##VIDEO ID:jiqbh4wPjYQ## [Music] [Music] the meeting of the Atlanta County Board of Commissioners is called the order and compliance with the open public meetings Act of the state of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting of the Atlanta County Board of Commissioners was provided in the following manner published in the pran city and mailed to The hamton Gazette and has been posted on the bulton boards in the county office building in Atlantic City Still Water building in Northfield and the county clerk's office in MA Landing pray we do almighty God we pray for the strength and courage to work towards a nation and world of peace and understanding grant that our decisions be wise our principal sounds and our performance in office faithful amen amen stand face I flag United States of America stand indivis okay I just have one thing I want to I we'll have a call I'll do that chairwoman commissioner Cory and commissioner G are attending virtually today okay Bas here cartino here Burns here Cory CR da here G here Parker present grizzley here K here okay um I just have a uh something I'd like to mention the elevator replacement scheduled for Stillwater building access by elevator to the county Stillwater building here at 2011 South Shore Road in Northfield will be temporarily unavailable beginning Monday November 18th and continuing through late December for full replacement of the elevator inperson access to the commissioner meetings after November 18th will only be available through the front entrance and stairway the public will have virtual access to the commissioner's meeting available through the County website okay uh Commissioners had an opportunity to review the minutes from October 15 2024 I a motion to adopt the October 15 2024 minutes as presented move second move by commissioner B seconded by commissioner days any commissioner comments okay call Bas fortino Burns yes Cory yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes anyone attending in person who would like to speak regarding an agenda item or a 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 3 minutes to speak if you're attending virtually and would like to speak please raise your hand during the agenda item or a 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 also be provided up to three minutes to speak okay that brings us right into our ordinance is with ordinance number three fond ordinance providing for the acquisition and payment of the person purch price of real property commonly known as 5914 Main Street in the township of Hamilton ma Landing buying in the county of Atlantic state of New Jersey and appropriating 2, 625,000 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 2,500,000 bonds or notes to finance the part part of the cost thereof first reading move second okay move by commission bertino say Good by commissioner Parker any commissioner comments anything from the public or is this a first reading I'm sorry so nothing from the public okay we have a roll call Bas yes fortino yes Burns yes corsey yes da yes G yes Parker yes rley yes turn yes motion carries now we have Bond ordinance uh number eight for first reading as well ordinance designating the intersection of Zion Road County Route 615 in Oak Avenue a municipal Street in the city of Northfield as an always stop intersection first reading move by commissioner Parker seconded by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments see hear none we'll have a Lo call Bas yes patino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes G yes Parker grizzley yes K yes Mo she carries now we go into our grants with resolution 550 please Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Department of Health for the Civil money penalty reinvestment funding amount not to exceed 2,000 $346 second by commissioner fortino seconded by commissioner Parker any commissioner comments sorry commissioner I'm looking obviously was with commissioner B seconded by commissioner B any commissioner comments see hear none anything from the public okay have roll call Bas yes Latino yes Burns yes Forsey yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizley yes K yes motion carries resolution 551 pleas amending resolution number 331 adopt on July 2nd 2024 a grant from the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety to accept subgrant funding for the sexual assault Response Team forensic nurse examiner program net increase $1,711 moved sorry moved by commiss Burns second by commissioner Parker any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything from the public hey roll call Bas fortino yes Burns yes Cory yes da yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes ker yes motion carries resolution 552 please amending resolution number 618 adopted on November 21st 2023 a grant from the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services for additional funding for the fiscal year 2024 older Americans act area plan Grant net increase 2,294 541 move by commissioner Parker second by commissioner bino and commission th call pal yeso yes Burns yes yes the yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 553 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Governor's Council on alcoholism and drug drug abuse through the division of mental health and Addiction Services for the Atlantic County Municipal Alliance for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse program amount not to exceed $155,000 moved second moved by commissioner burn second by commissioner days any commissioner comments see none anything from the public have a roll call Bas fortino Burns fory yes da yes G yes clker yes grizzley yes yes motion carries resolution 554 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of mental health and Addiction Services for an alcohol education and Rehabilitation Grant funded amount $76,500 County cash match $17 $117,450 move second would like commissioner B seconded by commissioner Parker and commissioner Comet see hear none anything from the public we have a roll call bastino yes Burns yes corsey yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 555 amending resolution number 155 adopted on April 2nd 2024 a grant from the New Jersey Division of highway traffic safety for the Atlantic Cap May counties non-motorized pedestrian bicycle Grant net increase $119,600 move second by commissioner Parker second by commissioner days any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public have roll call Bas fortino yes Burns yes Cory yes SE yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes yes motion carries resolution 556 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services for the 2025 Statewide respit Care Program amount not to exceed $7,000 moved second move by commissioner Burns seconded by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public okay we have a roll call Bas fortino yes Burns yes Cory yes da yes G yes Parker yes rizley yes K yes motion carries resolution 557 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Division of mental health and Addiction Services for the count opioid epidemic Innovation project Grant to be used for Recovery support centers and provide services to family members of opioid overdose death victims amount not to exceed $151,200 Parker yes grizzley yes km yes motion carries we have a competitive