good evening everyone So we're going to continue We're going to go right into uh the work session Vinnie you're up Thank you Mayor Uh up first is a presentation by Dan Hobin from DMR uh regarding the
zoning uh zoning ordinance amendments Evening everyone Thank you for having me tonight So uh tonight I am here to talk about the draft ordinance that is before uh the
mayor and council uh to um make two uh changes to the zoning ordinance The first change is Thank you Uh the first change is to uh con conditionally allow for commercial kitchens uh within the city
and the second change is to create a overlay zone called the R40 zone uh to make it easier for single family dwellings uh uh undersized single family dwellings to expand uh without having to seek variances So uh if you have the
ordinance ordinance draft in front of you there's uh three sections uh that that can and have the details will be changes The first section uh provides for a definition for a commercial kitchen uh which is uh really just an establishment that prepares food
primarily for delivery uh directly to consumers Um it's not intended to be a restaurant It's not intended to be a catering facility It's just to adapt to changes in uh how people are uh ordering in food Maybe lift the mic Sure Uh it's
just meant to adapt to how people uh changes to consumption of uh of delivery food Uh a commercial kitchen uh as uh described in section two of the draft ordinance would only be permitted where restaurant establishments are already allowed Uh and there would be specific
parking standard standards uh based upon uh the number of um uh the size of the facility and the number of cooking appliances or stations where uh the meals are being prepared
The second uh or I guess the third section of the ordinance is the creation of the R40 residential overlay zone And uh the intention of this is to allow uh for existing under uh undersized uh dwellings and dwellings on undersized lots to be able to expand without having
to uh uh come before a planning board or zoning board for uh a variance Um specifically the uh the ordinance gives relief to properties that are uh wider than uh or or larger than 4,000 square
feet uh in areas where either single family dwellings are no longer permitted So you may recall that there was an overhaul a couple of years ago and in business zones uh where single family uh dwellings may have previously been permitted they are no longer allowed So
this would uh give some relief to uh property owners uh in that zone And in uh zones where the lot lot sizes are larger 5,000 square feet or larger these these uh property owners whose lots are uh 4,000 uh feet or larger would have
some relief to be able to expand their buildings Um it's specifically you should have a map in front of you that specifically uh would cover existing uh zones in the southeast part of town Uh includes a B3 R2
uh R2B uh and O zones uh which are uh west of Hudson uh and east of the border with South Hackinack No ma'am Um uh so um I don't know if there's any questions
on that Yeah Dan I have a question on the uh on section three So it's a single family home Yeah They're allowed to expand their prop their their residence basically Correct Yes What if it's a because it doesn't it's only for R40
correct R40 is the name of the new overlay zone that's being created So the overlay zone would cover uh a number of existing zones including zones where residential was isn't permitted anymore but where their people may have homes So is any of that two family This is
specifically targeting uh single family So they can't expand uh family not under this ordinance And and I think you know the reason we're doing this is in this particular part of town over the years you know years and years and years ago you were allowed to
build a home on a 40 by 100 lot So basically the lot size was 4,000 square feet where today we require everything in the city to be 5,000 square feet So what's happening is there's a lot of existing homes in this part of town and only this part of town and we looked at
that right and if they want to do any type of improvement it's a problem because they're trying to make an improvement or enhance their own home and it's not easy for them to do so because of the restriction So there is ruling in here that says you cannot
split a lot Like you can't have an 80 and now make 240 You can't make new That's that's what I was getting at You can't only if it's an existing 40 You can now make your improvements and you can make your house nicer and you can do the kinds of things that you want to do
but can't do under the existing ruling That that's exactly right People were getting very frustrated you know and wanted to upgrade their homes and they couldn't So as long but that's the strict requirement You must already be grandfathered in as an existing 40 by
100 and then you can use this rule otherwise no Okay But uh I got a question So if you got a house right and the lot is like maybe 40 or 50 by 100 or maybe 120 but then you got a
lot that is 40 by 100 and it's you know it's an empty lot nobody there Can the person build one family house like in Lai Street A separate block and lot separate lot
but there's not an existing house there There's a house on the right hand side Is there a house on that lot No Yeah The ordinance doesn't allow for new for construction with the lot He's had it his whole life Right This is to help folks that have an
existing home to enable them to do what they want to their home They're used to living in 40 by 100 We don't want to hurt all these people that have these homes So we want to enable them to continue to do that We're not going to create homes on new 40 by 100 apply for bearings though right They could Yeah
they could go through the process Leo Yes of course We're saying this is now inherent in the process but then you got to spend the money with for with the lawyer Well that's why we're trying to help all of these families here who are trying to do something and it's an anomaly because we don't have this throughout the city and we don't want to
hurt these family homeowners So that's why we made this change That's correct I think as a council we want to add more of them right So that's my Yeah And and and that that covers it very well Thank you very much But he could on that what
he's talking about his scenario All right So he he owns a lot with his house is on 4,000 ft and he owns another lot next to it He could expand his house onto that other property Correct Right So you can consolidate your lots if it's in a residential zone You can't make
build a a separate house They're going to take you there You look at it and then you But he could know But he could still go to zoning and and apply for it We always inherent that he would get it without having to go through that process That's right He wants to make a change and No he don't want to make any
change Yeah He wants to build an empty lot That's a change Yeah But that's a change No he going to make like he going to have like a separate lot Are they adjacent to each other Yeah Yeah This is This is This lot is empty
right 40 by 100 Yeah But you can't build new on it And I don't think Leo if we're talking about the same property I don't think they're both 40 by 100 One's less and one's less No because the gun is like this But what happened in here You got three categ or planning wherever he has to go if he wants to do that This is for folks
that have an existing home and we're trying to make it easy for them to modify All right Any other questions None Great Thank you Dave Thanks D All right Next up uh is another
presentation This is by Mr John Peters Uh the 2025 Main Street Business Alliance budget Under normal conditions the budget is uh is up on the screen And if not just hold on Frank I don't
think that mic is working Might be Yes Got to hold it close Yeah Do you have the budget to put up I sent it over Can you put it up Frank I sent it to Allison actually Okay doing the paperwork
Paperwork I can start Actually the comments are generic Sure So mayor deputy mayor and members of the council thank you for having me tonight to present the opportunity for the full budget for 2025 for the Main Street Business Alliance So
when I joined uh in 2022 we introduced a three-year strategic plan um it was all about strengthening the and helping with the revitalization efforts of downtown Hackinack So in the first year we focused on what we call the clean and green initiative which is essentially the sanitation the landscaping We
brought in new vendors We implemented uh updated operational processes to ensure that Main Street looked clean attractive and welcoming for residents visitors and businesses alike We believe we succeeded in that mission And then when we moved over to the second year while
maintaining this focus on the clean and green we also turned our attention to all the small businesses in our community We provided targeted marketing and promotional support social media support and helped them grow their business base Based on the marketing analytics and the overwhelming positive
feedback from our members we're confident that this too was a success Now both of these um efforts were very well received by the membership in the district and I and I'm fairly certain by the um by everyone here Now in the third year following multiple highly
successful Hackinets Octoberfest events we would like to expand our focus to include more public events aimed at driving foot traffic and increasing activity along Main Street These events are designed to benefit everyone residents the employees that come here
every day visitors and of course our small business members This year's proposed budget reflects this strategic initiative So while you'll notice on the budget overall modest increases in the categories of administration clean and green and visual improvements the most significant
increase is tied to new events So we've earmarked funds to bring more live music to Main Street through busking and other outdoor salsa dancing activities We've also planned business specific events featuring expertled workshops to help our small businesses members grow And
naturally we'll continue to host our Hackin Octoberfest event The end of the day a thriving downtown isn't just a collection of businesses and buildings It's the heart of the community Events bring people together create connections and transform a space into a vibrant hub of culture and life
For context the hackath event last year was welcomed We welcomed over 4,500 people That's a 30% increase in the previous year with a majority of that growth coming from residents because of the systems we have We can tell for who live within a mile of Atlantic Street Park We also saw increased participation
from our main street restaurants adding to the event's vibrancy and success So we had fewer food trucks and more of our local restaurants Now in light of the increased spending on events the deputy mayor recommended polling our property owners who as you know fund our entire
budget and govern the special improve improvement district We conducted this poll similarly to how we run our annual elections with an added option to submit response by facts I'm very pleased to report that we received over 90% support to move forward The results however
sorry the results in the SID uh uh the results are that the SID rate will go up from.160 in 2024 to.17 So for the sake of clarity the MSBA budget is covering the costs of the additional events and in the case of the
new events will also cover police fire etc The entire board of directors of the Main Street Business Alliance who are a mix of property owners and business owners fully support this budget and believe that the 2025 event schedule will have a positive and meaningful
impact on Hackinack Thank you to the collaborative efforts with the city Downtown Hackinack was recognized in 2024 as one of only two great downtowns by the New Jersey Planners Association And with your continued support and partnership we look forward to earning even more
accolades but not just from industry groups but from people who live work and visit Hackinack every day Finally in my tenure as the executive director of MSB I have learned so much about this diverse city The more time I spend here the more I've learned about the city and the people in it
starting with the city staff the city council all the department heads and of course our business owners and residents I thank the board my board especially and all of you for this opportunity And now I'm happy to answer any questions
How many people do you have now collecting the garbage on Main Street There is a there is one single person who collects the garbage on Main Street He covers I would like to see the garbage to be collected before 9:00 because sometime you have only one
person sometime he don't he don't finish because it's impossible So we made a question before and you say you maybe you going to get a second person to helping him in that way 2:00 and the he don't finish because it's too much
Certainly certainly it's it it's it's a lot of work Okay There's there's no question about it Okay So we're right now in the budget is $144,000 for for garbage and that's collection of every can So it does take quite a bit of time and I know at time it does take You know
if you are a resident and you're walking and it's already 2:00 3:00 and you see garbage can with garbage on the top don't look good That my opinion Okay In fairness though also Councilman I I have seen garbage cans As soon as he cleans it they're they're they're dirty again
too I I I can tell you this I went from receiving uh 10 from some people in this room 10 texts uh with pictures of garbage overflowing and whatnot and the and the complaints have come way far down Having
said all that we are always open to and if there's any particular issue we we get we get get a text and we put somebody on it right away How many days a week are we doing it now We're doing we're picking up garbage six days a week What we are adding for 20 um 25 uh at no
additional cost is one extra person on Fridays who will go clean all the stickers all the posters and actually clean the garbage cans because a lot of times someone throws an ice cream or something like that and it's a little dirty So they'll get cleaned every week I mean it did help Leo when we were having it really bad problems is when you're only doing five days a week and
