you're good Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our April 21st council meeting Our first order of business is a call to order and rise for the pledge of allegiance So please join us and 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 Item number two in our agenda is the reading of the sunshine statement and roll call I said call call and roll or
something earlier Sorry Sunshine statement and roll call by our municipal uh clerk Mrs Lawrence Stats This meeting of the Denellan Burough Council is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings law This meeting of April 21st 2025 was
included in a list of meetings that was advertised in the courier on January 9th 2025 and as a teleconference was noticed in the official Denellan website on April 17 2025 and on the public bulletin board on North Avenue on April 17th 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 Mr Vandermark noted absent Before we head to item number three on the agenda um I'm just going to ask that we do have a moment of silence uh for the passing of Pope Francis I know some people are not Catholic or of Christian
faith but even on a humanistic uh perspective he was a a man of integrity and for the people of all So if we just have a moment of silence please Thank you Item number three on the agenda is approval of our meeting minutes from the April 7th council
meeting Can I have a motion and a second please move it segment Second Okay Any comments additions or edits to the meeting minutes of April 7th as they currently stand without hearing any can we have a
roll call please yes Mr Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott yes And Mr Sigman yes Item number four on the agenda is adoption of our ordinances We have uh
three this evening Uh first up is 2025-09 uh an ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank for the calendar year 2025 Can I have a motion in a second please move it Segment Second
Lance At this moment in time we'll open the floor to the public for comment on 2025-09 solely We ask that you please state your name and address Without hearing any we'll open the floor to Mayor Council for discussion With no further comment can we have a roll call please
yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott yes And Mr Sigman yes Can I have a motion and second on 2025-10 an ordinance to amend the general legislation of the Burough of Denilla Municipal Code Chapter 204 parks
and playground section for sporting events and water activities use of vehicles Move it Rios second segment As a reminder to the public this is an ordinance that prohibits motorized or electronic uh scooters or bikes with the
exception of those who are disabled So with that we will open the floor for the public to comment and question 2025-10 solely Please state your name and address Without hearing any we'll close that portion to the public and open the floor to mayor and counsel for
discussion Question Yeah Um so with this ordinance um are penalties required to be added to the language here like in the case that someone violates well it's an amendment I believe the or the original ordinance has should have
penalties associated to it I guess existing look at chapter change the existing but I'll have to say I The penalty should be clear in the ordinance I don't see it I'm looking at
it right now Uh it's an amendment If the penalties are not in the existing ordinance my recommendation is we further amend it to be specific as the penalties Uh there are is are there penalties but sorry
violation and penalties section 20412 Any person who vi 500 was it any violation any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine not exceeding 500 or by imprisonment for
a term not exceeding 90 days for holding that's thank you very good point And will signage be placed well it does say on the signs already no bikes Yes but not electric or motorized
Well I think that language could be broad enough D mean motorized It says bicycle So Lieutenant you're you're the enforcer on this one Your team I think it it already says no bikes or scooters It cost me $500
The only I asked because there was somebody with a four-wheeler there the other day like an ATV Oh I know I totally can leave the um I think the question is the current sign which says bicycles and scooters not
allowed I think that is broad enough language for the motorized track right So I don't know if you have any signage that's going to say for the entire perimeter We'll have to look into the required
signage to see if they're properly put residents on notice of what's actually Mr Herk's here so he'll take a inventory of the park and what's not there We'll add that's a good point Thank you Yes Okay With that there are other types of
like electric motorized uh things like one wheel It's like a onehe skateboard There's other options So I don't know if we need to add the language for that as well Is that significant enough that we can amend it on the floor uh
yeah Ebikes motorized scooters motorized vehicles Okay I'm just talking about for when we do if we add signageific Awesome Thank you Okay Any further discussion or
questions okay Roll call please Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott yes And Mr Sigman yes Okay Can we have a motion and second on
2025-11 bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements in and by the burough of Dell and appropriating $3,338,700 Therefore in authorizing the issuance of 2,380,4440 bonds or notes Move it Second Second Albertton Moment of time We'll
open the floor to the public for any comments or questions solely to 2025-11 Just to reiterate these are this is the funding mechanism for various capital improvements for the year of 2025 Many of which will be covered by grants as they get completed the
