Let the record reflect. We have reconvened with all members present. Councilwoman Melissa Hanahan is absent excused. For those who are able, please rise for the pledge and remain standing after the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Let's take a moment to remember longtime Madison residents we lost over the last
few weeks. Joyce Lois Alexander passed away on October 16th age of 81. Born in 1944 in Queens, she was the wife of the late Gene Alexander and together they raised three children,
Eugene Jr., Jennifer, and Megan. Joyce was the grandmother to seven children. She was a lifelong resident of Madison where she and Jean raised their three children and made lifelong friends. Love Madison always felt so honored to be part of its community. She was a
devoted parishioner, Grace Church, enjoyed assisting in the early morning coffee hours and knitting group where she knitted blankets for babies. She was a parallegal office manager of her husband's law firm, member of the Daughters of American Revolution and
Children of the Mayflower. Her interests were as varied as they were heartfelt. She was an enthusiastic Met fan who never missed watching a game and would often rewatch the 1986 Mets World Series. So I I'm assuming Bill Buckner
was one of her favorite players from the Red Sox. And then on October, sorry uh she loved traveling the world and uh her trips to Italy, Egypt with Teen and the family and vacations to Wildwood Crest and Disney World. You also remember Sarah
Sally Tailor Conlin who passed away age of 90 on October 6. Born in 1935, grew up in Maplewood. She lived many years in Madison until relocating recently to Tucson, Arizona. Predased by her husband of 53 years, her husband Tom uh and her
son David and her great-grandson Matthew. She is survived by her children Tom Jr., Lori, John, Maryanne, and their respective spouses. She's also survived by 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. She loved vacationing at
Lake Dunore in Vermont at the down to Jersey and also at Jersey Shore. Loved shopping singing painting dancing and being with her family. Graduated high school from Kent Place and went on to attend Bradford College. and she grew her business Gemini Creations in her
younger years where she expressed her exceptional artistic ability especially with floral designs and later years she was a realtor with Wer Realtors. She was a member of the Junior League uh Lark Singing Group, St. Vincent Church and
Mars County Golf Club. You also remember Patricia Pat McSherry, longtime Madison resident who succumbed to health issues caused by a stroke in 2023. She was 80, predeceased by her husband of 60 years, David. Survived by four children,
daughters Kathleen and Bonnie, sons Michael and Brian, their respective spouses, 10 grandchildren, one great grandchild. Pat was born in Marstown in 1945, raised in Mars Plains with her four siblings, graduated from Bell
Yellard in 1963. She raised her four children in Marstown and then family moved to Madison in 1976. She started a career as medical secretary and then when coming to Madison she worked for Gruber's Bakery. Some of us
will remember that and Star Ledger in the Windsor gift shop. We also uh remember Aldano Scripa resident she was a resident of Floren Park died on November 1st age of 91. She
was a longtime elementary uh school teacher here in Madison. I believe she taught at Lucy D and Tori J schools. Um she survived by her two sons John and Ed and one daughter Kathy and two grandsons
deceased by her husband Michael. She was born in Lithuania during the early tumultuous years of World War II and her early life was shaped by the challenges of her environment. After the war, her life took a transformative turn and go
into a little more details because it is amazing story. Sponsored by a pen pal in Worcester, Massachusetts to travel United States, she then earned her undergraduate degree from Clark University at the age of 18. Um she was accepted to Duke University
School of Medicine but decided to change career focus and earned her mers in education from Syracuse. She was fluent in five languages had a passion for learning and uh teaching that was defining aspect of her life and it was
uh at her time at Clark that she met her future husband and as a teacher in Madison she inspired generations of students with her passion and dedication. Her students often spoke of her with affection, a testament to the profound impact she had on their lives. One notable achievement was she
was honored by the presidential award for excellence in teaching by President George HW Bush for her science teaching accomplishments. Many of her former students would send her cards at her in her advanced age remembering her impact.
Let us now remember Joyce Alexander, Sally Conlin, Pat McSherry, and Aldana Scraper. And let us pass our thoughts on to the family and friends they leave behind. Thank you. Have a motion for the executive minutes
of April 28th, 2025. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Already discussed. All in favor? >> I >> I. >> And a motion for the regular minutes of April 25th, 2025. >> Second.
>> Any discussion, corrections, or changes? >> All in favor? Hi. >> Hi. >> Welcome all on this and welcome to winter that suddenly came came back with a vent arrived about 3:00 this afternoon I think. Congratulations to council
member Tom Howard Putus for your on your re-election and to Deb Cohen on your election and soon return to the pro council. Also want to thank Michelle Goodwin and Mark Shalonza for stepping forward to run for office. It is important part of democracy to have old
ballots out there. And then in in my notes here, I have to uh announce that uh our state senator Antie Buuku has arranged something special for us, but he's here in person. So, I'm going to let him come up and say a few words about our visit from motor vehicle and
any else he wants to update. And where's our get our January 20th microphone. >> So, you always lead with the good news first right? >> Um, the good news is I was able to arrange
um a mobile unit for motor vehicles here in Madison um in January to help folks get their real IDs uh and other motor vehicle issues that might take some time if you have to make an appointment at motor vehicles or travel the distance
tool or to one of the other sites. So that mobile unit will be here in January. Registration um starts I think December 30th. So, um, folks will get some information and, uh, the residents of the burough can sign
up, make their appointments, and hopefully this will make their, uh, dealings with motor vehicle just a little bit easier. So, um, so I'm grateful for motor vehicles. I'm grateful to the administration for that, and I look forward to having, uh, that mobile unit here, uh, to help, uh, all
the residents of the burrow. >> And, and I know that it's very limited dates and you have to pick a few towns, you pick the best. So, uh, thank you so much for, uh, making it so easy for Madison residents to take care of the real ID. >> Thank you.
>> Yep. Thank you for a great partnership. quick conversation is that as I outline the resolutions uh coming up you will see that there's a resolution opposing uh Senate Bill what's the number
>> I should have it memorized by now 4736 six. Um, and uh, we will be sending a copy of that resolution. I'm assuming it will pass unanimously to uh, Senator Buco. Uh, and I will jumpst start the uh, the
comments around that resolution. This would allow nonprofits such as uh whether it's churches, other nonprofits or universities um to build affordable housing outside of the approval process of the local
government. So outside of zoning uh densities as high as 50 units per acre. If you do the uh think about Madison and you look at the shirts in the audience, you can think about the impact that that would have on Madison alone. Um we went through a whole
process with round round four through the new legislation that basically told each town you have an obligation and you must come up with a plan to meet that obligation. Madison did exactly that. And we have been committed to providing
affordable housing long before we ever had to. But we have never done it. Turning a blind eye to good planning. And that's what this bill does exactly that. It would turn a a blind eye to good planning. And so I appreciate state
senator Anthony Buo's support and uh pushing back as this uh in during lame duck session that uh this would be terrible for all over the state. Yes, we must deliver affordable housing. We will do it the right way. Thank you for your
support on that. >> Yeah. >> I want to commend you and the council for acting so quickly um on this resolution. this this legislation is really misguided to take away the zoning
powers of a municipality. Um has never been done before. And um and when I saw this legislation pop up on the uh Senate agenda, um I thought of Madison immediately because
um the impact that this could have on the Drew Forest is incredible. So it is incumbent upon all of us to speak up against this legislation because it's the sponsor is actually the chairman of the committee where this is assigned. So
if this legislation gets posted, it will pass and in its present form uh it will be detrimental not only to Madison but to the other municipalities uh that take great pride in their planning and zoning. So, um I do think
that we need to work diligently to get the word out to other municipalities, not only in Mars County, but around the state, uh to make sure that they let the sponsor and the Senate President know
that, um this is not legislation, uh that we think will help in the affordable housing process. And in fact, it won't. I mean, the densities that they're talking about here is not conducive to single family home
construction. What we're talking about here is affordable apartments at a high density with only 20% affordable. So, you're not offering somebody the American dream. You're not going to provide generational wealth by allowing
someone to to purchase a home and then uh and then be there for the future. uh you're talking about apartments and it's not what um I don't think affordable housing is all about
and it's certainly not uh in the best interest of the municipality when they can uh forego having to uh comply with good planning, good sound planning and municipal zoning. So, uh, I suggest that
I haven't seen your resolution, but I'm sure it's a good one. And, um, I would suggest that you send it not only to, um, to the legislators, but to the Senate President, to the governor, to the speaker, uh, as long along with all
of the, uh, along with the members of the Mars County League of Municipalities, uh, for their information and guidance as well because I think it's really important to get the word out. So thank you. >> Thank you very much for your work
and uh we already took your advice as who to send it to because all those names are in the resolution and Madison has been taking the lead on this. So the league of uh municipalities has pushed out a um template resolution which is basically based on the work that we did
here. So um and we will uh encourage people to to call They they can call Senator Buo if you want, but you know where he stands. Please call please call other U. >> All right. >> Thank you very much.
