Alex, Greg Z, let me know when we're ready. Thank you, Alex. Recording in progress. I now call to order the committee meeting for the township of Chadam this Tuesday, May 20th, 2025. Mr. Landi, is adequate notice been
given? Yes. Adequate notice of this meeting of the township committee was given as required by the open public meetings act as follows. Notice was given to the Chad Mccouer and Mars County Deli Record on January 8th, 2025. Notice was posted on the bulletin board of the main hallway of the municipal building on January 8th, 2025 and notice
was filed with the township clerk on January 8th, 2025. Thank you, Mr. Lanti. May I get a roll call, please? Mr. Alarowitz here, Mrs. Ewald here, Mr. McHugh here. Uh, Deputy Mayor Roland is out of town, and Mayor Troy here. We
have a quorum. Thank you. I now ask everyone to stand for the pledge of allegiance. To the flag of the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In tonight's agenda, we're making
investments in mission critical infrastructure and services, namely sewage, utility, and public safety. We are recognizing and celebrating our volunteer emergency personnel and we are doing the little behind-the-scenes things that make delivering municipal services seamless and professional. On
the matter of infrastructure uh investments this evening we are taking action to prepare investments in our infrastructure through multiple capital ordinances. We are committing 570,000 in our sewer utility to ensure ongoing services and make preparations for
significant muchneeded investments in the plant in years to come. We're also preparing for a $1.8 million bond to invest in equipment for our fire and police departments and in our municipal assets utilized by among others our public works. With the procurement of
$60,000 state grant, we are enhancing our recreational ser recreational spaces, specifically Nashville to continue to provide safe and modernized places for our residents to enjoy. On the matter of public safety, I previously mentioned our police
department's organizational changes to optimize personnel in order to continue delivering a high level of service. This evening, I also want to recognize and elevate our volunteers in our Green Village and Chattam Township Fire Departments in our Chattam Emergency
Squad for the length of service award program, otherwise known as LOSAP, which is a New Jersey benefit program that makes financial contributions to eligible volunteer emergency service personnel. It is emergency medical services week,
EMS week, and I want to take an additional moment to specifically thank the members of our Chattam Emergency Squad for all that they do, providing round-the-clock service and delivering the highest care, highest level of care and professionalism to the members of
our community. We are also introducing an ordinance to comply with New Jersey law and ensure operational readiness in the event of a large-scale crisis or emergency. Our local emergency management committee, otherwise known as LEMC, will draw from a rich and diverse
set of skills and knowledge to provide clarity and direction for our community members should the need ever arise. Our police, fire, emergency services, government, schools, houses of worship, and residents at large are all
represented. I've shared in prior meetings that the fourth round of affordable housing is underway. Late last year, the state prescribed a process for establishing housing obligations for the township as well as key deadlines and filings which must be submitted along the way. The township
presented a straightforward cog and filing for reduction in housing obligation numbers. New New Jersey Boers association however took action to challenge the township's filing along with more than 150 other municipalities filings. I will say that the easy choice
for the committee was to have summarily accepted the state's preliminary numbers. But the decision by this committee was to scrutinize and lower the obligation to more accurately reflect the development reality and restraints of the township and to do so
fully abiding by the state's rules for making such a challenge. A week ago, the New Jersey Superior Court ruled in favor of the township. This is most welcome news. It is a testament to diligence, conviction in our work and advocating
for our community. I humbly thank our professionals, Kendra Lely, our affordable housing planner, Jessica Almeida, our affordable housing attorney, for develop uh delivering a compelling argument before the judge. And I thank the members of this committee, Zad Shahadi, our
administrator, Joe Baselian, Tiana, our township attorney, for doing the work, crunching numbers, critically thinking through risks and rewards, and reviewing a multitude of documents to take informed action that I believe is embraced by our constituents and
ultimately was validated in a court of law. Thank you. We now move on to committee reports. May I start over to my right, Committeeman McHugh. Thank you, Mayor. Uh we got a little abbreviated uh shorter version than I
usually come to uh tonight with, but uh first thing on the library, let's start with um there was and may you may want to retouch on this. The uh library volunteer of the year was uh was Miss Marian Economo and she was honored by uh
both Mayor Dempsey and Mayor Choy um last week I believe and uh that's some pretty exciting news for her and congratulations. Uh in addition uh great congratulations to all that uh were throughout the town and uh submitting uh
and uh donating books etc because the friends ended up uh with a donation uh for the book sale uh of $46,832 which was presented to the library which is a great uh great number and it's used to uh for library
programming uh for all ages. Uh moving on to the Chattam Township Environmental uh Commission. Uh tomorrow, as it turns out, around 5:00, there's a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grove project that's been undergone with the planting
of trees. Uh if you've been out to Shunpike Field, you'll notice there's some fencing around some uh tiny little trees, and they survived the winter. They're all turning green, and that's some good news. And even better news, we had the opportunity to put a few more uh few more trees out last weekend as well.
