor Fuio came in, shot all the incinerators down. Um, then we were going to send it to Mercer County. They were going to be our partner. Mercer County still doesn't have that solid waste. They transfer it out at a very expensive cost.
So, we have a landfill. We've been looking at alternatives for years. We're now, I would say, threequarters way through a process. I usually say halfway through a process, but we finally got our off state controller approval on the um RFP. We are receiving our RFPs on April 1st.
This started in August of 2023. We've singly uh singled out three preferred vendors in December of 2023. work through office seek controller for the RFP process after the RFQ release that in November and now we're looking at this and if there's a single agency that
can pull this off our line is we're the first we've been the first the first wind farm we're the first parking lot canopy solar think about that how many parking lot canopy solar systems have you seen we the first one in New Jersey to do that I learned that a couple years ago blew my
mind they're everywhere first microplastic first RNG. It's gonna be the first waste conversion site. We're going to be the model. We're going to be the gold standard. It's a longer term policy process, though. It's a it's a five to sevenyear process. This
is our short-term, midterm. This gets us to 20 240. We'll be looking at organics, trying to pull them out. There's new goals for recycling and recycling organics. We'll be trying to find ways to do that. But if there's any agency that's going to do that voluntarily, it's the ACUA. And I confirmed that with
DP at a conference. I sat with a bureau chief. I said,"Anthony, he's retired now." I said, "What are the other counties doing? I want to kind of network and and get some communication." I said, "What are they doing about alternatives for landfills?" Says, "Nothing, Matt. They're waiting for the
ACA. They're waiting for us be that standard." So when we talk about this project, affordability, environmental impact on the community, transparency, that's what we've stood
for for the last 34 years. Thank you. Ordinance number one. >> Ordinance amending the Atlantic County solid waste management plan to include both lateral and vertical expansions of the existing sanitary landfill located
on block 603 lot 10 and block 703 lot 1 in Anarbor Township, New Jersey. Final reading. moved. >> Second. >> This is going for >> we're going now. Any commissioner
comments? >> Thank Thank you, Mr. Park. Mr. Park, Chairman Parker. Um, we've heard the presentation the board's made. I think um Matt's touched on a few issues. Um for those in the public of course that don't get to listen to all this all the time like we do um there has been a lot
of a lot of progress made through the years taking the impact that you guys gave us when you complained about the smells you came to a commissioner meeting a few years ago we went back to the ACU board and they developed a strategy to try to eliminate that by spending some additional monies uh to to
get the landfill somewhat under control. It doesn't stop everything. It's to try to keep it under control. Um, so we I know they've made the effort to do that. The commissioners always put up the money in Atlantic County to try to make it the most efficient and the best way
of doing it. But like I said, you know, we all recognize uh it's a landfill and it's not that easy. So, thank Mr. Chairman. >> Matt, I think we may have touched on this before. What's this is once we hit
2040, what's what's the long-term plan once if you know when we hit capacity again? I know I've I've heard from elected officials and and residents around the county that have kind of asked me that question. So >> I mean if you know 15 years will go by like that, right? I've been at the organization for almost 20 now. Um and
that's that's where that waste conversion comes in, right? That's where we're not the only ones. Burlington County was almost out of capacity in August of 2025 waiting for a permit from D for their expansion. They started construction before they got their approval. This is an Atlantic County, a
New Jersey issue when it comes to trash and capacity. I'm bullish on some technologies that we have that are going to help us reduce that. And the first thing we would look at is the household garbage. And that would be reducing the organics. That
would be reducing our night shift from actually having to operate. We have, you know, we're the lowest tip fee in the state. We double handle our trash. We're the only ones that double handle our trash. goes into a transfer station five 600 feet from our landfill and then that snowstorm the day after guys are up at 7
pm through the night until 3:00 am. Um so we're constantly looking at that but but that is you know that is something that we're constantly trying to find ways to do. So the other thing we're looking at is more diversion as well. So we understand that maybe waste conversion and taking all of our MSW
isn't going to be a viable solution right away because it is a challenge. the variability in your trash from person to person is drastic and that's the problem. So the thought would be if that work if that doesn't proceed right if our April 1 we start vetting out this
up and hey this isn't going to work then we start looking at different things. So, we were talking about setting up an organics transfer. Um, I met with Trenton Bio gas in Mercer County. If you come over 95 going to Trenton, you look on the left, there's two big green tanks. They take food waste, source separated food waste. So, s separated
food waste could be from casinos, from schools, colleges, hotels. Uh, that's all required to come to a food waste generator if there's one within 25 miles. So, if we could take that and we just happen to have a $60 million infrastructure with renewable natural gas at our facility already and
complement that with a digtor, then we create more revenue. We reduce our impact on what we're putting into the landfill. Um, and we're we're able to to again extend the life of that. So, there's ways to do that. Not everybody's
worried about 15 years from now. I am. I am. >> Just one more and I'll shut up. Uh Matt, you've heard us talk about the FAA. There's an airport near there. Yes. I think when you're talking about elevating and adding 40 feet on top. Uh what was the response from the FAA as
far as you guys doing the additional height on? >> Thank you for bringing that up because I know there was a comment before here about birds. We take birds very very serious. Since 1998, we've done our nighttime landfilling. We had a pilot for two years to prove that out. Small amounts of trash.
We meet with the FAA, the USDA who oversees birds at the landfill, airport operations, NJD, 177 National Guard, our third party wildlife biologists from um uh Canada on a quarterly basis all in one room and we
discuss the bird deterrent plan. There are eyes on this nonstop. Non-stop. The airport is concerned over 200. So, our elevation above sea level is 185 is where we're going. If we go to 200, they want lights. We don't want to
raise any flags. We're going to stay 185. That was and and because our footprint is smaller, it's really harder to go higher just because it's a pyramid. So, as you your base is smaller, you're just you're not getting as much more space. So, when it came to efficiency and looking at the best practical solution, the 185 was it,
which which kind of kicks out um FAA when it comes to um some of those concerns. It still will go to them. It'll still get all the reviews it has to go through. It'll go through environmental justice hearings. That's after it goes through the D. But when it comes to bird concerns and bird strikes,
knock on wood, we have never had a bird strike from one of our sites. And we've had that confirmed through the USDA who oversees the landfill airport operations. County Executive Levenson talked about the bird sanctuary. That was a big issue. There's about a bird strike once a month that airport from
its own bird population. We also have Absin Creek. We have the reservoir. There's uh the community next to us which has fountains. If you look at the pictures, the birds are surrounded by the fountains. They're not on the exterior. And now we have a new issue
which is the new community. And because there's such a barren land there, there's hundreds of gulls that are roosting there. And we're helping the landfill because of our vantage point, we're able to see them when the land when the airport is not. So we're able to let the landfill know, hey, offsite
you have some issues with birds. And we've done that before when there's been foraging offsite. We actually provide more safety for the airport because of our vantage point. We have a wildlife biologist on site. So, we have our third party that comes in for the quarterly meetings, but we also have one on site full-time, and they're up sun up to sun
down, seven days a week. We don't take birds lightly at all, and neither would FAA or airport operations or the Air National Guard or anybody of the partners that we had. It's been a successful partnership for 27 years. Our third party wildlife
biologist describes it as the most documented successful bird deterrent plan in North America, Dr. Ralph Davis. and he was the one that was dictated from FAA for us to hire. >> Hopefully that answered your birds, >> chairman. >> Yes.
