On behalf of Council President Lisa Waski On behalf of Council President Lisa Lisa Wcotsski will call the regular council meeting of April 22. 2nd, 2025 to order at 8:00 p.m. Can we all stand for the pledge of
allegiance? Can we all stand for the pledge of allegiance? And the flag of the standy for all. I'm going to ask that everybody remain standing standing for a
moment of silence for Pope Francis. Okay. Okay. Everyone may may be seated now. Thank you. Okay. So, tonight I'm sure everybody's wondering now, who are all these these students sitting in the front of the municipal court. So, tonight is our
first student governing day and um so we want to welcome the high school students and I saw some of them during the day at McKay Park. One one student was with the DPW director. One one student was with
the wreck director and other students were um shadowing other city employees. And you could see they all have a badge with their name on it and and uh who they who they were today, what roles they were playing.
Okay. So, um Okay. Um, Caitlyn, who is shadowing the city clerk, can you please read the statement regarding the open public meetings act? This meeting is called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings
law. Notice of this meeting was included in a notice sent to the record and the star ledger and advertised in said newspapers on January 10th, 2025 posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building and has remained continuously posted as the required notices under the
statue. A copy of this notice is and has been available to the public and is on the file in the office of the mun municipal clerk. Proper notice having been given, the municipal clerk is directed to include the statement in the
minutes of this meeting. Okay. Can you please read the roll call, too? Uh, just read the name. Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman David, present. Councilman Rosenwig
here. Councilman Toare here. Councilman Wilson present. Council President Watski here. Uh, absent with prior notice is Mayor Michael Wilds. Also present is city manager Robert S. Hoffman. And sitting
in for city attorney Bill Bailey is David Laferty. Okay, this don't you usually include Mr. Vulce? Sorry, I didn't see you there. France also president of city engineer France Folsy. Okay, the room is is very warm as you
may have noticed. So that's why the back door is open and we're getting a lot of noise. So just bear with us. Um, the city of Anglewood will hold a public hearing to present and obtain public comment on a grant application for storm water drainage improvements and
playground accessibility improvements at Gity Field at Trumble Park, 224 Rockwood Place. I'm now going to open the public hearing on the proposed plan. But before I actually open it, um, Mr. Hoffman, do you want to say a few words on about it?
Yes. Uh, thank you, Council President. So, this is a grant application for $42,500 and it's to do drainage improvements at um at our our ball field there. But more importantly, it's also to do make the playground more
accessible because the asphalt on the on the sidewalk or the sidewalk itself is broken up and there's not a there's not a good path to get to the playground. So, our our city engineer has come up with a plan and he's he's actually still working on it to um just to make sure
that we have accessibility to the playground. So, I don't know if you wanted to ask the council the city engineer council president if he he had anything else to add. Mr. City Engineer, do you have anything else to add? Uh not really. I think our city manager
just sort of hit it on the nose. Uh the grant is essentially to help with some of the the uh ponding issue at Gity Field, but more importantly to help with accessibility issues at Trumble Park. I don't know when the last time anyone's been at Trumble, but the sidewalk area,
especially along the Phelps Avenue side of the park, it's pretty bad condition. Uh a lot of uplifts, a lot of tripping hazards, etc. If you walk into the park, the pathways are horrible. Um some of them are non-existent. Some of them are
just wear and tear from foot traffic. So, we have some work to do regarding accessibility in that park, but that's and making everything ADA compliant. That's essentially what the grant is for. Okay. Thank you very much. I'm now going to open the public hearing on the proposed plan. Speakers are asked to set
up se step up to the microphone, give their name for the record, and you have three minutes. Anyone who'd like to speak on this? Okay. Okay, I'm now going to close the public hearing. I move resolution 146 to authorize the
submission of uh Broken County Open Space Recreation, Flood Plane Protection, Farmland, and Historic Preservation Trust Fund. Okay, let's do the second first. Can someone second? Some moved. Second. Second. Okay. Uh comments from
the governing body. Uh, Councilman Wilson. Yes. I just want to find out if we're taking into account all the all the other places that may not be accessible as well cuz this is not the only area that we have problems with. We have
problems in uh McKay Park where the bridges are missing boards. They're trip hazard especially for women that wear heels um andor men that wear heels. And um it's also uh Morris Park. It's horrible, horrific, and that
neighborhood has been without a park for over two years. So I I just want to see this to be distributed equally throughout the city and it doesn't appear that this addresses that. No, this this grant is strictly for Gity
Field and Trumble Park, but you're absolutely correct. We are working on much bigger grants for the other parks. Uh specifically Morris Park. Morris Park is in horrendous condition and we are looking at a much bigger grant to make the repairs that's required at Morris Park. But yes, there are other parts
that we're looking into and we are making improvements in in some of them. But this grant specifically is just for Trumbull and Gity Field. Well, maybe we need to start doing parks individually if it's specifically for this park. For that park, this grant. Yes. And it
compared to the other grants, this grant is not that large. I believe it's a $42,000 matching grant. So, it's not really that large. The Mars Spark and other grants would be much larger than that. Yeah. But my statement is is that the community has been without a
playground for over two years, and the Trumble Park thing just kind of came on the calendar, and we and we're granted away already. Thank you. Thank you. So, any other comments from the
governing body? Okay. Um, so can I have a roll call, please? Just All right. Councilwoman David. Yes.
Councilman Rosenway. Yes, Councilman Tokayer. Yes, Councilman Wilson. Yes, Council President Waski. Yes. Now, we're going to have public hearing 2025 Burton County Trust Fund Municipal Program from land in inquis
acquisition. The city of Anglewood will hold a public hearing to present and obtain public comment on a grant application for the acquisition of 173 West Forest Avenue for future storm water improvement and the creation of a passive park. And this is for a passive park on
173 West Forest Avenue. Mr. Hoffman, do you want to say a few words? Uh, thank you, Council President. Yes, this is a um this is a grant application to the Bergen County uh open space trust fund and as you had mentioned in the when it was being read that this is for the um
173 West Forest Avenue. It's to build a detention basin there. Once it's um once the uh the once the grant is is submitted, if if we are able to get it, it's for a substantial amount of money. It's approximately
$400,000. and um we're we're looking forward to um to presenting this to to the county open space committee along with some of the other uh the other findings that we have. So, thank you. Thank you. I'm now going to open the public hearing on the proposed plan.
Speakers are asked to step up to the microphone, state your name, and you have three minutes to speak. Leroy Campbell, 287 Tennerfly Road, Anglewood. um 173 Forest
Avenue. What what I'm hearing is that we're not we're never going to build any building on that lot. Is that correct? This is your turn to speak afterwards. We could comment on your questions. All right. I just need an answer because um
you know, would anyone else from the public like to speak? Okay, I'm now good. Rick Wiggly, England, New Jersey. You guys are talking about uh 147-04. That's what we're on. I came in
late. What are you guys trying to preserve historically? You've destroyed everything historically in the city. What do we We're talking We're talking on um resolution 147. 147 as before. Oh, okay. Yeah. What do you need money for to preserve? Everything that was
historic, you've already destroyed and built over it. So, what are you preserving? What is it that you're preserving? I mean, all the historic stuff that I grew up in Anglewood and saw, developers came, they knocked it down, they built
something else, and now it's no longer historic. Even historic homes, you moved from places they weren't supposed to be moved from put them in a park. What are you preserving exactly? This is what I would like to know. What is there left to preserve that you haven't destroyed? This is what I would want to know. Thank
you. Would anyone else from the public like to speak? Okay. I'm now going to close the public hearing. So now um we need an introduction to resolution 147, a resolution of the city of Anglewood authorizing the submission
of a Bergen County Open Space Recreation Flood Plan Protection Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund. Bergen County Trust Fund grant application. May I have a motion? So moved.
