Heat. Heat. Good evening and welcome to the township of Clark Council meeting. It is Monday, July 20th, 7:30 p.m. Roll call, please. >> Council member Hoff here. Council member Hunt, >> he's absent. >> He's absent. Council member Maserella
>> here. >> Council member Maniti >> here. >> Council member Okconor >> here. >> Council member Tol >> here. >> Council President Smith >> here. Can you please stand for the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it
stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, thank you. This meeting is in compliance with the open public meetings act chapter 231 PL1975 as adequate notice of this
meeting has been provided by mailing the annual schedule of meetings to the star ledger the the leader and union county local source by posting such annual meeting schedule on the bulletin board and town hall reserved for such announcements the official website of the township of Clark ourclark.com in
compliance with PL 2025 chapter 72 effective March 1st, 2026 and the proper filing of said notice. Formal action may be taken at this meeting. >> Great. Thank you. We're going to move on to communications from the mayor and reports of township officers. Mayor
Albanesey's. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, first thing I want to mention this evening is um my sadness over hearing of the passing of Joan Rajapi, Union County Clerk. She was a devoted public servant
committed to her work in the various positions she held over 45 years she worked for the county. Miss Vappy was devoted to the citizens of Union County and she also taught public administration at Rutgers University uh
for 20 years. So like to express my condolences to her family. Um, before we talk about this past weekend, I just want to talk for a few minutes about the storms that we had on July 3rd
and 4th. Um, first of of all, I want to thank all of our emergency service employees, uh, the office of emergency management, public works department, police, fire, and the emergency squad squad, as well as the citizens of Clark for their
patience during this um, unexpected um, situation, especially those that experienced damage to their property and so many of those that lost power for a long period perod of time. There was short notice regarding the arrival of
such an intense storm. While not a tornado, the impact had a similar result in many areas. We had two major roadways closed. And it was not just from falling trees, but utility poles and trees that
were wrapped up in wires. So, um it's not the usual storm that we've had in the past. Um, residents are reminded if your house did experience damage from fallen trees, you should contact your homeowner's
insurance if you haven't already. As soon as possible, do that. Um, and arrange for any removal that's still remaining. Um, there may be still areas that are cleaning up. I know I'm still cleaning up my property. Um, once again, we appreciate your cooperation uh and
patience. Uh, nonetheless, we like many surrounding towns went ahead with our 250th anniversary flag raising celebration and thanks to our scouts and the American Legion Commander
Dave Broadwell who were there. Um, and also of course our annual fireworks. We were just able to squeeze it in in time just before another rainy downpour that evening. As for this past weekend,
um while the severe weather forecast for the weekend did not ultimately materialize to the extent anticipated, the township was fully prepared to respond for any emergency. Based on the forecast and guidance received, our emergency services
proactively increased staffing and positioned equipment to ensure the safety of our residents. And I think as I've explained in the past, we have a team of people that are um in a group that are always communicating with one
another during these incidents. The fire depart department staffed three engine companies, one ladder, and one pickup truck equipped with a rescue boat and two command vehicles, resulting in more than 130 additional personnel hours
dedicated to storm readiness. In addition, the first aid squad provided over 100 additional staffing hours beyond its normal weekend coverage to ensure emergency medical service resources were immediately available if
conditions deteriorated. Fortunately, the anticipated impacts were less severe than forecasted. However, the advanced planning, inter agency coordination, and commitment of our volunteer emergency responders ensured that the township was fully
prepared for any potential incident. I appreciate the dedication and professionalism demonstrated by all of our emergency service personnel throughout the weekend. And as you recall, it was just over a year ago. We had it was just a rainy day to everyone.
But when that rain came down, I think it was uh July 13th last year, 30 cars were stranded and destroyed. Um eight individuals were on top of cars waiting to be rescued. As we mentioned, we have
we do have um uh certain uh equipment that will that we can use to uh do that. So um just want to keep that in mind. You can never be prepared enough. Okay, I'm just going to move on. Say a
few words about the camp. Um camps are in full swing and everyone seems to be having a great time enjoying the many activities. Our camp has grown over the years. Uh in the past when my children were uh going to the camp, there were about six grades. Now we cover 10 grades
including preschool to 8th grade. I want to thank the parents for cooperating with the staff regarding pickup and drop offs at the camp, which is an event in itself. Most important, our goal is to focus on
the safety of our children and all involved. Also, the pool is in full swing. It's not too late to join the pool. We appreciate everyone's participation from the community and this past Sunday, the pool celebrated member appreciation day.
Just one among the many various activities and events that are held at the pool. This time, Mr. President, I'm going to move on to um summarize um what we're presenting on the agenda this evening. The first ordinance 26-21
is vacating a portion of Lakeside Boulevard. And this ordinance vacates a portion of unimproved, it's a paper street known as Lakeside Boulevard and fulfills a long-standing commitment that the township made to vacate this
area. Now, vacation of a paper street means that the rights of the township and the public to use the area are extinguished. There are no public improvements in this area of the paper street and the area is not necessary for a public purpose.
Prior vacating ordinances adopted by the township council for the same area were not timely recorded by the Union County Clerk, rendering the VA vacation inoperative. The area being vacated is the portion of
Lakeside Boulevard at its intersection with Katherine Street extending approximately 102 feet to the rear yard of 54 Ivy Street and is 60 ft wide. Meats and bounds descriptions along with sketches are attached to the ordinance
that you've taken a look at. Uh the township will convey to the center line of the paper street to the owner of 61 Katherine Street and the other half to the county of Union. Notice of the introduction of this ordinance with attachments and public
hearing. Uh its public hearing will be on August 17th, 2026. And that will be posted on the township website and shall be mailed to the property owners that are within 200 ft of the corners of the area being
vacated. giving them an opportunity to comment during the public hearing on the ordinance so those individuals be will be notified. Ordinance 2622 is an ordinance to amend our affordable housing ordinance. Uh, in accordance
with the Fair Housing Act, as you may recall, the fair housing fair share housing center required that we amend the ordinance of our township housing element and fair share plan to remove a waiver provision
in chapter 66. This ordinance will delete that section which indicated that a waiver may be granted if strict compliance would cause an unreasonable result. that wording shall be removed. Uh this ordinance will be introduced um
introduced will be forwarded then to the planning board to determine if there there are any inconsistencies in the master plan. After that, the ordinance will be submitted to the township council for adoption. So it'll take a period of time to come through with
that. Ordinance 2623. This has got a lot of buzz um throughout the state. Prohibition of data centers. Uh we are planning to have our planning board adopt an ordinance prohibiting
data centers as a permitted use. Um, tonight we'll introduce the ordinance and then we'll give it back to the planning board and they will review the master plan, re-examine it and make sure that there's no uh that it's consistent
um consistent with what our needs are regarding the uh data centers. And then on August 17th, we will uh have a hearing on the ordinance and the council can adopt it.
Ordinance 2624 is to increase the number of handicap parking spaces in the municipal parking lot from four to eight spaces to accommodate the increased demand in handicap parking. gotten a lot of feedback from seniors um and um this
is uh another step forward to accommodate those needs. Ordinance 2625 is just as it as the title says, we're prohibiting uh the pro the possession of open containers of alcoholic beverages
and the consumption of alcoholic bev beverages in public places. Ordinance 26. There's 26. And in my conversation with uh Council President Smith, I understand that we're going to table this ordinance this evening and um
he can comment further when we get to that point in the meeting. Um moving on to resolutions 26175. uh that is designating the area on the tax map known as 191, 195, 199, and 205
Westfield Avenue, an area in need of non-condemnation and redevelopment. Um, at the last planning board meeting, first week in July, uh, second week in July, uh, Paul Ricky presented his findings of his redevelopment study.
And, uh, the planning board now needs to recommend that the town direct the township planner to prepare a redevelopment plan. And that would be at a cost not to exceed $4,000. and um
resolution 26 176 and 177. Now that's opposing two Senate bills. One is S1836 enhancing the ability of religious and nonprofit organizations to convert certain property to inclusionary
developments with affordable housing. And resolution 177 is another Senate bill that is Senate Bill 1408/ A-2757 and that would preempt local planning
and zoning authorities and authorize conversion of certain office parks and retail centers to mixed use developments. So both of these bills um we don't want to pass because they'll
result in a last a loss of home rule. Um, what that means is we believe that the township of Clark should have the ability to deter determine its zoning, not the state of New Jersey.
Uh, resolution 26179, additional brush and branch grinding event. As we discussed, uh, as I mentioned earlier, we have, uh, a lot of trees down, uh, debris, uh, branches that need to be, um, we
need to have the grinding process applied, and we have a contract that we're expanding an option on. So, we had the contract already. We're going to be expanding that contract so that we can take care of the cleanup appropriately. The next several items are related to
grants. So, in the budget, we um did not have these grants. They were recently awarded. So, we are now requesting that a modification be made um to the budget. It's called a chapter 159 amendment. And I'll read off what
the items are. In 26180, that's $16,000. It's a CDGB grant um for handicap curb cuts. 26-181 is $14,440. and that's a grant used to pay salaries and wages related to our senior fitness
center. We also have 26182 $21,294.78 uh union uh Union County environmental grant. Uh we appreciate all these grants uh 26183. Um
each year we measure how much recycling we do and then after about two years after all the data is gathered throughout the state, the state awards recycling grants to all the towns in New Jersey that participate. Our share this year for the recycling tonnage grant was $19,72.68.
