three she's gonna go get batteries can we just leave it like that the one right in Fronton Jason probably the tallest we might aor that's hysterical the one in front of the
camera no that's better now we need one more I don't mind being off camera you want to switch deep Li you gotta get DPW to put a back tomorrow it makes me happy I thought we were talking about
sewer tonight and that was gonna be voting on first be [Music] long now I like looking like a Teletubby I think it enhances my appearance that little my age that
little little giggle the sunshine yeah like un sprinkling happiness throughout the town that's I call the meeting to order at 7 pm Madam clerk would you please read the open public meetings act adequate notice
of this meeting has been provided by forwarding a copy to The Courier News Star Ledger and posting on the township website at least 48 hours prior to the meeting all in accordance with the open public meetings Act this meeting will not substantially go past 10:30 p.m.
roll call Madam clerk Mr Kudo here Mr Foster here Mrs zillis here Mr M M sorry Mr Moran here Mrs po here mayor Deany here we allise for the
flag I alates okay I have the honor of giving out a very special Proclamation this evening at this time I would like to ask Sergeant fetus Commander Mand Dragon
Quarter Master barter and Jason dwart to come forward Proclamation Township of brookley heights whereas for Generations millions of Americans have answered the call to service taking the sacred oath
to defend and preserve our nation's ideals and Liberties and democracy and whereas honoring all veterans the ones that are in our lives and the ones who lost their lives in ongoing effort and Legacy well worth our attention and our
time and whereas while we can never fully rep repay the debt we owe these Heroes we will honor their service salute them and show them gratitude and whereas United States sergeant major Jason Dart is the veteran we are
honoring today and whereas two weeks after his high school graduation from West Perry High School in Pennsylvania Jason enlisted in the US Marine Corps after completing boot camp and serving a year as a Rifleman in an infantry company in Hawaii he was assigned to a
scout sniper platoon where he completed sniper School basic markmanship instructor school and primary instru instructor School honoring his shooting skills it's an iteration sorry whereas after completing his initial
enlistment Jason dwart went to college at Penn State majoring in electrical engineering while at College he enlisted in the National Guard in a longrange surveillance Detachment lrsd as Airborne Ranger unit assigned to
reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions he was in Ranger school during the events of 911 in late 2002 while assigned to the lrsd he volunteered for deployment to Bosnia where he was a team leader tasked with
gathering information and locations of persons indicted for war crimes and whereas J Jason's next volunteer deployment was to Iraq where he spent one year leading a four-man sniper team charged with the OverWatch of friendly
operations countering IED imp placements and intelligence gathering operations one such operation directly led to the intelligence used to neutralize the number one leader of Isis in Iraq at the time and whereas Jason completed his electrical engineering
degree in 2007 and in 2008 volunteered for Special Forces where after completing specialized training earned his Green Beret as a special forces weapon Sergeant Jason spent next several years in Special Forces with deployments
to various regions throughout Africa and Australia and South Korea and whereas Jason dwart was promoted to Sergeant Major and retired out of the Special Forces on January 1st of 2025 he currently leads procurement efforts for
all the ammunitions of theater Special Operations as the deputy acquisition program manager US Special Operations forces and whereas we are proud to say that veteran Jason dwart and his wife Jen currently reside in Berkeley Heights
with their two children two daughters actually now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and the township Council of the township of Berkeley Heights du by Honor sergeant major Jason dwor for his service dedication and extraordinary
Valor during his tenure in the United States Army given this day under my hand March 4th 2025 congratulations very nice words really appreciate very distinguished honor and uh thank you very much thank you
service you stand up here Chick-fil-A is that of the chicken would you take another picture on guys BFW leadership like in porser maybe take it out of porser all right conr
take your time okay um we do not have a conference session this evening um but we do have an executive session okay where as a provision of the open public meetings act njsa P for- one at SEC expressly provide
that the public body may move into executive session and exclude the public that portion of a meeting at which the public body discusses any of the nine are set forth in njsa 10 colum 4-12 BN whereas the township Council of the township of bur height has determined it necessary to move into executive session
to discuss the following subjects all of which are included in the AET exceptions contract negotiations possible sale of Township property now therefore be resolved by the Town Council at the township of bery heights that it does hereby move into executive session pursuant to njsa 10 4-12 B to discuss
the affet matters and it is further resolved that the affet discussion shall be made public either at the public meeting following set executive session for much time as any litigated or Personnel matters are concluded or upon conclusion of any
negotiations or related discussions or as otherwise specified end as further resolve this solution shall take effect pursuant to law I have a second second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr
Foster yes Mrs zillis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs po yes oh yes okay some of us will be retiring e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e for e e e
e e e e e e e husband not you e for to listen to