contract with resolution 558 amending resolution number 158 adopted on April 2nd 2024 a competitive contract with rehab Professional Services Incorporated for the provision of physical occupational and speech therapy services to residents of medavie nursing and rehabilitation center to extend the term date net increase $135,000 move second move by commissioner Parker second by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public roll Bas Cino yes Burns Cory yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries we go into big contracts with resolution 559 big contract with Deluxe Italian bakery and Lucas Bakery for Furnishing and delivering miscellaneous Bread and bakery products to Atlanta County cooperative amount not to exceed $69,700 second moved by commissioner Bas second by commissioner rley any commissioner comments so you can hear none anything from the public bastino yes Burns Cory yes fa yes G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes turn yes motion carries resolution 560 pay contract with Primo land dairies limited liability company for milk and dairy requirement ments to members of the Atlanta County cooperative amount not to exceed $ 39236 second move by commissioner gtino second by commissioner grizzley any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public any alas yes patino yes Burns yes corsey yes St yes G yes Parker grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 561 big contract with ke commissary network limited liability company for inmate commissary services for the Atlanta County Justice Facility Revenue generating second move by commissioner Parker seconded by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments anything from the public have roll call Bas patino Burns yes Cory yes yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes turn yes motion carries resolution pass 62 B contract with arar uh Correctional Services limited liability company for laundry Management Services at the atanta County Justice Facility amount not to exceed $284,100 Parker yes grizzley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 563 B contract with various vendors for the provision of kitchen and catering supplies amount not to exceed 93,7 31 by commiss burn second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments hearing none anything from the public roll Alice yes bertino yes Burns yes corsey yes B yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes yes motion carries resolution 564 big contract with Jersey architecture door and Supply Incorporated for the door maintenance and repairs at various County locations amount not to exceed $331,000 move second move by commissioner Parker seconded by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything from the public call Bas yes fortino yes Burns yes Cory yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 565 B contract with South State Incorporated for the storm system drainage improvements at the Galloway Township Library amount not to exceed 1,1 197,00 second move by commissioner Parker seconded by commissioner days any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything from the public he roll call Bas yes patino yes Burns yes Cory yes yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizley yes km yes motion carries resolution 56 big contract with Mechanical Incorporated for the new HVAC and Generator at the Galler Township Library amount not to exceed 25816 second move by commissioner Parker secondly by commissioner Dave any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public okay roll call Palace patino yes Burns yes yes St yes G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes K yes motion carries have our change orders with 567 please change order number one a contract with Walter's Marine Construction Incorporated for work on EG Harbor Green Bank Road section 11 in Gallow Township to extend the term date only no additional cost moved second move by commissioner burn second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public hey Alice yes fortino yes Burns yes fory yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 568 change order number five a contract with H4 Enterprises limited liability company for site work at the Atlanta County estl matter Park to extend the term date only no additional cost mov second mve by commissioner Burn seconded by commissioner Parker and commissioner th see hearing none anything from the public call bastino yes Burns yes Cory yes St yes G yes Parker yes rizley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 569 please change order number two a contract with Providence Auto Group limited liability company for preventative maintenance on County vehicles n increas $16,000 move second move by commissioner Parker seconded by commissioner Bas seconded by commissioner da any commissioner comments see here none anything from the public have a roll call Bas yes fortino yes Burns yes Forsey da yes G yes Parker yes rizley yes C yes motion carries resolution 570 under leases lease agreement with Main Street Landing limited life ility company to occupy property located 5914 Main Street MA Landing for County Business operations amount not to exceed $ 477967 of you know what we're what we're currently doing with that building and then why we're we're moving to the purchase um just what that strategy is with our County offices I think you're good just where you are just where am so as you know we've been looking to put the board of elections in their own space uh they they as you know they were at um Atlantic Avenue in MA Landing and we had to move out of that building they had some problems with with the uh the roof and they weren't they weren't prepared to fix the roof and then we had some issues with leaking through the through the glass wall that if you that building if you ever seen that building it looks identical to the building we're in lck city and so it was leaking there and we we put them in if you remember in a space in AER City they had a sewer spill there and then we found out that we were actually monitoring Wells on the entire the property there then we tried to buy the teamsters building that fell through we got their performer we thought the the price was uh right in where the appraisal was uh they then told us that they wanted to sell it for more money and we didn't accept that so we put them in the uh the old criminal Courthouse but they really don't I mean if you look at the way they're they're set up we are borrowing space from the board of Taxation for their regular meetings for training we were using the county library so we've been looking at for other spaces we went to a bank in Maz Landing we went to U um located on Route 50 uh that was owned by a um a union they moved out and needed about $200,000 worth of work so we looked at the space directly across the street 5914 they were willing to lease this to space the uh the Board of Elections told us they didn't want to walk across the street during during the election so we we we didn't look at the building again in the meantime the owner actually called uh and told us that the building had been for sale for almost two years so we began looking at the building from the point of view of if we own the building you know what what was the benefit to us so there's about 8,000 square ft on the first