Patrick, are we ready to go? >> Yes, we are live streaming. >> Okay. Um, good evening everyone. Welcome to the September meeting of the township committee's public safety committee. I'm Township Committeeman Vic Duca and I
chair this committee. Um I'm joined by Mayor Nancy Adams. Uh and deputy mayor Malia Herman. Um and I see Township Committee Deb Engles coming on. The committee members are myself, uh Deputy
Mayor Herman, and Township Committee Engel. Uh we also have Chief Sally on the line on the on the call and Patrick Weary who is our township administrator. Um right now I see about 18 people about
a dozen attendees. Um the way this works is uh let me let me just put the agenda up so you can see how we're going to do this. Okay, here we go.
So, um, this is our regular monthly meeting and we start off the meeting with public comments and we limit the comments to three minutes per person. Then we're going to go through the police department report. Uh, the first item, of course, is going to be the Seth
Bdon school and then general crossing guard coverage throughout town. We'll talk a little bit about the Columbia High School dropoff uh traffic pattern and then we deal with uh crime statistics and I'll just show you those. Um so we look at the uniform crime
statistics that are reported to the FBI. So this shows all the major crimes uh year to date. So this is January through July and then we do it for three years. Take a look at those so we can see at least yeartoyear any changes. Uh and
then we talk about traffic enforcement. Uh and this is year-to-year. So 2024 to 25, we've been pushing traffic enforcement. And uh at least for the first seven months of the year, our traffic enforcement has gone up 32
moving violations have gone up 32%. Uh and that's we don't like people to get tickets, but we want people to drive appropriately. Radar summones have gone up dramatically. uh warning notice is a bit and vehicle stop 17%. So our police officers are out
there and then this is a report uh of a overnight parking working group that's been talking about changes in the overnight parking permit. Um so we're going to deal with those police items and then we'll talk about emergency management. Uh we'll look at the
statistics from the South Essex Fire Department and then um we'll talk to our liaison from the community board on police and then we will have a second public comment period at the uh towards the end of the meeting if anyone wants
to stick around and say something. We will likely move into executive session and this is covered um this is to cover items that are allowed by law. So this could be on any crime incident. we would get background information and any personnel matter that we're not able to
talk about in public. So, I'm going to stop sharing the um um agenda. And uh the way this is going to work is that uh anyone we're going to ask you uh I'm going to open this up in just a minute. Um we're going to ask you
if you'd like to uh make a comment um to raise your hand and uh Mr. Weary will move you over as a panelist and then you'll get your three minute comments uh or questions and then we'll move you back to the attendee uh category and
then we'll move the next person over. Um before we get into the public comment um I hope most of you have seen the statement that we put out. Um we there is um no uh explanation why this was
allowed to happen. Um there you know we we said we were going to be there till 4:00 with the crossing guard. We were not. That's on us. Um and so we have corrected that since then. We are now uh making sure that the
crossing guard or anyone who subs for the crossing guard whether it is a a police officer or a um traffic enforcement officer or parking enforcement officer rather um they will be there till 4:00 as we said we would
do that. Uh additionally we have had um DPW go down and take a look at the at the lights there. Um they are working very dimly. That's an an outmoded um uh caution sign. Uh we're we are in
the process of ordering new ones. Uh we now use the highintensity beacons that are similar to the ones we installed near Dehart Park uh early last year. Um I guess early this year. Uh so they they have a a stronger light and they
actually have a little uh vocal, it's an audio rather that uh lets people know that you can cross. Um we are also planning to do striping along all of Bdon Avenue and that will occur
uh this I think the uh we're in September now. I think within the next four weeks we have to get this done before the weather um gets cold. We did issue a contract for someone to come in. So, all the intersections on Bdon, all around Seth Bdon School will be
refreshed with new um thermoplastic paint and uh so that's going to uh take place. Um we just want to remind you that, you know, we've been looking at Seth Bdon traffic issues for a number of years. We did make some changes um
actually going all the way up from where Walgreens is down to Seth Bdon. We changed that intersection at um uh Tuscan Road and and Bernett Avenue there by not allowing left turns onto uh
Tuscan Road or off of Tuscan Road onto Bernett and that has really uh improved that crossing up there. Uh we did station a police officer uh at the crossing of Springfield Avenue there in front of the uh police station. Uh
before we were using gu um crossing guards and now we have a police officer there. Um we changed the intersection uh at um Tuskcen and Bdon. Uh we moved it from
the south side which was the side closer to where the hill came up. There's a big tree there that blocked visibility. We now have one crosswalk that's on the north side where it is now. Um we changed the uh left turn lane in front
of um the old quick check there to allow more cars to to stack there for the turn so that we could get cars uh not to be lining up all the way to the school uh to create issues there. Um we uh there
was some talk about the bumpout that we had talked about uh at Bdon and Tuskin. Um when we looked at that in the field, uh there were two major issues. One uh there's there's some sewer issues there.