Um so that's some exciting news uh and watch them grow. Uh thank you, mayor. That's all I have. Thank you, committeeman. Uh committeewoman, you all. Thank you. Um I'm my reports are a little quiet today, but I will I do want to highlight for the senior center next Friday, June 6th, they will have their
35th anniversary uh party celebration and fundraiser. uh beers and cheers to 35 years. And they will be they will be honoring their long-term uh former Burke board president Jim Connelly who is um an active uh volunteer on many of the
committees throughout the township uh the environmental commission, the events committee, the Chattam Township Fire Department board, um uh very active. So, I hope a lot of residents come out to support uh the the um senior center, but also to uh thank Jim Connelly for all of
his service to the community. Um and that's everything that I have for today. Thank you, committee woman. Committee Albert Perowitz. Thank you, mayor. Um as the mayor mentioned, this week is EMS week. Uh so you'll see signs throughout Chattam Township and Chattam Burough uh
thanking the members of the Chattam Emergency Squad who provide excellent care to uh residents and visitors of the Chattam Township. Um the every year uh we nominate the we collectively I think you all know I'm an active member on the
squad. Uh a uh one member who has kind of risen above all the rest and this year uh Sue Novak who's a long-term member of the emergency squad is being honored as the EMT of the year. Uh and local area hospitals are
uh I guess showering us with gifts in the form of cookies and snacks when we drop off patients to the hospital. So, it's really lovely for them to recognize our services as well as paramedics uh who do an outstanding job. The other uh news on the emergency squad is, in case
you haven't heard, uh the new building is open for business. Uh it is a spectacular uh uh venue for uh training as well as our readiness to respond. I'm sure the members of the emergency squad and the
uh the senior personel will will abide by that and and inform you of even more. Um, special thanks to the Chattam Township Fire Department uh who housed one of our ambulances for the better part of two plus years uh and allowed us to still respond to uh calls in the
township. Um and uh the emergency squad is having an open house on June 1st for all the residents of Chattam Township and Chattam Burough uh and everyone else uh to come see for themselves uh the beautiful uh building that is there and
standing uh and ice cream will be provided by scoops uh if you need another incentive. Um, the Green Village Fire Department is having a Memorial Day flag raising ceremony at 8:30 this uh Monday uh for Memorial Day on the uh the
lawn at Memorial Way uh promptly at 8:30. So, please arrive if you do plan to go. Uh and they also reported that uh it was a busy month uh reporting to two structure fires uh in Harding uh this past month as well too. Uh I won't
provide an update to the Green Village uh to the Chattam Township Fire Department as our our chief uh is uh visible here tonight and I fully expect him to provide all of the updates as he does. But he has given a very thorough report of of the amazing work that uh
both that that his department uh and all of its members uh do for our town, which is truly truly amazing. Uh that's all I have. Thank you, committee. Uh since our last uh committee meeting, I did want to make a couple of uh acknowledgements. Um
uh towards the end of April, uh a number of families had organized uh the holy festival uh which marks uh the start of spring, otherwise known as the festival of colors. Um about 60 families uh in in Chattam Township organized at Myersall
to celebrate the event. Uh a number of members uh of of the committee here were there along with um Burough Mayor Dempsey. Uh it was a spectacular event, very Instagrammable. Um and uh I think there was some coverage in the local newspapers as well.
Um uh Bailey's Warriors uh fund run uh just occurred this past Sunday and marks um a fund run that's uh held annually at Cougar Field in honor of Bailey Bule, a Cadam resident. Uh residents came out in strong support um including a a number
of members of the Chattam girls lacrosse team. uh funds that are raised from the fund run go to support pediatric cancer research. So uh a wonderful event um that uh is near and dear to a number of members uh here in the community. Uh looking forward Jamie Paneer 5K run is
upcoming Saturday June 7th. If you haven't already done so please do register and participate in this wonderful event. Um the Jamie Paneer Foundation is the organization um that organized it. It was established in memory of Jamie Paner um a young teacher
and Chattam resident. Uh the foundation raises funds through an annual K event inspired by Jaime's athletic interest to provide scholarships for students from a charter school in Newark. Since 2015, the foundation has awarded 38 scholarships supporting students at
various prestigious schools. Uh the scholar uh scholarships ranging anywhere between four and 8,000 annually. And it's also awards the Jamie Paneer award to graduating seniors interested in education or mathematics. Again, Saturday, June se June 7th. If you haven't already done so, please do
register and participate. Uh it's a 9:00 a.m. uh fun run start, 9:30 start for the 5K race. Um there will be DJ music and refreshments throughout the event and plenty of cheering to encourage all the runners. uh girl scouts. Earlier this month, we
celebrated several uh achievements with regard to gold and silver award. I would like to give special recognition for a gold award. Uh Ayana Ball, um Megan Megan Kerry, Alessa Cooney, Eva Deigio, Juliana King, Sophia Smith, and Natalie
Yekovich. For silver awards, Sophia Lovado, Ruthie McGrath, Margaret Joyce Grea, and Lee Hillman. That's it for committee reports. We now move on to the first hearing of citizens. Mr. Lanti, could
you kindly provide guidance for the first and second hearing of citizens? 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 scheduled for public hearings tonight.
Those present may step up to the microphone to be heard. If you're watching via Zoom, you may speak during any of the public comment sessions by following the Zoom instructions to raise your hand. Whether in person or online, when you are 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 three minutes. Rather than use any of your time answering questions, the township committee will
wait until you finish uh 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 and uh duplicative written comments may be summarized rather than read in full according to guidelines issued by the New Jersey Division of Local Government Services. And mayor, we do not receive
any written comments. Uh thank you, Mr. Lante. Do we have anyone online? We do not have any hands raised on Zoom. Thank you. I now invite uh any member uh in the audience to come forth before the
microphone should they desire to do so. Good evening, mayor, members of the township committee, uh Mr. Lacanti, council. Uh my name is John Mills. I'm a lawyer in Marstown, New Jersey. I am the attorney for Mr. Mrs. Warner Gert who
reside at 17 Britain Road in Chattam Township. Uh Mr. Lacanti is kindly placing in front of you uh a packet of photos that I have that represent a timeline. Uh I was going to going to attempt to be funny and say that, you
