Uh they were actively tracking this crew. Before they there though they the six of them were taken into custody. They continued to do the diligent work that they do. We obtained additional search warrants. Uh they made more contacts. They developed more suspects
and ultimately 12 were taken into custody. Uh they dismantled and disrupted a very organized, sophisticated crew. Uh most of them were here illegally. Uh again, praying on the victims uh in our community as well as the tri-state area
and the eastern seabboard for that matter. Uh again, I I can't thank the officers enough for the work they put into this. Uh a lot of the times people uh they wonder, you know, what what are the police up to? Uh yes, we still
actively patrol. We interact with the community, but these cases have become more complicated. uh you don't really get people going in in the oldfashioned sense of going in and robbing a bank. It's a lot easier to do it electronically. Uh they can commit a
Bitcoin scam and see six figures like that. Uh the same thing with these burglaries. They've targeting Asian businesses in this case. Uh they would enter the residences when nobody was home. They conducted counter surveillance on the residents and it was difficult to uh really identify them,
put the pieces together and pull all that information that they were gathering from different sources. Uh again, I really would like to thank uh Detective Johnson, Officer Chris Lynch, Detective Hoy, Lieutenant McDermott, Sergeant Conroy, and our partners at the FBI and Homeland Security for bringing
this case to a successful resolution. Uh I know the mayor would like to come down. Yes. and uh read a proclamation. At this time, if I could have the officers come up, uh maybe we could just stand to the right while we do the proclamations. Thank you, Chief. Um I just wanted to make a little statement before we got
started with the proclamation. Um on behalf of the council, um we're huge supporters of our men and women, um who serve in the Cedar Grove Police Department. It's a really proud moment tonight uh when we have the opportunity to take such pride in in boasting about
our police department's professionalism and deep-seated commitment to the safety of our residents, business owners, and everyone in the Cedar Grove community. Today, we acknowledge their diligence and hard work with law enforcement agencies of neighboring towns, the Essex
County's prosecutor's office, the FBI, and Homeland Security to take down a criminal organization that led to 12 individuals being taken into federal custody. So, that's no small feat. So, we're we're filled with uh a ton of pride here um for you all our Cedar
Grove department and everyone involved. So, we do have um two proclamations. One is from um the township of Cedar Grove and the second is from our representatives um from legislative district 40. So that is um Senator Curado and Assemblyman uh D. Phillips
and uh Al Baras. So I'm going to in the interest of time I'm just going to read the um the one from Cedar Grove um and then we'll we'll hand them out to everyone involved. Whereas the Cedar Grove Police Department is committed to providing
quality service with the highest level of professionalism and integrity, these sworn officers dedicate themselves to protect the lives, property, and rights of people to maintain order and to enforce the law impartially by working in partnership with the community,
county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. And whereas in December of 2024, the Cedar Grove Police Department responded to a burglary burglary at a single family home. Unbeknownsted at this time, this criminal investigation would span into a
six-month ordeal with 12 members of a highly sophisticated South American theft crew operating along the eastern seabboard of the United States and ending up in federal custody. And whereas the Cedar Grove Police Department has grown to be a modern and
scientific law enforcement agency which in um unceasingly provides a vital public service. This case ran the gamut from paying meticulous attention to rudimental rudimental tracking devices to foregoing
relationships I'm sorry to forging relationships and collaborating with neighboring towns. the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, the FBI Newark Field Office, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Another day of what the Cedar Grove Police Department
considers good old-fashioned police work. And whereas this joint effort resulted in first and seconddegree state charges, federal charges against a South American theft crew, and the dismantling of a criminal organization that targeted targeted Asian business owners
throughout the tri-state area. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Township Council of Cedar Grove on behalf of our all of our citizens are proud to be the beneficiary of the exemplary service demonstrated by the Cedar Grove Police Department's compassion, dedication, and unwavering
commitment to public safety and law enforcement. Be it further resolved that the township council does hereby express sincere and heartfelt appreciation for you all. So, thank you so much. Um I'm going to um read the names and then um
Chief Pumphrey is going to help distribute the proclamations. Um so the first name is um Detective Lieutenant Robert McDermott. Uh Detective Joseph Johnson. Detective Nicole Hoy, Patrolman Christopher Lynch, Sergeant TJ
Conroy, Special Agent Nunan and the FBI Newark Field Office, Deputy Chief Chief Justin Edwab ICE. Okay. Um and I think that's that's everyone who's here. Or is there anyone else? Did I We just needed the two agents which are uh there's two
additional uh partners here with us from right here. Okay. So, we have um agent uh Derek Cardardos and agent Sean Clayton. Thank you. I think we're going to take some photos. Yeah. So, council, why don't we come
down picture or should we stay up there in the interest of space for everyone? Space if they're behind the scenes. Captain, you think you could get it? All right. Good job. Thank you. Oh, I heard about that. Thank
you. Um before everyone leaves, I I would wanted to give the opportunity for the council to make some um make some remarks. So um let's start with Councilwoman Peterson, please. Thank you, Mayor. Um thank you all for being here tonight. Um this is obviously a
