##VIDEO ID:YzcvXzGDsMo## let me know when they have it they have it at two or three fields around here they have it they have they have they have that fair long as well more the merrier look like it's a different environment you can't you we're going to get started okay we're going to call the meeting to order and please everybody let's rise for the Pledge of Allegiance president Escobar would you please leave us to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all you this is a meeting of the Hillsdale Council on this 10th day of December 2024 notice of the time and place of this meeting has been provided to the Ridgewood news and the Bergen Record a copy was posted in the bulletin board outside of the meeting room and provided to any interested parties please silence your cell phones please wait to be recognized by the mayor during the public hearing and public comment part of the meeting you will need to state your name and town of residence for the record will the clerk please read the role council president Escobar here council member ketti here here council member Fox here council member Oso here council member ruko here council member Troy Muk here mayor shinefeld I am here and we're going to go right into the oos of office for the new fire department members come down here if you want to people with you or one you give me a time I bring my own and I here have someone to hold the Bible for them yes I people to be sworn in today great two that are here two them are here okay so right so we got John have Greg Father and Son Duo that works well and and grandfather Grand Grandpa's going to hold the Bible he's on the honor for hill before he went to [Applause] Vietnam who I do first son or grandson you want do together we can do them both together if that's what You' like to do that's great okay so this time I'll just say state your name okay is this a okay we got it ready I state your name I do solemnly swear swear that I will support the Constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and Allegiance to the Saint and to the governments established established in the United States United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people theth of the people I do solemnly swear that I will Faithfully I will faithfully and partially and justly andly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of Hillsdale volunteer fire department the office of according to the best of my ability so [Applause] congratulations get your signatures here we get all the pictures we want taken make sure you sign make sure you sign on yours no no no that's me oh sorry I don't know the rest thank you congratulations to see clerk make it official if you would like complete the task delivering it yourself okay I was going to say anybody who came for the swearing thank you you go you go good night thanks again for your service okay okay approval of the minutes no we did okay it is the initial public comment time of the evening it's limited to three minutes and only items on the agenda there will be a time for speaking at the end of the at the this meeting on whatever subject you would like I bet I can figure out what it's going to be but um at this time we're talking about items on the agenda does anybody have anything they'd like to say on that okay the agenda H I don't have an agenda where's the agenda usually it's is the field Memorial Field on the agenda no no it's not on the agenda as as far as legislation goes it's okay that's great okay um we have no professionals for the monthly reports we will move into committee reports um let's start with councilman council president Escobar I have n okay Council Fox counc KY uh just a couple quick updates Board of Education meeting will be on 1216 both the regional and the local and the environmental commission wants to remind everyone that they'll be holding a 2-hour styrofoam recycling drop off event on Saturday January 11th that'll be from 10: to 12 in the morning in the west lot uh across the street here uh and I'll also say congratulations to to Matt Greg John and Alex on their induction thank you councilman ruko yes uh thanks Mr Mayor uh the Board of Health met on December 9th yesterday U yourself ba and I attended purpose was to discuss the Ba's recommendation in light of the departure of our bur nurse several months ago to replace Northwest Bergen Regional services with the County's Department of Health Services uh the potential savings originally thought to be 20,000 I guess has now been up to about 47 ,000 uh dollars uh there is some concern on the part of the Board of Health over whether the replacement is truly an Apples to Apples or replacement and also whether the county can provide the type of personalized service to our residents that Northwest Bergen has been providing to us um there was a discussion about steps to improve communication between the administration and the Board of Health uh next step is that there's going to be a meeting uh among the ba the Board of Health president I think some other Board of Health members the county and myself to clarify the services that the county can provide and ensure our residents that the service that we would be getting from the county is about equal to what we've been getting to Northwest Bergen Regional that concludes my report okay councilman oo thank you mayor I want to start off tonight by applauding the Hillsdale fire department who along with Departments of neighboring towns responded to a call on Bedford Street with within just a few minutes and controlled a significant fire in about 15 minutes of arrival there were no injuries in both both residents and volunteers were deemed safe and an update to the fire department annual activity in 2024 to date there have been just under 250 calls for service that have been answered by at least one unit a big thank you to all the volunteers due to weather The Lighting Event in Veterans Park is free scheduled to th this Thursday with a start time of 6:45 p.m. the field and Parks committee met on Monday morning with the burough Engineers the feedback collected over the last few weeks was consolid validated and discussed the engineers will take that feedback and incorporate into another design that addresses those concerns raised I believe the burrow will be in a position to share that sometime in mid January um uh the ba Mike Gali will go ahead and go over the timeline that he has uh that he has formulated um I think he's going to read it specifically uh and go over each individual item over the next What the residents could expect over the next few months uh I would also expect at that time in mid January that addition there will be an additional opportunity for discussion and feedback from the residents that's it there okay councilwoman TR nothing for me thank you okay great um we have no ordinances tonight let's move on oh well sorry Mr Mayor for the DPW we repaired a few potholes just so you know the the leaf collection will stop uh the last day is going to be on December 16th uh for the the field committee for uh Memorial Field there's a timeline that we have uh for the public there's a copy of this on the side and this will be posted uh on the website tomorrow morning uh we started after discussions we started on uh in March of 2024 uh to engage ker engineering to do a survey and to give us a plan on what can they put in the footprint of the current field in May on on May 7th uh we passed a resolution to do the authorization to proceed uh we received uh the first concept in July on July 23rd of this year uh we reviewed it discussed it with the rec commission and with the field committee and it was being discussed uh at each of the Iraq committees on the first Monday of every month except for uh the month of August which uh was cancelled on November 13 we held a town hall meeting uh where we went over what we have uh about 60 uh members of the public attended uh they gave us really good insight and feedback that we took back it was all uh in good spirit we did hand flyer before that meeting to the surrounding homes we posted it on the website we shared it on Facebook we tried every way to let