I keep Let the record reflect we have reconvened with all members present. For those who are able, please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I ask you to remain standing after the pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America to it for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty andice for all. >> Let's take a moment to remember longtime Madison resident we lost over the last few weeks. Antuinet Rizzy passed away on
November 27th, age of 92. Born in 1933 in Brooklyn to the late John and Nancy de Jakamo. Uh she met the lover life Michael Rzzy in the Poconos's a chance encounter that blossomed into a lifelong partnership. They married in 1954, began
their life in Brooklyn, and when Michael's career led him New Jersey, Antonet and her family settled here in Madison where they would live the rest of their life. She quickly became a beloved figure in community known for her kindness, warmth, and effortless ways. She made everyone feel comfortable. Her greatest
joy was her family, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, and lights of her life. She carried with them in boundless affection. She loved to cook, especially Italian dishes that carried flavors and traditions of her heritage. She also enjoyed music and dancing, word search puzzles, and spending time with
her beloved beagle, Tippy, who was never far from her side. She survived by her daughter Nancy and her husband Richard, her brother Anthony, her sisters Margaret and Lauren, her three grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. It was pre preceded
in death by her husband of 57 years, Michael, and her brother Matthew. Let us now remember Antonet and let us pass our thoughts on to her family and friends that she leaves behind. Thank you. Great once again to see such a big
turnout for our uh capital budget presentation in a little bit. Uh but welcome all. We do have a lot of things at the front of the meeting. So thank you for all coming out tonight to recognize some special things. But I do
want to start off by mentioning that today is Rachel Erlick's last regular council meeting. Uh we'll be first recognizing our reorganization meeting on uh at 3 p.m. on January 3rd. But I want to take a moment to thank Rachel for her dedication to Madison and
especially being a leader in climate action effort. Fact, she is working right to the end doing a presentation in in tonight's meeting. And she's not going to disappear. We're going to keep her busy as busy as we can. So, thank you all. Thank you for doing a great job. A few other things going on last
few weeks. On um November 25th, we had friends and colleagues gathered in the clerk's office to give Helen Corlet sent off into retirement. Uh she wrapped up a 45 year career that began at the library and then uh onto the senior center and
then to the clerk's office. Um her smile has been part of the burrow for so long. And then of course the day after Thanksgiving, we had our uh we welcomed Santa Claus with the annual parade. Crowds lined the streets for the full length of parade. John Hoover Jr. and
his wife Susan along with their children helped Santa light the tree as they they donated from the yard in memory of John's father, John Hoover Senior, our former council member who we lost this past year. And of course, special thanks to the Toto family and the Christmas
parade committee for their dedication to making the holidays in Madison so special. And then on Tuesday, December 2nd, the Madison Auxiliary Police dinner uh had their annual uh dinner. Uh and they were thanked for their endless
hours of volunteer volunteerism they put into Madison. And it's not just the coverage of the special events such as the Christmas parade and bottle hill day, but also the hours of training that are required. So there dedication is truly uh appreciated. But if anyone is
interested in becoming the uh auxiliary uh policeman, they should reach out to the police department. We're looking for some new people to join the ranks. And last Thursday, we had a lot of people in here for our town hall meeting on affordable housing redevelopment. It was
a great turnout. uh and many watch from home. And for those that missed the very informative uh session, you can uh re review the recording through Rosenet. And right here I have a resolution which I will not read uh but from the state
assembly recognizing our uh smart growth award that was given to us for um the forum. A uh the new housing on Walnut Street. The resolution was sponsored by Assemblywoman Orura Dunn along with
state senator Anthony Buo and Assemblyman Christian Baronco. And a couple other things before I come down below. As I wrap up 2025, I'm working on 2026 committee appointments. So, if you're interested in serving a
committee, please go to rosenet.org and click click on how do I and then select get involved and volunteer. I'm especially looking for volunteers for parks advisory committee and the mayor's wellness committee which uh two committees that have been dormant and
ready to re-energize. And drum roll please for the employee of the month for December is CFO assistant burough administrator Jim Bernett. It certainly has been getting a lot of attention as the council has committed
to saving the uh Madison community pool for the 2026 season and Jim has been putting in endless hours and uh doing research, putting together RFPs, everything possible to uh make make sure we have a great season. So, we truly
appreciate it. So, thank you, Jim. And we're going to bring in we have a for those that have not been here at the last meeting of the year and may not know the tradition that we now have in Madison besides a parade. It's being sung to by the uh friends of the uh Drew
Forest and it's actually now it's the friends of the friends of the Drew Forest because I I understand we have quite a chorus coming in here. So I would like to bring them in uh to start off start the year on a great note. Just hang in this woman's ear.
>> Maybe you should go up front. >> Think so? >> I think So the people can hear you >> by the lectern. The true star, seeking prayers to Concerning planets
eternal and and must be seen etcious and wise and let it rise. Now we must keep it. And
wetlands must be seen creatures Let it eternal true forest for a dealus and all the poorest and green bells and wetlands must be
seen. Creatures stir eternally smile. Yep. >> Gets better and better every year. And uh the the friends were uh supported by Spotlight Kids. So, thank you for coming
out tonight. And now I'm going to come down below for a couple other presentations. Got John Eaggan here and any other trustees? Hartley Dodge trustees let you hand. So, for those that are are not aware,
um, many know that, uh, Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge had this beautiful building built for Madison. But thinking forward, she knew it would be a challenge. This might not be a good microphone. Mike, there we go. All right. I won't sing,
though. um she had the foresight to realize that for the taxpayers of Madison to keep up this be beautiful building would be a challenge. So she also started a foundation at the same time with trustees to overlook it. And as we often
say the Hartley Dodge trustees have one customer. It's this beautiful building and it's a partnership that makes it all possible. We are in the process of redoing the east wing which will finally have this building fully in use for the first time since the fire and police
moved out. So, I'd like to hand the microphone over to >> Well, thank you. The the uh I think the East Wing's been talked about for 10 years. We start I I was told January 5th and I think it's uh not even for
everyone in this room, for for all residents, it's the greatest building in the world. So, we're happy to present this check for 5.2 million. Now, we could all just split it. Enough of us would take to the burough. Um, the project's going to take probably about
15 or 18 months, and I think it will be a great improvement. So, congratulations, and we look forward to partnering with the burough. Can I get the LERs family up here, please? And Chief You're about to meet our newest officer.
And I want to tell you a little bit about Michael as he uh joins our uh police force. Was born and raised in Mars County and has lived in Floren Park his entire life. Graduated from Hanover Park High School in 2021 where he was a three-time
varsity letter winner in baseball. After high school, Michael went on to the College of New Jersey where he earned his bachelor's degree in finance. Michael played for baseball for College of New Jersey and was captain on his team for both his junior and senior year of college. Michael is graduating with
Essex County Police Academy this Wednesday as member of the class number 25-2. During his spare time, he enjoys coaching baseball and spending time with family and friends. Sorry. And Michael is honored to be employed by the Madison uh Police
Department and looks forward to serving a unified and supportive community. So, it's great to have you on board. And your mother Kathy is going to hold the Bible. There's our oath. All right,
>> the the oath is missing. Sorry. You can relax a second and maybe I'll sing a Christmas carol while we uh fill in. Apologize. I I've I've only been mayor for 14 years. You think I would have had this memorized also, but at at this point,
Michael, would besides the bio I just shared, would you like to uh share a little bit about yourself? All right. Lieutenant Plumstead will tell you that some I'm I've been known to just hand off the microphone and say say a few words. So, but you are coming into an
amazing community as you probably know growing up in Floren Park and um you know our finest makes Madison the finest. And shortly he will be pinned with badge number 172.
Yep. As you as you know a police officer, you never know what your day is going to bring. himself. Ready? >> I state your name. I, Michael McGrainus, >> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support the Constitution of the United States
>> that I will support the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> and that I will bear true true faith and allegiance >> that I will bear true faith and allegiance >> through the saying >> through the saying >> and to the governments >> and to the governments >> established in the United States
>> established in the United States >> and in this state >> and in this state >> county >> county >> and burrow >> and burrow >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of people >> and that I will faithfully >> that I will faithfully >> impartially >> impartially >> and justly perform >> and justly perform >> all the duties of
>> all the duties of >> probationary officer of Madison Police Department >> probationary police officer of the Madison Police Department >> according to the best of my ability >> according to the best of my ability. >> So help me God. >> So help me God. >> Welcome aboard. He he was pinned by his father. And uh
we'll have you sign Captain Joe's uh phone. No, I'm only kidding. But wait just a sec. Let me because it's a family affair. Can and the roses represent the Rose City. Bob, you want to reprise your role of
And if I could have the uh varsity boys uh soccer team please come forward. with trophy. Excellent. >> All right. At our last meeting, we were able to recognize a couple of uh youth sports
teams and now we get to recognize the varsity sports team. As as I learned at uh the Christmas tree lot yesterday that actually some of you had already been recognized as a U I think a U1 team several years back in this very room.
So, it's great to see sticking together and still still playing soccer. And um so they are the New Jersey group two state champions. They beat Robinsville in overtime to secure the title for the first time
since 1966. And who was I should know the name of who scored the winning goal? >> Yeah. Yep. And of course it was a a whole team effort. But uh as I read in I read online that uh kind of dreamed of
that moment of having that uh winning score and to do it in overtime and to uh turn throw off your shirt and run around the field was a uh made it extra special. So we're going to recognize each of you because you have made Madison proud
through your excellent team effort. And coach will give you a chance to say a few words at the end to put you on put you on the spot. I want, you know. All right, Cal Regan. There you go. I'll take that post.
And these certificates say as a member um are presented to each player as a member of Madison High School boys varsity soccer team for winning the NJ group two state championship. Andrew Havlin. Andrew, well done. De Los Santos.
Well done, Liam. Well, Jake, there we go. Jack, Sebastian, Thomas.
Oh, Thomas. >> Yeah, I got it. Okay, >> Sergio Samuel. Pushall not here. Matteo. Chris,
he's late. Thomas Monville. Thomas. Well done. Brody. Well done, Brody. Finn. Well done,
Alex. Sebastian Henry Katon Ben. Well done. Congrat. And that was Andrew who's not here. Gustavo. There we go.
