Let the record reflect. We have reconvened with all members present. For those who are able, I ask you to rise for the uh pledge of allegiance and remain standing after the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic
for it stands nation. Let's take a moment to remember member of our burough family and a longtime res Madison resident passed over the last few weeks. And tonight we pause in honor to and we pause to honor and remember someone
whose dedication to Madison, Wisconsin as it was inspiring former council member Ron Hoover known to his friends, family and colleagues as Big John. And if you ever drove behind him, you knew exactly that was on his license plate. Also,
he was a man with a big presence, a big voice, and even a bigger heart. Born and raised in in Staten Island, John graduated from Form University, earned his MBA from Golden State University in San Francisco. In 2001, he moved from to Madison from the West Coast to be closer
to his three children, John, Kevin, and Lynn, and his grandchildren. From the moment he arrived, John poured himself into a community. His children mentioned that he lived in Madison for 24 years, which was the longest he had been in any town.
and you certainly know why he was first encouraged to serve by former council member Don Lings who invited him to join the board of health. Don not only became an active member but later served as a board president helping to guide local health initiatives. That initial volunteer role
sparked decades of service. John was elected to the burough council in 2018 and went on to serve two full terms including serving as our council president in 2023. He chaired or co-chared multiple committees from community affairs,
public affairs, public works, uh, and utilities to the board of education, shared services, senior citizen advisory committee, and downtown development commission. Also serving on 20 boards and commissions. He was a familiar face at ribbon cutings
uh at the farmers market, which he volunteered for the setup and take down for quite a while and community events. who was always ready to lend his support for local businesses and organizations. But John's impact reached far beyond his official roles. He lived by the motto
service above self, dedicating his time to Madison Rotary, Bridges Outreach, Market Street Mission, and mentoring programs for high school students. He was a strong advocate for seniors, championing Burough's acquisition of the historic Masonic Lodge, a vision of
creating a new senior center and community space. Those who served alongside him will remember his strategic mind, his decades of professional experience as a project manager, and his ability to speak with conviction. So no one in the room could
miss his point. We certainly knew that. Or his voice. But more than that, we remember his warmth, his generosity, and his deep belief in making Madison better for everyone. We also remember, and I mentioned this
to his son, that patience may not one of his strong points. But as I mentioned to his children, this came from his desire to help others quickly and efficiently as possible. He didn't want anything get in the way of helping others. John often expressed his
gratitude to Burough employees and volunteers for the hard work. And tonight, it is we who express our gratitude to him. Countless hours, unwavering commitment, and the example he set for all of us in public service. As we think about his children and grandchildren, our thoughts are with you
and we thank you for settling in Madison and convincing your father to settle in Madison so we can make it a better place. Flags were lowered today and will be lowered tomorrow at half staff in honor of uh John's tomorrow's John's funeral service.
And um I also want to remember Timothy C. Hughes, lifelong resident of Madison, who passed away suddenly on July 26th at the age of 39, leaving behind a legacy of love, laughter, and quiet strength. Born in Camden in 1986, Timothy R. and
Karen use, Timothy was a son, brother, godfather, and friend whose heart is as vast as his imagination. Timothy had a rare and beautiful way of connecting with both animals and people. Whether it was by lending a helping hand or offering a kind word or simply showing up when someone needed the most,
he lived his life in service to those he loved. A brilliant mind and a writer spirit, always reading, reflecting, and creating. His wit was sharp and his sense of humor unforgettable. He can make anyone in a room laugh instantly. He was a lover of the Fitz Philadelphia
Eagles. Music was another woven deeply in his into his life and his share of love the Dave Matthew bands he shared with his late father was something sacred to him at his service I learned that he was a child model including
being the original Michelin baby and as his brother said it was a role that he earned by being the only baby in the room that was not afraid of the dog in the commercial and for those of us who attended his father's funeral 24 years ago we will forever remember how bravely Timothy
spoke that day. He shared that the morning of September 11th, 2001, as a student at St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City, he was looking out the classroom window at the collapsing wind towers, hoping that his father was not at work
that day. Regretfully, his father was in the counterfeit chair of offices that morning. His ability to share that is so impactful to all his preceding death by father Timothy Ruse who survived by his
mother Karen, his siblings Kenneth and Christina, godson Matteo, his treasure dog Rafie, and countless family and loved ones. So, let us take a moment to remember council Councilman John Hoover and Timothy Hughes. Let us pass our thoughts on to their families and
friends that they leave behind. Thank you. Our air condition is a little off today, so that's why I uh left my jacket at home intentionally. Right, we have no minutes for approval. So, welcome all.