floor the state is on the second floor the public defenders up there and the public defender was going to stay they they told us that they they were just working through the leasing Arrangements through the state so we made the offer to buy the building make got the appraisals did a structural analysis did an environmental and they all met you know what what we required to to meet so we we made that offer so in the short term we're leasing the building and that's what I think this resolution says we we'll lease the building until the end of the year in the meantime County Council is working with their with their Council the owner's Council for the building to to go through the paperwork to to the actual sale so that's you got that in your ordinance where we actually that the the sale price and our appra was at $25 million so that's where we are today we had the board of election walk through they've been using the building you know during prior to the election during the election so now within the next couple of weeks I'll meet with them again and we'll begin going ahead and looking at how how they would like to see you know the initial I think the initial phase will have about six , 6200 Square ft and then we'll work with the uh the other attendants that are in the back uh that that will be leaving you know based on the the leases that they presently have that's that's story thank you jion else did you have something else you wanted yeah just uh J so we're after the first year we're buying it for 2 and a half million the uh ordinance is about is this 47,000 going to come off that price or we're just giving them an extra 4 7,000 no it's it's a year lease yes it's a year lease we entered into a year lease and it's broken down to about 4500 a month so the lease goes away we purchase the building okay so it's not going to be 47,000 but you do it for a full year how much is exactly if there any you know something were to come up with the owner whatever the case may be we said they did right okay yeah thank you Jerry any other commissioner comments questions for Jerry I mean Ju Just to follow woman I mean um we had a very productive conversation with Hamilton Township uh I think it's a great move to have everything right there on Main Street not only to have our election officials together but uh just from an activity perspective um you know we're Township to have that amount of activity continuing on Main Street can only help uh to help grow that Main Street area so think it's a good thing thank you commissioner anything from the public po what's that PO oh okay Mr Po Mr Po Mr Po muted he's muted he's unmuted he's unmuted he has unut himself Mr Po did you have something you wanted to say on this resolution okay we'll try to get them at the end to if they starts some do it okay uh resolution okay we'll have we call Bas yes fortino yes Burns yes Cory yes ha yes G yes clker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 571 please resolution designating the Atlanta County Department of Human Services Public Health division substance abuse Services Unit as the administrator of the Atlanta County 12 hour and 48h hour intoxicated driver Resource Center move second mooved by commissioner Burn seconded by commissioner rley any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything from the public okay have roll call bastino yes burs yes Cory yes St yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 572 please approving a Cooperative agreement between the division of family Development Office of Child Support Services and the Atlanta County Sheriff's Office for title 4D child support warrant service reimbursement program amount not to exceed $24,275 second move by commissioner B seconded by commissioner Burns any uh commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public okay roll call Bas yes patino yes Burns yes Cory yes B yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resol solution 573 please alternate method contract with tpes software Group Incorporated doing business at as as trip spark Technologies for the provision of software maintenance for the transportation unit amount not to exceed $138,600 move by commissioner bero seconded by commissioner Ballas any commissioner comments see anyone anything bastino Burns yes da yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 574 amending resolution number 351 adopted on July 2nd 2024 a memorandum of agreement with the Atlanta County Sheriff's Office and Stockton University to provide Sheriff Patrol services to correct the term date only Revenue generating move second mooved by commissioner Bird seconded by commissioner days any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public hey we'll have a roll call Bas fortino Burns Cory yes J yes G yes Parker yes rizley yes K yes motion carries resolution 575 please memorandum of agreement with the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office and Stockon University for the provision of sheriff Patrol Services amount not to exceed $679,500 D second by commission bur Comm com Jerry this um 679 um not to exceed is then reimbursed by stocking for their controls correct correct yes yes thank you any other commissioner comments anything from the public any call Palace yeso yes burs yes corsey yes St yes G yes Parker yes rizley yes K yes motion carries resolution 576 amending resolution number 215 adopted on May 7th 2024 an alternate method contract with election systems and software for the election day test support pre-election testing of voting machines and electronic P books licenses and warranties with maintenance net increase $1 67,68 second moved by commissioner bertino seconded by commissioner rley any commissioner comments see here n a from public a a roll call bastino yes Burns yes St yes G yes Parker grizley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 577 governmental Services agreement with the city of Atlantic City to provide environmental health services within the jurisdiction of Atlantic City amount not to exceed $448,000 move second move by commissioner Wiley second by commissioner Burns any commissioner comments seeing hearing none anything from the public he a bastino burnsy yes Parker yes grizzley yes K yes motion carries resolution 578 I was a yes sorry I didn't respond so I thought commissioner Cory was trying to chime in yeah noted resolution 578 resolution to comply with the Department of Human Services requirement for a standardized board resolution to be filed with the 2025 Statewide respit CARE program by the Atlanta County division of intergenerational services second move by commissioner Burn seconded by commissioner days any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public have a roll call Alice fortino burs Cory yeah t yes G yes Parker yes grizley yes yes motion carries resolution 579 business associate agreement between the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services and the Atlanta County division of intergeneration AAL services to be included with the 2025 Statewide respit program moved move by commissioner Burns second by commissioner bertino any commissioner comments seeing here none anything from the public any bastino Burns Cory yes da yes G yes Parker yes rley yes yes motion carries rley 580 please competitive Contracting for the provision of grant writing