the public know that we are going to have a town hall meeting on December 2nd we took that feedback to the Iraq commission where uh further feedback was collected from the public and from the Recreation Commission and as councilman Clemente uh said on December 9th the fields committee which has three members of the council myself the engineers and the chairman of the rec commission went over uh the suggestions that we received and we gave direction to the engineer to go ahead and and come up with a new plan and we told him to remove the parking lot from the south move it to the North remove the pickle ball court add additional basketball court and shift the entire field slightly East to make more room on the side where the Fieldhouse is uh and give us a plan for the buffer zone and the Landscaping plan and there are three towns we're going to be announcing uh and we will announce the time and the date to go and look at the light the actual lights that we are looking to use if we were to use lights uh to see them in action at night the engineer will take time uh in January to revise the plans uh and we told him to uh keep the lights uh with the schedule to turn them off at 9:00 p.m. and when there are no scheduled games there are no lights they they they will not be used uh the buffer zone and the Landscaping plan and then uh the system for the lighting system where it'll be all remote access in January of 2025 the plan will go to the police to the fire and to the uh to the EMS uh for review and to and to give their recommendation we are going to be assessing Hopper Street and the surrounding roads to see if we would do a permit only parking so this way we don't uh jeopardize the parking for the residents uh that's going to be uh on the table the CFO is is starting already with a financial plan on how we are going to fund this with half a million dollars going into the funding every year uh we're looking at 15 years versus the 20 years uh on how much this will cost the borrow per year we are I'm going to be proposing that we have a homeowners meeting with the fields committee the homeowners that are most affected by the lights and the noise around the field uh just so we can answer all their questions one onone in February of 2025 uh on February 11 that's the date we're shooting for we will be presenting uh the Revis plan with the financial schedule and the police and the fire and the EMS recommendation at the public meeting one like this where the public can have a chance to see it and comment on it the the council then will make suggestions either move forward or make additional changes whatever that recommendation is the next step is uh to fund that project with uh a finance uh with with a finance plan uh between the first reading and the second reading we are already into April uh somewhere in June July it will go to the planning board with the full concept plan uh the engineers will take it back and actually now put uh make it as details as possible uh where uh the engineers at the planning board can review it and make their recomend uh recommendations and changes uh until then and then then also the public will have an opportunity uh to voice their concerns at the planning board once the planning board approves it uh then that's it we have everything uh signed off on and the field will work will will begin immediately after uh if this all goes through as uh we suggest here uh this will be open for the 2026 season Mr Mayor I wanted to share this so we're all on the same page and that's the schedule we will try and follow so let me ask you how how exact are the dates as as far as the ability to be pushed one way or the other you've got February 11th is a very definitive date for when we're going to get a presentation on that that's the goal so we gave the engineers a month to work on the Revis you know plan uh we have to put a date otherwise it'll keep on going okay so they have whole month and they can do it within a month they so that's their deadline deadline to them so that we can meet right so if we have it in January the fields committee will meet in January we will meet with the home owners in January and we will be ready to present it to the council uh on February 11 and on the uh on February 11 I plan to present whatever we have at that time even if we weren't ready yet just so we're we're all aware of where we at on oober 11 okay anybody else have any questions on this at this time no Mr Mayor yeah I'd like to make a motion at this point um that this document this two-page document that uh the ba just read to us uh be sent out in a town notice by the clerk and be made available on our website it's going to be put on the website anyway but I don't see any reason why we couldn't we could mail if you want we can put it in the on the town notice I don't see why not anybody have any objection to that I to get formal about it thank you Mr May that's fine okay um that's the end of the committee reports and and the outline there um we're going to move on to the consent agenda which is 24316 through 24325 uh I'd like the motion to introduce it motion second second does anyone have anything they'd like to discuss or take to the non-consent agenda seeing none could the clerk please read the role council president Escobar yes council member Fox yes council member ooso yes council member ruko yes council member troh Muk yes council member kti yes the consent agenda passes unanimously we are going to move on um to the public comment section oh everybody's got their hand up they're ready to go okay uh remember it's a three minut minute time limit please come up state your name town you live in and uh when the when the burrow attorney says time is up the time is up Mr L is the first to jump to it give him one second is is that mic on just to make sure yeah it's good we're live good don't James Lawler 265 Hillsdale Avenue Hillsdale Baseball Softball Association president I'm here today on behalf of 1,000 children in Hillsdale who will greatly benefit from the great job you guys have been doing to get this field done so I want you to know as the council you have the heads of all sports associations and their members behind you you 100% in support so please know that please know that all of that support is there for you and do not worry because we know that there are going to be outliers who are against it but know you have the mass support of every Association in this town second with a town like Hillsdale all these Active Sports that we have with these championships that we have 14y old teams going into the Little League World Series Super Bowl championships for football teams we need to place the call home at this moment we don't have a field on a day-to-day basis that we know we can play on what this project will do is bring that to realization our children our parents our coaches will know where to be every single day based on the completion of this project we know we have a home base we know where to be our opposing towns will now be happy to come play us whereas now they're begging us to come play our home games at the airfields so thank you very much for that as many of you know the project started about 5 years ago we know about the funding formula we know about Centennial unfortunately with the DP we couldn't get through last year we finally came to the conclusion okay Memorial Beachwood Stonybrook unfortunately Beachwood and Stonybrook are unusable when it comes to a synthetic turf field Memorial fits the bill right now both by size and cost we're able to accomplish what we need for boys girls and adults this is a huge step forward as we've never had this in this before so when you look at the four fields in town three out of the four unsustainable in terms of what we need one is and I think you guys are doing the right job and a great job at getting us over the goal line for that factor when you build a field like this lights are very important you cannot cut your day short in the late afternoon based on your investment we are not asking to play baseball with eight nine year olds at midnight I don't want to be there at midnight but we are