Oh, no. Go ahead. Everybody, um, if I could ask everybody to please stand up for a moment of silence and salute to the flag. To the flag of the United States of America and to the
fors, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Adequate notice of this meeting was provided to the Union County Hawk and advertised on December 26, 2024. 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, PL1975. Roll call, please. Mayor
Blumentock, here. Councilwoman Bodto here. Councilman Foley here. Councilman Carney here. Councilman Lazero here. Councilman Padusniaak. Council President Noli. And she is excused tonight. I believe there is a concert at the at her school.
Um roll call of staff and professionals, please. John Arthur here. Adam Abramson here. Chief Doug Stoofer here. Well, speaking of Chief Doug Stoer, we are going to uh suspend the well, we're
going to have the first order of business tonight. Okay, I shouldn't say susp where we are going to honor um police chief Doug Stoer's years of service because as many of you may know as many of you may know he is
leaving us and retiring from the burrow of Garwood after more than 25 years here in Garwood. Um and so we really just wanted to take a few moments tonight and honor you. I have a little something I
wanted to say. Uh, and so before I I present you with a a proclamation, I wanted to take a a second just to say a little bit about Chief Stoer, first of all, um, his background, which a lot of you know, but some of you may not, but also just about some of the things he's
accomplished here for us for Garwood. Um, and it's obviously very bittersweet for for us up here. Um, Chief Stoofer is the second chief of police that I've worked with, but the one that I've worked with predominantly as mayor and as I'm sure he'll tell you, that means
we talk a lot. Um, so this will be a big change for all of us here. But um what I can say and I know I do speak for the whole council is while Chief Stoer will be sorely missed, he very much deserves his well-earned rest as he has done some
amazing things in the Garwood Police Department and truly made an impact on our burrow. Chief Stoer was hired here in Garwood in 2000 and he has held every rank in the department here having been sergeant, lieutenant, and captain and he was made chief in 2023.
He was also a member of the Union County Emergency Response Team where he was selected for the SWAT team back in 2002. And Chief Stoofer has been involved in hundreds of SWAT activations. He's done hostage rescue, high-risisk search and arrest warrant
service, uh dignitary protection detail, and he has put himself on the line time and time again. Most notably, Chief Stoofer was a part of the George Bush presidential inaugural security in DC in 2005. And in 2016 and 17, he was a part
of the team responsible for transporting and guarding terrorist Ahmed Rahimi. His work with SWAT is something I know he is uh very proud of and it's something we here in Garwood are equally proud of and grateful for.
Now, here in Garwood as chief of police, he has implemented some major changes in the department and implemented several successful programs. When he took over, Chief Stoer began working right away to engage with the efficiency of the department's scheduling, uh, greatly
decreasing overtime and helping save our residents a significant amount of taxpayer dollars over the past two years. and he has championed new technologies that have made our departments work more efficient, less time consuming, allowing them to be out on the street more, um, which is making
everybody safer. And when he was asked by council to tackle speeding and increase traffic stops, he's worked with the officers to make that happen with our department breaking new records each month. Now, these changes happened because he is a role model and a mentor
to the officers. It's something they themselves have told me. And what can't be overlooked is perhaps his most significant accomplishment. The department's new accreditation through the New Jersey State Association Chiefs of Police. This was a two-yearong
process that I know truly tested TR Chief Stoofer as he was not only working to get this accreditation done on a small town budget, but with staffing challenges as well. But each day he would give me updates and I could tell just how much accomplishing this would
mean to him because he knew how good it would be for Garwood. And I know this town where he has raised his two children means a lot to him. So he never stopped working on the accreditation and this past March we were all rewarded with his hard work. So Chief, we thank
you. We thank you for always thinking outside the box. We thank you for all the many hours you put in above and beyond. and we thank you for caring about the residents of this town. I know that your work ethic and your love of Garwood will continue on in the rest of
our officers in the department and I know you've instilled them with all that they need to take the torch from here. So enjoy your muchdeserved retirement, Michelle, who's here tonight and your children Michael and Gabriella. Enjoy having your husband and dad back. Um and
no worries chief, we won't let you be a stranger. So, Chief, if I can have you come on up. So, I just want to present this mayor's proclamation to you, Chief. Chief Dubs Toeer has served the burrow
of Garwood for over 25 years. He was sworn in as a patrolman in the Garwood Police Department on May 1st, 2000 and rose through the ranks to become chief on March 1st, 2023. Chief Doug Stoer's eagerness to assume responsibility along with his
desire to serve the residents of our community has been displayed through his loyal and dedicated service and his outstanding leadership is genuinely noted and appreciated. On June 1st, 2025, after over 25 years of devoted service to the burrow, Police
Chief Stoofer will begin his muchdeserved retirement. The mayor of the Burrow of Garwood, County of Union, State of New Jersey, does hereby commend Police Chief Stoer for the capable and efficient performance of all of his duties. We congratulate him on his retirement and
extend best wishes for the future. just real quick. You know what I mean? Okay. Just real quick. Um, well, there's been a lot of long days in 25 years being time. Um, I can't believe
that today is finally here and I was going to have a lawsuit prepared and everything like that. There's way too many memories to pick out a few to uh miss but boiling everything down that I want to say I want to say
back there my wife down but uh have front row seat for this madness for the last 20 years and uh all my successes in the title uh were
impossible I can't thank God enough. Know there's been some button heads and ups, but we all came through. I look forward to passing to
Chief Freddy, Captain Lewis. I know that you guys are going to be a good I'm excited to see where you guys I want to thank the mayor. We We were kind of hardened through the last couple years a little bit. And I want to
thank you for your support and just being there to hear me vent and whatever. We did as well. And uh I want to thank mayor and council police committee um police commissioner Barney finance committee
came with came in with a lot of big ideas and uh your support really I thank you for that because without that I'd like to think that this entire the last two years is really a tuneup uh John you know we just go shortly but he's been
invaluable helping me out to thank everybody. I'd be lying. I'd be lying if I wasn't sad about this. But, uh, they say, you know, you're ready when when it's time, ready for the next step. You know, a lot of over the last
couple of months, last time my class A last time for a while. I'm excited. I'm excited for whatever it is. But again, thank you to everybody and lastly, thanks to work here.
Can we come up and get everybody together? Don't leave. All right, come on in. Michelle, you want to get in? If I may, we're going to continue with just the first um business. If I could
have you up front for just a second. If I could if you could just meet me downstairs by the podium for a second. Okay. So we all know that our mayor I can't believe you did this. Of course you can. Swear me and Patricia. Yes.
