we're good to go Good to go Okay Can I get a motion to reconvene Motion Second Second All those in favor I I We are back in session Um the we're going to start with the
approval of of minutes Uh April 1st close session Councilman Fox absent Can I get a motion Motion Second Second Please read the role Council member Fox
No he can't Well yes Council member Maz Chong here Council President Oso Yes Council member Rugo Yes Council member Choim Yes Council member Kleti Yes Okay Uh it is uh the minutes from closed are approved We're
going to go to the initial public comment section Uh it's on the agenda only now Uh one per topic And does anybody from the audience wish to be heard on the agenda It's on the agenda Yes No Yeah
It's on the agenda Okay Um so we will not do that Um we're going to go to the budget uh amendment which is 25117 resolution Um discussion Oh I'm sorry
Um the council woman during the discussion had an issue to bring up and we just skipped over real quick for this is do that I was I was thinking we would do that when we get to resolutions Whatever you want I I would see if you I it's my
understanding you would like to make an amend proposal Why wouldn't we do that during Why wouldn't we do that then Very good Okay Yeah Okay So we're going to go on the resolution amending the 2025 budget Must be written full by the mayor
or the CFO Um I don't want to read it CFO is going to have to read that Okay Can I get a motion Motion Second Second All those in favor say I Okay great
You're up Resolution 2517 amendment to this budget and whereas the proposed amendments to the budget as introduced have been advertised and made available to the public in accordance with state statutes Now therefore be it resolved by the Burough Council of the Bureau of Hillsdale County of Bergen that the following amendments be
introduced budget be made In the current fund general revenues interest on investments and deposits from $640,695.87 to $633,214.87 Uh total section A local revenue 1,410,19587 to1,42,71487 watershed aid from $0 to
$233 Total section B state aid without offsetting appropriations 1,194,142 to1,196,445 Pistol range rental from 0 to 5,178 Total section D shared service agreements offset with appropriations
410,36640 to 415,5440 uh in the current fund under general appropriations section A operations within caps first aid salary and wages from 0 to 144 $145,000 municipal court other expenses
from 60,000 to 49,000 822 total operations item A within caps 11,85620476 to 11,991 02676 total operations including
contingent within caps 11,95620476 to 12,0912676 H1 total general appropriation for municipal purposes within caps 13,298 857241 to 13,4339441 AA operations excluded from
caps storm water other expenses from 10,000 to 22,000 total operations excluded from caps 2,169 for 8099 to 2181 for 8099 pistol range rental from 7,000 to
5,178 first aid PDM salaries and wages 220 20 0000 to 7500 0 Total interlocal municipal service agreements from 73292695 to 58610495 Total operations excluded from
caps 2,97958767 to 2,84476567 H2 total general appropriation for municipal purposes excluded from caps 4,89742759 to 4,76260559 and O total general appropriations excluded from caps
4,89742759 to 4 million76260559 A hearing on the amended budget and tax resolution will be held at the Burough of Hillsdale Municipal Building on May 6 2025 at 7:00 p.m or as soon as possible at which time in place objectives to set amendment budget and
tax resolution for the year 2025 may be presented by taxpayers or other interested parties Advertisement of the amended budget will be in the Bergen record on Sunday April 20th 2025 This does not change the tax levy It does not change the total appropriations
It is just moving within line items within the budget inside and outside cap Okay Is there discussion Anybody have any questions before we move to a vote Okay Will the clerk please read the role
Council member Mazatang yes Council President Oso yes Council member Rico yes Council member Chimuk yes Council member Kleti yes Council member Fox yes It passes Okay Um we're going to go on to correspondence Um we had an email
from uh Ms Dellesandro uh regarding the police chief dated March 26 2025 received at 706 and it was read by a resident at the last meeting Motion to accept it Motion Second Second All those in favor
I All right It's It's accepted Uh we're going to go to the monthly professionals report Let's start with the police department the officer in charge Lieutenant Woods Good evening So we'll start off with uh so it's going to be March March 2025 Start off with community policing So the
police department conducted a Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby Um the dare dare is ongoing in the schools Uh August 5th we're going to be doing a national night out If you please let let everybody know Uh the town we're we're going to publicize it pretty on a
large scale but it'll be on all social media and everything like that Uh youth academy is going to be in June Same It's going to be uh I'll get the age groups for it It's going to be the first week of June Uh that's going to take place at the high school and all other places around town Uh we're preparing for 5K at
the farm That's going to be June 8th So moving down the list traffic and patrol uh patrol responded to 717 calls for service in March 164 motor vehicle stops 17 motor vehicle accidents 18 parking enforcement details and eight
selective enforcement details Uh the detective bureau investigated 44 cases closed 30 of them uh 14 outstanding and the firearms investigation unit processed seven uh 10 investigations in total And that be it Thank you Anybody
have any questions for the officer in charge Yeah I just have a quick question Uh Lieutenant Woods there's been some uh incidents of vandalism at Beachwood and uh and Memorial recently Do you have any like u feel what's going on there Uh so
we've had vandalism at those parks It's a it's an ongoing thing I mean it's it's happened multiple times probably every year over the last couple years Um we do what we can We haven't one of the investigations is currently open for it Um narrowing it down as to who exactly
it is is is difficult Yeah we're trying to get a Wi-Fi at the parks so we can put cameras Um we're in the process of that too Yeah because that that was at the bathrooms at Beachwood and then the dug the dugouts at Memorial right Yeah Yeah You know
without camera footage over there it's a little it's it's a little tough Um but we've closed them in the past with identifying people but this one's still open Yep Anything else Thank you Um it is the Hillsdale
Department of Public Works interim superintendent Barry Peterson Good evening everyone Uh bear with me This one's going to be a little long Uh so we'll start with last month parks and fields the Centennial Field Complex
the core Nickerbacher fields are at that point were still uh closed as the field pro uh work was being uh completed and they had some weather issues also so it took a little longer The Centennial Field as the soccer that
