WEBVTT

METADATA
Video-Count: 1
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=1UBAPyNob2M

NOTE
MEETING SECTIONS:

Part 1 (Video ID: 1UBAPyNob2M):
- 00:00:00: Meeting Called to Order: Open Public Meetings Statement
- 00:01:07: Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Roll Call
- 00:02:14: Proclamation: National Police Week and Memorial Day
- 00:05:47: Police Week Acknowledgement and Officer Recognition
- 00:09:31: Proclamation: National Rescue Squad and EMS Week
- 00:12:29: EMS Week Theme: Emergency Care Begins Here
- 00:14:10: Recognition: National Nurses Week and Historic Preservation
- 00:21:04: Recognizing: Jewish American Heritage and Public Works Week
- 00:26:56: Proclamation: Mental Health Awareness and Rotary Club
- 00:35:37: Correspondence, Financial Review, 2026 Sewer Rates
- 00:37:34: Review: Sewer Rates, Budget Process, and Expenses
- 00:41:11: Discussing Sewer Rate Increases Compared to Neighboring Towns
- 00:46:41: Motion to Open Public Comment Session
- 00:46:56: Public Comment: Carolyn Brink - Data Centers and Abatements
- 00:50:33: Public Comment: Gary Morris - Propane Tanks, Mental Health
- 00:55:35: Public Comment: Ben Reposa - Sewer Billing and Notifications
- 01:01:27: Public Comment: Ben Reposa (Second Time) - Weekly Updates
- 01:01:43: Response: Public Notice Compliance and Communication
- 01:02:33: Motion to Close Public Comment Session
- 01:02:42: Resolutions: Consent Agenda Moved, Seconded, Roll Call
- 01:05:33: Resolution: Setting Sewer User Charges for 2026
- 01:06:24: Public Hearing: 2026 Budget, Overview Presentation
- 01:07:28: Budget Overview: Municipal Tax Levy, Challenges, Drivers
- 01:11:27: 2026 Budget Public Hearing - Questions From Community
- 01:15:59: Public Comment: Gary Morris - Tax Abatements
- 01:17:36: Motion to Close Public Hearing On Budget
- 01:17:51: Reports: Administration and Finance, Public Safety
- 01:20:00: Reports: Land Use and Construction, Fire Department
- 01:22:51: Reports: Public Works, and Library Reports
- 01:26:17: Reports: Green Team, Economic Development, Congratulations
- 01:27:39: Motion to Open Public Comment Session
- 01:28:24: Public Comment: Gary Morris - Planning Board Meeting Request
- 01:31:37: Public Comment: Gary Morris - Fire Lane Access
- 01:33:14: Public Comment: Gary Morris - Telephones Pole
- 01:33:14: Response From Mayor Regarding Public Comments
- 01:33:54: Motion to Close Public Comment Session
- 01:34:36: Meeting Adjourned: Thank You and Apologies


Part: 1

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ready when you are. >> Okay. All right. Well, good evening and welcome to the regularly scheduled meeting of the mayor and council. Today is Monday, May 18th, and it's a little after 7:00. I'd like to call the meeting to order. Um, and if we could read the open public meeting statement, please,

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by our uh clerk. This meeting was called pursuant to the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act. Notice of this meeting was sent to the Union County Local Source, Union, New Jersey. The Courier News Bridgewater, New Jersey, the Home News Tribune, Woodbridge, New Jersey. my central jersey.com, the Starledger, Newark, New Jersey, the

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leader of Westfield, New Jersey, and the alternate press tap into.net. In addition, the notice was posted on the bureau of Fanwood website, www.fanwoodj.org. Copies of said notice were posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building and filed in the office of the burough clerk. Notices on the bulletin board

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have remained continuously posted. Proper notice having been given, the burough clerk is directed to include this statement in the minutes of this meeting. >> Thank you for everyone that's here. if you could please uh rise for the pledge and then keep standing for a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

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United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And as we head into our Memorial Day weekend and our Memorial Day parade, which is a week from today,

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this week, let's really keep in our thoughts and prayers all of those American citizens who made the ultimate sacrifice and to remember the theme of this Memorial Day parade is that freedom is not free. Thank you.

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May we please start off with the roll call, please? Council President Gina Berry, >> Jesse Banks, >> Anthony Carter, >> present, >> Aaron Maroy Barker >> here, >> Katherine Mitchell >> here,

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>> Patricia Walsh, Mayor Mar >> present. Um, so good evening and welcome again. It's a beautiful day. Um, I will make note that um, I was just told that we have an issue with our Facebook live feed. So, there's been a post that's been up on our Facebook. They tell me

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that they will figure out what's going on and that the meeting will be put up immediately thereafter. Um, we will begin that this is a month where um the month of May is where um there's a lot of national recognitions that go on across the country. Um and we

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have some proclamations and some people that are here uh to uh get a little attention and to thank them publicly. So the first I'd like to call forward our um liazison to the police department uh Councilwoman Erin Mroy Barker who will go up for our national police week which

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is May 11th 2026 to Sunday May 17th 2006. It is also National Peace Officers Memorial Day which was on Friday May 15th. And I'd like to call forward uh Lieutenant Dan CR who will be receiving uh this proclamation and saying a few

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words. Okay, sorry. Um, National Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15, 2026. Whereas the Congress and the President of the United States have designated May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week

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of May 11th to 17th as National Police Week to honor the service and sacrifice of those law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty while protecting our communities and safeguarding our democracy. And whereas there are more than 800,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United

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States, including the dedicated members of the Fanwood Police Department who serve the people by safeguarding life and property, by protecting them against violence and disorder, by protecting the innocent against deception and the weak against oppression. And whereas since

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the first recorded death in 1786, more than 24,000 law enforcement officers in the United States who have made the ultimate sacrifice and been killed in the line of duty. And whereas 111 law enforcement officers died in the

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line of duty in 2025 and are being added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial this spring. And whereas it is important that all citizens know and understand the duties, responsibilities, hazards, and sacrifices of their law enforcement

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agency. Now therefore, Colleen Maher, mayor of Fanwood, call upon all citizens of Fanwood and upon all patriotic, civic, and educational organizations to observe the week of May 11th to 17th, 2026, as National Police Week, and to

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recognize our law enforcement officers, past and present, who by their faithful and loyal devotion to their responsibilities, have rendered a dedicated service to our community, and in so doing have established for themselves an envy able and enduring reputation for preserving the rights and

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security of all citizens. I further call upon the citizens of Fanwood to observe May 15, 2026 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of those law enforcement officers who through their courageous deeds have made the ultimate

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sacrifice and have become disabled in the performance of their duty in service to their communities. HERE WE GO. THANK YOU. UH thank you for those kind words. I appreciate that. Um it's fitting that I I take some time during

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Police Week, which was actually last week, um to formally acknowledge the efforts of the officers of our department. Uh, you know, the badge we wear symbolizes our commitment to service every day, but police week gives us that platform to um highlight some of the moments of excellence in our

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department. At the core of the Fanwood Police Department is a commitment to service that goes beyond traditional enforcement. We understand that when a police officer comes to your house, it is most likely uh it could be the most traumatic moment of your life, and we recognize that. Um, we don't take that

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responsibility for granted. Whether you're a victim in need of support or a defendant we have under arrest, every interaction uh is handled um by us with empathy and compassion. Our our officers understand that the badge represents a duty to humanity and they approach every

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encounter with the utmost professionalism. I just want to highlight a few of the uh calls and a few of the awards that we're giving out this year. We're giving out some exceptional duty awards to Detective Lieutenant Ryan Gilmore and Detective

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Tyler Flowers. Um, the rank is uh it's of when the incident happened. So, Detective Flowers is now a sergeant, but he was a detective during this. uh their tireless efforts and meticulous investigative work were instrumental in building a complex case along with the Union County Prosecutor's Office that

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resulted in multiple charges against a uh burough resident including first-degree felony murder, first-degree home invasion, burglary, and seconddegree aggravated arson. Um they worked tirelessly. I mean that that is a understatement on how hard they worked on that case with the prosecutor's

