she ready okay thank you you ready we good okay recording in progress welcome to the chadam township committee meeting of April 2 3D we have uh just returned from executive session um adequate notice has been given our uh clerk confirmed that and I will ask everybody to rise for the flag salute I pledge alleg to flag of the United States America the stands naisy justice for all okay uh we are going to start with our presentation by the uh by the library our um director and our trustee chair thank you very much uh mayor ewalt uh thank you committee members I offer special thanks to Committee Member McHugh who serves on the library board my name is is Andy Hollander and I am privileged to serve as president of the uh Board of Trustees of the library of the cadams I'm joined by the director of the library Karen Brodsky we have more than one we do have more than one slide that's the second New Beginnings it was a year of change and preparing for the future the space for everyone campaign is an initiative to reorganize and modernize the library spaces and to upgrade its infrastructure we had a a grand opening of the teen room last week after years of planning and fundraising we thank the committee members who attended mayor Ewald thank you for speaking Mr McHugh Mr Choy hope I didn't miss anyone we had about 200 folks FKS join us and a whole bunch of teens who got down to business hanging out uh and being social with each other and not just on social media which is a nice thing perhaps our teens said it best M babc said it's an example of community where connections can be formed and where they can grow to M and to Audrey Shino and the other members of the library's teen Advisory board thank you for volunteering at the library and for your leadership if you want to read um their remarks you can uh check out the tap um article which was wonderfully captured the sense and the spirit of that day um of course one can also check out The Courier as well thank you so much to our local journalists the teen center is only the first visible part of the changes that the library is making to meet Community needs the space for everyone initiative is also going to upgrade the children's room we're going to build a business center a combination Steam meeting room a local history room and more we also executed on our plan of creating a ramp in the back so the library is more accessible to all particularly older adults and caregivers who use strollers even a double stroller for those who may have twins and we're putting the uh final touches on the ramp hopefully it will will be open within the month we launched the chadam library Foundation it's an organization that's going to make it easier to do major fundraising efforts for the library still in its early stages but we're on the way to bringing it up to speed in fact it's the sponsor of the library's 100th annivers iary celebration which is coming up in just two weeks on May 10 and we hope to see you there Library usage was strong at lower right more than 300,000 visits uh to the library website above it more than 300,000 uses of the library Mobile app bottom right more than 300,000 items borrowed next please you want books we got books in fact uh we added 3,600 adult books 610 and young adult books 1,700 uh plus children's books that's um uh um Consolidated into our uh collection of about 115,000 print books in the library you want ebooks we got them too um Plus movies and music and audio books you want seeds we got seeds we have a seed library at the top right you can go and you can pick up a seed if you want to plant in your garden overall attendance was up strongly the red bar is uh 23 last year the blue bar is 22 year before um as you can see 26,000 uh participants came to event sponsored by the library and 5,000 uh came to community programs or meetings um so that's 31,000 participants in total last year it's up about 50% next please reference Services we added genealogy resources and more adult programming nine fascinating programs by the chatam township uh historical society and the chattam Historical Society of the burough um I got to say that um Kudos as always to Pat and Martha Wells of the chadam Township historical society um they put on fascinating programs like um we grew it here 100 Years of New Jersey's agricultural history and quilting over the centuries women's life and history in America children's programming trip around the world uh based on the Michael Rex murals in the lower level um they're just fun to look at and uh and educational too and and we help teach young people about culture food and traditions elsewhere um many teen volunteers next place uh community group meetings 549 of them uh last year um and the library is a place that welcomes all chatam Boy Scouts chatam Girl Scouts so many different backgrounds cultures political beliefs these are our neighbors and I'm sure that many of us know uh a fair amount of folks who are members uh in those uh groups um who came to the library and and we're just so delighted the library can be a a place they can come together um uh in today's day and age we could use a place that brings people together and we're so please the library can do that for us next please the friends of the library is it's just the heart and soul of our library their annual Book Sales are tremendous uh fundraisers uh the March book sale is my favorite weekend of of the year the energy and the positive atmosphere that you see there that you get there that's just beyond description and any one of us who attend um any of those Book Sales you'll know what I mean and if you haven't yet attended we really hope that you'll come by and you'll check it out because it's it's it's difficult to put into words just a great Vibe and thank you as always to the friends and here are some of their generous gifts one building our La our library looks like one building uh surrounded by a layer of bricks in fact that one building is it's like a layer cake and the icing is the bricks um and the layer cake is from seven different um areas of construction that are spread sideways surrounded by that layer of brick so the first footprint is of the libraryies 1924 and if I may that's this portion over here this is the front door so the first footprint is here 1924 that is what is going to be uh celebrated uh in two weeks for our 100th anniversary on Main Street um but let's say you check out a book you're standing in that footprint and there's here's the uh here's the circulation desk and here's the uh the desk um the the counter in front of you you put your book on the counter you're you're in the 1924 construction era the librarian who helps you that person is in the 1940 era so it looks like one room or one big um room but it's it's really a combination of many and what years uh of construction uh is it it's 1924 1940 1960 1964 1983 1991 and uh most recently 2004 the 2004 by the way is to your right it's the children's area and to our left here was reference now here's our team right here so seven errors of construction but 14 haa systems 14 so um 14 HFA systems that sort of cooperate sometimes and don't cooperate other times uh you can see that um that's one reason that we might have humidity issues in the library and we do um and on top of that we have 23 thermostats in the library so if you count those little red dots which are thermostats there are 17 on the upper level there are six on the lower level um humidity we often have dehumidifiers running and we empty them constantly so it's more comfortable for our patrons and so the books don't get ruined Library staff uh need to make it cooler or warmer they have to take time from helping patrons and it's just it's a thing it they have to take time and what we want is we want it to be as public facing as possible so that the patrons are there and they have the best experience um so uh this is one goal of space for everyone which is to modernize the HVAC and it's more economical to do it at one time than ad hoc there are fewer walls and ceilings to open fewer HVAC systems to reconnect and the like this is why we can call it HVAC havoc and if anything it's an understatement in closing the library continues to be a community center that welcomes all and is heavily used thank you for your support of the library Karen and I are here for any questions uh before we before I ask the committee members if they have any questions I do want to thank both of you um we a few of us did have an opportunity to go to the team center opening and and um I know that's been in the works for many years now and it was so nice to finally see it happen and I know it's been a tough Hall between fundraising and and all the other projects that need to get done and um you know as I said at the time when when a group asks for you to send your teams they are really committed to community so um you know we really appreciate everything you do and the librar is just you know from from when they're little till much later in life uh people are taking advantage of that fa and we really appreciate all your efforts and the efforts of the volunteers in um in taking care of that that uh amenity for the community does anybody have any questions or comments no i' I'd like to say Mr holl and Miss Bry I think um uh you've done an admiral job over at the library aside from the facility itself and I think we're all abundantly aware of the uh current and forthcoming challenges there but um uh the the programming uh is really notable and Rich I think the newsletter that's