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com she I have an interesting problem with my water audit my meter is in the basement the house is 140 years old and it's in the basement and it's about 8 in from the
roof I can't get my head in to read it so I got a I got a mirror I was going so now I have have a mirror image of what so I had to estimate evidently when they do the
water for billing they do it out on the street they uncover this thing and they look in there and then they screw it back on because they're not they're not doing it my they've never had anyone come to my house to read my water meter everything El
few see [Music] real [Music] mon ES small your mics on in compliance with the open public meetings Act of
1975 adequate notice of this meeting has been provided if any member has reason to believe that this meeting is being held in violation of this act they should they should state so at this time seeing none Pledge of Allegiance IED the United States
of good job Charlotte uh roll call Dave sure Mike Mike Jones yes councilman bner here Christopher Gretchen here
Kimberly Randall Justine Barbara here Sarah here Charlotte myself okay we have the minutes of the February 25 anybody have any additions or corrections to
that if not is there a motion to approve so made second I'll second all in favor say I I okay on um old business planning board we really have had no applications we do
have a couple coming up shortly there's a lot of uh it's not it's just it's just a lot of stuff that the pl that the count wants us to review and for mainat for long-term planning that type of thing and that's what we're talking about tonight
also uh Steve you have a comment on Council report yes uh a couple matters um one um hope everybody saw the Press announcement um for today but uh yesterday the land swap was approved for
the um approving the the location where anticipate the police station is going to be built with the area um for the soul track so it's been in the works for a long long time as everybody knows it was approved and um I think Paul unless
there's anything else I think we're we're probably ready to just move forward in the in the way that the the city would move forward with that correct approval okay but yesterday was a big was a big day a really big day so
um we're moving moving forward with that so that's a big a big big plus and a big step for the city I ask a question was the land vacated by the SE track just additional Lots or sections that was adjacent to the preserved land that was
City owned and then I I just was curious what land was swapped what land Paul it was it was City owned it was City owned land there not part of the St track right right I figured that's that's correct yeah it was city-owned property adjacent to the SE track that that was
was preserved not too far from the church right adjacent to the church was it like the Kate May Avenue Extension area it was it was a whole set of lots that were along yeah and it's about what about six a little more than six acres
we we preserve six acres for less than a 2/10 of an acre can uh so has there been any discussion about any passive Recreation or improvements
or anything with the SE trct at this point well that's all D property right so that would be discussion for them but I have not heard of any passive Recreation for that no okay it was has it been conveyed to D site well we just was approved
yesterday so we talk I'm talking about the so tract itself yeah that's all been and I thought there was there's no plans for it's passive use in that thing I thought there were plans to re to redevelop that not to my knowledge I mean there have been discussions there's
been discussions but yeah about it I just wondered if you had heard any I have not any updates from the D of what their use of the property is going to be okay okay um in addition to that Paul since
you're here I don't know if it's um I'll just mention this I know there've been really good discussions going on as far as with um adding Beach mats east of convention and uh we an anticipate moving forward
with that very very soon we have to still we're going through the procurement process but we're hoping to have them out on the beach before the start of the Season how far down think I knew you're going to ask that had Public Works um we're trying to get
down to Madison okay I we're hoping to be able to get to madis I think it's fabulous having that stuff there by the way yes it's been great so part of that's going to depend on as far as how far it goes is just how much we're going to be able to procure and corre taking it as far down as as we can get towards Madison with the budget dollars that we
had allocated yep yeah so uh it's it's been a great project I I agree that the mats we have as well they're they're used all the time I mean I've been going out there the past couple weeks people are people are walking on them um it's become kind of like the the beach
prominade to a certain degree you see a group of people walking there just as well as you see people up up on the pr on um and uh yeah it's h it's going to be great seeing down the other end Town how far long are we on on phas 4 how's that coming along on left yet so the
Park's been designed we still have to submit for a cafer permit for that so most likely well it's going to the phasing will be uh we hope to get final authorization from Council because we're going to need some you know to go to bid for the project during
the summer break ground in this on the police building the walkway is being done now though correct we're so yeah the walkway is being done now the nature trails that that should be done by that's what I thought phase four June yeah yeah I I get I always get confused
with the yeah so that's should be done by June and access from that will be from Broad Street I guess so it's going to we're we're hoping to have two access points to it one from Broad Street but also from uh from Lafayette Okay so part
we're doing I'll say that the front phase of the park is is going to start where we're building essentially a sidewalk from Lafayette back to the nature trails bot ball court the new dog park and an open space area we'll be great have an area for like a helicopter