And um that concludes the summary of the grants. The next item 26184. >> Mayor Albanese I think you skipped number 10. Rejecting the bids. An explanation on that. >> Uh
uh yes. Sorry. Sorry I didn't make a note of that. Yes, we did reject the bids. going to reformat the bid and go out to bid again. So, we are in our rights to um reject bids and that's what we've done in this case and we'll reformat um based on the pricing that we
received. Thank you. Um 26185 um relates to a duplicate payment that was made for a CO and we're going to be refunding the citizen $125
26186. Um we are extending the grace period for the payment of real estate taxes for the bills that have been mailed out. You'll be receiving if you haven't already. Um, normally the grace period would be 10
days through to August 10th. Um, since they were mailed three days later, we're extending that to August 13th. Those represent the final tax bills. Okay. Resolution 26187. Uh, this is authorizing the tax collector to make refunds for
overpayments of taxes. The total is $2,275 to two um units, one $2,135 and a duplicate payment of $140 to be refunded to a title company.
Um 26188 is a sewer account balance adjustment and the revised amount will decrease the uh bill by $4,550. 26189 is a resolution authorizing the tax
collector to refund overpayment of taxes. Most of these are well some are settlement companies, title companies, but others are owners and that total is $17,4656. So those citizens chose not to carry the
balance forward but to receive a refund of the overpayment. And the final item is the uh payment of bills and claims. Uh the total on the bill list for July 7th, 2026 was $112,375.96.
And we're happy to answer any questions you have in the course of the meeting. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Huff. >> Okay. Um first, I will be doing uh the library report this um for the month. In June, the library welcomed um 8,024
visitors and recorded 14,622 website and social media visits. The for all ages the summer reading challenge is taking place. On July 27th, which is Monday at 6:30 p.m., our very own mayor, Angel Albaneseise, will be doing colonial story time to celebrate the
250th birthday of the United States. And for the Littles, there are two programs taking place regarding dinosaurs. And for our um adult patrons, there is cyber security awareness and introduction to AI that will be taking place. All of that information is available on the township um on the library social media
and on their website. So there's great programming that people have put a lot of effort into and I encourage everyone to check it out. Um and on behalf of council men who was unable to attend tonight, I have his report from the police department. So, in June of 2026, uh the police department saw a total of
2,25 calls, 731 which came in through 911 for service, um including but not limited to 137 ambulance requests, 81 alarm calls, 43 fire department responses, 77 motor vehicle accidents,
22 shoplifting and thefts, and 13 fraud and identity theft situations. There was a total of 21 adult arrests and 12 cases for the Youth Aid Bureau. Um, and that concludes my two reports. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Maserella. >> Yes. Thank you, Council President. This
my DPW report this evening. Uh, first, I would like to commend the staff of public works for their dedication and commitment for getting the township roads opened as fast and as safely as they could. The staff worked continuously through the night during
the storm and then returned after a few hours to continue the cleanup. Last week, crews covered every street in town uh re uh removing branches from the storm. Uh we will they will be back
during the branch pickup to complete their task. Uh electronic drop off will be on July 25th uh in the DPW yard behind this building and your ID and residence
um will be required. Please follow the grass policy. Pickup is on Tuesdays. Grass clippings only and must be in biodegradable bags. No branches or plastic bags, please.
Uh, branch pickup begins July 27th. Branches should only be paced in the roadway after July 19th through the 26th. Branches should be no longer than 4 ft long. Um, this continues from May
through September. Branches are only picked up once a month. Uh once we go through the neighborhood, we will not be back until the following months and branches should not be bagged. No plastic bags
um and and and leaf bags, they are not permitted. We recycle the grass clippings and clo that will clog the grinder. Okay. Uh, empty mulch bags and fertilizer bags
go in the garbage. Please remember this. Bulky, please place your items curbside this week and before your scheduled ward, separate from household garbage. Please check www.atourclock.com to guide you on acceptable items.
Electronics, metal, and appliances are not considered bulky items. Appliance and metal pickup appointments are required the week before your scheduled pickup
week. Uh we pick up every Monday. You can schedule your appointment online. Please remember that. refrigerators and freezers. If you're throwing them out for pickup, the doors must be removed before putting them out. Mulch is no
longer available. And for any other information, uh, go to dpwourclark.com for more info information and for schedules on pickups. Please help keep our community and streets clean. Thank
you. Thank you, Council Member Aminity. >> Yeah, thank you, Council President. In the month of June, the Clark Fire Department responded to 42 calls, bringing a total through the year for 284 incidents included, but are not limited to, one for fire related, three down
power lines, five for service and good intent, 24 related to alarms and odors or odors, five motor vehicle incidents, and four for mulch and brush fires. I thank the Clark Fire Department for its excellent response and its prompt response to the June 6th storm. Uh the
Clark Fire Department reminds residents that hot, dry weather can increase risk of mulch fires. Please keep an eye on mulched areas and take appropriate precautions. I want to thank the members of the Clark Fire Department for their dedication, for their countless hours they devote to keeping our residents
safe. Their commitment, professionalism, and willingness to serve our community are greatly appreciated. Complete report is available in the clerk's office. This concludes my report. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Okconor. >> Thank you very much from the finance committee. The township continues to be
able to meet its current obligations. Thank you, Jim, and your team. And from the Clark volunteer emergency squad, um the squad welcomed one cadet member and two full members with regard to their call volume. June had 139 calls, including mutual aid calls, and this
does not include any calls that were dispatched and canceled on. Total hours responding to calls is approximately 897 manh hours. This does not include any hours the members were on duty but not on calls. And year-to- date call volume is 769 calls as of June 30th. With
regard to membership, the squad is seeking individuals with unique skills to serve on various committees as associate members. Areas we seek support in include finance, fundraising, building and grounds, and social media. Anyone interested can email the squad at www.ourclock.org.
Squad activi squad is actively seeking a community member with strong mechanical background uh to help manage the servicing of the ambulances with our vendors. In addition, the squad is also accepting individuals over the age of 18 that are interested in joining as drivers. Free CPR and driver training
will be provided. Please find an application at www.ourclock.org. Service to the community. The squad hosted three blood drives in June. The squad appreciates and thanks the mayor, BA, and all council members for their continued support of our organization. Respectfully submitted, Lori Sheldon,
trustee. >> Thank you, council member Tol. >> Thank you, Mr. President. The environmental commission met this past Wednesday, July the 15th at 7:30 in room 30 of the history room. And the environmental commission had a dis full b full quorum and discussion on the
reservoir and discussed the issues that are going on with regards to the county's dredging project and we had a discussion of the issues that are causing angsts to the community as well as trucks and uh mud on the street at Bassel Road in front of Shephersteines.
All these issues were discussed and they are going to come up with a chartered solution and listing of the complaints and concerns is the word concerns and they'll be forwarding that to the county and CC the township of Clark. The residents have spoken and the
environmental commission has heard them. We will work to get these problems which they're being worked on currently by our administration and we will work to get the concerns of the people taken care of. Thank you, Mr. President. That's all I have on committee reports. >> Thank you. uh from the pool and wreck
department. Uh the summer recck camp's going well with over 600 kids in attendance each day. Uh the summer camp has daily entertainment from rock climbing to dinosaurs arise, tie-dye, ride-on rentals, Disney princesses, water slides, ice cream, Italian ices,
and the list goes on and on. Uh it's unique, one of a kind. It's an award-winning program that Ralph started many years ago, and he's received awards over the years. So, kudos to Ralph and his staff. Uh the wreck camp as well as the pool does help the Clark High School
and teens uh with employment as counselors, lifeguards, maintenance, and front desk workers. Uh also regarding the pool, memberships are still available. It's been a great uh summer so far and we surpassed last year's membership numbers. Last week they had a
cardboard races by trying to make it across the pool without sinking. Uh yesterday it was membership appreciation day with entertainment and games all day. They had a DJ, they had balloon Bob and free Italianes. Today was learn how to kayak. Uh this
Friday is Christmas at the pool with Santa Claus and the Grinch visiting with an inpool obstacle course. And then next week there'll be paddle boats and August the foam party uh will return. And the day after Labor Day, by popular demand,
the doggy dip will return again. Uh, and lastly, the fall booklets are being produced now, will be available in mid to late August. If you have any questions, you can always reach Ralph in his office at 7324288400 or his email or bernardo@arclark.com.