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office. Um we're giving out a few unit citations. Also, I want to recognize uh the following officers who responded to the giant rainstorm on July 14th of last year. I'm sure we all remember that one. Uh Sergeant Dan Pakola, Officer Mike Rousen, Detective Tyler Flowers, Officer

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Dan Hudsmith, and Officer Tim Tagive. When our burrow faced severe flooding and unprecedented weather conditions, these officers did not hesitate. Working in dangerous conditions, they responded swiftly to emergencies, uh directed traffic through flooded streets, assisted stranded motorists. I think uh

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they saved about 10 people from their vehicles. Um that that is a uh that's a extraordinary feat. Um a few letters of commendation. I want to recognize Officer Tim Green Jr. and Officer Eric Cardahia. They were called to a mental health crisis at a Fano residence in

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February of this year. Through patience, empathy, and their training, these officers successfully deescalated a volatile situation. By choosing communication over force, they secured the safety of the person in crisis when uh perhaps a lesser trained or a less

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patient officer may have used force or or that call could have gone very differently. And lastly, I want to off uh I want to recognize officer Kyle Rajivic with a letter of commendation for his quick actions in deploying Narcan during a medical emergency in March of this year in which the pace

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patient was suffering an overdose. His quick actions gave the patient much needed uh time before EMS could arrive and transport them to the hospital. These accolades represent moments of high stress and and the flashy headlines that you see, but they're only a snapshot of the work uh performed by our

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officers. As we celebrate these achievements, I want to remind everybody that Fanwood officers perform all kinds of acts in service that don't make the papers and don't result in awards. and and in reality, those are the calls that uh mean the most and uh they're the ones

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that matter the most to this community. I want to thank the Fanwood community for continuing to support us as we move into the summer months. Rest assured that we're always here to help when you need it the most. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Appreciate it. >> Uh thank you, Lieutenant. And again,

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please make sure that you extend our sincere gratitude to the everyone in the force and in your office because I think I can speak for all of us is that everything that you said up there, right, is really reflective of the type of community that we live in, right, is the type of community that we'd like to

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try to govern over um and be a part of. And we just want to thank you for everything that you do every day 247. Thank you. >> Um, moving on, it's National Rescue Squad and National EMS Week. And I know that we have members of our rescue squad

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here. So, Councilman Carter is going to do the honors of the proclamation if you'd like to come forward and to receive it. Thank you. Whereas emergency medical services is a

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vital public service and whereas the members of emergency medical services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas access to quality emergency care dramatically

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improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas emergency medical services has grown to fill a gap by providing important out of hospital care

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including preventive medicine, follow-up care, and access to tele medicine. And whereas the emergency medical services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency medical

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dispatchers, firefighters, police officers, educators, administrators, prehosp nurses, emergency nurses, emergency physicians, trained members of the public, and other out of hospital medical care providers.

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And whereas the members of emergency medical services teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their lifesaving skills. And whereas it is

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appropriate to recognize the value and the accomplishments of emergency medical services providers by designating emergency medical services week. Now, therefore, Mayor Colleen Maher,

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the mayor of the Burrow of Fanwood, in recognition of this event, does hereby proclaim the week of May 17th to May 23rd, 2026 as Emergency Medical Services Week with

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the EMS strong theme, EMS week, where emergency care begins. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> Do you want to say a few words, please? >> Fine. >> Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council.

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Uh, for those who don't know me, my name is Brian. and I'm the captain of the Phantom Rescue Squad currently. Um, I just want to thank mayor and counsel of course, right? EMS is not exactly a fun job and as the police department does, like we show up on your worst day truly and not yours, your family members. So,

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we're here to hopefully bring compassion and great medical care to the Burough of Fanwood and the surrounding communities and uh we always appreciate the recognition. We appreciate the love. Um, so thank you very very much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> THANK YOU. AND and I'll just note that we have a

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resolution on a little later on on the agenda um where we will be authorizing a LOAP um contribution to the rescue squad members. And for many may not understand that back in 1999 there was a referendum

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question that went out um to see if the community wanted to create a length of service award to our volunteer fire and rescue squad. And so the community said yes to that public question. Um and so there's a list of criteria that our volunteers do and a lot of it is the

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hours and the number of um responses that they've had and then we put a little contribution into for for each of them. And so tonight we have 10 members of the family rescue squad um that have attained that um regarding and the points that they have to get. And so I just really want to say really that's a

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very small um piece that we can do for you knowing that we have a volunteer uh rescue squad. So really thank you um for everything that you do. Okay. Um let's see. Kathy, you have uh our nurse up here on the deis will um

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read into the record the National Nurses Week. >> Thank you. National Nurses Week May 6th 12th, 2026. Whereas the 2026 National Nurses Week opens on May 6th and ends on May 12th

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and acknowledges the strong commitment, compassion, and care nurses display in their practice and profession and reflects the nurse's dedications to standards, guidelines, and principles defining values and priorities. And

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whereas Florence Knight Yale, the lady with the lamp, was the founder of modern nursing and her birthday is celebrated on May 12th for the 2000 for the 260th time in 2026.

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And whereas since 1893, professional nursing has been demonstrated to be an indispensable indispensable component in the safety and quality of care of hospitalized patients. And whereas nurses provide the

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primary care of patients by helping those who cannot help themselves and by affording direction, comfort, assurance, and relief that all patients crave in a time of need. Whereas the 2026 National Nurses Week

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theme is the power of nurses with appreciation for nurses unparalleled impact and their contribution to healthcare and an open invitation to thank nurses for enriching our lives and the world we live in. Now therefore,

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Colleen Mayor Mar the Burrow of Fanwood does hereby proclaim May 6th to 12th National Nurses Week in the Burrow of Fanwood and ask that all residents in this community join the council in recognizing nurses as necessary and

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compassionate individuals in the care of our residents. and to celebrate all nurses, men and women who have chosen this unique profession as an opportunity to care for their fellow citizens with compassion and a strong commitment.

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And if you ask me to identify myself, I would not identify myself as a council person for this length of time. And I would not identify myself as um the social concerns quarter

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at Immaculate Heart of Mirror Church for 30 years. I would tell you I am a nurse and if I come back in another life, I would want to come back as a nurse. Thank you. Um, do we have anyone here from our uh

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historic preservation commission? Oh, yes. So, Councilman Carter, it's National Historic Preservation Month and again, please come forward to accept it. I'm glad that you were here. We have a preservation historic preservation commission and one of our

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newest members. It's always good to see. >> Okay. Whereas the National Trust for Historic Preservation will commemorate its annual National Historic Preservation Month in May 2026 to spotlight preservation of significant

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places around the country. Whereas National Preservation Month in May is the time of the year when numerous historical societies, the government, and preservation groups join forces to promote the importance of

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preserving historical places. Historical place savers pour their time, energy, resources, and sometimes a great deal of sweat and tears into protecting places they care about. This May, the

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preservation month theme is people saving places to shine the spotlight on everyone doing the work of saving places in big ways and small. Whereas the Historic Preservation Commission plays a unique role in

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defining us as a nation and in helping us appreciate the richness of our shared heritage while preserving irreplaceable and tangible reminders of our roots and tying a place and history to its population and culture.

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And whereas Fanwood's Historic Preservation Commission spends innumerable time and energy educating the public through educational programs, thereby preserving the burrow's heritage for this generation and future generations.

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And whereas Fanwood's Historic Preservation Commission has created the Fanwood Museum at the Fanwood Community House, a unique treasure chest of memorabilia of Fanwood and surrounding communities.

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Now therefore, Mayor Colleen Maher, Mayor of the Burough of Fanwood, does hereby proclaim the month of May 2026, Historic Preservation Month in the Burrow of Fanwood to recognize the importance of preserving our treasures

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in our community, and to celebrate the Fanwood Historic Preservation Commission for its concerted effort in encouraging reinvestment, saving resources, and promoting a socially, culturally and economically rich community. Thank

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you. >> All yours. >> Um thank you, Mayor Maher and um the council. Um this is a a very important proclamation um not just for fanwood but for historic preservation around the country. Um so thank you very much.

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>> You're welcome and thank you for volunteering. >> Thank you. >> Um I don't think we have anyone here for national uh Jewish American Heritage. >> Me. >> You want me to present it to you? >> Yes.