services for the Atlantic County pursuant to njsa 48 11-4 move second moved by commissioner Ball seconded by commissioner rley any commission comments seeing hear none anything from the public have a roll call Bas fortino yes Burns fory yes da yes G yes Parker yes grizley yes current yes motion carried resolution 581 resolution requesting a transfer in the 2024 budget in accordance with the provision of njs 4A colon 4- 58 move second move by commissioner Grizzly seconded by commissioner Parker and commissioner comment see hearing none anything from the public any have a roll Ballas yes fortino yes Burns yes fory yes St yes shadow yes Parker grizzley yes turn yes motion carries resolution 582 please memorandum of understanding with the Atlanta County Utilities Authority to appropriate funding for the authorities landfill permanent capping project phase two amount not to exceed $7 million move second move by commissioner Parker seconded by commissioner rley Madam chair yeah on the resolution um obviously U if um the request has been made of course from the acua to transfer some funds $7 million to help them with uh some work that they're doing out there I had asked for a copy of the memorandum of understanding uh so we were specific on what the language was in that uh to be sent to all the Commissioners which the board did send to everyone part of the aspect in that if you read through that uh indicated that some of the monies for the 7 million would be going towards rate stabilization um my company my employer that works there it delivers trash as everyone does in El County to the acua so for this purpose of this resolution I have to abstain from the discussions on it and I want that on the record okay thank you commissioner okay um I realize we have uh Mr denafo and Mr Embry here uh would you like did you want to come up before we have commissioner comments I guess you know obviously one of our mainor talking about the capping we've had a lot of you know um Community people at us about you know the smell and that so how much is going to help that so if you explain a little bit that that might sure and I didn't have anything formally prepared I was here just really to answer questions but I can kind of give you a little sense on what that capping does and I kind of presented a little bit on this you know I feel like I'm a regular here now um but that 16 acre capping uh really does quite a few things so so one of them is it's reducing the amount of leate which is rain water that hits the crash so uh it's the area that's closest to abin um the cap will help us do that it also makes our gas collection system a little bit more efficient so as we're pulling vacuum on our landfill we can only pull so much or oxygen gets into the landfill can't pull oxygen into the landfill starts to land to a fire so what the cap does is allows us to pull harder on that gas collection system and prevent some of the emissions that could um be fugitive at that point um Mr bertino um as far as the the rate stabilization this funding usually usually comes out of what's considered our post closure fund it's an escrow amount that gets pulled out of every single uh ton of trash that comes into our landfill and that goes into an account that's held by the njd and we provided a lot of those documents about a year or two ago with all the escro accounts we have um with covid um a lot of actually all of New Jersey Solid Waste um closure funds kind of got flipped upside down you had inflation that was going crazy you had interest rates that were also um changing significantly and then you also had the cost of construction so as every landfill was planning on x amount for a 30-year post closure so that's what you you plan for you plan for the closure of it and then there's a 30-year post closure that you have to maintain and operate that landfill um and even after 30 years which we found they just extend it so piland park is in its 34th Year we're still maintaining that through a post closure period um and you take a certain amount of each again tonnage and put that in post closure as that had kind of flipped upside down with the economics of everything that caed is an issue where we couldn't cap now it would have to take us you know till the end of that 5 years to do that and it would also require us to add more money to our tip fee for that post closure so that's where the kind of rate stabilization comes in uh this is uh covid funds the ACA did not get any as an authority any covid uh money we're um thankful enough to get some money from senator palisa for uh overhead excuse me overtime cost uh that he was able to get us in a state appropriation uh of $2 million which was great and this will be again another really big aspect in helping us continue to keep the lows rate uh in the state when it comes to the U you know Municipal tonnage uh uh cost so for a lot of those reasons again there's there's so many different benefits uh to this and I appreciate you know the board here working with us you know over the last several months Jerry and Bonnie have been great um Lynn and art have also been very good with just again working through the the mou and and the logistics of all this so we appreciate that and you know I hope that you you you approv this in the affirmative um but again I want to thank you guys for your support on this okay and if you have any questions yeah I just want to you know address specifically the smell the amount of time you know this is going to take with this money and the capping how long is it going to take for the quality like for those neighbors so just just so we're clear and we talked a lot about like odors and the data and stuff so um looking back I was looking at them just uh before we came here we had 34 odor complaints in October uh in 2024 uh see like a lot again it's never going to be zero um we did go through an election we did go through a lot of publicity we did go through also a lot of construction that we talked about digging in that landfill over that period uh we had sent out notifications to the community in two different occasions when we were drilling when we were digging uh into the landfill so we expected a little bit of an uptick in 2023 we had 104 voter complaints um so we are Leaps and Bounds where we were uh in comparison to last year uh this cap will be kind of again the next step we just finished over a million dollar improve ments to our system to be ready for that November December when the rain does finally come it's going to come we know in droves it's not going to stop raining um so we're prepared for that and this cap will be the the second portion of that the contract if this is awarded um or this is approved today is on our board agenda for next Thursday we've already opened up bids the pricing came in great we're at like $7.2 million for the cost of this um and that'll get approved at our you know uh ACA board meeting next Thursday and then there'll be a you know as you know contracts take you know 30 to 60 days to kind of execute and by the first year we'll be under construction for that it's about a 6 month to 9mon process if I were to guess the cap would be pretty much intact by the uh you know middle of summer July July uh end of July is what we'll be kind of looking at so again just it's just one more step that we're taking to make sure