A couple other things I want to uh cover right now. Um I was start off with some congratulations. I want to offer congratulations to police chief John Misha. He was elected to the Hanover Park regional board of education. Uh he had served on the farm park board of
education and u is now going to move up to a regional level. And he's also going to be stepping into the role as president of the Mars County Police Chiefs Association. So if you see our chief, please congratulate him. And as a reminder, at our last council meeting, this is somewhat upper to what we were
just talking about. We're holding our um uh town hall meeting to present background on our affordable housing settlements and obligations and other issues related to uh proposed developments. And uh the town hall meeting is Thursday, December 4th at 7
p.m. right here in these council chambers. And um both uh council members uh Bob Landrian and John Forte uh reached out to me sharing their concerns around families in Madison who rely on SNAP benefits
that are caught up in the crossfire in the dysfunction in Washington. And even if our government opens up this week, uh it will take a while for the um benefits to catch up. And if it does open up this week, it most likely means that uh health care costs for many of his
families will be uh growing astronomically. So, they're going to be faced with other challenges. And this is all as we approach the holiday season. Madison always steps up. So, this is a great time to help those in need. a couple of suggestions and I'm sure there's others out there, but the First
Baptist Church hosts a food pantry at at their church on Cook Avenue and that's um the dates you you can get listed from from their website. The Madison High School Interact Club has been supporting the uh food pantry there. Uh they are affiliated with Rotary. They have a
program where they go to homes that have signed up and collect food donations from the families and then deliver it to the food pantry. Um and what is great to hear is while yes the demand for the food has gone up, they've already seen a
uh jump in families signing up for the program uh anticipating the need. And other options you can look at are the Interfaith Food Pantry and Nourish New Jersey and certainly there's there's others. So I encourage you to reach out um
with with donations to help these families in need. And uh drum roll because the employee of the month for November is burrow clerk Liz Osborne. [Applause]
Liz worked many additional hours during the election season. Uh there were nine days of early voting with very he heavy volume and Liz was responsible for coordinating the county and poll workers during that time. She also worked 16 plus hours on election day to ensure the
voting procedures were correctly executed from start to finish. And if you've been following the election results this year saw the greatest non-presidential uh year voter turnout since at least 1998. And certainly since early voting is very
young, it was by far the busiest early voting uh ever. And from what I understand that um on Sunday, November 2nd, the uh po um early votings closed at 6, but they had to process everyone in line. It took at least an hour to take care of everyone else that was in
line at that time. So congratulations. Now, if you can come down with me for do a pro acclamation. This is a proclamation on pancreatic cancer awareness month, November 2025.
Uh this is a time you also remember Councilman Ben Walowitz who passed away six years ago uh after a battle of uh with pancreatic cancer um for over two years. And the reason Liz Osborne is
here with me is she lost her sister to pancreatic cancer. So whereas in 2025 more than 67,000 people will will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States and almost 52,000 will die from the disease including more than 1,400 in New Jersey. And whereas
pancreatic cancer is currently the third leading of cancer death in the United States and is projected to become the second leading cause by 2030. And whereas each person's chances of getting this cancer can be affected by certain risk factors such as tobacco use, being overweight, family history, and
inherited genetic syndromes. And whereas when the symptoms of pancreatic cancer present themselves, it is generally in the later stages and 88% of pancreatic cancers die within the first five years. And whereas it's important to see a doctor at the first signs of pancreatic
cancer which include abdominal pain, mid back pain, and new onset, diabetes not associated with weight gain and yellow eyes or skin. And whereas the good health and well-being of the residents of Madison are enhanced as a direct result of increased awareness about the
symptoms and risk of pancreatic cancer and research into early detection causes and effective treatments. Now therefore, I Robert H. Conley, the mayor of the burough of Madison, on behalf of the governing body, hereby proclaim November 2025 as pancreatic cancer awareness month in the burrow of Madison. Thank
you, Liz, for us. >> Just that I appreciate the mayor and council's bringing this terrible disease awareness to the people in Madison. Thank Now we go on to reports from committees.
>> Finance clerk. Council President Erlick. Mayor, the tax department reminds us that the fourth quarter tax grace period ended today at 4:30 p.m. Interest is now due on unpaid taxes. Please visit or contact the tax collector's office to find out
the correct amount to pay. In the finance department, this evening, we have an important item on the consent agenda regarding budget transfers. Unlike a household or a business budget, the state strictly limits the transferring of funds or changing the municipal budget. State statute only
permits transfer of funds from one budget line to another during the last two months of the current budget year and the first three months of the following year. There are also a number of statutory cap related restrictions on how funds can be transferred. Our official state budget document has
hundreds of lines in it and the only way to move funds from one line to another is by transferring it by resolution. Transfers typically occur when there is an unanticipated issue and these are listed in the in the resolution. Next up, budget season is here.
Administration is suggesting a budget schedule similar to last to past years with the following dates and topics. Next month on December 8th, open space, recreation, and historic preservation trust fund will be presented along with the draft five-year capital plan. On
January 26th, we'll have a presentation from public works, water utility, electric utility, and the utility fund balances. February 9th will be the initial municipal budget review with a presentation from the fire department. And February 23rd will be additional
department head presentations. On March 23rd, we'll have the final final budget hearing and strategic planning discussion along with the official budget introduction. And on April 27th, the budget hearing will occur and we will adopt the budget.
Things to look forward to uh in our very um thorough and transparent uh budget process. Thank you, Mayor. >> Thank you very much. Public safety, Mr. Lander. >> Thank you, Mayor. Okay, first from the police department. This past week, all communications officers have completed
crisis intervention training. The new eight-hour training modified for dispatches is an innovative international police model that incorporates collaboration between the community's law enforcement system and mental health system to respond to those
needs of those in psychiatric crisis. All Madison patrol officers have completed the week-long 40hour course. The traffic safety bo bureau with the DPW have installed additional pedestrian
crossing signs at Green Village Road and Hillside Avenue and Greenwood Avenue and Elmer Street. Additional pedestrian rapid flashing beacons have been delivered and will be installed by DPW. This is an effort to increase safety and awareness for both foot, bike, and
vehicular traffic. On November 7th, Chief Misha and Captain Longo attended a mass of thanksgiving for law enforcement at St. Luke's in Long Valley. The mass was sponsored by the Morris County Critical Incident
briefing team. The mass was offered in gratitude for Morris County law enforcement and both police officers and representative and represented Madison, the Madison Police Department. From the fire department for the month
of October, the fire department responded to 215 emergencies. 145 of these were medical emergencies. Over 90 people were transported to the hospital. The department has responded to over 2,50 calls so far this year.
Last month, the fire prevention bureau conducted 55 inspections. Those inspections include fire prevention inspections as well as home sale smoke detector inspections. Last week, the fire department gave a tour and presentation to the ECLC Pride
program. The Pride program helps adults over 21 with the devel with developmental disabilities make the right choices about the next steps in their lives. The second half of the fire department completed their live fire safety training at the Morris County
Fire Training Academy. And finally, unfortunately, two volunteers resigned, but we still have two more ongoing throughout the process. Okay. from the joint court. When compared when comparing case loads, Madison's case load decreased by
approximately 14 and a half% in October 25 compared to October of 24. This was a slight decrease in case load compared to the previous month as well. The Madison Joint Court, including all four towns, had a slight decrease of
case load in October 25 compared to the same period last year and a decrease compared to the previous month. Although case loads decreased in October, overall case load has increased throughout 25 compared to 2024 with both
Madison Burrow and the joint court. October's revenue will be discussed during the next council meeting. Thank you mayor. >> Thank you. Public works and engineering, Mr. Range. >> Thank you, mayor. From DPW tonight, curbside leaf collection by DPW staff is
in full swing. As a reminder, please do not put rocks, brush, sticks, stumps, or dirt out to the curb with your leaves as these cannot be picked up and can damage equipment. Yard waste collection by our other
contractor continues through December 3rd with regular yard pickup. Contractor will pick up yard waste in cans and bags or tied in bundles no longer than 4 feet and no heavier than 40 lbs. Yard waste
bags, as always, are available at the DPW garage or at the clerk's office. Your uh unpainted and unvarnished pumpkins can be recycled at the DPW garage. And
uh would like to thank DPW staff uh who assisted the police uh with uh crowd control and blocking streets for uh the dog parade on November 1st. Um, as well as installing, as Councilman Landrian
indicated, uh, several new traffic signs throughout the burrow, including, uh, one on Samson coming down the hill towards Kings Road, uh, warning drivers of the upcoming traffic light. DPW also assisted the Shade Tree Management Board
with a tree planting demonstration this past weekend at Cole Park. from the engineering department. Uh as we've noted previously, the MRC solar carport project is online and generating
electricity. As that project comes to full conclusion, the parking lot was mil and repaved last Thursday and Friday. Uh coordinating with the school closing schedule for teacher convention. Uh striping is scheduled for next week and
is weather dependent. The 2025 mill and overlay project uh has been approved by the New Jersey DOT project funded by a grant of $283,000. Roads to be milled and overlaid are Dogwood Drive, East Street, Harwood
Drive. Bid date to be determined. The project will be bid in winter for early spring construction. Construction documents for the improvements to Shady Lawn Drive have been prepared by Boswell Engineering and submitted to the New Jersey DOT for approval. Project is
being this project is being funded by a New Jersey DOT grant in the amount of $500,000. Project uh to be bid this winter for spring construction. Uh improvements to the Heler Center or
the former Masonic Lodge. That project was advertised for bid. However, no bids were submitted and uh a revised bid packet is being readvertised for the project and those bids will be due December 2nd. Memorial Park Trail phase
3 bids were received on October 23rd. Eight bids were received. The low bid was within available funding. The project is funded in part by a grant from the Morris County Child Construction Program in the amount of $169,23.
