This meeting is called to order in accord with in accordance with the open public meeting act. Notice of this meeting was provided to the home use trainee star ledger the highland private planet on January 7 2026 and was posted
on borrow website www.hpbar at hpbro.com and on the bulletin board of borrow 221 South Fifth Avenue Highland Park, New Jersey and has remained continuously posted as required by law. So I exit to my right and left of council chambers.
Chief, can you lead us in the pledge of >> 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.
>> Roll call. Mayor Foster >> here. Council member >> here. Council member Hail >> here. >> Council member Hirs >> here. Council President Kim Johan >> here. >> Council member Ponic >> here. >> Council member Vargas >> here. >> Bur attorney Venom >> here. >> Administrator >> here.
>> And now we're going to run jump right into council report. Council member Vargas. >> Thank you mayor. Um good evening everybody. My name is Vargas and I chair the arts and recreation commissions. Um I hope everybody's staying warm and safe out there. Um I was told we have six
more weeks of winter. I know. I can't wait for any temperature over 40. I'll be back. >> 64 of this. >> I know I'm meeting with bad news already. Right. >> Anyway, coming up um for the Stone 16
Center will be the 24 hours of action in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's birthday. Um this was um postponed from um a previous date. Um, this meaningful program will take place on Friday, this Friday, February 6 through Saturday,
February 7th, beginning at 12 PM noon um on Friday at the Zone 16 Center here in Hammer Park, and it will conclude at 12:00 p.m. noon on Saturday. Please drop in anytime and be a part of the program. The program will include a welcome session, film screenings of my friend
Martin Selma and Malcolm X, some time for meditation, a town white cleanup, a reading and discussion of the of Dr. King's I have a dream speech, as well as cater dinner and breakfast. So, please make sure to bring that out. Um, even if you can't attend, please help spread the
word so that we can get um more people to come and join. Supposed to be a very very special program. For more information, please contact Adine Ural, the director at Success Center at a URL.
That's a vu rl at hper.com. Next up for um the Highland Park Arts Commission will they will be hosting a Valentine's card Valentine's Day card making workshop on Sunday, February 8th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Highland
Park Public Library. This is a free hands-on workshop open to the community. Registration is encouraged and can be found at the borrow um the borrow page as well as the archives social media and website. Um finally also for some for
the zone 66 um teen center will be um stable futures in partnership with the boro zone 6 team center will present the Kentucky Derby's museum's black heritage and racing exhibit on Saturday February 21st. This exhibit will highlight the
significant and often overlooked contribution of African-Americans in the early history of the Kentucky Derby. Guests are encouraged to wear big hats and fancy derby style attire. That should be fun, educational, and fun. Um, so please attend that. For more
information and to RSVP, please contact Ashton at a burr rellpuro.com. The RSVP link to that is also can be found on the B social media website um as well as the S6 um teen centers social
media and we look forward to these programs and that is my report for this evening. >> Thank you, Council Member Hail. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Uh my name is Matt Hail and I chair the economic development committee. Uh I
wanted to first report out that the uh resident steering committee of the neighborhood preservation program uh grant which we've had for um five years is working on wrapping up our our last year and planning things for it. Um it's pretty amazing that it's coming to a close in in another year. So we still
have some time. Um but I just wanted to report out that um we're going to be continuing some of the great programs for both residents and business owners on and around Woodbridge Avenue. We're extending um uh um the residential facade grant program uh to help
residents of the Woodbridge district improve the street facing parts of their homes. And we're also going to start a business lighting program that will help businesses improve and increase the lighting they have along a details will be up on our website and you can always call Vartekch, our economic development
coordinator, to discuss or apply for any of these programs. Uh, I also wanted to point out that we are shortly going to have a new and updated um, frequently asked questions or fact about the Third Avenue Pedestrian Plaza that will incorporate a lot of the questions that we've heard um, in our recent public
meetings. So stay tuned for that. Most of the time I spend um, my reports talking about economic development and all the great things coming to Hunt Park, but there is a part of my council bucket that I don't talk about a lot. It's called code enforcement. So I'm going to spend some time today talking
about it. Um, the office is directed by Scott Brusher and he has a staff of two full-time and six part-time inspectors and including the Middle Sex County Health Inspectors that operate out of our office. Um, the job of the office is twofold, which is easy to remember
because it's two words. So, the first is the code part. Um, the office is responsible for issuing permits and ensuring that homes and businesses meet the code standards. This covers everything from new housing to construction as well as changes to existing structures and inspections of
rental properties. Things like building, fire, electrical all have requirements based on state on town, county, and state codes. Um to do all of this, they conduct on-site inspections of all the code areas. The business and property owners and also especially new property
