How are you? >> Tired. But >> yeah, >> it was nice. It was nice. Um, >> pretty good weather the entire time. >> How did How was the How was the flying? Did you have to >> I had no issues.
>> You had no issues. Oh, you were >> I think I got out before got and got back in before it got really before it got really bad. Yeah. So, the >> Yeah. >> Right. >> Yeah.
>> I'm sure it was worse when the the thing happened in LaGuardia, too. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. together. >> I bought um copies of the covers, >> but not all the backup. >> Printing out whatever.
>> I'll introduce >> I introduce myself. Oh, okay. >> Everybody >> from other way. I know. >> Oh jeez. It's interesting.
>> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Everybody good? Good. Okay. Good evening everybody. If everybody could please stand for a moment of silence and salute to the flag. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the stand indivisibley and justice for all. Adequate notice of this meeting was provided to the leader and
2025. Notification was sent to the local source Union County and is posted on the municipal website, the municipal public bulletin board and filed in the office of the municipal clerk informing the public of the time and place according to the provisions of the open public meeting law chapter 241 PL1 1975. PL
2025C72 states that legal ads placed by the municipality will need to be published in newspapers beginning on March 1st, 2026 and will be posted on our burrow website under the section titled Garwood legal notices. Uh roll call please. Miss
Katiga. >> Madame Mayor >> here. >> Councilwoman Anarelli >> here. >> Councilwoman Biano. >> Councilwoman Null >> here. Councilman Padus Padak >> Padusniaak, my apologies.
>> That's okay. I'm here. >> Councilman Sera >> here. >> Council President Boto >> here. >> And roll call of staff and professionals, please. >> Um Mr. Arthur is absent today. Uh Mr. Abramson >> here. >> M uh Chief Pretty
>> here. >> Mr. Disco >> here. >> Miss Bruns >> here. >> Uh Mr. Ro. >> Okay. So before we move on, I just wanted to welcome, as you see, we have our new clerk here, uh, Nicole Katiga.
And, um, thank you and welcome and we look forward to working together. >> Okay, we will move to our report of our burough attorney. >> Uh, nothing new to report. >> Okay. Uh, Mr. Disco, our report from our
B engineer. >> Thank you, mayor. Good evening everybody. It looks worse than it is. It should I assured Adam I'll be quick. Um the first topic is really just a repeat of the last two months. We've essentially completed our design of the
DOT project. I met with Bill Nearstead last week. We walked all three streets. We identified I think we got about 38 40 trees going in and only about three or four that really have to come out. So it was a successful mission. Um really I'm just waiting on Cranford to get back to
us for Gallows Hill. I can't obviously go to DOT in a peacemail fashion. So I really need to get their acquiescence. There's a garage that's in the rightway of their rightway. I assume they're not going to remove it, but it does alter where we're putting um the road edge or the curb. So I have to wait for them and
hopefully it's sooner rather than later. >> Okay. We can always send something along to >> Yep. It's, you know, March, so we got six months, seven months of construction time, so we'll be all right. Um, the second one, again, last month I was here, I indicated we would in put in for
a grant from AARP, 15,000 maximum grant, and that was for Oak Street Sidewalks, which was discussed last month. So, the the grant was submitted. It was acknowledged as received, and we'll probably hear in a month, month and a half. Again, there
was only five from New Jersey last year, but we took a shot. Third, uh, Midwest Construction. They were the contractor that did our last DOT project, including Walnut Avenue. They, uh, disappear around January 1
each year and come back when the snow is gone. They came back this week. I met with them today. They're going to do one day on Monday in Mountainside. Mayor, Tuesday, they're going to come here and do the additional sidewalks, which uh council president saw me marking out
this evening at the first aid squad. Basically, we're we're doing the loop of sidewalk that we didn't do before, and the two handicapped ADA ramps by the the the um the school. I mentioned to the chief, I'll have a Midwest reach out for
police. I didn't know if school was on next week here or the following week they're off. So whether they need police again, I'll have them um arrange for that. >> Losing track of days. I can't remember what week they're off. >> Anyway, um I'll reach out to the board
of ed tomorrow. I just met with them to uh the contractor today and we ironed out. It is supposed to rain coming up, so things may get pushed back a day or two, but it's imminent. And the reason we're doing this is our grant exceeded our con our bid price and our asbuilt
thus far is not exceeding our bid price. So this is essentially free work because it's connected to the street and since it's a burrow property and a burrow uh school, we're going to do that. >> Okay. >> Terrific. And then the last bullet point was uh you know we you had RVSA here
recently and um they did touch on that one instant where we had and so I went back and updated all my information that I had done for that. Many of you haven't seen this before and there's about six pages of that and you don't have to go
through it but suffice to say that the takeaway from it is that uh mayor our our rvs a average flows which peaked a couple years ago are on a downward trend which is excellent. The only explanation
is that we have less rainfall than we did in that one year when we had uh the five consecutive months of over 1 MGD which we only had one time prior which was Hurricane Ida Labor Day weekend back in 2001 when
>> part of Garwood was underwater. >> So all that water got into the sanitary system and as a result >> it it skews the um the flow rates that go to the treatment plant. So, I updated that informationally. You anecdotally, if you have trouble
sleeping, you can certainly look through those numbers. But the bottom line is, you know, we're at 0.51 now when we were uh 0.96 a couple years ago. And mayor, this will reflect in the 5-year rolling average, which RVSA
uh utilizes for billing purposes. So, as that troublesome year of 2023 goes out, and we've got lower values ahead. So, there's light at the end of the tunnel in terms of our RVSA charges. Again, I still think that was five months in a
row, something wasn't quite right because our formula is we have one meter that they meter going out of Garwood, but three coming in. >> So, it's a simple formula. The total out, but then they subtract the three. And in those five months, one of the
meters did not go up like all the others that went down. So the the minus out of that meter did not jive with all the others. RVSA thought otherwise but regardless um >> it seems to have corrected itself.
