brid did it all right I call the meeting to order at 7M Anna would you please read the open public meetings act I notice of this meeting has been provided by foring a copy to The Courier New 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 roll call Madam clerk Mr Cudo yes Mr Donnelly yes Mr Foster yes Mr V Mr Machado yes Mrs po yes mayor jaavan yes I'm here you allag we have a a special guest here uh this evening that I'd like to call forward um they did something very special today uh had a constituent Services couple of hour so assembly woman Michelle munes would you just sort of come forward and explain to us a little bit about the services that you were providing thank you so much mayor and thank you Council for having uh my team and I here tonight uh one of the homeworks of my team's work has been bringing quality constituent services for our district including Berkeley Heights um and just so you know uh we uh the three of us Senator John bramnick some woman an Munoz and myself we have offices in and around the state senator bingson Westfield assemblywoman uh Munoz is in Summit and I happen to be two and a half miles down the road in New Providence so just know if there's anything that you guys uh should need or want uh like unemployment disability benefits anything like that that's done through the state you can either call or come to our office so tonight we did something that we've been going around the state uh going around the district doing and that's our mobile office hours and basically it's us coming to you so do know that if there does come another time that um any of the residents in Berkeley Heights cannot get to us we will come to you and try to help you make uh you know make whatever you know help you move forward in whatever your case or issue might be um as a result of this mobile office hours we've recovered since my term first began my last term we've recovered over $700,000 for residents so um and that's totaling more than 200 cases that involved unemployment disability anchor benefits things like that like I said anything done through the state we are happy to help uh help you solve uh we prioritize uh prioritize Common Sense by partisan policy Solutions in Trenton in my first term we've had a number of pieces of legislation that I've sponsored or co-sponsored they passed the assembly 36 of those were actually signed into law some of them uh some of the highlights were new laws to help qualify veterans become licensed nurses in New Jersey uh one of them expanded Mental Health Care Services which I know that you're working very hard on uh that Health Care access through an interstate counseling compact so that you can get help because there are so many Staffing shortages around we need to get all the help we can because we want everyone healthy both in body and mind um I'm looking forward to continuing my work this s session I'm on the education committee as well as higher education committee and I've also been appointed uh this year to the Commerce Committee which I'm also looking forward to and that's going to help small businesses so again I'm all ears for whatever we can do to help you guys thank you again for having me here tonight just want you to know that uh Senator bramnick assembly one Muno and myself we are here we are visible we want to help so just please feel free always to reach out and uh and uh that is that is it so thank you again for having me here thank you for the services that you're providing for us today okay so we have conference session we have uh both uh items pulled uh we're not going to apply for the Recreation Commission is not going to apply for the grant this year and we're going to uh meet and do a little bit more work on this tree ordinance um so we'll update the residents at a at a later date um so with that let's move on to the regular agenda you please an amending the code of the township of Berkeley Heights chapter 8. 68400 in permit for keeping of certain animals this final adoption this is adoption okay we open a vote carrying on ordes WE by to cler Second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Donnelly Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs poke yes uh okay uh I'm going to read the instructions once tonight for all the hearings comments are welcomed during the public comment period during meeting on any agenda item however if an ordinance is listed for its own public hearing on the agenda please F your comments for that particular public hearings to make your comment the speaker must come forward to the microphone State his or her name and address for the record each speaker is limited to three minutes the mayor council president will keep time please promptly yield on the floor when time is called and return to your seat you cooperation and interferance so these Rules of Order will ensure an orderly and respectful meeting and with that the hearing on ordinance number one is now open know one I to close the hearing on the ordinance by Clark second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Donnelly Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs pop yes I move that the ordinance V by clerk uh and hearing held here on be adopted a final passage and at the clerk be directed to advertise same the curer news any discussion roll call please Mr Kudo M Stelly Mr Foster Mr Machado yes Mrs poke yes okay uh and would you be most kind please an ordinance amending the code of the township of Berkeley he to create a new chapter 2.87 entitled the Berkeley Heights Veterans Affairs committee to open the public hearing and the as the ordin is read by the clerk I'll second that any discussion roll call Mr Cudo yes Mrs Ann Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs po yes uh the hearing on ordinance number two with the rules that I read earlier and effect is now open can I just say that we have two members of the Comm in the back row Tom Lombardi and Sergeant ptis see seeing no one um I move to close the public hearing and the aw is read about the cler second that any discussion roll call Mr Kudo Mrs Ann Mr Foster Mr Machado Mrs pop yes okay with