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>> All right. recognizing May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month. Whereas the United States Congress by a joint resolution in 2006 and President Bush by proclamation thereafter designated the month of May as Jewish American Heritage Month in recognition of more than 350

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years of Jewish American history and the contributions of Jewish Americans to our culture, to our civic life, and the prosperity of this nation. Whereas Jewish Americans have enriched every facet of our lives, including the arts, the science, medicine, law, business, and public service, and have played an

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intricate role in the history and the character of New Jersey and all of our towns. Fin is proud to be home of a vibrant Jewish American community whose residents, houses of worship, and organizations have contributed to the quality of life, their charitable spirit, and the fabric of our community.

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It is fitting that we pause to honor their traditions and values and enduring contributions of Jewish Americans. Whereas the mayor and the burough council fan would believe it is both a privilege and a responsibility to recognize the heritage of all members of our community and to celebrate the

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diversity that strengthens us. So now be for it proclaimed that the mayor and the council uh celebrate the month of May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month in the burrow of Fanwood. And we call upon all residents to join in honoring the heritage, the history, and the contributions of Jewish Americans to the

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burrow, our state, and our nation. Um, National Public Works is that over there? Do you have it? No. Yes, it's in here. >> Did I Who has the N? Who has Sorry, Clint. No, >> there's two at the podium.

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>> Oh, it's probably there. Yeah. >> Come on up, Clint. >> Come on, Clint. >> Sorry. I think he's at the podium. Yes. You get me, s Okay.

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Recognizing May 17th to May 23rd, 2026 as National Public Works Week. Whereas the American Public Works Association has designated the third week of May each year as National Public Works Week, a celebration now observed for more than six decades to highlight the vital role

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that public works infrastructure and services play in the daily lives of all Americans. And whereas public works services provided in the burrow of Fenwood are an integral part of our residents everyday quality of life encompassing the maintenance of roads,

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bridges, sidewalks, storm water systems, parks, public buildings, vehicles, and equipment essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the community. And whereas the employees of the Bureau of Fanwood of P Department of Public Works perform their duties with

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professionalism, dedication, and pride, often under difficult and demanding conditions, including extreme weather, emergencies, and time-sensitive public safety needs, and frequently without public recognition for their efforts. And whereas the effective and efficient

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delivery of public works services is critically dependent upon the skills, commitment, and hard work of our public works employees. And it is both appropriate and important that the bureau of council acknowledge and celebrate their contributions. And

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whereas the theme for National Public Works Week 2026 is rooted in service powered by community, underscoring the importance of continued investment in public infrastructure and in the workforce that sustains it. Now

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therefore, be it resolved by the mayor and burough council of the burrow of Fanwood, New Jersey, that the week of May 17 through May 23rd, 2026 is hereby designated National Public Works Week in the Burrow of Fanwood, and the mayor and

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council extend their sincere gratitude and appreciation to the director of public works and all employees of the Burough's Department of Public Works for their tireless service and commitment to this community. And be it further resolved that the burough clerk is hereby authorized and directed to

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transmit a certified copy of this proclamation to the director of the department of public works for distribution to all department employees. Thanks. Thank you. Oh yes, sorry. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Uh,

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present and past, as there's some people here that, uh, formerly was on my public works committee, but I want to thank mayor and council for the recognition. Uh, I want to thank the community for all your support. And certainly last but not least, I want to thank the uh seven

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members of our public works department and uh the administrative assistant that we have in our office. They performed their job with efficiency and effectiveness and a level of professionalism that uh Fanwood has come accustomed to knowing. I want to thank

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them because without them um you know they they make my job easy and they certainly make the elected officials and everybody else's jobs easier as well by uh keeping up with this professionalism that they like I said everybody's been accustomed to. So I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

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>> And anything anybody needs we're always like as the lieutenant said we're you know anybody needs anything feel free to reach out. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Last but not least, my friends at the Rotary are here. So, come on, guys.

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So, the last proclamation that we will um that we will um speak about tonight. Yeah. Didn't want don't want to put your back to the camera. That's okay. um is uh national mental health

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awareness month and it's been a while now that Fanwood understood um the importance of raising awareness about the impact of mental health that it has on individuals has on families and

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overall our community. Um and that's why we became a stigmafree community a bunch of years ago. um because we saw that it was necessary to try to break down the stigmas um that go along with people

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suffering from mental health or substance use and the toll that it takes and in that it's okay to talk about it. It's okay um to to be vulnerable and as a community we're there to support you. Um and so it's my pleasure, you know, to

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have watched the Rotary really um lean in to this initiative um with the green. Um it started out as the ribbons and now you can see downtown um paint the town green which they'll talk about um the

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banners, the mental health awareness days, the stuff that we've done at our libraries to try to put collections out together. Um, and it really is a is a movement um that I'm so happy to see is just not here in Fanwood and Scotch Plains, but it's in the state of New

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Jersey. Um, and nationally, some some states and communities aren't as welcoming to this and, uh, but that but that's okay. So, um, I want to present to you the proclamation tonight. um again that May is recognized nationally as national mental health awareness

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month and this is our time as a community to support individuals experiencing mental health conditions by increasing public awareness. So Fan would proudly join the Fan with Scotch Plains Rotary Club and the 14 New Jersey towns called the New Jersey Cross Town

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Mental Health Coalition. And that is a coalition that raises community awareness of mental health and advances initiatives that encourage education, visibility, and inclusion. And so May will again and has been coordinating Paint the Town Green, which they'll talk a little bit about. And Fwood is

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recognized as this community in collaboration. And we last year installed permanent uh signage too kind of at our borders. Scotch Plains did the same thing. So I think there's a total of four of them compliments of the Rotary. Um and this is really to underscore the importance and and saying

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out loud that we are a stigmafree um community and that the Rotary encourages all community members to sign on to the pledge as their visible commitment. And so in 2025 more than 1,000 stigmafree pledges signatures were received and that reflects strong community support.

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So, I'm very happy along with the mayor, the council here to proclaim national mental health awareness and reaffirm our commitment in promoting um mental health. And we thank the Rotary for everything that you do.

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>> Let's just grab a picture real quick. Turn your sign around. Thanks. >> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor Maher. And you are a member of our Rotary. >> I know. >> And it's really Yeah. honorary, but it's really great to see you here and the rest of the council. We're here

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basically to say thank you. I mean, your support for what we're trying to do with mental health awareness and getting people to sign the stigmafree pledge, we're up to over close to 1300 of them signed now. We'll continue to do that in the community in Fanwood, Scotch Plains.

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But it's amazing that uh what a mental health is is is a uh it's really very rampant throughout the country. and it needs attention. Uh we're asking

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people to sign our uh stigmafree pledge because many people don't receive mental health care because they're afraid of the stigma, afraid of what you and I might say about them, what others might say. uh you know and so we've asked

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people to sign a very simple pledge which basically addresses those issues that you know you will educate yourself you'll use uh kind language and be supportive of those with mental health issues and that uh you know you're going

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to make sure if you see somebody giving somebody else a hard time about it that you're going to step in. Now what we do is it's we we ask people to give us their first name, last name, initials and then that goes into a into a box and

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what it does is it it documents our encounter with those people that we've actually had a discussion about uh mental health stigma and most people in in in the community are really understanding and they they very well

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step up. Uh but there are times when we actually educate people and give them a little bit of knowledge. The real hard discussions are when you meet somebody who's had a tragedy from mental health,

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suicide, and the conversation is hard. Uh there's not a lot I can do. Rotary is here to help bring awareness, but you know, all you can do is talk to those folks, give them encouragement, and that's what the community is here to do. So, thank you again for all your support

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and I'm going to let Deanna talk a little bit about >> paint the town green. >> Paint the town green. >> Yeah. So, uh we started the paint the town green in our local community um just last year with just very few businesses. And this year in total between Fanwood and Scotch Plains, we

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have over 40 painted. So, that's pretty awesome in year two. Um, but here in Fanwood, I think it's so noteworthy to say so many of your local businesses participated and we're thrilled to do so. Um, and it has been effective here in Fanwood. I think it's worthwhile to

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mention. Um, one of your local businesses, Mr. Tech, has been super supportive of this initiative. And sure enough, he was able through this um, to identify someone struggling with their mental health. And from that, he was able to help that person get the help they needed. and it was a true success

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story um involving even resolve community counseling center our local counseling center. So this initiative is effective and impactful. Um so we encourage you to buy our kits. Um not even buy, we're even giving them away at some point. >> You're going to see these

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>> but these lawn signs be kind to your mind and May is mental health awareness month and we have green light bulbs and wristbands and ribbons. So we're going to actually give you all of one today. We ask you to please put your light bulb in your front of your home, light your house green for the rest of the month.

