This meeting is called to order in accordance with the open public meetings acts. Notice of this meeting was provided to the whole news review, the SAR ledger in the Highland Park Planet on January 7, 2026 and was posted on the
Burl website at www.hpbarl.com hpbarl.com and on the Bullington Board at Burl Hall 221 South Fifth Avenue, Highland Park, New Jersey, and has remained continuously posted as required by law.
Fire exits are um to my left and right of council chambers. Um Jerry, could you lead us in the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Roll call. Mayor Foster, Council Member George, Council Member Hail >> here. >> Council member Hirs
>> here. Council President Kim Johan >> here. Council member Castanic >> here. >> Council member Vargas >> here. Attorney Renault >> here >> and B administrator Huber >> here. >> Motion to approve minutes as distributed
April 28th, 2026 regular and executive session meeting. May I have a Oh, may I have a motion to approve the minutes of April 20 April 28th? >> Second.
>> Roll call. Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Pani. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> And council report. Um, Council Member Ponic, would you like to start as well?
>> Uh, sure. Uh, thank you, Council President. Um, so my name is Jason Pelonic. I chair the Health and Human Services Committee, and I have a relatively brief report for tonight. Uh, first up, I just wanted to thank Gary and Joyce Leslie for a very successful WDEI cookies event. Um, I was glad to
stop by and share some cookies and conversation with some neighbors. Special thanks to Council President Stephanie Kim Chong and her family for stopping by. It's nice to see you there. Uh, next up, it's that time of year again, and I'm happy to announce that human relations commission's annual flag raising events are coming up real soon.
On Tuesday, June June 9th, we'll be hold Excuse me, we'll be holding the Caribbean American Heritage flag raising. On Wednesday, June 17th, we'll be holding the Junth flag raising. And on Tuesday, June 23rd, we'll be holding the Pride flag raising. All three flag
raisings are at 5:30 p.m. and will be held outside the parking lot of the community center. So, please mark your calendars and I will see you there. Lastly, just wanted to encourage any Highland Park residents who may be interested in helping with events such as these in our community to consider becoming a member of the human relations
commission. Volunteer applications can be found at hpb.com. And that was my report for tonight. >> Thank you, Council Member Vargas. >> Thank you, Council President. Good evening. My name is Vargas and I am the
council of Arts, Immigration, and Community Services. Um, here are some upcoming events and updates. The Memorial Day parade is coming up this Monday the 26th. Please join us there as we honor remember the brave men and women of our armed forces who made the
ultimate sacrifice and service to our nation. The parade will be held jointly with New Brunswick and will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the New Brunswick City Square. The procession is expected to enter Highland Park at approximately 11:30 and will conclude at the Doughboy.
Um please um we encourage everybody to learn the parade group, support those marching and join us in paying tribute to our foreign service members. May is recognized as older Americans month. Um and there will be a champion your health event at the community
center and residents age 55 and older are invited to attend. This will be an educational program which will focus on wellness, disease prevention, and personal responsibility for healthy aging. This event will take place on Tuesday the 26th um between 2 and 3.