put out periodically is a testament to that uh it is a very um robust offering of of program services for a variety of of folks in in whatever life cycle they're at from Juniors to seniors um I myself have personally uh enjoyed it my children have summer reading to uh the speaker series and in fact if my memory serves me correctly there is a scheduled speaker this evening which I'm missing because duty calls but um yeah I've enjoyed it and found it very fulfilling uh it's informative uh so hats off to both of you the programming is excellent well I also know that you're making strides with regard to augmenting the collection so uh you we've had chat brief chats about that so uh hats off to you on that as well I would just say thank you my daughter's there right now actually studying because it's a nice quiet place and I don't know where else she would have to go except for the library so thank you sure stem with art science technology art oh ma I'd like to make uh one or two quick comments if I might um number one the numbers going back through the presentation are pretty astounding um when you look at you can you can do it annually you can do it monthly you can do it daily but you think about a thousand turns a day on a lot of things um it's uh the engagement of the community is enormous uh for which um you are to be rightfully proud um uh but then I go down the chart and I see what is to come and uh that is something uh we really would like to um uh understand um and understand the implication of what is and what the needs are so I I look at you know 14 systems 20 you can't go to the um do-it-yourself section of the library and figure out how to manage these this disparate HVAC systems and the like it is a it is a very significant problem um not just from the protection and the comfort of the patrons of the library um but also the management of the library itself and Karen can you comment um perhaps on how uh that takes away from uh perhaps uh the staff that you have at the library and how that might improve uh that uh service to the patrons of the library sure we are Administration heavy because we need multiple people just to manage the problems that occur periodically on a daily basis in the facility it's not just the HVAC it's the electrical try turning off the lights in the library you have to go to various electrical panels turn some circuit breakers off find behind some bookcases that if you didn't know it was there you would never find it it's that way with everything Plumbing everything I hate to say it we're managing as best we can but it's a disaster waiting to happen and it was 10 years ago when we first started working on this project and the staff has worked very hard to try to manage it to try to put patches on it but you can't go in your home for 20 years without doing some kind of major work and we've gone 20 years without doing any major work at the library waiting to do this project so experts can't manage the building experts can't agree on the best way to manage various issues that we have so we make the best assessment we can with the help of multiple experts how many people agree on an approach we'll give that a shot in the end though it's the staff actually people with master's degrees or multiple master's degrees emptying dehumidifiers all day long during the summer months that's really difficult and people are not as patient as they used to be before covid um people have to wait for help sometimes they don't get the help that they need and although we do have a lot of programming there's a lot of programming we're not able to do we've had on the shelf for a decade book discussion groups for cognitively challenged people um clubs for people things that bring people together and do things in the community we don't partner well with our our business Community we don't have time for all these things and they're essential parts of what a library and a community center is to Residents uh can I ask in terms of my understanding was with respect to uh the plans that there was supposed to be a discussion with the Architects Mr shotty um uh in terms of figuring out out to phase there was an opportunity to phase is that the next step okay we're actually looking at coordinating between the burrow administrator Mr shahadi and uh representes in the buau as well to get together it looks like maybe the end of the month or into May that we might be able to take that opportunity so that the architect can explain to all of us what those options might be and then perhaps look at uh targeting a path uh to get to improvements wonderful thank you I would I'd just like to make a comment or to please thank you um we really appreciate your work Mr Hollander your volunteer work is amazing M bratsky done a wonderful job of leadership at the library and I really um I I think the sentiment of this committee on its whole is clear that we're very pleased with the library and the work that you've done my comments are really for this committee and that you know for a decade we've been we have some funds that were donated for a teen center and it was held for it's held in a Mac account and my understanding is that we've had that money for more than a decade and we haven't released it they they built a teen center um I I hope that we can follow through with these with our sentiment with our words to find a home for that money at the library um that that money was as I understand it um somewhat earmarked for improvements a colony pool um to create a teen center there but the teen Center's been built and the place that this that our Greater Community has chosen is is the library and I think we have some immediate funds that can be released and and we should do that I I've talked about this privately I've talked about it in different different ways and I'm just imploring this committee publicly to please take action on that it's available now um yeah so um and I I can't recall if I responded to you about this but that those funds that was fundraised by the municipal Alliance committee members at the time um I'm not I can't recall specifically with respect to a teen center what they were looking to do but I did reach out to find out um you know what they're thinking at this point in terms of how they want to use those funds so I haven't heard back yet but I'll follow up again thank you and I'm sure it'd be great if they could would partner with the with the library I'm sure they there would be you know there there could be some meeting of the minds here but my understanding was that it was for facility uh yeah I know there was discussion because one of the churches they used to use a downstairs basement for like a meeting you know location so it might be that they redirect towards programming or towards uh materials but um I'll reach out and see what they're thinking mayor if I just may clarify for the Public's benefit about those funds then we're the custodian we are not the owner of those funds so we can just do as we please with those funds they're not ours to do with as we please we're simply the custodian of them okay thank you thank you so much for coming to visit and uh we we always love hearing updates about the library and again appreciate all your efforts on behalf of the community thank you very much for the opportunity to present to you thank you okay so we have a a lot a lot of members of the community here um we will be moving into our hearing of citizens but um beforehand we usually have our mayor's message and our report so I'm going to move into that now and um you'll have an opportunity to come up and speak really soon really in short term um there have been a lot of fun events going on around town spring has sprung around 200 people celebrated holy at the mountain view field last week and the baseball and softball softball Club of the cadams had their opening day party this past Saturday these events are all volunteer run and I want to thank the coordinators for all their efforts I had the opportunity to attend both events and they really did a wonderful job Deputy Mayor Choy joined me for the baseball softball Club opening day and I'd like to thank him for throwing out the first pitch and saving me that embarrassment um in addition the library of the chadam teen center had their official opening as as you just heard about uh it is a wonderful facility and is it is open to adults while the children are in school I want to again thank the trustees of the library the friends of the library and the library director and staff for all their efforts making this long awaited dream reality I also had an opportunity to participate in our office of emergency management tabletop exercise I want to thank our OEM chair Chief Miller and our o OEM Deputy chair Rich Young for running a very informative and productive tabletop exercise I also want to thank the representatives from the chadam emergency Squad The Green Village fire department and chadam Township Fire Department who were in attendance for their participation to listen to all the planning and preparedness that goes into emergency plan planning and knowing these are volunteers uh reminds us how truly fortunate we are to live in chadam Township they really were quite impressive I want to thank um them and our chattam Township Police and our DPW for their participation in the ex in the exercise and for their dedication and service that definitely gave me great peace of mind to participate and knowing the professionalism and expertise of the staff that serves our community