##VIDEO ID:tg6RzP3XJVY## so I'd like to welcome everybody here tonight this is a reorganization meeting and a workshop meeting of the buau of Bloomingdale January 7th 2025 like to call this meeting to order by to salute to the flag i al to the flag of the United States of America which stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all okay step down well again welcome everybody here tonight I hope everybody had a healthy and um really good Christmas and New Year's uh 20124 for the burrow of Bloomingdale we accomplished quite a bit we secured um I think one of the biggest grants in Bloomingdale's history of $750,000 to put towards and we're going to redo the entire B Park um up by the pond up there we also secured open space grants from the county to piggy back on to that it's a $1.2 million project and that we we hopefully is going to starttime April or May um unfortunately we're going to have to close the park down for a little bit CU we have to do the demo but um we're going to have a sty Art Park in our town which is great and it's through Green Acres and open space so that's really uh a benefit for our town and uh our kids in the town to go have a good area to play um the other things we've done in town we've accomplished we redid All of Hilltop Terrace sidewalks curving Paving um was a huge another Grant um that we got for up there we redid Orchard Street Wallace Street and Chestnut like uh Hamilton Hilltop Hilltop this year and uh Wallace and Orchard and we did the curbs and sidewalks on walls and Orchard which is a really nice accomplishment so pretty much our Paving um plan that we have going back starting in 2012 it was a 10-year plan but that we just continued so every year we're going to do improvements on streets 2025 we're going to be doing Kon street with Curbing and Paving and some drainage work and Bell will get repaid um the curbs on bellab are really good shape so we're going to do those two streets so that's an added grant that we got for um to do those two streets we also in 2024 we worked on our our flood mitigation um project down in uh in the Flats on the belly Brook which is alongside um vanam that we always have flooding for years what we found out and we worked with the county the county came in the county owns all the crossings on those streets from TI actually from Walnut all the way down to Chestnut a little Bridge as you go over they're County Bridges so we contacted the county and they worked with us they came in and cleaned them all out and we did a dredging project the year before so we mitigated a lot of the flooding issues down on um in that side of town um it won't totally go away because it's named the flats for a reason and it's um but it really improved the the flooding problems down there especially the people on the corner Chestnut and vanam their backyards were underwater for a long time now the last storms um the brook is flown pretty free and our goal is to continue from Chestnut down to the um down to banic River and dredge all back there so that also help our funding problem in land there just some of the few things that we accomplished in 20124 um so we we're very proud as a as a bur of councel and um for me as a mayor to to get all these projects done and meanwhile we work to make sure our taxes are as low as possible that we get continue to do the work that we're doing so that's um a lot of a lot of accomplishment and really I like to it's really kudos to our ba Mike sire he worked with our grant company that we hired last year to secure all these grants where they're being professionally written now so um that's also helping big time Mike and his staff are are unbelievable for the work they've done in this past year and as always I have to say um our boss here that keeps us all together is Brian Smith municipal clerk you know I have a boss at home a CH our boss here so it's it's really nice but she keeps us up to date and keeps everything moving if any of us have questions she's right there to uh to handle it or she go find the answer for it so be really reely for you thank you thank you all right tonight is um really big all right I just want to congratulate Evie and John on your on your election and tonight we're going to do a swearing in of both of them uh first we're going to swear in Eevee and i' like to invite up senator panacho to do the swearing any of your family want to come up Happy New Year everybody to hear you I state your name I EVN SCH to solemnly swear to solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the government's established and to the governments established in the United States and in this state in the United States and in this State under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of all the duties of the office of council woman the office of council woman threeyear term threee term according to the best of my abilities according to the best of my abilities so help me God so help me God congratulations [Applause] no where do we sign for on the right hand she'll sign on the right on the top he can or I can yeah she can sign on the right he would sign on the left you on the unless you want me want switch places switch places thank you good job yes absolutely abut thank you um thank