>> Um Matt, I just want to, you know, I know you, you know, already address some of these uh items with the odor, but I just want to just take it out of, you know, and see if you can give us, you had a plan. >> We know that we had some real peaks 23
24 there are some major peaks because of certain things you were doing to mitigate this. >> Correct. So the plan that you had are you going to the municipalities because there are certain ones that are very much affected. So let's address that the ones that are you know address you know
affected by this and um do you update them on how you're doing with it outside of you know when you come here and we see you know the graphs and all. >> Yeah. So we certainly meet with them on a yearly basis and that was the topic of discussion in Abikin in Galloway in Egg Harbor Township in Pleasantville and most of those meetings are with the
mayors uh or at least a council person or both. Um and we discuss that uh there's a lot of communication that goes back and forth with the towns. We really haven't had an issue since April of 2024. And I I talked to one of the mayors in one of those towns just before this
meeting and he said, "You guys have done a great job." I talked to a mayor at one of our meetings in December about this and his statement was, "Hey, you guys said you were going to do a plan and you gave me a timeline. You executed that plan. You followed that timeline to a
tea. I'm starting to trust you now." Okay, thank you. Appreciate that. Right. But but again, the expectation should never be zero. You know, it we are dealing with a landfill. So, is it every day? No, that's not the expectation. Is it every week? No, that's not the
expectation. But if you're very close to the landfill, if you're 1500 feet from the landfill, we have people that work on this landfill every single day. 30-year careers on top of the landfill. We don't have health issues from those people that are in equipment pushing the trash that are working on it side by
side in a gas collection system every single day. We don't we we'd have a workers comp nightmare. That's our record. But yes, communication is is something that we and and as far as like the plan, like the plan never ends. So, a lot of
people will say like, well, we've heard that you're putting wells in. Look up any modern day landfill and look at the the contracts that they have every year. They put wells in every single year. We're doing temporary capping. When we have space we can temporary cap, we temporary cap it. Like that is the process because the landfill is
constantly moving. We don't sit in one spot. Working face moves around all over based off of height. The landfill is going higher every single day. The landfill is getting bigger every single day. Every ounce of trash that we dispose of goes into your can magically
disappears and comes to our site. And that is what the increase is every year. So we can talk about expansion. It's expanding tonight 7:00 and all day today as we brought trash up CND construction bulky. Every day we expand because of the trash that we
generate here in Atlantic County as residents. with your mitigation papers. How has the air quality improved? >> So, we haven't had a verified odor complaint since March of 2024.
>> So, when um somebody calls the D typically goes down to the health department, they come out and they do a survey and if they verify that there's an odor, then we get fined for it. Uh there's also a uh regulation when it comes to the D. So, we're highly
regulated. This isn't like ACA and the county are in cahoots and we're trying to figure out like, okay, how do we hide this from everybody? We are heavily regulated. Air, water, solid waste. We have three inspectors that come out on a monthly basis, sometimes a weekly basis. And there are issues, right? If we get
heavy rain this week, there'll be there'll be areas of the landfill that get washed out and maybe some trash are exposed because you have 12 foot of soil, you have, you know, six inches of soil, whatever it may be, and and you fill that you cover that up. We have eliminated a lot of those issues with proactive approaches over the last three
years. But when it comes to air quality, I'll go back to the 90,000 vehicles and that was the impact of air quality. When it comes to our fence line requirements, there's a not a health standard. There's a D standard of 30 parts per billion.
It's not health-based. It was based off of a California document and California has this where you cannot exceed 30 parts per billion at our fence line and our fence line jags. It goes goes all over the place, right? So, we have some spots that are 75 ft from our landfill.
We have other spots that are 2,000 ft from our landfill. And there's a very strict protocol that we follow based off of our permit because if we don't, we get violated and we're in violation of our permit that we follow every day. We take a reading that we're operating. We do it at the same time. So it's
consistent. It can't be over 30 parts per billion. Have we exceeded that? We have once this summer kind of a fluke. Uh and we have in 2024 once or whatever it may be. But the question is what happens when you do that? Pick a little
doesn't ring the bell, right? We don't deploy the the dome that covers our landfill, right? The D requires you to test the second day. If it's over 30 parts per billion the second day, test the third day. If it's
over 30 parts per billion the third day, go into the local community and do the same thing. Test one day. If you have six consecutive days over 30 parts per billion, again, not a health standard. If you have six consecutive days over 30 parts per billion, then you have to
start enacting your landfill gas um landfill wells. We've never been more than one day. And actually, we're being told by D that we may not even have to require to test every day because not every landfill tests every day. Some of them test once a month. Some of them
test once a week. Our permits actually written and it says that if we go a month without having two consecutive days, we can test weekly. We continue to test daily because we want to know. We want the data. Like we don't want to be surprised. We don't want to guess, you know, hey, do we have an issue here? Do we need some well tuning that we need to
do? So that's been what we do. Um that's you know that that's how the air quality is monitored uh for us. There's also stack tests that have to happen and there's um all of our equipment has to get stack tested every so many years to make sure that the emissions on the equipment all that stuff has to be done
as part of our permit. So, it's it's a highly regulated industry because of 1975 and the solid waste management act because there was so much contamination, so many issues that we just continue to forget about.
>> Matt, quick question. >> Um, for full transparency, you did say January 23rd, every municipality, the city clerk received a full packet, correct? What was moving forward, >> correct? We hand delivered those and then they also got a notice. I believe it was certified mail because there was
also another uh letter that had to go to them that came afterwards. But the full package that had the entire document, plans, notices, everything went to the county clerk month ago and has been sitting at every single
municipality for a month. We also had um newspaper publications. You know, this meeting is also publicized. SWAC meeting like like there was so much that was as far as public that we've done, but that package has been there since January, the end of January.