that I move the the orces read by the clerk and hearing held herein be adopted on Final passage that the clerk be directed to advertise same to cour your news second that any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Donnelly Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs PO yesing on theend yeah sure uh I move to open a hearing on agenda items only second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mrs anelly Mr Foster Mr Machado yes Mrs pop yes okay the hearing on the agenda items only is now open with the same rules in effect that I read earlier so that's one through 10 there SE came um Bo six more I just had a question about the um six resolution um why are we engaging winning strategies Washington there lot of companies so I'm trying to understand what was the governing body's motivation for that Sean and we actually have one of the uh the lobbyists here this evening but uh if you recall this is uh when we were trying to get a federal appropriation which we're in line to aishman Kane actually has Us in the federal bill for $2 million for the sore plant right do you remember that yeah so but I'm going to ask if you don't mind I'm gonna go a little bit out of order and I'm gonna ask Miss laui to come forward and just explain what they've been doing um and what's proposed for the next year and some of the accomplishments um which have been really remarkable but thank you because I would have forgot to so thank you Sean I remember to bring her up she would have sat there in the background that was a nice dance by good evening thank you for having me tonight my name is Kayla Ki and I'm the president of Hoboken strategy group I'm here tonight on behalf of the winning strategies Washington and Hoboken strategy group team my colleague Rob Zucker of winning strategies Washington is a on he's appearing virtually and so he can help answer any questions you have our firms have worked closely together on joint projects for municipalities and counties for over 20 years Hoboken strategy group is based in New Jersey and we specialize in government relations legisl at lobbying and Communications winning strategies Washington is an independent bipartisan federal government relations and grants procurement firm jointly we have an amazing track record of success in the federal Appropriations Arena and it's our great pleasure to serve as your advocates in Washington we're pleased to have worked closely with the Township in 2023 to make a compelling case before the Township's representative and senators in Washington including the township making a trip to Capitol Hill and to detail the needs and urgency of securing Federal funding this has led to the inclusion of 2 million in federal funding for sewer and storm water improvements in the FY 24 interior envir environment Appropriations legislation requested by Congressman Tom Kane Jr this legislation has been passed by the House of Representatives and it is pending final negotiations between the House and Senate in the weeks ahead as part of our Outreach and engagement with the New Jersey delegation we are also pleased to have facilitated a site visit by Congressman Kan to ber Heights this past summer so that he was able to see firsthand areas in need of improvement and how critical Federal support of the project will be locally our team was able to engage the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection One to coordinate efforts with Berkeley Heights New Providence and Summit in advancing the upper pic River flood risk mitigation effort through the United States Army Corp of Engineers New York District second we also are working to advance the approval of the township tree Grant uh from njdep to be able to plant this spring and third we have worked been coordinating with DP on the Township's approvals for the ibank financing uh for the replacement of the sand filters our team also engaged the governor's office in responding to the US EPA regions 2 request for certification of compliance with the Brooks act to advance the Westside drainage project for 2024 the winning strategies Washington and hobooken strategy group team will work with the township to develop and execute a comprehensive government Affairs strategy to Advocate and Advance funding requests for Berkeley Heights priorities we will work through the annual Appropriations process including the final negotiations on the FY 24 Appropriations Bill where the 2 million that I previously referenced is pending will advocate for funding for fy2 for storm and Sewer improvements and a preliminary analysis by the US Army Corps of Engineers to study the flooding issues that affect the township related to the upper pic River I'll detail how we expect to engage on these issues in the coming year Federal preparations and the plan of action with respect to sewer and storm water from our experience with the community Project funding and congressionally directed spending advocating directly on behalf of the township as well of our previous and ongoing work securing earmarks for our clients we have a strong understanding of what strategies work best in gaining interest and support of the members of Congress and the House and Senate of Appropriations committees in support of this effort winning strategies Washington and Hoboken strategy group will collaborate with the township to update all the information on the sewer and storw infrastructure needs since the project was proposed in FY 24 we'll prepare all the required materials on Berkeley Height's behalf and engage directly with members of Congress and the House and Senate Appropriations committees with respect to flooding in the upper Bic River the US Army Corps of Engineers is the Federal agency responsible for flood control and water development efforts as we learned in 2023 through Outreach to the core and to the Depp they are proceeding with a core General investigation feasibility study on flooding that includes the area of concern in Berkeley Heights along with New Providence and Summit importantly studying flooding in these area is already authorized under current law and as such