Wait just a moment and I'll let you know. >> Okay. >> I'm fine as well, Mayor. >> Okay, good to go. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our November 17th council meeting. Our first order of business is a call to order and
the rise for the pledge of allegiance. So, if everybody could please rise. I pledge allegiance 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. Our next item on the agenda is the reading of the sunshine statements and roll call by our municipal clerk, Mrs. Lauren Stats. This meeting of the Denellan Burough Council is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings
law. This meeting of November 17th, 2025 was included in a list of meetings that was advertised in the courier on January 9th, 2025 and as a teleconference was noticed on the official Denellan website on November 14th, 2025 on the public
bulletin on North Avenue on November 14th, 2025 and has remained continuously posted as the required notice. Mayor Sento >> present. >> Council President Sigman >> here. Mrs. Albertson >> here,
>> Mrs. Lance >> here, >> Mrs. Rios >> here, >> Mr. Scott >> here, >> and Mrs. Vandermark >> here. >> Item number three on the agenda is approval of our meeting minutes. Can I have a motion and second on our regular
meeting minutes of November 3rd, 2025? >> Move it. Segment. >> Second. How present >> any comments, redaction or additions to the meeting minutes as they currently stand? >> Without hearing any, can we have a roll call, please? Mrs. Stats.
>> Mrs. Albertson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark, >> here. Item number four on the agenda is the
introduction of an ordinance 2025-20 bond ordinance providing for the acquisition of property in and by the bureau of Denellan in the county of Middle Sex, New Jersey appropriating one 1.1 million therefore and authorizing the issuance of 1,45,000
bonds or notes of the bureau to finance part of the cost thereof. Can I have a motion and a second? Please >> move it. Segment >> second. Vandermark. As introductions of ordinances are not discussed, I will provide a short summarization. This is the acquisition of uh consideration of
acquisition of uh 205 North Washington Avenue, the old investors bank property. The town is looking to purchase it for the purposes of municipal use. more specifically uh a uh municipal parking lot for downtown usage and parking for
our downtown and then eventual uh municipal facilities as we do a full assessment. Um so that's what this is and uh it'll be publicly heard and possibly adopted at the next council meeting on December 1st. So, with that
explanation, uh, members of the public, if it goes through tonight, can find this ordinance, uh, at the municipal clerk's office or online for your review and then come back on December 1st to discuss the matter. Uh, can I can we have a roll call, please? Mrs. Stats,
>> Mrs. Albertson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark, >> yes. Okay. Item number five are resolutions.
We have resolutions 380 through 386. And uh Mrs. Stats, if you would do the honor and then provide the opportunity for mayor and council to discuss. >> Resolution number 380 is to pay the bills. >> Move it. Segment. Second. Scott.
>> Mrs. Albertson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lance. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rios. >> Yes. >> Mr. Scott. >> Yes. >> Mr. Sigman. >> Yes. and Mr. Mrs. Vandermark, sorry. >> Resolution number 381 is to approve a
microb blading license for Latrice Skin Beauty. >> Move it. Segment. >> Second. Albertson. >> Mrs. Albertson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman, >> yes.