the going to go there and then I did Karen is there they apparently went into some stupid uh exac are you watching I'm watching I see two people at the bias and rest of Mer being except why would
those two people be in I don't know who the two are there well he's the president not Donal [Music] is Donal fost and then there's Co
next oh and there's oh it looks like Debbie terrar is there yeah put it on scene unless you're going to go there we're GNA adopt the Leisa really they have that on the
agenda and they're lowering the speed limit to 30 onity are you sure these other two e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e for
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e for e e e e e
e e it's provided the best result for Traffic Safety and that's why you know we don't support this ordinance um the key finding from the study was that the free flowing speed distribution showed an 85th percenti speed of 34 mil hour
now along with the speed monitoring signs this Benchmark metric for Speed compliance says motorists are observing a 35 MH limit now likewise when I question neglia about finding speed or speeding connected to any uh crash in
the crash data their response was no along with the typical finding and I think Mark actually heard about that she just talked about that but the study also recommended a comprehensive crash study to be done to see corrective action indicating there are some other
causes um add to all this the uh research area reviewed last time for two lane roads when when you raise your lower which basically said when you raise your lower speed limits by small or large amounts the impact on vehicle speeds was less than one and a half miles per hour um and crashes were
reduced at sites where speed limit was raised while increasing where they were lowered um much of the focus on speed on Park uh appears to be associated with a
crash outcome regardless of how it is it resulted um while understandable that singular focus is often misguided when it neglects the larger issue of avoiding a crash to begin with um now that's its own discussion but as it relates to a
speed limit one that can be respected and complied with is critical and as just said crashes tend to increase when speed limits are lowered even if speeds remain virtually the same after the uh number changes on the sign now
considering this I find myself representing the vast majority of town residents and visitors who are complying with Park Avenue speed limits now what would a change to a 30 m per hour limit mean well according to the speed distribution we'd go from great compliance
today to half of all Motors becoming violators now that isn't good and results in some unintended consequences for one speed variance will increase when natural flowing traffic catches up with someone doing 30 now there'll be more incidents of tailgating with some
crossing the double yellow line to pass on this straight road now it happened to me while I was driving more slowly looking for a side street and will Motors be distracted by giving more attention to their speedometer um instead of the road ahead
well it does take more effort to go 30 on that road those can go on but I'll conclude with this um this is a little literal Feelgood ordinance for its supporters but the term is also code for attempting something that doesn't
resolve the underlying issues that generally means that both the vocal minority and the impacted majority won't be happy in the long run the negli study could have supported a uniform 35 mile limit on Park Avenue I
can only encourage the council to reflect and and reconsider this ordinance I'd be happy to take any question if you have any thank you Steve hi Angus Chen six deep de Drive um I'm telling this is about the
uh storm water ordinance um is this time yet or not yet it's not the next group justed hi Dana Nigro 425 Park Avenue um my eight-year-old son actually
wanted to come speak tonight but it is now past his bedtime um I realize a lot of people in town do Drive the speed limit on Park Avenue and our responsible drivers but ever since the permanent speed monitoring sign has
been been up we have been able to actually watch it from our house and uh one Saturday I was getting out of my car uh from shopping and I witnessed eight cars within 10 minutes going 47 miles
per hour in front of my house uh just yesterday I saw someone going over 50 miles per hour in front of my house and when I was out shoveling uh I saw cars going over 60 miles in front of my house basically drag racing down the street uh in the
middle of the afternoon about 400 p.m. and that is why my son wanted to come speak uh because he was out there playing in the snow while I was shoveling and he couldn't see me from where he was he was behind a tree and he heard the Roar of these engines coming
down the street screeching right past me where I was just inches from the road shoveling and he was terrified and he came running over screaming to find out if was okay because he thought I had been hit so he wanted to come here and
tell you that even though he's only eight he supports a 30 m hour speed limit and I do understand this is not a single solution to the problem there are many other issues involved here and uh as I've said in the last meeting it is certainly uh the intention of the
residents along Park Avenue to support uh continued work to do other things and address other issues that contribute uh to crashes along the road um just a bit more on the data side uh Union County is
working on an ss4 Grant uh for Road safy and they just completed their crash analysis for the county um there were 92,000 crashes in the county in the 5-year period leading up to 2022 and they found uh that most crashes
happen in clear drrive weather uh and driver in attention unsafe speeds and failure to yield the right of way to pedestrians were the three primary contributors to most of those crashes 25% of the Fatal or severe injury
crashes involve pedestrians um 89% of the what they call KSI crashes that means kill in severe injury crashes with pedestrians and bicyclists are within half a mile of a school and 31% of them are around half a