>> Okay. At this time, >> Mr. President, I just want to say when I was reading the report for the squad, they referenced www.rclark.org. It's actually www.rclark.com. Thank you. >> Thank you for correcting. Okay, madame clerk, at this time we'll move on to
ordinance appropriations and claims. >> There are no public public ordinances for uh public hearings for any ordinances. So, we will go to introduction of proposed ordinances. Ordinance 2621, an ordinance of the Township of Clark, County of Union,
State of New Jersey, vacating the easterly and westerly sides of center line of that paper street identified as Lakeside Boulevard, adjacent to block 85, lot one on the township tax map, commonly known as 61 Katherine Street,
with the easterly side to become part of a new lot to be shown as block 85, lot 1.01, 01 and the westerly sign side to be shown on the tax map as block 42 lot 89.02.
>> Thank you. Can I get a motion? >> So move, Mr. President. >> Thank you, Council Member Tol. May I get a second? >> I'll second it, please. >> Thank you, Council Member Okconor. Does anyone have any questions or >> I just have a comment, Mr. President? >> Go ahead, Council Member Tol. >> This is called democracy in action. When somebody a resident of our con our
constituents in our ward come to us and they have a problem they have an issue that's not just in the last 6 months to 12 months it's going back years and I mean years and I knew her father I knew her mother and I know her and she came to me and said here's my situation laid
it out very simple but I said it's going to be a little bit more detail because you're dealing with lawyers and a lawyer's always going to put a spin on it. I said, "It's going to cost you a little money, but we're going to get going get it done because it has to be done." And I like to call this the trust ordinance because it's in honor of Mr.
and Mrs. Trust who for years were asking to have this piece, this little Christmas tree. It's not a big parcel of land that they're going to flip and make money. It's a Christmas tree that's partially next to the county resi property and the end of Katherine Street. And to honor Mr. trust who if
you ever been down the bur the dead end section of of Katherine Street, you'll know there's a barricade. It was because of him I had that barricade rebuilt with the help of our public works and our township and they rebuilt it and he went out and painted it, made sure it was taken care of because people would drive
right into the resi if they didn't have something there to protect them and stop them. So tonight I ask for the trust ordinance to be pushed forward to honor the memory of Mr. and Mrs. trust who are dear dear Clarkes who gave them time and themselves back to the community and
tonight we have business before us. Let us get it done properly. Thank you, Mr. President. >> Great. Thank you. Jim, do you have anything to add to it? It was pretty self-explanatory. Madame Mayor, >> it is um you know this like like Brian said, this has been going on since the 50s. We finally sorted it out. We went
back to the um all of the records to make sure that we properly uh transmitted the property over to the rightful owner. >> Great. Thank you. Okay. Roll call, please. >> Council member Hoff, >> yes. >> Council member Maserella, >> yes. >> Council member Maniti, >> yes.
>> Council member Okconor, >> yes. >> Council member Tol, >> yes. On the trust ordinance. >> Council President Smith, >> yes. >> The public hearing will be on August 17th. Ordinance 2622, an ordinance amending an affordable housing ordinance in
accordance with the Fair Housing Act, Uniform Housing Affordability Controls and NJAC 59-1. >> I get a motion. I'll move that. >> Thank you, Council Member Manidi. I get a second. >> I'll second it. >> Thank you, Council Member Maserella.
Anyone have any questions or additional information from Jim or the mayor? Um, again, this was required by our settlement with Fair Share Housing Corp. and they did not want us to have the ability to, you know, make exceptions.
>> All right. Thank you. Roll call, please. >> Council member Hoff, >> yes. >> Council member Maserella, >> yes. >> Council member Manetti, >> yes. >> Council member Okconor, >> yes. >> Council member Tol, >> yes. >> Council President Smith, >> yes. >> The public hearing will be on August 17th.
Ordinance 2623, an ordinance amending chapter 195 zoning of the code of the township of Clark to amend the definition of data centers, remove data centers as a permitted use in the CI, LCI, and CO districts, and to prohibit
data centers as a use in all districts. >> Can I get a motion? >> I'll move it. >> Thank you, Councilman Maserella, and second. >> Thank you, Council Member Okconor. Uh, any further discussion or questions? Okay. Roll call, please. >> Council member Huff, >> yes.
>> Council member Maserella, >> yes. >> Council member Maniti, >> yes. >> Council member Okconor, >> yes. >> Council member Tol, >> yes. >> Council President Smith, >> yes. >> The public hearing will be on August 17th. Ordinance 2624, an ordinance to amend chapter 347,
section 347-55 of the code of the township of Clark regulating parking entitled municipal parking lots and board of education property to increase the number of handicap parking spaces in the parking lot at the municipal building from four
to eight spaces. >> Great. Thank you. Can I get a motion? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Council Member Maserella. And second, Council Member Tol. Uh, any further discussion or questions? I think it's pretty self-explanatory. So, roll call, please. >> Council member Hoff, >> yes. >> Council member Mazerella,
>> yes. >> Council member Maniti, >> yes. >> Council member Okconor, >> yes. >> Council member Tol, >> yes. >> Council President Smith, >> yes. >> The public hearing will be on August 3rd. Ordinance 2625, an ordinance amending and supplementing
chapter 76 entitled alcoholic beverages of the code of the township of Clark by adding a new article six entitled public possession and consumption to prohibit the possession of open containers of alcoholic beverages and the consumption
of alcoholic beverages in public places. >> I get a motion. >> I'll move that. >> Thank you, Council Member Maniti. Second. >> I'll second it, please. Thank you, Council Member Okconor. Anyone else have any questions or further discussion? Again, again, Jim, you have anything to add? >> Um, yeah, this request is coming from
the police department just so they can better enforce the laws with open containers because we didn't have anything on the books to um prohibit it. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, roll call, please. >> Council member Huff, >> yes. >> Council member Maserella, >> yes. >> Council member Maniti, >> yes. >> Council member Okconor,
>> yes. >> Council member Tol, >> yes. >> Council President Smith, >> yes. The public hearing will be on August 3rd. >> Thank you. And as mentioned earlier by Mayor Albanesey's proposed introduction ordinance number six is being tabled at this time. So there'll be no action on
it. Uh we're going to move on to payment of claims. Councilman Okconor. >> Thank you very much. I've reviewed the bills and encumbered through paper. There we go. Sorry. Got to get right. I reviewed the bills encumbered through
July 7th for $112,375.96 and recommend the council approved the resolution. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay. Now, we're going to move on to citizens hearing on the agenda. I'll open the meeting to the public on agenda items only. The public portion of the meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's
attention their concerns or comments in accordance with NJSA 104-12A and the code of the township of Clark. Each person addressing the council shall give their name and town in which they reside to the clerk. All remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and shall not exceed five minutes in
duration. At the conclusion of the statements or questions from a member of the public, the council president at his or her discretion may choose to respond or not respond. So if anyone would like to come forward on agenda items only, please come up. Just state your name and the town you reside in.
Good evening, John Gre from Clark. Um, I wanted to just sort of address the um ordinance that you guys tabled um regarding the curfew for people under 18. Um, I just wanted to say that I think that bans and curfews should be
used very sparingly. And from what I I I don't I've come to a lot of these meetings. I haven't heard anything mentioned that we're having some big problem with people under 18 doing something and and anything that sort of indicates that this would be um a needed
action. And you know, from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like the benefits are going to outweigh the costs. And I think one important thing to remember is it's not just about people that are under 18. It's about people that might look like they're under 18. And we worry
about public safety here. And people certainly want to feel safe from, you know, crime, but I think people also want to feel safe that when they're walking around, they're not going to get stopped by police unnecessarily. And what happens is if you look under 18, you might get stopped and detained. And while you might be sent along your
way, it's still sometimes, especially for a younger person, something that scares them, makes them feel unsafe, and worried when they would just walk down the street. And I don't think this is a good solution to what I don't see. I haven't heard anything to indicate that
there's a major problem there. And the town already has some issues um related to um police stopping people. And I don't like the idea that this might cause us to have some extra scrutiny um
as a result of that. So um I'm asking you um please keep a table. don't pass this. It doesn't seem unless there can be some very very important reason, I don't see a reason to to have this curfew. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Greavves.
