##VIDEO ID:X4QyF-tKZ-s## [Music] okay this meeting is called to order in accordance with the open public meeting act notice of this meeting was provided to the home News Tribune The Star Ledger and the Highland Park planet on January 8th 2025 and was posted on ball website at www.hpborrow.com and on the bulletin board of borrow Hall 221 South 5th Avenue High part New Jersey and has remained continuously posted as required by law the fire exits are to my left and right of council chambers Now we move to the Pledge of Allegiance Miss Sandy can you please leave us bedge pleas tell me your night [Music] [Music] tonight I [Music] [Music] oh hear council member H here council president counc here council member Vargas attorney sha here administrator here honors and honors Awards and presentation and tonight we have a proclamation that's why the room is buzzing tonight with all these young young young young young people and they have so much energy which I wish I had a bit of it and it's someone that they have that have nurtured them have been there for many many years and has been a pillar in our town and I'm going to ask council member Jason Pon to please read the proclamation for Yellow Brick Road they Care inate thank you mayor uh so when we first began to talk about putting together proclamation to honor Miss for all for incredible work towards so many families in this town um I asked Elsie the mayor um really more insisted that she let me have the honor of so without further Ado whereas the yellow brick road Fally known as ybr daycare and preschool is an early childhood institution in High Park that serves as a beloved Second Home for Children and whereas through his story history approximately 4,000 children have journeyed along the Y Ro path thanks to Sandy Jones and Her predecessor former owners Vicki Zera and Grace poo and their teams and whereas ybr was established over 40 years ago and was founded as full-time preschool with Over the Rainbow has preschool and baby brick infant school until Sandy Jones acquired the schools in 2013 and unified them and whereas under her leadership Sandy Jones converted what was then an existing play and storage building to the baby Cottage riching even closer nit community of super babies tiny titans Wonder kids and their families and whereas since joining y in 2000 Sandy Jones especially known as Miss Sandy began implementing her teaching philosophy and let a team of incredible teachers Miss Angela Miss Anna Miss Dorothy Miss era Miss Jessica Miss Kristen Miss rahon and Miss Sarah many of whom call H Park their home that nurture and support one another as well as the children and their families and whereas SNY Jones is more than an ordinary teacher she's a Wonder Woman Who truly loves her profession the ybr families and her team of teachers and is passionately devoted to caring for young children and helping them to explore and build skills and confidence and whereas witnessing students learn play and grow as kind humans is heartwarming for any teacher and Miss Sandy is especially honored to be part of so many children's lives and grateful to all y families and hardworking teachers that why our magical place and whereas dayc carees and schools lay the foundation for a strong Community while teachers craft a blueprint for each child to learn and grow and whereas the tiny hum that pass through the doors of Y will be its final graduating class when the school closes on February 28 2025 and whereas it's altogether fitting and appropriate to and appropriate to recognize Sandy Jones and extend the deepest appreciation and admiration for her and her teachers for their profound contributions to high par children and the families who made Treasured Memories at ybr Road dayc preschool throughout this decades long Legacy now therefore I Jason Bic on behalf of Elsie Foster mayor of the bur of Park New Jersey do hereby recognize and thank Sandy Jones and her staff for the remarkable record of service to the children and parents of the burough Highland Park and wish them all much success in their future Pursuits in withness thereof I here to set my hand this fourth day of February 2025 to can all the families come up and get a great picture with Miss Sandy well maybe we should sit and and and Miss sand we really have a full house tonight we get some with with the staff and then we'll get with all the Supporting Cast afterwards sure table is here rting [Music] over here one two three one two three real quick we have one more with where's [Music] definitely definitely youed a lot of love you're receiving a lot of love [Laughter] [Music] I'll see you tomorrow I would hate to see you all go but I do understand to get thank you we have a big night tonight and now we're going to move on to the swearing in of Norm Shamy as our acting part Chief and Norman Family pH would you like to join [Music] can I just say a couple quick things before we SL so um I Y can hear me turn this way so you don't have our back my name is Rick Abrams I'm the police chief in town um I was recently made the public safety liaison so I I helped the burough coordinate with the fire department first a um it's been my pleasure to know Norm for my entire career of 21 years we've been through some pretty uh fun calls together oh yeah um a lot of thinking on our feet a lot of working well together and have no Norm to be very professional very capable and he cares more for this town than just about anybody I've ever met in my life um I am excited and proud to be able to be here today when nor get sworn in as the fire chief and it through the work of the burrow the volunteer fire department and Norm the paid guys to try to come up with this process that we have now where Norm can take the helm and and lead us into the next step of H Park fire department so I'm proud of him I'm excited for him and uh [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] congratulations I iorm ch do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly just perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of the office of acting fire chief of acting fire chief with a Highland partk with a Highland partk Volunteer Fire Department volunteer fire department according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability I do further Solly swear I do further Solly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the government established to the government established the United States of the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so up you got [Applause] AB can we can we bring the entire fire department up and pictures or maybe we should come down to you guys and get the pictures they better off just sitting up there yeah you can stay up there and then 's let's move it this way then we get pictures in because I think we'll get more we'll get more pics in this way yeah yeah I think we can fit better nor no I think I think you guys stay here you know I mean yeah get to pick up the expensive I get to [Music] all right there you go all right congratulations we're going to take a couple of minutes because there is taking some refreshments so I'm going to give you an opportunity to take some pictures head on out and enjoy the refreshments Phil you just want me just [Music] F start I just myself much [Music] thanks guys thanks again appreciate good see you all right take care oh yeah now the big excitement is over now back to our regular schedule meeting approval of minutes may I have a motion to approve minutes from January 7 2025 reorganization meeting January 21st 2025 regular meeting and January 28 2025 work session meeting as distributed second council member George yes council member ha yesc member yes council president K yes council member P yes council member Vargas yes and now we move on to council report council member Vargus hi my name is my and I had the recreation art portfolio here's my report I did bring some props today I will show you as I go along with me okay there are um from the Arts commission there are these nice Highland Park t-shirts that are available for sale for $10 um they will be available at over the at over the Kos once Market kicks off this um February 21st right 21st 21st um and there are also these nice calendars that they have for sale um and they will also be available I believe at that kios but if you do want to purchase one of these ahead of time you can email the Arts commission at AC that's the letter AC um h.com also in reference to the windows of understanding which is an ongoing collaboration with the Zone 16 Center The Pride Center the Run cultural center and a collective of organizations here in M County um they will have it close um reception during uh featuring works of art inspired or made by the youth in our community at the Highland Park Library on March 26 so stay tuned for that there will also be a joint event with who's my neighbor um titled what is love that is this coming Saturday at penos between 6 and8 tickets are $20 and $10 for college students um to reserve a seat um the information can be found on the Facebook pages or any questions can be directed to ac.com um this is your second think and drink event meant to engage um the community and conversation so stay tuned um for more happiness because I believe they will be doing more of those um the community center they have several events coming up they have the Valentine's Day lnchon on Tuesday February 11th at 12:00 p.m. with live entertainment by Richie Santa Elvis a tribute to the king that should be fun um lunch is going beated by DJ s and there will be culture options available onqu also be having a matter of balance program which between February 18th and April 15 program is descided to reduce the peer of falling and improve the activity levels for Aller adults and the program will include 8 2hour classes for small groups led by train coaches on the permanent vs their regular and classes are ongoing for this month and they will include exercise with Nancy on Mondays at 9:15 between 9:15 a.m. and 10:15 they have the winter Zumba go sessions on Wednesday 9:15 10 a.m and Friday 11 11 they have Art Club pain classes and their onsite patry appointments are the fourth Tuesday of every month at 1 pm. Bingo is every Tuesday at 12:15 and they will have um also they have lunch and friends with Mondays and Wednesdays 11:30 a.m. to 1: p.m. and which is a kosher lunch program sponsored by the Jewish Family Services as is the breakfast with friends on Fridays between 9 and 11 also sponsored by Jewish count Services the recreation department is busy with other with over a dozen programs coming up this spring including youth programs such as cable teners chest dance with fresh F Arts Rovers soccer clinics and new to the back Center coming up is going to be pears wrestling registration for summer camp is going to kick off on March 1st um and the Highland part gives a new be going out to families at school this week when you receive them please note that there is a hard deadline for March 15 so if you have any questions please reach out to them another more adult programming coming up will be Fitness hasi yoga classes basketball soccer and volleyball for more information to register for the please go to the Department of recreation website Highland park.com okay so we6 team Center the workshops for the windows of understanding are still ongoing and as I mentioned before this was a