I can rerun my opening uh comments from the last meeting. Here we are in the middle of another heat wave. So, uh, please watch your afternoon activities next couple days. Cut back in your energy usage, electric and your own, and take a dip in the Madison pool. And yes, that's exactly how I started the last
meeting. Last Tuesday, we celebrated National Night Out at the public safety building. To say the weather was better than last year would be been very obvious and a major understatement. Instead of dealing with flooding rains and down trees of
last year, everyone was enjoying the food, the demonstrations, and time with neighbors. I want to thank uh Police Chief Misha and Fire Chief Wickman along with our police officers, firefighters for putting together such a great night. And I'm sure we'll hear a little more in
our leazison report on that. And I want to give out a shout out to one of our Madison residents who I ran into Saturday morning downtown. He was walking through town with a litter grabber and a bag. I uh I'm assuming he was inspired by my
routine of doing that. So, I want to thank him for joining my effort in keeping our downtown litter free. Ironically, uh Saturday morning, I forgot to bring mine. So, uh I couldn't help him. But, um I encourage others out there to to join us. Get yourself a
litter grabber and take it on your walks and uh keep our town clean. And if you're downtown, you're always steps away from a trash recepticle and you're outside of downtown, just bring the bag with you. And for the employees of the month of
August, our deputy clerk administrator CJ Mahavey and Adrien Morales. CJ and Adrian have been instrumental in making the busy joint municipal court operate more smoothly and efficiently. These accomplishments are more impressive in the light of the departmental staff
changes that occurred over the last year. And a quick reminder that this is our only uh meeting in August uh and we will uh reconvene on September 8th. Now we move on to reports from
committees. Finance and bureau clerk, council president Erik. >> Thank you, mayor. Uh before I start, I want to join you, mayor, in remembering council member John Hoover. Uh my uh he and Carmela Vitali, his running mate,
were the first Madison Council candidates that I ever campaigned for. I learned how to knock doors uh volunteering for that campaign. And I was really impressed by John's generosity, his his vigor, um
you know, his intensity and his focus on doing the right thing. And he was really a giant uh here in our our council. And by volunteering to campaign for him, it
was a great way to get to know Madison. politics to learn about how our governing body works. And um I remember finally getting to know him and Carmela in 2017 and of course they won that election and he was sworn in with 2018.
I'm also proud to be continuing the vision that John um so heartily promoted of acquiring the what is now the Heler Center and retrofitting it, renovating it into a senior center. his patience with that process seemed to wear a
little bit thin at times as we, you know, went through the wheels turned a little bit slowly as we worked to preserve and eventually acquire the Masonic Lodge building. I'm proud to continue working on that project and I'm sure when it's done, it'll be something that he would have been very proud of.
So, I'm um I'm honored to continue that legacy of volunteerism and service um that he demonstrated to us all. So, now I'll turn to my report. The finance department reports that this
evening we have hearings for $825,000 worth of capital funding ordinances. As a reminder, a five-year capital plan is presented to council during our annual budget process. However, those funds are not appropriated until a funding ordinance
has been approved. And as we know, an ordinance takes two votes. The first is to introduce the ordinance and then a hearing is held at a follow-up meeting when council votes to appropriate those funds. Tonight we have hearings for two sorry six capital ordinances which will be funding various items including
public safety radios, trucks for public works and funds to purchase a new electric vehicle senior shuttle. On a different topic this Friday the bure will be making our semianual bond payment for the Madison Recreation and Conservation Complex. The August payment
includes over $27,700 of interest as well as principal of $230,000. This payment is made from the open space recreation and historic preservation trust fund and the payments payment covers both the land purchase as well as
the turf field installation. The turf field will be paid off in three years in 2028 and the land will be paid off in eight years in 2033. The tax department reminds us that the third quarter grace period for tax payments ended today. If you have not
paid yet, please call the tax office for an interest figure. The official tax sale notices are going out to residents with unpaid 2024 balances on their taxes and utilities. The tax sale will be held on Thursday, September 11th. The tax
sale process is a way for municipalities in New Jersey to obtain the full amount of property taxes and other charges needed to support the annual budget while providing the property owner with additional time to pay off what they owe. Thank you, Mayor. >> Very much public safety, Mr. Landan.
>> Thank you, Mayor. I also would like to say something about John. Uh he ran for council with me about two terms ago. I'll say one thing about him. He didn't let me miss a house. We met went to every house in town. Uh like Rachel said, he was very intense, very
diligent, but he had a good heart. And that's what I remember about him. You know, Madison is founded on volunteerism. And he really embodied that feeling and the whole concept of service before self. He'll be missed. Um had a loud
voice, but it was a good voice. You know, he did the right thing for people, and that's what meant a lot to me. All right. Okay. Uh, now the boring reports from different departments. First, the fire department.
Uh, for the month of July, the fire department responded to 214 incidents. 107 patients were treated with 69 transported to the hospital. The very large the very heavy call volume line volume for the fire department is continuing. Over 1,400
calls have been answered so far this year. On August 3rd, the fire department was dispatched to a brush fire in the area of 44 Lanica Way. Agent 3 arrived and found a large house fire in an abandoned
residence on Drew University. A second alarm was transmitted to help with the growing fire. The fire was extinguished without it spreading to the Drew Forest. The fire department hosted the police department's national night out in the bays of the firehouse. The Firefighters
enjoyed taking on take taking to all the guests and cooking close to 500 hamburgers and 500 hot dogs. During the past two weeks, the fire prevention bureau conducted 16 fire inspections in Madison Burrow. There
were 15 home sale smoke and carbon monoxide inspections performed as well. Fire pro prevention bureau also issued three fire permits. There was also fire investigation still ongoing
from the police department. The night national night out was held on Tuesday, August 5th as it was another great success. Officers got out and spoke with many residents who enjoyed the night where had one of our largest attendances
in years and we appreciated the support of our growing governing body of our governing body and residents. Madison Police Comm Madison Police Community Policing attended bagels and brainstorming on July 31st at the
Madison YMCA. The event was hosted by Project Community Pride and topics covered were upcoming ideas for community engagement events and events with our youth. This is an ongoing quarterly event. Next week, all Madison