project uh is on tonight's agenda for award. The burrow has also been notified that we have been awarded a grant for design improvements for trails in Summer Hill Park by the Morris County uh commissioners. Line striping and and
crack sealing work throughout uh the burrow by the Morris County co-op is nearly complete. Striping of the MRC parking lot will be done through the co-op as well. Concrete sidewalk repairs through the co-op have also been completed in coordination with the
department of public works. The engineering department is working with various burrow committees on a natural climate solutions grant for the planting of trees on burrow property and streets. Funding for the planting of several hundred trees is being sought
and improvements to the east wing of Hartley Dodge Memorial are underway. The construction department and the engineering and land use departments have been temporarily relocated to the former ambulance squad building on Maple Avenue during construction. The project
is anticipated to take approximately 18 months. And a few notes from the MEC tonight. Uh the environmental commission held two successful stewardship days uh at the MRC conservation forest back in October. Volunteers helped remove invasive plants
such as Japanese barberry and plant native trees. The MEC reminds residents that plants like barberry, burning bush, and calorie pears are invasive because birds carry their seeds into our parks and woods uh where they take over the environment. There they out compete
native species partially because deer don't eat them. The MEC would also like to remind residents not to blow leaves out of their garden beds. Butterflies, moths, and native bees rely on fallen leaves for reproduction, food, and shelter. Firefly larvae spend one to two
years under the leaves before emerging as adult lightning lightning bugs. Birds hunt and peck and fallen leaves, feeding uh feeding on proteinrich insects, seeds, and nuts. As fallen leaves biodegrade, they also enrich the soil and feed the plants. If you work for
with a landscaping firm, please ask them not to blow all of your leaves away. And lastly from the MEC, uh, bats were on the agenda for the MEC for Halloween. Uh, they conducted a talk with bat scientist Allison Brokaw in conjunction
with nature of reading bookshop. They had a big crowd uh that included both kids and parents alike. That's all from those groups tonight. Mayor, thank you. >> Alan Pus. >> Thank you, mayor. welcome members of the community uh from the electric utility.
Some of the regular routine projects that they continue to perform for the burrow. Uh they installed a new conduit in the road from the transformer to a hand hole across the street on Nordling Lane to replace a secondary wire. They
responded to 222 Kings Road after a car ran into a pole. The pole was snapped and needed to be replaced. The electric department then pulled new wires again underground on Nordley Lane. Uh standup standby was called to 40
Britain Street for a power outage. Again, it was due to a squirrel. It's been really bad trend this year. Poor squirrels. Standby was called to Fairwood Road, Forest Road for a power outage. The outage was due to a squirrel
again. Gosh. Tree line clearance is continuing throughout the town. Electric department continues to respond to calls, markouts, street light repairs. Next Monday, uh, November 17th, the electric department will start
getting ready for the Christmas tree parade, tree lighting, and they will be bringing the tree over for the this year's uh, Waverly Place Christmas tree. It's being donated in honor of Councilman John Hoover by John's family.
So, that's going to be nice to have that uh tribute to John on Waverly Place. From the water department, uh they've dug and repaired curb boxes that are inoperable, installed a new fire hydrant and 6-in midway valve on Beach Avenue.
They have begun winterizing fieldouses and water fountains throughout the town. Uh all material at the water plant has been organized and inventoried as a department gets prepared for large order of materials. Uh painting and other maintenance in the
wellhouses is taking place and monthly water samples will be taken next week as scheduled. That's all. Mayor, >> thank you very much. And health and if anything on community affairs, Mr. Forte. >> Thank you, mayor. I'll start with community affairs from the DDC and the
director of business development. The next meeting of the downtown development commission will be held on November 20th at 7:15 p.m. in the second floor committee room in the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building. The public is invited to attend. Please visit the 2025 Madison Farm and Artisan Market every Saturday
through December 13th beginning 9:00 a.m. uh and until 2 p.m. Shop with them every week. They've they have great selection of products and live music is featured every week. Uh they're still accepting vendors now at this point as well. Prospective vendors should contact
Lisa Ellis at ddcrosenet.org. The Madison Arts and Culture Alliance, the Madison Downtown Development Commission, and the Madison Chamber of Commerce will present the return of the annual Madison Holiday Arts Festival. Three days of fantastic programming will be held at multiple venues in downtown
Madison on Friday, November 28th from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 29th from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 30th from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. From the Chamber of Commerce, the search for Rosie the
Reindeer will begin on Friday, November 28th, and run through Saturday, December 13th. Please visit the chamber website at Madison New Jersey or Madisonjchamber.org for more information. Madison gift checks are available for purchase in any denomination at citizen bank. So if
you're looking for the perfect gift, purchase a Madison gift check from Madison Community Arts Center. Every Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m. seniors are playing ma jang and canasta and people are welcome to join that. Wednesday, November 12th, every second Wednesday is
music open mic night. 7:00 p.m. is sign up. 7:30 p.m. starts. There's no cover and all are welcome. Sunday, November 16th at 3 p.m. Arts by the People present Spotlight, a quarterly in-person event featuring four local writers reading and discussing their latest
work. East Writer will be allotted 10 minutes. After the readings, there will be an audience Q&A and a book signing. Monday, November 17th at 9:30 a.m., the AAW Ma Jang Tournament will occur and all proceeds from the game and raffles support the AEW Madison mature women's
educational grants and STEM programs for teen girls. Wednesday, November 19th, 700 p.m. sign up and 7:30 to to 900 p.m. comic uh comedy open mic. And Friday to Sunday, November 21st to
23rd, Spotlight Kids All Shook Up. Monday, November 24th at 7 p.m. is a program called Show Us Your Shorts, which is a monthly event for local filmmakers and film enthusiasts. This unique event provides a platform for local filmmakers to showcase their work,
connect with fellow creators, and inspire audiences with original storytelling. Each session will feature screenings of short films, each under 30 minutes in length, created by talented local filmmakers. Following the screenings, directors will engage in supportive, non-critical Q&A sessions,
providing valuable insights into the creative process and fostering a welcoming community for artists. For tickets, go to Madison Community uh arts center events homepage uh and that's uh on the Rosenet calendar, rosenet.orgmc.
From the health department for the month of October, the health department provided the following activities. They inspected 16 retail food establishments, 46 vendors, food vendors at Bottle Hill Day. Held a flu clinic on October 23rd
with 28 participants. Investigated 12 environmental complaints. Held resource tables at the farm and artisan market in Bottle Hill Day. Vaccinated uh one adult in the vaccine for adults clinic. Provided one homebound visit for flu vaccination.
and a free rabies clinic will be held at the Chattam Burough Fire Department on Saturday, November 16th from 9 to 10:00 a.m. Madison residents are able to attend. Madison will be hosting a free rabies clinic in December. Residents who are non-insured or underinsured or homebound and need flu or COVID vaccines
can call the health department to receive one free of charge. Residents are also encouraged, residents with babies are also encouraged uh to be aware of the uh current baby formula recall which is linked to infant bachelism. And if uh folks remember uh
when we had the health update from Megan uh one of the prior council meetings, she talked about a couple cases of infant bachelism that were uh pretty local in New Jersey. So uh I'm not sure if they're linked, but certainly something to be aware of. And then uh last but certainly not least uh just
echoing what the mayor said, I think it's important for everybody to realize that uh nutrition is a very important part of health and with the the way things are currently uh in the broader environment. Uh many of our neighbors are are in uh in dire need of uh
assistance with food. So please consider giving to through your local churches, through Madison High School's Interact Club or food pantries such as the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. >> Very much. Now, move on to communications and petitions. >> Uh, yes, Mayor. Mayor and council
received an email dated uh November the 10th from resident Mark Bride, the Prospect Street regarding um number one, Draw the Farms. >> Thank you. >> And now we go on to our first of two uh
opportunities for public comment. This one is limited to our agenda discussion items and our resolutions on our consent agenda. So these are the items you may comment on. Our agenda discussions are the electric utility incentive program and targeted electric rebrate program,
excuse me. And then also a presentation on electric utility rates. Um as always there'll be a time later to follow up or uh comment on any topic. These are the uh resolutions that are part of the consent agenda and again you may comment
on resolution 301 is authorizing continuation expansion of electric utility rebate program as will be presented shortly that's the amount is being uh proposed to be increased to $250 for income eligible families.