collaboration with the art commission and with artist local artist alred Dudley also s six director ashon Bell is bringing back gym nights in the next few weeks and the college prep program for juniors in high school will pick off in March for more information on this please email Ash ael.com and exciting news a historical commission applied and were accepted to the New Jersey Council on the humanities community history Grant project the commission members will attend a series of training workshops which will hopefully give them the opportunity to qualify for a $5,000 Grant in order to work on a community history project such as interviewing locals um on time heart history that's still in the work so stay tuned for more information finally as reminder our community service center still offers daily transportation to grocery stores and medical appointments as well as a multitude of services including access to a social worker in Nicole H who can provide advocacy and referrals to social programs such as healthare please reach out to their staff any questions at 732 712 2281 and that is my report for tonight council member thank you madam mayor um fairly quick tonight um couple things I mentioned that last meeting that that through the neighborhood participation forr first of all Matt Hill and I chair the economic development uh committee um uh I mentioned last time that that um the neighborhood preservation program um through that we've been able to purchase something called Placer AI which is a way of tracking who's coming to Highland Park for businesses so it it gives um using cell phone data um it gives really really amazing information about who's coming to our businesses where they're coming from um uh and it's it's going to be a really really great tool um uh we sort of been diving into it figuring out all the the BTS and whistles that this this new tool has but if you are a business owner in Highland Park if you are interested in understanding who's coming to your business when they're coming when they're not coming those types of things um uh this is going to be a great tool we're going to be able to offer this to all the businesses in Highland Park um so they can know who their customers are and know who their customers aren't so it's going to be a great great tool if you are a business business and you are interested um in getting a report about your business or your area or something like that please um reach out to me or reach out toia um uh or Terry um uh and we will we will be able to work with you very shortly on creating uh those individualized reports as well as reports for the whole town um other things about the MVP um as part of our our stakeholder planning committee um we have uh moved forward uh with with some of our budget items and some of our ideas one of the things I just want to Bri mentioned um we still have to go through a process with the county for this but um we're looking to purchase the snowflakes rather than rent them currently the snowflakes that are up all up in town um we rent them every year and so we don't we get we get we don't get upset but if we purchase them and we're able to um sore them there's there's a different way of doing it so we're very excited that um as cool as the snowflakes are this year they're G to be even better next year um so that's important um uh the the farmers market um as my colleague Norma said is opening for the first time um this year on February 21st from 11: to 4 um so bundle up and it's snow or shine so whatever uh you can do just uh come on out and and start with the with the farmers market um one other thing that is of note um this Thursday um I'm going to be going on the Chamber of Commerce um um walk to Washington train um which is a train that that starts up in uh up North and then slowly picks people up and heads to Washington so it is uh filled with businesses um uh elected officials all over the state but it's uh it's really about um business networking so the goal of this train is to just meet as many businesses as possible and tell them all about the wonderful things p park so it's um should be an exciting uh uh trip um we do have a couple things that are important movement Town um a lot of really great stuff uh happening or happening shortly the grill house which is um in where the Park Place used to be is in the middle of a sort of a soft opening but it's uh it's it's going to be up and running fairly soon Jerusalem Pizza has um submitted their plans to the planning board um uh that they need uh in order to to be able to open um that they're going to go to the planning board later this uh um month um and then UB is moving up to PK Auto up on Woodbridge Avenue um so the signs are up there's a really cool looking old truck in the beginning of PK Auto but UB should be headed up um to Woodbridge Avenue very very soon so lots of really great things going on um again if you're a business and you're interested um there's a lot of resources that were um uh able to bring so if you are a local business or know someone who's in a local business please um reach out to us and we we'd love to help and then I'm just going to end by saying thank you and congrats to to Sandy um for for all of her um great work over over the years um uh and then you know Norm you just have to say Norm every time I see him I want to do that because he's that kind of guy he's a guy you want to hang out with um uh but also someone really trusts with our fire department so uh so thank you very much for that and um congrats the all that's my report I think you forgot one more thing February 18th February 18th yes did um thanks coach um February 18th uh we're having another event for um uh for for businesses um as I as I I mentioned this last name but um um the county and the state and the economic development activities that that New Jersey and and particularly the county are doing um in terms of Grant programs in term of loan programs in terms of Business Development relocation programs it really is amazing the number of different programs that they're having um it's almost overwhelming um with all the different things that so we're putting together a meeting for all businesses on the 18th um of of February it's on our website um to to take a look at that we're um uh businesses can come and learn about these opportunities um both at the county and the state level so um again if you are a business um and if you are interested in in upgrading your web page or moving to a web page or um a whole bunch of other things this is really a wonderful opportunity to meet with economic development authorities um uh that that really are um a have a lot of money that they are looking to spend and they'll help you through that process so thank you very much coach appreciate it you're welcome thank you mayor sorry uh good evening everybody my name is Matthew h i chair the public works and Public Utilities committee uh really nice to see so many people here tonight before nice one it feels like a celebration and I did just want to Echo my my gratitude and thanks to um Sandy Jones otherwise known as Miss Sandy um she was one of the first people that you know we knew when we moved to Highland Park in 2008 uh you know we um uh had an infant at the time uh and um you know Sandy and her team Miss Angela who I didn't get to say Hi to Miss Sarah uh you know really helped uh you know helped a lot of parents in Highland Park become parents learn how to be better parents of cultivate their children and and and most important provide a safe space for our children particularly as new parents when it's the first time you're letting go of your baby leaving them in the care of somebody else um and to be able to do that and to have that trust uh a mere blocks away from where we live I think is really powerful and speaks a lot to you know really what Highland Park you know represents not only geographically but also the level of investment and care that uh you know our our care providers put into their work um Sandy uh you know has has provided an enormous amount to how Park and my my my my kids all you know my kids all benefit from it so now as a you know you know from a young parent to a you know late 40s middle AG or with with high schoolers it's uh you know I look back at those times uh you know really an amazement that like wow where did the time go but then also thank God we you know strong support network in Highland Park that we can all benefit from uh and I think one of the jobs of you know the roles of the council and other institutions in town and other support systems is to make sure that everybody has those opportunities that everybody has access to know daycare uh and that everybody knows the opportunities that are in front of them and if they're not that we that that that we're able to create those so uh you know many thanks to uh to to Sandy and you know I look forward to you know her continued involv you know in town but it's uh but thank you cast for advancing that um it is really meaningful it's very very emotional uh so um I just wanted to give thanks to Miss Sandy and obviously Chief shammy um uh not here but uh you know it's it's a an amazing uh you know turn of events for the for the fire department I think they will really benefit from the chief leadership I got to spend some time with the chief some of the firefighters a couple Saturdays ago I got to play pool uh that's a great record of there that was a really nice uh mural too uh so um you know really good news all around and um I think some of the things on the agenda tonight are are executive of of of of other Pro of other areas of progress but specifically on public works I just wanted to report a few things um uh we have monthly numbers that we report out when it comes to collections when it comes to snow removal PRS so forth so figured this will give a good idea of you know what our Department of Public Work Works does outside of what you visibly see which may be trash recycling removal snow snow removal maintenance and so forth it's a lot more it's that which is a lot and it's a lot more uh so sanitation um to date this is for January so all these are year to dat so far but uh over 300 tons of of garbage collected over nine collection days all delivered to the middle County landfill um recycling uh to date for January 83.3 tons collected over nine collection days delivered to Colgate Paper Stock Incorporated in new bronswick there's a frustrating rumor out there that I keep hearing that we do not recycle or that our or that our material does not get recycled um uh items one and two uh if we in your recycling bin they do get recycled I've been to the recycling plant the Colgate recycling plant in New Brunswick it is separated and sorted and it's stacked up into really cool CBE uh and if anybody ever wants a tour uh we'd be happy to to to venture over you over there with you um last fall we took a trip there with our environmental commission and it really is eye opening because it shows the level work that goes into this um it is true that towns are not making as much money on recycling anymore because of you know changes in the industry but uh their materials do get recycle so if anybody says that like no it goes the CATE recycling now if you do put your recycling in your Gard it will get it will get collected with crash collection uh street sweeping nine days of street sweeping