know, Charles Dickens wrote a tale of two cities and I'm here to tell you a tale of two photos, but then I realized it's actually six photos instead of two. In any event, uh the Gerts and their family have resided at the home at 17 uh
Britain Road for at least since 1947 and in some instances parts of the family since 1928. The property has the misfortune of sharing a backyard, a common lot line with property identified as 425 Green
Village Road. Uh the photos before you are a timeline. Uh the first photo hopefully is dated 2002 which shows
a status of the property the backyard specifically of 425 Green Village Road at or about that time 2002. The subsequent photos uh are dated 2024 one of them. And then the the
subsequent two color photos are 2024 which I abstracted from uh Google Earth thanks to them. The black and white photos were photos provided to me by Mr. Gbert seated here to my right. Uh your
your right as well I guess uh and are dated from 2022. The significance of this is that when Chadam adopted its well, it had a master plan in 1940 and adopted a zoning
ordinance as far as I can tell in 1943, I believe. Uh but in any event, ever since that time, from the 40s, the property at 425 Green Village Road has been zoned
residential and is and is so zoned today. We accept that there has been a level of pre-existing non-conforming use on that property, specifically a small construction business and some sort of
soil recycling business. since prior uh to a time that dates back prior to Chattam Township adopting a zoning ordinance which would obviously render that limited use a pre-existing non-conforming use. The objection that
has caused Mr. and Mrs. Gbert to retain counsel and come to you is that that use has creaked uh in an unacceptable fashion. I'm sorry. Oh, that's three minutes. Mr. Lanti I unless there objections to
the Kitty I feel obliged to uh certainly offer an extension in time. Mhm. Please continue. Thank you. Um it's not a long spiel. Understood. In any event, the photos show the the rear of
the property at 425 Green Village becoming, in my opinion, unlawfully, illegally, if that's the right phraseiology, containing an expanded an expansion of this use. The other the black and white
photos show the use to consist of the stockpiling of soil, tree stumps, uh the mounding of dirt. I don't know if it's being imported or exported, but there is heavy equipment being used to move the soil around and to refine it. So, the
Gerts are subjected to the smell of diesel, the sound of this equipment, uh the unsightliness of these piles, not so much now with the foliage out, but in in the Stark of winter, it's it's terrible. the uncutness of the piles of mounted
waste that it are clearly being used for a commercial purpose inconsistent with the R1 zoning ordinance that is applicable to this property. And I I say to you that it it's just not right. And you're saying that, you know, you would
say, why am I here? I'm here to ask this body to task the zoning officer with the job of going back to that property, assuming he's been there already, which we've been told, of 425 Green Village Road, and examining what in heaven's
name is going on in the backyard. I don't know if it's a soil recycling business, if they're so storing soil, if they're selling soil. But in any event, the historical use is much restricted to the very front portion of that property,
not significantly down in the rear of the property, which by the way abuts the Great Swamp. And it is for that reason that I appear before you asking that this body at least commission an investigation of the activities that I believe to be contrary to your zoning
ordinance that are taking place on this property. And Mr. Gbert and I thank you for your time. Thank you, Mr. Mills. appreciate I do have a a cursory understanding of it but um if I may lean on Mr. Shotti and Miss Capone to the
extent you have further history or background. Sure. Um I don't think though that uh there's a lot of information. I know our attorney has been corresponding with Mr. Mills. So, I think the best thing to do is accept their comments and our attorney will will respond to Mr. Mills at another
time by correspondence because you have been corresponding. Yep. Yep. We'll uh we'll formally respond um and uh take a look at the the photos that they've provided and and uh consult with the zoning officer. Thank you. And and
please do keep the committee apprised. We'll do. Thank you. Uh if there's no one else in the audience who would like to come before the microphone, I shall then close. Oh, sorry, Chief. Come on up.
Good evening, Mayor Township Committee. My name is James Sakadado. I am the chief of the Chamanch Fire Department. Uh I just wanted to share a little bit about our uh fire department report annual report for not annual but um the
report for this year thus far. Um Greg is going ahead and and distributing copies for your uh viewing purposes. This report entails the activities of the Chapman Fire Department from January 2025 to May
2025. From the time of writing, we've responded to 118 calls for service, two of which have been residential structure fires. High hazard evaluate um excuse me, high hazard evaluating and a standby
of our water rescue team also occurred during the recent flash flood warnings. Our department has been completing training and professional uh certifications in basic, intermediate and advanced level fire uh firefighting and rescue disciplines including uh search and rescue which is also known as
SAR for nonfire related missing persons which could be especially helpful uh for the township. This report also addresses the membership uh recruitment and retention uh concerns we are facing along with the rest of the nation. projects such as our radio upgrade and
purchasing of our new ladder truck uh to help um thanks to the help and support of the township administrator and the township committee. Lastly, within this report, this report, it's uh proposed that the township um start a
townshipwide campaign informing the public to not feel embarrassed to call the fire department for any issue, any issues they have. um and is created, sorry, any issue they have is created along with uh further
education of the use of the 911 system. Uh just to kind of breeze through this so I I don't waste anybody's time here. Um but just an overview of our fire department. You know, the Chattam Township Fire Department is steadfast uh stays steadfast to provide the highest quality of care to the residents of the
township of Chattam with highly skilled individuals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Our hardworking and committed membership always upholds the highest standards of professionalism and traditions within the fire service. Each member exemplifies our mission,
vision, and values. is through these values our membership always stays sharp um and up for any task. Last year we responded to 375 calls for service uh which marked our busiest year in the department's history
not including uh a major storm or hurricane uh coming through. Um again we've responded to 118 calls for service uh this year so far whereas about this point we are at 125. So we're on pace for another busy year.