development entities are the ones that pay for these services through permitting and registration fees. Um I specifically mentioned property developers because this is where the bulk of the revenue generated by code enforcement office comes. Our permit fees, fines and vi for violations are
generally fairly reasonable and in line with towns of our size. The second part of code enforcement is of course the enforcement part. Uh if violations are reported, they investigate and where appropriate can issue fines and citations and they often wish uh issue
warnings to help people to fix violations by a certain time and date and follow up and make sure um that is done. Uh the department is responsible for enforcing health and property maintenance requirements um which include common violations such as
overgrown yard in the springtime and yes, failure to shovel sidewalks in the winter. The primary goal of all of this is to ensure that we live in a safe community and that the rules and procedures are followed. But we also recognize that it's a balance. We know that we most people do not know all the rules, regulations, and codes that
exist. So part of our job is to let people know when they're not in compliance and allow them time to be responsible and fix them. So there is some discretion here in terms of issuing warnings and fines and violations. We generally try and escalate from warnings to fines unless a particular violation
poses a danger or hazard to the public. So the goal overall is to keep people safe, but also to help people fix problems as they occur. I'm going to start uh about once a month um to give a report on the number of complaints uh received by code violation as well as the number of permits and violations uh
that code enforcement uh does each month. Um, if you're watching and you're interested, and to be honest, who wouldn't be interested? Because I think code enforcement is pretty friendly and sexy, um, don't hesitate to let me know for next time. Uh, so so far I have
numbers for December 20, uh, 2025 and January 2026. Um, and as you're going to see, there's some pretty big differences. Uh, this is because people who want to build new things or fix old things often use the winter months to get permits so they're in line when the weather clears and they'll be ready to
go. And of course, we did have a big snowstorm and we wrote a lot of tickets. So, here are the numbers. Uh the number of complaints received this December, we actually had zero complaints, which kind of makes some sense because who wants to complain during the holiday season? But interestingly, we only received a total
of 47 complaints in all of 2025. That feels like an average Tuesday on Facebook, but it's um uh it's what we received. Uh not surprisingly uh the number of complaints in January jumped to 29 complaints in January almost all of them snowreated. In terms of total
number of permits issued in December in December we issued a total of 79 permits. Electrical permits to top the list with about 31 issued in January. We issued 49 housing inspections and 36 construction permits. This is again because January is a good time to get
permits and so people are ready to go when the weather clears. In terms of inspections, in in December, we conducted 118 inspections with electrical again topping the list at 45. In January, we conducted 59 housing inspections and then issued 49
certificates of completions of those inspec inspections. We also did 129 construction inspections, which includes things uh like demolition inspections, um like that old brick building off of third. Again, the jump is a reflection of some stuff moving around in the
burrow and changing and all good things. Um, just to let you know that going across all categories, on average about 80% of these inspections pass and 20% fail. Failure just means that we tell people what they need to pass the inspection and then we go back and check it and recheck it. In terms of
violations issued in December, we issued 11 violations and issued 168 over the entire year. Many of these violations are fix tickets, bike fix tickets fix the problem and no further action is taken. In December, we issued eight of these types of violation of eight
violations with fines and a total of 49 fines attached uh violations with fines in 2025. Again, in January, we saw a big jump with a total of 79 violations. Almost all of these related to snow, and those come with a $150 fine. Um, and
again, that's a big jump because we didn't have that a snowstorm in in 2025 like this one. So, there's some numbers um uh uh and an overview of code enforcement. I hope it's helpful. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me by email or phone. Happy
to talk um about the exciting world of code enforcement. Um and uh I promise next month it'll be a lot shorter. >> Thank you. >> That was very thorough and I think that we really needed that. People needed us to hear that. >> Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, council member Hirs,
>> I agree h that that's a that's a great report and it's just a lesson of the business of the town. Uh, and particularly, you know, illustrates how how forces that was really interesting. As a reporter, we latch on to those types of facts and data because that's
how we present what happens at these meetings. Um, my name is Matthew Hirs. I am I chair the public works public utilities committee. Um, and uh, obviously we did have a major snow event uh, in the last 10 days uh, as Councilman Hail reported. So I'm just
going to piggyback off of off of what he reported out uh, to to to to um, uh, illustrate what uh, we were dealing with. So uh, again, you know, the burrow has 31 miles of roadway. public works uh began uh with three uh salt trucks uh
