Where is this meeting is called to order in accordance with the open public meetings act. Notice of this meeting has been provided to the home news tribute the star ledger in the home uh in the Highland Park Planet on January 7th,
2026 and was posted on the burrow website at www.hpurl.com hpbarl.com and the bulletin board at Burl Hall 221 South Fifth Avenue, Highland Park, New Jersey, and has remained it remained
continuously posted as required by law. Fire exits are to the left and right of council chambers. Would you like uh Tatiana, would you like to lead us in the pledge of allegiance? 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 here. Council member Hail here.
Council member Hirs, Council Member Kim Johan >> here, >> council member Vistani >> here, >> council member Vargas, Attorney Renault >> here, >> and assistant burrow administrator >> here.
>> Okay. Approval of minutes. U motion to approve minutes as distributed for March 7 March 17, 2026 work session meeting and March 24th, 2026 regular session.
>> Okay, roll call. Council member George, >> yes. >> Council member Hail, >> yes. >> Council President Kim Johan, >> yes. >> And council member Ponic, >> yes. >> Okay. And council reports. I'm gonna start with council member Hail.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, good evening. My name is Matt Hail and I chair our economic development committee. Tonight, my council report is being brought to you by the Highland Park Sweet and Confectioners Association. Have you ever had that day so stressful that the only solution is ice cream or chocolate? Perhaps even
reporting out code violations or giving a heads up on mainstream activities. I know I have, and I could use some ice cream. Luckily, in Highland Park, we have several amazing options for your sweet tooth. These include Dairy Deluxe located at 811 Raritan Avenue. It's a kosher facility with both soft serve and
hard pack ice cream. What a country. Then we have our newest addition, Leila Suits, located at 415 Raran Avenue, home of the world famous Dubai crepe filled with pistachio sauce and roasted kafuna. We also have Dunkin Donuts on Raridan
Avenue at 55 Ran Avenue. another kosher facility with donuts and Baskin Robin ice cream. And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Counterpart's own chocolate making facility, Burn Chocolates, um who have made delicious handcrafted chocolates on Cleveland Avenue for over
a century. So whether it's a bad day needing sweets or just a good day um wanting them, Park has you covered. Okay, back to regularly scheduled programming. It's time for this month in code. Uh this month our code uh enforcement operation um uh it's March
and the sun is out, the trees are starting to bloom, our farmers market is back. So not surprisingly, the number of complaints has dropped. The code received a total of two complaints in all of March. And in related news, the total number of violations issued in March was also two. Uh we also March may
not have been a good month for complaints, but it was a great month for issuing permits. We issued a total of 131 permits in March. Um, and unlike other months, uh, previous months, there was fairly evenly distributed across building, plumbing, and electrical. These permits brought in just under
$30,000 in associated fees. Uh, total number of inspections. In March, we conducted a total of 86 inspections with building and electrical topping the list. About 75% of these inspection have passed. Interesting, only about 25% of the plumbing inspection pass. Um, so a
little work to do on that. Um, that's it for this month in code. So, thanks to Scott Brusher and his great team. Go code. Uh, Main Street, as I mentioned, farmers market is back and starting to gain steam. So, come on out on Friday afternoons to buy your veggies. But big news is the Spring Fling Street Fair
coming on Sunday, March 3rd. Uh, this kicks off in the morning with the annual 5K, which given my clear proclivities for sugar and sweets, I will not be running it. But come out and cheer those who are those intrepid souls on. I also ask that people who live on the running
route um to please remember that it may be difficult to get your cars in and out as the runners pass. So, if possible, please plan ahead. The staff, volunteers, and police along the route will do their best to help their primary but their primary job is to keep people safe. After the run, come on down the
main street uh for all the vendors, eat lots of food, and more importantly, say hello to all your neighbors who like you are coming out of hibernation. It's a great chance to reconnect with friends and most importantly, our local businesses. That's my report today. >> Thank you. Um,
council council member Vargas. Hi everybody. Good evening. Thank you. Um, okay. Tonight my council report is being brought to you by the greater Highland Park Coffee and Tea Association. Look at that. All right. Did you know that Highland Park has a strong independent coffee scene with
dedicated micro roasters, cafes, and specialty markets? That's right. from a Gemini search. Um, we have Pentop Coffee Shop and Roer located at 13 South Third Avenue. It It features house roasted beans and single origin pullovers in a
laptop friendly environment right on what will become the Third Avenue pedestrian plaza. We also have Elicon um the Greek market located at 137-139 Avenue with a full service coffee bar, a breakfast and a menu and lunch menu and
Greek pastries. And I could sense that everything is delicious there. Of course, we have Don Don at 55 Avenue. What would I do without my Excuse me. What would I do without my uh I smoke a latte every morning? Um, of course we um
um Hila Park also has tea lovers cover and I love tea. We have Mitsu um flour and tea located at 114 Marin Avenue specializing in milk teas and you should also try their tanisu latte. It's
delicious. Um and don't forget about Glenn's Cafe at 509 Marina Avenue. is the season they're opening up which is very exciting and they offer they also offer wonderful coffee and tea selections with fresh paper smoothies.
