All right. Well, welcome. Like to call the meeting to order. I want to welcome everyone uh to the regular scheduled meeting of the mayor and council. Today is Monday, April 20th, 2026, and it's about 7:04
um p.m. And with that, I'd like to have the burough clerk please read the open public meeting statement. 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 leader, Westfield, New Jersey, and the alternate press, tap into.net. In addition, the notice was posted on the Burrow 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 have remained continuously posted. Proper notice having been given, the bureau clerk is directed to include this statement in the minutes of this meeting. >> Thank you very much. For those that are
here, if you please uh rise for the pledge of allegiance and stand for the moment of silence. >> I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice
for all. And as we remain standing, I would like to have a moment of silence um for the mass shootings that have occurred. Um yesterday we had eight children that were killed in a domestic shooting. Today we had two teenage boys
in Winston Salem uh killed. And since the 18th of this month, there have been four mass shootings. So, we need to keep all of these mostly very young innocent victims in our prayers and really hope
and pledge that the people that we send down to Washington um will do something about what is going on with guns in the hands of wrong people. Thank you. Um, may we please have a roll call.
>> Council President Gina Bry. >> Jeffrey Banks >> here. >> Anthony Carter, >> present. >> Erin Mroy Barker >> here. >> Katherine Mitchell >> here. >> Patricia Walsh >> here. >> Mayor Mah
>> uh present. Um, I'd like to uh begin the uh meeting with a sincere and very um happy birthday to Kathy Mitchell. Kathy has uh been Kathy has been serving here for over two decades. She is in her
ninth term. She started in 1998. She has served uh with over 30 council members that have set up here and I am one of three mayors. So, job well done. Happy birthday and here's to a good year ahead.
Okay, I'm going to uh work my way over to the podium because many uh individuals that are here tonight as you are watching um from home are here um as we celebrate um volunteer appreciation. April nationally is um volunteer uh
appreciation month. And tonight here here in Fanwood, we will honor um those who have given their dedication um who have really made a crucial community impact in Fanwood, who to me and many up here serve as an inspiration to others
in our community because these volunteers, who we will call out names tonight, um really bridge the gap in services um that a small town with very few part-time employees employees can actually do. And these volunteers
actually drive the burrow's mission um to really have, you know, a firstass community that gives high quality um services and is able to really um deliver across a variety of um different
boards and commissions. So tonight, um, we will be recognizing members of boards and commissions with over a decade of service. Okay. Um, do you want to help me with this?
Oh. Oh, there on the table. Sorry. Okay. So, we're going to start off with um the board of health. Is Margaret Lewis here? >> But we know Margaret Lewis husband's here. We can
>> you'd like to come forward. And also Michael Lewis. So on the board of health, we are very fortunate to have a wonderful husband and wife team um that really do serve us very well. So um Michael, I'm going to give you this and
then >> Yeah, hold on. And I got to give you something else. Hold on. Cuz you're not just one volunteer. Hold on. You're going to be recognized. Where's Oh, I thought we had >> He only has one.
>> Oh, I thought it was for TV35. Yes, but >> Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. >> Flowers. >> Thank you. >> Um, also I will do a shout out tonight that's also on the board of health to Kathleen Thomas. Kathleen I met really
my very first day when I decided to run for office like 24 years ago and she has been uh by my side and Jan Seagull who was there I think before I even got there on the board of health has been uh wonderful. So we so our board of health
is really wonderful. They do a lot of good stuff that many of us don't even know they do right they keep our restaurants making sure that our restaurants are in top condition to keep us safe. They oversee the um the rabies vaccine which we love for our the free ra vac vaccines and really they're
always constantly watching for literally the health and safety of our um community. Um next um we have three people that are here for their dedication on the environmental commission. Um again our envir com our
environmental commission is is a really wonderful group that helps oversee um our nature center. Right. So our nature center we know is almost 7 acres of a jewel that um has a
e conservation easement attached to it. So nothing can ever happen to that really sacred space where we know people like to go and plus we get great um wildlife and birds. Um, they also take care of a lot of our native plant species planting here. They teach the
community a lot about what they do and they really are a dedicated uh group of individuals. And so the three people that have served a decade or more, one of which is here today, uh, Sandra Rder,
we thank her. We thank Gary Zelk and also like to call forward David Schwarzenberg who also serves. So, thank you for coming. Okay. Um, our library of board of trustees. Again, these are another group of great
individuals. They actually serve five-year terms. um where a lot of the appointments could be a year, some could be two years, but the library is actually a five-year term. Um they oversee the operations of our Fanwood Memorial Library. Um many of them have
been um really with us a very long time and really were all through the transformation building. Um and they will be actively involved in the search for a new library director when Dan Weiss retires as of June 1st. So tonight we are thanking publicly for over a
decade of service Jane Coppel who happens to be the better half of our burough attorney. Um and Jane Frost Gazo. Jane is here. Jane >> indeed. Okay, thank you. >> Next, um it is my pleasure to thank and
to uh really sing the praises of a group of individuals that have been serving for over 10 10 plus years on our recreation commission. What? Yeah. Well, 10 was the threshold. Some I think tonight we have Oh, yeah. Like Jane
Seagull, I'm sorry, I should have said this. You know, Margaret Lewis has over 20 years on the board of health. Um, and Kathleen Thomas had over 20 years on the board of health. Jane Seagull had 20 years on the board of health. David, 20 years. >> I remember
>> I remember >> I remember Yeah. when we met each other. Uh, Gary Zelk had over 20 years. um him himself. And on the recreation commission, we have four people tonight um that we want to highlight. Um and I'm going to I know that two of them I
believe um are here. So, the ones that I don't believe are here is Bruce Sackran, who I think many of us know as the face and the voice of a lot of our recreation commission events. He's a wonderful individual that really gives so much. Erin Sinclair, uh, another, uh, woman
that I have the pleasure of knowing for really my entire time serving as the mayor and, um, she really was a force, one of a few behind the 5K when we began that because she had a passion for running. Um, and the two gentlemen that are here today, Mike Kelly and the
infamous Neil Pierce. >> Had to say that. >> Have you come forward? >> We got seriously. Exactly. >> Wonderful. >> Thank you. um for our cultural arts commission.
Again, a very small group. So, if you haven't been to our cultural arts center, which is the at the Pacaran, which serves as the property right here, you really should if you haven't taken the time to visit one of really the oldest building um that the burrow has.
you know, you have the train station, but you also have what we call um the carriage house. And and these individuals are really responsible for a lot of the programming that goes into the carriage house. And that started with a poetry reading series that I
believe has got to be close to 25 years old. Um and >> I think it just said it. >> Yeah, it's 25th. And I can tell you I don't know of another municipality, government entity that can lay claim to
actually run, sponsor, support a poetry series for 25 years. And the two individuals that have their fingerprints all over could not be here, but one is Adele Kenny and the other one is Tom Plant. So we say thank you.
Thank you to them. Um, also tonight, um, historic preservation commission. We talk about the train station and we talk about, um, the carriage house, but there is a group of people whose responsibility it is to
make sure that that those structures, you know, stay in the best shape. We rely on them. As I said before, volunteers are our bridge in the gap of services. Um, so they really are our caretakers and they make sure that we
invest and we are gonna be awarding soon a contract that probably by the end of the summer I would think where we're going to be stripping down all the paint on the train station, replacing the windows, really bringing it back into the shutters, everything. We got a ton
of grant money. and to Joan Scubish who is the longtime chair. Uh we thank her for her years of service and she was really the inspiration behind uh the Lego that we just did for the 250th anniversary where we built fan wood out
of Legos. So we thank Joan and we appreciate her. Um oh Steve F. Okay. And um Matt Jukes, who is our chairman, longtime chairman of our planning board, was unable to be
here tonight. Um again, um Matt um really oversees and helps run every single meeting of the planning board, which is no small task. Um it meets twice a month. It has an agenda. It uh all of our members have to go for
training. Um, and it is really probably one of the most significant boards that you can volunteer on because it really drives all of our land use decision and we are well served because we Matt's an engineer, we have planners, we have attorneys and so our planning board is a
really wonderful diverse group of people and we thank Matt for his over decade of service. And then last but certainly not least, um it was nice to look out tonight and see a very friendly face that I haven't seen in a while, but our Sha Tree,
our Shay, our Sha Tree Commission, um is really a wonderful group of individuals who understand the importance of trees and what they mean to our community. Um and they are responsible for really watching the street trees that we plant,
right? because many of the times it'll something will happen to the sidewalks. You know, we will be responsible for um removing it and planting new ones. Um they really are a exceptionally small group of people, but they are very active. Um and they also oversee our
annual Arbor Day, um which is taking place this Friday. Fanwood has the distinction of being a Tree City USA recipient for 33 years. So think about that. There's not really that many communities that I know right around us
that can say for over three decades it understands the importance of trees and what it means to our environment. So tonight I'm really happy to see Steve Falco who has over 20 years and also Joanne Muno was not able to
attend but she also has 20 years on the shade tree. All right. Thank you. So, I'll give everybody another round of applause and I'm going to just go right into we have some proclamations because April is a
really um fun time of year for us because it really does celebrate a lot of things that go on in the state and even um nationally. Um, so the first one that I want to call up is our uh clean
communities day. Some may know it as Earth Day. Um, but we call it Clean Communities Day. And and Dave, uh, you want to come forward because you're on the committee and I'm going to read the essence of this into the record and then you can speak a little bit about the
event on Saturday. So we participate in what, as I said, we call Earth Day. Um, and it is our programs. It's our annual program that we call clean communities day. And this year will be held this Saturday, April 25th, 2006. So, this is a global
initiative. Um, and this year's theme is our power, our planet, and it highlights the importance of communitydriven environmental progress, showing that meaningful change comes from everyday actions rather than relying on policies
or government initiatives. So this year we will be 37 years as a town that gathers on that Saturday to clean up, literally clean up our community. And so a group of concerned residents and many of them are children
will come together um and we have only really had three to four members on our clean communities program um for the longest time. And so as we say those volunteers bridge the gap right of under making sure that we go for our 37th and
38th and soon to be 40th year um of really loving mother earth. Um so we set out each day and in this proclamation this year we will start off having already collected hundreds of tons of garbage over those decades. So today I
proclaim April 25th clean communities day in the burrow of Fanwood. I publicly thank the volunteers. I invite all of you to join us on the south side of the train station. Um because nothing is more powerful than our collection collective action when we work together.