going out on Sunday night when the um or or Sunday uh to brine and to salt before the storm. Governor Cheryl obviously uh announced the state of emergency. Um and that resulted in and and that contributed to the decision to uh postpone recycling and garbage pickup on
Monday, January 26, so our crews could could continue going out and uh and working on snow removal. Uh just for um a little context, you know, we have 13 full-time uh staff members at public works and eight trucks. Um uh again, Councilman Ha mentioned the citations
that were issued to residential and commercial properties who did not who did not remove their snow within technically 12 daylight hours, but colloally 24 hours. Um and the state DOT, thanks to the Park Police Department on DPW, um got the state DOT
to come in and clear out crosswalks and curb cuts along Riden Avenue, which obviously took a few days uh as we saw towns all over the region, all over the state uh digging out in similar ways. Um DBW uh has also been out this week uh
with the mini loader uh clearing narrow roadways while cars were away and will continue to do so this week as temperatures finally reach just barely above freezing. Uh so this is an opportunity for if there's any ice you if there's any ice frozen on your walkways or around your around your
street spot. Uh this is really the time to clear those uh to to try to clear that snow uh because we are expecting another uh polar vortex uh coming this weekend which will bring another couple days of extremely cold temperatures. So on that please be safe, check on a
neighbor. Uh the bureau does provide emergency code blue services. Uh so if you know of anybody who needs support during this extreme cold and it seems to never end, please reach out. Um uh just a few other notes about uh uh I did want to direct folks to uh
www.hpbro.com to get familiar with our um uh our snow removal rules and also the uh snow removal public uh plan that public works committee under uh Councilman Phil George um uh developed in 2022 following
our our last major snowstorm essentially. Um, you know, a couple of the uh and I just want to mention that public works in addition to the roads. Uh, also uh thank you for clearing uh burough owned assets including the library, parks, the highland park housing authority we have an agreement
with uh where crews are out clearing clearing walkways in the driveway there. Uh Main Street Highland Park and other burrow owned properties. Uh and again I do want to refer residents to the snow removal plan on of 2022 that really guides our operations. Uh and again
that's on that's at www.hpv. hpvro.com. If you have any questions, concerns, please reach out to any of us uh as as as you have uh or please call 7325141277. That's the public works um main line Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. to 300
pm. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to our public works crews for all your work. Dennis, I see you. Mike Borowitz, her superintendent, and everybody down there who has been working tirelessly uh for the last 10 days to make sure that uh not only did that trash and recycling continue to get picked up uninterrupted,
but also navigating the streets and removing snow where where we're needed. Um and again, please reach out if you see a hot spot, a difficult spot, um where where you feel that uh you know, additional support is needed. Thank you to the businesses for being open that
day. Um, and I'm going to just I'll single out a few. Deeds, Superfresh, Park Deli. It's huge for our for for for businesses to be open and available to the public uh during these types of storms. Park Deli had had roads. Everybody was out of road. Everyone was out of salt except for Park Deli. Uh,
and it reminded me of during the pandemic when Park Deli had hand sanitizer, too, and nobody else did. So, thank you Park Deli for being heroic as usual. Uh I do want to just report uh uh as public works chair uh you know with these with these increasingly cold
temperatures. Um we are going to see more in the way of water man breaks. Uh hopefully not too many but there was a major one uh yesterday on Lawrence Avenue if uh you know if anybody's down there or lives down there uh or was wondering what was going on. Many thanks
to uh to Metal Sex Water, Keith Huscoll and his team uh and Mike Workowitz again for for for coming on the scene after hours with the salt truck to make sure that that water didn't freeze because it was it was pretty treacherous down there. Uh this was a 6-in water mane leak. Uh the pressure had been throttled
down on Lawrence Avenue from Lincoln Avenue. Um and uh and that and that allowed uh the crews to keep the water at a minimum while while work began. Uh this work went on until about 4:00 am this morning. Uh and um uh there is and
if you are an affected property on Lawrence, you you had received a boil water notice uh until until further notice. So if you do have questions about that, you should have received a notice on your door. I know one of my colleagues was was was affected by this. Um but please reach out uh and you
should hear directly from Middle Sex Water regarding the status of uh of your service. A couple of upcoming uh meetings I just wanted to point to. Uh the environmental commission meets uh tomorrow uh Wednesday uh February 4th uh
8:00 PM on Zoom. Uh the link can be found at www.hbro.com. The shade tree advisory committee uh meets next Wednesday, February 11th at 7:30 p.m. And again the link and that's a virtual meeting and the link can be
found at www.hpro.com. Um, and do you have a uh broken lamp that you just don't have the heart to throw out or jewelry that has lost a few chain links? Could you The mayor's The mayor is looking crazy right now. Could your bike
or your guitar use a little tuneup? Could some of your clothes or other fabrics use a little mending? Or is there anything else that you're holding on to that needs fixing? Well, you're in luck. Bring them to Highland Park's first ever repair cafe hosted and organized by Sustainable Highland Park.