We would have to reroute all the sewers in that area there. Uh and also the turning radius. If we put a bump out there, it's um virtually impossible for any kind of large panel truck like a UPS truck or a um FedEx larger truck to make
a turn there without going into the the uh opposite lane coming down Tuscin. So, uh, what we did in instead is we eliminated a parking stall and we did what's called daylighting where we, uh, painted cross-hatching on that, um, that
approach there to give higher visibility to that intersection. Um just to go back to the incident, this was a case where someone um wasn't paying attention and and I don't remember chief how many tickets were issued, but there were
tickets issued for driving. Um uh uh and unfortunately, you know, it's likely that if the uh crossing guard were there, we wouldn't be having this discussion tonight because everything would have been um protected and that person would not have made that cross
that that turn. Um we are open to other uh ideas. We are looking at this. We uh talked this morning with our engineer. We have had an idea that for a while about changing some of the configuration in front of Seth Bdon school. Um we're
going to revisit that with the the new superintendent. We didn't have success with previous administrations at uh at the school district. So um any of my colleagues want to say anything before we hear from the public? I was just trying to give a brief update on what we've been talking about all day and for
the last couple days. Doesn't look like it. Okay. So, with that, we'll open the public comment. And again, if you'd like to say something, um, please raise your hand. And Mr. Weary, you'll move people back and forth, right? >> Yes. Oh, first I'll move over Nina to
panelist. >> And for everybody looking to speak, when you're moved over to panelist, Zoom automatically mutes you. So you can all unmute yourself as you're moved over and address the committee. >> Welcome. >> I'm using my uh I'm using my timer here. So I'll do your timing and
>> give me my official three minutes. >> I don't want to be rude, but I will. >> No, no, you're good. You're good. >> Okay. >> All right. Uh thank you. So my name is Nina Essel. I've been a parent at Seth Bdon for seven years. I live in South Orange. Um I sent all of you an email. I appreciate those of you who had an
opportunity to respond. Vic, I also really appreciate you going through all of the things that have changed and and the things that have been looked at over the years. I think that um some other things for us to consider. I know we were able to put some speed humps on Scotland. I don't know if that's a
possibility directly in front of the school to consider. I know Scotland is also an emergency route, but it has several speed humps now. So, I just think the volume of traffic on Bdon is so significant that it is so challenging and that in that intersection at
Springfield and Bdon because it's not a direct 90° like the crosswalks are so long that even sometimes having one guard to cross people across that is just not sufficient. And I know even last year, not related to Seth Bdon, but there was a woman who was killed outside of the Waw Wa who was crossing, not in
the crosswalk, but just the speed of the traffic up and down that lane is a lot. And I think we're incredibly lucky that the mom who was hit was not pushing the stroller with her one-year-old twins and her three-year-old and just had her 5-year-old with us because I think we would be having a very different
conversation. Um, I also hope that you guys will speak with Miss Glander and Miss Davenport who are the administrators at Seth Bdon because Glander and Davenport have been there for a very long time and have a lot of ideas around what works and what doesn't. One thing that I've heard in my
conversations over the past week is that when an officer is present, it makes a huge difference. So, even when we have crossing guards at Tuskin and Void, I know right now we've had coverage from officers, but it makes a difference when an officer is there. There was a period last year, Miss Glander was telling me
that an officer was um just on Bdon in front of the school ticketing people who were like parking or dropping kids off to run across the street because that's also not safe and addressing that and that has made a big difference. And I heard today there was another officer directing traffic and just everyone commented that the speed of the traffic
is much slower when you have patrol cars and actual officers beyond just the crossing guards. So, I hope we'll continue to consider what else can be done. And I would really love to hear that the town and the police department has been collaborative with the school
itself because I think they have a lot of good ideas around what is needed and I wouldn't take my three minutes. >> Thank you. Now moving over Erin to panelist. >> Welcome Erin. >> Hi there. Sorry it took me a minute to
get things loaded up. Um I'm here with my my um third my fourth grader now, Henry. Um, and um, I really appreciate you all taking this matter so seriously. I'm also a Seth Bdon parent and I've been at this school now for five years.
Um, and to be completely honest, this traffic situation has been ongoing as you all know for years and years. And I was hoping that by this school year things would be much improved, but it's only seemed to have gotten worse. Um, so it was it was
helpful to hear what you had to say, Vic, about some measures that are being taken. Um, I'm I'm very concerned because just in the last week, I walk to and from school every day. I've witnessed near accidents on Springfield at least like a handful of times, like
cars almost hitting the um crossing guard when it isn't a a police officer, people trying to run through the red light. I think everyone's especially in a hurry right now trying to get, you know, in their new school routines and also given all of the um construction
going on. I think that's creating some unique traffic patterns. But um regardless of those circumstances, I'm just really really concerned that a child is going to be seriously injured um or an adult for that matter. My son walked to school the first three days of
school and when he witnessed the incident with the five-year-old, he is now fearful to walk alone. And it's just really unfortunate because I think this is, you know, a time where I want to be able to give him the independence that he deserves as a fourth grader to be able to walk to school freely like the
kids who um are um at the other schools in the district. Um, so I think some of the things that Nina mentioned the police present I noticed really does make a difference. Um, Vic, I know you mentioned that you're working to ensure
there's always a guard present. I probably called the non-emergency line. I'd say upwards of like 15 to 20 times last school year when a guard wasn't present at that intersection. And so I told my son if I didn't consistently see
guards, I wouldn't allow him to walk alone cuz it's just not safe. Um I have noticed folks there aside from that incident that happened at 355 or whatever with that little boy a few days ago. But I just hope that um at least a
crossing guard, if not an officer, can be stationed consistently and even if an emergency comes up that there's someone that can replace them cuz frequently when a police officer was there, they would be taken um away and then, you know, the intersection was just left
empty for kids to walk alone. Um, so I don't really have anything else to add, but we really appreciate you, you know, taking this seriously and considering the safety of students before something really tragic happens. Thank you so much.
>> Thank you. >> Moving over Courtney to panelist. Welcome, Courtney. >> Hi, I'm Courtney McGahis and these are my kids. I don't know if you can see us. There we go. Um, >> you're squishing me.
>> My kids attend Seth Bdon. Um, and our family lives on Hugh Street, which is near Seth Bdon, so we walk quite frequently. Um, we either go upd um to Jacobe. um to the back of the school. Um and on these walks, we always
see speeding cars and we have cars kind of skip over us as we're waiting at crosswalks to cross. And so, um just want to point out another intersection while we're having this conversation is
Newark Way and Bdon A with Arties there. Um there's a lot of traffic from Boyd and A turning onto Newark Way to, you know, go to Arties or just make their way across Newark Way. Um and I really
appreciate the recent repainting of those lines. Um I had emailed about that. Um but I think we should consider a crossing guard, additional signage at that intersection also. um because yeah, it's um low visibility and I just
don't think people are used to slowing down there. Um and yeah, thank you for your attention to this um and for trying to keep us and our kids safe. Thanks, guys. >> Moving over Jesse to panelists.
Hi, good evening everyone. Um, my name is Jesse McGawan. Um, I don't have a kid at Seth Bdon, but I live on Bdon Parkway South, just north of Springfield A. Um, and I think as you all know, I I'm one of the owners of Pallet Brewing Company on Newark Way. So, my family spends a
lot of time walking and biking along Bdon A between Springfield Avenue and New York Way. Um, and I think you also, many of you know that I work in transportation planning and so this is something that I'm very passionate about. Um, I noticed that, you know,
there there is a lot of speeding on Bdon Avenue and that there's really no traffic control between the two signals at Springfield A and Stacav. It's like over a half mile. So, you can see why cars really speed up because they have such like a long runway with which
there's no stop sign or other, you know, control for those vehicles. So, I wanted to recommend maybe that the township do some speed studies to see how much above 25 miles an hour vehicles may be going and if there is speed reduction strategies, you know, near the school,
but also as Courtney was pointing out, you know, at other locations along Bdon Avenue to keep the vehicles moving at a um a more manageable speed or comparable to the speed limit. And then also wanted to add maybe that the township could look into adding um hallway stop control
potentially at some of those intersections. So um New York Way is a great example where we're seeing you know with Arties um there's just a high volume of vehicles and and similarly you may want to look at Tuskin or Jacobe and whether or not um always stop control or
speed reduction measures could just lower the vehicle speeds. I think what's tough is by the time people get to Springfield A if they're heading northbound on Bdon, they're just going pretty quick because nothing's holding them up, right? There's only um marked crosswalks at Tuskin and Jacobe, so there's also just like a long stretch
where people aren't even looking for pedestrians. Um so I think that when you're thinking about this issue, obviously we should be thinking about school access, but I think kind of that whole stretch south towards Styosent, there's probably improvements that could be made to make it better for those that are walking and biking. um just want to
say thank you for thinking about this issue and taking it seriously and looking forward to what you all come up with. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Now moving Ben to panelists. >> Welcome Ben.