>> Uh certainly the date the months that we have high flows are directly related to uh rainfall and inflow and infiltration. Most of the higher months are in the spring when we get the high rain and groundwater is high. If we keep the
ground water out of our pipes, obviously the flow rate is indiscriminate to RVSA. They don't care whether it's clean water, rainwater, or sewage flow. Whatever the pipe gets and transports, that's it. So, it was just backup information. I thought it was timely
because RVSA was here and I didn't know where we were heading in the last two years. And so I think the analysis shows that um the system or the uh the groundwater is in a much better place than it was two years ago and um I'm
hopeful that trend continues and um certainly answer any questions that you have. >> Thank you. No, this is actually very helpful, a nice concise way of looking at it. So I appreciate that. Um does anybody have any questions for Mr. Disco?
I'm going to be a mascus and ask for a digital copy of this if possible. >> Sure. >> Just uh >> I have a copy. Have it. >> Yeah, we got it. >> Yeah, digital copy. >> Oh, a digital digital. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. >> Yes. We'll we'll send that to everybody.
Thank you. >> Okay. >> Okay. Spring break is April 6 to the 10th for >> Garwin. We'll get a cop for next week. >> Okay. All right. >> Thank you. Thank you. All right. Anything else? Okay. Thank
you, Mr. Disco. Appreciate it. >> And of course, you are welcome to leave should you wish. Um, Miss Kotiga, do you have something from Mr. Arthur? >> I do. Thank you. Good evening. On behalf of Burough Administrator, on tonight's
agenda, you will see authorization of an agreement for a drone as a first responder pilot program with NARO, which is a Garwood based company. Um, this program is offered at no cost to the Burrow of Garwood. Shawn Brown from
Knoxero presented about this program at the November 17th, 2025 meeting of common council. The video of that presentation is available on our YouTube page. Council members were also given the opportunity to email questions or
reach out to the company with um questions that they weighed the decision to enter into this agreement. The police committee is recommending moving forward with this agreement with a 2:1 vote. Chief of Police can provide additional details about how the program would
operate, what the drones would be used for, and other information as needed. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay. Got a small report. Um,
so you will see on tonight's agenda resolution 26-66 to officially acknowledge local government week, which is running from April 12th to the 18th. A full list can be found on our Garwood website and social media pages. But here are the
headlines. Uh, Monday, the senior department is hosting their senior walk. Tuesday is students in government night in conjunction with Lincoln School Student Council. Wednesday, the green team is doing a spruce up at Yunami Park. On Thursday, we will have a
speaker at the library hosted by the Revolution 250 committee. And this speaker will be talking about Union County's part in the Revolutionary War. Uh and then on Friday, there will be coffee with a cop with our police department. We will wrap up the week on
Saturday with Clean Communities hosting their bi-anual litter cleanup. So, a lot of great activities to highlight all the fantastic uh sorry, a lot of great activities to highlight all the fantastic committees and departments that make up our town. This is a week to
really celebrate those partnerships and celebrate the work that everybody in this burrow does to make our small town just a wonderful place to live. Uh moving on, the mayor's Rawway River Coalition met yesterday to discuss uh a few different things. There's obviously
a real frustration uh that after two week two years of work and analysis on prospective mitigation plans, the Army Corps essentially walked away uh saying none of them were viable. Um we've spoken a little bit about that up here before, but we believe the coalition
believes there is a real possibility with at least one of the plans that was analyzed, the upstream storage detention in the South Mountain Reservation area. With that plan, the benefit to cost ratio came in at 0.9. However, the Army Corps declares uh their threshold to be
a one. So, not only do we feel that that is obviously close, but that there were some missing pieces of the analysis that could actually increase that ratio and make it a viable solution that could help improve flooding along the river. Regardless, uh funding is necessary to
move any project forward. And so our next steps are to lobby the new state administration as well as bring in our federal leg legislative partners to discuss this. Uh though the decision by the Army Corps was disappointing to say the least. Um we will continue to look
to work together to look for ways to mitigate our flooding issues up and down the river. Uh and just a quick update on the underpass mural. The committee looked into the possibility of doing both sides of the underpass rather than just the one. And I'm happy to say that
we've been able to work with the artists to make that happen for the same pricing. So we have begun to enter the design phase with the artist and the committee looks forward to seeing uh his creations which we will then be able to provide some edits and feedback on. Uh if anyone wants to take a look at the
chosen artist's work, you can go to his Instagram at any town mural and sign and and on that page you can get a sense of what the murals will entail. Uh looking forward to more updates soon.
