It was a test. Let the record reflect we've reconvened with all members present. For those who are able, please rise for the pledge. And I ask you to remain standing after the pledge of allegiance. I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to
the republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. take a moment to remember those in our longtime Madison residents and part of our Madison family who we lost over the
past few weeks. William Blair, lifelong Madison resident and uh part of our burough family, died on May 19th at age of 89. uh known to many as Willie or Bill and a select few as the Reverend was born in
1936 the late William and Helen and was raised in Madison with his brothers and sisters on North Oak court attended St. Vincent uh St. Vincent and then went on to By Ellard class of 53. Served our country in the army from 58 to 60 before
being honorably discharged. On his return to Madison, he worked with Bazakis and a Laco brothers paving. And as fate would have it, he was working on audition at a home in Farm Park when a young blonde caught his eye. He eventually asked her out and they shared the first date at the old
Mars Planes Drive-In. In 1966, he married that young woman, Marielle Ellen German House, whose uh brother used to serve on the uh Farm Park council. They settled on Greenwood Avenue and had five children together. Had a 34 year career
at Burough Madison and parks department from 66 to 2000. Deeply dedicated to his work and uh making sure that the parks in his hometown were kept uh beautifully. and he always enjoyed the afternoon tea at Dodgefield with his partner in crime, the late Rudy Patelli.
And if anyone that drove down um past Madison uh memorial home yesterday saw DPW truck parked in front in honor of uh Blair on his retirement, he drove for
Leo Hines and cut lawns with one of his sons. He enjoyed nothing more than uh more than sitting in his backyard listening to classic rock, enjoying the Pap's Blue Ribbon or as it says or three um love music especially the classic
rock and Elvis and even was able to go to Graceand with his sons recently survived by his wife of 58 years Mary Ellen four sons William Kevin and our Madison fire captain James and Timothy and one sister and 10
grandchildren. You also remember Sierra Damato, long time Madison resident, passed on May 27th after a long battle with cancer at age 66. He was his wife of 38 years, Filamina, children, Antonio, Anna Maria, and Gabriella and
his brother. Born in 1959 in Brousano, Italy, immigrated United States when he was a teenager. lived in the Bronx before settling in Chadam and he met Filamino in uh high school and they got married in 1986 and
settled here in Madison. He was incredibly hard worker during his times at Romanelli's Pizza who would often make heart-shaped pizzas for his wife that said I I love you. eventually worked his way into IT becoming the head of global uh service WAN services at
Novartis where he worked for 30 years. We also remember Edward Fernandez passed away on May 23rd at age 97 leaving his wife 70 years K his devoted children Edward who was a classmate of mine uh and Coral two
grandchildren three great grandchildren. Duardo was born in Madrid, Spain in 1927. Left Spain, joined the merchant marines in the wake of the Spanish Civil War, ending up in Baltimore. Enlisted the United States Army during the Korean War and was sent to France to be
interpreter. Early at mine and taught himself how to read, write, and speak five language, five languages having despite never attending public school. He was discharged from the army. He attended NYU, helped in the GI Bill,
obtained bachelor's, masters, and PhD degrees from NYU, became a language professor at the university. He met his wife Kay at NYU dance. They were married in 1954 and he took position of language professor at FBU in Madison, eventually
become the chairman of the language department. His retirement, he volunteered at Sage Elder Care and could always be in his garden right on Dean Street. We also lost Stephanie Marie Donado, longtime Madison resident, died
on May 16th at age 93, survived by her four daughters, Darlene, Jay, Leanne, Karen, and Lorie, 13 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, and extended family members. Um she was predescased by her daughter
Tony and her granddaughter Sarah who was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and arrived at Drew University of Madison when she was just 19 years old and shortly met her after that. Met her husband the late Anthony Donado who was I think might been our first downtown
manager at St. Vincent Church. Loved being surrounded by family and friends was always ready for a party. She especially loved to dance and including just three years ago I danced with her at the Fairwood block party. Um, and it was right after her 90th
birthday. I think I had to sit down first. So it was amazing and it was well known by by her family and friends that every day at 5:00 Stephanie would unwind and join in classes Blanc and some conversation. Was a lifelong um
parishioner at St. Vincent. Uh she also after putting her daughters first and putting through school got her own masters and became a director of career development at Ruters New Brunswick going out to Freddy Dickens
working there. Also remember Lucy Lou Louie Anthony D. a lifelong Madison resident, died on May 11th, age 61, survived by his brothers Michael and Anthony. born in Brooklyn in ' 63 and in
' 67 his family settled here in Madison. graduate of Madison High and went on to a bachelor's degree at the Arizona State and had a career in the insurance industry as a purchasing manager with beneficial life insurance
administr May 22nd age 1878. was in Madison for the last 54 years. Earned her psychology degree from County College of Mars and Fairley Dickens University. Worked for Exxon Mobile for 35 years. Enjoyed cruises Alaska, the
Mediterranean Bermuda, and many family vacations. After retiring, she volunteered for New Eyes for the Needy, joined the Thursday morning club bridge in Maine with groups of friends. Recently, she's been play seen playing the bells in the All Saints
Church survived by her husband Thomas, her children Lee, Jason Scott, two two grandchildren who was previously mother. So let us take a moment to remember William Blair Damato, Edward Fernandez,
Stephanie Donado, Louis D. Roza, and Diane. Let us pass our thoughts on the families and friends that they leave behind. Thank you. There is no minutes for approval. Welcome all.