the core has been asked by D at berley Heights request uh as the non-federal sponsor of such work to begin the evaluation and Analysis needed to address the flood risk in Berkeley Heights New Providence and Summit the US uh Army Corp Engineers New York district has told us that it has submitted a funding request up its chain of command for the core to conduct a preliminary analysis at Federal expense to determine if a potential project meets program requirements and if Federal participation is Justified the president's budget request is being released the week of March 11th and we will then know more about requested funding for this effort in ways that we can support it on Capitol Hill our team at winning strategies Washington and Hoboken strategy group Prides ourselves on being Hands-On efficient service oriented and most importantly driven by quantifiable results and measurable success we have made it a top priority to ensure that the principles of our firms manage every aspect of our work for you winning strategies Washington Hoboken strategy group have the staff and capacity to handle the Township's federal and state agenda and we'll be careful to ensure that the scope of the work is within our abilities and to deliver the highest level of service and results and thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your Advocates it really is an honor me and my colleague Rob are happy to answer any questions you may have what are the chances that 2 million is going not come through um I don't have a crystal ball as to what uh the the Congress is going to do I'm cautiously optimistic that they'll be able to work their way through the negotiations we'll know more in the coming weeks as they work through the continuing resolution um you know we uh we were really proud of our success in getting it done and so we're working on ensuring it stays in the budget and thank you for the updates the May's been sharing the updates we're seeing it least it's it's gives us it gives us hope to save a lot of money for the taxpayers by hiring you to to get be the front one so great it's our pleasure thank you very much we take that really seriously and with the work that you're doing with the federal appropriation and the ibank allows us I think we did $10 million in capital eight of it was the S plant if we can shave two of the 8 million um down that helps us every year that we can take off hopefully another couple of million dollars and then work with the ibank significantly changes how we construct our budget and how we spend the money in in the township so value added absolutely so we appreciate all you're doing it's our pleasure thank you thank you it's money definitely well spent it's not can't do it it's not our thank you so much thank you thank you all right thank you very much thank you any other questions on the agenda items good evening Steve Caris 35 Sycamore well represented tonight the street um I'm I'm up to talk about resolution four regarding the uh support for safe rootes to school and it's not about just support it's more some U transparency questions and comments um you know when I first looked at this uh and got to the bottom it says the township Council supports safe school program I said well I know we do because we've talked about it in this form we passed uh authorizations to apply for Grants and we've implemented them and we've been very successful so I ask myself the question okay so what is this for and um that was going to be my primary question tonight but also since I attend environmental commission meetings I found out if I heard it correctly that um this is to get some Su sustain Sustainable New Jersey points as far as there is concerned so um I think I I got that reaction answerers my confirms that's the case um I other two questions did did the um all the text for this was that supplied by the environmental commission from whatever Source they got or was this independently developed um I'm defer to an she prepares res it comes from uh the company that's helping us with this grant oh Millennium Millennium it's it's a different it's another company in motion yes and so they provide and we did this back in 2021 I believe we did this resolution it's to renew our recognition stat right right yeah okay because it's same one that we did in 2021 I actually there was enough of them to do this it's like it's like I you know didn't didn't recall um and I guess the the last part is is um if I hadn't asked would would it have been mentioned that this was for the purpose of sustainability New Jersey it's not for that purpose that's an added benefit this is required to maintain our status I think whatever the sustainable Jersey is a side that's not why we're doing well that answer good well thank you very much because that answers the the why after hearing what I was hearing yesterday I did not know otherwise so that there number of things that we have to do as part of the safe we apply for that and the safe whatever to train Transit different names but every year there are a number of things it's not just applying for the grant or walk audits that we have to do education and things the police department needs to be helpful with um so there's a number of things that happens to be one of many things on the checklist that makes sense right great well like I say it was it was like hearing one thing but not the other I think it's just a bonus that the the town can get sustainability points but the primary reason is part of the checklist for safe routs to school thank you Steve make a motion close the it second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr donelly yes Mr Foster Mr ma yes this is po yes business May yes thank you I'm going to move resolution number one approving the bill list dated February 6th 2024 on the amount of 1,392 4230 second any discussion I just want to say like when I saw the number I wented to see why so there's a lot of insurance payments that had to be made so um it's all good we check the B us the insurance when it's that high yeah welcome to the new year right uh any other comments can I get a second I second