that you know and that was really a problem So I think the extra day did help It would be nice like if the person that we employ if he had somebody else and they both could do it at the same time it wouldn't be any more work It's just as to answer Leo's question you know one starts on the north end and one starts on the south end and they meet in
the middle it would get done much quicker So you wouldn't be seeing it for as long of a period of time Maybe just a suggestion if you could ask is there any way they could do that and that would help with what Leo is saying is it's the amount of time that they're waiting to pick the trash up that might in the winter time to try to remove the snow
close to the meter because it's difficult for the people to go to the meeting to climb it over Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah We you know do that happened this winter That should be the store owner should be doing their stores right Well I don't know They had to go We're talking about snow when you have that So
our guys our guys don't do the snow Yeah The store owner has it The store owner has you have to work with the store owner No question Yeah So and we've we've spoken to many of them Some of them are really great at it Some of them are a little overzealous even with uh with the salt but um it it it's actually
this year in particular was a very challenging year Yeah it was It was I just you know I I worked a lot with John and thank you John and the board for working together and as John said when we had an increase my suggestion was to make sure we had feedback from the
people that pay this And just for anyone who's watching and doesn't understand this this is not standard taxpayer money This is not residential taxpayer money This entire budget is funded by the businesses on Main Street that participate in the Main Street Alliance So this money does not any of this money
does not come from the regular taxpayers of the town But even so uh I asked that they pull their people and make sure they were in favor because basically the only change to this budget really is adding new entertainment and new events which is important I agree But I wanted to make sure everyone agreed So I again
I'm happy to hear they do agree And just so the public is aware the city does participate in the October Fest funding As far as DPW police fire we do participate We were not prepared and are not prepared to participate in the new events So that's why it's very clearly
stated here So any of the new events they added will be totally funded through the alliance money and their voters agreed that they wanted to do that So that's that's their choice and I thank they've been saying for a while that they wanted more foot traffic and they like this approach and I thank you
guys for working well together with the city and I would recommend it to the rest of the council but of course ask your questions as you may So Mike it has nothing to do with that Has to actually do with October Fest We know we ran into some issues there last year and we've got a hill to climb to pull this off again Right So I would recommend that
you work with Allison with the a uh ABC Yes To you know try to make amends and and fix so we can you know pull this off again because you know there there will be there will be some work that has to get done Mayor I've already been in touch with Allison Frankly I I reached
out to to Mike too over over at Hackinack Brewing just to see what information he was getting and I'm fully versed in in what's happening and there's I I certainly believe it's definitely doable They might have to make a a couple little tweaks but I'm thinking they're going to look to downsize on us That's my concern I think
they they were most concerned with with perimeter and having overlapping uh breweries So we've came up we even brainstormed it in today's uh board meeting I think we've come up with a couple different solutions We certainly have the opportunity and the ammunition to be able to talk to them and figure it
out so that we can make it happen Y All right I wouldn't wait too long No no question It's right around the corner Even if any of these new events are going to have alcohol involved learn the lessons that we had to learn painfully through October Fest So you can use the
same criteria forward Yes Very good Thanks John Thank you very much Thank you Thank you John Next Up next uh Jim Mangan uh 2023 audit and corrective action
plan Okay thanks Vinnie Uh about four weeks ago we received our 2023 annual audit Um let me just state from the beginning that uh we the audit was late substantially late We should have received it much sooner than than uh
than March uh similar to last year Last year we received the 2022 audit in March of 2024 That's problematic I'll I'll explain that in a second But uh tonight at the business portion there'll be two resolutions on the agenda The first is
the acceptance of the audit Uh council members you are required to at least read the section at the end of the audit on recommendations and comments Okay um and then you'll be asked to sign a group affidavit to that effect So the first
resolution would be accepting the audit The second resolution would be accepting the corrective action plan that I draw up on how we intend to comply with the recommendations in the audit Okay The uh the 2023 audit has six recommendations
uh down from nine last year Uh however uh this is what I was saying earlier Three of the recommendations are repeats from 2022 that we resolved in 2024 But
because we resolved them in 2024 they existed in 2023 That's very unfair because an audit is said to be the CFO's report card you know and and for me you know it's like it's like going into class and the
teacher pulls a pop quiz on you on something that she never taught you know it's it's just not fair But anyway let me go through the um the six recommendations uh quickly because you have a big agenda tonight Uh the first one has to do with our developers escrow
Uh this has been an ongoing problem developers escrow is massive Uh we had in the beginning but over,00 escrow accounts We've been whittling that down Um getting rid of the old dormant uh accounts that aren't around We uh we
made more progress in 2023 Uh we closed 23 I'm sorry we closed 35 dormant accounts and uh we still have work to go So my opinion as long as we're making progress I'm fine with that Okay Second
recommendation um has to do with our fixed asset inventory We haven't done a fixed asset inventory since before COVID Um and it's something that we need to get done The only benefit of this inventory it's not a tool that
management can use It's strictly for accounting Okay It's done because we don't you we don't follow GAP generally accepted accounting principles which calls for an inventory So the only benefit is on a balance sheet Okay Um but that
will get done this year We will have the physical inventory done Okay Uh third recommendation is a new one and it has to do it says the um the recommendation that the tax collector properly incorporate the special improvement district levy into the Edmonds tax
collection system Uh this one's going to be tough All right We the special improvement district levy has always been maintained by the tax collector on an Excel spreadsheet And while the billing is done through the Edmonds
system um the levy reporting isn't So the auditor would like to see that incorporated into Edmonds Um I don't know of any municipality that's done that There aren't a lot of SIDS aren't a lot of special improvement districts
I'll have to try and find one see what they did and piggy back off of them Um the final three audit uh recommendations like I said repeats from the prior year having to do with uh recreation fees The first was that the fees were not
established by ordinance The second one that there were instances of fees being waved without proper authorization and the third one was that a formal policy be adopted for economic hardships uh on recreation programs All of this was all
taken care of in the spring of 2024 So these three have already been implemented Okay Um that's about it for the corrective action plan Like I said it's uh it's not much but if you have any questions I'd be happy to entertain them
Questions Thank you Jim Thank you Don't go anywhere Yeah we'll still give you a good grade even though you think Yeah you give me a good grade Although this does we know we know those three were already fixed up Yeah Uh next uh Jim the
financial plan for source separation Okay Um now I've been meaning to give an update to the financial plan for the source separation for some time Um but a lot of events have been happening um particularly in the last two weeks um
we're trying to hold off until there was more definitive answers Um and a lot of that fell into place the last two weeks All right quickly let me just back up and say that from the outset we've always said that um our sewer
improvements the separation of the combined sewers that uh Chris reports on every meeting the um the non-combined sanitary sewer improvements and all of the storm water improvements Okay Well
just since 2019 uh we've appropriated $96 million in sewer work Okay And we said then and it holds today that we will not raise taxes for sewer
improvements It will be done within our existing debt service budget which means we won't be increasing taxes to pay this off Now how does that happen Okay Well the the financial plan is kind of complicated I'm just going to touch on
it quickly A lot of it has to do with the I bank financing In fact there are technically four reasons why we're able to do this without raising taxes First three related to the I bank First the I bank when you finance three4s of what
you borrow is interest free Okay that's a huge savings right there Um the second one is that a couple of years ago the I bank made a change The local bond law says that when you do an improvement when you pave a street for instance um
every improvement has a useful life defined by the local bond law the useful life for example paving a street is 10 years The debt has to be paid off within that 10 years Okay problem with sewer separations and sewer work in general
but in this particular case really sore separation the improvements last 100 years 120 years don't know um it would be great if we could pay it off over a 100 years but we can't general um
serial bonds are 20 years so typically we'd have to pay all this off within 20 years the I bank made a change and said for sewer separation projects we're allowed to spread out the payments now over 40 years Wow And and that's huge because first of all like I said
improvements last at least a hundred years Okay it would be great if we could spread it out over a hundred years That would be fair 40 years is was a big concession and it's a big part of us being able to do this without raising taxes Uh the third part is the principal
forgiveness Spoken about this in the past Principal forgiveness is similar to a grant but not quite a grant We borrow an amount of money Um we do the project When the that particular project is done
well actually when we start on the project we're awarded principal forgiveness Okay And it's changed over the years Changed again uh earlier this year I'll get to that in a second But principal forgiveness means if you
borrow $20 million and you're awarded $5 million in principal forgiveness you only have to repay $15 million Okay And um and they like I said they've upped the principal in uh forgiveness over the years When we first started this uh
there was a million dollar cap million dollars per year Then the cap changed to $2 million per year uh then the cap changed to $5 million per project per year Uh now there are situations where
uh the I bank is offering up to 80% principal forgiveness We're taking full advantage of that and even more recently um this was always on source separation projects More recently this year they've
expanded principal forgiveness into storm water improvements And a good part of our sewer project is storm water related Okay And um um and another thing is earlier this
year they changed the affordability criteria which HackinSack now qualifies for which opened up a number of different programs that we're eligible for And the good news is because we have all this work going once the program is
announced Okay we immediately know we're eligible We get in we're usually one of the first to apply and we get awarded So for example um one of the changes this year was that uh we'll receive 100%
principal forgiveness for equipment related to storm water improvements So uh we took the VAC truck that we that we bought several years ago uh we're going to buy another one and we're going to pay for it and then we're going to be
reimbursed 100% And other equipment like that Okay Uh the fourth area to be able to do this without raising taxes are grants Grants better than principal forgiveness you know because um that's
money that's just given that reduces the debt Uh grants are great Grants are great but um the grants we're talking about are federal grants Federal grants are tough They're they're fickle Uh they exist one year and then we find No they
don't Yeah they're back No you don't have them You never know I I'm a little bit conservative A couple years ago it was announced that we received uh through FEMA part of the uh what what grew out of Hurricane Ida was the hazard mitigation grant program and we received
a $32 million grant for the effort in Green Street um without an award letter and that kind of bothered me I need an award letter Um I won't believe it till I actually get the award letter Um earlier this year the EPA sent us that
award letter Made me happy Um and then in January we actually met with officials of the EPA me Chris and our engineers who outlined all the procedures that we had to follow Once we knew the procedures we started drawing down immediately Um so far that $32
million grant we've drawn down 6 million already to pay ourselves back Okay So the $32 million grant is real and I'm confident that it's real Now um last year in 2024
um through the efforts of Senator Corey Booker we applied for a $4.5 million grant for the Clay Street project Um and we were actually awarded uh last year um last spring Again I I like to believe it
when I see it But then what happened was and this would be offered um through uh among other areas it's the EPA and it also is FEMA related federal emergency management association Well come January
um there was a moratorum on all federal grants and FEMA grants in particular and every federal appropriation had to be vetted and scrutinized to make sure that they were all in compliance with the