Um okay, moving on to it's April and April is poetry month and the Highland Park um arts commission has a few events coming up this month. Number one is they have they're putting together a poetry zen and which will be
by and for our community. So we're calling for submissions. The theme will be on the river. So, who are we getting submissions from? Highland Park community members. Whether you live or work in Highland Park um of any age, please submit at least two poetry or
pros, at least one page each. Um we are asking for the submissions to be sent in between um up until April 30th and the magazine will be published in late May. For more information, please check out um the link for submissions is on our social
media page on Facebook and in Instagram. We also have two more learn and create serieses coming up. One will be a poetry workshop called POV poetry. It will be presented by Kusani on Sunday, April 19th between 2 and 4 and that will take
place at the library and that will be for ages 16 um and over. And then on Saturday, April 25th between 12:00 and 2, they have one called Haiku and the Dwars presented by K Desiree Milwood, also at the library. So try to check
those out. Um, and that is my report for tonight. >> Okay. Thank you, Council Member George. >> Thank you, Council President. My name is Phil George. I'm li
council and our public safety entities. on this beautiful spring evening. Um, unfortunately, the only radio program you can listen to is the police scanner, you would think, but there's a lot going on with our our police department and our fire department. The fire department just completed their their next uh their
last monthly training session. We're now posting the pictures and the videos from uh the fire training so you see what they are actually doing um and how they actually training uh now that we have full-time as well as um part-time
firefighters uh serving. Um, one of the things that we did have an an important call, minor, very small, you would think, but very important shows what we're uh doing last night. There was a sprinkler call, which is rather unusual.
That's when uh automated sprinkler set off an alarm. Um, we responded to an apartment where an elderly citizen had unfortunately lit a fire with a candle. They managed to extinguish it because of the alarm system and the immediate response uh that called right through to
our full-time fires. But in addition, they actually scan the entire building with a infrared scanner just to make sure that there was no fire in the walls or or hidden in anything else. So it seems very very simple. It seems like just a walk-in but it was very important
obviously to the seniors uh who were were saved from what could have been very serious. Uh the police department coming up. We have the make a kite next Wednesday. Make a kite with a cop. I've been going to those events. They are so much fun. Uh everybody has a great time.
The officers really turn out for it. Last year was so big we actually ran out of space and materials. So we are planning to expand that. We will put it out on the emergency radio that we're expanding it for everybody. Um it's a delightful time. It's 4 to 6 at the um
community center uh next and that's Wednesday the 22nd. I hope everybody's there. Uh additional news from the police department organizationally, you know that the chief has been working with with us to revamp the department and provide more community-based
services. Um if you notice, we are getting more traffic enforcement. We did a redesign and reassign the traffic units in the morning so we're able to get more enforcement out on the street. Um, and we're anxiously awaiting. We have two graduates coming out of the
academy, I believe, right at the end of May. They passed their last difficulty uh difficult u uh examinations and physicals. We really look forward to getting them. We'll have a staff department that's able to meet all the
needs uh of the community, including, you know, making sure that we're all safe, quiet, and can go about our business in a seamless fashion. Thank you. That's my report. >> Thank you, Councilman George. Um, Council Council.