okay call Mr Kudo yes Mr Donnell yes Mr fer yes Mr Mado yes Mrs po yes resolution for of support authorizing the sustainable Jersey Grant application in the amount of $20,000 to cover the costs of hiring a consultant to revise and update the natural resources inventory second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr an MR Foster Mr Machado yes Mrs poke yes bring forth resolution number three authorizing the application the community energy plant grant program of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in the amount of $10,000 for energy conservation planning second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Donell Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs po yes move on resolution for supporting safe GRS to school program any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr Donnell Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs pop yes resolution five has been approved we be resolution number six resolution awarding a professional service contract winning strategies Washington Hoboken strategy Group Inc in the event not to exceed $132,000 second that any discussion any more discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mrs donelly yes Mr poer yes Mr Machado yes Mrs poke yes I move resolution number seven appointing each Lander to the gr committee for a term to expire on December 31st 2025 second that any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mrs Ann Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs po yes I moveed resolution 8 appointing Dana Campbell and Kunal Sharma to the downtown beautification committee for a turn to expire on December 31st 2026 second any discussion roll call Mr kudo yes Mr Donell Mr fer Mr Machado Mrs po yes bring forth resolution number nine a wording of Professional Service contract to David Shapiro for tax accessor assessor inspections in the amount not to exceed $10,000 second any discussion roll call Mr Cudo yes Ann Mr fer yes Mr Machado Mrs po yes I'll move on consent agenda 8 through D second act any discussion I just want to say when I see my former students are now firefighters that makes me feel very old feel very and I thank them I thank them feel old go Mr Cuda yes anal yes Mr Foster yes Mr Machado yes Mrs po yes okay so Anna would you please read ordinance number one yes an ordinance repealing chapter 2.95 of the code of the township of Berkeley Heights I move up the ordinance read by the clerk offer on first reading that February 20th 2024 be set as the day for public hearing and the clerk be directed to advertise same in The Courier use second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mrs Ann Mr fer Mr Machado yes Mrs po yes uh an if you would please an ordinance amending the code of the township of Berkeley Heights chapter 2.90 entitled the historic preservation committee favor committee um I move that the by the clerk offer on first reading and that February 20th 2024 will be set as a day for public hearing and that the clerk be directed to advertise the same in the curry do you want to explain why we're amending the ordinance yes uh we have several people that are just chomping at bit to get in help us out because we have a few more cars have to dig out of the Lord no I'll just get um no what we're doing is we're expand yeah we're uh we're expanding our base um so we're adding three more people to the committee um and everybody's welcome to come and help out and we're just you know so we're just adding more people to it which is great so Bo Meritor come on down excellent Mr Cuda yes Mr Donnelly Mr Foster absolutely Mr machada yes this is po yes okay moving on to Township Council reports May any first I'll be strangely quiet this week uh just tell everyone to watch out for the snow that's coming in the end of the month and that's it your Tong doomsayer no got snow shoes I got to bring out no no no no no snow H thank you Paul um yeah this week what did I do these last couple of weeks so I attended the rescue squad fundraiser BFW which was good always like to support the rescue squad um I attended the senior committee uh meeting but I left early so I don't think anybody even showed up so I don't have any updates for you so next time I I'll bring some updates also attended Chinese newor at the YMCA which was uh very interesting and I think every year is a little bit different very is it's all for me okay thank you very much John all right thank you um okay I'm going start with the historic preservation committee meeting uh March 1st we're going to be giving out our next um vintage home sign uh to 21 Ridge Drive uh it's going to be at 3:30 in the afternoon now you don't all have to show up it's okay we're going to have pictures it's all right um October 19th is going to be the next LEL Lord fall family Festival so October 19th is going to be the next hotel Lord B family Festival fast I'm looking to see what's put in their calendar I'm saying it nobody's like Mark it down people come on I'm in there now um we've also discussed some other uh ways to do some fundraising for the t board which uh by the way if you go past it you're going to see a nice New Foundation in the back part of the house it's looking really good these guys are out there every day come snow rain sleep or they work during the day I was going to say dark at night but they work during the day so um yeah um but they're out there and they're doing a great job so far um I drive past it every day because that's I'm on Hampton so um yeah we're looking to uh do some more fun raisers uh through that uh there's one fundraiser we talked about uh was getting cobblestones and having people purchase them just like they did at the high school I believe Mary K may have done something like that I'm not sure um soon you double check me on that um but we have to check the N National Registry on the specifications on the area if we can actually put the stuff down so uh we're going to be working on that uh we also looked into the uh Main Street Grant uh for Springfield Avenue for buildings along Springfield Avenue that um it it appears now we may not be able to get that