>> Hello everyone. My name is Anthony D. Gregorio, Madison Hill Road in Clark. Uh, thank you for letting me speak. I also came to speak about this tabled item about the uh the curfew and I'm also against it. Uh I have teenage children and I I don't I also am unaware
of any major um issue going on with with kids being out that needs to be addressed in this manner. I think we have um a lot of other things we could be addressing that I don't think we are um such as you know I've seen homeless people in town and um there seems to be
some hesitation about moving them along. Um, you know, I would like to think that our children have just as much rights as the homeless do that we're tolerating. Um, in terms of safety, uh, I know my wife doesn't go to Target anymore at night because there's frequently someone
in front of the store, uh, trying to sell her goods and, uh, we've tried to call the police to have that addressed and we were told that it's private property and that the store manager has to address it. My wife also no longer goes to Shopright in the evening and
I've been asked for money um in the in the shopping center in Clarkton Shopping Center by Beastro 1051. And so the problems that I see have are are completely unrelated to children and they're more related to adults and other things and I would rather see those
items addressed. Um keeping the town safe. I've seen homeless people sleeping on the park bench at the Bank of America and in the alley by the post office. Uh, I've been asked for money and approached at my car uh at the exit of 135. Um, these are things I would like to see
addressed. Uh, my son walking home from a friend's house who perhaps they, you know, at 16 years old they are watching wrestling and wrestling ends late and they're walking a couple houses home. Um, doesn't seem like something that we need to worry about. Um, and I would also agree with the other gentlemen. We
we have a uh unfortunately we have a reputation uh in the town with with policing and um I want to teach my kids to uh run to the police, not run from them. Uh I don't want them to hide from the police. I want them to feel that if there's a problem that they can approach the police and and I would hate to see
all of the good that the police department has done with the programs like DARE and the school and things like that um undone by this type of uh legislation. So thanks guys for hearing me out. appreciate everything you guys do and uh have a great night. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Before anyone else comes forward on the uh ordinance that we or the proposed ordinance that we table, just so you know how it works, we're given the agenda usually Thursday or Friday uh before the meeting. So, we received it four or five days ago. So, uh, I know the individual
council members when they received the agenda and they went through it, they, uh, many of the questions, uh, that you brought up, we've already, uh, discussed or thought about ourselves, and that's the main reason we tabled it. But, uh, it is on the agenda even though it was pulled. I know some people have told me
it's not on the agenda anymore, but if you'd like to come up and speak about it being it was on the agenda, you're more than welcome. But again, we tabled it for uh various reasons, but it was brought to the attention of the BA to put uh to possibly propose it by the uh
police department. So, if anyone else had come forward on that or any other agenda items, please do so. You have five minutes or duration. >> My name is Sher Truss. I live on Katherine Street. The at Ford mentioned trust ordinance. >> Can you just pull the microphone down a
little bit to so we can hear you? >> Can you hear me now? There we go. Perfect. >> Okay. Sherry Truss on Katherine Street and um this is regarding the the first ordinance on the agenda. I wanted to thank Mr. Tol for your very kind words about my parents and the whole council
for considering and voting to accept the introduction of the ordinance and it has been a long time and on behalf of my mother and father want to thank you and hopefully the third time is going to be a charm. This first came before the council in 1955,
then 1987, and now now. So hopefully the third time is a charm. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Mike Schulman, Clark, New Jersey. I'm going to speak on two of the ordinances tonight. The first is the one regarding data centers. I'm very glad that the
council uh heeded the good ideas that some other folks, including myself, raised over the last few months and acted on the ideas that were proposed from this podium and are planning on passing an ordinance that I think is more than beneficial to the town from
keeping data centers uh far away from a community that we all love and appreciate and don't want to see resources uh destroyed because of such a data center. Uh, as to the pulled agenda item, uh, I understand why it was pulled. There's going to be, I don't say
backlash, constructive criticism, maybe issues that it sounds like the council's already recognizing. And, you know, sometimes the council likes to point out, but I'm a lawyer, so it would be a good idea maybe to hear why the many reasons this ordinance is, as written,
at least pretty bad. Uh it probably violates multiple constitutional rights that people have in this town, including minors who still recognize under the constitution as having rights. Uh
the ordinance doesn't allow for uh acts of protected speech to be covered under the ordinance. Um, it probably violates substitute substantive due process of parents uh to allow their children, like the gentleman said, to walk down the
block after wrestling or one of the very late Knicks games we had to deal with uh this year. We don't want our kids missing these important events because they're worried about getting stopped by police. Uh there's also a concern, as Mr. Greavves raised, about enforcement. Even if you're 17, you have the right
not to be stopped for no reason. And to have law enforcement guess someone's age with them doing nothing else wrong is a significant concern that I have both as an attorney and as a citizen here. Uh what I haven't heard and it's not in the
language as proposed today that's being tabled is what Mr. Grieves also touched upon and the other gentleman touched upon is what is the purpose town has ordinances for disorderly conduct has a noise ordinance has a criminal mischief ordinance has a trespass ordinance what
exactly is this looking to in essence criminalize it's an ordinance still comes with significant penalties uh what an what findings have been made by law enforcement by this council to actually support uh its enactment
>> there were no findings by this council. >> Excuse me. >> There were no findings by this council and even at the lowest I >> just want to be correct on that. >> At least at the lowest constitutional scrutiny that this takes on because age is not a protected class. Uh there still needs to be a legitimate interest and I don't see one when we have plenty of
ordinances. I will also lastly echo the concerns about the fear of selective enforcement. Who's going to get stopped? Why are they going to get stopped? And haven't we had enough problems with people being stopped in this town? Thank you.
>> Right. Thank you, >> Nancy Tosscus Clark. I have a question on a couple of the ordinances and the consent agenda on the on the ordinance with the 26-21.
It mentions an easterly and a westerly side. Is that in combination the Christmas tree or is there a Christmas tree? Are there two Christmas trees? That's one question. I'm not familiar with the end of Katherine Street and
maybe I'll take a ride down there um at some point. um on the 2623. I thought maybe that ordinance should be called the Dileia Collins ordinance cuz I believe I remember her bringing that up at one of the town council meetings
and I have to commend her for being foresighted enough to bring it up. The town council might have been thinking about it anyway, but she did from the public perspective bring it up. So I have to uh think that would be nice. Um
the other one on 2625, is there a similar type of ordinance regarding smoking marijuana in public places? Because the town sometimes smells like a lot of marijuana is going on. And if the concern is about what the
consumption of alcoholic beverage could do to a person in a public place and maybe marijuana has a similar outcome if consumed in a public place. I don't know. Just saying. And my my last one is
I don't know four more grants. I think there in addition to the other two big ones that I remember, one about the fire engine and then another one I just read about about the sewer cleaner. And I'm just what I'm looking for is to find out
how are the financial of these grants maintained? Are there ledgers for each grants to show how the spending of each grant is done and what happens with the leftover money from the grant? Thank you. Great. Thank you, Nancy.
All right, seeing no one else, I'd like a motion to close this portion. >> Thank you, Council Member Tolk. I get a second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Council Member Okconor. All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Uh
Jim, regarding the or mayor, regarding the grants that Nancy asked at the end, you want to address that? >> Yes. The CDGB grants are reimbursement grants. You have to spend the money, you send in the paperwork with the vouchers,
you know, the purchase order, the invoices from the vendors, and then you get reimbursed for those. the recycling tonnage grant. That one is sent to the township and they have a longer period of time to use that money. It's used for
various purposes as outlined in the grant. Each grant has its own account. So, it's a line item uh a separate account in the budget. So, there's a budget account for each one of the
grants. If you go online and look at the audit, you can go to the section on grants and it outlines every grant that the township has and what money has come in and what has been dispersed from each grant that's in the audit reports and
that's available for 2025 at this time. >> And what happens with any leftover money if there is any? >> Um, in certain instances it has to be returned. It depends on each grant. Like I said, for the CDGB ones, you're reimbursed. >> Correct.
>> Um for the recycling grants, there's a longer period of time. And um um if money isn't spent, though, we have to give it back. >> Great. Thank you. Uh anything on the smoke or from the marijuana? I mean, it is legalized in the state. It's just like a cigarette. Uh there's nothing, as
far as I know, we can do about it. I guess that's something. Captain, you have anything to add to it or your attorney? I don't know if you've heard of any township that addresses that. I know there are towns in California that do not permit cigarette smoking on the street as well as other smoking.
>> Uh as as I understand it, uh marijuana is treated like cigarettes. So wherever and there is a state statute on where you can and can't smoke publicly. Um the municipality can uh enhance that, but generally they're treated the same.
Marijuana smoke, cigarette smoke, wherever there's wherever that's allowed, both are allowed. >> Great. Thank you. All right. Uh we'll move on to consent agenda resolutions. Uh being the mayor summarized them all,
I believe you can uh just go down to the bottom and for I guess I'll ask for a motion. Motion to accept the consent agenda. >> Thank you, Council Member Tol. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Council Member Hoff. Uh, roll call, please. >> Council member Hoff, >> yes.
>> Council member Maserella, >> yes. >> Council member Maniti, >> yes. >> Council member Okconor, >> yes. >> Council member Tol, >> yes. >> Council President Smith, >> yes. >> All right. There's no standalone resolutions and I don't believe there's any new business on the calendar. >> There's not. No. >> All right. So, we're going to move along
to public comments. At this time, I'll open the meeting to the public. Public comment portion of the meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments in accordance with NJSA colon 10-104-12A in the code of the township of Clark.