>> Thank you, >> Mayor. Um Matt, back just back to your comment um to Commissioner Kern's question. I spoke with the the Galloway mayor earlier today um about his concerns, his residents concerns, and he did tell me that you offered to uh to go
out there and speak directly to the residents, you know, about what we spoke about here tonight and any anything else they may be concerned about and he was very appreciative of it. So, I just wanted to acknowledge it and and you know, thank you for for offering to do that. >> Great. Thank you. And I did I talked to Mayor Capola before here. I guess he was
one of the guys that said things were going really well. So, and and and I was in direct direct communication with him in 2023 responding to residents, making sure he had the information, giving updates at that point. Um, it's not, you know, it's never a perfect system. Mr. >> Chairman, I may um so in right after
2024, you did the piping project with the wells and all that. Is there any plans on expanding that? Because >> Oh, yeah. >> I'm in the piping industry and I'm familiar with these systems. >> Yeah. And that's a really big reduction in that type of problem. So, >> yep, every every year. So, we we put out
what we call an emergency contract. And it looks like it's a reaction, but the contract is called an emergency contract. It's a one-year maintenance contract for us. And and the reason we say it's emergency is because the contractor needs to understand that when we need wells, we can't wait three months for it. So, they need to be on standby to get those wells in within 30
days. So, we were able to use that contract with also with our partner, but we just installed another, I think, 11 wells in December. And then we also installed five acres of temporary capping. We weren't getting an uptick in odor complaints, but we had area that was at the right elevation. And that's that's what we do every single year,
right? So, um, they also added additional, uh, header pipe. So, you're only as strong as your vacuum. So, as the pipe gets smaller, you know, you get less capacity. So, they extended the 18-inch pipe that goes further around out to the opposite side of our landfill. And that's where we're kind of
staying on top of a lot of this stuff. Uh and what happened in in 2023 really was it's a perfect storm. Landfill gas hydrogen sulfide is the one that you smell happens in an anorobic state. It doesn't happen in the fresh trash.
Scientifically it does not happen. It's a biological process that the aerobic the bacteria that consumes air or the that thrives off the air has to go through its process and then consume and change to an anorobic process.
Those bugs now become anorobic and that's what produces hydrogen sulfide which smells which is a really small portion of it that happens 6 to 12 months after trash is placed. So, we're constantly trying to, you know, mitigate um and and I apologize because this is going to be a repeat for some some here,
but what we were talking about a lot when we were installing those wells is you can't just install a well because you have 30 feet of trash. A well has 10 feet from the bottom because you don't want to go too close. So, you lose 10 feet of a well. 15 feet at the top is solid pipe because you can't pull air
in. So, you got to make sure it's solid pipe down at least to a certain point so you don't pull that air in. So, now you have 25 feet that does nothing. So, you're looking at trying to get to 65, 70 feet of trash before you can really drill one of these wells in before it to actually produce anything. Well, guess what? You're putting lifts in 10 feet.
If that trash because of the weather, because of the temperature and the moisture starts to break down faster and go anorobic quicker. Well, all of a sudden, now you're trying to get the trash in. You're trying to get the wells in, and that becomes a problem. And that's what happened in the fall of 2023. We had a really hot and wet fall
and then it just got we got hit with one to two inches of rain all through the winter as we're trying to do this work and that's really where we kind of got caught in this spot. So now we're just like we're not even going to try to anticipate. We're putting horizontals in. Horizontals are sacrificial. It's it's it's not wasted money but it's money that goes in as we're putting
lifts in and they're they're sideways but it allows you to put and collect some gas. they're only good for about a year, but if they get us to the point where we can get high enough to put those verticals in, then we're in a much better spot. So, that was one of the things that that we we started to institute a little bit more than we had
in the past, which has helped us kind of bridge that uh uncertainty. And when does that trash start to really break down and create hydrogen sulfide? Is it 12 months? Is it is it nine months to 16? That's a difficult thing to really uh try to gauge.
>> Staying ahead of it. >> Yes. Yep. That's what we need to do. >> Any more commissioner? Yeah. Uh may um Matt, excuse me, Matt, thank you for of course agreeing to continue to inform the public and attend the the council meetings. Um and I I know you
said that more I guess more trash doesn't necessarily mean more odors, but as you're you're expanding, will you be disturbing the trash that's there? So, can can residents expect >> there to be additional odors during the expansion process? >> Nope. We just it just goes on to like a lift. So there's no disturbance of the
existing trash that we have. Years ago they tried to do mining uh because some landfills were trying to mine trash because there was there's a lot of dirt in it. Uh it wasn't a good thing. It was I think 2005. Uh but no, there's no disturbance to the existing trash. It just gets built on side on on the side of it. So when we do cells, you know, we
have a 102 acre site. They're just built alongside the next one and then the trash just kind of continues to go on there. You don't disturb the the existing work from face or anything like that. >> Thank you. Any more commissioner comments? All right, we are going to move to the
public portion. >> Mr. Chairman. >> Oh, >> I'd like couple words. Matt, I've seen the presentation numerous times. All right. It certainly is a well-reasoned plan and
I certainly support it and I appreciate your uh efforts to go out after this meeting to um speak with uh the representatives of course and Adam Sean and Galloway very very important. My uh
other thought I had was regarding uh the possibility of shifting some trash now to the Kate May County landfill, thus extending the life of our current
landfill even more. Are you considering that point? >> Thank you, Commissioner Rizley. I hope you're feeling better cuz I saw you at the League of Municipalities and it looked like you were you were struggling eating because you're both both your arms. So I hope that you get some relief
relief soon. >> Your your wife I'm sure is a saint. Um so uh the questions always come up about Kate May County and transferring waste out and the problem with that is economics. It sounds very simple. Let's send tra to um another landfill that has
a lot of capacity and and buy space for what we have. So in um 20 I think it was 16 or 17 we were we were working through a construction project and we actually had a contract with Kate May County MUA to ship waste 20,000 tons really small portion again we we bring in 330,000
tons a year 20,000 of that was going to go to Kate May at the tune of $3 million and that didn't include transporting costs our entire budget's you know 4050 thou $50 million so you know when we look at our tip fee is $81. And then to
break this into numbers, our tip fee is $81.81 right now. That's what the municipalities are paying. If we send it to Kate May, which is just under $90, if not really close to $90 a ton, we're paying about $90 a ton to go to Kate
May. Well, there's already a delta there. We also have to get it there. So, there's a cost of transport, say $25 a ton to transport it. And then there's also the operation of handling it. So because we
take 20,000 tons of trash out, it doesn't scale down like we're not we're not making widgets. So like we can't like turn off like an assembly line, right? So I can't use two/ird of a compactor. I got to use a compactor with one guy in it always. Whether I bring in a thousand tons or I bring in 800 tons.