>> Hi. Thank you very much for um everybody's you know time, attention and focus on this matter. Uh I'm also a Bdon parent and am um you know really uh just concerned about the the current situation. I appreciate the response
Dick that you had to my email about this. Um I would fully support and I think it's really important that we um do a you know traffic data analysis of uh Biden. So we have some uh avoidant
abs we have some you know concrete data and I just wanted to ask a few questions of the committee um you know understand that some of that assessment was done for other streets back in 2018. Is there any information on Bdon that can help to inform um this? I think that we have a
lot of anecdotal evidence, but um would love to also understand, you know, there were a lot of recommendations that were made back in the 2018 analysis that the town participated in um that I've been able to find. I think it was the township local bicycle and pedestrian planning assistance document. Um and
wanted to understand, you know, is there a scorecard against the recommendations? this is our current plan um for what safety measures are proposed and aren't proposed that you know you need our our voice or support to make sure that they
happen. Um, and then when it comes to I think talking about moving south on Boyd, I'm also interested about moving north on uh BDNAV when you hit Springfield and ask I'm curious for the committee to to share what do you need from us in terms of you know either
advocacy with the county because of Springfield a you know that's a very large crosswalk um across Springfield and it would be great to have a island some barrier um to try to um slow cars
as they enter into the school zone. Um and just very interested in understanding sort of what the current proposed plans are from previous reports or recommendations, what the status is, and what's the immediate and short-term plan going forward. >> We'll have that stuff for you tonight.
So, we'll we'll work on it. Now moving Nikki to panelist. >> Welcome Nikki. >> Hi all. Uh I am Nikki Abernathi. I am the mother that was struck um at Tuscan
and Bdon. And I just think that it is important to put a face to the incident. Um, and just say that what happened to my son and I obviously should not have happened. Um, I recognize that there has
been a lot of work, Vic, to your point um, to solution this. And I just want to echo everyone's sentiment here. I don't think the work is done yet. I think that there's still so much more to be done. Um, my husband and family and I have been incredibly careful around the area.
Um, but just still see the traffic patterns are chaotic and scary. My son is incredibly scared. Um, you know, there's going to be some time that we need to work through that and process
through that. Um, but you know, we made our first drive to school together and parked and walked last week and there were a lot of lingering questions and worries and anxieties that came up from him. Um, so just want to say like thank
you so much for all of the work that you've done here. I'm so sorry that what happened to us did happen. I'm so grateful that it wasn't worse. As Nah mentioned, I have three other kids. We have kind of a crazy house. Uh we have a 5-year-old, a three-year-old, and twin
one-year-old girls. And if I had been there with all four of them, I just don't feel confident that the safety precautions are set up to take care of us and make sure that we are safe. Um I think my h my son is feeling it as well. Um so I just really hope
that to Nah's point, if police presence is what is slowing traffic down, great. Can we commit to that? If it's speed bumps that are going to slow traffic down, great. Can we commit to that? Um, and also just curious, you know, what more needs to be done from the community
members other than showing up to these meetings here um to make sure that this doesn't happen to someone else. So, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Thank you so much for your um attention to the matter and I just really hope that we can see some real change come up.
Now moving post strander to panelist. Hello. Um I am u a stepwin parent. This is I think my eighth year having a child there. Um so I've seen the changes that have happened and I've also seen some things recently that um concern me. Um
first of all I mentioned last year crossing from Tuscan cross Bdon the crossing guard said to me that she doesn't drive so she wasn't sure if people were allowed to park where they were parking. And what what someone mentioned earlier is I'm seeing it
happen less where people are parking closer to the intersections where it's marked not park. You know, you're not allowed to park that close to the intersection because the visibility is inhibited. That's definitely lessened, but it's still happening. Um and even
the police car has parked close to the intersection um where it's not marked. So, uh there's that. I also will say just in the past week uh uh at the corner uh the intersection rather of Springfield, Tuscin and Bernett that that odd intersection
um buses turning right from Bernett onto Tuskin have a hard time making that last week a I think it was a jity I saw go up on the curb and take out the sign that was on the
corner. Uh completely crashed it. it's gone. Um, and I just I thought, you know, I had just two weeks ago been started thinking about my son walking to school and now I absolutely will not allow that. And I even I preach in the car, you don't cross unless it says walk, even if there's other people
going, even if you don't see any cars. I see lots of problems around Springfield, but that corner in particular um is difficult. And and one last thing, the the situation where people are coming from Tuscin and Bernett towards
Springfield when there is I uh an officer there even uh often what I see is cars start to pile up because the amount of time it takes for the people to cross Springfield, no cars go through the light through an entire light cycle.