president's executive orders of which there are numerous ones Okay Thought for sure that um that we were going to lose the grant Um and actually yeah you're going to lose it No we're good And that's pretty much how it went Um two
weeks ago we received word from the EPA that yes it's it's still in there and they said you can now start drawing down on it if you want Okay Well knowing this history uh we drew down the the the entire amount Okay So we received this
$4.5 million EPA grant about two weeks ago And as it turns out that um that timing was perfect In terms of the federal government the the the federal government recently passed what's called the CR which is the continuing
resolution to avoid the government shutdown There was a compromise you know between Democrats and Republicans The compromise was that there would be massive spending cuts and there were massive spending cuts Municipalities in
New Jersey lost $200 million worth of um what are called earmarks Um senators congressmen put these items into into the federal budget Fortunately for us ours came from Senator Booker Um and our
4.5 million grant survived Okay um we drew down on it immediately So there's a $4.5 million grant that we got Okay So like I said earlier the uh the total project cost of
96,000 $96 million is covered with $42 million of grants and principal forgiveness that we've already been awarded Then there's another 25 million of
principal forgiveness that we're eligible for Good thing about principal forgiveness and where they're better than grants are that if you meet the criteria you're eligible you get it Whereas grants you have to meet the criteria eligible and then they're
you're competing with everybody else for it Principal forgiveness you meet the criteria you're eligible We're eligible for $25 million in additional principal forgiveness So $96 million in appropriations
$42 million in grants and principal forgiveness with another $25 million in principal forgiveness that's pending Then the next piece is that because we were successful on the Senate appropriations grant this time around
through Senator Booker's office uh two weeks ago we put another no last week I'm sorry we put another grant application in through Senator Kim's office uh for $8 million And this is uh Millennium working in conjunction Millennium working in
conjunction with Suburban Engineers and and Project Management uh that grant uh that grant application just went in last week We're hopeful that if we don't see the 8 million we'll at least see a good part of it Okay Um other significant
things with the changes in principal forgiveness for example the um the Clay Street West of Rail project which is the final piece of the entire Clay Street project and it's huge uh when they changed the principal forgiveness
criteria earlier this year um one piece of it you're eligible for 100% principal forgiveness up to a maximum of $7 million So what we're going to do is take our Clay Street project and break
it into two pieces First piece 7 million and we are eligible for principal forgiveness of 7 million And then the second piece don't know exactly yet what the dollar amount is we will be eligible for the uh the five million cap on principal
forgiveness because it'll actually be considered another project That's that's what's in the works Um just to give you another example um we have a project in Carver Park where we're going to put in
underground storage for excess storm water Okay to help with the flooding problem around Second Street That's a $1.4 million project We receive principal forgiveness of 1.4 million So you understand what happens is we have
to incur the debt borrow the money do the project Once the project is done when we do our permanent financing that's when the principal forgiveness kicks in and we stop um and we start paying it back You know people have said
in the past um that our debt has grown a lot and it has Infrastructure is expensive Okay But once our all of this principal forgiveness kicks in and it will start it started already Um we're going to start seeing our debt
level go down and down For example uh we got the $4.5 million grant two weeks ago Automatically our debts reduced by $4.5 million That's the beauty of grants Um okay Uh yep That's pretty much
everything Threw an awful lot of data at you The sheets that you have up there um there's a lot of numbers and there's big numbers but the point to remember is that the sewer separation projects going on throughout the city are very large
They're a significant quality of life issue All right and we are able to do it without raising any taxes So hopefully I shed a little bit of light on how that is possible because it doesn't seem like it could be Uh but it actually is and
that's been the plan since 2019 Okay Have any questions Be happy to answer them since I threw all this data at you I just want to thank you Jim I know it's a it's a lot of work and it does it does seem impossible when you look at these numbers to to not there's
a it's not just me you know this is me This is project management This is suburban engineering Fortunately as they make changes to the program uh we're right there You know we've got projects going hey this project fits this
criteria Boom We're right on progress There is just so many improvements going on And to see these numbers it's eye opening and we appreciate everyone's work Yeah And and if I may add I think it's helped that you know we now have a relationship especially in the state You
know when they were here just talking about uh the three other towns locally the two other towns locally and ourselves that are trying to do storm water separation I mean uh sanitary separation from storm water We were the only ones that really have stepped up and are doing it They're trying to get
started but they haven't And I think it helps us to a certain extent that we have this there's this two-way faith now that they know we're really doing it And I think that gives us the credibility that when we apply for some of this that folks are seeing hey you know they've
put their money where their mouth is They're going ahead and they're bonding or they're putting up money for this and you know and we know we're going to be getting these awards But I think that that goes a long way And again that's thanks to everybody in the city that's worked on this all the employees and and the contractors and and the engineering
companies that have really come to terms to getting this done See and I believe that's the exact reason why our project survived all of those federal cuts because um they see the commitment they see that it's shovel ready they see that
okay if we don't get the grant we're doing the work anyway Yes as opposed to another municipality who says "Hey look let's get a grant you know so we'll apply." Okay what's the plan Well we don't really know it yet Well let's see if we get the grant first Big difference
between the two Yes And and just for the public's knowledge I think you know talking about this 96 million I mean there's two big pieces I mean there's a couple other little things in here I see Carver Parkly Park um uh procurement and equipment but you know the two big pieces that were identified here in the
city as first to attack that were the number one problems as far as flooding and and sanitary backups into homes with the Clay Street area and the Green Street now Green Street And both of those are included in this $96 million And both of them are each 40 million or
a little over 40 million each So the majority of this big number is hitting the two worst parts of the city And you know we really haven't even started on the green street other than designing Well we have done you know Chris's reports you know we've done all the
cleaning and televising of all the lines I'm talking about the really big work Now we're in the surveying and designing portion We're in the early stages We're not seeing the full benefits of those things like we are seeing already just by brag to people about our BCUA fee
reduction Yeah Well that when we when we get to the budget Yeah Still we're looking at a nice savings already from BCUA just in the separation that we've done because instead of sending all of the storm water to be processed with sanitary it's now no longer part of it because of some of the sewer And we're
going to continue to see that And that's something folks don't think about right away that this is a recurring redu every year You know that this is money would be money we were paying and had to pay because we had combined sewers Not only do we have to pay it but it's also storm water I'm sorry It's also preventing the
sanitary waste from going into the Hackinack River That's the environmental comp And then we we were fined for those things you know potentially too So yeah So there's a lot of reasons to do this and I think we're doing you guys are doing a great job and I just want to say thanks to everyone who works on these
things through your office project management office etc throughout the city because it's a major major piece of work Thank you Jim and I don't have any phone call lately about flooding or different kind of problems because the system is
working and whatever we are doing is working because now when we going to finish verdy all the street they're going to be connected to railroad right right well remember the the the biggest piece of that there are two components east side of the rail west side of the rail east
side of the rail is done we start working at the west side when those two are connected The people in that area are they've already seen relief But when those two are connected yep Be like a like a prime point you know with the with the Union Pacific Railroad And not
only that but now in April when they going to open the factories they're going to start losing the going to pay the whole nays and the city going to look much better Yep And you know and you know people still complain a little bit about the flooding and you know just to address just to see how this has
helped I mean when you have these phenomenal downpours that unfortunately we that's recent too there's going to be you know some water that's going to accumulate The key that this is working is prior to that wherever we had this it would be days before that water would recede and now if we do get any water in
the streets you know by the next day it's gone which is showing that all the box covers were putting in that are slowly releasing more all we've got the new outfall down at Fini Park out the idea of that was to handle all of the storm water that's no longer pooling in
the streets right exactly so there's so many Lake Fashini That's right Lake Fashini Fushini Lake Great job Jim Thank you Appreciate it Okay As usual Thanks Jim
Do you have anything Jim Uh next up uh discussion regarding there's an ordinance on tonight to increase the recreation summer camp fees for theater camp only Um just the theater camp is going up um because it's
the one of the most expensive parts of the uh of the camp that we hold every year and it's the most popular Uh another discussion there's a annual this is basically just housekeeping There is an annual resolution to extend the city park
closing hours from uh during April to October That's a housekeeping item And then last but not least I'll call up uh Chris Wheaten our city engineer for presentation regarding uh the CSO and
construction projects update Thank you city manager Good evening everybody Evening Uh jumping into our uh major construction projects Um the list is reduced a little bit as things have been wrapping up Um
we have three active construction projects with the sewer separation uh coming to a conclusion this spring Polyfly Park is also uh wrapping up shortly We are just getting started on the Johnson Park uh fieldhouse contract
and we are soon to start uh the items listed as uh bid items Uh Fini Park is going to be starting in July Johnson Park site utility work uh will be getting started uh imminently and lot A as well uh will be starting uh as as
soon as it's uh approved I expect this evening Um this um plan of our the s the city's uh cso separation project or combined sewer separation projects has been updated I apologize It's seems to gotten
a little harder to read but on the left is um we're currently working in the peak pink area with Anderson Street And um soon uh we will be um moving to bid on the west of rail contract And as our
uh chief financial officer Jim Mangan just mentioned we the west of rail contract has now been broken into two projects uh to maximize the opportunity for uh principal forgiveness for those projects So the first one will be um 14
acres of separation and then followed the year after um with another 21 acres of of separated uh storm water on the Anderson Street project We are just finishing up The weather has uh
broken We're spring now and so we're working right now on Stanley Place installing uh inlets the final inlets and then working on the sidewalks and curbs and final concrete uh on Stanley We will also be doing the
final concrete work um on clay street and uh and then proceeding with final paving for uh for those streets and also west railroad a from berry to pose and following that we'll have complete site restoration with uh with uh uh seeding
and planting Another sewer repair project is the rehab of Jefferson Street pipe Um and we have just completed last week about 700 linear feet of cured in place
uh pipe which is a trenchless method We have also completed a main replacement across the intersection of Jefferson and Johnson And um we are getting ready to um move on to uh placement of an
additional uh portion of pipe um that uh as we have TV it recently it was revealed that uh we it won't be suitable for uh the cured in place method So we're we're uh anticipating a change order on on that
item We are also in design uh as we've discussed previously for the East Kennedy storm water pump station improvements uh which includes new new large pumps new small pumps and uh rehab of the uh bar screens that remove uh
floatables and debris from the storm water entering the station In parks we are finishing up this week the Polyfly Park drainage project All of the new drainage has been installed and uh we're just finishing up with site
cleanup and restoration uh tomorrow and should be completed this week In parks as I mentioned we are currently working on the uh uh the Johnson Park Sports Complex I if you have any questions about the uh the