public without hearing any We'll open the floor to Mayor Council Without hearing any roll call please Sorry I just for clarification I spoke to Councilwoman Rios There was a much longer explanation at the prior meeting uh that I've researched the
issue and my opinion Councilwoman Rios uh is authorized to vote on this ordinance which requires uh twothirds of the full governing body to vote on it Uh this will be governed by the doctrine of necessity uh as would
the uh resolution 183 has to do with the uh introduction the amendment to the introduction municipal budget Uh and again there was a much longer explanation at the prior meeting essentially that doctrine uh in situations of great public interest
where there's a necessity to move forward and specifically given uh the fact that there is uh no no personal or financial uh in involvement in the in any of the matters Uh it was my opinion that that
council Rio should be authorized to vote on this matter both matters And just so it's public records due to her association as a firefighter at the Dell Fire scratching their head while you're bring Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios
yes Mr Scott abstain position in the fire department and Mr Segment Yes Item number five on the agenda is resolutions We have resolutions 180 through 191 Uh Mrs Stats if you can read
them out and just give us a moment to speak on them if we need Okay Resolution number 180 is to pay the bills Move it Second Second Albertson Mrs Albertson Yes Mrs Lamb Yes Mrs Rios
Yes Mr Scott yes And Mr Sigman yes Resolution number 181 is authorizing the rejection of all bids for the demolition and site remediation of former strip joint site 635 Bound Brook Road and readvertising the project Move it
Segment Second Albertson So just so everyone's aware we're aware that the bids were received on March 27th in these chambers at 11:00 a.m Um so due to irregularities with the apparent uh low bid and local public contracts law requirements with
the one that was chosen um it appears that the project does need to be rebid Um so that's what this resolution is and what we're going out to do I know Mr Miller has spoken to the rescue squad who is looking at making this their new location Um it's a hiccup in the road
but best that we take best practices and do what's most appropriate So that's what this resolution is for Okay I'll take a role Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott yes
And Mr Sigman yes Resolution 182 is authorizing the bureau to execute a right of entry agreement for survey and exploration for the Greenbrook flood control project Move it Rios Second segment So uh as we know
this is an ongoing project and process since 1973 Um but uh this is uh the Army Corps needs access to the uh the properties again to do some re-examination and studies based upon some of the new uh mappings that they're doing Am I
understanding that correct yes Right So this agreement gives them permission So uh we will be executing the appropriate communication so people are aware that this is going to be occurring I'll take a role Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs M Rios Yes Mr Scott yes
And Mr Sigman yes Resolution 183 is to amend resolution from April 7th number 161 introducing the 2025 municipal budget Move it Second Second Rios
And this change was only amending the date that it was advertised in the paper The last resolution said the 10th We couldn't get it on the 10th so it was done on the 11th Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios
yes Mr Scott abs Mr Sigman Yes Resolution 184 is for the Burough of Denell and the county of Middle Sex authorizing the solicitation of bids for the sale of the burrow's wastewater
system Sigman second Rios So I just want to speak on this resolution briefly Um as you may recall on March 3rd at our council meeting we had a brief presentation exploring the potential sale of the wastewater system As we made
clear then and remains true now Uh this is purely exploratory No decision has been made Our goal is to conduct a full detailed analysis to ensure we're making the best possible choice for the residents and the future of Denellan Uh
taking this next step does not commit us to any action I think that's very important for all of us to understand especially the public It simply allows us to get a complete and accurate understanding of what our options are Uh over the past month our burough professionals Francie McManaman is here
this evening she's been working with us have drafted the bid specifications which are now on file with the clerk's office Tonight's resolution would authorize us to request bids based upon those specs So we remain fully committed as a bureau to transparency and keeping
an open dialogue with the community throughout the process So uh just to reiterate this does not commit us to selling it Uh it can it just it's exploratory It's us getting information so we can make the best sound judgment call moving forward if we were to move
any further than beyond just the receiving the bids There is an entire process that is fully transparent with public input and feedback and at the end of it would be a referendum So the public would ultimately choose if that is the path that we would go down Um
again not committed we're exploring Francancy would you like to add anything beyond that okay Thank you Okay Okay I'll take a little Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott
yes And Mr Sigman yes Resolution 185 is to approve the temporary appropriations for 2025 Move it Signal Second Albertson Mrs Albertson Yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios
yes Mr Scott abstain Mr Sigman Yes Resolution 186 is to certify the calendar year 2024 audit Move it Segment Second Rios
Mrs Albertson Yes Mrs Lance Yes Mrs Rios Yes Mr Scott Yes And Mr Sigman Yes Resolution number 187 is accepting the corrective action plan for the calendar year 2024 audit Move it Sigman
Second Albertson Mrs Albertson Yes Mrs Lance Yes Mrs Rios Yes Mr Scott Yes And Mr Sigman Yes Thank you Resolution number 188 is appointing William Arscott chief of the fire
department as authorized signatory for any documents necessary to implement the firefighter certification program in the burrow Move it Albertson Second Lance Mrs Albertson Yes Mrs Lance Yes Mrs Rios
abstain due to my position on fire department Mr Scott abstain Fire Department Mr Sigman Yes Resolution number 189 is to approve the friends of the Denellan Public Library for a basket raffle license on May 10th
2025 Move it Segment Second Rios Mrs Albertson Abstain Friends executive board member Mrs Lance Yes
Mrs Rios Yes Mr Scott Yes Mr Sigman Yes Resolution 190 is to approve the Friends of the Denon Public Library for an onremise 5050 raffle license for May 10th Move it Sigment Second Rios
Mrs Albertson Abstain Mrs Lance Yes Mrs Rios Yes Mr Scott Yes And Mr Sigman Yes Resolution 191 is to authorize a partial refund of performance bond to Vision
Denellan Urban Renewal LLC which is 528 North A move it segment second Rios Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott yes and Mr segment Yes
Item number six on the agenda is the consent agenda 192 through 197 If council has any questions pertaining any specific agenda item please let us know so we can pull them out and discuss them separately from the overall consent agenda Okay Uh got a motion second Move
it Segment second Rios roll call Mrs Albertson yes Mrs Lance yes Mrs Rios yes Mr Scott yes And Mr Sigman yes Okay Item number seven on the agenda is council reports Councilwoman Albertson
Very short Today um the friends of Public Library are having a murder mystery dinner on May 10th at the uh George W Hodlick firehouse We invite the public to to join us Uh follow look at us on our Facebook page on our Instagram page and
flyers are around town And the open air market opens on May 4th It will be on the first and third Sundays between May and October Please come and join us Thank you Thank you Councilwoman Rios Yes Buildings and grounds most of the
replacement trees have been planted in the downtown area this past week The DPW is currently working on ordering plants to be placed around the trees and will also be installing mulch DPW in collaboration with the school
groundskeeper has also been maintaining the ball field Parsa um Parsa was on site on April 18th to complete a sewer lateral repair on Penfield Place The repair was necessary due to an improper connection
made with a contractor working on the 2024 NJ American Water project had to be cut had to cut the lateral line Uh board of ed kindergarten registration is now open for Denellan residents whose children will turn 5
years old on or before October 1st 2025 Families may register their children for the 2025 2026 kindergarten program at Faber Elementary School Kindergarten parent orientation is May 21st at 6 p.m Kindergarten student orientation is June
10th 11 10th 11th and 12th Registration will also be available during the parent orientation session Upcoming school events uh May 2nd is the Lincoln Middle School spring dance and May 7th is National Bike to School Day The next
board of ed meeting will be held on May 6th at 700 p.m Talent Public Library on April 23rd at 3:30 Fairy Terrarium Crafts with Miss Mrs Jesse Uh ages 6 and up please call to register April 30th
will be a butterfly tea craft And every Saturday at 10:30 a.m is story time for ages three and up Uh every Friday at 3:15 is family movie night Be sure to follow us on Facebook and check our website for more exciting upcoming
events And that's all Thank you Okay Thank you Councilwoman Councilwoman Lance Uh for recreation last Sunday April 13th the Danella Recreation Department held its annual Easter egg hunt which turned out to be a tremendous success with a
fantastic turnout All four hunts were conducted on the football field with children from prek up to third grade taking turns racing across the field to fill their baskets with Easter eggs We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the mayor and council for their support of
all of these events A special thank you goes to the fire department rescue squad and police department for their assistance We appreciate the fire department for providing a special escort for our guests of honor the Easter Bunny making it a memorable experience for all of our Denellan
children We would also like to acknowledge Denellan High School volunteers who helped build eggs throughout the week and assisted on the day of the hunt Lastly we thank the recreation commission for their commitment to helping make this and
every event unforgettable Tonight also marks an exciting evening for recreation kids as coach pitch games kick off Our minor league softball team plays their first home game and youth tennis begins Youth spring tennis also
um is available for ages 6 through 17 sorry and will run for five weeks There's still space available in the program for more young players So best of luck to all the spring athletes And
this weekend u we can look forward to the opening day parade and ceremony set for this Saturday April 26 at 10:00 a.m Teams will gather at Washington Park at 9:30 The parade will start at Washington Park and proceed north on Washington