>> And Mrs. Vandermark, >> yes. Resolution number 382 is to approve public health services and interlocal service contract with Middle Sex County. >> Move it segment. >> Second Vandenberg. >> So regarding this uh this is the
extension of our shared service with the Middle Sex County uh Department of Health. Uh Pat Patricia Clemente has been the official that we've had. Um I asked uh Mr. Robertson, our legal counsel to of course review the contract. It's a nominal increase for
the next several years comparative of what they have been providing in services. And uh Mr. Miller and Mrs. Stats, I've asked that they provide an evaluation of uh the teams in the health department's um role and uh they both
said that they Patricia and the team do a good job for the the amount of money that we uh pay and that they would recommend uh that we continue services. So Mr. Miller, Mrs. stats, if you'd like the opportunity to say a few words to council. >> Uh, mayor, I'll say something briefly
and then uh Miss Stats because uh the stats deals directly with um the Middle Sex uh Department of Health. But Patricia has been a huge asset to the burrow. Anytime there's an issue or concern, um she's always on top of it
and she gets things moving really fast. Uh she works very professional for the burrow and uh truthfully I think she's done a great job. Um I'm going to let uh Miss Stats discuss a little bit more on her part because she does deal with
Patricia multiple times during the week. >> Yep. Patricia visits the office almost every day. Um she does her inspections. Her reports are accurate, thorough, and they're always submitted on time. She m maintains attention to detail when conducting inspections and provides
corrective guidance to all of the establishments. She can uh inspect any and everything. Um we have an inspector Paris and he just does um like the nail salons, barber shops, and smoking establishments. So he's only here when
needed. But Patricia's work, she's outstanding. Like everything and anything she does, she's great. So, as Alex said, she'll be good for the next couple years, which is the contract, which is 26 and 27, which you would be
approving tonight. Okay. Thank you, council. Any questions or further discussion on this matter? Without hearing any, can we have a roll call, please? Mrs. Albertson.
>> Yes. Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark, >> yes. >> Resolution number 383 is authorizing payment to Kuger Healey Law Firm.
>> Move it. Segment. Second, Scott. >> Mr. Robertson, do you want to touch base on this one a little bit? >> Uh, yes, mayor. Briefly, this this is a resolution authorizing the payment with the blue healing law firm, the law firm
at record representing the burrow and litigation following the insurance claim. uh the Middle Sex Insurance Fund has failed to make payment to that law firm was the claim against the burough
for payment for their services. uh Burough was able to resolve and settle that about 50% uh of the claim amount and this authorizes payment in two separate
payments uh one by this month the balance at the end of February and to authorize pay to settlement agreement to resolve litigation Okay.
Thank you, Mr. Robertson. Um, council has no further questions. I think we can uh take a roll call. >> Mrs. Albertson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman,
>> yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark, >> yes. Resolution number 384 is naming a conditional redeveloper for the property commonly known as block 34 lot 22 on the tax maps of the burrow and authorizing the execution of a conditional
redevelopers agreement with respect there too >> move it segment second Scott >> so this is the old laundry mat at the corner of Sanford and Bound Brook Road um it's been purchased and it's in a redevelopment zone so uh the develop ers
looking to present a project based upon our redevelopment plan and our zoning laws. And uh so this allows them the opportunity to work with our professionals to come back to mayor and council who is the redevelopment agency to uh present said project. So um that's
what this is. >> I'll take a role. Mrs. Albertson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark. >> Yes. >> Resolution number 385 is naming a
conditional redeveloper for the properties commonly known as block 2 lots 11 and 11.01 on the tax maps of the burrow and authorizing the execution of a conditional redevelopers agreement with respect there too. >> Move it. Sigman. Second. Scott.
>> Similar to resolution 384. This is uh the same developer looking to do improvements to their current property. uh 112 uh North Washington Avenue uh facade improvement as well as I believe some additional living spaces. So this provides them the opportunity the same
thing as the prior one to uh design a project come back to the mayor and council through uh the the conditional redevelopment phase and work with our professionals to present a project that is in line with our redevelopment planning zoning laws. So that's what this does as well.
>> Mrs. Mrs. Albertson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Lance, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rios, >> yes. >> Mr. Scott, >> yes. >> Mr. Sigman, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark, >> yes. Resolution number 386 is authorizing the transfer of appropriations for the 2025 operating
accounts. >> Move it. Segment. >> Second. Albertson. >> Mrs. Albertson. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Lance. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rios. Yes, >> Mr. Scott. >> Yes, >> Mr. Sigman. >> Yes. >> And Mrs. Vandermark.
