Good evening. Welcome to the March 3rd, 2026 meeting of the Emerson governing body. This meeting is being videotaped and may be viewed on YouTube. This meeting is being Now I'm going to go ditto because it
says that twice. It could be viewed on channel 36 or 77. The meetings are also available 24/7 on YouTube. For those of you present, in case of a fire, please fire the fire exit signs
above each door and exit calmly. Gabriella and John, would you please stand and lead us in the pledge of allegiance? >> Just start and we'll join in. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it
stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> I would ask you to remain standing for just a moment um as we remember a burrow resident who passed away um at least a
month ago, Mr. Herbert Frink. 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 March 3rd, 2026 was
noticed to the record and the Ridgewood News on January 12th, 2025, published in said newspapers, posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building, and has been continuously posted as required under the statute. Miss D. Simone, would
you please read the roll call of the governing body? >> Mayor Dawa, >> present. >> Councilwoman Chenino, >> here. >> Councilwoman Ardenia, >> here. >> Councilman Ellis, >> present. Council President Rice >> here. >> Councilman Timberman >> here. >> Councilman Sers >> here.
>> Councilwoman, I apologize. >> Everyone is here. >> Okay, everyone is present. Tonight we have two special guests with us from our Emerson Junior Senior High School. They're here to receive commendations for achievements in high school basketball. We have Gabrielle Makuchi
for scoring 1,000 points in girls varsity basketball and John Picarillo for scoring 10,00 points as well in boys uh basketball. If you want to come up, I'd like to give you commendations and I'm going to ask you um to do us a favor
and sign these basketballs and I would like to keep them and give them to the historic preservation committee as part of the Emerson memorabilia to keep for generations to come. for children to see when we have different events. And we'll put it on display and say, "You too, if
you work hard and play, can sign one of these balls like Gabrielle and John did. for you. Congratulations on your achievement. All right, Gabrielle, why don't you sign this one?
Haven't used the bigger one. >> That'll work. >> Bigger Sharpie. >> Excellent. Put that number on there, too, right? The uniform number. >> Your number. Yeah. >> Put that uniform number on there. Yeah. Let's make it official.
>> Sorry. I only played basketball. >> Yeah. There you go. Take a picture. First up, >> nice >> everybody come down. >> Yes. Congratulations.
>> You're going to take these home and frame them. tomorrow. >> Oh, yeah. >> Congrats. >> Wait, was um Miss Litty or Coach Litty or your coach? She was my high school coach.
>> All right, these are going in the Emerson history books. >> Yep. Semi-finals tomorrow. Let's go. What what time is the game, >> Danielle? >> And where is it? >> At the high school. >> At our high school. >> Yes. With Coach Z.
>> Is it? >> Sorry. I love basketball. >> There you go. >> All right. If it's Wednesday and you're watching this, the boys are in the state championship. >> Semiinal. >> Semifinal. 7 o'clock at the high school tonight. If it's Wednesday,
be there or be squared. THANK YOU FOR COMING. OKAY, PROCLAMATIONS AND CITATIONS. I just want to note that uh March is Women's History Month and the proclamation will be hanging in Burough Hall and on the Burough website. Um I'd
like to make one appointment tonight, which is Alan Bernstein as the class B member for the historic committee for a four-year term ending uh December 31st, 2029. Uh minutes for approval. May I have a motion to approve the regular meeting
minutes of February 17, 2026? >> So move second. >> And a roll call, please. >> Councilwoman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Argenzi, >> yes. >> Councilman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council President Rice, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Sers,
>> yes. >> 6. >> Very good. May I have a motion to approve the close session meeting minutes of February 17, 2026, which are not for release to the public at this time? >> Yes. >> Sorry. Second. >> Can I get a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman Chelino, >> yes.
>> Councilwoman Argenzia, >> yes. >> Councilman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council President Rice, >> yes. >> Counciloman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Sers, >> yes. >> That passes 6. >> Very good. All correspondence is available in the burough clerk's office during regular business hours Monday
through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30m and it's listed here if there's anything you'd like to see. We're moving on to financial business which is uh this evening we're going to do the review of department budgets and capital requests from some of our department heads and we
are going to start with our fire department and uh chief JD Mara is here with us to represent the fire department. Um, yeah, I would do that. >> We're gonna We'll pull a chair up. >> It may get boring. You could stay for
the budget, but it might get boring for you guys. So, if you want to get up, we will take no offense. Or you could stay and listen to the budget requests how your tax dollars are going. Ronnie, you could stay. Bonnie looks interested.