that we continue to stay ahead of anything that um you know could pop up or arise because you still have mechanical issues you still have weather impacts you still have all these things that uh do impact that system so I know at one point that you would said when you're opening it up to put more of the welds or whatever in that increased you know the problem with the smell so is that going to happen during this also it could there is some digging uh it's not as as invasive as when we were the last8 weeks so the last8 weeks we were literally digging trenches in trash we were digging you know 100 ft deep Wells and they pull the the the trash the the fresh waste out and they put it alongside of it and they get it moved and covered uh and then you have a vent there that's a little bit more invasive whereas when we're doing this capping the only spot that they're actually exposing is is on the bottom end of it so the line resistance that protect us from you know groundwater contamination think of it as a giant bathtub that cap comes over top of it and then gets sealed to the top of that so they have to kind of expose that Outer Edge and that's really the only spot that you get some exposure of trash everywhere else they're putting additional dirt on top and then putting a liner and then more dirt so definitely not as invasive but there could be potential for that um there's always a potential for some kind of Hiccup again you know we have a pretty um expansive site commissioner K you were there commissioner Burns you have been there as well to kind of see this is a a pretty big operation so there's a lot of things that kind of can impact us but we're in a really good spot right now okay I we always you know appreciate your updates and coming in if you can continue to do that as well you especially when this is going to you know when you're opening something up and it might you know get to a worse just so we have heads up of what's going on do you mind if any of the Commissioners have any questions for you no no that's why I'm here yeah absolutely have any I have a quick questions for my understanding so this will the proposed completion date will be next summer right and then the where you're fing now we have another 5 to8 years left on it right and then we'll cap that and then is there a plan do we have a plan in place moving forward from that for capping or for disposal for disposal for disposal so we're looking at a couple different options um we're we're certainly looking at what we've done over the last 20 years which is optimize that site so i' had explained I think um I think back in September maybe another presentation where you know in 2002 and 2006 and and you know 2014 all these years we did these modifications where we tried to optimize our site we don't have the space that Kate May mom at Salem has we're Bound by Wetlands we're Bound by Parkway um so it's really optimizing angles um so in 2002 we had a landfill that used to do this as a bench and we got rid of that bench and grabbed more capacity uh in 2006 we added what was called the uh mechanically stabilized Earth wall that gained us capacity from 2016 to 2029 so our capacity would have been expired in 2016 if we hadn't continued to do that so we're actually looking at that right now to see where can we optimize can we change an angle on a slope can we add a wall to one side again not looking at 20 uh you know 8 expansions we're looking at trying to optimize a site because it'll never um they'll never be another landfill New Jersey let alone in Atlantic County so that's that's the golden ticket to be honest with you and that'll be something that that this board will have to whether they approve or not that'll keep our rates where they are uh keep them you know if not the lowest one of the lowest in the states um the other option is we're looking at um you know waste conversion we have an RFP that's going up to the uh office of State com much more of a longer term plan uh again it's not something that's going to happen in 3 years or 5 years it's a 5 to sevene plan um and it's diverting some of that waste away again it's more of a longer term play we're halfway through that process with our RFQ we we pre-approved uh three vendors back in December of 2023 and now we had to go through the RFP process it's called the Mac Andro act that allows us to kind of go through a two-step and and um pre-qualify those vendors and then the third option is is we would do a bridge just like we had done in you know uh 1992 to 1998 there is a transfer station at our site that's very unique to ltic County um we have a transfer station that's about 1,000 ft from our landfill because originally we transferred waste out of here uh can we transfer waste tomorrow no there's some modifications that certainly need to be done to that transfer station but as we get close to the end that we can certainly go out to the private Market see what is available and and use that as a bridge until we can find a little bit of a longer term uh solution um so that's kind of our three prong approach if you will and there's some variations in between that two with looking at trying to divert certain materials um and just again trying to uh extend the L for that so thank you any other Commissioners we talk about the um the tip fee stabilization that's not a separate thing right you're saying that by using the $7 million American Rescue plan money you the AUA does not have to spend its own money we don't have to increase so right now there's say a dollar a ton that goes into an esro right if we don't if if say you don't approve the $7 million right we would have to delay the permanent cap for 5 years but we'd also have to increase that escra amount that would go into it so the tip fee would go up say $2 a ton to make up for that additional funding that we would need at the end of that 5 years for that permanent closure so that's the stabilization part it it it would it would reduce how much would have to go up for escrow now okay so you said the bids were open I know they went out pretty first and it 7.2 so you're asking for for 7 million so prior to 2021 when the rescue act one was available what what was the plan for for C so there was enough funds in there for the construction based off of construction costs based off of interest rates um and based off of what inflation was and what happened was your schedule as you're going down it's like almost like a performer and as you're looking at the each year you're putting x amount in based off of say 330,000 tons a year of trash going in and at certain key times you're able to take money out and then you're also able to earn interest on that over 30 years of the post closure and with Co we all know I mean you guys have awarded a ton of contracts the cost of construction went through the roof so now all of a sudden as these third party Engineers are putting these post closure plans together the construction costs are going up well well you can't just magically make them go up and not have the money in there to do that so you're working on trying to balance those numbers a bit it's like you know bouncing it at a checkbook almost um so what we would have to do is we would have to increase that amount and then again postpone that capping for 5 years until we could have that stood away okay I just want to