Second. Okay. Any discussion? Um before we have discussion, um just join um Mr. Campbell asked if you were if if we have plans to build over the property. Um
and Mr. Hoffen, you you can answer that. Uh thank you, Council President. The answer is no. Um there's no plans to build over the property. There there is a plan to build a detention basin or retention basin underneath it and to make a passive park. So this may answer Mr. for Wilbur's question as well where
this is to this is to preserve the the open space but to build something underground to make a passive park and prevent flooding in the future. So those that have seen West Forest Avenue during a rainstorm know that the water sheets across and approximately one-third to
one half of that property um you know just holds water. So, we're trying to prevent um we're trying to use that use that property to hold water and to make sure that the condominiums that are to the left of it don't flood and then the properties behind it don't flood as well
in the future. Okay. Thank um we're not going to have comments now from the public. The public session is closed. I'm now I'm now going to ask for any comments from the governing body. Any comments? Go ahead, Councilman
Wilson. Yes. Um, while we're on the topic, maybe uh, Mr. Hoffman can explain to those that may not know what a passive park is. U, because when we say the name when we say the word park, I have a lot of
concerned constituents that have disrepaired parks in in the name of Denning Park and Morris Park. Um, and it appears to to us that we're doing new parks and not renovating the parks that we already have. And although part of
this grant is for um the retention tank, which is well needed, um we would just like to see that the things that we have already be repaired. So, can you explain what what's
entailing of the passive park that we propose to do with this 400,000? All right. Um, yes. So, a passive park is um it there's not going to be ball fields or anything there for active sports. So once the work is done,
the the primary the primary goal is to be able to hold water and then let let the water be released after um after the heavy rains and after the creeks are starting to starting to recede. So we we anticipate that this will be some kind
of a grassy area that there will be some tree plantings around the perimeter of the what whatever type of detention basin is designed. But it's um it's basically think think of No-Name Park or or think of think of one of one
of the other other parks that's just um for walking and enjoying the sun. Okay. I I imagine that that this is something like what what we're planning on doing in 47 Brook 2, right? That's also going to be a passive park. Yes, that that is correct. and and and again
the the the primary goal for both is that we we need to design a proper detention basin based on on the studies that NJIT is doing and then um after after that then we we design the passive park you know that that's a complement
to what the primary responsibility of of the property is going to be which is to hold water and prevent flooding and and so the passive park will include benches Is that correct? We anticipate that it will, but it's
just um that it hasn't it hasn't been designed, but yeah, we anticipate that it will. I'm sure the public would like to see benches, and that would be another way where we could have uh loved ones named after the benches. Any other comments from the governing
body? Can I have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David. Yes. Councilman Rosenway. Yes. Councilman Toker. Yes. Councilman Wilson. Yes. Council President Wasatski. Yes. Okay. We're now going to have um
resolution We're now going to ask I'm going to ask somebody to introduce resolution 148, which is accepting the minutes. Um Yansancy, do you want to just read what the minutes we're accepting? which the the dates are please. It's going to be take me a
while. Uh minutes for approval. Regular meeting of March 18th. Workshop meeting of March 4th. Special meetings March 4th, March 18th, March 24th. Budget hearings March 3rd and March 10th. Close session meetings January 7th and 21st
and 27th, February 4th and 18th, March 4th, 18th and 24th. Okay. Can I have a motion, please? I make a motion that we approve the minutes of those dates. Second. Any discussion from the
governing body? Can I have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David, yes. Councilman Rosenway, yes. Councilman Toker, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Waski, yes. Okay. Now, we have
ordinances for second reading. We have one ordinance. I'm going to uh for the sake for the students I'm going to ask um Mr. Laferty the attorney to explain what an ordinance is. Um an ordinance is what members of the
public would call a law. Um it's becomes a final uh law of the city of Anglewood. It lasts forever uh unless it's repealed or rescended or amended. Um it requires uh
two hear two hearings. It has to be introduced at one meeting and then adopted at a second meeting. It also has to uh include a public hearing where members of the public can speak in uh connection with the ordinance. A resolution which you've also heard
tonight is more of a formal expression of opinion or position of the council. that doesn't carry with it the permanency that an ordinance does. That's the easiest way I can explain the difference. Okay. And when we pass ordinances, we have two readings. So, we
have a first reading and and then we um after a few weeks, we then have a second reading. And before the second reading, we have a public hearing where we the public can give us input on the ordinance and then um we vote on it and
it gets noticed in the newspaper and then it becomes law. Um in the meantime, there's a car J61 UHX with a with their lights on, license plate J61 UHX. I didn't know that from the
council. I'm now from the podium. I'm now calling out cars with lights on, but okay. Um, so now for we have an ordinance for a second reading. It's ordinance 2521, an ordinance authorizing the city of England to exchange certain
real property for other lands desired for public use pursuant to the local lands and building law NJSA 4812-16. Um, so before I call this public hearing open, um, Mr. Lafia, you prepared. Do you want
to make a comment about this or should I ask Mr. Hoffman? I can ask Mr. Mr. Hoffman, do you want to make a comment on on this? Sure. Thank you, Council President. So this this ordinance uh 2521 u this is this is an ordinance
that's related to um 37 Bennett Road as well as um 173 West Forest Avenue. This is going to be to exchange property with the Shiloh Lodge. So the uh the Shiloh Lodge will be will receive ownership of
37 Bennett and the city the city will receive ownership of 173 West Forest Avenue. Um the difference in the value of the two properties is approximately $165,000. So the difference is going to
be transferred to the Shiloh Lodge. It's going to be held in escrow by the city so that the Shiloh Lodge can make repairs to the building so that it can be it can be brought up to code and they can continue to have a successful um successful lodge now and in the future.
So that's the gist of this of what we're we're going to be doing with this ordinance. Okay. Thank you for the explanation. The public hearing on this ordinance is now open. Anyone who desires to be heard or to ask questions concerning this ordinance will be heard at this time.
Please step up to the mics. State your name. You have three minutes. Suzanne Mullings Phelps. So, I just want to ask a few questions about the ordinance and if you could explain exactly what the public use is
planned for forest staff property because the ordinance doesn't specify how the city will use the acquired property. Uh, also why is the Bennett Road property less valuable for public use? The
ordinance states that forest a property is more advantageous but you don't explain why uh also um in terms of the value you said the difference in
$165,000. Uh how was that determined and who conducted the appraisals and were they independent? Also, why is this city going willing to spend the $165 on top of giving up the valuable
property? Uh, if is that best for taxpayers? And there's a letter of intent mentioned dated March 25th, 21st, 2025. Uh, is that something
that we could review? Thanks. Yeah, Rick Wilby again, Anglewood, New Jersey. Uh, I haven't read the resolution, but I want to know because this has happened in the past here. If by any means this property that's supposed to be used for water retention,
maybe sometime in the future things might change and we end up with a house put on top of it, could that happen? Is that a possibility that somebody could put a house on it cuz it's happened in the past? You know, anything can happen. Can we get a copy of the resolution so we could see? Is there provisions in
there that under no circumstances whatsoever can some structure be moved on this property or it can't be sold to some developer to develop in that area? Because these things could happen. And I've seen it happen here in Ingwood before where you know something is so-called put aside and then next thing
you know it's being developed and it's being developed in the areas where people like me live and then nobody says anything and then you know we protected that for you. How did you protect it when you went behind people's backs and then you went and you put something on there that you swore up and now would not be there. So, what's our guarantee
to know that this thing is actually going to be something that is going to work for the community versus somebody that's going to make somebody rich in the fu in the future? What's that guarantee? And you need to answer my questions. I'm not just up here wasting my time when I come here to the mic and
speak and try to exercise my civic duties. You just can't keep ignoring somebody that you don't like because you feel I don't deserve an answer to my question. That's why I'm here. I want to know what kind of guarantees do we have that this is not going to be another backroom deal that's going to change in
the future. That's my question and I need an answer. Okay. Thank you for your comments. Would anyone else like to speak? Okay. Okay. So, I'm now going to close the public hearing for this ordinance.
Can I have a motion from the council that ordinance 2521 be adopted? So move. Can I have a second? Second. Okay. Mr. Hoffman, do you want to answer?