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We have a few more weeks left of that and uh continue to help support this initiative not only throughout the May coming forward but in all the months throughout the year. This is an ongoing initiative. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. Good seeing you.

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>> Can I can I just say one thing to all the great organizations that are here? you know, the organizations that here tonight really make these towns go. And I have to give a personal shout out to Clint who when we do our annual uh luminary sales is always there and

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always very flexible. And again to the, you know, to the town council and the mayor for putting the uh banner out front that's that's so important. There are 14 towns and we're growing. My son lives in Mountainside. Last year I said, "We're doing paint the town green." He said, "What?" this time I saw him on

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Sunday he says you know dad paint the town green is all over the place now. So thank you. >> Thank you guys. >> Oh sure that's fine. >> Okay. Um, so we have one piece of uh correspondence um from uh resident

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Carolyn Brink regarding uh data center ordinance ban on that we received. Let me just get it um on Friday here if we've considered an ordinance. Um we have not uh talked about it yet. So we thank you for

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bringing this to our attention. And I think we're all aware of what's happening in Kennaworth and following that story as well. Um we have I'm going to go have a point of privilege to just go out of order before we get to opening the meeting uh

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to the public. Um so tonight um we have um NW Financial that is here. Um uh Heather if you want to come forward. Heather has been uh Litzbower is works for NW Financial is our financial um

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adviser and we have asked her to and NW to review and comment upon our 2026 sore rates. um as we have heard comments and concerns um over the 2025 rates and so we needed a little assistance um with

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our financial advisors to to kind of walk us through you know our sore utility the rates the rate set um the amount of money that we need to raise um and how we aortion that out and the different ways that we're viewed to kind

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of get to where we are for 2026 and kind of justeneral eneral conversations. So, I want to thank you and welcome. And the reason why I'm moving this out is because then we have a motion to go open them up public so that I know there's some individuals here that have paid attention to this. So, I want to give

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you an opportunity to come up afterwards. So, Heather, the floor is yours. >> Okay. Um, thank you for having me. Um the review of the sewer rates happens on an annual basis as part of the regular

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uh budget process. Um in Fanwood you have two different budgets. You have your regular current fund budget um which involves taxes and then in the back of that budget is the sewer utility budget. the sewer utility um is a

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separate budget because the revenues are supposed to pay for the expenses. So, it's taken out of your tax bill and put in as a um a a bill to based on usage. Um so, it's done annually around this

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time. Um the sewer expenses this year um are approximately $750,000. So revenues have to um be high enough to pay for the expenses and assume that there may be a few uncollections

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throughout the year. Um and you want it high enough so you have a little bit of a uh a delta in between so there are no financial issues at the end of the year with the sewer utility. And you also want to grow a little bit of a fund balance in case there's any emergency

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appropriations in any given year um where you need to fix sewer lines um or uh have any additional capital projects. Um when we looked at the rates uh or looked at the usage for 2026

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um usage actually went down 10 million gallons as compared to last year. Um, so even though usage was down, you still need the same amount of revenues as last year. Uh, your your budgets are pretty

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similar from last year to this year. Um, to deal with the appropriation side of the budget. Uh, based on that, um, rates would have to increase um, to provide enough revenue to to deal with that

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decrease in usage. We looked at several different options. um on how to deal with that one, continue um billing based on 12 months of usage. Um since 2018, the bureau has been um billing based on

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on that structure, looking at 12 months of usage. Um looking at a flat rate um scenario and then also looking at fourth quarter usage and then annualizing that fourth quarter usage.

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Um as far as a flat rate is concerned uh on the residential side about 25% of users fall within tier 1 which is the lowest tier. Um 50% fall within tier 2

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and then 25% fall within tier three. So, if we were to do a flat usage, the tier one um residents would be paying drastically more um than what they were paying in 2025

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and the tier three the the users that use the most would be paying less. So, that didn't make sense to go to a flat usage. Um, I know in uh Westfield they do a flat usage and I believe it's $265

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a a residential user. Um, so that didn't make sense for for the burrow because of your dynamics within each of the tiers >> because our lowest tier is much is correct >> like aboutund. >> And just to just to give you a flavor,

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your your current tier one residential is $150. If we went to a flat rate, it would increase to $291. So, >> yeah, >> almost double. And your tier 2 is at $266.

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That would also see an increase um to 200 $291. Um and then your third tier is anything over 75,000 gallons would increase um by

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10,000 gallons. So that would also increase. Um when we looked at the fourth quarter usage and annualizing that um that your residential mix typically your average

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user is about 57,000 gallons. Um that would decrease slightly to 55,000 gallons. Um we looked at some of the um some of the residents within that tier um that

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were at the higher range. They were still within tier 2. Um and then we looked at what they would be if we decreased if we did that fourth quarter and annualizing it and they still were falling within the same tier.

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Um overall though uh that rate increase would be higher than if we looked at the annualized data of usage by a couple of dollars. Um so we thought that the best result was to continue billing based on 12 months of usage. It was the the

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lowest rate increase um needed. Uh, and just to give you a summary of that, the the current tier one is at $130 for residential. It would move to $150. So that's a $20 increase. Tier 2

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is currently at $230. Um, it would increase to $266. That's a $36 increase. And then for any 10,000 gallons um over 70,000 gallons, that tier three um that's currently at

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$50 and that would increase to $58. Um so an $8 increase on the residential side. And the bulk of the um expenses really for for the sewer utility is basically

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because we just ours just gets passed through. It's for treatment, right? So, it goes to I think Parsa is the largest piece which is the Planefield area regional sewer authority and then there's a bit that Scotch Plains family homes go into the Scotch Plains system and then there's some of our homes that

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go into Planefield. >> Correct. >> Right. Okay. And then for those that are here today, you know, we what we have also um begun over the years is that every time that we do a road project where we repave a road and we are

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opening up the road um we are also checking the sore lines because the lines here in town are well over a 100red years old. some of them are still clay. Um and we need to make sure that um we watch for the seepage of water

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out, right? Um so that we just watch the flow um there. And so we're trying to be very proactive um in taking care of our infrastructure, which is why we created this utility is that when we open up a road, we are camaring it. We are trying to clean it.

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We are trying to find cracks in it and do anything so that we don't have a catastrophic um situation. And knock on wood, we have yet to have a catastrophic situation with our um our sewers. Um so I'll open

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it up to any questions on the council at this point. I know you've had a chance to kind of review this. Any questions? >> We did. >> I don't have a question. I just have a comment. I have two friends. um one who lives in South Planefield, the other one

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in Summit, and they each pay $250 twice a year um for their for their sewer bill. So I I think that these um our rates are pretty pretty pretty low in in in

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comparison with um >> some of the other towns around. >> I I would agree with that. Um, I looked at Cranford as well and the um, under your average residential user um, they

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would be paying $280 versus $266 um, for you. And then Scotch Planes um, their residential rates, their tiers are a little bit different. Your first tier is 0 to 35,000 gallons. There is a 0

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to25,000 gallons and that's at $225 compared to your the proposed rate of 150. Um between 25,000 gallons to 75,000 gallons is $325 as opposed to the proposed rate of $266.