So like there you go. Uh it's going to be a great day on Saturday 8:30 for our residents to come and do their thing helping to clean up Fanwood in all different parts of the town. Uh Southside train station. It's
an opportunity really to uh contribute something of value by your time and effort a couple of hours on a Saturday morning to uh remove some of the things that take away from the nice view of Fanwood. So, I encourage everybody to
show up, have some fun, good time. There'll be shirts for the volunteers, supplies, uh, and just Southside train station at 8:30 Saturday morning. >> Thank you. And what Dave didn't uh share is that we
do have bagels and coffee in the morning and then everybody goes out and our public works uh team, our employees divvy up and you each go with a team and some can go down along the railroad tracks, some go into the parks, you know, some go along South Avenue and
when you come back then you get actual uh a ticket for free pizza. So from Nyx, so we feed you while you also help us clean the town. Um our our next one is going to be um Arbor Day. So like I said
on Friday um this is a longstanding tradition um where our shade tree come forward Steve Falco um overseas this is their sort of signature event that they do to give back to our community. um and
they have partnered um with Nettingham for a very long time. And Steve will talk a little bit about that whole day that takes a place right across the street. But Arbor Day is a day is is really a a movement where we understand
that trees provide um beauty as well as increasing of our property values. It it enhances economic viability and it has such a uh pleasure aesthetics to trees along your street and throughout the town. And we have long demonstrated a
proud commitment to environmental stewardship, green infrastructure, and the preservation and the expansion of our tree canopy. And that's done in partnerships with the shade tree, our residents, civil uh civic organizations and volunteers. So Arbor Day is always
celebrated each year on the last Friday of April is set aside to encourage the planting and the care of trees throughout our nation, our state, and here in Fanwood. So my as the mayor and along with the council, we do proclaim April 25th to be Arbor Day, and we call
upon all of you to join us in recognizing the importance of trees. Okay. >> So, as uh the mayor said, Arbor Day is this Friday at 4:00 in Carriage House Park, and it'll be a great if it'll be a great way to get you all fired up to go
to clean community day the next morning. But, but our Arbor Day, you don't have to do any work. can just show up and you get a free northern red oak seedling, >> native tree, >> state, too, right?
>> Yeah. So, um those will be given out at uh Arbor Day. Um the Nettingham Environmental Club will be helping us out. They're going to be putting these seedlings in a nice little pot. So, when you take it home, you could have it in the pot, let it sit out for a while, and you decide where you want to plant it.
It's very nice uh nice thing that they do. They're also going to be giving a very interesting talk about the Fanwood Oak >> in uh as we rev up for Rev 250. The Fanwood Oak was standing out there on
Martin Avenue back when George Washington was coming back and forth >> through the Battle of Short Hills, right? >> Yes, it was. >> So, they're going to give a talk on that. So, it is going to be an exciting day and I hope you could all come. >> Thank you. Great to see this.
>> Yeah, good to see you. You can Yeah, you can read it uh on that day. And Steve was pointing to that's an actual piece of the Fanwood oak that's up on our wall here. Um we kept a lot of the tree and over the years we've done some really cool stuff with it. Um there's actually
the sign outside of the train station, the historic train station, but the museum is actually made from the historic oak. So, it really does. It's a It was a historic tree. It's on the registry and all that good stuff. Um, next I'd like to call forward I think we
have is it Tyler that is here from the child abuse prevention month and I also know you have some I'm sorry your name but Carrie I'm sorry please come forward and they're going to accept the proclamation
which talks about child abuse prevention because the month of April um is when we should be talking about it, shining some light on it, and educating people on it. So, the proclamation that we will read into the record today is that children
are our nation's most vulnerable members and our nation's most valuable resources. Whereas positive childhood experiences like loving caregivers and having safe, stable, nurturing relationships can help
mitigate trauma and the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences. Childhood trauma, including abuse and neglect, is a serious problem that actually has very long-term psychological, emotional, and physical
effects and can affect an individual's life. But children who live in families with access to concrete economic and social supports are less likely to experience this abuse and neglect. Prevention is possible because of partnerships created between Prevent
Child Abuse New Jersey, the families, the advocates, the child welfare professionals, communities and faith-based organizations, law enforcement service organizations, and everyone in this room. We can always do our part. We acknowledge that to
solve the public health issue of abuse and neglect that we have to work together to change the hearts and mindsets through storytelling and sharing. We recognize the need to prioritize children and invest in more prevention initiatives like home visiting and family strengthening
policies. So therefore, I, Colleen Mars, the mayor and the governing body, we proclaim April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. And we urge all of you to recognize this month by building a narrative of hope for children through
collaboration and creation. Hi, I'm Tyler. I'm a junior at Scotch Plains Vanwood High School. And as a student ambassador for child abuse for child abuse prevention in New Jersey, I thank you for bringing awareness and attention to this important cause and
helping to make our town a better place for children and families. Together, I believe that we can strengthen families and ensure that every child has the chance to grow up safe, nurtured, and loved. Thank you. And hello everyone. Thank you so much for having us. Um my name is Carrie
Spicer. I'm the director of community engagement at Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey. Um and I want to give another round of applause to our student ambassador, Tyler. She has done so much um to ensure that we are here today. um and has done a lot
of advocacy and has collected donations on behalf of the organization. Um so, thank you so much, Tyler, for all of the work that you're doing. Um I do just want to mention a few things. Um since 1979, Prevent Child Abuse New
Jersey has worked to build a brighter future for our children in all 21 counties. Today, our programs reach more than 100,000 children and families statewide. In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America launched the Pinwheels for
Prevention campaign in observation of Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is April. The pinwheel in our logo was selected as a national symbol of prevention because it is fun and whimsical and brings those
joyful moments and emotions of happy childhoods that we all deserve and that all children deserve. This year's theme is Pinwheels for Possibility. Celebrating the limitless potential of children and families when
communities come together, care and support them. When families are facing rising costs, heightened stress, and widening gaps in support, we are stepping forward with a clear message that when we invest in our families
early and often, we create the conditions where children can grow up safe, supported, and full of possibility. So, thank you so much for recognizing April as child abuse prevention month and for being our
partners in prevention. Thank you. Give me one of these, Tyler. You're volunteering your time. Thank you. >> And we have also that we are going to >> Oh, cute with everyone as well. >> It's windy.
>> I know. >> Um, and our last proclamation um is for Autism Acceptance Month. And so I was going to ask our Councilman Jeffrey Banks to please read that into the record and say a few words about autism awareness and the importance of that.
>> Hi everybody. Okay, another proclamation here for April Autism Acceptance Month. Whereas autum autism spectrum disorder is a developmental condition that affects an estimated one in 36 children
in the United States touching the lives of individuals, families, and communities in every corner of our nation, including right here in the burrow of Fanwood. And whereas autistic individuals possess unique strengths, perspectives, and
talents that enrich our schools, workplaces, and community. And the burrow of Fanwood celebrates the contributions of all its neurodeiversity residents. And whereas autism acceptance
month observes each April encourages communities to move beyond mere awareness toward genuine acceptance, inclusion, and support. Fostering environments where autistic individuals are valued, respected, and
empowered to thrive. And whereas families and caregivers of autistic individuals demonstrate extraordinary dedication and love and deserve the support and resources and recognition of the entire Fanwood community.
