mayor would you like to proceed yes please good evening this is the meeting of the B of Highlands mayor and Council reg regular meeting on Wednesday January 17 2024 the notice requirements provided for in the open public meeting act have been satisfied notice that this meeting was properly given by transmission to the ASP Park Press in the two rever times and by posting at the burough of Highland municipal building and filing with the bur clerk all on January 1st 2024 items listed on the agenda are subject to change please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance to the of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all I will now do a roll call Council me council member svantes Council M here Council Mel here counc pres sheski here mayor bran here here next we have a proclamation yes uh this proclamation of the burough of Highlands is to uh congratulating Russell kashmer for the design of the SSN 796 commissioning coin whereas throughout the long and distinguished history the United States Navy has had two ships called United States New Jersey USS New Jersey pardon me the PCU 796 Virginia submarine Virginia class submarine will be the third Naval vessel named after the great state of New Jersey the then Secretary of the Navy Ray mbus announced the name on my birthday May 24th of 2015 at a ceremony at Liberty State Park in Jersey City New Jersey the Virginia class is also known as the SSN 774 class is a class of nuclear powerered cruise missile fast attack submarines currently in the military service in the United States Navy the USS New Jersey is being commissioned on April 6th of this year 2024 whereas the United States Navy started a submarine New Jersey challenge coin contest in October of 201 23 for design of the flip side of the coin Highlands resident Russell casmer a junior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at Santi hook where he is a Cadet chief petty officer in the New Jersey ROTC program was selected from over 300 designs as the winning winning I'm getting choked up winning the USS New Jersey SSN 796 commissioning Co coin design on December 14th 2023 and whereas the coins design depicts the view from Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard from this vantage point we see the unit New Jersey state bird the eastern goldfinch perched a top of a branch of the state tree the red oak as it holds the state flower The Violet in its beak the bird proudly observes the approach of the USS New Jersey into Naval Weapon Station Earl for her commissioning in the background of sany Hook Lighthouse the oldest operating lighthouse in the United States illuminates the newest submarine to join the fleet from her post in a historic Fort Hancock a former US family base and whereas other design considerations are the three oak leaves the three acorns and the three peers of Naval Weapon Station Earl these three symbols celebrate the USS New Jersey being the third warship to Bear the name USS New Jersey and and the New Jersey being the third state to join the union the colors of the water and the sand illustrate the official state colors of New Jersey blue and buff respectively finally the banner outlines the location and date of the US New Jersey Commissioner now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and Council of the burough of Highlands hereby extends their congratulations to Russell on his outstanding achievement and being awarded this honor be it further resolved that we wish we wish Russell continued success in all of his future endeavors with confidence that he will serve as a role model for others and will continue to make important contributions to society we watch [Applause] you [Music] next we have approval of minutes January 1st 2024 meeting minutes I'll offer them I'll second Council M yes Council mik yes Council presi yes mayor bran yes motion carries to approve January 1st 2024 meeting minutes next we have public hearing a propos to the cashmer family don't feel obligated to stay for the whole meeting if you don't if you don't want to yeah absolutely absolutely okay then please continue next we have public hearing on proposed ordinance 02401 amending chapter 21 zoning off zoning and land use regulations part seven flood damage prevention article 24 flood damage prevention section 21-1 111.1 flood plane administrator designation does anyone from the public have any comments on this uh ordinance proposed ordinance rather see no comment I will close public portion and I will offer second Council yes counc yes C pres of sheski yes mayor bran yes motion carries 02401 pass on second and final reading next we have resolutions R 24050 authorizing execution of Municipal Services agreement with twin light's Condominium Association go offer it second Council m yes Council malikain Council council president sheski yes mayor bran yes motion carries to adopt resolution R 24050 next we have consent agenda mayor would you like me to read the resolutions by title yes please r451 authorizing refund of tax overpayment R 24052 authorizing the refund of certified copy application fee R 2453 approval of to submit a Grant application to the NJ Department archiculture 2024-25 spot dancer fly population reduction chemical control treatment Grant R 24054 approving request for a waiver of alcohol ban for the community center rental R2 24055 authorizing the retroactive correction of Joel whan salary r242 