Avenue to McCoy Park where the opening ceremony will be held Stick around after the ceremony for our volunteer picnic which coincides with opening day Join us for games music food softball and more This is also a great opportunity to meet
our town's volunteers Interested in volunteering this is a perfect chance to learn more And an update on the hometown heroes We've ordered nine additional banners for the spring which will be displayed downtown in May bringing our
total to 119 banners These banners are expected to last at least three years Thanks to the new banners last year the DPW started hanging banners further north on Washington Avenue and on the east
side adding a lovely touch to our town Thank you Council President Zigman uh turn my mic on first Yes Uh usually I uh plug for volunteering for coaches I'm going to uh shift just a little bit and
reiterate uh that this volunteer picnic is a great opportunity for people to get to understand uh what you have the option to do to help out in town Uh we have a great group of people uh that are going to be there and lots of information also some fun things to do
So encourage everyone to make it Yeah And that's all Okay Councilman Scott So the DPW continues to rout routinely clean the downtown and the parks and properties weekly lawn and landscape landscape maintenance the
borrow parks and properties Continue inspect and clean the catch basins throughout the burrow Uh clean the trash trap pick up bags of branches around town assisted PS&G with the removal of two burrow trees fixed potholes in the DPW yard and the fire department lot ran
30 tons of street sweepings to the landfill Uh mechanics report service the police fleet as they come due for maintenance and breakdowns Service the DPW fleet is also come due for service and breakdowns Orchestrated the removal of credits to the DPW Napa account with
over $1,500 worth of store credit for new and old stocked items dating back to older vehicles the burough no longer owns That's a good thing Service the burrow senior bus Full maintenance on the bus wheelchair lift Clean the inside stains on the walls and floors Maintain clean
and welcoming visual for the riders of the bus Include striping cleaning priming painting the wheels and updated clean appearance They maintained all records for burrow equipment ensuring units or registrations are up to date And a reminder the streets sweeping schedule has started Please remove your
vehicles from the street according to the schedule which is available on the burrow's website And that's all I have Okay Thank you Um I'll just start with saying I hope everybody had a a nice and blessed Easter and Passover with their families and uh the Easter egg hunt was
a great time So good job by all Miss Cedar keep up the good work Um so uh National Volunteer Month activities As we know April is uh National Volunteer Month in the Burough of Denalen and nationwide Uh we have two
events coming up this week to celebrate First on Wednesday at 7 PM will be our uh annual mayoral town hall on volunteerism at the George W Hodlick Firehouse Our volunteers will be joining us to talk about their boards or commission what they do and how they get
involved You can attend in person or join us online via Zoom or live on YouTube So uh please participate in that It'll be a great event And as noted April uh 26 is our volunteer picnic um immediately following the opening day at McCoy Park It's a free event and we hope
that uh you come and engage with some of our our organizations and volunteer uh Memorial Day parade and ceremony The Burough of Denell will be holding our annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Memorial Day Monday May 26th We invite all members of the community to
join us as we commemorate the fallen heroes of our great nation All scouts recreation sport teams youth organization and high school athletes are invited to march in the parade Those interested in having a float in this year's parade should contact recreation program coordinator Kelly Cedar at
karthedellenboroough.com by Monday May 12th Um we saw the Army Corps of Engineer resolution Um so uh Army Corps of Engineers Greenbrook survey work The United States Army Corps of Engineers has reached out to the Burough of Denellan requesting rights of entry to the burough owned properties along
Greenbrook the Greenbrook Uh the Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of uh Environmental Protection uh will be performing survey we uh work over the next three years associated with the Greenbrook Flood Control Project to analyze river river channel cross
sections uh that may have been affected or changed by tropical storms Irene and Ida Although a specific start date has not yet been provided they will notify the bureau in advance of any planned activity Uh the burough will then inform residents of when the survey teams are expected to be present along the
Greenbrook Uh these teams may be visible while conducting their assessments However no disruptions to residential properties are expected Anticipated locations include sections of Fourth Street Jackson Avenue Mountain View Terrace Lincoln Avenue North Washington
Avenue Third Street and Sixth Street in Greenbrook Uh this work is essential to ensuring the effectiveness of ongoing and future flood mitigation efforts in the burough of Denellan Um as Councilwoman Rios noted earlier uh on
April 18th a sewer lateral issue was caused by an improper connection that was discovered by our DPW and Parsa on Penfield Place Um business administrator Alex Miller will meet with NJ American Water representatives about this issue this week Um New Jersey American Water