Certainly. Council President, I was going to I was going to punt to our uh city manager for the evening, but I don't think I'll do that. Um, so to answer Miss Mullen's questions, the um the uh property was appraised, there was a certified appraiser. There's a
there are uh the we the city whenever the property is appraised has to follow certain statutory uh requirements of the state of New Jersey. So we had a certified appraiser that looked at the property um and did the appraisal. It was shared with the Shiloh Lodge. Um the
uh the the use for the property is as was discussed earlier, we want to build a a retention basin there for water and then create a passive park. So that's that's what we're going to be doing with that. And um the VA the reason that
there's more value for 173 West Forest Avenue is there's more there's more property. There's more square footage there compared to 37 Bennett. That's part of it. Um, and also the uh 30 37 Bennett, there's an older structure on
on the property that that requires improvements to um so that it's it be it it becomes more more attractive for the for the current and future needs of the Shiloh Lodge. So that's that's part of it. And the um I guess to answer the
question about what guarantees Mr. Wilby had asked that question about what guarantees are there that there's not going to be any kind of um future future deals to build housing. I want to remind everybody in this room and everybody that's listening that originally um this
the council found out about this property because a developer tried to build 114 units on that property. So think of what would have happened if there was 114 units on that property. So the council the council acted with
wisdom by looking at that property and saying that that's that is not 114 units of housing on that property is not the appropriate use. So that's why we've we've gone through this exercise and
that's why it's it's going to be used for the public purpose. It's going to be used for to help prevent flooding in the future. And by obtaining a grant from open space, there's also green acres criteria. So that means that you can't
develop it. We can't sell it and we can't build a big house. And we have prevented building 114 units of housing there and creating future flooding headache for generations to come. So this is this is an absolutely great
thing to do and it's going to help the city in the future. And the the guarantees is that um there are there are builtin um require requirements when you accept money from from green acres and from
open space that you you can't build on it. Uh you can you can make certain improvements for parks but you can't build on it. So so that's that's the guarantees for the future and I thank the governing body for forwarding you know for moving forward on this. Any
discussion from members of the council? Councilwoman David. Hi. Um, thank you for the update, Bob. And I know we all agreed with this. Maybe we could put in the language like per the open space agreement or something just to, you know, we could change the language or
put it incorporated in here um somewhere maybe with the ordinance. Yeah, it's the second reading. I know what I was going to pull. Any other comments from the governing body? Go ahead, Councilman Wilson. Thank
you. Um, we've worked on this for a number of sessions and we thought it to be important not to build in that area because it was a flood zone. So, this was our alternative plan um to lessen the the new construction on Forest
Avenue in the fourth ward in the flood area. And it was very important that we we got back uh a black institution within the Masons and they now have a home. And it's a
historical society that we thought it was it was Apple Poe to be back where they need to be to have a home. And in that process, we also thought that this retention, as you guys may or may not
know, most retention um banks aren't you aren't able to build on it. Now, what's going to happen in 2030 years, I I have no idea. Maybe Mr. Wilby is right, but we have in the in the verbiage, like Mr. Harman said, is the green acres. And so
that's what we're depending on to carry us through. Thank you. Any other comments from the governing body? Can I have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David,
yes. Councilman Rosen, yes. Councilman Tokayer, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Wasovski, yes. Okay. Now we have ordinances for introduction for first
reading. Ordinance 2522 is an ordinance concerning roadspeed electric scooters, roadspeed electric bicycles, and motorized electric bicycles and amending, revising, and supplementing the code of the city of Anglewood by adding a new section, specifically
article 19 of chapter 25 of said code entitled ebikes and e scooters. Could I have a motion that the ordinance pass on first reading and be published once by title only in the record and that a public hearing be held on May 6, 2025?
So moved. Can I have a second? Second. Okay. Uh Chief, do you want to come up and just say a few words about this ordinance, please? Good evening everybody. Uh so as we previously mentioned at uh last meeting, this was crafted to address
low-speed electric scooters, low speed electric bicycles, and motor motorized electric bicycles in our city. So as some of our news council may have seen around town, those vehicles all over the place. We've had a lot of concerned visitors to our city, residents come up to us and say they've had issues, people
driving inappropriately in traffic and a lot of times the high speeds on on sidewalks. You guys have probably all seen that. So this was crafted to give us a way to handle some of that. Some of it can be addressed through title 39 uh way manners but uh having the officers have an option to do it through a city
ordinance is another uh important tool for us to have to be able to tackle this issue in our city. Thank you. Do does anyone in the governing body have have any questions or questions for the chief or any comments on the ordinance? Okay. Thank you. Um, can I
have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David, yes. Councilman Rosenwite, yes. Councilman Toker, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Wasatski, yes. We now have ordinance 2523, which is an
introduction. It's an ordinance amending chapter 38022 of the code of the city of Anglewood pertaining to commercial sidewalks. May I have a motion that the ordinance pass on first reading and be published once by title only in the record and that a public hearing be held
on May 6, 20125. So moved. Second. Okay. Um actually coun councilman took do you want to talk about this for a moment before? Thanks. Um this was uh a little
bit of my idea. Uh it's a quality of life for the people of Englewood. Um, I felt that they, um, walking down Palisades Avenue, there was a lot of garbage that was left in front. Uh, the tenants said it was commercial, the commercial said it was tenants, and it
wasn't being cleaned up in time. So, I had thought about putting some sort of enforcement to clean it up and to have people remove their garbage within 24 hours. If not, they would get a violation. So, so that Palisades Parkway
at least would be a lot cleaner and it would be a step in the right direction of having Palisades Parkway and Anglewood, I'm sorry, Palisades Parkway, Palisades Avenue and Anglewood more of a um uh commercial town and a place where
people have fun eating and shopping. So, any comments from the governing body? Can I have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David, yes. Councilman Rosenway, yes. Councilman Tokayer, yes.
Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Wasatski, yes. Okay. Before we get to the resolutions consent agenda, um we're I'm going to ask for a motion to table resolution 157, which is
resolution rejecting RFP 25R-01 reassessment services. So moved. Second. Can I have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David, yes. Councilman Rosenwig, yes. Councilman Tokayer, yes.
Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Waski, yes. Um, and before we get to the resolutions, there was one correction uh in in one of the resolutions. Yansy, do you have that correction? Uh resolution number 153,
the first truck listed should be a a 250, not a 150. Okay. Thank you. A model number. It's a model number on the truck. It should be 150 and should be 250. Should be 250 and not 150. Okay. Um
so now we're up to public comment on the consent agenda items. I'm now going to open the meeting for public comments on the consent agenda resolutions. Members of the public are requested to state their name before speaking and are reminded to speak on the consent agenda
resolutions number 149 through 156 only. Anyone who'd like to speak, please step up to the mic. I'm now going to close the public comment section on the on the consent agenda. Can I have a motion that the
council um Oh, does anyone on the council want to pull any of the resolutions? Yes, I'd like to pull 149-04-22-25. And I'd also like to pull uh 156-4-22-25, please. Okay. Anyone else on the council wish to
pull any resolutions? Okay. Can I have a motion that we pass resolutions 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, and 155? So moved. Second. Can I have a roll call, please?
Councilwoman David, yes. Councilman Rosenwig, yes. Councilman Tokayer, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Waski, yes. Can I now have a motion for resolution to introduce resolution 149?
So move. Second. Okay. Um, Councilman Wilson, did you want to make a comment on resolution 149? No. Um, not so much a comment, but I want to talk about it and um, so the public's
aware. Closer to the mic. I'm sorry you can't hear me. Is that better? Okay, forgive me. Um because it's purchasing uh of playground equipment and the intentions of the
playground equipment and where it goes. You can answer it or Yeah. Okay. Oh, that was a question. Okay, Mr. Hoffman. All right. Thank you, council. Um members, this this um this resolution is actually an exciting
resolution because it's uh related to the playground on William Street. So, this is the city received the grant for this playground. It's a substantial grant that we are um going to be uh implementing the the the the grant and
the equipment. It's $796,000. So, it's to completely redo the playground that's uh that is there. This is the playground in McKay Park that's near the Tibs Center. So, uh you may recall uh hearing about about the
grant that that the city was awarded for this. So, we're we're now in in the process of um the the park the park has been designed. It's u or the playground, I should say, has been designed so that it it meets the needs of several ages of our our young young people. And um we're
we're looking forward to being able to uh move forward and take out the old playground, install a new playground, make it make sure it's ADA compliant, and it's got a little bit of everything for for each age group. and and and why I think this was
necessary for me to pull out is because um certain parts of that park were in disrepair and it's been brought to our attention and we have our opportunity to improve it for a younger community and uh as Mr. Hoffman said now the the TIPS
has regulations um governed by the state that we have to have certain standards for the park for for our young. So this will capture that. So that was the reason why I wanted to pull that out so it could be explained. Does anyone else on the governing body
have any comments? Well, I'll make a comment. Um, and this comes on the heels of us redoing the city just recently redid the other playground in McKay Park, the one near the gate house. And today, you know, I had I I spent a
little bit more time than I normally do when I'm walking through McKay Park at the playground. And I actually tried out the exercise equipment, which I think we have the health department to thank for the board of health for a grant for the exercise equipment that's right near the the ADA accessible playground. So, this
is really exciting that this is the second playground in McKay Park that's being that's going to be renovated. I'm sure it's going to be as beautiful as the other one. And now I'm just waiting looking forward to the splash pad, Mr. Hoffman, in Mccay Park. and and I and I have people asking me when when is
England going to have a splash pad? Uh we're we're evaluating that, but Councilman Wilson hasn't given us the dates when he can go uh go check out splash pads in other locations. Okay. Well, thank you. Can I have a um roll call, please? Councilwoman David,
yes. Councilman Rosenwig, yes. Councilman Tayer, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Waski, yes. Okay. Now we have resolution 156. Can I have a motion that we introduce resolution 156? So move. Second.