The arts commission um they will be having an event coming up called the art of turning trash into treasure and it will we invite residents to a special compost workshop on Saturday May 30th between 1 and 3 p.m. at the High Park
Library. It will feature a presentation and Q&A session on how to source compost and um along with a simple and sustainable art project. Of course, it's the arts commission, so there is always an art project involved. So, please join
us. I'm excited to announce that the historical commission's community history opened for Thursday, June 25th at 6:30 at the Highland Park Library. is part of one of of one of two community grants they've received um sorry one of
two grants they received this year select residents will have an opportunity to share personal stories memories and reflections about Highland Park's history and the people and events that shape our community stay tuned for more details but please do save the date
and join us having said that the historical commission's only meeting is this Thursday at 7 p.m. They meet virtually through Google meets and the information to join is on the world's calendar and members of the public are welcome to attend. Um by the way there
also volunteer spots open in both the arts and the historical commission. So if you have a passion for either one we welcome you to apply and join us and the volunteer um corn can be found on the bonus website. Recreation Department summer camp
registration is ongoing and we have a great and exciting season filled with educational, recreational, and social activities for children. Highland Park is very fortunate to offer an affordable and wellestablished summer camp program is dedicated to providing a fun, safe,
and enriching experience for all participants. The registration deadline is on June 2nd. Um, please register at the Highland Park Recreations website. The information can be found on the borrowers page as well as their Facebook or you can call the recreation
department at 7328190052 for more information. May is also Jewish American Heritage Month. A national celebration recognizing the contributions of Jewish Americans to our country's history, culture, and civic life. As a proud Jewish vegan, I'm
especially grateful to celebrate both parts of my heritage. Many people may not realize that Puri was home to the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean and the Jewish presence on the island dates back to 1493 with significant growth during the
Spanishame War and again in the 1930s. Today, more than 3,000 Jewish residents live in Puerto Rico and are serified by the reformed, conservative, and Orthodox community. Um, and I am proud to navigate and celebrate both of these rich cultural traditions. And as a reminder, because
this always confuses people, Puerto Ricans are United States citizens and Americans. Um, and so we celebrate. Um, that is my report. >> Oh, mayor. No,
>> mayor. >> Thank you, Council President. Uh, my name is Matt Hail and I chair the economic development committee. This Thursday, May 21st, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m., and Friday, May 22nd, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm is Main Street's annual planting day. It's where we put uh the
beautiful summer plants and about 150 big downtown planters. It's a big job and we're looking for volunteers. If you're interested, please come to the Wildwoods Pavilion um right next to 212 Rare Avenue during those hours. Uh you can pick up your plants and your assignments and we'll tell you where to
put them. Fun day. And next up, the World Cup is coming. The World Cup is coming. It's just under uh a month away. Um where the world is descending on New Jersey, not New York, New Jersey to watch the beautiful game. I'm particularly excited for Norway versus Senagal on June 22nd and of course all
the games for USA. Rebecca Hirs at Main Street and Natuja Varte, our assistant economic development director, have teamed up to put a great tutorial for businesses on how to capitalize on the World Cup coming to New Jersey. You can find that at mainstreet.org/ org/2026
World Cup. Uh they're also working with local businesses and uh on doing watch parties. So stay tuned at Main Street web pages for details. It's going to be great. Main Street has planned uh our annual restaurant week to coincide with the quarters and semies of the World
Cup. It's going to be from July 9th to July 19th. So if you're a restaurant, coffee shop, sweet shop, any place with food, you can come join the Main Street Restaurant Week by going to mainstreet.org/ org/restweek 2026. Main Street uh is also doing a
mailer for all local businesses in advance of restaurant week. So, if you're a local business or just someone who wants to say hi to other HP residents, please go to, you guessed it, mainstreet.orgreet mailer to sign up and get the word out.
Um, as Nor said, this is Jewish American Heritage Month. And so, I wanted to say also say a few words about it. Since 1654, when Jacob R. Simpson sounds like Bart Simpson. Jacobson Jacob Bar Simpson came to New Amsterdam after fleeing
persecution from Brazil. Jewish Americans have been an indelible part of American life. The accomplishments of Jewish Americans nationally are well known and documented as are the ongoing struggles with anti-semitism which is reaching terrifying and acade epidemic
proportions. With attacks and Jew hatred coming from both ends of the political spectrum, it's never been scarier to be a Jewish American than it is today. at least in my lifetime. We're struggling. We feel overwhelmed. But it's important to remember that there is a rich history of Jewish Americans and I'd prefer to
focus on that today. I'm going to talk about some amazing Jewish Americans from right here in Highland Park. I also wanted to thank everyone from Facebook and what's for giving me many of these ideas. Um, so there are lots of very famous Jewish Americans with Highland Park
Connections. Solomon Locksman won the 1952 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work on antibiotics. Arnold Pentius won the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on cosmic microwave radiation. Both were Jewish and lived in Highland Park. Pop artist Roy Likenstein lived on South
Adelaide in the 1960s. Sculptor George Seagal taught community art lessons in HP in the 1950s. And painter and early feminist Joan Schneider grew up in Highland Park. Highland Parks High School has alumni including Samuel Freriedman, a New York Times columnist,
and Jim Axelrod of CBS News spun. And I could go on with really more famous people, but I really just wanted to mention three real Jewish Americans who might not be famous, but are no less important. Each one represents the goodness and kindness of this Highland Park. In a world that is on fire, it's
easy to forget that regular people can still do incredible things. Giving things, kind things, make our community special. Every community has them. Since it's Jewish American Heritage Month, I'm going to focus on three that I've been lucky enough to know.