So there's no savings on an economies of scale as far as like sending material to another a portion of it somewhere else that we can save on. It actually increases our cost. It's really tough thing to do. We and again we we evaluated it just a small portion. We we fortunately had found some additional
space after our annual report that showed hey we have we still have space for this construction. Um but it but it can be done. It's just done at a very expensive cost because why would Kate May give Atlantic County residents a cheaper rate than what they're giving
their municipalities from outside their county? I know we wouldn't, right? Like um so that's always been the challenge and we've spot rated like waste management and some other facilities and it's it's the same setup. You know, you're either going further you the the the one thing about
our geography is we are we are pretty east, right? So there are some counties that are along the the Delaware there that have some options that can make it a little bit cheaper and their cost for transporting out is still really expensive. Mercer County is $140 a ton. We're we're $81.81.
$141 a ton to transfer waste out of a transfer station. Um another one up there is like 113 or 117. Like it's it's costly. Um so trying to make those economics work is really really difficult. Um u so that's kind of why
we've held off on that. We've we've we've researched it to to you know really no end but uh it's a difficult thing to make dollars and cents work without increasing significantly costs >> may thank you. >> Yep. You're welcome. >> Thank you.
>> Last call for commissioner comments. We're going to move into the public comment portion. I thank you all for being here. I know this is an important topic to you. We ask that you're courteous when you come to the microphone. Speak respectfully to one
another. We understand that this is a hot topic. Uh but we're not going to solve anything uh yelling at one another. In order that we can hear everyone, uh time is limited. So we ask that you we're asking that you hold your comments
to three minutes. >> Do the best I can. I think uh a lot of the things that Matt said are just wrong. >> They're not technically wrong. I'm sorry, sir. Excuse me. I'm sorry. Come. Please give your name and address. >> Yeah. John Gee, 130 Union Avenue,
Balakim, Pennsylvania. >> Thank you. >> So, I'm a principal engineer at Western Solutions. I've been practicing for 50 years. I've seen more landfills than anyone I know.
The only time I've seen anybody vomit gas is when they're on a landfill. Hydrogen sulfide makes you vomit at the right concentration and the right duration. The 30 ppb limit that Mr. Dapo just said
was not health-based is absolutely healthbased. That is totally incorrect. People don't put a standard in a law in the state of New Jersey unless it has a basis. I have monitored the emissions coming
off that landfill for two years. We have found 763 exceedences of that standard. That's more than one per day of monitoring.
There's a reason for that. ACUA landfill isn't any landfill. It takes an enormous amount of food waste. Also takes an enormous amount of construction debris. Those two things put together in a landfill create very
high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. Not just any landfill. If this was a landfill 30 years ago, I would agree. But it isn't like sticking your head in a trash can. I've been on the property
at night, midnight, 1:00 in the morning. Burning throat. You can hardly see how my eyes are. They're burning so bad. My staff, same problem. We're not lying. This isn't made up. This is real. These people vomit. The
first time I met the community, a fire chief said to me, "Oh, you know, voters were so bad, I vomited." Think about that for a second. Think that guy was lying? You think he
was making it up? I don't. So, the 30 ppb standard, Matt said the complaints went away. Well, he moved the working face on the other side of landfill from Bel Air Lakes from where the community is. Of course, dealers went away, but they didn't go all go
away. Just the last two months, we picked up 28 exceedences of the standard on Bell Air Lakes. And we monitored on the eastern property line just to check it out as it was closer to the working face. And guess what?
six exceedences a day for 22 days. That's what we found. Concentrations of 2,000 ppb are common. The maximum concentration we just we
measured in Bair Lakes was 25,000 ppb. This is no joke. This isn't funny. This isn't something you just push aside and say landfills are landfills. They're not landfills. This isn't any landfill. This is a landfill that is really
causing a problem. And I would really suggest, and I've worked with Cumberland County over the years, other counties in New Jersey when they have a problem trying to figure out what to do with their trash. I would strongly suggest you table this motion
until there's some more review of the so-called transparency that hasn't been happening here. You want to be transparent, ask me. I'm a resource. Call me up. I've studied this thing. I know more about it than
just about anybody outside of the ACA and their contractors. And I have nothing to gain personally from this freaking situation. Nothing. Because it ends up being a lose for everybody if this goes ahead.
Economically, the house the housing values are going down. I don't think anybody moves to Atlantic County because of cheap disposal rates. I think going to Cape May County is a great idea.
The the pricing that has been thrown out here, that's not a study. That's a guess. It will only cost $10 a year per household to transfer the waste. >> Thank you, sir, for your comments.
>> Thank you. Hello, my name is David Luke and I live at uh Bair Lakes, 58 West Delray Lane and we moved there about eight years ago and I've never had to be hospitalized or constantly
sick like I am now. I'm a veteran. I have to go to uh the Philadelphia VA every Wednesday for for specialty treatment because of the blockage and between my nose, my my my throat. And
all I do is is cough up uh huge amounts of clogged blood and debris that's in my nose and my throat area. Over the last uh 4 months, I had to been hospitalized over 14 different times for for
overnight stays. In theory, I can't put a finger on it. And the doctors are very concerned that it it is because of the toxic exposure that that that uh I'm exposed to and everyone else. Not only ju just the
odors uh the skin outbreak, the eye irritation, the up all night not getting no sleep uh whatsoever and the constant ailments that that that come along with it. I I just pray and hope that that that this committee uh
takes this uh uh situation very seriously because the ACUA is all about money. That's all they keep saying. Affordability. Affordability. Affordability. And then the the gentleman uh uh mentioned something
about uh uh uh odors and landfills as as as if it was something uh humorous and and and and people's lives are really at risk. That's all I have to say. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir.
>> Good evening. My name is Ricky King Luke. I live 58 Delray Lane. It is terrible what we ingest, how it's affecting our breathing, our talking, our health. I constantly
stay congested. I don't have allergies. I don't have a cold, but right now I'm constantly congested. I can go to stinky Manhattan. Never cough, breathe, talk. Was there
all weekend long? Came home yesterday. Instant headache. Throat clogged up. Sounds as if I'm congested or have a cold. No, it's from the landfill. Those odors cremeate our homes.
Once they get into our homes, they're there for days. And it took me four years to find an environmental lawyer and law firm that
would hear us. Take our case. Federally, we have a right to clean air. All of us do. Sure, the landfill is not in any of you all's backyard, but it is in ours.