Moving on, we will now actually have a report from Miss Bruns, our burough CFO. Good evening. There are two resolutions on tonight's agenda that pertain to our upcoming bond issuance. Resolution 2672
authorizes that the remaining balances on all bond ordinances adopted over the last 10 years which are currently funded by bond anticipation notes be combined into a single bond issue in the amount of $6,365,000. These general improvement bonds will be
paid off in annual installments over a period of 10 years. Resolution 2673 authorizes the publication of a notice of sale and the preparation and distribution of an offering statement pertaining to the issuance of general improvement bonds. It also authorize
authorizes continuing disclosure of financial information and compliance with IRS code 1986 designate designating the bonds as taxexempt. It also authorizes various matters in connection with electronic bidding for the bonds.
It's my report. >> Thank you. Um, I know this is kind of uh an in-depth topic and um we only do this every 10 years, so it's not like this comes up a lot for everybody to get information on. So, if anybody does have
any questions um as you can see, Mr. Roat is here as well um to to answer anything and I I know Miss Brun has offered to um stay. they will both be staying and uh they can answer any questions from the public but also from council. So at this point um what I
would like to do is open it to the council first if there's any questions or discussion. >> I have a question. >> Sure. >> So you just mentioned this happens every 10 years. So this is a normal every
way of running things every 10 years. >> Yes, that's correct. You can bring it forward too if you need. >> All right. Yeah. What what we do every sort of follow a nor a regular process. Every
year we do bond ordinances and usually we do something a road project where we're getting a DOT grant and then you work on your capital program and we you know buy garbage trucks, fire trucks, fix up buildings, do sewer work, stuff
like that. So every year we authorize projects to be done and then we finance them by issuing short-term notes. So we do that every year and each year we add to the note issue the prior year's ordinances. And what we what
we're doing is we're accumulating um a a large enough size of debt to um because there there are costs involved in issuing bonds. So we like to accumulate enough notes and then we convert them to bonds and we work with
when the prior bond issue is dropping off. >> So we're consolidating it. >> Yeah, we've had Yeah, that's why there's ordinances over the last 10 years. So each year we've been adding to this note issue. We make some some small paydowns on those notes and really we wait for
the old bond issue to drop off. So I think the last time I was here was seems like a second ago, but it was 10 years ago when we uh when we sold our last bond issue. So we made the last payment on those bonds uh this year. >> And what we do it this way so that when
debt drops off, we fill in that gap that amount of debt that's disappearing with new debt. And we try to keep the debt service component of your budget level. if we sold bonds, you know, on a on a shorter in in an earlier time, it would go right to the bottom line and it would
cause the taxes to go up. So, we try to keep try to work with when our debt drops off. So, this was our our uh our year to do this and fit it in nicely with your existing debt service. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Does anybody else have any questions,
Councilman? So essentially the reason for 10 years is because that also is providing time to fully pay down the prior issuance of bonds and then it restarts again at that point. Correct. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. We we uh we don't want to cause we
want to minimize the the the budget impact of this. So we work with our existing debt service and fit it in when we have a drop off. That's that's what we've been doing. Anybody else?