Resolution 302 is awarding contract to absolute fire protection for the purchase of one E1 cyclone cabs fire engine under source well contract and this is an amount not to exceed 1.293573 293573
uh million. So it's 1,293,573 dollars and funded through ordinance 30-2024. Resolution 303 is um awarding the bid to for Memorial Park Trail Construction phase three to Clark Moahan and that was
uh already um that was mentioned in um report a while ago and the contract is 217,000 and change funded to ordinance 72024. Resolution 304 is approving raffle license for St. Vincent Martyr Church
for December 6th. Resolution 305 is awarding contract to Christine Caffone for professional affordable housing planning planner services. Resolution 306 is uh opposing uh state senate bill 4736
uh which enhances the ability of religious and nonprofit organizations to convert certain property to preempt local zoning and high density housing. You just heard about that uh from state senator Buco and myself. Resolution
307 is uh authorizing extension of electric utility incentive program which will be part of a presentation shortly. Resolution 308 is authorizing the uh budget transfers that we just heard about in council reports. Resolution 309
is re rejecting non-responsive bid and awarding contract for removal of um improper recycle improper recycle of leaves. Um, resolution 310 is authorizing competitive bid contracting process for
the operation of Madison Community Pool. Resolution 311 is author authorizing competitive contracting process for concession stand in Madison Community Pool. Resolution 313 is appointing Belle Wilson as part-time PEDDM emergency uh
medical technician EMT for Madison Fire Department and compensated at $30 an hour without benefits. Where where did my 312 go? and 312 which mysteriously has
disappeared from my uh stack here is uh approving temporary I and I remember seeing reading that earlier too. Approving temporary signs for the Madison Eagle Christmas tree fund. All right. Thank you. I can I can count too.
Um so if you want to comment on any of those resolutions or the agenda items, please step up to lectern. State your name and address and then the the item you are commenting on. Try to keep your comments to three minutes, but we give you the one minute grace period and ask
you to stop at four. >> Uh Claire Whitum, 12 Fairwood Road. I'm commenting on um the um the Senate Senate bill that is um been talked about earlier. Um, I I'd
like to um speak to the fact that residents are are concerned about development and to share some more specifics about this bill. It would um include um a provision that
allows 40 units per acre. And just to put that in some context, um the Geralda one project that people have been very avidly following and are concerned about is 13 units per acre. Geralda 3 I believe is six. Uh Madison the Rose Hall
project is 27. Um so 40 units an acre is is a tremendous amount of density. And the bill also allows that um permitted use is uh one story taller than the highest
building in town. So this is quite a serious bill and uh we are and also includes an automatic pilot agreement which Madison usually reserves in in for um areas in need of redevelopment. This
takes away the tool that um Madison deployed at Dorado by having an area need of development where you're able to negotiate with a developer and have supportive housing instead of um additional housing that would that qualifies for the affordable housing but
that you don't have school children. Madison has crafted very good things through the areas of redevelopment and this would eliminate that. Uh we have mobilized at friends of the Drew Forest very quickly. We have a website uh page
devoted to this bill. We have um the numbers and phone numbers and email addresses of key senators and we have um a sample letter to send and a sample resolution. And even just here tonight, I've been hearing from people in Summit
and um New Providence and we've we've we've just blasted this to everybody we know and I encourage everybody who's listening to do the same thing. You can use all the tools on our website friendsofthedforest.com. And the good news is um I just heard
from Summit and they said, "Yeah, we know about it. Chadam Burough is passing a resolution tonight. Not I don't know if they're passing it, but they're considering a resolution just like the Madison Council is. And the um playbook of doing this in the uh lame duck
session follows the affordable housing leg legislation that went through in the dark of night last year and it's the same same senator introducing it to the same committee and um as Senator Grubo says it has serious chance of passing.
So we really have to mobilize Thank you very much for your comments. >> Hi, I'm Lydia Chambers and I'm at 87 Milbrook Road in New Vernon and a co-chair of Friends of the Drew
Forest. And as all of you know and as many community members know, we've been working on this effort to save the forest for four and a half years, building a coalition broadly across the region, across the state, supporting the burough's grant applications,
representing the interests of the forest in court. And now, just when we feel like we're getting close, this new threat appears. You can imagine how this is mobilizing us. Um, never did we imagine the New Jersey state legislature
would propose a bill like this that would spur highdensity housing developments in Madison and across the state without regard to local oversight. The fact that the Drew campus and thus the forest is zoned university use has been key to keeping it safe from
development. Take that away and it could be bulldozed. So, the friends of the Drew Forest have jumped back into high gear to activate the supporters. One aspect of this mobilization was to table at the Madison um farmers market this
past Saturday. We've done a lot of tableabling over the years, but this was different. Usually when we call out to people walking by, hey, do you know about the forest? They often now say yes, I do. And they ask simply, what's going on? What's the update? And then we have a short conversation with them and
they go on their way in a minute or two. But on Saturday, it was a completely different story because what's this new threat? That was our theme. there's a new threat to the forest. And then we had to explain it. And these conversations were deep and they were
long because the people couldn't believe it. I mean, they just didn't they couldn't even fathom that this could happen here after all this work. Um, and it didn't matter what town they were from. They were very concerned about this bill,
um, this proposed bill. So, in the end, every person who visited our table um signed a postcard and sent it to the sponsoring senator asking him to reconsider the bill. Um or at least very at the very least, we're hoping to get
exemptions for forests, environmentally sensitive land, and large developed tracks that provide the health benefits for residents and badly needed open space. So, if it can't be stopped, we'd like to see it obviously um amended. Um but also
in the resolution that you all have proposed, we'd like to respectfully make sure that these resolutions that towns are passing um would include mention of the environmental reasons for not uh
supporting this bill such as protecting envir. It doesn't have any kind of an exception for environmentally sensitive land. no exceptions for forests, no exceptions or consideration of aquifer recharge areas or for storm water mitigation areas. So all of these
factors together um obviously are critical for our health. So thank you very much >> very much Lydia. Anyone else wishing to comment on agenda items or resolutions? Seeing none, I close this part of the meeting. And just to reinforce the two
comments, I again encourage everyone to reach out. Go to the uh Friends of Drew Forest website to get the contact information. Um for those here and watching at home, your homework assignment in the next couple of days is to take a walk in the Drew Forest and
imagine the tallest buildings in Madison being built there at 40 units to an acre. all and and keep in mind that for every 40 units, 32 are market rate and it's only providing eight uh affordable.
So, this is not really answering that need in in a really thoughtful manner. So, uh we will send that resolution uh off to uh the whole list that uh and hopefully we'll get messages and we'll continue to reach out. But thank you for
your work on on our behalf or the behalf of communities across the state. And now we move on to agenda discussions. The electric utility incentive program and targeted electric rebate. Jim brunette.
>> Thank you, mayor. First, I want to thank the council and the mayor for recognizing uh pancreatic cancer. Um yesterday was the 9th anniversary of the passing of my brother-in-law, Sarah's brother. He was 53 years old, three months from diagnosis to death. It's it was it's brutal. So, Liz, I'm sorry
about the passing of your sister. Um, and the budget schedule that was mentioned by uh Councilwoman Erlick, that's illustrative, mayor. I'll circulate it to everyone. I don't want anybody to think I was trying to jump the gun there, but we figured we'd just do something similar to years past. Um, we want to talk about three things here as you mentioned, Mayor. We want to talk
about the incentive program, the rebate program, and electric rates. Um, the uh next slide, Michael. The uh electrification program was a program that was uh created by the climate action committee um much of their help
um and uh we've been marketing it um next slide please Michael um and uh it's for heat pumps it's for incentives for uh credits um on the electric bill for EV chargers heat pumps um hot water heat
pumps and al like um and uh it's been very successful the budget was $100 $100,000. It takes time to process these applications. They have to come in. Yes. Okay. Now, go to the construction department, get your permits, get it
installed, then turn around and go back to us and say, "Okay, it's been installed." And then you get a credit on your bill. But, um, you know, the staff did a great job, the the climate action committee did a great job creating the program, templating it off of other, uh, uh, investor owned utilities, and the
staff did a great job implementing it. Um, go to the next slide. Had a total of $11,300 in credits given, heat pumps, um, six heating systems, 15 EV chargers, and four heat pump hot water heaters. There are six additional applications
pending, too. So, um, administration is recommending to make this current pilot program permanent. So, I know that's pretty short and sweet, but, um, I think we all think it's a great program. I don't know if there's any comments that you want to have that now, mayor.
