It was in the middle of a police committee meeting and I was like typing it on my phone so it was kind of bad to be honest. Okay, we're live on YouTube. Why? Maybe that thing came loose. >> Yeah, one of the
>> Yeah, it's all everything. Everybody uh please stand for a moment of silence and salute to the flag. >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stand
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 >> excused. >> Councilman Carney >> here. >> Councilman Lazero >> excused. >> Councilman Padusniaak >> here. >> Council President Naldi >> here. >> Roll call of staff and professionals, please. >> John Arthur
>> here. >> Adam Abrams >> here. >> Michael Disco >> here. >> Jonathan Pry >> here. >> Okay. Uh we're starting off before our reports with a presentation from Hera Property Registry. Mr. Arthur, do you want to give a a bit of an introduction
and then about what this is overall and then we can move into the presentation? >> Yeah. So, this is it's Kevin, right? >> Yes. >> Yes. This is Kevin from Harrow Property Registry. Um, it's basically a company that works with a lot of different municipalities throughout the country.
Um, when it comes to mostly foreclosed properties, they kind of help with the the maintenance and the followup with the things that need to be done on those properties. So, I'll let Kevin get into more of the details, but um they do a lot of municipalities throughout the entire country.
>> Okay. Thank you. Welcome. >> Yeah, >> thank you for having me. Uh Kevin Cidella Property Registry. We like Mr. Ruger said, we manage uh vacant and foreclosure registries support 212 different municipalities around the country. About 40 of them are located here in the state of New Jersey. Uh
foreclosures are oftent times a headache for municipalities when the grass gets tall and don't know who to talk to. uh all you have is a 1-800 bank number and that typically doesn't get stapped very far. They have to spend a lot of time chasing those properties. So what we do for them is we for the municipalities
that we work with is we manage a registry. When the foreclosure happens at Union County, we're watching the list. We reach out to the foreclosing entity, the bank. We get them to pay a fee and then give us the name of a property manager, somebody that can be held accountable for the upkeep of the property while it sits in foreclosure so that your staff doesn't have to spend
any time on it. We would build a database for you that would include all the parcels in the municipality in Garwood. And then as we gather information about them and flag it, you'll be able to look up an address and see 123 Main Street, for example, Tim Scott is the managing property uh
person, the property manager, and then you could just shoot him an email or make a phone call to get them to maintain it. But that usually doesn't have to happen um because we're going to be proactive. I like to say we address the horse before it leaves the barn. Um, so we're on top of them and they're they're maintaining it to the basic of
your code. U, but it's free. Uh, we'll never send you a bill. It's revenue enhanced and you're get get money out of it, but most of all, you'll get a good resource for code enforcement. And you already have an ordinance in place, so it would just be a contract for us to take over the registration of those properties.
>> Okay. Well, we we certainly like the word free. Um Um, well, this was something um that had come to my attention um and Mr. Arthur took a look at it. uh as we have a part-time code enforcement officer and the work is
piling up more and more uh I thought that this was um a good way to take away some of that burden in terms of the foreclosure properties which are often the ones that take a lot of time in terms of racing around trying to get to somebody to to deal with things dealing
with the banks. Um, so I h I have nothing but good uh referrals from from this company, but if anybody has any questions and that they would like to ask. Uh, okay. Well, that was nice and easy.
>> Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. And I'll circle back with Mr. Arthur and go over the details and >> Okay. Well, this could be a very good thing for Garwood. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for having us. >> Good. Thanks. Thanks for coming out. >> Yep.
>> Bless you. Okay, we will move along to report from our burrow engineer. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'd like to apologize. First, the agenda has the wrong date on the top. Naturally, I copy and paste the uh previous month,
and I obviously missed the date. So, if >> you look at it, it should be July 24th instead of June 12th when I was last here. >> Um, just um a couple of bullet points there, four bullet points. So, um just an update, we did file for our NJ DOT
grant application for the three street sections listed as was discussed at the two previous meetings I was at. uh it's been acknowledged by the uh state and um uh I believe there's a resolution uh for
that for that which is required within 30 days of filing it and Patricia and the mayor will in probably the next two days have to sign and take action buttons and will be formally accepted by DOT. They traditionally notify us around
election day which is ex explained uh you know regardless of who's in office. So um we requested uh 400,000 the contract estimate that we uh prepared was 413,100.