>> Okay. Um I would like um because it is, you know, every 10 years and it's kind of a big uh a big topic, um to open it to the public, uh if there's anybody who uh would like to come up and ask uh Miss Burns or Mr. Roga any questions. Um same
rules as public comment. Uh if you could state your name and address, uh and you would have five minutes. Um, so if there's anybody in the audience that wishes to ask any questions, you're welcome to come up now. Okay. Um, then seeing that, yeah, that
was pretty easy, right? Uh, thank you for I know you'll stick around. Um, if anybody thinks of anything, obviously a public comment, there might be some. So, um, we will close off that portion of the meeting and we will move on to comments from the
council. Uh, Councilwoman Annaelli. >> Uh, no comments from me today. >> Councilwoman Biano, >> no comments, mayor. >> Councilwoman Nold, >> so I have an announcement about the um poetry festival. Garwood Partnership for Arts and Culture is excited to announce
our third annual poetry festival taking place the weekend of April 25th and 26 in celebration of National Poetry Month. There will be two poetry readings, one at the Garwood Library for all audiences and one at the Crossroads for adults. The event at the Crossroads is made
possible in part by a heart grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners. In preparation for the festival, GPAC is asking local poets to submit their poems to be invited to participate in the poetry reading at the Garwood Public Library on April 25th at 11:00 a.m. Poems should be submitted to
Councilwoman Noly, myself at culgarwood.org. The due date for all poetry submissions is April 17th. So, we look forward to getting your poems. That's all for my comment. >> Thank you. Always a good weekend. Uh, Councilman Padusniaak,
>> thank you. Uh, I just wanted to encourage everyone to come to the poetry festival and to the Rev 250 uh, talk at the library and to celebrate um, the week with all the events. Thank you. >> Thank you, Councilman Sure. >> No comment today. Thank you,
>> Council President Bodto. Thank you, mayor. Just a welcome to Miss Kotiga, our new clerk. I look forward to working together. Thank you. >> Okay. U moving on to our minutes. Miss Kotiga, can you read the minutes, please? >> Minutes of the regular
>> minutes of the regular meeting of mayor and council held on March 12th, 2026. Can I have a motion to accept the regular meeting minutes as presented? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> I >> opposed.
Okay. Communications, Miss Kotiga. >> Um it is the notice of mosquito control um by the county of union. >> Okay. Thank you. Received and filed. Uh we will move on to our ordinances. We just have one for introduction tonight.
Uh can you please read ordinance uh 26-10 by title only? An ordinance amending the Burough Code of the Burrow of Garwood by amending chapter 126 entitled Parks, Facilities, Playgrounds, and Recreation, Article 1, Use of Parks,
Facilities, and Playgrounds, Subsection 126-4, Prohibited Activities. >> Thank you. Um, can I have a motion to introduce ordinance 26-10? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call, please.
Councilwoman Anarelli I. >> Councilwoman Biano I. >> Councilwoman Noli I. >> Councilman Padusniaak. >> Hi. >> Councilman Sera. >> Council President Bto. >> I. >> Okay. Council standing committee reports. Finance. Council President
Bodto. >> Uh thank you mayor. The finance committee made yesterday for final reviews. Uh just a reminder that the special budget meeting is scheduled for April 7 at 7 pm. Thank you. Uh fire Councilman Padusniaak.
>> No report this week. >> Okay. Uh community development Councilwoman Biano. >> Hi. Um we have I have no report but we are meeting on the first to uh amend the bylaws. >> Okay. Terrific. Um public works.
Councilman Seka. >> DBW continued its usual activities. No other report. Uh, police and public safety. Councilwoman Noli. >> Thank you, Mayor. The police committee met twice in the last month to discuss two items on tonight's uh, consent
agenda, the agreement with Noxero for the drone pilot program, and the updated schedule of fines for traffic violations, as well as an update to the ordinance introduced tonight to add riding ebikes and e- scooters to the prohibited activities in Garwoodsboro parks and recreational areas. Starting
April 1st, the Garwood Police Department will be out in full force promoting distracted driving awareness month. They will be supporting the Put the Phone Away or Pay campaign. This campaign is aimed at tackling distracted driving and raising awareness among drivers about the deadly dangers of distracted driving
and the legal consequences of using a phone behind the wheel. Please follow the Garwood Police Department on social media for resources and community engagement during the campaign. That's all for my report. Thank you. Um, community engagement, Councilwoman Annarelli.
>> Thanks, Mayor. Uh, the Garwood Easter egg hunt will take place this Saturday on March 28th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Garwood Rec Complex for toddlers through third graders. The event is bring your own basket and will feature free raffles, a DJ, arts and
crafts, and photos with the Easter Bunny. No registration is needed. The youth bowling program will be wrapping up its spring season this Friday. Thanks to all those who participated in Toarwood Lanes for their hospitality. Youth cheer and dance and youth soccer clinics will be starting on April 25th.
Both will take place on Saturday mornings at the Wreck Complex and registration is now open. Additionally, youth computer coding classes will be held on Friday evenings starting on April 17th at the Wreck and this will be open to 3rd through 8th graders. Registration is up for that as well. Um
we have adult ceramics on Wednesday, April 15th at the Wreck Complex. So register for these programs and more at garwoodre.com. >> Thank you. Uh library uh mayor's representative councilwoman Noldi. >> Yes. Uh so I have the library uh the
library report. The library will be closed on April 3rd in observance of the Easter holiday. And I have some highlights from the April programs and events. April 4th at 11:00 a.m. Science Day. Join Elias Chang, a junior at AIT, Union County Vocational Technical
School, and explore the science behind paper airplanes, Skittles, Strawberry DNA, and gummy bears. Registration is required. Uh, join the knitting club on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. Uh, it's open to all skill levels. Whether you're beginner or an experienced knitter, come
spend an hour being creative and socializing. No registration required. Yarn and needles are provided for newcomers. newcomers. On Tuesdays at 3:30 p.m., there's Code Forward offered to Lincoln School students to learn computer programming languages including
Java, Python, and others. On Tuesdays, um, April 14th, 21st, and 28th at 10:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. is story time with Miss Maryanne. Join her for stories, songs, and crafts. Registration is required and space is limited. April
14th at 3 p.m., virtual kids craft. Pick up supplies and instructions for a fun craft. Registration is required and limited to 15. April 15th and 22nd at 1 p.m. is adult game day. Socialize while playing Roomie Cube, Sorrow, Uno, or
cards. No registration is required. April 16th at 700 p.m. the American Revolution in Union County. Join John Prescott from the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs as he discusses significant Revolutionary War events that took place in Union County.