mile from a train station they also found uh that crashes occurred at 50 m hour which are speeds we are regularly observing on Park have a survival rate of 20% now this is I know why we've thrown
other data at you from other studies this is a Union County study that includes our town and that is they're finding 50 miles per hour you're have a chance of 20% survival if you are walking or biking so whatever the cause
of the crash may be we want to make sure people are going to survive it and that is why we're asking for 30 miles an hour thank you thank you Dana second any discussion roll call please Mr Cuda yes Mr Foster yes can I just uh one second is that the citizen
hearing for everything no we're not there yet that was just on the ordinance ordinances I'm sorry I move to close of public hearing and the ordinances being considered for final adoption sorry thank you that as a minuted Mr Cuda yes
Mr fost yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs Pope yes Angel if you would please ordinance ating $100,000 for building Capital Improvements in and by the township of
Berkeley Heights in the county of Union New Jersey move to adop the ordinance is read by the clerk any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Foster yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs pop
yes oh I'm sorry um can you read 256 yeah an ordinance replacing the truth Community healing and inclusion committee with the community cultural Affairs committee I move to adopt the ordinance as read by the clerk second any discussion roll
call Mr Kudo yes Mr Foster yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs po yes Angela if you would please an ordinance ordinance 20257 an ordinance establishing the
mayor's Wellness committee I move to adopt the ordinance as right by the clerk second that any discussion all the beautiful decorations that we have today roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr fost yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran
yes Mrs po yes Madam Clark If You Could Read ordinance 2025 D 08 an ordinance amending the township code to lower the speed limit on Park Avenue okay any discussion yeah one one thing I just
want to say one thing we should have seconded yet wasn't moved yet wasn't moved yet sorry that goe all right right I move that to adopt the ordinance as red po of clerk second good any discussion go ahead Manny yeah I just want I just want to State on on the speed limit reduction um I think it's
important that we monitor it to see make sure the police monitor to make sure it's the best for our community um I support saving lives and I support reducing the speed limit but this same time I want to make sure that the police have to monitor to make sure this was the best solution I'm looking forward to
other track traffic cing measures and other safety measures to make Park Avenue safer for all citizens from bike riders the best readons to car drivers also so let's see if this experiment works and um that's my opinion thank you Manny anybody else I'd like to say that
um I just want to Express gratitude for the um residents of Berkeley Heights that have reached out and have Express themselves on this issue specifically um I've heard from people on Park Avenue and in other parts of the town about how
how important safety is to them um so I thank all of them for participating in this process thank you marget I'm going to piggy back on Margaret I live off of Park Avenue so I I know what you're dealing with I walk my dog there every day so I think it has the unusual location of coming you're coming down
off the highway you're coming from Mountain Avenue those are very fast streets but then you're going to the mountain Park School Zone like it's right there and then coming towards downtown so I am uh supporting the lowering of the speed limit and I I know
it will save lives thank you Susan anybody else yeah do out there uh getting that stuff done um and all the facts that presented to us as a former police officer I can tell you right out of the gate that speed is one of many factors involved in
accidents um and if you can get rid of one factor that will cause these accidents you are definitely increasing people's chances walking or in vehicles um yes there are other factors involved and like counil
mudo said about um having it's the pedestrians and also the vehicular traffics due diligence to make sure that they're abided by speed limits and stuff like that and you know go from there thank you thank you John anybody else okay roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr
Foster yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs poke yes second any discussion yes M Mach yes Moran yes Mrs poke yes okay comments are welcome the public comment during during this
meeting on any matter over which the township has jurisdiction to make your comment the speaker must come forward to the microphone and state his or her name and address for the record each speaker is limited to three minutes the mayor and or council president will keep timed please promptly yield the floor when
time is called and return to your seat your cooperation and adherence to these Rules of Order will ensure an orderly and respectful meeting so this is on the agenda or any other matter so there's one citizen hearing that will now appear before for uh the voting on new business
so with that I I want to pre something after the mar my toy is not working so I'm going to keep track of my watch so if you see me go like this they're at your three and uh so far I've given about 30 or 35 seconds past for the other people so I'm going to do my best to make sure everybody gets even time on
this so okay so I'm going to see what's going on with the toy I to fix it later oners maybe should get a real one a real one I just it is a toy I'll be ordering from Amazon tomorrow so that's a good all right all right yeah yeah right and with that the
citizen tearing is now open PA donelly detail Drive how every we doing uh so as I guess everybody knows I've me and my wife have been making some complaints about some code violations some zoning violations and
the such um one thing I don't understand is how the town is spending taxpayer dollars sending my my wife and I a cease and toist letter saying that we're harassing Township employees um we're not doing anything