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Um so I mean you're significantly lower than uh scotch planes. >> Okay. So, um, I want to thank Administration in Finance for working with you and Jesse and and Trish because I know that every year we try to really

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do the best that we can here. Um, so I'm going to make a motion to open up the meeting to the public and all in favor. >> Um, so this is the first public portion of the meeting. So, if anyone would like to come forward, please state your name

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and address for the record. Hi. Am I addressing? >> Well, I don't know if you're talking to her or you just did anything. So, she Yes. I just Yes. So, talk to us. >> Um, are we Facebook live? Is that the link not working? >> I told you when we started the meeting that we had sometimes I do watch and it

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comes back on. So, >> they said after they think after the meeting he's >> being recorded though it'll be replayed. >> Okay. Thanks, Aaron. Um, okay. Good evening. Uh, great to be here at a night where our rescue squads are being um and police departments, nurses, uh, all

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heroes are being recognized. Um, shout out to Dan CR. Um, I don't think it gets any better. He's an outstanding law enforcement professional and I know we all feel safe knowing he's in charge. Um, I would promote you, but I don't have that power, but I really, really

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hope you do. Um, okay. So on behalf of and thank you for putting my uh the data center on the agenda. I really appreciated that. Um on behalf of Fanwood residents against overdevelopment, we are placing on the public record a request that the Burough

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of Fanwood Council consider an ordinance banning AI data centers in our small landport residential town. I know we all know the headlines, so I don't have to give you too much background. Um, there is simply not enough room here or adequate public information on the

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significant impacts and strain on the large-scale data centers put on our energy grid, water supply, and environment. Other townships in Union County across New Jersey are taking action. Rosel's mayor issued a statement that Kennallorth Corweave officials were

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not able to answer the many questions posed to them, and that's just unacceptable. I want to thank Jesse for his very responsiveness to my email and putting the AI data center on tonight's agenda. It was not clear in the communication whether the the current

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zoning allows it and we would think it does not. Um we hope the council would seriously consider a ban or at least a look into the upsides and downsides. I mean I realize we're a small town and they're pretty massive so you know where we go anyway but we just wanted to put

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on the record. Um, the other thing, well, as long as Clint's here, I was just curious when the water fountains on the park were going to be turned on. Um, just cuz my dog was really hot today. So, I carry water, but everybody's been asking, so I

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just thought I'd throw it in. >> Oh, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Um, okay. And then can you please provide our group with the status of the tax abatement approval for the Soho owner landmark properties? Why are they

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eligible for a tax abatement? Why was it approved by the tax assessor when the ordinance had expired last February? We're not clear that it was renewed or we voted on when it was a 10-year abatement ordinance. We I think Courtney

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responded to my Oprah request and there was no new ordinance. Um just a couple more points on that. It's mostly I know what we see with the Soho. It's a mostly luxury fully rented mixeduse building with high-end retail spa treatments. Why are they paying less

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than $7,500 in quarterly taxes? That's all I got. Hello, Councilman Carter. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh >> do you want me to stand or >> No, no, no. That's okay. Um, Jesse, you're saying that the attorneys are still reviewing that issue with the Soho abatement?

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>> Yes, that's correct. >> Okay. So, we're aware of it and when we are have something that we're able to say, we will say it. Thank you. Gary Morris, South Avenue. Um, first off, uh, I want to give a a huge shout out to

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Dan Crayons and Chief Pakola for getting the 383 South Avenue owner to remove eight propane tanks and multiple fuel containers that were stored in uh, the 383 building in full view next to the

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windows. These potentially highly flammable and explosive materials were less than 15 feet from South Avenue. As a side note, I complained to Ray Sullivan regarding the fuel containers in the building back

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in August of last year uh along with some other things. They took care of the other things, but apparently they never did deal with that. So, I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to possibly have a full inspection of that property because God only knows what's inside

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that building. If that's the stuff I see, what about the basement? What else could be in there that could have uh you know, a huge impact in in our area? Um uh regarding the mental health thing, I

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that's that's hit me personally and everything. So, I I just want to put it out there and as a reminder to everybody about the 988 phone number. Uh, a lot of people think it's just for somebody who is uh for

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somebody personally struggling, but it's also for people, you know, who are struggling to get advice on should you be calling a higher authority in here? Um, at what point is is it it getting to be too much? Um I I I lost a a brother

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to suicide and it's horrific. Um so just want to put that out there. Um his his life was actually destroyed by somebody within government

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who had no compassion and targeted him. I take his mantle with me every day of my life and I will not be bullied. It's made me even stronger as a person

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um as a human being, as somebody who will stick up for people who are not being treated fairly. Out of curiosity, the data center thing that we're talking about, not sure if you realize that they

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actually snuck it in in Cranford. Now, also they redid one of their commercial properties to say, and their town committee, nobody mentioned the word data center. It was just like a footnote at the bottom, that's why we're

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paranoid. They snuck it in last year. Nobody in town knew about it. We they just found out about it now that now data center snuck into the verbiage. So the question I have is simple thing

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that field out here if you were to reszone that for to allow a data center would you notify the neighbors? >> I'm sorry I don't mean to laugh but that's a detention pond. I'm just using

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it I'm using it I'm using it as an example. Okay. I'm not I'm not saying you're going to be doing that. I'm saying as an example. If you took a property in town and you changed the zone to allow a data center, would you notify

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the people within 200 ft of said property? >> Yes. with a certified letter and everything like that. >> Are you trying to get us into discussing the >> No, I'm I'm I'm asking the question. I'm I'm curious about that because we're

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we're investigating the situation in Cranford because I don't think >> they're doing an Oprah request to see if there was any notification. >> I'm going to respectfully not answer that question because we have litigation with yourself, Mr. Mars, and the burrow. So, we're really not in a position. >> Okay.

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>> Thank you for understanding. >> Sure. Thank you. >> Would anybody else like to come forward? >> Hi, good evening. Uh Ben Reposa 107 Willoughby. Um I came here primarily for the uh the water. Actually, first let me

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start. Thanks uh Lieutenant CR for keeping our uh crossing guards safe, especially Steve over there on Midway. really appreciate that. Um, but mostly I've came about the um, yeah, the billing for the sewer. Um, primarily my water use is during the

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summer and primarily it's for keeping my yard and my flowers and my house looking nice. I mean, we have a historic preservation society. We have all of these things. We try to make our town look beautiful. I I plan on not planting plants this year. I plan on not watering

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my lawn. I plan on not doing all of these things because I mean I've only usedund I mean I use 3,800,000 gall or 38,000 gallons or 300 gallons uh a month. I mean in these summer in these uh winter times and stuff like that in the fall.

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>> I'm I'm sorry. Could you just clarify again? >> 3 3800 gallons. So what level of >> but a year? >> No, no, no. A month. >> 3,800 gallons. >> 3,800. What tier would that fall under? >> Tier two. >> Yeah. >> Would that tier two? Okay. So what would

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my bill what should my bill be then at tier 2 is that 230 >> 2306 >> I was 350. >> Well I mean that was based on >> last year >> the usage before which was a higher usage. So we are at 174 million gallons.

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>> Now this year we're at 164 million gallons. >> But this was last year's bill, >> right? So we're talking about this year's bill. >> We're talking about this year's bill. So >> Okay. But what was last year's bill then? Well, if you were in tier 2, if if your if your number is accurate, $3,800 a month, $3,800 gallons a month, that

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puts you at about 54,000 gallons in a year, which firmly puts you in tier two, which means your bill would have been in the 200s last year. So, I have to assume that your water usage exceeded the 70. And if >> I'll double check for the year, >> you might want to double check that

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because that doesn't matter. >> Yeah. Um, >> if you're under 70, you should be firmly in tier two. And that number, that 70 has been the limit since we started this, like five or six years ago. >> I'll double check, but if that's the case, I mean, that's primarily from summer usage. I mean, you could see my

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July, June, July, August are all from watering my lawn. It's almost double double the usage of what my winter usage would be. So, it's just I mean, if I would have known that going ahead, I mean, I don't know if that was relayed to everybody that usage was going to be or usage has been part of it.