Registration is required. April 20th at 1 p.m. Book Club. This month is Homegoing by Yay Gussy. I hope I said that right. >> April 21st at 3 p.m. virtual adult craft. Pick up supplies and instructions
for your craft limited to 15. Also, uh you need to register for that. April 22nd at 3 PM, the Lego Club. Be inspired by this month's theme or build whatever comes to mind. April 25th, as I mentioned before, the Garwood Poetry Festival, 11:00 a.m.
Enjoy live art, meet local artists, and immerse yourself in the beauty of language. No registration required. And that's all for the library report. >> Thank you. A lot of activities. Sounds good. School board. Uh council president Bodto. >> Thank you, Mayor. No report by the next regular meeting is scheduled for April
21st and a public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 29th. >> Okay. All right. Um for the seniors, we had our meeting on March 19th and celebrated all of our March birthdays. The club also decided to give a donation to uh
ALJ's project graduation, which is very much appreciated. And our next meeting is on April 2nd at 12:00 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus. Uh, Small Business Advisory Councilwoman Bianca. Small Business Advisory Committee held its first meeting, first meet and greet
on Monday, March 23rd. The event went well, was attended, and provided great opportunity for local business owners to connect with burough officials and begin building stronger communication between the business community and the local government. A special thank you goes to Rick from Rudies for generously providing excellent pizza for the event
which was enjoyed by all in attendance. The committee will be meeting again in the near future to continue discussions and develop initiatives to support our local businesses and I will keep the council updated as our work progresses. Thank you, Matt. >> Thank you. Yeah, it was a great night. We've met a lot of new business owners,
too, which was great. Uh board of health leazison, Councilman Sera, >> the board of health met on March 18th. The board by unanimous vote elected Barbara Greet as their new president. The board's public health nurse was
happy to report that the state came in for their audit of their children's vaccin vaccination records and they pass with flying colors. The board of health is working with the department of health to get messaging out to parents
regarding vaccine schedules. Given some of the differing news out there, they want to stress that parents should have those conversations with their pediatricians first and foremost. They're saying the opting out of the pol
polio vaccine slightly increasing and they want to make sure to combat that. The board will also be doing uh lead screening clinics out in communities for pregnant women and children. They will also be uh lead testing be
adding lead testing of consumer goods to those mobile clinics possibly in the summer. As a last note, um there was recently a state law passed aimed at eliminating certain THC products like Delta 8 and Delta 9 from being sold at
convenience stores and smoke shops. So letters will be going out soon and then the board of health will be going out to inspect and enforce. >> Okay. Thank you. Um planning board leaison councilwoman Bianca.
>> At the recent planning board meeting, the board held a public hearing regarding the Garwood 2026 circulation element of the master plan prepared by Harbor Consultants. The circulation element evaluates the borrow's transportation network, including roadways, pedestrian access, and travel
circulation, and provides recommendations to guide future planning and infrastructure improvements. The board heard testimony from its professionals and provided an opportunity for the public comment during this hearing. Next planning board meeting is scheduled for April 22nd, 2026.
>> Thank you. Okay. Officers reports. Um, no, none tonight. So, we will move along to public comment. If anyone in the audience wishes to address the council, please step up to the microphone and state your full name and address. And please limit your comment to 5 minutes.
Johnny Pritchard 410 Avenue Garwood. My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, for my absence the past two months and earlier this month, but I'm here now. My first thing is this. We need to back
our police officers, firefighters, and rescue squad personnel because they are out for us every day. Every day. They're the ones you can count on. They have the I'll be there and never you fear kind of attitude which serves us well.
Abolishing police departments, abolishing fire departments, and abolishing rescue squads is not the answer. And mark well, what I do say, ladies and gentlemen, should never be the answer. I also think that uh the ICE officers that are doing their
duty and they are doing their duty should be backed up because they're getting rid of the bad apples who came in here illegally. They're protecting us all. And that same
thing that for our armed forces and the men and women who serve in them, our army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force are out there defending our country and getting rid of Iran's nuclear
nuclear stockpile. We must back them up, too. We failed to back them up during the war in Vietnam, during which three of Garwood's sons lost their lives. They gave their lives fighting for our
country. They loved us so every day in a hund ways. They told us so. In honesty, in affection, they told us so.
