everybody ready ready Mike good evening welcome to the April 2nd 20124 regular meeting of the Emerson governing body this meeting is being videotaped and may be viewed on your local public access Channel either 36 or 77 the meetings are also available Live on YouTube th for those of you present in case of a fire please follow the fire exit signs above the doors and exit calmly council president would you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all I would ask you to remain standing for just a moment for former mayor Tom mishna of Hillsdale whose son Keith Mna is the current mayor of Park Ridge and also for Joseph hess uh Mr Hess was the Beloved stepfather of councilwoman Nicole arenia he was devoted to his family community and faith and among many professional accomplishments he was the barough administrator in Bergenfield after an incredible 30-year teaching career at New New Milford High School our deepest condolences go out to the arenia and the mishna families during their time of grief thank you Jill can't hear oh okay got it Jill can you hear me Jill I can now okay very good um this meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings law inadequately noticed pursuant to njsa 10-4-10 this meeting of April 2nd 2024 was notied to the record and the Ridgewood news on January 4th 2024 and published in said newspapers posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building and has remained continuously posted as required under the statute Miss Ryan would you please call the Roll Call of the governing body sure mayor deala presid council woman arenia is excused excuse councilwoman rice here councilwoman Maguire pres council president timman here councilman Gordon should be joining us and councilwoman Moore is excused that gives us a quorum correct with Jill on the telephone yes it does okay um the next item is excused absence of governing body member no members of the governing body were absent from the previous meeting proclamations and citations uh April is Autism Awareness Month whereas the Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in every 36 children in the United States are among the more than 6 million Americans living with an autism spectrum disorder and whereas early diagnosis and treatment are essential for those affected by ASD and whereas autism is a re ity that affects millions of families every day and while our nation has made progress in supporting those with ASD we are only beginning to understand the factors behind the challenges they face and whereas during Autism Awareness Month we recommit to helping individuals on the autism spectrum reach their full potential as each person should have the opportunity to live full independent lives and follow their talents wherever they lead whereas year in April we recognize those with ASD who are achieving and breaking down barriers now therefore I Danielle toaa mayor of the Bureau of Emerson on behalf of the governing body to hereby Proclaim April 2024 as Autism Awareness Month in the burrow of Emerson and be it further resolved that I encourage all citizens to learn what more they can do to support individuals on the autism spectrum along with their families that will be hang hanging in burrow Hall and posted on the burrow uh website appointments there are no appointments this evening minutes for approval regular meeting minutes of March 19th 2024 may I have a motion to approve those meeting minutes so second roll call please councilwoman arenia is absent councilwoman M uh sorry councilwoman rice yes councilwoman gu yes council president Timberman yes councilman Gordon is absent is coming momentarily and councilwoman Moore is absent pass zero okay um may I have a motion to approve the closed session meeting minutes of March 19th 2024 move second roll call please councilwoman arenia is absent Council woman rice yes councilwoman Maguire yes council president Timberman yes councilman Gordon is absent at this time and councilwoman Moore is absent passes 30 okay and I believe we need four votes in order to pass this um ordinance correct so we're going to have a motion to change the order of the meeting do we need to do that or no not for the ordinance not for the ordinance okay the next order of business is the introduction of ordinance Miss Ryan will announce by number and title the following ordinance upon approval this ordinance will be further considered at a public hearing to be held on April 16 2024 at 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be addressed in the council chambers of the burrow Hall Municipal Place Emerson New Jersey and published in the record all ordinances are on the burrow website and on file in the office of the municipal clerk if you would like a hard copy please contact the clerk's office Miss Ryan please read the title of the ordinance sure this is ordinance 1685 d24 burrow of Emerson Bergen County New Jersey calendar year 2024 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cat Bank in accordance with njsa 4A colon 4- 4514 may I have a motion to introduce ordinance number 1685 d24 on first reading so moved second may I have a roll call please councilwoman arenia is absent councilwoman rice yes councilwoman Maguire yes council president Timberman yes councilman Gordon is absent at this time and councilwoman Moore is absent thank you um I'm going to ask for a motion just to change the order of the meeting until um councilman Gordon can join us can I have that motion and a second all in favor I I thank you okay we're going to move to unfinished business right now cell tower bid Rob we've been working with our qpa uh Roy riitano and um so we're looking to have this bid out uh within the next two weeks uh we went back and forth on a couple things just for language and and uh whatnot and uh this is you know for the tower over by the DPW uh we're looking to uh we have a contract now that's expiring so we've had onee