wrong we're not harassing anybody there's nothing we need to do to cease and desist because we're not doing anything so um in the letter which you know I've even you know it says that I need to respond and communicate through the attorney here and I've responded and I
haven't heard back I responded a second time I haven't heard back so you know you're claiming that I'm harassing employees or my wife's harassing employees but [Music] um how are we harassing employees by just asking questions and getting zero
response um you're claiming that we're making veiled threats about recordings please explain to me what threats we're making and um in the letter It also says that the police department was forced to assist on multiple
occasions but you know my wife and I we never had the police assist to remove us for anything so I don't know why this is like outright lies in this letter so if anything it's me and my family that have been targeted by Our Town Administrator
and others you know I was harassed by the Town Administrator for inquiring about legitimate zoning issues she kicked me out of the building she lied says I was harassing the staff without proof is that a veil threat I don't know um Town Administrator publicly defend my
wife and I with lies about harassing employees police mayor others we have proof I mean a lot of this is lies I mean she was saying that I was spreading conspiracy theories when the investigation actually came out and there were lies in there so you know
we're inquiring again about building code violations engineering issues zoning violations and now we're getting harassed with a cease and deist letter which I just don't understand why um why are you guys doing this to me and my family I don't understand is is there a reason that this is happening can you
please somebody please explain this to me you know we're taxpaying residents we're complaining about building code violations engineering and Zoning issues this is not a private civil matter this is the town not doing their job from day
one it's not my job to litigate with my neighbor about the fact that they exceeded their maximum permitted coverage in the building code it's not my problem that's the town's problem their driveway went from a single Lane to a double lane 22 feet wide past a
house another 20 feet without planning board approval that's not my problem to litigate with my neighbor that's your problem to enforce the code there was supposed to be a hydrology study when the guy built his house site plans are missing there was
no hydrology study that would have said okay there's X number of gallons per minute when they do the study which made would have made them require a dryw so where is this there is no such thing you know and then of course the icing on the cake is the guy build you know dug
an 80 foot ditch to drain all his water to me so this isn't my job to correct these things this is the town's job to correct them so I would ask you guys to please do your job enforce the code get it over with thank you thank you for
your comments good evening mayor and members of the township Council my name is James Hopkins and I am from 31 Sider ravenue I have been a member of the Berkeley Heist volunteer fire department for over 20 years I am serving my fourth year as chief of the fire
department I am asking all of you to reconsider amending the fire prevention code and vote no for the proposed changed the fire prevention Bureau was created by members of the fire department in the early 1970s this was a pro Ive decision by fire department members and Township
officials as it was more than a decade before a state fire code was enacted in 1985 since the creation of the bureau it has been administered and staff by members of our fire department primarily to ensure safety to both firefighters and
citizens I would like to make you aware that I have never been consulted reprimanded or counseled regarding any dissatisfaction with the Administration has with any with the way the inspections have been conducted or how the bureau has been operated during my tenure as Fire official last year members of the fire
department and Fire Prevention Bureau dedicated a significant amount of time to having the Township's ISO fire protection classification rating improved from a four to a three this upgrade was due to dedication and training that our firefighters are committed to but also largely in part to the fire prevention activities of the
bureau this increase in the iso protection classification is evidenced by an independent party that fire department and Fire Prevention operations have increased the level of safety and quality of services we provide to the residents Township this is despite the fact that
the Township Fire inspectors have only received one pay raise in over 20 years every year I am required to submit an annual report to the state regarding the fire prevention bureau's activities for the previous year this report is reviewed and has been continuously
approved by the township administrator I have never been questioned regarding the bureau's activity a fire prevention Bureau shouldn't be part of the building department because he creates a potential conflict of interest as the building department is primarily focused on approving construction plans which could
incentivize them to overlook potential fire safety hazards in favor of Expediting the building process rather than prioritizing solely on fire safety concerns there has already been a lack of communication between Joe Pap poloo and the fire department we have not been
informed when buildings become occupied when Fire Protection Protection Systems go online and most critically when buildings are deemed unsafe we should follow the example that other municipalities in Union County have been doing by by prioritizing
full-time Staffing models for fire prevention in conjunction with fire department operations I again request that the fire prevention Bureau remain a function of the fire department thank you thank you for your comments