tremendous job and a uh collaborative effort by all. Sorry guys. I just want to say one thing. So, we thanked all of you for all of your tremendous work, but I want to take a moment to thank your family. As a
wife of a retired law enforce enforcement officer, I understand what this takes on everybody's side, especially the people that you have at home. I remember days of having to have multiple kids at fields at the same time and my husband just wasn't coming home
and I had to figure it out. So, it takes a lot of strain. Thank you to the families. Thank you for supporting them. And when you see outcomes like this, it makes it really all worthwhile. So, thank you all for your service. It's greatly appreciated. Thank you,
Deputy Mayor Anita. Yes. Hi, everybody. Thank you for coming and thank you for all that you all do. all the different agencies working together is is really nice to see for the safety of everyone um up and down the seabboard as everybody says of the coast wherever
they were they were working. It's it's really fantastic and I thank you all and I hope you all stay safe. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, mayor. Uh again, thank you to the police department. We always appreciate what you do for our residents and we know you do this. I mean, this
was a special night, you know, to recognize one particular event, but I know that we've been involved and chief, you know, we've been talking about all the events that happened in our town and and you work hard every single day to keep the people safe. So, we appreciate
that and we thank you and thank you to uh the FBI for working together collaboratively and being able to put these bad guys away. So, thank you. Council Zali. Good evening, mayor. Good evening, everyone. Uh, I just wanted to say thank
you. Thank you for your your dedication to your job. Uh, thank you to your families for making the sacrifice that they make. Uh, and as Councilman Miseri mentioned, you know, this is a special occasion, but uh, you should know that
we appreciate your service every day. um because you're out there and you do your job and you protect us. So, thank you. So, we we have a riveting um public meeting that we need to do now. Um you are welcome to stay and and join us, but
no, we will not be offended if you have other things to do tonight. So, thank you again uh so much for your service. Thought the meeting was over. I think it's whenever we crowd it's like and then
congratulations Okay, we're going to move on to item three, approval of minutes. Uh 3A, to consider approval of minutes for regular public meeting on April 7th, 2025. May I have a motion, please? So move. And a second. Second. Thank you.
Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Councilman Zazali, yes. Deputy Mayor Miga, yes. Mayor Scavenage, yes. Item 4 A, to consider adoption of the 2025 municipal budget. Mr. Zelli, I'm sure
there is something you would like to Mayor I I don't I don't want to read my report from the last meeting. Uh, but I just want to emphasize again that this was a budget that is very fiscally respons responsible. It's very fiscally prudent for this council to uh have taken the measures that it has taken to
present this for adoption tonight. Uh I think we should all be proud of the $67.58 increase on the whole year. $67.58 per assessed value for the entire year for the municipal portion of the budget. That's something that this township, this council, and our
department heads worked very hard for. And uh if there's any questions, obviously I'm here to answer them for you or the public. Thank you. So, um, is there anyone here wishing to, um, be heard on the 2025 municipal budget? Okay, seeing no one,
um, yeah, sure. I I just want to thank Mr. Zelli for all his hard work and his hours that he and our CFO for the hours you guys have uh, put into this incredible budget. Just a few, deputy mayor. Just a few, maybe a moment or two. And we thank your families as well
for the time here. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Um, okay. Seeing no one else, um, may I have a motion, please? So, move. No. Oh, no. I move for the adoption of the 2025
municipal budget. Second. I second that. Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Councilman Dazali, yes. Deputy Mayor Mig, yes. Mayor Scavage, yes. Item 4B, to consider
adoption of the 2025 solid waste collection district budget. Um, Mr. Zelli, anything you want to share? Mayor, just briefly, appropriations decreased $175,900 reflecting total appropriations of $1,989,999. I went through some in a little bit more detail at the
introduction meeting. just as the municipal budget. Happy to answer any questions you or the public may have. Okay, thank you. Um, is there anyone here wishing to address the adoption of the 2025 solid waste budget? Seeing none, I will close that portion. And may
I have a motion, please? Mayor, I move for the adoption of the 2025 solid waste collection district budget. Thank you. Second, please. Second. Okay. Roll call. Councilman Miseri. Yes. Councilwoman Peterson? Yes. Council Mazali? Yes.
Deputy Mayor Migga. Yes. Mayor SC. Yes. Item 4 C to consider adoption of pending capital ordinance number 25-948, a capital ordinance providing funding for various acquisitions and improvements for the township of Cedar Grove and appropriating
1,772,000 for such purpose. Um, Mr. Zeli. Yes, Mayor. If I may just read the purposes of this capital ordinance. Uh, as I discussed last meeting, this is a capital money that we are putting in the capital improvement fund. It's not money that we are borrowing on. It's money that we have uh and we will be putting
in into the municipal budget. This ordinance sets forth total funding of 1,772,000 for a new batting cage at Panther Park. Parking overlay, the streets that will be paved, which I will get to later in my report. Uh, new mechanic scanner, leaf tag box
replacement, that's the orange leaf tags that we go around and and suck up the leaves with. Uh, new standon lawn mower for a DPW, new F350 single cab pickup truck with a plow, uh, Pecman River bank stabilization, IT improvements, and three uh, new AC units.