leases that we'd be able to expend each year after that but now we're going to we have to we have to put out for full for full bid for full bid uh we will be doing that we look forward to putting it out and like I said I think we'll have uh a lot of interest on the on the poll what do we get now for the tower right now we're I think last year's Revenue total revenue was about $249,000 and we're hoping to get more obviously this year with everything going up in price we we would like that yes okay and what's the term you looking for again we would at this point Roy is we're talking 25 again to 30 years is that the normal 25 to 30 yeah we've that's where we're we're we are at that term right now 25 and then one year extensions each one after that so we've had a couple of one Years also but so we can add into that but um that's pretty much where you're and Roy suggests 25 years is the standard for that we're we're still like I said we're still ironing out what Roy will be recommending but that's where we're at so I'm going to whatever Roy recommends our qpa I will then let everyone know and we'll put it out beforehand my guess is 25 years ago cell phone service was kind of new and now it's so um Mal you know movable malleable that that maybe it shouldn't be as long as a contract would be my thought I I didn't realize that it was for that long but we go ahead will'll take recommendations from um our qpa as well as council president has a comment no I was just going to say if it's a new vendor they're probably going to have to put a substantial amount of money into the tower so they're going to want a longer term right depends who bids on like I said I we've had there's been number of uh companies already that have wanted us to know when this is going out so I don't think it's going to be so it's going to be competitive yeah I'm not worried that's I'm not worried about term that's what I'm saying I don't think I'm worried about term or length or we I think whatever we put out they're going to want to be on the towers they're going to want to take it okay how long have we we extended it just for one year we've had we've had three one year I believe three one-year extensions before on this but so this is it this is the last one that we we on the last one and so we'll go forward with the full and that was the recommendation of the qpa the last you know the last couple of years was to continue it and to go that route and now uh to move forward on a full uh full bid okay any other questions Jill do you have anything to add I'm good with this thanks okay um which brings us to new business there is no bu new business this evening adoption of ordinances there are no uh ordinances to adopt this evening and that brings us to reports I'll give you mine real quick um I'm excited to announce that the burrow of Emerson has been designated a 2023 healthy Town upand coming by the New Jersey Healthcare quality Institute for our efforts with the mayor's Wellness campaign we look forward to offering even more programs and events in 2024 uh weekly mixed Garden debris resumed yesterday and will continue every Monday until the end of the year um the Motor Vehicle Commission will be here Wednesday April 17th from 9: to 3: um all of the appointments have been taken if you uh did not get an appointment please feel free to come that day to see if there are any available appointments sometimes they do free up because people do have to cancel sometimes on the day of otherwise they will be back October 4th the burrow through its shade tree commission will once again plant a tree in memory of those Emerson residents who have passed away between January of 2023 and the present in conjunction with their Arbor Day ceremony and that event is Saturday April 27th at 10:00 a.m. at rosengart Park which is also known as Sunset Park if you would like your loved one to be remembered um at the ceremony please contact the clerk's office and give them your loved one's name the environmental commission is always looking to make the burrow more sustainable they are considering the idea of having burrow beehives in um an area in the burrow and would like to gauge interest from our community members to possibly put together a beekeeping team to be a subsidiary of the environmental commission if you are interested in being a beekeeper or assisting other ways please contact the clerk's office so we can report back to the environmental commission which will consider moving forward at one of their meetings um mark your calendars I have some important dates to share with you the Bergen County Superintendent of Elections office will be holding a demo of the new voting process on the new machines as well as answering voters questions on Wednesday April 24th starting at 6:00 p.m. in the senior center so that 6 PM in the senior center if you need to take some kind of a lesson in order to learn how to um use vote using the new voting system and from what I understand it is different than even last year um I spoke with the superintendent of Elections or the assistant is Jamie called assistant superintendent of elections last week and I said is there any way you could give us a second class and she said Danielle we're going to 70 municipality and Bergen she says and we're trying to do our best and that's all that we could give um we were trying to do one specifically at the senior center um for the seniors during their meeting it wasn't possible so we have to combine it with the whole community on um April 24th at 6 pm. the Arbor Day ceremony as I said is April 27th drug takeback day is also April 27th at the police station from 10: to 2: the Community Garden opens at 8:00 a.m. Sunday April 28th baseball softball opening day is also Sunday April 28th at 9:00 a.m. the Bergen County Clerk satellite office is scheduled to come on Wednesday May 1st from 10:00 a.m. to 2: p.m at the senior center our paper shredding