Thank you. Thank you to both of you. Thank you to both of you. Yes. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you very much. If It was actually really fun and I got to meet a lot of great ALJ alumni
um that were honored with me as well. Um and it it was a great honor. It's it's very interesting going back to the high school now cuz my kids are involved there. You know, my daughter plays tennis, my oldest plays tennis there, my youngest is going there in the fall and
it's so it's kind of surreal to go through the hallways now uh with them. But uh so it was a great honor and I thank you for letting everybody know the the worst part of the night was having like my yearbook photo from 1998 up
front for everybody to see. Always a good time for that. But thank I do appreciate it. Thank you again. Very sweet. Okay, we can move on to um our reports
from our burough attorney. Nothing new to report. Report from our bur administrator. Yes. Good evening everyone. Um, you may remember a couple meetings ago we talked about uh health insurance costs. There
was an additional supplemental fee that we've been charged. Um, I've gone to some meetings regarding that. Um, that being said, we got an analysis of health benefits costs with BMED, our current provider, and what they would have been with the state health benefits plan. And
even with the supplemental assessment, we're still saving more than $10,000 per month for active um employees. Doesn't even include the retirees. Um so we're saving more than $120,000 a year just for active employees in our current plan
despite the additional assessment. Um you know, the costs for the state health benefits plan are also skyrocketing. I was at a presentation recently and um this the financial health of the state health benefits plan is sounds a little dire to be completely honest. So, um
we're going to keep looking at this though. We're not just going to say, "Okay, this is the best we can do." We're also getting quotes for going direct to um an insurance provider where it's they just provide insurance to the burrow directly. I don't think that's going to be a cost savings, but it
doesn't hurt to try to get the cost of that. Um, we're also looking at other health insurance funds if they're taking on new members if we qualify. You know, if if we meet all those things, at least we would know what the costs would be. Um, so yeah, mixed news, but the good
news is we're still saving a substantial amount of money in our in our current plan. Um, we also have been completing repairs at the athletic field complex. Um, most of the work has been completed and we should have the building back to normal within, I'll say, a few business days
hopefully. So, given the the holiday, probably sometime next week, um the county has said that they're responding to the capital grant request we put in for the turf project within 30 days of when we applied. It was due May 5th. So, we should hopefully know by our
next meeting how to proceed with the turf field project, whether we get the funds, whether we get a portion of the funds. You know, keep in mind we already have the $92,000 grant over here. So, we're just kind of looking for the rest elsewhere. So, we should hopefully know more about that by July our July 12th,
June 12th meeting, sorry. And lastly, you know, I said this last time, but wishing Chief Stoer, you know, a good retirement and it was it was great working with them while while I was lucky enough to do so. So, that's all that's all for my report. Thank you. And it it was good to see the cost analysis
verse of the of our uh HIF verse the state. And as we all saw this week, the reports coming out are, as you said, pretty bad. Um, and it was I was at the conference of mayors this week and obviously it was a very big topic. A lot of towns have done what we have done and
gone out. The ones that have stayed are have to essentially have to for various reasons, but they're they're suffering um a lot. I do think that the news out of there this week about that will hopefully spur some changes. Um but for
now I think we are in a good place. Of course as you said we'll look for the other options and we keep we'll continue to look for them you know even as we continue to move on with it but um it is still good to hear that even though we had that obstacle with the you know um
that chunk assessment that we have to provide um that there's still a really good amount of savings with this which is was the whole point um to begin with. So, thank you. All right. Um, I have a little bit of stuff going on because we have uh
quite a bit of events coming up here. Um, Garwood Rocks is of course June 1st. Center Street and Side Streets office centers will be closed. There will be some great bands, food vendors, uh, town department and committee tables, bounce houses, and activities for the kids. Uh,
and of course the beer garden. So, please come out and let your friends know about the date. It's always a great time. Then on June 7th, we are having uh the Small Town Big Heart Wellness Walk from AED to AED at 100 p.m. It will be
starting at the Rec Center and going to Hartman Park to celebrate Garwood's outdoor AEDs. Then following the walk, the Aliva Foundation will have a variety of activities including a Toucher Truck featuring our first responder departments, um crafts, uh and an AED
CPR demonstration. We are really proud that we were able to install these AEDs at our as our at our parks as safety is our number one priority. Uh and we are happy to celebrate AED CPR week with everyone. So we would love if everyone
could pre-register at garre.com just to help with planning purposes. We would really love that. Um so we will see you on June 7th. Then on June 14th, uh the burrow in conjunction with the Garwood Public Library will celebrate Pride Month with
arts and crafts and a reading by local Arthur author Rob Pearlman. Join us at 11:00 a.m. at the library where we will also chalk the walk outside the library. It will be a great event for families of all ages. Then on June 21st at 9:00 a.m.,
join us for Safer Streets Day. We will be meeting outside Burrow Hall and walking right over to the intersection of Center and Willow to join Easy Ride volunteers and help paint a temporary curb bumpout. Lincoln school students and Garwood Senior Club were surveyed
for their choice of design and I am announcing the winner tonight. The winner is Flowers. I don't I picked polka dots but I got overruled. Yeah. So, we the students and the Garwood Senior Club overwhelmingly chose flowers. So, um
that is what we will be doing and I will send a little message over to the school so um Mrs. Emmens or Superintendent Kenny can let the kids know as well. I want to invite the whole community to come and paint and make sure to wear clothes and shoes that can get dirty, of
course. Um, and again, this event is funded through an NJTPA grant secured by Easy Ride, and we thank them for helping us make our streets safer. And though we're always grateful for our first responders and those who work to serve our residents, the month
of May is when we can officially celebrate them. International Firefighters Day, National Police Week, EMS Week, and Public Works Week fall in May. And so I just want to take this moment to thank all of our departments for their hard work and devotion to our
bur. We owe you all many thanks. And a special shout out to a certain clerk, Miss Patricia Vasquez. It was professional municipal clerks week this month. So everybody everybody deserves a celebration around here. They do a great job. So thank
you. Um and so lastly, I just want to touch on the sore bills that the burrow sent out last week. um because I know it's uh a big change and I want residents to know we understand that. Um and everybody's feelings and opinions on
this don't go unnoticed. Uh I know Mr. Arthur has been answering a lot of questions about it this week as have I and the other council members from just the technical bill paying side of it uh to the reasons behind it. And we are happy to continue having those
discussions as we have for some time. We've been discussing it for multiple multiple meetings uh as well general council meetings as well as all the various budget meetings um and you know I put it into my newsletters online and
but I I understand even with that some people um might not hit their feeds or they they might not um watch these videos. So um hopefully they will now take some time to because I just want to clarify a few things. Um, I want to just
say that we're not doing this just because other towns are. I I know residents will say this is Garwood, not Westfield or Clark. You don't have to do what you know they always do. And that's true. Garwood is very unique. And the truth is we can always do what Westfield
or Clark or Cranford or any other Union County does simply because of our small size. But as I said up here before, even though we are unique, we are still impacted by many of the same stressors as our surrounding towns, we share similarly aging sewer systems. And so
when we put in that comparison uh in that letter that everyone received, it was to show you just how other towns have handled it. uh to show you not only that we experience this same thing um but also that we take great effort in Garwood to make sure any financial
impact on our residents is as minimal as possible. Um so for many years creating a separate sore collection it was kicked down the road by councils of the past including the ones I participated in. um this council
felt it could no longer do that. And so despite the backlash that they knew they'd get, they chose after over, as we said, over a year of discussion, lots of discussions, to do what they thought was best. Um and so regardless of your opinion on this, I think we can't deny
that the council members obviously feel it's in the best interest for Garwood's future sore solvency. Um, and if anyone ever doubts the reason these members became elected officials or if anyone ever thinks we do this for any reason
other than to benefit our community, we just have to look at this instance. Um, because I know that there's a lot of of chatter and and headlines um on Facebook um that, you know, they often say Democrats will go on a spending spree
and this money will just be used to buy something we want. And it's it makes for some some fun uh chatter and trolling. But I you know I I ask you with all of the transparency surrounding our budgets and our capital
projects um if there has ever been any sort of wild spending spree up here and how with all this transparency we would that we provide every year with our budgets would we ever be able to just use this money in some nefarious way. We
are not allowed by law to spend on anything that we have not budgeted for. So, you know, the public knows where the money is going each year. And I think overall we can agree that proactive repairs to our shores and being able to
now fairly cover the RVSA increases is a good thing for Garwood. And I do know that there seems to be a fee for everything. I feel that. I know everybody feels that around here. on everything. But for many years,
Garwood was able to survive without doing some of these things and increasing fees. But as I have seen over my tenure here, and not only for Garwood, but many small towns, as I said, I just came from the the conference with mayors of of big and small towns. Um, they feel the same way.