before we move on to reports I want to wish all celebrate a happy Passover uh I also want to congratulate we have two organizations in town uh celebrating big uh events again volunteer organizations our chadam Education Foundation is celebrating their 30th anniversary with a Galla this Saturday April 27th and I'd like to congratulate the chadam community band who is celebrating their 40th anniversary on May 5th with a special concert I will join both groups at their events to read proclamations honoring their organizations and their volunteer members and i' just like to read a small part of each of those proclamations into the record now whereas the chadam community band was founded June 9th 1984 and will celebrate its 40th anniversary on May 5th 2024 with a special concert and a performance of a newly commissioned piece now therefore be it proclaimed that I Stacy Ewald mayor of the township of chadam wish to congratulate the chadam community band on their 40th anniversary and thank the band for its contribution to the arts and culture in our community for the p past 40 years and hereby declare May 5th 2024 to be chadam community band day I hope uh members of the community will try and join us on May 5th I believe it's at the high school does anybody pretty sure it's at the high school and then the chadam Education Foundation whereas the chadam Education Foundation was founded on March 11th 1994 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a Gala on April 27th now the therefore be a Proclaim that I Stacy Wald mayor of the township of chadam wish to congratulate the chadam Education Foundation on their 30th anniversary and thank the trustees past and present for their contribution to the success of our chatam public schools and hereby declare April 27th 2024 to be chadam Education Foundation day again thank you to th those organizations and all the volunteers they are a Cornerstone to our success and what we all enjoy about living in chattam Township and I want to thank them for their efforts okay we will move on to reports Mr Lois do you want to start with the reports please sure um just point of information um I submitted questions about this you know agenda I received some answers back I received no other uh questions or answers was was there no other questions or answers on this uh agenda of 17 items four ordinances that's my question no questions on this so I was the only one okay so there no outstanding questions coming into this meeting this evening yeah I I know you you've had concerns in the past that perhaps your questions are the only ones being shared I I could show you a list of my questions from last year that were shared because I have an agenda prep meeting I get to ask a lot of my questions in advance but they're really you know I can show you a whole bunch of mine that were shared no I I don't doubt that you ask questions I'm just I'm I'm wondering because I I don't receive them in writing I don't receive any any ofbody else's questions or answers so was a point of information I appreciate the accommodation um okay so I'm going to keep it really quick Colony pool we have a swim team registration and swim lesson registration open so that I'm leaz on there the utilities uh for jcpnl there we still have an offer that they can come in and talk about their energy energ NJ plan the Investments specifically in this uh Township I think we're going on three meetings now where that's open they're going to go to the um BPU and ask for higher rates and I think it kind of behooves us to to have them at least come and say what might be behind that for chadam Township not not that we have to endorse their plan or take it but to to me that makes some sense thank you Mr mchu I think the library did a great job job in their summary for today so I'll move on to the environmental commission um the environmental commission uh partnered with the burrow environmental commission and the library and collected well almost 500 pairs of eclipse glasses that can be rather than thrown away be shared with particularly Latin America because they're going to be able to look at their eclipse come August 2024 so uh do and share and recycle and reuse um the adopted drain program has launched uh as previously indicated please visit the site New Jersey adopted drain. org and uh look in your front yard and keep drains clean helping the DPW uh the environmental commission has launched a monthly editorial platform in March uh the first one was discussing leaf blowers uh and this month the uh idle talk is about idling um and so please do check that out and thank you to The Courier and the tap uh for um allowing that and and posting those and Publishing those uh today uh we kicked off a month-long chatam challenge uh what this is is residents are being challenged to participate in planting uh around their Landscapes committing to eliminating you know toxic sprays for mosquitoes um and you can use things called dunks if you're not familiar with what a dunk is mosquito dunk what it is it's kind of a little donut-shaped um bacterium actually and standing water is where you can really address the mosquitoes uh it's not the the IND individual mosquitoes you shoot out of the sky we'll relay on the B bats for that but uh standing water uh these essentially get the nymphs before they become mosquitoes and you get them at large numbers uh in the standing water so it's it's a great idea and you're not using toxics around the yard uh and it's much more effective and you're not spraying the whole neighborhood or uh allowing mosquitoes to get away um on Saturday April 27th uh from 10: a.m. to 2: p.m. uh the chadam Township Police Department will be hosting a prescription drug takeback program uh that's going to be at CVS uh at the 641 Shunpike Road um uh facility so thank you thank you Mrs Roland okay um no updates from the Board of Health but there are a couple of updates from the uh Historical Society on Sunday May 5th um they are going to be having uh the regular open um Museum day at the red brick Schoolhouse um they're still continuing on the restoration of the um exterior and they built the new steps so it's coming along we're um it looks great if anyone wants to stop by but on May 5th they're having not only um um the museum open hours but they're also having um you know saving the Great Swamp exhibit and um May is historic preservation month so they're going to have a lot of displays out there so it'll be a little bit extra than the normal typical Museum additionally they are going to [Music] um was the other one on April uh no on May 19th uh there will be a speaker speaker series um talking about Colonial taverns of New Jersey um presented by Michael Gabriel um based on his new book so that's the next speaker series thank you it's been uh really interesting watching the work that's being done on the red brick Schoolhouse it's amazing it looks fantastic and an additional item the lanterns are you know 60 years old and we contacted a company that could provide new lanterns because they were really you know in in poor condition and someone actually found a restoration person and he came and He restored the lanterns they're so beautiful so they can use the original lanterns and re reinstall them on the outside of the school house so they've just been restored we didn't have to buy new ones and that would have taken months and months but the The Originals have been restored and they look beautiful so thank you that's yeah and I'd like to thank the Board of Trustees of the historical society and uh especially the well sisters because they did a lot of work to get the grant money to fund that restoration it really it really looks amazing Mr Troy transformative thank you Mary well um uh reports in in in uh for the recreation programs uh a special uh shout out to the basketball uh eighth grade girls chadam eighth grade girls uh are champions in their league so uh special congratulations to you girls uh well done uh five other teams uh made it to the finals three girls and two boys so wonderful to see u a number of our youths uh progressing and finding success uh in that program as mayor Ewald uh shared earlier it was opening weekend for baseball so play ball it was an ex it was a fantastic day a bluebird Sky day um happy to report that the program is thriving approaching about a thousand players uh children in chadam playing baseball uh 600 wck 300 uh over 300 travel uh 25 participating in buddy ball uh softball they've comprised of five teams about 80 players uh and their season starts this weekend so please uh cheer for uh Chad and softball girls um soccer is uh a is a behemoth a thousand plus registrants uh so good to see the program is uh uh continuing its its growth and remarkable progress uh hats off to the new leadership John Y and Jen Dunn uh having brought in um exceptional trainers and uh seeing um a number of the children uh thriving there so about 600 players 400 travel players and a robust um top uh um top soccer program as well lacrosse uh 700 players that's a growth of about 7% from the prior year so another Recreation program in in our community that's thriving March 4th was their season start so we're well underway um we'd like to think of the uh you know the programs there as as a good feeder program for the junior varsity varsity programs um you know Lacross folks love to uh share um uh great stats for the girls who are graduating they've got 35 division one commitments uh to college so boys and girls from chadam who will continue