Apologize again for our delayed uh start uh tonight. We had a Senate discussion executive, but I want to welcome you to our Wednesday council meeting after a holiday weekend. A few things have been going on over the last few weeks, especially with ribbon
cutings. On uh Friday, May 23rd, I cut the ribbon at the new location for BCA Madison Animal Hospital. They have moved from their cramped, outdated location next to DAO to the rear of the Madison Plaza at the back end of the old bowling
alley. It's an amazing transformation from an old use to a state-of-the-art animal hospital. Very, very impressive uh transformation there. And then today we had uh two ribbon cutings. One for the Forum of Madison, our passive home
construction affordable housing project and community place and the soon to open on Walnut Street. The forum sets the tone for how affordable housing can be done, high quality, close to downtown and mass transit with a minimal carbon
footprint. It is truly a pri the pride of Madison. We had um most of our council members there. We were were also joined um with um by Congresswoman Mikey Cheryl who is um helped secure $2 million of federal funding to support
that project. our state senator Anthony Buo and Assemblywoman Bora Dunn. Thank them for their support. We had um county commissioners Typhoon Selene and Steven Shaw. And also speaking at at the ribbon cutting was um superintendent of the
forum who will be keeping an eye on uh all the the property there. and one of our first residents that will be moving in shortly and uh she did an amazing job to remind us why we are all committed to providing affordable housing for
Madison. It is truly done as a moral obligation and not for legal reasons only. And then after the ribbon cutting, we rushed over to Waverly Place to uh another ribbon cutting at Helen's Gifts and Thrifts and Congresswoman Cheryl
again was able to join us for that one. Uh we're also joined by Chattamboroough Mayor Carolyn Dempsey because Helen's Gifts and Thrifts is affiliated with ECLC which provides education and training for those with de develop developmental disabilities right there
in Chadam. The store will not only support the ECLC with its proceeds, but provide training opportunities for the young adult clients. So, I encourage you to check that out. That's in the on the first floor of the um couple year uh now old uh building
that replaced the old bank built one-story bank building there. And of course, uh Monday was Memorial Day with Madison's traditional parade and ceremony remembering th remembering those who gave their lives for our country and for our freedom. As always,
our patriotic celebrations committee organized a great event um and very respectful event remembering the true meaning behind um Memorial Day. But what was missing this year was Vic Schumacher who normally would have been standing there in his Navy whites
looking so proud as he uh spoke in the microphone. Vic passed away this past February, but certainly his uh spirit was felt at the ceremony as the uh committee recognized Vic in the program
also. So certainly miss him. And um last week I attended the annual New Jersey Conference of Mayors Conference uh in Atlantic City. Um there I stepped down as the president of the conference and passed the gavl on to uh mayor Jason
Sento of Dunellan and it was certainly a great honor to uh serve as the president for the past year and really represent Madison statewide and I do want to thank the uh conference for uh recognizing me as the mayor of the year
for the past uh year or so. [Applause] Commissioner Selin said you are the best mayor in Madison. So yes, you should
have told him that you were in fact the best mayor in the state of New Jersey. Yep. Just as a resident at one point uh a year or two ago said you you're the best mayor I've ever known in Madison, but I've only lived in Madison for nine years. Truly an honor, though. And I
don't think anyone is here to accept the National Gun Violence Awareness Day proclamation, but I do want to touch on this just a little bit. We obviously we do this every year in Madison recognizing gun violence awareness day, which is this year, June 6. We encourage
everyone to wear orange on that day. And uh what is sad about doing this proclam typically when I do proclamations I the proclamations are changed from year to year to talk about the improvements we've made from the previous year and it seems that every time I do this we are
stepping backwards and I and right now we have the potential to take some major steps backwards. Americans just a couple of things in here. Americans are 26 times more likely to be killed with guns than people in any other higher income
high income countries. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States. And this is in memory of a 15year-old who was killed in gun violence.