Jerry Pomper is a political science professional from Ruckers, and he's been called the dean of American political science for his work on the presidents and campaign uh uh and elections. But he also wrote two articles, one of them called Practicing Political Science on a Local School Board based on his
experience as a member of the Highland Park School Board. He also served on the planning board. Jerry was the first political science who vouched for me when I started teaching at Satan Hall, telling a colleague to look at my research and quoting it as not too shabby. Spencer Rockman has coached youth soccer
in Highland Park and Edison for over 50 years. He's coached US development teams, elite travel teams, and the first high school girls soccer team in Elizabeth. Spencer is a member of the New Jersey Youth Soccer Hall of Fame. But it it really is young kids from age 3 to 12 that are Spencer's legacy. It is
almost impossible to play soccer at any kind of level in Highland Park, Edison, or McCutchen and not played with Spencer. >> That's right. >> All three of my kids went through Spencer. And I'm going to end tonight on a note about my friend Sheldon Frieden. At the last council meeting, I mentioned
that Highland Park had a new Eagle Scout, a young man named Ben Israel, and that it was Sheldon's 28th Eagle Scout, including number 26, my son, Zach. And it was sadly his last. Sheldon passed away just a few days after seeing Ben
become an Eagle Scout. I did the math and based on the average number of scouts in our troop, about 12% of the scouts that went through Holland Park have made it to Eagle Scout. Historical average nationally is about 4%. We always say that Highland Park punches
above our weight and there's no better example of that than Sheldon. He was a kind, diligent, soft-spoken man who simply did what was necessary to make things work by building an Arab around a boy scout camp so scouts from far away from Texas could come and spend camping
with their families. All three of these men represent best in Hunt Park, the best in Jewish America, and I've been left very lucky to know them. So, in honor of Jewish Heritage Month, I'd like to uh just say thank you to all of you.
That's my report. >> And um and um for for Sheldon, can we have a moment of silence? Thank you. And council member Hirs. >> Thanks, Council President. Uh, and
thanks, Councilman Hail for that. Um, it's actually it's actually interesting. I I um uh Coach Spencer uh coached both of my sons, but um one of my greatest accomplishments to this day, arguably more than being up here on the council
was being an licensed soccer coach, taught by co taught and and trained by by coach Spencer. Um that kind of stuff stays with you forever. you know, our experiences here also do too. But there are certain philosophies, fundamental, you know, um, uh, kind of codes when
you're when you're a coach, particularly one who's trained by, you know, when when you're trained by somebody who has so much experience. So, thank you for for mentioning he used to call my my my son's name is Ruben, and he used to call him Hurricane
after Ruben Carter. Uh so so uh yeah no first semester um uh so uh my name is Matthew Hirs. I chair the public works and public um utilities committee. Uh just a few things. Uh we have a lot of the fruit of a lot of our lot of our
work of the last two months is is is just behind us and we're gearing up for for exciting stuff in front of us. But let's just recap really quickly. Um the street fair and Earth Day and 5K. Um, first many thanks to to the fire department, the Highland Park Police Department, public works, search team,
Main Street, Highland Park, and all of the volunteers and staff who made who made that day uh an enormous success. Um, uh, the 5K was was was brutal as usual. Um, but but but we finished. And Jake Callahan's not not here, but it
came in 30 seconds ahead of him, so not old yet. Um, and uh, Um uh uh and it was just an incredible day. I do want to just highlight uh the Earth Day Festival which took place on South 3rd. Uh that was um kind of you
know part of the street fair but organized a little bit separately um through the shade tree advisory committee, the environmental commission and sustainable highland park. um really terrific uh uh um uh resource uh area where you can learn about native plantings, where you can learn how to be
good environmental stewards, and you can learn about various programs uh and opportunities to help Highland Park um uh and our community be even greener. Uh many thanks to Sheila Shutla, uh Anthony Walker, and the whole musician team that