work is continuing to move along Um all the other playing surfaces restrooms are all open for the sports season Hall plans are in the works to continue the updating of the outside planting beds Uh installation of
railings out front completion of the range roof repairs in the back Uh presently offices are being repaired repairs are being made painting um as well as downstairs and uh
PD trees the Arbor Day and shrub pickup and planting It's all been coordinated with the nursery the uh environmental commission and Metobrook school DPW will be picking up the uh plantings and
trees for that that event and we'll deliver them We'll also dig the hole for the tree signs traffic street lights We replaced the two LED crosswalk signs on Hillsdale Avenue by Yeser Way Uh waiting
for permission from the county to install we had a request to install LED crosswalk signs at Kermak and Washington Avenue I don't want to put those up until I get okay from the county uh potholes Last month we did about 10
tons of uh material for potholes and we did some water diversion BMS particularly up at Centennial to help keep the water from running out onto the baseball field by Kora roads We're continuing our sewer maintenance program We've done some
storm water basin repairs and rebuilds with two of those being completed already Uh my staff they're doing a fantastic job I couldn't ask any more of them They're
uh going above and beyond what I've ever asked More recently Cherry Place we have uh an issue there going back probably about six years with waters and bugs being public service
I was out on site all day today with Collers Waters and Bugby and no PS today They opened up all seven test pits uh that were dug couple uh last
year Out of the seven three of them there was no damage to the 12-in storm water drain Four other test pits were uh d opened up revealed broken pipes with the gas laterals being installed to the houses
through the storm water pipe One was a 12-in water uh water pipe drain pipe and the other three are uh on a 10-in water line uh storm water sewer line across
uh Maple Avenue down by uh where Doug where Doug Frank lives on Cherry Place there They'll be back tomorrow um with PS&G They're going to remove their s their gas laterals put
them under the pipe Pipe will be repaired at the the same time They'll close the holes They'll come back jet it clean And once the settling is done we're going to have Waters and Bugby
come back with the infrared machine to redo the patches Centennial Field the SAD installation begins tomorrow continuing for about 3 days The field will remain closed until Memorial Day After Memorial Day it'll be
reopened for limited use Working on quot getting some quotes for fence rental to keep people off of that until I can get that situated I mean temporarily put snow fence up but that's going to be an ongoing I think
repair of people going through it Barry that's just the soccer field The soccer baseball fields are open Baseball fields are open for practices only because that project isn't done yet Um that's coming up next Um the baseball core Nicabacher did
they're not completed Contractor is waiting for some dry weather and the ground to dry up before he mixes in the uh field conditioner so that those fields are open for practices only The DPW is not
grooming or maintaining those fields until the project is done I don't want to create or be accused of creating any issues that would cause any problems down the line That's all I have
The uh the red ramps Oh I have I ordered 10 ADA mats for the crosswalks I'm waiting for them to come in As soon as they come in the DPW will be taking up the old ones and installing the new
ones with Metobrook being the first That's pretty bad off over there There's some cost savings there mayor Usually you 10 of them will will cost between5 to $10,000 to replace if we
were to have a an outsider So the DVW they're doing it themselves but $1,700 materials and then us and you cut them in size of they come pre-cut They can be
mounted in wet concrete or drilled into the existing concrete and then attached with uh mollies screws or mollies I'm glad we're doing that because I've sent a couple of emails over the last year to the burrow administrator to
alert him to the erosion that was happening in those mats In fact there's one today that I noticed on the corner of uh I guess it's Piermont and Magnolia that's a hazard it's it's actually up uh you know an inch or two Anyone could
trip over that and then sue the town or maybe the homeowner who's I don't know I'm not sure what the legality is Um yeah but I think regardless you want to have um you want to avoid people tripping on that stuff So um and there was one right in front
here on that right over there beyond that cherry tree Y thank you Okay Thanks Um Nick you're you're uh not on the agenda but if you've got something that you want to update us on No I mean I I think I think Barry
covered most of the minor things that are going on He mentioned the the SAD is being installed starting tomorrow It should be 3 days probably So they should be finished by Friday Um other than that I have no real updates from last week And that means what Five cuts or something Yeah it's five cuts So you
figure about one cut a week Um so that that field can be opened on a limited basis You don't want to go full full-blown usage right away I mean ideally you'd like to wait a full season to let everything set but you know you need the field So just the the
recommendation is to just try to limit the usage as much as possible Yeah Nick how's that field been performing after the rain that we've been getting And Very good You've been inspecting it obviously right Yeah Yeah we've we've had inspectors out out there regularly I've stopped in a few times There's no grass down yet So obviously the grass
helps improve that a lot But even with no grass it's drying out much quicker than it was You notice material improvements Oh yeah Definitely Definitely Anybody Any questions Other questions Seeing none let's move on to committee report We start at the end here
Councilman RO Thank you Mayor Um the finance committee met April 9th Um we discussed reasons for amending certain parts of the budget uh which I think the CFO has gone through elaborately Uh most of those uh changes
were in reaction to comments made by the state because this was a year where the state um took the responsibility of reviewing the budget Typically it doesn't happen but every so often I think it's on a regular basis every three or four years the state gets
involved They made some comments to us and he has made those changes It has as he's pointed out there's no effect on the tax levy that's implied by the budget that's up for adoption John can I just ask the CFO a quick question on that Does that have any impact on on
cons what we should consider for 2026 Um no It's it's moved a couple items in inside cap that were outside cap based upon how they treat shared services Um so next year there will already be out