playing at really an elite level uh of Lacrosse uh football um almost 350 uh predominantly boys playing uh 150 tackle 200 uh flag players um I they are welcoming girls so they would love to see girls participate they were also exploring potentially a start of a girls League uh provided there's um excitement and critical mass there um registration is open they're starting it super early so if um you'd like your child to partic participate in the program uh please sign up it's an early season start um August 12 so if you have any ideas of uh having your child play football your your summer gets cut short um so just be mindful of that um I think uh it suffice to say that uh recreation in chadam is is a bustling uh uh Service uh it's wonderful uh there are just a great number of uh youths that are participating um and I like to think of it as as just a you know quintessential metaphor for uh for life you know these children are learning how to work hard you know be committed to working with a team uh practicing uh having an Integrity um so I I just love to see all the children participating and and seeing them uh really Excel so I think happy news continues thank you yeah it's amazing how big uh the soccer the baseball programs they're just they're doing a wonderful job um our club sports um um okay so in the senior center the senior center had a successful majang event and they expect to H host more in the future so keep an eye out if anybody's interested in joining they are hosting their spring shred event this Saturday April 27th from 9 to 12 at the middle school or or until the truck is full they also will be hosting a pickle ball tournament fundraiser on Saturday June 8 from 9 to 3 those have been very popular uh in the towns that have hosted them uh so that registration will fill up fast it is open until May 20th uh so if you're interested please go on the uh Senior Center website and you'll find more information uh finally the senior center is looking for a new program director it's a part-time position approximately 20 hours a week uh three days a week so if anybody's interested they could reach out to me or contact the senior center directly um we are going to move into the hearing of citizens before I ask Mr lante to read the guidance around the hearings of citizens I do want to let um the attendees know that I did receive um a letter with some questions about the uh Green Village extension Trail extension project um from Kelly Curran um and did have an opportunity I have that for reading oh you're gonna read that Ino okay great um so we did receive that I did ask Mr shotti and uh our engineer to respond I don't know if we'll be able to answer a lot of those questions this evening but certainly we will answer those questions and I you know certainly welcome the residents to come up and speak um at this time as as well but I'll ask Mr lante to read the uh guidance first members of the public are now welcome to come up to the microphone to address the township committee this is an opportunity for any member of the public to be heard about issues which are not topics scheduled for public hearings tonight those present May step up to the microphone to be heard if you are watching via VIA Zoom you may speak during any of the public comment sessions by following the zoom instructions to raise your hand whether in in person or online when you were recognized to speak please mind the following procedures please say your name spell your last name and give the name of your street you do not need to give your street number all public comments will be limited to 3 minutes rather than use any of your time answering questions the township committee will wait until you finish speaking before responding there are two public comment sessions on tonight's agenda each member of the public will be limited to one comment of up to three minutes during each public comment period written comments submitted to the Township Clerk before 3 P.M today will be read during the public comment sessions written comments are subject to the same guidelines as oral comments duplicative written comments may be summarized rather than read in full according to guidelines issued by the New Jersey Division of local government services thank you and could you read into the record what you received yes uh it's you the same letter that was sent to the committee but um uh Kelly Curran uh wrote the following uh dear mayor and Township committee it has recently come to the attention of residents of Green Village that the township is now in the final stage of implementing a path extension currently referred to as the Green Village connector from Green Village Road to Southern Boulevard unfortunately there has been very limited information shared with the public including residents along Green Village Road despite several attempts to obtain information regarding the Township's proposed plan for the Green Village connector Trail we have not received satisfactory responses we understand that the plans are not yet final and we wish to ensure that all our questions and concerns are adequately addressed and closes the list of questions we have uh questions we request to have answered by the township committee uh regarding the project plan and timeline one will there be public discussion prior to finalization of the proposed plans two um have all d EPA approval uh been granted for installation of the path in the wetlands three please provide Clarity on Project timeline four who is responsible for building the path who is responsible for installation of crosswalk and sidewalk five who is funding the construction of the path and does funding include the crosswalk and sidewalk six who will be responsible for maintenance and upkeep to ensure proper disposal of garbage and pet waste on a regular basis this post office parking often has pest uh pet waste bags uh disposed on the ground due to lack of proper waste bins and maintenance maintenance and regarding crosswalk safety uh the safety of the crosswalk is a major concern to the residents due to the location and lack of being able to improve the condition without impacting the residence in neighborhood uh so seven has the has an analysis by the chadam traffic safety officer been conducted for this mid block crosswalk eight uh what safety considerations have been evaluated for the new midblock crosswalk including a adequate stopping site distance at marked crosswalk B sidewalk connections C pedestrian generators and attractors and uh D illumination at crosswalk nine what is being proposed for traffic and road condition on Green Village Road current condition of the crosswalk has poor sight lines due to the nature curve in the road 10 what improvements are proposed as the road is narrow with no shoulder um how significant is the improvements and impact on the neighborhood going into the next page number 11 uh who is responsible for the installation of the crosswalk sidewalk as this is a uh country road if the county is responsible have they approved the design and plans uh then regarding path connector excuse me number 12 current plans do not show any fencing along the black top at the entrance along Green Village Road can fencing be installed uh given the proximity to adjacent residents what plans are there for new plantings to restore privacy post installation and after significant clearing of brush undergrowth additionally we have heard we have heard about plans to install a parking lot and public bathroom facility on the two lots owned by Mars County adjacent to the post office we uh would like to understand the Township's involvement in these plans and express our lack of support for this proposal uh the residents of Green Village respectfully request a meeting on site of at the location for the currently proposed Green Village connector we urge for this meeting to be convened in a timely manner prior to the finalizing the proposed plan to ensure residents input regarding the safety concerns and privacy are adequately addressed to protect the pedestrians using the path crosswalk as well as the residents along Green Village Road and those immediately adjacent to the path sincerely resident of Green Village Road thank you were there any other letters sent in uh that's the only uh written uh submission okay um and anybody raising their hand on Zoom uh we do not have any hands raised on Zoom okay um I would invite any members of the public who are sitting in the audience to feel free to come up and also uh give your input or any questions that you have and uh then we'll try and address what we can good evening nice to see everybody uh Nicole hagner River Road I don't have to give my address you said Greg right just River Road um so just yeah yeah exactly you live right next door uh for full transparency um I'm here because uh several uh the residents several that are here tonight reached out when I had originally gotten appointed to the open space committee uh inquiring about this Trail and uh to I since I was just there like I think it was my I had just gotten appointed that year I was actually quite surprised to hear this Trail coming back because when I was on the township committee back in 2006 um this Trail was initially being proposed but because of the Myriad of challenges with installation of the path and the wetlands the cost the cost because it's only a quarter mile and all the safety concerns at that time it was deemed an unviable project so I was quite surprised and I sort of expressed to the residents I think you