service 175 miles of Road swept this month uh also year-to date 17 loads of material sorry 76.5 cubic yards of material or debris removed uh this month alone uh work orders or resident concerns 25 orders or complaints were submitted over in January 25 work orders completed n still and Fleet Maintenance is a big part of what public works also does uh 17 Vehicles service and repaired by by fire M uh seven Public Works Vehicles six police vehicles Two Fire apparatuses two code vehicles and two Public Works equipment were serviced and repair 48 just over 48 tons of leaf of leaves were collected uh tree maintenance we do in-house tree maintenance there was no tree maintenance this month I will make uh my team on the shade tree be very sign repair uh there were seven signs that were repaired that were repaired or replaced including two street names uh and three no parking uh and then one uh other sign sorry and four replacement posts were installed uh 17 potholes were filled and one ton of of uh 17 potholes were filled using one ton of hot mix asphalt used for Poole repairs if you do have a Poole if you see it don't wait for the town to respond be proactive and let us know uh alert us and DPW will be out there to fill that pothole these are these are stop Gap measures you know um in in the winter months when there's a lot of extreme cold and freezing and then cracking in the asphalt especially when the clouds um so those poth holes will hopefully be replaced by uh new fresh Road at some point if it's a particularly pot Mark poth hole but please report it it will be impressed um so my uh the public works and Public Utilities portfolio also includ includ sustainable Highland Park uh and sustainable Highland Park will be hosting its annual Earth Day event on Sunday May 4th at North Third and r Avenue just like last year and this is part of Main Highland Park Street there I'm sure you will hear a lot more C in h of that and the reason why I mentioned that though is because we are planning now uh we actually had our first planning meeting last night uh for for the Earth Day event uh and it's it's it's going to be terrific I mean La last year there was a there was a EV installation uh there there were no compost no no waste food trucks uh and and games activities for kids and it's going to be the same this year and it will be a lot of fun um other events sustainable H Parks winter programming at the teen center uh is taking place right over here at 600 VOR Street and let me just tell you a few of those things uh the no waste Valentine's Day arts and crafts night Thursday February 13 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the team Center uh join us please for a sustainable Valentine's Day by learning how to create gift boxes and use greeing cards fold origami boxes make custom envelopes learn flower preserving tips and craft un NE collge card uh collage cards excuse me supplies will be provided but we encourage you to bring your used greeing cards and collage supplies from home to make this a more sustainable event and the Highland Park Library will also join us that night with a craft of making pom poms or yarn uh so a lot of fun uh sustainable Highland Park is is is is really gearing up for the spring uh they also oversee our community cleanups uh and the next community clean up is Sunday February 16 at 10: am to noon go to uh sorry pardon me sustainable Highland park.org I couldn't remember it was High Park sustainable or sustainable Park uh so on there you'll find additional resources dates uh and more information on the items that are mentioned uh the next sustainable Highland Park meeting is um oh I'm sorry and there's a free children's clothing swamp on Thursday February 27th from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday March 2nd from 2: to 5: PM also at the team Cent the next meeting is is Wednesday February 26th at 7:30 p.m on Zoom our meetings are on the Wednesday of each month except in November and December which is the third W Wednesdays of each month please check out the b calendar www.d.com and check out sustainable park.org for more information the environmental commission will meet on Zoom tomorrow at 8m go to www.hbo.com for the link uh the sh Tre advisory committee which I mentioned before we meet on zoom on Wednesday February 12th at 7:30 p.m. go to ww w. hbo.com for the link where we will be discussing our 2025 goals um speaking of 2025 I did just want to say a few things about uh you know this year and um uh you know we have a uh um there's a you know pretty robust mov tutorial debate going on right now uh this is not party specific there's a uh the Democratic uh debate occurred a few nights ago on Sunday and then there's a republican uh primary debate um taking place tonight uh both of those are on YouTube sponsored by New Jersey Globe uh and Ryder University and I would strongly encourage everybody to check those out because the it's less of a debate but more of a discussion on the substance of the issues that are facing new jerseyans particularly now with extreme changes taking place you know at the federal government uh and how the state needs to adjust adapt and you know really be out in front of you know a lot of potential resources that we may be uh losing um one of the main issues that I look for uh you know from from from our cans is the ability is the is improving the ability for for municipalities to better improve Quality of Life by making it easier to procure resources and equipment that improves quality of life this means making it easier to make improvements on it's like Route 27 which is also raran Avenue which is our main street but also a state road it means being able to more easily weigh in on implementing traffic pattern changes Landscaping beautification efforts lighting and so much more it also means that while we may while we might support policies from the state local implementation can be challenging and living up to the states univers like like living up to the states Universal free mandate for example um a necessary and important goal that municipalities had to really figure out on their own we need to make sure the towns have the ability to act on good policies from tra we also need to think regionally when it comes to things like Transportation infrastructure planning housing and the goal is to empower smaller smaller municipalities so they can receive a proportional level of resources larger municipalities inj obviously immigration housing Transit uh Transit consumer costs and how Jersey will stand up against some of the more damaging policy changes at the federal level of from center from a day-to-day standpoint these are the issues that we will need to hear about from our candidates all the above approach and I look forward to you know continued advocacy for Highland Park and really looking for the areas where we need to benefit from and I would I would encourage all of you to to to engage in the process as well we do need a governor who can couple navigating New Jersey's Federal advocacy in an era of deep budget cuts with addressing local needs where it's difficult to even spend money procurement rule um I did just want to mention another thing because I I think it would be IR responsible as as as an elected not to talk about uh you know some of the concerns regarding Federal funding on the the federal level um on um uh one of the executive orders uh from from president Trump ad 253 team which is now scrub from the White House website would have halted spending on things like School meals cancer trials Medicaid grants like money like like like the follow like the Money Follows the person program special education including Personnel preparation and research Vocational Rehabilitation housing assistance child care we just honored Miss Sandy these things don't happen in a vacuum Child Care Adult Protective Services vet Administration Grants State and National organizations funded by federal dollars protection and advocacy agencies developmental disability Council and excuse me Council I appreciate your your Indulgence this is this is this is the council members time to to to to to uh you know to to talk about these things so I really do appreciate this um more on the list University centers of excellence and developmental disabilities centers for Independent Living State Independent Living groups Resource Centers for people with paralysis limb loss traumatic brain injury disability Innovation fund Awards par training and information censes grants from the office of disability employment policy Special Olympics Cooperative agreements through the Centers for Disease Control to organizations working on epilepsy AIDS blood disorders and other chronic conditions payments to universities for research Grints and graduate medical education in the nonprofit world where I work by day on the housing advc I do a lot of work in Trenton advocating for for affordable housing across the state the day that that executive order came down was an absolute crisis so if you're thinking of policy that is intended to maybe help or Advance a goal but the result is chaos confusion questions fear layoffs loss of service and potentially loss of treatment then that's something that we have to really be guarded toward and understand our role in this whole Hier hierarchical government structure that we live in which is why the governor's race is so important um again in the nonprofit world where I work the announcement caused near layoffs and nearly halted funding for life saving resources and initiatives that is not normal it is just not normal and I can't stay up here and sit here and talk about all the wonderful things that sustainable Highland Park is doing when we have a very real crisis Brewing constantly Suddenly at the federal level this executive order plowed through the purpose of any of those programs instead stating I'm going to quote the use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity transgenderism and green New Deal Social Engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those that we serve this was said by the acting director of The Office of Management and budget in its two-page memo announcing the temporary Hall in 2009 I interviewed Xavier dusa Briggs otherwise known as zav Briggs and at the time he was the new associate director for General government programs at the Office of Management and budget and as a young professional then that was really the first time that I you know really got a good feeling of what OMD does and if you don't know what the Office of Management budget that does and don't blame me if you don't check it out there's a lot of power there there's a lot of authority there and it's a extremely important agency um for you know the qualifications for the position range obviously but bricks came to the job with a deep Community Development background he was vice president of the Ford Foundation professor of soci sociology and urban planning at MIT and much more his book the geography of opportunity race and housing choice in Metropolitan America should be standard so I looked at his words from that interview and here's what he said ter to what we just heard from the current om quote we're out to put the president and his leadership team and the whole cabinet in a position to steer the Machinery of government in a way that very quickly signals a turn on policy issues a