And whereas the Burrow of Fanwood is committed to building a community that is welcoming and accessible to every resident and recognizes that embracing neurodiversity makes our burrow stronger, more compassionate, and
vibrant for all. Now therefore, Colleen Maher, mayor and the Burrow of Fanwood do hereby proclaim April 2026 to be Autism Acceptance Month in the Burough of Fanwood, New Jersey. And I call upon all residents, schools,
businesses, and organizations to observe this month with reflections that foster acceptance, celebrate neurodiversity, and reaffirm our commitment to an inclusive community for for every person. Thank you.
>> Okay. Um, we have one piece of uh correspondence uh in our packet tonight. Just get to it was in the back. >> I think it's the last.
>> Okay. Um, piece of correspondence from Nile Niles Holstrom who's a resident um of Second Street. I believe those are the uh the um condos um at Station Square. Uh requesting to amend the burough code
regarding lot 9 eligibility. Um as you know um we did some changes to our parking layout recently kind of memorializing some of the things that had been in effect for a while. But they're recognizing the efforts to
provide no cost permitted parking. Um that he is looking to gain access, equal access, and so we specially asked this to be added to a future work session agenda. All right, we read that into the record. Um and then
I will Oh, I skipped number six, but right Oh, no, that's correspondence. I'm sorry. Um now I'd like to have a motion to open the meeting to the public. So moved. Second. >> All in favor? >> Thank you. I'd like to call forward any members of the public that wish to make a comment. While it says agenda items
only because we have two and we got a little long meeting, it's really it if you want to come up and say anything, this is your first shot at doing so. >> I can mention the depending on the resolution. >> You just Well, just do me a favor. Just come to the podium and just state your
name. Your name and address for the record. Uh Sean Foley, Scotch Plains. Um I just want to take time to thank the mayor and council uh for taking time to consider uh on voting on the resolution to end algorithmic rent pricing
software. I know you all have been balancing a lot and I really appreciate how seriously you all approach this issue. Um this resolution this resolution matters because it set it sets clear expectations for developers and helps ensure the rental and housing market operates fairly. It reinforces
that growth should serve the community and not undermine it. So, thank you so much for your time, your support, and your continued dedication to this community. >> So, Sean, it's really nice to see you again. I'm sorry. Yeah, maybe just take a second because I was going to have our attorney describe what we're doing, but
I think >> you know, no, no, I think it would be great coming from you because you were the one that actually brought this forward, which we are passing a resolution later on this evening urging the state to ban algorithm rental pricing. So why don't you just take a second and just tell the public what
that is? >> Sure. So um uh the software the rental pricing algorithmic software is um is where the market where where developers and and um leasing companies are using software to uh come up with pricing for
rental house rentals in throughout the community. Um I'll uh apps like real page um uh are are some of these uh uh mechanisms that uh help developers and
and and and uh leasing agencies uh find out how to price their apartments their their their um their apartments. So what we have found is that with this software with these algorithmic type softwares we are finding that the
software is influencing developers. It is putting at risk uh rental price fixing schemes throughout uh states throughout the country. Um, recently the attorney general uh in New Jersey allegedly found
that uh developers throughout the state we're using this software to collude on rental pricing. So in other words, it undermined the fair uh uh the idea of a fair and free
uh market. Uh it allowed developers to collude and instead of enhancing competition as with any increased uh uh uh buildings being you know like we're seeing kind of those things being built it should be supply obviously reduces
demand but what you're seeing is that they're colluding to keep the rents high so they don't compete with each other uh but they actually are in tandem with each other and instead of letting the market do the work these developers are making sure these rents stay high some avail units stay available uh
regardless. So this can be uh detrimental uh to the welfare uh of our communities. Um and I think too I think what this this this resolution does is it it gives us an opportunity to take a breath as we know technology goes really
quickly. Um and you know the motto often is move fast and break things and when things break uh we're often the ones cleaning it up. And I think and I really support the council mayor. Uh I'm just ecstatic over this because I think it symbolizes we take a breath because it
happens so quickly and that and the consequences can be high. Um you know when developers use this technology, it is not just the the buildings that are inflated in rents. It's rentals throughout the the area. It's a domino
effect. And we all work really hard. I know they work really hard to ensure housing is fair and affordable and when you have something made of zeros and ones uh creating these conditions um you know it it it goes against you know
those the need to ensure our economic safety and the safety for our community. So I want to thank everyone so much. >> Yeah. No, thank you for bringing it to us. We know that there's other communities that are passing this resolution. So we're proud to stand with that and call on us if you need us. I will. Thank you so much.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. Anybody else that wishes to come forward, please state your name and address for the record. >> Uh Steve Falco, 170 Russell Road. Uh I'm here to speak
in favor of the uh tree removal permit revised ordinance. Um uh I believe it has it been proposed or is it in discussion? We discussed it. We discussed last time. >> Yeah. So at our last >> We don't have the proposal yet.
>> So So at our last meeting um our engineer gave us a synopsis. >> Okay. >> And we had some other questions, right? And so and then there's been some chatter, you know, that I think has probably brought you here. >> Okay. Well, just uh I I'd like to give
my perspective on on the um the revised ordinance. Um as you know, I've been on the Shade Tree Commission for a long time and I've encountered this ordinance several times. The existing ordinance and uh the existing ordinance is uh very
complicated and very cumbersome and difficult to deal with. I've had to deal with it a few times over the years and um recently I was working with Antonios um burrow engineer on on um issue over
on North Avenue where once again this um ordinance came into effect and Antonio was helping me and we were working on it and we and I kept telling him this this ordinance is just too much and I was urging him or to to um see what he could
do to revise it. And lo and behold, he actually started to do it. I was able to dig up an email that he sent to the Shade Tree Commission on May 5th, 2022. And he sent it to all the members of my commission. And this is what he was
saying. He he tells us, "I've been working on revising the tree removal permit ordinance, and I've attached," he had a draft, and he attached it to the email. and he says if you know the ordinance you know you need a doctorate degree to understand it. So I wanted to
simplify it as well as provide a clear and and and a clear fee and penalty structure. So back in 2022, he was involved in trying to re revise this this ordinance and uh you
know we talked about it and made some progress. Over the past few years, the ball really started rolling and the burrow uh put together a little committee which I was invited on and uh we had the um our environmental
commission was there. Uh Clint was there and of course Antonios was was uh was leading it and we're working on ways to revise this um this uh ordinance. We also had uh Councilwoman Walsh was on it
too and um she was very effective on this on this committee because we're a bunch of tree people and we tended to start talking about what's a native tree, what's an invasive tree, what does and
fortunately councilwoman Marsh got us focused in on let's let's get this done. Let's make it understandable for the people in the in town. Let's make this resolution work the way it's supposed to. And I think we made a lot of progress. I think the resolute the uh
ordinance as it stands now is is a very good one. Uh I would like to just read the um first section of the ordinance which is the purpose because this is important to know that there's a lot of uh
technicalities or whatever in it but the the purpose of the ordinance uh and I'll read it right now. The ordinance is to establish requirements for tree removal and replacement in the burrow of Fanwood to reduce soil erosion and pollutant
runoff, promote infiltration of uh rainwater into the soil, and to protect the environment, public health, safety, and welfare, and to maintain the Barrow's tree canopy. That's what this particular ordinance, that's its
objective. That's what it's trying to do. just trying to make sure that uh people don't just take down trees for no no good reason. Um because we all understand in our town that we value our
trees, we value our environment. Um I've been on the shade tree commission for a long time and I have to say this, the members of the council have always supported us. They've always worked with us. We have a very long um uh history of
being uh supportive of our environment and our trees and this particular revised ordinance fits into that category. So I hope when you guys uh read it over and take a look at it, you'll um look on it favorably because I
think it's a good ordinance. >> Thank you very much. Thank you, Steve. Yes, please state your name and address for the record. >> Hi, Lesie Cron, 215 Patterson Road. And um I was also wanted to stand up and
make comment in favor of the new tree ordinance. Um and that um I think that it does add a lot of clarity. It expands a little bit, puts a little bit more strength in, um controlling the tree
removal process. And um I've been involved in the development in the last two years just kind of off and on and let me mention species and trees. Um so the environmental commission has been pretty involved. Um but I wanted to
also um note that there's been some Facebook activity and there might be people in the meeting here that want to speak about it. Um, I responded to one of the Facebook posts and invited people to come tonight. So, you can kick me if you want
to. I don't know if anybody's going to speak about it, but I encourage coming to open discussion, open forum discussions rather than Facebook. And there's there is a bit of an misinformation out there. And I think after the ordinance is approved, it'd be important to get some good
communications out there. from my perspective on the planning board where I've seen um or not even just on the planning board but just around town seeing trees coming down a lot of times it's because people take them down they don't know there's even an ordinance so
I think the communications is very important once an old tree is gone it's gone so it's hard to replace that um anyhow I'm I'm really happy about the need to certify trees to have a certification that says a tree is
diseased or an endangerment before getting the approval to approve it. So, >> thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um, you let me see if there's anybody. Is there anybody else that wishes to come forward?