you know inside cap so be no negative negative impact on next year's budget for that Okay Yeah Okay Um the we again reviewed during the meeting the 2025 capital budget to ensure that it met burough needs and not just wants And
finally we discussed the importance of keeping the memorial field project to an anticipated expenditure level of approximately $5.8 million Uh that's all I have to say on that Thank you Councilwoman Trimeia Uh nothing to report Thank you Councilwoman
Mazuchan Uh I have nothing to report Ambulance is meeting tonight I'll get an update for the next meeting and board event meetings on the 24th So again I'll have that for our next meeting Okay Councilman Kleti Thank you Mayor Um one just quick invite from the environmental
commission Uh the commission would like to formally invite the mayor and council to the Arbor Day tree planting ceremony at Metobrook School That's on Friday April 25th at 10 a.m Uh this will include uh trees plus other uh plant materials that have been donated by
Victoria's Nursery So again that's Friday April 25th at 10 a.m Our next environmental commission meeting is Monday April 21st uh regarding the Pasc Valley uh high school district As you may have heard our superintendent uh Dr Sarah
Bott is resigning effective June 30th 2025 Uh she will be the new superintendent of Eastern Camden County Regional School District Uh the official announcement was made to Pasak Hills and Pasak Valley students uh via an email uh
about Botti's resignation on April 4th The board of education officially addressed it in their consent agenda in April 7th's meeting I spoke with Dr uh Botti who echoed uh what was already published in the local press and now she was leaving for an opportunity closer to
home and her family I also spoke with Jenny Varhees who's the uh president of the board of education and she stated that they are currently vetting their options uh they're not sure if they're going to go at an acting interm or permanent placement at this point and they're also vetting the consulting
firms that will administrate uh the placement process Uh the next board of ed meeting is on Monday April 28th and that's a regular meeting as well as their budget hearing Okay And no updates for the fire department Okay Councilman Fox nothing
to report Council President Oso Yes Um there's a the rec commission will be hosting an Easter egg hunt on April 19th at Beachwood Park Uh 10:15 a.m start time to uh start after uh T-ball and just before uh soccer uh clinics Uh and
there will be a juggler So just in case you were interested in going Uh a small group of us uh took a field trip to North Brunswick to see a new field at Sabella Park It was equipped with a no-fill product uh for turf referred to
as Pivot and it's uh manufactured by a company called Tenati Uh the product presented uh very favorably and it seems to be a great deal more environmentally friendly uh than the uh traditional artificial turf It's got no rubber fill
Um so they uh promote it as uh no PAS uh than uh emanates from the field itself Um it's going to be critical that the sports association heads visit the field and evaluate its play Um that decision
shouldn't just be made by council but it should be made by uh the governing body along with input uh from the v various users that are out there Uh from the office of the uh uh from the office of emergency management Uh there was a new
fire flood siren that was installed uh and it is working Uh there's some additional work that will be needed to adjust voice quality for messaging as it relates to flooding though Um uh the money for the new lighting detection system has been approved and a
requisition is being created Uh they're waiting for a ship and install date Uh and then uh as far as your new tax bills that are being sent out there's going to be a notice informing residents to sign up for rave alerts It's a vers reverse
911 Uh and it gives the the the people that sign up uh notice of emergency situations That's it Thank you borrow administrator Thank you mayor At the next meeting we will have a resolution to approve the
following roads to be paved Baylor Avenue from Rucken to Kent Cambridge Road from Arcadia Way to Kent Road Saddle Ranch Lane from Hillsdale Avenue to Pasco Road Colonial Village Drive from Park View Drive to Clinton Avenue
Clinton Avenue from Colonial Village Drive to Broadway Wormis Lane from Pasco Road to Stony Ridge Drive Melville Liberty and Arcadia Work on for Central Avenue that is being built by United Way will resume
shortly as they have all their funding approved this morning actually uh from the state and the work I'm told is expected to be completed by year end this year Finally there are two resolutions on the agenda for tonight to hire part-time building inspectors They
are replacement for retiring inspectors Resolutions number 25120 and 121 And that's all I have Mr Mayor thank you We're going to move on to ordinances We have the introduction of 2514 an ordinance amending chapter 258 storm
sewers of the borrow code to create article 4 privatelyowned salt storage Be it resolved that ordinance 2514 does now pass a first reading and that said ordinance be further considered for final passage at a meeting of the mayor and council in the municipal building
380 Hillsdale Avenue Hillsdale New Jersey on May 6th 2025 at 7 p.m or as soon as thereafter and at said time and place all persons interested will be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the same And the clerk is hereby authorized and directed to
publish set ordinance in the Rididgewood News once at least one week prior to set hearing with a notice of its introduction and of the time and place when and where said ordinance would be considered for final passage Can I get a motion
Motion Second Second Second No discussion Will the clerk please read the role Council member Rugo Yes Council member Choimu Yes Council member Kleti Yes Council member Fox Yes Council member Mazachan Yes Council President Oso Yes That first ordinance is passed
Okay Um we're going to resolutions now And I understand Councilwoman Truk you have something that you would like to speak about or offer up Yes please Floor is yours I would I would like to put forth a motion for an alternate bid for
the lights at Memorial Field I'll second Do you want to elaborate or second Well no a second Melissa has already seconded it so Oh yes Got it Sure I mean listen Would you like to speak on it
Yes I can start and then Okay So you know I went back and I and I listened to our March 11th meeting and just I just want to make sure that I'm clear and that we're clear just so we can move forward But to me it seemed like the main concern around the lights was the potential cost So I don't know if that's
accurate or if the hesitation is just not wanting that the lights in general because of the location I guess like I by the way just needed some clarity to move productively because if cost is an issue then I think it seems reasonable as Janetta as Mrs Tromuk has said to at