So under the would the under the permanent structure would there remain in place an annual cap on how many rebates would be given out in a calendar year or obviously we didn't come close to it. You know we we distributed issued $11,000 worth in
credits versus 100,000 set aside. So just wondering about how the the permanent program would be structured. I think we can um remove the cap or we can have it that the cap remains and administration comes to council says, "Hey, we're getting pretty close to the cap." And you say, "Let's keep going."
>> Okay, sounds good. >> Thanks. So, this is a not a silly question, but is there a statute of limitations when somebody can make a credit an application for a credit if they've already in installed something before we started this?
>> So, yes, there was. We said you had to um it was three months before the program actually went into effect as you start or install. And there were a couple people that you know, oh I installed it two years ago. Oh, sorry that doesn't count. Um the notion of this program was to um try to encourage
people to do this. Some of them with the EV chargers, they were just they bought an EV and they wanted to put a charger in there and they appreciated it. It's a permanent improvement to the house. That house sells. the next person that comes already has that improvement there and may um use an EV. Obviously, EVs um
generate significant revenue for the burrow in terms of electric utility revenue. So, um the notion was that we wanted to encourage people. It also had to be um it wasn't for new construction. It was for I have a gas heating system here or a gas hot water heating system
here. I want to replace it. Okay. So there were times when people came and they were building something completely new and um that wouldn't qualify for it. >> Okay. Thanks. So my EV charges from 12 years ago. I can't >> Yeah. No, I didn't do it either, Tom.
Yeah. >> But this is what I was saying all along as we're promoting that the bureau should be incentivizing people to go and change things over to electric because they're going to be our customers moving away from the gas utilities or tomorrow.
I think it's a great long-term move and it helps us, you know, follow along with the climate action that we want to electrify as much as possible. Thanks, Rachel, for moving that forward, too. writing myself a note because I think it would be interesting for Jim Trimble to
he knows everybody that has an EV in town just because he knows everything about everybody's meters in town and it'll be interesting to do a before and after on people's utility bills to get a sense of how much charging is is happening and the change in revenue. >> Yeah. >> So, the second um program we're talking
about is >> Any other questions? I'm sorry, mayor. >> No, thank you. >> Go ahead. The second uh topic for this evening is the electric utility rebate program. This is an income eligible rebate program that we've had on the books since 2014. The program gives
income eligible residents a onetime credit of $200 on their Madison electric bill annually. A $200 um credit on their electric bill. Application is required with some income verification, typically a uh tax return. We had 250 applications
in 2025. Um total cost was uh $50,000. We've even had a little more in years past. Um but um It's been a very successful program, something that we know is is helping people that are the most in need and it's something we can offer given the unique fact that we have
our own electric utility. Um, since it was $200 back in 2014, obviously um with everything, we thought it was appropriate for administration to recommend that the program be increased to a credit of $250.
So that is up for uh council's consideration. Any comments or questions on that? That is resolution um 307. Thank you, Mayor. A third topic is
electric rates. We've been talking about the increasing costs for years. I've been insinuating that we've going to need to have an electric rate increase at some point in time and and that that time um is here. I first want to talk about the fact that there has been so
much fiscal transparency with our electric utility. We talk about it every budget season. We talk about the contract. We talk about the costs of uh running the electric utility. The annual report that I found in my dad's files from 1944 that I always like to pull out
um discusses the electric utility and um how um it has been a tremendous benefit for the burrow for decades and decades. um coming on a century I guess more than a century in terms of the electric utility itself. Um I always like to remind people that
historically Madison seceded from Chadam because they wouldn't give us a water utility because there were fires that were burning in on Waverly Place and everything else and we wanted to have fire hydrants not run up to the fire with a couple of buckets of water. And so um the first ordinances that were
created in 1890 were water utility and electric utility. So uh the next slide talks about the price of electricity. And I've said this enough that you all know it, but it's always good to reinforce this to the general public or anyone that might be watching. There are three major costs to the electricity
that and I point to the lights. Um the actual electricity, Mr. Booker in my physics department said it was moving electrons that actually create made the lights work. Um there's the transmission. Those are the to that's the tolls for the high tension lines, the power lines to get the electricity
from the generating from the generation plant to the burrow of Madison. That's a significant cost to the bureau. And then as we know there's also the third significant cost, peak energy or capacity charges. The presentation was given to council on capacity markets in
September of 2024. There's a link that is in this presentation and uh for any resident or anybody that wants to take a look at that presentation. It talked about the increased costs that were coming there. Um but I want to show a budget schedule to highlight the
increasing costs. Um block contracts um which is the electric um have gone up by $2 million. Capacity has gone up by $3 million. Total expenses down here have gone from 15 million to $20 million. a
significant um increase of over 28% over the last um three years. This is 2026 estimated budget. Um and it's important to point that out. Um we have had uh a significant increase in those block contracts. If we go to the next slide,
Michael, you'll see that in the first two columns, you're seeing block contract prices of $25. In 2025, you're seeing 41 and 37. Now, the top green box, um, we're paying uh 50 over $50 for that block contract. Um,
we're going to have to go out and buy another block in the next few weeks. It's going to be 51, might even be even higher. Might even be closer to 54. Thank goodness with the stewardship of council and the support of council. Administration went out and bought five um smaller contracts, but they go out
five years from 2025 to 2029 at a wonderful price of $26.50 50 cents to to $30. And those contracts um will will reap financial benefits to the rateayers of the Bureau of Madison for uh years
and years to come. So, we're very fortunate to have those. An investor-owned utility buys um by by law, an investor owned utility in the state of New Jersey has to buy a third of their need every for a three-year period. So this year, the energy that uh
is being sold to customers at PSEG, for example, it was bought um in the fall of this year, in the fall of 24, and the fall of 23. So come the fall of 26 or 27, it's all going to be highcost um
electricity to um those customers in those areas where we will continue to have this um these uh significant amount of lowerc cost contracts um on on hand. Um next slide. So an interesting side note, we talk about this a little bit.
NIPA um hydro energy that we get through a unique contract um is basically like getting it now at a 65% discount. We get both the capacity and the electricity benefits from it. Um and it satisfies about 10% of our energy needs for for
such an inexpensive amount. So it's it's an interesting story. You've heard me talk about it in the past. It has to do with navigable waters and putting um hydro power hydro energy up on the Hudson River. But um it's a nice little side benefit that we get. I wanted to
highlight that. If we go to the next slide, you've seen this before. This is our residential bill comparison between us and all the other electric utilities in the state of New Jersey. And we have not had an increase since 2010. This
chart shows 2016 to 2025. We've not had a rate increase since then. Meanwhile, Atlantic City Electric is up almost 60%. JCPNL 50 PSEG 57% Rockland um 36.8% on average they've increased over 50%. We
we've been flat. Unfortunately, the time has come for us to increase our electric rates. As I said before, we see a $5 million increase in our electric costs. Um it is a significant impact on a utility that is a $24 million a year
utility to have that type of um increase in um in expenses. So we need to um we need to we administration is recommending a 10% increase in rates that includes customer service charges and demand charges for commercial
customers. The water utility had um a similar rate increase. really didn't hear too much about it um from from the residents. So, we were happy about that. And in that ordinance, there is also an annual cost
of living adjustment because unfortunately the electric utility in addition to all the electric costs has health insurance costs for our employees, has salary for our employees, has other expenses, has fuel, has purchasing trucks, has everything that are just everything's going up in price.
So, we're asking that a cost of living adjustment um be added to all rates starting in 2027 and for that to happen um annually. Um and if we go to the next slide, Michael, thank you. A uh 10%
increase in the rates will allow us to continue to invest the way we have been investing um in sustainable projects, in electric utility capital, and in our substation. those three main lines on
the um expense line. So, uh that is administration's recommendation and I'm here to answer any questions you may have. >> Bob? >> Yeah. The cost of living increase is that included in 10% or is that on top of the 10%.
>> It would be later. So, that would be to 2026 it would be 10% in 2027. 2028 there would be an annual cost of living adjustment 2%. I think this year is going to be 2% for the water utility. So, relatively small amounts, but in essence, had some conversations with
you. I think in essence, we'll never have to come back here for hopefully um for a uh a rate increase um because that small cost of living adjustment will help us keep in line with inflation >> and if we get too far ahead, we can make
adjustments at that time. >> Exactly. We could bring back the dividend. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Other comments or Tom? >> Thanks, mayor. Thanks, Jim. As usual, pretty thorough. And you have been very transparent and informative
since I've been on council and even before telling us how uh vital it is that we keep our electric utility vibrant and healthy. But I just want to make sure that we're conscious about what's going on with the cost of
living in the state, in the country. Uh we worried about people not having their SNAP benefits which hopefully they'll get back. There's a lot of places where 10% could be a lot on somebody's electric utility. They can't really make too many adjustments when you have to
hopefully have lights on for your kids to come home and do their homework or maybe a little air conditioning in the summer when people are home uh during the day or afternoons. Um and it and I would say okay if we need to do this onetime adjustment even though if you
look at the comparison of rates once you go up 10% you're going to be pretty much on par with the average in the state because you didn't add that. Want to go back to that? >> You go back to the >> Yeah. slide. So uh yeah. So we would go from 172 to about $189.