but we're still working on that to see how that goes um let's see I also attended the uh the Lunar New Year celebration over at thew and uh the place was packed it was awesome everybody was having a great time it was great food great fun um I you were you were the head of the Dragon right no he was the rear okay I'm sorry all right but it was a really good time yeah every every everybody had a great time um it was really neat um I want to go into February 9th is National Pizza day and I bring this up because on um on this Sunday the 11th you'll know why okay um whether you prefer Italian way or thin crust deep dish or Chicago Style no one can resist a slice of cheesy pizza and it's no one this is one of the world's most popular food holidays with all the different possibilities there are for toppings Pizza is a food that anyone can enjoy it's foolproof party food brings people together it's also the perfect comfort food to enjoy on your sofa um and this day everyone has the perfect excuse tojoy their favorite pizza that's February 9th and you know the 11th is the Super Bowl so you be order pizza for that too so uh I want to wish a couple birthdays out there Bob Marley was born today February 6th uh Thomas Edison's birthday is on uh Sunday the 11th so uh I don't think he'll be watching the Super Bowl though so um Monday the 12th is Lincoln's birthday and uh last but not least Tuesday the 13th is World radio day and I go with this because I have a couple anecdotes that are really neat the cool thing about radio is it's relevant and important in our daily life during our long drives for vacation maybe to work the radio is still with us keeping us singing keeping us informed it's like a great friend neighbor who never borrows your power TOS uh mcon proved the feasibility of communication over the radio he s received the telegram over the first radio signal in history from Italy in 1895 the first radio station in America was established in Pittsburgh in 1919 and the FM radio debuted in 1939 without using any expensive content videography radio was the only broadcast medium to a delivers entertainment local news sports updates discussions great music and is an effective way for marketing tune in your favorite radio station today and enjoy now my anecdote is this I used to work midnights and it was 11:00 at night till 700 in the morning so a little after 11:30 You' catch a West Coast Hockey game now my West Coast Cocke hockey game just happened to be the Toronto Maple Leaf out of Canada on an AM radio station 990 and it was really strange because on a clear night you'd hear L the guy was sitting right next to you and it was really cool so radio's always there we probably all had grandparents that used to say I sat around and listened to the radio and that's how that was our entertainment so go out National World radio day on thank you you're right it is with us all the time thank you John marar here bill I don't even know how to follow up to that but you don't been trying for years so Margaret and I uh attended a one day uh crash course for newly elected uh officials um over in the mands this past Saturday uh that was sponsored through the league of municipalities that was a lot of fun uh later that day we attended the uh the Luna New Year celebration at the Y which is as everyone said here it was a lot of fun um and then also I've been talking with our emergency medical Squad apparently they're hosting we don't have a date yet but they're hosting a I guess a first aid course for pets and they invited me to get up there and show how to perform CPR on your dog if that was the case I mean if you ever needed to uh perform CPR on your dog so we're working out the U the details but U perhaps I think March 14th might be the day March 13th or the 14th I'll figure it out and I'll keep everyone posted okay very good thank you Bill Susan thank you mayor so first I'd like to publicly thank the mayor and Council for the beautiful basket of plant sent to my home after my father passed away and Mr Poes and I plant them all in the spring so he will live on I just want to ask everyone to check uh your drains that are in the street by your house I went for a walk today lots lots of leaves are packing some of these drains try to keep them clean once a week take a peek also in the newsletter um it's chalk full of events well done this month um News public service and there's a video about not showing anything except for toilet paper down your toilet so you can come into my bathroom via video bathroom yeah a lot of people think those fual wipes are okay they are not okay uh planning board last two meetings were cancelled as there were no applications to review grants while I'm not sure of the space in which it's going to reside I'm current currently working on researching cost for the beginning stages uh needed for a dog park before we start researching the grants I submitted the application for the mayor's Wellness campaign and our goal is to move up from upand coming to town to watch and eventually the highest level which is healthy town our Focus this year is on mental health and I'm working with the mayor and lies on video with the goal is to help the stigmatized mental health issues and help residents know and access resources if they need help we're creating an action plan of activities that include workplace wellness and a town hall event during mental health Health Awareness Month in May so stay tuned uh before the meeting we came from a flag raising to celebrate Black History Month so black history is American history February just gives us a chance to celebrate and they ask May if I could read what I said out there so I'm going to do that uh this year the Black History Month theme is African-Americans and the Arts which explores the key influence African-Americans have in the field of Music film fashion Visual and Performing Arts folklore literature language col culinary and other forms of cultural expression africanamerican art is infused with African Caribbean and the Black American lived experience here in America in the fields of Visual and Performing Arts and