day in collaboration with the bcua will be on Saturday May 18th 2024 from 9: to 1 at Burrow Hall and Emerson summer kickoff will be on Saturday June 22nd um details on all these events can be found on our website social media or by calling the clerk's office for those 55 and up please consider joining the senior citizens group they are a vibrant group that meets monthly their next meeting is Thursday April 11th which is uh next week I'm at every meeting if you'd like to come um at least you'll know me there if you come I'll introduce you to some people and for more information you could call them direct at 2011 599 6351 um and remember if one of the seniors needs a ride please call Stacy at Burrow Hall and the governing body's next regular meeting will be on Tuesday April 16th at 7:30 p.m. at which time we will hold a public hearing on our 2024 Bergen County open space Grant application for improvements to Rosengard AKA Sunset Park um Michelle did you have anything to add on elections sure um Bergen County is seeking pole workers for the 2024 primary which is June 4th I believe June 4th um and the general elections uh more information can be found on our website or by calling our office or calling um the county as well um if you are interested um and then also Wednesday April 10th is the deadline to file a change of party affiliation form with the Bergen County superintendent's office in order to be eligible to vote for that party's candidates in the primary this primary election on uh June 4th forms can be found online uh on our website or by contacting um our office as well the clerk's office thank you um Mr Hermanson do you have a report for us this evening yes and the guidance from uh from the governing body uh at the last council meeting we was asked and discussed um we looked into grants further grants through uh Corey Senator Cory Booker along with Senator Mendez has two grants that they're both sponsoring uh for and we're looking to do something for Jordan uh Avenue uh Jordan Road sorry Jordan Road and Forest Avenue uh the flooding problem we've had knowing that uh has successful we were of one of only four Bergen County towns in order to receive a grant from uh congressman got heimer's office uh last last year for almost a million dollars we are going and forging ahead again the same way to look into other opportunities to try to find solutions to uh some of the flooding issues that we have in some of our areas um so we're going we're putting in for this grant we'll put in uh by Monday uh working with Dave Atkinson along with our grant Rider uh in order to make sure we have uh everything that we need to have to put that in and to go forward and we look forward to hopefully um being awarded uh you know a grant again if that would be excellent for the for the burrow uh the chief Captain dardo Lieutenant Suka and Sergeant K Kars uh attended a life vac training sponsored by the PBA 206 it's a life-saving device that's used on choking victims um they received five devices from the Maverick Legacy Foundation which we thank them for that uh which will then they would be in the process now of creating a policy and deploying them in their vehicles to be used in case of in case of uh a resident in in need uh so we think that is an excellent uh sit excellent for the for the for us um also uh we're Lo we looked in to our uh we'll see a new fire a new fire truck uh so we're looking as an opportunity uh to for the for the burrow uh we believe that this is a excellent opportunity for for on pricing so we looking into we have the it's in the in the budget to fund it so long as everything matches what we're doing uh and we'll have a new have a new fire truck for a uh for a pump here which is absolutely in need uh for the uh for the for the burrow right but I think you skip the beginning it's it's a um what do they call it a no it's demo truck Dem demo truck sorry that the um fire department was they were researching fire trucks and and speaking with some of the different companies they found a demo truck that is um able to be sold at um a much lower price than what a brand new truck would um cost and it would also take either a year or two to get a brand new truck and this one appears to be available right away immediately so from what I understand the police chief has the truck being delivered to Emerson so that everyone could um look it overing it they had they took a look at that truck last night they they had an inspect they had brought it to look at it last night is what we were told uh I found that out at 4:30 today and uh but basically there that's now we have to hear from the fire chief the fire chief is going to get back to that to us and let us know what's going what that what their thoughts on it was that's where we're at so the truck was here already that's what I was told La that's what I was told at 4:30 today that they had brought the truck in here last night which I did not know that is it coming back that's what I to take a look at it I I I asked him that and I'm going to get an answer from you from the individual on on the truck that'd be great so that's where we missed our inspection dinner this year for whatever reason they didn't hold one um so I was actually wrote an email today in response to that saying that I would like to go down to the firehouse and take a quick look around and compare the new equipment to the um older equipment that's there and that I thought maybe some of the other governing body members might want to go down and take a look so I'm I'm a little surprised that it was already here and gone and if we get it back that would be great if it's if it's if they're interested in it if it's something that they think that they're interested in I think we'd all like to have take some interest look at it that's what I I I I sent the note to him after I when I got back here uh and when I saw the uh the message at 4:30 