Okay. Um uh Councilman Wilson, do you have a comment or question on that? Uh just more of explanation for the public for our constituents. Um because as everyone knows, affordable housing obligations is a hot topic right now. So
I don't know if our lawyer or Mr. Hoffman wants to take that. I'll be happy to discuss it. Thank you. Um so, so I actually discussed it at the last council meeting, but we're now in the fourth round of affordable housing.
We were um we were given a number um um for our affordable housing. We we rejected we actually it's not so we came back with a different number a lower number for afford affordable housing and
then we were sued by the builders association we went uh for a settlement agreement and we ended up with I believe the number no no that's not right 359 3 359 359 So That's that's that's a
that's that was our final number um that we have um that we that we settled on and we have to pass a so since was was a settlement agreement we now have to pass like I explained at the last council me council meeting a resolution accepting
that number that settlement number and um and that's what we're doing tonight and I'm going to talk a little bit more about affordable housing uh in my in my comments at the end of the meeting Um, any other comments from the governing body?
Okay. So, uh, can I have a roll call, please? Councilwoman David, yes. Councilman Rosenwig, yes. Councilman Tokayer, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Wasadski, yes. Can I have a motion that we approve
payment of bills and claims? That's resolution 158. And I'll just read it. Whereas the chief financial officer has certified and submitted a consolidated bill and claims list for payment as well as a consolidated list of prepaid items. The prepaid items include emergency payments, wire transfers, and regularly
scheduled monthly payments that are paid between bill and claims list dates. And whereas all bills and claims listed here with have been encumbered and sufficient funds are available for payment. And whereas the required signatures have all been obtained on each voucher on the attached list. Now
therefore be it resolved by the council of the city of Englewood that the bills and claims on the submitted list are hereby approved for payment in the total amount of 1,378,1458. May I have a motion? So moved. Second.
Any discussion from the governing body? Go ahead, Councilman Wilson. I I saw this before and maybe it's because it's a arborous or I I don't know, but um on page number three, uh tree removal 25-00940.
Are we not doing that with our DBW or is this a a tree that we can't have? The uh I'll I'll look in and I'll I'll get you a full answer, but the recently we've been using our tree serum the tree service more and more. our the members
of our um tree division uh have been have been out so they uh so they they have not been able to do tree removal. So um we we have two people in our in our division. So when one when one of
them out or one of them is reassigned uh the work the work backs up. So when they're both in they're both they're both working on trees. But there are there are are times when um mo most of the time we use we use cousins tree service for the large trees
because they they have the big cranes. But there there are times recently where we have had to use them because we have we have had members of our division that um that have been out for an extended period of time. Okay. Just maybe we can get more
training throughout DPW. So that might help fill the gaps. Thank you. Any other comments from the governing body? Just let the record reflect that the mayor um has arrived. Yeah. Good evening.
Um can I have a Caitlyn? Can I have a Can you please read a roll call on the bills and claims, please? Uh, Councilwoman David, yes. Uh, Councilman Rose,
yes. Councilman Toker, yes. Councilman Wilson, yes. Council President Woski, yes. Thank you. We're now going to have communications from the governing body and city manager. Mayor, do you have
some communications tonight? Uh, yes. Uh, good evening everybody. and particularly uh to our academyy's uh public school uh students for your student government. I had the privilege of addressing you earlier today. You probably feel like it's been a week
already since uh you had a chance to get to know the different departments. Um what a beautiful picture for me to see you here today. Uh I think the city manager artfully uh stated that you are our future and we hope that you'll
consider a career in public service. or at least to begin to appreciate uh what it takes uh as far as commitment. I for one will open my office whether it's my law office or my offices at city hall for any of you that would like some
special mentoring and to all of your friends at Dwight Mar as well. We wish you luck in your careers. Uh as far as my communications, I would like to belatedly wish everybody a wonderful spring and summer to thank uh everybody
for their good Easter and uh Passover cards. I hope you had a meaningful time in your houses of worship and with your beautiful families. This is wedding season and we have wedding bells ringing at city hall. I have so many people coming forward which reminds me so often
health such these things are so important to keep us going. The planning board has two major meetings coming up. They're advertised. The master plan amendments as well as the housing um plans for the city. Um those are
advertised. We'd like you to participate in them. And I tip my hat to the entire governing body for taking that responsibility uh so uh strongly. Uh we have a huge legacy when it comes to affordable housing and we don't need to be told in the city to take care of
those that can't take care of themselves. and the state legislature is forcing these artificial plans on us and we are going to do the best that we can to make sure that people can spend their sunsetting
years in a city that they grew up in and raised their children. Goes without saying that we will do this as judiciously as possible. I urge everybody to participate in all the events that are going to start in the spring. This coming Friday we have Arbor
Day. We also have Junth Memorial Day and a lot of wonderful graduations and spring events uh through the schools. I have my weekly coffee with the mayor sessions every Friday. I've graduated now to a five-year uh turnaround. And
I'd like to express my gratitude to the health department for giving me the statistics every Friday to the police, the fire, all the wonderful departments from code enforcement uh personnel uh human resource that is and all the
professionalism that I see uh at city hall to the council for putting forward a very strong and meaningful budget and for all the ordinances that are getting us like a turnstyle getting the mayor to show up reading every word. I've never
seen a more productive governing body than I have this term. I just want you to know it's an astounding amount of time that it takes. And I tip my hat uh to everybody that's working hard here. I beg your pardon that I came late. There
was a special historian uh that um was hosted and I had a chance to see where my own grandparents uh came from uh in Germany as they escaped the Holocaust. Um I serve at with that kind of backdrop
in my own family uh background and with the prayer uh as I started my remarks that the torch as it's passed to you young students uh will make this extraordinary city even more beautiful if you choose to take one of these seats
from us in the future. May God bless you and keep you. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman David. Yes. Um yesterday we had the state of the black community in Bergen County with the NAACP. I would like to thank um Amy
Bullock for chairing that. Um we had um Hackinac council um council men councilman in Hacklac and two council women from Tene and Kevin and myself was there and um it was a wonderful experience to do Q's and with the um
audience. We spoke about everything from affordable housing to um you know um education. Um I'll let Kevin go into that because he was one of the um people there. And Lisa Waski, you can take it over from there. That's it. But thank you for that
wonderful event. Okay. Thank you. Um, Councilman Rosen Swag. Hi. Thank you. Uh, good evening everyone. I hope everyone had a happy holidays. Um, and to the students, I'd like to thank you for being here tonight. Um, it's usually not this warm in the room, but it is
this dry. Um, this is this is uh how government works. the meetings are maybe might seem a little slow, but as the mayor was saying, we're actually uh moving at breakneck speed and I'd like to uh congratulate Dr. Waski for that. Um tonight we introduced our
23rd ordinance. Um and if you look at like 2021 and 2024 together, both full years together, we had 21 ordinances and here we are onethird of the year through and we're already past that. It's, you know,
imagine a baseball player had like 40 home runs already in the season. That's that's kind of where we're at right now. Uh so, uh so it seems kind of slow, but we are moving actually pretty fast. And um I think you've seen the nature of some of the ordinances, improving the
parks, uh getting playground equipment, uh buying trucks, uh things like that. And and all that has to go through the government. So, I'm glad you had a chance to see that tonight. Um, and I won't give everyone's biographies, but if you see on the council here, everyone has a a different background. So, really
doesn't matter what you go into, you can definitely uh be part of public service. So, again, thank you for for for taking the full day here. I know it's been a long day for you and uh hopefully we'll get you out of here soon. All right. Uh, have a good night and thank you everyone.
Thank you, Councilman Danto. Thank you. Um it's now uh closing on four months since I started the council and uh one of the great things that I had a privilege of doing yesterday was joining the rec committee as a liaison and um
I'm really proud of that because the parks are a big thing of what I ran on and the amount of work that we're doing to clean up the parks and make them ready for the summer and make them into better parks and opening them up has been fantastically working out very well. Um,
the fluidity of the group has been great. Everybody came up with great ideas and I just sort of feel honored that uh I became the liaison of the rec department, excuse me, the recck department and uh I really appreciate that. Uh I want to wish all the people uh uh happy Easter and a happy Passover
and uh I look forward to the weeks ahead for uh making some changes here. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Councilman Wilson, please. Thank you. first giving honor to God being the head of my life. If that
wasn't in it, I wouldn't be here. So, just giving honor. Um, I had a mentor, a second mother of mine that passed away this week, um, Miss Pearl Gregory. Um, and I just want
to pay my condolences to the family. It's very heart-wrenching for me. Uh her my mother and her have been friends for 82 years. So, it's a real difficult loss for me today. So, I honor Miss Gregory today. Um student
council, impressive. Uh I would like to see you take over more of the meetings um so we can get some of the new ideas that we much need. Um, so thank you for being here and hopefully you're learning something
and I personally want to get a chance to learn something from you. So it's important that we hear your voice because you are the future. So thank you for what you do. Uh, the parks is something I ran on. Um, I thought it would be easier than
what it was. Um, and when we try to keep the cap under 2%, it's very difficult. Could we do it right away? Probably. So, would you like the outcome of that with your taxes raises? Probably not so much.