officers will take part in yearly training in defensive tactics at Madison Police Headquarters. This is The new This new training is now manded by the mandated by the New Jersey Police Training Commission in 2025. The training will also include a refresher
on the use of force deescalation as well. Chief Misha has scheduled mandatory police training at one of our public schools during a holiday break in September. All officers will take part in the training that will include
responding to a mock school shooting scenario. The Mars County Police, the Morris County Sheriff's Department will be assisting in the training. The training is recommended by the New Jersey Training Commission. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Public Works and
Engineering, Mr. Range. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, I too want to share my condolences. Uh, loss of our colleague, uh, John Hoover. Uh, I didn't spend a lot of time with John on council. We only overlapped a year or
two, but um, our time on the DDC overlapped quite a bit, including his time as uh, recording secretary um, of the downtown development commission and of course um, being a a staple of the farmers market every week. um when
others either could not or would not go out to Central Avenue every week and um make sure the farmers market was in tip-top shape. So, um you know, we'll we'll miss John and all he's brought to
Madison uh and we all will continue uh to carry his torch forward. um from public works tonight. Um the parks department continues their work uh to ensure that our sports fields uh and our
parks are in ship ship shop shape uh cutting the grass and making sure that all the activities are ready to go. Uh last time I mentioned uh and to encourage residents to check their sump pumps and ensure that they are not being
discharged into um the burrow uh sewer system. I think it's worth noting the reason for that is if you're discharging your sump pump into a slop sink or into a floor drain that ultimately then drains into
um the sanitary sewer like your sinks and your toilets do. Um all of that water ends up going to the sewer treatment plant. Um, and Madison incurs a fee um to
make sure that water is is treated as though it was waste water. Um, so be sure that you're discharging your sump pumps uh into either on your property or um out to the street based on uh burough
code. Uh DPW continues to patch potholes throughout uh the burrow uh and also installed and removed a number of signs uh for the police department. Mechanics are also uh starting the
annual check of our leaf uh collection equipment to make sure that uh that equipment is ready to go as leaf collection begins in the fall. And just a reminder that twice a week
garbage pickup um since we're talking about leaves as well uh will end on September 6th. So, just a few more weeks of uh the twice a week garbage pickup remains. And tonight from the Environmental
Commission on July 30th, the MEC and Nature of Reading Bookshop held a hugely successful night magic panel discussion with naturalists. Some 80 people attended. the topics inspired by the book Night Magic by Leanne uh Henan
centered on local effects of light pollution on fireflies, moths, bats, owls, salamanders, and humans. On August 18th at 700 p.m., the MEC will be partnering with the Morris Township Environmental Commission to offer Dark
Skies Community Action Event. It will be held at the Madison Community Arts Center and will focus on actions residents and towns can take to reduce the effects of outdoor lighting on humans and wildlife. These actions include substituting uh yellow toned
bulbs for or bright white LED lighting. Use motion sensor lighting and not uplighting houses and trees. Uplighting creates sky glow and severely impacts the mating of fireflies and moths. to RSVP. You can send an email to
merosnet.org. Coming up on uh Saturday, August 30th, the commission will hold a native plant giveaway from uh 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the farmers market. Uh these are locally grown native species from seeds
collected locally here in Madison. Details will be posted on social media and in the MEC newsletter. Finally, on September 6th, the MEC will be holding its annual eco garden tour from 12 to 4
pm. This year's tour is themed saving nature with your yard and will raise funds for a nature lover speaker series in partnership with the nature of reading bookshop. Tickets are $10 and registration details will be posted shortly. And that's all for me, mayor.
Thank you. >> Utilities, Mr. Alan. >> Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Welcome to to the public. Uh my recollection recollections of spending time with Councilman Hoover are uh very broad
because uh my uh children line up with his grandchildren. So from the time they were playing youth sports, John's grandkids were youth sports and he was living in town and he was at most every game usually wearing some Dodger swag
and cheering loudly. And he and I we spent a lot of time talking together. Many as so the photos that they were flashing at the funeral home today. Had a lot of pictures of him. I don't know if you guys looked at them at the youth events. I think I might have been one of
them, but very short standing above me. Big John. Yeah, you get over everybody. And then when I was getting on to council, he also mentioned mentored me. We met at the diner six times just to talk about town stuff a while ago. He's always very welcoming and he's also a
Rotarian. So, we spent a lot of time, you too, Bob, him helping whether it was the new Christmas tree lot or wherever. Great memories of a good volunteer with a strong personality that's already been made clear. But, uh, yeah, he stood
behind his his beliefs and he cared about the burrow like all of us. So, he's he's going to be proud of the work we continue to do. Okay, that's interesting. That's John. John just sent us a message. I guess so.
He said, "That's enough, Tom. Move on to your report. I got it." Okay. So, uh, from the electric utility mayor, I thought the first sheet that I got was pretty brief. It's only one sentence and then there's a page of all the different
uh power failures around town. So, I won't read them all to the community and to the council. Uh, two that stand out that were performed since the last meeting is the uh hookup for new electric service at the Kings Road School. So, that's a good sign that the
construction project is buttoned up buttoned up enough that they can bring the proper electricity and new service into the school. And the same goes for the high school. They are switching their new service over getting ready. So, I would assume it's going to be in
the next couple weeks since school is going to be starting right after Labor Day, which is very early in the month of September, I think. Uh, other than that, they just were all around town just helping people with power outages. Unfortunately, some animals continue to
walk on the power lines by themselves. Uh, but some transformers are replaced around town. They the electric utility continues to work diligently to take care of the community from the water department.
Oh, and we also have a uh a new our new bucket truck was delivered this month. Uh so they're going to be up and running, which will be uh fantastic for them. We also have a new um inventory management software that has been
approved and will be implemented so they can keep track of all of the different uh apparatuses, equipment, everything that they have their supplies. It's a massive undertaking, but it'll help them be more efficient when it's done.