Jacob not here. Grayson. Well done, Grayson. And then we've got recognize our Justin. Justin.
Nolan. There we go. Nolan Yep. Yep. And well, we get the coaches get one, too. So, head coach Rich Rich Vasquez. Rich. You can you can give him a shout out
when I give you the microphone. >> There we go. >> So, Rich, you have made this team has made us proud. >> All right. Yeah, we're uh we're happy to make the uh the town proud. Uh I mean, I have a great group of uh players here
with us today. Um a lot of work, a lot of dedication, sacrifice to do what they can do to make the town proud. and we're just happy to be a whole community here al together celebrating their accomplishments. So, thank you so much for that opportunity. >> And we have one person up here who
didn't get a certificate, but we have something special for you. >> Congratulations. Thank you. Good night. That's all right. All right. All right. We'll now move on to uh
reports from committees. Finance and burough clerk final report. Council President Erlick. >> Thank you, Mayor. The accounts payable department notifies us that purchasing for the Bureau of
Madison will be closing this Friday. Department heads were all notified weeks ago about this important first step in closing the burough books. Special thanks to Kevin O'Keeffe and Stacy Douly from the purchasing department for processing over 250 requisitions in the
last week. And tonight we have our first budget presentation. I've mentioned in past evenings that budget season is here, but now it's really starting up in earnest. As we have done for the past few years, we will discuss capital items and the draft five-year capital plan before year
end. No action will be taken, but this will give council and the public an opportunity to see the capital plan and the projects that will hopefully be funded and completed in 2026. Tonight, we will also review the open space, recreation, and historic preservation trust fund that includes
the 2025 activity in this fund. It was a quiet year for the open space trust fund as council focused on building up funds for the possible purchase of the true forest. As you've heard in the past, the budget process revolves around the 2014
strategic planning guidelines. We continue to be guided by this important document and the work of the late Councilman Ben Walowitz. In fact, it was these guidelines that helped put our books in the strong position that they are in today. So, here's the schedule of
the buzz pres budget presentation uh for the season to come. And January 26th, we'll hear from public works, the water utility, electric utility, as well as utility fund balances. On February 9th, Fire Chief Wickman will discuss the
fire department, and we'll have our initial municipal budget review. On February 23rd, we will have presentations on the construction department, police department, library, and engineering and land use. And on March 23rd, we will have our final
budget presentation. And on April 27th, we will we have scheduled the budget hearing and hopefully the adoption of the 2026 budget. The bureau's budget process is very transparent and an open process. Voting on the budget is one of the most
important actions that our governing body takes. Anyone who has questions about this should visit the annual budget process page on RoseNet. Thank you, Mayor. >> Thank you. Public safety, Mr. Landrian. Thank you, Mayor. From the police department, on Wednesday, December 3rd,
Chief was sworn in as president of the Morris County Police Chiefs Association at their installation lunchon at the parks of Ooi. Chief Misha is looking forward to working with his fellow chiefs, tackling challenges together, and continuing the strong tradition of
leadership that defines his association. On December 2nd, the Madison Police Auxiliary held its annual holiday dinner to recognize the outstanding hard work and volunteerism of its members. Your auxiliary is always seeking dedicated
individuals to join the team. If you're interested in joining as a volunteer, please contact Lieutenant Plumstead at 973-593300033. Members of the community policing unit and the school resource officers are
currently conducting presentations on ebike safety in our schools. We are also covering the new ebike ordinance that was established in town. Please remind your children on rules of the roadway and always to wear their helmets. And finally, from now through
December 23rd, the Madison Police Department is collecting new unwrapped toys for the Madison Police Department's toys and tots drive. Donations can be dropped off in the front l of the police headquarters 24 hours a day. Thank you
for helping us bring holiday cheer to our families in need. Thank you, mayor. >> Thank you. Public works and engineering, Mr. Range. >> Thank you, mayor. Uh reminder that yard waste collection in bags and containers by the outside contractor has come to an
end um as of December 3rd. However, curbside leaf collection by the DPW staff is ongoing over the course of the next couple of weeks uh pending weather. Uh so, get the last of those leaves. um
out to the curb unless you're going to be one of those fine people leaving the leaves. Uh please do not block storm drains with the leaves and leaf collection uh will continue as I said over the next couple of weeks. Uh please
be sure not to put any uh rocks, brush, sticks, half- deadad mums, stumps, and other things out to the curb um as they will not be picked up and they can damage our equipment. The sewer department responded to a recent alarm
at one of our pump stations uh that was ultimately caused by foreign bodies in our pumps. As a reminder, please do not flush any feminine hygiene project products, floss, or uh hygiene wipes, even those that are marked flushable, as
they may cause issues with our pumps and processing equipment. The DBW was on hand to assist with the setup before and cleaning up downtown after the Christmas parade. And as always, they did a fabulous job in making it look like the
parade never happened for the rest of the weekend. Um, DPW has met with representatives of the New Jersey DP Green Acres Program at Dodgefield Playground for inspection of uh final details required for the grant
distribution uh for the Dodge Field Playground project. And while Christmas isn't here yet, here's your reminder that Christmas trees will be able to be put out to the curb for pickup by DBW starting on December 26th and will run through
January 31st, 2026. Residents can also bring their Christmas trees to the recycling center on Saturday, January 3rd, or Saturday, February 7th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. That's all tonight from DPW. Thank you, Mayor. >> Thank you. utilities. Mr. Alan Brutus.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Welcome everybody from the community from the electric utility. Uh 1128 electric department helped with the annual parade setting up and making sure that the lights lit brightly. They did a great job.
1220 122 the electric department responded to another power outage on Park Lane and unfortunately it was caused by a squirrel again on 12 every announcing about the squirrels. So sad. Okay. Uh on December 3rd to the 5th
annual testing of bank 4A and 4B at James Park substation was performed. Uh for those of you don't pay attention when you're walking between the Cook Avenue parking lot and Main Street, the there which is a private pass through but it's maintained by the burrow for
lighting. The light the lights over there have been removed and sent out to be refurbished. They're going to be upgraded to LED lights. Uh then the electric department continues to respond to calls completing markouts, street layer repairs and daily substation
inspections. From the water department, uh new 1-in service was installed to a home on Shady Lawn. The utility water utility had to repair a leak on the 8 in water man on Madison Avenue. During the
reconstruction on Madison Avenue and Geralda Farms in the early 1980s, there was a new water man installed. 40 years ago, some of the iron fittings used had deteriorated and leaked. So now there's a new water man over there. Uh the town
water utility continues to flush and take samples of our water quality. The last of the outdoor fountains around the burrow were shut off and winterized. The well vents and louvers around the wells have been secured and winterized. And
the water utility assisted with leaf pickup this fall and also the holiday work for the Christmas parade. That's all. Mayor, >> very much affairs. Miss Hanahan. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh the next meeting of the downtown development commission will
be held on December 18th at 7:15. Uh the last Madison Farm and Artisan Market will take place this Saturday. They have a lot of uh holiday shopping available, so please visit. Uh the secret Santa giveaway is back shop in Madison on
Saturdays between 12 and 3, and you could be eligible to win a Madison gift check from 25 to $100. The search for Rosie the Reindeer continues through Saturday, December 13th. Madison gift checks are also a for
purchase at Citizen Bay. The Madison Community Arts Center is very busy. Uh there's a music open night mic on December 10th at 7. and the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey will
present a holiday show for free on December 21st at 2 PM. On Monday, December 22nd at 7, Show Us Your Shorts is the monthly event for local filmmakers and film enthusiasts to share their storytelling. Uh, all of this is information that can be found on
rosenet.orgmc. >> Thank you. And health, Mr. Forte. Thank you, Mayor. For the month of November, the health department completed um 17 retail food food inspections, investigated six environmental complaints, provided physical exams and immunizations for three children,
immunizations for four adults, three homebound visits, and investigated four reported communicable diseases. There will be a rabies clinic held this Saturday, December 13th, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. It's free and will be held at the Volunteer Ambulance Corps at 29 Prospect Prospect Street. Respiratory
illness, flu in particular, is starting to uptick. The health department would like to remind residents to wash hands frequently, continue consider masking when in public places, and stay home if they're sick. This year is expected to be a severe flu season, and we are already seeing an increase in ER visits for respiratory illness. If a resident
needs a flu shot or COVID vaccine, please contact the health department to receive one free of charge. Also, the health department is supporting and encouraging health in all policies. This is essentially about bringing health to the table during planning stages of large projects and is something that uh
really needs to be discussed at a department by department level. There was a call today between myself uh the president of the board of health, our health officer and uh administrator Ray Cody to talk about how to make this happen. So there'll be more to come on that in the coming months. Thank you, Mayor.
>> Very much. Communications and petitions. >> Uh yes, Mayor. Mayor and council received an email dated uh December 3rd. from resident Mark McBride regarding um comments proposed building at Gerald one and um
an email December dated December 8th from resident Cynthia Bernstein regarding gas leaf blowers. >> Now we move on to our first of two invitations for public comment. This one is limited to our agenda discussion
items and the resolutions. if you wish to uh speak on any other topic. We'll have a second uh opportunity later in the meeting. So these are the ones or agenda discussions. You may comment on the 2026 climate action recommendations
and also the open space trust fund and five-year capital plan. Of course uh since you haven't heard about those those you can always comment about those after the uh at the next session. And then um these are the resolutions you may comment on. Resolution 325
establishing the um Madison 2026 ad hoc municipal pool advisory committee. Um this will be uh 10 member who are residents, one liaison and I'll be appointing them under new business at the end of the meeting. Um and this is
going to be a very hands-on committee committee related to marketing programming and preparing for a transition into a new entity in 2027. Resolution 326, resolution uh adopting the uh climate uh recommendations which
you're about to hear about. Um and then uh resolution 327 awarding contract to Antonio Reggga Estate Landscaping in the amount of $9,750 for gear fence repairs at the uh MRC.
This is funded through ordinance 21 2019 and resolution 250 2025. Resolution 328 is appointing Alyssa Hton position of ski program assistant supervisor at the rate of $30 an hour with no benefits.