And so again, on June 6th, I want I ask you to wear orange to recognize those who have died. But it is more than just wearing orange. It is reaching out to those that can control these laws that
can get these guns off the street. I was interviewed recently by a uh student from Belgium and brought started talking about uh the guns in the United States and uh it truly is my opinion as I told
him and we keep hearing from one side that um there was right to bear arms is in our bill of rights and that's what and there was should have been no limitations that but you know there they never envisioned
automatic rifles. They never envisioned people bursting into schools, killing children. This is not what our country is about. We need to change this. So, please reach out and spread the message. Thank
you. And with that, let's move on to reports from committees. Finance and Burough Clerk, Council President Erlick. Thank you, Mayor. The clerk's office has some announcements about our upcoming primary election. Primary election day is Tuesday, June 10th, and polls are open
from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. Applications for vote by mail ballots and voter registration forms are available in our burough clerk's office or online at morriselections.org. Early voting will also take place. This will take place in
the courtroom at Hartley Dodge Memorial uh from June 3rd through June 8th from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. The finance report is brief this evening. It's been relatively quiet in the finance department the last few
weeks. I suppose they deserved a break after our busy budget season. Uh so this is uh some background information about the vouchers that we have a process for approving at every council meeting. Uh at the end of every meeting the mayor asks for approval of the vouchers and this is where the clerk reads out all of
the funds being dispersed from the various burrow accounts. The voucher register includes dispersements from the current fund which is our operating fund as well as from our capital fund and our water electric and trust funds. Tonight we have an unusually
large voucher register of over 8 There are two significant dispersements. The first is over $3 million which is the quarterly taxes being remitted to the county and the second is over $4 million which is the monthly taxes that are remitted to the Madison Board of
Education which the bureau collects on behalf of the board of ed. Council members receive the voucher register ahead of each council meeting. So we have the opportunity to review the bills being paid and the dispersements being made. Jim makes a note here that most are not very exciting, like the
$96.93 being paid to the copier company for maintenance of the clerk's copy machine. Other items are repeat bill payments like a payment of $29,365 to waste industries for pickup and disposal of yard waste in the month of April. But all of these payments are
important to keep our local government function functioning efficiently and effectively. And so while the approval of vouchers may seem mundane or ministerial, it is an a critical process in maintaining transparency and oversight. That's all. Thank you, mayor.
Public safety. Thank you, mayor. From the police department, on May 19th, officers from the community policing unit, traffic safety, and school resource held a presentation at the Madison Junior School on the topic of ebikes laws and
safeties. Officers were able to answer questions from parents and covered laws and enforcements that are forthcoming in Madison. Parents and school administration were very pleased with their presentation. Among on on May 20th, Sergeant Julian Morales graduated from
West Point Leadership and Command training sponsored by the New Jersey State Chiefs Association. The training is by selection only and focuses on leadership as a service emphasizing logic, critical thinking, and vision. Participants apply what they learned
through real time policeoriented case studies that connect organizational theory to practical scenarios. We look forward to Sergeant Morales taking what he learned back to their department. Beginning on June 9th, the Madison Police Department will once again begin
their bike he helmet safety campaign sponsored by Defalco's Towing and Mcool's Ice Cream. Madison officers will be looking for school age bike riders while wearing their helmets and issue them a ticket for a free ice cream cone.
