Good evening. Welcome to the October 7th, 2025 meeting of the Emerson governing body. For those of you present, in case of a fire, please follow the fire exit signs and exit calmly. Um,
Mr. Salamandanda, could you lead us in the pledge of 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.
>> I would ask you to remain standing for just a moment to remember um all of our United States troops here and abroad. Thank you. This meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings law and adequately noticed pursuant to
NJSA 104-10. This meeting of October 7th, 2025 was noticed to the record and the Ridgewood News on January 7th, 2025 and published in said newspapers, posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building
and on the website and has remained continuously posted as required under the statute. Miss D. Simone, would you please call the roll call of the governing body? >> Mayor Depal, >> present. >> Councilwoman Rice, >> here. >> Councilwoman Syers, >> here. Councilman Ellis >> here.
>> Council President Aria >> here. Councilman Timberman >> here. >> Councilwoman Chelina >> here. >> Excellent. Thank you. All everyone is here so there's no need for any kind of uh motion proclamations and citations. Uh this is fire prevention month,
national breast cancer awareness month. Um as well as Terry Canton who lives in one of our assisted living's 102nd birthday. Um, so we wish her a very happy birthday. I'll be going there, I believe, uh, on the 14th and not in a
week. >> Yeah, a week from today. Um, in order to celebrate, any of you are welcome to join me. Um, and all those proclamations will be posted on the Burrow website as well as in Burrow Hall. Uh, appointments. Um, we have to just do
some uh, cleaning up. Council uh woman Maguire was on certain subcommittees and committees and we need a motion to approve a resolution amending those resolutions from January to appoint Councilman Ellis as the liaison, the chair and a member for the subcommittees
for the calendar year 2025 for the remainder. Can I get a motion to appoint him to Jill's former positions? >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice. Yes. >> Councilwoman Sers. >> Yes. >> Councilman Ellis.
>> Yes. >> Council President Oenzia. >> Yes. >> Councilman Timberman. >> Yes. >> Counciloman Chelino. >> Yes. >> Very good. May I have a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes of the September 16th, 2025 and the special meeting minutes of September 24th?
>> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Syers. >> Yes. >> Counciloman Ellis. >> Yes. >> Council President Yes. >> Councilman Timberman. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Shelina. >> Yes. >> 6. >> Very good. May I have a motion to
approve the close session meeting minutes of the September 16th and the September 24th, 2025 meetings, which are not available for release to the public at this time. >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman, >> yes.
>> Councilwoman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council Presidential. Nicole. >> Oh, >> minutes close session. >> Yes. >> Councilman Timberman. >> Yes. >> Counciloman Chelino. >> I'm going to abstain for the September
24th meeting, but yes, for the 16th. >> Very good. Okay. That brings us to uh correspondence. It is on file in the clerk's office. Financial business. We have no financial business this evening. Unfinished business. There is no unfinished business. New business.
Um the CFO has requested to change the burrow's payroll schedule from a bi-weekly pay to a bimonthly pay starting in 2026. Um currently chapter 65 of the burough code states that employees will be paid 26 times per year
and by changing to a bimonthly cycle we will have 24 pay periods um which requires an update to the code. Uh the benefits of this will allow for smoother pension filing and it will eliminate two extra pay periods per year. Our interim
administrator Richiola also recommends making this change. Um Lauren has stated that she will meet with the unions to go over all the details with them. Um so we will be changing that ordinance probably starting. If anybody has any objection to it, please let us know. Anybody
object to that? Okay. Um do you think we need a consensus vote or anything? I would take a vote. >> All right. Can we have a motion to change our um pay periods from 26 to 24 starting in 2026? >> Second.
>> Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Sers, >> yes. >> Counciloman Ellen, >> um, Council President Argenzia, >> yes. >> Councilman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Chelino, >> yes. >> All right. Thank you. So, we will be me
memorializing that by ordinance probably at our next meeting. Um, discussion of salt shed. Mr. Salamando, come on up. So, we've been talking about this salt shed for about 10 years now. >> That it was falling down. It was falling
down. Huff and puff. And it's coming down. Well, now it's really coming down. >> Really starting to come down. It's got me nervous. And you're saying that it's the supporting wall in the back, the weight bearing. >> Yeah, it's got a there's eight trust in it. >> I don't know that they've ever heard this story. So, could you just explain?