Resolution 329 approving temporary signs for the Madison Cadam Coalition uh primarily through the month of December. Resolution 330 is approving raffle license applications submitted by Drew University in on January 24th.
Resolution 331 approving raffle license applications submitted by the Madison area YMCA on for January 25th. Resolution 332 is awarding contract replacement of the boiler at DPW Garage to Environ LLC
under a state contract uh co-op at $13,224 and this is funded through ordinance 522025. Resolution 333 2025 is approve and raffle license for PTO Central Avenue
School in on January 30th. Resolution 334 is um to approve an insertion of item of revenue budget for this year's budget. This is $5,845 for the MASA grant. Resolution 336 is
another insertion of uh revenue. Um and this is the uh part one of our uh grant from the Heartley Dodge Foundation, $1.2 million. Resolution 3 336 is approving raffle license application for the friends of
Madison Public Library March 21st. Resolution 337 is authorizing change order request from Bullet Electric, Inc. in the amount of $2,850.94 bringing the total contract to 2,99696,350 for the MRC solar
uh carport project. Resolution 338 is resolution rejecting bid for the Heler Center restoration renovation u rebid and authorizing negotiation of a contract. And resolution 339 is authorizing award of agreement with
Animal Control Solutions LLC. So, you may comment on any of those resolutions or the two agenda items. If you wish to comment on those, you step up the lect turn, state your name and address, write the same on the uh clipboard, and then state the resolution or the agenda item
you're commenting on. If you want to comment on anything else, that'll be coming up later. Anyone wish to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close this part of the meeting. We now move on to invit agenda discussions and the first
one is the uh 2026 climate action recommendations. Rachel well that might be tricky to make a presentation in that case. Um, >> does have the power >> I sent it. Uh, okay. So,
I have it on my tablet here. Uh, >> we'll all gather around. >> All right. Yeah, we will we will uh switch around. So, because In local government, we have to be flexible and ready anything comes
our way. >> Why don't we do the open space trust fund and then we'll >> go back to Rachel and then we'll open space trust fund and fiveyear capital >> plan's done all the work. >> Okay. Uh good evening.
Um, so the open space uh recreation historic preservation trust fund um, as Councilwoman Erlick uh, mentioned earlier this evening did have kind of a a slow uh, year, not a lot of activity.
Um, we uh have the inflows each year, the tax levy being the largest amount. Uh, two cents out of every $100 uh, of assessed value uh, into our open space every year.
Uh we also received uh just shy of 70,000 in field rental and user fees for the MRC and the various fields in town. And then each year we are able to use some of the funds from uh various green
acres that we've received uh over the years to pay down the land portion of uh some of the people have um and then the the major outflows um
bond payments uh debt uh there was various um expenditures uh towards um through forest expenses, expenses for the Masonic Lodge. Um and as you can see, the field rental and
user fees that we collect every year are always taken out. Those automatically go into a reserve set aside um where we are building up money to go towards turf res at the MRC when it's needed. Um so that
is always earmarked right away. Um and then this We only had um three projects that uh we uh earmarked through ordinance or resolution set aside the money for. Um there were construction
plans um set up for the uh early trades and crafts museum. Um there was uh 75,000 towards habitat restoration. That's going to be a multi-year project that 15,000
Um so the interest this year this was one of the categories where we had big drop around um 2023 and 2024 saw the interest r drastically back around where it should be. It's a little bit lower this year
but um we're going to end up Um so the field um the turf surface at the MRC um our debt payments on that are going for another three years. Um and that is around the lifespan that we have left.
So um the recreation director um is going to be investigating options for um replacement of the church. Um and again the uh the reserves that we have uh towards that reskinning
are currently around 880,000. So we've got a good chunk of money saved upwards. Revenues um do vary year to year. 2020 was obviously a bad year for um rentals and user fees. Um,
you know, we may receive a little bit more before the year is done. This is this report is through the end of, uh, we are back to the premic. Um and as I had um said, we always uh
appropriate the uh funding for any ordinance, any resolution for a project that we're doing. Um we always encumber it immediately just like we do with our capital funds so that um we uh have it
set aside and we know what our true available balance is. Next. This is the um the debt schedule. Um the original debt from 2013. It was uh two sections for the land and for the turf
field. Um the turf field is wrapping up in 2028. Any questions? >> I like the way that the user fees are put aside to reskin the field. I think that's very smart. Just a quick question. I noticed that the last couple
years they've been steadily going down. Is there a reason for that >> that you're aware of? >> That I don't know. I don't know that. Um I'll have to circle back with you. >> Okay. >> But other than this, this presentation's
very good and you know, we look like we're in good shape to maintain those fields. Thank you. >> Other questions. the um the the portion that ends in three years is uh for the fields. Um the
uh land portion will continue the field portion is uh I believe is it about 88,000 a year in principle or Yeah. Yeah. And that's um
Yeah. Just been worked down every I was just questioning if you can use you're not you're gonna have $85,000 a year that you were paying for the last 20 years that you won't have to pay anymore. >> Correct. >> And that go towards the land bond.
>> Or you figure out >> Yeah. that >> right >> that amount will just basically >> right right cut it okay thank you >> any other questions or comments
fiveyear capital plan >> I guess we could >> why don't you we'll do fiveyear capital and uh Great. Mayor, mayor, as you know, we um do an analysis of the five-year capital plan
and a presentation of it every year at this time. The main goal is to have funding um and an understanding from council that we're comfortable with doing the road reconstruction, the million overlay projects. So in early January, even though we won't have the entire budget passed, we can advance
funding ordinances for those two projects and then go out to bid in the winter and get a successful um a successful bid so we can do the work um during the summer. Archie, if you go to the next slide, please. I want to introduce uh Ryan Fury, who we all know,
and Jim Savage, who's our new um burough engineer. They're going to be presenting uh the five-year capital plan. Um, and again, we're focusing on the engineering side of things. The entire five-year capital plan as a draft has been disseminated to the governing body and will be posted on Rosenet um in a few
days. But, uh, Jim and Ryan are here to talk about roads and sewers. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. It's great to meet you all. I've had the privilege of working with a few council members, but officially it's my first time meeting the rest. So, uh, thank you for your time. um excited to be here as
as the burrow engineer and um it's been a busy few weeks. So, let's get right into um next year's road reconstruction. So, um next slide actually, please, Archie. And one more, please. >> So, the highlights, there's a lot that goes into our asset management plan, but what you need to uh what I really want
to highlight tonight is um Shady Lawn Drive. We have full plans um ready to bid in February, as Jim explained. the keynote on that uh Shady Lawn Drive project with the star is we receive back $500,000 in local aid. So while we're making a large investment, we do get
that money back upon successful completion. Um additionally working with the police department, another highlight I'd like to share with you is the Madison A and Danforth intersection. That's going to be a critical intersection as Geralda develops. Um we've had an awesome meeting with the NJ
DOT commissioner and uh Captain Longo and patrolman Draco. We have some exciting um innovative plans to make that a safer, better intersection. And so the first 2026 expenditure would be a design and then we try to execute in 27 or 28.
Another uh plan here is the Elmer Street parking lot. So what you'll see is a smaller portion for design services next year and then move ahead in 27 uh to redo that parking lot close to downtown. So that's always a good thing. And then lastly, um Waverly Place. So um I'm new
to M This has been talked about and planned for a long time, but there's a lot of technical things that go into that state intersection. Um, how that is safe for pedestrians, better for cars. There's a lot of engineering into the traffic signals that we can lean on our new our new friends at the NJ DOT. Um,
so we're really excited about that project. Um, before I go to Millian Overly, are there any questions at this time on reconstruction? Okay. And then sorry before I move on I want to say that um there's a a whole host of other projects that we have and I'm happy to share um in detail on the
report that you're you all receive and will be posted publicly. There's a lot of additional reconstruction projects phased out in the next five years. Um Archie, can you go to Milling and Over. So again, uh the first three are East Street, Dogwood Drive, and Hardwood.
Those are ready to go to be bid in uh February. Um the other exciting thing about those and is that we received $283,000 back from municipal aid from an NJ do cost share. Um so like uh Jim said, we're going to execute those uh projects at the best time in the spring
summer next year. Um the other uh highlight I'd like to share is we're part partnering and have a meeting again with Morris County Engineer on several uh critical county uh intersections along Green Village um tomorrow morning. And um that's another great partnership
with uh the police. This is to make the Wilmer pedestrian crossing uh safer. And the other uh improvements would be along Woodland and Glenn Wild, very outdated intersections. Um so those will be um cost shared with the county. Uh the other great thing about partnering with
them is uh we pay 60 and they pay 40%. So we again get to allocate funds uh together with uh the county. And then the remaining roads just to give you an insight into like our asset management program. We uh analyze the pavement condition index of the surfaces. There's
a lot of uh technical details into understanding why why which roads are chosen and which ones are not. And there's also like a criticality factor to the bureau. So we work together with uh internally with the administration, police and engineering and we list projects that we'd like to mill and
overlay. So the ones that you see that are not highlighted are also able to be executed next year and we do plan on doing most of those. So that's it for u both of these subjects. There's a lot more roads as the years go out that are in the detailed plan but I wanted to
highlight what's presented here tonight. Next will be Ryan talking about our storm water and sanitary. Yes. >> Yes. >> Okay. Sorry. Nice to meet you. >> Yeah. Thanks for coming out. Good presentation, short and to the point. >> So, can I ask you a question about
something in your first days of the milling overlays? >> Yes. >> projects. >> And I don't know if you know about this, but from Green Village Road south >> going towards Shunpike. >> Yes. >> Right. Past the by the golf course. When you get to Lyrop sidewalk stops and
there is people that walk continue to walk whatever for shopping down there. So, I don't know when we're doing that work if it's feasible to add a sidewalk or even when we do it with asphalt >> to make a walking path. And I don't know if this is the right place to ask that
question. >> It it's >> sorry, it certainly that's been something uh discussed in complete streets a county road and um >> y >> one of the things we've been trying to encourage the county to do is to come up with their own complete streets policy because it is frustrating to um you know
when we did um We did Central Avenue, we did the sidewalk, they they did the road. >> So, it's something to look at. It's not planned out yet. >> Yeah. >> One of the things again with presentation we we had asked and was talking to uh Councilwoman Eric about
this earlier is um any project that's strictly related to pedestrian safety such as sidewalks and all that, we should have a separate category. So we can track those and also show that the investment we are putting back into safety the um
I think the the engineering for that uh section of Green Village Road will will be involved. So that's that's a major project. >> Okay. Okay. >> And apologies we have that in phase for 2029. So it's in your full report and we can we can also work together with you
on that. But it's it is the next thing programmed or on our on our radar. >> Um so if funds do become available maybe we can accelerate that but we are we do have our eyes on that one. >> Or if you ask the county >> the county right now the county is still
um curb to curb. They don't even do curbs. Inside the curb inside the curb is their business. We're >> responsible for sidewalking. >> Sorry about that. Thank you. Sorry. No, no problem. Just one quick note, and this is probably uh just a
dangling thing that's been on there for a while, but Prospect from Maine to Kings. Um there will be a well, there's an improved project there at the corner of Lincoln and Prospect. Um that will likely be
getting underway next year. um or hopefully gets underway next year since it's been approved. So, we just want to watch that we don't repave a street and then have the developer tear it up for the purposes of their development six months or or a year later.