andus Chan six deepdale Drive these are just some points Kidd he said right out of the gate huh all right so these are some uh questions that we would like to uh as EC would like to ask
about ordinance 20 20259 um and we can also submit these um written as well but uh there are some under 13 17 320 the definition of Min development to read any development
quote that results in the culmin cumulative creation of 500 sare F feet or more nunet and perious area with the township considered 250 square fet which in A Storm of 1.5 in results in more than 233 gallons of
runoff question two uh 13 17 330b the design and performance standards for IR developments require soil testing and a report from a licensed professional engineer the standards for soil erosion and sedent control in New Jersey is a 432 page
document uh won't this significantly increase the cost of compliance for otherwise relatively small residential improvements a minor development should be of relatively low complexity for ease and compliance and maintenance designed for smallscale development projects with
the township consider rewarding this um Point number three stormw management measures could in future be removed or ignored by a new homeowner could the township include in the ordinance wording to this effect any storm waterer management measure authorized under the municipal storm water management plan or
ordinance shall be reflected in a deed notice recorded in the office of the Union County Clerk um Point number four for major developments could the following numbers be used a disturbance of a half acre 21, 780 sare ft or more
the creation of 5,000 square ft or more of regulating imperious surface the creation of 5,000 square ft or more of regulated motor vehicle service a combination of two and three above that do totals an area of 5,000
square F feet or more and these suggestions offer enhanced storm water management without impacting VAR small projects the number of 5,000 square feet for regulating prvious surfaces and regulated motor vehicle services aligns with the 5,000 ft of disturbance project
limit appearing in the soil erosion and sediment Control Act Point number five 1317 330 cative increase of impervious surface how is the new home owner to learn of this might new homeowners propose a small increase in impervious
coverage only to find they have to remediate 500 plus sare feet of impervious due to Prior exempt developments number six 13 17 330 B4 our new Property Owners to learn they are responsible for
maintenance and then uh Point number seven uh regards uh the EC's uh conversations with Nancy WB and an engineer with the pic River Coalition and Matt lone an environmental engineer with the Ruckers Cooperative Extension
Water Resources program to review the township ordinance uh the following questions are taken from their comments 1317 330 B4 the waiver from requirements seems to be unduly broad could this be addressed differently perhaps through an
appeal can we discuss uh number nine point number 9 1317 360 c.1 topographical map should the township require the map be less than Oney old and prepared by a current licensed New Jersey Professional lens surveyor
consider acquiring the use of current New Jersey state plane coordinates and select an appropriate vertical datum that allows consistency for the municipal engineer to re review and approve um how many I on
time am I Liv okay um Richard will continue Richard ler 49th Summit Avenue question number 10 13.17 360 C5 since this information is used to report to njd under the current
ms4 rules as part of the Watershed inventory plan would the township consider better detailing tailoring this section for example if the project adds a new outfall or Basin or catch Basin or the like add a requirement to submit on
a digital form this necessary inventory data that ultimately has to get added to New Jersey D's database question 11 13.1 17370
b.2 doc 2year maintenance guarantee could the township clarify the difference between ongoing maintenance requirement and the maintenance guarantee may be combined with 13.1 2017. 370
what question number 12 13. 370b do4 which rain gauge is to be used to measure three Ines a digital form would help the municipal engineer track it how long after the event would this measurement be
13 question 13 to 13.17 330b do3 under soil testing it is also specific it also specifically addresses a proposed seepage pit system so clarify
clarification is needed there to also State and any or and or any other approved infiltration measures SL stormwater bmps question 14 can a balance be struck
where undue burden is not placed on small bis businesses and homeowners and the review on the town's end while still balancing safety and environmental concern there may be ways of having simpler requirements such as waving groundwater M mounding if there is no structure
within say 10 ft of a major structure some same thing with submission requirements are needing as detailed plan S as written now it appears they would need to submit the same requirements as a major development question 15 the
environmental commission ask that the township take under consideration storm water ordinance for minor development which was sent to council person illis and an updated version is available which gives preference to rain Gardens
rain Gardens capture storm water runoff reduce erosion filter pollutants recharge groundwater supplies promote biodiversity and habitat for beneficial Wildlife for native plants and finally
16 would the township consider tabling the ordinance so a discussion with the environmental Comm commission can take place thank you Richard I I have a question Richard was the was the environmental commission first consulted when this was first put
together I'm sorry I didn't mean get all way back to your seat was the environmental commission did not see this ordinance uh before it was presented I came to another meeting where I thought I was be able to ask a question I was told no I can't ask a
question about the ordinance okay so just to clarify a couple of things first of all thank you very much Richard Angus and the environmental commission um we always appreciate your thoroughness and um dedication to these issues um we