And so I think not only are cars backed up, but I think that contributes to people then trying to rush through that light because they don't want to sit there through another light cycle. I don't know if the the officers can sort of switch the way they do it or or you know be more of directing traffic than
having it go along with the light, but I've definitely seen that numerous times. And also that people coming from Tuscin have a stop sign and the people coming from Bernett do not. and when people are sitting there for a long time, they don't know who has the right of way. So, it it's I you know, the
changes that have made have been good, but I think that there's some other things to consider that um that um I wanted to just mention. That's all I have. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Moving over iPhone to panelists. That's embarrassing. Hello everybody. I
am iPhone otherwise known as Aaron Hardigan. I am a Seth Bdon parent. In the world before the intentional integration, we would have been a Tuscan family and I am here with my first grader Jack. um were he to attend
Tuscan, he would have one four-way stop as his path to school. Instead, we have a pretty arduous journey that is 1.2 mi and for which we were denied a bus pass, which is fine. It's a beautiful walk. It is an invigorating walk to school or
bike ride, but it is also a terrifying walk. And one thing that has not been brought up among the many wonderful points that have already been brought up is the kids who attend afterare because in a few weeks due to the time change it will become dark very quickly and that intersection will become even more
dangerous while the crossing guards are there in the morning and at traditional pickup time. Afterare pickup can be anytime from pickup until afterare closes at 6:30. And it feels as if we are taking our lives into our hands when it gets dark and cars are racing through
because traffic is terrible. Cars are in a rush and it is scary. My son loves to take his bike. We love to participate in the Friday bike bus. It is an honor and a privilege and we feel so grateful to be part of the Zeppin community in the hours between getting to and getting
home from school. So, I would encourage that for any measures that are taken, whether it be adding four-way stops the way that Tuscan has or looking into um other traffic mitigation patterns to calm things, uh please consider
all of the hours outside of the drop off and pickup times when parents may be getting their kids home from afterare. Um, additionally, I will say, um, my heart goes out to Nikki for everything that she went through last week. I'm so glad that it wasn't worse than it was. I
too have an infant that I bring with me to pick Jack up. Um, and I've taken to backing my way into the intersection because should anything horrible happen, I would rather myself be the one impacted than my infant in his stroller. So, um, thanks for taking this seriously. Um, Council Member Duca,
thank you for running us through everything that you've done so far. Um, we as a community look forward to hearing more about what can be done to keep the South Buenon community safe. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to
speak right now? Please raise your hand. I I don't see anyone else at the moment. Um, so we will we'll close this uh public hearing or this portion of the public speaking. Um, I'm going to ask my colleagues on the
township committee if you wanted to say anything first. Mayor, do you want to say anything? >> No, I just um not really, but I want to thank everyone for coming out. Um, I'm glad you realize that we take this seriously because we do um monthly as
Mr. Duca chairs engineering, public works, and planning. We run through a lot of um areas of town that we, you know, try to make safer. Um it's, you know, it's difficult because we're
dealing with human behavior. um whether that's drivers or pedestrians, it's just trying to um mitigate hazards along the way is something we've been working on for the nine and a half years I've been on the governing body.
It's just a constant thing. So I appreciate um that everyone understands that because it is important to all of us and um also my you know uh thoughts are with um mom and 5-year-old. I know
I've raised a few kids of my own, so I I know how traumatic that must have been. And I'm sorry. Uh you had to go through that and hopefully your healing and and um I'm sure 5-year-olds are very resilient, but I I wish you all the best
with um with his healing and feeling safe again. So, um, but we're working on it and we're and I really appreciate some of the comments, um, and ideas with regard to, uh, some things we can also look at, um, at engineering and public
works along Bodon with regard to slowing traffic down. Um, so that's all I have to say. >> Uh, Miss Herman, Miss Angle, >> yes, I wanted to thank everyone who came to the meeting tonight and who emailed us with your suggestions. Um I we had a
conversation this morning um at the engineering uh meeting, but um there's a lot there's some other things that I want to I want to hear and explore. Um so thanks for bringing all of these um ideas. Um speed hump, speed study. Um Jesse, I don't know what an always stop
control is. Um, I'm learning more about all of these things because, um, traffic safety in our town, I view it as, uh, one of our top priorities, keeping our kids safe, especially going to and from school. As a parent with a kid who walks to school and walks home from school and
walks all over town to football games and whatnot. Um, I get it. This is it's it's scary. And you know, when our kids go out to go to all these different places, you know, we're you know, we're depending on all of these things to be um you know, safe, the the crosswalks
and the intersections and the traffic. So um this is this is very um important. Uh we take what you're saying very seriously and we thank you for your participation. Um I also wanted to thank everybody for coming and speaking today. It was nice
to see children um as well come to the meeting. Um I feel like it like a terrible crash that happened, a terrible situation that happened and um I like some of the suggestions that were offered. Um, I
think on Valley Street there maybe speed tables or the ones that are more flat on top or whatnot. Um, and they do, I think, work to make cars go slower. I agree that we have to look at Bdon all the way through. I thought that was really smart. My kids live over there half the time and I'm also juggling with
trying to drop off, you know, late at night after after, you know, after afterare after practice or whatnot. And so I think the traffic is really bad. So I like that suggestion. Um, but I also think we need to look at all of our schools because we've now had kids hit
at Seth Bdon and you know MMS students near the high school and I know we've done traffic changes at Tuskin and I know I hear from Clinton parents asking when are we going to look at Clinton and I guess just an overall conversation thinking about like we make these traffic changes and they probably work
for a while but do we ever go back and look at them again or does it wait until somebody gets hit that we start you know renew re relooking at it again? Um, and I think that the school district is going to be redoing their safe routes to school or studies or and I think that
there should be I know we coordinate with them, but I think we need to look at how the integration plan is. It's putting more cars on the street and it's putting more traffic on the street and I think we need to look at those traffic patterns. Um, and then my last thing is a question. Um, I know that sometimes we
have crossing guards call out and then the police officer, you know, takes over that corner and then maybe there's an emergency with these people. I just wasn't sure if that's a position that the cert can help us out with, our volunteer um, response teams, if they are trained in crossing guards, and if
they're um, people that we can be using in those kind of situations where we're short staffed. That was it. Thank you for the chance to speak. Um, Chief, you want to respond to anything? >> Yeah. Um, my my quick answer to the cert
is no, but I'll I'll look into that. But um, the as far as the as far as um crossing guards and the corners we have, we have um approximately uh 34 corners. Um, you know, they they all have to be filled. So, even if a
crossing guard is out, it has to be filled with an officer. Um we do have certain corners that officers um fill on a daily basis. Um so and and and going back to the to the
intersection of uh Bdon and Tusken um we have an officer there now, but um the police car is there on the corner, but it it has his lights on. So, it's it's um it's therefore more of an alert uh
thing to slow traffic down. Uh that's why it's on the corner. Um we do um enforcement um at every school. So, um I know um Seth Bdon um is a school um cuz this uh just recently happened, but we
do enforcement at every school. We do it on a rotated basis. So um um Seth boy and parents will remember last year we did a lot of enforcement in front of the school and then we um and then they haven't they didn't see us for um a
little while cuz we we were enforcing other schools. So we rotated um we'll be back at Seth Bden uh soon enough and um you know um we we we fill the corners and we um do an enforcement on a rotate rotated basis. all all um police
officers who cover these corners are will be there till four o'clock for for the late corners and um the same times that um the crossing guards are there um on their regular shift. So that's that's the adjustment. >> And Patrick, could you talk about we are
planning to install the um the new highintensity beacons. Could you just talk about I want to make sure folks understand that it's a bit of a process because it's a purchase and a contract. So could you explain a little bit about that? >> Yeah. So the current standard that we
use when we're looking to put in upgraded crossing pedestrian signals are rapid flashing beacons. They're brighter. The the light strobe is lower. Just overall it's more visible. Those
are they require a uh poured concrete base. So it's not on what we what the the current flashing light is on which just a uh a U channel post. This needs a a poured concrete base. Um so and and
that's expensive and it requires us to bring in contractors. It's also a more expensive pole and more expensive uh flashing unit on top. it gets us above the bid threshold and with as many of them as we put in throughout town in
most years, but I think especially this year, it'll be over the bid threshold likely. And so we'll likely have to go out to bid and select a low bid uh contractor, award a contract by resolution of the governing body. All that takes time. That means
it's going to be, you know, months out, unfortunately. In the meantime, as you alluded to earlier, Mr. Duca, we have directed the township engineer to improve the existing flashing pedestrian signs to the greatest extent
possible. They they are working, but they are dim. So, we'll look to find ways to um and see if we can increase the uh the brightness of those until we get the upgraded strobe rapid flashing beacons.