asking like a 9:00 p.m. cut off would be great is it 9:15 where the lights actually go out so people have time to disperse that would be wonderful I think that compromise can get the job done here with the lights I know a lot of residents are upset I live two houses from the field I'm not upset about it I can't wait for it um so I think some kind of compromise where it's communicated 9:00 p.m. we shut it down games have to start at 6:30 for a 2 and a half hour limit gets the job done I think what the ba has said already about Landscaping buffers parking lot moved excellent decisions I think those were great ideas I think they should be a foregone conclusion at this point the technology that we're going to see with lights is tfold Mr La I'm sorry that's your time three minutes okay thank you thank you sir Jerry hi there um I'm Jerry Bey I live at 64 Westdale Avenue in Hillsdale uh I chair I'm chairing still the Hillsdale 125th anniversary committee which continues to be alive and well in town uh just want to catch you up on what's been going on we thought the uh the pathway in the park was going to be finished in the summer but once we had it laid down um we got many more um requests to add bricks to it so we have 180 more bricks that the community has purchased they are at the DPW waiting for good weather and um they will be installed it really is a tribute to the town and the community uh how it brought everybody together um we're really glad that Hills will have this for ongoing perpetuity of our history and then the last part is about the journal um we waited on getting the journal finalized till we had um some pictures of the brick pathway uh but it is the first color Journal of um Hills every 25 years Hillsdale in hillsdale's history they've put together a journal about our history it's the first time that it is in color uh for all you Sports parents out there many of your kids are in the journal um every sport is represented in the journal uh it is something that we hope every Hillsdale family would take an interest in and it should be on every coffee table in town um it makes lovely Christmas gifts they are $115 we are selling them at the library I do have some in my car if anybody wants any after this meeting but we uh we thank you for all of your support along the way thanks [Applause] your name going Rich Lam 203 Washington Avenue thank you mayor and councel for your time and dedication across the street at Hillsdale United Methodist Church I also Sit On The Board of Trustees so I understand the hard work and hard decisions that you guys have to make so thank you for your service um my first want to start off by talking about needs and wants um feeds the the fields need to be upgraded I can say the majority of us in this in this room truly believe that not not just at Memorial but all our fields and Facilities Centennial is currently being worked on and I appreciate the videos that I see that you guys are that that you guys are sharing um I also hear that Beachwood is being updated that's wonderful that's a need there needs to be um transparency is key and it's important for the community to be informed lights at Memorial seem like a want a PA system sounds like a want let's take care of the need needs before the wants I hear the saying being thrown around for the kids for the kids I work with kids during the day I'm a public school teacher on the side I also teach 16 year olds how to drive um so a few meetings ago I heard a parent come up and mentioned that what what heartbreak he had trying to tell his kid that he can't play a sport that he loves that was terrible all right so can we fix that can we focus on all the fields and Facilities not just the men not not just focus on on Memorial what about Beachwood what about Stonybrook um I have two kids at home okay and last spring I was a te- ball coach and I and I really want to continue to stay involved with the Town Sports for the kids um The Narrative being created is that the local residents around Memorial are causing chaos and shutting down the efforts of our dedicated Sports leaders which is untrue and is hurtful for my conversation with some people around town the football program needs a true home they need a place to call home I feel that because my senior year I didn't have a high school gym to play in it got flooded all our practices were away all our home games were were not at home so I truly feel that um we made it work and our current wre programs are making it work to the best of their ability with what we have in town but we need to come together to find a way to make to make it work for Rec Sports also be mindful of the local community and take the concerns that are being voiced into consideration and what are those being voiced the noise from The increased field times the lights on the field the total cost of this project and all the traffic that comes with the people coming into this area from my understanding all the rec teams are doing well winning championships without lights why change what is working why spend one to1 and a half million dollars on something that is not necessary the fields are broken fix those and maintain those no need to add on more finally let's focus more of our energy on finding a way to give the programs what they need giving the kids what they deserve I'm sorry that was your time go Hawks next up hey everybody um so real quick regarding Memorial I've been to all these oh sorry Chris Martin 219 Washington nice to meet uh same same uh regarding Memorial I've come to all these meetings Fields need to be done 100% nobody's and everybody here again we're not denying that but it seems like we're trying to build more of a sports complex than redo the fields Centennial is a sports complex it has lights it has everything you need baseball it's got a multi-use field I I just I just don't get it football is the one outlier here and to me at least we have pasak Valley we have pasak Hills it's a multi- toown sport now there is no fee to use those fields by the way the school allows it for free it has lights it has Turf it has everything the football program needs um John ller I don't know you um I'm sure James I'm sorry I I don't know you but you are direct I'm sorry so there was a letter there was a letter given to the H there was a letter given to the uh by the hbsa to all the families saying that there are some families causing chaos uh to defeat this plan um and that uh you know we don't have kids in the system I coached for 15 years I had kids in the system I dealt with these fields just like everybody else I cleaned them up I got them ready we made it work um I'm concerned about noise life traffic patterns as we've all heard um I pay taxes here uh my voice can be heard it should be heard by by everybody here just as the people who want these fields should be heard so I think the head of the hbsa can do a better job in in how he treats people who who live in this town with it sir sir we don't do that nobody does that then you had your three minutes to tell the truth Mr Mart your comments are directed to the governing body and are not to be specifically well I just I want I want people to I understood I just said I understood I just want everybody to know that my voice should be heard just like every I'm not causing chaos I just want to live in a good town okay completely different topic um I want to request that the mayor and Council reconsider visiting ordinance number 12-04 chapter 29222 article 3 which states that no vehicles are allowed to park on residential Streets between the hours of 2 and 5 uh this past Saturday morning at exactly 2: a.m. the HPD gave out approximately 50 parking tickets uh in town my house included I've lived here for 25 years I've never received a parking ticket I've got a couple of warnings here in there but never a ticket um I'll pay the fine my two cars were parked there illegally I did not call the police to let them know so I'll pay the fine no problem um that said I think the ordinance itself is old and dated I think most people these days have more than two cars uh two kids once your kids get once your kids get their