literature and fashion and fol Flor it includes music architecture and any other form of cultural expression so there's lots of ways to celebrate PL History Month with regard to the Arts African-American artists have used art to preserve history and Community memory as well from as well as for EMP Powerman and I wanted to highlight two artists um at the flag raising and the first was a was Amanda Borman who read a poem during the inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021 and I'm just going to read a little part which I think is very meaningful how we're dealing with state of the world we are striving to forge a union with purpose to compose a country committed to all cultures colors characters and conditions of man and so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us we close the Divide because we know to put our futures first we must first put our differences aside we lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another we seek harm to none and harmony for all and from her words on paper to the powers that be and then we listened to a song by Stevie Wonder called A Place in the Sun and it the song was reinforcing the idea of perseverance and the need to keep pushing forward despite the challenges ahead as much as I love to sing I'm not gonna do that so that's it man all right thank you very much on to Administration reports starting uh with mine so happy February everyone everyone I hope uh everyone is enjoying the last few days of sunshine it's been quite a while since we've seen the sun uh first an update on noia our professional team uh has met with New Jersey Economic Development Authority executive director Tim Sullivan just last week Governor Murphy traveled to Berkley Heights Town Hall the salivan and Deputy Chief of Staff Eric broy to discuss Trends and inquiries for large land uses made of the state um so in other words they don't have a user but we're trying to discover what types of users might be out there that might be suitable um they will work with the township to provide Grant funds in the range of about $50,000 to start that we will utilize for visioning meetings with our residents and business Community to hear their thoughts um for uses of the land please monitor our website um the news announcements that Liza puts out tap into in social media for dates and times of those meetings we're still waiting to get uh the grant funding once we have the grant funding we'll set up those meetings and have listen to everyone's ideas about what could happen there um actually the senior affairs committee did finally meet through illness and other setbacks um we continue to follow our mission Buck buckets which include Arts communication education entertainment Health Public Safety and Recreation for older adults we focused on three areas this month namely uh education the senior information Fair will be on May 4th that will be our education event uh the lineup is pro proving to be larger than last year so a heartfelt gratitude to Chris bornstead who is not only our chairwoman uh again this year but she's spearheading these efforts and it's a her Herculean event Public Safety will focus on crime prevention again with uh the things that have been going on in the news you're all reading them another Stellar seminar from our Police Department for seniors and old or adults so they'll really focus on seniors and older adults and teaching them how to keep uh you know doors locked key Bobs away from doors and windows Etc um we're going to do that I think uh February 16th so stay tuned for that and our health bucket is two areas to seniors um that we will be focusing on March is sleep Awareness Month believe it or not and our guest speaker from Atlantic health will be rescheduled for March um to be in alignment with that we will keep you posted on details and finally as everyone knows May is mental health awareness month the senior affairs committee will partner with the newly created mayor's Wellness committee uh for programming that month um we also want to amend the senior affairs ordinance to make our membership spots a little bit more generic um to bring in some buried older adult residents who want to get more involved so we'll get that done maybe introduced for next uh next meeting and finally I attended an a ARP webinar uh Community Grant challenge Q&A it was very very informational I'd like to collaborate with the grants committee and the rec department to discern where there might be grant opportunities for this year may likely be more next year we don't have a whole lot of time um and in our previous Communications bucket and goal I just want to warn our seniors out there my senior Roc call is back Les and I've been able to do them every first and third Friday please email Barbara Russo B Russo bhtp if you want to get on the list for the call and you want to get an email copy of the bonly uh call sorry I'm Long window tonight the economic development committee met and discussed the Main Street New Jersey webinar that I also attended which is derived from a national nonprofit parent organization some of the topics the EDC U members want to look at as part of the designation it's really not a Grant application it's a designation it's how to get a more CES of downtown um Can the grants and National branding assist in that effort how can the EDC work directly with property owners to hear their challenges and needs and wants and as a result of the conversation the committee will work uh to put together a round table of landlords and that's going to be our priority for 2024 um other important meetings this month included an update with residents who live near the sewer plant including a very robust discussion on our o odor studying findings as as well as the suggested remedies uh the new digestor covers have been ordered and expected in 7 to eight weeks our consultant is of the belief that this will reduce the most problematic and likely pungent odors around the plant we had a very positive talking continue the dialogue keep the dialogue open our next meetings we're going to meet with the residents every other month so