mayor would you like to proceed yes please good evening this is the meeting of the Burough Highlands Mayor and Council regular meeting on Wednesday April 16 2025 the dose requirements provided for in the open public's meeting public meetings act have been satisfied notice of this meeting was
properly given by transmission to the Aspberry Park Press and the Two River Times and by posting at the Burough Highlands Municipal Building and filing with Burough Clerk all on January 1st 2025 items listed on the agenda are subject to change please stand for the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all i will now do roll call council member Svantes council member Chlac here
councilor Melik here council President here mayor Bulan here thank you first we have approval of minutes April 2nd 2025 meeting minutes i'll offer second council member Jack yes cuz Melnik yes
council President Jesy yes mayor Bon yes motion carries to approve April 2nd 2025 meeting minutes next we have April 2nd 2025 executive session minutes i'll make that offer i'll second councilman Chap yes
councelor Malik yes council President Chesky yes mayor Bulan yes motion carries to approve April 2nd 2025 executive session minutes next we have consent agenda mayor would you like me to read the resolutions by title yes please r25100 authorizing the budget to
be read by title only r25101 amending resolution 24-162 authorizing execution of the shared services agreement between the Burough of Highlands and the Henry Hudson Regional School District r25102 authorizing the award of a contract for
the judging of a section of Jones Creek r2103 approving social affairs permit for the Highlands Fire Department on Burough Property r25104 acknowledging receipt and review of the land use board consistency report for ordinance
02505 r25105 accepting New Jersey asset activation plan prepared by higher rule and associates r2106 authorizing sale by public auction of municipally owned property r2107 authorizing payment of
bills r25108 governing body certification of compliance with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's enforcement guideline guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction records and employment decision under
title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do we have an offer i'll second council Chuck yes council Malik yes council President yes mayor Bulan yes motion carries to adopt resolutions R25100 through
R25108 next we have public hearing on the 2025 municipal budget um seeing as there is no public to have a hearing um uh Pat if you would like to say a couple of words about this year's budget
um just just uh quickly there may um you know um the administrator myself we met with the department heads somewhere in December I believe and then as the numbers got more finalized Mary you um weighed in and um made some strategic cuts and planning decisions there and um
the comments I hear about the budget it's very lean um it's precise and it's um workable and um you know it's a necessary evil I Every year it's um this time of year we all have to deal with it
um we did have a large um growth in assessed value i just like to read that into the record real quick our values of the town which is really notably um imp improves every year um through the reassessment program we're at 1 bill92 million in 2024 and we're sitting right
around 1 bill347 million in 2025 naturally when that happens it drives the tax rate down um we're sitting at a tax rate of 0 935 and it looks like it's going to go to 0.80 um that's going to be absorbed in
the change in the house value so we really don't know the the exact tax impact um but that's kind of the numbers that I think is pretty favorable for the growth of return absolutely concur um for valuation to go
up nearly 23% in a year is uh pretty incredible mhm um since uh in the last 10 years our valuation has gone up something like 230% which is insane
and uh and uh from recent housing sales it just looks like it's going to trend in this direction u I'm hoping touching all the wood um but thank you for that um I guess we should move to R25109 adopting the 2025 municipal
budget can I have an offer please i'll offer i'll second council member Tak yes councelor Melnik yes council passes yes mayor Block yes motion carries to adopt resolution R25109
next we have public hearing on proposed ordinance 02505 amending chapter 10 buildings and housing section 10-7 signs and outdoor display structures and chapter 21 zoning and land use regulations article 22 signs of the burough code of the burough
highlands um again as there is uh we have uh no one here in the gallery does any uh one at uh the table have any questions regarding um the changes that we made to the signing ordinance
no I don't i don't okay and that's a reasonable and they they took care of issues that were just kind of floating around sure i think it's 12 okay then I will offer it i'll second council member Chuck yes council Nikk yes council
President yes mayor Berlin yes motion carries 02505 um passed on second and final reading next we have introduction of proposed ordinance 02506 bond ordinance providing for sewer utility improvements and the acquisition