Thank you. Um, is there anyone here wishing to address the pending capital ordinance number 25-948? Seeing none, u may I have a motion, please? Mayor, I move for the adoption of pending ordinance number 25-948 to be
published in the Verona City Grove Times as a past ordinance to take effect as prescribed by law. Thank you. Second, please. Second. Great. Thanks. Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Councilman Zazali, yes. Deputy Mayor Ma, yes. Mayor
Scab, yes. Item 4 D to consider adoption of pending bond ordinance number 25-949 a bond ordinance authorizing various general improvements in the county of Essex, New Jersey appropriating $1,946,700 therefore and authorizing the issuance of
$1,849 30 I'm sorry $1,849,365 bonds or note to finance part of the cost thereof. Um, Mr. Zak Kelly. Yes. So, this is a a bond ordinance uh where we will be casting some debt. I do want to note that the funding you described is offset by
$398,390 in NJ DOT grant for road reconstruction. The proposed projects coming out of this bond are the turf field replacement at Panther Park, uh remote access to the bathroom doors at Panther Park, paving of Reservoir Ridge and Mountain Way, tree replacement,
sidewalk replacement, various improvements to municipal properties, including office renovations, running water to and installing the bathroom at Morgan's Farm Barn, um funding the county ordered reval of taxes, which I will speak to later in my report, new CATV camera for Andy and his crew
downstairs, Uh digital zoning maps online, new body warn camera docking stations for the police department, seven new defibrillators for each frontline patrol vehicle, a new alpha test machine, improvements to the police common area, purchase of new Glock 43X service weapons for the detective
bureau, uh and a patrol LIT LAR radar unit for our patrol fleet. Great. Thank you very much. Um, is there anyone here who wishing to address pending bond ordinance number 25-949? Seeing none, um, may I have a
motion, please? Mayor, I move for the adoption of pending ordinance, bond ordinance 24-949 to be published in Verona City Grove Times as a past ordinance to take effect as prescribed by law. Thank you. Second, please. Second. Thank you. Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes.
Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Councilman Zazali, yes. Deputy Mayor Miga. Yes. Mayor Scavage. Yes. Item five. The meeting is now open to residents of the township wishing to be heard on any item on the agenda. Okay. Seeing none, I'm going to close
that portion of the meeting. Uh we'll move on to item number six, reports of township officials. Um Mr. Zelli, we will start with you. Good evening, Mayor. I apologize in advance. I have a little bit of a longer report tonight. I want to give the town an update on our affordable housing status with the
fourth round obligations. Uh the township's in the drafting stage of the fourth round affordable housing plan with our planner Chris Stocknney, CME Associates, the administrative agent Aaron Stankovich of CGPNH, Dan Lagana, our township attorney, and our COA litigation council which I will speak to
later. Uh this plan is due to be adopted by June 30th, 2025. As you, Mayor and Deputy Mayor Mer are familiar, you sat in on a call two weeks ago where we're discussing the granular mechanics of the affordable housing plan, what's required, what we're doing to reduce our obligation, uh through vacant land
adjustment and other um zoning mechanisms to reduce the amount of units ultimately of the state assigned to the township. just so the public is clear um in in seeking a vacant land adjustment. This is when the township's able to counter the state's mandated numbers by reducing land from uh their count that
the state believes is developable by proving that it's either encumbered as parkland, open space restricted with a steep slope, crest line, or wetlands, something else that would prohibit the development that the state believes uh would contribute to our number. It's our sincere hope to keep working through
this plan to reduce the numbers and derive a realistic development potential or RDP of significantly less units that the plan will then address to um achieve compliance for the fourth round obligations. Uh the township will be arranging for a video with Mayor Scavage
to go through this plan once it's drafted. Uh we will we will share this on social media and arrange for a question and answer session as the plan adoption deadline approaches. Happy to answer any questions on this. We have a call on Wednesday um with our professionals to continue developing this
plan. Any questions on that? We'll move on. We can move on. Okay. Um last week myself, um the township clerk, uh the chief of police, our CFO, and our tax assessor had a meeting. Um, as the
council's aware, and we discussed it at length during our budget hearings, we are under county order reval for the property assessments in 2025 for tax year 2026. Uh, we met with the company um, professional property uh, appraisers. They provided a lot of
information to us. They made a really nifty slideshow that we will be posting online, sharing on social media. Um, and there will be a pamphlet being mailed to each and every uh, resident regarding the appraisal process. Uh briefly, I just want to speak to what that looks like. As it stands, currently Cedar
Grove is the oldest revaluation in the county with the last one being completed in 2010. Um this any effects from this will take effect in fiscal year 2026. And the goal of a reval is to assign fair market value to the properties that are being assessed. Fair market value is defined
as the price at which the municipal assessor believes a property would sell at a fair and bonafideed sale by a private contract on October 1st of the pre-tax year. As I indicated earlier last week, the township professionals met with professional property appraisers or PPA to discuss
implementing this procedure. Uh what we learned was all PPA employees will be dressed in uniforms with proper credentials going to each home to measure the improvements that would contribute to an assessed value for the revaluation. Interiors and exteriors of each property are physically inspected and building dimensions are noted.