pending award for this evening for the site and utility contract I'm available to answer those And then the fieldhouse contract that uh project is underway Uh and we're in the submittal review phase uh
um uh with uh uh drawings and equipment submitts and material submitts I I got a question When we're going to do the sidewalk right Mhm and Johnson Park Do we going to replace that pipe
set in pipe that was supposed to Yes done by forsa So this that pipe is going to be go under the field It's Yeah that that pipe is going to be be replaced It goes right the cables The cable they had to be removed The cables have been removed Yeah Have been removed Yeah I think just the poles remain So when APA
going to start doing special pilots and the foundation Um I'd have to get I can get back to you Councilman Betaglia with that information I do have a project schedule Um uh so I I can get back to you with with specifics on that Thank you
Next slide please Uh for Fini Park this uh contract uh has been bid and um the work is planned to start in July uh as we've discussed after um the um after we hear from Green Acres regarding additional supplemental
funding and also after the city's uh fireworks uh display is uh is completed in July And we are also about to start as I mentioned on the lot lot a parking lot improvements uh new curbs and sidewalks
resurfacing and striping for for this lot And like I said we don't have too much um at the moment presently but always keep in mind to take care of your sewers Don't flush wipes It causes a real
hassle uh with our uh with our sewer infrastructure Okay Okay Thank you I have a quick question Um Park have we has that been tested I know we've had some rain Has that system been tested for drainage It
it's it's been operational since last week So we did it Yeah we it uh just want to make sure it's doing its job before we bury all the pipes and you know well they've already been buried but then then we test them But yes we we we do test them before they get turned over to the city Okay Um wanted to make
sure Okay Thank you Chris Thank you That's all I have Okay Need a motion to open to the public Offer All in favor I I none opposed Anyone from the public would like to speak at this session please come up You have three
minutes Good evening everyone and thanks for the opportunity to speak with you I'm Ira Goodman from 301 Beach Street and my request is to um enable excuse me enable timed parking
and resident placards along Beach Street Overlook and American Legion Drive uh the the uh buildings have a lack of parking and a lot of us are having problems when when we when we have
guests that stay over Uh it would be nice I I know that we're going to have a big parking garage on Atlantic and uh and First Street which will certainly help but we would like to be able to to mitigate the problems right now and and enable people to use these
placards and and then time parking would would definitely help Okay So Vinnie you can have traffic look at that It's beach overlook and American Legion overlook and American Legion and see what traffic says and then they'll do they'll do their investigation report
back to us and uh we'll make our decisions from there Thank you very much At stickers or placards and then and then not and then for those that don't have it timed Is that what you're correct Correct Okay So I I know the new garage would be much more convenient for hospital hospital employees because
they'll just basically walk into the Second Street pavilion So that would be really close But in the meantime for those employees that still park on the streets timed parking would prevent them from doing that Right Right So it's both It's placards and timed parking Yeah Yeah
Thank you Thanks Ira Have a good night Next person please Good evening Mayor And uh the um Good evening Percy How are you Good good good I'm Perry from Hackin Sack and I had a couple of questions um with the new team
that's going to be um so-called elected officials on the lacrosse team Cashina um if one doesn't vote get close to the microphone because we if one doesn't vote does their vote get not included locally And then if one does vote what
uh impact will it have uh on the city town and the community because um they got a good number of things going on Mhm They don't have a phone out there right Um where you can publicly make a phone call Uh the only place I can think of
you got to go to the Sierra uh club or you got to go to the bus station And I don't know if in fact if the TD uh bank is going to remain there or not remain there because I know they talk about building a new center on that avenue with a you know trail line railway uh
situation So um and then like um you know the manager city manager of the county you know 96 million or whatever at least we didn't hit the 100 million mark Um I know they got a good number of things they want to try and provide housing for different people and places
Then also you have um those three facilities Walgreens the restaurant that used to be on the left that's no longer there The um laundry mat family mat that's not no longer there They have one on um I think Union Street and then by the park and then um but knowing that I
think the gathering is still there Then you used to have the church called the uh the um uh grace church the grace church and now grace church meet somewhere else So businesses are coming some are you know remaining and with that in mind um the opportunity for
growth is there um you know you have many realies from um cold wall um why should um remax you know a list goes on and um money is a necessity the workers they're you know going to be put in
proper place if my vote isn't included if my vote uh sustains itself from the election like they say the world wasn't won't stop It'll just keep going around a circle uh you know circular pattern
will um those who need the necessity because that which the city manager was saying somewhere along the line that could be paid even if not at the end for that what you're talking about with whatever is um you know uh necessity to being paid through whatever branch of
people um you got the um parks that's good idea the trees that's a good idea nature is important you know sometimes you have Fourth of July sometimes you got to get things in place you know time for the you know give themselves arrest officers
Having the housing having the housing for the homeless having the housing for the homeless helps but with no way to possibly call um um a potential employee
that makes it uh difficult to know where do we go from here You know they say you know unowned shopping center I am not alone but then again because to be alone is always to not look at as you know again we're making transition but one
vote can impact the current administration or the current administration can that's why it's important and you know for voting and you can get an abs or actually just get a vote by mail ballot now and you can vote weeks before the election um which
makes a little more convenient uh makes a lot more convenient I mean actually or you can go to a polling place but uh the vote by mail is is increasing a lot So can I ask a quick question What about the churches Churches as far as are they going to fall like they say businesses
are one thing because they need the banking industry to sustain the churches like they say sit set aside They seem to be doing okay They're self- sustaining So Okay They're not going to walk off anywhere from the Baptist church Okay So I'm going to have to cut you off Perry because we're we're at the end Thanks
Anyone else in the public Mr Marcus Anani how are you I got to get to the microphone to answer you I'm fine thank you Uh I'm here to tell everybody that uh we're now going to have a a quick quiz on everything that Jim Mangan presented and see how many of you can
remember the numbers But uh that's just a good example of what we get with this city council and the professional staff Steve Kimman's been here eight years I think if he's missed five meetings in eight years that's a lot And the advice he gives is incredible Uh we have a
really wonderful staff our city engineer and of course uh Jim Mangan the the pencil sharpen park salons If other people are going to run for election in this upcoming election uh they have to realize that they are dealing with a
very professional operation and running the city of Hackinack is is not a Mickey Mouse setup And I hope they understand that Uh along those lines uh there was an article in the Tap into uh paper this week that said blatantly that uh the
developers in the city of Hackinac pay no money to the city for 30 years It's a blatant lie John responded I saw something he said and I wrote to the editor saying you have an editorial responsibility you know to fact check these things and not to print articles
that uh that don't contain an element of truth And uh hopefully they won't do that in the future In fact the developers do present a lot of money to the city But even aside from that maybe in the future when you talk about how much the developers contribute you can do it address by address building by
building what they did last year what they're doing this year so people can see in black and white and dispel all of this nonsense The other thing to consider is that what the builders are doing is aside from paying money to the city they are building So they are taking unimproved properties in many cases We talk about storm water
separation Storm water separation in many of these buildings begins on the roof with internal plumbing All of that has to be added in to separate from the sewer lines Has to be brought down to sistns through the street The the street itself The sidewalks have to be dug up and replaced And all of that is is is
significant Uh and they're paying for that The other thing is they pay sewage hookup fees you know which the city really needs because you're paying for the effluent to go downstream so to speak and they handle with the street refurbishing The other thing is as we
found out with Violia on Main Street they uncovered a water mane problem and replace the water man that didn't have to be replaced 6 months later and ripping up the street again And there's other public utilities underground that are discovered as you go through these processes So all of that I think is very
significant And I think that people should know that uh aside from the flood mitigation there's an awful lot of people west of Railroad Avenue whose sewers are not backing up into their homes anymore So aside from just the flooding issue we also had the raw sewage issue which was a problem So as
my time expires and my friend Donald Trump well Donald Trump I wouldn't say friend but as you would say in the in the last million-year history of the city of Hackinack no one has done more in the last eight years than this council and I salute you for it Thank
you Thank you sir Appreciate it Yes Anyone else from the public before we move on Okay it's uh 3 after 8 I'm gonna take a five minute break and then we're going to go right into the uh Oh sorry Motion to close the public session
Offer Steve All in favor Steve I I Steve Oh Steve's got Yeah you get it And as usual as per my usual announcement we did have a closed executive session prior to um opening the cow meeting During that uh numerous litigations were
discussed including uh two workers compensation cases Kubler and Luther and two ongoing litigations uh Dwit and Leak Thank you Motion to close the executive session Offer second All in favor I I
now I need a motion to close the council of the whole offer Second All in favor I I just going to take a quick fivem minute break and we'll resume with the next meeting Thank you Gary Gary So then we need you here No we
couldn't get them yet Excuse me Good evening everybody Madam Clerk This meeting is being held in accordance with the open public meeting act NJSA10 col4-6 notice of which was sent to the record in the star ledger and was posted
on the municipal bulletin board Roll call please Council member von Rudenberg here Deputy Mayor Kistrino here Council member Baglia still here Council member Carol here May here Would everybody please rise for the flag salute
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Okay So with that we'll go uh first
thing we have is some proclamations and presentations special night So [Applause] should be so Julia would you please come up Pleasure So um did you want to bring
anybody up with you No I'm good Good Okay Nervous I'm nervous It's okay So we have a proclamation here for Julia and it's from the office of the mayor of the city of Hackinac and it reads "Whereas Girl Scouts of Northern Jersey has awarded Bergen County Academyy's
senior Julia Thompson a lifelong resident of Hackinack the Girl Scout Gold Award the highest achievement in high school Girl Scouts." for her project Coding for Confidence designed to break down barriers for girls in STEM creating a safe space for girls to take
academic risk and see the power of courage over perfection And whereas prior to high school Julia attended Hackinack Middle School and Fairmont School in Hackinack Julia has been a Girl Scout for 13 years and has previously earned her bronze and silver awards She is currently a girl
representative to the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey She also serves on the Bergen County Junior Commission on the status of women Julia is lead drum major for the Hackinack Marching Comets a varsity swimmer softball player and dancer She
plans to pursue a degree in computer science And whereas by earning her Gold Award Julia Thompson has distinguished herself as a true community leader and change maker who is a meaningful and sustainable difference in the world Her accomplishments reflect leadership and social responsibility
Less than 3,000 girls scouts earned their gold award last year placing Julie among a prestigious community of change makers who have achieved this honor And now therefore I John P Leos Jr mayor of the city of Hackinac along with members of the city council do hereby
congratulate Julia Thompson on earning her gold award Congratulations Julia [Music] [Applause] pictures You guys want to come up You want to come up and take some pictures
That would be perfect Sure Absolutely It was nice of your friends to come too Come on up guys You want to take Let's Why don't we take the picture over here Stand over here Come here towards us