would appreciate receiving those questions and um points in writing because it's really hard to address anything this detailed and in a public meeting like this so you can follow up with me or anybody um so we did have a
meeting on January 17th with you and David Harris where we discussed the parameters of the proposed ordinance um and you know then we had some back and forths Via emails after that um I believe you also got a copy of
the draft of the ordinance in advance of the conference session which was held a month ago so um you know and we're also available for answering questions so
um that was my clarification based on your response to John thank you good evening Lorraine Anderson 50 Windsor away I am here in favor of keeping fire prevention safety um within
the Guides of the fire department here in Berkeley Heights um as you know these are very very dedicated men and women who train every week my husband is one of them who has been with the fire department for 10 years and a lot of
these um these volunteers they they're firefighters themselves and in my opinion no one knows more than them and so I'm not really sure what the reason is to have this being considered taken out of the fire department but um I do
beg for you to reconsider um and keep fire prevention safety within the Guides of the fire department thank you hi in Don 70 deep Del Drive uh I just want to know Liza and then Scott
you got to please answer to us we need to answer if you forc the code please because previous lawyers say it was wrong I need an answer I got to wait for you please in front of everybody no no no Liza
Liza please Liza otherwise otherwise I have to come to your office because that's what Tom please don't you have to really address things through me and we don't if Scott would like to answer that but I would prefer you not to engage Liza directly please that's what the town B told me go
to Liza go to town council meeting and I'm going to let Mr Salon answer if he would like to I can't speak for where previous I can't speak for where previous uh Township attorneys have advised the council or advised any Resident one I obviously wasn't there two I don't know what what they said I can only provide my legal my own legal
opinion about any given subject and I have nothing nothing else to add at this time I just asked if you got to enforce the code that wasn't my answer as the township attorney I that's not within my scope responsibilities to enforce the Township Code that is the
responsibility of other of other officials so I I don't go out and serve as code enforcement so I'm not sure if that's what you're so I gota ask Liza then I don't know who's got to answer me then do we do they got to do their job
otherwi I would tell you that yes our employees do their job that's that's my comment does anybody else they're not doing for me uh Angie they're not doing because they tried to call cops twice Taco I had to go make a police report because you know I came be coming every
time and complain you know my complains not complain and anybody else's complain is complain it doesn't make sense for me I live here too right sounds think we can discuss Personnel by name correct that
correct yeah we have no no further comment so I wait for three minutes I guess and I also want to say I'm supporting fire department I want to do I want to say yes whatever they want I'm supporting
them they're the best they're the first best ones in town so so please do your job okay my job every day Ang I'm sorry it's not the the outcome that you want but the fact of the matter
is our staff has met with you many times you are the one okay thank you for your comments we're going to end this now because I do not want it to be an argument you made your comments on the record I think you very much for that and we're gonna move on now okay I'll be here next week too I mean next meeting too that's perfectly within your right I
encourage you to do that actually hi good evening Nelson stalber 125 Park Avenue again I have some more questions on the affordable housing does it get
re-evaluated over what period of time so so if we back into joil Bruno and Woodruff Administration so if we were given 400 units and we completed those 400 units 10 years later we're now
asked to do more I mean but what changed in that period of time that would give someone a thought that there is a space to put them I that's everybody's frustrated and
then I was reading the the attorney was talking about the I think some of this the mil Milburn looks like it's going to capitulate but but in that article they said that after 30 years those affordable units become Market available
so so does that mean that there's no more people that need affordable house I know some of the rulings are are silly okay thank you thank you three two oh sorry I just uh uh looked back in my
emails I did not see another email from Margaret illis about the new ordinance that is um under consideration that's the first reading today and second reading will be in two weeks I I did not find an email with
that thank you seeing no one else I move to close the citizens hearing second any discussion roll call uh Mr Kudo yes Mr Foster yes Mrs zillis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes this PO yes Angel we have a
new form over here do I move resolution 2025 131 first so you're gonna move it as amended Mr sammon is going to read into the record so just to for a quick clarification uh late this afternoon we
did receive a lease agreement for Lower Columbia from the Board of Education um with some red lines in it we uh did discuss it as a governing body and we have some additional uh changes that we're going to read into the record and
send over to the uh Board of Education attorney tomorrow so Mr zon would you please read those changes and there are fresh copies here as well which is why it took us a few minutes to get started after executive session right so so I'm I'm I'm going to read these changes these yeah as the mayor just said there
are copies that are available available to the public of the the version that is being put up for for adoption um some of the version some of the modifications uh and Al I'll try to clarify in some places where the modifications were made by the uh Board of Ed and where modifications were made