of sewer utility equipment appropriating 86,250 therefore in authorizing the issuance of 86,250 bonds and notes to finance a portion of the cost thereof authorized in and by the borrowings in the county of Mon
um Patrick can you just go over these a little bit uh both the sewer utility as well as the next one the capital i you got it okay awesome the sewer we've been having a lot of issues with problems we have one
of them being reinstalled tomorrow we have one still out on the wall and another one being so we don't want to get any further down so we're going to buy another pump i think that's two
cho and some spare parts um for the other ones for the other capital um we have money for uh firearms are called pent radios uh they said county changed their frequency they gave them a couple
of radios but they need extra radius so that whole project we were 26,000 um for new computers we put in 20,000 some of the old ones that uh they aren't supported
anymore [Music] computer 600,000 for place two for the race walkway cover the entire amount we put in 500,000 uh as se money for a new
pumper for the fire department they also apply for a clean grant that they get probably cover the entire thing for the pumper truck oh that's awesome um but we won't know about that
if they get that we did cancel out that 14 uh they did need another F250 i used the one that had they're actually getting I think they're trying to rebuild transmission in it right now
they can and uh that's all we had for for this year you put one um one has to put off until next year the improvements to grant for uh that'll be in the six
budget u okay perfect thank you so going in order I guess I will offer the uh sanitary uh the bonding for the sanitary second
council yes council Ble yes council passes yes mayor Bon yes motion carries to pass 02406 on first reading for the public hearings to be held on May 7th 2025 next we have 02507 bond ordinance providing
for capital improvements and the acquisition of various capital equipment appropriating 1,ion4 404,150 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 1,333,942 bonds and notes to finance a portion of the cost thereof authorized in and by the burough highlands in the
county of Mmouth New Jersey i'll offer a second council member Chilac yes c Malnik yes council Presidenti yeah i just have one question is the pumper truck a replacement or an addition so they do they replace
if they get the FEMA money as part of that they have to get rid of it okay um this money we put here they don't just be separation is there any value in the old one so they send that
okay thanks yes yeah mayor BL yes motion carries to pass 02507 on first reading with a public hearings to be held on May 7th 2025 next we have reports any reports
nothing on my Nothing on your orders anyone else well I just want to say that uh the um roar on the river is coming up next month and it's going to be quite uh quite the thing again and uh there's a meeting next Monday to coordinate all
the uh uh the police and uh the uh first aid all that being done and uh also Cinco de Mayo I keep calling it that but it's but Cinco de Highlands Cinco de is also coming up next month um and I don't
have anything from the uh environmental commission needed to report at this time so that's about it um the school budget is uh that meeting is going to happen on the 30th open meeting open meeting uh up at the
high school so if uh folks are able to [Music] um their budget is nearly as much as our budget i was going to say plans are underway moving along for Trudy Fest which will
be a celebration of uh Screw Edetto sometime next summer which could be all sorts of fun yes very much so okay so if that's it for reports and then there's no public for the public portion
so I will make a a motion uh to go into executive session do I need to read the resolution executive session all right executive session executive session will be held following the regular council meeting prior to each executive session the
council the burough council will convene in open session at which time a resolution will be adopted in accordance with NJSA 104-13 no formal action be taken during executive session resolution to enter executive session be it resolved that the following portion of this meeting shall
not be open to the public be it further resolved that private consideration is deemed required and it is permitted because of the following notice of exceptions set forth in the act attorney client privilege steep slope ordinance attorney client privilege regulation of municipal parking ordinance attorney
client privilege cannabis regulations be it further resolved that is anticipate that the manners to be considered in private may be disclosed to the public at a later date when the need for privacy no longer exists and again I make that motion i'll second
all in favor i thank you executive session entered at 7:15 and I will also make the motion to adjurnn for the evening i have a second all in favor i thank you meeting adjourned at 7:30