Yeah, that's why I wanted you to hear. >> The building is it's a soft bin. It's factory garage bays, full saw, and a five truck bays. The roof is an Aframe trust roof that goes from front to rear. So, back in se 2017, the side wall
started to give out. So, the council gave us the money. We fixed the wall, went out some more. The inside wall is gone. So at that point, we decided to try to rebuild it. Spoke to a company, got a price of 105,000 to rebuild it, rip it
down to rebuild it. We went out to bid. He didn't bid on it because it's prevailing wage. He said he couldn't couldn't do it. So I spoke to like two different contractors. One was Jean D. Rosha from town. He said he could fix it, but aritect.
Um Matt Donnie, the guy I spoke to to knock it down for us once it's ready to get knocked down. He mentioned that he has a guy. So he came down and he said the same thing. Need an architect. So we found an architect. So
um we check with Lauren. We have the money. Well, >> we've had the money for quite some time. >> Some time. Yeah. We just need you guys to approve the architect and we'll be done for this year, but we want to let the architect do their work. I'm going
to during the budget season, we have to come and ask for some more money. I think I asked that guy that day for ballpark price. He said between 350 and 450 for 150,000 to fix it. Right now, we have
>> 350 to 450 to fix it. Is he fixing just the one bay or all of them? >> What he's going to do is where a soft bin is, put concrete walls there, rip the siding down the rest of of the building, put new doors, a new roof on
it because the shingles I mean building is 30 years old now. >> So when I when I was first on the council, I was ve I was needed clarification because the salt bin sounds like it's a standalone Oh, sorry. My phone is never on. Um, a
standalone building. This is not. This is It's five bays or four bays. It's five bays, one building that goes straight across. So, they're going to refurbish the roof on all five bays. >> Yeah. Put a new roof on. >> Put the concrete in the salt area. >> Yeah. Reinforce the salt bin area. So,
that right now what it is is a 6x sixes. It's called a pole bar. They're like every six feet all around the whole the whole building with plywood to the for siding the salt bin. He's going to put concrete in there to support it. And
then over the years now, I mean, the u the plywood is rotten in the back. >> They'll take that off. The gutters are shot and the roof, like I said, it's >> right. >> Probably like a 20-y year roof when they put it up, >> right? >> All right. See, I just didn't want you
to think that it was 350 to 450 just to fix one little salt shed. It's really it's the five bay building that houses all of our biggest equipment. All the big trucks, >> all the big trucks, garbage trucks, everything out of the weather. That's that's what that was originally built for. Our garbage trucks used to sit
outside and they were rotten away rather than wearing away. So the council years ago it was a smart move to keep the trucks out of the way. >> Okay. And we have all the money earmarked except for um for the architect. No, there's money
>> or we need the money for the engineer or the architect. >> The architect. >> There's not enough money. >> There's enough money for the architect now. Not enough money for the whole project. I checked today. >> As of today with the snow trust, we have $286,000. >> Okay. So, then we have to come up with
the delta in next year's budget. >> Correct. >> Okay. All right. Does anyone have any questions? >> So, you're just going to fix it with wood still, right? Do you have any interest in exploring maybe a prefab steel building for the whole thing?
>> We can't really with the salt. >> We'll have a separate You could use mafia blocks and then tend the salt shed and then have a new garage separate. >> That's what the old engineer wanted to do. But losing too much of the salt, >> the mafia block. That's what this guy
said. Either a concrete wall, pou concrete or block wall. So you're only losing a foot rather than three feet. >> Okay. >> And and he's going to go with the block so that when the salt is is spreading as
the as the pile, it doesn't deteriorate the walls. That's why the concrete is going to be used because right now it's wood >> and it's not holding up anymore. I mean, this is something since I sat on the council, we've been talking about money was earmarked. I mean, I think I think
when I was sitting in your chair, Ashley, in my second term, even even in my third term, so um this is something I think that is uh desperately needed for uh the DPW. Um does anyone have any other questions or comments otherwise?