So, from the water utility, if anybody was downtown today on Waverly Place, you might have noticed a number of burrow personnel. From the DPW and the water utility and also the electric utility, there was a contractor who inadvertently hit a water man during an excavation on
the um west side of Waverly Place and shut off the water. Uh it was for a lieutenant who's hopefully going to be um occupying the Dro City jewel space doing some renovations. So that's good for the for that location, too. But unfortunately,
the water service was stopped for a lot of the stores in the apartments for hours. But around 5:00, we're happy to report that the service was restored. So again, as usual, thanks to the burough personnel who expedited this repair
under very difficult weather conditions. and then from the water department uh for their performance from since the last meeting. They have gone around town and repaired multiple water fountains that were broken and leaking throughout our towns and parks. I asked how many we
have. They said there's approximately 15 town water fountains which are all working right now. They continue to dig curb stops at homes where we are uh replacing water meters and doing valve replacements. Uh with the increased
heat, the uh water department is pumping more than 2.6 million gallons of water a day. Uh the last weeks before the previous council meeting, we were at 2.2 million. It seems that the busiest days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Maybe
those are days that people are watering their lawns. Whether they should or shouldn't be, we're encouraging them to conserve. Of course, uh Drew University had two water main breaks. The water department assisted them in shutting off water to the campus in certain
locations. Campus made their repair as quickly as possible and the water utility turned the water back on and flushed the system. So, everything is working. Our backup generator is now online at Bwell in case of a power outage. was tested and ready to go. Fire
hydrant replacements to upgrade all hydrants continue around town and the the water utility just continues to do all their regular maintenance work. And uh one last thing from the recreation activity committee, I don't
know if anybody said that the uh parking lot is almost fully open at the MRC underneath the new the new solar parking deck. So, now that the youth sports are kicking back in, there will be much more room for all the uh attendees chauffeers
to park and in some shade, which will be welcome in this heat during the day. And uh they're almost done, 95% done. I don't know when the panels are going to be turned on live, but hopefully in pretty near future, right, Ray, we can
start to make some electricity. Okay, thank you. That's all. Mayor, >> very much affairs. Miss Thank you, Mayor. Um, my sympathies go out to John's family, his children, and his grandchildren. Uh, and I encourage
people to share their stories with them about John. Uh, they were listening and really, uh, remembering him for all the great things, um, when people were talking to them today. So, it's
a great testament to the work that he did in Madison. Uh both my father and I got to work with John on different committees and I remember one time I was running an open space committee and as you know they're all open to the public. We didn't usually have very many
visitors but John came one time and sat along the wall and he did have an imposing presence and I thought I I hope I didn't do anything wrong this time. But he was just curious, you know, he wanted to know what was going on in town. So um I think we can all learn so
much from his example of service through action and I think uh we will continue to as you said carry his torch. Um from the community affairs uh report downtown development commission the August meet
or the next meeting will be September 18th in Hartley Dodge. The Madison Farm and Artisan Market continues every Saturday through December 13th 9 to 2. The 50th Hill will be on October 4th and the
second annual Rose City Dog Day and Parade is scheduled for the 1st of November. Um I don't know if you've noticed but uh Madison is getting some film presence. Netflix was uh among others has been
filming lately and I know we have some film connoisseurs in in the public tonight. But um last week there was a big car accident uh at Greenwood and and Britain and I know that many uh kids who
were out of school use that as their free entertainment. Um so it's great for Madison and um thank you to the police and and all of the people um from Burrow that make that happen.
>> Thank you and health fore. >> Thank you mayor. I'd also like to offer my condolences to John's family. Um, his passing is truly a loss for Madison. Most recently, I served with him on Madison's board of health and I think uh his dedication to Madison was
exemplified by staying on and being involved well after he was off the council here. Um, it's been my profound honor to take the seat that was held by John until he left the council. And I can share with everyone that uh once I was inducted into the seat, he pulled me
aside and said, "Well, at least if I'm not going to be here, the guy that has the seat is still named John." So, he had a sense of humor and I think it came through that night. >> Um, so, uh, really, uh, I'm inspired by John's leadership and and, uh, hope to
carry on the torch for him, too. The health department completed their tobacco age of sale enforcement inspections this month. These inspections are unannounced compliance checks to monitor compliance with the existing New Jersey law that prohibits the selling of tobacco or nicotine products to those under the age of 21.
The inspections also look for proper signage in the establishments and that all products for sale are allowed. The department uses individuals who are in high school for this program and focus not on just cigarettes but on electronic smoking devices and other nicotine products such as ZIN. 10 inspections
were conducted in Madison. The board of health an ordinance this month that would license retailers that sell electronic smoking devices, vaping devices. The fees collected for licensing will offset the cost of programs uh for substance misuse. During
the month of July, the department completed 18 retail food inspections, followed up on 23 complaints, and investigated four reports of communicable disease. and relative to the health department, but from the environmental commission. Um, I've been speaking a lot about mosquitoes, mosquitob born illness. The
environmental commission would like to report that residents are having success with homemade mosquito bucket of dooms, which you've heard me mention before, um, for mosquito control. These are made of five gallon buckets with straw or grass or leaves and a non-toxic larvide
called mosquito dunks. One resident even reported that his bucket of doom was far more effective when he removed bush honeysuckle, which invasive plant from Asia. He shared uh research showing that bush honeysuckle harbors tiger mosquitoes. Thank you, mayor.