okay that concludes my report okay does anyone have any questions for Rob on anything Mike okay um so we are going to I guess open to public comment but then we will open to public comment again um so this evening we have a very unique circumstance whereby we have two governing body members that are sick and cannot be here um one of them is called in the other one's not able to and we have um a death in the family of one of the council members so they can't be here and um another council member is working and he thought that he was going to be able to move in so we do need four Council votes in order to introduce the budget um so I am waiting on um a phone call from councilman Gordon at the very least or maybe he's going to walk through the door I'm not really sure um but we cannot introduce the budget until um councilman Gordon joins us so I would ask for um a motion to open the meeting to the public um in case anybody wants to speak on anything and then after we introduce the budget we will um open it again so can I have a motion to open the meeting to public to the public comment so move all in favor any any opposed we are now open to the public Teresa would you like to speak speak the microphone because now we can hear I just wanted to know if there's any update on the garbage contracts or any you know because I know the last few meetings that um it was disc not a discussion but information about um different ideas Rob do you wan to so um oh could you just state your name for you don't have to give your address any longer just your name thank you so we are working with our uh with our engineer who did the bid the last time for us uh and we are looking at all options for the bid for the garbage again this time so there is nothing the bid is not out yet but when it will go out we there will be every alternative opt you know option out there for uh for garbage potential pick up TW we know twice a week once a week so forth and so on so they can have uh we can look at everything is there a sub Committee of the council members that are working with you or you doing it by yourself no we had a we we had a a actual committee meeting um with two of the council members who are on the committee which is Brian and and councilwoman uh Maguire who's on the phone um and so we have discussed that basically every option should be out there uh for the on the bid to be looked at okay and just a a note on this coming week at the Bergen um just hang on one Community College is the uh Bergen County Utilities Authority um day that you can bring all your hazardous material so I'm sorry I didn't hear what she said she said hazardous material at B County uh you on site you bring them to them for thank you that's important because I I went to the dump on Sunday and people had dumped paint cans and everything under the sun over there and you know if they maybe if they knew they would take it's I'm going to tell you one thing it's very fast when you go there you don't get out of your car you just open your trunk or back of your car and they take it out and you leave thank you I appreciate specific question on the garbage like this way I just you know what my issue is I do a lot of walking around and a lot of the people a lot of people put garbage out that is not for that particular pickup like cardboard and and then I've seen bags of nails and pain cans and everything and and the garbage men a lot of people have said especially with recycling they put the cardboard and the cans into the same truck and they people like saying why should we Teresa we have the newsletter that we explain what could go out it's posted on the website um I've announced about the bcua Hazardous Waste at different meetings um all we could do is give the information it's like you could bring them to the water but you can't make them drink no but I'm saying too I know in on our block we have new um sanitation workers you know they must have change the crew whenever but AR shouldn't they be told like if people leave all that stuff in on a particular day that's not you know scheduled for that pickup that they should just leave it there uh someone would have to tell us that that's happening because we wouldn't know that they're picking up something that they're not supposed to be picking up um they would be told by their employers what they should be picking up on certain days but how would we know that they're picking up the wrong stuff unless somebody called and reported it and if you did then Mr Hermanson would gladly call up and say you have a new crew could you please educate them as to what they are supposed to be picking up um if you can do that if you see it that would be very helpful and if any Resident sees that that would be helpful a lot of people have mentioned that the cardboard and the cans all go to the same truck so just a thought there's a whole thing with the recycling going into the trucks um people talk about that all the time it is our responsibility to separate it um that's what our job is and get it to the curb and once it is picked up they have told us that they separated at their facility once we do it it it's we don't pay for it once they pick it up oh so in other words they do it at their facility they say that they they've told Mr harmanson on numerous occasions that they separated at their facility if there is things that get mixed at they when they get there they will separate it so um it's not it's not the way we would like we want to make sure that it's done what people put it out what they're supposed to but they do tell us though that when they do get there like if there's an occasional person that puts the wrong thing out that they'll grab it because it's easier than having it blow all the neighborhood or you know something like that and then they they'll they'll take care of it back at the plant but L thing do does Emerson get any um money for any of the recycle