Repair cafes are community organized events where volunteers come together to make small repairs or household items. We'll have coffee, tea, snacks, and skilled people. And there are more skilled people in this community that you know to help repair your things. Um, if you would like to volunteer on the day of the of the repair cafe, uh, you
can go to, um, sustainable, you know what, I I don't want to give the, uh, sustainable park.org. or uh otherwise you can save items that need repair and please save this is uh and the last I'm saving the best for
last. Save the date. It's February 22nd 100 p.m. to 400 pm at the Highland Park Community Center right here at 220 South Avenue. Uh I did just want to acknowledge a few things just happening at the state level because this really affects uh you know what what how how we operate at the local level and the
relationships that we make with the state are incredibly important. And I just wanted to highlight a couple of uh um uh a couple of notable things that happened this week. Uh the um uh Governor Cheryl's uh uh pick for treasurer Aaron Binder uh was cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee uh
awaiting a full vote and the Attorney General Jennifer Davenport uh was also cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Um also excited that uh DCA Commissioner Captain Suarez uh will come back in her role bridging the gap between administrations. Um, we're really looking forward to working with
our partners at the state level because so much that happens here at the local level is impacted by the decisions and our relationships and and our ability to communicate with our partners at the state level. Uh, so we look forward to building uh these new relationships with um with with this new administration and
that is my report mayor. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you uh council member George. >> Thank you, Mayor. Good evening everyone. I'm Phil George and I serve as the liaison to the public safety agencies and the library. First,
I'd like to thank the mayor and all of our council members as well as many of the volunteers for checking in with me during my recent hospitalization. But that event um to address council
Melnik's area and health and safety and also council council member Vargas um it makes me want to emphasize person from personal experience get the pneumonia and flu shots. >> Don't wait around. In addition to having
a heart incident I had pneumonia and the flu and a heart problem all at the same time. So, and they said that the the flu shot the pneumonia and flu shots were really essential and the two biggest targets are seniors and small children
um for those. So, I again emphasize to everyone try and get those shots. Um I want to thank um uh everyone though for reaching out. I really appreciate it. It was good to hear it. Um and during even during the snowstorm, I was talking to
the chief and uh uh Councilman Hirs on the joint public safety public works um snow removal plan that we came up with what five or six years ago. Uh but it was it was just good to hear your voices and I appreciate that.