>> Oh, sure. Just Yeah, please come forward. >> Just state your names and address for the record, please. Laura Lang, 61 Car Sam Street family. Um, and I'm part of the green team. So, I actually just read the ordinance um, prior to coming to this meeting, but um,
did want to share my support. Um, and as somebody who has massive bamboo >> on our street that is so problematic, I really do welcome this. So, thank you so much for sharing this with me. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
Anybody else wish to come forward? Anybody else that wish to make a comment? >> There's I do. I'd like to >> I think you have a question. >> Um so I love trees. >> Okay. >> Whatever you want. >> Do you want to do that first?
>> Uh if you want to go first. So just um again it is volunteer appreciation month. We did speak about Arbor Day. We had people from the green team and uh shade tree um and uh environmental here to speak. And I just wanted to say thank
you again to the volunteers um and the burough staff for all their time, expertise and work on revising our tree ordinance. Um, as was said, we are looking at res revising the ordinance to make sure that we follow storm water management, deep d regulations, state
regulations, and uh, for the other reasons that were mentioned. um the environmental committee and the shade tree, our burough engineer, our BA um have all spent many many hours um discussing our current ordinance, looking at model ordinances from the
state and other towns to ensure that our proposal will satisfy um all the regulations and requirements we need to. Our intent is to strengthen and clarify our current ordinance to protect our trees, to meet the needs of our residents, and adhere to all the
regulations. Um, as was mentioned at the last council meeting, the proposal for the tree ordinance was discussed. No action was taken. Um, this is an ongoing process in collaboration with the environmental shade tree and the burrow to get the best tree ordinance for
Famwood that we can. We have absolutely no interest in making money through fines. Um we want to promote environmentally conscious behavior and responsibility regarding tree removal and replacement. And as Leslie
mentioned, um I too would like to invite anyone interested in having a polite, productive conversation about preservation, removal, replacement of trees and come to a meeting or better yet join one of our committees or
commissions uh and help our dedicated residents, as you heard, that have been doing this for many, many years, uh volunteer their time on all of these commissions instead of posting insulting and misinformation. information on Facebook. Thank you.
>> Um I think we have a few more comments coming from Facebook. >> Uh yes, mayor. Um Carolyn Brink wants to know why Landmark was granted a five-year tax abatement for the Soho building
>> because they applied. >> You want me to? Yeah, I mean it's a um it's a chapter 21 tax abatement statutory application provided by the New Jersey Division of Taxation which uh was filled out, completed and reviewed by the tax
assessor. >> Okay. >> And meeting all the criteria, it was approved. >> Thank you. Next, >> uh there's a second question from Christina and I apologize if I mispronounce the name, Patess. Uh she wants the governing body to
comment on the parking issues that are occurring on South Avenue in front of the new Soho and apartments. With the new businesses open, parking issues are very limited. Uh regard in front of Ginger Sushi, Golden Hanger, China Moon. Thank you.
>> So, real quick, um the this we are aware that there have been some parking issues and we have been aware that there have been a car that was towed. Um there is clear signs of on the private property which is where Ginger Sushi and several
other retail stores are. So they have put very clear signs of this is only for their parking and if you park here for any other reason you will be towed and that we had an unfortunate incident that that happened. Um so we are aware of that. We also have spoken through our
economic development coordinator, Liz Jeff, to make sure that our new retail establishments understand the parking where they can park and where they cannot park. They can park on South Avenue. Um they can park in the train
station after 12 12:00. Uh we do have a municipal lot and we do have on street parking. And we also know uh we are we also understand the issue with the post office um which again is another issue
between a landlord and a tenant as the post office is the tenant to the new owners of what was formerly the Scotchwood Flores site. Um and so they put the post office does not have parking privileges um in the bigger lot
that's not in their lease and as I understand they are currently negotiating their lease which I would suspect that parking would be discussed and resolved but um that's another issue that is between um a landlord and a private entity.
Anything else? >> No, that was it. >> Okay. Thank you. Um there's not anything else. I have a motion to close the public hearing. >> Thank you. >> All in favor? >> Okay. Uh thank you. Um we have approval
of our minutes of our meeting from April 6, 2026, which was our work session in an executive session. May I have a motion on that? >> So move. >> All in favor? I. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um, we're going to move on to the
introduction of our 2026 municipal budget, which I'm going to turn over to uh Jesse Mullman, who is our burough administrator. And this is a budget that uh he is presenting to us in collaboration with uh Patricia Solardo,
our CFO. Um, and also with understanding our administration and finance committee have met and moved this forward. Just give us a couple minutes. wanted this one. Yeah,
>> you guys have this. >> Oh, >> Kathy, you have this? >> Yes. All right. Good evening, Mayor Maher, council members, and members of the public. I'm Jesse Molman, Burough Administrator. Here with me is Patricia
Solardo, CFO for the burrow. Thank you for inviting us to introduce this year's budget. Budget planning began last fall when Patricia and I reviewed our budget to actual for 2025 and met with department heads to gather their
requests for 2026. We went we then went through multiple iterations before settling on numbers we believe are appropriate for each appropriation and revenue line. Over the last few months, we have reviewed budget priorities and challenges with our finance team, including NW Financial, our financial
adviser, and Sly Clooney, our auditor. The budget we are introducing this evening is one we feel best positions the bird to meet today's operational needs with strong financial management in mind. The philosophies and objectives highlighted on this slide are a basic
overview of the ways in which Patricia and I view our responsibilities when introducing a budget. We model our revenues and appropriations to plan on a long-term basis. The choices we make in this budget year will impact the bureau in years to come. The next few budget cycles will be a balance between meeting the everchanging needs in the
municipality while increasing our fund balance and reserves in the face of rising insurance, benefits, pension, and debt service costs. We also modeled projections for our budget line items. so we can better anticipate future gaps in our appropriations. And here are some major accomplishments
the bureau realized in 2025. These are all public improvements that the community gets to enjoy. These projects were paid for through a combination of funding from grants, open space, and capital funds. And just to highlight a few, we have the new playground equipment um in Forest Road Park, which will be open to the public very soon. Um
the Grand Park, we resurfaced the tennis and basketball courts. uh made some improvements to our public works garage and started ordering a sweeper uh a street sweeper and installed a new stage at the carriage house. And for 2026, um the burough plans to
undertake the following projects. Some of these projects already in motion via pre previously received grants. These include the historic preservation project for community house, which the mayor highlighted before. Um resurfacing the tennis courts at Forest Road Park.
um road work um on four streets, Walden Road, Kite Place, Grave Place, and Watson Road. Um issuing bids for the South Avenue tap project and a continuation of sewer cleaning uh with Parsa, our sewer authority.
Our employees carry out the operations of the municipality on a daily basis. They are public servants who care deeply about the burrow and it shows in the quality of their work. These are just a few photos that highlight your tax dollars at work. And when we think about how the budget
is categorized, it's helpful to consider costs that are within our control for an adjustment and those that aren't. This slide shows how threequarters of the budget is essentially built in already. And even some of the controllable expenses are consistent, like utility payments. However, we stress with the
departments to constantly evaluate these line items to see where savings can be found. Revenues are one area the municipality has limited control over year-toear. other than through property tax increases and increases in fees and permits as a result of the new shared
court agreement with Garwood. Our revenue is increasing from 40,000 to 105,000 this year. Energy tax receipts, also known as state aid, has been held flat um at 640 uh $764,000.
And of note, we are utilizing $40,000 less in fund balance this year compared to 2025. It is my goal to reduce our fund balance utilization and increase reserves over time. As a municipality, most of our expenses are on salaries and benefits. Our people are infrastructure.