If you look at the dollar figures below listed for all the years that's consistent with where we are traditionally. Last year, you may recall, you wanted to be at a little lower number, so we went in with a smaller project and um so we're hopeful,
come around November. Last year, we were notified November 13th, but the word gets out a little bit before that. So, I would think around the same time frame, and I'm I'm I'm very certain we're going to get an award. Hopefully, it's a good one. So, if there's any questions on
that, um I'll move on. Otherwise, >> anybody have any questions on that particular project? >> Okay, Craig. >> All right, just a reminder, we have uh we took bids in May for our municipal aid uh project from uh 24 uh resurfacing
of sections of East Street, New Street, and Walnut Street. I believe that's on tonight's agenda for an award. Typically, what happens is uh we that you will the clerk will also get prompted. We've already put in the bid
data, background data to the PMRS site and you guys will have to affirm the resolution of award and um they will probably take two or 3 weeks to duplicatively bless our award and then we would like to move quickly with a
pre-construction meeting because of Walnut Street. We were hopeful to >> get all the work done, but I would certainly like to get the sidewalk work done before school opens. So that would be my um intent to get a a quick precon meeting and contract out. Okay. To them.
>> You think the chances in August are good? >> Uh the contractor was ready to go, but we weren't ready to go and do the bonding. >> Good news. >> Yeah. So I I think we can cajol them to at least get started on the sidewalk. You know, they're going to want to obviously pave the three streets.
>> Coincident. If we can get them in to do the sidewalk work, I would be very pleased with that. and then we'll find a day when school's not in session hopefully when we want to pave that area. >> Okay. >> So again, I'll if there's any questions on that that topic
>> anybody >> uh we were asked and I've discussed with John previously we had prepared quotes for uh point repairs for sanitary source. I think we've talked about it a couple of times. So we solicited quotes from four um contractors that have done
that type of work. We requested that the quotes come back by July 31st. >> Okay. >> Uh they've all acknowledged receipt of those. Uh this did go out before I was made aware of the bid threshold change. >> So we had done a base bid and two
alternates because there is some swing. You know the the the bid price that we're going to get is very dependent upon the unit price for these point repairs. They go anywhere from 3500 to 567,000. So, we put five in the base bid and then
three and an alternate and two in another alternate. So, if we get a very good price, we'll do 10 point repairs. If we don't, maybe we'll get the base bid of five. So, so as soon as I get those quotes, I'll distribute a recommendation letter and the bureau can
then act on that if if funding is in available. >> Okay. And then the last item was I received uh addressed to me a substantial damage assessment letter request which I provided a copy to. I'm not sure I'm
actually the flood plane administrator for Garwood. It's usually the construction official which would be presumably Cranford or your zoning officer only because I do not see every single project that's coming into the burrow which gets zoning scrutiny and
then potentially gets directed to the board. >> Correct. So, uh, but nonetheless, it was addressed to me and it was really just I'm not aware and I did speak to Lenny, uh, earlier today that there was structures that was damaged from this
recent flood event. I know we did have some flooding, but uh, I'm not sure if there's any structural damage. So if there is any certainly we can either me or through emergency management or whoever the flood plane the designated
flood plane administrator is if there is one can respond back and I'm happy to obviously write a letter to respond. I just need to know whether we had any structures and again I'm not aware that we do. >> We did not have any municipal property damage. Um but I'm seeing that it it
talks about homeowners. Yeah. >> Um and I'm to I'm not sure of the extent of a few houses. Would that be something then we should check in with them and and see and then >> Sure. Yeah. >> We would >> I mean many people get flooded. The question of if it's not moving water, right?
>> Most likely there's no structural aspect to it. >> There was a few with debris like you know that >> were but I I'm not sure structural. So we'll have to look into that. >> We can compile that information and make a response. >> Okay. That's all I had.
>> Okay. Does anybody have any questions for Mr. Disco? >> Yeah, >> I do tonight. Uh, good evening, Mr. Disco. >> Good evening. It's always a pleasure to see you here. Pleasure to see you. Um, so, uh, briefly, I just want to touch on
this in the in the public session, and I'll follow up with you, uh, via email, um, afterwards. Um but we had a few discussions in the police committee uh when we met uh prior to this meeting. Uh we had had a resident come in uh with
some inquiries about um crosswalks and uh on the uh south end of center approaching uh Yamami Park. >> Okay. >> Um so um all the H streets essentially don't have uh crosswalks that go across center.