must be confused I can't imagine they're bringing this back because of the lengthy discussions we had many many years ago I mean that's yeah I feel like I was only there like yesterday but many years ago so then fast forward I started asking some questions asked um the chair of the open space committee and um started reaching out and lo and behold there was a grant I guess submitted to the county to look at a preliminary assessment ment uh and some engineering to see if this would now be viable um and at that time it was expressed it's really in preliminary planning uh there's no funding for it there's no way the Trail's going to go in without funding um because of the cost again I mean at that back in the day it was like $800,000 for a quarter mile Trail so it wasn't good use of taxpayers dollars at the time given all the other projects we could spend that money on um and now it seems like there has been a grant which uh was submitted and there is funding for it but yet I think I I've agree with the residents it there hasn't been a very transparent process it it was kind of told to me also that at the time where it became a viable project or that the funding was available that there would be a lot of public input that there would be public sessions that people would be able to express their concerns and understand exactly what what what was going on with the trail so um just sort of on behalf of the residents I encourage them to reach out to write letters to they have done that I think until now where they've actually written a letter they're hoping that at least the township committee will hear their requests to have meetings and get really all the answers and really understand what's going on I think the lack of visibility in the plan and even the current drawings um for me also raised quite a concern in midblock sidewalks which are not ideal and clearly if you guys go out to the site on where this is being proposed it's it really is not safe you know and it's really unclear as to how it's going to be installed in a safe manner to get people to cross across the road let alone all the other things I think the residents can speak around the privacy and other things I think it's great to have trails in town but I think we do need to only install them when it makes sense and they're safe for the people crossing the road thank you thank you thanks for your time good evening that's my alarm clock so you just startled me a little bit right there uh my name is Robert Ortman o m an I live on uh Green Village Road uh I'm one of the concerned uh residents that uh live there that are was surprised about this path um I'm concerned about uh safety on the street safety at my home to be transparent the path goes right through the woods right next to my property um so I'm kind of concerned for my family safety I'm concerned for well privacy of course but that's not the most important thing but I'm really concerned about how this crosswalk is going to go supposedly which sounds like it's kind of a gray area from the township and from the county from what I understand as to how the these Trailblazers if you will are going to come through and cross you know on a blind curve that people are doing 60 all the time um and then walk down the street further to go hit a uh the lanica path so it's it's just very there's a lot of gray area the letter of course pretty much says all the questions piggybacking what Nicole said we just want really Clarity you know we really do and and again personally it's it's going right down my property line so I even have more skin in the game than others you know I mean property value you know security um you know the list goes on again to the to the letter that we wrote you and then I think it'd be really beneficial if we could get a meeting um on site so that we really could see the the wetlands and the the the wildlife and the track that they've already marked out and already tagged um and already brought out their Transit and surveyors um but it be really beneficial for everyone to really see it and and see what we're dealing with and really experience the traffic flow and really really experience on how it is a dangerous it's a dangerous curve um you know I I would also say there's there's so many other places on Green Village Road that you could potentially do this path and you know I'm no expert but I'm just you know just thinking of the the easiest way is is you know we have the Boy Scout path I believe that's right at the end of Melrose is that correct I mean that's chattam Township that's a P public path yeah oh yeah the conservation Trail across the street excuse me yeah so so you know you you have that walkway that comes from Nash field because that's the beginning of the path evidently and the path could come up and be at at at Melrose and cross and go through that natural path that goes all the way out to the woods than to leano from what I understand so I just find that that would be an easier course of action and actually maybe even a more pleasant better path I don't know and less less destruction in the woods and and just less time I don't know I can't choose my words right now um but I just you know there there's so many different ways that we can look at this path I think but I think to start the ball rolling I think if we had an on-site meeting I think we'll all really get a taste of what's going on little nervous so I didn't get everything out the right way no worries thank you yes um yeah well that's it I appreciate your time and hopefully we get that meeting thank you thank you did anybody else want to come up and speak my name is Craig mey I live on Brit Road I've been there for 59 years I just don't see any reason why anybody would want to put bathrooms by the post office in Green Village we have a nice little Community there and people that live there have lived there for a very long time and I would prefer not to see it get ruined with more paths and bathrooms just doesn't it's just not necessary for our town that's all I really have to say thank you thank you hi Forest Shu Shu also Green Village Road been there about 30 years so just a youngster compared to a lot of people on Green Village Road um but kind of an expert on the path from the standpoint of I've been here since I went to Drew in the 80s as a cross country Runner running on all the lanica paths and what I remember from if you know where on thean there's the blinking lights where you actually have the path that goes across by the the Farms there um the amount of tra and I walk my dog every morning from three houses down from the post office to the path where it ends um that part in the morning at 7 a.m. 8: a.m. um it's really dangerous because there's only about this much room uh for me and my dog with all the cars coming as the day goes by and on weekends when you have people coming from like Hickory Road on bikes and walking and stuff it's amazing that we haven't had an accident there already um and I've lived right there like I said for about 30 years and it's it's a constant issue that is my biggest concern um and uh so I I just wanted to you know kind of enter that in in the record is sort of uh a really huge issue um other than you know privacy and some of the other things that we are concerned about and the feeling like you don't want the bath we don't want like the bathrooms and things there and that's part of our feeling of living right around there but the bigger issue I think is um that that's just not a safe road I know recently there's been a speed limit um you know a solar thing that shows the speed limit when I walk the dog past there and people are buzzing by me it's usually 45 47 wow and so it's just a big concern from that perspective as well thanks thank you uh usually we wait till the end of the meeting um for any additional comments U seeing as we are you okay okay thank you um and was there anybody else raising hands okay I'm going to close the public hearing um so I want to thank you for coming and I want to assure you that you know I'm here to talk to you we could set up what we need to so you can get comfortable and so we can figure things out I want to get you the right answers and I want to get you the most upto-date answers the conversations you know as former mayor hagner had mentioned uh have been going on for a long time this has been uh in the works for a very long time and there was a lot of interest in Morris County it's part of their Trail cut activity uh so that's why there was um a lot of support for funding uh and for trying to figure out how to get this done it the discussions and as the mayor knows the discussions have gone on for a few years now and they all had to happen in public session because there's a lot of steps that have to take place from just being allowed to you know authorize submitting grants and accepting the grants and there's there's many steps that uh take place but it has been a while since I've certainly uh paid attention to the details I didn't get to make it to that meeting I was hoping I could um I mean for example I've heard nothing about bathrooms um what was it bathrooms and the other parking L parking lot I haven't heard that at all so that is news to me I be surprised if that was in the plans but um so I want to make sure that we get you uh up to-date information as far as I know the d d has reviewed it because that of course was the Milestone the hurdle that would have to be passed was the D would have to especially going through those sensitive wetlands