>> Correct. So that's around where everybody is now some or less. point to this here that >> yeah you're looking at milk >> very low compared to the investor on utilities >> uh yes you will be but then you'll have you continue to have your 2% so I would be okay with the 10% onetime adjustment
even though it is a lot it's a big impact we already took away the 10% dividend so it's really a 20% increase in our electric rates within two years but you are incurring $2 million of additional cost this year I get it then after that though to continue to go up %
in another five years we'll be up another 10. It's a lot of money, you know, and we always pride ourselves on being very cognizant of keeping the cost of living in Madison as controlled as possible. You use the money well, but if the
community has to tighten their belts when we have to maybe find a way to tighten our belts, too. So, to put that in there, who knows where we're going to be in two years. Mayor Bob might not be here. Some of us might not be here. We don't know what the next council will think about the cost to the community
and and I don't want to have us um cut any of our um crucial spending in the burough whether it's roads. You're still going to have a $4 million or $5 million surplus. If you take the 10% you'll have a six. So you should be able
to keep it at that six to six and a half million dollars without having the 20 27 2% start the cost of living increase. So I'm I'm not as big of a fan of that too in addition to the 10 personally just just being a little sensitive to what
we're doing to the community with the tax increases the schools increase in our taxes which we can't avoid and we needed it. So that's just, you know, something I was thinking. I told you about that before and as everybody here, I don't know how the rest of the council
feels about that. That's just my perspective. >> I would just respond to that, mayor, that every year council will have the opportunity, and you have the opportunity when we talk about the electric utility to look at it and say, should we bring back the electric dividend? Should we raise rates? Should
we do this? We've held rates flat since 2010. So, um I think um having uh uh the cost of living gives um council flexibility to say we're not going to do the cost of living this year or we're going to introduce a dividend if for
some reason um uh expenses come down. I will say the electric markets are completely different than they were three years ago. I think PJM really missed the boat on all of the data centers and all the consumption and it
is uh that there is nothing in the future that gives us any indication that that electric rates are going to be of the cost of electricity or cost of capacity or cost of transmission is going to be coming down anytime soon. But council will annually have the
flexibility to uh make decisions based on uh the item the issues that you brought up. >> Right. But Jim, to your credit, you didn't raise the rates because we didn't have to because you did a good job keeping our costs down. So it's not like we just went out of our way and said we
care so much about Madison. We're not raising our rates. We didn't need to. So we're selfless in that respect that we're not raising rates just for the sake of raising rates. You you did a great job keeping them flat. You didn't lose any money. You always had that cushion in there since 2010 when you was
it 2010 when you were able to readjust your purchases? Yeah. So, it's great. I I just, you know, I think long term over the next 5 years, it adds up to a lot. Are we going to have to discuss this every year then if we if we do vote that extra uh cost of living increase? And I
guess we will, you know, fortunately, >> it it would be automatic unless it was brought up as a member, >> right? It was automatic. So, then I'd have to remember to remind Jim. Let's have this discussion. >> I know you'll remember. >> I don't want to forget for the community. >> All right. >> That's why you're starting a new term. So you're
>> Yeah. Three more years, my sleeves are going to be up high. >> Gosh. >> Okay, Rachel. >> Thanks, Jim. Uh, a couple things. I am very keen to discuss electricity rights and generation, especially where our
power comes from. Um there was a great presentation a few weeks ago by a group of volunteers uh called Solar Madison um that broke out in uh clear financial terms why installing solar on your house now is a great investment because it's a
hedge against rising rates. Um, that information is available to anyone that wants to look into installing solar and see how you can have your own homegrown power at your house to uh help uh mitigate your electric bill and especially those peak charges that uh we
suffer from in Madison. And the other thing I want to say is that you're going to hear a lot uh in the new year about how in order to have enough power, we need to build new gas plants. We need to come up with a lot of fast, you know, fossil fuel generation.
And I want to fight back against that very pat and um political argument and remind us all that uh PJM needs to focus on interconnection reform. Interconnection is the it's a cue that
generators get into. It's the process by which new wind and solar and battery and all forms of energy generation get in line to to wait before they can hook up to the grid. And right now we're looking at an 8 plus year wait to bring new
generation onto the PJM grid. The vast majority of generators that are waiting to come online are solar and wind and battery storage. So PJM needs to reform their process so we can bring these renewables which are the cheapest form
of power generation known to in human history. We need to bring those online fast and not give in to this notion that we need to build costly and polluting fossil fuel generation in order to meet our electricity needs. This is not reing
against you, but this is a message to everyone that's listening >> that PJM needs to do its job and we need that power. And so uh anyone that has a chance to think or talk about where this power is going to come from should know
that um we need reforms badly. >> That's all. Thank you. >> Very well said. Any other comments? Eric, >> just a couple of things. You know, Jim, thanks for all the information and thanks for your stewardship over the years. Um, you know, the the fact that
we've been able to hold the line for as long as we have um is a testament to this council and all the councils before us. Um,
you know, nobody wants to raise rates 10%. Nobody wants to pay more than, you know, 10% more for their electricity. Um, but as Rachel was sort of alluding to, much of what's driving the expense
side of this equation is well outside um the control of the Madison electric utility. health care costs, electric costs, capacity charges, all of these things are driving uh really
unsustainable changes in in the model. Um so, you know, in some ways I think our hands are tied. I I don't think we inappropriately spend dollars here in Madison. I think we we've got a pretty
good uh sharp pencil when it comes to to spending uh taxpayer dollars. So, I think this is unfortunately just the move that we now have to take. Um to echo what Rachel was saying, you know, one of the things that I look forward to
is additional generation that we can look at here in Madison. We have our first solar car port coming online. Um and next summer hopefully that's on the hottest peakest days for us that will be
generating electricity right here in Madison. Um not drawing on the PGM grid to hopefully when they do our calculation in the future that our capacity charge comes down just a little bit. And if other residents who have the
ability to add solar to their homes do that then that's shaving off a little bit more off the peak. And if we can add other solar car ports and other municipal solar, I think that even if we
lose some of the incentives that we had for um for the initial uh pool carport, we could see financial benefits from that just in the lowering of our capacity charges in the out years. Um assuming
that PJM doesn't find some other way to screw things up. uh and and cost us more money. But I you know I I think we need to continue to look at this as a global you know globally from both the revenue and the expense side. But um you know
unfortunately I just think we've waited as long as we can wait and this is just the move we have to make at this point. And also a little plug for those concerned about the the new rates that we we have the pilot program that some people are taking advantage of the time
of day rates where if if you are disciplined on how you use your power uh you can switch the switch programs with us and if you we can we we already do some of the homework for you because our bill will show you your peak energy and off peak uh energy. You can see yeah
maybe I'm ready to switch over. Any other comments? This is uh ordinance 51 which is listed for introduction. Thank you for presentations. Jim, >> thanks Jim. >> And now we move on to ordinance for hearing. Will the clerk please read the
statement? >> The ordinances scheduled for hearing were introduced by title and passed on a first reading at the regular meeting of the council held October the 15th and October the 27th, 2025. They were posted and filed according to law. Copies were made available to the general public
requesting seat. >> I call ordinances for second reading. Ask the clerk to read that ordinance by title ordinance 42-2025. >> Ordinance of the bureau of Madison amending and supplementing chapter 185 of the burough code entitled vehicles and traffic by adding article
13 entitled bicycles and scooters. >> I open the hearing for anyone wishing to comment on ordinance 42. Please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 42-2025. >> Second.
>> And just for update, there was some minor uh ed edits. That was just uh to make sure it was in um consistency and our attorney has appined that they are minor. We do not need to reintroduce. We did have a resident who's done some great a great job of making some other
suggestions which would be substantial uh and would have to reintroduce uh what we will probably do as often happens is once the ordinance is in place we may see that we need to do other changes and so we'll keep those in mind as we go forward but certainly is needs to be
done safety of those on these vehicles and those that are around these vehicles. Any other Rachel? >> Um I I mean not that we need to make a plan right now, but uh it would be great to for the bureau to do some publicity and
outreach to help people understand the new rules. Um we had a great presentation by Chief Misha in October. I'm hoping uh we can continue to push out information, dispel any misinformation about this, and help keep families uh especially parents of kids
on uh uh ebikes and scooters informed about the new rules. >> Thank you. Great idea. >> Yeah, I don't know if it's too late to make some change. This is got to be one of the longest ordinances that we've written in town. I 12 or 13 pages long.