>> Yes. >> Okay. Item number six on the agenda are council reports. Councilwoman uh Vandermark, anything to report this evening? >> Yes. Um October the police department had 1,988
CAD entries, 424 motor vehicle tickets, 362 motor vehicle stops, 22 arrests, 12 DUIs, DWIS, and 21 crashes. And that's it. >> Okay. Thank you for reporting that out.
And uh as always, great job to our our law enforcement for the job well done and serving protecting our community. Um, Councilwoman Rios. >> Yes. Uh, buildings and grounds. The public works crew has removed the flags and hometown hero banners from downtown.
The crew will be preparing for the holiday decorations within the next few weeks. The burrow is looking into upgrading security system in it building. Parson report has continued um, Parson has continued videoing and cleaning the burough sewer system as
part of their service to the burrow. the Denalum Public Library. I would like to provide an update as we continue the search for a permanent library director. The library will have an interim director in place to sec ensure operation runs smoothly. Our interim
director will be on site Monday through Thursday, both in the morning and the afternoon. If you see him around the library, please feel free to say hello and welcome him to our as he supports our community during this transition period. All of our current programs
remain in place and we encourage residents to check the library's Facebook page or website for updates and any additional programs that may be added. If you have any questions or need assistance pertaining to library operations, please direct them to Keith
or to any library trustee. Uh we appreciate everyone's continued support as we work forward. We look toward selecting a permanent director for the Denellan Public Library and the next board of ed meeting will be November 18th at 7:30. That's all.
>> Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman Albertson. >> Yes. Um the Frances Danellen Public Library have their annual bags and bling sale on this Sunday, uh November 23rd at the library. But if you'd like to be one
of the first to shop, you can stop in at on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. 6:30 to 8:00 PM. $5 for sip and shop. You can have mocktails and snacks and be the first to shop. Thank you and have a wonderful
day. >> Thank you. Uh Councilwoman Lance, anything to report? Yes, for the recreation department, um, recreation basketball is coming up soon. Program registration is open for children in grades K through six. Basketball will
take place on Saturday mornings at the Faber Gym. The program will begin January 3rd. You can register online at www. denelanparksandrecation.com. The registration deadline is November 28th. Avoid the late fee and register
today. The recreation department is also in need of volunteer coaches for the basketball season. So if you're interested in being a volunteer coach and being part of something great, email recck director kelly cedar kcdel & borrow.com. This program can only run if
they have enough coaches. Christmas is also coming up. The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place Sunday, December 7th at 6 p.m. at Washington Memorial Park. This is always a fantastic community event with hot chocolate, carolling, a brass
band, and a visit from Santa, the man himself. Please join us as we bring in the holiday season together. And finally, letters to Santa, or not finally, but letters to Santa. Santa's elves made a special trip from the North Pole last week and dropped off the Santa
mailbox. Mail your letter to Santa by December 12th. Be sure to include your return address on the envelope. And don't forget to check your mail before Christmas for a reply from Santa. The Santa mailbox is located on Prospect Avenue between the entrance to Burough
Hall and the Denellan Burough Police Department. A friendly reminder from the North Pole security team. The Denellan Police Department is on high alert after last year's attempted letter theft by a certain green individual. Stay tuned for updates.
The recreation department along with Danellan American Legion and VFW would like to thank all those involved and attended who also attended the Veterans Day ceremony. It was a beautiful day and a fantastic event supporting our veterans. And that's all.
>> Okay. Thank you, Councilwoman. And we'll be on we'll be looking out for that green person. Um >> Council President Sigman. >> Uh yes. Uh, as usual, I just want to thank all of the uh soccer coaches uh the volunteers that uh helped this
season be so wonderful and look forward to see you on the basketball court when that starts. >> And that's it. >> Okay. Thank you, Council President, Councilman Scott. >> For DPW, they continue to clean the downtown and parks and properties, weekly leaf cleanup in the parks, and
leaf cleanup downtown. I'm sure after yesterday was a mess. crew has continued leaf bag collection and a reminder leaf bag curbside pickup will continue only through the end of the year. Uh they prepped the park for the Veterans Day ceremony, assisted the
police with traffic control during the ceremony. As mentioned earlier, they removed the flags in the downtown hero banners and they continue to service the DPW equipment and police vehicles and they're still preparing for winter equipment for the snow that's coming. That's all I have.