um and we're all you know sensitive to wanting to protect that area so um but I want to make sure you have the the correct information so um I will ask for your patience as we ask our engineer and our administrator unless you there's anything you want to address at this time mayor I'll just say that um this is still in the design process so I mean if you've seen things going out there it's again serving to complete the design plans construction documents we have not yet as you said mayor everything will come back to you so we're not authorizing yet bidding on this project even yet uh it's still in the design phase uh to put together the plans for construction but the engineer is still soliciting feedback we're soliciting feedback that's fine our plans do not include restrooms or parking lot that is not our plan for this Trail we're only working on the the trail because that's the municipal portion anything else that would be County or some other entity um so you know just to clarify our our responsibility our what we're working with is just the Trail connector from start Nash to Green Village Road um and and that you know again if there's feedback on it we're still more than happy to do it the engineer is going to review all the comments will say that the bulk of the funding if not all of the funding is coming from a state Grant um and that is you know State grant that comes trickles down through the federal government but all approvals do de EPA every agency that uh has any sort of jurisdiction or interest in this is required to approve it and most of them have already been approved that's why we've got the the green light um so um the the engineer will respond to all those questions he'll get them and we will address them as best as we can wonderful thank you so like I said I would ask um you know hopefully we can get those responses in the next week I don't see any reason why you know in the next week we couldn't get those and then we'll figure out next steps either we can have an open session uh we could do a separate meeting all together with the residents of Green Village so to just to make sure uh everybody understands what the plans are with respect to the County's portion um you know we can help coordinate with the county and plus we happen to have one of the County Commissioners living in town so we can uh you know engage uh his participation so he can make sure that that any concerns with any County plans are uh properly communicated um so I mean I can assure the residents there will be continued communication with respect to the safety of course we're going to try and address the safety concerns so uh the The Crossing is definitely been in our radar um yeah that's not you know we want to make sure anybody who's taking advantage of that Crossing is is uh that we're thinking about how best to protect uh folks that are taking advantage of that of that Crossing there's no impl construction yeah I mean this is a time to have those conversations we're in the design phase great thank you yeah there's no no construction plan right now yeah there's no construction planned right nowar or there's no clearing planned right no because we're in design phase yeah the only clearing that has been is to in to to do testing and you know examine the soil underneath it's not been clearing for construction they had to go out and do some preliminary testing for the permits and for the construct to see exactly what can and can't be done but that's the extent of the clearing that has happened that's it okay thank you mayor um just as far as this project also impacts Recreation the design plan as it is now I mean the actual map shows the the Nash portion of the trail going straight through the um ice you know the ice rings that we have so there there is there is like a massive lacking of detail um of actual published documents that you know the I've seen anyway and so I believe uh this is my own assessment of what I've seen is just that there's been a lot of time and energy put on the the the D portion the the sort of center of the trail where there's wetlands and the ends needs considerable refinement and review because both the Nash portion which is you know basically clear cutting through Nash and the other end which we've heard extensively about tonight have have some real problems and I don't think have been touched in any nuanced way so I I would F I would like to see what that plan is because I'm sure that um there would be one and that would be the next step that I would like to see what do those ends look like great um yeah and we haven't had the benefit uh the presentation was done to the public but I I know I wasn't able to attend I don't know about anybody else so maybe we'll ask for the next meeting uh to have um I assume John do the presentation have John come in and present to the committee and then we can uh answer any questions certainly send them out as soon as possible then we could follow up with any other open questions okay thank Youk you um okay we are going to move on to ordinance 202 24-2 flood plane management um did did we do the public hearing I thought we did the public yes we did the public hearing at the last meeting but we still need to do the vote on adoption uh since this was last dealt with at a Township committee meeting when we had the public hearing uh since that time the planning board has discussed this ordinance and has voted to determine that the ordinance is not inconsistent with the master plan great thank you okay can I get a motion to uh adopt the ordinance 2024-25 say that this this is a great example of just where Workshop fails us um you know this thing was first talked about in November and here we are it's almost me and it just it's just a a result of the tick tock tick tock of of you know taking little action but then somehow in the in the last you can speak Mr but just not while I'm speaking um you know not we took action in the last meeting but usually we don't and it's it's kind of um it it's a little bit messy in in my experience and also it's causing delay and it's causing delay of you know this ordinance it caus delay of a public safety ordinance in my view the workshop is uh really a delay tactic and at this point all we're doing during Workshop is sitting three feet lower okay thank you um was there any other discussion didn't we have to wait for the planning board to clear this this was workshopped in February February was the first that the committee saw this and then it was introduced in February um at the time it was introduced the planning board had two meetings scheduled which they subsequently cancelled um but we still had to wait for that 35-day window to elapse before it could be um adopted um and like I say at the time that it was introduced I was hopeful that the planning board would hold one of those two meetings to deal with it in March and it could have been adopted then but do the cancellation we're here now dealing with it so it was more of a planning board delay than anything to do with Workshop thank you uh can we go to a vote please uh Mr Lois yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Roland yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes mayor eal yes motion passes uh the cap Bank ordinance did we have the public hearing on that uh no um all the rest of these need public hearing okay so I will open the public hearing for [Music] 2024-25 d04 uh and I will take a motion to to approve to adopt this ordinance I'll make a motion I'll second okay discussion okay I've opposed this every time we've talked about it I still oppose it um you know we have the highest real estate taxes in the nation in New Jersey the Caps were put in place on on you know to help Abate that uh the Caps this increases the cap and and creates a bank for any difference of savings below the cap so that we can be used in the future we have a recent history of increasing taxes 20% in two years in this Township um I don't think that this is necessary the there has been statements made that well we don't use it but we're just it's just allowing us the flexibility it only allows us the flexibility to increase taxes do if you vote for this you vote Yes on this you're you're giving future committees the flexibility increased taxes and that takes away any sort of creative thinking it takes away problem solving it's you it's reductive to our community and I don't think that that's something that we should do the the cap um laws already have are basically swiss cheese there's a ton of carve outs in them uh if it doesn't put a cap on anything on many many things including Capital spending that would be roads any Capital spending is not restricted under the cap uh you can have an emergency spending you can have emergency authorization you can have U there are there there are higher caps on health care and for for various categories it's so weak as it is the cap law is so weak as it is to to further weaken it by passing this cap Bank ordinance which is both raising the cap and creating a bank is just enabling future spending it doesn't give us the flexibility to do anything except for raise taxes and so I'm against this because I oppose larger government and higher taxes and higher spending thank you does anybody else have any comments um I guess my only comment regarding this is that uh you know the the this provides flexibility to Future committees but they are held accountable and they need to justify any additional spending um that they decide to take so I'm I don't want to uh