you mayor mayor and Council um for all that you do and for welcoming me welcomeing me um to participate in all things Bloomingdale the last time I was up here uh I was sworn in 3 years ago uh January 4th and the time has flown by uh there's was a lot to learn and I still have a lot of questions and just like mayor said I just want to say thank you so much to Mike sandar Brianna Smith for uh being important pillars uh which I think um this entire like Township is really supported with you um and I I stole the quote it said something uh you're not um you're not just cogs in the machine they are the machine itself um and also Jasmine another big help because uh all these budget questions I really very confusing stuff and it's uh um frustrating like I have a lot of constituents that that ask questions and I asked them questions to try to give some answers but um anyway anyway thank you uh senator ponacho for taking your time out of your schedule to swear me in this was very special um and I'm going to just throw out a fun fact we're both from Brooklyn New York Al so uh I I left when I was born pretty much a couple months back later but um uh he is doing what he's doing a a lot longer time than me um uh since 1998 I um moris County Board of uh chosen freeholders and has been acknowledged as a guardian of small businesses since 2008 which I thought that was awesome because um the lack of businesses that we have in town and how important that is I think um um it' be nice to add a little bit of uh of that to to our town um we both love New Jersey because we're still here and um we're we're dedicating part of our Lives to make uh where we live a a great place I'd like to thank um Peter Murphy that is our County Republican chairman he's helped me a lot um and supporting me buying those lawn signs that you see um magnets t-shirts sanitizers reusable bags all kinds of little things whatever it takes and it only took two votes this time and it was a struggle and it was like a little bit of a but anyway I'm here and I'm I'm I'm working for you guys um next um I need to uh the motivation and energy that powers me to get to work every day and perhaps even function as my family my boys they're not here Tyler he had to leave yesterday because of that snowstorm to drive to Virginia to get on the train because he wanted to beat the snow and he starts classes tomorrow and of course stepen he's in California he's now a sergeant and he leads 12 guys over there and um but I have my hus with me um which reminds me so so my son Stephen that's now a sergeant in California um he couldn't attend because he was working um and he couldn't make Christmas but he did make his dad's retirement uh in July he was here for a month and I'm happy to have my husband here with me that has supported me through this journey as a wife a mom now Council woman um for 29 years she's a great dad and husband and I love how F he is around the house now because he's there all the time he's retired so I appreciate him saying of course I don't he appr he says he loves saying it's all pension no all pension no tension um because I have to come you to Radford everything but that's still okay bring you home some bacon um my they're my whole world but then um I'm ex grateful for everybody everybody that voted for me even though even though it was very close and I know she's going to be up here eventually because she's a great girl Jen um but um I like like and two votes which was probably my two sons that were mail which is fine with me I was bagging them to bring those votes in it worked out so anyway some of my neighbors are here um and they're like my family and I depend on them a lot because my dog you know she needs a little help and they they watch over us and that's what it's all about and I think Debbie and Pastor Chuck and I see my Evelyn over there she might be running one day and lots of great neighbors and I appreciate that um so I just want to say as a Le on to the mayor um I I help him whatever I can the senior citizens in this town are awesome um they really have a lot of great um events and things for State Squad they are uh they they do a lot with a little bit I don't know if anybody has a lot of money out there to donate some money to that Tri bur they they need equipment they need things um and umel youth club they won the Super Bowl this year the parents there are awesome they're always working and cleaning the field um some of uh of course the library I work with the the liaison the library they are some very creative people and they always want to give to the public excellent service um whether in for um forms of fun library programs activities for seniors first aid Healthcare EMT so many great aspects to live in this town um and if I can imprint any longlasting message to the residents of Bloomingdale would be to get involved to participate to share your knowledge um if you can paint if you can knit if you're a crafty person um let your library know Aaron the rec center um everybody you know after the pandemic it was very lonely and there was a lot of people dying which was horrible but I think we're all coming out we're all doing things they're low cost some are free I like it when it's free when people donate