>> Okay. Um, and in looking at it, I also saw that the curb cuts uh aren't pointed that way. And in most cases, it looks like there's a sore grate uh right where a curb cut would go. So, I was just curious if you had any like historical
reference on that. Um, from the last time even Center Street was paved as to um >> I I know there's not quite as much pedestrian traffic down there, but I think there's more than there used to be. And I know that was an area identified on our safe routes to schools
applications over the years. So, um, before we, you know, move forward with further discussion in committee, I was just curious as to what the feasibility would be, uh, if we were to pick out maybe one of those intersections down there to add in, you know, one additional crosswalk cuz I don't believe
the first one comes into play until Pine. >> Uh, yeah, >> I double check. >> What do you mean the first one comes into play? This is the first uh crosswalk across Center Street is at Pine. >> Oh, okay. >> So, um the resident that was here at the last meeting
>> wanted it from Pine after Pine. >> Wanted at least one uh after Pine. >> Yeah, >> seems perfectly legitimate. Um question. We we can certainly go back Google Earth and Google Maps to see if they historically were there. And certainly we could pick one that makes sense in
conjunction with any police comments in terms of which you know which one makes more sense or or two or three. I don't think it's a problem to do it. It's >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Just to underline and I think if we're thinking about one just if there are regulations that you know need to be
met these be where sewer rates are around the curb is just determining where it would make the most sense. I mean, for example, Hickory being at the very end, it's probably of the least importance compared to the ones that are further up. So, >> right. >> I mean, even if we could split the difference two streets down from Unami
and and Pine um however, however we could make it work, I just also uh if you can take a look at it. I don't want drainage issue. I was going to say I think this something maybe we'll have to actually go out and look um so you could see where the the sword drains are and let us know
>> door there and and give you a memo or something to uh show you what the constraints are if there are any block by block and >> perfect >> before I took up a bunch of time in committee um discussing probabilities or you know getting a recommendation from
the chief as to what the best intersection is. I just want to know what the feasibility is. Uh, and if there's a reason perhaps there aren't any there and that we can communicate that back to the resident. Um, but I'm hopeful we'll be able to do at least one. >> Okay. >> Certainly can do that. So,
>> perfect. >> Thank you, sir. >> All right. >> That was all for me. >> Anybody else? >> All right. You're off the hook for tonight. >> You're welcome to head out. Thank you very much. >> Thank you very much.
All right. Uh, report from our burough attorney. >> Nothing new to report. >> Report from our bur administrator. On tonight's agenda, you're going to see um, we are moving forward with a lot of different projects that we've been talking about. Still got some more to
come, but you know, you're going to see striping in Sun Street tonight. Uh, surveillance cameras for Burough Hall and Fire Department. Uh, as Mr. Disco said the paving on East New Yan signal installation near the corner of South Avenue and West. So once these are
all approved, I'll file the vendors and you know, we're trying to get them done as quickly as possible. Um I'm hoping that these will be done by this fall or early winter at the latest. Some of them we're definitely going to try to push for before, you know, school starts. um specifically the bike lane striping. I
called the vendor and said, uh, you know, can we please try to get this done before school starts? And they said, as long as we don't keep getting 40 days of rain every week, they can they can probably make it happen. So, it's partially weather dependent, but it's on their way in order to try to make it happen as quickly as possible.
>> Okay. >> We're also closer to having a start date for our concession vendor at the athletic field complex. Um, we've been corresponding with them regarding equipment. Um, I know they've reached out for a final health inspection. So, we're getting very hopefully very close
to the end of that process and we will I'm not going to give a date or anything, but hopefully we will soon have a concession vendor. >> Got to love paperwork. >> Yes. Um, so as soon as we official date, we'll announce that official date. >> And that's it for our
>> Okay. Does anybody have any questions for Mr. Arthur? Okay. Uh, I have a little something. Okay. Um, so I want to thank our police
department, our fire department, and DPW for their amazing work last week during the extreme weather event that produced such intense flooding. They did an absolute amazing job uh including four water rescues and taking care of multiple down vehicles. Uh we obviously
all saw the videos uh and pictures of flooding here and in towns west of us who were hit even worse. Uh and our condolences go out to those who lost their lives in Planefield. Uh I want to stress that the flooding here and in the surrounding towns is due to the fact
that we saw such a huge amount of rain in a short time. The source system simply cannot keep up. The pumps at the underpass were working throughout uh which is why once the rain stopped the water was able to recede so quickly. Uh it was simply a matter of during this
kind of downpour the water has nowhere to go. And of course with similar situations in Westfield and Cranford and down the line it all contributes. Uh this was not a matter of the failure of the walls in the brook or that the brook hadn't been cleared of debris both of
which is not the case. Uh the brook including the pipe leading to Cranford by Lidle is inspected twice yearly and is in good shape. Um so the real problem is twofold right to due to climate change we're seeing these new type of storms with the increasingly heated air
so it makes a huge amount of rain in a short period of time uh and then the sore infrastructure on the second hand cannot keep up. So this is the case throughout most unfortunately municipalities throughout the state. I've seen plenty online making this