behind you Julia come over here You girls stand in front and I'll stand behind you Go ahead And how nice during Women's History Month to have a lovely group of women here and and honoring their achievements
Perfect timing girls Thank you Congratulations Julia Okay [Music] Rabbi would you please come up Good to see you So tonight we have a proclamation which
I'm presenting to the good rabbi here and it reads "Whereas April 9th 2025 will mark 123 years since Rabbi Rabbi Mannequin." Am I saying that right Close enough Is he here No Can't be
here Be pretty old Yes Schneerson both a global spiritual leader and tireless advocate for youth around the world emphasized the importance of education and good character And whereas this year begins a celebration of the 75th anniversary of
his leadership of the Hapad Lubovich movement Shabbad is an acronym of three words for wisdom understanding and knowledge The name Lubovich comes from the city which served as the movement's headquarters for over a century and means city of love Love of wisdom love
of fellow man and love of our creator have guided the Shabbad Lubovich movement throughout its history and are the essence of education at its best and should be passed along to all young people And whereas in recognition of the rabbi's outstanding and lasting contributions Congress has established
his birthday as a national day to raise awareness that even a single positive act of an individual can change the world And whereas the character of our young people is strengthened by serving a cause greater than self and by the anchor of virtues including courage and compassion by instilling a spirit of
service in our children We create a more optimistic future for them Now therefore I John P Leos Jr Mayor of the city of Hackinack along with members of the city council to hereby proclaim the date of April 9th 2025 as education and sharing day in the city of Hackinack and call
upon everyone to reach out to those with our community to work together to create a brighter kinder and more promising future for all So thank you so much for uh bringing this to our attention and we're so happy to be able to recognize this gentleman So would you like to say
a few words Thank you so much Mayor Thank you city council It's always a pleasure to be here and honoring the Rebi It happened to be tonight the 25th Oadar in the Hebrew calendar It's a special day because this is the Reb's wife's birthday And on this day one of the
teachings the Rebi would always remind us Someone said "The day we were born is the day that God said the world cannot exist without you." And the Rebi would always say "Take a moment to remember your birthday because this is the day that God gave you the gift and the uniqueness because you know even before
you were born you're still a person You still have your abilities You still have food you're eating you're drinking but you're part of your mom Once you're born this is when you can start to actually have an impact on the world So this is one of the Reb's teaching how we always have to remember that we are unique We
have unique gifts that no one else in the world has and we have to share those gifts And I want to thank the city council and the mayor for sharing their gifts with the city and being dedicated to the entire city and for everything that they do and of course the entire staff So thank you very much Thank you so much
[Applause] I can read this Yeah Okay One more Okay So last but not least as you know we're celebrating Women's History Month So whereas during
Women's History Month we celebrate the countless women whose courage and resolve have contributed to the character and success of our nation and the entire world And whereas women have played and continue to play a critical economic cultural and social role by providing a significant portion of the
labor force working inside and outside of the home And whereas women have been leaders not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity but in upholding movements such as civil rights emancipation abolition and labor unions for liberty freedom and justice for all And where excuse me whereas
women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable philanthropic and cultural institutions to promote the welfare of others and by providing the majority of the volunteers And whereas women continue to strengthen and enrich our society by helping children to recognize the value of
learning as well as the importance of self-respect personal responsibility and respect and concern for others Now therefore I John P Leos Jr Mayor of the city of Hackinack along with members of the Hackinac City Council do hereby recognize March as women's history month
So thank you to all your women and congratulations And we have a few more days to celebrate Women's History Month Tomorrow night I'm I think the city manager's going to bring that up but uh I think it's worth mentioning I'd like to jump in You know women's history month the city is honoring especially
for our Girl Scout Trailblazers here tonight Tomorrow night we're having at the Hackpack the performing arts center from se from six o'clock to 8 o'clock we're having a um an open table discussion with some women who have made significant strides in their career and
significant contributions to the city itself and they will be discussing their life and and how they move forward in these different in their different careers and it will be open for discussion and questions So I think it's going to be a a really interesting night and especially with our young woman we'd
love to have some of you come and talk and hear uh about how in the good old days Steph is still a lot younger the only other woman out here but you know how how things were and the changes and how we've progressed you know and only in our career and opportunities So
everyone please you know put it on your calendars tomorrow evening at the performing arts center from 6:00 to 8 a nice open table discussion It's free and we invite everyone to join us at 6:00 to 8 tomorrow evening So please consider it Thank you So I'm going to again take
like a short intermission so those who want to leave can leave Uh we thank you for coming tonight It was a great night Congratulations on the uh the proclamations that were given out tonight Thank you for coming
[Applause] Okay with that I need a motion to approve the minutes of the March 11th 2025 executive cow and regular meeting Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed With that we'll go to the manager's report
Thank you mayor The city's annual Easter egg hunt will be held Tuesday April 15th at Johnson Park This is a free event One-year-olds through prek begin at 400 pm and kindergarten through 4th grade begin at 4:30 p.m Summer camp
registration opens April 1st Camps include theater camp playground camp adventure camp and extended day camp Space is limited so be sure to register early In recognition of Women's History Month the city would be hosting an event
at the Hackpack on Wednesday March 26th from 6 PM to 8:00 PM Breaking barriers and building bridges is a roundt discussion with women leaders of Bergen County The 2024 city manager year- end report is posted on the city of
Hackinack website homepage under files and links And last but not least the city is working with Mr Randy Glover and his charitable organization to finalize the paperwork to use the Carver Park Fieldhouse for their food pantry distribution of fresh foods for the
community That's it mayor Okay Thank you Ready Deb Yep Okay Sound excited I'm sorry Resol resolution 14625
This is a resolution for final adoption of ordinance number 10-2025 an ordinance to amend chapter 35 of the code of the city of Hackinac records public to establish a new section 35-12 entitled titled city buildings restricted areas to safeguard
records This ordinance has been published according to law and now calls for a public hearing I need a motion to open to the public Please offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Anybody from the public who'd like to speak to this ordinance and this ordinance only please come forward See no members of
the public motion to close Offer Second All in favor I I need a motion to adopt the ordinance Offer Second All in favor I I none opposed Be resolved by the city council of the city of Hackinas County of Bergen
and state of New Jersey that ordinance number 10-2025 has passed it second and final reading and is hereby adopt Thank you Resolution 147-25 This is a resolution for final adoption of ordinance number
11-2025 an ordinance to amend chapter 170 of the code of the city of Hackinack vehicles and traffic prohibiting parallel parking opposite to the direction of traffic in 170-6 This ordinance has been published according to law and now calls for a public hearing Motion to open to the public
please Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Anyone who'd like to speak to this ordinance and this ordinance only please come forward Seeing no members of the public motion to close Over Second All in favor
I need a motion to adopt the ordinance please Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Here is resolved by the city council of the city of Hackinac county of Bergen and state of New Jersey that ordinance number 11-2025 has passed it second and final reading and is
hereby adopted Thank you Resolution 148-25 say resolution for final adoption of ordinance number 12-2025 an ordinance adopting the former Sears site redevelopment plan within the former Sears site redevelopment plan
area consisting of lot 405 lot 3 This ordinance has been published according to law and now calls for a public hearing Need a motion to open to the public Offer Second All in favor I I I hearing none opposed Anybody from the public who'd like to
speak to this ordinance in this ordinance only please come forward Seeing no members of the public motion to close Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Motion to adopt the ordinance Offer Second All in favor
I I none opposed be resolved by the city council of the city of Hackinac County of Bergen and state of New Jersey that ordinance number 12-2025 has passed the second and final reading and is hereby adopted Thank you Resolution 149-25
This is a resolution for final adoption of ordinance number 13-2025 an ordinance amending the 1321 148 Main Street redevelopment plan for the redevelopment area consisting of lot 20 302 lots 2 and 27 This ordinance has
been published according to law and now calls for a public hearing Need a motion to open to the public please Offer Second All in favor I I none opposed Anyone from the public who would like to speak to this ordinance and this ordinance only please come forward Seeing no members of the public motion
to close Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Motion to adopt this ordinance Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Here is by the city council of the city of Hackinac County of Bergen the state of New Jersey that ordinance
number 13-2025 has passed the second and final reading and is hereby adopted Thank you Resolution 150-25 This is a resolution for the introduction of ordinance number 14-2025 an ordinance to amend chapter 107 of the code of the city of Hackinac
license and permits to update summer theater camp fee Need a motion to introduce this ordinance Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Be it resolved that the above ordinance being ordinance 14-2025 is introduced is
now passed on first reading and that said order shall be considered for final passage at a meeting to be held on April 8 2025 at 8:00 p.m where soon thereafter the matter can be reached at the regular meeting place of the city council and at such time and place all persons interested be given an opportunity to be
heard concerning set ordinance and that the city clerk be and chiefs hereby authorized and directed to publish set ordinance according to law with a notice of its introduction and passage on first reading and of the time and place when and where set ordinance will be further considered for final passage Thank you
Resolution 151-25 This is a resolution for the introduction of ordinance number 15-2025 an ordinance to amend chapter 175 of the code of the city of Hackinac zoning in order to amend and update certain definitions and provisions contained therein Need a motion to
introduce this ordinance Offer Second All in favor I I hearing none opposed Be it resolved that the above ordinance being ordinance 15-2025 is introduced does now pass on first reading and that said ordinance shall be considered for final passage at a meeting to be held on
April 22nd 2025 at 8:00 p.m or as soon thereafter as the matter can be reached at the regular meeting place of the city council and at such time and place all persons interested be given an opportunity to be heard concerning said ordinance and that the city clerk be and she is hereby authorized and directed to publish set ordinance according to law
with a notice of its introduction and passage on first reading and of the time and place when aware set ordinance will be further considered for final passage Thank you Resolution 152-25 This is a resolution for the
introduction of ordinance number 16-2025 an ordinance of the city of Hackinac authorizing the transfer of city-owned property property identified as a portion of block 312 lot 21 on the city's tax assessment map to the Hackac
Public Library pursuant to NJSA4A12-13 B1 Thank you 153-20 Need a motion Sorry Need a motion Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Sorry Be it resolved that the above ordinance being ordinance
16-2025 is introduced is now passed on first reading and the set ordinance shall be considered for final passage of the meeting to be held on April 8th 2025 at 8:00 p.m or as soon thereafter as the matter can be reached at the regular meeting place of the city council and at such time and place all persons
interested be given an opportunity to be heard concerning concerning set ordinance and that city clerk be and she is hereby authorized and directed to publish set ordinance according to law with notice of its introduction and passage on first reading and of the time and place when and where said that ordinance will be further considered for
final passage Thank you Resolution 153-25 This is a resolution authorizing tax refunds for state board judgments and duplicate payments Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I hearing
none opposed Resolution 154-25 It's a resolution authorizing 100% veteran deduction for 17-9 Kansas Street Hackinac block 67 lot 17.01 Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I None