>> Council members, thank you for sharing your members of John as so much to the family and I encourage others to share your stories about John as you see the Hoover family around made his
big way. Now we move on to Communications and petitions. >> None received. Mayor, >> right now we're on to our first of two uh invitations for public comment. This one is limited to items on our agenda discussions and also our resolutions
that are part of the consent agenda. I will outline those in just a second so you know what you can comment on. If you want to comment on other topics, we'll have a second comment period later in the meeting. Uh and these are the items you may comment on right now during our agenda discussion. We're going to have a
a um update on the east wing interior renovations uh presentation on that and these are the um resolutions that are part of the consent agenda that you can also comment on. Resolution 226 authorized and collective bargaining agreement with the firefighters mutual
benev association the FMA and this is a uh for the contract period of January 1 2026 through December 31st 2029. Resolution 227 is awarding the Hartley Dodge Memorial uh building eastwing interior renovations contract. And
again, we'll be hearing more on that in shortly. Uh base contract was 6.1 million with four alternates. So, um the uh price we were approving tonight is 6.799500. That's $6.7,9900.
Um And we're also, this is being funded through a Heartley Dodge Foundation grant of 5.2 million, the historical society grant, I see some members in the audience here, of 500,000. And um ordinance 36 2025, which authorized 1.5
million. And just a quick editorialize, this has been on my mayor bucket list for quite a while, so it's great to see that finally we're uh underway. Resolution 228 is authorizing purchase of IT department supplies under
co-op of agreement and um that is also part of the operating budget. The resolution 229 awarding contract to Gen Electric for traffic signal improvements under co-op not to exceed $55,000. Resol
resolution 230 is awarding contract to Houston Freight Line Freight Liner for the purchase of a 2025 Freightlininer M2 plus bucket truck accessories under the uh another co-op and
this is um actually amending the resolution so increasing the amount by $13,000. The initial amount was uh authorized in ordinance 502023. Resolution 231 extending professional services contract extra duty solutions
of Shelton, Connecticut for police out duty management. And this is um through May of 2026 authorized that we could go further beyond. Um resolution 232 is authorizing use of
burough property by adult school for parking on various dates in September and October. This is a Bailey Ellard parking lot. Resolution 233 is approving raffle license for the Elks lodge to include uh given authorization for
instant raffle games including Sundays. Resolution 234 is approving raffle license applications submitted by PTSO Madison High School on premise 5050 on March 9th 2026. Resolution 235 is
supporting the Madison Environmental Commission's Echo House and Garden Tour on Saturday, September 6 with a rain date of Sunday, September 7th. Resolution 236 is amending the award of contract to Weeds Inc. for control and
removal invasive species at the Madison Recreation Complex and a amended for additional amount of 2750. Resolution 237 is approving raffle license application by the Madison Athletic Foundation for a
off premise 50/50 October 25th, 2025. Resol Resolution 238 is authorized in soil remover removal permit block 4401 lot 14 aka Madison Golf Club. And
resolution 239 is um authorized execution of addendum to grant agreement with Hartley Dodge Memorial Foundation trustees to fund a portion of their renovations of the east wing. Uh originally the grant was four million. This as mentioned just before uh is
being increased to 5.2 million to help cover the increased costs. So you can you may comment on any of those resolutions uh which does include the uh Heartley Dodge which is our discussion item. Also want to comment you step to the lect
turn state your name your address the uh agenda item you're commenting on and try to keep your comments to three minutes but we do give you that one minute grace and cut you at four. Welcome 12 Fairwood Road.
Um I'd like to comment on two resolutions that pertain to the environmental commission. The first is about the garden tour which is it's not actually a house tour but um since you mentioned that it is a house tour that
there's a house across from Brian Monahan's that we've been watching because Tomaki did this amazing garden on the front lawn and we went around to see it and they said, "Oh, do you want to see the back?" like, "Yeah." They're like, "Do you want to see? We have a green roof and it's it's an energy efficient house. It's beautiful and it
has beautiful gardens in the front and the back and it includes a green roof. So, we're very excited. We have um this is we've been doing these tours since 2019 and I think that um like we were very tired after the last tour and I thought maybe we
wouldn't do it, but people have come up to us from all kinds of towns and said, "I have learned so much." And and what's good about these houses is that they're not they're they're people like me doing things. And you know, Melissa, your your
parents house was on the tour. It's just it's just Madison residents making a difference. And um so we're proud that there's a plant sale as part of that because native plants are hard to find. And um
so um it's going to be fabulous. And oh, I also want to for setting up the ticketing. Uh the town ticketing system is up and running and we tested it out for the Kellogg House tour which people adored. We sold out entirely.