>> Great point, Councilman. And I've forgot to mention uh we've been doing a lot with PSEG or they've been doing a lot in our town. So, we have a meeting again tomorrow to coordinate and sync again on the latest and greatest. What roads are they tracking and are we tracking and don't get each other's crosshairs. So, to your point, we're we're also
monitoring those things. >> Great. Thanks so much, >> Rachel. Thank you, James. I appreciate your uh coming out for this first presentation and diving right in. Um the one project I expected to see, maybe not in 26, but
certainly in one of the nearer out years, was a sidewalk project for Union Street that Complete Streets has been talking about. Um D Harrington supported um some analysis of of um that sidewalk
uh plan. Even talked about planning some community outreach. So um I think we should maybe be more clear about if we're going to go forward with that soon, what year we're planning for or we're keeping this under uh keeping our
our cards close to our chest on this one for some reason. But this is an important project that completes trees has been talking about for a while. Do you know, mayor, um what it seems odd that it wouldn't appear at all in five years since it's been >> I think we've done some design work on it already.
>> Yeah. So, uh just a note to circle up with Dennis, see what the status of the Union Street sidewalk project is. >> Absolutely. And um we'll we'll look into that. And this the great thing about this is we can it's a plan. It's a road map. So, we can add and execute and
priorities change. So, We'll follow right up on that one. >> Thanks very much. >> Thank you. So, uh, just a couple things. So, one, I think, um, the connectivity with sidewalks is something that falls squarely into what I was talking about before in terms of health and all
policies. Actually, when we were on the phone today, we were talking how uh it's exactly engineering who probably has uh the bulk of this within the bureau when we look at it in terms of opportunity, no matter what we're doing, whether it's roads or other infrastructure projects, what have you. The other thing is, can
you just for the benefit of the public elaborate a little bit around what PSEG is doing with the high pressure gas lines and road replacement versus what the Bureau of Madison does? because I know right now there are things that are happening that are that are in flight at
the moment and that's PSEG. They're correct me if I'm wrong. They're replacing gas lines with high pressure and they're redoing the roads at their expense when that's happening. Right. Those are not burrow projects. >> Well, there correct there there always are projects because there are
infrastructure. But um for prior to my time, I believe uh the administration worked out a tremendous deal with PSNG as they came in to uh install these high pressure gas lines and improve upon their infrastructure. Um we were able to have them do all the milling and paving
on on their at their expense. So tremendous taxpayer savings to the bureau. Um I was not here at the time that that that uh deal was was made. Um but we do have to work in tandem with them so that our capital plan is not duplicating efforts or whatnot like we
just discussed. So um not sure if Ray or Jim want to add to if I spoke correctly on how that arrangement works, but that's my understanding. for them is that if for some Thank you for putting it on. Uh uh if for some
reason um their work is close to when we're going to be doing it by having them doing the excavation and then we agreed to do the paving, we then horse trade and get them to do additional roads in town. And we like it when they harden the infrastructure and make this investment in our community. And they're pretty well substantially complete in
Madison. We're well ahead of our surrounding neighbors at having our infrastructure installed. And Jim, I did want to compliment you. We're not used to engineer talking less than an hour. So this is great. So >> I've been up here a long time so I'm trying to get off. >> So So thank you and Ray. That was very
eloquent in the point that I was trying to make. I don't think the public was really aware of that coordination. Tom, >> one more question. Sorry. So, I I noticed here uh that we potentially in 2027 have a project for the Elmer lot.
So, the Elmer lot is a lot uh behind Main Street and it's proposed $950,000. I remember hearing a number mayor and Ry correct me if I'm wrong. If we wanted to build a parking deck in town, it would cost about $30,000 a spot. Is that
right? That's an old number. But yeah, >> is it less now? >> Four. >> What's made out of wood? But let's say if it was $30,000 and we made a 100 sp space parking deck, that's $3 million. We're a third of the way there with this money. So, it might be something that
>> Yeah. The one thing we we have looked at the challenge with the Elmer Street lot is the >> y >> um people don't realize how much of that parking lot is actually private land. So without the cooperation of the private owners, it's almost impossible to uh
have a good deck with ramp space and all that, there's not much left once you have to get up to upper level. So that would be a tough spot to >> Well, there's only one way to find out if you want if you want to think about adding some parking to the downtown, which we know is going to be a challenge
because we're hopefully bringing more shoppers and visitors to the town. So it's one spot that's we're going to spend money on. It's a lot of money or a small lot. We don't know. >> Um, one key highlight to answer or on that same track, Councilman, is basically we have the ability to direct
or drive design in 26. So, if those ideas come into play, we can explore them. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions, comments? >> Very well done. >> Thank you. Thank you. Will be Ryan to
take you through our storm water and sanitary program. Good evening everybody. Uh so I'll be talking about the storm water system today. Um a lot of the line items that you're going to see up here from institutional knowledge that we want to just address our storm water management
practices whether it be increasing pipe sizes maintenance on our outfalls. The uh item I wanted to recommend um bring your attention was the INI study or the infiltration inflow evaluation.
So basically the idea with this um the study would be to like target areas in the burrow uh that we know are points of concern data from our pump stations our stations that we can see high levels or increased
flow that uh is kind of like problems in those certain areas. What we would like to do is a thorough evaluation of streets that are kind of close to those pumping stations to kind of narrow down where we think the pipe those pipes are either degraded or there's problems
there or there's like infiltration from roots and stuff like that. So uh with the study that'll help narrow down our focus and then we can make more of a targeted approach to maint and the idea would be that if we improve
those pipes and make it there would be less flow coming into those pipes which in turn would reduce the amount of flow that goes to our treatment plant and hopefully that equates to savings. So that's kind of like the full circle
idea. I just wanted to I know that's a big I wanted to at least explain that everything else is more just maint but obviously if there's any more questions about it
>> two two quick one Right. Will the um infini study also track illegal be able to track illegal hookups of some pumps and things like that? So uh no to be perfect
uh but you know uh to be more nuance with it like uh it it'll identify problems right and if we fix those problems in that area and we're still seeing those increased demands uh you can make a reasonable
connection right somewhere fix if we address it and we fix it and we still have the same level of flow that we're seeing that way. So people understand when um we have a substantial amount of storm water
getting into our sanatory system our al our what we pay for sewage treatment plant is based on our flow from Madison into the uh plant in chatam. So we would be paying for storm water that shouldn't be in there and
how to do that >> right. Yes. Yeah. So you know the treatment plant they don't care what's no matter what storm water is the project you have west lane on here as part of your 2026 did we do that
already we do that this year right you did some of it there's more >> yes >> it's a budgetudget Of course. And then hold the lane. >> Yes, sir. >> It's going to help me. Some of that water ends up in my driveway, so that will be good. Thank you very much.
>> Yes, sir. >> Yeah. So, that was um and then on the for the sanitary sewer side, um again, it's going to be targeting maintenance. We want to make sure upgrades
there so on and so forth. The two big expenses right here obviously are going to be Danforth Bailey access the Danfor access ement because right now you know currently just like
there have a difficult time. So you guys access the pump station upgrades. Um, you know, we did a did an evaluation of all of our
pump stations and I went around everything. This is just normal wear and tear, pumps, piping, valves, all that stuff over time, right? So, you want to address it,
right? The recommendation here is just to allocate money those pumping stations um and then use them to upgrade them. So that way we're kind of set up for success and there's no surprises.
Uh that's essentially uh the sanitary um question. I have one. So New Jersey, the state of New Jersey, the D is getting very um focused on watershed improvement planning and
mapping. And I know that there are requirements we have to I believe completed our our mandatory wershed mapping in this past year. It's due to the state in 2026, but then there's like a whole cascade of other requirements. We have to submit a
uh water quality improvement project by 2027 and then water quality improvement locations and implementation is due in 2028. So, it's just a series of um D requirements that we as a bureau will need to step up to meet. So, as we think
about road improvements and storm improvements. There's a lot of overlap with green infrastructure and how we can improve our water quality um through um green infrastructure to you know clean and reinfiltrate water. So I'm not sure
if the engineering department is thinking about how these things come together, how we're going to use um recommendations and and work that volunteer committees have done. For instance, we do have a fiveyear plan for green infrastructure um uh that was
developed uh last year and we should determine a next location for for a uh a green infrastructure project here in the burrow. But I think in 2026 it'll be um it'll be a great opportunity now with uh
James Savage on board to start thinking about how all these things come together so we can be planning and and um documenting this work in an integrated way both you know to improve outcomes here in the bureau and also to meet our state obligations for water quality. So
I'm looking forward to that work. >> Yeah. Likewise. comments or questions. >> Ryan, could you talk a little bit about there's been a lot of discussion about proposed development at Drew University
at all the farms. How do you approach it on behalf of the engineering department in terms of our utility infrastructure and whether we can meet that anticipated need and what type of work and modeling have you been doing with your team and along with Jim's help? >> Yeah, that's a great question. Thanks, R. Uh so what we've been doing is taking
a thorough evaluation of the entire burrow for all three utilities right and what we do is uh we've been working with our consulting engineer about modeling those systems right so what they do is they take live
data from water sewer kind of just from like flow metering data that we have hard that But that's that's all data. And what we've been doing is comping that data as
well as looking at tank level system, our online monitoring system, and basically taking all of that information and putting into these computer simulations output saying whether or not yes or no can work. Right? That's like the
layman's terms of it all. Uh so uh what we've been uh what we found is that uh the water side we have um a very good allocation. We have a lot of um plent of water in the foreseeable future.