oppose Resolution 155-25 It's a resolution authorizing tax refund for 180 Summit Avenue block 241 lot 11 Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed 156-25
Say resolution authorizing 100% veteran deduction for 35 South Prospect Avenue block 135.02 lot one Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I None opposed Resolution 157-25
Say resolution awarding bid contract for Johnson Park Sports Complex utility and site work Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I I None opposed Resolution 158-25
A resolution awarding bid contract for improvements to city parking lot A Atlantic Street Garage Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I opposed Resolution 159-25
A resolution authorizing governing body certification of the annual audit of 2023 Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I I None opposed [Applause] Resolution
160-25 It's a resolution approving transfer of 2024 budget reserves Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I hearing No one opposed Resolution 161-25
It's a resolution awarding contract to HQW Architects for municipal court bulletproof glass project Need a motion please Offer Second All in favor I I Hearing none opposed 162-25
It's a resolution authorizing award of co-op contracts for the purchase of a Caterpillar model 938 wheel loader for the Department of Public Works Need a motion please Offer second All in favor I I hearing none opposed And resolution
164-25 I'm sorry 163 163-25 The resolution authorizing introduction of Main Street Business Alliance Inc.'s 2025 budget Need a motion please offer Second All in favor I I I none opposed
And resolution 164-25 a resolution authorizing payment of bills Roll call please Well first I need a motion Sorry Second Roll call Council member von Rutenberg Hi Deputy Mayor Castrino Hi Council member Paglia Hi Council member
Carol Hi Mayor Leos I abstain Okay So we're moving on to the consent agenda I have two I know need to be pulled Resolution 167 and resolution 172 Does anybody else have any conflicts
with the consent agenda as it sits here Hearing none Okay The following items are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion Any items requiring expenditure are supported by a certification of availability of funds
Any item requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda and consent agenda items will be reflected in full in the minutes including any exceptions and or additions We're pulling 167-25 and resolution 172-25 165-25 is a resolution
authorizing health department refunds Resolution 166-25 is a resolution authorizing raffle licenses 168-25 is a resolution authorizing temporary extension of city park closing hours from April 1st 2025 through
October 1st 2025 Resolution 169-25 is a resolution to adopt procedures for administration and inspection of federal aid highway projects Resolution 170-25 is a resolution authorizing approval of corrective action plan for the 2023
annual audit And resolution 171-25 is a resolution awarding contract to Neglia Engineering for Baldwin Park ADA improvements Need a motion for that Need a motion to adopt the consent agenda as it was just read by the clerk Offer second All in favor I I oppose Now we'll
do resolution 167-25 [Applause] Okay 167-70 um sorry -25 is a resolution authorizing leave of absence without pay for Michael O'Neal a police officer
Okay Need a motion Offer second Uh roll call Council member von Rudenberg Hi Deputy Mayor Kistrino I Council member Carol Hi You're not Carol You're tagging it But I I gonna be off that one or No
The he said Carol Yeah Well it's the box was set up wrong Okay So council member Betaglia I Council member Carol abstain Mayor Lross Hi What happens when somebody else does a
resolution And the last resolution that was pulled was 172-25 which is a resolution authorizing a vision and a 30-day extension of employment agreement for police director Raymond Gdetti And I just want to add for the record in transparency this was
added following the closed session today when we were talking about ongoing litigation involving the city of Hackinac We need a motion Need a motion Second Roll call Council member von Rudenberg Hi Deputy Mayor Canestrino Hi This box
is also wrong Council member Betaglia Hi Council Member Carroll Same Mayor Leos Hi Okay that's it Okay very good Okay Mr Betaglia Councilman Betagley is going to be leaving us All right For
personal reasons So we'll continue with the four of us Okay Sorry With that I need a motion to open to the public please offer Second All in favor I I none opposed Anyone from the
public who'd like to speak please come forward give your name to the clerk and you will have three minutes Mr Mayor how are you I'm fine Mr Serbo And Mr Caruso how you doing tonight Okay I'm Richard Serbo Spring Valley Avenue
and uh the traffic continues I just want to give that little footnote to you that it's absolutely ridiculous what's going on there with the buses too Okay so uh you know the two uh mentioned uh
redevelopment plans you just went through them uh uh the Sears property there and there's another Main Street uh u redevelopment project you it was under the uh Okay there's two of them There
were two on tonight 132 Main and and this year's property both Okay Yeah Okay So what were the uh I know you don't like the word giveaways but what were the tax abatements on those properties this time around You know what are they Are they Deb could you just stop his clock so I
can answer him in case he has other you want me you want me answer now or you want to wait till you speak I don't want you go going into a you know I'll be very quick a tirade or something go ahead these are both redevelopment plans so there's no financial discussions yet this is one of the very first steps all right so there's nothing yet there's no
there's no financial agreement yet now okay very good but we want to know when when it is and you will okay thank you also the I I saw Mr mangan in the in the crowd and uh you know that was kind of a
you know really difficult financial nomature we listened to and it's it's confusing to to say the least about a financial numbers um and uh so he said there's a a part a portion of uh lay
language that we could read somehow and maybe have it explained uh the auditing I'm talking about the audit uh for the uh all the spending It's just you know who oversees these things I mean it's an outside auditing firm too right I mean
yes Okay So it just seems wow Okay It's a lot of money Is it accounted for Where is it going Is it all legit You know I I'm just confused by that Okay And and so we we need some clarification on it
So uh I'm going to he said it'll be posted soon on the financial page and there's a section that we could read that may explain it all or give a little explanation Anyway okay
And Okay Is that is that fair to say Jim always does a great job of explaining whether it's a PowerPoint presentation or you know he always puts it into a form that most people can Okay so that's it for me I just the projects on
Main Street What are going to be the giveaways That'll come later because that comes the the auditing this auditing now right Uh which is is happening It's mandatory every year We do that every year by the way Okay And and that's the
approximately $150 million Okay Isn't it to run hackers hack I think it's it's around that It's it's um it's up there Something like that Jim 130 130 130 Okay Wow That's a That's a $20 million
difference right there $20 million Okay And you saved another 10 because $10 million last year was received by the the payment in L of taxes pilot Yeah Just like that 10 million right off another 10 million right off the top Just like that Just like that It's wonderful Wonderful
Next person please Good evening everyone Good evening All right So I'm just I want to ask about the update for the school I mentioned last time I was here at 291 Second Street Any updates on that 291 Second Are we talking about building
the new school Huh Building the new school or something else The Bergen The greater Bergen No I'm not familiar with that at 291 second street across from the park with the cars in the and the parking across parking This is like the third time I mentioned Oh yes I'm sorry
City manager is looking at Okay setting up a meeting with the school Okay Okay That's fantastic because it's still such a problem in the morning Um any update on my handicap request
Yeah Um I I the best answer I can tell you is I'm still reviewing it because it went back to traffic and um traffic denied it again So it's in my hands now and I just
need to look at it and make a decision and and see So just give me a little bit more time Okay no problem Um so I've been hearing a buzz in the community about early early voting and I think that was
brought up at one or two times So I'm asking if there's not going to be early voting I want to know the reason why and myself and the community would like to know that Why is there no early voting I'll wait till your time is up Okay All
right All right That's fine Also Junth is coming up and I'm not sure if we had a budget last year I I can't remember even though I was there and I participated Is there a budget for Junth Jim it is Yeah
Yep Do you know what the bud what the amount is What the budget is Jim might know Not one number of July Yeah It's mixed It's it's special event So it's all mixed up together within that budget Okay So
whatever we if we come up with and something is reasonable within that budget we'd be able to uh Exactly get that as we've done in prior years We as we've done in prior years Okay I wasn't I wasn't You know what I I participate every year but I don't know exactly the
details So I just wanted to know So because we have started our committee and we're trying to plan for the band is the main thing that we would want the same band that we had last year the Cobras So that's going to be the the big chunk I think because they have to have a deposit before a certain date So we're
trying to So who is who is running it Is it press this year running it Um I guess the wreck with Steve Well the wreck the wreck runs I just want to make sure whoever's there's usually a coordination between press has been doing it in coordination with the city It has to be coordinated so we make sure we get that
in and so we don't lose them if that's who you want Yes And and also check the date of the county celebration because last year that was an issue We had the same date as the county celebration So just we have to double check The date is the 20 is it the 21st Carol or the 21st
or the 22nd of June One of those days Whatever date you the committee chooses just let's make sure it's not already going to the county that you have your own day for your celebration Okay And I just wanted to say to the community those people have um property that this
lead um thing that has to be done Just make I'm giving you a heads up Just make sure all your little cracks your crevices your paint is scra scraped in your door jambs your windows because one thing leads to another If you have more than a certain amount then you have to
send out for testing That's another two three four $500 If you have more than one property it goes up and up and up So I'm just giving everybody a heads up because I've looked into it So I'm just sharing that information And one more thing water under the bridge I'm sorry that Leo left because I wanted to say
this when there was that issue with that verbiage that he used I have a lot of Latino people in my family Puerto Ricans Dominicans um Colombian people that work with me work with my aunt So when I posed that question to them they said the word was morano I think Moreno
morano so they said basically it depends on how you use it the content you use and the environment you're using it my Colombian uh worker she her husband is African so her her son is black so she calls him Madano she said but that's of
a loving concern because that's her son She wouldn't never use it in a negative uh you know environment But it just depends on how you use it I never thought Leo was prejudice or anything along that line or racist because if he's Latina he's got to have all skin
colors in his family pretty much So the word is just how you use it the content and the environment that you use And I wanted to share that with him but I'm sure he'll see this Yeah You know on on the screen and we'll make sure to tell him sis he would appreciate I just wanted to share that because it was on my mind I don't how know how the rest of the community feels but my family is
multicultural So I have Jam Americans I got everything in my family and you know all the way back to slavery So everybody knows from whence they came So we have to look at it like that Thank you Thanks I'm going to answer your question about the early voting You want to answer the question Yeah Well you had asked me at
the early voting I didn't want to use your Yeah we had decided not to do it We had uh had discussions with ourselves We had discussions with Lynhurst which is a similar town to ours nonpartisan Um even though it was brought up that they're not the same demographic as we are
Um the biggest factor for me was the fact it was brought up after our political cycle and the had already started for this election It was right at the beginning it was everybody already started Some people will say "What's the difference?" It there is a difference Um I'm not against early
voting overall That said we we decided not to go with it but there's still you know you could still early vote You can still mail your go down mail get your mail in ballot and mail in your vote like weeks ahead of time So the reason you're saying for no early voting is is
what again We're we're nonpartisan right There's two nonpartisan elections this May in Bergen County Us and Lynhurst Lynhurst had already decided not to do it Um we followed suit with that Um and there
were a lot of circumstances involved some of them personal some of them not Um but we decided as a council not to do it We we still think there's plenty of ways to get out to vote with your chance to mail in your ballot plenty of time ahead of time and to go down and vote in
person if you want Okay Yeah I'm I'm sure the most of the community is aware of that But I know in my hood in my neighborhood early voting would be uh beneficial because there's a lot of people I know that don't get out won't get out And if we push them and I know