They loved us so every day. In a 100 ways they showed us so with loyalty and bravery. They showed us so.
They were our defenders and they kept us free. They took an oath to guard us and fought for liberty. They loved us so and we should know for we love
them so and lastly ladies and gentlemen we should the state legislature in Trenton to reopen some closed hospitals such as Muenberg because what if another 911 attack occurs? ers will need those
hospitals very very badly. We must reactivate those hospitals. We must because one September 11th attack is bad enough, but another one will be worse if if it
if it does occur. And then and the sooner we activate Muenberg and many other hospitals, the better off we all will be. Do I make myself clear? Thank you ladies and gentlemen. >> Thank you Mr. Pritchard. Is there anybody else who wishes to address the
mayor and council? Good evening, mayor, ladies and gentlemen, the council, Bruce Patterson, 325 Willow Avenue. Uh, I'll start off with Reszo 26-72. That's the uh finance resolution where
you're wrapping uh I think 32 uh I guess it's bands into a single bond of 6 million $365,000. Uh, I have a bunch of questions, but I'll I'll just, uh, ask the the more
simpler ones. Um, last year, uh, Sandy, our CFO, did note some bonds were expiring, uh, on this year, and I'm just wondering how much money of those bonds expired. So, how much was that that is now off the books? And of course, adding
this new bond on there. Uh on page 11 of that ordinance, uh the amortization actually goes over 10 years, but it but the dollar amounts go from $530,000 to $830,000 $800,000. Uh normally am amortization is
pretty much a a flat number every year. So, uh there's some kind of strange financial structuring involved. So, I guess could somebody explain that? Um Oh, yeah. Section 10 professional costs. I'm just wondering roughly how much are we going to incur on wrapping these 32
bond bands in one bond. Uh also my usual question is after this gets approved what's our total uh bonding? Uh and also what is our bond rating and was that Moody's that determined it? Uh additional questions.
Uh we got 125th anniversary of Garwood coming up in two years. I just want everybody to start thinking about it so we can uh have a great celebration. Uh, also April 7th is a is a uh budget hearing. I'm just wondering is that the
breaking down the budget meeting where you hand out some sheets and you kind of go over the numbers. Uh, some ordinance questions. 2675 is employee assist cost, which is strange. I mean, somebody could
explain what what that is about cuz that's the first time I'm seeing it. 2676 is Noxero uh drone. I guess you want to do some kind of uh preliminary use of it. I'm just wondering, was there any uh
past studies done that we can analyze uh of this drone use? I don't want Garwood to be a guinea pig because there's always liabilities involved in being the first and foremost if something happens. Uh 2677
uh is fines being adjusted through the state program. I'm just wondering what fines changed. Uh 26-68 and 70 uh is additional clerk duties uh being imposed on our new clerk. So,
welcome aboard by the way. Um, Kotiga, I think that's your name, but anyway, welcome aboard. Uh, and also, what do those clerk duties entail? And is there any cost involved with that? And the last one is, uh, 26-66. And I always laugh about this one every
year. This is this is government week where we're supposed to celebrate the government. And I'll tell you right now, the government on all levels is very questionable. I you know I don't I think you should change that to maybe community week or something like that to
uh enhance and advocate for community spirit. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. Is there anybody else who wishes to address the mayor and council? Seeing none, can I have a motion to close public comment? >> So moved.
>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Okay. um you missed our the beginning where um the 2672 and and overall in general with the bond sale, Mr. Patterson was talked about and
discussed. Um uh but um I will hand this over to Mr. Ro to answer some of these questions. Um, I don't know if you need me to refresh a little, but um, how much were the uh, bond how much
bonds off the books? >> Yeah, >> 267 final maturity that we're paying off. >> Um, 166,000. He asked about the amortization, but I
wasn't quite sure what be he wanted to know with that the the the large range. >> Yeah, I think you're focusing on the principal amounts, but we're looking at the overall debt service including the interest. So the purpose of that
schedule stepping it up is so that you get closer to a level overall payments just like on your home mortgage where you you have less principle in the early years because you have more interest. That's what we're seeking to do with this schedule. So we have a pretty flat
flat level overall service and there's a set of other bills. >> Mr. >> Mr. Patterson though if you could refrain just from the audience there's no mic and we if we have any questions afterwards I know you can always email over um he asked uh Mr. Patterson asked
about the professional costs um and I know we talked about that Miss Burns if you want to go into that. >> The estimate is about 75,000 for all the professionals involved >> and can you um talk a little bit about how that is paid for with this? It's not
>> Yeah, it's not raised in um our current fund. It's not raised through taxation. There's it's paid for from the existing capital ordinances that have remaining balances specifically for this.