They are police officers responding to call for ser calls for service. Our public works employees clearing cash basins and pruning shade trees. Our construction office ensuring people's home improvements are safe and permitted. And our building inspectors ensuring that projects and developments are built are being built to code. A few
lines rose significantly compared to 2025. Health insurance costs from the BMED health insurance fund rose about 20% in aggregate. This is mainly due to claims experience, prices of prescription drugs and >> Jesse, I think you have to go to your next slide. Are you
>> Yes. Thank you. Um mainly due to claims experience, price of prescription drugs. Oh, wait. No, actually. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Yep. Sorry. um as prescription drugs and increases in plan costs for both active employees and retirees. Um which this
year comes to a little over $1.7 million. Um GIF expenses expenses are rising by 20% in aggregate due to rising premiums driven by claims experience and a revised 10-year special assessment to cover the deficit experienced by the Garden State Joint Insurance Fund, which
now stands at $48 million. The total increase in this line is 175,000 inclusive of these changes and includes GIF premiums and workers compensation. This slide illustrates a roughly $500,000 increase from 2025 to 2026 on
the appropriation side solely on obligated costs we spoke about earlier. It's a massive hit to a budget of our size. These are significant cost drivers and are the reason why we are asking for a tax increase due to inflation, the war in Iran and exter externalities. We are
uh expecting higher gasoline costs and other reverberating effects throughout our procurements. Health insurance and GIF insurance rates continue to be large budget drivers. Debt service will be a consistent driver for at least the next few budget cycles. We took in a little over $500,000 in
grants in 2026. We are shared service agreements with Garwood for DPW director and shared court. Township of Scotch Plains for tax collection which will begin on May 1st. Township of Westfield for health department and uh and fuel
oops and the city of Rawway uh for construction official. These agreements consistently result in savings for the bureau. The chart to the right shows the average monthly cost for each service provided by the bureau per household. This gives a slice of the value all of our
departments provide in a digestible way, which actually gets to a larger point. A lot of our municipal services are leveraged by residents on a daily basis and some only on occasion. But the reason they're a municipal service is because they are public goods and pose a collective action problem. If the
burrowed in provide them, then who would and how cost-effective would they be? This slide illustrates why we exist as a municipality and the value we provide to the community. The tax rate for 2026 is 658 for every
$100 of assessed value for the municipal portion of the budget. This budget calls for a $226 U.86 increase on a property with an assessed value of $475,000, which is the average assessed value for
a residential property in the burrow. The burrow is just a slice of the overall property tax pie. The chart to the right shows the breakdown per $100 of an average tax bill and where it goes across each jurisdiction and what is about 21% of the total. The state bylaw
constricts how much the budget can grow both with the levy and appropriation caps. This year, the bureau was very close to exceeding the appropriations and levy caps without cuts to services and staff. We very narrowly avoided this situation. Had we not authorized the two
recent shared service agreements with Garwood for court and Scotch Planes for tax collection, the tax impact would have been greater and our service delivery would have been affected. Our office takes great care to keep burrow operations running smoothly in light of the financial challenges felt by nearly
every municipality across the state. This is the estimated total tax levy broken out by entity. The certified amounts for the school and county will be finalized once their budgets are adopted. So the numbers that are on the screen are based on 2025 figures. Can you just go through that
because you a lot of people can't see it either. So >> So um municipal portion is about 21% of the total open space which we collect about $127,000 a year. That's uh 3% of
the total. library which is set by the state uh based on the equalized um assessed valuation for the burrow uh this year is about $647,000 and that's 1.6% of the total. Um the county last year um brought in uh $6
million and is at 15% of the total. County open space is 265,000 based on last year's numbers and that's 6% of the total. uh the board of ed um last year was close to 25 million which is about 62% of the total.
And looking ahead, this year was particularly challenging in regards to rising benefits costs and general insurance liabilities. The appropriations and levy caps imposed by the state are making it increasingly difficult to budget in this economic environment. We are working with our HIF
and GIF to control cost growth in these areas. We will continue to explore shared service opportunities as well. We've introduced a paired down capital budget in the last few cycles to control our debt service costs and we'll continue with that trend this year. On the inflation front, as prices rise, so
will our contracts and service costs. All municip municipalities are facing these challenges. Unfortunately, as a small burough with more limited resources, these issues are more pronounced. The capital budget will be introduced at a future meeting. Our proposed spend includes funding raised by short-term
notes and the total amount proposed for this year is 515,000. Um, and it includes improvements um for our police department, uh, public works administration, fire and engineering.
Um, sorry, these these are projects that are proposed and these improvements allow us to continue to deliver high quality services to residents and to meet the future needs of the burrow. Next steps. Between now and May 18th, anyone with questions can stop by Burough Hall to view a copy of the
budget or to discuss it with myself and the CFO. After tonight's meeting, the proposed budget will be posted on the Burough website along with the userfriendly budget and tonight's budget presentation. Patricia and I are here to answer any questions you may have. Thank you again.
>> Okay, good job. >> Thank you, J. >> Okay, thank you. Um, a couple noteworthy takeaways. Um, uh, oh, thank God we got through that. >> So, I'll let
>> Mr. Lewis, could you turn the lights on? >> And an Uber job. Can't afford that. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. I said we go um old school here. >> We're saving money. >> Yeah. Um, so tonight is the um
introduction of the budget. Um, and I want to thank Jesse and Trish and administration in finance. Um, I'll just let Jesse move out of the way. Let's get camera. Um, for for the work.
Um, at the next meeting I'm going to have a resolution on um that is going to urge the state of New Jersey and its leaders to basically get health benefit reform um to to really tackle that. Um
for us we are seeing what is it a 20% >> no it's higher than that right? what was it? 26 26% increase yearover-year for providing health care which is both I guess the medical and the
prescription. Um and that is unsustainable for us to be able to do. It is an unsustainable increase. it has been happening for the last several years that um of what it
costs us, right, that are passed on to our employees. So, our employees are paying more. Um the retirees are paying more and ultimately all of us as taxpayers. Um and we actually opted out of the state health benefit plan three years ago because if we had stayed in um
I think they were up like between the healthc care and the med probably like 90% from what I understand 33 on the medical and like 60 on the prescription and so it is just completely out of control. So, I'll have Russ and Jesse
work to put that on uh to draw attention because really that's a big that's a big number for a small budget, you know, and absent that um that would give us more opportunity to do more things if we
didn't have that specific nut there. And we are doing um I think some really great shared services at really rapid paces. we're finding agreements. So, I really I want to say thank you for that because time is money. Um, and we don't
have time to waste and we are finding willing partners in our other uh Garwin and Scotch Plains and Rawway to help us as a small community um defay some of the costs. So, I'd like to have a motion to uh I'll let you read that into the record.
Eight the rate. >> I'm ready. Just a resolution. Do I have to read this? Oh, can I get a motion? Do I have to read this? >> Yeah, just read the title. Okay.
>> Motion to uh resolution 2026-04-01. >> No, wait. one >> 101 authorizing the introduction of the CY 2026 municipal budget.
May I have a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? I. >> Okay. And then again, the public hearing is >> May 18th. >> May 18th at 7 o'clock. Thank you. Um moving on under the consent agenda. Um
whereas the burough council has determined to increase efficiency that we can have a consent agenda to be adopted with one resolution. All of the resolution titles will be read into the record. This would be the time for any council person who wishes to pull any of
the resolutions out um for further discussion uh to please say so. Absent that um I will now read the resolution titles. Under administration and finance
resolution 20264102 is authorizing the payment of claims as of April 20th, 2026. Resolution 20264103 is cancelling the temporary budget appropriation balances.
Resolution 20264104 is authorizing a contract increase for TV production and videography. Resolution 20264105 is appointing a tax collector which is a direct outreach um as a result of our
new shared service. Resolution 202604106 is establishing the location in the offices of the family tax collector offices which actually all the postcards hit today in the mail that we sent out to all the residents notifying them of the new shared service.
Resolution 202604107 is authorizing the burough of fan tax collector to prepare and may mail estimated tax bills. Resolution 202604108 is adopting a cash management rounding policy for in-person cash transactions
since the federal government is no longer making pennies. Resolution 20264109 is approving a 50/50 raffle license for the Greater Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce. That's their fan jam, I
believe. Resolution 20264110 is authorizing block 93 lot forest tax exempt and authorizing a refund for the first and second quarter of 2026. Under public safety resolution 20264111
is authorizing the execution of a shared service agreement between the Burrow of Fanwood and the Scotch Plains Fanwood Board of Education for the provisions of a class 3 special law enforcement officer also known as like a SLO. Um this it well you probably should say
something about this right this is a direct result of having the LRAN school be scheduled to open in September. >> Yeah. So, um before um the L grand school uh was approved um by in the
referendum um the board of ed would enter into a shared service agreement with Scotch Planes for the other schools in the district to have uh SEO3s which are special law enforcement officers dedicated to schools um that are retired police officers. Um I believe there's
one or two schools in the district that are also um they have a school resource officer who is a police officer. Um but the remaining are3s and so it just necessitates having a shared service agreement uh between the municipality and the school district whereby the 3 is
an employee of the burrow just like in the other schools. They're an employee of Scotch Plains but Scotch Plains gets reimbursed by the board of ed um for the cost of that employee. And that's what we're doing here where um our police department will hire the employee but we'll be we will be reimbursed by the
board of ed for their salary you know prehire materials testing uniforms all that stuff. >> Okay. Thank you. Um resolution 20264112 urging the state of New Jersey to ban algorithm rental pricing software. We
spoke about that earlier. Resolution 20264113 is authorizing the bureau to hire an electrical subcode official. And resolution 2026414 is establishing the salary increase for our plumbing subcode official which are
all part-time employees. Um may I have a motion? >> Second. >> Um may I have a roll call? >> Council President Gina Barry. >> Yes. >> Jeffrey Banks. >> Yes. >> Anthony Carter. >> Affirm. >> Aaron Mroy Barker. >> Yes. Katherine Mitchell, >> yes. >> Patricia Walsh,
>> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, we have no new business, no carry on old business. We will go to some standing reports. Um, I'll just start. Um, last weekend I had um it was an all Fanwood Saturday for me
where I started my morning off um with the mayor of Scotch Plains and we did uh one two mayors, one town or one town, two walks or something like that. >> One walk, two mayors, >> something like that. But anyway, it was
it was meant to be a part of our uh green teams and part of our healthy communities. I mean, it was also against the backdrop of um local government week where this is the week where all towns will do things to highlight what goes on
here. And so, uh, Councilwoman, thank you for joining me. We had a nice little crowd that did two miles in the morning. Um, and then I went over for my first of the year coffee with the mayor and Councilman Banks, thank you for showing up. And Councilwoman, thank you again
for showing up. And we had a really nice turnout. I have to say it was really nice. It's always good to see new faces um that show up there. And a couple of the stuff that we talked about, right, was the post office parking, right? That's that is on our radar um because
in one way we've never had an issue with the post office parking and now we do. So, we're kind of following that there. Um, we talked about some speeding issues on Montrose, which I believe I have forwarded um since then about just some
traffic calming initiatives that need to happen over there because it's a straight road uh with no sidewalks and it's a big cut through in the morning and the afternoon between the two schools um there and we had a lot of I thought really good robust conversations
um about our affordable housing plan. what is affordable housing, where is it? Um, and also we talked about both the shortterm and the long-term payments in lie of taxes um and why a local government town would consider doing
them um how they work. And I thought that was really good. We have a lot of information up on our website and we will continue to really be um available for anyone because we believe it's important to make sure that people have the facts. Um and again not to always
get your information off of a a Facebook neighborhood group, please. Um moving on under administration and finance. >> Um main discussion was the budget and we presented today. >> Thank you. Um under public safety.