if I was out there pushing them to early vote they would vote Otherwise the vote will be lost And I know that because they were already expressed to me nah you know but if somebody's behind them getting them out to early vote it would really be beneficial in the community of Hackin A lot of people have expressed
that with VBM vote by mail I would do the same exact thing I would push them to here's your envelope You can help them fill it out Um you know and I don't think you can mail it but somebody they can put it in the mail You can have a bear You can as long as it's signed you
can have someone take it to the mailbox It just has to be properly indicated You can't give somebody a mail-in vote and not you know to because it's a vote right So you have to have a chain of custody But aside from that and it is just if you do have a bearer I believe
the law has changed So you can only have one bearer like it used to be you could have a hundred you could bring in 100 votebymail votes uh to the county I think it's like five now You could also mail it in You could Yes you can mail it in yourself or if you're not able or capable of doing that you can give it to
a person called a bearer You sign the bearer documentation and then they can either take it to the county to be counted or drop it in the mailbox or you can even drop it There's a uh a vote by mail box that uh I believe I guess is at the county building I know every town has at least one every county So you
could just literally go to the county building and just drop it off instead of going upstairs you know for uh you know to to to vote on a machine You just hand it in Is there a time frame for that Yeah I mean you can there's still plenty of time to go get a vote by mail the
vote by mail as long as it is in the mailbox by election day I believe it's like you have seven days for it to be counted So you just have to make sure because obviously you can't mail it in the day after the election but as long and you can mail it in prior to you can
mail it in prior to up to and you can even hand deliver it in the county up to the close of the polls on election day So just like you could have early voting to go physically vote you could fill out your paperwork and do the same thing if you choose Bring it early into the
county and put it in the box or simply put it in the mail And that's what no postage required And and that's what we as a as a council have been promoting especially folks that you know are shutins or difficult to get out you know to to make them have to go to the poll you know a couple of days ear and it's
not the poll They have to go to the county because that's where the early voting is being held This way they fill this paperwork out once and then every election they'll get their ballot in the mail and it's their choice If they want to not vote they put throw it in the garbage If they want to vote they just have to put it in the mail So we're
encouraging that because that solves the problem for that person for the rest of their voting life So it's really we believe that if we could educate folks on look at the benefit of this if you don't want to go out and vote on on on election day the benefit is is
phenomenal the weather's bad in November you don't have to go out You just put it in the mail or you go days before So it really is very it is really early voting just as well But it also sets you up for the rest of your voting life So every time we have an election I see someone
shaking their head yes in the audience Every time you have an election this is a fade accomplete It really gets done So we're trying to do that in the town as other towns are trying to do so that it takes and enables more and more positive voting throughout the community So you know I think a couple states are Well
spread the word Help Get the vote by mail I always do It's hard in my community but I'm I'm out there trying to We appreciate you trying We appreciate that You know there's some states that are vote by mail only I think Oregon you only vote by mail No election You just have Well sooner or later that's going to be there That's
where we're going And that's why the earlier we prepare everybody for this we know it's going to come eventually So this way we're used to it and it's it's not even an issue Okay Understood Thank you Next person please Good evening Donna West uh Union Street
I wanted to um I have missed a couple of meetings but I thought that I would come tonight to kind of thank this council and I wanted to thank you for being so committed to your campaign promises that you have failed
to take care of many of the residents in Hackinack I start with having come here a couple of months ago and then listening online to ask that something would be done about the speeding uh through the side streets It was
directed to somebody that we would look at speed hills or something Nothing's happened We also find that um I want to thank you for doubling the amount of time it now takes me to get to work because of all of the buildings and the
increased traffic Um I don't know if you're in charge of this but thank you also for always seeming to have construction projects in and around the schools at 8:00 in the morning when people are trying to get to work and trying to get to
school And so I'm confused by how there are these things that you you promise that would be for the good of this entire city but that has not proven to be the case And so I want to thank you tonight for
showing me why I will not vote for this ticket Thank you Next person please Reverend Caroline Davis let's just have a question Um and def mayor if I can address it to Deputy Mayor Um at the
last meeting uh when we talked about early voting you talked about the cost So what I want to ask you is how much would it cost per citizen in Hackinack with early voting How much would the amount be You said it would cost more to the voters So
how much are we talking about since the county said it would not be a charge I'd like to know what amount you're saying it would cost Well you want me to wait till you finish or No you can answer now the the cost is in
I'm not taking my medicine Okay it it the first of all let me clarify the cost was not the fact the main factor of why this had to be done but it's one of many things that were taken into consideration and it's what we talked about with Lynhurst In other words there is a significant cost to have the county
staff to have pole workers But do you have a do you have an amount That's what I my question was how much is the amount I do not know the amount but I can tell you that there is there is an amount just for just think about the amount of the pole workers the numbers of days the equipment that has to be So if it was
about $100,000 say it was $100,000 you divide that among the the citizens of Hackinack it would be cents per person The the reason the the way we make decisions in this town in this city amongst ourselves as a council is we look at things and we look at things not
as a one solution but as multiple solutions And as I said a few minutes ago we believe the future of voting is vote by mail And we believe that enables early voting that enables repetitive early voting And the sooner we can educate and get folks in town taking
that option should they not want to vote on election day I think we're preparing ourselves for the future So for us we feel that is the better mode That is the better sense of operation But that wasn't my question I'm I I simply wanted to know how much it would cost I don't
we don't know the exact cost We don't know the exact cost So but then you can't use that then to the people it's going to cost you extra money We don't have to quantify it It's a cost It's one of the many things For example if Lynhurst was doing it anyway Lynhurst was doing it anyway That cost would have
already been spent Our decision might have been different Although it wasn't all about money The key here is what I'm expl hard to explain to you is the difference between what you're calling early voting which means we have to get people who maybe are unable to even go
to a poll in their neighborhood to now get them to go to the county to vote when none of that is necessary for them to vote when it's not convenient for them to vote on election day The best method is to sign up for vote by mail because it may happen to them in another election cycle We will be getting them
to vote by mail but it still doesn't answer my question My question is because you always you always use costs but you never give a dollar amount if I know it I telling you I do not know the exact dollar amount That was the answer to the question But I think it's only fair to be able to explain to people
what it is not the only it's not the only agenda That's what I try If you're listening to me you hear what I would say That was not the only determining fact That's it I'm not going to say it again I'm not going to say it Say it's beating it dead Next person from the public please Good evening Amy Bulock uh Bergen County
NAACP second VP and co-chair of the political affairs committee Um I went back and reviewed the meeting um from a couple of weeks ago and there are a couple of reasons that the council gave as to why they don't support in person early
voting Excuse me Um Lynhurst was brought up as the only other municipality in Bergen County that has a May election I'm going to reiterate again that Lynhurst does in no way compare to Hackinack as far as population size or
demographic So it is not a comparable municipality in regards to the benefits of in-person early voting You did bring up cost as one of the reasons you did not want undue expense to the city county or
state If cost is a concern perhaps the solution is to move this May election for council to June or November to align with the state or federal and then you might actually save the taxpayers some money because everything would be rolled
up into those elections and it would solve the issue of early voting Uh Mayor Leos said there are plenty ways to vote Mail in voting at any time Drop your ballot off in a dropbox Polls are open on that Tuesday There is a segment of
the population that prefers to vote in person Therefore in-person early voting allows increased opportunity and should constituents or residents have scheduling conflicts on election day this will give them additional
opportunity Let's be clear the state changed the date of the primary because it fell on a Jewish holiday and they wanted to ensure that Jewish residents in New Jersey had ample access and opportunity to participate They changed
the date to ensure engagement The current system already allows for early voting by mail Again some people prefer to vote in person um discussions about gamesmanship around the campaign This has nothing to do with
the campaign Voting has always been and still is to this day a civil rights issue Uh you also said that voting by mail has been successful I don't consider a 16% voter turnout
successful Uh Councilwoman Von Rudenberg said that she doesn't have faith in in the very system that got her sitting on that deis Let me point that out Um there was also discussion from uh Councilwoman Bam Rudenberg that she had
received comments from residents that they didn't feel they saw the bags were unsecured Well was that reported to anyone Was it addressed Um Council Member Taglia talked about him seeing residents driving other
people to drop off ballots There are many people who cannot drive for various reasons It could be age It could be a disability So again we're disenfranchising them And I will close with reminding you Hackinac has the largest black and largest Hispanic
population in Bergen County These are historically disenfranchised and marginalized communities They have suffered voter suppression for decades and it's continuing today in Hackinack because you are not increasing
accessibility and opportunity for the community at large to engage in the democracy that you claim you support Thank you Thank you Next person please Good evening mayor and council Good evening Courtney Johnson Suffren
president of the Bergen County NAACP So I just want to point out Amy went over um what was said the last council meeting but um so what was said there you know put our antennas up and we went
ahead and opered um all communication between Hackinack Council and the superintendent of elections And what we received was an email two emails One on March 10th and one on
February 28th The one on February 28th reads "Dear Mayor Leos Deputy Mayor Catastrino and Hackinac council members I hope you are well I understand that the mayor and council is contemplating passing the ordinance to hold municipal voting elections on May 9th 10th and
11th I have already informed I have already provided information to your city clerk that early voting for your municipality poses no cost to Hackinack The three county election divisions bear the cost of the municipal early voting elections
and receive reimbursements from the state through the early voting grant process For your information and guidance I am obliged to advise you that preparations for early voting for this potential Hackasac early voting election beginning May 9th require immediate and
special planning and programming state logic and accuracy testing advertising hiring board workers supervising board workers in addition to creating all the statemanded prom mandated protocol requirements associated with early voting when we are under tight timelines
These preparations cannot be accomplished in a week or two before early voting begins Early voting preparations and planning for May 9th 10th and 11th would should begin as soon as possible I hope you find this information useful in your decisions Thank you And if you have any questions
please contact our office That came from Deborah and Franciscoca superintendent of elections commissioner of registration for the county of Bergen So seems as if we're pretty clear that you know there was no cost to the Hackinack taxpayers and how they spelled
out how that would be accounted for The secondary thing is that the governor this past Tuesday passed the law for the period in early voting for nonp presidential elections including this year will now be six days instead
of three for the presidential election years which will be six days instead of five So in this last election there were over a million voters that came out for early voting That is what drove and that and
and that is nonpartisan That was 556,000 that were Republicans 863,000 Democrats and over 500,000 unaffiliated voters So clearly the governor of this great