>> Question back what Mike said. So it's six and if we do the mafia blocks instead the salt shed is there that we can take a little bit of space from the other way because we're if we're reinforcing all of the walls. >> No because the one the other wall now
the other end has the cell tower on it. We originally thought about moving this a separate standalone building all the way in the back >> just like a concrete building just for the salt. >> Yeah. >> The D would let us do it. actually made us move the sand years ago because
that's too close to that stream that's there. We had to move the sand from one side of the yard. It has to be a minimum 50 ft away. >> Any questions down here? >> Is everyone in agreement we should move ahead with this project? >> Yes.
>> Yes. Three S's down here. Three S's down here. Or does anyone have an objection? >> Anybody getting injured? get money somewhere for it or >> um we will definitely ask um Stephanie from our um grant company, but I think it's
something that we have the majority of the money for and we probably will have to put it in a capital bond >> if we have two more. >> Well, if we're doing 350 globe, so either either >> 14,000 64,000 or 164,000,
>> right? which means it's going to go into capital to tell us exactly how much you know do his work. This way we know we have a budget. >> So the architect is separate from this number. >> Yeah. And if you get a grant generally
grants don't pay for engineers or architects. So we'd still have to come up the money that even if we got a grant. >> Okay. >> Thank you for coming in Perry. I think I think we're going to go ahead with that. Correct everyone? Yes. Okay. >> All right. Consensus is to move it.
>> Thank you, Perry. >> You're now always working so hard. >> I want to do it, but I'd like to explore a bigger project. >> I don't know if it's worth the money to just >> I was going to say the same thing. It doesn't make more sense to knock down. >> I'd like to get an opinion on whether
>> he just walked out. I thought the consensus >> Well, I got it anyway. So, >> now we're like, can't we explore that as part of this working? still an agreement that it needs to be fixed. >> Well, here here's the thing. I I I think that over like the last 10 to 12 years, so many different options have been
explored, including like my idea was to just do a separate in the back and that's when they found out from the D it was too close to the waterway. >> But what I was saying, I don't think you understood what I meant with if it's five bays, not six, sorry. Can't we if like the mafia blocks with Mike being
cheaper or less of a cost take some of the space away like out of the five bays instead of one five bay being 40 by 40 it's 38 by >> but they're parking this the garbage trucks and stuff you're going to need clearance for all those >> I'm just wondering like is one oversized that could cut smaller I don't that's
why I was just curious >> all right so everyone's in agreement that we should move ahead to do something but at this point we don't know exactly what so Maybe um our liaison to the um DPW can have another
discussion with Perry and uh bring something back to us and see work through it and see if there's any other option. All right. Okay. That brings us to ordinances. Um there are no ordinances to adopt or to
introduce this evening. And now that brings us to reports. Um, and there is a mayor report and a burough administrator report. Do you have a report from Rich? Did he prepare one? >> Uh, no. Everything was from the last meeting. >> Okay. All right. Um, so I'll just read my report very quickly and then we'll
move on. It's actually a very short one. You'll all be very happy. Um, free paper leaf bags are now available to residents at the DPW garage on a first come, first- serve basis. Bags may be collected by homeowners only Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
through November 14th. 20 bags per household will be given out during the first round of distribution. Please note that there will be no distribution of leaf bags on October 13th, Columbus Day, November 4th, election day, or November
11th, Veterans Day. As a reminder for our seniors, the next senior meeting will take place this Thursday, October 9th, at 12:00 p.m. I'm glad I got that reminder, too. Um, and as always, the senior bus is available to residents aged 55 and up. And to those with
disabilities, please call Stacy at extension1212 to schedule a ride on the bus. Uh, save the dates for October and November. I'll do this a little bit slower because this is almost the end of the report. October 19th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. the Environmental
Commission's Emerson Woods Preserve Cleanup is happening. October 19th, the same day, an hour later, from 1 to 5:00 p.m. is our fall harvest festival. October 20, Do we have another meeting before that? >> Yes.
>> Okay. It's down by the library and then the environmental commission usually meets at Centennial Park. Uh October 22nd is the flu vaccine clinic. October 25th is the raga muffiner. November 15th is the rabies vaccine clinic at the DPW.