What John G just said is truth, but for ACUA Landfill is about money. They don't care about our issues. They keep regurgitating the same thing
over and over again. But it boils down to our health. Yeah. The landfill was there before they built our property, but if it was handled
in a proper manner, if it was contained in a proper manner, we wouldn't be here. There wouldn't be a lawsuit that is pending federally. My question to the board is, could you just wait? Could you just wait for the
approval? until at least our lawsuit is heard in federal court. It would they don't need to expand. They need to contain. And as my spouse just said, it's it's
about the money. Well, for us, it's about our health. It's about our health. It's about the headaches that people sustain. It's about not being able to sell our property at the price that we should be able to sell it at. Property
values are down as a result of it. And it's it's it's horrendous. It's horrendous. We need help. We need help and we're not getting it from ACUA. But I implore the board to please not pass
this. Thank you. to all the rest of the speakers that come up, could you please try to speak into the microphone? They're saying they they're having trouble hearing you online. >> Okay. James O'Brien, 29, Ables Run, uh, Bellair Lakes. Uh, we went to a
meeting a couple of years ago and we heard Mr. Dafio speak then and he's a very effective speaker, I have to say, and I was the last one to get up and ask him a question. And I got up at that time cuz he had just spoken and I said,
"Are you telling me that in five years time that landfill will no longer be a problem because by then it will be shut down and capped and decommissioned?" And he said, "Yes."
Now, only a few years later, we hear that the landfill is not being reduced in size. You just talked about how they're shipping some of it out and capping some of it. Now, we're here because it's being expanded,
not reduced. It's exact opposite of what we've been told all this time. I I don't have a whole lot more to say. I'll yield my time to the next person, but somebody's selling us a bill of goods
here. I think I know who it is. >> Good evening, everyone. >> Good evening. >> My name is Sandra Rodriguez. Uh, I live at 74 Delray Lane, uh, in Bair Lakes. I'll be short and sweet and to the point. Uh, I live I'm the last house on
the culde-sac. So, I am literally a stones throw away from the fence that divides the landfill and my home. Um, without exaggeration, uh, I lived in a Carver Township for 36
years and never had anything like this. And I'm sorry that Denny feels the way that he does because when my husband passed, certainly I could have sold my home, but I did not have to move there. And my realtor did not tell me about the
landfill. So, as he said, we should have known, some of us did not know. And now I feel like I'm being punished for it. In the middle of the night, on any given night, an odor
is so severe that it will wake you up out of a complete dead sleep. And not to make this comical, but it even wakes up my Shih Tzu. The dog even wakes up from it. It's so vile.
And I don't know what kind of gas it is, what kind of toxin it is, but unless you put your head under your pillow or pull your covers over your head, you cannot go back to sleep. You you usually I
usually uh cough, get up, have some water, try to go to another room even, and it just floats right through the house with not one window open.
And it is it's just incredible. And I know it's very difficult uh for all of you to even fathom because certainly it was the same for me. But now I'm experiencing it and not one person,
you know, despite what Matt has said, I have no ill will against him, but none of these people are lying. This is true. And thank you for your time this evening. >> Thank you. >> I'm Rosemary Lebanon
and um whatever. I want to let you know what our our neighbors in Pleasantville who really are the closest as well as those in Beller Lakes are um breathing. Gas does not have to have an odor. As
you know what they are breathing does not just a nuisance ambient air. They're breathing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compound, the benzene, vinyl chloride,
and H2S, which is the hydrogen sulfite. It's quite a mixture. You would not want that in your home at any time or outside. So, you can should not sit outside. It is not a nuisance pollutant. It is a health hazard according to New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection and is well beyond the acceptable uh levels. Folks, you're welcome to visit those communities anytime and spend some time and see what happens to your health as you breathe a couple hours of it. You're welcome anytime. And I did not appreciate Mr.
Levenson being glib about that we live that they these folks live near a dump. That was not very nice. And I'm really sorry he had to say that comment especially that historically in the United States waste areas are put near African-American communities and they
were toxicated for many years historically and that's where it was put in the 70s right next to Pleasantville and then and then in our in the community in Beller Lakes is a beautiful community where blacks and whites live together. It's a gorgeous
community and everyone is is is suffering for and now it's creeping out because of the prevailing winds to the daycare centers that are surrounding it. The high schools all the way to north people in Northfield friends are calling up about it all seeking and as I said
you can't what you can't see and smell doesn't mean it's not going to hurt you. Thank you and have a nice evening. Thank you. Okay. Hello everyone. My name is uh Lewis Needles. I live at 44 Delray Lane. Um previously we lived in um Egg Harbor
Township and we had a dump there. It was on Ocean Heights Avenue in Zion Road. This guy might know about that, but that was there for years and we never smelled odors like that out that way. and I wasn't not that far from it and they ended up closing it. I guess it
fulfilled its capacity and um now they have a golf course there and you know it's capped off. It's fine. I moved in there 10 years ago in Bair Lakes at 44 Delray and I was fine. There was nothing wrong with me. And after about four
years during that time I had a little dog and I used to walk my dog every morning every night and I would smell that and I figure ah it's no big deal and I walk did this all the time and then I went to my doctor because I was
having a pain um in my left knee and up in my chest and where my ribs are. And I went for a blood test, you know, because I didn't know what it was. I thought I needed my knee replaced. year I was diagnosed with multiple myyoma and I don't know if you know guys know what
that is or if you know what that is okay it's a bone disease and it's cancer and what it did it get into my bloodstream and it'll eat your bones from the inside out it eats your bone marrow inside your bone and then what'll happen luckily I'm
walking I've been treated I had a bone marrow transplant and it took me a lot of time to to get back to be walking again. And I'm still not right. Okay. So, and I believe it's from the landfill. Um, you know, there's so many
things that causes that. And I just was diagnosed that never had it before I moved to Bair Lakes and um I like the idea like what he said about going to um Woodbine in Kate May County. I would rather pay more money. It's a big thing.
Their dump is not even near houses. It's all on vacant land way from everybody. And I think people would pay more money. I know I would. And I know all these res residents that live close to this area would too. And they should cap that off.
I heard if they cap that off, uh, they'll be able to get rid of all the odors, all the debris, and you won't even know it's there other than the 18story building or 14story building that we have in our backyard. And that's um I I'd like to see it
closed, not extended, because they told me before it was going to close in 2020, and then somehow they extended it to 2025. Okay, now we're in 2026. Now he's saying, let's extend it for another 15
years. Then what happens in 15 years after that? Are you going to extend it again and again? I'll be dead. I'll be dead. You might still be alive. And the people where I live, most of them are going to be dead. It's just not right. You know, in other words, I would uh
wait and see how we come out with this lawsuit before you make any decisions for the ACUA. And I'm not a a specialist in this environmental anything. I don't know anything about that other than all the issues I have. And I have a ton of
paperwork from my doctor up at Penn that I have to go see him every four weeks for treatment to stay in remission. Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. >> I want to thank the uh commissioners for all the work they do in Atlantic County.