played uh on on that corner. um uh Anandala uh the ac capella group from the high school. Uh it was uh truly truly terrific. Um and really set a theme of music uh which is my favorite part of the spring. I did want to just
mention uh Porchfest as well. Many of you were out on Sunday. I know we had a lot going on on Sunday. It was the uh it was the clean and green weekend which I'll get to in just a second. Uh but then Porchfest, this was not uh under my portfolio, but I think we all took part
uh in in in enjoying that. Um many thanks to so many people who hosted. Thank you very much to Sue Winkler and Gary Kaplan for again doing the heavy lifting of putting that together. It's really a challenge to not only find host
venues but also corral the needs of you know um you know anybody who knows rock and roll or anyone who knows public you know public performance knows that there are very specific needs by the performers. So uh many thanks to them for that. Um but again just I wanted to
shout out to my uh my son's band Steven Addict. They played under the pavilion uh in the afternoon and uh I was thrilled when they uh closed with a death tone song. So uh really warms my 90s kid heart. Uh
um I did want to just mention the clean and green weekend. Thank you to sustainable Highland Park uh and all the residents who came out uh both Saturday and Sunday to participate in our clean and green weekend. have most coordinated cleanups of our rain gardens in the native plant sanctuary, but also native
plant giveaways. Uh many thanks to Melly Guhuro, Karen Swain, uh Andy Warren, um Irene Marx, uh Rosie Lorenzo, and the whole team uh at Sustainable Highland Park, uh for again, you know, coordinating an excellent uh community
engaging uh event. And that's the most important part is that we can educate, but we can also engage and really remove some of the abstractions when when it comes to things like our tree plantings um which just got underway. I did want to just mention that uh Sustainable
Highland Park will hold its regular meeting next Wednesday, May 27th at 7:30 p.m. here at the Heshy Burman conference room at Burough Hall at 221 South 5th Avenue. Uh the uh I did mention the Shade Tree Advisory Committee. I did want to just uh uh uh mention a few
things that came out of our meeting last Wednesday. Uh we are currently working we we currently have a a green communities grant uh to conduct a tree in a canopy inventory. This is done by uh you know once again to to to maintain our canopy inventory. This is done by
Rockford students. It's almost complete. Um we are just kind of wrapping up uh some of the details there. Uh and then any areas where that that that might conflict with our uh two 2025 tree inventory. Uh I did want to just mention
the community forest forestry management program that the burough is currently working on uh through New Jersey. This is through the department of environmental protection. Uh we are currently working on our CFMP. What this does is that it it um it helps us qualify for state and federal forestry
grants. uh meets requirements for certain environmental programs, reduces liability for from hazardous trees. It improves storm preparedness and climate resilience and it demonstrates responsible steward environmental stewardship and more and most important it really helps us better best navigate
our our tree replanting strategies. We have a lot of trees in Highland Park that are aging out simultaneously which you have probably noticed. And so we are taking an aggressive approach uh to tree replantings. Um uh and you've seen you know some entire corridors recently uh
in a burrow with new trees. Um you know there is a there's an 80% survival rate. So some of those do do don't don't make it past that first year. But if you see something please reach out to us and let us know and we'll work closely with um with our arborist uh and our our Cracker
Jackack tree planting service. Um just uh two events coming up on Sunday, May 31st. Uh at 9:00 a.m. there is a rain garden planting where we're going to meet at Raren Avenue and South Fourth
Avenue. You can help us plant in the rain gardens. Uh and that's what we did last weekend, too. So, please come. We're going to we're we're we're planting uh native plants uh in those rain gardens. that helps better best absorb the water and really puts the rain gardens to the most productive use.