commitment to making government work again rebuilding the public confidence and a commitment to transparency around results nothing about Marxism nothing about transgenderism nothing about the green new deal but a commitment to transparency and public confidence well that's novel and that's something that I think that we all try really hard to work toward up here and it is difficult to do that when we have a lot of actors a lot of our a lot of our colleagues in government at the top and and in between and you know everywhere else make it really difficult to instill that level of confidence and trust but that's what we try to do here every day you don't otherize you don't name call we don't denigrate instead we talk about government working as best as possible this council's record of Defending immigrants uh is strong and it started in 2016 with the municipal ID effort uh that that uh that that was that was launched that year then in 2016 uh the first vote that I cast actually was for was was end was endorsing that program and in 2017 we passed the inclusive communities act that upheld our rights as community our communities now need to double down on their commitment to protect our neighbors and this means supporting things like the Immigrant trust act for Advocates at home that's New Jersey Bill s 3672 a 4987 for example our legislative 18 representative Senator P Dagan sen members stle Stanley and Rob car vinek co-sponsored this important legislation so we can support it too the Immigrant trust act would allow new jerseyans to seek protection and support from state and local agencies without fear of deportation increasing trust in public agencies allows all people regardless of immigration status to seek public services that are essential to the health education and well-being of their families and the broader community community this holds a stronger fairer and more welcoming New Jersey for everyone The Immigrant trust act would limit New Jersey's involvement in the Federal Detention and deportation system by creating new data privacy protections for people who interact with state and local agencies and by strengthening and codifying the separation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement you might have seen that one of the first agents uh out um uh on on behalf of the new administration's uh Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was Dr Phil Dr Phil mcra was in Chicago on Ice rids um I don't think we I don't think any of us knows what to make of it but but the but it was such a surreal experience because one of the people being detained recognized Dr Phil and said you're Dr Phil and Dr Phil said how do you know me I was like you're Dr Phil on TV it is it is it is a a truly truly bizarre world where we have celebrities um quote unquote doctors who are now acting on behalf of our elected leaders uh to assist in Immigration enforcement doesn't make any sense you wouldn't stand for it if we did that here you would not stand for it if we did did that here no matter how how anybody feels about immigration um I have a few other I have a few other items but I did you know I think this is actually a good time to wrap it up yeah because we talked about 2017 talked about how long it's been you know since since we you know first had to deal with you know with with this level of disrup disruption at the federal level and the ways that municipalities and states have to respond the fact that we have to work together in lock step we hear back from Neighbors in the community hear about the needs and hear about the supports that are even missing need to be improved need to just simply exist in the first place uh there's a lot of work ahead of us as a whole Community to make sure that we are all safe prosperous and can live with dignity and we really look forward to being there with you that's my thank thank you council member George thank you mayor I'm Phil George to safety Public Safety report February first I wish to for all our residents to feel a part of our diverse and delightful Community for black history understanding where we all come from makes all of us safer more informed and much closer to each other as a community um turning to local news the police department pet product products donation program which we spoke about last mon in conjunction with the Addison animal shelter was very successful donations from all of you for animal friendly products were donated to help provide care for cats and dogs that are under the uh care and and possibly longterm care of the shelter she tells me that several SUV loads were delivered recently and the donations were very welcome um as you all know from our ceremonies tonight the fire department in all of the town welcomes Chief shamon to the head of fire department the members is still needed the number to call is 732 752 4323 look for the ad uh on the bur's website as well the chief has the depth of experience to lead our fire department uh at this F U and the volunteers and also the newness of ideas sorry my screen is doubling up I don't know to do about the chief has the death of experience to lead our full-time and volunteers of the newness of ideas to reach a new cont of firefighters the library has gone out for proposals for installation of the security cameras which are already on site which should wrap up the project the board authorized the purchase of the fera for installation of the outdoor seating areas as part of the it Pusher estate Grant and the installation will probably be Tak about six months from ordering to construction to shipping and fin installation finally I just want to mention that swack and had a discussion and a number of Resident reports I've received are concerned about snow removal for walking safety it certainly was an issue because our storms were not deep but we had some extremely strange weather so the Public Safety Committee will discuss the recent issues that it's meeting next week but I I want to remind everyone including our fellow council members that the problem includes other committees including Public Works Administration so we'll have a report from Public Safety when we have those discussions immedately that's my report mayor thank you post me thank you mayor my name is Jason St I chair the Health and Human Services committee uh So within that portfolio a couple things to update on tonight uh first one Board of Health update which is a continuation from uh my up from last meeting uh which is at the levels of the neuro virus AK a stomach bug covid-19 influenza flu and RSV are still high levels so encourage everyone to take appropriate precautions wash your hands stay up to date and all recommended vaccines uh next the community the commission for universal access held its first meeting of the Year using a new hybrid in person and zo meeting format and report that everything went smoothly that was a great relief um a couple of updates to report from that meeting uh first the commission expressed concern about sidewalks not being cleared of snow particularly on ridan Avenue after Rec storms we've had Um this can make it difficult for people to Traverse the sidewalk safely so I just would like to remind everyone of the importance of making sure their sidewalks are safe for people to utilize within a reasonable amount of time after the end of snowstorm encourage anyone who sees uned sidewalks after a snowstorm to reported to the B through the report a concern link on the B website um also the commission eagerly awaits the new Community Center bus uh which will provide much needed transportation services for many in our community who are able to transport themselves um I let the commission know that we recently approved the funding for a replacement bus and thank you again mayor Elsie for making many attempts to try to do this under very cost effective basis in some sort of shared service arrangement with some of our neighboring municipalities unfortunately there wasn't anything available that could work out um but we are uh working hard to bring a new brand new electric bus as soon as possible to the community center looking forward to that um next up I'd like to talk about upcoming food distributions for those in need uh first reg will be available from HP giz a hoot every Tuesday this month and every Wednesday this month from 10: a.m. through 11:00 am. at the Zone 16 Center at 600 fer Street um and we have the Highland Park food pantry Distribution on Thursday uh February 13th and February 27th and Saturdays February 15th and February 23rd which will take place at the Highland Park Community Center 220 South 6 Avenue right next to lastly just wanted to note that on the agenda tonight we have some wonderful volunteers up for appointment to the various boards and commissions that I current that I'm either currently leis on to or had Serv as leis on to in the past um and I work closely with some of these folks I just want to express thanks to Lanna Pat Tara and Pauline for willing to step up and helping Care Community even better and wa sorry actually said that was the last thing one little bonus thing I just wanted to say thank you again I can't thank Miss Sandy enough she helped take care of my kids about birth to sorry excuse me six months to about to kindergarten um and we were El Ro parents for almost 10 years and C provides extraordinary care and love to um the children and families that they have served and it's an institution and um we gratefully we're extremely grateful to have had her in our lives wish you're all the best in retirement and also just want to say congrats to Norman uh make an IC fire chief didn't take care of my kids from 6 months to kindergarten but we still definitely appreciate his service and that's my report thank you council president Kim Chan thank you mayor my name is Stephanie Kim Chan and I'm the chair of Finance um I also like to congratulate Miss Sandy on her retire when I had my little one last year everyone in town suggested I go see yellow r I was put on the waiting list and she never called so now I know why but um you know good luck with your retirement so this evening our agenda includes the shared service agreement with the city of raway regarding our tax assessor I extend my gratitude to raway for collaborating with us on this C effective agreement we remain open to discussions with other municipalities to explore avenues for mutual savings for our residents and also in the vein of Finance I would like to take a moment to share an excerpt from an article by John ritar a budget finance writer for NJ Spotlight moves to be sure if a mass deportation effort that targets undocumented immigrants is carried out in force New Jersey is likely to fill the effects in all there are estimated more than 425,000 undocumented immigrants living in New Jersey a group that contributes more than 1.3 billion in state and local tax revenue annually according to a recent study from the Washington DC based institution on Taxation and economic policy how state and local governments in New Jersey would make up for the loss Revenue but from deported imig immigrants including sizable sales and property tax contributions through rents is unclear in New Jersey the sales tax is the largest source of revenue for the state's budget general fund while property taxes are raised at the local level and serve as a primary source of funding for K2 Public Schools