Um so with regard to um some of the other matters going on, the police department um were and fire department were actually working in close cooperation during the storm. Um out on the streets, the police of course making
sure that trucks could get through to plow. Um we issued we had 63 calls during the 24hour hour period for various various matters. the CAD didn't really separate them out. Uh 27 of those
though were for uh snow related uh rem uh tickets, e tickets issued to cars that had been moved and we did tow seven vehicles that had to be removed. Uh there was just no other way unfortunately to get the plows to
actually get the road plowed uh to remove remove those. um our police department and uh uh also is running as is extending
I'm sorry extending the um uh fill in a police SUV with animal related u products especially uh pants and and dog and cat food for the Edison animal shelter which is our licensed animal
care as well. Um the chief has indicated that we it was supposed to end on Saturday but because of the weather uh related we're going to keep it open another two weeks. So please everybody uh contribute to it. Um along with the
the weather issues, um as the county is announcing, Highland Park is has opened its code blue center, um 7 uh p.m. to 7 a.m. Um, according to the um address that everyone will get from the county,
it will tenatively run through Saturday because we are supposed to have single digits um at night and and temperatures only in the teens during the week with another snowstorm possibly
coming as well. Um so, but again, we will be on police and fire. of our first aid squad will be out and ready. Excuse me. The fire department also had five reg full-time members and one
volunteer uh on I believe they answered seven calls. They're mostly heat related. Uh but they were available to to do emergency work. Um on another note, the library um had its reorganization by Zoom on Monday. They
will be back to live or two Mondays ago, I'm sorry. uh during this uh the day after the storm, they'll be back to live in February. Um we elected the um the slate as president, vice president, and treasurer again. Um in interesting and
and great news, the library is delighted to announce it received a grant for the Between Two Worlds Yiddish Book Centers Public Libraries program in partnership with the American Library Association. Uh the grant will fund um a number of
community events. Um it's going to be organized similar, excuse me, to the one town, one book program that we just did. Um but it is more focused um on current
uh issues within the Jewish community. According to um the uh information I was reviewing with uh the executive director today um it's very similar to the program. So it will the program we had
so it will have music speakers events, crafts events um starting uh next week and the first um act the first book to be read um is a Jewish refugee in New York by Kadia Mulanowski
and um looking forward to the program. It will continue through a pro the about the end of April. There are three books involved uh already. Um and I believe that we'll have some copies of the current book available at the library.
Uh there I also checked available there number are available for immediate delivery from Amazon. Um and that's my report mayor. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh council member Pelic.
>> Thank you mayor. My name is Jason Selic. the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. I just had a few updates for tonight. Um before I get into any of my updates, I just wanted to take a moment to just thank my colleague, Council Member George, for pointing out the importance of getting vaccinated. It really is something that
can save your life. So, I mentioned up here uh on occasion and thank you, Phil, for raising it again because I think it it warrants repetition and emphasis. It really could save your life. Um so, moving along to the items in my area, I just wanted other items in my area. I
want to just throw some the upcoming food distributions for the month. H gives a hoop. We'll be providing free groceries every Tuesday and Wednesday this month from 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the zone 16 center at 600 Benner Street. And the Highland Park Food Pantry will
also be distributing free groceries on the second and fourth Thursdays and Saturdays of the month at the Highland Park Community Center at 220 South 6th Avenue. Uh the hours on Thursdays are from 9:00 am to 10:45 a.m. um and 6 pm to 7 pm. And then the Saturday hours are
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Um in other news, wanted to note that the board of health will be holding its next meeting the following Thursday, February 12th at 7 p.m. on Google Meet. The meeting link can be accessed on the burough website, hpbro.com. Um, and a week after that, the Human
Relations Commission will be holding its monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 18th at 7:30 p.m. It'll be a hybrid meeting held at the lower level conference room here at Burrow Hall, um, as well as over Google Meet, which again can be accessed on the hpbro.com
website. And lastly, uh, related to human relations commission, I just wanted to encourage any folks out there who may be interested in joining that commission and working on the various events and programs that help bring our community together uh to submit a volunteer application. And again, uh the
uh that volunteer application can be accessed on our website hpb.com. And mayor, that is all I have for this evening. >> Thank you, Council President Kim. >> Good evening. My name is Stephanie Kim Choan and I chair finance. Um, as we
begin uh February, I want to recognize Black History Month and note that uh 2026 marks 100 years since um the first national observance began in 1926 when historian uh Dr. Carter G. Wilson
Woodson launched what was then known as Negro History Week to ensure black contributions, which was often omitted, were taught and remembered. I encourage residents to take time this month to learn uh reflect
and celebrate the people and stories that help shape our country and our community. from a finance perspective. Several items on tonight's agenda I want to highlight. Um we have the capital