Recent sales of comparable properties are analyzed and will be adjusted to estimate the value of the property that has been that has not been sold. Uh resident cooperation is obviously requested. Um PPA will leave notices if you're not home to schedule appointments which can include uh evening appointments and Saturday appointments.
If the resident's not home, they will have a inspector ID number that they can contact and and schedule appointment at their convenience. Uh if a homeowner refuses to let someone in, the information on the inside of home will be estimated, but the outside of home will be measured from street street
view. Uh this is very important. This is what I want to stress to the council and to the public. uh revals are revenue neutral which means the township will not be receiving more tax revenue given a change in assessment. Uh the tax burdens will be distributed equally
amongst the town and in the event that a assessment changes the tax rate then changes which is what we learned last week because the tax rate changes. If the assessment changes it's revenue neutral. the township will not be realizing more revenue uh with the
assessment. After PPA completes their assessment, a notice of the new assessed values will go towards uh each homeowner towards the end of 2025. If there's any homeowner that's dissatisfied with this assessment, they'll have the opportunity to arrange for a personal informal meeting with the assessors to review the
proposed assessment and be prepared to to support any disagreements that they may have regarding their assessed value either by using recent sales comparable properties or to point out any incorrect data that their home has received. PPA may be reached at a phone number that will be provided for in the pamphlet
being mailed to each resident as well as the PowerPoint being shared online or at their website ppareval.com. Township will be posting this slide deck and pamphlet to our website and a letter will be mailed out with our letterhead for all this information. We do anticipate the
appraisals beginning sometime in June. Any questions on the appraisals? No. No. As I sent to the council, the memorial day service for the Cedar Fire Department uh will be occurring at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 26th. That's right
outside Town Hall at the Fireman's Memorial. That will be followed by a sitdown picnic for the Cedar Grove uh town council's Memorial Day service at Community Park. The sitdown picnic will begin at 11:00. There'll be a barbecue and of course ice cream. We will also be
opening the town pool to all residents that day. Mayor, if I may just give a brief paving update. I know there's a lot of moving parts to this. Any questions on the ceremonies? Um, no, no questions, just a just a comment. I know we got some feedback
last year that it was, you know, more of a graband-go situation. So, I'm I'm very excited to see that this is um an opportunity for our community to come together and and really share a meal and and um enjoy the town pool. So, I think that would be a really nice improvement.
um from where we started with this. So, thank you for that. Uh on the paving update, mayor, as the council is aware, Carlson Parkway and Smith Place were mil today. Uh if the weather holds out, we're expecting uh them to be paved tomorrow. Uh this is
part of the reconstruction from NJ DOT grant. Um we've uh eased parking restrictions on Lopez and Anderson. residents may park on them overnight tonight and overnight tomorrow as access to the roadways between 6 am and 6 p.m. will be very limited. Um, just so the
council's aware, in our collaboration with PSENG and through our cooperative, the following streets are set to be paved. Um, these are all obviously subject to change if there's any water issues that we find or anything that would be prudent to delay the paving of, but as of right now, uh, the tenative
list is for June, Anderson Parkway, Lopez Road, Windingway, Hillside Avenue, Sunrise Terrace, Brookdale Avenue, Morris Court, Mwal Drive, and Young Avenue. And then in the fall, the following streets are set to be paved. Eastwood, Garrett, Summit, Union,
Dalewood, Greenale, Fairway, Brookside, The Glenn, Cedar Street, Skytop, Upland, Laura Drive, Federick Court, Lawrence Way, Dominic Court, Eileen Drive, Timber Court, Suzanne Court, Carmelo Court, Jeanie Court, Clover Court, Woodstone Drive. And that's
it. So, those are our Park Ridge Streets that we discussed with the Paving Cooperative. We know Park Ridge is a culde-sac. So, we're hoping to achieve all of that and pay all that this year. As the council is aware, the DPW crews are actively working to rebuild catch basins, fix any water uh valves. Uh
relatively simple work that we hope is completed before uh the paving so we're not disturbing the surface after it's it's freshly paved. Any questions on the paving update? And then, mayor, I just have two items for executive session, both under
contract negotiation. Okay. Thank you. Um, Mr. Lana, good evening. Good evening, Mayor Council members. I do not have a formal report this evening. Okay. Thank you. Um, good evening, Madame Clerk. Good evening, Mayor, members of council. I just wanted to announce that
the municipal election is dated for um, May 13th. Hours 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. All polling locations will be open. Thank you very much. Um, Councilwoman Peterson, good evening. Good evening, Mayor. Um, I just have a couple things
regarding the Cedar Grove Library. Uh, the Friends of the Library are having two fundraising events. Tuesday, May 20th is um Chipotle night at the Willoughbrook Mall at Chipotle there from 4 to 8:00 p.m. All the proceeds um
go to the Friends of the Library. And Thursday, June 5th from 6:00 to 8, they are having a fundraiser at Total Wine and More in Toad. It's called the Books and Bottles Wine Tasting Fundraiser and proceeds will also go to the Friends of the Library. And just for your
awareness, the friends um are helping raise funds. We're in the process of doing some um construction, updating, renovations at the library that are hopefully set to start in August. We're
replacing the floors. um putting in new furniture, putting some carpeting in, making it much more warm um and inviting to the public. There's been a tremendous amount of work that has gone into this. And I just also I want to thank some
members of our um library board, Amy Rabin, Ginger Matesky, Pat Marian, they've they've really done a tremendous lift on getting this project up and running. They've gone gone way above and beyond what they should be doing
honestly as volunteers. They've been doing a fabulous job. So, I just wanted to recognize them and and the friends um the library has some funds to do this, but the friends are also contributing a a pretty good sizable amount of money with money that they've raised to go to
these uh renovations that'll be for all of our residents to enjoy. That's fantastic. And that's a that's a relatively new group, too, right? It is a new group. Yeah. Yeah, they're doing they're doing a great job and uh they have some other fundraiser things underway, but these are the two that are
that are right in front of us. So, um and I just want to say happy nurses week to all of our residents who are nurses this week. So, shout out to them. Happy nurses week. That is all I have. Thank you. Thank you.