Um and then regarding the weeds inc um allocation um the um both the meadow and the conservation forest have invasive plant issues and um
Kristen Wstein has been doing a fabulous job of trying to um dig into the um restoration potential of the forest. The Weeds Inc. did a a stilt grass removal. They've treated um barberry bushes and
multifllora rose and some other um invasives. But I would also like to point out that many of these um problem things that need to be treated, they're so hard to get out. They have to be treated with with herbicides like the
calorie pears that are downtown and they you know this is a problem that we are having to pay money to remedy. I know my neighbors have calorie pairs. I mean people um people have them and barberry bushes need to be taken out. Um those are the
the most common invasives, but um on the Environmental Commission page, there's a a list of the top 10 suburban invasives, and you can check it out. But many of these are coming from homeowners yards where they are contained. They're not they don't feel invasive, but the
birds carry the seeds and they grow prolifically because deer don't eat invasive plants and there's no pesticide and no pests that want to eat them either. They're not from here. Thank you very much, >> Claire. Anyone else wishing to comment on any of the resolutions or agenda
item? Seeing none, I close this part of the meeting and uh go on to our agenda discussion. Partly Dodge Eastwing interior renovations presentation. >> Okay. Tyler and Tyler's here to answer any question. Uh originally we were going to
have a presentation um recognizing the Heartley Dodge trustees um for their generous increase in their grant award to the burrow towards the renovation of the east wing. Their original commitment was for $4 million on tonight's agenda as an addendum supplementing that grant
award from and increasing it from four million to $5.2 million. And we want to thank them. the mayor will coordinate a ceremony with them and a check presentation in September for the September 8th council meeting. Um, and also I know tonight uh we have uh other
items on the agenda including the award of a construction contract to the apparent low bidder Epic Management that they're a we had two pre-qualified biders. Um they were the apparent low bidder. Their base bid was $6.1 million. There are three alternates also being
recommended for award. So the total award tonight will be approximately $6.7 million. The three alternates uh one would include uh core drilling the building for the uh elevator shaft that will go on the east wing of the building in off peak hours when employees and the public are not in the building. So it'll
be evenings and weekends because it's quite a uh scene when that's happening. There's some additional uh related work to the finance department to reorient the entrance. So right now people seem to have difficulty finding where to pay their bills because when you go to the
end of the hall you have to make a sharp left. So that's going to be reoriented. And we also had a a third alternate was related to the building HVAC controls. Right now the building actually has three components. The east wing, the west wing and the center core. And there
hasn't been a centralized control system for the HVAC which so if you've experienced in the building you can go from one wing to the other and one wing is freezing and the other ring the people are uh sweating uh so it's very difficult to balance the system. This will for the first time a centralized
HVAC control system. The estimated construction time in the contract per our architect is 18 months. The historical the Madison historical society has been very patient uh with their commitment and waiting for their headquarters. So, we know we're as anxious as they are to get started on
this and to get them into residency here with a museum on the ground floor in the former courthouse space. And the coordinator for this whole project is sitting back there who's very modest. Uh Tyler Merson, who is an expert at construction, he'll be the site supervisor on behalf of us and the
trustees and right on that project. And you'll notice the building has dramatically I think the appearance and the maintenance has uh been enhanced by Tyler's involvement um including the lighting and just the general maintenance of the building and all the improvements that you'll see and we
expect great things um out of this investment. I don't know if mayor you wanted to ask Tyler to come up to >> covered it very well just as we discussed. So um and uh and as I mentioned if there are questions we do have Tyler to go
into details, but as a reminder that uh since the um public safety building opened up quite a while ago, um the east wing lower level where the police department was and the main main level
which was the court and also some of the administration space for the uh police department has been vacant. Um which is really a shame for this beautiful building not to be fully utilized. So when uh 18 months after we start
construction and we cut the ribbon finally for the full building the this level here will be uh additional office office space for administration. The main level as uh was already mentioned will be home to the Madison Historical
Society and our official museum for Madison history. So uh we look forward to that. And then the lower level which was the old police uh area will be our building uh code department. Uh so instead of having mud by contractors track through
the front door and um all the way up down the hallway here, which did make it easy for directions when someone said where's building codes just follow the footprints. Uh we will uh be able to uh they will have a direct entrance uh into their space and so uh this building will
not only be fully utilized but uh more efficient and um kept cleaner in in the end. So this is a long time coming. We have resolutions 227 which is awarding the contract as mentioned before. Resolution 239 which is amending our
agreement with the um trustees and then ordinance 36 which on the agenda has the wrong title but um posted is correct is uh appropriating $ 1.5 million uh interesting for the renovations. Any
comments or questions from the council? Mayor, may just one last thing is doing the renovation, you'll you there's going to be a relocation of the building department and the uh land use offices and the tax assessor. So there'll be notification publicly, but the goal it
would be to relocate them temporarily uh to allow the renovation of that space and they would be moving on or about September 15th to the ambulance corp in the parking lot on the Maple Avenue side of the building and will be their temporary quarters and we thank the
Madison Ambulance Corps volunteers for their cooperation in the transfer of the property and allowing us the use of that building for that purpose. Robin and Tom. that that that will go into the that that'll be actually two purposes.
that will take you into the building code office, but it will be the uh handicap barrier free access to the uh main uh main level, which will be the museum. So, if you're going to the museum and need an elevator, you would go in that way, take the elevator to
that level, or the uh elevator up to this level, which is actually a couple of steps down, which is why we're putting in the second elevator. um things we didn't think about 1930s uh give you access to the offices. So
correct. Yep. Finally. Yep. Any questions or comments? >> All right. Thank you. We now move on to ordinances for hearing. Will the clerk statement? >> The ordinances scheduled for hearing were introduced by title and passed on first reading at the regular meeting of
the council held on July the 28th, 2025. They were posted and filed according to law and copies were made available to the general public requesting se. >> I call ordinance for second read and ask the clerk to read said ordinance by ordinances by title. Ordinance 29-2025.
>> Ordinance the burrow of Madison appropriating $110,000 from the electric capital improvement fund for the purchase of new utility truck and accessories. >> I open hearing on ordinance 29. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward.
Seeing none, I close the hearing. Mayor, I move ordinance 29-2025. >> Second. >> Any council discussion? >> Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Pis, >> yes.
>> Miss Hanahan, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> I declare ordinance 29-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice thereof in the newspaper and file the ordinance according to the law. Ordinance 30-2025. Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison
appropriating $55,000 from the electric capital improvement fund for signalization improvements. I open the hearing on ordinance 30. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. >> Seeing none, I close the hearing. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 30-2025.