ordinance on for second reading which appropriates $448,271 from the um NJ dot municipal municipal aid program for roadway improvements. Um we also have our annual CAT bank um
ordinance on for first reading. On the consent agenda, we're um acting on several key professional service items which include um B um bond council. Um review uh renewing our shared service
agreement with the city of Rawway for our tax assessor. Thank you, Rawway. Um and also um I also want to mention on the state level a few developments are um a few developments I want to that are
uh worth noting because they um kind of like affect our municipal planning. So, in Trenton there um there's some renewed attention on the a multi-year um revenue and spending forecasting which could
influence how the state frames affordability um structural balance and future aid um commitments. So, this would require forecasting for three fiscal years. And if anyone is interested, I think it's
the new assembly event from Union County. It's called the long-term budget outlook act. So, we we're going to be keeping our eyes on that border fiscal um signal. So, recent reporting has um
pointed to a modest boost in jobs and tax receipts um heading into the governor's next spending proposal. So, um, which we'll watch closely for any, um, impacts on state local, uh, funding
priorities. And not to sound like, uh, what's her name? Susie Orman, but February financial tip, um, so use February as a reset month to pull up your last month's uh, statements
and cancel one unused subscription. um then redirect that same amount into your emergency fund or towards a high interest debt which we all probably collected from the holidays. Even a single $15 to $30 subscription adds up
um fast over a year. And that is my report. Mayor, >> thank you. >> Good sound financial advice there. Um, >> attorney >> good evening. Um, I don't have uh much
to report on today. Uh, I I will do my my standard uh as we get ready for the public participation. Um, the for the public, there are two different opportunities for the public to speak on the agenda. The first is on section 8. Uh, that affords the public three
minutes to speak on any item on the agenda. That's your resolutions and your ordinances on first reading. Uh at the end of the agenda at uh paragraph 13, you'll see a second public participation that will afford the public an additional three minutes to uh bring any topic that they would like to the
council. Um I I would remind uh the public that it is public comment. Uh so so it's their opportunity to to deliver to the council their comments. It does not necessarily mean that the council will respond to every one of them. Uh and then tonight we have a third opportunity for the public to speak and that is during the ordinances on second
reading. Uh with any ordinance on a second reading, uh the public is given a uh three minutes to speak on that ordinance specifically. So I hope that that clarifies for everybody. Uh thank you so much. >> Thank you. Board administrator. >> Hi. Just a quick announcement. I'm
pleased to report that we're partnering with Middle Sex County again for the free swim lessons for second graders, kids age 7 to nine. Um, and that's in partnership with Middle Sex County. And as I know many of you are aware, we don't have a pool in town, but
fortunately, we have been able to partner with Robert Wood Johnson Fitness in New Brunswick for this service. So, anybody with a child a in second grade between 7 to nine years of age can take advantage of this program. Uh, the information is up on our website. Um,
you have to make the reservations directly with Robert Le Johnson. Um, but through a grant program with the county, we're able to offer that in town again. Uh, it was a pilot last year and they were able to bring it back this year. So, I'd encourage, you know, it seems really cold outside right now, but
summer is coming and so it's a good time to to get those aquatic skills uh tuned up. Um, and that's all I wanted to make sure I put out there for everybody's benefit. Thank you. >> That's an important one because a lot of people don't know how to swim. They don't want to think about cold weather,
swimming in this cold weather, but it's important. And I have a very brief report. Um just want to share a brief highlight that the park partners grant is back. The grant um is open to all Highland Park residents um high
schoolers that you can go on our website get information about the grant. Um it this grant served um Accents Park and Public Spaces here in town. You you can be awarded up to $2,000.
It's for five different projects. Um, the voting will be on March 1st from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Highland Park Community Center. So, if you're interested, contact Harry Glazer or go on our burough website and find out
information about the grant. I think every year it's really interesting to see the project that comes through for the grant. So, if you're interested in doing something special, uh, you have a project in mind, tap into the grant and see how you can help. you can help with things here in our town to make our town
better. Thank you. Um I too tonight I have a brief a very brief reflection as we are all going through some very turbulent time in our country and for black history month. This is my
reflection that I want to share with you and also ask you to take a moment, think about it and see how we can do better and live better in our community and let that shine out throughout our town and every place else. So, here's my
reflection. Black History Month is personal. It is political and it is hopeful because our lives are all three. It's personal because many of us are are
living opportunities that our parents and grandparents were denied. Every step forward rest on sacrifices made by people who push through systems that was never built for them in mind.
It is political, not partisan, but political. Black history has always has always been shaped by decisions and policies that determines
where we could live, where we could vote, where we could build wealth, and where we felt safe. Progress did not happen by accident. Neither did inequality.