party centric and saying Democratic officials are doing nothing. But I think we all know this is not the case. Flooding doesn't know what party you're in. Um because you've also heard me up here many times talk about the work that we're trying to do with the Army Corps of Engineers and with Cranford over the
past few years to address this, not just here, but in surrounding towns, which will help us here. Um and we all saw plenty of of Republican towns both here and down the shore get hit with these extreme floods. Working together to
press for more funding is the real way to achieve solutions for this. Um, I've also seen the narrative that development is the root cause of this and the solution would be to repeal Mount Laurel. While I understand the urge to just jump to that conclusion, it's it's
not a catch-all. The truth is that here in Garwood, we have more permeable land than we did when I moved in even 16 years ago. Uh, paper board isn't built at this time and it's open land, but that did not stop it from flooding right in front of it. So it's it's not sort of
a catch-all solution to this. Um it it's a a lot more nuanced. Um so we can discuss development. Um but the fact is that even without these developments in Garwood, the underlying infrastructure here isn't able to sustain these weather
events. So changes to this infrastructure must be changes that affect and help the whole region. Which is why this council has been so loud about pushing for the kind of funding that can do that. and we'll keep pushing for that. And in the meantime, we will continue to make sure our shorelines
remain clear, that any problem areas are fixed, and that our brook is properly maintained. Um, earlier this month, along with uh Fanwood, Cranford, and Westfield's mayors, I met with Governor Murphy and New Jersey Transit CEO Chris Corey to
discuss the challenges that the Raren Valley line commuters experience every day and how we can work towards some solutions. Uh, I want to thank them for hearing us out and committing to some improvements. Uh, then last week I met with Senator Andy Kim along with the
other mayors from the Raridan Valley Mayor's Alliance uh to discuss our New Jersey Transit line. New Jersey Transit Representative along with Amtrak reps were also a part of the meeting. Uh, at both meetings we discussed both short-term and long-term goals. So
shortterm, we will be working to get another direct train inbound on the shoulder at around 9:00 a.m. and then 700 p.m. We will also be working to create more same platform transfers at NORC, which is a real gamecher for commuters. If if you happen to commute,
you know what I'm talking about. Uh right now we have five out of nine trains with the same platform transfer. So we'll be looking to increase that number. and also New Jersey Transit will be working to improve the overall experience at North Penn Station, fixing
platforms, signage, food areas, etc. The next crucial step for us in for the long term will be to keep working on funding for the Hunter flyover, which would eliminate uh RVL trains from having to cross over eight tracks in Norc. This is
essential for RVL line in terms of ever getting the direct one seat rides permanently. Other long-term goals are to complete construction of gateway phase 1 projects which are underway and then also to acquire funding for gateway phase 2
projects including the expansion of New York Penn Station which is also crucial to support permanent full-time once seat rides. I thank Senator Kim for getting involved and advocating on his end with Congress for this. And I thank New Jersey Transit and Amtrak for working
with us to achieve our goals. We have a long way to go in some of those long-term items, but I am encouraged that we're making substantiative I said that right? Substit substit forget headway with our near-term goals.
Um this so moving on uh this Sunday, just a quick announcement. July 27th from 1 to 5:00 p.m. St. An's Church will be holding its own food truck festival. There will be games for the kids, a 50/50, music, and of course great food.
So, uh, another summer event, uh, which will be lots of fun in Garwood. Okay. Comments from the council. Councilwoman Bodto. >> Thank you for your report. That was great. Um, I don't have a lot of comments. Just um, a quick thank you to
the rec committee. We had a great ice cream event on what's it Monday. It was really good and it was nice to see everybody participate. >> Yeah. A lot of lot of families came out. It was very nice. Thank you. >> Uh don't have anything from Councilman
Foley. Um Councilman Carney. >> Uh no comments tonight, Mayor. >> Okay. Um nothing from Councilman Lazero either. Okay. Councilman Padusniaak. >> It feels a little lonely over here. Doesn't seem to
do express my empathy for anyone infected by the flood and my thanks to the first responders who made it possible to ensure everybody's safety. Thanks. Thank you, Council President Nuli. >> I will echo your your sentiments. Um it's it's really um terribly tragic when
someone loses their life uh in such a um surprise um weather event. Um and I feel very confident in our uh first responders here in Garwood that they do such a magnificent job to keep us all safe. So, thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Minutes, please. Miss Vasquez. Minutes of the regular meeting of the mayor and council held on June 26, 2025. Do I have a motion to accept the regular meeting minutes as presented? >> Served. >> Second. >> Uh, all in favor? >> I
>> opposed. Okay. Uh, communications, please. >> RVSC minutes for June 12, 2025, >> received and filed. >> Correct. and Township of Cranford introduced ordinance 2517 pertaining to
permitted and conditional uses in the C1 zone >> received and filed. Uh we have one ordinance up for adoption tonight. Miss Vasquez, can you read ordinance 25-21 by title only? >> Sure. Creating a new chapter 162 in the
municipal code entitled filming. >> Uh do we have any correspondence concerning this ordinance? >> No, we do not. Does anyone present wish to be heard concerning this ordinance? >> Seeing none, do I have a motion to close public hearing? >> So moved. Second.
>> All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Okay. Any discussion on council? >> Okay. >> Just up after a lot of gestation. >> You've worked very hard and can't wait to get certified.
Uh do I have a motion to adopt this ordinance? So second, >> which one of you? >> Uh, roll call, please. >> Councilwoman Bodto, >> hi. >> Councilman Foley is Councilman Carney.