quote the bottom line is that New Jersey economy relies greatly on immigrant workers the New Jersey economy would not survive if these immigrant workers went away suddenly overnight and that quote is from Ram Devon a professor of economics and Global Studies at Stockton univ so to our immigrant Community both documented and undocumented you are moving in our HP Community we acknowledge your presence and stand in solidarity with you and wishing everyone a happy Black History Month in honor of this celebration I would like to highlight the Mama's Den podcast the m M then serve served as an unfiltered community that Fosters authentic conversations and experiences from the perspective of four black mothers I had the privilege of attending one of their meetups a few weeks ago and it was truly remarkable I encourage you to listen to their podcast if you have an opportunity this month once again that's the mom's then and that's my report thank you B administrative report mayor I don't have a report this evening thanks for attorney's report thank you mayor would you me to go through some of the the meeting uh for many of you um you've been familiar that since last year we've instituted some new rules on how to conduct the meeting so uh if there is anyone that's here in person or uh over Zoom let me just quickly go through the public par ation rules uh for today's agenda if you notice number 10 is public participation and if any member of the public has a question regarding any ordinances or resolutions that are on for vote today you may come up to the mic introduce yourself and either ask a question or make a comment once every single person has had an opportunity to put their either question or comment on the record the mayor who is running the meeting will close the public portion and then we'll either answer the questions or direct someone on the dis to respond to it now after the public portion is closed no member of the public can speak moving forward if you notice 11a and 11b there are two audiances for second reading a member of the public may come up um and comment about either one of those ordinances and after the public portion is closed once again the mayor will direct either someone she will either respond or direct somebody from the dasis speak after the public portion is closed a member of public can not and the final is if you look on your agenda number 15 that's the second public participation and any member of the public can speak on any topic that's relevant to the borrow uh and once again the mayor will open it up for public portion uh members of the public can come up make their their comment or ask a question and then after everyone has finished it will be closed by the council and at that point the mayor will either respond or direct someone who die to respond and if once the public portion is closed no member of the public can speak thank you thank you B attorney and now it's time for my very brief report um want to start off by that we celebrated Dr Martin Luther King day uh with zone six it was a robust program it was an engaging program and in informative and I encourage everyone to try to make it next year to celebrate Dr King and all his contributions that he have he paid in blood for because um Department of Civil Rights it's now being overturned and uprooted and that was paved by as the national black Anthem says by the blood the tears and the sweat and it seems like everything that Dr King and others fought and worked and died for is thrown by the wayside so we must unite as one nation we must unite as one voice because we're all in the struggle um that's in recognition of Dr King's uh contribution um on another note we celebrated Chinese New Year and we had some really fun events um this this past week and one of them was the um high school students from Edison High School they came out and they performed a wonderful Dragon Dance it was really good and then Sal and walk our local Chinese restaurant here in town they provided uh the the all the Chinese meals for two days in a row just want to say thank you to suan W for all that they do um last but not least I in recognition of Miss of Miss Sandy and nor Shany our chief I want to say they embody what is on my web as on my email page a small town with people with huge heart they have done so very well in Highland Park and again congratulations to both and they and I know they will continue to serve Highland Park in the best way possible and leaving us with something to remember and I'm just gonna this was said by very good Marshall the first African-American Supreme Court member and he says in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings we pay ourself the highest tribute and I want to repeat in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings we pay ourselves the higher tribute I think we all need to remember that as we go about our daily lives that's my report now it's time for public participation 21 minutes 3 minutes per speaker limited to items on this agenda comments from members of the public attending in person will be heard first followed by those on Zoom if anyone from the public wishes to speak please come up to the microphone and identify yourself identify yourself please hi Mary B I wanted to ask you please to vote no on resolution 61 and 62 which are the third extensions for two more recreational marijuana dispensaries in Highland Park that would bring the total up to five operating marijuana dispensaries recreational THC stores one of the things to keep in mind uh on this vote is that in the past year pyland park has had a 56% increase in DWI also known as DUIs New Jersey Law defines these as substances not just alcohol but also other drugs specifying cannabis including marijuana and Edibles again 56% increase in the past year we currently have three operating recreational marijuana dispensaries we do not have two more vote no on those resolutions 61 and 62 the other thing to keep in mind on these resolutions uh again in the interest of Public Safety public trust transparency all of which I'm a big fan of as you know as and as Matt uh H was describing um this is a chart of the connections on one of these pot shops again on the resolution tonight showing the connections of Mayor Dale mler her son and one of her t-shirt employees all involved in this pot shop that's on your agenda tonight Gail resigned her position as mayor December 31st 2022 her son Stephen mler put in an application seven months before she left her position to uh be an he listed as an applicant for the pot shop at 176 with jab and signed as property owner consent as well the pot chop submitted $6,000 worth of checks to Highland Park while she was mayor for this her son's location none of this was publicly disclosed the connections don't stop there again at the same location where she ran her t-shirt business 176 with re jav her employee her operations manager AR W is listed as the co-owner and local operator for this pot shop her employee again none of this was publicly disclosed this is very relevant to your vote tonight on these resolutions Highland Park this is not an economic impact Zone this would bring us to five operating marijuana recreational dispensaries in this town um I'd like to also offer each of you before you vote a copy of this chart in particular to Norma who's new and may not be aware of all of these particular connections would I'd be permitted to provide this to council members we voting tonight uh you can provide it to the uh our attorney great all right thank you so much you hi I'm amow and Melody uh first we want to thank you so much for recognizing Missy and you RI Road school and um obviously we're enrolled there and besides thanking you um I when I looked at the agenda I was really surprised to see ordinance 25102 to acquire the property that is yellow brick road um and I I didn't know that until the agenda came out and it seems like a strange twist of fate to recognize Sandy at the same time that the town is acquiring the property um and as much as we want to celebrate Miss Sandy on retiring it also feels like a bit of Checkmate and I just wanted to share how difficult it has been for all of the families to find out mid kind of school year that we have to find a new dayare and enrollment is not available at lots of schools and there's just a heartbreak of being separated from friends and teachers who we've grown to love and um as a a taxpayer I'm surprised to see that we're taking property off of the tax roles and I hope that it will will become more productive I wish we could have finished the school year at Yellow Brick Road um instead of having the property purchased I love to stay and hear more but I'll have to watch it in the recap because it's getting late but I I do look forward to hearing more about what's happening and seeing that becomes something productive and valuable to all ages and stages of life is there anything you want to say about your school yeah you love it and we got all dressed up for today just to celebrate her teachers yeah with Queen Anna all right thank you so much my name's um I just wanted to check so for the this section public participation can we ask questions about uh not just the the like ordinances that are being passed the counc report occur um for right now it's just limited to the resolutions and ordinances may come back at the second what requ okay than you may please come anounce yourself hi folks and my neighbors my name is Alexi I'm a 315 Grand deut I've been here 55 years I'm one of those old F you're probably wondering you know why is this old C up here a lecture to us about the old times that he originally moved into town well I moved into town in 1970 it was different town back then I was just shocked when I saw the uh cannabis dispensaries I love the Nam by the way I'm dispens these and um there three of them in town and we're stck with them it's it's a move to find other ones coming in I think it's just a moot argument because they're here to say you have to kind of accept them but I'm just shocked that we as a community of about it to begin with you know we're telling our young people hey it's okay to put this stuff in your in your bloodstream and put it in your lungs I'm 85 years old I still run marathons I just finished officiating a game and I can there are very few people who can go up and down the floor with me because I've never smoked I've never taken drugs I'm never taking cannabis you know you too can be 85 easily if you know put that crap in your body or in your you know your lungs there this is the kind of things I think we have to show our young people I'm really concerned about the young people the kind of image we're giving these people with can shots and and saying it's perfectly okay to to have it there it's a shock to me I tell maybe I maybe I'm not with the time I'm not the cool guy right I'm not with it but personally where where the we're not showed a good image to the Youth of of High Park I was the guy who started soccer program him I've been involved in Recreation and many other areas in this town and and it shocks the hell out of me where we've gone in terms of allowing and accepting you know the community and taking this joke into your your body and into your bloodstream and your lungs I want put tears to my eyes I tell you it really is because I moved into this town for educational purpos 