056 authorizing payment bills R 24057 authorizing approving a membersip application for the Highland fire department I will offer second council member Tac yes Council Mel yes council president shvi yes mayor buan yes motion carries to adopt resolutions R 24050 through I'm sorry 051 through R 24056 next we have report7 57 reports reports would you like to start us off y just quick quick updates for January uh one the website has been updated for the meeting dates for 2024 for all the Committees uh we also refreshed the zoom links just to make sure everybody's current nobody has any confusion there I'd like to commend the uh communication coming out of the office of emergency management uh it's been a rough week with weather and they've been posting frequent updates uh so thank you to those folks for uh making those updates and making the public aware what's going on um we haven't yet had our open space meeting yet that's two weeks from now the 29th 30th 31st well 31st and uh so we'll be discussing the agenda for the year for that particular committee and then lastly just a big shout out to uh our clerk Nancy Tren for the work she's done on the calendar that should be coming out shortly for everybody in the mail for yet another year of uh great pictures and great dates to keep in mind do we have an estimate for the mail date yet I we do not but they have the final proof okay okay very good would have mailing include the the Hazardous household thing that yes all the in are always in there okay I'm sorry continue that's it you're done okay I will continue to say just give a quick update on the schools um there's not much out there particular with uh regard to regionalization at this point but the three current Boards of Education of the Henry Hudson Tri District they had an organization meeting and they have formed a transition board um the members of which uh include both uh Atlantic Highlands and Highlands folk for the president is Corey wi gerner from Atlantic Highland the vice president is our Irene Campbell and then there are appointed members from each of the boards from Highlands it's Diane Knox and Rebecca Wells uh and also John Krueger and and Ricky stock the highlands Board of now while that's going on the individual schools will maintain the boards that they temporary boards uh until I believe June of 2020 this year so in Highlands right now Rebecca Wales is the president the vice president is Robin sanello uh reelected and new members are Alison nonamaker Melissa Reeds and Rebecca Wells why is she there twice I don't I pull that right off weed there you go okay and at Henry Hudson the president is CLA kosek that's of Atlantic Highlands the vice president is Richard D of Highlands reelected and new members from Highlands are carollyn conver and Norine piggins I was looking for Norman at the high school I I I put out a request today because it isn't on any of their U minutes but at the elementary school there are 161 students in Elementary School um next week there will be midterm exams at the high school with 12:30 uh dismissals on the 23rd 24th and 25th uh we've had delayed openings last week in this due to the weather to our delays and we have another one on Friday yes it sounds like uh and the boys basketball team at the high school is as an 11 in one record so that's pretty cool there's also a Cooperative Sports agreement with the ke board board of education for the 2024 25 and 25 26 school years for in which Henry Hudson will serve as the host school um for boys and girls cross country girls tennis boys and girls track and Fields indoor and boys test uh and then there's also a Cooperative Sports agreement with the kingburg board of education for the 24 25 and 25 26 school year in which again Henry actually kingburg will serve as the lead School uh for wrestling and that's about it that's great more opportunities to do different sports I that well done I have some stuff sure okay this is all regarding the environmental commission so the uh EC has contacted Monmouth GIS that stands for geographic information system to obtain steep slope indicators on a topographical map of Highlands the overlay will help identify the areas and Highlands which need to be reviewed in terms of the steep slope ordinance whether the structures are already built or uh any new buildings they uh just started the project with the intent of ensuring that all steep slope properties comply with the current ordinance the uh ordinance as well as the tree ordinance that protect steep slopes may need to be amended depending on the results found on the maps as more information becomes available the EC would like to make a review operational for use by the land use board the building department the zoning board um any other departments the intent is to prevent situations like that which occurred on Joe's property Joe Duran's property uh next the uh EC received a communication from Gateway National Recreation Area regarding the street light fixtures on the entrance to Sandy Hook they were thankful for the EC contacting them and they already in the process of fixing the lights as recommended by the EC I advise them to include congressman palone and the president of the American loral society in the letter and I believe that help them get such a prompt response I realize it doesn't directly affect concerned Highlands but I think it's a feather in the cap of the EC commission