>> Hi. >> Councilman Petusak. >> Council President Maldi. >> Hi. >> And we have one ordinance up for introduction tonight. Can you please read ordinance 25-22 by title only? An ordinance amending the Burough Code of the Bureau of Garwood by amending
chapter 160 entitled towing article 2 conduct of record records subsection 160-11 fee schedule. >> Do I have a motion to introduce ordinance 25-22? >> I'll make that motion. Second.
>> Roll call, please. >> Counciloman Bodto, >> I. >> Councilman Carney, >> I. >> Councilman Padusniaak, >> Council President Ni, >> I. Okay. Council standing reports. Um, nothing for finance from Councilman
Foley. Uh, does anybody have fire from Councilman Lazro? >> Uh, I do, Mayor. >> You have something? Okay. >> Uh, yes. It's it's brief. Um, what the fire chief sent over. It isn't the full report. Uh, he said, uh, commissioner, here's an abbreviate year abbreviated
year-to-date report. Um year to date, the Garwood Fire Department has responded to 138 calls for service. Uh and he highlighted in the first 23 days of July, the fire department responded to 34 calls for service. Uh which is
definitely more than one per day. Uh and there were nine calls for service with four water rescues during the uh evening of the storm on July 14th. Uh, and I did follow up briefly with the chief on this, um, that, um, they did deploy, um,
water rescue gear, uh, and they had the boat, uh, trailered and on the road, but there wasn't actually a need to put it in the water for any of the rescues they did. So, it was ready to go, but thankfully not necessary, which uh, considering what happened to some of the towns directly to the west of us, I'm
thankful that it was there, but not needed. Yeah, some of those pictures were kind of crazy under the underpass. >> Yeah. Um, >> good job. >> Uh, that's all the chief sent over. >> Okay. Thank you. Community development Councilman Padusniak.
>> Okay. Public works councilwoman Bodha. >> Thank you. Public works employees handw goods collection goods pick up at the sports and recreation complex. Clever both sides of the center street
and Kennedy Plaza underpass sidewalks. Repair street and traffic signs across the burough maintain claims around bus stops on South A and cleared storm water inlets before hearing. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh police Councilman Carney.
>> Uh thank you mayor. Uh the police committee met uh in between the last two council meetings. Um we discussed a extensive agenda. Uh most of it is not ready for the public session yet. Uh there's a few um code changes that'll be
coming. Uh we had discussions regarding uh sightelines uh from carrying over from uh our public conversation in a previous meeting. Um and we are working uh with the chief and Mr. Arthur on uh some Park Mobile analysis to uh better
inform us going into the uh end of this year because we're hitting the one-year mark on our uh on a lot of our project space. Uh so I don't have anything else that's actually ready for the public session yet other than uh just a thank you uh to the police department for the
response the the night of the storm. Um >> and to dispatch, I want to say gets very crazy during those type of storms. did I I actually neglected to ask the chief how many 911 calls they took in that period, but um I was listening to the radio and they were super busy and uh
everything was on point. So just, you know, thank the troops uh chief. Uh and that's all for this report. >> Okay. Community engagement, Council President Nuli. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh so for recreation, uh summer camp is finishing up the fifth week. Activities the last two weeks have
included Rocky Water Wednesdays with the Garwood Fire Department, remarkable raptors with the Garwood Public Library, an outdoor foam party, chalk art, a visit from an ice cream truck, and a K9 demo with the Garwood Police Department. We would like to thank um particularly
the Garwood Fire Department for keeping the campers cool during Wacky Water Wednesdays. The campers love it. uh the Garwood fire uh police department for stopping by daily and interacting with the campers and for bringing out the K9 demonstration to camp this week. We're
looking forward to the bike rodeo next week. We also want to thank the Garwood crossing guards for being a consistent presence at camp and for keeping our campers safe to and from camp every day. The DPW for prepping and assisting daily with needs. And I want to mention
particularly the the day after the storm on Monday morning. I I went early to check and they were they were there. I don't even know what time they got there and they were cleaning up the park. So, thank you to them for that, making sure that camp was ready bright and early on
Monday morning. Um, also we'd like to thank the counselors and the CITs. They're bringing wonderful energy and enthusiasm to Wreck every day. Uh, the youth soccer program is going to begin September 20th and will take place on Saturday mornings. adult open play
soccer Friday evenings from 8 to 9:50 which is free and you just you don't um if you signed up you just show up. It's it's kind of like if you're you just have to register if you miss one it's okay just show up. Um and I would also