their time it's great but um and of course our DPW our Police Department um I just want um my gosh I can't read now um uh an our DPed Police Department is wonderful and you s you seldomly hear anything ill about them and um I just um if you have a critique or something don't do it on social Med media contact our you know Department office and state your grievances there take care of it um this is a team we're here to help you and I hope I get the next three years will be great thank [Applause] you now she cut into some of John's time all right before John comes down just a couple introductions that I miss we have our former mayor here Craig oens leer also on the board of b i Bernie and we also have Pastor Chuck from the church of nazarine up in bu he's always here for us he asked to come out and he supports our town wholeheartedly Memorial Day veterans day um so it's it's great to see see you all here all right come on today former mayor Anthony grao retired judge and John's dad will be swearing all right you might want to talk to Evelyn's husband he seems to spend too much time around the house careful youing this just like that there you go this is another Anthony repeat me I John Graziano I John Graziano do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the saint that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and the governments established in the United States and in the state and the governments established in the United States and the state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties of the office of counsilman perform all the duties of the office of councilmen according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God [Applause] is [Music] you're welcome thank you first I want to express my gratitude to my dad Anthony Graziano not only did you honor Me by performing the swearing in ceremony but you also set a powerful example in committing to Public Service throughout your life he and my mom recognize the importance of getting involved in making their Community a better place for all I also thank my wife KY my daughter Scarlet my son Anthony your unwavering support and the sacrifices you make every day allow me the opportunity to dedicate my energy to the work needed to serve the bur you all embody the spirit of volunteerism and service and I'm incredibly grateful for everything that you do to make our town stronger I am lucky to have you all by my side I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported and helped me to get to this point today your encouragement guidance and commitment have been invaluable and to the residents of Bloomingdale I thank you for entrusting me with the responsibility to serve as your representative it is a privilege I take to heart and I promise to work tirelessly on your behalf as I stand here today I renew my pledge to give everything I have in this role I will dedicate the time energy and research needed so that I always place myself in the best position to make the right and sometimes difficult decisions that are needed to ensure the continued growth and success of bloomingville I truly believe that the best days for Bloomingdale are ahead of us together with my colleagues here on the governing body I look forward to Leading Bloomingdale forward we will work collectively with all stakeholders to meet any challenge identify any opportunity and to have the courage to take bold action our work will not be easy but we will never stop our Relentless and uh pursuit to continually improve Bloomingdale and make it a better place for all thank you [Applause] okay that concludes our saring in ceremony um we're going to go into our our regular meeting i' like to thank everybody for coming out tonight uh on the special occasion their first meeting in the year is always a fun one um and then during the year they get kind of crazy but that's all right um so again thank you for coming out um stay warm all right and if you know if anybody knows of anybody that has issues with heat in the house they need a place to go we will find a warming place for them to come they can come here um we do have places for people that um that have problems with eating or or whatever we will help out so just reach out to our our office and we'll come out and make sure that there's uh a place for them to go until they get repaired or it gets a little bit warmer um so again thank you I appreciate it and um I think we're going to take just a f minute break okay so if you guys want to do family pictures or have any questions for us we're here for that so thank you at 7:31 and we'll start off with roll call Mayor deato here councilman Broner pres councilman Catalano here councilman Graziano here councilwoman Hudson here councilwoman Schubert here councilman Yi here uh we also have our Miss cler Brianna Smith business administrator Michael sire and B attorney Dawn Sullivan this meeting is called to presum of the provision of the open public meetings law adequate notice of this meeting was advertised in the Harold news on December 23rd 2024 copies were provided to the local news media and posted continuously in a municipal building a copy of this notes is available to the public and on file in the office of Municipal clerk as per state fire