And yet, Black History Month is hopeful. Deeply hopeful. We are We are here because people before us imagined more than what they were ever allowed to gain.
They built and they re they built and they kept on building with this hope in mind that the next generation would have it a little bit easier and it would be a little bit fairer. That same spirit lives right here in
Highland Park. So let us this month move forward. Let us remind each other that that the roles that we play have effects not only here in our town
but throughout our town, in our homes, in our neighborhood, and in our community. The next chapter of Black History Month is being written, and it's being written right here in Highland Park.
And tonight I ask you to choose what that next chapter will be for each and every one of us. Thank you. Thank you. And now it's time for public's participation. Three minutes total per speaker on items
listed on the agenda. Comments from those attending in person will be heard first, followed by those attending on Zoom. We have no one in the audience. Anyone on Zoom? >> Yes, Mayor. Looks like we have six attendees on Zoom. I have a hand up. I'd
also like to remind those who may be calling in on a telephone, if you want to raise your hand, you should press star 9 and I'll get a little signal that you're interested in speaking. So again, if you're on a a regular telephone, star9 as opposed to through the app
where you just click on the raise hand button. Uh it looks like Sal Baptist has their hand up >> and this is anything on the the agenda. Okay. >> Agenda items only. Correct. >> Sure. Go ahead. >> S Baptist. >> Okay.
>> Hi. Uh this is S Baptist. Um I live on Mar Avenue. Um I was concerned about the ordinance to repeal the ethics board. Um I understand that it says that uh this
will now be handled by the local finance board. Um I am concerned though that the um municipal ethics board provides for local residents to be a part of it. And
obviously local residents are not really a part of the uh local finance board. Um given that the ethics board no one gets paid for it, um I'm not sure how uh it's
supposed to make fiscal sense to um take away this one slight level of uh local participation and oversight. Um thanks. That's all I have to say.
Anyone else? >> Second. >> Uh, no other hands up. Mayor. >> Okay. May I have a motion to close public participation? >> Second. Welcome. >> Council member George.
>> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. Marino, can you please um address the the question about the repeal of our ethics board?
>> Sure. So, uh first it's and I understand the the concern. Um there are very few municipalities within the state who actually use their own ethics board. uh by and large there's 535 municipalities and and and almost all of them and I
don't have the exact number but but we're talking well over 80 to 90% of them uh are doing exactly what uh Highland Park is looking to do today which is to use the local finance board. The members of the public that are under the ordinance that are able to be it's
two members of the public and it actually is restricted to specifically to people who have a the reputation for the integrity and the knowledge of local government affairs. It's a very highly technical um uh seat to fill. More importantly, the cost factor comes in from all of the
things that the board would have to do in order to effectuate its powers. Uh that would be things, you know, whether it was demanding records, rendering opinions, um uh issuing subpoenas, so on and so forth. Uh those are all things that the local finance board does much more effectively and efficiently, and
it's much more costefficient to the to the bureau. But more importantly, that board is designed to deal with the ethical issue specifically. They have the knowledge and expertise. This is a scenario where the state is offering something that is cheaper, more efficient, and they're just better at doing the thing that the ethics board
needs to do. Uh it's why almost every other municipality has gone in this direction. It's why we recommend it. I hope that clarifies that question. >> Thank you so much, Bar attorney. >> Thank you. >> Ordinance requiring second reading. Clerical report and ordinance number 26-2121
>> capital ordinance providing for improvements to North Fifth Avenue South 8th Avenue and Park View Terrace in the county of Middle Sex State of New Jersey appropriating $448,271 of the New Jersey Department of Transportation Municipal Aid Program therefore to pay the cost thereof has
been duly advertised for consideration of passage on final reading by title and affidavit of publication are on file. The ordinance has also been posted and made available for public inspection. >> Now it's time for hearing on on this ordinance.