like to thank um the Garwood Recreation Committee and the fire department for a really fun uh summer night at the ice cream social on Monday. It was really really fun. So that's all for my report. >> Thank you. um library. Does any
>> Councilman, you have Councilman Lazro's report? >> I do. Thank you, Mayor. The library. Just a reminder that the seminar hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. until air conditioning issues are rendered. Please check the website for updates. Saturdays
closed in July and August. Uh here are some of the events going on. July August survey. Encourage all residents to complete the library survey. recently. I also have copies here for anybody who needs them. Your feedback will help shape our strategic plan. It's the
services we provide to the community. A link to the survey is located on the website link page for copies of the survey or mobile phone. QR code for the survey is posted on the library on the survey for easy submission of your data. So you just
need your cell phone view here access to lib provides access to tons of ebooks, audio books and magazines functions similarly to hoop. Download the app and select stellar s l a
library. However koopa stella will be shared catalog does not support simultaneous use. information is currently checked out and to police July 31st from 1 to two. Um, let's see if I can do this with the
same chipperness that council was explores and bring unique creations home and other art for Children, grades 2 to 6. Registration required limit of 10. June the 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. a
scavenger hunt scavenger hunt. Check out a photo of the artist Facebook Instagram at 10 this coming Friday. Search for the artist. Please leave the others to order it so others can join in on return to the
library to report its location and claim your prize. July 25th at 1, scout spies and soldiers, step into the secret world of espionage. Participants will become 18th century spies, explore real spy tools
and techniques, and decode an authentic spy message from American Revolution for children during third grade and registration required to participants. July 20th masterpiece each week. Check out the famous painting as you enter the library. Can you spot the differences
between the two versions? details will be submit your guess selected every Friday and contacted the following Monday trial 3 trial to okay that was a duplicate August 4th
stable game super 3D August 5th at one adventures of the missing car with science heroes there's exploring some interactive stories kids will get excited about the science while celebrating the scientists who bring art to life. This spring
network zoom for grades K through five has fun and exciting science experience with audience volunteers helping out hiring directive and design to inspire curiosity and learning about this fifth is the last thing for summer
is the closing party the screen trunk it'll be back for the closing party and company transit certificates registration required August 13th and 20th at 1 p.m. socializing with others in the STEM
registration required 12 August 18th book club the bonding Christian and August 22nd magic show journals space adventure and non-stop magic registration required 30
>> that is a lot going on at the library kudos to Mrs. Duffy, that spy one sounds really cool. Yeah. >> Yeah. Um, schoolboard liaison, Councilman Carney. >> Uh, thank you, Mayor. It's, if I closed
my eyes, it's almost as if Councilman Lazero was here. >> No, about them >> with that impressive rendition. >> Uh, school board uh is not meeting in the month of July. Uh however, I am happy to uh report that the uh mayor and
I are uh back on schedule uh to meet with the uh now new superintendent and board president. Uh we'll have that meeting coming up in early August. Uh and the board will be back on the regular meeting schedule uh in mid August. And that's all for this report. >> Thank you. And uh I'm happy to report I
actually met Dr. Markx today. He was kind enough to come down to Bar Hall. I wanted to introduce him to everybody who worked here as well as the chief. Um, and so it was a very nice meeting. >> Awesome. >> So, we wish him good luck. Um, Garwood senior citizens, I don't have a report,
but our next meeting is on August 7th at 12 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus. Uh, small business. Councilman Carney. >> Uh, no report. >> Um, I have a board of health report from Councilman Foley. Uh, a public health
alert remains in effect following three raccoon bites in Westfield. The first one on 1st Avenue, the second on Scotch Plains Avenue, and the latest reported on July 23rd on Westfield Avenue. The raccoon may be infected with rabies. The Westfield Regional Health Department
police and animal control are actively actively working to locate the animal. Though these incidents occurred in Westfield, we just like to urge our residents to stay alert uh and do the following. Avoid contact with wild animals. Keep pets supervised and
vaccinated. Report disoriented or aggressive animal behavior to the Garwood police. Seek medical help immediately if you or your pet had contact with a raccoon. And of course, help spread the word. And that is all for Councilman Foley uh
planning board. Councilman Carney. >> Uh thank you, Mayor. The planning board held its uh regular meeting uh last night. Uh there were two applications heard uh both for uh certificates of uh nonconformity.