least get an alternate bid that way we're working with real number and not assumptions and we can make a better informed decision with real numbers in place because everything we've been looking at has so far been estimates Um not sure if you wanted to add to that Right So um when we had the last meeting
and we have resolution 25102 um that resolution we agreed uh for example to move forward uh and do an alternate bid for the coaches boxes And so um by the same token afterwards we
were thinking that we could have just as well moved forward with an alternate bid for the lights so that we wouldn't be having a conversation of whether they were going to cost $30 or $33 or $50 It
was like "Guys why don't we just get an alternate bid and we'll find out what the actual cost would be so that we would end up with two bids one without lights and one with lights." And I think that would address I think the very um
pertinent conversation that took place at that last meeting that seemed to indicate that people council members were being fiscally responsible and not wanting to approve the lights because they thought that it was not something
that we could afford going forward And so we're trying to address that or or better yet do like a due diligence like to to the residents to say "Hey let's find out what is the real true cost of
putting in lights." And then later we'll have these two actual options in front of us This is the cost with lights This is the cost without lights And these are real numbers that would have been put
forth through the bid package And so right that is so just to add to that you know getting that alternate also really just like going back to what I said it's the real time pricing in today's market We know the economy right now is fluctuating There's tariffs material costs are always shifting You know we
really don't know what's feasible until we get the numbers in front Look it could come back really high right And and it might be more or it might be more reasonable than we expect but if we don't have a clear picture then how how do we how do we know right So you know um and going back to what you said this
is going this is doing our due diligence especially since the council was split on the decision the last time and I and I wish it was something that we talked about at the time like hey we are split Maybe in this instance we should have all together come up with this idea of getting the two you know getting the two
bids Um and I do think that we really owe it to the community to to plan responsibly That starts with having all the information up front see what the numbers actually say then decide from there Um and I like I said really think it's important just to have that all snippet and you know per some of the
conversations I've had it will not delay the project timeline from what I hear So it would be just having that in there and having that insight So I don't know if that would be a conversation of like you know if it has anything per se to do with the
particular resolution that's on there tonight that you could just simply we could amend that if we you know to ask for the alternate bid because that's what this resolution tonight is to authorize Kers to move forward to um go
ahead with this project and to prepare all the spec works and all the details that need to be done and is the product of what they're doing is just simply prepared two bids Uh on this note I would also just like to point out that I
think that there's a discrepancy in this particular resolution tonight because um I think that the um 25 the uh coach boxes were actually put into it as opposed to it was supposed to be an
alternate bid for the coach box According to the resolution that was passed last time it said um that uh the plan should include Coachbox alternate bid but um in this project also now in
the backup it says 6 million instead of 5.8 million So if you were going to do in accordance with what we did on the resolution it should say 5.8 million and it should have two bids one with coach
boxes and one without coach boxes and that isn't what is here now So that's another issue So I'm just saying that right now the way this is written I think is incorrect in line with the resolution that was passed on March 11th
11th and the second I would like to correct that and the second I would like as we said to propose that this be modified to now include a so it would be a third bid if you okay so we have we have two separate items here issues two
issues okay the let's let's address the easier one first yes easier One is the coaches boxes I would assume Correct Diego Gasol did you have any Well that's on a resolution If we uh you know pull that later on we can do a more discussion and we'll explain that I
think the first issue was the lights or no lights for the second bid on the issue of point of order Mr Mayor Point of order We're discussing resolution Point of order Can talk Point of order Yeah I get
when I when I we're discussing 25118 Is that correct Amending that No So what are we discussing at this point We we're at the point in the resolution on the consent agenda Right Are any of these to be pulled for I hear discussion about
the We haven't even gotten to the consent agenda items I don't know where to bring up this discussion I was told it is at this moment in time that I should bring up my motion which I did So now I don't know whether he wants to add something into the category of where it should go What
is the motion to do to a we would like to put forth a a motion for an alternate bid for lights at Memorial Field That's what we would like So that's the motion So you don't want to amend what is now
What's next Well I separate That's Yeah I don't know Is that is that how you would do it I don't know if that's the mechanism every council but but every member of council has the al option to propose
Here's what I think should happen Yeah Yep Um I wouldn't mix this in with 25118 That's a consent agenda item When we get to the consent agenda if it's problematic in some way I would suggest
you pull it and discuss that problem Okay What I think you did and then discussion can be held is a motion was made to actually amend a prior resolution I thought so let's keep
it at that That's the simpler path forward Correct Okay What I perceive is that a motion was made to amend the prior a prior resolution which set forth the scope of the bid and work on
Memorial Field You are now seeking to amend the scope of that bid from March I I think that that might be correct what you're saying It's 25102 which is the resolution from March
11th that laid out the governing body what we authorized the professionals to do Correct And my suggestion is I think that's understood Yes So the council is always has the authority to introduce
a resolution Um we have certain ways we generally do it but I I this this is this is fine for these purposes Is there discussion among anybody else on council with respect to wanting to put out a bid first for the