>> Thank you, Council President. Uh, my name is Jason Melnik. I chair the Health and Human Services Committee. I'm also on the economic development committee um which my senior colleague uh Councilman Hail is the chair of and he tells me that my report tonight is being brought by the totally real and not fictional
Greater Highland Park Fitness and Athletics Association. Did you know that Highland Park is home to several gyms, fitness centers, and other places to work off all those calories earned um at the various wonderful sweet shops we've got in town that Councilman Hail
mentioned in his report. Uh these include McKenna's gym located at 55 Ran A conveniently located right behind the Dunkin Donuts. They specialize in Olympic weightlifting power lifting and uh strength training. And then we have the newest fitness member of our community, Bit Studio, which offers
small group training in functional fitness. Um it is located at 300 Radon AB right near the future location of our South Avenue plaza. Then of course we have kinetics personal training and group fitness located at 401 Ryarden. Uh they offer a wide variety of fitness activities, community classes, including
the aerial yoga, which I've yet to try, but I'm sure is a ton of fun. Um we also have studio at 808 health club, which offers a wide range of cardiovascular and strength training equipment along with martial arts classes. Mountain is located um at the name says at 808 M
right across from Gary. Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful Highland Park Recreation Department, which falls under Norma's uh uh portfolio, which offers numerous sports leagues and healthy activities for Highland Park residents of all ages. So, remember, there's no need to leave Park for all your health and fitness needs.
Uh turning to my regularly scheduled programming, um I just want to highlight one item on tonight's agenda, and that's the ordinance that's up for first reading to prohibit the display of tobacco products, tobacco paraphernalia, and electronic smoking devices in the windows of retail establishments in town. This is a public health-minded
policy to limit the promotion and ultimately the use of tobacco products particularly with children in mind. The board of health has endorsed and recommended this small effort to help reduce smoking and I would ask my colleagues to support this measure tonight. Uh other news uh next Wednesday is a busy one. Uh next Wednesday, April
22nd at 5:30 p.m. the commission for universal access will be meeting in person at the Fishbowl conference room right here at Hall and also at the Google Meet. Uh the human relations commission is also meeting that same night at 7:30m. Uh the meeting links for both of these meetings can be accessed
at hpb.com. And that is my report for today. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. And now my report. Good evening. My name is Stephanie Kim Choan and I chair finance and my report
is being brought to you by Uncle Sam because tomorrow is tax day unfortunately for you guys. But so and I'll talk a little bit about that maybe later. But um I want to briefly
highlight a few a key few um items on tonight's agenda. Um we have two temporary budget amendment resolutions before us tonight. Um that's until uh we finalize the budget for next month. We
also have um on the uh consent agenda our online tax sale services and then some uh janitorial services which will be a call savings uh to the burrow. So um thank you to the administration for
that. And then like I said earlier, want to note that uh tax day is tomorrow, April 15th. And on a lighter note, several businesses are offering tax day promotions and freebies. So take advantage of those as well. And that's
my report. Burough administrator, assistant bur administrator, do you have a report? I just wanted to give uh two important shoutouts to two uh committees that I work with. Um Stack, we just completed our spring tree planting last week. Um
it's not just a planting, it's also a watering throughout the summer. So, I just want to make sure we're all aware there's a hundred new beautiful baby trees in town. Um admire, but please don't touch. They're very fragile. Um secondly, on Sunday, um April 19th from
1 to 4, Sustainable Highland Park is having their repair cafe. Uh it's a springtime for some of spring cleaning. So it's a good opportunity to take any broken or um or damaged household items to this repair cafe where they'll try to help you uh repair it and so you don't
have to go buy anything. So >> burrow attorney, do you have a report? >> Uh thank you, council president. Um, as the burough attorney, I I would like to clarify that the Highland Park Sweet and Confectioners Association, the Highland Park Fitness Association, and the
Greater Highland Park Coffee and Tea Association do not actually exist. And none of these businesses mentioned by the Economic Development Team tonight provided formal or informal monetary or non-monetary compensation for these mentions. Uh I but I join uh and the
council members in encouraging you to shop at these and all businesses here in Highland Park. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. That's right. And uh no mayor's report and uh public participation
21 minutes total, three minutes per speaker limited to the 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 me meeting
via Zoom. >> No. >> Seeing no one further, may I have a motion to close public participation? >> Move. Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Jan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston.
>> Yes. Yes. Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> Ordinance requiring a first reading. Clerk, please report on introduction of ordinance number 26-2127. An ordinance amending chapter 86
entitled fair share affordable housing to implement the fourth round of affordable housing in ordinance with the fair housing act of 1985 as amended has been introduced by the administration committee for consideration of passage on first reading by titans.
I have a motion to approve ordinance number 26-2127 for introduction. Authorize publication as required by law and set up public hearing for May 19th, 2026. >> So move second. >> Roll call.