state of New Jersey finds value in early voting and with the turnout of under 16% I would certainly hope that you would find the same value Thank you for your time Thank you Miss [Applause]
Johnson Next person please Seeing none motion to close to the public Offer second All in favor I I none opposed Motion to uh close this public Yeah I know you're
up Go ahead Sure Uh good evening everyone Thanks for coming out Um just want to start uh by congratulating our um recipients of our proclamations earlier Uh Julian Thompson um is a a lovely um young lady She's always has a smile on her face Her parents and her
family are equal equally as lovely uh very welldeserved uh award and she's the perfect example of um you know a Hackinack woman who's who's made a difference in the community So we appreciate all that she has done Um thank you to Rabbi Mindy for always um
again dedicating his time to the city Um he runs um a wonderful um um congregation over there He's always um out in the community and we just appreciate um him and his family and and their presence here Um and of course Women's History Month Um thank you to
all the wonderful women that we work besides our our residents our um Ally and Deb and deputy mayor who are always working really hard to make sure everything goes um the way it should And of course to the wives of our council
members and city manager and attorney up here who deal with with a lot as well Um we had an ordinance tonight uh regarding the transfer of a parcel of land to Johnson Public Library which they needed for um some improvements I just want to
say um just a kudos to Tara Christy the staff and the board members over there They're really doing a really great job at Johnson Public Library If anyone's been over there recently they have a lot of great new ideas new programs um great improvements They really have been putting a lot of time and work um into
the library and we appreciate it Um earlier uh the earlier meeting Jim Mangan um went over the review of the audit and it really is amazing to see um some of the numbers and where where we've been able to keep um our taxes and all these improvements that have been
going on Uh when you look at the numbers for the sewer separation alone um and the sewer projects it's it's quite amazing and we appreciate him and his team and everyone else that's involved in that Um a lot of exciting events coming up We have um our Easter egg hunt Opening day for baseball softball is
April 19th Um tomorrow we have the the women's history month night So a lot of great things going on Um and I'm not I'm not going to keep addressing the early voting I have a right to say what my experience is And if I can send over a form four times and have two people submit it for me and still have my name
on that list I'm sorry there's a little bit of incompetence over there So that's my personal opinion Um I'm going to say it if I'm asked again but when you send over a form to be taken off a list multiple times and have people send it over for you and it's not done that's my
feeling And if someone has a problem with that then that's their problem So have a good night and thank you for coming out Thank you Thank you Steph Uh I'll echo about the proclamations of of this evening Um the Gold Award for Girl Scouts is really quite an achievement I mean similar to
the Eagle Scout for Boy Scouts uh those young women really deserve a lot of accolades a lot of hard work had to go into that and uh welld deserved that they should be receiving that honor Uh of course you know Rabbi has done so much wonderful so many wonderful things in the city and it was nice to see him
be able to receive that award an award for the education as well Um I always talk about a few of the things that are on the docket that I personally am involved in so people have some understanding They're hearing us read things and sometimes they have no idea what we're talking about Uh there were
two I think Mr Serbo brought up uh the two redevelopment things These are just redevelopment plans You know the way the process works for redevelopment is first there's a designation and that goes through multiple cycles It comes to the council it goes to the planning board it comes back to the council So that's just saying that the property is designated
to qualify to be an area in need of redevelopment Then the second process is the redevelopment plan and that's what we were approving here tonight The redevelopment plan kind of just sets the guidelines of what the city is is projecting as and agreeing with the developer as these this is the framework
for which the project will be developed So that's pretty much we were talking about tonight before the project becomes approved then we get into um the actual redevelopment agreement and the financial agreement which was what Mr Serbo was asking about So it was in the early stages for this particular uh
project but again it's a pilot project and and the pilot project begins with the letter P and the letter P stands for payment So yes folks it is a payment and that payment last year accounted to $10 million coming into the city If you look at our budgets online you will see that
every property is listed with the amount that they contribute and that amount of money is directly subtracted from the amount of money we have to pay as taxpayers So that $10 million Now if we did not have this $10 million in payment
taxes from these developments we would be paying that $10 million folks Yes you I and everyone here that lives in this city whether you own your home or whether you pay rent And that $10 million is expected to grow in the next five years to close to $19 million So we have the potential to continue to reduce
the amount of money our folks raise from taxes by providing this type of resource Once we have the numbers Mr Serbo again that's per purposely transparent and it goes through the same cycle So it will be presented here will be presented um repeatedly until it is approved by the
council So those are the projects that were on tonight Um Sears has a maximum of 325 units and that's the main piece of information you'd want to know about the Sears project In addition to that it was important to this council that the Sears building itself stays as we
consider it an iconic building in the city Just as the one the bank project which I'm going way back to 10 million was originally people's trust It grew to United Jersey Bank Summit Bank however you remember it We required that that property stayed and we're also requiring
that the Sears Tower stays So this that Sears Tower will stay the redevelopment the units will be that's a huge parking lot if you're familiar with the property So in this year's tower will be retail and some type of office space because it's not really suitable for living So the the 325 units will surround that
parking lot area predominantly on River Street Uh 132 Main if you're looking at Main Street the corner of um Maine and Mercer on the uh on the east side is the 114story building in the town that's been built Everyone else has been pretty
much no more than six stories So this is their property that's south of it It's an empty lot right now If you look at it it's a couple of empty lots It kind of goes to where the walkway is that takes you from the bus terminal back up into Main Street So it goes to that corner
They're um only going to build 102 units there There'll be parking There'll be some office space And they're going to be putting in a rooftop restaurant that I think will be quite lovely for everyone Uh other things on tonight we made some changes to our ordinance One of them was to define and describe
commercial kitchens If anyone is familiar with it or not familiar with it just briefly it's become something very popular here These are not restaurants where you go in and dine It's a space where there will be especially good for starting a new business There'll be multiple kitchens So you might have
someone renting a piece of it that's producing pizza or another one that's serving up burgers and it's an online transaction where you can call and you can order a variety of things These commercial kitchens have become popular and we want to be able to afford that opportunity here in Hackinack And the
other one was we had a particular need in the city If you're looking at the southeast section of the city so I'm talking about if you're going down Hudson going in a southern direction and coming back up maybe coming all the way up to Green Street that particular area Historically there are homes in that
area that don't meet the definition of a lot size in the city The city lot size for a single family home is 5,000 square feet depicted as a 50 by 100 lot minimum There's many homes there existing homes families that live there that were not
50 by 100 They were only 40 by 100 4,000 square feet So for folks there that want to make improvements to their home etc It's an expensive proposition because they don't meet that criteria So we created an over we're creating an overlay zone there in that particular
area So if you have an existing home on a 40 by100 lot you can go through the process without having to jump through all the hoops it will be accessible acceptable that you could now update your home make change to your home just as anyone who had the 50 by 100 lot
that's acceptable throughout the rest of the city So those are a couple of the things that were on here tonight Uh Steph talked about the library donation for the elevator Uh I I always at the end of everyone I keep bringing up the new school with the school board I'm still waiting to hear from them We did
have a meeting a week or so ago Uh the school board is still the new school board still feel they have to catch up on all of this The city has the money put aside We want to buy the land that the school selected and donate the parking along with it and hopefully move forward with the new school So I'm
cautiously optimistic and hoping that the board will agree and we can move forward in that respect Uh last we are having uh it's women's history month and I want to congratulate all of the women that work in the city for the city throughout the city uh you know they
contribute in many many ways and make our city better and make our city what it is Looking here at the table of course my fellow council member staff our two clerks you Deb and and Allison uh you know everybody knows the long hours that you guys put in and make things keep happening in the city So
time to again be thankful for all of them and please join us tomorrow night at Hackpack from 6:00 to 8 We're having a woman's roundt discussion talking about distinguished folks in the women in the community There'll be discussion open for questions I think it should be
a nice evening for anyone who would like to attend and I hope to see folks there Have a good night Jer thank you Mayor first of all I just want to make it perfectly clear I do support early voting
Ladies I hope you enjoyed your month I hope you continue enjoying Women's History Month And again it should not just be a month It should be every day of the year for you Take care get home safe and God
bless Thank you Jerry So the library they do do a great job I'm impressed with the our librarian Tara does a wonderful job and uh kudos to her and how far she's taken The library programs and uh you know with
the gallery and everything else they have there They're really you know top-notch And with the new work they're going to put the teen room downstairs That's going to be awesome Um spring sports is coming up so it's time to register your kids for whatever spring sport they're in whether it's baseball
um whatever But uh let's make sure we get down to recreation Check with check in with recreation too The registration have been open Baseball and softball are done Baseball and softball are done already Okay So if you get down you still may be able to squeeze in but uh
throw yourself on the mercy of the court down there But uh especially with baseball our numbers have been down through the years I remember when baseball had about 600 kids in it Now we're around 2 225 I think So I'd really like to see those numbers increase Um
kudos to uh young Julia on her award tonight Welld deserved and uh perfect timing during uh Women's History Month Um a young lady like that you know doing what she's doing Definitely on a path to be a leader So good for her Um also
kudos to the rabbi Um I always enjoy hearing that gentleman talk He does such a great talker and he's always from the heart and uh always peaceful So it's wonderful to hear from him Uh Mr Subro I would ask that you ask either
spend a little time with deputy mayor or with Jim Mangan and he'll take you through some of those you know he'll give you 15 20 minutes and he's a busy guy but uh sit down and let him explain some of that stuff to you so you understand a little better because it's important And you know what It's not
easy to understand Pilots are not easy to understand but you know he gets it So I would recommend doing that Um 4:15 is the Easter egg hunt right Very important Uh there's check online There's different dates for different age groups
They start all the way from one right Same date different time same date and there's different times throughout the day based on the age of your child right So yeah that's and it's fun to watch them because they you know when they open the floodgates to get the eggs it's like these little toddlers are like the
adults Yeah And and the mothers are crazy No no offense moms but let the kids grab their own eggs So and again happy Women's History Month to all the ladies Um without you men would be uh in a lot
of trouble no doubt Um and just on that 40 by 100 lot that Kathy was talking about that 4,000 square foot homes that we're allowing to do work on they still have to be single family homes You can't make it can't you can't change them into two families It's just they stay single
families but you can now expand them and make them bigger and fix them up And they have to be existing homes You can't have to be existing make it smaller If it's an existing home they want to help you You always have the right if you have an empty lot that's 40 by 100 to go for a variance You can go in front of the zoning board if you wanted to Uh
that you do at your own risk All right And with that I wish everybody a safe trip home Thank you all for coming We'll see you uh in April Thank you Motion Motion to close Offer Second All in favor I none of