Can I just ask? Yes. Chipotle night. Um are there any detail? How does that work? You said the proceeds go to announce that you're going to support that you're supporting friends of the library and then the proceeds go to uh the friends of the library. Great. Yep.
Thank you. You're welcome. I see your your pile of uh papers there. Deputy mayor pile your my ream of paper because I didn't have it last meeting. Good evening and thank you mayor. We had a nice Arbor Day celebration. Thank you to all who came and participated especially
the scouts. Um the Historical Society, our fantastic DPW, and Tony Mercy, our Orday liaison. Is that the title? Courtney. That was close. Um, I do have a few reminders of what's happening in the
town. The historical society will have a free program to all on May 28th at the Cedar Grove Library. The topic is Journey into American History. It is at 7:30 at the library. And the historical society also sends a big thank you to
everyone who supported their fish and chips event um in their craft fair. They were a vendor at a craft the craft fair in town today and they thanked everybody for that. Of course, I will remind everybody to join the pool. Um applications can be picked up in town
hall or on our town website. Um, I also encourage our senior citizens who are out there to keep an eye out for all the programs that we are offering this Wednesday. There is still time to register for our Bloom and Play event.
This is an afternoon of board games and great for socializing. You could call the rec department to register. We also have a Wind Creek Casino um trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on the 20th. There's a few tickets left. If you want to go, I' i'd register sooner than later. Seniors will
be taken on a chartered bus to Wind Creek Casino. They will get $25 in slots. You will meet at town hall at 9:00. Spend five hours on the c in the casino and the bus departs back to Cedar Grove approximately 330. The price is
$30 and this includes the transportation and the $25 in slots. It's pretty good deal if you ask me. Good deal. Um there are so many other senior citizens programs. So, please um see them on the recreation department
website or give them a call if you don't have access to our website. And also, my other one thing is um the dog and cat rabies clinic. That's on May 21st, the library. Again, if it rains at the library, if it doesn't rain, it's here.
Um and you can contact the health department if you have any questions about that. And then also this week we have nurses appreciation and teacher appreciation week. So please show your appreciation to all. Um I personally appreciate them for the stuff they have done in my life. And we have a special
nurse right here, Councilman Peterson. Thank you so much. That's it. That's it. Great. Um I'm gonna go, but I promise I'm not going to steal anyone's thunder on on the guy side of the deist. But um just just three quick things and they were
already touched upon, but I'm going to get a little soapboxy here for a minute, but um Mr. Zelli on your affordable housing uh efforts and and all that you're doing um to help make sure that Cedar Grove has the lowest obligation we
possibly can. Um, I don't think I fully understood the level of detail that goes into this until we sat on that call with Deputy Mayor Migga and literally went street by street looking at what space might be open in town for us to um to
purchase so that we could get it out of circulation. Um, I I always knew it was um very complex and um a ton of work and time went into making sure that we were doing the right thing for our town. Um, but I it wasn't until that call that I
fully realized the level of detail. And that's that's why I I said I wanted to make sure that the residents are aware and that's why we're going to do the Q&A and the video. Um, because it's such a hot button topic. Um, and it's it impacts all of us. Um, no matter what
your political affiliation is, it doesn't matter if um, you know, if our schools are crowded and our our roads are jammed, uh, that impacts all of us. So, we're we're doing our best here up on this council. and I know we all are in agreement that um we're going to do everything we can to keep our obligation
low and to keep development um to a minimum here in Cedar Grove. So, I just wanted to to thank you for your efforts um and and to just say I'm very proud as a council that we are um in this together and doing what we know is best for Cedar Grove. Um the town pool um
Deputy Mayor Migga um is a is a big proponent as am I. I I think we all have some some great memories at that pool. Um membership is down. I'm I'm going to be completely frank. Um and I'm I'm concerned about that. Um I know the weather has not been uh conducive to
thinking about summertime. Um but the pool is a gem here in Cedar Grove. We're so lucky to have it. Um when my family and I were looking for a place to to move, um it was one of the one of the things that attracted us to Cedar Grove. Um, I know it's cold and rainy and it's
going to be for the next six days, but um, if you are interested in joining the pool, um, please do so. Um, it's a tremendous resource for us to have here in town and, um, quite frankly, it it can't continue to operate if we keep losing money on it. Um, and in order for
us to keep it um, here, we need people to join. So, please uh, join the pool. Tell your friends. If anyone's on the fence and they want to um, ask any questions about the pool, I'm happy to answer them. I know anyone up here would be happy to talk about what makes the Cedar Grove pool so special. So, um that
is that and then um senior programming and Deputy Maya um you listed so many amazing things that uh that we're doing for the seniors here in Cedar Grove in collaboration with our amazing uh wreck department and Marica Landalfi. But um a
year ago, most of these things didn't exist. um they exist now because a group of seniors um came to a meeting that we threw and and told us what they wanted. So um I'm really proud of that effort and I'm I'm really excited to see the reception that these programs are