license we get cars uh me personally my driveway only holds enough room for two cars I have no space without making a substantial investment in my property to put more Vehicles so I think my thought was and I emailed the mayor earlier in the week perhaps we can come up with a system where we can issue a residence only sticker like we do for the DPW to bring our Recycling and and garbage uh this way the police could easily identify cars on the street they would know where people live where Hillsdale residence they don't need to be ticketed cars that are out there between those hours that that don't have a sticker feel free to give them a ticket um I think I think it's a very simple way to make residents happy clud your okay thank I I'll send this in an email back to you as well and thanks for your time taking that than [Applause] you good evening um my name is Laura Jones I live on East Liberty Avenue I'm reading a letter written uh by Eric sanado he's from um lives on Balor Avenue he's a coach in town uh U travel as well as mighty mes and I also coach with him um he's traveling so he's not able to read his letter tonight um I'm going to just read right from the paper to honor what he said good evening members of the council thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight I stand before you on behalf of the 1,00 children of Hillsdale who will benefit greatly from the proposed new turf field sports complex this project is more than just a sports facility and then he's he begins to list reasons why number one enhancing opportunities for Youth Development sports and recreation are foundational to the growth of our children they teach teamwork resilience leadership and discipline qualities that serve them for a lifetime however our current facilities are falling short of supporting these needs aging Fields have forced teams to share limited space cancel practices and even travel to neighboring towns for playtime I cannot tell you how many times we had to cancel games and move them to another town number two increase home values and enhancing the appeal of Hill sale quality Sports complexes sign iFly influence property values and the desirability of a community families looking to settle down prioritized areas with strong recreational opportunities for their children a modern well-maintained sports complex would position Hillsdale as a premier familyfriendly destination driving up demands for homes impact on property values the National Association of Realtors conducted studies that have shown that homes near Parks recreational facilities and well-maintained Fields seen an increase in property values a 2019 report found that proximity to recreational spaces can raise home values by 8 to 20% depending on the quality and accessibility of the fields uh research conducted in towns across the US has consistently shown that investments in sports facilities and green spaces enhance neighborhood appeal attracting families and increasing demands for homes which leads to higher proper property values three susta safety and sustainability research and Sports Medicine journals show that athletes who play on well-maintained turf fields experience fewer injuries than those on uneven or poorly maintained grass fields the New Jersey athletic trainers Society collaborates with schools across the state sorry to collect data on sports related injuries in high school athletes data data consistently shows that poorly maintained fields are significant factors in injuries like ligament sprains fractures and concussions synthetic tur Fields will properly infill and in infill and shock absortion layers significantly reduce these risk environmental impact studies modern Turf systems such as those with recycled infield materials and advanced dra Drainage Systems have been shown to use 50 to 70% 75% less water than natural grass fields Studies by organizations like Synthetic Turf Council supports these findings I'm sorry but that con your [Applause] time George Hernandez 39 Clayton just wanted to continue uh along with what Mr Lawler was saying uh something that's really important um is the technology everyone seems to be really really concerned about the lighting and with technology today uh if we notice and we go to any other turf fields the lighting itself the technology significantly limits the light pollution from the outside the venue the halo effect is no more and the light pollution does not pass the poles each light sits on so as suggested 9:00 p.m. would be a I think a favorable light uh time to to expire any lighting or any sports activities also keep in mind that these Sports aren't played 12 months out of the year if you think about it it's roughly about 7 months so s months to see kids having a good time enjoying themselves and calling Hillsdale their home I think is well worth it so along with saying the funding we all pay taxes in this town that's why I moved to this town so I could pay a little more taxes so I could call this my home and the sense of community is really disappointing with everyone that is against it so with that being said the funding the project already has the funds in place to pay for the down payment and the ongoing Debt Service so with 1.8 million on hand and the 500k of the recurring tax revenue into the fund hillsel will be able to pay down the debt maintain and service its other natural GR grass fields and Parks the other parks are not suitable guys take a ride take a walk please check them out for yourselves they're not suitable for kids to play everyone is worried about Turf kids getting hurt it's worse when you're playing in ditches thank [Applause] you Daria 21 Lincoln Terrace thank you so much sir for this gather ring this is the first time that I appear here I moved back from New York to New Jersey to this wonderful town in 2015 both me and my family we suffer from asthma extreme asthma last time when there were work being done here there was a lot of dust that caus us very uncomfortable moments I don't know I don't know how long this project is going to take but whatever work is going to be done if you can do this work with no dust I have absolutely no problem but if me and my family have to suffer again from extreme asthma I'm going after you guys there is absolutely no question in my mind there is a lot of work we have a lot of parks here in Hillsdale I live directly behind the park we have beautiful animals that comes in there just enough light it's quiet on Sundays we get the games and we good with that we just spent a lot of money to for this new school it's going to have a new field it's going to have everything our kids need to go ahead and play spending all this kind of money for this new park new lining new this new that I see coaches everybody wants to have this new park because everybody wants to work in here if people want to see games and things like that what sh we have giant Stadium they can go and see that leave our area nice and clean quiet and this is why we came and we live we live here it's because we want a piece of our mind I don't need the place where they're going to be working for almost a year with all the dust and everything and getting my family myself sick with husand Mr Mayor please think about this thank you sir thank you Rick Savino 64 Westdale Avenue I just want to comment on the uh timeline handout page two um contemplating a 15 or 20year bond for a 10-year field does not seem financially prudent and 10 10 years maybe 12 if it lasts if it's not heavily used but that field has to be replaced disposed of um there's a disposal cost there's a new Foundation to go back under it it'll probably cost more than the installation and we're going to be paying off that Bond um for another however many years it it should not that you know it should be a no more than a 10-year financing we've already been paying for it for the past 3 years as we've been putting money aside in the capital account so please you know reconsider that and be financially prudent um it's also this a $6 million expense is not leaving anything for the other parks in town we we we as we watch Centennial um Beachwood still needs an