So, some of this stuff is time consuming because we have to diligently um have our corporation, our city manager and his team work on grants to get these things done. Um and and what I would like to see as we move forward is
that we we do um a necessity need program of what comes first. So we're working to be a better community, better park communications. Um the design process has a lot to do
with you guys. I mean we can scurry up ideas, but we need input from you guys. Um I I got a phone call the other day in regards to sidewalks and how they protrude on a certain part of Palisade Avenue. Um and some of that was done
because it had to be um ADA compliant for people with walkers and wheelchairs and such being age friendly. But we I'm proud to announce that I don't know after how many years we haven't had a traffic advisory meeting. Um, but we
just had one recently. So, we are giving CPR to other organizations, other subcommittees. And so, those subcommittees are involving residents. So, if in fact that you guys don't know about our subcommittees, please look at
our website. We always encourage new and fresh ideas um no matter what the age. So look out for those committees so you can be aware of how our sidewalks are changing, how our lights are being done,
and how age friendly things should be incorporated. Um, we have a moving concern in our parks and our gardens with an evasive plant called cellodine, I believe it is.
Um, we will be hopefully posting this stuff to make our community aware the dangers of it, how not to track it and take it home, and definitely how not to plant certain edible foods around that. Um, I'm proud
to announce the retirement of Captain Themis Menis tomorrow from the fire department. Kudos to him for serving the city diligently and giving back his life. Uh thank you. Thank you. Um again it's nice to see the
student government the students here participating today. And uh I I said earlier I worked I saw today uh two of the students earlier at McCay Park um partnering with recreation and part partnering with the department of public
works and it's really great to have you all here tonight. So, thank you for coming and hopefully we'll maybe we'll do something like this again. Um, so it's been a busy month. Um, I want to I want to, you know, welcome
everybody back everyone back from from Easter celebration and Passover. It's nice to see everybody back. Um, April has been a busy month. I think the um I'll say that that that um our first our
first council meeting in in April, April 1st. After that meeting, the whole council went out together which was very very uh fun and it was very nice. It was a nice experience and we got to celebrate some some nice events.
Um earlier in the month the mayor and I and um Mr. Line from human resources, the head of director of human resources and Mr. Hoffman and Debbie Bar. We we went to um Hilda McDonald's house where
we presented her with a resolution um that we had passed here at the city council and we got to meet her and speak to her. Very impressive woman. Um and I believe she's going to be a champion of peace from the Rotary Club of Anglewood uh which will be celebrated in May. Uh,
so she was a member of the 68 women's army corps battalion which was an all black female the the first all black female unit to serve overseas during World War II and they were the the battalion was established to disag
delivery of 71 71 million pieces of of mail and she was quite an impressive woman. So so that was earlier in the month. Um, I also had the opportunity to go to Kohhan Shama where they were welcoming a new safer Torah, a Torah scroll, and the Torah came from an area
recently known as Czech Republic in Slovakia, and the Torah was dating back to prior to 1800. Um, yesterday I went to two events. The historical society had an event uh where they talked about redep I'm going to say it wrong. when
they talked about the Anglewood House and um some of the work they were doing. And then there was an event held uh by the NAACP that I was that I was very glad to attend where uh Councilwoman David and Councilman Wilson were on the
panel. There were two council people from Tene and one from Hackinack talking about the state of the black community in Bergen County. It was a really important event and it was a successful event. So kudos to the NAACP to Amy Bulock and everyone who was involved in
that event. Um and today today for is Earth Day. I don't know if any did we mention I I think may the mayor mentioned it was Earth Day today and so there was a cleanup at McKay Park. I was very impressed the it was the Rotary Club was co-sponsoring it. The
recreation department was co-sponsoring it. uh the fire the city of Anglewood and the uh the fire department and and I have to tell you I'm always always impressed with the fire department and how much they give back to the Anglewood
community. Um I took lots of nice pictures and I'm going to put them up tomorrow. So that was that was really a lovely event. Um, and now I'm going to talk about something not as exciting but really important and something that's
taking a lot of our time on the governing body. Um, is of course affordable housing. We keep talking about it. The reason we keep talking about it is because it's we have a constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing. We have to follow very strict deadlines and the
consequences of not following those deadlines are severe. So, we are doing our due diligence. Uh, we have a subcommittee uh subcommittee for affordable housing made up of members of the council. Uh, I serve on it as does Councilman Wilson and we also have
members of the planning board. We have another subcommittee meeting uh tomorrow evening. And um but what's really important is that the public attend on Monday, April 28th here in this room and hopefully we'll have the air
conditioning on. Do you think hopefully? Yeah. Yes. Or we'll get people with big fans. Hopefully we'll have the air conditioning on. We have a meeting at 7:30 p.m. It's a symposium on affordable housing. The our experts will be there.
Our our housing attorney and our housing planner will be will will be here to uh make a presentation to the public and to answer questions to the public. So that's um I urge everyone to attend and
um and I know the city I was told the city of Anglewood will be sending out uh an email notification and some other notification in the next few days. So that's important as well. Um and the other meeting I just wanted I know I
know the mayor mentioned two meetings of the planning board but I also want to mention there's a meeting on May 8th which is also open to the public. It's a joint council planning board meeting to talk about our housing plan. So, the
public could be present. It's going to be uh virtual. The public could be present to listen to the meeting and there will be a public comment as well. So, so, so and we'll keep filling you on uh every every uh at every council
meeting about the next steps in affordable housing because we have a head a hard deadline to come up with a plan by June 30th. And um that's it. So, thank you all for coming and city manager Mr. Hoffman. Uh thank
you, council president. I'd like to uh seed the seed the report to the um city manager prom for the evening, Caitlyn. So then thank you and good evening everyone. Tonight we are fortunate and honored to have students from Dwight Marorrow High
School at our meeting. So today is a city's first student government day in over a decade. And our goal is to help students understand local government as well as hopefully inspire them to have careers in local government and connect our elected officials with our next
generation of leaders. So last Thursday, April 17th, the college, the New Jersey Institute of Technology hosted a seminar on tackling flooding in New Jersey. The state police, state office of emergency management, and the Englewood city
manager were presenters. Flooding does not stop at municipal borders. It will take the collaborative efforts of m municipalities, county and state governments, as well as state and local officials, academic institutions, and
nonforprofits and individual residents to solve this problem. Additionally, Arbor Day is this Friday, April 25th. There will be a tree planting ceremony at the Janice E Dismiss Middle School. Every day should be Arbor Day. Please help us in protecting our trees and our
tree canopy. Please consider planting a tree. Summer will soon be here. That means that summer camp is just around the corner. More details will come to follow. Finally, Memorial Day is on Monday, May 26th. Please join us for a
remembrance celebration and parade. The mayor selected member of the famed 68 Army Corps Battalion, Hilda McDonald, as our grand marshal. The ceremony will start at 10:00 a.m. Thank you. Thank you, Council President. Thank you,
Council City Manager Prom. That was that was great. Um, during the meeting, we had two more notices that came in, so I'll just report on those. Uh, primary day is coming on June 10th, and if you're if you're voting by mail, the the primary ballots are in the mail right
now, so you can look for them. Uh, and there uh the as I as as I just said, it's June 10th, but um there'll be a there'll be a ballot box at city hall and it's it's available for you to drop ballots in for um for Inglewood or if
you live someplace else and work in Inglewood, you can put your ballot in there. So, thank you to our city clerk for giving us the alert on that. And then, um just wanted to give a quick recap. We've talked about different parks tonight. We talked about uh grant applications that will help us with
Gerity and with uh with Trumbull. And then we're going to be putting in the new a new playground um in McKay Park near the Tibs School. And one of the other big parks that we had talked about is we wanted to do a we we've applied
for a grant of $3.9 million for Denning Park. And I just wanted to say that um we have not heard from the state yet on that grant application. Uh people may recall that there had been a public hearing in December and uh council
council members including Councilman Wilson went out and and uh were able to get letters signed by residents so that they could show their support for Denning Park. And we're we're hopeful that uh that we will get a positive response sometime in the near future about Denning Park. So, and I just
wanted to say, council president, um I I think our our student our student government day, the first one we had, this is this was a success. And um there was just there was a lot of enthusiasm this this afternoon. And um I I echo
what the council had said. We want to we want to see we want to see you again. We want you we want you to be involved. We want you to spread the word that um there's a lot of cool things that happen in in local government and um we we have we have somebody here that can tell you
all about the DPW and some of the neat equipment that's down that's down there. So, thank you very much, Council President. Thank you. Uh, Council President, if you don't mind, um, if we could go out of order, I would like to ask if we could take a a group picture with our our
student leaders. And also, if um, we we have we have some certificates that we'd like to give out, if we would be able to do that. And then, um, this way if if there's if there's if there's a need for them to leave, um, I know that they want to stay, but our our our teacher, Mr.