and finally um the EC sent a letter to the mayor and Council dated January 9th concerning noise complaints from vehicles with illegally modified exhaust systems that travel along naison G grout 36 um I didn't know where to go from this I suppose it needs to be discussed with Chief Burton anything do with a motor vehicle needs to be discussed with Chief yeah okay there was a suggestion though that um you know the signs where they said welcome to Highlands or slow down might be um good to put on the uh median in between you this is mostly in the summertime of course so if we put it on the medium then we have to get the county and the state involved because 36 is both a county road as well as a state it might be an option but I hear what you're saying and just on a happier note I talk about this earlier but there was a wonderful article in Two River Times dated January 4th about positivity and pride uncore Highlands reorganization meeting and it's just good to get some good price and that's it thank you Andy um if I'm not mistaken uh we need to redo our tree ordinance uh anyway because of uh DP guidelines so we're going to be looking into that because yes D requires a revised based on their model um true removal ordinance it's due by May of this year I forget the exact date U but we'll be checking in with them to ensure our either complies or that any required changes are made before that time okay do you have the model ordinance already yes it's something that we can it's available on the D's site that's on the DP site anyone have anything else okay uh you to read the public portion statement please individuals wishing to address the council shall be recognized by the presiding officer and shall give their name address and the group of vate they represent although the council encourages public participation reserves of the right through his presiding officer to terminate remarks to and or by any individuals not in keeping with the conduct of a proper and efficient meeting if any individual refuses to conduct themselves in a proper manner they will be removed from the meeting the council will not during the public portion of this meeting discuss matters involving Employments appointments termination of employment negotiations terms and conditions of employment evaluation of the performance of promotion or discipline of any specific with perspective for current employee there's a 3 minute time limit for your comments the microphone's right over [Music] there [Music] I glad to hear [Music] that one of my concerns is about that there's still going to be a judgment call based on whoever is person that hand Tre decision so it's still a judgment call um regardless of how strong the Tre is going to be so I'm concerned that that person is going to be qualified in the future that because besides TR issue there's an issue of replacement trees that are and how that Mak and that's also kind of a judgment it takes a qualified person to be able to make those decisions I understand it's a volunteer position and but it still needs to be somebody who's qualified sure and so I'm just bringing that to the attention that the proper languages in there about replacement of trees whether it's on a steep slope or not so um because as I said in the past there's been a lot of tre over the last 10 years or so old trees that are dead Dy storms but um nobody's replacing it from from my perspective from what I've seen on rare occasions trees rep we've lost a lot of trees in the last DEC you know what plus there's a Sil off there's an intrinsic Val not anybody sees it to what treat the community you know we don't stop it now they going to be like a desert pretty soon so that's uh concern um one other thing U I didn't even to see Winters about the project on on nor Street he's been out to the site and with last we good and so we're in the process of following up see where that okay this very good all right thank you thank you does anyone else have something they'd like to add no I'm okay your sound system is terrible very really okay I was going to say I don't think you're even on very much on well good thing that we record them that way you could uh review the video tape um if no one else has anything I'm going to close public portion and um make a motion to uh enter into executive session I need to read oh yes please read executive session will be held following the regular council meeting prior to each executive session the burough Council will convene an open session at which time a resolution will be adopted in accordance with njsa 10 colon 4-13 no formal action will be taken during executive session resolution to ENT executive session the be it resolved that the following portion of this meeting shall not be open to the public be it further resolved that the private consideration is STS required and is permitted because of the following noted exceptions set forth in the ACT potential litigation attorney client privilege tree removal regulations the further result that it is anticipated that the matters to be considered in private may be disclosed to the public at a later date when the need for privacy no longer exists I'll make the motion T to second I'll second it council member Sant um santes is absent councilman yes Council mik yes counc president sheski yes mayor bran yes motion carries to enter an executive session at 7:22 please exit thank you all thank you second favor than