Uh the first was uh 543rd Avenue or uh commonly known as Stephanie Gardens. Uh that was uh requesting a certificate of nonconformity for the 36 unit uh garden apartment which uh is in what is now a
uh an RA zone. Uh the board did grant that uh particular certificate. Uh the other case uh was for 59 Willow Avenue, a certificate of nonconformity for a two family dwelling uh also in the RA zone. Uh the board heard that testimony,
granted that uh certificate. Uh under new business, the board handled a uh request for an extension from uh Garwood Chicken uh which was the uh for anyone who forgot because the application was uh a year ago at this point. Uh that was
the uh chicken establishment Popeye's that's going to uh eventually land uh over on the uh corner of the Lidle property. Um there was an extension granted uh by the board on the existing approvals for the period of one year. Uh
and the board also discussed uh at length uh changes to the sign ordinance uh in our burough code. Uh this is something that our business owners have been requesting from council uh for the last couple of years. Uh two of our
board members um Kathy Velagio and uh Maryanne Haye um spent a good amount of time on this in a in a subcommittee uh and they did basically a complete reworking uh of the sign code which uh dated back probably 30 or 35 years. So
language has been modernized. Um it'll be sent over to the uh council for uh review I would imagine before the next meeting. Uh and then I could give a uh a more um comprehensive report on exactly uh what's being changed uh both from
what the businesses requested and other items that the uh the board marked out for changes in our discussion last night. Uh and the next regularly scheduled meeting of the planning board is uh August 27th. uh and stay tuned on that. It may be
cancelled for lack of business, but there's still time for an application to come in. And that's all for this report. >> Thank you. Okay, we will move right along to public comment. If there's anyone in the audience who wishes to address this council, please step to the
microphone, state your full name, address, and please limit your comments to 5 minutes. Charie following. My apologies ladies and gentlemen as from ago.
facility back on police officers, firefighters, squad personnel. 500 office departments abolishing fire departments and abolishing rescue squads is not the
answer. And Mark sailing should never answer. We must back them up in every way because they are for our for us. The same thing we goes for supporting
our military service because in the services we must back them up ways and of God's last fighting for our country.
Oh my show. So June to open some closed hospitals closed We need those hospitals very badly the
hospital. >> Thank you, Mr. Pritchard. Is there anybody else who would like to address the mayor and council? John Bartlick, 231 Hemlock Avenue. Uh, first I wanted to address resolution 20-152, the rejection of the bids for the circulation element. Uh, you
probably all know I'm the biggest proponent for doing a circulation element with one caveat. It's got to be a good body of work. And back during the budget cycle when we cut a third of the funding proposed for that project, I
said at that time, we're better off not doing it than trying to do it cheap and doing a poor job. And now I see that uh the bids that were uh received are not within the $20,000 that we have budgeted. So I'll say again, um this is
not a commodity. This is an important body of work. We really need to do a good job with this. And if we can't do it properly, we shouldn't do it at all because we're going to get one crack at this, certainly in my lifetime anyway. So, we've never done one before. So, please, let's make sure we properly fund
this. And the only way to do this at a reduced cost is to do a lot of the work, a lot of the ground work, a lot of the fieldwork ourselves. I don't think we're equipped to do that, but it's not impossible. But I haven't seen any kind of plan in place to go ahead and start to do that. In fact, at the June 26th
meeting, I heard giving mundane work like looking at sightelines to the consultant on top of that. We're just not going to be able to do that. So, uh, please do this right. Don't do it cheap. Uh, and I also wanted to refer on a related topic back to the June 26th
meeting. That was the best discussion, uh, the discussion about vehicular and pedestrian safety I've heard in years here. I was in violent agreement with everything I heard up here with one exception that I'll get to. Uh so I I think you get it. I think uh you
understand the benefit of a circulation element and all of the the uh uh different initiatives that we can coordinate. I think the long run we're to save money rather than the scatter approach we have today. The one thing I didn't agree with uh was uh when we
spoke about sight lines at intersections. Uh, Councilman Carney made the statement that we uh meet the statutory uh minimum between uh for our intersections everywhere. And he knows because when we spoke here off the record at the uh safety meeting, we
talked about the the curb the crosswalk painting over here at Willow and Center that that intersection is not compliant with state standards. State standards is 25 ft from a crosswalk to a parking place. that is depending upon how big
your feet are and how you measure it 10 to 12 feet less than half of what it should be. And we had an animated discussion that night and I thank Mayor Blumentock for taking my side with the fact that that parking place there is not only non-compliant, it's dangerous.