type yes yep okay yep so that both of those phases will be done by June would um the city be open and I don't know if this is something that would go to the uh civic affairs Rec Department to offer
nature walks guided nature walks back there yeah I don't know if we're gonna I mean I can do it I'm retired I would offer to do that for the city that you know something that would that would be yeah that would be coordinated through
David and civic affairs there really is no problem to have that done right no no it wouldn't yeah okay I'll talk to you we got to you want to pump that up as much as you can because that's a I mean it's it's great it's a great it's going to be a great facility for the residents
and I live right right near there so and uh I know you said they just approved the swap but now when do you think are the bids out for the for that kind of a for the for the police building yet or no that's what I was about start to say we're anticipating putting the bids out depending on when we get final
approval of the plans U over the summer to try to break ground in September and it's right at the corner of of St John's and and yep Lafayette and the parking lot for that will that is there a parking lot there behind this there'll be a small parking
lot on St John and then phase the next phase of that for Lafayette Street Park will be the larger parking lot and then the hard court surfaces okay for basketball and tennis and pickle ball okay good anybody else have any questions on
our manager thanks for being here Paul thanks Paul thank you always available um the last thing I wanted to mention is um Gretchen thank you very much for um your feedback that you had provided regarding the Lafayette Street
Park plantings and as far as the materials that information has been passed along through through David so um you know they have that for consideration so and that's what I have to report Paul just just I know he just mentioned
it but just so you know that whenever they use whenever they start planning that again as far as finishing that stuff up please include us on as far as the the plantings and whatnot because it really would help us to get it done right up front
yeah okay Justine's not here yet maybe she'll show up but we did have that well Dave you were there you want to you want to say something about the the audit thing with with the uh Columbia people you want to say something about that
um a new business under a new business yeah I mean I don't want to speak on her behalf um I know that there's interns that came to the D Building um to do tour and within there was uh I think half of the the tour for the interns
were engineers other half were writers I'm not sure exactly what the writers would do on their ends they had they had a meeting here in this yeah they did they did um they they had a meeting here um but I know and this was my part on the on the new business was that um they're actually going to come back and
do an official council meeting um recap of their findings at the daau um with their a they on their end just when Justin shows up I we she can talk yeah I'm sorry I I'm not exactly sure the whole back end of it but I I know they're at the esa building I believe they've been here for a couple weeks
when I was at I was at the meeting and they were they had was a bunch of Columbia students maybe eight of them maybe I don't know six or eight of them yeah there's a fair amount yeah plus a plus one of the professors who was kind of like tying it all together and those PE those girl those people were pretty bright I mean
they were they I mean I'm not sure how real world they are but you start to ask them questions and they they had answers for it but I'll let Justine talk about that when she when she comes anything else Dave no just my end was how they're
going to um come and do a full presentation to city council that meeting hasn't been picked yet but they will come and kind of present their findings so grat you up you want to talk about what you were mentioning me earlier about uh yeah the so
the uh anjac the association New Jersey environmental commission uh stewardship grants the cycle is coming up for a $1,500 Grant which is I think it's miday um that it's due or the 10th I
don't the exact date but the Garden Club I mentioned this previously that the Garden Club reached out to us to see if we could do that again and get plants for the water tower garden which was
awarded in 2017 I think um and um you know I met with their uh Joanne damer who is the like the head of the garden Club to take care of the garden that was put
in and I said yeah we could probably do do something together um but it's a $1,500 Grant and I don't think that we need to give them $1,500 worth of plants for that Garden um I started thinking about something
that we could do we have several small community gardens we've got the water conservation Garden off of Madison we have this water tower Garden um you know there's what the post office isn't that part of the post
office uh the mukan uh the Historical Society Garden you could say the Nature Center Gardens because it's on City owned property we have all these Gardens and it would be kind of cool to link them somehow and um
it could be linked with like a map or a scavenger hunt we used to have a Kate May bicycle scavenger hunt um which brought people around the town to look for signs and all that we could use that concept to encourage people to walk to
these Gardens or to um you know ride their bike there and then you know maybe even at each Garden you have some wooden Monarch now there's the big
Monarch with you stand in front of at the Nature Center which maybe two years ago we gave it a paint job and cleaned it up it looks really good there's also the Monarch on the side of the Pink House Victorious the store which is a
store but possibly we could ask them if they would like to help underwrite this you know the printing of this so I could reach out to them to see if you know maybe they'd give $500 that could cover the printing
but anyway that's where I'm thinking now to get plant material to enhance all these Gardens cuz the truth is I went out to the Garden at the water tower to see what was there and I got a copy of the book it's not necessarily a native plant