There's a need to play a little catchup so that we can continue to not just survive, but thrive. And the council could have raised this in the taxes this year. We really could have done that. And in fact, I have had people say to me this week, "Oh, you
could have just put it into the the taxes. You know, maybe nobody would have even seen it. Nobody would have noticed." But that honestly is not the way we operate up here. It's not the way we do things. Um, and the reality is our redevelopments do have pilots. And I
will add that they were created these pilots were created through bipartisanship. But the fact is is that these pilots in these pilots there's no direct contribution to the source system. That's just not the way pilots are um structured. So bringing it out of
taxes allows for that. And with paperboard coming in in the near future, this was more important to do it now than ever. Uh and I we've had this discussion, you know, in public comment here before how future councils might go and spend this money, you know,
willy-nilly um and not on soy repairs. But I say then that you are you're not electing the right leaders, but with the transparency we provide, you will be able then to hold elected officials accountable. And you should you should
do that. So, I also just want to as an aside say as we move forward, um creating a utility should be something that the council continues discussion on. It will take some long-term planning. Um I do think it's doable in
time. I do think it would solve some of the the different conflicting opinions on this. Um but it does require some more discussion and it requires some more um analysis. So I I encourage councils over the f in the future, this
one and ones in the future just to continue looking at it. Um so that is all from me on this topic. Uh and we can move along and to our comments. Um Councilwoman
Bodto, thank you. Um, I want to thank Chief Stalford for his years of service. Your commitment to excellence has certainly raised the bar for the department. Congratulations on your retirement. You're missed and I wish you the best in all your future endeavors.
Um, as a followup to your comment on this fee, we in finance work very hard and we had to bounce off each other on the amounts because like you said, we can't do what other towns do and we compromise on the
most affordable fee that that we could think of. Um, again, we understand it is a fee that, you know, is frustrating for everybody, but we need to be proactive and that's the way we work with it. Thank
you, Councilman Foley. Um, so this morning, um, I'm going to get my, uh, cup of coffee and, um, it's it's raining and I see Chief Stoofer out there. Um, I guess I don't know what he's doing, but he's got the Guardwood Rocks electric sign and he's
moving and shifting it in the rain. He's rocking a hoodie. And it was a moment where, you know, I said to myself, I'm like, "God, you got like 5 days of retirement. Just go inside." But it but it was one of those
moments where I think it it def it's like a defines him. It was like one of those aha moments, right? where his dedication to this town is is consistent. It's just always there. Um, and I think there's one thing that I I I
really admired in the the short time um I've gotten to know him is there's always this quiet confidence in his leadership, but this confidence you have trust in it. It's not a it's not a confidence that's loud, that's boisterous, that's like look, it's that he will get the job done and you can feel that that
conviction and it's a type of leadership I don't often see much, but it was a refreshing refreshing thing to observe. Um, you know, I this town owes a great debt to you and I I got to say that, you
know, it was inspiring to watch you uh and watch how you loved your department. Uh, how you were able to collaborate with the different departments and and the the Garwin and all and you'll be surely surely missed. But I know where
you live. You know, my wife, she said when we met, we were walking uh the baby, she's a really good guy. And I'm like, you know what? She's a good judge of character. But then I was going to say, but then I realized she knew me.
So, but you will be missed. So um the sewer fee look I could not to me this was about fairness and the optics would be like
like mayor you said people saying if you just put it in the tax bill right that is you know that's that is not what this was designed to do this was designed for fairness I could not allow the property owners, the taxpayers to shoulder the
burden of ensuring our infrastructure stays sound and working and maintained um while developments who you know because of pilot agreements don't pay their fair
share. And so this was really about doing the responsible thing. And to me being in office doing this is to do the things that is most beneficial to the residents because I know they work hard. They work to raise their family.
They work to survive. I understand that and I I go door to door and I talk to everybody and it's tough. Things are getting more expensive. But that doesn't mean that I am going to make a decision that is going to burden
them more while leaving a section of the community not paying into it. So that's what this was about, fairness. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Carney.
Uh thank you, Mayor. Uh my first comment tonight is on the outstanding service of our outgoing police chief, Doug Stove. Uh I've enjoyed serving on the police committee uh initially as a member and now as the police commissioner for the last two years. Uh Chief Stoofer is an
excellent partner to the burrow and to this council. Uh and he has fully delivered on a passion that we happen to share. Uh leave things better than you found them whenever you can. Uh and he certainly has. Uh, this chief taking some of the old school with how officers
conduct patrols and follow-up investigations and stepping up presence and engagement at both community events and during the day-to-day work of policing. Uh, took that and blended it with the new school of updated standard operating procedures and employing
technology to support the mission of his officers. He's really set a high standard for the incoming command staff. Uh, I do not doubt that what you have set in motion with the Garwood Police Department over these past few years will be continued and further improved
upon by the many fine supervisors and officers you're leaving behind. So, Chief, uh, I thank you for your dedicated service to Garwood and the citizens of Union County over your many years with Union County SWAT. Uh, you will be missed here, but again, you left
it better than you found it. uh and both your officers and the residents of Garwood owe you a debt of gratitude for that. So enjoy the last few wakeups. Uh so regarding the sore fee, um I do think utility may be the way to
go in the future, but for right now we we are where we are. Um I just want to call everyone's attention to a core responsibility of serving on this council. uh it's acting as a conduit of information from the burrow to the public and representing the public's
voice in the burrow's affairs. Another core responsibility is to gather information, conduct our research and carry out necessary factf finding before engaging in discussions and finally making decisions. We can't go back in time and
change a prior council's decision and we generally cannot bind a future council to any of our choices. Times change and new information comes to light and council members come and go. We must act on the information we have before us and make the best decisions possible in the
interest of the burrow. Council members also cannot knowingly underfund any part of the municipal budget as state law requires full funding or we can be held personally liable as individuals. Another aspect of our job
is to listen to everyone. Each person here tonight is entitled to their opinion and has the right to address the mayor and counsel during public comment. Still, I encourage the residents that are here and those out there with concerns, comments, or questions
regarding the new Sori to listen to the mayor and council's explanation of why it's needed, how it differs from the regular property tax, and why the decision was made to implement a flat fee instead of a usagebased fee for residential units.