We've been doing really well with preventive maintenance with um cleaning up of the aquifers to make sure that those are replenishing our wells and producing the same amount that we're kind of which is good. electric same thing. Um,
we worked with a consulting engineer on that very familiar with the burrow and has a lot of work here in town us. So, One of the reasons why I want to do an
INI study is to help improve but have essentially just kind of restricted by our our current pipes, right? So we have we don't have big enough pipes to handle what we have kind of currently in
certain areas which we need to address over time. But uh because as you know like the conveyance system is basically used composed of pump station and gravity just gravity feed lines and then just
shoot it down. So uh what we're finding is that some of the areas you know of anybody or developers or anything. So uh what we've been finding is that a lot of the are over capacity and we need
to address those items especially if you're looking to develop the town more and bring more to service everybody properly and make sure that's very long um
answer but I hope that that kind of put it all together. So two things though. So the sewer needs to go from point A to point B. So it starts here. It ends up on PC Avenue in Chattam at the joint meeting. We did about an $8 million expansion three or
four years ago. So we have plenty of capacity in the process. The concern is getting it from A to B. >> Right. >> So if there's utility infrastructure offsite off a developer site generated by that developer, who are we asking to pay for that? >> The developer.
>> Yeah. I'm Yeah. No, I'm so Yeah. trying to lead the witness. >> I hope I answered that right. So, uh but uh no, yeah, I to Ray's point, right? So, like if uh if we are develop, right? So, that's that's the one on the
table that we're talking about um that area specifically the pipes are under sized right. So, currently we're at above 50% capacity, but standards, right? existing. So, no development, just what we have in
that area currently. You add more units or houses or whatever you're going to look to add over there. It's just going to compound that effect, right? So, what you want to do is you don't you don't want to encumber that um
responsibility like we want to put that on the developer because problem is coming from the development like existing we're fine can handle everything. push everything downream. We can, you know, service the town the way that we're supposed to. But it's just kind of like
you're adding more into an already back. >> Thank you for that graphic. >> It's kind of the best way I can put it. >> Um, yeah. Sorry guys. That was But I got the point across, I guess. So,
>> um, there >> questions. >> Thank you, Ryan. >> Thank you. >> Now, now we'll go back to uh climate action recommendations. That has been loaded up there and ready to go. Right.
So um the climate action committee has been working through our annual climate action process which you can see on the next slide. We have this annual process by which uh the committee reports the
progress that we make towards our goals. Madison, as we all know, adopted climate goals to cut carbon pollution and increase our resiliency to the changing climate. So that report was made in September of this year. the the committee working with uh burough administration and department heads
spent October and November thinking through what worked, where we need to make improvements based on that report and is now recommending some actions uh for the governing body to consider and adopt. So you can see here on the chart, we're all the way out in December about to make our um uh
proposal for recommendations and we'll ask the governing body to adopt those recommendations by resolutions so we can build them into our planning for 2026. Next slide. So these should look familiar. Our climate action recommendations are organized by these five objectives.
They cover both energy and resiliency for climate action. And this year we have six recommendations. three in the accelerate renewable and clean energy category and three in the improve energy efficiency and affordability category.
Next slide. Here's the first three. This is focused on clean energy. So um as we all know or as we you may know we currently have a cap on the size of uh solar PV arrays that are permitted in
the burrow. Um this is because we have a delicate balance with how much electricity we want to generate in the burrow. How much we uh rely on revenue from selling electricity in the burrow. And um the idea of opening up the field
to larger uh like nonprofits or commercials installing large solar installations is a delicate balance. And the proposal here is to discuss with an energy economics consultant that could model
this and perhaps propose uh and rule changes to help the bureau understand the impact of allowing larger solar customers. It's quite a complex interaction and so the recommendation is to speak with an economics consultant that specializes in energy to help us
make this determination. Right now Jim is kind of a oneman show in a lot of ways and Jim has a lot going on. Jim's getting into the pool now, right? So maybe uh the the climate action committee strongly recommends that we get some
support for these complex technical economic and energy issues. Um it's quite a lot for our bureau to to manage by itself. Uh the committee also wants to recommend that in addition to the current electric utility rebate program that we have for
EV chargers, heat pumps, um and uh home equipment that is energy efficient, we proposed to add a rebate uh for residential solar installations to help encourage and incentivize people to install PVs. We saw in our climate
action um our annual report that we're really lagging in terms of rooftop uh PVs in the burough right now. We are not increasing the rate of adoption. We just have a few new customers every year adding rooftop solar on their homes. Um the rebate amount might be, you know,
relatively modest uh relative to the cost of installing the system, but it shows that the bureau is committed to it and wants to encourage it that it's a priority for the bureau for people to install rooftop solar. So, we recommend adding this to the existing utility rebate program.
And then lastly, Chief Misha is interested um in shading the cars, the cruisers in the public safety parking lot. And he made the uh request that we consider a solar carport, similar to what we did at the MRC, but on a smaller scale um to have the dual benefit of
shading the cars, keeping the snow off them, um and generating electricity for public safety. So, something to think about uh in the out years for solar. Okay, next slide. These are the other few recommendations. that are in the improve energy
efficiency and affordability category. We know that um energy affordability is a hot topic this year in New Jersey uh all across the country and in PJM our region but especially in New Jersey where it was a a hot button issue in our um gubernatorial election. And so this
became a focus. What can we do in Madison to think about energy affordability? What levers do we have? So we, as you know, have a pilot program right now in place for residential time of use rates where there's peak, regular, and offbeat uh charges for
electricity use at home. People that love time of use are really into it and they're optimizing it and they're running their dishwasher at night and charging their car during the off peak hours. But most people see, even though it's on their bill broken out by category, they sort of like glaze
over when they see those categories. they don't understand how it works, how it would work for them, whether they should opt in. And I think we could do more to reach out, help people understand what it is, and encourage them to sign up. So, this recommendation is to help people understand it and sign
up for it. So, this would be um outreach to residential uh electric utility customers. The next one is uh for electric utility usage. We used to have a report from our billing and software company that was a whole burrow consumption report of how
much electricity we used and um when we were using it. But um right now we don't get that report anymore. There were some changes at the billing side when we went into time of use. I'm not totally sure why we stopped getting this report, but because they do time of use for each
customer, we know the data is there. We need to compel them to see if we can work with them to get us back on track to have a whole burrow consumption history. Um, you know, the data exists. It's just a matter of compiling it and providing it to the bureau.
The last one is complex, but I think this is really important. So, start with a note at the end. The electric utilities top 50 customers are commercial accounts. So, we have individual homeowners kind of nibbling around the edges with time of use for
their dishwasher or their washing machine, but the biggest users in our town can't do time of use right now. We don't have that capacity. Uh, and the commercial account metering infrastructure that we have, we need to look at upgrading that so that we could offer time of use rates to really help
drive down peak usage with those biggest customers. So, the proposal here is to just as we improved um our metering infrastructure for residential customers, extend that same um upgrade and uh investment in our
commercial account metering. This is kind of a big project and I know these uh last couple items, items five and six on the list are not easy for us because we have a little bit of a um challenge working with our billing and software
company and it's hard lean on them to to generate new reports and new data for us. But we have we spent so many years getting these smart meters in place, investing in this infrastructure. I think it climate action committee strong recommendation
is that we keep pushing to get the most utility out of the system that we know spent a lot of time and effort getting installed. So these are the next steps to realize the benefits of that. So the next couple slides are just a summary of some of the things
that the climate action committee volunteers are going to continue to work on. These are initiatives that are already in progress, ongoing work. Some of these stem from previous year's recommendation and they run out uh for several months or years because they're longer term projects.
So, this is work that the committee will continue uh to pursue um with department heads and administration. These should look familiar because we've talked about them before and they relate to past year's recommendations. Um we've worked with Ryan for instance on the last item
um continuing to work on the GIS map of the electric utility. Ryan's expertise in using our GIS map and plugging in paper map data that we have and putting it in GIS has been really helpful and we hope to continue to advance that project. Um
um finalizing the purchase of the EV senior bus. This is a project that we've had, you know, in our sites for many years. Um and and the climate action committee and special shout out to Peter Freed who's been working very hard on this for a long time. We really want to help the bureau to get the comfort level
that they need to get a bus that we feel com confident in investing in. So, I hope we can get over the finish line with that one soon. Um, and the next slide pertains to recommendation from last year. Last
year's recommendation was to create electrification plans for two municipal buildings so that we could do what we did with Heartley Dodge Wing and the Hiller Center and come up with a plan to replace our obsolete fossil fuel systems as they reach the end of the service life with efficient heat pump equipment.