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Okay. Then I mean I just don't >> So the difference of tier one would be around 130. >> Mhm. >> So versus the 230. So it's a $100 difference for annual. So >> all right. Well, I'll just have to check cuz mine was 350. So it's >> Yeah. So you might want to double check

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that. Um but you know, NW Financial did look at um annualizing the last quarter. Um, and Heather mentioned that that would have actually if we did that because we still have to raise a certain amount of money to run the utility, that would have resulted in everybody's rates going up higher than the rate increases

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this year. >> What about fourth and first? I mean, those are still in the winter months. I mean, you're looking at January, February, and March. >> I'm assuming, Heather, you chose the last quarter because it's the least water used. >> I'm saying why could we do two rule of thumb though is if you if you look at

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two quarters, everything has to be done manually. Um, so it's something that would take a very long time. >> I mean, it's it's that's what we're paying for, right? I mean, if we're looking to try to save us money here as as you know, we're getting charged for

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everything under the sun. If everything's going to be going up, taxes are going up. I mean, shouldn't it be, you know, you know, behoove us to try to find something that's a little bit cheaper? You know, if we're looking about maintenance, I used to work for a company called Pure Technologies and they had a what they used to call a pig and they still have it and they would

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put it inside of the pipe and they would be able to tech for leaks and and all of this stuff and be able to repair the pipes as needed instead of, you know, opening up the roads and inspecting and all do this. You just yearly you throw a ball in. We actually >> we do that too, so I should have been

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clear. Yeah, we have a shared service with Parsa that comes out and um has the town split up into a grid. Right, Clint? And then we do all the TVing and the cameras >> sewer. And >> yes, >> you put cameras in as well as the ball to detect. >> Oh, I don't know if we do the ball, but we do

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>> detect actually it listens going through the pipe and it'll it'll actually sense a a sound when there's a leak like right every leak. >> I think you're referring to water. We have sanitary sewers. >> Well, no, they they do that as well for that now. I think it's just that the company Zyllem they changed to. So, I

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mean, just if you want to check them out, that would be that'd be awesome. Um, and also too, I mean, I understand that, uh, to go back to the data center, I mean, I know, you know, Gary mentioned the retention basin, but you know, the property next to Lightbridge Academy, I mean, that could be, you know, uh, a

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data center. There could be I just, you know, again, it's we're a small town. We're trying to build these new houses and and and throwing them in in everywhere we need to be. I mean, what, like I said, what doesn't stop you from making a first floor a data center or anything like that? I I'm just asking

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for the proper notifications and I just that's all we're wondering and that's all we care about as a town is just to be notified and to be informed at at all at all costs. I mean if it has to go above and beyond it would be really appreciated. So I mean I see we do the notifications. >> Yeah. We just received the request on

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>> I know I'm just I'm just seconding his point mayor. That that's all I it's a concern. I just don't want it to be a concern for Gary Gary >> Gary goes above and beyond to try to take care of this town and try to stand up for the people. So Gary, I appreciate with you. Carolyn as well. Thank you. And so >> that's

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>> and you know what? I appreciate you coming tonight and I appreciate everybody here and I appreciate the six people that sit up here that get elected to also watch out for the town as well as all of our first responders. >> So thank everybody, but sometimes it's, you know, the the the uh town's people

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that have to watch out for each other. >> Thank you. Um, can I just add that all all ordinances, all zoning changes, everything is always publicly noticed. Meetings are publicly noticed. There are minutes to every meeting. I think um

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I've been sitting on this council for 10 years. I've also been living in this town for 23. And um from my perspective, we may not be the best at social media, but we do our best to be honest and transparent. And all of our meetings are public and our minutes are public and

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all ordinance z changes which include zoning changes are all subject to public meetings. Um so you know no zoning was changed without appropriate public notice.

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>> Anybody else wish to come forward? >> Uh we want everybody else to come up. We normally don't come up a second time. Is anybody else is here? So you you'd like to come forward. >> Benosa Willoughby. Um I appreciate >> I'm sorry. Could you just say >> Benosa Willoughby?

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>> Okay. >> Um I appreciate the the you know notifications and stuff like that, but um just to that additional point, mayor, you put out that weekly letter. Is there somewhere we can put on the bottom saying notifying of, you know, anything going on with the town that, you know, the town should notice because I read

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that letter more than I go into the town thing and look for the minutes. >> Well, that's good. I'm glad that you read it. >> So, you know, and that's I think it would be imperative to put information from the town that's important to the residents on that bottom as well as, you know, celebrating, you know, all the accolades and thanking everybody. So,

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that would be a suggestion for you. Thank you. Okay. >> Okay. Seeing that there's nobody else that wishes to come forward, may I have a motion to close the meeting to the public? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? I. >> Okay. Great. So when we move on to our

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consent. >> Thanks Heather. >> Oh, thanks Heather. We move on to our consent agenda. And whereas the burough council has determined that to increase efficiency, the consent agenda shall be adopted with one resolution. And those resolution numbers are 202605122

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and 202605128. And I will read each of them into the record. Administration and finance resolution 20265122 authorizing payment of claims for May 18th to 2026. Resolution 20265123.

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This is urging our state legislators to implement fair and equitable reforms to mitigate the unsustained increases in our health benefit public health benefit premiums for public sector employees. Resolution 20265124.

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This is authorizing an amendment to the contract for the Burough Payroll Agency. Resolution 20265125 is authorizing a temporary emergency appropriation as our budget has not been approved. Resolution 20265126

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um is a appointing a deputy clerk under public safety. Resolution 20265127 is authorizing the LOAP for the eligible fire members and resolution 20265128 is authorizing LOAP for eligible rescue

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squad. Uh may I have a motion to move those? >> So move. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> May I have a roll call, please? >> Council President Gina Barry. Yes. >> Jeffrey Banks. >> Anthony Carter. >> Affirm. >> Aaron Mroy Barker. >> Yes. >> Katherine Mitchell.

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>> Yes. >> Patricia Walsh. Motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you. Moving on. Under uh ANF, we have resolution 20265129. >> Um I don't just reading the resolution.

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Um resolution 2026-05-129 settling the sewer user usage for 2026. >> Okay. And as discussed, this is a resolution setting the rates for calendar year 2026 that was uh just

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discussed. May I have a motion? >> May I have a second? May I have a roll call, please? Council President Gina Bry. >> Yes. >> Jeffrey Banks. Anthony Carter. >> Affirm. >> Aaron Mroy Barker. >> Yes.

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>> Katherine Mitchell. >> Yes. >> Patricia Walsh. Motion carries. Okay. Um thank you. We now um have the public hearing for our calendar year 2026 budget. Um but I will

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turn it over to Jesse and to uh our CFO Trish Solardo. Uh we will not be voting on tonight's budget because we sent the budget down how many like 3 weeks ago. >> It was sent down the day after our last meeting which was the 21st of April and

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the state did not look at our budget until Friday afternoon >> and and so they they send a list of questions that we haven't had time to answer and nor have they had time to respond. So, um, we are going to table

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the adoption of the budget, but we will be having the public hearing because we notice for the public hearing, this is kind of unusual. I don't remember this really happening before where they they don't get back to us with time to go back and forth. Um, so, uh, Jesse, you

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want to just make some general comments on the the budget? And I know that we did a um at the introduction, we actually did a budget presentation, but I know that not everybody always watches it at the same time. So, we will discuss our 2026 budget.

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>> Yes. Thank you, Mayor, Council, and members of the public. Before we open the public hearing on this year's budget, I'd like to take a few minutes to walk you through some of the highlights. the 2026 municipal budget totals uh 13,319,347.

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The municipal tax levy, the portion that comes from local property taxes is 8,400,539. And for the average residential property in Fanwood assessed approximately $475,000, it translates to a municipal tax bill of $3,128

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this year, an increase of $226.86. 86 over last year or about $18.91 per month. What's driving the budget? The biggest challenge in building this budget is that nearly 76% of our appropriations are essentially fixed.

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They are contractually obligated or mandated by state law. Salaries, health benefits, debt service, pensions, the library, and general insurance together comes to nearly $9.7 million. We have very limited ability to reduce these without cutting services or staff.