Each person addressing the council shall give their name and town in which they reside to the clerk. All the remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and shall not exceed 5 minutes in duration. At the conclusion of statements or questions from a member of the public, the council president at his her discretion may choose to respond or
not to respond. So again, you have five minutes of duration. Just come up, state your name and town you reside in, and you'll have five minutes. Thank you. >> Good evening, Julia Collins, Clark. I have a few issues um to discuss, but um I wanted to direct
this, and I don't know if I can, to Mr. tool regarding the environmental commission and also uh to our business administrator um at prior meetings and Mr. Tol brought it up tonight regarding contacting the
county about issues along Madison Hill Road, the truck issues, um the dirt issues. I know um at one time it was brought up by some of the residents of Janice Drive that they would like to have a meeting
again with the Union County uh commissioners or representatives of same and then Mr. Toll brought up tonight that at the environmental commission they gathered information that they were presenting to the county and did you
give them any time frame to respond? >> I have nothing. >> We'll just Excuse me. Councilman told you we'll answer all the questions at the end. I don't want to take away from >> to Mr. Olriidge. Has there been any communication from the county uh as to a possibility of a meeting like they had
in July of 2024? Also, I wanted to know I see that the progress on the old Acme/Foodtown has come to fruition, but I know at one of the meetings our mayor mentioned that
there was negotiations still going on regarding the bank property on Joseph and Westfield Avenue. and I was wondering if she was privy to any of the status of that property because it changes the configuration of the
development along Joseph Street. Um, another thing at the planning board meeting there was mention that the need for condemnation redevelopment on Westfield Avenue. So I'm trying to
understand that an owner of a property can in turn make their property become um in disrepair and then a study of that property would be done by the township planning person and then it has to go
back to the planning board or come to the township and then it has to have a public hearing. That's, you know, beyond my comprehension sometimes of how many times these things have to happen. Also, I brought up I went on the Clark website
over the weekend and there was no agenda posted on ourclark.com and I was wondering if there was an issue with that. It wasn't on the hourclark.com under the agenda section and I was wondering
usually we get a copy of the ordinances and there was no copies of them and I got a copy through an email from the town clerk's office. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do you Nancy Toascus Clark?
So, I've brought this up a couple times and I hate to kind of keep bringing it up, but I still am wrestling with the concept in my head that there's an ordinance in town about commercial vehicles not being allowed to park overnight on the street.
And when I'm asked about it, I'm told I have to call the police in order to complain about it. And I guess I haven't done that yet because I don't understand why I, as a resident of the town, have
to call the police to enforce an ordinance when it's so obvious that there's a commercial vehicle parked. It's not like it's hidden in somebody's backyard and I'm looking over a fence and I see they put up a a structure that shouldn't be there. It's not hidden.
It's there in plain sight. And I guess my question maybe tonight is why do I as a resident have to call the police to have an ordinance enforced when it's there in plain sight? Thank you. >> Thank you.
Hello, John Gre from Clark. Um, I wanted to address some of the uh responses from last meeting which I felt were in bad faith. Um, I had asked about legal fees and if there were because
basically since 2020, our legal fees have increased about $200,000 per year. So over the five years or so, it's been about a million dollars extra that we've been paying for legal fees. Um, and the response I got was that I was making too
many Oprah requests, which I think is not really reasonable as a response because first of all, um, this started years before I even started coming to these meetings and the the
$200,000 is not accounted for with some OPER requests. Um, the mayor and business administrator, I don't know why, but they keep harping on a request about tax appeals that I made a long time ago. It was actually my
first Oprah request. And, you know, I'm not perfect. I had just started trying to understand how the local government works. And I asked the question and the the important thing to understand is is the
reason that I asked for that information was because the former mayor in this chamber said that we should look because he was trying to justify the fact that there were $2 million in tax appeals
under his tenure. And he was trying to say he said very clearly if you look at the people before me it was much higher. And before I made that up request I made multiple emails to the business administrator asking him about
the is there any information that can verify that this is true because that seems like a lot of money was hap was being paid before. Um back and forth a few times and eventually he said that I had to bank an open request. So I did. Now
looking back that was a large request and I I would probably not do it exactly the same way. But the problem that I see here is is that this chamber this the the business administrator specifically
you're shaming people for trying to find out the truth. And there's been other times where he has said um he said uh something sarcastic to the police department. Um I forgot who it was. Um that he was a detective and that he was pretty sure
that it was me who made some other large open request which it wasn't. But that's bad faith. We're trying to just find out what's going on. We're asking for public records and we're being made to feel humiliated or bad because we're asking for this. This has a
chilling effect on people wanting to know more about their town. And furthermore, there is the the consistent talking about the tax appeals as if that's an excuse for every single
financial issue that we have. For some reason, every time people ask about money, it's always about the tax appeals. And one important thing that I'd like to just make very clear here, I thought it was made clear in December when you had um Mr. Ross, the tax assessor, come in and have a meeting and
discuss things with you. I've heard it repeated since then that when we have a tax appeal that the money that is refunded, we don't get back from the county or the school. The school is correct. But it was made in a public
meeting here and all the people in this room were there where it was clearly stated that we get a credit from the county for ne towards next year's taxes. So that money is not exactly lost in that situation. And the basic point I'm trying to make is
we're allowed to ask for information. We're allowed to hear something that said and try and verify it. We keep being told that we're supposed to just take you guys at your word, but there's been a lot of contradictory statements. The business administrator said a few different
contradictory statements about the cell tower rental, which when I tried to verify, he kicked me out of his office. This is bad faith. I'm just verifying things and I'm pointing out this is what you said here and now you're saying something different. And I get kicked out. And
there was a lot of negativity uh shown towards me when I was asking about the GIF and the money that we spend there. I realize my time's about up. So, um I'm going to end it there, but please, I I come here in good faith. I know you guys
don't always agree with me, but please, this bad faith response is not acceptable, and I hope you guys can do better in the future. >> Thank you. All right. Seeing no one else, I'd like a motion to >> Oh, please come on up.
Uh, good evening, council. My name is Glenn Fogerty, Clark resident of 25 years and also including my years in grade school here at the former St. Maggnes School. Um, I just want to first off address the exercise in sophistry that Mr. Schulman just tried to attempt.
The town has legitimate concerns, as many other towns do, about data centers. But here we have Mr. Schman deceptively try to claim that he was the one that prompted the town's concern. maybe he
said something, but for him to claim primary responsibility, that's absurd because Mr. Schulman gets up here month after month just attacking this town. Then he lies tonight and claims he likes this town after he said, "Yeah, I like
Clark. I can walk my kid here even though he hates our police department and he represents criminals in front of our municipal court who are speeding through this town who should be stopped. So don't tell me about selective enforcement. You ought to see the way
people are speeding on Lake Avenue. I've nearly been killed multiple times right by the Martine Avenue bridge there. I guess Mr. Schman thinks it's okay that people come from a 40 m 45 mph zone to a
25 mph zone and keep speeding at 45 or more. But that's okay because these are oppressed people or whatever sort of subtrafuge he wants to engage in on behalf of his little weird Marxist
organization, Stronger Clark. So also congrats to our neighbors to the left both literally and figuratively. the township of Cranford. You've proven once and for all what happens when you let far-left idologues of the likes stronger Clark take over,
ruin, and then run your town with your giant purple pthead Bong Holio holding court along with Jean Jean the dancing machine with his breakdancing attempts. It's made a force of Cranford government. And I must also say that Mr.
Graves makes a force of this government. He has pilot derangement syndrome. I actually this is the first meeting. >> Just please no personal attacks on other residents. That's all I ask. Please. >> Yes. This is the first meeting he has come to where I didn't hear the word
pilot. He as far as I know has nothing to do but file information requests because unlike the other people of this town, he can sit at home all day. And I think that's fair ground, fair
game. You know, he I remember him clearly saying a couple of years ago, do I have to live for 30 years in this town for someone to finally pay attention to me?
This is all about him and his need for attention. You know, he comes up here every month. Mr. Mr. Fogerty, just address the comments to the council and not to the public, please. That's >> just so we can keep this a respectful uh
>> He comes up here every month with the same questions, fails to comprehend, and then complains that you all are acting in bad faith. As for Mr. Gri, who's constantly running for a slot on the council, he almost
never attends. Surprise, surprise, surprise. He is not here. Thank you. Thank you. >> Good evening again. Mike Schulman, Clark, New Jersey. We're told at the beginning of these
meetings to address our comments to council. And some people here like to speak about me so much it almost feels like I've already won the election. I appreciate President Cass, Council President Smith trying to keep some decorum here, but we have experienced
month after month attacks on the citizenry from individuals here. I get it. We're tough on you. Whether it's myself, Mr. Fuches, Mr. Greavves, even Dileia, our job's to be tough on you. I think
there's some modicum of respect finally getting there. that this isn't actually personal, that there is a commitment from people in this town to ask questions, to request records, and things of that nature. But it is disappointing when it is the first
time that this council's spoken to say maybe the comments should be about anything related to this town generally and not the people sitting in the back. With that said, um, when I let Mr.