>> Yep. Um okay. So this is the report for March for the police department. The department um generated uh 1,827 CAD entries, which is an average of 58
per day. This includes the following. 622 building security checks, 204 traffic enforcement details, 23 hazardous conditions, 41 medical calls, and 26 alarms. During the month of uh
March, uh the police had um 462 vehicles stopped for traffic violations. A total of 547 summones were issued. 479 of those were for moving violations and 68 were for parking. Um so they are starting to
enforce parking a bit more closely. Um officers attended 14 training classes. Um and they ranged from the um patrolman through um uh one of our lieutenants. Um there were seven arrests during the
month. That seems busy. Uh and there was a significant increase in building checks as fan officers assisted Scotch Plains uh police department in ensuring the safety of various religious institutions in both municipalities due to the ongoing um issues
internationally. Um I also want to mention a couple events that they participated in. Uh they gave the Girl Scouts a tour on March 17th um with a local Girl Scout troop. Uh they participated in the Easter egg hunt as they always do uh which this year
successfully took place at Lrand Park for the first time. Um and they did drive a student to school on March 31st uh with the fire department. Um drove a lucky student uh and his friends to St. Barts for the day. Um I also want to
mention that the traffic committee continues to meet um and uh and discuss you know all the traffic and parking and safety related issues. Uh this is a committee that we formed about a year ago uh that consists of our bureau
engineer, our business administrator, um our public works director, our uh police um officer in charge um and myself um as public safety. Um we have been trying to get ahead of issues when it comes to
traffic around schools, safety to and from schools, speeding issues, um various speed limit issues, um and then traffic enforcement and of course planning ahead for the new school at Lrand. Um so that committee does continue to meet and also troubleshoot
around um speeding and uh appropriate deterrence options. Um so we will continue to do that. Um, also I just want to mention um that uh if you follow the Fanwood Police Department um
they are trying to do a lot more community education around ebikes um there is material that they have posted on their Facebook page and a couple of the officers from Fanwood as well as in conjunction with officers from Scotch Plains are starting to visit the local
schools um to provide more information to students and parents around ebikes. safety. Um so so please, you know, look that up and and reach out to the police department if you want to have more information um on uh new ebike res
regulations um and really how to keep your kids safe. Um that's it. >> Um thank you. Rescue. >> Um okay, we'll get it next time. Fire, >> no report. >> Okay, thank you. Under public works. >> Okay, thank you. I have the public works
report for um March. Uh so public works has completed their recurring monthly uh activities for maintenance and litter patrol um and repairs. Uh they continue to work on their senior handyman
program. Um they set up for the the meetings and they repaired a fence at Lrand. Um the seasonal activities are the nighttime sweeping downtown business district. They have begun to drag the baseball fields at Forest Road in Lrand
Park. Um they our landscaper is beginning his work, so they're uh getting their equipment ready for that. And um they have repaired and adjusted the tennis court netting at Lrand. They are installing new parking signs in
municipal lot number nine. Um, as was mentioned, we had the annual Easter egg hunt at Lrand and they prepared um the grounds for that. And uh they have also done a lot of work on pothole repairs in
various locations in the burrow, the municipal lot, and probably a dozen or so uh streets so far. The spring leaf pickup program in all quadrants of the burrow has occurred and um we are starting the spring brush
program that actually started today in the northeast and northwest quadrants. Please have material p uh at the curb by 7:00 a.m. for pickup. And the recycling center will be open on May 2nd from 8:00 a.m. to 11 for selfservice.
Um, and what did I want to say? Oh, clean communities day Saturday. Um, DPW will be there and working hard on that. >> Thank you. >> And that's it. >> Thank you, Councilman Carter. Anything you'd like to share? >> Yes. So, I'd like to thank Lisa Howerin,
who's our senior technical official, construction department, for her report. And it is For the month of March, we had 55 new building permits, building, electrical, plumbing, fire, elevator, mechanical. Uh
we had five permit updates. Of those permits, 55 were various alterations, four were additions, and uh one was a demolition to a property.
All 60 of those permits, the ownership was private. And the total value of construction based on what was reported through those permits 1,475,316. So people are investing in their family
property and home. Great place to live. Yes. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um library council. >> Yes. Um this week is actually National Library Week. Um, so get to the library this week. Um, for youth services, uh,
they collected 82 items were added to the juvenile collection items. 20 items were added to the young adult collection. They had 35 volunteer hours from the teenagers um including um
financial literacy workshops for the fourth and sixth graders. In April there was 31 youth services events held um in the month of March uh with full detail
events. Um there was a 413 children and teenagers that attended the events. 272 adults attended the events. Um we had for adults we had 42 events
with 354 um adults that attended the events. um with total circulations of items during the month of March there was a total of 10,182 items circulated. Included in that
10,000 was 5,30 books, 1,481 ebooks. So there's a lot of movements happening at the library, lot of reading going on. Um, there's a lot of data
here. I'm not going to read them all. So, there's a lot of activities. So, go on their website, pick a date, you'll find something to do. >> Good job. >> Uh, yeah. But I just want to um jump in
and say that um last week um part of the library series um was held um was a powerful Holocaust remembrance program um that featured Fred Pollock, the son of parents whose love story began in a concentration camp. Um and so Adara
Goldberg, who also is a fan resident, is the um Holocaust resource center at Kain University. Um, and this was a really wonderful speaker, a series um that Meredith at the library uh quarterbacked getting it started with a grant and we've been able to um continue. We've
had over a hundred people um that showed up um at the um middle school. >> Yep. At Nettingham to hear this amazing story and so just another example of uh really the important work um that the
library does. Um, moving on under historic preservation. >> Yes. Um, I have the report for this month. Um, we received a donation from a gentleman in Pennsylvania that had an old Fanwood train sign that formerly was
hanging there. We don't know how he got it, but he gave it to us. >> Did the train go out? >> Now we have it back. Um, >> no questions asked, right? >> No questions asked. We're doing a historic walking tour of Fanwood with the friends of the Fanwood Library on
June 7th. >> Um we are planning fun. >> Yeah, that really is fun. >> We are planning a children's Boston tea party. Um which will end with the children throwing their handmade tea bags into a kitty pool that should
replicate Boston Harbor. Um we're planning some other things for Amrev 250. Um, and that's it for >> Yeah, we're actually going to be doing the um reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8th. No, 6th. July
6th. >> July 6th. So it starts with Hawaii who decides that everyone in the United States should read the Declaration of Independence at the same time because on July 6th was when it was actually read
out loud right after it was signed on the 4th. And so Famwood will be participating. Um, we're going to have the community involved with the reading of the Declaration of Independence and that will take place I think at 6:00 um at the library on July 6 and we'll put
put out all the details but it's kind of awesome to have all these fun things celebrating um our country's uh history. >> Y >> All right, moving on. Environmental commission. >> Uh yes. Um, so in the nature center,
we've recently seen a lot of kids on bikes creating dirt trails and actually making some jumps. Um, so we're trying to keep up with that and not have that done. So we're asking uh anyone who visits the nature center or parents um
and kids in town, please do not do that. Um, the police will be called uh if if we see kids doing things like that. Um, and we do have bike ra uh new bike racks
there. So, and there's lots of signs, so hopefully we can adhere to those. Um, there have been a series of municipal gardens and nature center work sessions planned in May. Um, there'll be some tours and videography. There is a birdwalk in the nature there was a
birdwalk in the nature center on April 18th. That was great. Um and so future uh communications with the council will be about uh leaf pickup policies and um controlling the invasive species that we
have in Fanwood. So that's it for environmental. Thank you. >> Councilwoman Mitchell. >> Well, a lot has been said about the trains about the shade tree commission um both by the mayor and by Steve. Um,
but I just wanted to say that you had mentioned that the ordinance was started in 2022 and the reason that it has taken so long is because this we couldn't do it until
the state came out with the storm water um regulations and that took the state pro a good four or five years to to work on that. So finally finally due to the hard work of all of the
people involved it it has finally passed and I for one I'm very thankful because I get tired of hearing about the same thing year after year after year. But anyway, um that being said, uh Arbor
Day is this is this coming Friday at the Carriage House Park. And it's a shame that most people don't come other than the parents of the of the students who um are
who come from the environmental club. It's really um >> nice. have to be there to see the the effort that the children put into this and they seem to really have a good time. And then at the end um the public
works department puts a pinata up on in the trees and then they use the bucket trick tree the truck to uh he goes up and bursts it and inside is candy and then all the kids, you know, discouraged
to pick up the candy that's all over the place. But everybody Oh, and there's usually some light refreshments and everybody usually has a really good time. Um also at the last meeting um we finally I think finally finally finally
have come up with some plaques for the particularly for the arboritum. Um, if you don't, a couple of years ago, we passed a residence uh an ordinance to have the trees on the burrow property u
designated as an arboritum and many of the trees there are 100 years and older. So, we wanted to um label them. Uh so we have finally come up with plaques and we're going to
experiment with two um and they are to go on the trees one of of two trees in the in the arboritum for Earl Phillips who is a long time member of the police force here in Fanwood but also a longtime member of
the um shade tree and also for Dean Telcott and hopefully Um, all of the trees in the arboritum will be labeled as such and I think the plaques are I forget how much exactly,
but in the range of $20 and that and the the ones that go in the arboritum will be paid for the out of the budget. Um, and this year they're not going to be planting quite as many trees. Um
going to be more uh onus on stump removal and tree maintenance and I think that's about it for shade tree for the green team. They will meet tomorrow night but apparently they had a
very special event across the street from you over the weekend. >> Yeah. They collected used uh gently used sporting equipment and they got like a motherload of uh wonderful athletic equipment that they will then uh upcycle
to needy boys and girls. >> Right. And what didn't go will be is going to be um taken into Newark and Newark playing field. >> Yeah, it's great. >> Great. >> Okay. Thank you.