code I am required to acknowledge that there are two emergency exits in this council chambers the main entrance which you enter through in a secondary exit to the left of where I am seated if there is an emergency walk orderly to the exit exit through the door down the stairs and out the building there any questions please raise your hand seeing none um we do not have any n agenda items can I have a motion to open up early public comment second all in favor I I anyone wishing to speak please come up seeing no one a motion to close second all in favor I okay item number eight motion for appointment of council president my nominee is councilman yai do I have a motion yeah I make that motion second roll call rur yes calano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes Shubert yes gassie I re you I thank you all okay nice okay uh item number nine uh mayal appointments with advice of the council uh consent of the council resolution number 2025 1.1 through number 2025 1.8 do I have a motion second roll call Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes Shubert yes yasi yes brur yes okay Item B Municipal officers resolution number 20 25 1.9 through number 2025 1.33 do I have a motion roll call Graziano yes Hudson yes Shubert yes yasi yes brst yes Catalano yes okay item C Municipal boards and commissions resolution 2025 1.34 through number 2025 1.37 do I have a motion so move I have a second second roll call Hudson yes Hubert yes gazi yes roners yes Catalano yes Graziano yes okay item D Municipal boards and commissions resolution 2025 1.38 through 2025 1.44 do I have motion a motion second roll call please Shubert yes yazzy yes Bron Hurst yes Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes good item a resolution 2025 1.45 government body committees and citizen committees do I have a motion so Mo second roll call please yasid yes Broner yes Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes Shubert yes I making this too easy okay item F resolution number 2025 1.46 appointment of government body leaz do I have a motion second roll call please frur yes Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes Shubert gassie yes okay okay it it number 10 resolution 2025 1.47 consent agenda have a motion on the consent agenda okay um which is 1 2025 1.47 through 2025 1.75 any questions on this roll call Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes Schubert yes yasi yes Bron Hurst yes okay these special business this next section you can do them together I could do them right it's 176 to 94 24 yes okay special business adoption of resolution 2025 1.76 to 2025 1.94 these are basically just our contracts with all our vendors do I have a motion second any questions on this roll call Graziano yes Hudson yes Hubert yes yazy yes Bron CST yes Catalano yes okay item 12 new business adops of resolution number 2025 1.95 authorized in the temporary 2025 budget do I have a motion move second any questions roll call Hudson yes Shubert yes Yi yes Bron Hurst yes Catalano yes Graziano yes Item B adoption of resolution number 2025 1.96 authorized on minimum wage for shelter staff do I have a motion second any questions on that see done roll call please Shubert yes yasie yes Bron yes Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes okay item C adoption of resolution number 2025 1.97 renewed shared service agreement with Butler water andwer billing and collection this is just simple Butler does our billing for our our water and sewer um do I have a motion second and it went up 2% and it went up 2% like everything else cont yeah okay um roll call please gassie yes brur yes Catalano yes Graziano yes Hudson yes Shubert yes good okay item 13 lay public comment to have a motion to go to lay public comment second all in favor anyone wishing to speak please come up see you no one motion to close second all in favor okay John yes we didn't um do any discussion coun I did want to mention one thing hold on a second do we goe thing only because it's coming up but the free R is coming up January 11th in Kon 1 to 3 March 11th in Riverdale from 11 to1 okay um so the next one is this this Saturday okay and that's in kenel on Bloomdale is already done k okay and just for the council's uh noticed we have a grand opening on Saturday at 11:00 at um L&B clothing in Riverside Square yes which is down by magpi okay and just you for a note for everybody up here is does this year we opened up about nine new stores in town yeah I think it was about nine yeah nine so the our main street is filling back up again especially down by Walgreens we've had three new stor doors open up down there um blooming deal deals and the um vintage t-shirts and Sarah's Thrift sh sh's thrift Thrift which is nice um just a little update on on Food Town um for what we're hearing it's not definite is there's a possibility they're going to reopen by the end of the month all right so um that's the word on the street that we um we found out hopefully everything will go through and that store will be back open okay all right our next meeting regular meeting is January uh 21st at 7 p.m and a workshop meeting February 4th at 7 p.m. do I have a motion to adjourn we do second all in favor thank you all thank you all for coming