If you would like to speak, those in attending in person can speak first, followed by those on Zoom with a raised hand or star nine. Anyone on Zoom? Terry, >> we still have our six attendees, but no hands raised. >> Okay, see none. May I have a motion to
close public participation? So move second. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to adopt ordinance
number 26-21? >> Second. >> Roco. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> These are our gas dollar gas tax dollars at work. Just to be very clear, this is what the gas tax is all about is that it offsets the cost, the burden on the
municipality to put these programs together. And so, thank you Terry and your team for putting this application together. And I'm absolutely Yes. >> Council President Kimcho, >> yes. >> Council member Cristan, >> yes. >> Council member Ves, >> yes. >> Clerk, please report on uh ordinance
number 26-2122. An ordinance amending article 3 ethics board of chapter 33 ethics of the code of the burough final park to repeal article 3 ethics board of chapter 33 ethics and abolish the ethics board has been duly advertised for consideration
of passage on final reading by title and affidavit of publication are on file. The ordinance has also been posted and made available for public inspection. Now it's time for public hearing followed by those attended in person and then those on Zoom. Terry, anyone on
Zoom? >> No hands are raised. >> Okay, seeing none, may I have a motion to close public participation? >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. Council member George, >> yes. >> Council member Hail, >> yes. >> Council member Hirsh, >> yes. >> Council President Kim Johan,
>> yes. >> Council member Piston, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas, >> yes. May I have a motion to adopt uh ordinance number 26-2122? >> So move. >> Second. >> Council member George. >> Just to add to what council said very
very briefly. It sounds odd that it's in an office called the local finance board. That's simply the agency within department of community affairs that oversees a lot of local government affairs. Um and having uh represented uh
p uh municipal boards, I would much rather have a consistency and uniformity of the state board. Definitely vote yes. >> Council member Hail, >> yes. >> Council member Hirs, >> yes. >> Council President Kimcha, >> yes. >> Council member Piston, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas,
>> yes. >> Please report an ordinance number 26-2123. An ordinance amending and supplementing part one administrative legislation chapter 72 salaries and compensation to establish p positions and provide
compensation for specific employees of the burough park New Jersey has been duly advertised for consideration of passage on final reading by title and affidavit of publication are on file. The ordinance has also been posted and made available for public inspection. >> Now it's time for public hearing. Anyone
in the audience wishes to speak on this or anyone on Zoom? >> I do not see any hands raised. >> Okay. May I have a motion to close public participation? >> So move. >> Second. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes.
>> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim. Yes. Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to Oh, we did that. We just adopted. Sorry. Um,
ordinance requiring first. Oh, >> I was May I have >> um may I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 26 that's 2123? >> So move second.
>> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President. >> Yes. >> Council member Panic. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. Ordinance requiring first reading. Clerk, can you please report an
introduction of ordinance number 26-2125 >> calendar year ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank NJSA48 col4-45.14 has been introduced by the finance committee for consideration of passage
on first reading by title. May I have a motion to approve ordinance number 26-2125 on introduction authorizing publication as required by law and set up public hearing for February 17, 2026.
>> So move to approve. >> Second roll call. Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member H. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Christi. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. And now we move to the cons consent
agenda. May I ask if there's any council member that has anything that they would like to be separated in full for a separate vote? >> No ma'am. >> May I have a motion to adopt the following consent agenda 11 A through 11 I?
>> So move second. >> Roll call. Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. Just thank you to Twe Lazette uh as Le of the Housing Authority. Thank you for your service. Yes. >> Council President Kim Choan. >> Yes. >> Council member Ponic.
>> Yes. >> Council member Vortgage. >> Yes. >> And now it's we move to appointments to the human relations commission. Molina Scutterini uh to the library board.
>> Library leazison. >> Library or library leazison. I'm sorry. I'm getting >> Yeah, human relations. >> Oh. Oh, sorry. Oh, okay. Human relations and library. Sorry, I got confused. So, may I have a
motion to confirm? >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hill. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Pisani. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes.
And now it's time for the second public participation. 3 minutes on any topic subject to conclude at 9:00 p.m. Comments from members of the public will be heard first, followed by those on Zoom. Anyone on Zoom, Terry?
>> We do have five attendees on Zoom, but I don't see any hands up. As a reminder, it's star 9 if you'd like to raise your hand uh if you're on a touch. Seeing none, may I have a motion to close public participation? >> So moved. >> Second.
>> Roll call. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Pistani. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to adjourn? >> So moved. >> Okay. Our next meeting is scheduled for
February 17th. Be safe. We're getting a lot of snow this weekend and can't can't express enough how much we really don't want the snow and for everyone to be safe. Thank you.