lights I I just want to be clear on something I Councilwoman Troy Mu uh mentioned that uh the budgetary restraints or constraints that we had with regards to the moving forward with uh an expenditure of 1.5 $1.4 $4 million right But I also want to be clear that I
am also empathetic to the neighborhood and the residents that came to the various meetings that we held that I attended all of them and the concerns that they voiced at those meetings about having lights in their neighborhood Yep Um I lived next to a farm Uh I dealt
with a lot of traffic for a couple years and I was more than happy when that stuff stopped Y So um again budget is is a very big concern of mine but it's also the neighborhood and the people that live around that park Um and when you're
weighing the utility of the lights versus the possible disruptions that you may have with regards to those homes that are not going to move because kids are going to get older they're going to move on right Those families that are going to be there are going to live there for 10 20 years And
you know what I was empathetic to that and that's one of the reasons why I voiced my vote for not going forward with the lights as long as the financial concerns that I have being on the finance committee knowing what's down the pipe in 2026 and the uh and the
challenges that we're going to face with inflation and everything else that's going on uh you know from a government standpoint I just want to be clear on that Okay Yeah Yeah Anybody else like to be heard on this Yeah I I mean apart from the fact that we're doing it out of
a normal parliamentary order but um understood I agree with what the councilman has said Okay The mayor and council already decided this matter and they decided no lights They decided it primarily on the basis of out of respect for the im immediate neighbors who would
surround that field Money was also an issue Right Our CFO has advised us to be extremely cautious about this keeping the cost of the project down to 5.8 8 million that does not include the lights Um for us now to take up the matter of
adding even considering the addition of lights um to me indicates a lack of transparency on the part of this body that will be seen as a reversal of what the council decided at a prior meeting You know the loudest advocates for lights were were the football coaches um
and you know they're the smallest of the sports associations They said over and over again that the project really has no value unless it has lights Then at the meeting that we approved the project they determined well no it's okay We can live with it without lights All right
Now I suspect that change of heart at the time was embraced in an effort to influence council members who were concerned about the impact of lights on the neighborhood and might not have otherwise voted for it you know and I again I remain opposed to the addition
of lights um so as not to harm the quality of life of the neighborhood surrounding the uh uh the the the project and because the frankly the football team has found and can continue to find practices and games at other venues
Okay Um so at this point um seeing that there's no other discussion on this we should take a poll whether or not let's be very specific about what we're asking here In this instance I I think I mean I would like to answer uh I mean we're having a
discussion right So um I thought you had your piece but go ahead I I do think that I I'm not sure about the parliamentary uh location where we should have been discussing We're going down this road and we're going to We're past it We're going So my point is that um I don't
think that there's anything wrong at all with asking for an amendment to a resolution that was passed in the past that has nothing to do with the trans I think it's quite transparent We're saying exactly what we we seem to have
walked away from here I seem to have walked away from that meeting as probably so did uh um Councilwoman Maza Chong as well as other people that listened to the meeting that somehow
there was a big budgetary concern And so we are trying to address that aspect of it We're not discussing that if we do get this We we just want to bid We want to see real dollars and cents which when
we see that then we can eliminate the budgetary conversation then someone then we can just talk about hey do you want lights in this neighborhood or don't you want lights in that neighborhood whereas right now I think that people are saying
they're talking about the budget but they're actually hiding behind the fact that they just don't want lights and so I think that they should just say that and plain simple people English out loud that they do not want to put lights on that field even if they're free That's I
think what we're trying to understand Okay So you Isn't that what we're trying to understand Sounds like uh Clemente Yes You said that it's it's a quality of life thing Okay So we we've been down this road So you're asking I just want to make sure you're asking to to spend
money as an amendment A bid to Well but it costs money for them to do Yes it does This is the time to do it Even if it's not going to add time to it it's going to cost money to do it So you're asking whether or not we can spend the money to
see whether or not lights what what the actual cost of lights would be Yes The cost That's all So that's that's what what she's proposing here Correct Um those who are in favor of this uh proposal um will signify by an an I vote
And we're going to take a we're going to do a roll call I'm saying if they're in favor of it they'll say I If they're opposed to it they will say nay Will the clerk please read the role Council member Trohim yes Council member Kleti no Council member Fox yes Council member Mazatang yes Council President Oso no
Council member Ruko no And once again we're tied I I will tell you that I mean we're going down a road here Um I you know I can go back and forth this a hundred times Um I I'm not in favor of of changing this
up I would really prefer if you guys could make this decision amongst yourself because it shouldn't come down to to this statement again where we're exactly where we were 3 months ago So I would vote against this but I would hope that you guys can could do this on your
own and and not put us in this position again because it's I think it's it's becoming absurd at this point So the vote would be no in that in that instance to add it to it So so so now we're but now there's a
second component to there which is the next so we'll pull the uh resolution in for discussion 2518 Okay So we're going to pull 25118 So now we're at 25119 through 25156 on the consent agenda I would I
would like to pull 251 120 and 121 merely to ask a question It's not that I'm opposed to it at this moment but I would like to ask a question or two 20 Hold on This is about the hiring of the part-time building inspector and plumbing inspector
So we would be discussing mayor the consent agenda and 25 right with the exion 25118 25120 and 25121 Okay So um that is so the consent agenda is