investment similar to Centennial Stony Brook Field needs an investment and the community center is going to need an investment for Furnishings AV audiovisual Equipment and everything else and this bond this money that was set aside was was originally for a community center as well um and this is putting it all into one place at a very high cost and if we're going to be paying for it for 15 20 years that's just doesn't make sense thank you good evening uh my name is Craig Cardell I am five Grove Street here in Hillsdale I am the President of the football and cheer Association uh before I get started I would just like to say thank you to John Escobar I believe this is your last meeting on the council if I'm not mistaken so thank you for all your service and everyone else I just want to touch on a few things the traffic I understand the concerns right and the impact of the new feel but I want to make sure that everyone is aware that it was so eloquently stated over the past 15 to 20 year years that the numbers of participants in the youth program has decreased roughly by half if not more while this trend highlights the need for better facilities to engage more families and grow participation it also suggests that the traffic levels associated with the program activities will not reach what they were in the program's Peak years the lights lights are Paramount football's always been very respectful 9:00 we have no s with that the need for the 100 yard field we play in the Bergen County Junior Football League it is 80 yards by 40 yards for our Mighty Ms P and juniors and it is 80 yards by 53.3 yards for our seniors okay so other leagues North bergon Junior Football League metaland Junior Football League Tri County football league all play on a regular 100 yard field uh and that includes their first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh and eighth graders okay so it's it's just Paramount that like we need to meet the standards our league has talked about other towns doing some research and putting in 100 yard fields of where they are so that's very Paramount using the high school Fields I understand the perspective that we currently have access to the local high school Fields but it's important to recognize that this access is a privilege not a guarantee the high school Fields ex exist primarily to serve the needs of the schools athletic programs and those needs must take precedence we have been very fortunate to have access in the past and relying on the high schools but the challenges are scheduling conflicts sometimes we get bumped limited availability sometimes we have to play the games late on a Saturday people don't like that families don't like that and long-term planning We Want A Home of Our Own like that's just you know so we value our relationship with the high schools and their support but our Town's youth program deserve the stability and the Independence that a dedicated field can offer let us create a lasting solution that ensures we can continue to provide quality opportunities for our kids having our own field is an investment in long-term sustainability of our youth programs it provides young athletes with a reliable space to play grow and develop without being subject to external limitations this new field is not just about football it's a multisport Field Complex for other sports it's about giving our youth athletes access to some opportunities other towns provide ensuring their safety and fcer and Community Pride investing in this field is an investment in our Town's Future IT supports youth engagement healthy activity and Community Pride and I encourage everyone to see this as an opportunity to grow responsibly while addressing any concerns collaboratively thank [Applause] you hello my name is Amanda Gallow I live at 383 Magnolia a um I am currently the softball president in town for the hbsa I served as the te- ball coordinator for four years prior to that I have two young children in town um I grew up in Harington Park my husband grew up in Northville and 10 years ago I was really proud to buy a house in Hillsdale that I was able to do that for myself and now I go to some of these complexes in towns that I feel sports facilities and complexes to towns that I feel um personal opinion inferior to Hillsdale um and I'm embarrassed and I'm embarrassed for our children as well when we go to those facilities um we can't offer them the same facilities and Fields and complexes that some of these other towns have towns that I looked at houses and made the conscious decision to not buy houses in these towns because I felt that my children and my future family and I was better suited in Hillsdale um I can't tell you how many time how many days at work um I work I'm fortunate enough to get a couple days at home working from working from home um how many hours and days that I've missed going out to fields to check to see if they're wet if they're playable making phone calls to other towns other coaches I can't tell you right now but I could tell you in an hour to see if maybe we can get to a field maybe I could Salvage it usually it's not a lot of times the town will completely shut down a field completely no one likes the guy who invites them over and a lot of times I've had to call a Town and go look I'd hate to cancel on you I can't host you do you have a field can you take us and a lot of times it's not because they have scheduling conflict too because all of their teams are able to still play on that day cuz their fields are playable and ours are not so for me to go hey can we come over no one really appreciates that and it's embarrassing to have to ask that and to ask so much of our volunteers all of our coaches they're all volunteers and it's become more than just coaching it's field maintenance and these types of things phone calls and scheduling and scrambling it's a lot to ask these parent volunteers who have full-time jobs who are running households to also come out and volunteer we need volunteers the program is not going to work but we're going to ask all of this extra work of you and all of these added stressors that these people are not prepared to take on and they do it for one season and then they drop out because they can't take it on and a lot of it is due to our fields and our lack of field maintenance and not having a reliable sports complex that we could call home and I know that it's if it rained I know I have a game scheduled at Memorial or maybe there's an opening I can get in at Memorial and I know that I could still play my game and I know a lot of the sports facilities feel that I know our I'd hate to talk about another program I know Luc Cal's here from the soccer association ma'am I'm sorry but that concludes your three members okay that's fine thanks thank [Applause] segue for me no no uh Louis Cal 96 East Liberty um also VP of the Hillsdale Soccer Association I was here at the rec commission meeting I think a week or two weeks ago and one of the things that stood out to me is one of the families that lives near the field had said they're young kids right they're worried about the traffic a 2-year-old three-year-old that 2-year-old that three-year-old is going to be 8 9 10 years old at one point right and these fields are critical for our kids to be able to get the appropriate time for both practices and games and to be able to be proud of of where we live which I am already I grew up in the Bronx most of my Years playing sports were on concrete black top and rocks and it was brutal most days I didn't want to play sports anymore because I'd come home with banged up knees and you know my father would normally say all right tough it out and and play the reason we moved to Hillsdale was to give something better to my kids that I didn't have growing up and one of that is fields that are playable we had a tournament for soccer in October and Kevin Donatello had to come out with a shopvac to take water off the fields it's it's ridiculous and I think everybody here and I get like progress means disruptions to some people's lives I'm okay with this the disruptions I think most of the people here who have kids