Parents, please ensure your child is ride riding with their helmets with their bike helmets safely and wearing their helmets at all times. From the fire department, uh the fire department has been busy with its annual mandated testing of
critical equipment. Every single length of large dump diameter hose was pressure tested. Any that failed were that were removed from service. Every single fire service ladder was tested for strength and structural integrity. All three
engine pumps were tested to conform to confirm that they are pumping at their rate of 1,250 gallons per minute. All tests are conducted by a third-party ullisted contractor. The small diameter handheld
hose lines were tested by onduty firefighters using approved and FPA standards. On May 13th, the fire department was requested by the Summit Fire Department to cover the city of Summit for a few hours while they attended the funeral service for one of
their active members. Madison firefighters along with Union Township responded to several calls during that time. On May 22nd, a group of high school students participated in Day of Service at the fire headquarters. The group was given a tour
of the firehouse and equipment. You're also given demonstrations and a lecture about becoming a firefighter. The firefight fire fire department hosted another successful blood drive where 30 pints of blood was donated and they are actively looking into a FEMA fire
prevention grant to get retro kits to upgrade the NOX boxes on businesses, schools, and other buildings. And finally from the uh uh joint municipal court when comparing revenue Madison's revenue increased by
approximately 33% in April 25 compared to the same period in 24. Unfortunately there was a slight decrease in revenue compared to the previous month. The Madison Joint Municipal Court, including all four towns and police
departments, held had a slight decrease in revenue in April 25 compared to 24. The revenue for the joint court decreased by 2.9% compared to last year. Thank you, Mayor. Uh mute yourself after you deliver your
report. Uh and uh just two things to follow up on your report there. One um we are uh as you you alluded to um we are working on a ebike ordinance to enforce safety and then also a reminder to the parents that when your child wins
a wins a ticket to get that free ice cream and they ride their bicycle mools when they get downtown they should get off the bicycle and walk it on the sidewalk to Mcool's. But anyway, moving on to uh public works and engineering. Mr. Range to work on uh the athletic fields for
many of the spring sports activities. Hanging flower pacics have been uh put up downtown and will be watered and maintained throughout the uh spring and summer season. Uh DPW also assisted with the Memorial Day parade on Monday. Uh
the roads department is finishing up planting street trees throughout the burrow uh for the spring planting uh round. And the sewer department recently repaired uh storm water piping under the Elm Street uh I'm sorry uh piping under
Elm Street uh near Page Street. Chris McDougall, assistant to the director, has completed the certified public works manager course through the Ruckers University Office of Continuing Professional Education uh and has successfully passed the exam administered by the New Jersey
Department of Community Affairs for this professional certification. And uh in other certification news, uh our director Bob Duffy also recently completed all the needed requirements uh to be accredited as a certified
recycling coordinator. From the engineering department this evening, uh update on the Cook Avenue parking lot. The construction of the rain gardens has been completed and the recent rains in the last few weeks have uh gotten them
off to a good start. Uh pavement condition is being monitored and we'll be doing a little bit of remediation work uh throughout uh Cook Avenue parking lot and signage bike racks uh are still in process and will be
provided by the burrow shortly at the MRC. The solar carport project continues to make good progress. Uh the parking lot, the main parking lot there remains closed and access to the community garden is available via the sidewalk. Uh
the project completion is anticipated in July. Uh application for grants from the New Jersey DOT for improvements to Shady Lawn Drive have been approved in the amount of $500,000. a speestous remediation project for the
uh Masonic Lodge uh now the Heler Center has been awarded um and we're finalizing uh some issues uh around insuranceances and the bureau is considering its options on that one. Grant application for design of additional trails in
Summer Hill Park through the Morris County Trail Grant Program have been submitted and the road resurfacing program uh for mill and overlay lane striping and crack sealing work throughout through the Morris County co-op uh is being organized and of
course the capital funding is already in place for that. Uh roads to be milled and overlaid this year are Dogwood Drive, East Street and Harwood Drive. The next round of applications for New Jersey DOT um are due at the end of June
and several roads are being considered for those grant projects. Uh couple weeks ago, we had a uh initial walkthrough of Waverly Place uh with a consulting firm that specializes in
streetscape design uh to renew the concept work for Waverly Place. So hopefully we can get that on the docket for 2026. Uh the project will involve uh both Madison, the state historic preservation office and New Jersey DOT
as well. And um Elmer Street uh speaking of other parking lots, Elmer Street parking lot um is being evaluated by the engineering department for future improvements and a survey is currently uh underway to document those existing conditions.