make it clear I it sounds like to stabilized sounds like this money is being used directly to subsidize the daily operations of of the ACA and it not the operations the the closure the the permanent closure of the of 16 Acres so operations are totally different jar I a question was there did the county have other plans for this money prior to the aca's ask for well we did we we went through our entire plan and we we got to the point where we had several conversations and originally their request was for 4 and a half and 2 and a half to 7 million for for capping and for a pump station in Pleasantville we we did that along with everything that we needed so we we we fit that in so we we we felt very comfortable with what we were doing and so yes we we went to went to the executive and said to the executive look they they ask for these two projects we think they're valid projects they meet as a matter of fact they you guys did like about a 3 and 1/2 page memo for us to go back to the state to say we'd like to do this as a capping project and these are the reasons why we think they need the American Rescue plan requirements they said they do and so therefore we added them into our plan yes correct Al there was also a bigger impact to as far as the entire County so when Pleasantville pump station is our biggest Pump Station it handles all the mainland uh sewer flow so that was a huge impact to you know again reducing cost on what we had to do on the waste qu side um but but when you talk about the trash and you talk about the tip fee that touches every single taxpayer in Atlantic County so that had a bigger kind of impact on that so we've been kind of going through this for for quite a few years for I want to say two and a half years now any other commissioner yeah Matt um of the 7 million what is what's the split I mean how much for capping how much for re stabilization it's all capping it's it's all it's all C anything anything that you cap is there's not going to be trash put on top of the cap anytime in the future correct it's a permanent cap C yep y any other commissioner comments questions M Madam chair can you hear me why can commissioner cor M Madam M Madam chair good evening to certainly all my colleagues and uh I want to thank the gentleman for giving us this update I'm still a little hesitant um to support this uh because um he indicated that in 2023 I don't want to misquote him how many calls he got opposed to 2024 and we all know that there's still been a serious issue regarding the smell Etc and and absin um as all all of us is aware of however I I can commend and and appreciate them trying to address a lot of those issues I'm just worried and concerned are we basically throwing money good money out the bad down the road we we don't know that because it could be used as a benchmark to spend this type of money to try to cap it and then seven eight years down the road we find ourselves right back in the same situation um so I'm not personally I'm not uh I'm not comfortable uh supporting this resolution today um I think there still need to be some more uh stuff answered in terms of what was the latest or when's the latest you met with the city of abse and res who has been leading the CH for the most part uh regarding the smell uh I get the smells from right here Atlantic City at this you know I'm directly across from the uh plant here in Atlantic City on rout 30 and so every now and then we get a hell of a whiff of of that that sewer plant over there but not that this has to do with the the uh to the uh ATA over there um but I'm a little concerned about are we really doing the right St spending this type of money uh not knowing if this is going to solve the problem I remember a couple years Mr doy came to the commissioner's meeting and said this land still had probably five to seven years left on his life expansion uh I think you just mentioned during this cing it may add another seven to eight years I don't want to misquote you uh but that's how I took it that you may have another seven eight years uh on on this job if you do it this way and please correct me if I'm wrong so so this would the permanent cap would not be would be touched this is what we have to do regardless of odors regardless of concerns from absin or anybody else this is part of the closure of a landfill um this is part of the plan this isn't you know this is an optional for us so we have to do it either way it'll just be delayed uh the American Rescue act plan actually expired at the end of this year so that's the other part of this is the money has to be spent or it goes back to the federal uh government uh Mr Cory as far as um reaching out to absin uh we did we engaged with uh just just about the entire Council so on both the Democratic and Republican side uh we had provided tours uh I want to say 4 weeks ago uh we had kind of done the open house had you know both groups of them in there kind of went through everything we were doing all the stuff that was uh happening as far as improvements gas collection uh and also the improvements I mean you know 34 during a lawsuit election season and things being posted all over Facebook is is actually really really good in comparison to 104 so I know that um you know the Commissioners up here and and and people still can drive down West CO Road or can go down Mill Road it's very close to the landfill you know the the parkway there at exit 38 is several hundred feet you can see our landfill 7al hundred ft from our landfill those are some areas that they'll never you drive up the parkway to Mammoth County or you drive down the turnpike to Burlington County you'll get those as you're close they're industrial areas and that's why they were CED there some of these communities that were developed were developed after the fact uh it it's it's something that we're constantly trying to be good neighbors about um but we've certainly been transparent and communicative with uh epin um with Egg Harbor Township with pville wherever we can uh We've continued to kind of engage with them and then also continue to provide updates on our site so there's again anybody that's listening if they want to be updated for something that hey there was a mechanical issue overnight there could be an increase we'll send an email out or we'll we'll post something on there just go right to our site there a landing page right there uh where we provide all that information but again also provide a hotline we also provide a online form that goes to you know several of our cell phones so we contact people and uh investigate those things but we've done everything to try to be as transparent and uh communica with absin and and any other Municipal official you know commissioner DAV i' I've seen your updates as well now you have an active hotline that's 24/7 so the active hotline as far as the phone number is you know obviously just our our um uh opening hours but the the form that people submit goes right to our Salway director vice president cell phones uh and our landfill manager cell phones so that is I I've talked to people at 8:30 at night on on New Year's Day uh talk to a woman because she had smelled the landfill call her up and had a very good conversation typically when people understand the situation um and they answer the phone they they they kind of get it you know they're