March May September going to skip the summer and November um and dates have been set without as well John knows he attended as well uh likewise I am pleased and proud of the number of residents I think you're hearing it too um nonprofit organizations and businesses who have reached out that want to be some part of the marriage Wellness committee um we have one last seat to fill preferably will go to a Berkeley ha student then a meeting schedule can be set um the ideas and enthusiasm are plentiful really great ideas um so we'll have no shortage of events right John yes uh our CFO lies and I started our internal budget meetings our weekly staff meetings have also returned and here are some very very tentative dates so don't hold us to it but we want to try to have on March 11th the public hearing which is really the working session with all of our directors of course the public can come and listen into that um we're going to make an effort to introduce the budget on March 19th with final adoption on April 16th to ensure the 20day comment period is it here to between introduction and adoption um want to thank the leadership of the Suburban Chamber of Commerce for hosting the Ann annual mayor's round table it's always a great discussion I really enjoyed presenting and collaborating with my colleagues from New Providence and Summit mayor Mor and I welcome mayor Fagan to to Summit in the mayor seat again thank you to everyone who made the Lunar New Year and ey popping beautiful celebration of life and renewal for everyone in our community community and as I said that evening this is truly an organic event comprised so many wonderful Volunteers in our town so we appreciate you and all you do and I think that concludes my report so pleas report Sherman as pepper Town revitalization Projects are moving forward our streetscapes comp company arterial is submitting 60% complete design plans to the do next week for initial review our presentation in the question and answer session um from the January 18th Public Information Center can be found on our website also working with our historical Architects conell and hickey on the latel Lord restoration we have a two-e progress report forthcoming um from the contractor those uh updates are also put on our website under uh Berkeley Heights history and then under latel Lord we be applying again for the 2024 New Jersey historic trust grant for continued restoration work Connell and hickey is helping with that application when it comes to street lights being out we are highly encouraging residents to please report your street light outages directly to jcpnl if you Google jcpnl report an outage the link comes right up as well as a phone number if you prefer to call it they really prefer a residents call in these outages because then you can send them the picture of the poll number which they need to identify the poll not an address not a street name not an intersection but they need that poll number that you can upload um especially because we're trying to light up Berkeley Heights as much as possible with attempted crime going on um the more dark spots we can light up the better so please report those directly to jcpnl just as we were sort of talking about today in the staff meeting take a look around sometimes we don't notice that one of our street lights are you know up and down the street you don't notice that the lights are off and then um suddenly you realize it or it may be dark so please just take a moment look around and see if there are any uh lights that are out and then report them yes thank you um it's Prime Grant application time we're sending grant opportunities to the pertinent departments and committees um and the grants committee is helping out as needed with that uh we're working with uh our federal contacts on the westside drainage project we have 500,000 coming from the federal government for that um there will be a public meeting on the West Side drainage project on March 19th during our regular council meeting this meeting is required as part of our Federal EPA grant for this project uh we're also working with the state on next steps for our safe roots to school SNY of sidewalk construction project which we are doing this year as well as Safe Streets to Transit Sherman AV which is helping with a shav revitalization uh it's pet license renewal time um please check the clerk's page of the website uh for all the information you need to register or renew your pet reg uh license um neglia our engineering company is doing initial survey work on Boral Bristol for their drainage and Paving project coming up there's so if anybody sees a guy sitting in a car or walking the streets we've already had at least one call about it those are Engineers from Neo they'll normally have like a fluorescent uh um Jersey on right um we're also working with DPW and Engineering to solidify our 2024 road paving list as always this will depend on how much money we have approved in this year's budget and how much grant funding we get and just to piggyback on what councilwoman PO says about um the sewer drains we're finding a lot of grease in the sewer pipes this is from people putting grease either cooking grease or whatever other kind of Grease directly down your sink this is causing grease to cake up and actually cause sewer backups into people's homes especially people who have basement please please please wipe out your your pots and pans before you put them in the sink yes like it's amazing how much grease has has been clogging these pipes and we have to pay a company to come in and literally cut it all out we just have to do had to do that over ironically in Susan's part of town um a couple weeks ago so it's if it's happening there it's happening everywhere in town um so this is this is a major issue so please help us take care of our infrastructure I ask is that PowerPoint up on the website now for people to take a look at they the fog one I I have it up I have to put it up tomorrow fog is fat spils gree and um it's an educational piece to kind of tell you what you can do to prevent that from going down our drains and also