And then on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 at 7 PM, uh please join us at the Highland Park Public Library at 31 North Fifth Avenue for a um for a presentation by Rucker's Master Gardener, Sutar, on native plants for rain gardens. And this
program is sponsored by Sustainable Highland Park and the Highland Park Public Library. That is my report, Council President. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member um Hirs. My name is Stephanie Kim Chan. I chair um finance. The mayor is um uh not here
tonight. She's attending the um New Jersey mayors of conferences uh conference in Atlantic City. Um and for me, very uh just a few announcements. Um tonight on the agenda, we are um officially adopting the budget. we were
waiting for our certification from the state. Um so that is hopefully it will be adopted. Thank you to the finance team that's here uh here tonight. Thank you so much for your hard work on this and also um thank you to the school
board members. I know this was a tough year. Um so and we recognize that. So thank you also. Um I I also attended the um the HRC uh DEI
cookie exchange. Um I know they will have more series and more um topics that they were discussing. It was a great event. Hopefully um it won't coincide with Porch Fest next year or so. Um but it was it it was a great event and
healthy discussion. And um lastly, I also want to recognize May is also um AAPI month. So maybe uh we can get together with my fellow Jewish colleagues and go to China
together and that can be a fusion in between, right? >> And it could be it would be my first time that a res a Jewish resident actually took me there. So
um yeah. in the park only um only those two can come together right um and uh I think that is my report bro administrator do you have a report
just very briefly wanted to highlight a couple items on the agenda that we've been working very hard to get to this point budget notwithstanding and thank you to our CFO NA champion and our auditor Jerry Snakeitz who are here tonight uh as we look towards that. But
in addition to the budget being on the agenda, um I know there are members of the public who are very interested in we had a community meeting to talk about our settlement uh approach to the ongoing litigation for Buck Woods. And so on the agenda tonight are three
resolutions all having to do with um basically settling that litigation and essentially kicking us into gear because what tonight is on the agenda for your vote is a to authorize the settlement
agreement which is all in in your packets and you can look at it and which articulates essentially the new zoning plan that we proposed uh for the property. that essentially takes the existing footprint of the building that was approved there by the planning
board, believe it was last year or the year before, um, but allowing for additional units. But in exchange, we're we're also leveraging that to get additional roadway access, fire safety, playground amenities, and a bunch of other things that we think will actually
yield a better project and an asset to the community. So, I'm really appreciative for everybody's hard work getting us to this point and I hope uh to have your support on that resolution uh tonight. Um and then coming right out
of that agreement are 12B and 12 C on the agenda which are the execution of a funding agreement which essentially uh JSM as part of our agreement will be funding all the professional work needed in order to effectuate the plan that we
set forth in our community meeting. And I should also mention the the the information that we presented at our community meeting is still up on our website. So if anybody wants to check it out, it's available. Uh and then the last but certainly not the least uh 12c kind of the first major step that we're
obligated to take should we agree to this settlement agreement is to do a study to determine if the the site meets the area need of redevelopment criteria as well as to establish a redevelopment plan that sets forth the zoning that we've all discussed previously. So,
those are three big items that we've been working for a very long time and I just um I'm very proud to to where we got with that and I'm looking forward to to getting that moving. Um and then the only other items I just thought I'd mention just because I know um actually
two projects also this is a very juicy agenda as I know the burl clerk would acknowledge because there's a lot on here but um item 12D is regarding the safe routes to school phase one which are those intersection improvements in various locations. I know there's a lot
of uh eagerness to get that project underway and this is a major step. We're awarding a contract for the construction management and inspection. That will allow DOT to authorize the money to pay for that and the improvements and then we can bid out that job with the goal of
getting that uh fully constructed uh probably by the end of the fall. Um so just keep an eye on that. There's more to come, but I know those are important projects to the community. Um and then with regard to the plaza, uh you can see that uh we have two um related items
working with Arthon. I should mention you'll start to see the name Arthon on on the agenda. That is the newly named uh CME Associates, our our bureau engineer. They went through a a rebranding. So just we'll have to get used to Arthon. So I'm going to use it tonight. Uh we're going to be working
with Arthon on two things related to the plaza. Uh, one is regarding getting the two properties on either side of our municipal parking lot ready for demolition. They're doing a lot of site assessment work and putting together the bid package and getting the bid out so
that we get those p those houses out of the way so that we don't have any slowdown when we're ready to start on the plaza itself. And then the other item is for their help with reviewing um arterials designs for storm water and
very importantly DOT permit compliance. So we have a approval from DOT. We want to make sure nothing in our plans kind of runs a foul of the permit that we've got and also identify any additional review that may be required. So they are working on all that with us. Uh it is
like my number one two to five priority projects. uh and um but because we're working really hard to get that project underway. So, thank you for for giving me a little time, council president, acting mayor. Uh but I just I I'm really proud of this agenda. It's kind of a lot
on there. Um uh and there's there's even more, but I just wanted to call those items out because I know they're important. >> Thank you. >> Ministry of Attorney's Report. >> Nothing to me.
Um, public participation, 21 minutes total, three minutes per speaker, limited to items on this agenda. Comments from members of the public attending the meeting in person will be heard first, followed by members
of the public attending the meeting via Zoom. I have no uh on Zoom we have six attendees and there are no hands up for the first public participation. Okay, seeing no one, um may I have a motion to close public participation?
>> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. Council member Hail, >> yes. >> Council member Hirs, >> yes. >> Council President Kim Johan, >> yes. >> Council member Piston, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas, >> yes. Ordinances requiring a second reading.
Clerk, please report on board news number 26-2127, an ordinance amending chapter 86 entitled fair share affordable housing to implement the fourth round of affordable housing in accordance with
the Fair Housing Act of 1985 as amended has been duly advertised for consideration of passage on final on final reading by title and affidavit of publication are on file. It is now time for public hearing on
this ordinance. If you would like to speak on this ordinance, please come to the microphone or raise your hand on Zoom. Seeing no one, may I have a motion to close public hearing or ordinance number 26-2127.
So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Tohan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piscali. >> Yes. >> Council member Berg. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to adopt ordinance
26-2127? >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Choan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes.
Clerk, please report on ordinance number 26-2129. >> An ordinance authorizing the acquisition of a portion of certain real property block 30001 lots 171 1819 and 332
Rton Avenue has been duly advertised for consideration of passage on final reading by title and affidavit of publication are on file. It is now time for public hearing on this ordinance. If you would like to speak on this ordinance, please come to
the microphone or raise your hand on Zoom. >> No hands up. >> Seeing no one, may I have a motion to close the public hearing on ordinance number 26-2129. >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call.
>> Council member H. >> Yes. >> Council member Her. >> Yes. Council President Kimchan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to adopt ordinance 26-2129? >> So move. Second. >> Roll call.
>> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hurst. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Chan. >> Yes. >> Council member Pani. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. Resolutions requiring a separate reading uh
of resol uh okay resolution authorizing reading of budget by title only. May I have a motion to adopt resolution 5-26-125 authorizing reading of budget by title.
So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Jan. >> Yes. >> Council member. >> Thank you to Terry Na and all the team. Yes. >> Council member Vargas.
>> Yes. >> Motion to open public hearing on 2026 municipal budget. public hearing on municipal budget. >> May I have a motion to open the public
hearing on the 2026 municipal budget? So >> wait a time. >> Oh um public hearing. I do have one hand up. Uh Michelle Rasi,
please just confirm it's you. >> Hi, it's me. I don't know. Can you hear me? >> Yes. Yes. Um, did did we get to the part of the meeting yet where we can talk on a topic that's not on the agenda?
>> No, we're we're talking strictly about the adoption of the municipal budget right now >> because um it says number nine, public participation after the mayor's report. Did we skip that? >> No. Uh we called we asked for hands and
nobody raised their hand >> because I was here listening to the whole thing and that must have gone really fast because I didn't even hear them say that and my other friend who is also listening on Zoom somewhere else also didn't hear it >> and there's two of us that wanted to
talk. So um could we go back to that part? >> No, I'm sorry, Council President. Uh uh the public participation uh there was a motion in a second. uh that portion of the meeting has concluded. Uh right now the motion is specifically on the municipal budget. There will be another
public participation at the end uh which is on any topic uh and certainly you'll be able to raise your your questions at that. Um I have another hand up. Uh Elizabeth, I'm going to allow you to talk if you could just confirm it's you.
I think you may have to unmute yourself. Elizabeth. All righty. I try asking to unmute one last try. All right. I'm gonna assume just hand manage here.
All right. All right. I Okay, I still have two hands up. I'm going to I'm going to call on Michelle Recappy again. I'm going to let in terms of our attorneys and just confirm it's you and if you have anything to say on this topic.