getting and that our senior programming just continues to grow. So um kudos to Marica and the recck department and kudos to the seniors for telling us what you wanted and um I'm really proud that we were able to deliver on most of them. So thank you. That's that's everything that I have for tonight and I will pass
it to Councilman Missi. Good evening, Mayor. Thank you. Um so we're talking about the pool, we're talking about Memorial Day, so let's talk about the summer a little bit. Uh we had our municipal alliance meeting last week and um last Thursday and we did have
proposed dates for the three movie nights, July 10th, July 17th, and July 24th. I think we're still finalizing which movies we're going to be playing for the summer uh movie shows. So, I'll
report that back uh after the next uh municipal alliance meeting, but um certainly we we do have those dates um that are firm dates. Um so, I wanted to report that and let me see what else I have in my notes here.
So going forth, you know, I don't want to repeat everything that uh our deputy mayor has already provided, but but definitely wanted to make a comment about Arbor Day. That's something that we do every year. Unfortunately, this year I couldn't attend, but I was able to see how it was well attended and it's
it's just a great program that we provide. So, thank you, Mrs. Kelly, and everybody who participated in that. That's all I have. Mayor, thank you very much. Uh Councilman Zazali, good evening. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, everyone. Um, mayor, if I may through you, uh, I'd like to ask Mr. Zelli question. I'll move my hand. Um,
so Mr. Hi, Mr. Zell. So far away, council. Yes. Well, they put me at the end. Um, so with the uh the redevelopment plan that's been uh approved with 1201 Pompton Avenue at the Cedar Grove Garden Center. Um, there's connection fees that are going to be
associated with that development for the uh for the sewer and the water utilities. Could you just explain um kind of how that works so that the residents are aware what those fees are and how they come into play for the township through you mayor um maybe
council Dan Lana helped us out with with reviewing this and drafting it. If the council recalls, we did a water and sewer ordinance overhaul last uh last May, I guess, May of 24. And part of that overhaul was reviewing connection
fees. And the way this town now and many towns previously calculated connection fees is based off of EDUs, right? Equivalent dwelling units. And the connection fee per EDU is per unit that's being constructed or proposed. So
for the 1201 site um as we've discussed adnauseium with the utilities it's important to generate you know a self- sustaining utility right you don't want one that's running a deficit we are able to realize with the new ordinance um let
me introduce some quick math on it's 138 units times 4,000 times two so it's 552,000 uh for the water utility and $552,000 for the sewer utility for connection
Um, we did not anticipate that as revenue in the utility budgets this year. If I may just go on that for a minute. We knew that the development was taking place. We knew that there was going to be a developers agreement. It would have been entirely practical for this council to sit here overinflate the
water and sewer budget by $552,000 knowing that we were anticipating that revenue. It's not good budgeting. What we did was not anticipate it even though we knew it was coming. It's going to really it's going to hit our budget as unanticipated revenue for the utilities. It's going to
go right to the fund balance. It's going to sit there and we can use it for capital projects. We could use it to fund the utilities in future years. Um in addition to the rate increase, this is just one of those other segments of the equation where we removed some expenses, we increased the rates, and now we're realizing a lot more revenue
connection fees. Um, so it's something that the council should be proud of that they acted prudently last year when adopting that ordinance and now we're realizing some of the benefits from that. Thank you. Nothing further. Great. Thank
you. All right. Um, moving on to item seven, new business. Item 7A to consider a resolution concerning approval of raffle application Cedar Grove Elks Lodge number 2237. May I have a motion, please? So moved, mayor. Second. Thank you. Roll
call, please. Councilman Liseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Councilman Zazali, yes. Deputy Mayor Mig, yes. Mayor SC, yes. Item 7B, to consider a resolution authorizing the award of a nonfair and open contract for professional services of for affordable
housing legal counsel to Jared H. Caner, Esquire of the firm Antelli Caner Rivera in an amount not to exceed $40,000. Um, Mr. Jersey. Kelly, I saw the email about this today. Mayor, unfortunately, uh our former council is no longer able to
represent the township. Um we just became aware of that today. Um however, we have we're acting prudently and putting this resolution on the agenda to appoint new co- counsel as you know how important it is to have this especially as the deadline approaches. Um so this
is appointing new council Jared Caner uh to assume that role. Great. Thank you very much. U may I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Thank you. Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Council
Zali, yes. Deputy Maya, yes. Mayor Scav, yes. Item 7 C to consider introduction of pending ordinance number 25-950 2025 salary ordinance. Um, Mr. Zelli, what is this? Yes, mayor. This is a salary ordinance. fixes the range and
um grades of salaries for municipal employees. Uh every year the the township budgets for an increase. However, as the council's aware, we now instituted merit raises and um this sets forth the range that employees in their
classification would fall into. And um upon adoption which consideration for adoption which would be in June um between then and now we will do some employee reviews and then the uh salary ordinance is retroactive to January 1.