>> You guys all have a copy of >> the request. >> Good evening, Chief Mara. >> Good evening. >> The first time I'm seeing you in your official capacity. Congratulations. >> Thank you very much. Um, do you want to start with a little bit of intro about
why you have what you have in your capital budget? Bye everyone. Congrats. >> Nice to meet you. >> Sure. Um, the fire department has been blessed by this council to provide us with a lot of new equipment and uh
helping keep us up to speed, per se. Um, you know, the fire department's a tough entity to keep going because things are constantly changing. Um, we we have guidelines that we have to follow that are constantly being upgraded. Um, and
sometimes it's not communicated enough, but it is something that's constantly keeping us on our toes, whether it's training or equipment. And last year you guys were great enough to get us that engine um and work with us on a
new fire engine and all the equipment that goes with it, which is fantastic. So this year we tried to keep it on the smaller side, which is still expensive, but we went just for communication um trunked paging devices they're called. Those are the pagers which alert
all the members of fire calls throughout the burrow. Um, these trunk pages are special. The since moving over to county dispatch, it operates on a 700 800 megahertz system, which is a very high-powered, high range um frequency,
which allows almost completely uh full range of Bergen County and beyond. um it allows us to listen to the chief on scene as well as the apparatus on scene whereas the VHF
um frequency pages that most of our department members are doing you only get the initial call and that's all the information that they have. So with the volunteer fire service, when the call of action comes, we get called, we respond from wherever, if it's home, work,
wherever we are. And the more information we can get on our way to the firehouse and to the fire scene, the better things are for all of us. So that is why we are pushing for these pagers. Um, and it is an expensive request, but
that'll it's about $1,000 a pager. Um, nothing is cheap anymore. And uh that'll get us roughly 20 to 25 pages for members now and future members. >> And we do not have these now.
>> We have some. >> How many do we have now? >> We have a total of 16 currently. >> And are they functional? >> Yes. >> And how many members of the fire department do we have? >> We have 34 members currently. So this is making up the delta
>> correct and putting us a little further ahead. So as we hopefully gain members >> and I know that there is a new member in the last few months which is wonderful. Um does anybody have any questions about those pages for It's not the first time we bought these
since we went to county. >> Um, do you want to move on to >> Yeah. Our second request is for just an additional $15,000 for personal protective equipment. Um, as you are well aware or should be well aware that the gear that we wear is quite
expensive. This will get us about two and a half sets of gear. Um, so we work to putting together a budget so that we can keep everyone's gear up to a standard. Uh, we fall in line with the
national um the NFPA, National Fire Protection Association and they have a rule every 10 years the equipment is um needs to be swapped out. Um, now it is a guideline. It is to be completely
transparent. And it is a guideline. But the whole problem becomes liability. Somebody gets hurt and their gear is 10 years plus. Someone is going to sit across the table and say, "Chief, why did you allow them to operate with gear that was 10 years old or 11 years old,
12 years old when the guideline tells you it needs to be replaced every 10 years. So that's always the flip of the coin. We operate as safe as we can and we try and stay within those guidelines. So, we're trying to constantly keep a
good program in place to keep everyone's gear up to date. >> And how many does that cover for this year? >> That would be two and a half sets. >> Is that what what seems to be the same every year? You kind of replace two. >> Correct.
>> We roll it. Yeah. >> Um I I have just one question. when when there's a fire on the norm, how many people respond? How many firefighters respond? >> Because we are a volunteer agency, it's hard to say a norm, an average. Um, it
could be anywhere from 10 to 30 people. >> So, at least 10 people show up at every fire call, every time the whistle goes off. >> I can't say every single time, but yes, for the for the most part, there's about 10 members that show up. >> Okay. >> And up to how many? >> Could be could be up to 25 30 members.
>> Okay. All right. Um, does anybody have any other questions? >> I'm just curious. When you >> Yeah. >> When you got the new uniform, do you give is like a trade in where you've got some sort of discount off of it? No. >> Unfortunately, no. What we end up doing is we keep a um stash of all of our old
equipment and then when we have to clean our equipment, we have to take that regular gear out of service. We'll wear that for the time period to to cover us. And then also for newer members, we send them through fire school. Fire school is about a six-month process where their gear gets a little beat up. So, we
actually send them in the older gear so that we don't destroy the newer gear. And once they graduate fire school and they start their process, they then get their newest set of gear. Okay. The the the generally routine stuff that we need to do to keep our
fire department members safe. Um does anybody have any questions for JD for our chief? >> Can going through the the inside the binder. Can we ask a question? >> You have a question. >> Just in general we've said new equipment. How come new equipment is
that new clothing is new uniform? new equipment could fall could fall under a few things. Um, you know, if we need a new battery, so we have some battery powered tools. If a battery dies and we need to replace it, it'll come out of our new equipment. If there's a
new tool or something that will help make the firefighters job easier and safer, we will obviously look into purchasing that as well. Um, in the fire service, there's a joke that as soon as you slap uh fire rescue on something, you can easily charge 10 grand for it. So everything is just super expensive
when it comes to our stuff and uh it's it's unfortunate to say the least. >> You're not the only one. >> You're not the only one that says it. >> Anybody else? >> Mayor. So on tonight's agenda, we do have a
grant application uh through the AP community challenge flagship grant. So the chief came to us with a request to possibly supplement the capital request with grant funds. Um we do have a grant application
for $15,000 to fund the trunk radios. So working with the chief we're trying to minimize the impact but the recommendation would be to fund you know the ordinance right now but you know we're hoping that we can lower the
amount. >> Good. Thank you for answering his call to uh suggestions for the grant. >> Of course. >> Appreciate it. >> Looking out for the budget. >> Um, anybody else? >> No. Thank you for coming in this
evening. >> No problem. Thank you for having me. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Chief. >> You have to call. >> Didn't everybody else call them chief? Chief, everybody else. >> All right. Is this the correct order
now? Because remember you told me change the order. >> This is the correct order. >> Okay. >> Perry, would you like to come up? Perry Salamandanda, uh, superintendent of our DPW. >> We know Perry loves budget season coming on camera
>> almost more than Lauren does. >> How is everyone? >> Good. How are you? >> Good. How are you? Okay. >> All right. You've done this a thousand times. Why don't you get to it? >> Okay. The operating budget kept flat.