I believe we've made the right call on this topic. And while I know some may listen tonight and still disagree, I hope everyone does so while keeping in mind the council and our professionals are doing what we think is best for Garwood now and in the
future. Uh and finally, I just like to touch on the recent letter to the governing body. Uh I don't think it made the agenda because it came in too late. Uh it's regarding formalizing a joint committee on redevelopment between this council, the planning board, and the board of education. Uh for those that
don't know, Mayor Bloomck and I have had uh ongoing communications in meetings with the school district since 2024. Uh we have discussed BOE representation regarding redevelopment in Garwood. uh even though we have had BOE representation in past uh ad hoc working
groups with uh similar compositions over the years that uh both the mayor and I were involved in as uh as council members. Uh while I strongly reject some portions of this letter which single out specific children as quote costing the district money which is patently
offensive to me as the parent of a child with an IEP. the assertion that current or former councils are being parsimonious with revenue sharing or proposing in a legal concept that the burrow could possibly searchcharge a developer for
each school aid school age resident in future pilot agreements. Um I do want to ensure the public that this is already on our radar screen. it has been for some time and that I would like to see more BOE involvement and also robust revenue sharing from statemanded
redevelopment through either local or state legislative action in this fourth round of affordable housing. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Lazero. Thank you, Mayor. Um I also want to
congratulate our chief for his fine work in Garwood. Um, you know, I would say that that uh having, you know, most of my experience with leadership at the educational level, um, I think a lot of the things that I see in leadership has
to do with whether or not people follow through with the things they say they're going to do. And um I've been largely disappointed at a lot of times in my educational career um where you have giant initiatives that gen tend to sound
similar or uh are very hard to to be able to actually implement and or there's not enough resources or there's a number of other factors that just get in the way of it actually coming to fruition. And um you know when I've
started being on this council uh eight and a half years ago, you know, I think there is obviously a lot of things that we say we're going to try to do and I think we we do our best to try to make it happen and and obviously our professionals try to do that too. But uh
of all the people that I've worked with, I've never seen someone like Chief Stoer with the kind of followthrough. He came to our finance committee meetings and he was like, "Here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to reduce our overtime costs. I'm
going to do uh these things." And you know, we hear a lot of things that are our professionals say that they're going to do, but and then the following year it just it happened. It it just happened. And you know, I just was incredibly impressed that um you know,
that kind of followthrough doesn't always happen. and and I it clearly takes a kind of leadership that uh you the people in the police department really respect you and we're just I'm personally very grateful for the work that you've done and um and you are it's welld deserved for your retirement. So
thank you so much for your leadership and for your guidance and for really making Garwood operate so much more effectively. um as far as a sore. Um so so you know my approach to this whole I you know idea was that about three
years ago um our burough administrator at the time Kyle Harris brought to our attention the finance committee and I've been on the finance committee like eight out of the nine years that I've been on this council that we were in
a really challenging financial long-term position. um that we were seeing a lot of increases in costs and that we would have to really consider some uh ways for us to protect our infrastructure. And
one of the things that um we had been hearing about from our engineer reports that always made me extremely anxious was these sewer lines that you know no one really wants to talk about right until they don't work right it we expect
them to work we expect them to be functioning and then when they don't I mean it's a really humous problem so you know it is something that I feel As Councilman Kernney talked about, it's kind of our responsibility on being on
this council to be if we are aware of some of the problems of our infrastructure and we can be proactive to making sure that our infrastructure is maintained properly. I think that is
worthwhile. It's worth the uh I know the pain that obviously some people are going to have from getting this increase. I totally empathize with that. Um but I do think that people
would much rather have functioning maintained sewer lines um than the additional costs that will uh they will incur. I think that is something that people will feel really good about long term. And then as far as you know how we
go about paying for it, you know, you know, we were talking uh and I believe that if we did not have Vermela be a part of that fee, the cost of what we would be bringing in would go up something like 15 to 20% because we're
not having Vermela pay into that fee because they're paying through pilot. So all of those factors I think play a big role in why I'm very supportive of this sewer fee. I'm not supportive of having to pay more taxes if I don't have to.
But I think this is a worthwhile uh cost. And uh I I definitely feel like um you know this this some this is something that I think people should feel good that their sewer lines are now going to be maintained and protected and
that there is a designated line for sewer uh maintenance for us to use that funding to help uh repair some of these sewer lines that potentially could be much bigger problems down the line. So, that was a lot longer than I meant to speak, but I just went on. Sorry. Thank
you. It's fine. Uh, Councilman Padusniaak, the chief is back just in time for his uh next congratulations and thank you. Uh, I I learned a lot about you tonight, Chief, that you're escorting terrorists to prison. You're on the inaugural
security details. Uh I should have known uh because I think that the fruit of that experience, that professionalism has been borne out in the very brief time that we've gotten to serve together. Um your followthrough has been phenomenal, but also your leadership taking someone like me who's new to the
police committee, new to the council, and making me feel welcome and like I could get on board and know what I was doing. So, uh the new chief, I'm sure, is going to do a great job, is going to have big shoes to fill, and I'm sure he'll do it. But we can't thank you enough for what you've done for our town
and a retirement welld deserved. So congratulations. Uh I I'll deviate briefly from the main topics to talk about the phone ready mile project. Um which is just to say I have some good news which is that we've now uploaded
all of the vendors, all of the locations. So it is now just up to this council to finish the process. So we are almost there. You won't have to hear about this from me much longer. Mhm. Um we will have to have discussion soon on ordinance versus yeah so we'll have that
we'll have a little more discussion on it. Um so far as the survey is concerned I I don't know how much more I can add. My colleagues have gone first and covered virtually every aspect. I'll just say for myself as a a freshman I
think is the technical term. I'm sitting up here listening to our bio engineer talk about the risk. I made a calculation that a fee that I was going to pay just as all of you would permit was worth it to me for the potential of a voting uh much greater cost down the
road and potential disaster even more than that. So that was the stake for my vote and we stand by it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, we're going to move along to our minutes. Miss Vasquez, minutes of the regular meeting of the
mayor and council held on May 9th, 2025. Do I have a motion to accept the regular and executive session meeting minutes as presented? Second. Second. Uh, all in favor? I opposed. Okay. Communications, Miss
Vasquez. There are minutes approved on May 15th, regular meeting. uh received and filed. Um we have a couple of ordinances up for adoption tonight. Uh Miss Vasquez, can you please read the ordinance 25-17 by title only? An
ordinance fixing salaries and wages of certain officials and employees of the B of Garwood in the county of Union, State of New Jersey. Okay. Do I um Sorry, wait. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my god. I didn't No, I
don't know why we didn't I didn't catch that either. Sorry. Cuz we're adopting. Yes. Do we have any um correspondence concerning this ordinance? No, we do not. Uh does anyone present wish to be heard concerning this
ordinance? Please step to the microphone, state your name and address, and please limit your comments to five minutes. 320 Pine Avenue, Garwood, New Jersey. Um, I'm a little confused. You've got ordinance 2517 and
then I have resolution 25113. Okay. They're not reflecting the same list of people, are they not supposed to? We'll we'll answer after all your questions are done if you have anything
further. I think resolution 25-13 is a resolution or an ordinance. First question and is not I'm sorry. Can you say that again? It's is it supposed to be a resolution or an ordinance? Okay, we'll answer all the questions at the end. you can just go through your
enforcement officer is not listed on this. Uh neither is the property rental administrator. Um and on the back page, I don't need this. Um it's says 2024. I'm assuming that's a typo, but it
should be 2025 on the second little section where the senior bus drivers are. That might be Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Um we do have to do both an ordinance and a resolution. This
is um done each year and in each year we do have to set it in both ways. Um I I think that is that would be a typo, Miss Vasquez, with the 2024 2025 issue. Okay. Mr. Arthur, do you see that?
is helping any resolution or any resolution 25-113. Yeah, I think it's on page six, John. The last part of the grid. Okay. And if you want to answer anything else towards
this, I actually have to ask our CFO whether that last section is a purpose for having 2024 at the bottom there. I don't know if she's adjusting things retroactively. Um, but my guess is that really should probably be 2025.
Actually, no, I know it should be because I know some of the changes in there should be 2025. So, I think it's when we vote, we should probably amend it. Yeah. Yeah. So, we can delete it and then motion it with the amendment for the one change, right? Correct.
Okay. Thank you. Uh, and then do you want to in terms of some of the people that are on it, these are in the resolution, it's setting new rates. Is that correct? Yes. For some for some of the positions, it's setting
new rates, but essentially the the ordinance just sets the ranges that you're allowable and the resolution sets the actual rate, which is why the discrepancy in the certain people. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I should have made a motion to close
public hearing, didn't I? See, it's not like all over. Um, we will Can I have a um a motion to close public hearing? Second. Second. All in favor? Oppos? Opposed then. Okay.
Um, okay. So, I think that answers every question and I apologize for not closing it out before we went to the discussion. Um, but we will move on to the motion now. Do I have a motion to adopt this ordinance? So move. Second.