Great. Thank you very much. Um may I have a motion please? I move for the inter introduction of pending ordinance. Wait, am I the right one? Sorry I took my glasses off. 25-950 to be published in full in the
Verona City Grove Times as a pending ordinance with public hearing scheduled for June 2nd, 2025. Thank you. Um, may I have a second? Thank you. Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Councilmani, yes. Deputy Mayor Migga,
yes. Mayor Scavage, yes. Item 7D to consider a resolution authorizing the preparation and mailing of estimated tax bills in accordance with PL1 1994 C72. Um Mr. Zelli. Yes, Mayor. This is for uh as the public should know, there's multiple components of the tax
bill, the township portion, the library portion, the uh board of education portion, and the county portion. Those rates have not yet been finalized. Um so this would allow the township to send estimated tax bills in the third quarter. And then that reflection would be adjusted in the fourth quarter once
the rates are finalized. So if we overestimate, the bill goes down. If we underestimate, the bill goes up. Great. Thank you very much. Um, may I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Council Meri, yes. Councilwoman
Peterson, yes. Council Zali, yes. Deputy Mayor Mig, yes. Mayor Scavage, yes. Item eight, approval of bills. Uh, Madame Clerk, thank you. Mayor be it resolved by the town of Cedar Grove, County of Essex, New Jersey, that the summary of bills having been duly audited and found
to be correct are hereby ordered paid in the aggregated amount of 3,638,488.78. Thank you. May I have a motion, please? So moved. Second. Thank you. Roll call, please. Councilman Miseri, yes. Councilwoman Peterson, yes. Council
Zazali, yes. Deputy Mayor Mika, yes. New. Yes. Item nine. The meeting is now open to residents of the township wishing to be heard on any item on or off the agenda concerning township business. Good evening. Do you want me to turn this around? What do you leave it the
way it is? How's that? Thank you. You're my public service for today. Um Just um a couple of announcements for the next month. Um on Saturday, May 17th
is one of our semianual recycling days here um at the Bradford Avenue um fleet management. Um on the 17th from 9:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. we'll be accepting computer and electronics recycling. Um there is a flyer up on the county's
website, essex countyj.org. Um, but they'll be accepting all kinds of items like computers and monitors and fax machines if people still have them at home. Um, stereoss, DVD players, all those types of things. Um, on the same day, we will also be celebrating family
garden party at the Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, um, which is in Montlair, but just over the hill on Prdford Avenue. It's a free event for families from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Um the bloom season looks like it will fall right during that time. So, it's a very
beautiful day. Um and if we do get rained out on the 17th, the um rain date is Sunday, uh May 18th. And then later this month, we'll be kicking off our fishing derby program at our um lakes throughout the county park system. Um the first two fall in the month of May.
On Wednesday, May 28th will be in Irvington Park and on Thursday, May 29th will be in Verona Park. But the entire schedule um is on the Essex County Parks website. Um the programs are free. We do um prizes for the kids who are fishing
and we also do little raffles for prizes at the end so everybody who participates has a chance to um leave with something. So um Cedar Grove residents are um invited to come out. Um the closest one will be probably in Verona Park, but um we have lots of families who travel to
all of them. So everybody's welcome. That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Uh Sal Maneri, 26 Sweetwood. uh every time I come to a meeting my mind just keeps uh want uh
come up with ideas. Uh I had sent out uh the announcement for the Memorial Day ceremony and I just circulated it to the people in town. One of the responses I got was from the editor of the Cedar Grove
Life and he thought I was asking him to publish this. Okay. and he said, "Uh, I can publish whatever is going on in Cedar Grove if I get 15 days notice on it." And I said, "Well, that's great." I
says, "Uh" I says, "How come we haven't gotten a lot of articles?" He says, "No one sends me articles to put it in paper." And I said, 'Well, that's that's great because what Essex County
has things that are going on in town. You have things going on in town. And I I is it possible that whenever we do have things that we just contact the editor ahead of time and he could publish it in his paper, we'll get more coverage for Cedar Grove Life. If
there's anything in town going on that any organization has, I can coordinate that. they can just give me the information and I'll forward it on to uh the publisher. So, I thought that was a good way for direct communication with the citizens. You mentioned too, mayor,
that uh the pool membership is down. There's a proposal in our zoning board uh meeting next week with regard to the parcel at the Cedar Grove Hospital. It's been revised uh where business building
will be eliminated and it'll be all residential uh which creates less of a problem that h with original proposal. Here's a situation I think I mentioned in the past. Mr. Mayor, can you tell us what
you're what that what you're talking about because we're not aware. Uh the vet the uh City Grove Animal Hospital uh across from St. Catherine's that property is being sold and the original proposal for that part uh parcel was for
residential and business use. Uh it became uh impractical especially the business part. So that was defeated. The new proposal is 10 residential units for that. I did circulate that also to to
some of the residents in town. Uh but when you mention uh about the pool, how uh membership is down, we have te we're going to have new people coming in town and it'd be great. Uh I think it was about a year and a half ago I mentioned
that we don't have the uh the town uh I think we mentioned it last time uh the neighbor good neighbor policy where we had individuals contacting new residents and informing them about what's going on in town
keeping them informed. I think you had mentioned that you were in favor of that and I don't know if uh you had given that any more thought. I'm sorry I don't I don't recall. So what it was the good neighbor? What was it? Could you remind me? It was the uh the name escapes me.