Didn't raise that at all. >> I saw that. >> Um my capital put in for that closed landscapes trailer from last year. The uh the salt bin we have to do something with this year. We had that architect.
>> That's a huge priority for all of us. Get that done. Um Mike were a different arch u engineer and architect and he and he said the same thing by the end of this year we have to take the salt out and at least support that back to all.
>> I'm asking for 225,000 that should bring us up to the 500,000 that that original architect said we would need to to fix that. But I mean that's that's a definite >> and and the new architect that took a a
second look um is in agreement that it's going to cost about that same amount. >> Did he give us a price? >> We don't have an official cost estimate yet. Uh we did meet with the engineer architect about two weeks ago. Uh some different solutions that are being
proposed in terms of replacing the whole building itself. uh capping the building and putting in a new salt, you know, 5 to 10 feet away from the building and possibly just repairing the structure. >> But the consensus seem to be that we
need to repair the back wall right now. Uh it's influx of caving in. Uh so we're looking at that immediately and hoping to have some sort of cost estimate in the next few weeks. >> They had a trust run from front to rear on there. So all along the side wall was leaning
which wasn't a big deal because the front and rear hold up. Now that back wall is coming out. So it won't be it's only a matter of time before that back wall falls out and and the rear part of that uh roof does fall
in there. I had um during our we had the D here in OSHA in uh during during the year and they suggested about removing the right now we have an above ground tank. The piping comes out of the above
ground tank runs underground and then is pumped back up into the the gas pump and that's got to be inspected yearly. The uh guy from OSHA recommended running the piping above ground. This way it it
takes away from that yearly inspection and it helps us from from liability. Now we're looking into another grant to go in possibly with the school to have the whole thing replaced. So I I think we could put that on hold right now.
>> Did they give you a date when that needed to be done by? It doesn't need to be done, but well, we have to get the inspection done every year. >> Okay. >> And then well, the other one's just do the uh the 2728 capital. Um
>> so you want to put the 37,000 for that on hold. >> Yeah, let's put that on hold until we see what goes on with the uh the fuel tank with that other grant. >> I mean, we're at that we're at that point, you know, what's one more year going to in the buses. But we did have
problems with the fuel tank. Uh not the tank, the pump this year. And we were we were down for like almost took them almost a week because the pump itself is like 30 years old. They had to go to a junkyard and get you could they couldn't
get the piece for inside the gas pump. They went to a salvage yard and salvage one from it's up and running. >> They don't even know how. >> Bubble gum. um for the buildings and ground the sidewalk safety
what we've been putting in every year 20,000 >> repairs of the emergency. >> Yeah. And and we used quite a bit of that last year to replace the handicap ramp at the burough hall. We're looking again looking to see if there's any grants, but it seems like everything is for new
and not to you know to repair. >> Yeah. What we would have used for that would have been a CDBG grant in the past for handicap accessibility, but we are no longer under the uh income threshold in order to get that credit. >> So the only grants that we could apply
for for CDBG generally uh relate to our seniors, >> anything for our senior citizens. >> Um what's wrong with the ramp? Because it we do use it every day. >> The railing is all rotted out. If you
look at that, last year I had Nick where the the actual railing meets the the concrete platform, it's all rotted out. So he put like braces in now. So it's it's really not secure to the concrete anymore. It's resting on top of it. Then
I mean there's there say like eight spots where it's attached to the concrete. Now there's about four of them that are holding it. >> So So it's it's it's not the ramp itself. It's where the railings >> the railing. Yeah. And I got a price
last year. I think the railing alone they said was like $30,000. But the company that I spoke to said they wouldn't even do it because right now the platform is too too narrow. >> Okay. >> I think I have an idea. Will you call me
tomorrow? >> And then the last >> like did you use a row iron guy? Like who did you call? Um that's his name. He's from Washington Township. >> Okay. >> Rio.