I appreciate all that. I'd like to make a statement. My name is Maria Graves. I live in Beller Lakes since 2008. And I want to make a statement. It's very short. And I also want to give you a list of all the verified complaints since I moved in there to 2023 that are
documented by the DP so you can have a look and read what people are saying about the odor. It's not just a smell. It's not just a smell. It's toxic. And like Lou was saying, he ended up with cancer. A lot of the residents in our
development ended up with cancer. I ended up one year after moving in with thyroid cancer, which is also a result of exposure to toxins. So, I'm lucky I'm still here. But I want
to tell you today that my request is that the ACUA landfill project not be extended, be denied this ordinance that you have. I have been a resident since 2008. Immediately after moving in, I was
subjected to the hard odor releases from the landfill. I was not given any notice by anyone, including the real estate agent who worked for Beaser Homes as a seller, that there would be landfill poisonous gases released into the community. During the time I've lived
there, I had to buy four air filters to rid the house of the stench, burn candles like it's a church, also to rid the house of odors. Opening windows is not an option either as the gases are outside and are so strong it literally
gags you. I reported the odor releases many many many times to the D as well as to the county to hide their illegal releases. The ACUA was releasing the gases in the middle of the night. So most people are sleeping and not
reporting. I would wake up and stay up till 1 2 o'clock in the morning even though I had to be at work the next morning waiting for the D agent to come to my home to verify the odor in the house because they had to come in and and verify it and say, "Yeah, I can
smell it. It stinks. It's not just a stinky odor. It's toxic." We as a community had many meetings with representatives from the ACUA, not this young gentleman that was just speaking and the city of Abseen to help us in the pursuit of stopping this illegal
activity. We were shown whiteboard explanations of the ways the ACUA was planning on st on installing gas catching devices to mitigate the odors or told it was because of heavy rainfall, the wind, the snow, the sun, whatever excuse. But no action. They
just don't care. We are a community of over 55 years of age. Many older residents are more susceptible to these gases and the effects. I wake up with headaches, not able to breathe. My quality of life has been severely affected negatively. I move there to
retire in peace. I don't have the money or the wherewithal to move anywhere else. So, I'm stuck. I am afraid to have guests at my home due to the odor releases which had been occurring on a regular basis. Now there is another large development being built on Westcot
Road near the landfill. How many people have to be exposed to this before you stop this? We pay the county a lot of money in taxes and expect the county to take care of its residents. Don't fall for the lies the ACUA will tell you about mi mitigating the releases. They
have been lying about this for 18 years. do the right thing. Deny the expansion of this Mount Trashmore. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Hi, I'm Sandra Sanchez. I live at 72 Delray Lane. Now, I moved down here in
2006. So, he could say the last two years were the worst of it. Not true. This has been an ongoing problem. It's only in the since 2023 when this lawsuit started that they have been addressing
the problems. What she told you about D is absolutely true. You would have to wait up all night for them to come. They come and check the odors. They come in the morning when they're gone. So, the the information they're giving
you isn't wholly true. I don't know how in good conscience you could vote for this to be increased since they can't handle what they already have. That's all I have to say.
>> Thank you, ma'am. >> Good evening. My name is uh Walter Sill. My nickname is Butch. I've lived in Abekin my entire life. Uh, and I'm going to be 81 in April. Um, I wanted to stay at ABC and it was an over 55. So, I
moved to Belair Lakes and I was like the second person there. And, um, I don't want to rehash it, but everyone that has spoke before me is speaking the truth. And I also had cancer. Um, praise
the Lord. I'm cancer free now through treatments. and I hope to stay that way. But um yeah, everybody, not going to rehash it. Like I said, they're telling the truth. They're not lying. There's no reason for us to come
here, sit here, and uh and and just say these things for, you know, no reason at all. It is serious. So, I thank you for listening to me and uh have a good night. I wanted to say um out if you go leave
here this is still county it's not my name's Lou Needles 44 Delray if you leave and go out um >> Mr. needles. We can only you can only come up to the microphone once comment one person.
>> Okay, I'll let her talk. Alls I was trying to say as there's land at Bears Road on the Millville Maze Landing. They have big sand pits out there. There's not hardly any houses there and it's back way out of the way. They could move
your uh landfill there. Keep your recycling land. >> Thank you, sir. >> Are there any other public comments? We have one online. This is just someone's online.
Katherine, are you there? Catherine, Katherine, unmute yourself and uh you can make your comment. Go to the next one. Terra and then >> Kathleen. >> Kathleen, if you want to mute yourself,
you can uh begin to make your comments. going online. Kathleen, if you unmute yourself, you can make your comments now. Any other public comments? >> Call the roll. >> Motion to close public com.
>> Motion to close public comment. >> Yes. So move. Mr. Chairman, before we vote, if I can just one question, Ken, apparently there's litigation going on here, which they made mention to uh for action today
on an action item. Um I guess the how we vote is going to impact that litigation or or con or um I'm just looking for some clarification from you on our comments that we're making.
Thank Thank you, Commissioner. I would not advise on any any litigation this time, but there should not be nothing that you move forward with a law or you Mr. chairman, any of us that are listening to the comments that are impacting the
residents that live in the vicinity. Obviously, we're all going to have a very grave concern for it. Um I know living near the landfill there's been issues and there always will be, I guess. Um health concerns are a little bit different for me, especially when I
hear some of the members in the public um expressing their concerns uh and asking us for a little more time. Um, I don't know how the rest of the board feels. Um, and that's up to you guys. Um, I was coming here today actually to move on the resolution and and move the
ordinance forward um for us to uh uh to move forward with the expansion. We know what the ACA has done for years. It's up to the other commissioners. uh in talking here if there's any other support I'd be okay with tableabling this if it's going to now if we table it
to M the solicitor does this mean it has to be reintroduced and go through the whole process >> it does not commissioner if it was table go to another meeting on a second reading that would have to be republicized publication rules at this table however there is a motion on the
floor to close public comment that motion would need to be resolved and then if you'd like to make a motion table you can do that prior Okay. Is Mr. Chair, if just a question about your response. Is there a a time frame? I mean, >> I think if if just listening to what he
said, I think we need to settle the motion that's on the floor and then continue conversation. >> Thank you, Chair. That's correct. Yes. >> Do we So, where are we at? We need a second to close to close public vote for closing public comments.