The issue is um we identified the two best candidates for that yet. And so we'd like to work with the engineering in the coming year to figure out which buildings are most likely to need that replacement and then is the plan for those buildings. We also want to expand energy efficiency to businesses. We've
done a lot with our residential customers, but I think um we could do more to reach out to spe to certain businesses in town that we think would benefit from, you know, we could learn more about their needs for energy efficiency and improvements and electrification and sort of work with them. one-on-one basis to help them make
those improvements and sort of be a poster child in Madison for um our business customers. And then the last slide uh has to do with resiliency. This gets a little bit into what I was just mentioning to Ryan before. New
Jersey is pretty ambitious in terms of having requirements that municipalities step up and um prepare for uh climate change that we're facing already. So um we have to submit for instance a climate
change related hazard vulnerability assessment as part of our next master plan update. Um the climate action committee is interested to know how social vulner vulnerability which is one of the areas of study for our committee is addressed in this assessment and we also want to work with the bureau on the watershed
improvement plan and uh help to support um green infrastructure um actions and projects that will help us improve our water quality. And then the final one is even though the climate action committee hasn't been
directly involved in the discussion of gas power leaf blowers, we want to support the EC and the burrow where that conversation is already underway. So these last few slides, like I said, are initiatives that are in progress that the committee will continue to
volunteer and support on and contribute where we can. But tonight, we're asking the governing body to consider the recommendations and we have a resolution tonight to endorse them uh to pursue in the next year. It's a lot of work and just because we
say we're going to pursue these in 2026 doesn't mean on December 31st of next year we get the green check mark and say we did it, we're done. But it means that we start to put some focus and effort and commitment behind those in the coming year and run it out as far as we
can and commit over time to making those improvements. So, um, I'd like to ask for your support for this resolution tonight. >> Thank you, Rachel, and thank you to all the groups that have contributed to this. I know you guys are a small but mighty force um working to kind of move
these together. I think the six climate action recommendations are all laudable goals um that we should try to get behind. There are a couple um in particular that I think you know the devil is certainly in the details and as you mentioned these are sort of setting
our our starting point for 2026 and and see where we can get um you know certainly what the details of the electric utility rebate program for solar installation and whether or not we think we could
make a dent in you know it's one thing when you say hey we'll give you and I forget what the number is, you know, 600 bucks for a hot water heater that cost you $1,800, but a $40,000 solar rooftop install. What's the
threshold that makes it even reasonable to do it, right? And and do we have the ability to support that? But I I think ultimately it's a good thing to explore. Um I do like the idea of bringing in a consultant and really um someone with
real expertise on that. Again, nothing against Jim and his fine work, but I think it's a much more complicated uh piece. The other thing that I would just comment on is I love the idea of time of use for commercial accounts and I know
we've been somewhat of um slow rolling in some ways the uh the residential aspect of that. I would suggest that if we are going to invest in the infrastructure for those commercial accounts that time of use for commercial
accounts is not optional that we put the meters on and we move them to time of use and they will do one of two things. they will change their behavior um or they won't but either way um that's kind of okay by us I think um so you know I I
think these again are are laudable goals um and on the utility usage report if all they're not doing for us is giving us an aggregated report if we we have we know we have the data right we know we
have the raw data let's get that and we can figure out a way to get the aggregation done in short order. >> This is one of those things where I feel like Jim is cringing because every every step of the way working with our billing company has been um really painful. And
so you wouldn't even think this would have to be like a goal. We should just be able to get it. But that hasn't happened yet. And so we're really want to say that we should make find a way to make it happen. So thanks for your support in that regard. I would uh
uh agree with Eric on the commercial time agree. I I would like to know if we're going to move in that direction, how it could apply to some businesses because obviously businesses are usually there during the day. They're not able to do their laundry at night in their commercial office
buildings. I I don't know what would be the application or how maybe they'd have to be an assessment. So, when you go to make a presentation to them, here's what we propose you could do during the day to save money. If you have windows in your offices, turn the lights off. I'm not
really sure. That might be a little complicated, but it's it's something that's admirable for us to move forward. I am disappointed, too, that we can't pull information out of our uh high-tech new metering system. So, Jim, you got that on the radar. Is that you, Jim, or
somebody else who should be working on it? I'm just mentioning your name, and I don't know who's responsible for it. It's a process. Okay. We'll talk to the electric utility. Who's the chair of the electric utility? Oh, me not getting anything done. Sorry about that. Okay.
The other thing um adopting EVs burrowwide. Oh, so you know this this one slide number six pertains to our goals to get the burrow to be greener in many ways. And maybe it's
your committee or somebody's going to really to uh point us in the direction of EV options for plows, for police cars, for whatever because we haven't really had anybody come to us when they
need a new truck or a new police car and said, "Oh, I researched them and there's three options." There's usually no options as far as they're concerned >> up to now. And if you're not here, we're going to have to meet somebody else or you'll be on the committee. So, I have to say uh the committee and again I I
want to give a shout out to Peter who was like our EV maven >> who has done just an incredible amount of leg work identifying potential vehicles getting demos done. He had a you know EV Chevy Blazer that's outfitted as a patrol car that you know
Westfield is using you know brought it down for our department to check out. Uh, so every department is kind of like tentatively supportive and in on it and then whenever the new vehicle order comes in, we never haven't quite gotten there yet, right? >> So
>> the good news is that the department heads understand that this is a priority and they at least to our committee and administration are tenatively open to it. And it seems like across the board we're waiting for, you know, longer
batteries so we can uh plow with a Jeep Wrangler, right? Or whatever it is. There's always some like, you know, technical barrier to to getting over the top with one of the EVs that's been proposed. >> So with this kind of like diligence and uh determination, I think eventually
we'll get one. >> Just we are not there yet. >> But I want to I want to send some appreciation to the department heads that have been open to it and especially to committee members that have been doing the leg work to identify potential. >> Yeah. >> So, it's what I what I sorry to
interrupt. What I've been noticing though is that very often we will get our packet for a meeting and there'll already be a truck on there or there'll already be a car on there. It's not like there was a proposal three months before said we're looking for a new vehicle or
something and that might be new procedure where okay, they need's there's some money appropriated already in the capital budget for new stuff for the different departments. So maybe we could start talking about it or they present it to the climate action committee. Whoever is going to be the
ones to help them and then vet it and then ultimately we can just say okay you know we couldn't find an option or here's some great options that's the only way it's going to happen and I think it's a plus to be able to go in that direction. The maintenance of those vehicles should be better you know the
the cost to operate electricity is our electricity. >> Yeah. >> So, >> so I think that's happening on an informal basis right now without without a formalized process like what you're talking about. Right. Maybe we need to codify that more. >> Sure. >> Yep. >> Okay. just as sort of an informal
anecdote. Um as we were at um National Night Out uh this last August, I I had multiple conversations with both uh Chief Wickman and Chief Misha standing out back flipping hamburgers kind of
going, "Hey, see that car there?" Which isn't a patrol vehicle. It's not a, you know, a critical piece of equipment for, you know, it's not a fire truck, right? We're not buying an electric firet truck or an electric ambulance, but here's a vehicle that we could maybe do a, you
know, Mustang Emoch or here's another option that could be truly a light duty vehicle there. And they were both kind of like, oh yeah, we should get on that next year. So now whether or not they're up for renewal or up for replacement is another thing. But I do think that we
have been sort of nudging people over the years and the nudges are finally seeing some real thought process from our department heads in that way. >> I agree. >> And Tom, I just want to point out about the um time of use for commercial accounts. We have a big first step ahead
of us first, which is just to invest in and upgrade the account metering. So we're we're ways from deciding how time of use would work, how it would be implemented. This is first an infrastructure improvement we need. >> Okay, thank you. Um, just to hear that
our top 50 users are commercials, no surprise, but do we know how big of a slice those top 50 users? So, so that that's that's a surprise for those at home didn't hear that. So 40% of the power is used by 50 uses.
>> So 50 at time of use would make a difference and how can you know years ago at the Y we actually to shave our peak charges we we put a load shedding system in there. So that meant that all the compressors would not be running at the same time and would rotate them on
and off to uh So there are ways for them to manage it and it's a business decision. Do you invest in the equipment to load or you say I'll just pay pay the price. But we've got a little ways to go. The other thing I want to make a
comment on again thanking Peter for all his research and uh you know the frustration around the fact and I've had this conversation with uh New Jersey Transit. You can't get an EV shuttle bus off an assembly line. You have to get
the chassis from here, the body from there, the motor from here, the software probably from there. And so with all these players in it, it makes it very difficult to to uh really have a bus that gets delivered quickly and that we know would definitely get delivered. And
so we're still working on it because we want our senior bus needs to be retired and we want it to be retired and replaced with an EV. So we will continue to do that work to see what we can find. But it is frustrating. I've heard a lead
time of possibly four years. We got a we got a lead on one that might be ready to go sooner. So, >> all right. That'll be good. That would be good. So, we can get an Amazon Prime van right all over the place. >> So, I I just want to I mean, Peter, who's probably um tired of hearing his
name, has come up a couple times because he's really like our EV maven. Uh but I also want to thank Mary Ellen Hennessy Jones and Kirsten Mstein who are here tonight. Thank you both for your hard work. Kathy Kathy Kaka is is the other member of the climate action committee. Um, and this is such a diehard group of
volunteers. They work so hard um and uh come up with what I hope are really meaningful suggestions to help us move forward and be accountable. So, thanks to that committee. >> It's fun for me to say to other mayors, we have a climate action committee. We
are very impressed that we are. >> Thank you all. >> Thank you, Richard. Thank you, Rachel. We'll now move on to ordinance of hearing. Will the clerk please read the statement? The ordinances scheduled for hearing were introduced by title and passed on first reading at the regular meeting of
the council held on November the 24th, 2025 were posted and filed according to law and copies were made available to general public requesting same. >> I call up ordinances for second reading. Ask the clerk to read said ordinance by title. Ordinance 50-2025.
Ordinance of the Burrow of Madison amending and supplementing chapter 195 of the B burrow code entitled land development >> and the hearing for this was held at our last meeting but the uh motion and the vote was delayed because it had to go to
the planning board. So I will now entertain a motion for ordinance 50-2025. >> Mayor I move ordinance 50. Second >> and uh council's discussion >> and this was endorsed by the planning at the last meeting on Tuesday.
>> We're going to say I was about to say >> roll call vote please. >> Miss Eric, >> yes. >> Mr. Landregan, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Carolyn Pudis, >> yes. >> Miss Hon. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. I declare ordinance 50-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the clerk to
publish notice there of a newspaper and file the ordinance in accordance with the law. Again, ordinances 5152 were adopted at our last meeting. Now we uh ordinance 53-2025 >> ordinance of the burrow of Madison amending chapter 134 of the Madison
burrow code entitled parking lots. >> I open the hearing on ordinance 53. Anyone wish to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close the hearing. Mayor, I move ordinance 53-2025. >> Second. >> Council discussion.