As stated before, our our uh most notable calls for the year so far were two mutual aid responses into New Providence for uh residential structure fires. One of which was an exterior attack um due to the incident commander deeming that the building was too unsafe
for anybody to enter. While uh while our units were operating at that structure fire, the building did have a partial collapse to it. Uh on the notable events, um as I said before in the uh executive summary,
um on May 14th, while the rainstorms persisted, the Chams fire department made preparations for potential flash flooding in our area. Uh with increased traffic on the on Bridge A and Central A, our fire officers continuously evaluated possible threats of flooding
which may have caused uh motorists to become stuck in their vehicles with water uh cresting the river. Um, our water rescue team was ready and prepared to respond to any and all water emergencies. One thing I would like to
uh address if if the committee will allow it is um some some of our training that we've been doing this year. Um, obviously responding to emergencies are are major concern. Um but one of one of the other priorities that we have is always
ensuring that we are well equipped and highly trained at what we do on a daily basis. Um, we've been fortunate enough to be sending our firefighters ranging anywhere from the firefighter one and fire two uh, basic certification courses to specialized training courses such as
ice rescue technician, advanced ice rescue technician, rapid intervention, also known as RIT, safety and survival training, elevator emergencies technician, uh, with the addition of the previously mentioned uh, search and rescue. This one is particularly um
special because this course is the uh command level um command level course to uh manage and start the coordinating efforts for um for missing people. Uh whether it's a lost hiker in the great
swamp, a missing special needs child, or an elderly or dementia uh patient that has gone missing. Um we are also pursuing here in June uh an advanced hydrant operations at largecale incidents uh and a officer development
program later in the year to ensure that our fire department is always ready and highly skilled and trained. One other notable thing I would like to to address uh which again is is mostly to your hard work and your credit is
that we we worked on last year to replace our grossly outdated radios with new state-of-the-art technology that will not only serve our department for many years but also keep our members safe during emergency operations. We are extraordinarily grateful for the township administrator and township
committee for the support uh for supporting this effort and understanding our operational concerns. We are pleased to say that these new radios have been in service for some time now and all members have seen the benefit of having more reliable and cap uh incap capable radios that will only enhance our
operational readiness and situational awareness. Another large scale project that uh is the replacement of ladder 12 with a new ladder truck. We are pleased to announce that the new ladder truck is underway and that this uh piece of apparatus will greatly increase the effectiveness of the Chattam Township
Fire Department's operational capability. This new ladder 12 is going to be a modern take on the new or the former ladder 12 with a higher uh higher ability to carry more ground ladders equipped with a 100 uh foot aerial device. And due to its nature of being a
quint which is a uh which is a a piece of apparatus that can have fire suppression like a engine company but also have all of the uh ground ladders and aerial ladders and would be assigned to search and rescue efforts and uh be
assigned to ventilation. Um it's in it's critically important to understand that this piece of apparatus because it is also a suppression piece will greatly enhance just like our older one will also greatly enhance the township's um uh safety considering that we have two
suppression pieces on both ends of our stations. The last thing I wanted to uh or two more things I'm sorry I don't mean to take up your time. Um one thing I really wanted to mention here was our membership concerns. Um, I'm very pleased and proud of the
hardworking men and women of the Chamanch Fire Department. This department is truly made up of the most dedicated, well-trained firefighters, and I could not be prouder of that. However, we are facing recruitment and retention issues just like most volunteer fire departments throughout the country. Unfortunately, but
fortunately, uh, the members we are losing are not for any anything negative, but for rather new job or school opportunities, most of which are in other states. While I am thrilled that this department can serve as a catalyst to uh for our members to make this into
a career, unfortunately our members who have been uh fortunate enough to become career firefighters are doing so in uh other departments, most of which again are out of state. This leads me to my next point of recruitment. Our membership committee is hard at work
developing new and innovative ways to recruit new and potential members for our fire department. Unfortunately, volunteerism is on a downward trajectory, not only just in Chattam Township, but throughout the entire country. The fire service is starting to see more and more volunteer fire
departments close their doors uh because of the staffing issue. Um and and some of them have been going to either daytime paid staff or full-blown career staff to supplement the uh membership issues.
I do not believe that we are at the point in Chattam Township, but we are concerned that at some point we might be looking at a issue. Um, I would like to propose that we uh start to have a dialogue with the township and strategize to come up with ways and
ideas uh in order to get more people interested in joining and serving their community just like we have been doing for almost a hundred years this coming October. The last two initiatives I I would ask is we would like to push a campaign to the residents of Chhattam Township, no
matter how small the issue or whatever the issue may be, to not be afraid or embarrassed to call the fire department to help and assist. Countless times I personally have uh explained to residents uh or I've had residents explain to me that they feel bad for
calling us, that they didn't want to make a big deal out of something. myself and my fire officers always explain that there is never uh a problem uh that it's never a problem and this is exactly what we are here for. No, no issue is too
small or too big to handle. It's our job uh and our responsibility as professional firefighters to respond to any and all emergencies. And while we try to um to explain this to them, another initiative that we'd like to to ask is that we try to educate our
residents that should they need the fire department um for any any reason to utilize the 911 system. Often we have residents calling the firehouses uh since they do not believe that 911 is the appropriate uh
use uh for their issue. As you know, we do not staff our firehouses and we would hate to have our residents concerns go unanswered because they didn't feel comfortable dialing 911. Maybe a townshipwide committee or um campaign will help uh re residents
within Sham Township understand that 911 is to be used for at any time. Often my line that I say to residents uh that feel this way is is as follow. If you smell something you shouldn't, see something you shouldn't, or hear
something you shouldn't, call 911. Um, and when it comes to a carbon monoxide detector, always call because carbon monoxide, again, is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. We want everyone, we want to ensure that everyone is safe, and never afraid to
get the help that they need. My closing remarks, I would like to uh take a moment and again thank the township administrator, the township committee for always providing the support to our fire department. Without it, we as an organization would not be uh where we
are today. I cannot overstate how proud I am uh of the men and women of the Cham Town Fire Department and it is a great honor to be the chief of such an incredible and strong organization. I value the responsibility placed upon me and I along with this fire department
will do everything within our power to provide only the highest level of care, compassion and operational effectiveness every day no matter the incident or hazards presented to us. Thank you for your time. Chief Sakodado, thank you very much. Appreciate you coming to uh the meeting.
I have some comments, but if there's anyone else I don't want to jump in, please um You know, I had mentioned to the chief that we ran into friends uh whose their son, who happens to be my son's hockey buddy,
um just started as a professional firefighter down in Woodbridge and they were talking about, you know, all the training that had to, you know, he had to take and uh all the things he had to do and he he loved what he was doing and he was thrilled to be a part of this fire department. But then we had a conversation about a funeral that they
went to uh for a firefighter 53 who uh had helped at ground zero and died from um illness related to to providing that assistance. So, and here we have a volunteer fire department. I mean, it's just um amazing to me uh uh that they
would volunteer, you know, in a situation that puts themselves at risk. And uh believe me, that mom was, you know, concerned about her son becoming a professional firefighter. So, um we know it's taxing on the families as well. So, I appreciate everything all of you do,
uh your volunteerism. Um I I don't think what I just said might encourage people to join, but I know it's a uh an amazing group of people and um you know, the township residents do appreciate everything you do and I and I encourage everybody certainly to support our fire
departments as well. Thank you, Committee. Um, yeah, thank you for coming today uh tonight, Chief. Um, I I know you didn't come here to receive any praise for yourself, but I would like to mention
that um I know how hard it is to spend all that time, that effort, the, you know, keeping the pager on 24/7 by your bed when you sleep, jumping up in the middle of the night, going to a call, doing all the things that you do 247.
But it does take an extra level of commitment to be in the shoes that you're in to keep everybody safe and to follow every protocol and to know all of those details yourself and your lieutenants and everybody that supports you. Uh is it that extra sort of step?