>> Council member George, >> yes. >> Council member Hail, >> yes. >> Council President Kim, >> yes. >> Council member Piston, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas, >> yes. >> Okay. Ordinance number 26-2128. Clerk, please report on introduction of
ordinance number 26-21 28. An ordinance amending section 165-5 of article 2 outdoor smoking on burough property and amending and supplementing article 3 retail sale of tobacco and electronic smoking devices of chapter
165 disorderly conduct of the code of the burough of park to regulate the sale and display of tobacco and electronic smoking devices has in been introduced by the health and human services committee for consideration of passage on first reading by title. I have a
motion to approve ordinance number 26-2128 on introduction. Authorize publication as required by law and set up public hearing for April 28th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. Roll call.
>> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> Consent agenda items. Would any uh council members like anything pulled for
a separate vote? >> No. No. Mayor, >> may I have a motion to adopt the following consent consent agenda items 11 A through 11H? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member George. >> Yes.
>> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council President Kim Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Piston. >> Yes. >> And council member Vargas. >> Yes. Resolutions requiring a separate reading resolution authorizing amendment to the
2026 water and tour uh temporary budget. May I have a motion? May I have a motion to adopt resolution 4-26-112? >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Council member George. >> Yes. Council member Hail,
>> yes. >> Council President Koha, >> yes. >> Council member Pisone, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas, >> yes. >> And resolution authorizing amendment to the 2026 municipal temporary budget. May I
have a motion to adopt resolution 4-26-113 resolution authorizing amendment to the 2026 municipal temporary budget. So move. >> Second. >> Roll call. Council member George, >> yes. >> Council member Hail, >> yes.
>> Council President Kim Johan, >> yes. >> Council member Piston, >> yes. >> Council member Vargas, >> yes. >> And appointments, council on agent, please start. May I have a motion to confirm? >> Second.
>> Roll call. Council member George. >> Excellent. Uh, addition. Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council President Ken. >> Yes. Yes. Council member Stan. >> Yes. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> And now it's time for a second public
participation. Three 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 uh
via Zoom. Matt Hersh is on the Zoom. He has his hand up. >> Yeah, he's the public. >> So, I'll >> Matt, you're on. >> Please, please state your name and address. Full address. >> Hey, hey, colleagues, it's Matt Hirs,
333 Felton Avenue here, uh, in Highland Park. Um, that was funny that there was even a discussion to to to unmute to unmute me, but thank you very much. I appreciate it. Um, I'm actually I just wanted to explain my absence. Um I am uh
here for work in Washington DC at the um annual conference of the national community reinvestment coalition and it's a uh it's a great national discussion of you know partners all over the country about local strategies local and state strategies about how to
reinvest and retain ownership um uh and provide you know housing equity uh in our communities. And so it's uh it's it's a very very cool conference and it's always great to see you know Highland Park also you know always exploring those avenues as well. So I
just wanted to say that just always inspired locally while we're discussing things nationally. Um I also wanted to mention that this public comment is brought to you by the Highland Park Coalition of Affordable Housing Advocates, Mets fans and metal heads. That is actually a real coalition of
one. So, I just wanted to uh mention that. Uh um I did want to mention a few things and Jake Callahan, thank you so much. It's great to see you up there. Thank you for mentioning the repair cafe. I'm going to mention it again uh because in my absence, we do have a couple very important dates
coming up. Um tomorrow, the Highland Park Environmental Commission uh meets. That's Wednesday, April 15th at 8:00m. And the link is on Zoom at HP www.hpbro.com. And then yes, the repair cafe, just to just to second that one, is the Sunday,
April 19th uh from 1 to 4 pm uh at the Highland Park Community Center at 220 South 6th Avenue. Uh there will be uh free repairs. Grab a free coffee. Bring a reusable mug. Please, please bring a reusable mug, people. You have one. And
practice sustainability with us. Um you can check out uh www.hpbro.com hpbro.com in the calendar listing for more information about the types of items uh that that they are um that they are accepting, but it runs the gamut and you
can bring two of your most treasured reusable items. So, see you there. And uh that is my report and my public comment and uh thanks for holding it down at home everybody. Makes me feel safe. >> Thank you, Council Member Hers.
Seeing one, no one no one further, may I have a motion to close public participation. >> So move. >> Second. >> And roll call. >> Council member George. >> Yes. >> Council member Hail. >> Yes. >> Council President Ken Johan. >> Yes. >> Council member Panic. >> Yes. I just say that was hilarious that
call. >> Council member Vargas. >> Yes. >> Yes. And he was almost about to be called 30 seconds. I was riding the looking at the timer. 30 seconds.
time for everybody. >> Okay. May I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> thank you.