But when new residents come in town, we had an organization or individuals meet with the new residents to inform them about Cedar Grove, the good things about Cedar Grove and so on. Okay. Um someone we mentioned it a while ago Joe, do you remember that? I don't I
don't remember that. Uh I I think maybe uh your meet the mayor sessions would be a great opportunity for that to uh you know occur. Um it's a good spot for people to come get Yeah, I think you were you were interested in in that program that would if you'd like I could look into something like that. Yeah.
Okay. Okay. Okay. And that's a good point where if we do get new people in town, uh like some things we have pool and so on, it'd be good to u let them know what's going on. And yeah, I mean that's all on it's on it's it's on our township website.
It's on our social media pages. So we we do share, you know, beyond, you know, my meet the mayor sessions, which we have once a month. Um we do have a, you know, a lot of different ways to get information. So, um I encourage any resident who is looking to learn about
what's going on in Cedar Grove. We're not keeping secrets, right? So, it's all out there in the public. Um all of our events, our meetings are televised. Yeah, this is direct contact with new uh residents and so on. Uh I forget the policy
uh what program we had. It very common program that we had years and years ago, but they would contact the neighbors. If I remember the name, I'll okay blur it out. But um those are the things uh I have to say and uh I I believe
communication is very very important and direct communication can help and I hope we take advantage of uh the editor's uh willingness to publish a lot of these things in the So it's also you know so Mr. minary. I think I've talked about this with you before, but I work
in public relations. That's what I do, right? So, I I'm a publicist by by trade. When I'm not here volunteering my time or raising my kids, I'm I'm doing PR for various companies. Um the editor, it's also on an on or her to to reach
out to us and to forge that relationship. I'm I'm happy to, you know, to talk to whoever your contact is. And yeah, I also asked him to to u invited him to council meetings where uh we can get more and more ideas of the
articles that they're willing to publish in the Cedar Grove life. Right. Mayor, he doesn't even have to come to council meetings. He can go on YouTube and watch it. He can watch it and check our Facebook page, you know. Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean that's I used to write for Tap into when when we had that here in Cedar Grove and I would watch
the Verona meetings. This predated my time on the council and report on that. So, you know, again, there's there's ways to get information, many different ways. Um, you know, I I appreciate, you know, you you like the great lost art of conversation. So do I, for sure. But, um, there certainly is a multitude of
ways for any anyone in the public, anyone in the media, um, to find out about what's going on here at Cedar Grove. So, I'm happy to to have that conversation with with the editor, but there also needs to be some proactivity on on their part as well. Okay. And like
I say, I'll offer to help with any organization that has it. Even if Essex County gives me the information, I will make sure it gets to them. Yeah. But that I mean I I appreciate that, but that's his job, right? He's selling the newspaper. He's trying to sell papers. He should have as a relationship with with Essex County, right? So as as
someone who runs a newspaper, right? I mean, we don't we don't have to get into this now, but Yeah. But that doesn't cost us anything. Absolutely not. No, for sure. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Does anyone else have um any comments to
make tonight? No. Seeing none. Okay. I am um going to close the meeting. We're going to go into executive session. Um whereas section 8 of the open public meetings act permits the exclusion of the public from a meeting of the mayor and council in certain circumstances.
Whereas the mayor and council of the township of Cedar Grove are of the opinion that search such circumstances exist. Now therefore be it resolved by the mayor and the council of the township of Cedar Grove County of Essex, state of New Jersey, that the public shall be excluded from discussion of any
action in the executive session of the council and the mayor on fe on May 5th, 2025. The general nature of the subject matters to be discussed um is contract negotiation and we have two of those that we're going to discuss tonight. Um, it is anticipated at this time that the
above stated subject matter will be made public as soon thereafter as it is deemed in the public interest to do so. No further action will be taken and this resolution shall take effect immediately. May I have a motion to go into executive, please? So second. Thank
you. All in favor? Thank you everybody. Thank you. Welcome wagon. Hey baby.