>> Okay. Thank you, Councilman. Um, I'll be brief tonight. Uh, first and foremost, I just want to say thank you to everyone who participated on Veterans Day and honoring our veterans. A job well done, and it's a it's a a beautiful ceremony to, uh, like I said, uh, honor and
remember our veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Um, New Jersey American, uh, water, uh, the 2025 projects, uh, New Jersey American Water is nearing completion of its 2025 work. Uh crews will be uh tying in new water
manes at several intersections and finishing the last remaining water service connections. Uh business administrator Alex Miller and I recently met with American Water to discuss their 2026 plans to replace a water manes along Fairview Avenue and Second Street,
parts of Second Street that we haven't done. Um from Lincoln Avenue to Madison Avenue uh this winter. The project is expected to be complete completed by the uh end of March. Um the schedule will allow Fairview Avenue and all streets
that receive new mains in 2025 to be paved before the start of the Second Street phase 2 DOT project uh which will run from Madison Avenue to Washington Avenue. And again, I I I am going to thank everybody for their patience as American Water has been doing this work
in Denellan. I know it's been an inconvenience. I know it's been a headache. Um, you know, we we as council members and the mayor, we we drive our streets to where they're doing work and we we share the same pain. But when they present the opportunity to spend over
$20 million in our municipality of funds that they have to spend by 2031, um, we're going to make sure that and advocate that those dollars get spent in Denellan. Uh, that's our job is Denellan. And so they're replacing very old water manes and pipes that are over
80 year old 80 years old. summer would summer wood and so it's um you know while it's a a a short-term inconvenience we recognize that um to have passed up on the opportunity to not have them spend that kind of money in Denellan um I would say would have been
irresponsible of us as a local government. uh a lot of this work that they're doing underground the infrastructure none of us are going to be around when they have to redo everything again um because it's going to last a long time um hopefully but um again I do apologize for the
inconvenience but it's important that we get the work done and based upon the ordinances that we've passed over the several years uh it's required that anybody who comes in and touches the roads has to repave all the roads again that they touch so um like I said
short-term inconvenience for a long-term goal and a benefit to our community. Um, Second Street phase 2 Madison Avenue to Washington Avenue. Uh, bids for the project have been received and are now under review by CME, our engineer. Uh, the bureau expects to announce the
winning contractor within the next few weeks. Uh, construction is anticipated to begin in spring of 2026, possibly early summer. Um and will include replacement of re uh damaged curbs, replacement of severely deteriorated
sidewalks, uh select catch basin and storm water improvements, full milling and paving, and enhanced striping to to ease traffic uh uh vehicular traffic. Um the Washington Avenue beautifification project. This pro this project began
today and includes the installation of new LED decorative lights along a 300 block of Washington Avenue and on South Washington Avenue uh from North Avenue to the railroad bridge along sidewalk along with sidewalk and tree work. So a nice enhancement for our downtown and
was funded through a grant. Uh decorative lights update. PSCG has informed our business administrator, Alex Miller, that new decorative LED lights on Washington Avenue from North Avenue to Denalon Avenue are expected to be installed by December. And we continue to do our assessment of older
lights throughout the entire town. Once they replace them with LED, and we see what that improvement does, we will then continue our efforts on finding finding if there needs to be areas of uh additional lights throughout town. Um, my final note, uh, US Senator Andy Kim's