by the township on the first page on the whereas Clauses there is a survey description of the property of the Lower Columbia field is inserted in there that was done by the Board of Ed and we you know the township does not have an issue with that because it provides clarity as
to what areas are being covered by this agreement uh let's see on page three of the lease that was uh on the agenda there are is a section uh uh being added that was initially added
by the um that was added by the the board the board that is entitled prohibited uses and prohibits a number of certain activities certain certain things from occurring on the fields uh the ones that the township is willing to accept is that that tackle football
would not be permitted on on Lower Columbia field as well as uh the scheduling of any events by the township during the school day while schools in session during the regular school year with the exception of during winter spring and summer breaks uh other
changes that were being made is that um uh under section four the term of the agreement uh the T we are we were adding in a line from the last version that uh states that should the Board of Ed terminate this lease agreement within 6
months of the construction of any improvements alterations or modifications to the Boe property the Boe shall fully reimburse the township for any such expenses including any hard or soft costs and that is to ensure that the township doesn't invest money into the properties uh only to see the
agreement terminated as a result of that or or immediately following that uh additionally the other sections that are being uh modified see they the the township is agreeing to keep the property the the fields in in
good condition uh they're agreeing to see give to property in good condition to prepare prepare an annual management plan in consultation with the recreation uh commission and that uh see say that that that's pretty much all there is on on a
substantive level there's some other minor things like for example the township is not going to be able to sublease the fields out which I don't think the township was planning on doing anyway um but it just provides Clarity and that was requested by the by the board um that's I those are the primary changes that are being made to the
agreement that was submitted in the agenda and as as I said copies of this are available to the public that said I move resolution 2025 -131 as amended by the attorney oriz the
ex tion of a lease agreement with the board of ed for property known as L colia second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Foster obain Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr
Moran yes Mrs poke obain okay okay move to adop consented agenda consisting resolutions 2025 d132 through 2025 d141 the resolutions would be approved by one M
second um okay so maret's gonna abstain separately from 137 okay I thought we were going to pull that out of the convention okay got it uh any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Foster yes Mrs
illis yes to all within exception of resolution number 131 137 from which I abstain Mr M yes Mr Mor yes Mrs po
yes okay um um the ordinance 20 2509 please ordinance amending the Township Code for the township of Berkeley Heights to regulate storm water
management and control I moov that the ordinance is read by the clerk be offered on first reading and that March 18th 2025 be set as the day for the public hearing and that the clerk be directed to advertise same in The Courier News I'll second
that any discussion R Mr Cuda yes Mr Foster yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs po yes Angela can you do us the honor ordinance
202-10 establishing an ordinance for privately owned salt storage for New Jersey state storm water regulations I move that the ordinance has read by the clerk be offered on first reading that March 18 2025 be set as the day for the public hearing and that the clerk be
directed to advertise the same in the curan news second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Foster yes Mrs illis yes M Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs po
yes M Clark If you to read ordinance number 20 25-11 ordinance 2025 d11 amending the township code for the township of Berkeley Heights to clarify sewage fees I move that the ordinance has read by cler be offer for first reading on March
18 2025 be set for the day for the public hearing and that the clerk be directed to advertise same in The Courier News second any discussion rful Mr Cuda yes Mr Foster yes Mrs illis yes
Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs po yes um Angela would you please read ordinance 202-21 reading that March 18th 2025 be set as the day for the public hearing and that the clerk be directed to advertise s in The Courier News second
act any discussion roll call Mr Cuda yes Mr Foster yes Mrs illis yes Mr Mach I'm against it Mr Moran yes Mrs POG
yes okay on to Township Council reports um I'll committee and everything else next time so no report for me oh sorry yeah okay um historic preservation committee
has a meeting this Thursday we're still looking for members um want to join us you have any questions reach out to me thank you okay um we had an EDC meeting um we're pleased that suit help has rejoined the
EDC um we we had a presentation on the property tax Rewards program that we've been considering for a long time so hopefully we'll be moving forward on that and we're also discussing what kind of popup events we can do to drive more people into our town um senior affairs
we had a very Lively discussion about the community and what they prefer to be called um and there were some really good ideas on new events so um stay tuned for more on that um I attended the mayor's Wellness CW um um and expressing gratitude I want to thank all of the
volunteers in our town because they really do a splendid job um filling the needs of our town and I thank you for your service thank you Margaret Bill uh I have nothing uh