not happy but they understand that this is you know a fact of all of us you know nobody's trash here does not smell you know all of our trash smells uh and has to go somewhere so you know Mr cor you're talking about the the treatment plant same thing there you know I've mentioned before we handle the smelly waste for Atlanta County uh the stuff that people don't want to have to think about and our goal is to try to make sure that people don't smell it uh once it leans our driveway so I have one more question for you and then I'm done Madam ch um so when you met with the ab and City Council in the administration what was the outake what was the outcome of of the of the meeting on both sides of the out I mean you mentioned Democrats Republicans I mean what was their feedback after they did the walk through and with your open house so I think the biggest thing was they understand that landfill gas collection isn't as straightforward and simple as you want it to be as I want it to be you know it's not the flick of a switch it's not a valve that we have to close there are so many impacts to what can cause landfill emissions to migrate offsite um and that is something that you can't explain here in a meeting there's been so many people that I've brought to that site and you have to smell it see it feel it understand what kind of operation the amount of trash that we generate in Atlantic County um so I think that was probably the biggest um takeaway from it to to go okay this is the piping you're talking about these are the Ws that you're talking about when you know you put a visual to what I'm saying it becom a lot realer you know um so I think that was probably the biggest takeaway uh that both sides of them had that they they understood it again did it solve the problem because they came on site no did we do anything different because they came on site no we were already going full steam ahead and that's why we were doing this work now in in August and September and finishing up in October as opposed to last year we started planning in July got delayed and the work wasn't being done till November December at that point we had rain at that point we really were strugg struggling to kind of you know we say get the genie back in the bottle uh so this year again looking at how do we get ahead of this before it starts to rain before we we know it's going to rain we know it's going to get colder how do we do that so that's what we were kind of um gearing up for uh the end of the summer so let me just say thank you so much I appreciate that information um and the update as I indicate I'm always excited to hear what the updates are I just as I indicated in the beginning I'm just not comfortable in terms of uh Ving for this resolution only because I don't know if we really putting our good money against something down the road as you indicated it still has to be Capp I do understand that part but I really appreciate you coming and giving the update thank you so much thanks for the questions thank you commissioner commission B yeah just just so I understand maybe everybody understands this capping project um you're required by law to do it correct the the unusable sections which is 16 Acres of your site that cannot obtain any more trash and has to be capped by law you're either going to pay for it out of this covid money or you're going to pay for it out of money that comes from Raising fees which is spread along the entire County correct either way the capping has has got to be done by law correct correct okay thank you commissioner any other commissioner comments don't ne mean the mo is always correct commission this this is this is a good one you want thank you commissioner for thank you commissioner any other commissioner comments questions okay I want to thank you and your uh chair commissioner Embry has I don't know would you like to introduce him because I don't know if everybody so Marvin Embry is is our our fearless chairman he's been with the AUA board for 31 years coming up in May um you want talk about one of the most dedicated um board members chairman I mean knows the people in the organization has just been a huge um proponent of of the AUA and um we we couldn't have a a better person kind of leading us really cares about the people in the organization uh and the county as a whole too well I he would have said that about himself I didn't come here for that I B Matt to answer all the questions thanks B thank you but if it passes we're very grateful and we're thankful for the on behalf of the board and the authority we're thankful and grateful for the uh the capping money it has to be done and it avoids the delay of up to 5 years so thank you very much okay before we go to Public public comment I'd like to see if our Senator would like to say anything I know you've been very very strong component uh for that the neighbors and uh for the community so thank you uh mam chair it's a great to be here um I just wanted to say thank you for the interaction with the elected officials on this topic and uh with the ACA obviously we had you know it's a public event a few weeks ago um really because we're the ones that are elected and we're the ones that have to answer to the people and obviously this has been a challenging issue um I want to thank Matt uh Matt and I did have an opportunity to meet uh this morning uh we had some animated conversation for a period of time uh but then had an opportunity to talk about this issue specifically and what the plans were um obviously I know Madam chair and I know all of you uh want to make sure that the entity who is responsible for the issue understands that there it is their responsibility to deal with the issue and that's really what we were trying to get to and I think after the conversation I think everybody understands that obviously as Matt has told you many times um you're going to deal with some issues related to odors with the landfill but they have a plan uh that they are executing upon uh this is part of it and yes to all of you you know being an engineer landfill must be kept it has to happen and it helps with these situations you know with Lee and with the rain water getting into the landfall so this is going to help the overall situation I want to thank Matt den off and I want to thank the ACA we had some candid Frank conversations about some of the uh dialogue that led up to a couple weeks ago go and I want to thank him for kind of giving me the perspective uh that they have on how we're going to deal with this and get through it I have confidence that they are capable of doing it they know what they're doing and they know that they need to deal with it uh and the only thing I would ask now because I my office has been involved uh communication obviously is key and you're absolutely right chairin to the extent that you know they can communicate with you and then I want to thank Tara because the communication with our office has been improved tremendously I would say throughout 2024 for so to the extent that we can improve that communication to our office too to the extent that we can keep people informed and they don't always like the situation or like uh what they're facing but as long as we can keep them informed and give them some sense uh that there is a path forward and we're going to uh figure out a way to deal