is that agenda less 118 120 121 Um will the clerk please read the role We have it with motion Motion second Second Clerk please read the role Council member Choim yes Council member Kleti yes Council member Fox yes Council
member Mazich yes Council President Oso yes Council member Rio yes Okay So um let's just do this actually Councilman Rico before we do 118 because I think that's probably going to take a little bit more time 25120 Uh yeah On both 120
and 121 factory I just um I think it's imperative that we express publicly why this is needed Does it represent an expansion of the structure of the uh of the the building department or is it to replace people Um can the bearer
administrator kindly address this Sure I said in my report those two uh resolutions uh were replacement of retiring Thank you officials Okay So let's let's and uh I'd like to do them all at once if we can 25118
That's the one that needs Yes Yeah Let's let's talk about that Now this is the issue of the I'll f I'll first move 25118 in order and we need a second on this All right Well no we're going to move Well let's Can I get a motion for 25120 and Oh yes I can motion 25120 and
12 second please Second Okay All those in favor signify by saying I I opposed Okay we're going to move on to 25118 Motion second Okay so let's have some discussion on 2511 Well it's a question
uh in um in the actual uh resolution It includes the um coach's boxes within the content of the resolution And that isn't supposed to be the case According to resolution
25102 that was passed on March 11th the coach's boxes are supposed to be an alternate bid Okay And they're not They're contained within the resolution So the original one was to have a twotory high coaches box and press box
Uh and then uh so that was at the cost of almost $200,000 We still need the platform if we were to go later on and build it ourselves or or have an alternate bid So Nick this would be just the platform It's not the actual twotory box So we we can we can
certainly include the coach's boxes as an alternate bid That's not a problem It's it's not so as an alternate bid Yes But not Yeah So I just want to make make clear So we did the C cuts box as an alternate bid Is that excluding the 5.8
that we had stuck to Yes So that would be over and above over the 5.8 million So and as it's written now so this will be preparing the alternate bid but not actually building it Not not approving it right Okay So that's still
And to be clear the way that we structure the bid is still kind of to be determined we can separate out as many alternates as we need to based on how we think the prices are going to fall So nothing that we put right now as what we think is going to happen is necessarily
set in stone Um obviously the majority of the main items of construction would be part of the main bid and then any ancillary items that we think maybe we want to do maybe we don't want to do based on potential costs can be separated out as an alternate It's it's not uh extra work for us It's it's
simple to do It's just a matter of structuring the bid So there will be an alternate bid for the coach's box So there's no 5.8 million or $6 million associated with this is telling them to put the bid specs together that will eventually determine what the costs are
And what's that cost of the alternate bid We pick and choose at that point There there is no cost There's no there there's nothing associated with the bid for the final cost of the project You wouldn't want to do that That would lead your application So there's no extra cost for the alternate bid for the coach boxes from from a design standpoint No
it's just a matter of how we structure the bid It's it's already included in say the same for the lights then But there is So the the lights is separate because there are some design components involved in designing the foundations for the lights and geotechnical testing in order to place those foundations So
there is some additional design costs associated with that if we were to do it And there's no design cost for the coach boxes No No that that we already included in the pricing So it is a cost but it's already included in the pricing Yeah it's it's a minor cost It's it's basically just
vendor coordination um going back and forth with different options in terms of you know what what coaches boxes are available And so in this letter um the backup attached to this the first paragraph it ends with the current budget for the project is
approximately $6 million So I think we were at 5.8 million The coaches boxes were two mill 200,000 So now 5.8 million has become six million because you put the coach boxes in there No I I think the the the wording on that is just
slightly misleading We we're saying approximately 6 million is kind of like a rounding of 5.8 We're not saying that the project will cost 6 million because of coaches boxes or not So you could revise it to 5.8 Yeah I mean if if if the if the council wishes we could revise the wording of that proposal to
say the budget is approximately 5.8 8 million We have no problem with that Say that it is 5.8 million We can amend Yeah we can amend That's not an issue Uh and the other question uh there was question also on how much the uh the actual cost of the conduit that we are going to put
underneath the turf I thought that 60 to 75,000 No it's uh about 50 No the actual lines coming in So we will have lines already installed for the walkway lights to add the additional additional conduits is about 50 to 75 cents per
foot and there's approximately 5,000 ft So it's less than $5,000 to add the additional wiring How much would it be Less than $5,000 It's only 5,000 Yeah I thought you said 50 initially 50,000 It's 50 cents a foot 50 cents a foot All right If it's Yeah because I I raised
that question and uh and if it was going to be something in the range of 50,000 I was not going to vote for that But if it's 5,000 I could see the the positives to that Okay Okay So uh one other item Yep So on 25118 back in the timeline we still have
in there late spring 2026 as the projected deadline We need these we need this project completed by April 1st And this is why we decided the direction of the project back on March 11th And we cannot lose any more ground So I'd like to propose that that struck and replaced
with April 1st 2026 And we also put April 1st 2026 in the bid packets to force anyone who's bidding on this to comply with that Nick is that possible I I can't say Yeah Nick yeah One one of the things in your timeline you had 150
days for design by which I'm not an engineer but seems a great length of time to get these working papers up Um that that would stretch our getting a shovel in the ground to like November correct where you're going to lose two key months of August and September You
know I appreciate the concern for the lights Uh my concern is getting a playable field uh opened uh so that we could actually use it next year uh and not that we lose the whole year u because we have George White out of play right Uh so my concern is you know the