want better for their kids and I get it I'm not going to be affected by lights or traffic if I were I'd still vote Yes on this and I think you have to think about what happens in in the future right at some point we have to think about the next generation at times we're kicking the can down the road hoping somebody else will take care of it the time is now to take care of this thank [Applause] you Mr Pella come on up hi Frank Pella 247 Hillsdale Avenue I've served on Council for over 12 years I lived in town for 20 years improperly lit and restructured wreck Fields can negatively impact property values however properly restructured and lit Fields with appropriate lighting that reduces light spill can can increase the value of property surrounding the area and also make for a better playing experience for the kids that are playing on it when we had a problem with the farm I didn't say I don't live up there and I don't think anybody in Hillsdale did we helped all those people up by the farm and we helped make sure that parking was moved out of that area when we had an issue with uh public service and them increasing their sub station we worked with them to make it look like a streetscape and now if you go down there it kind of looks like a building we all work together when we had an issue with COA we met with COA we discussed COA and we made sure that our share was fair when we had to deal with Waste Management we worked together to create a Redevelopment area that's bringing $30 million into the town plus over $600,000 a year in taxes just that area alone only pays $28,000 the entire area but we did it together we listened to what we what everybody was saying and we got things done that's how you get things done working together we're only asking now I live by the field I live in the little white house on the corner on Hopper all that we're asking is that we be heard I think at the last meeting someone had suggested putting a couple of residents in the area on um the committee not to vote cuz we're not elected but just to give their opinion and help you get the best plan that's really what we need to do is get the best plan possible and I would strongly suggest that you do that that you put a couple of people from the surrounding area I mean you you you heard from all the sports um the sports associations and stuff and you heard from wck I think it's important to also hear from a few resid in that area because they could also tell you what goes on in that area and what they're nervous about yes sir and I'm sorry thank you all right and I'm sorry just one last thing not you okay um so I would just and I and I really appreciate the fact that you're taking buffering into consideration and you're taking the lighting into consideration because I brought it up at the last meeting and I want to say thank you for actually listening to what I had to say I'm just going to bring these issues up one more time a buffering system is very important because people are used to not looking at what you're going to be putting there so if you create a buffer it's easier for the people that live in the area to deal with what you're putting there and also appreciate it better Mr Pella I'm sorry to say that concludes your okay uh all right thank you [Applause] hello I'm Frank chipot I live at 37 lincol Terrace and like the previous gentleman just said I am a resident I live on Lot number 12 and your proposal so far has a pickleball court and a basketball court which will literally be in my backyard I have nothing against the organized Sports I'm all for or organized Sports what I am against is uh having you know adolescent kids play music really loud play B basketball all night long all I hear is that that ball dribble dribble dribble and now you're moving it from the other side of the park literally in my backyard where he said there is no buffer there's just a chain link fence right there and I know that you guys are reorganizing everything like that and I would like to see it but I agree with the previous gentleman said you should have some of the the residents uh give their input on what's best for the community like I said I'm all for sports I played Sports growing up I enjoy watching the game sitting out on my deck and watching it but it's the it's the times that get you know during the summertime uh all you hear is the basketball court kids shooting off fireworks playing loud music from their cars their boom boxes that's that's my real concern I don't mind a few hours like on a Sunday or a Saturday you're having a game or a Friday night light game I enjoy it I like to sit there and watch the games but it's the it's the off hours of the Recreational Sports that I'm concerned about so something that I would like to talk about in January when you do discuss the buffering and uh and the loc relocation of assets and everything like that thank you thank [Applause] you hi I'm Ellen ra I live on 65 Hopper Street which is the opposite side of Hopper street that nobody takes into consideration with this we are a little tiny Dead End Street for those of you not familiar with it it dead ends there is no C to sack the one side of the street is a high hill the other side is low five of the houses only one has a flat driveway my driveway is extremely stre Steep and hard to navigate so when these games go on even now cars come down and park on the street they look for an easy way in an easy way out my street is not it it's not capable of taking all of these big SUVs people Park far from the curb I have to back from my driveway down a steep driveway and cars are parked behind my driveway which makes it almost impossible for me to cut out of the driveway without bottoming out the other issue is the number of cars on any given day coming down the street not realizing it doesn't go through even though it does a dead end they can't navigate the turn in their big SUV even with no cars parked on it so they use our driveways to turn around the average car takes 10 to 16 attempts to make a turn this happens every day all day my driveway is a mess cars bottom out on it all the time it's disruptive it's dangerous I had an incident this year during the softball opening day or Baseball opening day whichever one it was I was backing down my driveway thank God for a backup camera when a car with three little kids and a woman came barreling up my driveway and almost hit me she had the nerve to get out and tell me I should have looked before I backed out she was in my driveway there's not adequate room for cars to turn around I ask I beg that during events no parking either side of the street my mailbox has been blocked my driveway has been blocked I haven't been able to get down my own street because cars are parked so far from the curb you can't even make it down the street I mean today there were two cars only two cars parked on the street they parked right next to each other it makes it very difficult there was a delivery truck coming up he had to use one of my neighbor's driveways to turn around then back up the street I I asked I mean there's other towns I've seen it no turning in Residence driveways it's a sign I mean my property is being damaged this is going to be the epitome of it because there's no way there's going to be enough Park spots there's no way so even cars that don't aren't familiar with the area just missing the parking lot or waiting for a game to get out and get into the parking lot will not be able they'll be coming down my street they won't be able to turn you can't have two cars on the road at once we had an issue years back with a neighbor with cancer they couldn't get the ambulance up the street for her because it was one of these games and they had cars parked on it it it sets all of us at a disadvantage if I needed a fire truck ma'am I'm sorry but that concludes your time thank you thank [Applause] you hello again Kristen Martin uh 219 Washington AV uh again thank you for all you do and I do want to give a shout out to the fire department for their recent work and the ambulance at all times um I just wanted to remind everyone that holiday season little bit of Peace