Uh, roll call, please. Councilwoman Bodto. Hi. Councilman Foley. Hi. Councilman Carney. Councilman Lazero. Hi. Councilman Petusak. Okay. Uh, can you please read bond ordinance 25-18 by title only? Bond
ordinance to authorize the making of various public improvements and the acquisition of new additional or replacement equipment and machinery, new communication and signal systems equipment, new additional furnishings and a new automotive vehicle including
original apparatus and equipment in by and for the Bureau of Garwood in the county of Union State of New Jersey to appropriate the sum of $390,000 to pay the cost thereof. of to make a down payment to authorize
issuance of bonds to finance such appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notes in anticipation of the issuance of such bonds. Okay. Do we have any communications regarding this ordinance? No, we do not. Okay. Does anybody wish
to be heard regarding this ordinance? Please come to the microphone, state your name and address and please limit your comments to 5 minutes. Good evening, mayor, ladies and gentlemen of the council. Bruce Patterson, 325 Willow Avenue. Um, going through the backup to this uh
$390,000 borrowing. Uh, item D, it talks about the athletic field complex and you're planning to borrow about $27,000 on that. uh for the sake of transparency, could you explain what that money is going to be used for and
if that's actually going to be a uh matching grant where we're going to get another $28,000 from another entity. Just uh clarify what all that money is being spent on. Also, item G,
this is the uh safety corridor. Uh, unfortunately I couldn't make that uh, safety corridor special um, outreach that you did. Uh, I I don't know where I was. It might have been at the historical committee meeting, but anyway, the
uh, 40 Yeah. For about $41,000 you're borrowing in bonds and from what I understand from the line items in the budget, there's like $39,000 coming from the county. uh for the sake of transparency. I really didn't hear what
we're spending this $80,000 on. I mean, at one time you mentioned, and it even says it here, you know, we have bike lanes and I think you said signs and like I said, I didn't go to the outreach and maybe you actually did get the $80,000 in depth explanation, but would
you please explain it to the public um the viewing public and of course the public here. Thank you very much. Okay. Okay. Is there anybody else who wishes to address the mayor and council? Okay. Seeing none, can I have a motion to close public hearing? So moved.
Second. All in favor? I opposed. Okay. Um the rec the improvements to the athletic field complex. This is Yes. Um we do have a grant that will apply for the
kids and rec grant and this is part of the lighting. Yes. So it is a match for Yeah. Kids and wreck. Um, solar lights part of it. Uh, resurfacing the basketball court at the athletic field complex is part of it. Um, a little bit
of gravel for a path is part of it. And that's pretty much it. The solar lights will actually be the bulk of the expenditure. Yes, we're talking real athletic field complex solar lights, not the kind you get from Home Depot. I I talked we talked about this before.
Yeah, they're commercial grade. Definitely commercial grade. So, um, and then the Center Street Corridor, um, we did talk about this and there is a a PowerPoint presentation online. I urge everybody to go and take a look at it.
Um, we have estimates on the bike lanes. Um, of course, when you're going out to do this, you do have estimates and then, uh, you sort of price everything that way. The other the other items that we will be purchasing is um various lighting and it is on the uh that
PowerPoint so you can sort of get a sense of the of what it looks like too and the items specific items that we'll be putting on the pedestrian signal that we currently have but just better lighting that will light up um and then
various signage. This is an estimate. I am very much hoping and I don't think it's going to cost the full amount and the matching because of the estimate. Um, but we know when we get estimates and then when the when we actually do
our projects sometimes things go up because of the timing. Um, and so we have a nice buffer here. to be honest, it is my estimation that it will not cost the full 80,000 to do everything. But we have that we had that grant given
to us. So, we are appropriating that and we can then apply it. Maybe perhaps we've done that before to other things in the future. We can give it back. There's other things that can be done, but because we were given that grant um we're going to use those estimates uh to
fund them at this time. But as I said, um I don't feel it will come down to that full amount. But by the time we get going on the project, we know it'll be probably a couple of months and we got the
estimates months back. And as we say, we have to make sure we provide a good buffer. Yeah. Um okay. So, at this point, um, if I could have a motion to adopt this ordinance. So, moved.
Second. Uh, roll call, please. Councilwoman Bodto, I. Councilman Foley. Councilman Carney. I. Councilman Lazero. Hi. Councilman Puzzniaak. Okay. Council standing report. Finance.
Councilman Foley. No report tonight. Fire. Councilman Lazero. Actually, I will report on the memorial uh ceremony from last night. Uh that we had a really wonderful turnout of uh almost all of our council members there.
Um and uh there was uh you know refreshments and a really lovely um uh speech from the Scotch Plains um fire chief um as well as obviously our fire chief talking about all of the uh incredible service of our fire
department and also memor uh giving um credence and memory to um some of the fire departments members that we've lost. So that's it. Thank you. Community development. Councilman Padusniaak. No report tonight. Ma'am.
Hey. Public works. Councilwoman Bodto. Thank you, Mayor. Um, in addition to the reoccurring activities, the DPW employees perform the following duties. Set up and take down tables and chairs at the sports complex for numerous recreation activities and events. Clean
up the common areas around the municipal complex. Mow, train, and maintain all municipal owned properties. and parks on a weekly basis. Complete planting the flowers in the street side planters in various locations of the burrow. Put up the taste of Godwood banner. Water
flowers and the street side pass throughout the barrel as needed. Pay park mobile signs and handicap spot along north avenue. Continue to perform street sweeping operations in accordance with the annual public works schedule. Provide public works assistance for the
specialty and e-waste recycling event. Check and treat reoccurring problems sewer lines on a weekly basis. Repair broken street and traffic signs in various locations of the bell. Thank you. For me, uh, police Councilman Carney. Thank you,
Mayor. The police committee met with Chief Stoer and the incoming command staff earlier this week. Uh, thank you to Council President Noli for subbing into the meeting so we could be at full strength for our discussions. Uh the committee unanimously recommends
accepting the sidebar agreement found on tonight's consent agenda. Uh we will also unanimously advance an ordinance for introduction in June uh adjusting marked no parking areas on Hemlock Avenue in the area of East uh to be uniform on both sides of the street. Uh
this will assist with traffic flow uh when Unami Park is busy with multiple games. Uh the new command staff will continue monitoring the paid parking program and discuss any recommendations for changes with the committee moving forward. Uh we also cleared out a few
items from this year's punch list regarding uh replacing missaged missing or damaged uh street and road signage. Uh also reporting that uh GPD is considering testing out a software platform named Urban SDK. Uh this allows
for nearly real-time traffic flow and speed data using anonymized crowdsourced uh GPS data which is available from many newer vehicles and uh also smart devices. Uh the upfront access to this
prorated for a part of the annual fee uh would be handled with some remaining donation money carried over in trust from last year. Uh I'm very excited about this concept uh which will be used to better direct patrols and investigate the uh often anecdotal reports the PD
and this council receive of uh various trouble spots and unsafe driving. Uh the software will also save on officer hours spent conducting uh traffic and speed studies which is currently a manual process. uh it'll
allow them to be done in a matter of hours when it usually takes two to three weeks to conduct the monitoring and compile the data. Uh after this year's evaluation, uh GPD will request funding from finance uh and the operating budget for future
years if they wish to continue using the software. Uh the annual cost estimate was around 7500. Uh but if this software operates for us as advertised, I think it would be money well spent. Uh it could also serve as an excellent complement to the circulation study
that's called for uh in the burrow's master plan this year. So uh I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out over the remainder of 2025. And that's all for this report. Um, under recreation, tomorrow, Friday, May 23rd is the last day to register for
summer camp at the early bird rate of $130. The prize goes up on Saturday to $155. A meet and greet with the new director, Tanya Ribera, was held this past Tuesday. Adult open play soccer takes place every
Friday night at 800 p.m. in the turfields. The next adult ceramics class is on a Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 p.m. at the rec center. Uh for events, the Memorial Day ceremonial lunchon is this Monday, May 26 at noon and the Knights of Columbus.