Greavves speak, he usually takes away some of the things I like to talk about, so I should know better. But on the notion of these OPER requests, after the last meeting, when the mayor, I think, andor the BA tried
to play this back and forth about legal fees and OPRA costs, I sent an email and I said, could you provide because the budget does not the breakdown between OPRA fee costs and the legal fees that
are not associated with it. And I guess it was ironic. The answer I received was make an open request. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else like to come forward? All right. Seeing no one, I like a motion to close this portion of the
meeting. So moved. >> Thank you, Council Member Tolk. I get a second. Second. >> Thank you, Council Member Hoff. All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? All right, we'll move on to uh mayor council professional comments. Do you want to address any of the
questions first? >> Yes, thank you. So, Dia asked about the closing of the bank. It's I I don't know. Um well,
my current understanding is that an offer was made. They offered the asking price, but there was never a closure. They never purchased it. And that is where it stands today. Now, I'm not sure I really understand
what your question is about. You want to understand why things go between the planning board and then back to the council and then etc. Yeah, maybe we could have a separate meeting or discussion on that. But I think you said it's an area in need of condemnation
when you described it. It's an area in need of non-condemnation. Okay. All right. So, we'll just leave that there. Um, I'd like to respond to Mr. Greavves on the legal fees. He said, "How can we
reduce legal fee expenses?" That was the question he asked us. And I believe I said something to the effect of it's difficult when you're involved in legal cases and you're getting charged an hourly
rate and there are certain responses that need to be made by your attorney and when they make those responses they charge you their hourly rates. I said, "The only thing I can think of that maybe you as a citizen could impact
is we have a special attorney we've hired to deal with OPER requests." And I believe, I didn't count them, but I believe that you have many OPER requests and there are legal expenses
involved. So it was just a suggestion, John, that perhaps if there were fewer of those requests, maybe we do it another way or you gather the information some somehow that you need, um that might be an opportunity to
reduce the costs. But thus far, as far as legal fees in litigation that we're involved with, um I can't think of, you know, where we would say to the attorney, please cut back your hours.
It's not really an option. So, we have to deal with the litigation that we're dealing with and pay the legal fees. We go through a process each year to select the qualifying um attorneys
and um that's that's how that works. I >> think that pretty much answers the questions >> regarding the commercial vehicle on uh Mwasa Street. Um >> no, I I I understand. Let me excuse me.
No comments from the uh gallery, please. Um, I did have a resident contact me last Friday about a trailer and residential vehicle parked on the street. I did a uh submit a concern online. I spoke to the BA before that. I
submitted it and within three days the or actually that day the police went to the gentleman's house and they um discussed it with them and he agreed to move the vehicles out of the streets and there was nothing further that the police had to do at that time. Um if a
bank gets robbed and no one calls the police, the police don't know the bank got robbed. So what I'm saying is we know you have an issue there. The other issues, they're not on every street in the town. I'm not on every street in the town. uh when I do see him, I do reach out to the BA and I know the other
council members, too. But I will make it a point that I will uh report a concern for your street because I know you've come up many times about that and ask them to go over and address that situation. Um, anything else? >> Yes. Um, Dillia asked a question about the website. I understand that there was
an unexplained technical issue on the website and the agenda did not publish at the time. the clerk um didn't realize it. The web developers were not able to identify what happened. Um having said that, there is another area where the
agenda can be found. Um maybe the clerk can comment on that. So it was in that other place as well, but we apologize for that. I don't know if you want to add to that, Nicole. >> Yes, it was published. If you go into government under legal notices, it's
published. you'll see all the ordinances and resolutions as well as the agenda in that section as well. So, it's actually posted twice on the website on Fridays. And in addition, you received the email that I send out as well. >> Thank you. Okay. You have any uh
professional comments you want to make, Jim? >> Yeah. So, um I'll take a couple of these. Um I guess Dia the discussions with the county. I've had two meetings um set up by Councilman Okconor uh with the
residents of the Janice Drive area. Um took care of a bunch of things that they were asking for. Fences, landscaping plans, um not having the trucks um queue up behind their houses.
uh environmental concerns regarding the uh trucks idling for hours um prior to um prior to being filled up uh location of some of the dirt and they moved it.
So I mean we've had a bunch of conversations with them, you know, to deal with a lot of those different types of issues. Uh one of the more difficult ones is the, you know, they have the gravel, they increase the amount of gravel. Uh so the dirt comes off of the
tires before it gets onto Madison Road. Uh the there's a you know a lot of dirt. They do have a a street sweeper there uh quite often. It's it's supposed to be going every half an hour. Um and then the other thing was that they were
watering down the dirt on the um on the dirt road that takes it to the reservoir. So they have a water truck there also. So, those are all the things that Councilman Okconor has um worked with myself, the residents of the Janice Drive area, and the county.
Uh, >> excuse me. >> Okay. Um, uh, on the redevelopment, there is a there's a process to it. Um, it has to, you know, originate from the council, go back to the planning, go back and forth.
I actually have it posted to my wall. I will send that to you so you understand how it goes back and forth between the two. You know, authorizing redevelopment, then doing the study, then having it go back to council for the ordinance, then it goes back to for a consistency review, and then it comes back to the council for the final approval. But that's easy enough. I have
that on my my board. Um, as for the uh data centers, um, I I originally had conversations with uh Kevin Cotch on this in April. Um we went both to our municipal attorney and also our planning
board attorney also um Bill Gribs from the planning board contacted me in May about it and I gave them the whole background of what we've been doing. Um, you know, so one of the things that came up as part of this is when a lot of the other towns were doing
it and just banning it outright, and this is what we went back and forth with our planning board attorney, is are we going to get ourselves into trouble because it's not consistent? You know, then we wanted to see what the state was going to do as we discussed, you know,
two meetings ago that they made all of those changes and seeing what the changes were going to be. And then finally um with our attorney and the planning board attorney that we determined that we needed to at least revisit the master
plan. So we don't have anything in there. Seems like it's going to be a um inconsistent with our master plan and then we are doing it you know to spite some business. So that was another reason why that we ended up having to do it. Um it took a little bit longer. um
our attorneys, you know, do believe that some of these other municipalities may have legal issues with them if they're ever appealed. So, we wanted to make sure we did things by the book. Um let's see, we got the county uh the
status of the um AMP again, you know, they have the demolition permits for the building. you know, all the approvals were done, the asbestous cleanup was done, all the um the baiting, all the utilities were clo shut off, and that
was all done. Um for the citizens bank, they're still working on the negotiation. Uh and I don't know when that's going to, you know, happen, but they are not going to be knocking down the Citizens Bank until they at least officially own it or don't own it and they move with another plan.
um commercial vehicles we addressed and like um you know, Council President Smith said, you know, the the best way to do it, we can't be everywhere all of the time. And you know, when we know about it, we actually do take action. I mean, that was also we um they painted a
white line in front of the house for no parking. That's also being removed. So, I mean, it was a bunch of things, but unless we know about it, we, you know, we can't and the police can't be everywhere 24/7, 365. Um, so, you know, the tax appeals, you know,
comment, that's not just a straight tax appeal comment, you know, is we pay for it. it was, you know, address some of the concerns about the pilots and why the township takes over takes all of the um pilot money other than what we've um put into the ordinance to for Walnut
Hill. Um you know, it's one of the things that cost us a lot of money and this is one of the reasons why it it helps us offset that. It's not our reason for budget problems. We don't have any budget problems as you can see. you know, we have one of the lowest increases in the county and it hasn't
been an issue in the past and it won't be an issue in the in the future because we manage our capital, we manage our operating expenses and um so wanted to clear that up. Um just on the you know Oprah's uh Mr. Greavves did say that
he'd learned that you know back in April 27th uh when he asked for all of the tax appeals from 1980 to present. Um, well, I guess you know that's not 100% true since on July 1st he asked for
all of the debt statements from 2025. So the last 20 years of debt statements he asked for all the debts all the annual financial statements from 200 uh 2005 I'm sorry. Um from 2005 so again I guess you know 20 years it's um time to go.
And then he asked for 60 on um July 16th asked for 66 meeting minutes for the zoning board dating back to um January of 2015. So again 10 years. Um so you
know I I I understand that um he was he may have been new the first time but uh you know July of 26 he's been involved in this process. >> Aren't those minutes available online? Some of them. >> Some of them. Okay. They're not all >> doesn't go back usually 10 years.
>> Gotcha. Thank you. >> Um so, you know, just in the month of July, uh Mr. Gre put in, uh six, um you know, under his name. I don't know if there are any others, but he put in another six um request for OPs.
Um let's see. >> Well, that might might not all be legal fees. It's a burden on a staff. We don't have a big staff. um takes a lot of time to get these things in and there are deadlines that have to be met. So it is a little bit of
a hardship for for us at this point. >> Thank you. >> And one other one other thing, I'm sorry I missed this one. This was on Brian Tol, Councilman Tol's uh environmental list. I haven't seen the full list yet and we haven't had a chance to go over it with the um county. But like we have
been doing with all the other requests. You know, we'll we'll go through it and you know discuss it with the county and see what we can do and you know when we could do it and what we cannot do and you know we had that discussion with the people on um Janice things we could not do and they understood it but you know
it it it was a discussion. >> Yeah. And I I think to it's not worthwhile at this point to have a meeting with the county uh for all citizens to come to as we've been addressing as Jim said on a one by one basis all the issues that have come up.