This is updating for the Elmer Street Cook parking lots in particular. Uh just so uh people know once this takes effect that there are permit spots and the permit spots will allow those with permits to park more than two hours. But
if they're open and you're want to shop in Madison, you can park there. as long as you move your car within the time limit >> and we'll be updating the signage accordingly. Right, Mayor? >> Right. We will be updating the signage on the budget. >> Way that's not too confusing.
>> Any further discussion? Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Hurley, >> yes. Mr. Landeran, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland, >> yes. >> Conan, >> yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. I Ordinance 53-2025 adopted and finally passed and ask the
clerk to publish notice there of the newspaper and file the ordinance according to the law. Ordinance 54-2025, >> an ordinance authorizing the Burrow of Madison and the County of Mars, New Jersey to enter into a financial agreement with RNO Madison Urban Renewal
LLC for a subdivision subdivided portion of Wonder Farms block 3, excuse me, 3303 lot 2. >> This agreement is not ready to move forward, so we will not have a hearing. I will entertain an or a motion to
withdraw this ordinance and retire the number. >> Mayor, I move to withdraw ordinance 54. >> Second council discussion. >> Roll call vote, please. >> Miss Eric, >> yes. Mr. Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Mr. Haris, >> yes.
>> Mahan, >> yes. >> Mr. Forte, >> yes. >> Now we move on to our second of two invitations for public comment. This is when you may comment on any topic. Same rules apply. Step up your elect turn, state your name and address, write the
same on the clipboard. Um, and try to keep your comments to three minutes. Give you a one minute grace period and stop you at four. >> Welcome. >> Nice to be here, mayor and council members. Um, I'm here to speak about the gas power blowers.
>> Name and address first. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Ly Edwards. I live at Free Lee Drive. 35 year res. Um, And I'm happy to be here because I I I take this important. I've never come before the council my 35
years. Uh but I I have recently retired. I'm a retired professional engineer. Uh I like to do things around my house. I'm a dutious helper. I was on the side of my house during the summer. Uh and my neighbors who I have wonderful
neighbors. Uh but as many people in the town have landscapers, um you know, the truck shows up and out comes the the the gas powered mowers and the the leaf blowers. Uh I'm on the side of my house and I have no I have no
medical problems. I have no respiratory illness, but the exhaust fumes from the leaf blowers. Uh I couldn't stay outside. I had to go inside because fumes were so strong. Now the They're very considerate. They won't
blow it at you. They won't blow the uh the debris they're blowing, but they can't they can't direct the exhaust. Uh and that exhaust, it just, you know, you know, depending on the wind, the wind blows, it it'll drive me inside. I have to go inside and close my windows. I
won't even talk about the noise. But my my neighbor was so considerate that she came outside and she saw me go inside, you know, she apologized. That's all right, Judy. I know you can't do it if you hire these people. Uh, they do it. And the landscapers themselves, I
really I really worry about their own health. Not just my own, but anybody who's using those machines. I mean, those are mostly those gasoline blades. They're two-stroke engines. Gasoline, unlike a car, they pollute far more than
gasoline. Far more. Now, the companies know that there's a lot of public opinion against them. So, they start changing to four-stroke engines, which are a little cleaner, uh, a little less noisy, but they're really not like a gasoline car engine. And a car has
catalytic converters and all kinds of other things to control pollution. But these things are really awful for our health, all of us, not just me. I I experience it directly. My house, the house, my neighbor next is fairly close, but even when her landscaper is not
there, the house beyond her, she gets like the three guys come out and you know blowing the leaves and actually let's face it they're using these gas power blow mowers not to blow leaves just grass so I mean they're like trying to rake
the grass with the leaves so even so a house away if the wind is blowing right I have to go inside and I wouldn't even bring up the noise and I have to say you know I I practice what I preach for over 23 years using a
battery powered lawnmower and I know we all know how how much batteries are advanced. Lithium ion batteries are very powerful. There is an alternative for these landscapers to use battery power. I've seen them uh one one minute.
>> Yep. Oh, one minute. Okay. Um so I even use a rake. I don't I actually compost my leaves. I don't even Uh so I I think this is a very important issue and I'm I'm really glad I can come
here and comment on I hope it's taken seriously. I'm actually really proud to see everything all these all those six points I thank you for listening and
thank you for coming to your first council meeting to comment. Uh, good evening. Muhammad Sam, uh, 36 Central A. Uh, I don't come to many meetings, but I do listen to them. Kind of conflicts with my kids bedtime. So, I
participate. You may not know it, but I do. Uh, but I did want to come in tonight um for a couple reasons. First, I'll start with a couple positive things because I don't get to see you that often, but the Cook A parking lot came out amazing. So, anybody who had a hand
in that, thank you. And it's it's beautiful. Um, Cclick Fix is the greatest tool and the response time of the town employees is amazing. So, thank you for that. Um, I live on Central so the downtown street
sweeper comes every day and whoever the current employee that does that is, he's great. Very thorough. I mean, like the downtown streets and around down it's he does a great job. Um, whatever happened with the resurfacing of Main Street a year or so
back, not the best job. Whatever they did to that, I would say don't do that again. That that uh it's very lumpy and I don't know who paid for that. Probably the state, but hopefully we don't do that again because it it shows that they didn't do a great job. Um, I would love
to see a new fence around Dodge Field. I mean, the the fence around the the park is amazing, but the the remaining fence is rusty. There's gaps in it. It's I mean, it doesn't fit in with what else has been done around the town. It's really It needs to be on the list of of
projects. Um, and now I'm going to go into gas leaf blowers. Uh, so I I use all battery powered uh lawn equipment, my lawn mower, trimmers, weed whacker. I bought the backpack leaf blower. I've used it
for three or four years and just this year I switched back to gas which I know you don't want to hear but uh the the battery powered one was just not sufficient. It didn't it doesn't do the job. I go through batteries like crazy. I have to switch them. So as just a homeowner it's difficult. I don't see
how professionals would do it. Um it's not it's not just like a easy switch. I actually I went back I just I literally just bought a gas sleeper which I didn't want to do. I I use all battery powered. Um, the battery powered one, it works,
but the battery dies quickly and it's really loud. It's It's I still use hear protection. It whistles. It's like It's pretty loud. So, it's not like a complete solution. I understand the pollution, but the other thing is I do my lawn in like a quarter of the time with the gas one. And same with like the
landscapers. They'd be they're in and out in a couple minutes where if they were using uh battery powered ones, they're going to be there for a long time. So, my suggestion is, you know, I I am very environmentally conscious which is why I switched to initially to
the battery powered but maybe a graduated approach would be um something you can consider maybe time restrictions. I'm all for that so that there's not noise issues you could or maybe homeowners could use them because that's one minute.
>> Yeah, I'm almost done. Sorry. >> So homeowners is is a much limited use. I mean, maybe some kind of uh compromise would be a good way to start. I don't know that you've said that you want to ban them 100%, but I think a graduated
approach would be something that uh would make sense. Thank you. >> Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward and I'll answer some of your questions also in a little bit. >> Hello, uh Rebecca Bertrand, uh 48 Wayne Boulevard. Um I too am at my first
meeting and I am struggling to overcome my fear of public speaking but I was very excited um when I was sent a petition uh regarding the gas leaf blowers. Um I have worked from home since since March 2020 you know no major
reason. Um so since then I've been made aware of uh the noise and health pollution caused by gas leaf blowers. Previously, I was unaware really of what was going on during the day as I worked in an office in Marstown. Um,
you know, it's one thing when it's uh spring day and I can't open my windows because of the leaf blowers, but it's another thing when it's June 24th and there's leaf blowers blowing absolutely nothing. So, I'm I struggle with uh
understanding. I mean, I'm not out there paying someone to use a snowblower when there's no snow. So, I don't know why people are paying landscapers to blow no leaves. Um, so I it is my understanding that it will be a graduated approach, a
seasonal uh ban on leaf blowers to start. Um, and I am in full support of that. I have a few videos of my neighbors uh landscapers blowing nothing um for a few minutes. Uh, I guess that's their version of looking busy just as I
think we all have done in our time in corporate America or wherever we've worked. Um, so I I uh echo I believe his name was Larry's uh thoughts on the health consequences of it. I close my
windows when I hear them revving up because I know that it's going to come in through my screens. I don't want to subject myself or my elderly dog or my cats or the kids walking home from school in the neighborhood to the
pollution from the fine dust particles that are um brought into the air. Even when there's no leaves, there's still just fine fine particles that are uh lingering in the air for a very long time after the leaf blowers are being used.