>> Rio. Yeah. Rio. He had a business. He had >> and they do railings and it's railings as the company. >> Yeah. And then this just came up after the big storm. The roof on the DPW was leaking. We came in one morning and
water was actually pouring out the garage door. So, set Nick up. He patch it. By the end of the day, it was still running. So, I called um Lane Roofing. They came up. They got the snow off. They had to put a like a 20 by
20 patch up in there, stopped the leak. That was like on a Thursday. We come in Monday and like 20 ft away the water was coming in in there. I mean, I have pictures of the uh >> Yeah. What area of the of the shop is it?
>> The big garage where we give out the leaf bags. >> Oh, okay. >> I mean, it it was pouring in >> where we painted all of the Halloween harvest stuff. >> Yeah, it was um it was actually coming in right over the the gas heater there.
Does anyone want to see the photos? the rock seem opened up. >> Kyrie, so one part's fixed, but the other's not. >> One part's patch. One part's patch. >> Yeah, they were saying I guess >> I'll take a look at that. I didn't see that
>> once Lane came in like 10 years ago. That's the one. I thought it was two. >> How much is the uh >> He said that probably Oh, I >> that's the 130 for buildings and ground
>> or no? >> Yeah. >> Gotcha. >> Yeah. >> Surprised I've never seen it as often as I'm down there. >> We didn't see it until just the other day, too.
>> Does everyone see the photos? That's all I have. >> Anybody have any questions for our DPW Super Paris Salamando? No. Anybody over here? >> You won this year. Big ticket items. Mhm.
>> I feel I I feel And when he told me the price, I said, "You give me your ballpark price of the roof." >> He's like, "About 100,000." >> Michael, we have to get other quotes though, right? >> Oh, yeah. >> There's a whole process. >> Yeah. >> Yeah.
>> Okay. Do you want these photos back? >> No, you can keep them. >> All right. Well, Perry has literally been keeping the DPW together, literally with gum and tape and whatnot. So, this might be the year that we do have to put the money into the budget.
>> Those two things definitely happen. >> These do not sound like wants. These sound like definitive needs. >> Yeah. >> And we pushed the trailer from last year, too. >> Time to pay the tight. >> All right. If nobody has any questions, Perry, thank you so much.
>> All right. Thank you. Have a good night. All right. This leads us to the proverbial big guy, our chief of police, Mark Cino. >> Thank you, mayor. How's everybody? Good. >> Good evening. >> Everybody's good. >> I'm a lot less than
>> All right. for my uh capital request this year. Originally, I was asking to uh upgrade three Panasonic Tough Books for the police cars. The ones we had were nine and 10 years old, and they outlived windows. They outlived everything, the whole system. Uh because
I had money left over last year, I was able to purchase those. >> Oh. >> So, I don't need that. But what I am asking for instead is a uh drone for the police department. Uh drones have increased in use for policing. Uh
they're great to use on investigations, crime scenes, looking for missing people, uh looking for criminals. So, it's a great tool. Uh I'm asking for $14,623
for that. Uh the drones I've been looking at are around 10,000. So that additional cost would go for any ancillary licensing that we would need to get. And if I could keep it under that the best I could, obviously I will. >> So is that like the the lowest rate for
a drone? $10,000 for the use that you're going to use it for >> for what we could use it for. I sat in on I was telling Mike today because we both saw the uh demo. I sat in on a demonstration last week and they were uh 65,000 a year for the full service, but it was a totally it was a drone that the
police department uses when it gets a call. It goes right up to the scene before the police officers. Ours, like I said, we'd use it for investigations. Uh we had somebody lost in the woods uh la the end of last year. We had a drone come in from another town, but it didn't
have infrared on it. So, we it was night time. We really couldn't see the person, find the person, but he eventually showed up. So, that was it. Uh, recently, one of my officers was uh doing an investigation and surveillance and he was at a dead end. He was in a
culde-sac. So, again, he had to secrete himself somewhere else where if a drone was up, we could watch the whole uh incident happen real time overhead. And we could also use it for if the fire department had a big fire, we could use it to
assist them as well with uh you know finding the hot spots in the fire. >> Now I I've heard that having drones with the police department is somewhat also controversial in terms of like will it only be brought out when there is a
specific event or if someone just feels like going on a fishing expedition and sending it around? I mean, there needs to be, I think, a clear-cut policy on the drone written. >> There would be, >> and then we know from those drones that were up in the sky, um, that the, uh,
FAA actually has guidance. It's not local governments. Um, so I guess we would have to run with the FFA guidelines. >> Yes, that's the we would obviously it's only going up for those events. We could use it for Town Day, for Overwatch, the
Carnival of Assumption. we could use for overwatch. It frees up police officers and it gives you a bird's eye view of what's happening real time. If there's kids there, we could pick the kids up and send the officers right to that location. Uh, as far as the FAA goes, uh, and the policy of putting it up.