limit their ability should they need to use this and it was provided for in the legislation in addition to that 2% cap in order to provide effective Financial Planning and financial management so I will uh support this ordinance anybody else have any other points of discussion okay let's go to a vote Please Mr Lois no Mr McHugh yes Mrs Roland yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes mayor ewal yes motion passes thank you okay 2024 d05 repealing Harding emergency dispatch contract ordinance I move that we introduced ordinance 20245 a second um you mean adop r a motion to adopt yet yep okay and uh Mr McHugh is second but did we do the public hearing on this one um not yet okay why don't we open the public hearing now for 202 24-5 which is basically a cleanup of a dispatch that does not exist the cleanup of the ordinances okay and I assume there's nobody on Zoom okay so seeing no one for the public hearing I will uh close the public hearing and we have our motion and our second so is there any discussion let's go for a vote Please Mr Lewis yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Rand yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes and mayor eal yes motion passes okay an ordinance 20246 midblock crosswalks uh did we have the public hearing on this one life is very busy in the two weeks between the last meeting and this one so I apologize yeah we still need the public hearing on this one okay so I will open the public hearing for 20246 and no hands are raised thank you seeing No Hands raised I will close the public hearing and ask for a motion to approve the midblock crosswalks um ordinance so moved and do we have a second oh second any discussion this is also a cleanup of ordinances okay can we get a vote Please Mr Lois yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs rowand yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes and mayor y yes motion passes wonderful four ordinances of probably less than five minutes well done um okay uh public hearing adoption of the 2024 Municipal budget um and I do not believe we did we have public hearing on this yes um since this is the adoption of a budget even though it's a resolution I still have to have the public hearing on the budget but before we can have a vote on the uh resolution to adopt the budget great thank you okay so I will open the public hearing um for the 2024 Municipal budget we'll give this one a minute is there anybody on Zoom I see five people on Zoom but none of them have hands raised thank you okay in that case we will close the public hearing for the um adoption of the 2024 mun ipal budget and I will look for a motion to approve resolution 202 24-16 adopting the 2024 Municipal budget is there a discussion there will be after I have a motion in a second so moved second thank you and now I will open for discussion okay I had asked um questions about this which was that was was there any revisions since our last meeting and there was not and it was apparent in the last last meeting as I talked about the reserve for uncollected taxes increasing that that that was um maybe not well known among the committee here and so I was um I had sought and suggested three essential changes uh three changes I want to call them essential but I call them three changes that would uh approach $323,000 or nearly 3% of the a municipal portion of tax revenue um to make these three budget changes would allow us to uh apply that same money to Capital uh in Workshop it was said that that's simply moving money around which is my understanding what a budget is it's moving funds and to different priorities so let me just take you back um to to tell you that I really think this is a great budget because it's there's no tax increase and the the problem with it of course is on the capital side which is how are we going to fund it um and we I haven't seen a plan yet with debt in it or not or or no debt in it I I haven't seen that plan and so that concerns me and what I want to see is as much Capital as much money put towards Capital as possible um I had said that you know taking up my suggestion of May 9th 2023 March 7th 2023 and multiple times about the rut uh last year you the finance committee was able to um adjust Appropriations for utilities by $117,000 adjust Appropriations uh by putting to work I'm sorry not adjust Appropriations but put to work unexpected Capital ordinances for $33,000 and also adjust the rut for an additional $127,000 that's $500,000 of um improvements in my my view to this budget that were all things that I suggested last year and I gave the dates the last meeting and that's wonderful um and I'm just saying we should just double down into that just just push a little harder and what I what I suggested was that last year and this is this one I can't believe that there's any controversy about last year we had $453,000 of interest income that was in a rising interest rate environment interest income meaning moneys sitting accounts okay we get interest off of those accounts we know we needed to adopt a better cash flow management plan but despite that we had $453,000 last year this year the picture could only be better for interest to our accounts right that would be um investment income instead of going with 453,000 that we actually had last year we're going with 350,000 in this budget to me that doesn't make sense and there's $103,000 there that we could put to work in capital $103,000 if we just simply make the budget what we actually received in investment income last year and this year we know we need to have a better cash management plan and there was some discussion about how there is already uh a better interest even than last year so that doesn't make a lot of sense to me I don't know why we wouldn't put that $103,000 from interest back to work towards the capital budget now legal fees you know last year in 2023 we had $152,000 in legal fees this year we have $245,000 budgeted towards legal fees you know I don't see why we we you know our our new Municipal attorney would do any less of a job than was done last year managing the legal budget and that's $93,000 and then the final part of it is if we went from 97.5% to 98% for the rut meaning reserve for uncollected taxes we have a 99.5% colle collection rate within 12 months we have 100% collection rate effectively in chadam Township but within 12 months we have 99 and a half% by law we can raise it the average of three years so we could certainly go higher than 98% so we went from 97 A5 to 98% if we went to 98 a half% still a very healthy margin away from what our limit would be we could add another $127,000 into this budget in into capital and if you culminate those three things interest the legal fees and the reserve 127 103 and 93 you get the 323 that's almost 3% of the municipal of Municipal tax revenue that we could put to work for residents so I make a motion that we we modify the budget in those three areas the reserve the interest and the legal fees so that we can put another 3% to work for residents in the capital budget like off debt and um you know create some quality of life improvements thank you do I have any other comments on the budget yeah my my only comment would be would be this um you know the interest numbers I I don't recall them all top of my head but uh uh you know when it comes to cash management uh you know I'm an advocate of prudent cash management so uh if there are uh further considerations there I certainly welcome it and uh explore those uh further uh when it comes to the rut um it is something that should be uh very judiciously looked upon uh as as we all know we are uh looking down at significant Capital expenditures uh large asset buys uh within not too distant future we know that we will be access accessing Capital markets uh Municipal Capital markets uh and we also know that uh those financiers recognize there are only so many levers and knobs we as committee members or council members whatever the case may be can pull all right to uh operate uh this town um so the first things they look at is your reserves if you're playing around with the reserves if you're slimming down the reserves uh if you're uh playing around with the rut because again there are only so many areas where you can shave off money um and if if that is happening that is a first red flag for Bankers as again what when we know we're hitting Capital markets uh to fund the fire trucks to fund other big capital projects so I would advise against um looking to squeeze blood out of stone in areas like the rut and other reserves I think we have to be very judicious and employ good sound Municipal governance and Municipal Finance practices to make sure that we when we approach uh sources of funding and look the bond and and whatnot uh that the township and its financial affairs are healthy consistent stable uh and within well-regarded practices for municipal finance and that would be my only comment my comments just from an interest perspective is you know I'd rather be conservative than rely on money that may or may not be there everybody expected the FED to make a move the FED didn't make a move you know it's it's it's an election year there's so many things that could happen so we could say oh M we earned this interest last year we don't have the money in hand we have to see what happens we're doing our best to shop around I know that we've talked to multiple banks renegotiated with our current bank to get the best rate but I don't know if I would you know rely on that