Um and uh Mr. Patterson asked about the total debt. Um so our total debt at the end of 25, I'll just give you the uh net debt percentage because that's what you're used to. It was a little over 7 million and our net
debt was.72. Um we did one ordinance in 2026, but now we're paying down bond principles, green acres, and then when we pay off the bands and issue our new
bonds, our debt position will be 6,996. So that's where we'll be at the end of this process on May 1st. doesn't it doesn't account for anything else we do during the year but at that point that's where we'll be. >> Okay. And um I believe the last question
was about the rating from Moody's. So we used standard and pores when we went out for a bond rating back in 2015. That's who we're working with now, but we won't have that rating until April 6. >> Thank you. Um, moving on. Um, April 7th
is the special budget meeting that we have every year. It's not the breaking down the budget. Actually, this year um, finance decided to sort of combine that with this special budget meeting. Um, that's where we will go through everything um, line by line and there
will be um, some materials for the public uh, as usual, same as as last year. Um, no, we uh 2676. Um, yes, we we're not the guinea pig. Um, I don't have any
studies, but Chief, do you want to come up and talk about there um some other towns that are already using drones? They might use it in a different way than we're using it, but there are other towns out there using them. >> Yes. So, for the drone first responder, uh, just locally, Elizabeth has it.
They've had it for a few years. They're also expanding it. They had one they're going up to five killings first responders. Uh Lyndon just implemented it. County police is and those are through Knoxero is just trying to come into the market. So instead of just
everybody at some um because of the pressing everything else. Uh county police has meet has met with a few times already. Uh Westfield's meeting with them and I believe Berkeley Heights meeting as well. Branford is also
potentially interested just based on their they're local and if you call snip max on it's really hard to get the area to write down. So uh and Mount Olive actually just passed it as on Tuesdaystead so they're they're
so >> thank you. Um 2677 the fines actually chief can I keep you up there? Sorry. Can you just uh quickly a little
bit about the new fines um for what what they're encompassing? >> Um >> um the municipal automatic uh the automated traffic system violation list >> the the >> Oh, so we're just increasing mostly like
snow snow parking uh other municipal parking. They haven't been raised in years. Like they're it's like $28 some of them. Some of them are 32. So we're just uh doing it also with the guidance of police committee and the court as well. And we don't have a final say. We
have to submit it um to the state and then the state has a final set if they agree with it. >> The judge the judge and court sure gave their input as well. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, I think so.
Um the employee assistance program. This actually isn't the first time we've um have had this on before. Um it's a it's a assistance program for uh mental health for our professionals. It helps
with our accreditation with the police department. Um and it's just the annual contract. Um and then additional duties for 2678. Um I no 268
>> that's not 78. >> Oh 68. Okay. Um this is just authorizing uh yeah it's housekeeping. Our last borrow clerk was the compliance officer. So um a couple of these are just appointing our new clerk to these roles.
No extra cost. Yes. Thank you for adding that one. All right, we will move on to the consent agenda. Does anybody have an resolution they would like to remove? >> Uh 2676.
>> 676. Okay. Does anybody have anything else? >> Yes. Uh 26-67. >> Okay. Yeah. >> All right. Can is that anybody else? Okay. Can I
have a motion to adopt the consent agenda as amended? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Uh roll call, please. Councilwoman Anarelli, I. >> Councilwoman Biano, >> I. Councilwoman Nold,
>> I. >> Councilman Padusniak, >> hi. >> Councilman Surka, >> hi. >> Council President Bodto, >> I. >> Okay. Uh 2667. Can I first have a motion to adopt this
resolution before discussion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Second. >> Okay. Uh have anybody like discussion or has questions
>> or not? If not, it's fine. >> Can't ask what um the previous rates were or >> I Yeah, I can answer this. So, we increased them. We increased the cost um by 5% for each tier or excuse me, $5 for
each tier, which basically kept up with inflation um which about 3%. Um, we also added non-residents. Um, and we're charging them at the full price uh to cover the cost. And so the way that we see this is as a community program
that's paid for by taxpayers and largely subsidized for those taxpayers. Um, so for non-residents, it's just, you know, it's still very inexpensive to get their kids in camp at that price and, uh, it's at no extra cost to the bureau. So I thought it was a good idea to open it up. >> Okay.
Exactly. How much are we subsidizing? >> How much are we subsidizing? It's about $333 per child. >> That's quite a lot. >> Typically, um we there was a long time when um it was actually very uh much
cheaper, but um it was about $50 for many many many years. Um and then it obviously uh started to inflation and things like that started to make a real big hit. And so um we did increase it a few years ago and I think since then we've um sort of increased it steadily
just a little bit each time. And I would say that's not unusual for towns in this area to do. There's kind of two different approaches. It's a fully fund with the cost of the camp or for residents it's subsidized by the taxes that those residents pay. Um, so
Cranford is $150 for the same kind of program. >> The same hours because what are the hours of this camp? >> Nine to 9 to 12 for six weeks. >> So where do the kids go after that if their parents are working? I mean, is there an after program?