30 seconds one more thing when I moved in here uh I have two daughters and I picked the town because we were ranked one of the five best school systems in New Jersey you know where we are right now 81 okay 81st and our um our our test scores in the 10 we're way below the state average that's not what I came to this town and I've seen this town change so drastically I wish you would have a a different frame of mind in terms of what you bring in this town and the kind of image you show the kids young kids here I have spoken folks my name's colen ter 142 North six Avenue and I've been um a resident here for 40 years um I also would follow up on the um uh consent agenda items number 13 a and which are 22561 and 62 resolutions authorizing an extension of local support of a class five retail license for floro and also Blackburn um what caught me my attention about this statement is the idea of local support for these um to extend the um the licenses I think the local support for what's happening in our town with the um cannabis shops is in this room I think this room is the to support the council and mayor the former Council and mayor are the people who are responsible for what's happening it's not the members of the community the members of the community never had a chance to say or to give a input on what was happening um in fact I have a list of 150 residents who objected to having any plot shop at all in h Park this goes back to 2021 when this discussion first started so it's a mistake to think that the town is supporting all these initiatives and all this what's happening um I'm going to read the state public question which was put before the town um on November 3rd 2020 do you approve amending the Constitution to legitimize a control form of marijuana called cannabis only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannibis the state commission created to oversee the st's medical cannabis program would also oversee the new personal use cannabis Market cannabis product would be subject to the state sales tax if authorized by the legislature a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products that is what the people of this town voted on the idea of opening up a cannabis Market in the state was approved the people in this town never ever voted to bring cannabis business in h par it was never put before the town in any shape or form and there certainly strong resistance to it even now as the mayor and the council take the initiative to do what they want to In Spite of many opposing voices against it anyone on Zoom I'm sorry I I do see one excuse me I do see a hand up uh for those Folks at home um looks like Karen anolik I'm going to ask you to confirm that it is you why am I having TR please state your name oh yeah this is um this is Ken anolik um Karen's husband um so I've been watching these meetings and I wanted to weigh in on something if I may uh it has to do again with the with the Cannabis business you know we just at the beginning of this um meeting there was such a celebration of the youth and the ybr road and the teacher and so on and so forth in 10 years these kids are going to have exposure to marijuana outlets on Woodbridge Avenue on Main Street this like boardwalk and Park Place these Outlets are it's going to be ubiquitous in town we don't need five cannabis Outlets again I I I spoke at this meeting a couple months ago or whatever it was um again I've been a physician for 50 years and I can again state that cannabis is an entrylevel drug people who start with alcohol tend to stay with alcohol people who start with cannabis tend to move on to Other Drugs as they get older I don't think this is a good look for the town and I I would urge you people to vote against extending these uh contracts for these uh for these cannabis Outlets I I just don't think it's good for the Youth of town I don't think it's good for the town I don't think it's good for the atmosphere I agree with the speaker before I'll bet that this was never put to the town itself for its opinion I I bet this was done um among Council and you may have the power to do this but I I I really think it's the wrong thing to do it's the wrong thing for Highland Park is the wrong thing for our youth and uh that's my two cents it anyone else uh no other hands up mayor I'm just for the record there are seven ATT 10es on seeing that there's no more may I have a motion to close public participation call council member George yes council member Hae yes council member H yes council president kiman yes council member Panic yes council member varas yes um now we're going to move on to ordinance requiring a second reading CL can you please report an ordinance number 25299 an ordinance repealing Capital ordinance number 24281 adopted by the burough Council on February 6 2024 entitled Capital ordinance providing for improvements to North for Dennison Street and Harper Street project in the county of midc state of New Jersey appropriating [Music] $9,985 microphone announce yourself if you're on Zoom please raise your hand anyone on Zoom no okay seeing there's seeing no one may I have a motion to close public participation on ordinance number 25299 council member George yes council member hail yes council member H yes council president Kim yes Council council member P yes council member V yes please report on ordinance number 25-21 I'm sorry may I have a motion to accept or reject ordinance number 25-20 N9 so Mo second council member George yes council member H yes council member HS yes council president Kim Tran yes council member yes council member V yes okay now we get there CL please report on ordinance number-25 d210 an ordinance amending and supplementing article one pet waste wildlife feeding and litter waste collection and Disposal elicit connections to create chapter 35681 which will regulate some plumps and pipe drain discharge control within the burough finals has been duly advertised for consideration of passage on Final reading by title and affidavits of publication are on file now it's time for public hearing on this particular ordinance if you have any questions please come up to the microphone if you're on Zoom please raise your hand okay see no see none may I have a motion to close public hearing on ordinance number 25- 2100 second R council member George yes council member H yes council member yesc K council member yesc yes may have a motion to adopt or reject ordinance number 25-21 0 motion second call council member George this sounds relatively innocuous but people need to understand that some people's basement for fighting but they also contribute a number of problems such as freezing and freezing up the roads we've had many problems with that and in addition we are focused more and more and more on the importance of the water that flows in from our water supply the water that flows from the skies and drains and our storm water management which has become one of the most important issues uh before the state of New Jersey uh prior to the quazi clown event that happened in November with the federal government um but this is a very important step in controlling our stor management I vote Yes council member ha yes council member H yes council president Kim Chan yes council member Panic yes council member vage yes ordinance required first Reading Please report an ordinance in on introduction of ordinance number 25-21 01 an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 27817 parking on street accessible parking spaces within the burrow of p park by the Public Safety Committee for consideration of passeng first reading by may have a motion to adopt or reject ordinance number 25211 authorized publication as required by law public hearing for February 18th move second Ro call council member George uh just a word to the public this adds two um reallocated handicaps parking spaces on third between V and Summit and on Fourth between Denis and Montgomery these are not assigned or Reserve spaces they're available for the public however this is an area where people do have handicap needs and um when the spaces are available to the public in that area to use the yes council member h yes council member H yes council president kiman yes council member P yes council member VAR yes CL please report on introduction of ordinance number 25- 2102 ordinance of The Bu fin Park in the county of M state in New Jersey authorizing the buau to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with5 South LLC to acquire block 3 001 lot 5 on the tax mat of the burough final C by the economic development and planning committees for the for consideration of passage on first reading by may I have a motion to adopt or reject ordinance number 25- 2102 to authorize publication as required by law and set in public hearing on February 18 2025 Mo second council member George yes council member H yes council member H yes council president K yes council member yes counc yes now we move on to the consent agenda resolutions may I ask members of the of the public of of the council if they would like to remove any of the following consent agenda items or have those items posed for a separate reading a separate vote no mayor okay okay may I have a motion to adopt or reject the following consent agenda items 13A through 13 I second council member George yes council member hail yes council member H council member H mayor I have questions about item 13B um I don't think I'm prepared to vote yes to allain on we have to do a separate one I'm sorry about that that was a question yeah I mayor mayor if I may um I I think that um if councilman H can re-identify the the item that's for separate voting we can do a revote on the consent agenda from X to be and then and whatever comes after the one that's removed to the end just to keep it clear record thank you so your 13B that you would like council member H you would like to have that remov table temporarily that's what you want you want to have separated out for a separate vote Yes ma'am yes okay 13B um it's it's tabled for now and we're going to go through the rest of the agenda with the minus of 13B yes okay may have a motion to adopt or reject the following minus 13 council member George yes council member hail yes council member HS yes council president Kim Chan yes council member Bic yes council member Vargas yes okay now we're going to move to 13B and it's um ordinance number 25 2-25 d62 resolution authorized an extension of local support for class 5 retail license for B for black brown LLC to operate a uh retail cannabis business at 176 Woodbridge Avenue may I have a [Music] motion second council member George yes council member h yes council member H AB council president Kim Johan council member St yes counc member Vargas AB question it's still public comment well this is public it's not public comment is here please just so you know Rule of Order means they have have to give a reason for their [Music] exension our attorney excuse me ma'am H borney your acknowledge you you have you have something to say mayor um it seems that we have three abstains and we have um seems mayor we do need a vote on your decision as to 2562 I vote to approve 2562 resolution passes thank you now um we move to appointments to the Arts commission Leah Zamora for public information Marilyn Cru Boe representative uh commission for universal access Tara canava Pat McKenna former athlete R