And I um we also instruct or the the engineer instructed the DPW superintendent to place an in in street pedestrian crossing sign in that area today. I don't know if that was done yet, but
that's on schedule to be done. Uh one thing we did want to mention, uh we are about to pave Springfield Avenue. Um, I know there's been a lot of traffic around with this New Jersey American Water uh the lead uh the lead pipe
replacement program. It's really jammed up a lot of streets. We had huge problems at CHS also. Um, but on Springfield Avenue, all that work is done. We've heard that today. Uh, now we're going to get into the paving. The paving will start u at Jacobe Street and
go up to Tuscin Road starting the week of the 22nd. Um and schools are closed on that Monday and Tuesday. Uh so that's good. We're trying to time it at that time. Um, and then from that we're going to be moving
from Tuscin to I think Ruters and then from Ruters to uh the the I guess Laurel. It might be Indiana. I don't know exactly on the where the second boundary is, but the first boundary is Jacobe to Tuskin. So that'll
that'll take a few days. They'll be tearing up the road, what's called milling up the road, and then they'll be paving it. But that'll all be done before we get to the second section. So, uh, by late that week of the 22nd, assuming the weather's okay, that road
will be back functioning again. Um, I'm going to do something that I normally don't do. I'm going to ask if anybody from the public has any questions before we move off of this topic and go to something else. And you're all w you know welcome to
stay for as long as you want on the meeting. It's a public meeting. So if anyone has any final comment or question if you want to just raise your hand. Okay we have one person. >> I'll move over Meredith to panelist.
>> Welcome Meredith. Hi, I'm I hope I'm doing this right. Um I think sorry uh I would love to know the frequency of when you of when you talk to the school district about changes and
then also um when it comes to traffic patterns. This is a post question to think about, not to answer now. Um, of what the prep is before every new school year. So, it's just thoughts to think about, things to think about for next
year. >> Patrick, do you want to handle it? >> Yes. Let me just uh make this one. Okay. So, conversations with the school district. Um the the
police department has more regular communication with the district. The chief is in contact with their um public safety uh director and we have officers who are in, you know, more daily communication with their general staff.
And so that's kind of on the day-to-day. As issues arise, the school district will raise issues uh with me, with our township engineer, with our police chief. Some of that will come from principles. Some of that comes from superintendent. For those for that kind
of stuff where it's coming to us through either me, the the engineer or the chief, usually that's the school district coming to us with problems maybe as they see arising. Unless like for CHS where we're imposing a new or or setting up a new uh circulation plan,
we'll go to the school district and have meetings. So, our communication with the district is regular. Um on a more regular level, it's it's handled through our officers with kind of the u the general staff, the school district, and then when the school district needs things, they reach out through me, the
engineer, and the chief. on this. I had reached out earlier today to Seth Boyd. You know, that was just today. It was after our we discussed this for a little while at our engineering public works meeting. Um so
I'll look for a call back from the principal Seth Bdon. And then the second part of that question was what we do as preparation. I think that the chief can speak to it a little bit more, but there's, you know, on a communication side, we are, you
know, we had a a robust communications plan um before the start of this year. We started in uh in the beginning middle of August uh through social media and through our newsletters reminding people
about the start of school um you know to watch out for children, to obey the traffic laws, things like that. Um, and then we talked to the chief about, you know, placement of crossing guards and anything that's changed previous years, getting new times from the school district as those, you know, start
times, end times may change from previous years. We also uh this year receive from the school district a listing of all student addresses in the school they're assigned to. It's anonymized information. So no names or
classes or anything. Just from this address to this address. And we'll be working with the engineer to create heat maps to see, you know, for walk for those people who walk to school. So we'll remove anybody who's eligible for busing, but for those who walk to
school, what their most likely routes are, how those routes intersect as people are coming from different places going to different schools. and we'll on that map show where we have crossing guards to make sure that we we're distributing our guards,
you know, the most efficient way we can. I think, you know, that helps from a kind of an engineering mindset. Our police officers are on the street every day and have a really good knowledge of where guards are most needed. So, we're thankful for that. But, we always have
an opportunity to take maybe a higher level look at it and we'll be doing that in the coming weeks. Thank you. And then uh the mayor and and Miss Engle, you all meet with the uh the superintendent on a monthly basis or
>> Yeah, on a monthly basis. We meet with the superintendent um and um counterparts in South Orange at our municipal partnerships meeting >> and issues issues like this sometimes get >> Yeah, we talk about issues. I'm sure this will be a topic because, you know,
we talk about issues as they arise and then we talk about um bigger picture things um that we're noticing and how we can better work together. >> And that's where we started getting that's where we asked originally to start getting the data about where people are going, what schools are going
to because we saw that traffic was changing. Um people are go their schools are farther away. So even walking the heat map, I like that. Um, but it's also driving. It's just putting more cars on the road and people are busy because they're also trying to get to work. Um, so we talk about those kind of issues
and we also advocate that when they are making changes to schedules or times that they get that information out early so that families can prepare and also that they communicate it to our PD and to our admin so that we all know what's going on and so we can work together.
Uh I don't see anybody else so we will move on with the um rest of the agenda. I think all of us thank you all for coming out. Um whether you spoke or whether you just listened, we hear you.