>> No. um last year that there was discussion about it but um in terms it was a difficult I think the way it was left uh with the committee and you can whoever was on can tell me if I'm wrong but the costs the added cost to that and
also the logistics of lunch and things like that just got a little too much for some a small town to handle with a small amount of kids that we have compared to some of the other towns which which were bigger. So I think it was decided against at that time. It it just seems,
you know, till 12. I mean, if I'm working a full-time job and my kids's in camp till 12. >> Yeah. >> What happen, you know, like I I now have to find care for afterwards. I don't know. It's just >> right. >> I'm just trying to wrap my head around this. I I need more information.
>> So, um it's been 9 to2 for for many many years and I don't even know how long since we started this camp, but and I understand because I have parents that come to me and would like it full-time. we wouldn't be able to subsidize it the
way we do then. Um and it has changed a little bit because now we have counselors um with the minimum wage. Uh so those costs went up to to do a full day. Um we we really wouldn't be able to provide that service given our the size
of our town. So this is something that we usually get about 150 to 200 campers. Um and yeah, it's it's not uh something that everybody can do if they have both parents working, but um it is a service
that's provided for those that can. A lot of kids, you know, will go home with another family for those couple of hours or whatever it may be. Um I know my kids did it for years and then they were counselors. Um and it's just a it's a
nice to me. Here's how I view it is it's a nice service that the burrow provides for not every child but for some of the children who are able to attend that it just gets them out of the house uh gets them off their phones. Um and uh you
know I couldn't have uh afforded a full day camp with my kids so I you know the the cost can get astronomical. So, this was just something that I was able to to do. And I think a lot of parents look at it like that. It's like a nice thing that they can get their kids out in the
community and and um you know, with their friends in the summer and just get them out of the house and off their phone. And that's really all it's meant to be. It's not meant to be a full summer camp type experience. It's meant to be just a a fun recreational type thing in the mornings for the kids. But
I mean, if you if you would like the recreation or community engagement committee to look at it again for a full year, I'm sure with our new wreck director, maybe he has some new ideas on how that could be something we could do. I'm not sure,
but it's something to talk to about him, you know, now that we'll have somebody new. I'm not sure if it's something that um this town would be able to handle, but >> it also would probably require hiring um people seasonally full-time. So, you have to think about adding benefits and
all of that that come with those rules. >> I just wanted to know about how late registration applies for the non-residents just because it's listed for the residents but not for the non. So, does a fee apply or is it >> that's just a flat fee? Yeah. >> Okay.
>> Anybody else? Okay. Um, we have our motion. Can we do a roll call, please? >> Councilwoman Annarelli, >> uh, I. >> Councilwoman Biano, >> nay.
>> Councilwoman Nol. >> I. >> Councilman Paduski. >> Nan Padusniaak. Sorry, we didn't hear that. >> Thank you, Councilman Sura. >> I, >> Council President Bodto, >> I.
>> Okay, we then have Let me just make sure I get the right number. Do you have that, Miss Kotiga? I want to >> 76. >> 76. Of course, one page later. 2676. Can I have a motion to adopt this
resolution? So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. Any discussion? >> Yeah. I mean, I'm the one who pulled it, so I'll I'll start discussion. I mean, I I was probably unsurprisingly the dissenting vote on the police committee. Um I I think that the chief did a
wonderful job explaining it uh now and then. I just even though we do retain the data and it is ultimately a pilot program, I have general concerns about the way data is handled in the technology sector um asurances from a particular company do not necessarily
allay those concerns. And secondarily, uh despite the fact that this is a pilot, I do feel that by becoming involved, odds are we would eventually pay the cost for it down the road. I think it's rather unlikely we pilot and don't adopt. So that is why I pulled it and voted no in committee.
>> Okay. Anybody else? Okay. Um roll call please. >> Councilwoman Anarelli. >> Uh no. >> Councilwoman Biano. >> I.
>> Councilwoman Nol. >> I. >> Councilman Pu Padusniaak. >> An. >> Councilman SA. Council President BTO I >> Okay. Um, payment of claims. Miss Kota, can
you please read uh payment of claims? >> Resolution 2678, payment of bills and payroll. >> Um, we usually read the whole thing. Sorry. Be it resolved by the burough council of the burough of Garwood that the following claims as approved be and
the same are hereby order paid when properly signed and verified and the payment of payrolls as listed is hereby confirmed and ratified. Thank you. Do I have a motion to adopt payment claims? >> So moved. >> Um roll call, please.
>> Councilwoman Anarelli, >> I. Councilwoman Biano. Councilwoman Null. >> I, >> Councilman Padusniaak, >> hi. >> Councilman SA, >> I. >> Council President Bodto, >> I. >> Okay. The next regular meeting of the
mayor and council will be held on Thursday, April 9th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in council chambers. Information for meetings is posted on the burrow website. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second, >> everyone.
All in. Go to bed.