So that is all I have to say. Thank you. >> Thank you, Rebecca. I'm Rachel Mortonson at 18 Myrtle Avenue. I had no intention whatsoever of speaking, but in solidarity, I feel like I need to say this. I I have looked up
the town ordinance on noise maybe a thousand times. It seems as though that clock keeps ticking back on what time whether it's electric or gas blowers are showing up. On the weekend, it could be as early as
7 7:15 on the weekdays. I mean, I don't know how to even enforce it. I don't want to call and complain, but the commercial leaf blowers don't seem to have any repercussions for backing up the time that they're starting. So, the noise is starting even earlier. I don't
I live right near you because your street backs up to mine. Really, that's it. So to just add on to the smell, the the noise and the time. If we're gonna have a time that they're supposed to wait until starting, I don't even know how we enforce that. I mean, who do you
call to say, "Hey, they're here at, you know, 7 o'clock on a Sunday." It's nuts. Okay, that's it. >> Hello, Brian Mortonson, 18 Myrtle. Only person running my I just wanted to say that they're not gas leaf blowers. They burn oil. It's
oil that they're burning. It's disgusting and it's a real health hazard. If it was just gas, that would be one thing. And it really makes me upset because everybody refers to them as gas leaf blowers and the industry want. That's what they want you to call
them. Call them oil leaf blowers. So Brian, you got to address the the council. Sorry. >> Call them oil leaf blowers. They're not gas leaf blowers. It's just as accurate to say that they're blowing out poison. You wouldn't be able to run a car on
that. They would ban that car. So they really should be wearing respirators when they're using them. And the battery equipment works just as well or better than the gas. I replaced all of my equipment three years ago with battery
powered blowers, backpack, trimmers, you name it. I showed them to the town. I bring them to the EV expose. They work just as well. And for our town employees, if you want to keep them healthy, they either should wear a respirator when they're operating these oil burning machines or we should switch
them over to battery packs. It's probably the best thing we could do for the health of our employees because they're not going to wear respirators. So that's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else wishing to comment? >> Kirsten Wallenstein
for Westerly Avenue. Um I'm also uh as Rachel mentioned on the climate action committee and on the environmental commission. Um and one of the things that we talked about in our climate action committee is
um starting to measure not you know regardless of what initiatives the council takes but starting to measure um this equipment lawn equipment as part of our municipal or not municipal sorry just part of um EV as or part of
equipment. So if you look at transportation and equipment because if you think about it um lawn equipment is a place where people are we've heard a lot of people here um are starting to electrify. So it's a great kind of way for people to say hey you know a battery
can work just as well as gas. Um and also yeah it contributes to climate um you know it by cutting back we can help with climate mitigation. Um sorry I just wrote my notes now. Uh, you know,
the other thing is, um, just educating people that when they are leaf blowing, especially with a gas leaf blower in the spring, um, you're actually removing the nutrients from the soil, you know. Um, you know, I understand that people want to get the leaves off their grass. They
think it's going to kill it or something. Um, or they their kids want to play on it, but when you're doing it in the spring and when you're taking the leaf clippings or whatever, you're literally it's like taking Windex or something and sanitizing your lawn. So, I think that's also a message um we can
get out to people and maybe then they won't want to do as much leaf blowing with their landscaper or themselves um in that season in the off season. So, um I see a lot of people using electric uh landscaping equipment. I think from climate action, we're going to start
looking at it, measuring it. Um, and I think it's, you know, people are going to get on board because, um, at least my husband has. I can't say I scars, but we do use rakes, too. So, thank you for your support.
>> Anyone else wishing to comment back on some of K's comments in regards to the climate action plan. I think that's a really important area that we need to incorporate to the plan, not just buildings and electric um vehicles, but
also how we deal with our land care practices. Um there was a study that came out in 2023 that showed that carbon dioxide, which we all know is the leading contributor to climate change, in 2020, lawn and garden equipment in the US emitted more
than 30 million of carbon dioxide. That's greater than the total greenhouse gas emissions from the city of Los Angeles. And then um and actually Mars County is is among the top 100 counties nationwide for emissions
from lawn and garden. So we have a real opportunity here when we talk about electrification and we're already some already somewhat on our way with that with our DPW for example um to really make an impact on carbon emissions
and uh I don't have the uh statistics in front of me but also there was a recent study that shows that uh fallen leaves actually capture carbon and so when you're removing the leaves you're not
only removing the carbon that they have captured you're also adding to it with the equipment that is typically used not just blow them but then also to truck them away that's something to very much. Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward.
Mark McBride, 49 Prospect Street. I'm here today to oppose the construction of rental housing at Drew University which is a very complicated subject and packing that into three and a half minutes was a challenge. I come at this
issue from three perspectives as a resident of Madison as a member of the board of the housing authority and also as a 10year student at Drew University as a volunteer over the last 10 years. And so I look at all of those aspects of myself and I come to the conclusion that
putting rental housing on the campus is not a good idea. Three and a half minutes, two pages. I won't stop and I won't add to them. Several years ago, the trustees of Drew University brought a Mount Laurel housing lawsuit against Madison claiming
the right to develop commercial real estate on the campus. The pressure to settle this ongoing land use litigation withdrew has been building. It would appear that a settlement may be reached soon and according to members of the Madison Burough Council, the
settlement under discussion includes the construction of around 300 to 400 apartment units on 10 acres of the campus, including land adjacent to the Darthy Young Center for the Arts and a smaller parcel near Grace Church. Avalon
Bay is the proposed developer of this rental housing. Um, I'm opposed to any form of rental housing anywhere on these 10 acres of the campus of Drew University. Protecting the integrity of the Drew campus for the benefit of the students
and the community is Madison's responsibility due to the hard work by the burrow and its adviserss over the last few years. This integrity is not at risk. Madison's affordable housing plan focuses on Geralda farms and on the
redevelopment of several commercial corers in the burrow. This housing plan does an excellent job of addressing Madison's housing needs and my view is that it eliminates completely the need to place rental housing in the middle of the Drew campus.
On November 1st, the judge in the Drew University litigation ruled in favor of Madison, but made it clear that the presence of vacant land on the campus did have to factor into our obligation. In the same statement, the judge said that under no circumstances would
Madison be compelled to change the zoning at Drew University, which at the present time excludes any form of housing or other commercial development, as long as the affordable housing targets are met elsewhere in the burrow. The future of Drew University is
certainly at risk. We all agree with that. We know the reasons and they are complex. Where is Drew headed? This beautiful and historic Drew campus has been and remains remains a place of strategic importance in the city of
Madison. How do we best protect it? These are important and challenging questions. One minute. >> However, these are discussions that should not be led by land use lawyers because Madison has won the case against Drew University. This is not necessary.
There's another way to solve the problem. A real conversation can now take place about Drew University and the discussion should be led by the state of New Jersey and other higher education experts. For many years, we hope to see this great campus succeed, but the prime
directive of the Madison Council is to preserve the integrity of the campus even as the academic framework changes. Placing 350 mediocre residential re apartment units right in the middle of the campus is a terrible idea. degrades the integrity of the campus. Please do
not aid the trustees of the university in doing this level of harm to the campus. Please work with the Drew trustees to address the real issues facing the universities and do not seek these development opportunities um until because they will not solve the
problems and they will only serve as serve to further diminish the campus. Thank you for your attention. >> Just just made it. Well done. And by the way, I don't have a song. >> Okay. >> I also want to say off the record that I
do not own a leaf blower. For the last 20 years, for the last 20 years, I have been raking my leaves. Now, last month, if the the rake broke, I bought a new one. >> Thank you, Mark. Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward.
Seeing none, I'll close this part of the meeting. Just uh touching on a couple things related to leaf blower. Um this will be a 2027 uh project which I I do want to uh bring forward. There will be a lot of discussions around it to so to
make sure uh whatever steps we take we do it properly. Um I I do envision in my mind at least uh that this is a uh phased in approach with seasonal and then uh and then going from there. I've I've had conversations with uh people that have run businesses that use them.
And so we'll make sure we listen to the um the challenges that'll be faced um um gas leaf blowers do go away. As uh Ryan pointed out, it's a most of them are using a gas and oil mix which uh really
is adds to the pollution and the people think about the noise but not necessarily the pollution. So that's thank you for bringing those up also. And it's also an education which we just received from some of our residents. I was uh I was selling Christmas trees on
Sunday. They um they were doing the contractor at Central Avenue School um drowning out my Christmas carols for one thing. But uh when they got done with there, not only was every leaf gone, but I think every little piece of anything that would could feed the grass was gone
because they they they got rid of leaves and came back again with the leaf blowers to clear it out completely. There was nothing between those blades. That can't be good. So, I think part of it is the education of our residents and um you know, for the residents that have landscapers, one of the things you can
do now is just say no. you know, maybe maybe you let them take care of it this fall, but come around next spring, just say no and uh do the right do the right thing. A couple other uh quick things to hit on. Main Street paving. I I think we all agree that was micro paving done by
the state. Um I remember when it was first done, I walk across at uh Waverly Place and there's gravel that's stuck in there that, you know, I don't know how it got mixed in. It was just a poor job. And I think that's next phase is going to be the same thing. So, I'm afraid of that. But uh it could have been better.
And very interesting, I was talking to someone about one of my things on my list was the fence around Dodgefield, which uh dates back before when I worked the playground 50 years ago. Um and it really it it's kind of historic in nature, but it's historically in bad
shape right now with poles bent and pieces coming across. And it would be a major undertaking costwise, but something we should look at. Um I think I just hit most of those things. that were important and 27
I meant 26. Yeah, I'm I'm already you know I was talking earlier in the meeting that I'm thinking about 26. I'm already 20. You know how in the old days we had to write checks. We got really confused. So that's me. But uh so yes, so 26 those all sat at home said what my
what's going on here? No, we're working on it in 26. Uh any then we're we're covered. I think I covered the key things. All right, we will now move on to introduction ordinances, which there are
none because this is our last meeting of the year, so we can't introduce anything. Consent agenda resolutions. Will the clerk please read the statement? Um, consent agenda resolutions will be enacted with a single motion. Any resolution requiring expenditure 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 resolutions 325-2025 through 339 2025.
>> Any uh need to be pulled or discussion? Roll call vote, please. Miss, >> yes. >> Landrean, >> yes. >> Mr. Range, >> yes. >> Carolyn, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes.
>> All right. We move on to unfinished business, which there is none. So, approval of vouchers. Please read the voucher for us. >> From the current fund, $18,941.65. From the general capital fund, $72,7546. From the electric operating fund,
$227,600.31 from the water operating fund, $38,83263. And from the trust, $11,93148. The total is $540, $1153. >> Mayor, I move approval of the vouchers.
>> Second. Discussion call vote, please. >> Mick, >> yes. >> Mr. Landry, >> yes. >> Mr. Rain, >> yes. >> Mr. Harland, >> yes. >> Mahan, yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Under new business, as I mentioned
earlier, appointing 10 residents to our uh Madison pool ad hoc committee. And I have to say a lot of people stepped forward. So, this is very difficult process. Uh over close to 25 people
offer their services. Uh and what we try to put together is a committee that represents marketing programming and other skills that we need for this project. So it's uh Anna Davalis from
Horson Way, Caitlyn Gabriel from Hill View Avenue, Steven Lafier from Myrtle Avenue, Jay Luchori from Redmond Drive, William Okonnell from Stafford Drive,
Peter Reeri from Central Avenue, Adam Wright from Green Village Road, Julie Snider from Pomeroy Road, Paulia from Ashlin Road and Katie Zurich from uh 30 from Rosedale Avenue. I ask for
confirmation from the council with a motion. >> Mayor I move approval of the foregoing appointees. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> And I would like to entertain a motion for adjournment from Rachel, please. >> I move that we adjourn.
>> Second. All in favor?