would be nice uh it's very disheartening when you live in a community like ours that historically has been caring and supportive of one another and then you have a couple people who are now turning to social media saying horrible things about our residents who live in the surrounding area such as we are part of the ARP and we don't care about kids or we don't have kids or we bought a house uh near a sports complex we did not we bought a house near a beautiful Fields where animals played and children came we had busy times a couple times a year it was not a sports complex it was never intended to be a sports complex sports complexes generally are not in the middle of residential areas this would be a very atypical I don't know of any in the area that are dropped right in the middle of homes um even though this project is likely to cost six and a half to 8 million there's not been a single person who has complained about the price or even suggested that children shouldn't have access to good fields that has not been anybody's complaint what I've heard residents say time and time again is that all of the field should be improved this is going to not only bankrupt us it's going to make us that this is the only place kids can go uh making it even more um traffic our price our our value of our homes will go down so when they talk about people wanting to live nobody wants to live near a big Sports PL uh sports complex with lights and everything excuse me everything else we just supported a $65 million addition to our Middle School we're be paying that off for the next 30 Years great point was made that we're going to be funding and paying for this turf field long after it's in the garbage um and we're going to be looking for another one so I do think that we have these concerns and the residents have every right to be concerned about these um these these issues um the people at around Memorial have rights we have a right to a peaceful existence this will eliminate our ability to have family time outside it's going to be loud it's going to be bright it's it's going to take away from the homes we purchase um the high schools graciously volunteer the use of their fields that are more than adequate um if it's a little inconvenient and saves us6 to8 million do or allows us to work in other fields that slight inconvenience should not um be the determining Factor um and those of us that are trying to claim that we're doing best for our children should really consider their behavior on social media when the bullying tactics and the horrible things are calling the residents that's around that area I really think during the holiday season we should start acting like a community and start thinking about what's good for all of the members thank you thank [Applause] you anyone else well you've already you've already had your three minutes we're going to make sure everybody gets their chance hello everyone and thank you all for your work here thank you hello um first of all I'm Suzanne desmit and I live at 232 Hillsdale Avenue so I live directly across from the field I look out my window and there's the field and it has been one of the most beautiful things to look at since 1961 when my family moved there so I've been in this house a long time minus a few years where I lived in another house house for a while at any rate it's been in my family I I want to support those comments that have been made up here by various individuals regarding the noise and the traffic and the the one comment that someone just made a moment ago about why did you move there if you know you're going to have a well that's not true not when we moved in here in 1961 that was not the case um it's I concerned about the things that have been mentioned the noise the traffic is a very big concern of mine especially because I'm right there uh I have on during the summer I've heard specifically because that's when the sports are taking place um noise and and all kinds of things going on over there but it's not in an afternoon you say oh you want the the neighborhood or the the people of the town to enjoy the world you know enjoy the the fields and so forth but I am concerned about it going Contin until very late at night or uh and the traffic is a big issue it's um I hear a few people say oh it's they have no problem with it because they you know they're on the street and but they're also part of the group like for example when we were talking about having a new school built and there was a lot of controversy about that here in town I taught for 41 years up in ramsy and we had to build a new school up there and stuff um I had no problem with that there were some people that did but I had no problem because I was part of the group so those individuals that said that they uh they had no problem with the field obvious and I totally understand by the way just so you know I am pleased to see to look out and see the kids playing and so forth I mean I think that's wonderful I have no problem with that but it's I'm concerned about those the noise the traffic is a big deal for me and the parking this woman just mentioned with parking on the street and so forth um these are all conc things that we have to seriously consider and I also was impressed with the fact that we've been going on and on and on about the fields that have been so um shoddy I guess or whatever I don't know what the problem exactly is but why was it why did it take this long for the other fields to be uh addressed that I don't understand but at any rate uh I just wanted to show my support for the immediate community and around the perimeter of that park because we will definitely definitely be affected and when they say I'm sorry but that concludes your three minutes and I don't think it'll increase my P the price of my house thank you okay thank you very much would like to speak first [Applause] time hi my name is Joanna Vargas I live on 193 Washington a directly across from the um the basketball courts on a Memorial Field um the park was a big reason that we bought the house in 2008 was a beautiful area it had the basketball courts it had baseball it had football um what I don't understand and I I didn't plan to speak today but just hearing everybody I Echo a lot of the people that live around the area as far as the noise the traffic is a big concern because the parking would all be on our side um the buffering as well um I'm not against Sports my three boys are uh my my youngest is now a senior in high school my my children thrived in Hillsdale playing sports they had a great time not a bad experience they played soccer they played football they played basketball again they thrived they had a great time so I've never been embarrassed to live in Hillsdale and play on the fields and the and and have my kids there it's just been a positive experience for my family um what I don't understand is why don't we we talked about the other fields Centennial um uh Stony Brook Beachwood why don't we spend the money on fixing the problems there what we're doing now is taking a decent field that's in pretty good shape and creating new problems right why aren't we fixing the problems we have with the other fields that's where I would spend the money and it's just my opinion I live there and it's uh very concerning to us um as residents across the street um but again I'm all for Sports my family is Big Sports family I support the the organizations but I just don't support the changes to Memorial thank [Applause] you you go next he's GNA run Deck Michael Fox 34 Lincoln Terrace so I think and again I've been here I spoke uh I've spoken 15 years ago 10 years ago we're looking at field Renovations um I think the the parents and and the heads of the rec commissions are doing great jobs as far as taking it seriously to improve the fields here that we have in Hillsdale it's something that I'm very passionate about for children however this has been a conversation for over 20 years since I've been in this community and we have failed in General on all Fields so the key term I think that people aren't using right it's it's using in the fact of complex as a word I go