And from the environmental commission uh this evening uh last well two Mondays ago I guess uh on May 19th the environmental commission held a hugely successful community brainstorm uh around the book saving
nature with your yard a panel of native plant gardeners using Doug Talamy's book how can I help to disc uh discussed some of the 499 questions that he answers in the book. I guess he couldn't quite get
it to 500. Um, Talamy is a bestselling author who previously uh did a great virtual workshop here in the burrow and talked about his previous book, Nature's Best Hope. The recording, which is still
available on Roseet, has been viewed more than 1,000 times, but if you're not one of those folks, go check it out. It's a great recording. And um that event on the 19th had 90 registrants and was co-hosted by the nature of reading
bookshop. Based on the crowd, it is clear that people are excited to meet their neighbors and learn about gardening for biodiversity. That's all this evening, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Utilities, Mr. Helen Pis. Public. Uh first thing on the electric
utility. Uh last week we had a meeting at the electric utilities facility. Uh we're starting an initiative with our one of our technology coordinators and the utility director Vince Patty to
create a inventory database of all their supplies and equipment. Uh this will be a project that will be supported over the summer with an intern supposedly. We're working on that. I don't know if the intern's been awarded yet. So that's going to just give everybody at the uh
burrow and at the electric utility the ability to see everything that they have in stock to uh review their usages, what's the value of the inventory there and will save the staff time and we'll save dollars and ensure that we have adequate supply of the critical
materials at all times so we can respond to service demands. We'll also hope to do that with the water division after that, especially because there have been supply chain issues, we have to be able to forecast properly so we get our equipment in. Uh Eric already reported
about the solar carport uh as we head into the summer and even though the temperatures to date have been moderate, we need to plan for voluntary water conservation. There's an announcement of odd and even days that will be posted and advertised shortly on Rose. Uh
additional information from the electric Uh on five standby was called to Green Village Road for low hanging wires that's been happening all around the burrow. Um again we had a power outage due to a squirrel over on Redmond Drive. Those
poor squirrels standby was called out to 15 Walnut for a large tree branch laying on electric wires. Uh 43 Alexander Avenue had a power issue going to their house.
Uh 20 Glendale Road, 38 Morris Place. Also, power issues. Uh JCPNL is making repairs at 14 poles on the 34 kilowatt line into Madison. And the electric utility
continues to do their job, responding to calls, completing markouts, street light repairs, etc. from the water. Let's see here. Water. Oops. Uh the generator the quarterly generator service has been completed by the water
department around the burrow. Uh there was four additional curb boxes that were dug and new shut off valves were installed. Yearly valve turning concentration has been completed. Paving repairs were made to the roads that were affected by PSENG
and all the valves are accounted for. What else? Power outage caused power outage caused a treatment plant at John Avenue to malfunction and manual pump down and reset was needed. Well B generator exhaust still
needs to be tested and put a gen set online. Gas line emergency replacement caused the need to shut water down on Kings Road. I don't know where though. Replacement of a hydrant at Green Village Road and Warmer Street and more water meter replacement is continuing
throughout the burrow. From the recreation activities committee mayor this weekend is the platypus huge uh youth lacrosse tournament over at the high school and the MRC. I think there's let's say 42 teams visiting. Uh it's up through the
eighth grade. So if you want to go watch some fun lacrosse activities, stop over there. And also just watch out for the traffic on Richdale. And they have to maneuver around the closed parking lot that uh is at the MRC because of the
solar installation. We have some other auxiliary parking to accommodate the event. And that's all mayor. Thank you. Any affairs? Miss downtown development commission. Uh their next meeting is June 19th at 7:15
here in Hartley Dodge. Uh the farmers farmers market and artisan market uh is live and every Saturday. Come join everyone. It's um a great community event. Music every week. Uh upcoming in
October is the 50th occurrence of the Bottle Hill Day. So mark your calendars for October 4th. The Chamber of Commerce uh annual awards dinner will be on June 3rd at the Madison Hotel. Tickets are available. The Madison Community Arts
Center has a full docka of events. On June 20th at 7, there's a show called Original Showcase with three bands and vendors, which is free for everyone to attend. And then on June 7th, um we will
have a little walk in Summer Hill Park on National Trails Day at 9:00 am. So families and friends are encouraged to join. Thank you. Mayor Health Department is offering a free vaccination clinic on Friday, May 30th
from 1 to 3 p.m. for residents 19 and over who are non-insured or underinsured. Please call 973-5933079 for more information. May 31st is World No Tobacco Day. The health department would like to encourage any resident who is considering quitting
nicotine products to visit the New Jersey quit line at www.njquitline.org. Residents can also contact the health department for more information on resources available to assist with tobacco and nicotine cessation. We are entering the season of vectorbor disease and the health
department would like to remind residents that eliminating standing water and cleaning gutters on their property are easy ways to combat mosquito breeding. West Nile virus infected mosquitoes have been identified in two New Jersey counties last week, making it the earliest week of the season that West Nile virus has ever
been detected in New Jersey. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. We now move on to communications and petitions. Uh, yes, Mayor. Mayor and council received an email dated May the 28th from resident David regarding a zoning issue on
Waverly Place. Now we move on to uh the first of two invitations for public comment. This one is limited to items that are on our agenda discussions and the resolutions that are part part of our consent agenda. If you want to comment on any
other topic, you have to wait a little bit later in the meeting to hear um to comment other topics. And tonight we have no um agenda discussion. So these are the items the resolutions you can comment on for this uh period.