Um the the one thing I would add I guess for anyone that's listening is that um we all join these kinds of volunteer organizations because we want to make a difference. We really do. Um, and I think we go into it so aggressively and
what we realize, what we get out of it is so much more than we could ever put into it. So, it's always uh not a big deal for any of us that put on a uniform to to respond to a 911 call. So, to your point, um I'm sure the other members of
our first responders will gladly support that initiative as well, uh in a joint effort, uh because I can't tell you how many patients we interact that felt embarrassed to call 911, uh didn't want to go to the hospital, but still wanted to call 911 and uh and
also uh just thought their carbon monoxide detector was defective and there was no reason to call 911. uh which is what ends up keeping us all there. Um so there's a lot that I think that uh the joint services can probably
bring to the table together. So I certainly welcome it. But thank you for being here tonight. Thank you for all you do, all of your brave men and women and indeed to Committee's Ewald's uh comments. Um, Chattam Township is so lucky to have a group of volunteer fire
departments, two of them, uh, and emergency services, uh, that that respond to every single call that's asked of them, it's truly amazing. Thank you. I I will say over over the course of looking at organizations um
particularly in the context of um an industry where you are in fact as you mentioned earlier chief uh a number of departments are struggling or closing out right. um to see the department uh continuing stead
steadfastly in providing really a stellar level of service I think is is exemplifies exemplified by the leadership and culture that's there from what I can gather speaking to a number of firefighters who come to community
events uh and do their part in in making themselves a part of the community and the activities that are being organized um I talk to them and uh you you know, uh committeeman and I had the pleasure of uh seeing the station and and walking it. Um it it is a vibrant, really
disciplined, professional culture organization there and I think that's uh a reflection on on your leadership, Chief. So, hats off to you and um I thank you and every firefighter serving um for for your continued service. So, thank you very much. One last point,
Chief. uh in the spirit of uh assisting whatever capacity we can um if there are any events or anything you would like to be broadcast out please do bring it to any member of the committee uh we will be sure to use this platform as a way to
uh augment communications any events fundraisers or or or um any announcements uh any piece of information they feel newsworthy they want to get out to the broader audience uh please do forward it to one of us and we'd be delighted to uh broadcast that
out richly. Thank you, Chief. I shall now close the first hearing of citizens. We'll move on to uh public hearing and uh final adoption of ordinances. We have uh one ordinance this evening, ordinance
2025-11 amending police department structure. Mr. Shahad, if you kindly give a briefing. Uh this ordinance uh follows a few uh meetings at which uh it's been discussed at introduction and workshop and what it does is it covers
um rather it uh accommodates a request by the chief to restructure our police department. So that way there is a special services sergeant uh that would be in charge. Um and updates our ordinance to reflect the addition of a police officer that several years ago had been added to our table of
organization, but the ordinance was never updated to reflect that. Thank you, Mr. Shotty. Yeah, I've said it in prior meetings, but I I think it's um uh yet another example of uh Chief Miller's sound leadership, always scrutinizing uh the organization and the
operations and um um with the primary objective is always maintain a high level of service and um in conjunction to that um being mindful of operating costs. So, uh thank you chief for your continued uh good work
and service. I shall now uh open up a public hearing for ordinance 2025-11 amending police department structure. Mr. Okanti. Okay. I see no one in the audience coming before the microphone. So I shall
close public hearing for ordinance 2025-11 amending public department uh police department structure. Uh I now seek a motion to adopt. So moved. Do I have a second? Great. Thank you, Commman. Mr. Lanti. Um, yeah. So, um, so now open up the
discussion to the committee. Great. Mr. Mr. El Perowitz. Yes. Mrs. Ew. Yes. Mr. McHugh. Yes. And Mayor Troy. Yes. Motion passes. The ordinance is adopted.
Thank you, Mr. Lanti. On to resolutions. We have a single resolution this evening. Uh resolution 2025-114 amending capital budget. Mr. Shod, if you kindly provide an over briefing. Yes, mayor. Uh so this resolution is an annual resolution we
do. Uh what it does is uh amends the capital budget that was uh included in the operating budget which uh you adopted earlier this year. uh the capital budget and the operating budget uh functions as a a template but also a
a roadmap for six years ahead. Uh the framework of that is still to be developed when you introduce and consider the operating budget. And then uh after we're done with that, once we know what our uh capital improvement fund looks like and and really what our debt obligations look like um then we
amend that capital budget after further review with the finance committee uh and fine-tune it to exact uh exact figures and specifics and also what those funding sources are. So the resolution before you today uh reflects the uh the capital plan that you received in your
agenda. Uh and that capital plan is what uh then feeds the three ordinances that we will be discussing later this evening as well. Uh this was reviewed by the finance committee uh as both part of the operating budget process and then also after that the uh special meeting that
we had on capital. Uh nothing in here is is particularly surprising. Uh it's all for the most part uh items that we anticipated in previous years as part of the excellent work that the department had to do in projecting. Um the the few changes that did occur uh Green Village
Fire Department swapped out the purchase of an apparatus for uh funding for a change order that they talked to you about earlier this year. Uh and then there were maybe one or two other requests that were reduced by department heads and as uh you know we get closer
to it we update those quotes from the vendors to make sure that we are not uh you know under budgeting because of tariffs or uh supply chain issues or or any other uh pricing changes. So that's what you have before you tonight in this resolution is to uh amend the capital
budget to reflect those items and then the ordinances to follow will uh authorize the uh capital outlay for those. Thank you, Mr. Shotti. I now seek a motion to adopt resolution
2025-114 amending capital budget. I move to uh adopt resolution 2025-114 which you have amended the capital budget and I will second that. Thank you. I now open up for discussion
amongst committee. I mean I think we had discussed I I don't think there was any surprises on the list of items that are um you know and a lot of it is basic stuff that we normally you know the roads the uh police cars uh equipment for the um fire
department. So I think um everything seemed reasonable um yeah and I was uh comfortable with what was presented. So no surprises. The only addition, I apologize, I will add, is uh funding for the red brick
schoolhouse. That's the uh the only addition. It's in here. It's included in all this, but I mean, it's the only addition from uh previous years. It was not incorporated into the the six-year projections. Uh that's because they were working on estimates for us and they got that in time for this year's capital
plan. Great. Thank you. I would also note the audible that um we had to make in in connection with uh the Green Village. Uh that was um um a nice piece of uh trying to accommodate the needs and obviously the um ever the ceaseless
challenge of dealing with escalating costs for uh equipment, materials and and whatnot. So uh hats off to you Mr. Shotti for accommodating the uh Green Village Fire Department uh and making that work uh for them and also for um
our capital budget. So thank you. It was also nice just to mention that there's a a significant chunk. I think it's like a third that's being funded through um the capital account. I can't it's not really the operating budget, but in other words, we're not taking on debt in
order to um to to fund that portion of it, which I think is very good. So, in that respect, there's been some sound planning uh and and fiscal, you know, effective fiscal management. So, I appreciate everyone's efforts. If there's no one else, I shall close
discussion and take it to a vote. Mr. Lacanti. Mr. Perowitz, yes. Mrs. Ew, yes. Mr. McHugh, yes. And Mayor Troy, yes. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr. Lanti. On to introduction of ordinances. Uh, we have several this evening. First
up is ordinance 2025-12 amending uh LEMC, local emergency management committee. Mr. Shik Shotti, could you kindly provide a briefing? Yes, mayor. Um, as was discussed at the workshop meetings, uh, this is largely a housekeeping uh,
ordinance amendment, uh, there was some language in here that needed to be modified to reflect, uh, state statute and, um, uh, the state's um, administrative code, which we did. But the uh significant changes as separate from that uh reflect some comments from
the public safety committee which includes uh uh the composition revisions to the composition of the local emergency management council so that way uh we can incorporate a member of the public safety committee into this uh LEMC.