with the word for children and children and players is safety nobody's mentioned safety here tonight the safety of the children is to me the most important right and that's the responsibility of everyone sitting in front of sitting in front of me so when you're looking at safety and you're allocating $6 million and I don't know where the $6 million came from I heard 1.8 I think believe is being funded but I don't know where six so then maybe you go seven or eight and you renovate or you you take the six and you reduce it and you go just like the School referendum went right you didn't pass the first one so then you reduced the the matter and then you passed the second one so you're looking at the highend first then you're going with the low end that's your decision to make but six million could cover or should cover the complex itself and renovate all of the other fields those fields whether you're looking at Centennial you're looking at Beachwood you're looking at lacrosse uses uh Stonybrook and and you also just because the the town voted the first referendum down there was a beautiful field going in at George White now the schools that was taken off the referendum that doesn't mean the community because you can Bond they can't go out and bond again you can now go Bond and help them renovate George white as well so that's also on the table because that field is in poor poor condition as we all know so I think when you're looking at Lessons Learned I think the most important piece for this body here is going to be what we do for the entire town and a lot of I'm going to tell you as a former coach in this community a lot of work needs to be done and it needs to be done on all the fields and it should be done looked at and maybe even on a rotating basis and get it done thank you for your [Applause] time good evening Paul kapo Legion Place Hillsdale um just a couple of points I'd like to bring up um obviously we have to play the hand that were dealt right Memorial Field is uh probably the the biggest park or biggest field that we can improve which will allow for the most usage um Beachwood field as it currently stands uh where football practices and plays um is it's a hazard actually I was surprised I'm surprised nobody's been hurt playing there the ground is uneven um when the kids run on it um the the footing is uneven it I I'm I'm surprised nobody's been seriously hurt there with with leg injuries it's it's uh barely playable um so improving Memorial Field with artificial turf would improve safety it would allow for usage um the constant usage which tears apart the fields the the grass fields um so artificial turf is is necessary and without lighting it would be cost the cost it the benefit wouldn't be there without being able to play there at after 5 o' during the fall and in the uh in the early Springtime so um you know I I understand the residents that live around there but unless they can find another area or another field that can be improved which is not Beachwood obviously there's issues there with wetlands and the size um parking would be a problem there as well um so it's we're going to have to deal with Memorial Field um as being the only reasonable solution that we have to deal with uh that's it another okay Greg 33 Hillsdale Court I'm a recating me member um I love the idea that homeowners meeting uh would it be in appropriate to put a date on it would it be inappropriate for the rec committee to host that meeting after our uh January monthly meeting on the 13th is that something we can this is public comments sir okay so it's suggestion suggestion would be I wasn't sure if it was appropriate I just thought I I love the idea I think the dialogue and getting the feed back hopefully after some of those reviews have been done we can get make a more informed decision going forward I just uh whoever thought that idea that was I think was uh should be commended so thank you for all you're doing thank you sir so you only get one chance oh okay that's fine I wish you well um yeah anybody got a problem with that guy anybody else [Music] no okay well one more one more our nurse my name is Andy Davis 25 lincol terrorist I spoke at the last meeting um you know I'm not going to there's plenty of people here opposing the lights like I'm not going to go go you know and down that route I guess I grew up in Hillsdale I played in all the Hawks programs I went to pasc Valley played in all the sports teams there um I'm very Pro renovating facilities and having good facilities for our us Sports in particular um you know obviously my backyard runs right to Memorial Field it needs repair um I'm all about that the one thing I guess just hearing it over and over from the sports programs tonight why why is Beachwood a disaster why is Stony Brook a disaster why is M Memorial Field such a such an issue for rain out situations my biggest concern one would be obviously our our field maintenance it sounds like we have a field maintenance problem in town secondly um just from a player safety standpoint I'm not here to to go after the turf plan I I do think a well-maintained grass field statistically it's inarguable it's safer than Turf and I guess from my standpoint nothing would make me happier than like a beautiful renovated same project that they want but like a really nice well-kept grass field we we live in New Jersey um you know inclement weather is part of being part of Youth Sports here right right now tapen that's it's it's Outdoor Sports in New Jersey so I guess for my standpoint the kids the kids safety um long-term effects non-c contct injury with the lower body concussions on a hard surface like that matters more to me than just having you know um less inconvenient rain out situations so I guess you know I would like to reconsider the turf plan I'm all for the plan and I I would I would pay more just to have a nice upep grass field for our kids so thank you is there anybody else who wishes to speak okay seeing no one we're can I get a motion to close the public session second all right we're we're closed there um the order was going to be that we're going to go into um Council commentaries but I think we should go into Clos session at this point um so um we need to pass a motion to provide for a public meeting for for meeting not open to the public in accordance with the provisions of the New Jersey open public meetings act uh matters are relating to attorney client privilege burrow personnel can I get a motion motion second all those in favor discussion we are discussion you want to go to discussion yeah that's comment that normally after one a second you know this resolution is supposed to give the public a sense of the topic to be discussed and to quote like what the attorney has given me is Michael Payne's treaties on public meetings good practice dictates that resolutions be as specific as possible resolution should contain as much information as is consistent with full public knowledge without doing any harm to the public interest the use of the term that we've used here burrow Personnel I believe it is Mr Mayor right um that is so broad um you know we're we're meeting in Clos session to discuss a serious development focused on the Hillsdale police department and that is not conveyed in the resolution and I suggested this a couple of days ago simply add the word HPD so that the residents know what department we're talking about otherwise it could be DPW it could be construction it could be the bur administrator it could be the clal staff the finance staff no one knows I've said this repeatedly for years that this council is not always as transparent as it needs to be as it should be and this is one more example of that okay well you that you've said your piece um there's a motion there's a motion is there is there is there a motion he he wants to supersede that I'm sorry was there a motion to supersede I did not make a I had a comment about the way this resolution is that's fine can we get a motion on the resolution at hand to go into public meeting attorney CL privilege borrow Personnel we had a motion we had a second all in favor all in favor I I