See here. Um, planning board. >> Um, we don't meet till Wednesday. So, >> I actually think April's canled, too. >> Yeah. >> Are we? >> Yeah. Yeah. No meetings this week. >> No meeting. Okay. Applications. Yeah. Don't show up. >> All right. Check on that. But then I'll move right into recreation which we're
having uh next week. So, um, but I do have something to mention about Memorial Day. >> Yes. >> Um, it's come fast approaching. Yes, it is. >> And there is a contest for the uh the best float. So, you know, basically the
first prize uh for for the best float would be $1,000. >> Uh second place is $750 and third place is $500. >> So, they're giving some good prize money away for good flow. So, people please
>> let's make a float for fan. >> Let's do it. >> Let's do it. >> Let's do it. Let's, you know, >> good money there. We can all be on it dressed as our uh favorite American revolutionary. >> Betsy Ross. >> Betsy Ross. Okay. >> And and uh also my wife did attend the
uh Holocaust meeting at middle school and she said it was unbelievable. >> Yeah, it was really good. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Um anything from health department, Kathy? Um, no, except I do have a report for from CDBG
>> that we don't we haven't gotten any funds from lately. Um, but we usually we meet in February to go over applications and we you usually
four hours over three days. Um and we are allotted only a certain amount of money. So this year we upped our aotment to $7,000 700,000
thinking we would not get that much but to our surprise we got more money than we expected. >> So we had a meet last week to allocate this extra $100,000 that we got. No one knows how it happened in this political
environment, but but >> you did it. >> We got more money and we spent it. So, great. >> And no report on the others. >> Okay. Thank you. I'd like >> I did get >> Okay. You want to read the rescue squad, please? Into the record. >> Just sent it. >> Brian just answered.
>> So, for the month of March for the rescue squad, um we had >> we had 11 calls answered. We had 243 hours coverage and our average response time was down
to eight minutes and 20 seconds and total response hours were 28.57. Um we and they also administered oxygen one oxygen one time. Um, as far as the
the report, uh, no major events were happening. Uh, Memorial, they will be covering Memorial Day parade. >> Um, and, uh, so, um, I know if it's going to be hot, we don't want anybody fainting again, uh, this year. That would be pretty bad. So,
>> um, bring a lot of water. Um, that'll do it. >> Okay. Thank you. I'd like to call forward uh Liz Jeffrey please who's going to wind up our reports by reporting out on our downtown and our economic development
and all the good stuff going on. >> Hi everyone. Um nice to see you. Um not too much to report really because everything's been just moving along at a good clip. Um, we did have the ribbon cutting, the grand opening for Real Hot Yoga and um, that's been, you know, I
think amazingly wellreceived as we knew it would be and I'm hearing great things at Beamike Therapy as well. Um, so, um, our retail is, you know, as is customary, robust and thriving really.
Um, you know, and I I want to point out that's not by accident. There's a lot of work that goes on on this day as by a lot of people to make our town what it is. And um occasionally I get wind of or see things that are posted. And um I
just want to again state for whomever might be watching or certainly for you folks that it's not the typical case that you have literally almost 0% vacancy and the minute you put new space in someone comes. Um and and I've said
it before many times in this meeting. Um you know, our businesses are happy here because of the great town that Fanwood is, because of the great community and the residents that frequent those stores and are loyal as loyal can be. And you know, for so many reasons, but it's
about the people in Fanwood that that make our businesses what they are. And you know, it's not a mistake that Ron Chevlin and his wife want to expand with a second business in Fanwood or that Fabio Beastro wants to own and expand
previously leasing or that Mitt wanted to own and expand his pharmacy. Um, you know, the last 15 years have been hard on downtowns, hard on main streets, and if you hadn't been visionary and put some things in place that would help you through that. I mean, it's been it's
it's a vibrant downtown where there was every threat that it would not be. And um, you know, you capitalized on your rail and you put people living and working and made it conducive to visiting. And I know I have to say with Lieutenant Crayons, you know, the
parking is going to get, you know, can't be a free-for-all anymore. We're going to have to come to some semblance of order because we are a town where people live and we have a lot of stores now and people are coming and they're frequencing our stores. And so there's a little growing pains, right?
>> Such as the parking. You can't park on private property anymore in case anyone's wondering. Um but um you've got a lot to be proud of in the in the robust downtown that you have and we're certainly not moving people out. Every new space that we build and I remind you
folks some of you are new. Fanwood has one corridor for growth and it's South Avenue and most of the properties on South Avenue were vacant or underutilized or closed for years. I mean Elson Sonia was decade and a half. Um
many most of the sites were either closed or defunct and you pointedly stated that you wanted retail at the street level so that you would continue to create new opportunities for jobs and for businesses to come to Fwood and to for
the residents to enjoy and that is in fact what is happening. So, um, the way it was envisioned 20 20 years ago at the beginning, uh, is coming to fruition. And I think you have a lot to to show for that. And it's not
just the the stores and the quality, it's the jobs, it's the working and living and frequenting our downtown. So, the projects that we have going right now are small. You know, your corridor is three and a half zone, three story, three and a half stories. It's the most
conservative and because of our amazing track record, I think that's why Fairshare Housing sees that we build and we integrate affordable housing well and it's, you know, providing wonderful opportunities for those families. And they're not asking us to do six stories and 10 stories or go outside the
boundaries of our growth district. >> Created a growth district, South Avenue, >> and that's where your growth is concentrated to preserve your neighborhoods and your parks and everything else. and your zoning is about as conservative as it can get.
Three, three and a half stories and um so far it's doing everything I think that you wanted it to do, which is, you know, bringing jobs and new housing opportunities. I just met with Station Square residents who are concerned about the reinstitution of enforcement in the
downtown lot because they're not used to it and they abut it with their living environment. But, you know, 15 minutes of the meeting was spent talking about how much they love Fanwood, how how glad they are they moved to Fanwood. And um, you know, I'm sure that's nice to hear since maybe people don't stop you on the
street that much to say that. They certainly don't spew that much positive stuff on social media. So, that's what I'm hearing anyway. >> Maybe they will at the new coffee shop. >> Yeah, >> new coffee shop is coming. I did text it tonight. I'm like, when is it coming, Joe? So, he did say at the end of the month. >> Yeah.