Unfortunately, mayor, I answered to the attorney general, not just you. So, there was definitely policy that we would put in place for that. >> Okay. >> For its usage. >> Um, because people don't like when big brother are watching. >> No. And listen, I >> everybody was very freaked out by those huge drones that everybody uh lived
through last year. And I actually started seeing them again in the last couple of months. Um and I I just think we need to explain to people why we're using drones. And it's not to look for crime or anything like that. It's to solve crime. >> I had a great real life one when we had
a barricaded subject in December and the SWAT team used them. And again, it was just for that incident. It was over that house and we had a drone overhead and we were able to send a drone inside the house. Again, officer safety. Once the drone was in the house, we saw the party
was not was free to go in and pull them out without involving or injuring any officers or them >> in addition to the So, the rapid deploy has their own drone. >> No, that was the SWAT team. >> The SWAT team. >> Yes. >> What other towns in the Pasc Valley
already have a drone >> right now? Oriel just got one and that's the one we use but it doesn't have the infrared cameras on it and I believe Westwood has one >> and I I thought Park Bridge had one. >> I'm not sure. I have to look into that
but more and more towns are starting to get. >> Do they charge us when we need to borrow their drones? >> No. >> Is there annual maintenance or upkeep for the drones? >> It's minimal. I mean it's it's most of
them come with a warranty. So if it does break they uh they will replace it. >> But in sense of like maintenance or anything like that we don't have to send in to get calibrated or anything special? >> No. No calibration. >> Do officers have to be licensed to use it? >> Yes. But it's it it falls under since
you're using it primar or only for law enforcement. It comes under a different licensing. I think it's a FA 102 or 104. >> And is there a cost? I was going to say, is there a cost to get each officer license? >> It's uh again, we'd still looking into it. It's a minimal cost and that would
come out of the ancillary >> out of part of this >> out of part of this. >> Would you have everyone trained or would there just be somebody responsible for it? >> I would like to get at least three guys, four guys trained. So this way somebody on each squad would be able to use it.
>> My question was about training. >> Is that cost within the relationship? I believe it's $200 >> annually or is it just one time? >> A one shot deal. >> Okay. >> Riding a bike, don't you know how to use the drone? >> And it's amazing because one of the
officer that uh he's actually got his regular pilot's license and he flies the drone and he had his personal one in here the other day. It works off of an Xbox. Uh he put the VR on and it's amazing the one that was inside and I was able to fly it around headquarters.
So, >> and like we're gonna have to keep video, right? There's probably a standard of how long you have to keep once you run it. And that all comes under the attorney general guidelines. >> I know you said you can't look not to look for crime, but if you saw crime,
could you give tickets if someone's like illegally parked or with a drone or it doesn't work that way? >> We wouldn't use it for that. >> School drone. >> That's what I'm thinking about. >> I was actually thinking of other ways that they could look for drones. Um,
corner crest around 8:30. >> Working on it. >> Working on it. Council >> drone. >> Uh, and then the other uh item more >> I just have one more question because I in terms of um storing the information. Do we have the bandwidth to store all
that or >> Yeah, I have a uh 20 terabit computer. >> Okay. >> And we're storing all our video. Hey guys, >> we store we store all our video now from the uh the police cars. >> All right. And it Coban has something to do with all that. They're going to help
you with this. >> Yes. Well, we use that's through our vendor Motorola, but if there's any interface problems, Coban takes help. >> All right. Good. All right. >> Right. And then the other thing that I'm asking for is to uh purchase a Ford Maverick pickup truck uh for car traffic
details and other uh utility loose usage. Uh right now uh as you know traffic brings in a great deal of financial impact on the town. Last year we bought over $400,000 and doing traffic details.
I currently have uh eight cars. Two of them are down more than they're up for use specifically for traffic. Last year when we had so much traffic going on in our town and other towns, I asked Perry and he let me borrow a
pickup truck. But the rule was the pickup truck had to stay in town >> since our traffic has gone down. >> Whose rule was that? >> That was my rule. >> Okay. >> Because I didn't want to. It doesn't look right to send a pickup truck. You're representing Emerson. >> Okay. >> I had placards, magnetic placards, uh
made for the side to put on Emerson police so they knew it was the police and not the DPW >> in the truck. >> Um so again, I'm uh asking for a Ford Maverick uh pickup truck. So we could use it again for traffic and any other
if we're having an event save our open house to move stuff around or you know bring stuff down for town day assist you guys with whatever you needed for that. Uh but again that's uh 30 just under 34,000 33976
and uh that's again it pays for itself within the year. What? What if you don't know this? Maybe Lauren does. The duty rate from the um overtime for >> you guys get 31 $38.71 cents an hour.
>> And what's the total that's paid out? >> That's how much$160 an hour. >> It's 160 an hour and we get 3871 of it >> this year. It changes every year. >> Okay.