We will be working on this um as we are across town on on traffic issues and and school issues. Um and we'll look at some of these. We will follow up with the engineer and on some of these um sort of
hard scrabble recommendations. Uh we'll see if we I I you know I don't just don't remember the extent of the speed study, but we'll try to get that information and just make it public. Um okay, so we're going to move on.
Let's just pop up the agenda again, see where we are. All right. Okay. Uh, so Chief, just talk about the crossing guard coverage throughout town. You did a little bit before you said there were 30 some odd. Um, and just to
remind everybody or just to tell folks and remind us, we also have two additional crossing guards, sort of floating crossing guards. Is that correct? >> Yes. So we um so we fill we have all the corners filled but then we hire two additional guards um who fill in if a
guard uh calls out sick or u what have you so that that can be covered. Um so we have >> and I think you said I think you said in some instances when you have all the coverage and you have these extra guards you send them to sort of more difficult intersections.
>> Right. So, um, like, uh, last year, um, Prospect in Oakland, um, a lot of times we had two guards there. Um, and if that car if one of the guards was needed for a open corner, they would go there and fill that. So, if there was no open corners, um, it will be it it most
likely will be two guards on, um, Prospect in Oakland and, uh, Spring and um, and Tuskin. Um, and usually that's like their home base. And then if a guard's out, then they can be uh dispatched to um open open corner.
Um so that um that that works out pretty good. But um we we we're in the process of hiring another guard um uh cuz we just had one um another floater, another person, another extra guard cuz that one of the floaters
um has a permanent corner now. So we're going to we're going to hire extra one for any um open slots. Um, and and what are we paying an hour for crossing guard in case anybody on the call wants to be a crossing guard? >> You stomping >> in the 20s. In the low 20s.
>> Low 20s. >> Yeah. So, it's competitive. >> It we do have a problem recruiting folks. So, if folks know, seriously, if if anyone's on and and knows someone who they think might be interested or good at this, >> right,
>> we we would like the referral. But we're we're yes, we uh we will not deny a referral, but we do have um five applications now to choose from. So we're we're doing pretty good um better than we we have in the past. Um yeah, so
you know, if if a guard's out um and uh either be uh covered by one of the floaters or an officer, and the officer will work the whole um time of that corner. >> Okay. Can we slide over to CHS? Uh we
spoke this morning at engineering and the observations from the engineers and and when I was out there is seems to be when you were out there we were out there the first day uh the second day of school rather um seems to be moving.
Okay. Have you as have your officers observed anything else or you observed anything else? Yes, my um my traffic unit was out there um and he said since the um some of the construction cleared up um it's been moving pretty pretty smooth and plus people are get are
they're observing people um dropping their kids off at the right locations so they're starting to get the um the pattern and where where to go. So and it's only it's only the first full week so we're doing pretty good. >> Remember we're we're we're running this on a trial. We can make some changes
over the next six weeks by Halloween. We want to have whatever the final is in place, but I I I don't think we're going to be making a lot of changes based on how it's working so far. >> Yes. >> And we got some signs up on the no K turns, right? Because somebody did uh
mention that to me today. >> I think we we got we got the oneway signs up because I think people didn't understand that it was one way on Academy. >> Right. Right. Um because I'm hearing of that there's still some K turns happening over in the north ter. Sure
there are. But you know what? >> It's on the north before the barricade. They get to they I've seen that they do the K turn. >> Maybe we'll have to put some more down there. You know, we can we can take a look at that. So that's a suggestion. Okay. Anything else on those items?
All right. Let's see where we are. Okay, so police activity. So, chief, I'm going to post up the uh agenda again. We'll look at the numbers. Um here we go.
Okay. Uh so we did have um one homicide uh this month or in in July, I guess. >> Yes. So, um, yeah, >> that that um um we reached out to the prosecutor's office. No further information at this time. It's still
under investigation. Um, I think they're still waiting for some reports to come back. Um, so um that's that. Um, robberies, those are older. Um, we haven't had any um in August. Um, those
are those were in the beginning of the year. um five robberies. Three of them were um were cleared with an arrest. Two of them are um that are not cleared are juvenile related. Um we we had a um
we we we couldn't positively identify a suspect in those two, but um we believe was juvenile and juvenile. So maybe like you know uh robbery as far as intimidating and taking a backpacket a backpack. That's a robbery. So, those are we had two of those that are
unclear. Uh the three that are clear, one was um uh the gas station on Springfield Avenue. Made an arrest in that um and the other two were um uh one was a domestic one was um a domestic
fight and that was an arrest. So, um uh three are cleared. The aggravated assaults have dropped uh significantly. Um, usually aggravated assaults are related to domestic violence. Um, usually when we have aggravated assault,
we have it's, you know, like in 2023 it was 10 and we had 10 arrests because it was domestic. Um, 2025 it has dropped down a lot. So that's that's great. Um, >> do you think you think is the the our
use of the uh social workers uh is this something that we could look at as a positive impact from that? Yes, that and um our um our uh our volunteers um that respond >> violence group. Yeah. >> Yes. That um that respond. We had um we
had we had about four or five that graduated from um uh volunteers that graduated that are um that help us out with that. So that uh I believe all that has helped in the reduction of that. um burglaries as you can see. Um last year
we were um it was pretty tough uh for us during the summer. You see we have uh dropped it by 55%. Um a lot of that from last year we had a lot of good arrests. We had um we put a lot of overtime into that. Um we had a
lot of details out. um also working with other agencies and um I think a lot of those arrests helped um bring those numbers down and um I don't um so that's 55% is good. Last year we were getting
one of them what seemed like every night almost the same houses so that's good we um we took care of that. Thefts have gone down 23%. We had um one shift that uh made an arrest of a package thief. He
u was stealing multiple packages um the whole tour um responded and um was able to uh to apprehend him in a backyard. So he u took off and they had a perimeter and he was um arrested
um without any further incident and um so that that's that helped. So, that was that was a good job by those guys. Um, autothefts, this is uh statewide, have been going down uh every year. And um and all all of our autothefts or with
the keys in the car, doors unlocked, or the car running, all of them. Every last one of them. So, um hopefully when it gets cold out, people will not um keep their keys in the car trying to warm them up. um that's when we start seeing um an increase in that.