Thank you Mr. Shotti. I now seek a motion to introduce ordinance 2025-12 amending. So moved. Well, second. Thank you. I shall now open up for discussion amongst the committee. Yeah, I have nothing new to report other
discussed it multiple times. I think this is a important and good addition. So, thank you. Yes, mandated by New Jersey state law. And I think there's some modifications made, still being compliant with law. And I think uh it's
a uh multiddisciplinary, well-rounded group of folks on that committee who will be at the ready in the event uh hopefully it never does, but in the event um the arises to mobilize uh the committee. Uh so I thank Mr. Shotti and Chief Miller for collaborating to make
it happen. Thank you very much. There's nothing else. I shall close discussion uh and take it to a vote. Mr. Lanti, Mr. Alperowitz, yes. Mrs. Eold, yes. Mr. McHugh, yes. And Mayor Choy, yes. Motion passes and
public hearing will be on June 24th. Thank you, Mr. Lanti. Next up is ordinance 2025-13, multi-purpose bond ordinance. Mr. Shotti. Thank you, mayor. Uh, if I may, I will speak on the three ordinances together if that's okay. Fair enough. Ordinance
2025-13, 2025-14, and 2025-15. Yes. Should not replace you taking individual action on them, but just since they all are part and parcel, uh, as I mentioned with respect to the resolution, uh, the resolution that we adopted earlier, uh, sets the and amends the capital plan to
reflect the specifics for 2025's capital needs. Uh, these ordinances now, uh, make those authorizations. So what that means is uh through 2025-13 um that is approximately $1.8 million in
capital expenditures that will be authorized uh upon adoption of this ordinance. Of that 1.8 uh million uh approximately 500 and some change 500,000 and some change is coming out of our capital improvement fund. Uh which means that that is uh reducing the
amount that we would need to borrow. As uh Committee Woman Ewald said, uh almost a third of that. Uh the rest of it is, as you alluded to in your uh opening remarks, largely public safety uh expenditures for police department and our fire departments, not just in terms of vehicles and apparatus, but also uh
things like the self-contained breathing apparatus, uh radios, communication equipment. Uh there are some other items in here as I mentioned, the red brick schoolhouse. Uh it is municipally owned property uh that is uh really an aging structure that needs a significant
upkeep and maintenance and so we're appropriating some money into that uh thanks to the volunteers uh of the historical society who put that together and um our DPW uh especially you know maintaining the vehicles that help maintain the roads especially with snow
and uh other issues and our parks and our fields. uh those represent smaller portion of this expenditure but nevertheless they are important. Uh there's I would say no uh unnecessary expenditures here and so as we uh go through the purchases they're not
automatically do they get funded but when we need them we will finance them uh in order to make sure that we're not paying interest on things that don't need it. That's for uh 13 which is for general municipal uh matters that fall
under operating and current fund. The other two are items that would come out of the sewer utility. Uh so 2025-14 is uh $320,000 uh to do the work that we've discussed with respect to u uh upgrades
at the plant that are necessary. Uh those are all items that will be coming out of the sewer utilities capital improvement fund. So that's $320,000 appropriated from the sewer utility to make this work. Uh things like a compressor at the plant. Uh trying to remove some asbestous at the
plant. Uh that does exist and uh we want to get ahead of it before it becomes an issue. Uh some communition equipment that's what they call uh the grinder. That's what grinds the material coming into the plant and then refurbishing some plump pumps as well. Uh this all ensures that uh residents who are
connected to our sewer system uh have a sewer utility that will continue to operate with minimal downtime which uh if there was any issues uh would drive up operating costs, cause some emergencies and potentially cause catastrophic uh issues uh into their homes. Uh and
then the third one is uh going to be borrowed money that is uh 2025-15 and that is for uh soft cost. When we say soft cost that's really for our professionals. So that is for engineering professionals to begin the preliminary engineering and design work
for the major nearly $7 million worth of work that needs to happen at the water pollution control plant. Uh the what we're looking to do and it was discussed at the workshop meeting by our engineer Mr. Rushki is make an application to the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. Uh that
is how we would finance that uh that amount of money. But in order to borrow it from them, they require a lot of technical details uh in advance. So this $250,000 appropriation uh authorization in 2025-15 allows Mr. Rushki and his team
to start that work so that way later on we can make application to the I bank. Uh that will require another capital authorization. Uh but that will probably come later this year or early next year. Thank you Mr. Shahadi. And the benefit of the I bank is really lower much lower
interest rates uh than we would get on conventional market. Yeah. almost effectively zero in close to close to there's some of it some of it zero hyper competitive rates correct relative to the free market uh before I seek a motion uh Mr. Kanti, I just I looked at
two different versions of the agenda. I have a a typo on number four, ordinance. It should read 2025-15, not 2024. Just ensure we've got um full accuracy there. Should be a five. Great. Uh with that, I now seek a motion
to introduce uh ordinance 2025-13, multi-purpose bond ordinance. So move. Do I have a second? I'll second. Great. Uh, open up for discussion if any. I will close discussion and take it
to a vote. Mr. Lanti, Mr. El Perowitz, yes. Mrs. Zel, yes. Mr. McHugh, yes. And Mayor Choy, yes. Motion passes public hearing on June 24th. Great. Thank you. Um, so with that, I will now seek a
motion um to introduce ordinance 2025-14. So move second. I now open up for discussion. I will close for discussion.