All in favor? >> I >> I >> opposed. Public comment portion closed. >> Now, so Commissioner, >> Mr. Chair, if I Hey, to to Ken because this has already been advertised. We already have the first,
you know, the first reading. Is there are we is there a time constraint? I guess my question is, do we have to have the final reading again in a certain time period? If it was a table, it would be put on the next agenda, which would be in two weeks. So, it
wouldn't be on for another public hearing. >> March 31st. >> March 31st. Yes. March 31st would be the next meeting to be put on for a public hearing. And then >> I think honestly as we're going along and it's up to you all, the commissioners, we have to make a
decision obviously on it one way or another. Not everybody's ever happy about what elected officials do when they vote on any kind of ordinances and stuff. You just have to do what you feel is best in your conscience. For me at the moment, um, if you're asking me for my opinion, I I'm okay with tableing it
for the one meeting, but uh, I'm not telling anybody that action is going to be taken that you may not be happy with at the next meeting. That's up to the commissioner board to decide. So, but um I think given for me and you listening to the some of the concerns you guys have for your health and safety, I don't see where it's out of the way for us to
hold it up and table it for one more meeting >> if the other commissioners agree. I don't know. If that's >> you making a motion there for the dialogue, but I will put that in the form of a motion. >> Any other commissioner comments?
>> There you go. >> Chairman, can I be heard on that motion before the board votes? And I know the public portion's been closed. I only rise because of a legal issue that has been raised by Commissioner Patino. Uh my name is Keith Davis. I'm an attorney at Ned Davis and Goldstein. We are
general counsel to the Atlantic County Utilities Authority. Um, I've sat in the back of the room and I've been very patient and I bit my tongue as many people uh who are plaintiffs in the pending litigation in federal court have come before you in an attempt to
litigate those claims before this board which we submit is not fair to you. That's not why you are here today. You are here on a very narrow ordinance where the ACOA is seeking to amend the sales management plan to expand the
existing landfill. As you've heard from Mr. Denafo, that expansion is necessary and the timing is critical. I submit to you that no action that you take today will have an impact on that particular
litigation that will eventually be adjudicated by a judge. There was comments from the public. Wait until the lawsuit's over. This lawsuit, I submit to you, will take months, if not years, to be resolved.
and those that live in this county can't afford to wait that long because of the capacity issues that Mr. Denafo uh very eloquently explained to this board. We do not know what is going to be gained by tableabling this matter for a month.
I don't know what new information you will hear other than the very extensive information that's been provided to the board by Mr. Dafo. If there are additional questions, he's here along with his staff and we can answer those questions today. But I want to make sure the board
understands the importance of the timing of your action with respect to this amendment to the uh to the plan and the fact that we understand these issues that have been raised by the plaintiffs and at great cost and expense. The ACUA
is defending against those claims and we think we will prevail. But that's the forum for those issues, not here before this board. Thank you. I apologize for rising. I appreciate you listening to me. >> Thank you, sir.
>> I'll withdraw my >> The one you didn't really make. >> The one I didn't really make. >> Any other commissioner comments? Hearing none, call the role. >> Martino, >> yes. >> Burns,
>> yes. >> R Days, >> yes. >> C days, >> yes. >> Kerna, >> yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Rafio, >> yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly, >> yes. >> Entertain a motion to convene.
>> All in favor? >> I Oppose. >> The eyes have it. >> All right. >> Resolution 82. >> Resolution 82. >> Introduction of the 2026 Atlantic County budget. First reading.
>> Second. Any commissioner comments? Any public comments? >> Chairman, this is on for first reading. There's no public >> first reading. I'm apologize. >> Oh, I'm up here now. >> Call the RO. >> Yes. >> Erns, yes.
>> R Days, >> yes. >> C Days, Kern, >> yes. Parker, >> yes. >> Roio, >> yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly, >> yes. >> Uh, resolution number 83, >> Atlantic County Public Health Agency annual budget notice 2026, first
reading. >> Second. >> Any commissioner comments. >> Any public comments? No public comments. Oh, take it back. >> I apologize. Um, >> call the roll.
>> Ratino, >> yes. >> Burns, >> yes. >> R Days, >> yes. >> C. Days, >> Kern. >> Yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzling, >> yes. >> Resolution number 84. >> Delaney County Library annual budget notice 2026. First reading. Moved.
>> Second. >> Any commissioner comments? >> Call the rule. >> For yes. Burns. >> Yes. R days. >> Yes. >> C days, >> yes. >> Kern, >> yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Ruffio, >> yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly,
>> yes. >> Resolution number 85, >> introduction of the 2026 open space trust fund tax. First reading. >> Second. >> Any commissioner comments. >> Are there public comments on this first
read? >> No. Chairman. >> No. Right. Call the role. >> Martino, yes. Burns, yes. R Days, >> yes. >> C Days, Kern, >> yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzlage, >> yes. >> Resolution number 86.
>> Calendar year 2026, model resolution authorizing county entity to exceed the county entity budget request cap, public law 2015, chapter 249. >> Any commissioner comments? Sorry. Any commissioner comments? >> Public comments.
Call the role. >> Patito, yes. >> Burns, yes. R Days, yes. >> Case, yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Shanker, yes. >> Grizzl, >> yes. Resolution number 87. >> Resolution to exceed the county budget
appropriation limits and to establish a 2026 CAP Bank NJSA48 colon 4-45.14 first reading. Moved >> second. >> Any commissioner comments? >> Call the rule. >> Yes. Burns.
>> Yes. R. Days. >> Yes. >> C days. >> Kern. Parker. >> Yes. >> Ruffio. >> Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Grizzly. >> Yes. Resolution number 88. >> Resolution adopting the tax levy cap to be applied to the 2026 county budget.
>> Second. >> Any commissioner comments? >> We're doing the other plan. >> Public comments. >> Call the role. >> Yes. >> Burns. Yes. Rays. Yes. >> C days. Kern. Yes. >> Parker. Yes. >> Ruffio. Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes.
>> Grizzling. >> Yes. >> Resolution number 89. Resolution requesting a transfer in the 2025 budget in accordance with the provision of NJS4A4-58. >> Move. >> Second. >> Any commissioner comments?
Public comments. Call the role. >> Yes. >> Burn. Yes. R. Days. Yes. >> C. Days. Yes. Karn. Yes. Parker. Yes. >> Ruffio. Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Grizzling. >> Yes. If any commissioners would like to
discuss or remove any grants from the consent agenda, please indicate so now. Hearing none, any any comments from the public. I'll entertain a motion to combine and adopt resolutions 90 through 91.