Resolution 172, which is a recognizing quasi municipal entity of recognizing Heartley Dodge Foundation, classified as a class 3 organization for the joint insurance fund purposes. And resolution 173 is also for quasi municipal entity
and this is recognizing um most of our um athletic programs in the town that use our facilities as also class three organizations. Resolution 174 is granting permission to for moms
demand action for gun sense in America to tie orange ribbons around trees on the uh streets of Madison from June 1st through June 7th in support of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, which I already talked about. Resolution 175 is proclaiming October 4th, 2025 as Bottle
Hill Day and authorizing the beer guard. It's that time of year again already. Resolution 176 is uh requesting the director of local government services to approve an insertion of item of revenue on our budget. Uh and this is for our
clean communities uh 2025 grant of $38,458. Resolution 177 is accepting gifts from the estate of uh Robert Cultus to the police and fire department. $1,000 to each uh department. Uh resolution 178 is
authorizing change order and final payment to Dascal LLC in the amount of 195,570 for the Madison Public Library interior renovation construction project.
Um, resolution 179, which is maybe the most effective resolution we've ever had on our consent agenda, is uh supporting the uh historic um Madison's Historic Preservation Commission's um request
that we oppose the Madison train station signage that was proposed by NJ Transit. Um, Administrator Ray Cody was on a call this afternoon with the New Jersey Transit Chief of Staff to indicate and that NJT has formally withdrawn the
signed proposal. And so many thanks to John Forte, Jill Rhodess, and the entire entire HBC membership for their advocacy. Um, and we're working on getting NJT engineers to come and visit the uh the site to look at various uh
repairs that need to be done, especially the baggage building, which would be great to see that repurposed before it crumbles to the ground. So, advocacy works very well. And uh resolution 180 is a renewal delivery uh
uh license for Travers Taxi and Limousine. This is license uh 20254L for John Proesco of travelers and resolution 181 for a same entity but um this one is license
20251D. So those are the items you may comment on in this comment period. Other other ones please wait a little bit later in the meeting. Anyone wishing to comment on those resolutions please step forward. Seeing then I close this part of the meeting.
And as noted, we have no agenda discussions tonight. So we move on to a ordinance for hearing. Will the clerk please read the statement? The ordinance scheduled for hearing was introduced by title and passed on a first reading at the regular meeting of the council held on May 12th, 2025. Was posted and filed
according to law and copies were made available to the general public requesting same. I call up ordinance 20-2025 for second reading and ask the clerk to read said notice said ordinance by title. Ordinance 20-2025 ordinance of the bureau of
Madison appropriating 107,77 from the general capital improvement fund for funding for the Madison Cadam joint meeting. I open hearing on ordinance 20 and when wish to comment please step forward. Seeing none I close the hearing.
May I move ordinance 20-2025? Second. Any council discussion? Roll call vote, please. Sir, yes. Landeran, yes. Mr. Range, yes. Mr. Harold, yes. Mr. Haran, yes. Mr. Ford,
yes. And we're now Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, I declare ordinance 20 20-2025 adopt and file pass and ask the clerk to publish notice there of a newspaper file the ordinance in accordance with the law. And now we move on to our second
invitation for com public comment. This is when you may comment on any topic. Uh, as usual rules apply. Step up electron. State your name and address. Write the same on the clipboard. Try to keep your comments at three minutes. that I will uh give you one minute grace and you will be cut off at uh four
minutes. Anyone wishing to comment, please step forward. Hi, I'm Claire Wam 12 Fairwood Road. Um regarding mosquito spraying, um residents really are advised not to
spray in their yards and Doug tell me has a a really good solution for that. It's it's called a bucket of doom. You can look it up. It's a five gallon bucket. You put it fill it half full with water. Add some straw. Let it ferment and add a mosquito dunk. It