November 30th, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is our Christmas tree lighting. Uh details of all of these events could be found on the bureau's website and on social media. Our next mayor and council meeting will be on October 21st at 7:30. And as a reminder,
Burrow Hall is closed on October 13th in observance of Indigenous People's Day and Columbus Day. Emergency services are always available 247. Okay. Um, we don't have an administrator's report. Uh, he's
traveling right now, so when he returns, he will give us a report on everything he's caught up on at our meeting on the 21st. Um, that now brings us to public comment. Members of the public are able to speak on any topic by coming to the
table and stating your name for the record. In the interest of time, speakers are limited to three minutes. In consideration of all who wish to speak, please keep your comments brief and concise. May I have a motion to open to the public
>> and a second? >> Second. >> And a roll call. >> All in favor? >> I. Okay. Any opposed? We are open to the public. Seeing no hands, may I have a motion to close the meeting to general comments
from the public? >> Second. >> Any opposed? Motion carried. We're now closed. Resolutions on consent agenda. Um, we had talked about pulling something, right? Uh
uh does anyone want to uh pull CA248-25 approve special financial incentives to eligible employees selecting either the Omni plan or high deductible plan. Um I we did receive um a confidential me memo um with potential litigation.
>> I'll second that. Okay. For now. >> Yeah. So we'll pull it and then when we come we'll discuss it and close. Okay. Um, may I have a uh motion to table uh consent agenda resolution 248-25?
>> All in favor? >> Any opposed? Okay, that's pulled. And now I will ask for a motion to approve consent agenda resolutions 243-25 through 247-25 25. >> A motion. So move.
>> Second. >> And a roll call, please. Councilwoman Rice, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Sers, >> yes. >> Councilman Alice, >> abstain. >> Council President Orenzia. >> Uh, yeah. One question though, the curfew, what will it be?
>> 9:00. >> Yes. >> Councilman Timberman. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Shelina. >> Yes. >> Very good. That brings us to closed executive session resolution 249-25 to discuss matters exempt from the
public pursuant to NJSA 104-1 at SEC and adequately noticed by resolution 249-25. May I have a motion to go into closed? >> So move second. >> Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice, >> yes. >> Councilwoman, >> yes. >> Councilman Ellis,
>> yes. >> Council President, >> yes. >> Counciloman Timber, >> yes. >> Councilwoman, >> yes. Thank you, Tesa. Okay, we are now going into close session. Members of the public may remain on YouTube until we return to open session, at which time
formal action may be taken. >> Start streaming in seconds. >> Okay, we're good. >> Motion to reconvene, please. >> Second. All in favor? >> Okay. Um, is there any other business to discuss?
>> Yes. I'd like to make a motion to add uh back to consent agenda item 248-25. >> Second. >> Second. >> Got a roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice. >> Yes. >> Councilwoman Ser.
>> Yes. >> Counciloman Ellis. >> Yes. >> Council President Arnzia. >> Yes. >> Counciloman Timberman. >> Yes. Counciloman Chelino. >> Yes. >> 6. >> Okay. Any other business? >> I would just >> So, do we have to take a vote on it now? >> Yeah, I would recommend back on consent.
>> Taking a vote on >> I thought we voted on consent, >> but the consent agenda was already passed. So, since it's already been passed, >> it's it's finished. So, I would just I would just some have somebody make a motion to approve >> resolution. Resolution number.
>> Okay. That's what I thought he said. That's what I Okay. So, can I have a um Second. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Syers, >> yes. >> Councilman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council President Orenzi, >> yes.
>> Councilman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Chelino, >> yes. >> That passes 6. >> Okay. Is there any other business? >> Uh, yeah. One item. I'd like to authorize John McCann Law to hire an appraiser for block 419 properties owned by ERU.
>> Can I get a second on that? >> Second. And a roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Rice, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Ser, >> yes. >> Counciloman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council President Argenzia, >> yes. >> Counciloman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Chelino, yes.
>> All right. Um, any other business? >> No. >> No. Hearing no other business to discuss, may I have a motion to adjourn at 8:40 p.m.? >> All in favor? >> Any opposed? We are a