with this I think they are going to be in a much better position so just wanted to come out and say thank you to the commissioner board for the interaction and to the acua we are all collectively committed to getting this situation resolved and again thank you thank you Senator and thank you for being such a strong advocate for our citizens not just on this situation but on the others you come out you speak up and uh we very much appreciate that thank you Senator okay any other comments for our questioners see hearing none anything from the public kathen St okay Kathleen commissioner C can you hear me can M CH thank you um thank you my name is Kathleen spai and I live in Lynwood and I'm one of the 14 municipalities uh that sends our trash and our recycling to acua um I think at this point um I want to really appreciate I appreciate the commissioner's discussion of this topic I appreciate Mr denafo being there today to explain this topic um I know that it it has not been easy the last few years with the Ms that are coming from acua but I think that there are plans in place um and there's $7 million and if there $7 million can be used because it was paid for us TA by us taxpayers with the federal recovery funds I think we should vote in the affirmative and let this uh process work its way through um that this area of the ACA landfill needs to be capped and hopefully that will help uh with some of the mitigating smells and I I think we need to uh collectively all of us and I know we are work on some type of solutions to help those residents who have to smell uh what's coming from the acua and I appreciate the time and the effort that's going into this and I'm glad to hear that Senator patino has been meeting with uh the president of acua and that it's not going to be so much adversarial conversation anymore and we're all going to collectively work on this thank you no thank you very much for being here and thank you very much for your comments do we have anybody else from the okay CED make sure you uh unmute yourself Mr POG are you there have you unmuted yourself on your side I don't know what's going on yeah if you want Mr POG if you want to type it in you know we'll we can't do that I don't think we have a chat we don't have that chatter okay okay have a roll call Bas yes patino obained Burns yes Cory no da yes G yes Parker yes grizle yes K yes motion carries thank you very much gentlemen thank you thank you appreciate it he this time entertain a motion to combine and adopt resolutions number 583 to 589 chapter 159 I'll move move by commissioner Cory and seconded by commissioner B any commissioner comments see hearing none anything from the public have a roll Callo Burns Cory yes da yes G yes Parker yes grizzley yes yes yes motion carries and also entertain a motion to combine adopt resolution number 590 to 593 that's the best guy you second no one of move by commissioner Burns seconded by commissioner Cory any commissioner comments hearing none anything from the public and roll callistino yes Burns yes Cory yes da yes G yes Parker yes Grizzly yes k yes motion carries we have a commissioner sponsored our resolution 594 resolution recognizing November as diabetes awareness month and recognizing individuals living with diabetes and their caregivers sponsor June Burns second sorry okay moved by commissioner Cory seconded by commissioner da the floor is your so 34 years ago this month National diabetes Awareness Month I was diagnosed with type one insulin dependent diabetes I've never come out and told people about it I always saw it as a weakness um I take care of it my family is aware of it U through exercise diet insulin I wear an insulin pump why am I coming out now I met Tara and we're sitting next to each other at a conference and she was checking her daughter's blood sugar and I said she said excuse me just one second my daughter was recently diagnosed with diabetes and she wears a pump and I communicate with her through her Dexcom and I said to her I am too and she went what you are so I'm taking what I've always seen as a weakness and I'm using it as a strength to help people at Cara who take care of her daughter and to other patients out there maybe people that don't realize they have it it was National diabetes F you see it everywhere and I said to my family I think I have that I have all those symptoms they're like you're crazy let's go get blood work for you and sure enough I did and again it's I'm out there to help people like Tara my doctor is flored that I'm doing this because I tell him no all the time when he wants me to help him with a fundraiser or awareness I'm like nope NOP I'll do anything else I'll help you with children I'll help you with with seniors I won't I won't do that but I will now and um he has told me that he's working on um testing the testing what's it called Tera for family members um the trial net yes okay the trial net where your family members anybody can go out and be tested to see if you carry the Gene and um you can see if it's in your future and there is treatments now that will offset the problems and help you out he was hoping that um maybe through our Hospital Systems we could do something maybe next November where we offer through our two Hospital Systems Atlanta County residents to be tested to see if you carry the Jee or to see if you have diabetes because people have it and they don't realize that they have it so thank you thanks for listening to me thank you very much thanks for sharing have any other question or comments hearing none anything from the public okay roll call Bas yes fortino yes Burns Cory yes St yes G yes Parker yes rley yes yes motion carries okay we're down to Communications and petitions does anybody have any written Communications or petitions they like to share just just wonder it's kind of kind of strange but in the fure future very um can we not approve any coin drops at Zion and oceanites Avenue on the first Saturday of November that's when they have the pumpkin run which is right down the street from Flemings which draws thousands and thousands of vehicles and that intersection was a mess the whole day we just we don't improve them I know you s us but I won't be here so please don't approve it that one down we will take that under Adis any other weekend other than that weekend good point point I got a ton of phone calls on that okay good point Thank You Comm anybody else anything okay uh any reports of special committees in the board any unfinished business any new business okay anyone attending in person we'll go to public comments that would like to speak now at public comments please come to the podium speak into the microphone state your name in the town un reside if you're attending virtually and would like to make a public comment please raise your hand I'll call upon your name and the request to unmute will be sent please state your name the town you reside you will also be provided up to three minutes do we have anybody from the public that would like to speak outside of Mr Co I don't know it's got to be something on the because you uned and we had the other he never been this quiet so true so true okay uh any comments for the good of the order okay I'll entertain a motion to adjourn second Mo made second all those in favor thank you everyone for being here [Music] [Music] [Music]