>> And Mike, you did ask me to look into leasing. I've called them multiple times these days. Haven't gotten back to me with it. >> Can you go over the full fleet? You said you have eight cars that are >> We have eight. What we do with our cars, when we get a new vehicle, the old
vehicle goes into traffic. So, most of them are uh the old Explorers. Some are probably upwards of 10 years old with 120 plus,000 miles on it. So, they're sitting they're starting to
break down. They're starting to get old. >> Um, isn't All American Ford have the state contract? >> Yes, that's who that's who we looked into. >> And they're not getting back to you >> as far as the leasing. >> Not the >> Not for the leasing. >> Yeah, not the >> Oh, I'll get you a phone call tomorrow.
>> I'll call I can text you right now. >> All right. Does anyone have any other questions about the Maverick or about the drone for the Chief? And the rest of your operating budget is fairly flat. >> Fairly flat. I did increase uh my overtime budget uh because of the
contractual obligation that the town has. Uh unfortunately the state we live in now, I need more security at events and with the World Cup coming up this year, we're going to be use utilized uh for mutual aid. >> But hopefully that money gets reimbured
from uh >> right saying the state, right? Yeah, I think kind of all of us need to take part in trying to advocate for all towns that are going to be a part of this because small towns on smaller >> are all going to have to take part in the security of this World Cup. So >> it's not just a world cupate for
ourselves >> from uh June 1st from June June 1st till July 19th 50 days. You don't you have also have to throw in the operation s that they're doing on the Hudson. There's going to be
100 naval ships from Statue of Liberty to the Tapenzy Bridge and unfortunately a lot of it's coming to New Jersey. And just with the people and all the different events that the state has planned, the county, I know the county has a watch party planned. I was in a
meeting today and again like you said, Mike, uh, a lot of the smaller towns are looking for help. They're going to be needing help. So, they're setting up a task force to assist them. Do you really think that it's going to spill all the way over here into the
Pasc Valley? >> I don't think so because the watch parties are, you know, we only have the Emerson Hotel, but I don't think that's what I mean. >> I think this northern part of the county is going to be pretty safe. We don't have any hotels. There's nobody staying
in any hotels in Bergen County or using any training facilities in Bergen County right now. Um, I think the biggest thing might be if we we don't have an ordinance on short-term rentals is if somebody was going to Airbnb in Emerson. Um, so that might be something that we should look
into. >> I couldn't agree with you more, mayor, >> but what would be the impact on our department if officers that are serve on other units for the county or the state or whatever it is get called in that could affect our operating budget? It's in the short term, but as I stated, the
state is getting money. I believe $60 million for it. Now, the state police is obviously going to take a big chunk, but where Bergen County is the host the host county, >> the eyes of the world are going to be on Rutherford and Bergen County. So they
are asking for a large part of that money to support the police departments and whatever other assets we have to use. >> Let's hope some of that 60 million trickles down to our towns. >> Listen, the I hope it does. Uh again,
comes with a course because the officers are going to have to work. The towns in the southern part of the county blacked out vacations for that whole time period. Um yeah, we've had a lot of discussions um in our mayor's meetings and with our
county executive Toesco about this FIFA World Cup stuff and uh the consensus of the mayors in the Pasc Valley is we unfortunately are not going to uh benefit from a lot of the income that's going to be coming in as much as the
people down in the um >> surround in Lowerberg and that surround uh >> but that's a blessing mayor. It's going to be a blessing. >> It's going to be crazy down there. It really just stay off of Route 17. >> Well, most of it's there's no parking at Metife. Metife is the parking lot's
closed during the soccer games. It's all mass transit. >> So, you have to take a train in. >> You got to take a train or bus. >> Closing the parking lot. >> Yeah. Parking lots been closed, I believe, since the new year. Since the end of the football season. Mhm. >> Yeah. They uh they bust them in either
from Caucus or from New York. You take the train into the Yeah. They shut it down when they did in the city. It was the same philosophy. We had that whole New York watch party in Time Square. >> Yeah. And they're going they're trying to shut down Route Three because I guess
the day of the World Cup they have a fan march and be happy we're up here. Yeah, I'm getting more briefings than I like about FIFA right now. >> Yeah, you're going to be right in the mix, both you and Mike with the hotels.
>> All right, so does anybody have any other questions for our chief of police? >> Nothing from down there, Chief. Always good to see you. >> Always a pleasure, Mayorie. >> Hey, Mike. The other thing was off the table. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, chief. Enjoy your evening.
Okay, that brings us to Triessa and our clerk's office. Uh, Triessa, do you have any requests for this uh year's budget? >> Um, I have one capital request for $30,000 to put towards um document scanning and
digitizing. >> And that's something that we've been talking about. We've got a lot of stuff that is permanent documents. Um, and it's kind of something we've been putting off for the last couple of years, but we talk about, we started it, right, Lauren? >> And, um, unfortunately, the woman that
was doing it that had it down to a sort of a science um, is no longer working. And now there's other companies that we'd like to contract with who will pick up where they left off. >> Um, so does anyone have any questions
for Triesta about that? And that's to digitize which records? >> Which? Yes. >> Um it's going to be done in phases. So we have land use records. Um the building department has already started. >> Yeah. The construction. >> Um but in the clerk's office, we have
quite a lot of um both long-term retention and permanent retention records that ultimately really can be digitized. And then what they do is like they have like a portal on the computer. So if I needed to search for a document from 1980, I can go on the system and
like pull it up digitally um everything would be in the portal. >> So is this a guesstimate or did you look into how many files because >> so we rece $44,000 that was for scanning of 150 boxes. It's
going to be an ongoing project. So, I thought maybe scaling that back a touch would be more realistic and asking for 30. >> And when we scan, we gain more space for more documents. But also, we have a I don't know if any of you even realize this because there's really no room down
there. We have a conference room in the basement that is literally filled with a lot of these boxes that if we get rid of it, we get to build a functioning room back >> that people could have meetings in, employees could have lunch in. It's just more workable space.