It's pretty long. So, but I think it's going to be a like a, you know, a a moving a moving violation, right? It's a regulation to control our moving uh of traffic. So, I don't know if it's
feasible. We have to make sure that the schools, all the schools, whether it's St. Vincent, Madison, push out a notification to all the parents on the distribution list because you're going to have, like I said, a lot of apathy. people aren't going to know that it's
even a regulation, an ordinance yet. And um maybe we should require and I don't know how you phase it in that if people are getting a scooter or a bike for their miners that they just have to register
and somehow, you know, this way we know that they read this. I don't know how you do that. You can do it. I mean, it's just like getting a license or a permit and you have a vehicle that goes 20 to 25 miles an hour for a child who's 12 years old. And they're not I don't I
hope a lot of people do see this, mayor, but I'm not sure >> how many parents in the community will know about it until until it's too late. >> I I think to your point, to Rachel's point, that it's going to be very important to get push out the information. We did discuss the
possibility of doing a registration program. uh reasons, a couple reasons it's not in there. One, the uh police department was concerned about the logistics, but it also would hold, you know, it it would help our Madison residents, but a you know, this law is
for not just Madison residents, for anyone that is on a e vehicle coming through our town. So, a child from Chadam would not have a registered vehicle. So, we decided at this point it um didn't make sense, but that doesn't mean as as I said before. Yeah. As as
this is implemented and we see how it works that we might might need to come back and address it again. >> Sure. But I think I do think pushing out some information through the schools would reach 2,000 parents. >> That that would be great way to start. >> Yeah. Okay. And I think Chief Misha even
mentioned that in that the SRO's would be key in coordinating some communications from the police department. >> And the first offense is a warning. I I was looking at it, not for an adult,
anybody over 18, but I think for a minor. >> That sound right? You remember? I I was looking through it just now. I think it's a a warning, but they might get their scooter impounded, >> something to that effect or bike. >> Any other discussion? Roll call vote,
please. >> Miss Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 42-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice there of newspaper and follow the ordinance accordance to the
law. Ordinance 43-2025. >> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison appropriating $150,000 from the water capital improvement fund for replacement and upgrade to the emergency generator at the North Street pump station. >> I open hearing on ordinance 43. Anyone
wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 43-2025. >> Second. >> Any council discussion? Roll call vote, please. Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes.
>> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Futis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 43-2025 adopt and finally pass and ask the clerk to publish notice there of a newspaper and file the ordinance in accordance with the law. Ordinance 44-2025. >> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison
appropriating $75,000 from the general capital improvement fund for replacement and upgrade to the emergency generator at the North Street pump station. >> I open the hearing for Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward.
Seeing none, I close the hearing. >> Oh, and that was me. Sorry, we are I move ordinance 442025. >> Second council discussion. >> Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Eric, >> yes. Mr. Landeran, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes.
>> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Mr. 4. >> Yes. >> I declare ordinance 44-2025 adopted and finally pass and ask the clerk to publish notice there in newspaper and file the ordinance in accordance with the law. Ordinance 45-2025. >> Ordinance of the bureau of Madison
amending and supplementing chapter 195 of the burough code entitled land development regarding fences and walls. >> I open the hearing on ordinance 45. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing.
Mayor, I move ordinance 46-2025. >> Second. Oh, >> I'm sorry. For 45, not 46. >> Second that. >> Yep. Any council discussion? >> Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landeran,
>> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harlon Prudis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. I declare ordinance 45-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice there in newspaper and file the ordinance accordance to the law. Ordinance 46-2025
>> ordinance of the burrow of Madison appropriating $300,000 from the water capital improvement fund to purchase a jetack truck for the department of public works. >> I open the hearing on ordinance 46 and wishing to comment please step forward.
Seeing none I close the hearing. Mayor, I move ordinance 46-2025. >> Second. >> Council's discussion. >> So, just a quick clarification. Uh, when we pass the next ordinance, if
we do or read it, that's the total to buy this jetack truck. So, up until now, we haven't had a a jetack truck, right? Is that correct, Jim? Right. >> Yeah. Please.
Right. Right. Yeah. So, my only comment, I'm not saying we shouldn't have something like this, but we have survived without having that it's $800,000 piece of equipment and now we're talking about all these other challenges we're going
to have with costs of going up to manage the the burrow. So, is it better to share with Chadam or do we need and if you're saying we need it, I'm listening to your input and the DPW's input. Just
question it's a capital investment. Rachel and then >> I'll I guess Tom what I would like to say about that is that moving sewage as unglamorous as it is is obviously one of the biggest responsibilities that the burrow has to our residents and
businesses. We have personally heard from residents that have been impacted by really terrible, you know, um, failures when the generator's gone out and there's been compounding issues. And to the extent that we can be proactive and service those lift stations or
pumping stations, right? Uh to me this is like you know one of the greatest responsibilities the bureau has is to maintain and have excellent uh service for our our moving sewage. Uh it's um
like we talk a lot about how we're going to get this stuff done and to me uh like I mentioned at the last meeting Chadam uses theirs constantly. we have to put in a request to borrow it. And uh I I feel like this is an important tool for
our DPW and I I support uh Bob Duffy's um recommendation that we move forward with this. >> Yeah, I I think you know just to echo Rachel's comments, the the maintenance of the sewer infrastructure is critical.
We've actually seen just in the last couple of years um how additional cleaning in certain areas near our meters changes actually the allotment in what we uh owe the joint meeting for our portion of the processing. So I think
just making sure that uh those main sewer lines are taken care of is important. the other uses for this truck. Um, also, you know, storm drains, uh, and and making sure that they are clear. Um, but funny enough, the fire
chief was also interested in this because a piece of equipment like this can actually be used in trench rescues. And, um, you know, obviously that's not the sole reason we're buying it. Um, but it does have other utility beyond just
the direct benefit to the uh, sewer utility. Thank you, Bob. >> Yeah. Um, there's no question that $800,000 is a lot of money. There's no question about that. Echoing what other people have said, and I kind of agree with it. It is something that if Chadam
Burough is using theirs constantly or quite frequently, odds are Madison needs it as well frequently. and to not be able to take care of sewage or like Eric was saying with these other uses that would be
disservice to the residents. You know, I understand the $800,000. It's something that we've not had before, but going forward, it's better to have it when you need it than not need it and not have it. And this is important for the quality of life. So, as much as I hate
to spend $800,000, I'm with you on that, Tom. This is something which I think is probably one of those need to haves instead of nice to haves. John, >> yeah, I would just also add I think you know um you have a good question around
why do we need it now? We we got this far without it. I I think from my perspective the infrastructure is only aging and now we're bringing on so many new connections that are just going to put more strain on that infrastructure. So, I think, you know, while it is a lot of money, I think we're being proactive
in making sure that we're prepared uh at the worst of times so that we can, you know, provide the relief to our residents um should something pop up. >> And I think a um to Tom's comments, one of the things we should always take back
as we're developing a capital budget is are we buying something that can be shared or do we need it? And this falls in the category of the latter, but it certainly should be you need to ask that question every time. If it can be done through a shared service, you should do it. Um it's interesting that um and I
don't think a jetack would affect this but the fact that the INI or or the allocation between Madison and Chadam over the last couple years has shifted more this is for the joint meeting has shifted more to towards us and that
could be related to the maintenance of our um sewer line system. So maybe this will help. All right, any other comments? Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Herurlic, >> yes. >> Mr. Landeran, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes.
>> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 46-2025. Adopt and finally pass and ask the clerk to publish notice there of a newspaper and file the ordinance accordance to the law. Ordinance 47-2025. >> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison
appropriating $500,000 from the general capital improvement fund to purchase a jetack truck for the Department of Public Works. I open the hearing on ordinance 47. And just for the public, the reason there's two separate ordinances, it's two two different um
funding sources, water capital and general capital. And I often combine the hearings, but I didn't do it today. Have an opportunity to comment on ordinance 47. If you wish, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing.
>> Mayor, I move ordinance 47-2025. >> Second. Any further discussion? Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Early, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrian, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Mr. Fortune, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 47-2025
adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice thereof newspaper and fin ordinance for the law. Ordinance 48-2025. >> Ordinance of the bureau of Madison amending chapter 134 of the burough code entitled parking lots to increase
parking fees. I open the hearing on ordinance 48. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing. >> I move ordinance 48-2025. >> Second. Council discussion in this pop.
>> Yeah. How much are the fees going up? It doesn't I don't see it here. I may have missed it. >> Yeah. Um yeah, it's uh initially for the first year substantial because we haven't raised them in a few years and we're still well behind neighboring communities. There is a
a uh annual increase so we can catch up also but this was proposed five years ago and then something called the pandemic got in the way and got put aside. Any further discussion? Roll call vote please. >> Mr. Mr. Eric,
>> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 48-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice thereof in the newspaper. File the ordinance in accordance to the law. Ordinance 49-2025.
>> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison amending and supplementing chapter 185 of the Madison Bureau Code entitled Vehicles and Traffic to Correct Inconsistencies. >> I open hearing on ordinance 49. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing.
>> Mayor, I move ordinance 49-2025. >> Second. >> And just as the title says, this is to correct inconsistencies in the current ordinance. Any further discussion? Roll call vote, please. >> Muric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range,
>> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 49-2025, adopt and finally pass. as a clicker to publish notice there of a newspaper file ordinance accordance to law and I apologize for all these for hearing but
we had a Wednesday meeting uh in October that pushed two meetings worth of ordinances all on tonight and now we're on to our second of invitation uh for public comment this is when you may comment on any topic and same rules
apply state your name and address write the same on the uh clipboard try to uh keep your comments to three minutes but we give you the one minute grace period and we'll have you stop at four. >> Good evening. Deb Cohen for street. Just three quick comments. Um going to Jim's
electric presentation as somebody who um unbeknownst to her husband took advantage of the uh time of use pilot. He was very pleasantly surprised as we did slight slight tweaks that even during the uh summer with five house five room air conditioners running at
various points. Um we managed to lower our bills. So I think it's something people should take advantage of because it made us look at the bill and go, "Oh, nobody's home. Why is this, you know, why is the kids air conditioner on the third floor running when there's not a soul there?" Um that sort of thing. on
the um ebikes and stuff just from a teacher's perspective while I support I think any school support any whatever we can do the minute I take a kid's cell phone I don't have another cell phone problem during the day so once one or two kids get stopped they're going to spread the word and I think we'll see a
decrease in some of the behaviors that we're seeing I think obviously people should know about it and we need to inform them through as many accesses as possible but I will tell you um all it takes is that one or two kids and you know they're going to complain about it and they're going to about it, but it'll stop everybody else or a lot of
the other stuff. And then, mayor, you mentioned earlier about the affordable town hall. Um, I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but could something like Madison alert be used? I don't like using that obviously for things that are in emergencies, but I'm just thinking it's a way other than social media. It's a townwide concern.
Not everybody's on social. Not everybody's going to check an email, but it may be a way just even just one alert to say, "Hey, just a heads up, you know, more information. Go to social. go to the Madison Eagle, whatever it might be. But it may be a way to get more people to know and then they can't say, "Well, we didn't know it was happening. You
just posted it in two places." Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. Any other Anyone else want to comment? Please step forward. You were nice enough to give you the opportunity to get your comments in earlier with having something on the agenda. So, thank you. All right. Seeing
none, I close this part of the meeting and we now go on to introduction ordinances. Will the clerk please read the statement? >> Ordinances scheduled for first reading have a hearing date set for November the 24th, 2025. Posted in the they'll be published in the Madison Eagle posted on
the bulletin board and made available to members of the public requesting copies. >> I call ordinances for first reading. Ask the burough clerk to read said ordinance by title. Ordinance 50-2025. Ordinance of the Burough of Madison amending and supplementing chapter 195 of the Burough Code entitled land
development. >> Mayor I move ordinance 50-2025. >> Second >> council discussion. >> Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Eric, >> yes. Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range. >> Yes. >> Mr. Harold Pis.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Mr. Forte. >> Yes. >> Ordinance 51-2025. >> Ordinance of the Burau of Madison increasing electric rates and charges in chapter 94 appendix A of the Burough code entitled electric utility.
>> Oh. Uh, this is the one I was just talking about. I may I move ordinance 512025. >> Second. Any council discussion? We've already covered this pretty well.
>> Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Prudis, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> And ordinance 52-2025. Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison
appropriating $150,000 from the general capital improvement fund for replacement of the boiler at the Department of Public Works. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 52- 2025. >> Second. >> Any discussion?
Rachel. >> Uh, I just want to give a little context here. The existing boiler at the DPW garage is um has basically reached obsolescence. It is leaking. We've been climate action committee has been working uh with burough administration
and department of public works to see if there's an alternative to provide uh heat pump heating which would both provide air conditioning in the uh the garage and uh have uh much more efficient heating.
Uh so there was a lot of thought given to this. uh different options were drawn up by uh various contractors to look at ways that we could electrify this heating system. There's an interesting quirk at this complex though, which is
that the DPW garage runs on a generator so that in a power outage they have power there. The same generator also uh supports the well that's at the DPW garage and the water treatment that's there. And if the heating system were to be placed uh would were all electric,
even though heat pumps are very efficient, we would need to upsize the generator. So there's sort of a domino effect. Um I don't bring this up to say that we could we can't do this at other buildings and hopefully we will do this at other buildings. We will continue this program of building electrification
for the municipal portfolio. But for context, I wanted folks to know that this is a case where uh we did not see a clear way forward. and so instead are replacing a very old inefficient boiler with a highly efficient gas boiler um
for uh reliability uh and to move forward with a system that will work this winter and not put it off any longer. >> Any other comments? >> Tom? >> Yeah. So, this is the first time hearing about this. I didn't know that we had an
old boil there. Is the is the heating that required for the DPW garage just for their garage or is it for their offices too or is that's totally separate you know >> it's for the whole building so the offices the staff rooms u >> which is small
>> the office is very small so for the garage do do you keep the building just above freezing does anybody know like in the over the course of the winter >> I mean it's got to be comfortable for the crews in there they're working on in
the vehicles. So, it can't be just barely above freezing. It has >> That's for the garage side, but not for the storage side where we have all of our trucks. >> I mean, that's where the crews do their work in that big garage. >> Putting the plows on and all that would happen.
>> Okay. I don't want to >> challenging building type. >> Yeah. I don't want to sound insensitive, but I have a warehouse that's a sprinkler warehouse, so you have to keep it above freezing. and my guys are working there all day every day of the
year and in the winter too. And we have um forced air blowers that will keep the building warm enough. We could keep it at in the 50s if we want, but we keep it warm enough and it cost a fraction of what this costs. But then that doesn't
include our offices. Our offices have separate units. So maybe this is what what you need, Rachel. I didn't really >> research it at all. heating in the garage. It's not just from the steam boilers. I think they might have infrared heaters. I don't remember the
details of the system. >> Okay. >> But I just wanted people to know that this didn't go, you know, we didn't we tried to leave no stone unturned in coming up with options for this. >> Sure. Okay. >> Roll call vote, please.
>> I don't blow that. That's not me. >> No. Yes, >> we're voting now. >> That would be Liz. >> Okay, >> that is me. >> We already had the mo we already had the motion in. >> Oh, okay. >> Second, so >> do the roll call. >> Y >> Mr. Landrian, >> yes.
>> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Prudence. >> Yes. >> Mr. Forte. >> Yes. >> All right. Consent agenda resolutions. Will the clerk please read the statement? >> Consent agenda resolutions will be enacted with a single motion. and any resolution requiring expenditure is
supported by a certification of availability of funds. Any resolution requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda. All resolutions will be reflected in full in the minutes. >> Uh mayor, I move consent agenda resolutions
R 301-2025 through R 313 2025. >> Second. Oh, okay. Sorry. the uh >> the agenda. We're just trying to shake it up a little bit. >> Yeah. >> On our toes here from our >> meeting.
>> Any uh that need to be pulled or any discussion? >> I I just want to comment on the one that uh Senator Buco came in to comment about. Fortunately, we're very progressive, which which the bur often does, mayor. So, thanks to whoever's
idea was to jump in front of that. It's uh hopefully something we can and with the Drew Forest help too, we can get that pushed back. >> Yeah. >> Doesn't sound doesn't sound too easy. >> No, unfortunately. >> You don't speak up, you definitely won't. >> Yeah. Thank you.
>> Any further discussion? Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Eurlic. >> Yes. >> Mr. Landan? >> Yes. >> Mr. Range? >> Yes. >> Mr. Harold Pis? >> Yes. >> Mr. Forte? >> Yes. >> And there is no unfinished business. Approval of vouchers. Will the clerk please read the voucher totals?
>> From the current fund, $383,66.77. From the general capital fund, $10,42359 from the electric operating fund, $286,674.15. From the electric capital fund, $31,380 $358.90.
from the water operating fund $15,268.35 and from the trust $27,93066. The total is $755,26242. >> I move approval of the vouchers. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range,
>> yes. >> Mr. Harland Prudus, >> yes. >> Mr. forte. >> Yes. And under new business, just one thing, just a tomorrow is Veterans Day. So, uh, to all those that have served our country, thank you for your service. And a reminder that tomorrow at the 11th hour, the 11th day at James Park, the
World War I Memorial, the American Legion will be hosting the annual veterans recognition. Please come and join us there. >> And with that, >> may I move to adjourn? >> In favor?