>> So, have you stopped in at all to see that? They I they were working on it over a lot. They're working hard, but he told me by the end of the month, but I was trying to see if maybe it would be sooner. >> And really, that's like the point, right? Like when there is a vacancy, it doesn't really stay long. And and I I
think sometimes residents see a vacancy and then just think the worst versus letting the market kind of figure out what should go in there and giving the space for entrepreneurs because these they're all small
businesses. We don't necessarily have chains, right, or big box spin-offs here, right? So it really is, you know, mom and pop stores. And a lot of the times the ones find Fanwood, they've been looking for a very long time like
the Panini, right? When the Panini opened, they had one location south over the Driscoll Bridge. And they looked and they looked and they looked and then somehow somebody said go like over here um and found Fanwood. And once they found it, they did it. But the stayed
vacant for a little while, right? Um and when the dress maker um >> sing couture, right? Like talk about a rock star, right? She was an immigrant that came here as a seamstress and then opened up her own store and then
>> she's got the flagship of Route 22 in Greenbrook, right? People come. She had three stores. So when she left, there were three vacancies there. And now, right, that gave birth to, you know, the coffee shop of, you know, our friend Joe
Motorola, right, who already has two businesses, one in Fwood and one in Scotch Pl. So, I think I think sometimes people forget the cyclical nature. >> Um, and always think the worst. >> Yeah. >> Right. And so, you know, I think we just
continue to do what we know is the right thing to do here for the community and it it pays off because it's >> and the community demanded the retail. >> Yeah. >> In most cases over the past the retail was not a an easy thing to push for with developers, you know, it's much more new
housing or whatever. They So, yeah. So, it's pointed effort by the bureau. It's not, you know, you insist that retail be created and they and they forfeit that whole ground floor to retail. So, you know, kudos. But, >> yep. >> I haven't gone to the real hot yoga, but I am next week. I have. >> It's hot.
>> It's hot when you walk in the like the lobby. >> It's the lobby's hot. >> So hot. >> It's really hot. >> Well, the owners are terrific. So, >> Mrs. So, maybe go sit in the lobby. Any questions? Anything anybody wants to know about that?
>> I just wanted to know about the coffee shop. You already talked about it. >> So, I know I just texted him. If I get anything back before the >> See, I'm a coffee all like to be the first one at the door. >> So, I have to go back because we just have to accept the tax collector's report which I don't think we moved.
>> Okay. >> Yeah, the it has been circulated and signed. >> Oh, okay. So, you don't need any motion or anything that um Fabios is the pizza for um clean communities day. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay. So with that, I'd like
to have a motion to open the meeting to the public. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. Like to call forward any members of the public. Please state your name and address for the record. >> Michael Lewis, 41 Beach Avenue in Fairwood. Uh in the interest of full
disclosure, it should be noted because I'm going to talk about trees that I have nothing to do with anything that's going on on Facebook with regards to that. With that said, I'm not a big fan of what's being proposed. Uh, and basically my opposition goes
back to some things that I brought back last time this came up at public meetings. Namely, that you're not really going to help anybody such as myself, and I have a personal
stake in this. cliff's going to hurt me who try to responsibly manage the trees on my property. It is not going to hurt the people who are actually abusing what's going on. Uh I do think that
uh at the end of the day um what you're proposing could be better managed by controlling the ground coverage of whatever properties are being developed.
and the people who are going to be aided by this or at least not going to be hurt uh will simply see it as a cost of doing business. So just to give you a few things to chew
on as you continue to discuss this. Uh we've been in our own house for over 20 years. uh standardsiz lot a little over uh lot of trees. I've taken a number of
them down over the years. Uh I'm not a big tree hugger, but one of one of the reasons that we bought the house was because of the trees that did enhance the property. I'll freely admit that. We've had our reasons for taking them down. Don't really want to go through a
lot of hoops to take any others down over the years. I can recount the amount of money that we've spent maintaining them in terms of >> trimming them, uh, cabling them, uh, removing them as hazards from one side
of the property of the trees that remain. Several of them straddle the property of our neighbors on either side, which would mean negotiating with them about who's going to take them down or do anything with them. And one of
them that's still up um actually nearly took out during I think it was Irene or one of the storms back when we had heavy snowfall two of the cars that were parked in my other neighbor's driveway.
Um just a couple of trips down memory lane. Uh, number one, I I got a little card in back when we were doing our taxes with the assessed value of our house.
The house assessed valuation is quite a bit lower than the assessed value of the land. >> And what that tells me is one of two things. either my house, which my dad charmingly described as a starter house,
even though the pre previous owners had four raised four kids in it. Um, is going to be either knocked down or they're going to have to put a lot of work into it or they're going to expand it in some fashion because we have a
deep backyard. In either eventuality, the trees that come down as a result of this uh that cost will be built into whatever we get for the house. So that's going to
directly hurt me. Uh so yeah, this a little bit personal. Um also just tuck it in the back of your mind. Uh, I recall remarking to Miss Mitchell, I put and hold her in church and basically told her that if he ever
went to bagging leaves, uh, instead of just raking them out to the curb, I turned the house into a little house on the prairie so fast it would make her head swim. And also um I recall asking you myar uh when you
were discussions were revolving around the Dean Oil site uh about dogwoods because one of the nice things about spring around here is seeing the dogwoods bloom. And I asked if they were ever going to replace them and you said money had been set aside for that. Well,
we got the apartments, but we got these little shrubs and there's not even a setback uh to plant them on. So, you're not replacing trees, which leads to a question I want to ask. I had hoped to
ask of Antonius and perhaps uh Russell Yugo might be able to answer it. To what extent do the ordinances right now not comply with state regulations? Because I saw something on Facebook relating to
something of ordinance in Cranford that looks something similar to this and one of the main drivers of this evidently was something that the state was actually doing. So what do we have that does not comply with the state that requires a modification >> and the tree ordinance? Yes,
>> I think >> as it currently exists. >> Well, I think there is. >> So, for the for the most part, our current ordinance does comply. However, because it's not well understood, it leads to compliance issues. So, the
state issued their model ordinance. A lot of jurisdictions have updated their ordinance to fit the model. Um, >> well, how does this involve the replacement of trees and the fines and the permits and whatever else? >> Yeah. So,
>> specifically, what do you mean? >> Which one am I asking? >> Yeah. So, one sec. So, we have, you know, people that were actually on the committee, right? Because I do believe that the state has put in language that does not currently exist. I can get you
what that is because that was part of the impetus for us to look at it. Right. >> And that's that's one thing we're working on right now is our current ordinance, the state regulations, maybe how we need to tighten ours up or
change it or clarify it to reflect that. We're looking at the models. >> The problem with that, the problem I have is with the money aspect of it and the hoops that you have to go through to do it. >> A lot of it's already there. Well, yeah, we already have that some of that in our ordinance. So,
>> it's not ne >> that's not going to change that much. It might change some, but the state in theirs does have fees >> and all the other towns have fees as well. >> If that's >> our fees are a little bit more. When I
looked at Montlair has one for example, our fees are slightly higher, but it's the same procedure, same process. you have to fill out an application or get a survey, have an inspection. >> Well, what I'm saying is over the years
I've taken down a number of trees. Um, >> uh, >> were they diseased trees and uneas It was a hazard in our driveway. >> So, you had to be retrof. >> Don't even joke about that. >> I'm dead serious.
>> No, no. I think listen I am for the sake of time because I know the the minutes are up. I think that there was a couple things that when the state came out with new regulations it made us look at our existing ordinance and I would tell you that I believe that there's an education
component that needs to be done to our residents to have them understand what they can do. We we have found just like with the trees, we find any improvements with people's backyards. They tend some ask forgiveness. They don't come in or
they don't know, right? There's there's a lot of that when it comes to what people can do and not do on their own private property, right? And so it's incumbent upon the town at this point um to align our ordinance, right, which is
needs to be tightened up. We don't have the final version to go through the red lines to tell you what is the staying the same, what is different. That's what the committee is doing. Um so I would just tell you to stay tuned. Um and we're not prepared to even introduce one
which then would be introduced and then the next meeting there would be a public hearing and then there could be adoption or there could be changes again based on the public hearing to go back. The only thing I would add then since my five minutes are up uh again to remind you that you
but what what drives me crazy is the notion that you're not going to accomplish what I think you're trying to accomplish which is to maintain the number of trees in approximately the same place as you did before. Um, and
you're just adding more a more a more cumbersome process to something that wasn't cumbersome before and >> it should be something that should be
left to to a responsible property owner. >> Okay. Thank you. Enough said. >> Yeah. No, enough said. But I I in closing um I'll just say that you know when Steve Falco comes to the podium and has been on our shade tree commission for 25 years and he himself calls the
ordinance um difficult and cumbersome um you know he and he's part of this you know working towards that um to make it less so. So if I could have a motion to close the meeting to the public. >> Second. >> All in favor?
>> Okay. And I think we're done with this evening. We don't have an executive session. Okay, perfect. So, I want to thank everyone for tuning in and I want to thank all the volunteers for everything that they do. We hope to see you um this weekend on Earth Day and around town. So, with that, I'd like to
have a motion to adjurnn. So, moved. Second. >> All in favor? >> Good night.