Could you just could I just find out like this looks like it's going to be an extremely long meeting and I when do you think what time will the portion when I could talk like what time will that be? >> We don't have a time period. It's it's
section 14 on the public portion. I I would just like to ask for like us I mean you that part went by really fast and it was a little confusing because it said mayor's report but I think someone else Stephanie might have done the mayor's report so me and my friend
Elizabeth who's on the other neither of us heard it and I just don't have like two hours or however long to wait till the end of this meeting this really like >> it's not I mean like I'm a resident of the town could I just like go can we just go back like we're wasting more time like I could have already just said
my piece and be done. >> Like I said, well, section 14, what will be coming up? I imagine we'll be there less than 20 minutes. >> Um I I've got a hand up. Uh Elizabeth, again, we're we're in the budget hearing uh portion of our meeting. Uh if you
have something you'd like to say, uh please confirm your name. >> Um yeah, my uh sorry, I was having technical problems. Um, Elizabeth Wild Greenberg. Um, yes, I I had the um same question as Michelle. Um, especially since it's a budget hearing if we can um
uh if we can go back to the public comment because um I had wanted to speak but it did go by pretty quickly. Um but yeah, so same comment as as Michelle's. >> To be clear, right now the portion of the meeting is on the budget. If you have a comment on the budget, now is the
time to raise it. Let's get to the next level. >> Yeah, I think I think I think the that I think they're the I'm having hand management issues on the Zoom. Sorry. Um All right. That the Michelle and
Elizabeth were the two hands up I had um at this time. Okay, seeing no one uh no one may I have a motion to close public hearing on the 2026 municipal budget. >> So move second. >> Roll call. >> Council member Hail,
>> yes. >> Council member Hir, >> yes. >> Council President Kim Johan, >> yes. >> Council member Piston, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas, >> yes. >> May I have a motion to adopt resolution 5-26-126 adoption of the 2026 municipal budget?
So moved. Second. >> Roll call. Council member Hail. >> Yes. And just thank you to the entire team for putting it together. It's really wonderful. Thank you. >> Council member Hirs. >> Yes. Good investments, philosophical document, everything that was carefully done in this budget. Thank you.
>> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Ponic. >> Thanks. Fiscal team. Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> Okay. Okay. Um, resolution authorizing reading of Bane Street Highland Park uh,
budget by title only. May I have a motion to adopt resolution 5-25-127 authorizing meeting of Main Street Highland Park budget by title only. >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. Council member Hail.
>> Yes. >> Council member Hurst. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Chan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> Um motion to open public hearing on 2025 Main Street Highland Park budget.
>> 26. >> 26. Sorry. May I have a motion to open the public hearing on 2026 Main Street Highland Park budget. >> So move second. >> Roll call. >> No, just do all in favor.
>> Okay. All in favor? Hi. >> All right. Again, this is a comment on the Main Street Highland Park budget. I'm calling on Michelle to speak to the Main Street Highland Park budget. Now is the time. Otherwise, there will be an opportunity for general
public comment uh shortly. Seeing no one, may I have a motion to close public hearing on the 2026 Main Street Highland Park budget. >> So move. >> Second. >> And roll call. Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hur. >> Yes.
>> Council President Kron. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to adopt resolution 5-26-128 adoption of the 2026 Main Street
Highland Park budget? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council member Hir. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim John. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. Yes.
>> All right. Consent agenda items. Council members, would you like to pull anything for a separate reading? >> Great. May I have a motion to adopt the following consent agenda items 12 A
through 12 O. >> So second roll call. Council member Hail. >> Yes. And just to echo Terry that there's a lot in here. We did a lot of work to this. Terry did an amazing amount of of moving. Uh Joe Bowman was wonderful on many of these issues. So I just wanted
to say thank you to the team for for getting all this stuff done. It's great. And yes, >> Council Member Hirs. >> Yes. And the consent agenda is really a reflection of of a lot of the work that that that we're doing. I want to just point to 526139 item 12K. That's a sustainable Jersey
grant. I talked about the community forestry management plan. A lot of our work what a lot of our work does is that it enables us opportunity for additional resources and investment and thereby can grow our our um our sustainability. So yes, thank you
>> council president Kim Johan. >> Yes. And I also want to comment a lot of these items on here when we talk about the plaza and different things. Those items also will eventually help with our bond rating as well. Um so thank you to that team. Yes.
>> Council member Christristanic. >> Yes. And thank you to Terry, the team for all hard work for helping move all these very important things forward. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> All right. >> And an appointment. Um, Council on
Aging, Barbara Fischer, Moreno Foritz. May I have a motion to confirm? Second. >> Roll call. Council member Hail, >> yes. >> Council member Hurst, >> yes. >> Council President Kimhan, >> yes. >> Council member Ponic, >> yes.
>> Council member Borg, >> yes. >> Now it's time for the second public participation. 3 minutes per speaker on any topic subject to 900 p.m. conclusion. Comments from members of the
public attending the meeting in person will be heard first, followed by members of the public attending the meeting via Zoom. >> Looks like we have seven attendees on Zoom and Michelle's back. Please state your name just to confirm it's you.