money that may or may not be there and I would be hesitant to also cut legal expenses you know in a in an affordable housing year yeah and I guess I would add to that that the legal fees are a reflection of the fact that we're entering our fourth round of affordable housing uh and we anticipate that we're going to spend some money to be able to best prepare for that round um so you know and the reality is if you don't budget for it you don't have it there's no going back to the well so and everything impacts your following year the rut all of the these decisions as uh the committeeman noted this is a great budget there's no tax increase uh we're improving Surplus and we have about 800,000 if I recall correctly to invest in the community without incurring debt so you make decisions you know and the decision on the rut was based on being in a strong position but if you increase uh you know the rut then you wind up dipping into the funds that you have available for next year and that that is funds that you have available based on the information you have so if interest rates don't come in where we hope they come in uh that hits your Surplus and that it then affects because we use about three three and a half million from Surplus every year to fund the budget so if you're missing that uh you've got some problems in terms of how you're going to fund fund the budget so I I agree that I'd rather be conservative uh we've done a lot of great things that we've been able to keep the tax flat and improve Surplus things are going to tighten up for next year and I'd rather be in a better uh position for next year uh than start gambling now and taking um risky positions I just want to add also I mean some of the expenses still continue from the previous year for example we just got $118,000 in bills from last year's Township attorney so again just relying on these numbers and trying to get as close as you can is not the smartest thing to do financially thank you okay is is there a reason why we need to pass this tonight I mean we haven't seen the capital budget so we don't know what we're funding that with at least I'm not sure I've asked about the debt structure on that I haven't seen it I mean I would feel a lot better if I knew hey y you know we're we're not issuing debt we're not going we're not issuing banss on this then say there's not I don't I don't think there's an impetus to put to pass this tonight I mean yes the state deadline is that it has to be passed okay so where's the capital budget or where's a rough draft of it I mean the rough draft was in this the rough draft was in this multiple times that we're meeting with the finance committee to refine this we have another meeting this week on that and that doesn't need to happen before this because the reality is that we are going to have to borrow given the large ticket expenses that even with in the best case scenario you find $300 $500,000 you're still going to need to borrow but you were the same person that wanted to borrow $700,000 for land when we had that in cash so which is it do you want to borrow or you don't want to borrow I would love to answer your question it's not question directly to you I invoke that question was directly invoke your name I didn't invoke your name you said direct you said you and you were talking to me Mr Shah if you first of all Mr shahadi is bound by the rules of this Committee just as I am and he in he invoked me directly he asked me a a direct question ask you a question you can Mr Lois if you can respond in 30 seconds or less I will give you the opportunity to respond to what what whatever your priority is out of the information you just received funds are segregated Municipal County for whatever measly audience we have the if you're going to do an open space land acquisition that money is going to come from open space if you can issue the debt and pay for it inside of open space then the money is entirely inside of open space so if we're going to issue debt for a land which lasts for 40 years which doesn't depreciate which is investing in um you know dozen or so acres in chadam town ship that's a Sound Investment I would take with my family's money I have taken with my money I'm sure people who are watching in residents have taken with their money an investment in land in chadam Township is entirely different than investing in a car or a computer or some other piece of capital that depreciates and is useless in seven eight nine years okay so obviously issuing debt for that just like if you issue debt for your home is a smart investment okay thank you we're going to go to a vote Mr Lois yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Rand yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes mayor eal yes motion passes thank you okay uh we're moving on to the consent agenda um did anybody need to pull anything out of the consent agenda mayor if I can just note for you 118 um that needs to be a friendly Amendment as $6,700 in the figure instead of 6,000 those based on an old proposal the 6,000 figure and the updated figure of 6700 okay so that's just what that's just an amendment to that uh yeah it can be a friendly Amendment since you haven't introduced it yet as long as everybody's on the same page with that okay I've never heard the term a friendly Amendment so we're just all in agreement you're introducing ing it as that 6700 then that's fine if you introduced it as 6,000 then it would need a motion to amend but since I caught you before the introduction got it uh if you're introducing it with the knowledge that at 6700 then that's that's the uh the introd introduced resolution okay thank you so um I will if there's if we're not removing anything from this I will ask for an motion to approve the consent agenda with the amendment to 118 from 6000 to6 6700 do I have a motion to approve well I just need to pull 110 oh sorry okay and with the uh with pulling out 110 2024 d110 do I have a motion to approve so moved do I have a second I'll second thank you can we get a roll call vote I mean a vote oh we just one point of information um Mr lanti was the adjustment made to the meeting minutes that I have yes yes yes thank you sorry about that mayor okay um Mr Lois yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Rand yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes and mayor wal yes motion passes thank you okay so now we have resolution 2024 d110 awarding engineering contract for pool improvements yeah I had just sent in a question about this U saying asking if the amount of this engineering contract for pool improvements which is basically reconstruction or plans to reconstruct the sidewalls of the pool which are in need of repair and and replacement if that the the engineering award was sufficient to accommodate um you know input on on what what maybe should be done there or or future planning and the answer I got was that it would accommodate the input from the workshop meeting which to my understanding was that we were going to solicit input from Recreation and from The Colony pool advisory committee was that is that accurate I mean that's that's what I'm that's my question about this that's the answer that I received from my question which was that it would includ include the input from the workshop and at Workshop that's what I recall was was the resolution um did you wind up getting input from The Colony pool committee we we haven't met yet but we'd like to meet and I mean we don't we wouldn't need to meet before making this award I'm not asking for an adjustment of the award what I'm just asking is that we would have a chance to meet and that Recreation might discuss it in terms of planning for the pool okay so because where I thought we left off was that because of the tight timelines that we were going to move forward with the the pool walls uh with the modified wall that would allow us if we wanted to build out to be able to do that so I think that's where we left off I think that's what this resolution says and it sounds like you're asking to still have discussion after but not not related to this particular resolution if I've got that correct which I think that's where we were going anyway yeah I don't think passing can I speak no yeah I don't think passing the resolution precludes further contemplation by any other constituents whether it's the uh Colony pool advisory committee Andor Rec to provide input okay right in other words this can happen and still uh particularly since there's a temporal element here further dialogue can can happen and further considerations can be made okay I that's that's all I wanted because Colony pool will be probably be meeting it once sometime in May here early May and it's going to be in short order maybe in before next Workshop I just want to make sure that we had a little time to kick it over there and see what they thought okay thank you all right um okay so can I get a did I do the motion we still need a motion can I get a motion to approve 2024 d110 I some moved can I get a second a second I assume there's no further discussion can we get a vote then Mr Lewis yes Mr McHugh yes Mrs Roland yes Deputy Mayor Troy yes and mayor ewal yes motion passes okay we'll open our second hearing of citizens and the same rules apply as the first round thank you seeing no interest by our citizens to uh come up and speak I will close the hearing of citizens and I will look for a motion to adjourn I move that we adjourn thank you all for second second all in favor I I thank you thank you you