Take it to a vote. Mr. Lacanti. Mr. El Perowitz. Yes. Mrs. Hold. Yes. Mr. McHugh. Yes. And Mayor Choy. Yes. Uh public hearing on June 24th. Motion having passed. Thank you. And finally, I seek a motion to introduce ordinance
2025-15, sewer sewer utility bond ordinance. So move. Second. So moved. I'll second. Great. Open up for discussion. I will close. Uh Mr. Lanti.
Mr. Alperoitz. Yes. And Mrs. Eold. Yes. Uh Mr. McHugh. Yes. and Mayor Joy. Yes. Motion passes public hearing on June 24th. Thank you. I guess I just wanted to, you know, sometimes if residents watch these things and they hear no discussion when we're spending millions
of dollars, um I just want to make clear first of all, Mr. Shotty gave a great explanation, but also these things are discussed in in prior meetings. So this is basically the culmination of weeks of of uh going through, you know, what the needs are and plus the finance committee, you know, going through
everything with a fine tooth code. So, I didn't want anybody think that we're taking this lightly in any way, shape, or form. That's a shout out for the public to start watching our workshop meetings. Well, in conjunction, I think during the last workshop, Mr. Rushki was uh before
uh the committee to speak certainly uh in reference to a number of these things um especially the sewer utility bond ordinance, the work related to that. Um so, I shall now move on to the consent agenda. Uh, are there any um items that
a member of the committee would like to carve out? If not, I then seek a motion to approve a consent agenda resolutions 2025-115 through resolution 2025-122.
So moved. I'll second. Mr. Operitz, yes. Mrs. Eold, yes. Mr. McHugh. Yes. Mayor Troy. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr. Lanti. On to the non-consent agenda item, a single resolution, which is resolution
2025-123, uh, LO staff eligibility. Normally, this would have been on the consent agenda, but Mr. Alperoitz had already indicated he had to recuse. Yeah. So, uh, it's clear to everybody in this room, uh, my name is on the, uh,
list of recipients, and I therefore will abstain from this vote, which doesn't take away from, uh, my overwhelmingly, uh, high support, uh, of of the LOAP program uh, and everyone that has has achieved it on the Green Village Fire
Department, the Chattam Township Fire Department, and the Chadam Emergency Squad. Well, thank you, committeeman. Uh, Mr. Shotti if you could kindly provide a brief overview on the length of service. Sure. Um so LOAP stands for length of service award program. Uh these are uh
programs that municipalities can adopt uh in an effort to uh reward and recognize the service of volunteers. Uh they are required to be created by ordinance uh through a referendum process which has happened here in Chadam. So the programs do exist and
every year uh we receive uh a report from each department uh the fire departments and the emergency management squad uh indicating uh those those members that have uh qualified for LOSAP by meeting the criteria and acrewing the
the requisite number of points in order to uh get a contribution from the municipality. So it almost acts like a a small kind of like a contribute a retirement pension fund almost but it's not it's a savings account uh that does
acrue interest and uh it's a small reward and a thank you for our volunteers uh for all the work that they put in and certainly a uh a cost savings when compared to running a paid fire department or paid EMS squad. Uh so this is just a drop in the bucket but uh
extremely uh important for us to do. Thank you, Mr. Shotti. Um, and we usually wait until after the adoption of the budget to do it. Uh, that's why, uh, you know, comes around this time of year. Uh, and so, uh, that's what's before you is that report and then so we
can make those contributions to the to the eligible members. Thank you. I now see a motion to adopt resolution 2025-123, LOAP eligibility. So moved. I'll second. Thank you. I now open up to
uh for discussion amongst committee. I guess I just wanted to say thank you to committeeman El Perowitz, but also to um all the members of our Chattam Township Fire Department, our Green Village Fire Department and our emergency uh squad for all their efforts, their volunteerism. Um I did
want to highlight on top of uh all the great work of the fire department, the uh emergency squad uh the new structure. you know, they volunteer to be on an emergency squad and they expect to respond to emergency situations and that's where their passion is and and how they want to help the community and
then they turn around and guess what they're fundraising for a new building and thinking about architectural drawings and thinking about what the needs and requirements are and they did an amazing job. I mean the facility is just uh state-of-the-art and um I think it'll help to attract volunteers in the
future. So uh help to ensure the sustainability of that um that you know that group that organization. So uh you know I thank all of our volunteers that have above and beyond earned that LOAP award uh for their efforts.
My only other comment would be that it's an extensive list um and it's across multiple disciplines all of which I think is illustrative of um the robust level of service and volunteerism here in the township. Uh so I thank you all who are on that list for your
long-standing service and um I continue I wish you continued success individually and with the organization. Um is there nothing else? Sorry, commitment. Sorry, just for education purposes, um there's a on the emergency
squad particularly, there's we do have quite a number of members. Uh this is a small fraction of the people that actually qualify for length of service award program based on the time and the commitment that they put in, the shifts that they do, the extracurricular activities, the training, um all of the
different things that happen. And each department, the fire departments have their own list of criteria to do that. So, uh, not every single member, uh, that is on the departments, uh, qualify for this. Um, only those that, um, really put in, um, kind of that above
and beyond time commitment, uh, to serve the community. So, uh, as if you needed another reason. Oh, certainly special distinction. Yes. Um, so I shall now close discussion and,
uh, take it to a vote. Mr. Landi, Mr. Perowitz. Uh, I will abstain in my case. Uh, Mrs. Eold, yes. Mr. McHugh, yes. And Mayor Choy, yes. Motion passes.