last couple of weeks we've had rain events that have basically uh caused so many cancellations and rescheduling items where you know having an artificial tur field and getting a playable field in place is for me of the
utmost importance Right So we got to we got to stream down that streamline that project timeline Why is it 150 days That's how long we think it will take to design Okay no gobys or anything else that wait a second we can put whatever date
we want in here but but the truth of the matter is it's going to be what it's going to be and as long as they're they're moving forward with it they're making their best effort 40 days it takes 140 when when we say 150 days we
are saying that is kind of like a budgeted time we will expedite where we can and I think certainly If the um if the council provides us with if there's any questions along the way in terms of which direction to go if we get quick responses on that that's going to be
critical to keeping this project moving forward as fast as possible Um I I don't think we're in a position right now to say for certain that we can do it faster but we will streamline where possible So the way we that we could do this as soon as you authorize this we will have a
precon meeting and get a timeline and mandate April 1st regardless 150 days and 75 days So there's lots of work to be done before they even design it They have to do the the geotech and for the retaining walls and for the soil That's what that's what
will take time While that's being done there's some things that could be done simultaneously And we put a mandate on April 1st as of April 1st anyone who wants to bid on the project that's our mandate Uh as far as quick decisions I'm
going to be your point of contact If there's major decisions that I need uh the council to you know vote on then it will delay it Otherwise we'll have that decision very quickly I think we can put April 1st and like the mayor said uh if
we have rain event for you two weeks we can't do anything about that Uh but I would uh I would go with April 1st and then work on a timeline backwards Also Mike I don't want Yeah exactly what be what it's going to be Yeah I I think the biggest the biggest driver of the
schedule on this is actually going to be construction especially because we're talking about starting into the late fall early winter months So if we have a mild winter like we've had many years in the past I I mean this last winter was not what I would consider mild but
probably five or six of the winters before that were If we have another mild winter they can make significant process or progress over those months but obviously everything construction related is weather dependent There are certain things that are going to be out of our control in terms of schedule in those winter months
Agreed But the precedent you set up front is the deadline you need not giving them a grace period beyond that Right Right Yeah Okay Sorry And Mike I I also don't want to discount the need to make a selection on what turf we go with Right because
that'll that'll dictate whether or not we go through um co-op the co-op or go to bid Going to bid would add another 30 days to this process Right We have about a month for that And which co-op So the sports associations need to participate in these decisions and they need to be
available for these meetings to go ahead and see these sites We have about a month to make a decision whether you want the pivot with no filler or the ones with with the rubber filler Again again we're we're showing a lot of concern for lights I want to make sure we get the base field in place Yeah I
mean that's critical So we can put in whatever date it's it's we can't afford for the act of God We'll try to get it April We'll put it in there and we'll and we'll we'll work as best we can We'll see what happens And and on our end we'll do everything we can to expedite the desire Okay Any more discussion No Okay So um can we get a
vote on 25118 Yep I have a motion in a second So is it going to get modified to remove to change it to 5.8 million We can change Dick said he can change that language and it's still an alternate bid The um the coaches boxes and make an
alternate bid Well that's what it was anyway right It's an alternate bid anyway but it just instead of this is only if I may again this is only for design services It it this is this doesn't say any of these things will be
in the alternate column or in the mandatory column Just change it from this design the language So they are going to design the coaches box but when it comes time to put it in the bid document you'll probably ask but likely
it will be the in the alternate column unless unless unless told otherwise Yeah Right Right Okay So we're going to go 25118 He's going to change the language to instead of 6 million to 5.8 Correct And can the clerk please read the role
Council member Kleti yes Council member Fox Council Member Mazong yes Council President Oso yes Council member Rico yes Council member Chimu yes Okay it's it's passed Um we're going to move on to the public comment Limited to three minutes Any subject you'd like to speak
on Would someone like to be heard Please come on up State your name and and and residence the mic You need some assistance You good You can have a seat if you prefer You can have a seat here if you like Come on
up Kurt Walk Street in Hillsdale Okay Can you pull the microphone so we can make sure we hear you Kurt Walking now on 19 Hop in Street in Hillsdale Welcome Okay with this date of 1st of April it's not going
to happen I'm in construction You got to dig trenches 18 in deep right The only way you can do it is if you bring quarry process in because you're going to have settlement I can't see how you're going to have this field ready by the first
April Now I don't know cuz when we do in the winter we do sewers and stuff we bring in quarry process so there's no settlement I can't I don't know how they're going to backfill these trenches and have it all done by the first of April with the weather I mean it's like
now we're stuck with this rain We can't move on certain projects because you can't So they say oh no we got we don't want to pay for the quarry process because it's more money Then you got to get rid of the dirt I'm just saying how are they going back to all these
trenches to stop settlement by the first day We can't ask a question We could just It's just it's it's comment It's it's your opportunity to comment to us It's I'm not we not going to get back So okay How are they going to have this deal ready for the 1 of April I mean it's bad enough we lost you know that
But how are they going to get this deal ready for the first of April I mean it's like now we had all this rain up till now The delay is us It's this governing body that's been delayed at the moment So it that's we're going as fast as we can at this point So it's going to be what it's going to be