Just show up. No need to pre-register. The speaker will be the will be Crystal Corduro, a veteran sergeant in the US Army psychological operations, First Battalion, Airborne Historical. The next meeting of the historical committee is
Tuesday, May 27 at 6:30 at the Garwood Public Library. Godwood Partnership for Arts and Culture um is planning a group art project to celebrate Pride Month. We are asking members of the community to submit the original 9 by9 square
abstract artworks using the colors of the rainbow. The tiles will be collected and assembled into one large artwork by GPAC artist for display at the library during June. Complete directions for completing your tile can be found on the Barrow website. Drop off your creation
in the GPAC celebrates Pride Month box at Barrel Hall by June 6th. You may submit as many tiles as you like. That's all. Some of the events upcoming um include on May 29th from 10:00 a.m. to noon is the aging service kiosk, which is the
Union County Division of Aging staff. They'll be on hand to assist seniors ages 60 and over other caregivers with information on services such as mail delivery, respit care, adult daycare, and supports services for caregivers. On June 4th at 3:30, the Steam Sharks will
be at the library. Join the crew from Union County Magnet School for a Steam program. Registration is suggested, limit of 10. On June 9th, the summer reading program officially begins. The program this summer is called Color Our
World at Your Library. The summer events include scavenger hunts and other fun programs. You could have a chance to win four tickets to Great Adventure, the American Dream Malls Legoland Discovery Center, or the Sea Life, New Jersey Aquarium. Registration begins uh today.
Pick up your summer reading packet. Registration will be accepted through July 23rd of this summer. On June 25th at 1 p.m., there will be a magic show. Join Muscleman Mike for a space adventure and some non-stop magic. Registration is required, limit of 30.
And on June 26th at 2 p.m., the summer reading opening party kicks off. Join the summer reading kickoff event in the library parking lot with giveaways and ice cream from the screen chalk. This event is open to those who are registered for summer reading. Registration is required and a limit of
40. And just a reminder that the library will be closed on Monday, May 26th for Memorial Day and June 20th for Junth. That's all for my report. Thank you very much. Uh, school board Councilman Carney, the Garwood Board of Education met this past Tuesday, May 20th. Uh, and
we'll meet again on Tuesday, June 17th. Okay. Um, report for our seniors. At our last meeting, I did a mini presentation of the Safer Streets Day curb bumpout project. Uh, and we discussed what bumpouts are, why they are used, and
discussed the temporary demo that we talked about that we'll be painting on June 21st. And the club was provided with pictures of possible designs for the bumpout. And as we said before, they overwhelmingly chose flowers. So, I hope to see some of our seniors there that day to paint or cheer others on. Our
next meeting is June 5th at 12:00 p.m. at Knights of Columbus. Um, small business advisory Councilman Carney. I I was also pulling for polka dots, by the way. So, yeah, I like the polka dots. I do like polka dots.
Uh the taste of what you like taste of gar uh event is underway uh right now going till tomorrow May 23rd. Uh thank you to the participating small businesses in town and to everyone who has shown up to support one of them over the past week. Uh one more reminder for
everyone. We have a few gift cards for customers who remember to snap a selfie and post publicly using the #tasteofgarwood. Uh the gift cards will be awarded after the promotion ends next week. Uh the burrow will contact winners to arrange pickup of the gift card. Uh
the small business board will meet again over the summer to discuss the outcome of this year's Taste of Garwood and also plan events for the remainder of 2025. And that's all. Okay. Board of Health Councilman Foley. Last night the um yeah, last night the board of health
held a meeting here at Burough Hall and they reviewed several important public health updates. These topics include the continued importance of measles vaccination, especially for individuals who remain unvaccinated. The board of health recommends those planning international travel to ensure that
they're fully vaccinated as they're at increased risk if visiting areas with ongoing outbreaks. The recommendation is to be vaccinated at at least 2 weeks before departure. For infants between 6 and 11 months, an early dose is advised before travel by the regular schedule of
12 to 15 months and again four to six years. We also went over protocol in the event of exposure to a confirmed measel case. If someone lacks immunity, they should quarantine through day 21 following the last day of exposure to prevent further spread. And finally, there have been no new human cases of
H5N1 in the US since February. Lastly, updated guidance now recommends RSV vaccination for at risk individuals between the ages of 50 and 59. That is all. Thank you. Um, planning board leaison Councilman Carney. Thank you, mayor. The
planning board met on Wednesday, May 14th, uh, acting as the zoning board. Testimony was heard on case PB25-02 which was requesting consideration to amend the zoning designation of 543rd Avenue uh Garwood
Gardens LLC or otherwise known as Stephanie Gardens. Uh the zoning board unanimously voted to deny this request uh with the mayor and I abstaining as required. Uh the board also discussed a preliminary overview of proposed changes
to the burough code regulating signage uh which the Garwood Small Business Association executive board has requested. Uh feedback from the board's discussion will be incorporated into a report for further discussion in a later meeting this year uh with an expectation
of a recommendation to the council for an ordinance amending the relevant parts of the borrow code. uh once the proposals are finalized and reviewed by both the full board and our planning professionals. Uh finally, the board discussed the status of a prior
application and approved site plan for number two North Avenue, uh also known as Ditrix. Uh the board secretary was directed to send a letter requesting an update on that project's status. Uh finally, the next planning board meeting will be Wednesday, May 28th at 7:30 p.m.
uh here in council chambers. Uh everybody make a note of that date on your calendars. Uh we will be addressing New Jersey's Fair Housing Act requirements. Uh so there will be a presentation and public hearing held to consider an amendment to the burough's
master plan uh namely including the proposed housing element and fair share plan for the fourth round. So uh again that is the uh required public hearing. So we will uh certainly make sure that everyone is aware of that and that's all for this report. Thank you. Yes, I
really want to encourage everybody to come in person if you can so that you can ask questions of our planner um who will be laying out the proposed fair share fourth round uh of affordable housing plan. Um I know it has been
posted online. Um the the plan itself you can find online on our website. There's also hard copies that you can take a look at at both Burrow Hall and the library. Uh, and if you go on the burough social media, uh, there are links to the plan to make it easy to
find. Um, but please check it out, take a look. It is a lot when you look at the plan. I mean, we're talking hundreds of pages. So, while it's a lot to look at, I do encourage you to come to the meeting because our planner is very good
at distilling everything to the point where you will be able to understand. He's done it for me, he's done it for for the planning board. um you know in executive and and gone over everything and it's a much it's a much easier way
to understand the plan um than when you take a look at it yourself because as you will see it is extremely in-depth and long. So please come to the council meeting. It's an important topic. It it really will define um a lot of our our
infrastructure planning for over the next year. So, uh, we really want everybody to be involved in it. Um, okay, we're officers reports. We have none at this point, so we're moving to public comment. Um, if there's anyone in the audience to wish to address the
mayor and council, please step up to the microphone, state your full name and address, and please limit your comments to 5 minutes. John E. Pritchard 410 Spruce Avenue Garwood. Just a few minutes ago, I heard the uh signs of the fire trucks that
that proves to me that our firefighters are ready and willing to go anywhere to protect us. 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. They're out there for us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every day of the year. Every day of the year. We must back them up way. And also we must back our soldiers, sailors,
marines, coast guardsmen, airmen, spacemen in our armed services, especially those now failed to back them up during war in Vietnam. And during that time, we lost
three of Garwood's sons to enemy action during war. They love the soul. Every day in a hund ways they told us so. In
honesty, in affection, they told us so. Love the soul. Every day in a 100 rooms they showed us so with
loyalty and they showed us so they are defenders and they kept us free. They took an oath to guard us and fought
[Music] for they love the show and we should know. And finally, ladies and gentlemen, we must measure the state legislature in Trenton
to reopen some closed hospitals such as Milenberg and Planefield. We need those hospitals badly because what our 911 attack occurs and we'll need those hospitals very very badly. The sooner reactor at Muenberg and many other
hospitals, the better off we all will be. Don't make much more clear, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Per, is there anybody else who wishes to address the mayor and council? Seeing none
Good e good good evening mayor ladies and gentlemen the council Bruce Patterson 325 Willow Avenue uh I guess you know everybody wanted to talk about the sewer fees I actually wasn't going to talk about it but since the uh cows out of the barn now and I
asked this many times before and for the sake of transparency now and Mark and Councilman Lazro actually mentioned that the sewer monies are in this dedicated budget line. However, you're collecting $150,000 and on that sore budget line,
you only have $76,000. So, there's $74,000 out of this $150,000 being collected from the taxpayers as to where it's going. And over the course of many times I've spoke, I I mentioned, you
know, the the uh ordinance that you passed. I believe it's ordinance talking about it goes for the sewer operation and maintenance. That line item has $76,000 in. So for the sake of a transparency, where is that
$74,000? That should be in that same line. Not 76, but 150. Uh yeah, the BA BA Arthur uh mentioned about the wreck complex issue earlier in this meeting. I'm just wondering for the
sake of transparency, what exactly went on over at the rec complex? I mean, the furniture was moved around. I saw it sitting out there in in the foyer. It was back in, it went back out. So, I mean, just could somebody explain what went on in that?