draws the female mosquitoes. They lay their eggs there. And the next but that's second treatment. First treatment is um remove standing water. Spraying for adult mosquitoes is like trying to shoot them with a rifle. It's not is not
effective and you kill all insects and um it's it's quite bad. Um okay. Well, it's been four years since Friends of the Drew Forest started commenting at council meetings. That's 8 feet in oak tree years. In child years, it means
learning to crawl, walk, and finally hop on one foot. In town council years, it involves enough patience and persistence to be character shaping. These four years have shaped those of us on the friends of the Drew Forest team. We've developed the kind of intertwined roots
that you get in a forest. We know who's good at what, who to turn to when a twist in the road arises. For me personally, these years have been marked by an ever deepening understanding of the ecology of our town. Dr. Sarah Webb
was my first teacher explaining the difference between deer brows forest that characterized most of New Jersey and the Drew forest rich understory of plants, sapling and flowers. A feat that is only possible with a deer fence and a guardian
ecologists like Sarah. My second teacher was Doug Talamy referenced in Eric Green's his MEC update. Talmy's book, Nature's Best Hope, taught me and millions of others, that we can't confine nature to a park. That saving biodiversity depends on private land,
some 135 million acres of it. Nature's best hope means shrinking lawns. Grass is pretty much a biodiversity desert. It means planting native species, leaving leaves and garden beds, and taking better care of the parcels of earth that
we call home. In 2023, when gave his Zoom talk in Madison. Lydia Chambers and I snuck in a question just before the closing bell. Was there any chance that Talamy would make a short video extoling the importance of the Drew Fars? Instead
of demiruring, he said yes. It should be stated that Talamy is a tremendously busy man. He spends his time speeding around like Paul Riverier, crisscrossing the country, trying to raise awareness about plummeting numbers of birds and insects. He said yes to a video for
Madison, New Jersey. I'll close with a few words from his excellent 60 seconds. The Drew Forest, he said, serves as a model that shows homeowners what they can create if they remove invasives and native plants and add native plants in their own yards. He went on to conclude
that it's extremely important for all parties to come together to preserve the Drew forest because its 53 acres comprise an urban forest of exceptional value. Madison officials are a team that offers exceptional value. Friends of the
Drew Forest would like to extend their thanks to Mayor Connley, Ray Cody, Jim Bernett, past and current Bird Council members, and everyone who is working tirelessly to make sure the Drew Forest is saved sooner rather than later. Thank
you. Thank you, Claire. And uh thank you for the reminder of how many years we've been working on this and uh very timely information on fighting mosquitoes because the way the weather's been, this could be a tough year. Anyone else wishing to comment, please step
forward. My name is Peter D. Rosa, I'm going to sign in. Give me a minute. I live at 37 Pine Avenue. My family's been here 120 years. I've been here 58. This new parking ordinance that you guys put in
is bogus. I park in front of my house about 8 9:00 at night. I get up 5:30. I go to work. I come out. I got a ticket on my truck. My in-laws lived with me for 27 years. I have four sons that still live with me. They have girlfriends. They
have friends. You got the bar right over here, Bottle Hill, that take up three parking spots all summer long. You got Firehouse Pizzeria that does the same thing. You want to park at the train
station, you ask if we pay a fee. I'll pay a fee. You took property away from me twice on Danport, almost 13 feet from my driveway. Now you tell me if I park in front of the house, I can only do it five times in a
quarter. This is micromanaging. We don't live in the rural world. Madison's 4.2. You say we're a close-knit community and all you're doing is pounding the taxpayers. How hard is it to type in
your license plate if it comes back to the resident? Okay. In the winter time, we don't do it because I'm out plowing. So, the trucks are gone. I wish you did get a little more insight and ask the people of Madison.