garden in the grant the grant called for it to be native plants and pollinator friendly plants and it's it's okay but half of the things are things like crepe myrtles and hydrangeas and akuba and
things that are not native plants and they have no benefits for pollinators so I'm not saying that we have to take them out I always say to people that's like a good skeleton it's good bones to the Garden but certainly could be enhanced more and the other thing about that
Garden the water um tower garden I don't know if you know it it's set back I would mentioned it to someone and they're like where's that I don't know you know I never noticed it before so there is a sign that was put but I think
by maybe expanding the sign Garden lots of colors it's going to bring people draw them into that when they're walking down Colombia I guess that is to to want to walk in to make it
more inviting so yes to to do that um again that's that's the application that I would like to put together um I don't know if anybody wants to work on it with me I wouldn't mind I mean
it's not a difficult it's a couple Pages application I don't know if we need to go to City Council propose this idea or we just go ahead and apply for it and we get it and then we say hey just go ahead and apply for whatever
just go ahead and apply for yeah um yeah so that's that's what I'm thinking um and there's a deadline on that yeah it's miday it's like the 10th or the 15th the the the crazy thing is it's it's a very
quick turnaround you apply and like two weeks later you know if you got it and then so grants based on what I can see are awarded June 1st and then you have until June 1st of the next year to do it now
the issue would be it would be great if I know I can get some of these plants from the nature Center's plant sale which is though the month before it's awarded so I mean I can talk to the to the folks at
the Nature Center if you know because we probably could get like just a little bit above wholesale prices and and everything so we we could we could do a lot I think by enhancing each of
the gardens with these plants that are going to attract butterflies and other pollinators and pop of color that's really what we want is there anything in our budget do you think that we could move to to help along this to buy stuff any idea I don't know I I don't want to put
you on the spot but I can look into it look into it yeah for sure find some money there that we could just move to to help us I mean if we we ordered the plants we C the Nature Center could just not bill us until you know June F June 2nd or whatever it's
just we're making a commitment that we're going to buy those plants and if we don't get the Grant I mean I think the the Garden Club could probably cover their couple hundred dollars worth um and I'm not saying you know I have to
play around with numbers I would not do $1,500 in Plants Maybe you know $800 in plants and and you know 700 for printing and for creating this map uh signage I don't know simple
signage or it could be yeah I mean could be I I mean I love that idea of educational signs of the importance of pollinators and why you would do this but that could also be done on the map
you know information which we could put on the website um you might be able to one thing is say we had these little cutouts of Monarch butterflies and it's like you know treasure hunt the kids have to find
them and you could have a QR code on it then that they find more information um I like you know a lot of things are possible good thoughts Gretchen but that's what I was thinking for now and if we didn't do the planting we
could it gives us all until like a whole year and you can find the plants at we could get the plants in June but I like the idea of like doing this and so it might be ready for the summer and it's like an
activity that if we're doing G you know nature walks on the trail we can give out a little car to the participants and say now here's my challenge go find all the butterflies around town and uh you know it could be
it could be interactive and fun I don't you know I don't know at the nature trail um I know they the the Lafayette Street park has some
plantings I mean that could be added you know the map we could make the map so that once the Project's done that gets added too um check and see if we have any money if we could spend some money for for
plantings I mean maybe we could do that for this year and next year we could use that money this money for for next year I know that the the woman at the Garden Club was talking about well maybe making a seating area over there well there are benches there and I
the benches are there's first of all there's like three different styles of benches which again maybe when they do Harbor View Park the idea is to kind of redo that and there's a a hodg podge of bench benches there maybe find you know
four benches that are the Sim similar style and nice and they could be moved over there the reason they're you know what is that Coastline realy that's over there their office um not Coastline what's the other
one whatever in front of Dr Foster's office it is it is Coastline so there's a there's Coastline realy and then there's maybe some pine trees the benches are there
it's because it's Shady there and otherwise you'd be putting benches out in the sun um so I think I don't think we have to spend money on that I think there's possibility of taking benches from another
place um and just you know situating them in a in a better inviting style and maybe that's something too when Harbor View Park gets done which what is the what what's the
status of that like just developing the final plans so we can put it up okay is there like uh fall 2025 construction okay you know maybe at that time then you kind of assess what
benches stay there and where the others could be used in the other Gardens so anyway those are my ideas okay all right so we we'll wait to You'll kind of follow through on doing the doing the application you're okay
with this idea I'll work on the application um I just want to see if we can get any other money too that might help us in our planning okay uh Charlotte I guess you're up you want us to talk about clean
energy sure thank you so um certainly looking at today's world and across our country um it's in my estimation healthy