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Within that category, four lines drove the bulk of the year-over-year increase. The largest driver is health insurance, which increased approximately 26% nearly $365,000 over last year's appropriation. This increase stems primarily from higher claims experienced in our health

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insurance fund, BMED, as well as rising prescription drug costs. $1.72 million is appropriated in this line for 2026. General liability insurance through the Garden State GIF increased by 9.5% or nearly $50,000. This increase reflects

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rising premiums driven by claims experience across the GIF, a new multi-year special assessment of approximately $39,600 per year to address a $48 million fund deficit, and a one-time bill to cover deductibles and co insurance related to recently settled claims. Debt service

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increased by approximately $59,000 or 3% to just over 2 million. Much of the bureau's debt load is tied to capital improvements made in recent years. While the growth rate in this line is beginning to slow as we as we bring in paired down capital budgets, debt service will remain a significant cost

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driver for the foreseeable future. And finally, pension costs increase by nearly $42,000, a 4.7% increase. Our PES contribution ro 10 rose 10% and our PFRS contribution rose 6%. what we did to

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offset these costs. This year, the bureau secured nearly $515,000 in grant funding. These grants helped fund capital projects and operations in a way that doesn't require raising the levy. We also continue to expand our shared services agreements.

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This year, in addition to our existing arrangements with Westfield for the health department fuel, Garwood for public works director, and Rawway for construction official, we established two new agreements. We entered into a shared court agreement with Garwood, which is projected to save approximately

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$50,000. And we moved tax collection to a shared service arrangement with Scotch Plains, which is expected to yield roughly $40,000 in savings. These arrangements allow us to maintain and in some cases improve the quality of services we offer. Had we not established those two shared service

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agreements in time for this budget, the tax impact would have been greater. we would have been at serious risk of exceeding the state's appropriations cap, a situation that would have required service or staffing cuts. Looking ahead, we are not expecting these cost pressures to ease in the near

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term. We are addressing this proactively by continuing to evaluate shared service opportunities, pursuing grant funding aggressively, managing our capital budget conservatively to limit future debt service, and working to gradually reduce our reliance on fund balance. The

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bureau provides real tangible value to residents every day. Public safety, road maintenance, parks, inspections. We are committed to delivering those services efficiently as possible and to making sound financial decisions that protect the bureau both today and the future.

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>> Thank you. And roughly, I believe the the burrow's um contribution to the overall tax bill is about 21%. >> Yes. So that um for those wondering right when you get your tax bill you can take about 20% of what you pay and know

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that it stays here. Um the 80% goes out our door. We are just the collector with the majority of probably 62 or 63% now I believe going to the board of education. So I think it is important that residents understand where their

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hard-earned taxes go. I think tonight you saw um sort of where our budget goes with our police department and we thank them and our budget goes to our public works and we thank them. Um and the money that we raised in debt goes to our

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library which is a kind of once in a generational new building in this town of a town who doesn't really have many new municipal buildings. Our library is it um and so you know it is um we all live here. We all pay taxes here. Um,

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and the pressures are real, which is why tonight we did a resolution in support of asking Trenton, who oversees state health benefits, to do something. It is absolutely out of control what's happening to healthcare. Um, and what we don't know about what's driving the

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rates that we basically give. Um the employers in the public sector probably pick up 75% where the employee probably maybe more 80% and then the employees get passed on at as a payroll deduction um roughly 25% of their um benefits you

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know um and that's why I look at Dan and I really you know for everything that the police department does in our town thank you and again to to Clint right because a large majority of our day-to-day expenses are in salaries. Right. And we've got seven guys that

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work in our public works and one admin. Right. And we've got a small police department that gets really sometimes pushed to the limit. And we know that. Um but we know that you guys never sacrifice. If anything, we always get accolades when compared to other communities. And none of that is by

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accident. None of this nice town that we all live in um that we enjoy our neighbors and our streets and you like how the town looks. We don't have to agree on everything, but we all can agree that this town is a great town that we choose to live and to raise our

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family and to attend all of the nice events um that our recreation department puts on. Um and this Monday, we'll be taking to the streets and and to come as a community. And I don't want people to lose sight of that. We don't have to agree on everything, but we should be

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cordial to each other and we should try to find common ways to get through what we disagree on because at the end of the day, the council sits up here for zero money and we do this because we make a difference and we make some really hard decisions. Um, and we do it from a place

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of being ethical and honest and forthcoming. And it's not an easy job. It's not an easy job to serve in a community as an elected official. If anything, it gets harder. Um, but that's why it's really nice to see people that

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come here in our community tonight that you're here in this audience. I appreciate that. It's nice to see you. Um, and I hope that you leave here learning more than you came in with. And I would always just say you don't have to wait uh for a monthly meeting that

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you can always reach out, you can email, you can meet me at the office. I do coffee hours. Our council's available. Um, and we are a small community of less than 8,000 and less than two square miles. Um, and we do the best that we can. And I'm really proud to serve um,

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this community. And thank you to our staff for the work that you got to get us here tonight. So, with that, I will have a motion to open up the meeting to the public who wishes to ask us questions on the budget. >> A second.

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>> Yes. All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. Um, I wish to call forward any members of the public that wish to come up this evening to ask us some questions on the municipal budget. >> Please state your name and address for the record. Gary Morris, obviously with any budget,

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um, uh, you know, costs costs are hard to control. Simple as that. That's where you got to look at the other side of the ledger. How do you bring in more revenue? I've provided the possibility of $2.4 million over five years with

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those two tax abatements, including the 40 South as well. Please look into that. I don't know if there's been a decision on the 40 South yet. Is that written in stone? Is that a done deal? Is that's also being looked into? >> That's I want you to use your time.

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>> Yeah, that that's it. I just want to know, are you looking into 40 South's situation? >> I don't believe we're I'm gonna let you speak because >> um as as I said in my correspondence back to you, it was reviewed by the tax field attorney and everything came back

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fine. So that agreement stands. >> It can't though because it was done too late. That's what I don't understand. I I explained clearly what the law says there regarding the completion of a building. It's very obvious when a

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building can be used for what it was intended to be used for, which is renting out apartments, the 30-day clock starts. They were 53 days late. So, it took them 83 days to fill out a one-page form.

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That's an automatic denial. It says it right on the form. Please look into it. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. Anybody else wish to come forward to ask us a question on the municipal budget? >> Seeing that there isn't any I please

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have a motion to close the meeting to the public on the municipal budget. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Okay. Thank you. Um now we will go through our standing uh committee reports.

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>> Uh >> um >> anything to share? the finance committee, the ANF committee met. We talked about the budget and the status of it with the state. Um we talked about the sewer rate um that Heather presented

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today. Um the tax collector uh shared services started May 1st. It seems to be going well. Um I know the team right now is prepared to respond to any um basic questions if somebody

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coming into Fanwood. Um signages have gone up at Scotch Planes as well to notify um Fanwood residents where to go. Um that seems to be going very well um so far. Um but we really didn't have much to talk about in terms of the the

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big issue was the budget. The budget >> right as well it should be. Yeah. >> Um under public safety. >> Yeah. Um so this is the police report for the month of April. So to note um in

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April uh there were a total of 13 uh um training classes that officers attended. Um in addition the department generated, 1438 CAD entries, 48 on average per day.

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This included 348 building security checks, 244 traffic enforcement details, 14 hazardous conditions, 38 medical calls, and 14 alarms. Um, during April, 377 vehicles were stopped for traffic violations,

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uh, resulting in a total of 524 summones. 452 of those were for moving violations and 72 for parking violations. And again, we appreciate our officers diligence. Um, officers attended 13 training classes as I said

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and there were six arrests during the month. So, thank you. >> Okay. Um, Councilman Carter. >> Yes. So for land use in the construction department

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there were 39 new permits processed and there were four permit updates type of work. 39 were alterations. One was a new building. Two were

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additions and one was a demolition. The ownership all 43 were private and total value of construction during the month of April

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7,310,791 and there were certificates that were issued was one co and 41 certificates of approval and uh the type of work again. 37 alterations,

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two new building, and four demolitions that received their certificates. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Lisa Allerin. >> Um, I bypassed the fire department. Sorry. >> Okay. I have two reports from the fire

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department because I didn't have one last month. So, the first one is for March uh of 2026 and there were 18 calls. Three. Three for motor vehicle accidents. One for residential fire alarm. Three for elevator emergencies.