Uh, thank you, Councilman Carney, for jumping on that letter I sent. I sent a letter to the planning board, the council, and the uh, board of ed. Springfield is coming up with this uh, it's a jo it's an ordinance for a formal joint committee on redevelopment
in schools. Obviously, they're recognizing that there is some situation happening. As we know, uh, pilots on developments exclude the, uh, any cost going to the school. It's only a municipal and the county. The bulk of it goes to the municipal. So anyway, so
they're putting together a committee and and it's made of uh council people. You'll be seeing that letter soon and I'll probably talk about it again, but council people and board of ed people and and outsiders and they're going to have a committee and they're going to actually formally discuss how to address
this situation about the uh funding not going to the school. Uh Councilman Carney read the letter. Thank you very much about that. But he immediately dismissed it. Uh which is a joke because it's sad that the council doesn't just turn a blind eye to what this what is
happening here. Um he also dismissed I threw out a suggestion. I said maybe the you know any future uh developments pay a a unit price for for uh students that come out of that development that go to the board of ed. maybe that we could
capture some some money on that for the revenue and he dismissed that. But the strange thing is at the same time we're talking about the sewer fee about dunning Vermela and additional monies for the sewer fee and yet he dismisses the uh the idea about dunning them for
maybe a child cost. And I'll tell you ignorance isn't leadership. I'll tell you that much. So anyway, so that's that. Um, I mentioned I mentioned last meeting about some uh Senate bills and assembly bills down in Trenton uh about all this round four affordable housing
issues. Uh I only mentioned about two of them, but I mean I'm not going to I have a whole litany of 1 2 3 4 5 6 about 7 8 nine Senate and Assembly bills. Uh all referencing how to address affordable housing better. Uh I I know you had the
uh food packaging and then you pulled it back on last uh agenda, but anyway, I'll send you the list of these things and I think you really should advocate for many of these at least review them to see if they're applicable and then possibly at put forth a resolution
advocating for that. So anyways, that's my uh statement. So one last one uh for the Aliver foundation. One minute. Hey, pretty good. Anyway, for the Aliver Foundation, uh I I'm glad you mentioned about the
AED Heart Wellness Walk. Uh the Alver Foundation is wondering just how many of the council people will be attending that walk. So, if you could just say yes if you are. Thank you very much. Okay. Is there anybody else who wishes
to address the mayor and council? Thank you. Good evening, mayor and council. Bill Nir said 320 Hickory Avenue. Um I wasn't planning on speaking at all, but uh Mr. Patterson just made a comment that really just chills me. He's talking
about somehow charging new residents who are moving into future redevelopments or the number of children they have attending school. Uh Mr. Patterson, as you know, residents had to be charged at the same rate for the same things. So, I guess
that also means you support uh new residents moving into uh house, I'll say standard housing in Garwood uh rates based upon the number of children they have. Very interesting comment, Mr. Patterson. Thank you.
Thank you. Is there anybody else who wishes to address the mayor and council? Please step forward. Thompson, 320 Pine Avenue, Garwood. Um, just to correct what Mr. Patterson was saying was not to charge the tenant for the child that is going to school, but
to have the complex in addition to the pilot fee to per to chip in to the school budget for the amount of children that they have residing there. We're not talking about charging the family per se, but if you have a a unit that is
paying taxes or payment in lie of taxes, a pilot fee, so they're not contributing to the school board fees. Maybe part of that agreement when we do a future development is that they need to contribute to the school based
on amount of children that they have in their community. which means that the developer, whoever's paying those pilot fees, is the one kicking in that money, not the tenant per child. We're not charging a family because they have six kids or or one kid or three kids. We're
charging the building itself, just like we charge every home in town for the school. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Is there anybody else who wishes to address the mayor and council?
Good evening, uh, mayor, ladies and gentlemen of the council. Um, as you know, I have a fractured rib, so that's why I couldn't sit here all night, but I haded to be here. Um, there's two things that that brought me here tonight. And
uh the first one, I mean, I I kind of missed all the the whole blue with the uh the sewer tax, but um I want to hearken back to something I said probably that chair right there um number of years ago when um we were
looking at the cost of scoping the north the south side of Garwood to determine the condition of our our sewer lines. We had already done the north side and it was considerable amount of money more to do the south because it's so much bigger. But the impetus behind that
effort was um the rising RVSA fees and whether we had a lot of storm water going mixing with our effluent which was affecting our our fees directly. And we thought if
we could uh find out where all the penetrations were, maybe the roots, the damage, whatever, we would at least have a better idea of what that was. However, that brought up a whole another issue, which was um pay the money to have the
scope, but then come up with the money to do all the fixing because with one there's no use unless you do the other. So, um I guess throughout the years you could say that councils including mine u
kicked the can on the issue. You know, the town's 120 something years old. So, um as many towns in New Jersey, these problems were going to have to be faced at some point. And many many many hundreds probably of towns have dealt
with it by having a sewer fee. And um I didn't hear all of the the different solutions, the different suggestions, fixed rate, fee, fixed fee, whatever. Um but I hope no one came up to this microphone and suggested that you do
nothing because that's what so many councils in the past have been quite frankly guilty of, doing nothing, kicking the can. Well, the can has come to rest. You made a decision. Um you considered all of the different options and that was the best one. the fixed
fee. So, um you know, congratulations on doing that. Um and and getting that problem somewhat under control. Now, the real reason I'm here is because I know first direct my comments
to the mayor and council, but you'll forgive me if I look directly at Chief while I say this. Um, you know, a number of years ago, Chief, when you sat like right in the same spot interview for the job, I like so many others were were
convinced, secure that you were up for it. Went very well and they laid out a plan and a vision and uh quite frankly executed. The only trepidation that any of us had was that this day was going to come way
too soon. And uh there's absolutely nothing we can do about that, you know. So, uh could you hit the ground running? And uh as everybody can remember and I'm sure this was was true clearly across the country
with the COVID pandemic that a lot of the first responder groups got into a malaise out of fear out of trepidation dealing with the public and effect and and especially dealing with the public on their worst day. you know, the
unpredictability of it and quite frankly the risk to your own health, all the health, you know, health of all the first responders. And so there was definitely a pullback. I think we all we also now all recognize it human nature.