environment a legal right and there are so many case studies that can be cited um to show us that Global climates through carbon dioxide release is kind
of messing with our beautiful world so um we know that our commission and we all are just trying to do our part daily um and in thoughtful ways so today I'd like
to just go over a few of the reports that I looked at this month and um March the 7th there happened to be um scientists
across the US who were standing up for Science and um they were demonstrating actually in Washington DC in front of the Lincoln Memorial and that was March the
7th and um they were saying that they believe there is an unprecedented anti-science agenda that's trying to take over our
thinking here in the US and then I'd like to also mention that um there are some really wonderful positive things that are happening in our country um for
example in the Appalachian coal mines um there are some 17 Queen energy projects that are going to be built and
and in Tennessee Virginia and Kentucky former coal mines will have clean energy projects in the form of solar Farms so that's pretty
exciting and then in South Carolina something wonderful is happening ing to the Carolina's clean energy Business Association the solar
energy in South Carolina will have a wonderful solar Factory online very shortly this Foundry will become the
largest producer of solar cells in the unit United States and what's exciting about it is the incom and for our project says something like this
South Carolina is expected to increase nearly fourfold by 2035 the solar industry there and that will show an annual economic activity
of millions and millions of dollars and by 2024 almost a billion dollars by 2035 not only that but there will be a
surge in the opportunity of creating more than ,300 permanent jobs with generating 260 million annual dollars in labor
income another positive is that recently in New Jersey um New Jersey has come up with a new jersey climate super fund
act and that was published the bill was published in March 11 with over 100 new
jerseyans will make New Jersey more affordable and resilient by re in corporate clutter to pay for damages caused by climate change interestingly
that is going forward and then another article which was put out by Time Magazine um a very famous scientist a
climate scientist for over 40 years um 32425 Peter g i k is interviewed and he's a climate
scientist and he gives us in this particular article all kinds of wonderful information about scientific facts of climate change and human
that and practices that we are using to drive um those changes and what can happen to alter some of those changes he says I'm a climate scientist but I am
also an optimist and I refuse to give up hope for a Greener World for myself and for our children so those are just a few simple things that I thought about this
time and um I'm hoping that all of you might take note of the spring issue of an Jack I did send David that particular issue and possibly he can forward it to
you so that you can see what anj is offering um in terms of information for us this month is everyone getting a copy of that I get it I know I do you get it
yeah um I'd like to get it but I know that my email changed I don't know if do you get it by email or mailed to you gets mailed yeah I know Rachel poo a former member I think she still gets it
and she has given them to me so I don't know if there's a way to sign up to get more if all the members can get the copy let me um yes yeah should if our have been
paid let me there's a there's a we may have just have to contact anjac anj and just see what directly see what we have to do to get all our people to get get that report uh I'll I'll have to get together with Dave I'll make sure that we can we contact
them and see what we have to do I'm I'm sure that if our dues have been paid we all all should get a copy of the uh of that report of that bulletin am I wrong on that Charlotte right no I think that's absolutely right and they keep us
informed um not only through that periodical but they also send EMA about research that they're doing and information about um the
environment within the state and then also throughout the United States as well so you know it's it's a very valuable periodical to have and updates are important okay I'll get together
with Dave we'll contact them directly and we'll see what we have to do uh thank you m Dave you want you had something about clean communities you wanted to say anything about that or no it's on the discussion part of it yes so the I'm the clean communities
coordinator for City now um so this just more of a FYI so we're going to be doing cleanups partnering with the boarding house once a month L the dates in front of me but it's going to be once a month on the on the Tuesday or Thursday um we're putting together boarding house
the motel or yeah yep yep and and they're one of our partners with it um we have some dates we think that's we're going to go with but we have to meet out with them and make everything concrete and when it does happen we'll put together fire with all the dates for the public if you all come out to and enjoy
join out and help and yeah there's a um the Nature Center Kate May doing a cleanup on April 12th so it's a beach cleanup MH of the harbor and property cleanup of
gardens too it's in the morning it's always like 9: to noon and where would you meet up for that at the Nature Center anybody else have anything you want to say you know there's just one thing in
April we'll we'll celebrate an Earth Day again and it'll be before we have a a published meeting so if anyone can think of a way that you know we can celebrate
in some way in in Cap May that would be terrific um and in the olden days we used to get together with a shade tree commission and plant some trees um on school
grounds and um that was one way that was you know dedicated to Earth Day um so it's it's just something to think about um as as you go along well I did see
that you're doing the cleanup we we will have to clean up for sure on earth a yeah um yeah okay we just on have the location yet but I'll come with the location yeah okay anybody else have
anything motion to adjourn I'll make a motion okie dokie mic's off e