will be responsible for fully repairing the street according to our 5-year moratorum in our streets ordinance So um it was an unfortunate circumstance but the road will be returned to the appropriate state um because it was recently paved but it was an emergency
and had to be repaired So thank you to the DBW and Parsons and those who had to show up on scene when it happened Um our engineers report client place the infrared pavement repairs were performed and CME is investigating recent concerns raised about chipped curbs and pavement cracks that appear to have occurred
while they were repairing it So again they will be held responsible for repairing Uh Washington Avenue street lighting uh pre-construction meeting was held on March 6th Uh CME is in the process of working out some issues with PSENG so more to report on that soon
Second Street phase one uh pre-construction meeting was held on March 6 A notice to proceed was issued on March 25th Work is scheduled to commence uh by April 29th whether permitting The railroad covert CME attended a meeting with representatives
of the Army Corps and D to discuss the status of their improvements and whether or not they have improved tailwater conditions in the Bonagget Brook Railroad Culvert is along uh South Avenue and North A extension and Palaski the the project on the south side of town Um they share their analysis with
the Army Corps and are conducting coordinating the analysis with them They have also contacted the Ibank to discuss the next steps with the financing of the project So our engineers are preparing a response to delays questions from the Army Corps So as that progresses we'll continue to report uh 635 Bound Brook
Road As we noted tonight the bids received on the 27th of March at 11:00 a.m Um they had to be rejected due to irregularities uh to the parent low bid and low uh local public contracts law requirements Uh so as we saw tonight we'll be rebidding the project and uh
our engineers requested the status of the New Market Road and Walnut Street intersection project from the county um and they have indicated they have solicited the proposal um from an engineering firm which was due back to the county by April 15th So hopefully by the next council meeting we
have a little bit more to update So um we're getting closer to that moving forward from the county's perspective because it is an intersection run by the county So that's my report this evening Item number eight on the agenda
is council discussion We have no council discussion on the agenda this evening Item number nine is department head reports So legal anything to report uh no reports Okay Clerk Yes Denellan is looking for two more poll workers for the June 10th primary election The two
spots can be filled by a Democrat Republican or unaffiliated Middle Sex County registered voter The hours are 5:15 a.m to 8:00 p.m The pay for the day is $300 and pole workers are required to take one training class which will they will get paid $30 for If you're
interested please contact the clerk's office as soon as possible And that's my report Okay Thank you It anything no new report Mayor Okay DPW recreation police
OEMs Yes we will be participating in the uh mayor's uh town hall regarding uh volunteerism We hope to have representation at the picnic However uh
our many members of our team will be engaged in a fullscale um exercise or drill at the uh fire academy is going to be uh regarding a tornado There's going to be victims Uh
there's going to be uh removal of a victim from let's say a fallen structure So cert teams from all over the state as well as uh emergency first responders will be uh present for this drill Again
we're we uh are uh actually going through this full scale drill and certain members will get an opportunity to to exercise the skills they learn the life-saving skills they learn uh during the training Um so that's uh I just want
to let you know that if you don't see us there that that's what we'll be doing all day Saturday Well thank you Homer team and your team and the service that you provide Good work Any other departments okay Uh we'll close that
section Item number 10 on the agenda is public comments We'll open the floor to those in chamber then go to those online Uh we ask that you please state your name and address ask your questions make your concerns known and the microphone is open to the public For Mosley 113 Pearl Place there is one
u item I'd like to bring to the uh council's um attention Uh there's um one of our residents have some some chairs that's been left I know we have an audience against that where debris are left curbside Uh it's been there for
maybe a couple of uh a couple of weeks and in fact DBW was trying to sweep the uh the streets and probably and and could not sweep that particular area So Okay So I would just kindly ask after the meeting provide Mrs Stats the
address and we'll hand it the code enforcement Okay Thank you Any other members of the public in chambers please state your name and address We're here to listen to your concerns answer questions Without hearing any in the chambers we'll open up the floor to
those in the public online Please state your name and address I'll make one last general comment for everybody General public uh please ask your question State your name and address for public comment Without hearing any we'll close
that portion of the meeting Um we have no executive session this evening So item number 11 on the agenda is resolution 198 a resolution of endermanment Can Before we do that our next council meeting is May 5th uh 2025
at 7 p.m in these chambers You can join in person or online So uh can I have a motion and second on resolution 198 move it Sigman Second Scott Scott Uh all in
favor i Any naysay didn't think so Have a good night everyone