But continue Sorry So you're saying it might go past the first of April I can't speak for so it could possibly We're going to try We try to do the best we can And saying can this whole process be postponed until George Whitesfield's
gone That's not not an option You can't postpone it against or this is public comment Right Right But it's just my it's just that I don't want to have him rush this deal Right And then and in six
months later oh we got a settlement here We got a settlement here Then your comment is well taken Thank you All right Thank you Thank you Who else would like to be heard There you go There you got it Got a good
helper There you go Thank you Miss Martin You can choose to sit or stand however you like I'll stand Um so Chip Morel I'm in the process of uh buying a home here in Hillsdale uh which is going to be
right by Memorial Field And so obviously trying to get a breast with all the information that's going on I would say for the folks that are favoring lights I grew up playing youth sports I played them all So there's everything that I did And I know for with the fields it was always around field availability And
I think just by having turf alone that's going to give you so many more so many more options than you have today I'd also say to all of you right now you're making do with the fields that you have And adding turf again is an added benefit And if you think about the lights right now it's you think about that public utility So I think you have
the 30 homes around it You're asking for the betterment of youth sports that they have the lights in their homes And so you know the question that I would pose to you and I know this isn't question time it's it's public comment Think about it You know if you within solidarity of the neighborhood would
have us you know come and drive and take our cars and put our brights within your homes and have that be for the same hours that you would have the youth sports then yeah go go ahead and and and vote yes if you think that is But you know if you think about yourself if someone had lights within your house and
flashing on there until you know 10:00 at night I think you would be a little remiss for that And so I just encourage you as you think about that That's what you're having That's the burden that you're putting on people in the neighborhood So please take that into consideration Thank you Thank you And welcome to Hillsdale
Anybody else like to comment Who are you Kristen Martin 219 Washington A Um just to start off I talked to Barry already I know this is not their responsibility but just complaining Um
the trees at Memorial um above the basketball court are dying and falling so I'm just concerned about kids Again I don't have young kids so it's just a concern of mine Um also asking again for the parking overnight to be considered or how we can progress how we can help
to push this along Um I do want to go back to the lights because I thought this was done It's very disappointing that this came back up when people weren't available to come or didn't know that this was potential potentially coming back at us Uh again we're kind of losing our men's softball especially
with a lack of now having George White or Memorial as options for the men Um and I also just am confused at this point and maybe I have to go back and listen to the past meetings I thought 5.8 8 million was the maximum and that the extra things like the box were if
they didn't go in excess of the 5.8 million So I'm not too sure what this potential $200,000 where that's coming from So that's confusing me a little bit Um so if we can just get something mapped out with what this maximum cost would be because again the lights would
be another one and a half the box would be another 200,000 So just um if there's some place we can go to to access that that would be extremely helpful Thanks again Thank you Anybody else care to comment Rob Nothing Nothing Anybody No Okay great We're
going to move on to council commentaries I start this off I'm just going to wish everybody there's a bunch of holidays coming up this month Happy everything limited Those of you who celebrate please enjoy and thanks for everybody coming tonight I'll move it on
Let's start the far end Councilman Kleti Uh just a reminder that the fire department comedy night is on Saturday April 26th and the Hillsdale Hawks are having a Texas Halden poker tournament on April 24th I would like to wish a happy holiday to everyone as well Thank
you Great Councilman Fox no comment Council President no comment Councilman Rico Yeah I noticed that we approved in the consent agenda the retirement agreement for the uh former chief And I I just wanted to say I'm greatly
saddened by the circumstances that led uh to his retirement Uh whenever an individual chooses to end a long and noteworthy career under unusual circumstances um there are questions and that beg for answers And like all council members you
know I read the December letter from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office uh containing their investigative findings and their recommendations And I believe then I still do now that the average fair-minded resident would take exception to those findings and would
certainly um disagree with the severity of the recommended action Thus I was hoping for an opportunity um where more facts could be aired A public hearing as we know um in front of an appeals judge would have allowed that but such
hearings carry risk um various risks for the parties involved for witnesses as well Um and in the absence of a hearing those risks are avoided In the end a settlement without a hearing is the route that Chief Smith chose and that's
his his right and it's not for me to question Um however I can opine or say that um the ill effects of decisions made by employees and officials at the local county and state level who
contributed to the outcome are going to persist for some time Um they can't be denied they can't be mitigated and they'll weigh heavily on the shoulders of those who made those decisions Um they did take an emotional
and financial toll on this council on the burrow um on the chief himself and on the residents Um and this is the the true tragedy um of what's occurred And it remains for the burrow to leave no stone unturned in an effort to restore
the reputation and the structural integrity um of of our police department It council no comment Councilwoman Mazuchi Um I just want to take a moment to wish everyone in town a happy Easter pass I
hope it's over peace and all the things that matter most Okay Um normally you Yeah Just quickly uh uh we're working on two uh ordinances Dogs on sports fields and overnight
parking So in the next couple meetings we will have that introduced for approvals Okay Great I forgot to wish you a happy vacation coming up Happy vacation I can't wait That's it Okay Um seeing no other business here can I get a motion to adjurnn Motion Second Second
All those in favor I We're adjourned The next meeting is Tuesday May 6th in this chamber beginning at 7:00 p.m