and ruers member recreational advisory advisory committee Tara Cana may I have a motion to confirm so second roll call council member George good volunteers especially on the Arts commission which is really moving forward yes council member Hae uh yes to all of council member H yes council president Kim chhan yes council member pan yes yes council member yes human relations commission carine de as co-chair no confirmation needed and now it's time for the SEC second public participation three minutes per speaker on any topic subject to conclude at 900 p.m. comments from the members of the public attending in person will be heard first followed by those attending by zo7 Sou first I want to thank the mayor and the council for acknowledging my wife my honor this an dinner appreciate that you very close with many of you over the years and I do appreciate all your support to the council and individually um there's a very important screening of a film this Sunday at Congress a we called tragic Awakenings um I usually add live everything next say but this is too important so I'm going to read a little lurb about it the October 7th program in Israel was the worst master of Jesus since the days of the Holocaust yet rather than rally to the victim's side with empathy and compassion International Community has has confoundedly exploited exploited with Jew hatred tragic Awakenings and new look at the oldest hatred is therefore profound And Timely documentry that delves deeply into the roots of anti-Semitism and provides sobering relations about the world's oldest hatred what does such where does such an unbridled hatred come from and can it be harnessed into a Force for good tragic Awakenings and and so many other questions with unvarnished cander and it says it's turning hatred into strength so hopefully it's going to be give us some kind of encouragement that things are turning and things are good in the world as we know they really are also I have a quick comment about Public Safety um I don't know if it's to you Phil you mat on North forth coming off of North forth there's no leftand turn on Rarity from North but every time I I'm there I see a cars turning I notic the sign that says no left hand turn from four to six it supposed to be from raron is kind of facing north fourth so I think people think that between they only can't make that turn between four and six not realizing it's for RAR so you can look into that just observe that and sorry going back this I have a flyer if I can just hand out about Sunday's program and you all be my guest of honor of coming to be you know would you please leave them to our return later sure very thank you very much hi everybody I'm Kimber I live Wayne Street um I came here tonight because I saw a video on YouTube that I thought was kind of upsetting there were some guys that I think they're mainly just internet trolls that go around trying to cause trouble so they can get videos and get clicks for it but they were at our library asking to have lgbtq books removed from the shelf and I think that in the spirit of inclusivity that has been expressed by all of you this evening I just wanted to ask that the council please support the library don't cave into these trolls and you know allow them to keep serving our lgbtq neighbors it's up to parents what their children read and a lot of their rhetoric is very inflammatory and appropriate in my opinion thank you my name is Jacob and I live on loln Avenue um in light of recent anti-immigrant speech and executive word words from the Trump Administration I want to ask you about the ways that Highland Park is working to protect its Community I understand that there are two resolutions in place uh that prohibit local law enforcement from working with Immigration and Customs of ice under 287g program um I'd like to ask some questions and clarify the focus and breath of what is established so far um and thank you also for for bringing this up in some of the council reports um and mayor Foster I I understand that you were one of the only council members back in 2017 to fight for stronger Protections in this resolution by voting no to have more Community to input um on the resolution the resolution was passed in uh I believe May in 2017 is titled the resolution upholding respect and protection for historically discriminated populations and promoting Community inclusivity for all Adam Park residents um resolutions before 2020 don't seem to be accessible on the H website um and I additionally want to ask that um you all reaffirm this or make it um publicly visible in some way preferably both uh in English and Spanish um in high places whether it's here at Town Hall on the the website or possibly through some sort of flying campaign um I also wanted to ask about some of the debate that happened during the original resolution um where people were debating about uh Sanctuary City status and I want to ask there been any progress on this since 2017 um is there any work on the resolution itself to give it more teeth or amendments which is another thing brought up in the debate back in 2017 um um is the immigration and Refugee task force still present who is on it will you make this highly visible too I didn't seem to be able to find any um notice about it on the website except on council member MTH vers biography and um what other work will you commit to to make our undocumented and documented community members feel safer thanks 1426 um I just want to Circle back to the uh state public question number one the Constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana which I read earlier this is from uh November 3rd 2020 um at the end of the uh statement it says if authorized by the legislature a municipality may pass a local ordinance charge a local tax on cannabis products um I know the state is collecting money from the sales and I also believe H park has instituted a um I believe it's 2% um tax on the products sold in Highland Park my question is uh where is this money going um as I understand it um there was talk that the funds would go to offset senior citizens property taxes for those at risk of losing their homes um but I would like to know is that the case is this money that's being Ed from marijuana sales going to this program um how many senior citizens have been identified in this category and how much money have they receed um that is my primary question um related to that I want to point out that um these decisions made tonight obviously by accepting the um two resolutions that I mentioned earlier extending support of class five retail license for Flor and Blackburn um it's obvious that this town is turning into a marijuana headquarters it's no longer I would consider no longer a safe Community uh for families and this is very serious consequences if we compare with our neighbors hien park has ordinances for six Canada shops andison has three bronic has three Highland Park has no limit on classic delivery surface locations and licenses res has four and is s consumption um lounges are permitted in all pot shops in Highland Park they're prohibited in any BR medicine Highland Park residents are 15,000 50,000 in Brunswick and 100,000 in Edon there are no commercial pot free zones in Highland Park people can put their shops wherever they want with open arms from this F and this may you realize what that means Open Arms to what's happening in this town with no restrictions no restrictions on where they can be and you can see where they're they're located now this is a stop hi my name istin over on second s your name is my name tiny over on second app um thank you everybody for your reports and for all of your work um I'm a public historian so I'm really excited to hear about that Comm history grant njch program is aesome so seeing what comes out of that um I also want to thank my neighbor for bringing up some wonderful questions uh I was actually coming here tonight to hear more about what our town does to support um in Beauty both documented and undocumented so thank you for other questions I look forward to hearing the answer here's Al how are you folks my neighbors my friends I love you all I need a clarification U there's a fell named Bill and he's my neighbor and Bill and I walk to town we've been doing it for five years we walk three or five miles every day we've met some wonderful people I've written blogs about them um many read some of them anyway uh one of the stops that we make and I need your help your clarification one of the stops we make is a little Deli right across the it's R by guati okay he from guat by the way I taught ESL in Franklin High School I had many Bartels in my class so I know we gujara is and the culture anyway um it's R by Gujarati the it's stor across the street it's a liquor store you probably know what I'm talking about yes no wave your hands yes no well in the store today I discovered and tell me that I I'm wrong and then you know my eyesight is shot a dispensing machine for cannabis is is that legal officer could somebody check that out all you need to do is either credit card or put a whatever number of money into the dispensing machine and there it is you make your choice for what Canabis comes out of that machine it's like a cigarette machine it blew my mind tell me I saw the wrong things please somebody correct me I'm not hearing from anybody no that's not do I have all your attention would somebody please check that out come back to me one of these days say hey yeah you're full of whatever you are you're right but this is this is a new world we're into we're into dispensing machines for cannabis tell me I'm wrong and by the way I came from Poland 1947 I lived through the war okay my father fortunately was born in in America he was taken back by his parents and was an arranged marriage I was a product of the marriage thank God I'm the luckiest guy in the world he was able to get clearance from Poland and travel Pap to two years and we arrived here and I am here talking to you I'm the luckiest guy in the world because I live through World War II and I'm here in America and I tell you it's the best country in the world I'm a legal immigrant I have the papers so you know which way I swing when it comes to immigr I have a sponsor when we came here that sponsor was he was responsible for us okay and no one else no government we had to find on our own thank God so please help me with this cannabis machine tell me Alex um can I have a can you have the can give us the address of the store or the name of the store I now I told you where it was I'm not trous trow is it thank you you know where it is it's a the uh Irving school is only two blocks away okay thank you I I have I have an idea idea yes thank you thank you so much okay Mary B I just wanted to follow up on the um AB votes for the resolution 62 it's my understanding that for the Rules of Order anyone who abstains on the vot supposed to put a reason for that on the public record can you please verify that or indicate is that accurate if it's accurate then the reasons for the exensions need to be on the record Tel it's easy to look up uh just a reminder the B attorney shared with you that we'll collect all the questions after the session is closed then we'll answer questions we the so if you're asking a person directly that's not going to be done now B attorney you would want to go over the rules of order as it comes