>> Moved. Second. >> Call the role. >> Martino. >> Yes. >> Burns. Yes. R. Days. Yes. C days, >> yes. >> Karn, >> yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Ruffio, >> yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly, >> yes. >> If any commissioners would like to
discuss or remove any professional services agreements from the consent agenda, please indicate so. Now, any comments from the public? I'll entertain a motion to combine and adopt resolutions 92 through 93.
>> Second. We'll call the role. >> Patino, yes. >> Burns, yes. >> R Days, yes. >> C Days. Kern, yes. Parker, >> yes. >> Ruffia, yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Risley, >> yes. >> If any commissioners would like to discuss or remove any competitive
contracts from the consent agenda, please indicate so. Now, any comments from the public? I'll entertain a motion to combine and adopt resolutions 94 through 95. >> Move. Second.
>> Call the role. >> Yes. >> Burns. >> Yes. Rday. >> Yes. >> Fern. >> Yes. >> Parker. >> Yes. >> Ratio. >> Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Resolution number 96. >> Bid contract with South State Incorporated for the 2025 intersection
and signal improvements. Amount not to exceed $849,250.61. 61 cents. >> Move. >> Second. >> Any comments from the public? Call the roll. >> Yes. >> Burns. Yes. >> R Days. >> Yes. >> C days. Karn.
>> Yes. >> Parker. >> Yes. >> Ruffio. >> Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Grizzly. >> Yes. >> If any commissioners would like to discuss or remove any miscellaneous items from the consent agenda, please indicate so now. Chairman, resolution
108 needs to be pulled out of the consent agenda and addressed after executive session. Thank you. Make a motion to move 97. Second. >> Call the roll.
>> Any public comments? >> Call the role. >> Yes. >> Furn. Yes. R Days. >> Yes. >> C days. Yes. Parker. >> Yes. >> Roio. >> Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Grizzly. >> Yes. >> Resolution number 109.
>> Appointment of the mentor and Veronica Alfor to the Youth Services Commission for a term to expire on October 1st, 2029. >> Second. >> Any commissioner comments? Comments from the public? >> Call the role.
>> Forino. Yes. Burns. Yes. R Days, >> yes. >> C days, >> yes. >> Karn, >> yes. >> Parker, >> yes. >> Rosio, >> yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly, >> yes. >> Resolution number 110. >> Resolution to recognize March as
colorectile cancer awareness month. Sponsor Moren. >> Any commissioner comments? >> Second. >> Uh, yeah. I >> very unfortunately uh we had one of our uh commissioners
uh pass uh col cancer very you know very recent and um I I just think it's very important to bring this awareness out to the public and keep telling people about the test that you could take and that
this can be cured if caught early enough. So that's really why I felt because it was, you know, we were just on purpose. >> Call the role. Comments from the public. I'm sorry. >> Call the role. >> Martino, >> yes. >> Burns, yes. R Days,
>> yes. >> Case, yes. >> Kurt, yes. >> Parker, yes. >> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly, >> yes. >> We have received copies. We have received copies of written communications and petitions. Any
commissioner comments? Any reports of special committee of the board? Any unfinished business? Any new business? Anyone attending in person that would like to
speak now at public at public comment, please come to the podium. Speak into the microphone, state your name and the town you reside. If you are attending virtually and would like to make a public comment, please raise your hand.
I will call upon your name and a request a request to unmute will be sent. Please state your name and the town you reside. You will be provided up to three minutes to speak. I'll entertain a motion to close public
comment. >> Oh, we have we have one. >> She's unmuted. >> Katherine, you're unmuted. >> Um, Commissioner Parker and everyone, can you hear me? >> Yeah. Yes, we can hear you. >> All right. Sorry. I need to apologize.
Apparently, I was in technical difficulties ear earlier and I kept hearing you, you couldn't hear me. Uh, that's what happens sometimes when you're online. Um, I want to thank you all. I I know that um it wasn't easy to
come to the decisions that you needed to as far as the expansion is concerned. Um, I my name is Kathleen Spaith and I live in Lynwood. I'm sorry if I didn't say that earlier. So I >> uh I live at 108 Country Club Drive in
Lynwood, New Jersey. Um so I live in one of those communities where our trash and recycling goes to ACUA. Um Lynwood uh ACUA came to Lynwood and explained the expansion uh to our council and our
council voted unanimously to pass a resolution to support ACUA. Um, I agree with the expansion and um, I think it's necessary because unfortunately we all know that we need to dispose of our
trash and recycling and ACUA is the agency that does it and I think they do it very well. Um, and I support them. Um, and I want to thank this commission because I know it wasn't easy tonight for you to hear some of the public comment um, and to listen to that, but
this was not the time and the place for their case to be litigated. That's why they have filed uh, a lawsuit and that's where that needs to be done. And I thank you for your time because it's been a a a late night for you all and I know you need to go into your executive session.
So, thank you very much. >> Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. I'll entertain a motion to close public comment. So move. >> All in favor? >> Resolution number 111. >> Resolution authorizing a close session
requested regarding pending or anticipated litigation, contractual negotiations, and/or attorney client privilege requiring confidential communications. >> We do anticipate formal action coming out of this. chairman say again sir >> we do anticipate formal action coming out of this
>> okay >> um >> we need a motion >> second >> any commissioner comments comments from the public >> yes >> yes r days >> yes >> c days turn yeser
>> yes >> yes >> shanker Yes. >> Frizzley. >> Yes. >> The board will now go into The board will now go into a close executive session to discuss the matter noted in resolution number 111.
>> I'm going to entertain a motion to resume the meeting. So move. >> Second. Call >> roll. >> Martino. >> Yes. >> Burns. >> Yes. >> Daz. >> Yes. >> Furn. >> Yes. >> Parker. >> Yes. >> Ruffio. Yes. >> Shanker. >> Yes. >> Grizzly.
>> Yes. >> Any commissioner comments? Comments from the public? >> Resolution 108. >> Resolution 108. >> Alternate method contract with William Blay for the provision of legal services
amount not to exceed $50,000. >> Move. >> Second. >> Any commissioner comments? Any public comments? Call the RO. >> Yes. >> Burns, yes. >> Stay. >> Yes. >> Karn, yes. >> Parker, yes.
>> Shanker, >> yes. >> Grizzly, >> yes. >> Thank you, members. Appreciate that. >> Good order. >> Any comments for the good of the order? I'd just like to share that last Saturday I went to ACIT and saw their
performing arts cent's rendition of Lay Miz. Wow, it was fabulous. And um as the county executive was talking about the aerospace and every other um program that they're doing there. It's no longer just our vote uh school.
It was amazing performing arts. They're doing a fabulous job. Outstanding. I'll >> entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Second. All those in >> favor.