Andrew nothing Susan um so we do have a mayor's Wellness meeting tomorrow so I'm excited to hear like the discussion regarding the event big event that we had it's tomorrow am I right all right big event that we had um on Saturday it was great to see the uh Municipal
complex filled with people looking to find Wellness in their life and I appreciate the mayor for bringing this uh to our town grants for in Grant season Li and I are starting to work on um historical preservation grants and looking
at I'm sorry I'm really tired forgot the other one I'm looking at isn't that crazy yes yes thank you thank you possible seniors pedestrian seniors yes thank you and um I also want to
remind everyone the flag raising for St Patty's Day is on the 14th here at town hall and then everyone will be off to Delicious Heights for celebration there that's oh the soda bread yeah sorry soda bread contest bring out your best soda bread and I'm assuming the police
department will be judging again I'm sure they will okay and we'll have some prizes I'm assuming uh I think we called her I wrote the flyer let me look it up I'll get back to you I wrote it you think I would remember right yeah I'll look it
up while you guys are working and then I'll pop back in but okay thank you Administration reports I'm actually going to list all the wonderful people that made the event so meaningful and wonderful on Saturday uh Rebecca ainson um who is a Committee Member also uh
talked about art therapy Donna flalo ran our registration desk um flawlessly ifany escot the Y donated um trainer to come in and talk to us about uh Fitness that you could do on the road um Casey Foster John's
20-year-old daughter came up with the logo that's here this is actually a sticker it's all over everything it's amazing John did all the QR codes all the Flyers all the media work so he did a great job uh Laura kazinski was amazing just always volunteering and
helping us um stay straight Michael crawl also helped us with the registration desk and because he's so tall he helped us get some of these decorations in the ceiling um he was not happy with me on Friday uh Daniela Petrelli did Al our social media that day Susan po was one of our professional
presenters for the ey Aspire um Becka Robinson another like super volunteer they did she did actually the comfor kits um table along with amazing volunteering hours of volunteering Chris sylvestri from Peace of Mind yogurt yoga did an amazing presentation um she did
the relational but she also did a great presentation on on dose if you know anything about dose or the book it's great Amy steinbauer who's our librarian um co- eyed with Susan she did a great too Deb berer ran our snacks and our
nutrition in the other room in the Highlander room Liza is always just there for us in every way shape or form we love her and MaryAnn Wilson from the wils or the Kimberly and Wilson Foundation donated our t-shirts and volunteered and helped countless hours as well Chris tribuna from balloon
design studio did all the balloons and donated them to the township you should have seen the way this room looked this is just half of what what went on that day um and then we had a an esthetician and a massage therapist who donated their services we had a meditation
specialist who Randy McKenzie who donated his Services Angela EPO did the breath work she's an expert in that area she donated her services and field how house um donated they sent a nutritionist so she was amazing so it was a spectacular event so I just want
to personally say that I'm grateful for all these people and all the hard work they did so thank you guys who were and thank you for the council for coming that was a really nice surprise to see everybody here so that is my report I was wondering if we can make the the booklet that we gave out that day available on the website if people want
to kind of see the different pieces who weren't able to come that's a great idea is possible yeah thank you and I'm just going to pop in and say the flag raising starts at 6:00 at the flag pole uh bring your soda bread to the Highlander room by 5:45 the contest will begin at 615
that gives people a chance to then get over to delicious and that's going to be an epic event at De Heights all right awesome Liza thank you mayor just a couple things um we are working on a more comprehensive article to put in tap on um programming we're working on for
residents and you know good stuff that's happening here around town cuz I'm pretty sure more people retap than normal watch our meetings um so that it'll get out to more people uh our road paving we're working on the spring road paving list uh just to let residents know we've literally gone through every
old capital account going back to like 2009 to scrape together leftover money to pay more roads in this town instead of just borrowing new money so um that's Road roads and drainage projects uh the Sherman Avenue phase one of the Sherman Avenue revitalization project is going
out to bid uh soon in the next couple weeks so that will be exciting and then I just want to mention grants um we get a lot of grants in this town which is great and I want we can't emphasize enough that without this money and our volunteers helping us get this
money we would not be able to provide a lot of the equipment um do a lot of the infrastructure upgrades and all the things that we do without additional taxpayer um money coming in to help pay for them so a lot of the things we're doing doing around town actually probably most of the major projects are
in some way shape or form augmented with grant money so we are able to do a lot more than um the tax money we're actually receiving which is really great and we consider that you know something we owe our residents so thank you to the grants committee and all the council we need help so yeah
contact us thank you laza somebody accept the council reports who have I'll make a motion accept the council any discussion roll call all right I'm sorry um Mr Cuda yes Mr PA
yes Mrs illis yes Mr Machado yes Mr Moran yes Mrs po yes okay we did executive session UPF front because of the uh lease agreement issue and so we just need a motion to adjourn motion adjourn all in favor I all right have
good night everybody was working so hard on the okay