>> Hi. Um, sorry I didn't understand that it would be so fast. Um, that's what I had been asking about, but um, so I just wanted to come on and say, and my, uh, friend Buffy Elizabeth is going
to talk about this as well and give maybe some more context, but I just want to state we were here like a year ago and I'm coming back to say again that I am against privatizing and outsourcing our crossing guards. Um, and not only should we not be privatizing them, but
we should be offering better salaried positions in order to ensure that we are retaining good quality people and that um we are not offering lowquality, lowpaying jobs, which is just a race to
the bottom in terms of uh services and you know jobs that this town is offering to people. we it would be worse service and less safety to the town residents that we are getting for our taxpayer dollars. Um and we've seen a wave of privatizing in this town like at the
Irving school afterare the shared services with the dispatch and people are very unhappy with those things. Um and if we provide the people who live in town with quality salaried jobs, they will be more reliable. some of the
current guards are salaried um and I know there um the ones that are hourly um they might be having more issues with um so I don't think the solution is to go to more hourly workers hourly workers
um and um it might you know save a couple hours for the police department on payroll but it would be a huge disservice to the people of Highland and especially the school children who are, you know, the most at risk when they're crossing the
street and who use these crossing guards the most. So that's what I want to say. Thank you. >> Next up is Elizabeth or I guess it's Buffy. You want to just confirm your name for the record? >> Hi. Yes. Hopefully I'm doing this right now. Hi, it's Buffy. Um, my full name is
Elizabeth Wild Greenberg and um, yeah, just to echo what Michelle said, um, it's my understanding that the police department is trying to again privatize the crossing guards. Um, like Michelle said, we had this come up about a year ago. There was a huge outpouring of
support for the crossing guards and as a result of that community opposition. The plan was abandoned. So, it's really disheartening to see um that apparently the police department wants to go full speed ahead um with privatization. Um
you know, privatization, we've seen it in um our schools, we've seen it um in our workplaces, in our you know, state and federal governments. Um it always leads to worse working conditions, higher turnover, lower wages, which in
turn leads to worse services for our community. Um there's also been a lot of research that shows that while um corporations try to sell school districts and um town councils and police departments that you're going to
save money, um it's a con and that there's been a lot of research to show that actually privatization ends up costing communities more money than if they had kept um the services um public. we can all see that privatizing the
dispatchers has not worked well. Um, and once something is privatized, it is very hard to change course. Um, I'd also like to say that privatization, I think, is really anothetical to our values um to the values um of the people in this town
and the people um on the bureau council. And so I would like each council member tonight to state their position on the record um on the question of privatizing the crossing guards. Um next up is Sal Baptist. Please just
state your name for the record, please. >> Uh hi, my name is Sal Baptist. I'm a a resident in town and um I am just confused as to why anyone in
this town, you know, besides seeing how poorly the uh shared services agreement for a dispatch is working out. Why anyone would think that it would save money to introduce another middleman
when we have so many examples in every aspect of our lives as people existing in this society. We have so many examples of just layers
and layers of middlemen just taking money and giving us nothing. Why are we doing that? Why would we even consider that? Thanks. >> All right. I see no other hands up. Seeing no one further, may I have a
motion to close public participation? >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. Council member H. >> Yes. >> Council member Hur. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Chan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas.
>> Yes. I have a motion to adjurnn. Sorry. I think we might have we respond to those questions or >> I think you're certainly you have no obligation to respond but it's your discretion.
>> I would like to respond. >> Um okay, council member >> I have no idea where the information about going to privatizing the crossing cards is coming from. We talked about it a year ago, decided that it was not something that we wanted to move forward
with and I don't believe that there are any moves in that direction. I think that's the council members are are wondering where this is coming from. It's possibly it's a a rumor that is but we have not heard the idea of privatizing them
again. >> Council member Hersh. >> Thank you. Thank you, Council. I just want to echo what Councilman Hail said. I'm Councilman George isn't here. He chairs public public safety. Um but uh we have had no discussion period about
about about what's been discussed. So I if there is something floating around the community uh please correct the record. There is no legend discussion about privatization. >> Thank you. I would just echo that. This is the
first time you're >> as well. I haven't heard about it at all. >> Hasn't made it way to legal either if that helps. >> I also sit on public safety with uh council member I mean council member Hers and that hasn't been in discussion.
So um may may I have a motion to um adjourn? So move >> second. >> All in favor? Hi. >> Hi.