material so we used to get some but it's not it look with Amazon these days with cardboard cardboard is not what you're but would you get that you don't get that much anymore so sometime right now we're at a point where we do receive some monies uh we as you see with some of the with the tonnage grants that we have that we receive but it's not uh it's not as much as it used to be the the metal our DPW picked up is recycled and we get money for that right that's where the big money comes from so to speak is from the um uh heaters and the dryers and all of the big stuff that the DPW picks up and brings to the DPW Yard and then they actually bring it or a truck comes to a scrap yard actually don't we pay to to get rid of our recycling I thought we paid for to get rid but there's some things that like I said when they do recycle like we used we used to get paid for yeah but that's stopped because you can't get rid of the recycling at some that's what I said we're it's not it there's not much money made on the on that recycle input but it's what's good for us is that it's just you know it's out of the garbage with you know the tipping in ton of trees and things like that so no that's good I you know people get newsletters like Daniel the mayor saying and it's like you know and there's also I've seen you mentioned recycle coach that people could go and educate themselves as well there's the app I I use it all the time so um all right well thank you for coming I appreciate that you came in and brought up your concerns Teresa um let the record reflect that councilman Gordon did join our meeting um five minutes ago so I guess that was at um 7:57 p.m. uh councilman Gordon welcome trying to get you on my phone is frozen Brian if you could hear me I'm going to hang up and call you back because my phone is frozen how do I do this my whole screen is blank okay hello wait hi Brian you're we're you're on speaker and I have you joining the meeting at 7:57 p.m. officially I know that you probably heard part of um public comment does anyone else wish to speak at public comment right now otherwise we're going to close to public introduce the budget um and then we'll open to the public again if anybody has a comment is that okay with everyone that's present okay may I have a motion to close the public portion of the meeting second all in favor any opposed okay we are now closed to the public so now we are going back in the agenda um I guess we should take a motion to go back can I have a motion to go back to the proper order of the meeting which is Roman numeral eight um sorry ran numeral 9ine introduction of the 2024 Municipal budget second all in favor okay okay thank you um before I ask for a motion to introduce this budget um I want to thank everyone for their hard work to craft this budget especially our CFO and the finance committee um included in this budget is our continued focus on improving burough infrastructures which includes the annual Road program to keep our roads up to date as well as the Burrow's commitment to utilizing grants with over 500,000 of grant money being used this year alone to offset the tax burden on four of our largest Grant funded projects the firehouse elevator acrian basketball courts firefighter PPE and the uh division of Transportation road project the 2024 Municipal tax increase for this year will be $98 which amounts to approximately $8 per month on the average home valued at $447,000 that is a 2.32% tax increase over last year which is under the national inflation rate of 3.15% the public hearing and discussion on the budget is scheduled for May 7th at 7:30 p.m. our Burrow's CFO and auditor will both be available for questions at that meeting um the budget documents will also be posted on the website tomorrow uh may I have a motion to approve resolution number 10-24 introduction of the 2024 Municipal budget sorry 109 it's actually uh 10924 just for the record so we have a motion from Council PR president Timberman and a second from councilman Gordon and a roll call please councilwoman arenia is absent councilwoman rice yes councilwoman Maguire yeah council president timman yes councilman Gordon yes and councilwoman Morris absent passes 4 okay thank you so that is the introduction of the budget so John welcome we're glad you got here safely I know you had a hering route on 208 with that accident um now we're going to go back to public portion of the meeting May I have a motion to open up the meeting to comments from the public all in favor any opposed we are now open to the public again if anyone would like to say anything seeing No Hands may I have a motion to close the public portion of the meeting all in favor any opposed okay which brings us to resolutions on consent agenda may have a motion to approve consent agenda resolutions 11-24 and 11-24 so move second roll call please Council arenia is absent councilwoman rice yes councilwoman Maguire yes council president Timmerman yes councilman Gordon yes and councilwoman Moore is absent okay thank you and that brings us to closed executive session um members of the public May remain on YouTube until we are open to until we return to open session at which time formal action may be taken may have a motion to go into closed executive session to discuss matters exempt from the public pursuant to njsa 104-1 at SEC and adequately noticed by resolution 112 d24 second all in a roll call please councilwoman arenia is absent councilwoman rice yeah councilwoman Maguire yes council president Timberman yes counc councilman Gordon yes counc is ABS yes is for okay we're going to take like AOW I have a motion to reconvene so move um with no further business to all in favor I any opposed okay that's for to open um with no further business to um discussed tonight may have a mo motion to adjourn at 9:14 so moved motion by Ashley rice is that a second prime yes second by councilman Gordon all in favor I