you were special director and you basically you not only got this back you got up and running with your own fingerprints on it and it's
been incredibly successful. So I mean not just your return to just uh as your commissioner for three years I can say the best memory is no memories other than the normal work a day stuff that we dealt with occasionally no
controversy um you know just just doing your job and getting the force to do theirs great ideas greater visibility greater interaction the communion, walking patrols, just everything you
talked about doing, you did. And uh you know, that's a tremendous credit to you. But you know, even a position of leadership like yours be and you have to get guys to buy into and I know what you
know. And you know, you overcame that. I mean, you kick some asses basically. you know, they needed to be kicked and and you did it and and it's not an easy job. It's really hard. You know, they talk about hurting catch
ball, you know, hard. So, never fails. Congratulations. you know, I don't know who's going to fill your shoes, you know, back to the same square one as far as finding somebody to lead us forward our growth and and and all the
the challenges and whatnot. But, you know, Chief, you've done a tremendous job. I really appreciate it. I know everybody sitting up here does. Everybody in this room should everybody in this panel. So, uh, you know, the highest accolade as a Navy
man you can get in the Navy is congratulations on. Now, the second I'm going to come over and shake her hand. I'm going to hug you. If you hug me, I might end up in emergency. But with that, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to say thank you
for everything that you do. And, uh, good night. Good night. Thank you. I I let you go over. Hey Russ, can you officially say your name and address into the mic for for the record? Thank
you. Um, I'll get it. I can't I don't I'm blanking right now. Okay. Can I have a motion to close public comment? Moved. Second. Okay, that's it.
They said it. Chase Sean. Okay. Um, you know, I I am getting a little aggravated at the constant insinuation that we are not transparent up here.
This sore question has been um asked and answered several times and we have been quite clear that there was a two-prong method to collecting this fee. We are [Music] um we are putting some of it into
the line item for the sore repair as you saw in the budget and we have been quite honest and open about saying the rest is to cover the uh increased cost the RVSA cost that comes in each year. We had an $80,000 increase
last year on RVSA. We had $40,000 this year. We we don't know and we have what it will be but the it it doesn't look like it's coming down. So we have been quite open about the fact that we are allocating to the sore repair and we are
looking to adequately cover these constant increases each year. Um it is I asked and answered at this point. We have been we are being a little conservative this year because is the first year that the bills have gone out.
So we are not anticipating as much this year as we hopefully will be in the future. But that is the only discrepancy. We have been quite clear about it. Um at no point have we not been transparent about it including
about the wreck complex. I believe we have discussed this but it is not a mystery. Nothing is crazy is going on. The boiler broke and so the water as you know when a boiler kind of when it breaks sometime the water leaked through
and so we went and fixed the kitchen in there. Um which honestly a lot needed to be repaired anyway as we are having the new concession stand the new concession vendor come in. So the when we went to put the new boiler in um we fixed the
walls where there was leakage. We fixed the floor. Um and that is why the furniture is in the hallway. Um some of that is still being worked on. Some of the plumbing is still needs to be reconnected and put back, but as Mr.
Arthur said, in the next few days, uh all of those items will be put back in. Our freezer was completely cleaned out, which it needed to be, our refrigerator, everything like that to get ready for the concession stand. So, while it was a
unfortunate event, um it was nothing too crazy. It just takes time to do each piece one at a time. And um insurance is is covering it as of course. So, um you know, it happens. It happened at my
house a couple years ago. going through the process of getting things approved by insurance actually slowed the work down. Yes. But also we're getting reimbured for it. So the water heater itself is not getting reimbured but because it was at the end of it needed to be purchased. It was over its time
but the damage yes is being covered. So um hopefully that will all be taken care of but in a in a way with the new concession vendor coming in it's kind of um a little bit of serendipity in that matter that everything is being taken care of.
Um, and the rest I believe were just comments. So, I appreciate everybody's comments. Anybody up here have anything? Mayor, I just want to let you know I've been in touch with the uh committee man in uh Springfield who introduced uh that particular ordinance
and uh I've had some preliminary discussions with them on like the the background and why they elected to do things the way they're doing. Also keeping in mind that that is a different form of government than us and their planning and zoning boards are separated there. Uh but I will have some
information on that. I don't I don't know if which committee you want me to refer to or if we want to handle it uh from the school board side when we have our meetings. Um but I have been researching that particular piece just to counterpoint people who said I was
throwing the uh baby out with a bathwater. I can object to specific assertions without disregarding the entire idea. Okay. Thank you. And I think we'll keep it within the conversation with our meetings with the board of ed that we have monthly. Okay.
At at least at this point until unless it needs to go further. Okay. Moving right along. Um, and with remembering that we need to
um have somebody remove that resolution. I got that. Okay. Does anybody need then to remove uh any resolutions? It's 25-113, please. Go. Anybody else?
Anything else? Okay. So, can I have a motion to adopt the consent agenda as amended? So, moved. Second. Uh, roll call, please. Councilwoman Bodto, hi. Councilman Foley, hi. Councilman Carney, hi.
Councilman Lazro, hi. Councilman Puzzniac, okay. Um, may I have a introduction to resolution 25-113? Um, mayor, I'll motion to adopt 25 as
amended. Sorry, I'm sorry. 25-113 with the amendment uh to the year in the last section changing it from 2024 to 2025. Thank you. I was talking about uh you may also just want to reference that the word ordinance should
be referred to as resolution anywhere listed. Did I say ordinance? Is that what you're saying? The title says ordinance. The amendment should also The amendment should also refer to striking out ordinance anywhere it says ordinance and replace with a resolution. I do see that
in the second line. All right. So, let me rephrase that because that's isn't that referring to the ordinance that we that is also it says set ordinance changes of the salaries now the rates be paid to the set employees. I referring to this
council I think it's the first line the carwood is here to for adopted ordinance 25-7 not that's not a resolution number that's the ordinance that we just passed. So I think that we just did we just No, we didn't discuss it. There's
two I'm seeing two instances. There's the title itself that says ordinance fixing salaries. That should say resolution fixing salaries. And then there's the second whereas second whereas should also say uh ordinance should be replaced with resolution there as well.
And then the first whereas is that referring to the ordinance of past previous is referring to a previously passed resolution previous pass resolution or previous pass ordinance. I don't think it's 2517 is is what it's the ordinance.
So that should referring to this one. Yeah. Is there anywhere else councelor motion? We got all we got it all. Yeah, I didn't see anything else in 20 the 2024 is correct to change to 2025 based on the now four last sign last sentence which
refers to all salaries moving forward. I will pray my first motion councelor. Okay. Can I can I just say motion to adopt as we've discussed right here? Is that is that okay? Wait, did we get at the end it says as of January 1st, 2025?
Should they be 2026? These are retroactive January 1st, 2025. This January. That's good. Double check. But that one is correct. All right. So motion to adopt the resolution 25-113 as amended for our discussion.
Correct. Second. Second. Roll call, please. Councilomanto. Hi. Councilman Foley. Hi. Councilman Carney. Hi. Councilman Lazero. Councilman Puzzniaak. Hi.
Okay. Just one other thing. Sorry, Mayor. After the fact, if the clerk can just reference the modification and the updated resolution in the minutes, of course. Okay. Okay. Any new business from
anyone? Okay. Moving to payment of claims, Miss Vasquez. Be it resolved that the following claims as approved B and the same are hereby order paid when properly signed and verified and the payment of payrolls as listed is hereby confirmed
and ratified. Do I have a motion to adopt payment of claims? So moved. Second. Okay. Roll call, please. Councilwoman Bodto. I. Councilman Foley, Councilman Carney, hi. Councilman Lazero, hi. Councilman Puzzniaak,
all right. The regular meeting of mayor and council will be held on June 12th, 2025 at 7 p.m. in council chambers. Information for meetings is posted on the Barrow website. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? Some moved. Second. All in favor? I
opposed. All right. Thank you everybody.