to public participation yes once once everyone has asked their questions everyone we're going to close the public portion and then mayor is going to advise she will respond questions so the answer regarding exstension putting a reason on the public record tonight will be addressed after this closes this even as as we mentioned once the public portion is completed all the members of the public on zoom and members of public physically have answered all their questions we will close the public portion and then we will answer as many questions as we can the information so again you'll address this when it closes again once everyone has put their their comments and their questions on the record we're going to close the public portion and then whatever questions the mayor would like someone on the diet to respond or she'll respond and that's what that's where the meeting is going to go I look forward to hearing the rules of order regarding extension public record sorry anyone else yeah we have a hand up it's coming up as Karen anolik please uh state your name please yes I this is Ken anolik again so the last couple of meetings my wife and I had questioned the possibility of putting timers on the flashing stop sign that have been erected um on Madison and Cleveland Avenues and um at the last meeting this was going to be looked into but I had I didn't hear anything from the administrator's report there was no report as far as anything being done I I believe you folks are going to speak with the uh uh police uh police chief and the school about this and I'm hoping that some something is going to move ahead with this but I hadn't heard anything so I'm asking the same question again um the the the flashing stop signs are really quite uh quite a nuisance especially at night especially on weekends and um the solution would be very simple to put a uh timers on these on these flashing lights uh I I also you know it's funny I'm I have a little more time um with regard to the uh cannabis issue you know I'm reminded of a movie that was called um It's a Wonderful Life I I don't know if you guys know this maybe before some of your times Jimmy Stewart very popular movie in its day and here's a guy who was leading a very upstanding life and he was going through a string of bad luck and he wanted to end his life and he was shown what would happen to the town had he not been born and he was shown a d Ian looking town that was run by um an evil kind of guy and the name of the town interesting is called Pottersville and I'm just hoping that this doesn't uh this doesn't reflect something that's going to happen to Highland Park um so there that's it that's what I have seeing that there's no one else may I have a motion to gr the public participation M second roll call council member George yes council member H yes council member H yes council president Kim toan yes council member pic yes council member VAR yes uh bur attorney can you please answer the question regarding uh Council memb abstaining yes of course and I want to go into a little bit of a background that has gone on in h Park first of all the rules of conduct um all of them have to be cified they are currently not cified and when it happens we passed a resolution and just for history sake there was a previous attorney who had a difference of an opinion there was a work session that occurred last week uh where my colleague had basically sat in and many of the rules were not I did not agree with um Ascension from if in a council person comes to the voting votes is an abstain they do not have to put a reason on and I do not know why the previous attorney that was in my space and had that opinion he's he's not here for me to have a discussion with him so I in the process of and we've amended from the comments of the work session and an exension the reason for is not required that has been submitted to the mayor and has been submitted to the administration to the clerk for distribution to the council and I have deleted that so as far as today's meeting is going the council members do not have to explain their reasoning pray um Terry we had uh we had discussed the last council meeting about the flashing a couple of council meeting ago and could you just explain the process that it's not that we go out and flick a switch and it closes and that's it correct and as this is the first time we've used this type of device there's a little bit of a learning curve um so we I we did have a conversation uh with the chief and public works and we're trying to look into the capabilities of this particular model to see if it can have a timer I do not believe timers are possible we believe there's a possibility there may be ability to dim uh based on time of day but it depends on which model we have we didn't install the sign this probably more information you wanted so we're trying to track back and work with the manufacturer to identify the version we have has that capability so I just don't have the answer I didn't think to check in with Public Works before this meeting so I apologize we might actually know the answer um so we do have a way forward and all will certainly report that um and for free everybody don't mind me do so but we'll have an update by the next and then uh the sign of North fourth week I counil member George and and Chief and Terry maybe we should take a second look at that and see if there with that thank you thank you mayor there has been discussion we did have it on several agendas for the uh in the uh Public Safety one of the things we realize it's not only Mike it's not only that side it's the one that faces that says no left turn it's high up and mounted to the side and one of the concerns we had is that um and when you're looking straight forward getting away from the fact that people are just behaving the way they're going to behave um that that sign is not really very visible where although we still have problems with people making a Le left turn between four and six elsewhere the signs are pretty squarely over the street um but but it's a do issue one of the things we determined when we're discussing it is uh it's a do thing so we're actually going in ongoing discussions uh we don't want the north forth blow up any other intersection like South Third so but we will try and piece it in with discussions to see if can you move it can you light it can you do something with it because um um I'm one of the victims of a other North forth Crossing incident so uh I understand that but we have discussed it we're trying to trying to locate the signs a little bit better thank you than you anything uh council member H thank you mayor just just on the on the no left turn on on from fourth onto RAR and I just wanted to Echo uh the concern there I mean we'll remember that that was a um uh and I'm not on and thank you for indulging me I'm not on the Public Safety Committee so this is really the only time that I can really get to comment on this stuff um but as a user of that traffic land with kids who cross their you know 6 SCH it's really important uh do had had had created that no left turn following um you know pedestrian incident there um and um that was supposed to you know kind of address it and make it safer but um it's uh um while we now have a crossing guard though which is amazing uh and I think essential um there there's it doesn't you every time on that you know every time I'm on I'm on Fourth waiting for that light waiting to go straight um there's always someone turning so it it could be you know kind of a public awareness issue or campaign um that might be something worth considering I mean I remember there was a time a few months ago where you literally couldn't drive into Edison without sign screaming that you were going to be jailed for burglarizing homes I mean that was that was their public awareness campaign does anybody remember that I mean there every access point into Edison home burglaries you will go to jail that was a lot you know think for motorists to to to kind of see particularly without context but that was a public awareness campaign so guess what I'm not involving myself in any home Burg in medicine um and perhaps I won't I won't be inclined to make a left turn on ter from thank you offensive president um I think what Michael is referring to if I'm don't want to speak to you the sign has literally turned cuz I drive that sign and I saw it but I yeah I think it's twisted from the wi I think that's what he's saying fa yeah it's not faing on forfeit like facing if you're I don't know North police officers I don't know what you went but it has turn and I think that's oh okay thank you maybe uh DPW can take a look at it um council member H and have it face in the right direction or is it the police department D oh do oh boy oh that's always the problem I can get a wrench I can get a wrench yeah literally go ahead please I didn't see it I didn't see it do it's like two years from now okay um questions were brought up about immigrant rights um what do we do with the what are we doing on the website um the the AG directive from 2007 I was a part of the one that was done in 2007 I was a part of the one that was was done in 27 2016 and 2017 we do not have that up on our website um what the the reso that was passed and what the AG but I know uh many persons have reached out to me I've sent them copies what we can do going forward I've there's a campaign go going on it's called the right to know we will be putting information out and sharing that with our residents on the website so that will be posted so you can see what the rights are for everybody that falls under Department of Civil Rights that's what I first spoke about when I started tonight about how all the rights were just ripped apart and in all in those rights that have been stripped and the getting rid of Department of Civil Rights all of those rights fall within that that area we um I did receive information from the county there is information from the AG we will be uh putting that out again and reposting it so everyone um I know the police department did put reposted theirs as well we had a conversation about a week ago or a week and a half ago with the chief and he made sure he reposted that Highland Park police officers are not ice officers they will not be operating as ice officers and um they'll not be taking any part of any of those activities they are our police officers they will not be participating in any kind of ice rates or anything else like that um as it as I said in 2007 the first one was done then 2016 2017 maybe we just need to refresh that take a link from the police department link it back to us and what the police department will and will not do the task force has sumerset since then because it was a while ago but our belief and our conviction and our stance is still the same um so we talk about immigrant protection safe ready and um I I'm Chief I'm going to t you if you could take a look at that store that it may be crowers where this machine may or may not beers that's right thank you for mentioning we please take a look get to us and you can get back to council member George and just keep us in the loop with that council member George is in charge of public safety and with that said um we have nothing else may I have a motion to adjourn move second our next schedule meeting is February 18th at 7M thank you all have a good night