Thank you, Mr. Lanti. We now move on to the second hearing of citizens. Mr. Ki has provided guidance uh for the first and second hearing of citizens. So, I now ask Mr. Lanti if you could kindly acknowledge if there's anyone written statements or anyone online. Yes, we do have one hand raised.
Uh, Mr. Carrer. Hi, this is Stuart Carr from 3 Crestwood Drive in Chattam Township, New Jersey. Can you hear me? Yes, sir. Yeah. Good evening, everybody. Um, couple of items. One, I just read some notes from April uh 8 meeting. I've been out of out of
town, out of touch a little bit. Uh, Mr. Al Peritz's comment about bringing in new business on the fly. uh comments. I didn't see that the tape or the back and forth with him and Mrs. Ewalt, Miss Ewald. But I think conceptually the idea of bringing in stuff on the fly is not a
bad idea because no action can be taken and if you know Mr. Alowitz or XYZ Mr. or Mrs. decides that there's something of import that has to you know they think is important to bring up and um you know it doesn't go through the full process or whatever. I think that's
something that should be considered. I know Missy Wall talked about a balancing act, but I think leaning toward the idea of having more information upfront at the risk of it not being on the agenda since there's no, you know, action item. I think that's a good idea. But that's
that's not why I'm calling. But anyway, um, thank you for that, Mr. Alarowitz. That's a good uh good thought. See if it goes anywhere. Number two, again, haven't done any homework, so I apologize. I saw the 158 or whatever the number is, 158 141 dynamic. I saw the um
information Miss Ewall was speaking to about unmet need and all that type of thing. Was there any discussion at the April meeting when you had the summary discussion about the fourth round about what the realistic development potential is at this point? I didn't see anything on that. We got the full number. We got
the unmet need versus the RDP. Uh is there anything and if again I apologize if I missed it, but where is that in the process at this point? Please. Is that it? Um, yes it is. And thank you again for
your time. Thank you, Mr. Clark. Did you want to take a stab at it or you want me to take a a stab at explaining because we we did it. We talked about the planning board. So, okay. Yeah, it's pretty cut and dry. Um although I thinking of the numbers and I
might mess it up. Um so the realistic development uh potential uh which is based on um conducting a vacant land adjustment uh comes out to be four units. Uh but I believe we only need to be built three because we get a credit.
So um so right now uh the planning board has to review that because they will approve the fair share housing element fair share and housing element plan. Um so they have to approve that. Uh so they're reviewing it and that's where this was discussed and then there will be an unmet need uh of the balance which
I guess would be the 137. Um and that would be addressed through an um overlay zone. Um and we're looking at the area over by the Shopright Center and Ace Hardware. That area is being reviewed for an overlay
zone. That's how we would meet uh that requirement. That's pretty much the highlights and that information will be um uh reviewed and documents and covering that particular topic will be made available I believe on the website right for the
public to access uh at the upcoming planning board meeting correct the workshop and I believe our planner did also present that here at a either a workshop or a regular meeting uh so it was presented to the public here uh and at the planning board and uh will be
again reviewed at I think the June uh I can tell you right now the June uh 16th planning board meeting I And that's when they will uh as committee woman you will mention and then we will be uh reviewing it at our June 24th township
committee meeting for endorsement. No, I'm sorry. I was still thinking about what I was saying. Did you ask if it is it posted? Did we post the latest? Not yet. We're uh we were waiting for the numbers to be confirmed by the court. Uh and so our planner is finalizing the housing element fair
share plan in a draft form. Uh and that draft will be put on the website. Okay. So, what we what we've gone over publicly was her presentation here, but now she's going to put it into the housing element fair share plan uh as a draft document, and that's what will be posted to the website. I think uh last
time we spoke with her, she was anticipating hopefully having that by the end of this month. Okay. Thank you. Oh, and uh yeah, just uh very quickly certainly want to would um feel it appropriate to respond um to
Mr. Carr's uh earlier point about uh notion of new business uh an item uh for consideration that was brought forth by committeeman Al Perurwitz. um uh he and I had uh discussions along with the administrator in the past um
and we uh we've looked at uh how we might be able to incorporate and how you know the uses of it. Um I did also take the liberty of of speaking with a couple other mayors uh to get an understanding of how uh other uh agendas are crafted and how other meetings are run. Um we it
was the opinion at this point that uh the there is uh certainly generous opportunity for uh for each member to speak on his or her behalf with regard to items that are on his or her plate. Um we've got committee reports and we
certainly um uh have an open dialogue, open channels of communication um before we get on the deis and after uh after deis. So uh we felt that well I felt that certainly um is something that that we probably will uh consider at a later
time at this point believe the agenda uh as it's run today is is adequate and satisfactory. So um uh you certainly continue to monitor it if things change but that's certainly uh the position at this point that we're going to take. But
uh thank you for the input and um know that uh uh every every suggestion and opinion is taken into consideration uh given appropriate weighty consideration. Yeah, just to um just to add I guess
just in case uh anyone is out there wondering if my needs were met or not met and the mayor has kind of spoken for me. Um, I appreciate all of the work that the mayor did, uh, who gave me some pretty good rationale behind, um, the
changing of the agenda in order to incorporate this, uh, where I felt that, uh, pretty much every instance where I've had a need, uh, the mayor has listened, responded, um, added where appropriate to the agenda at this time.
This wasn't, uh, driven by any particular issue, uh, currently. Um, and I do feel like all of my needs are met and there are ample opportunities for me to speak. Um, that said, um, I do think that we, uh,
there was possibly a consideration where rather than adding it to the agenda, we talked about perhaps during a workshop there was an one further opportunity. Does anyone have anything more to say kind of thing, which is up to the discretion of the mayor to add or not
add. Uh, and I respect his decision either way on that. Um, That's kind of where we left it. Thank you, Committ Thank you, Mr. Carr. Do we have anyone else? Uh, great. Um, so I shall now close the
second hearing of citizens. Um, do I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. I'll second. All in favor? I. We are adjourned. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Recording stopped.
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