visit to Denell this past weekend. So on September, uh, September, I apologize, Saturday, November 15th, uh, the Burough of Denell and administration I welcomed uh, US Senator Andy Kim and his team for a small business walk along North Avenue. I had invited the senator uh,
following ongoing conversations through my role with the Rariton Valley Line Mayor uh, Raritan Valley Line Mayors Alliance. Uh during the visit, he met with several local businesses and heard firsthand how the how essential the Denell train station is to our local
economy. Uh we also discussed needed uh station upgrades and the importance of the gateway project uh whose future unfortunately remains a little uncertain at this time and how that's important to sustaining our downtown growth in the local and regional economies. Um, this
was a followup to September site visit with our state senator John Bramnik and assembly women Nancy Munos and Michelle Matakudis. Uh, Sue Alman from Senator Kim's office and NJ transit officials. Um, Senator Kim tooured the Denell train station uh to see the challenges our our
commuters are facing. Uh, the visit reinforced the need for bipartisan action to improve um to improve both the station and the Raritan Valley line. and uh I shared our infrastructure priorities uh the urgency of securing
funding uh for overdue improvements and the benefits of targeted investments would bring to riers with improvements such as that. Um I remain in close communication with federal and state offices along with members of the Ritan Valley Line Mayor's Alliance to advocate for station upgrades and for the
expanded one seat rides. Uh so to to conclude that visit, Senator Kim joined a ride and talk from Denellum to Westfield with Councilwoman Trina Rio. So thank you for being in attendance. Uh Lauren Meyers of downtown of the Denell downtown management organization and other residents impacted by commuting
concerns. Um, commuters on the ride shared their daily experiences and emphasized the importance of fully funding gateway phases one and two and enhancing and advancing the Hunter flyover project and and expanding the direct services to New York Penn Station. So, I just want to extend my
thanks to business administrator Alex Miller, our director of community development Derek White, special project advisor Chiron Roundtree, and Rucker Eagleton graduate fellow Ashley Rally, as well as our public information officer Billy George for joining us and for their dedication. And I just want to
say a genuine thank you to Senator Kim and his team for spending time in Denellan that day, engaging with our small businesses, and listening to our community's priorities. Um I I do believe this is the spirit of u and the type of bipartisanship that we need not just in Denell in our miracle mile but
across the state and our country moving forward. So uh again thank you to the senator for joining us and highlighting an important issue for uh not just denon but the rariton valley line and uh this area of New Jersey as a whole. Um that's my report for this evening. Um there's
no council discussions listed on the agenda. So, department heads, anything going on in it there, Ryan? >> I couldn't hear you. I'm sorry. So, >> I realize the mic's actually face the other direction. So, we have two microphones set up right now facing
towards the crowd. So, if anyone wants to speak during like public comment, uh, anyone that's going to be online would be able to hear them. Uh, this is just an experiment. Me and Billy were messing around with it earlier and seeing if it would be beneficial for us to have this. >> Perfect.
>> Thank you, >> Mr. Robertson. Anything from legal? >> Uh, no report, mayor. Thank you. >> Okay, Mrs. Stats. Anything from clerk's office, register's office? >> No report, mayor. >> Okay, Mr. Miller, administration.
>> No report, mayor. Thank you. >> Okay. Um, anything from DPW? >> No. Uh, guys are just doing a lot of leak clean up uh throughout the burrow, but that'll continue for the next uh month or so.