And it was ironic that at a meeting when we're talking about that intersection as one of the primary concerns for pedestrian safety that the chair of the police committee would advocate for not complying with the state statute for the safety of that intersection is is
incomprehensible to me. So I hope because uh in that meeting Councilman Carney did espouse an appreciation for the need for good sight lines even if we sacrifice a parking space. He mentioned residential parking. I hope the same thing applies to parking in the
commercial district. And I hope that since the 26th of uh of June, he's you may be seeing the light and understanding that's a dangerous spot. And painting the curb or painting the crosswalk does not mitigate that. In fact, it actually makes it worse because as you step down from the curb, you step
into a depression for the uh for the sewer there. So, the sight line is actually worse, believe it or not, when you do that. But at a minimum that intersection and all of our intersections, we don't need new ordinances or anything else. We just need to comply with the existing standards both at the state level and
anything that we have in our code. And I hope uh that you'll take that into consideration and uh revisit that topic. I understand it was the top topic before there's some kind of an argument or a vote or something. Uh and the parking place remains, but we can't talk out of
both sides of our mouths. We really care about pedestrian and vehicular safety and sight lines or we don't. Thanks. >> Thank you. Is there anybody else who wishes to address the mayor and counsel? >> Good evening, mayor, ladies and gentlemen of the council. Bruce
Patterson, uh 325 Willow Avenue. I apologize for being a little late. I was at a commissioner meeting. Um I previously uh the other week I sent a letter to the planning board and I copied the uh council also because uh we all should be on the same page on round
four affordable housing plans. Um what I found when I when I was looking at all the different um housing element and fair share plans of the various towns up and down our corridor which is Cranford, Garwood, uh Westfield and Fanwood, it it appears
that they addressed they addressed their numbers and they drastically reduced them where our planning board professional Michael Mreda of Harvard Consultants, he didn't um I found that, you know, the
other towns did about a 75% decrease of what the uh state mandated. Our decrease is only 33,000. If you read my letter, I mentioned, you know, we're probably arguably the most dense town and and land poor, uh, vacant land poor. So uh
the question is and and if you really looked at the chart it should raise a concern as to are our numbers actually correct or not in the calculations. I I
also handed out additional backup as to why I thought uh the numbers were miscalculated by Harbor Consultants. Uh if anything, I mean, just looking at the uh reduction numbers from 75% and our 33% should at least peique our
interest as to I mean, we're looking at round four. Round three, obviously, we're looking across the street here. Round four is not as bad, but when it comes to looking at the affordable housing program, you know, we're looking
at all high density uh complexes. And so, at least we should take anything with a ground a grain of salt as to the numbers that we have to address. Mr. Estre is our the planning board
professional. He did a fine job. it was 600 pages long which I actually agree that it should be uh comprehensive and that that much he did. However, we really should be seriously thinking of this momentous impact on our burrow much
like round three did cuz round four now is bringing additional high density projects. Uh from what I understand there was a returned letter from Mr. M str uh I guess arguing with my numbers. Unfortunately, nobody gave me a copy of
it. I I have to operate. But at this point, we have to seriously think about are our numbers calculated right or wrong. I'll look forward to the letter from Mr. Mreda. Uh just to see what he has to say about my calculations. If anybody would
like a uh a backup uh further backup as to why I calculated he he was saying 53 uh realistic development potential and I was saying it's somewhere between 20 and 15 uh drastically reduced. Um
it it's to be said uh Chair Greed from the planning board actually did mention that you know let's wait until after the August 1st um court review and ruling on that. So I tend to agree hopefully uh the planning board of August will be
able to uh talk additionally on it. Uh just just additional questions on the uh backup of the resolutions. Yeah. Resolution 25151 on page seven. Uh it lists the three alternates for the uh DOT project and
there's an alternate three that uh for 6,300 for TV inspection of East Street. Now my question is you're wrapping it into a debt. >> One minute. >> One minute of debt. Okay. No, we're you're wrapping it into debt.
And right now we collected $150,000 supposedly for sewer maintenance. Why can't we instead of putting on more debt of $6,300, why can't we spend some of that $150,000 that we collected from the residents to
pay for it directly instead of borrowing? That's that's my question on that. And I guess I did have one other question. Yeah, Reszo TW 25-157 uh submitting a a grant application
for I guess additional Garwood Burrow resurfacing in sec on Second Avenue, Willow Avenue and South Avenue. Uh just a simple question, what do project is this the uh you know usually identify it as the 2024 DOT project, 2025 DOP
project. So, so just what do the OP uh do project that is. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. Is anybody else wish to address the mayor and council? >> Okay, seeing none, can I have a motion to close
public comment? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Okay. Um thank you everybody for your comments. Take them under advisement. Um
the do project is uh you missed our conversation with um Mr. Disco today. It is the second avenue Willow Avenue and South Avenue is uh uh MA 2026 grant application.
Oh, and it is in the ordinance. Yes. Yeah, it's in the it's in the title of the ordinance. >> I mean resolution. Apologize. Okay, we will move along to consent agenda.
Does anybody have any items they need to remove from the consent agenda for discussion? Okay, seeing none, can I have a motion to adopt consent agenda? So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call, please.
>> Councilwoman Bodto, >> I. >> Councilman Carney, >> I. >> Councilman Padusniaak. >> Council President Neli. >> Hi. >> Okay. Uh, payment of claims. business. >> Be it resolved that the following claims as approved, B, and the same are hereby
ordered, 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. >> Uh, roll call, please.
>> Councilwoman Bodto. Councilman Carney >> here. >> Councilman Puzzniaak. Council President Naldi. >> I. >> Okay. The regular meeting of the mayor and council will be held on August 14th, 2025 at 7 p.m. in council chambers. Information for meetings is posted on
the Barrow website. Can I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> opposed. Okay. clean. Maybe that's my name.
Thank you everybody.