So overall we have a 24% reduction in crime which is good. >> Any comments from township committee members? >> Yeah. Are you going to do um a campaign to remind people not to do that like on social media or work with Cindy or something to push out. Don't leave your
cars running with your keys in it. >> Yes. Yes. We we did it last year as well. Yes, we'll do that. And then we um we also go into the uh the stores and um Waw Wa is a big um one for that. People will keep their cars running and run into the Waw Wa and then they come out
and the car is gone. So, >> you know, Chief, um Irvington has uh one of those video message boards right on Springfield Avenue next to Civ on the corner of Civic Square. >> Okay. >> It says exactly that. Don't leave your keys in. Don't leave your car running. Maybe we ought to put a video message
board down at Wawwa for a while. >> That' be good. Yep. Yep. >> Yeah. That seems to be the the hot spot for that to happen. >> I think you could repeat this message all year, every month, and it would be
>> Well, remember, you know, like a like a place like Wawa, you're getting people from out of town. >> Yeah. And some people, you know, they may live somewhere where they can leave their car running and there's just not, you know, it may not be as population as
dense as ours and what have you. So, they come here and they just leave it running or or it's cold or it's hot and they want the air conditioning on then it's gone. So, um, but we, you know, we should certainly for folks who are in town,
tell people, you know, not to leave your cars running anywhere, even in your driveways, because we've had people steal the cars from the driveway. >> Yep. >> All right. So, let's go to traffic enforcement. Um, >> okay.
>> So, I said a little bit about this. You see the moving violations are up. Chief, you want to speak about this? >> Yeah. So the moving violations, we had a dip in June, but we brought them up back up again um somewhat in July. U we um
so with with the moving violations um we what we did was from last year. Last year we do a more targeted um enforcement, tell officers exactly where to go, stand on this spot and do enforcement. And
what we're realizing is that um um we weren't getting a lot of violations that way. So giving officers a little bit more freedom. Um of course we want them in certain areas where we're seeing speeding and violations. So
but um kind of like just do your do your details in that area and if you see a violation stop it and use your discretion of how you're going to enforce it. and that seemed to work for us this year so far.
Um there's been we did for like two weeks maybe um in the summer where we did like a specialized detail where where we were looking for um um so we're we're we're trying to increase the radar summones even though you see that uh big
increase from last year is still um it's still going to be higher than that. So, we were trying to do certain um details for a couple weeks where we just focused on uh radar sum radar details as far as using the radar um equipment and trying
to capture speeding in certain areas. Um the big topic is around the schools. Um, for example, Seth Bdon School, we did a lot of enforcement last year for um a
few weeks. We've um we got a lot of positive feedback from school administration regarding the details we're doing there. Um but we also uh moved it around as well. So, um the beginning of this year, um we focused on
the high school because we had the new traffic pattern and new drop off and um Mr. Luluka saw us in action. Um as far as the drop offs, it was more of a warning because it was a new pattern um the first week or so. Uh but we also go
to Clinton School. Clinton School also has a lot of traffic backup and things. So, we go there as well, Tuskin and Seth Bdon. So, we rotate it. Um, as far as our our traffic enforcement, um, we have a great, uh, traffic bureau,
um, that, um, enforces this these, um, type of, um, these type these type of infractions um, around the schools. We we we focus a lot on um, obstructing traffic, which is drop offs in in in bad
locations. Also, we try to clean up the parking. Um so that uh that's the focus of the schools, but during the summer it was more so um certain areas where we get historical um complaints of speeding
like Parker and um you know um um areas where we get a lot of um those type of things. So we did we did get a um increase in vehicle stops as well in uh uh July and hopefully uh it should go up in August as well.
Okay. Any uh questions for the chief? Any comments? Okay. Um chief, on the overtime, you know, it looks like uh we're holding steady.
>> Yes, the overtime is looking good. Um that's also decreased from last year as well. I don't have the page in front of me, but yeah, it has decreased. I think it was about 29% or so. >> And our our new shift system is working well. >> Yes. I mean, we have a few um things we
have to iron out, but as far as the um overtime going down, it the new shift has um helped us reduce that. Um you know, it um we're we're uh almost a year in. Um but it it was a transition from
going from three shifts to two shifts, but we do have um we worked it out. So we do have our overlap. So it's not um like when uh people are leaving at seven, there's nobody here. And then we had to wait for the seven the other seven guy 7:00 guys to come on. So we do
have um a few officers that stagger um those two sh stagger those shifts so we always have coverage. But um you know um on a daily basis we have more officers than we on each tour than we had with the three shifts. Um
and um so I think it's working for the best. >> Okay. Uh Patrick, do you have anything on OEM? >> You're keeping the hurricanes away. Thank you. >> I'll say that. No report, Mr. Dooka.
>> Okay. Um, and I'll just punch up the seffd um so again you know the we didn't have any building fires in July which was good. Uh
again, our major response is around medical calls and false alarms are pretty high. Um false calls, false alarms. You these are people calling things in. These are alarms that go off accidentally.
Um so that's the we're we're nearly 3,000 uh for the first seven months, 3,000 incidents. So, um, we think we'll get, you know, somewhere around 4500 for the year. Okay. Um, any comments, questions so
far? This is supposed to be a long meeting and it's still it's not. So, we have to fill it in. Yeah. Right. Um, I don't know if there's anybody from the community board on police here. Let's see. Anyone? Oh, Ronnie.
I think Ronnie's We're gonna move Ronnie over. >> All right, let's see. >> Welcome, Ronnie. >> Try that again. Can you hear me now? Yes. And see you. >> Hi. Thank you so much. >> So, so you're the you're the newbie. So,
you got assigned to do this meeting? >> I'm the newbie. I am the newbie. I volunteered. I was supposed to >> I was supposed to do it in uh >> in June or July, but then I don't know, prom or something happened.
Um but thank you very much. I'm pleased to be here. Um, Chief Sally, I'm I'm glad to be getting to know Deputy Chief Malloy and um participating on the community board on police. Um, I know
Dean is not here tonight, but the one thing I wanted to kind of get into the record is that we are the community board on police is ready to publicize the annual report and um I think we need
Dean to do that at the maybe at the next um township meeting. I believe that's the plan. And then I just >> maybe the next one. >> Oh, sorry. Yeah, >> that's okay. I was just gonna say because we already have plenty on there,
so we might want to move it to the following meetings. >> Sure. Um and then I am in the process of reaching out to um Frank Sanchez and a teacher, Miss Williams, at the high
school to try to get a youth member. um to fill our youth uh open position, we need a a member of the community who's between 16 and 21, I believe. Um and so we've reached out to a teacher who leads
the um students for justice club at the high school, thinking that would be a good source um for a youth member for the um for the committee as a non- voting member. Uh, and then the only other thing I
wanted to say is outside of my community board on police hat, um, can I make a quick comment about the traffic pattern at the high school? >> Absolutely. >> Okay. So, um, as the parent of a brand
new ninth grader, um, I just wanted to let you know it seems to be working well from our perspective. We're driving from Prospect and making a left onto >> Parker. Parker.