Mr. V, wants to go. So, uh, if we could do that, that would be great. Yeah. So we can just Can you take pictures? They taught me how to do it. Sure. Oh,
they can stand up. Excellent. I I just want to thank the uh Englewood City Council uh for this opportunity. Uh the students really did enjoy it. They learned a lot. And uh part of this is how do we continue this relationship between the city and the school and I think this is a great beginning for
that. So I also want to thank the students who have been at school since 7:30 this morning and you've been going uh tight with it. So excellent job. Uh so we are going to honor some of our students here. Um when we call you your name just come on up and uh I guess
mayor or whoever is going to give it to them. Uh first up will be Emily Cabrera. Neil Mirror, Giana Hanal Sodakica Kadu, Caitlyn Poy, Jonathan Fernandez, Gabriella Madera
Monttero, Caitlyn Brown, Zachary Mitchell, Kyle Mitchell, Natalie June, Ariana And last but not least, Mr. Marcel Mani. And again, I just want to thank the city council for this opportunity.
Thank you very much all. All right, guys. Follow me. Okay. Okay. We're gonna we're going to start the public session now. So, thank you for the students for coming and we'll see you next time. Can everybody
could everybody on the council please take their seats? by Mr. Hoffman. Okay. Okay. I'm now going to open. We're gonna we're going to resume the meeting now. Can everybody please take their seats?
We're going to resume the meeting. I'm now going to open the meeting to the public. Speakers are asked to step up to the microphone, give their name, and you have three minutes to speak. Yans, you ready? Leroy Campbell, Anglewood.
Um, we're losing two health department profess professionals and I I understand that they were hired under the grant program, but we also have to remember
that we had firemen's that were hired under the grant program and they were incorporated into the budget. They didn't get a deadline to say when their last day was going to be. They're still working. They're still on the
job. I mean, these two these two individuals have been very, very helpful in the health department. These two individual 2023 worked on a
$15,000 grant. 2024 worked on a 24 um a 20,000 grant. So these people have been working and they've been working hard and I don't think that they should lose their job um because
funding because the very same thing happened in the city of Clifton, New Jersey. They had two individuals in a health department that were working under the funding and what happened was they got
incorporated into the budget to keep their jobs. I don't think it's fair when mayor and council receive a $2,000 increase this year. City manager's office salary and
wages increased to 41,000. city clerk office and wages increased to 23,000. And we also took on a deputy city manager, a deputy clerk. We also took on
Mr. France, what's his name? The former city The engineer, Ken Albert. Is it Ken Albert? Ken Albert. We brought him on as a consultant. I mean, we're spending money
recklessly, but we can't keep two people in in the position that they're in to work. I don't think that's fair. We need to really really really reconsider because these people are are very very vital to the health
department. They're vital to the community. These people are bilingual. They speak the language. They understand and we need to make sure that we do everything that we possibly can to help these people. Thank you. Thank you.
Um I got dual personalities tonight. Amy Bulock, Bergen County NAACP second vice president, political action committee co-chair. I want to publicly thank Councilwoman Angela David, Councilman Kevin Wilson for participating in our event last night. I'd like to thank
Council President Wasatski for also attending our event last night. Amy Bulock, Howland Avenue, Inglewood, New Jersey. Um, in regards to the uh property on Forest Avenue, perhaps we can add language in the uh ordinance or
resolution stating that it will remain a passive park in perpetuity. So, this way we can um kind of circumvent the the chance of at some point somebody developing that. Council President Waski, you mentioned you were getting questions from residents about
when we're going to have a splash pad. So, I'm going to uh circle around to the fact that we've been asking questions about a community center for 30 years. And I notice in our bills list that uh we paid $8,292.50 to Ken Albert for a community
center study. So, I'd like to know when are the results of that study going to be presented to the community? And then lastly, this is directed to Mr. Hoffman. We had a conversation at the last meeting in February of 2023. I began
renovations on my home. I submitted payment to the city that was put into an escrow account. We are now in April of 2025. I don't have my money back or an accounting of what happened with that money. So, I'm a little concerned that
the city is holding on to people's money and not providing statements in excess of of a year at this point almost two years. So, I would appreciate if someone could communicate to me on what the status is with that other than just
saying it's under review. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening again. So, I have a question regarding the bills list. If you can explain what the sign project was that cost 38,000 and what
ARPA stands for for ARPA funds. Uh, also I have a question for the city engineer regarding the box that I came and requested on Broadav some months
ago. I don't know who's responsible for the restriping and I saw a letter today from the police department. Whoever did it clearly has some degree of not being in touch with what goes on on Broad
Avenue. It's a complete nightmare for the residents of Phelps Sav to enter and leave the the block. So I asked for a box and I was told it would be considered. The move of the um bus stop
is very unsafe. I don't know how you know the project management went with that that movement but the shelter is not moved. So now all those uh people that ride the bus stand there in the rain. So, I think if it was so urgent,
you should have probably moved the shelter first because now those people that take the bus on Phelps or parking on Phelps. So, I would like to know if enforcement is going to be upheld
because we have a 2hour parking on Phelps and it's not being enforced. I called last week and somebody came out. But this should be every day because they line the street on both sides all day and all night. So we're charging for
pickle ball and all these things. You need money, get the cars ticketed and give them an incentive to move. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Joel Embastig, 122 Orange Street, Englewood, New
Jersey. I'm here uh supporting our health department. We have several members of the health department who have been disrespected year after year. Their salaries have not reflected the Bergen County minimum wages for their
described positions. The union has looked into it. They're saying they're going to change things, change the descriptions this year. Last year, I've asked uh several times to our past health officers about changing their
salaries to bring them to a respectable rage. I feel the respect has not been given to them, but we all want those individuals in the health department to protect our city, but you're showing disrespect. This year's budget is showing a decrease in that budget. Not
just because individuals have left. I understand that there was a grant and money was removed, but how can you have a budget last year much higher and then this year saying you're proposing an increase to them, but the budget is
less? I don't see the math in that. If you're going to increase wages for the individuals, that budget should be increased. Every other department here on that budget you're working on has an increase, but the health department has a decrease. Someone needs to go back
when you're doing your work and see that their budget is also increased and the salaries will be increased for those individuals in the health department. Thank you. Thank you. So I start my question. Okay. I'm not going to tell you. My name is Oliver
Jones and I live in Englewood, New Jersey. I think I can speak loud and I speak louder. I think I speak louder. We can hear you, but it won't be on the internet. Put it up. That's okay. Don't worry.
I'm going to speak louder so everyone can hear me. Okay. Now, you can get started. I want to talk about that time. Professionally, the time should not start until the people give you their
compliments or their criticisms. It doesn't start when they give you their name and address. That is not professional. If you look at professional things, which I do, and I watch the way they time people, they
wait until they get ready to do whatever they have to do. They have already spoke their names and addresses. Okay. Now I'm going to tell you about that's my first thing. So please correct that time. The next thing is about the street
Palisades Avenue in Humphrey. I think I spoke about that before. the that the se the sidewalk extends out to the middle of the street and when you turn right there on Palisades Avenue, if you're not
cautious or you're not paying attention, you're right up on that fatwalk. Somebody's going to get hurt or going to get killed and you guys are going to be sued because I know I would sue you because I've spoken about it before. It
ext I've ridden around and I've watched the sidewalks all around. They do not extend out like that. It needs to be deleted, cut down at least two or three inches. And I think you need to look into that right now. Also, I'll speak on
the on the lights. Those lights right there at that same corner, they change before a person can really make a turn on Palisades Avenue. That light, I sat there today and counted it. There were
four cars right there on Humphrey trying to make a turn and the light changed within a minute. And that was not time for those cars to make a turn because you have other cars that are going down Palisades Avenue. That is not fair.