surprisingly tissues also should not go down toilet nothing only toilet paper only toilet paper um the Berkeley Heights Police uh also has a new initiative regarding lights on their police cars just to note um this month many of their patrol cars started using a high visibility feature allowing them to make their presence felt in a non non-emergency manner lights will just glow instead of flashing so don't freak out and think that they're pulling you over don't be alarmed uh they're just trying to take a proactive approach to crime prevention so that they are seen around town anybody who might be driving around wanting to cause some Mischief uh Recreation senior Valentine's lunch is February 9th at 11:30 just show up down here in the big uh Gathering Room off the lobby uh our spring Recreation booklet is out for viewing registration began February 5ifth this is for kids of all ages as well as seniors and adults there's programs for everyone um Rec is working on booking venues for this Summer's popular Teen Scene travel Camp calendar will be published in the next few weeks because yes it is that time of year when you're planning your kids summer activities uh looking into they're looking into running a ski trip also through Recreation for kids grades 7 through 10 on Sunday March 3rd more information will be published on the rec website um when the information is out there's also going to be new classes offered the spring ballroom dancing um from 6:30 to 7:30 on Thursday evenings and they will also be offering line dancing on Mondays for seniors here at Town Hall Flyers will be posted uh as to the start date as well as will also be on the website that's all thank you very good thank you laza no one's on there to Cloe it out but I will yeah absolutely I move that all Town official report be accepted and approv second any discussion call Mr Kudo yes Mrs donnal yes Mr Foster Mr matado yes Mrs po yes that I move to open the citizens hearing second any discussion roll call Mr Kudo yes Mr dony Mr buer Mr Machado Mrs po yes okay the citizen hearing is now open with the same rules and effect that I read earlier this evening I did try to make it two degrees warmer in here and it was cold I'm cold my so you hear me anyway Natalie Chen 60 d Drive andus Chen same first off I want to thank all the council members all of you sorry sorry okay now I have to step back uh all of you attended this is the first time that all council members attended a diversity event so thank you again for responding and participating um I do want to have special thanks to the organizers obviously Angus uh Tiffany and Scott Chang Ley Linda Mian suso Chris Wang and Stephanie SAR which is all Berkeley Heights residents obviously and of course uh the ongoing partnership with the summit uh area Y for the last eight years so we've been uh partnering with them and of course I want to uh shout out the wonderful sponsors so brookley highest diversity Council Hans academy by local New Jersey and the area uh Summit area why MCA and Asian food market who sponsor all the snacks that was in there and of course the wonderful volunteers that is local residents that participated and always contribute so I want to give a shout out because they made it possible for um it to me mentioned so John mentioned there was a lot of people so we had over 450 people attended that event and I'm really proud that a lot of uh our residents enjoy them themselves with the games and food and uh performances again we're always looking for volunteers for all and more organizers for these diversity event because it's so important to make it ongoing and More in interesting because your ideas are always great so I'll turn it over to Angus yes we're vampires we need your blood um um also I want to highlight the the lovely um Black History Month by reason I just had earlier and to speak on behalf of the diversity Council about the upcoming um Bob Marley One Love movie event that we will try to organize we'll post information as as we as it develops and then we'll have a talk talk as well to discuss the movie um and thank you John for acknowledging B Marley's birthday this month do you have a location not yet we're hoping to do it at a local theater maybe Cinemark or something like that but we've got to figure those details out very nice all right yeah thank you so much and thank you to you too for all you do because it's not just Lunar New Year you guys are everywhere for every event whether it's cultural diversity just window you're always there supported in the community so thank you for all you do May little things like signs like that it's a little stuff that makes no it's a little stuff that means a lot and you put it all together and it's really great it really is thank you thank you thanks hi Tom lard from SNY I just want to thank the mayor and John for forming a veterans committee with actual veterans on it I mean that means a lot to us uh it's been uh 56 years since Ted offens of and uh uh myself and half my platoon uh I lost half my platoon that day so but we want to not forget anybody or forget anything but we feel that not just veterans that maybe fought in a war or anything we we want to honor all veterans whether you served overseas or not I think that's important but I I do want to thank you for forming that committee stuff thank you we should thank you all that you've done you had a remarkable story if you guys have a moment Google Lombardi he has a remarkable remarkable story and he's like a a world-renowned softball player you just got back from Florida right yes and you won the championship right or the tournament that's all that matters yeah that's the other I didn't want to call out your age I would fall down if I tried to do that so that's amazing you're remarkable thank you anyone else coming up no with that I make a motion to close the Citizen's hearing I'll second that any discussion R call Mr Kudo yes yes Mr yes Mr matado yes yes okay we do not have executive session this evening so may I have a motion to adjourn all in favor all right have a great night everybody Valentine's Day enjoy the sunshine super