Second >> counc discussion. >> I I know I mentioned last time my appreciation for the traffic safety bureau for coordinating these um signalization upgrades and maintenance, but I just want to add a note that the reason we're doing this now is to get
all of the pedestrian and traffic lights in good working order before the start of school. So there's some urgency to getting this work done uh for better traffic safety for our students and families starting in the fall. Any other comments? And just a reminder, as Rachel mentioned
in her report, that uh all these appropriated money have been part of the uh uh annual capital bud, five-year capital budget. >> Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Herick, >> yes. >> Mr. Lander, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Pudis,
>> yes. >> Miss Hon, >> yes. >> Mr. For >> Yes. I declare ordinance 30-2025 adopt and finally pass and ask the clerk to publish notice thereof of newspaper paper and file the ordinance accords to the law. Ordinance 31-2025 >> ordinance of the bureau of Madison
appropriating $325,000 from the general capital improvement fund to purchase a dump truck and accessories for the public works department. Open hearing in ordinance 31. Anyone wish to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing.
>> Mayor, I move ordinance 31-2025. >> Second. >> Any council discussion? >> Roll call vote. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pis, >> yes. >> Miss Hon, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte,
>> yes. I declare ordinance 31-2025 adopted and finally passed. I ask the clerk to publish notice thereof newspaper. File the ordinance in accordance with the law. Ordinance 32-2025. >> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison appropriating $95,000 from the general capital improvement
fund for the purchase of a Mason dump truck and accessories for the public works department. >> Open hearing at Orange 32. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. See none, I close the hearing. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 32-2025.
>> Second. >> Any council discussion? I was hoping somebody would step forward and ask what's a Mason dump truck compared to a regular dump truck. >> The size. >> That's all. >> Mason dump is >> mason's a small person. >> Yes.
>> And a big dumper is a big dump truck. We have them now. >> We're just replacing. >> Yes, these are replacements. >> If you picture like the typical DPW mediumsiz dump truck that you see around town, I think of that as a Mason dump truck. >> That's the Mason one. And the big one is
I don't know what >> that's like a construction vehicle, right? A big dump truck. >> All those big wheels and weight. >> The official term when David Mains was a big dump truck. >> I can remember that. All right. Thanks,
Mayor. Anyway, sorry. Any other uh discussion? Thanks. >> Okay. Roll call vote, please. >> Miss, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Sonahan, >> yes. >> Mr. reported. >> Yes. >> I declare ordinance 32-2025 adopted and
finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice there of newspaper and file an ordinance accords with the law. Ordinance 33-2025. >> Ordinance of the bureau of Madison appropriating $40,000 from the general capital improvement fund to purchase radios and accessories for the public
works department. >> Open the hearing. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing. Mayor, I move ordinance 33-2025. >> Second. >> Any council discussion? Roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landeran, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Pudis, >> yes. >> Miss Hon, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. I declare ordinance 33-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice thereof in the newspaper and file the ordinance accordance to the
law. Ordinance 34-2025. Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison amending chapter 190 of the Madison Burough code entitled water to authorize the revision of the Burough of Madison's water rates and service fees. >> Open hearing. Anyone wishing to comment,
please step forward. what um revision of the water rates means and whether this is addressing um the super users that that like Tom said, you know, 2.6 million mill million gallons of water in the summer. It's
crazy. And I know that we have data on you know small handful of people are are the um you know super users and this is our our shared aquifer and I'll tell you I have a rain barrel. I'm taking out my gray
water from the kitchen and I'm doing my part so I'd like to know >> and just for the record >> record you get y >> sorry >> cla woodcome 12 fairwood road. >> Thank you. you want to take? >> Yeah, I can cover it. Um, so Claire,
this is not actually adjusting um the per cubic foot uh rates. Uh this actually uh is more of an administrative piece that is essentially correcting something we missed when we did the rate change last year uh or earlier this year
which was uh eliminating the minimum quarterly minimums based on your size of your pipe as opposed to the size or how much water you use. Um we only did it for one size and not all three sizes. So, this is eliminating that. So, you're
not paying, you know, $60 or $70 and only using $30 worth of water. Um, so this is actually the other end of the spectrum, which is um those lower users that might have a larger uh service line into their into their houses.
>> And we did adjust the previous one, we did adjust the higherend users. >> Yeah. Any other comments? I close the hearing. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 34, 2022. >> Second. Any council discussion?
Roll call vote. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Pudis? >> Yes. >> M. >> Hon. >> Yes. >> Mr. Forte. >> Yes. I declare ordinance 34-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice thereof newspaper and
file an ordinance in accordance with the law. Ordinance 35-2025. >> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison. in amending section 101-11 of the burough code entitled firemen on duty at public assemblies fees to increase the fees.
>> I open the hearing on orange 35. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 35-2025. >> Second. >> Any council discussion? Roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. Eric, >> yes. Mr. Landrian, >> yes. >> Mr. range. >> Yes. >> Mr. Harland Cruis. >> Yes. >> Sonahan. >> Yes. >> Mr. Forte. >> Yes. I declare ordinance 35-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to publish notice their newspaper and file
the ordinance in accordance to the law. Ordinance 36-2025. >> 36 said it's not correct in the um agenda, but uh this is the correct title. Ordinance of the Burough of Madison appropriating1,500,000
from the general capital improvement fund for renovations and restoration of the east wing of the Hartley Dodge Memorial. Open hearing on ordinance 36. Anyone wish to comment, please step forward. Close the hearing
motion and entertain a motion. Tom want me to do that one too, sir. Okay. I uh I move ordinance 36 20225 >> actually I guess >> is that's 36 was >> okay second >> sorry I missed
>> and uh any council discussion we outlined this as part of our discussion >> I just want to tag on to what you said mayor and share my excitement that this project is going forward after many years of advocacy and planning um good smart thinking by uh Tyler Merson
teaming up with Jim Bernett to come up with a design that's suitable um and the whole administration working with a great architect. So, this is a great milestone that we're going to get started soon. >> Thank you. Any other comments? Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Herlick, >> yes.