Now, I'm going to go around with a petition. I'm going to get everybody in town to sign it because a lot of people are very aggravated over this. So, that's why I'm here. And if you want to sit down and talk, I'll be more than glad. If not, I'll come every
meeting. Thank you. Have a nice night. Thank you, Jere. I'll have some comments on that after a comment period. Anyone else wishing to comment, please step forward. Seeing none, I close this part of the meeting. So, just clarify the ban on overnight parking. Um, you know,
Peter, you and I have been in Madison about the same amount of time has always been in place. Um, it is just the fact that we we updated the law so we could actually enforce it. Um, M Like many neighboring towns have always banned
overnight parking to for safety reasons. And what has happened in previous years is as opposed to the exception which would be you're getting paid sealed, you have special guests. Please read the statement. The ordinance
is scheduled for first reading. Have a hearing date set for June the 23rd, 2025. They'll be published in the Madison Eagle, posted on the bulletin board, and made available to members of the public requesting copies. I call up ordinances first reading now
that my microphone is back on and ask the burough clerk to read said ordinances by title. Ordinance 21-2025 ordinance of the bureau of Madison appropriating $18,24 from the municipal open space recreation and historic preservation
trust fund for construction plans and cost estimates at the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts. Here I move ordinance 21-2025. Second council discussion. I'll just make a note that this is uh to prepare construction documents and cost
estimates to repair the original entrance and steps for the uh Museum of Early Trades and Crafts building which is owned by the bureau. The recommendation to open space committee. Any further discussion? Roll
call vote please. Mr. Eric, yes. Mr. Landan, yes. Mr. Range, yes. Mr. Harland. Yes. Monahan. Yes. Yes. Ordinance 22-2025. Ordinance of the Burrow of Madison appropriating $233,755 from the affordable housing
trust fund for the construction of four affordable rental units at 24 Belmont Avenue. I move ordinance 22-2025. Tom. Second. Sorry. saw my name there. Uh council discussion. I can provide a little background on
this one as well. Uh this is um related to the recent uh zoning board approval for the development of a four unit rental fourunit rental development that the Madison Housing Authority has pursued. It's nearly shovel ready. Um
and what's important about the contribution from the bureau is that uh this 10% of their total budget for this development that is being asked uh of the bureau um is critical to unlock the over $2 million that the housing
authority is seeking from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. In other words, in order to pursue the $2 million plus dollar grant from the state, a um a local investment from the municipality is required and so this is
a 10% uh portion of the construction budget uh that is being as requested as a dispersement from our affordable housing trust fund. Any further discussion? We'll call a vote, please. Miss Eric, yes. Mr. Landan, yes. Mr. Range, yes.
Mr. Harland, yes. Mahan, yes. Mr. Yes. Ordinance 23-2025. Ordinance of the Bur of Madison appropriating 25 556 from the general capital improvement fund to purchase batteries for the Madison Police Department portable
radios. Mayor, I move ordinance 23-2025. Second discussion. Call vote, please. Mr. Eric, yes. Mr. Lander, yes. Mr. Range, yes. Mr. Harland, yes. Mahan, yes. Mr. Forte,
yes. Again, a on the hearing for those ordinances. We will be skipping a meeting because we don't have the full two weeks in between meetings. Second week in second meeting in June for the hearing. And now we move on to consent agenda resolutions where the clerk
please read the statement. Consent agenda resolutions will be enacted in a single motion. Any resolution requiring discussion Whoops. requiring expenditure is supported by a certification of availability of funds. Any resolution requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda. All resolutions
will be reflected in full in the minutes. Mayor, I move resolution 172-2025 through 181-2025. Second council discussion just with 179.
Um, we can keep that in there and I guess send it with a a letter of thanks. Would that be the way to do it? All right. Any other discussion? So, mayor, uh, I didn't hear you before elaborate. What is, uh, resolution
177205? The gifts from the cultist estate, right? What is it? So, so Bob Bob Cultus and his state left, uh, two two $1,000 gifts, one to the police department, fire department. So, this is officially
uh recognizing that, accepting those, and the generous Bob Cultus is still giving even though he's with us. Thanks, Mayor. Any other question? Mayor, just a a comment on 179. I'm really glad that we
came to a resolution there and it was a good work of a lot of people in in the burough government and volunteers in the historic preservation commission who spoke up and and lobbied against that. I think it would have been uh atrocious to have those types of signs uh electronic
sort of signs in the middle of the train tracks here at the station. And you can picture on a night like tonight looking out these windows, you'd probably be seeing it, you know, illuminating uh, you know, facing this way. So, I'm glad it was squashed. Thank you
for that. Further discussion. Roll call vote, please. Mr. Eric, yes. Mr. Landrean, yes. Mr. Range, yes. Mr. Harold, yes. Hon, yes. Mr. Yes. There's no unfinished business. We will
now move on to approval of vouchers which were nicely explained earlier tonight. Clerk, please read the voucher to close from the current fund 7,490,2610. From the general capital fund, 27,5984 from the electric operating
fund, $644,81.18 from the electric capital fund, $7,55 even from the water operating fund, $30,7269. From the water capital fund, $10,950 even and the trust, $68,29581.
The total is 8,278,44062. Mayor, I move approval of the vouchers. Second. Any discussion? Roll call vote, please. Miss Early, yes. Mr. Landry, yes. Mr. Range, yes. Mr. Harland Pis, yes. Miss Hon, yes. Mr.
Forte, yes. There is no new business. Forte. May I move to adjourn? All in favor? Thank you all.