more workable space in the building. Um, so that that's a plus, too. >> Does anyone have any other questions about that? I think that's kind of something that we need to do. So, all right. So, then that is our uh
financial business for the evening. Lauren, do you have any John, come on in. We weren't expecting you until now, so it's good that perfect timing. We just finished. Lauren, do you have anything to add on any of the capital? Anyone have any questions for Lauren?
>> No. Thank you, Lauren, for coming. It's always good to see you. Our CFO, tax collector, treasurer. Um, that brings us to unfinished business. There is no
unfinished business this evening. Uh, there is no new business this evening. Adoption of ordinances. There are no ordinances to adopt this evening. Uh, to introduce adopt. There are no ordinances to introduce this evening. And that
brings us to reports. Um hopefully I have a short report. It looks like it's long, but I'll shorten it as much as I can. Um the Emerson Junior Senior High School is presenting God Spell March 6th, 7th, 13th, and 14th at 7:30 p.m.
and March 8th and 14th at 2 p.m. Uh please call the high school in order to purchase tickets or buy one at the door. I believe applications for the community garden are now being accepted by the environmental commission. Uh, all plots will be assigned on a first come, first-
serve basis and are strictly limited to Emerson residents. A donation of $20 along with the completed application can be dropped off at the clerk's office. They applications are available on the website or in the clerk's office. The Philip Morgan blood drive is being held
at the senior center on April 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 2 pm. To schedule a donation appointment, please call 1800 redcross or visit redcrossblood.org and enter Phillip Morgan. Um, the next
senior meeting is Thursday, March 12th at 12 noon. I thought it was the 11th. Um, new members are always welcome. If you are 55 or over and are interested in learning more about the senior club, um, you can visit www. evermersonj.gov
and, uh,.gov/ceniors or attend their next meeting to see what it's all about. They offer fun events. They're actually having a St. Patrick's party, I believe, on the 19th after St. Patrick's Day um, for a small fee. I
mean, it's a lot of fun. Guests are welcome at some of these parties with a diff with a fee. Um and come on down and and meet some of our seniors. Um in the past we have done this March 6 is black balloon black balloon day to honor those
that have passed from um opioid overd doses. We've I've done in the mayor's wellness campaign um uh a lot of uh trying to educate people on opioid abuse. We'll try to do another uh class
in the coming months. But if you see a black balloon in in front of Barrow Hall on the 6th, you'll know that why that's there. Um for education and awareness. Um everybody thinks it's not their kid and sometimes unfortunately it is. Um
the Bergen County and we want to remember those that have lost their battle against drugs. Um, Bergen County Utilities Authority Household Hazardous Waste Collection of 2026 will be held Saturday, March 7th from 9:00 am to 3
PM, rain or shine in Munachi. Uh, mark your calendars because our shredding day is coming. Uh, it is Saturday, May 16th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. right here at Burrow Hall. This year's Arbor Day ceremony will be held on April 25th at
10:00 a.m. Uh, the Burrow Through the Shade Tree Commission will once again plant a tree in memory of Emerson residents who have passed away um since January of 2025. If you would like your loved one to be remembered at this
year's Arbor Day ceremony, please contact the Burough Clerk's office. Um, Congressman Gottheimr will be holding mobile business hours here at Burrow Hall on May 5th at 6:30 p.m. Uh, this will be before our uh, mayor and council
meeting in May uh, that same evening at 7:30. Uh, no appointment is necessary if you need to have any questions for the congressman's office. The state of New Jersey has announced the 2025 property tax relief programs for eligible New
Jerseyians. This is a uh single streamline application to apply for the senior freeze anchor and stay New Jersey programs. The deadline to file is November 2nd, 2026. Please call Lauren if you need any help in the tax office.