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Two electrical hazard hazards. One assisted the rescue squad, four commercial fire alarms, one brush fire, and three mutual aids. And then for April, there were 24 calls. One was a

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motor, motor vehicle accident. Two res three residential fire alarms. Two carbon monoxide alarms. Natural gas odor. Two transformer of wire the wires on fire. One odor investigation. Three

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elevator emergencies. Two smoke investigations. Three commercial fire alarms. One car fire. uh one with um wires down when a tree fell, one citizen arrest, two mutual

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aids, and one fire prevention. And then uh he also has noted here that on 427, the police uh the Fanwood Fire Department was dispatched to a fire behind the Sitkco gas station on South

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Avenue. Upon arrival, AR units encountered two vehicles on fire with fire ex extending to a trailer. The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes and no fire extension

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uh to the to the structure and in each month there were no injuries reported. >> Okay. >> Thank you very much. >> Um uh I don't believe we have a rescue squad report because uh Councilman Banks

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>> uh public works. >> Yeah. Um so this is a report from Clint for the month of um actually for April 17th to May 15th. Uh pretty busy month um as we had clean communities day. So

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um public works um does regular street sweeping usually overnight um and the parking lots um obviously did a lot with the baseball fields and the parks to get ready for baseball season. Um they continued with leaf and branch pickup.

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Um all of the um brush pickup and initial leaf pickups were done in April. Um they installed new parking signs. Um brush pickup was in all quadrants, so

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two pickup dates and um there were irrigation issues at the library. Um, and very importantly, they recently installed the American flags and veteran banners along Martin and

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South Avenue. We appreciate that. Um, and then, um, upcoming public works events, the summer brush pickup, please take note, but most of you should also have your little pamphlet flyer book things. Um, and it's also on the

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website, but summer brush pickup for northeast and northwest quadrants is the week of June 8th. Southeast and southwest quadrants is the week of June 15th. Please make sure the materials are placed curbside by 7:00 a.m. on the above dates. And another reminder that

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the recycling center will be open on June 6th from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for self-service drop off of specialty recycling. Um, as well as residents are reminded that they can uh that public works does accept plastic bags and film

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at their facility by appointment and during the next specialty recycling event on June 6th. >> Okay. Thank you um very much. Um, library >> library, we have a li our next library

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meeting is Wednesday uh May the 20th. Um, but I do want to mention that our library director, Dan Wise, who has served this community for 28 years, um, is retiring. His last day is June 1st.

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>> Yeah, he'll be gone June 1st. >> He will be gone. As of June 1st will be his first day of retirement. Um, so we will be celebrating him. So, if you can stop by the library and just really just thank him for his service to to the town. And the party is Thursday.

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>> Party is Thursday. >> is Thursday. So for anyone that's uh would like to stop by during the day on Thursday, he will be there to say goodbye. But we also are doing a more formal um going away presentation from 5 to 7 in the community room. So everyone

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is uh welcome there. All right. Um Councilman Walsh is not here. Her daughter is actually graduating >> med school today. >> Med school today. So that's where she is. Um Kathy, do you have any update on the green team? >> They meet tomorrow. >> Okay.

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>> Lucky you. >> Um not today. >> Jeff Banks is uh not here himself. Um I think that's about it for the formal reports unless anybody has anything else. No. >> Okay. Um and under economic development, I would say that we have our new um

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coffee shop that opened up in town. It's soft opening. Um I was there Friday. Um, so I encourage everyone um, right across the street from the train station. It's awesome. The food is good. Um, >> the grand opening so people know the regular hours.

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>> I I think you just have to watch on social media. Right now they're doing a soft opening with limited hours >> on their door. I don't know if that's the soft or the >> not sure. Just stop by. Um, and I just will say as a final um, congratulations to all of our graduates

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that are happening. There are so many of our kids and you know daughters and husbands are graduating from various schools whether it be college and graduate school. Um it's a wonderful time of the year. The signs will be going up along Westfield Road for our

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Scotchain Fanwood um high school seniors which is also good. And a special shout out to two very special FanWoodians um Nathaniel Levery and Benjamin Thomas. both of them who have achieved family residents that have achieved the uh rank

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of Eagle Scout. Um so we are very excited for them and their families on that journey. Um it definitely sets um them apart for those um who who take that road. Um so with that, I'd like to have a motion to open the public meeting again. So moved.

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>> Second. >> All in favor? I like to call forward any members of the public that wish to come forward. Please state your name and address for the record. Gary Mars, South Avenue. Um, I apologize if you don't think I appreciate you guys. I do appreciate you

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guys, but I have to be honest. Uh the comment Erin had about minutes. I have been I had to operest minutes from 2020 for a a planning board meeting to see what agreements were made about the

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Soho. So we're not timely on all minutes. We're timely on some minutes. Um speaking of which, I I got a hold of the resolution for the approval for 40 South. Why did it state they were going to have

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five affordable units, but only four were ever put into the affordable housing lottery? What happened to the fifth unit? Why did they start renting market rate units in May of 2024, but they did not start renting the

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affordable units until around January 2025? Why did the lottery for the affordable units not occur until nearly four months after the market rate units were being rented?

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Next, regarding the Soho, I analyzed the affordable units versus the market rate units. Did you know the market rate units are about 30% larger than the affordable units? Did you know that the

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market rate bathroomtobedroom ratio is slightly greater than one? But for the affordable bathroom tobedroom ratio, it's less than 048. In fact, there's two threebedroom affordable units in there with one

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bathroom. How is it how is that fair to the folks living in the affordable units? Isn't the intention of the affordable units to make them indistinguishable from market rate units? >> Pass these out.

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So, I found a letter finally for for from 10:28 2020 about the fire access lane at the Soho. It says, "As for the fire access lane in the rear, I and Chief

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Bakola are okay with a full 23 foot wide fire lane in the rear of the building. So, the current fire lane, as I've stated before, is less than 17 feet wide at the entrance due to a signpost and shrubs.

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Now, on this thing that I I passed around, I just found this out this week. The red mark indicates where a dog run fence is inside the fire lane. This makes the lane about 30 feet shorter

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than what was presented during the approval process. An aerial ladder truck needs that space to extend a ladder within the U-shaped opening in the building. And now that space has been significantly reduced.

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Again, these are things they created an amenity space out of a required fire lane. Not getting it, not understanding it. Can somebody look into that that issue? That really surprised me seeing that that extra fence there. Uh in and

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you look at if you look at the the the picture there, the red mark I have there is in the middle of the fire truck that they showed going into the fire lane. That's that's where they intended for the Scotch Plains firet truck to plant

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itself so they could put a ladder up inside the U to fight a fire. And finally, um, not sure if any of you've noticed, but I'm sure you have, is the giant the giant, um, telephone poles on on South

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Avenue. Um, ironically, one of the things was that they were thinking of burying those. That was never going to happen. Um, the plan was to put those up as high as possible. And the irony is they put those up as high as possible. Unfortunately, we built a building as

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high as possible and you have these high voltage wires literally just 10 15 feet from somebody's balcony. And those are the kind of things, you know, I I've said it before in these meetings, in these planning board meetings, they show

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these pie in the sky renderings that don't include things like the neighbor's house or or the the telephone poles with the wires. Those are important things to see. Does that make sense? Or obviously

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no firemen could access from that side, which makes the the back entrance or the back access lane so much more important. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um I'm just going to mention that these conversations regarding the

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fire lane, um we have heard Mr. Mars come to us. There have been countless conversations as a result of you bringing this forward. We have spoken to the fire officials. We've spoken to Chief Pakola. There have been site visits. So, I want to make sure that while you bring this up here, I also

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want the public to understand that we look into everything that you ask of us and we try to give you the responses back. Now, I know some of them don't necessarily you agree with, but we rely on our professionals. And so when we look talk to our building official and

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we talk to our fire official and we talk to Chief Pakola, it we don't do that in a vacuum here. We go to our professional. So I think that's important for myself to say as the mayor in response to a um kind of life and public safety comment that you you've

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made here. >> Um anybody else like to come forward? If not, um can I have a motion to close the meeting to the public? >> So move. >> Second. All in favor? Hi. >> Okay, so with that, um, we are done with our meeting for this evening. I want to

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thank everybody who showed up here tonight. I want to apologize that our Facebook live feed was not in, um, real time, but it will, maybe it's up there now. Not sure. >> Um, so, but it will as soon as, um, um, it gets fixed. And I hope to see everybody out along the the parade route

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um, on Monday. So, with that, can I have a motion to adjurnn? Second. >> All in favor? I I Good night.