Um I mean it was several months ago that we met with Pat and I met with the folks on Janice and again it's just just a handful not not even a handful not even a handful of people um that came to us. Everyone else was pretty happy on that street we spoke with. You have to keep
in mind this project, if it's on schedule, probably will not be completed until November 1st of 2027. So, we're in for the long haul. It's it's it's a lot of hardship for certain people. They're on Madison Hill Road. We
understand that, but we do want to get the the uh reservoir dredged. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't cooperated, but seems like they're moving along as quickly as possible. >> Great. Thank you. All right, Council Member Hoth, any closing comments?
>> I want to um thank everyone for the efforts from the storm. I think we've had a meeting since then, but um I just want to thank everyone for all the work and how um great it was for the 4th of July being able to get in the flag raising and all the things we participated in. Um I think the BA and
uh our mayor did a decent job, but I'm going to just add a little bit more to it. Um, just to be clear, because I think it's so offensive to sit here and mischaracterize the things that have been said at a to a group that um, quite frankly, even with a tabled agenda item
tonight, still had members of the public come up and discuss it and were given the full five minutes and their opportunity to talk on something that debatably could have been asked maybe to not discuss at that time. Um, this is not a suppressive group. the amount of communications that we have daytoday,
the emails that get answered, the requests that come in, the phone calls, the text messages, the emails between our personal and the c um township ones, not personal, but like our phones and and township and things like that. Um it's wildly offensive to me that someone who's not I guess not here anymore
again, um would stand up and say that he was told he's filing too many or that he's shouldn't be sending in these OPARS. Um that's not what was said. Um, and I encourage anyone to go back and look at that. That is a wild mischaracteration characterization of what occurred. But
we're talking about some someone who's signing Oprah requests with the conclusion of yours faithfully, which to me is a bit of a unique sign off. So, I don't know how many of the 57 anonymous Oprah requests that I saw that were filed by someone who falls under
anonymous that signs them yours faithfully, as well as Elizabeth and Nathan and the seven other names, including our Lord that came in that are also signed yours faithfully. But to be clear, there's 35 that is under John
Gre's name for filing Oprah requests and that's only what's quickly available with a Google with a search of the Oprah machine. That being said, having done tax appeals for the better part of 10 years, I find it especially wasteful because not everything, like everyone said, costs money to do, but it's time
and energy and effort when we have citizens who are sitting there without power or had tree situation or flooding or all these bulk pickup and emergency situations and all this going on. So whether it's a fiscal resource or just a sweat equity thing at the end of the day
to have then asked for the OPRAS from 1980 to whatever year it was and then to do it again in July asking for 2005 to 2025 requesting from the county the tax appeal information. I want to be clear as again someone who did this as my job.
You need the permit jackets. You need all of the historical property data. You need the exclusion lists. You need the market comparables. You need the common level ratios and the common level ranges that are set from the state year after year. If it's prior to 1995, at minimum, they are archived at the state level.
And without going into those individual properties, having the requisite knowledge of the houses, what permits were pulled, when they were pulled, being able to compare them, there is very little you can do or ascertain from these data sets. That it is an almost, in my opinion, and only my opinion an
offensive waste of people's time because there is nothing you can glean from this particular data set. and it's been explained multiple times. So there is zero repression of anyone who stands up here and asks questions and we answer them and endeavor respectfully and
politely. And this performative thing that comes after council meetings after the same questions are asked and the same respectful responses are given by people who quite frankly can't even be bothered to stay long enough to hear the answers and then say after the meeting that this was somewhat disrespectful.
It's offensive to I feel like all of us who give our time and the administration who works hard and takes all of these things seriously and the staff that has to deal with this all the time. And I'm grateful and proud for the professionalism of everyone that I sit up here with and that's part of our administration. And I hope that um
people look a little bit deeper than the social media clips and the things that are out there floating which give an absolute partial manipulated piece of the conversation. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Maserella. >> Yes, thank you, Council President. And
there's a lot of construction going on throughout our community. Um, and it's going to continue for a bit. Uh, if uh you're traveling or walking through our community, be careful. U make sure
you're mindful of the construction and what they're doing. They're trying to enhance our quality of life. And um if you don't understand something or something doesn't sit well with you,
please um uh contact or email our DPW or our police department and they'll um they'll respond and they'll check it out for you and then give you whatever information they can. So, be safe
traveling through our community, either walking or driving until two weeks. Be safe and stay well. Bye-bye. >> Thank you, Council Member Mani. >> Uh, thank you, Council President. Um, so I want to address a couple of the
comments. I'm not going to sit here and address the people that come to the microphone, but address, you know, some of the comments that are made. Uh, my wife once asked me, "How do I say yes on this agenda?" And uh every two weeks when we get this agenda, I read through
it and uh I find every reason to vote no on these agenda items. I look through them. I try to understand them. And more importantly, if I don't understand or have any questions, I call the people that are responsible um to this township, such as the business administrator. And the reason why I
bring that up is because this ordinance that was tabled tonight um ordinance 26 um-26, I had a lot of questions on it. So I picked up the phone. I called the business administrator and I got his thoughts and after he gave me his thoughts and I put my thoughts together,
I still wasn't convinced that this was a good ordinance uh for two things. Number one is for my family, for my children or number two for this community and not in that particular order. So, I talked to Council President Bill Smith and I got his thoughts. Then I hung up from him
and then I called Captain Akaboo and got his thoughts and then after talking about it, we really thought and really came to a conclusion that this might not be the right time to implement an ordinance of this magnitude. Um, so I
thank Captain Ukaboo for that because he really brought things to me that I wasn't thinking about and I'm sure I gave him some ideas that he wasn't thinking about. That's what we do on this council. We have conversations and we try to see where each other are coming from. So, you know, a lot of
times I get asked, you know, do I just go with the party lines or do you just say yes because everybody else says yes? It may look like that in these meetings, but questions have already been answered. They were answered on Friday. They were answered on Saturday. They were answered Sunday. They were answered
Monday. And when we come here, we try to implement things that we think in the best of the community. Now, one thing I do take offense to is that when people come to the microphone and start to say things about our police department, I don't like that. I think we have a great
police department. I think Captain Lock, Captain Aaboo do a wonderful job in our police keeping our township safe. And I would never think that they would pull over the wrong person at the wrong time for the wrong reason. I don't believe that. I believe that they're always looking out for this community. And I
thank them for that every day. You know, somebody came up tonight and said there was homeless people in Clark. 52 years in this town. I have never seen a homeless person in this town yet. Now, I'm sure they're out there. I just haven't seen them. And nobody's come up to me at Beastro or nobody's come up to
me at Shopright and asked me for any money. But here's the most important thing. If you're ever in that unsafe situation, you have seven people sitting up here, you could call. You have the police department you can call. You have the business administrator and the mayor you can call. Listen, there's nothing more
that we would want to do is help a homeless person get back on their feet. There's nothing more we want to do. So, if you see something that may feel uncomfortable, give us a call. Our cell phones are there, our emails are there, and everything else. So, don't be afraid to
call someone when something's not right. And and then finally, it's just every week we go through the same thing. And you know, I always I guess tonight want to apologize to the people of Clark because this is not become this has become so far from a business meeting
and it's become a a political meeting. It's we're right, you're wrong. We're going to do it better. You're going to do it horrible. And one thing I said to Mr. Shman a long time ago, and I hope he agrees to this, that I always ask for mutual respect to one another. And then they come to the microphone and
people come to the microphone and say all the things that we said and hostile but we forget about 3, four, five years ago when you know they call us cowards and they call me he's shaking his head. Yes. You know calling us coward and calling us corrupt and everything else.
Well, let me tell you something Mr. Shman. I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a grandfather. My kids don't want to hear it either. So when you come to the microphone you got to think of that the same way I think about what I want to say to you. So, I listen to you and I really believe
that you love this town. You love this town so much that you did all the research as an attorney to move to this town several years ago. So, I've been trying to figure it out and I figured it out. The only thing you don't like about this town is that it's run by Republicans. It has become a Democrat
Republican meeting. It's sad and I guess that's the world we live in. But if you have, you know, things that you want to talk about, come to the microphone, call the business ins. Call us. I don't get any calls about homeless people. I don't know if they're in Clark or not,
but if they are, give me a call. I'd love to go and help that person out, get him back on his feet, maybe, you know, find his way. That's just my comments for tonight. I appreciate it, Council President. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Okconor.
>> Thank you very much. Um, I just want to uh dovetail off some of the comments made by the mayor and and the BA with regard to um uh Genei Drive. A few months ago, the mayor and I went door to door on Janice Drive and on Anthony Circle, knocking doortodoor, seeing what
their issues were. From that stemmed conversations with some homeowners to uh meetings with Jim. Jim and I and those residents had two meetings. Uh Jim patiently listened to their concerns. he reached out to the county. Um county
didn't respond as quickly as we'd like. Um we had another meeting with the residents. Jim reached out again and with uh Jim's ability to work, you know, um very well with the county. He was able to get what the people from GT's
Drive are looking for. And uh I want to thank Jim and the mayor for for their support on making sure people from GC Drive are are getting what they what they wanted. Jim, I know it was a struggle and I know, you know, you made many phone calls and and uh let's just say it was tough, but you got it done.