Uh as always, I encourage our residents to sign up for our RAVE alert system, which gives you uh information on burrow events as well as emergency notifications. If you're not signed up or you know that your neighbors not signed up, please encourage them to do
that. Our military banner program is open for 2026. The burrow has made this program available to our res residents who wish to honor one of their family members who currently live or have resided in Emerson in the past. The
banners are displayed from Memorial Day through Veterans Day. They're stored in the DPW yard um or in the DPW building. They are rehung every year as long as they're in good shape. Uh we look forward to displaying many more this year and it's our way of saying thank
you to the men and women of our great United States military. The sponsorship is $200 per banner and is taxdeductible. Please place your order by April 30th in order to have them displayed by Memorial Day. Um the next meeting of the
governing body will take place on Monday, March 16th. Monday, March 16th at 7:30 p.m. Please note this is outside of the regular schedule of the first and third Tuesday. The date again, Monday,
March 16th at 7:30 p.m. Thank you. Mr. Carelli, do you have a report for us this evening? >> Thank you, mayor. Uh, please note that I had a project update meeting with the burough engineer on the West End uh drainage improvements project. Uh the project as you know is funded by a state
of New Jersey department of community affairs grant and must be closed out by September 1st 2026. I am working with the burough engineer to finalize the project design and prepare the bid steps. Uh as you know we are also seeking additional funding through the
federal earmark process for the project uh for additional components and phases as part of the general uh drainage improvements for the area. Uh so we do hope to have further updates and and information soon. Uh I did want to thank the burough clerk for her work on
getting our website uh compliant in response to the new public notice legislation uh from the state of New Jersey. Uh for those of you that don't know, effective March 1st, 2026, uh all legal notices are to be posted on the burrow website in lie of the legal
newspaper of the burrow. Um, and our website had to have certain ADA accessibility and components to it to make it work. So, I thank Triessa and Sam for getting that uh up to date and we are compliant as of today. So, thank
you. Um, in addition, I have a meeting with Perry from the DPW this week uh to discuss our Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund grant application. If you recall from the last council meeting, uh we did discuss submitting
for additional improvements to Acriman Park, uh we did discuss with the vendor that submitted a cost estimate for the project for the 2024 and 2025 grants. And it's my understanding that the playground, playground surface, and
water features are already funded by these prior grants. uh and again the new grant cannot uh supplement that uh prior funding. So we did discuss we are looking at the possibility of installing a small pavilion for the park uh with
maybe two or three uh uh picnic tables uh with maybe a 10x10 or 12 by 12 pavilion with a concrete slab. Uh so we do have a meeting Thursday to talk about that. Um, you know, in my experience,
the cost is likely somewhere between$1 150 to $250,000 for a project of that size. Um, so we are discussing that. Uh, the letter of intent for the grant is due March 29th, I believe. So, we are working on that to
get that squared away. And at the next council meeting, we hope to have a uh update for you on that project. Um, also, uh, working with, uh, Lauren and the finance department. Uh, we do have renewals coming up for our shared
service agreements with the Emerson Board of Education for the provision of our SRO officer and our class three special law enforcement officers. Uh, those are two separate agreements and both of those agreements do expire at
the end of the school year. So, we are going to be negotiating and working on those uh moving forward. And then just wanted to thank the department heads and the CFO uh for all their work and time on the budget. Thank you. >> Very good. Okay. Um the next order of
business is public comment. Members of the public are welcome to come to speak on any topic by coming to the podium and stating your name for the record. In the interest of time, speakers are limited to three minutes. In consideration of all who may wish to speak, please keep your comments brief and concise. May I
have a motion to open the meeting to public comment. >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Okay, we're open to the public. Seeing no hands, may I have a motion to close the meeting to general comments from the public? >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Okay, we are now closed. Uh, next item
is resolutions on consent. Uh these are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion of the council and one roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member requests an item be removed for consideration. May I have
a motion to approve consent agenda resolutions 92-26 through 99-26. >> So move. >> Second. >> And a roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Tino, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Adenzia, >> yes. Councilman Ellis,
>> yes. >> Council President Rice, >> yes. >> Councilman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Sers, >> yes. >> Ce. Thank you. Uh, we are now going to go into closed executive session to discuss matters that are exempt from the
public pursuant to NJSA 104-1 at SEAC and adequately noticed by resolution 100-26. Uh, may I have a roll call, please? Oh, may I have a motion to go into closed session? >> Second.
>> And a roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Chelino, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Arjenzia, >> yes. >> Councilman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council President Bryce, >> yes. >> Counciloman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Syers, >> yes. >> 6. >> Uh, we are now going into closed
executive session. Members of the public may remain on YouTube until we return to open session, at which time formal action may >> Good motion to reconvene. >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor?
>> All right, we are back and open. Hello. Um, do we have any further business to discuss? >> Yeah, I have a motion to make. Okay. >> I'd like to make a motion to authorize John Ki Esquire to finalize the settlement with the Armenian Home Foundation for back taxes.
>> So moved. >> And a roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Chelino, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Arzia, >> abstain. >> Councilman Ellis, >> yes. >> Council President Rice, >> yes. >> Counciloman Timberman, >> yes. >> Councilwoman Sers,
>> yes. Passes 501. >> Okay. Okay. Do we have any other business? No. Okay. Thank you. I think we had a very productive meeting. Um, with no more business to discuss, may I have a motion to adjourn at 10:29 p.m.
>> Second. On favor.