Those lights need to be changed to at least five minute uh three minutes, four minutes, but give the people time to make those turns. And this is a beautiful city. I got put 35 seconds. I
this is a beautiful city and we need to be more delicate to the people that live here. We need we don't need another apartment house. Not one. We don't even have room to go. You're talking about parks and extending. Where are you going
to put all of this stuff? Where are you going to put it? You're deleting these people. You're taking them from their homes. They are losing their jobs already. And you are cause of it. Some of it. and this country is the cause of the other. You better pray because the
stuff that you have now, you won't have it. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Is this Can you hear me? Not so well. Good evening. Good evening.
Good evening everyone. My name is Ava Ratigan, Nap Place in Englewood and I am here today to speak about something that is dear to my heart and that is the condition of Crystal Lake.
So, I'm concerned with the work that is being done in Crystal Lake and I just want to ask the city engineer, have you collaborated with the turnpike engineers? Because today is
Earth Day and they have decimated the trees are necessary for the environment and I have pictures of the trees. The majority of the trees were cut down, not the ones
that were in the um the catch basin area. Why were those trees destroyed? It's unnecessary and it's just leaving us, the residents of Naples, to be further impacted by
flooding. So that's number one. And we're already in a vulnerable position from Hurricane Ida and from the flash flood last year. So this to me is putting the horse before the cart and we
need to do something. So as a taxpaying citizen, I would like to request that the council body work with state and local elected officials to put pressure on the turnpike to dredge the lake. I was
there. There were several geese and ducks and I took a picture. That lake is shallow. I could see the geese. I could see the legs. So that is something that we need to focus on. And my final question is if you were living in that
area, what would you do differently since Hurricane Ida and the flash flood? That's my question. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Rick will be with New Jersey. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freess of
speech. Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government. When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved. With that said, I want to go into some remarks by President Jimmy Carter. In 2006, Carter published
Palestine: Peace Not Aparthide, a book that shook the American political landscape. In it, he laid out a simple truth. Without Palestinian freedom and dignity, there could be no peace. He made the case not as an enemy of Israel, but as someone deeply invested in its
survival. Yet, for daring to speak this truth, Carter was vilified. He was accused of being anti-Semitic and ostracized by many in the US and even in his Democratic party. But Carter never wavered. He continued to speak the truth
about the realities in Palestine, not out of malice for Israel, but for a deep belief in justice. He understood that the only way Israel could truly tribe was through a peace with the Palestinians. He recognized the Palestinian people who have lived under
the brutal occupation since 1967 and expelled repeated displacement since the 1948 Nagba. were entitled to the same rights and dignity as anyone else. He recognized in later writings that it was my 2003 account of the
situation in Quilla that made him understand the reality of apartheid in Palestine. What makes Jimmy Carter's stance on Palestine unique is not only his moral courage but the fact that he was once the most powerful man in the
world. As US president, he tried to open the road to lasting peace. He could not secure Palestinian self-determination during his one-term presidency between 1977 and 1981. Yet, he refused to stop trying. In
the decades since leaving office, he has turned every stone, searched for every possibility to bring about a just peace for Palestinians and all the people of the Middle East. So, with that said, I want to talk about the current situation in the world. As usual, we have people
that think that they're going to sew the seeds of iniquity and not reap the bountiful harvest that those seeds of iniquities have sown. We should have learned from the histories and the lessons of the past. But people refuse to learn. They exalt themselves and
think that it is their god-given right to rape, rob, steal, pillage, and do everything under the guise of so-called protection. We are not fooled. Our liberties and our freedoms will not be surrendered to people who do not understand the rule of law. When people
do not understand the rule of law, they are a danger to humanity and they're a danger to the entire planet earth. Good evening. Good evening, Council Walter Young. Uh 137 West End Avenue in
Inglewood. It was very, very nice to see uh our young people here tonight. I hope we can do it again. Uh Amy actually beat me to the punch. I also uh wanted to talk about our community service uh center. Um could you give us an updated
report on Ken Albert and uh what's happening with uh McKay Park, what's happening with Liberty School. Also, we have um Memorial Day coming up. Our parade is coming up. The double traffic lines on uh
Policies Avenue. Can we get that taken care of? Uh I was on Policies Avenue what three days ago and somebody made a Uturn from the right lane to the left lane pulling into McDonald's. So if we can get the uh update on the double uh
yellow traffic lines, that would be a big help. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good evening, council. My name is Kava Kern. I live in 20 West Palisade. Uh I'm a new resident of Anglewood. I've been here two weeks with my husband. Our
family moved here three years ago from London and we've been coming back and forth from Maryland to check out Anglewood and we decided it's a lovely place and we moved here. So, I wanted to introduce myself to the council and also to the community. And before I go
further, I'd like to say to Councilman Wilson, I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm sure it's Thank you. Few things I have some impressions of things I'd like to share with you which have already come to mind. One of them is McKay Park, which is near my
apartment, and it's a lovely park. The the exercise uh round is wonderful. Terrific stuff. The only thing that comes to mind is why are no dogs allowed? Not in Flat Rock, not in McKay. I don't understand why the city is opposed to dogs. People want to take
their animals out. It gets them outside. It gets them exercising. I don't understand why there's such a problem with dogs. Unfortunately, two days after we moved here, we had to put our dog to sleep after a five-day illness. So, I'll be doing this conversation on behalf of other dog owners. But I think it's important thing to think about because
if you have to walk your pet, you're going to do that first before taking care of yourself, which is not good for anybody. Um, the other question I have is a definition of what is affordable housing? because I think there's affordable housing, whatever my impression is of it and what the actual
definition is and also um other housing, but what about middle class housing? And as a new resident, what has come to mind are the taxes, which I'm sure you've discussed forever, but you know, the one thing about buying property in Englewood and not knowing what your taxes are going to be and the amount they're going
to rise and other kinds of things makes it a very uh unstable situation in order to look towards the future in purchasing, especially as a retiree. And lastly, uh we have family on Booth Avenue and uh we take our lives in our hands going in and out of their driveway
and they have young children and it people are speeding down the street. So we're going to be here talking about um speed bumps on that street. There are further and other parts of Booth, but it's it's extraordinarily dangerous and scary actually pulling out of a driveway in Englewood. So that's it. We'll see
you again and uh wish you all the best. Thank you. Thank you. Lucy Walker, Washington Place. And I'm channeling my friend, the environmental health inspector from Tene
today. I noticed that we have an environmental health inspector job listed at the website. I would like to know that person's um job description because Curtis would have found the
Lesser Celending long ago because that's what he did in T-neck as the environmental health inspector. The parks mostly are on park grounds and I'm going to take a stab right here and say that it is being
spread by the landscapers. I walked up my street today all the way to Teneck Road. It is on almost everybody's property uh both sides of Washington Place. I've driven all over. Oh, Mr.
Toa. It really is on Hamilton Avenue very badly. It's on Booth. It's compromising the integrity of the architecture at Qualss. And we should go over there and see that. I've already talked to Bill and David and
they're ready. Okay. You cannot minimize what this plant does. It comes out before any of the other native plants in the stream does. It even compromises Japanese
knotweed. If you look at Denim Park right now, the Japanese knotw weed is not developing because it is being smothered out by the selen over on Davidson Place. The house
across the street from Quarl School is loaded down and they think they're pretty flowers. Somebody is going to have to bring in all of the landscapers and give them a little education, show them photographs, maybe take them to Gity Field so that
they can see how Trumbo Park cannot be used because once the selling dies down, it's going to be mud and wash it. Once it rains, it's going to wash away. Okay? If they put poison on it, it's going to look like it's gone, but underneath the
ground, the little bulbs are still there. And in the spring, the bulbs will have multiplied. Okay? And it will be three times as much. In the garden, it was there on Friday. On the Monday after that Friday,
it was all over all the beds. We had just prepared for planting. It It is much worse than you think. When you look into the wet areas over by Pauls and all the other places, it has taken over. It will increase
flooding. I have researched the 21 different cooperative extensions from the universities in the United States and they all agree that it is a dangerous invasive plant. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Howard Schaefer, 87 Spring Lane, Anklewood. Uh, you passed a resolution approving the mediation agreement with uh the New Jersey Builders Association regarding our affordable housing requirement of 359 units uh for the for
round four. Does that include our round three requirement or is it in addition to our round three round? It's Oh, sorry. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else from the
public? Right. I'm now going to close the um public comments. Okay. Thank you. All right. So, Mr. Hoffman is going to answer um or or give some comments about the
health department. Okay. All right. Thank you, Council President. Um there were some comments made about our um our two health department professionals that were are funded by grants and um you know, they they are very they are great employees.