So, thank you very much for caring about not only the town, but specifically the people and how they've been affected by this project. Thank you. Um again, Fourth of July celebration, I heard it was great. I was home with my dog. I unfortunately my dog is very afraid of fireworks. Last year, my house got hit
by lightning while I was home with him. So any loud bangs now, he uh unfortunately doesn't have a good time. So I was in the basement with my dog while uh the celebration was going on, but I heard it was great. And uh you know, happy birthday to America 250.
Again, the mayor talked about the storms we had. I talked to Jim about them as well. You know, thank you, thank the DPW and all all their hard work. And I want to specifically thank the volunteers, you know, firemen, emergency squad, you know, when when the rainstorm comes and lightning comes and the trees are down
in your neighborhood or the power's out, everybody wants to be home with their families, make sure they're safe, get the water out of the basement, right? These volunteers aren't with their spouses. These volunteers are at the firehouse, at the emergency squad, on
the trucks getting things done for the town and for what they have a drive within them to help people. you know, my dad had it and um you know, I'm forever grateful that he
passed some of that along to me and I just, you know, I just don't want people to forget, you know, what these volunteers do. You know, you see them, you see the fire fireman and ambulance squad at trick or
trunk or treat, right? Looks fun. Handing out candy, how great is that? You know, training day on Thursdays, driving around the fire trucks, that's great. But what about being in someone's basement at 1:00 in the morning pumping water out because their basement's flooded and in the meantime your spouse is asking you when you coming home your
kids miss you or being called out on Christmas day. That happens. So again don't take for granted you know um what they do. You mean you know what they do it's it's phenomenal and without them you know the town would be in a
different position. So, thank you very much to the volunteers and uh and you know and again the DPW. Yeah. Do they get paid for what they're doing? Absolutely. But you know what? At some point you say, "Is it worth it? If that phone rings asking me if they're coming
for overtime, do I pick it up? Or do I want to stay home with my family and kids tonight because they're scared?" But it's not about the money. It's also about helping the community they're here to serve and that they say hello to every day and that they've known for years and years. because a lot of our
DPW workers have been here for years and built the community as a second family. Those are my comments. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Tol. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I will keep them brief. Um, the spirit of America truly shown on July the 4th, the 250th
anniversary of this great country. It's shown in the faces of the participants and the residents of this township. We started the morning off with the ceremony at Abraham Clark's grave. It was also the 300th anniversary of his
birth in February. But they had a wonderful ceremony. The mayor was in attendance. And we're just trying to say you saw it for those who went to that cemetery that early morning hours to get involved in honoring the legacy of a Declaration of Independence signer who
lived in this area. And our township's named in honor. And it was just an honor to be there and to show the spirit of America is alive and well. And then we went through the day. We went from Rowway Cemetery next to Merchant Driver's Tavern. We went from Rowway Cemetery, went down Westfield Avenue,
came into Clark, and we ended up at the police municipal building, this building I'm we're sitting in now. And what did we do? We honored the memory of one of our fallen officers, William Wat, Billy Wat Rabbit. We honored him to say we hadn't forgotten you. It was how many
years ago? in 1971 that you were killed in the line of duty protecting the citizens of Clark here in this town and the faces and the spirit of America continually shined and the officers the old officers and God they got old so did I but the family members Eddie Eddie Wat
Billy's brother was there and it was an honor I haven't seen him in a couple years and he told me I don't live down shore Mr. told I live north up north state up near Hope off of Route 80. I was like, "Wow, I just got that screwed up." But again, it was nice talking to him and his memories of his family, his
father, his mother, his sister, and his brother who is no longer with us. I'm just trying to say the spirit of America shined during the memorial service for Billy Wat and it continued on into the afternoon. And in the afternoon, we went into the evening and we had our fireworks celebration honoring the 250th
anniversary. the flag ceremony with Dave, our American Legion commander, the mayor, and the community as a whole. This you could see it in their faces the spirit of freedom, the spirit of hey, I'm an American. God bless. And that I
say to you, America and New Clark, New Jersey. Thank you for attending, be a parting, being being a part of it, and so on. Thank you, and I hope to see you at the next events. I'm going to finish up the last comments. Dileia Collins asked a question about the environmental commission. IA environmental commission
are a bunch of people like you and I. They went to a meeting and they they voiced the same angst that the people at Clark have and they sat in a free form and just said, "Hey, this is terrible. Why isn't this being done? Why don't you do it?" I said, "Well," and I turned, of course, open my big mouth, which I
shouldn't, but I did, and said, "Well, put something down and we'll send it to the county. They're the only ones who control the reservoir, not Clark Environmental Commission, not me, not you, but let's just hear what you had to say. Get it in the list." So that's the way it was left at. I'm bringing it to your attention that these people who
were on that committee had the same feelings, the same angsts and the same opinions about that issue. And the issues have been mentioned by the BA, by the mayor, about the mud, about the trucks, about the fencing, about how their county is going about it. It's a
cluster. And I'm not going to finish the word out. It's a cluster, folks. You know that. If you live near that, you know what it is. It's a mess. And it's a construction site. So, I take it with a grain of salt, but when you live there, it's a lot harder because your own house, your backyard's a mess. So, hopefully we're going to get the resolve
for it, and we're going to do it right. And if the environmental commission comes out with a letter, deal you, I'm going to walk it to your house. I'm going to hand deliver it to you because I always would with you. You and I go back a long, long way, dear. I would never do anything to hide anything from you. And I'll give it straight up to you because you, if there's anything to be
named in this town, it won't be Dilly Collins. It'll be Helen C. Ricosy and Frank Recausny because those two did more for the township of Clark than anything I did. Thank you very much. I'm going to leave it at that. We'll see you in the next month. Remember this folks, let the spirit of America shine within
you. Thank you. >> Thank you, counselor. You have anything to add? >> Uh just a follow-up comment to one of the questions that was asked about the ordinance vacating a portion of Lake View uh Boulevard. Um, as the mayor indicated, it is a piece of about 102
feet long and 60 feet wide. The reason there's an east and a west is to designate the center line. Uh, the western part of the center line goes to one property, the eastern uh side of the center line goes to the other property.
So, it's really just a way to in words express what is happening on the ground. And there are sketches of the areas that are under discussion attached to the ordinance. And as the mayor said and as the clerk said, uh those uh that that
ordinance is online along with the backup material and all of the property owners within 200 ft of the four corners of that area will receive notice of the public hearing and will receive a copy of the ordinance with the attachments. Uh beyond that, uh Mr. Council
President, I have nothing further. >> Thank you. >> You have anything, clerk? >> Nothing. >> Nothing. >> Thank you. >> I think uh Jim, you have anything to add? >> Um yes. So, one of the things that we implemented after the storm last July was a gov pilot
um module that if anybody had damage from the storms, so we could apply for FEMA money. FEMA money is not just what the township puts out, the amount of damage throughout the town. and we put together a um a module for that. So
right now we have I think like 36 38 people with about a million dollars worth of damage between roofs, trees, flooding and stuff like that. So if anybody has any damage, go to rclark.com online services and um there is a module
there to report the um any damages. So this way we can incorporate that in into our FEMA uh reporting and potentially get the um reimbursement. Um the other thing I wanted to just bring up is you know there was a lot of work that went
into the the storm over the 4th of July weekend um and we did have a afteraction uh meeting and we are going to be making some additional changes. Uh, one of the things is all but two of our pump stations have backup generators. We
we're purchasing backup generators for them. We we have mobile generators, but you know, these storms just continually happen. So, there's something that, you know, we by looking into what our problems were and what we were dealing with, it just makes our lives that much
easier. Um, one of the other things that we were kept running into is just the communication, especially when everybody was running around. We're creating a a dedicated chat channel for all the um department heads and everybody can now access that with uh our dispatch. Uh we
had a call with them today and we're actually going to be getting a feed from them that would update the chat on these are all of the locations that we have a problem at and this is when they're being closed out. So we're making some of those changes.
Um there was also the um you know the data that was you know coming in um into us. We're creating now a a dashboard that will be available to everybody who like not everybody in the town but OEM
PD DPW and they'll know what jobs that they have that are outstanding similar to what we did in Gov Pilot. And that's why we ask everybody to go into Gov Pilot. it creates a record. We know what um you know who wants to have trees looked at and things along those lines. We're actually enhancing it now to you
know deal with these type of emergencies because unfortunately they seem to be happening more often than not. So um you know we appreciate everybody's patience. We appreciate the hard work that everybody did and you know hopefully moving forward we'll have uh more um information and you know quicker
reaction time and response times. >> Great. Thank you for adding all that. All right. I have no further comments. So, a motion to adjurnn. >> Thank you, Council Member Tol. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Councilman Okconor. All in favor? >> Anybody opposed? All right. See you in a couple weeks. Thank you.