>> Mr. Landeran, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pudis, >> yes. >> Miss Hanahan, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. I declare ordinance 36-2025 adopted and finally pass and ask the clerk to publish notice there of newspaper and file the ordinance in
accordance with the law. And now we move on to our section second of uh two invitations public comment. This is when you may comment on any topic. So rules apply. Step up electron state your name and address. Write the same on the clipboard and try to keep your comments to three minutes but we give you the one
minute grace. Welcome >> Colette. friend of the Drew Forest and also a registered nurse. Before I begin, I would like to thank the Madison Fire Department for their quick and thorough action in putting out the fire near the
Drew Forest. Um, last week and because of their work, there was no damage to the forest. Um, several weeks ago, I spoke about the physical health benefits of forests and nature. And tonight, I will discuss mental and cognitive benefits
um of forests. In 1984, a groundbreaking study by Roger Olrich provided scientific evidence about the positive impact that views of nature from hospital rooms had on human health. Uh the study showed a decreased length of
post-operative hospital stay, decreased number and strength of pain medications, and a decreased number of nurses notes uh related to patient distress and behavioral issues. Uh since that time numerous studies have been conducted
including that of BJ Park and why Mazaki who studied forest bathing. Um this is a relaxed but mindful engagement of nature and all of the five senses. It proved to promote a more positive mood and physiologic healing. And even if you
don't actively participate in for forest ba bathing simply walking in the forest and or nature will decrease the re release of stress hormones which then allows our mind and body to relax. A scoping review of um many related
scientific studies uh was done in 2022 and showed that mental health outcomes improved across 98% of the science-based studies which is pretty impressive. Um these benefits include reduce stress and anxiety which may prevent the cumulative
effects on chronic diseases, illness and mortality. Um improve mood and reduce depression, anger, confusion and fatigue. Also helping with PTSD and a ADHD. a renewing of the brain's ability to
concentrate, thereby improving cognitive function, including problem solving abilities and increased feelings of well-being and happiness and improve improvement in sleep quality, all related to being in forests in nature.
On a personal note, uh last summer I had the opportunity to be a Drew Forest tour guide for 15 young men and women from women from lowincome and inner city areas. Um, as the guides and I introduced ourselves, the students were really not listening. They were talking
loudly. They were interrupting us, scrolling on their phones, um, and nudging one another, getting into minor arguments over I don't have no idea what. Um, but as we brought them through the Zuck Arboritum and around the ponds,
they became a little bit calmer. And I heard one of the young men point to another as he saw a chipmunk. Uh, and he whispered that he had never seen one before. Pretty amazing. Yeah. Um let's see. Um >> one minute.
>> Thank you. Um as we went into the Hepin Woods, the group became even quieter but curious about what they were seeing and learning, and they were fascinated by the steep slopes caused by the glaciers. Many of the students commented on the forest as a place of well-being and
peace so close to the busy, active campus. Um as the tour ended, they calmly thanked us to that they could come back to the forest and voiced how appreciative they were of the experience. And this was not a scientific research study. This was a
gift from the forest to all who were present that day. It really it really was. Uh with that, I thank you very much, Mayor Connelly and Burough Council members for your unwavering support and action and support of the Drew Forest.
>> Colette, thank you for that great story. theme for tonight things on my mayor's bucket list forest. Anyone else anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward? Seeing none, I close this part of the
meeting. And we now move on to introduction of ordinances. Clerk, please read the statement. Ordinance is scheduled for first reading. Have a hearing date set for September the 8th, 2025. Will be published in the Madison April, posted on bulletin board, made available to
members of the public requesting copies. I >> call up ordinances for first reading. Ask the burough clerk to read said ordinance by title. Ordinance 37-2025. >> Ordinance of the bureau of Madison appropriating $2,62 from the general capital improvement fund for the purchase of bulletproof
vest for the police department. Mayor, I move ordinance 37-2025. >> Second. >> Any council discussion? >> Yes. >> I'll just point out there uh several uh grants available that are funding um the
bulk of this purchase and this remaining $2,62 is uh the balance that is not covered by uh state and other grants for um the vests >> comments. Roll call vote, please. Eurley.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Landeran. >> Yes. >> Mr. Range. >> Yes. >> Mr. Harland Pis. >> Yes. >> Monahan. >> Yes. >> Mr. Forte. >> Yes. >> Ordinance 38-2025. >> Ordinance of the Bureau of Madison appropriating $250,000
from the electric utility capital improvement fund for the purchase of utility meters and accessories. >> Mayor, I move ordinance 38 2025. >> Second. Any council discussion?
Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landeran, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland Pis, >> yes. >> Miss Hon, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> We now move on. Consent agenda resolutions. Will the clerk please read the statement? >> Consent agenda resolutions will be
enacted with a single motion. 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.
>> Mayor, I move resolution 226-2025 through 239-2025. >> Second. >> Any discussion or any that we need to approve? >> Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Eric, >> yes. Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range.
>> Yes. >> Mr. Harland Pis. >> Yes. >> Mr. Hanahan. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ford. >> Yes. >> There is no unfinished business. We move on to approval of vouchers >> from the current fund. $497,94960.
From the general capital fund, $236,739.33. from the electric operating fund, $231,86920. It's the electric capital fund, $5,973.90. From the water operating fund, $6,123
and from the trust, $8,7416. The total is $987,33822. >> I move approval of the value. >> Second. Any discussion? Roll call vote, please. >> Murley, >> yes. >> Mr. Lander, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harold Pudis, >> yes.
>> Miss Hon, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> There is no new business. Entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Mayor, I move to adjourn. >> All in favor? >> Thank you very much. >> Enjoy the rest of summer. to make.