Um the this uh this came about they're they're on a three-year grant and the grant was supposed to expire on March 31st of 2026 and the city received notification on Monday, March 31st in the late
afternoon that two grants that were funding our two employees were cancelled and the grants were cancelled effective the previous Monday, March 24th, and that the federal government wasn't going to um was wasn't going to reimburse the
city for any expenses after Friday, March 28th. Well, that was wrong. So, what the city did is as soon as we found out, we we met with with our our valued staff members, but we committed that we would we would figure
out a way to keep them on the on on city the city payroll through at least April 30th of 2020. five because they um other other municipalities wound up calling in people on and you know and telling them they they didn't have a job effective
immediately. There was one municipality that called in called seven people over the weekend on a on a Saturday on Saturday the 29th of March and said um your your jobs have been eliminated. Don't come in on Monday. We're not we're not doing that because they're they're
good people and we're trying to we're looking to see what is it that we can do to help keep them as employees with the city of Inglewood. And then what other options um can we can we offer them? What other kind of assistance can we offer them because the grants are gone.
They've just been cut off and it's a it's a year earlier than it should have been. So, um, so that's part of what we've what we've been doing and our our HR director and and our staff, we've been diligent in in looking to see what
what is it that we can do to to help keep them as employees or or m make sure that we're we're helping them do what's best for they and their families. U you had mentioned that um wages increased in
several departments. One of the things that's in the in the budget for the city is that um you're you're probably looking it says a reserve for salary adjustments and the council um has made a has made a commitment that we're we're going to be looking looking at our
employees and seeing if there if there's an adjustment that needs to be made during the year. So, that's something that that HR is going to be doing after the budget's been adopted. um some of of let's see some of the some of the other items that um that were
mentioned they they have to do with um also also with the with the health department. I believe Miss Miss Bostik mentioned um that uh you know there that there there's there's ch changes in the salaries in the health department budget
has gone down on paper. Um, Miss Bostik is right because the the health department budget theoretically went down, but there was there was significant amount of grant funding that was um that was sitting that was sitting
available for the health department and the city was concerned that these grants were going to be eliminated in the future. So, it was basically let's let's use the money because we're afraid we're going to lose it. And we did. We lost we lost two two grants and we're looking
we're looking for ways to um you know to offset offset that. But that's why that's why the health department budget on paper looks like it's been reduced because we were going to be using these grants that the city has that has has a
limited life expectancy. We wanted to use those so we wouldn't have to lose them or give them back. Uh the board of health made recommendations to the city and the city included those recommendations uh into into a contract
offer for the for the union union that's representing the uh the health department employees for local local 108. the board of health met and they they they said that there should be um an increase in the base salary for
some of the some of the positions that was articulated to us. There was and we included that in an in in the in adjustments to the to the health department salary. So there are some health department employees if the offer is accepted will receive significant
increases. their base salaries will will will go up significantly and then on top of that they would receive a 2.3% increase. So the statement is not entirely accurate because um we've had labor negotiations. We've
had an input from the health the board of health and um what was said after evaluation was true and the the count this council and past councils have said look look at compensation and do your
best within the 2% cap to make sure that we are we are paying fair fair and livable wages to everybody. You can't do it overnight but we're we're now in our third our third round of doing that. So, that's part of the answer um to to some
of the questions and um let's see. I guess that's it. Yeah, Miss Bulock, um Mr. Hoffen will speak to you uh privately about the escrow account, right? And you'll take Yeah. So, that will be addressed and I'll do
it after the meeting. After the meeting. Okay. Um, in terms of the study on the community center, a number of people have asked about that. Um, it's in progress and of course we're going to have public input. Hopefully lots and lots of public input because that's
really going to be the most important element, but it's in progress and hopefully uh hopefully we'll be able to have a report to the public. I mean, I'm hoping maybe even in the fall. So,
So that that's coming. So we'll we'll keep you informed on that. Um there's a bunch of police issues that were brought up. Um so let me see the police issues. Speeding on Booth Avenue.
Yeah. And the chief walked in just on the on the right time not to come up. I'm just telling you there were police issues that came up that we need to uh take a look at. Uh speeding on Booth Avenue. um the the uh difficulty getting on and off Phelps Avenue, double parking
on Phelps Avenue. Uh not double parking, but parking on both sides. We know how narrow it makes the street and not enforcing the two-hour limit on Phelps Avenue. Um let me see what other police issues came up. Oh, yes, the double yellow line. So I I think I believe that
the signs for not crossing the double yellow lines were ordered and and as soon and the enforcement will will have to start enforcing it and reminding people. So the chief is listening to everything. He hears it. He'll he'll um
pass it on. In terms of um you know I'm going to talk for a minute a minute about the flooding and Crystal Lake and that's Ava. There she is. So, um, the flooding on Crystal Lake and the tree removal. Yes, the engineer
has been in contact, right, Mr. Vulce? With the with the with the Turnpike engineers and um and and and I think that we I think we need to spend more time talking about the flooding issues. I'm going to ask in the next couple m
next month or two if we could just uh do a presentation on an update on what's going on with Crystal Lake and some of the other flooding issues. Um sound good, Mr. Hoffman? And this way we can talk more in depth about about the the
science between uh the science behind what what the engineers are telling from the turnpike are saying about Crystal Lake. Yes. Sounds good, Mr. Vulce. Okay. It it it sound sounds good at the
moment. I I will say that the turnpike authority, they they have stepped up um and they've become much more active in the last two months. Um so they they they are helping um yes we were concerned about the loss of trees but um they want access many of the trees that
were removed were on their on their easement and they have made a commitment to maintaining that easement and maintaining the drainage system that's on the easement which the city identified for them after the August storms. Um but we'll we'll talk about
it. We'll we'll we'll put a meeting to we'll do a presentation at a council meeting. In terms of affordable housing, there were a couple of questions. All these questions will be answered on Monday night when we have our professionals there. It's best to hear from them directly and the public will
have an uh the ability to ask any questions. So, we'll we'll we'll we'll go back to affordable housing on Monday night. Um I'm just seeing if there's anything else Oh, the shelter the shelter on um not
being moved. So that again, Chief, you and and actually, Mr. Vulce, that's something that you talked about that the shelter needs a padding. You need to put some kind of con No, we you don't have to stand up now, but but we we'll we'll we'll address it. We know, you know, I I
believe the the engineer and the police know that the shelter needs to be moved. they needed to put a a base a base um and then to move the shelter. Go ahead. Uh just with the booth avenue had been mentioned by Miss Karns. So I'm very well aware of the property there. I've
been talking to Mr. Vulce. The the issue is not the speeding as much as the topography that you have that hump and then the driveway is immediately present. And so even if you're going the speed limit, it's not visible for uh uh if the car is pulling out of the
driveway or one of the children is crossing. Fron and I had spit balled some ideas, but I I have a new idea which I haven't had a chance to run by him. I told I told Marlo about it, but uh so we'll um hopefully get something there to mitigate that problem. But it's
more it's just bad topography. You have a hill and then boom, the driveway. Yeah. Well, okay. But so just on it. Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. So, um that's it. So, can I have a motion
that that we end close our meeting? adjourn our meeting to adjourn. Actually, before you do, if you don't mind, just because I came a few minutes late, just on an important notion, and I understand that it's New Jersey Transit's effort to move
the bus stop from where Cross Creek would be towards Phelps, and I think Mr. Hoffman and I spoke about this. Um there's an enormity of residents in the second ward around where the bus stop was, apartment complexes and everything
versus by Phelps where it's a one lane street where when a bus stops all the other cars behind it will muster and can't go around it because it's a double line. So, I do understand that New Jersey Transit can have their own protocol and can be concerned about
safety, hence the siren, uh, and can make a determination on their own. But you'll forgive the pun. Can't we trump this? Because we have a greater sense of our own safety. And it's common sense,
uh, Mr. Hoffman to think that a one lane is not the place to stop a bus in the middle of heavy traffic as opposed to where the bus can muster to the right and other cars can go around it where it was. In other words, I think you and I had spoken to see whether or not we can
double down on that original location before they move the shelter. Uh so I may have missed something in the meeting earlier this evening, but that's my question uh really council president to the manager if it's too late to correct that.
I mean, it's not it's New Jersey Transit's business and none of ours. Yeah. So, you should give them a call probably. Yeah. Is it, Mr. Hoffman? Yeah. Mayor, if you want, there's been there's been u we should we should speak about this. It's it's going to be a
longer conversation than a 30 second. There's been more updates since you and I spoke, in other words. Yeah, there there there there has been. Yes. Okay. All right. All right. I'm just speaking based on the residents that reached out to me, frankly. I move to adjourn.
Second. All in favor? I you down in Florida? I was. Yeah.