>> Okay. Thank you. Uh, anything from police department? Lieutenant, >> can you hear me? >> I can vaguely hear you. He said no report. >> Okay. Rescue Squad, I saw you in the in
the house. Anything? >> Mom, they can hear me. Uh, Denell and Rescue Squad in October responded to 46 calls for service. Um when you were talking about the um train station and the upgrades needed, uh I
just want to remind that uh a few years ago we had to do CPR on the train and not having an elevator to take a patient down makes a big impact on the outcome for the patient. So if you could pass that along to people, we would really
appreciate this. Uh the other thing that I wanted to talk about um is we have some problems with the with some of the new developments in being able to gain access into the buildings. A lot of these have security uh code keys co um
and uh that's something that we're probably as a as a town going to need to come up with a solution to. I recently found out that uh some in some municipalities uh police local police departments have access to Knoxbox keys uh in the state
of New Jersey. So that might be something worth us looking into as our as our officers are on the calls every time we're going. That would be helpful. All right. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Chief. And I appreciate you bringing up that last point that's important for us to be aware of. and uh
we'll work with uh Alex and uh Derek White on addressing that concern and speaking with Mr. Robertson on on how we handle all that. So, thank you for bringing that to our attention. That's important. Um is anybody from fire department in the audience? I heard Chaplain Morgan's
voice. >> Okay, sounds good. Chaplain. Okay. So, if there's no other uh department head reports, uh item number nine on the agenda is public comment. Uh we ask that if anybody wishes to address the mayor and council. We ask that kindly that you would state your name and your
residency. And uh if you're able to step up to the microphone so we can hear you and uh um if it needs to be brought to you, uh we can handle that as well. So, hello everybody. Uh my name is Tony Faber. Uh, I actually live uh 15 minutes
away from here in Scotch Plains. So, thank you for allowing me to speak here. Uh, I'm actually here to talk about something serious and uh make requests that you consider passing a resolution in support of the Immigrant Trust Act,
which is a bill before the uh Assembly and Senate here in New Jersey in committee and is being considered being advanced in the next two months in the lame duck session. The point of the immigrant trust act is that it uh
disallows uh cooperation between local governments and the immigr federal immigration authorities. um which is uh a really crucial matter in times like these as we see federal immigration authorities um acting unfortunately
illegally and not in uh accordance with their traditional uh mission of uh removing uh dangerous criminals but instead looking to uh exercise maximum cruelty upon people in the state. As an
example, in the recent raids in Edison and Woodbridge, where uh 35 to 40 uh uh warehouse workers were uh detained in each of those raids. Uh the vast majority of all of those workers were
here legally, either having work permits or uh uh were on their way to green cards. Uh, in my hometown in Scotch Plains, we have a we I just saw a local social media uh video of immigration agents trying to bust into a car
forcefully uh breaking the windows to remove people. They're doing this without um without any legal uh legal authority other than how somebody looks. Um, it's you as a community can make a
statement to the Senate and Assembly as they consider whether to pass this legislation uh that you support this, that you support the rule of law in this country um and that you support um uh immigrants
being able to be treated with due process and that the safety of all of us is important. If anyone uh if local police and governments cooperate with immigration authorities, it erodess the trust in that community, people in the community will not come
forward to the police if they think they may uh be detained for reporting a crime, for instance, or going to the hospital or the DMV or even a school. Um, I sent you all a uh email earlier today that contains uh a sample wording
for such a resolution and also some more information about the Immigrant Trust Act. You can ask me or respond to that email with any other concerns or questions. Thanks so much for listening. Take care. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Favor, for bringing
that to our attention. um we will speak with legal and we will uh see where the League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Conference of Mayors uh also view that resolution. So, thank you for bringing that to our attention. Are there any other members of the public?
>> I'm so sorry. I just would like to mention if you don't mind in in 10 seconds a number of uh recent municipalities have recently passed such resolutions. Just for your information, both Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Union County, Somerset County, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Cranberry, lots of local
municipalities are doing this. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Faber. Uh, any other members of the public? Please state your name and your residency. Without hearing any, we will close that portion of the meeting and we appreciate
everybody's time. Uh, next up is item number 10 on the agenda. We have no executive session. So that would be resolution 387 uh for adjournment. Uh, if we have council members who would like to motion and second >> move it segment. Second, Scott.
>> All in favor? >> I >> I >> Are there any nazs? Okay. Uh, thanks everybody. God bless you all. And, uh, December 1st at 7 p.m. is our next council meeting. You can either join in chambers or virtually. So
the well