>> No, the street. >> Oh, god. >> North Terrace or Kensington? >> Franklin. Is it Franklin? >> Franklin. Yeah, >> Franklin. And then stopping >> Yeah. Stopping at the corner of uh like right before we would get to North and
stopping there. There's a sign that says drop off zone and that it's blocked. Everybody seems to be doing the same thing, stopping safely, letting the kids out, and then just making a left onto North Terrace um to head back towards
Oakland. Um there are a couple K turns happening from people who are coming from North Terrace approaching the barricade and making a right onto Franklin. So, it would be um good to get
those no Kturn signs up. Um but it's you know I can't see what's happening further further towards school but um it seems to be going well from our perspective. So thank you for all the work that went into setting that up.
>> Any questions? Uh so yeah. So, I think if if um you can work with the mayor or the clerk and we can schedule you for the, you know, a meeting when we don't have a lot of other things going on. >> Sure. For the annual report.
>> Yeah. >> Perfect. Okay. Any questions for me? >> I don't think so. >> Thank you so much for having me. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. Uh we're now going to go into our
uh report from the overnight parking working group. And there's four of us here who were on that working group. Uh the chief, Mr. Weary, and Miss Engel and myself. Um
I'll put the report up. We can read it word for word. Um I'm using a laptop and it's very slow.
Okay. So um come on come on come on. So this just uh talks about our you know the history and what have you and the reasons why we don't um we have not had
uh overnight parking from 2 to 6. Uh the master plan did uh recommend an evaluation. We think that that's what the working group did. Uh so we've met that responsibility. Uh they did talk about exploring overnight parking in residential areas by permit and that's
actually what we are recommending. Um and I'll just go right to the bottom line to what our recommendations are is that we um are talking about residents who live in well maybe I should back up and say we are not recommending
lifting overnight parking across town. We think and the chief agrees that if it's done on a uh permit basis where um you know we are regulating it it can be acceptable and we can work with that. So
we're talking about the R24 zone that's the residential it's two family zone. Um generally you have to you know these are smaller lots 4,000 or 5,000 square feet. Um there's limited space. There's the
driveways tend to be single driveways. There's really not any um generally not space to bring two cars in or park two cars in side by side. They're all one after another. Um so what we're you know
again uh suggesting the two four zone uh permits would be one per unit. This would be a new type of uh permit would be a type C would allow a resident with a driveway. Right now, a type B permit
is a resident who does not have a driveway. Um so this would be uh a type C, which would be a resident who has a driveway. Uh we would charge $50 a month, $600 per
year um to park overnight. Uh, and this is the same amount as in the public lot. And the and the, you know, whatever the reason that someone wants to purchase a permit, whether it's a primary, secondary, we've had people come and say, I work in the middle of the night.
Uh, I need access to the car. Some people say, I I need to, you know, we had a story and I I don't think she's on the line anymore, but um, you know, there was a situation where someone was pregnant, had to have their that car was the last car. So, there's a lot of
jockeying that happened. So um so uh we are you know suggesting that you could uh purchase that p of that uh permit and it allows you to park off uh you know on street. Um we also want to be sure that
you know this is not something where people are storing their car there all the time. This is really just for parking overnight. Um, so we would do as part of this, we would do a handout when people get the permit, sort of a frequently asked questions or best
practice uh, handout. You know, we we do know that if sometimes you're not going to be able to park in front of your house, you may park in front of a neighbors. We want people to respect, you know, even though it's a public space, people do get a little territorial about the parking space in
front of their house. So, um that is the recommendation. Uh I did want to just put up one other thing and this is the map just to give you a sense of where the two four zones are.
Um I know it's kind of small. Uh let's see this. Um, so the two four zones are these these light blue areas here that where my cursor is. So it's mostly on the east
side of town uh in the Hilton area. Uh this is a little bit by um uh Newark Way here. This is Deart Park. This is Lombardi Street, Toronto. And then it's over again uh off of Elmwood
uh here in Brookwood, Middbrook. Um again, these would be by permit. Someone would have to come in and make an application. Uh you know, we did take the the the step in increasing uh permit parking in our public lots,
but the public lots are here and here and here, but they're not in this area. We have no public lots in this area except for Dehard Park, which is way up here. So, these folks are really shut out of that opportunity. uh as are
these. So, by having um this ability to have permit parking, I think we'll be able to address some of the concerns that we've heard from people >> and it also parkway and Bden Parkway South. That >> it does. Yes. Yes, >> that's what I was just
>> Yes, it does include Bden Parkway and Bdon Parkway South. It includes I mean the people we've gotten, you know, come Brown Street, Evelyn Court, Bdon Parkway, Bdon Parkway South, >> right? the courts off of Bdon. So, yeah.
>> Have we do we have any idea or thought about how many >> we have no idea >> um parking? Yeah. So, we we might need to think about um having to limit them if they're too many
and not enough street if you know what I mean in some areas. But just something we can kind of follow as it goes, >> right? Yep. Um, my colleagues on the working group, Mr. Weary, Miss Engel, Chief Sally, any
comments? >> Did you guys have a lot of fun or something? You seem very joyful about this work group. >> It was We had a lot of fun. >> It was It was an efficient, quick meeting that lasted like 58 minutes.
>> Well, this one my meetings my >> No, I think it's a good plan. I mean, I'm for providing these permits. I think you we're limiting it to one per unit. So that helps mayor with your concerns. We're also not saying it has to be like in front of your own house because
that's not realistic when you have a three family house. >> But they they only work in that zone, I think, is what we've agreed on. So it's not like you overnight permit. And to use Mr. Luca's example from the working group, go park at your, you know, boyfriend or girlfriend's house across town overnight. You have to stay in your
R24 zone. Did uh do we need to do this by ordinance? So, do you want for discuss? >> It's on for discussion and if we if we approve it, then we have to change the parking ordinance. Yes,
>> Mr. Weary Chief. >> Sounds good. I I agree. >> Yeah, I think it's um a good balance. Um gives people opportunity to, you know, and like we're talking about safety, you know, as far as walking so far from a um township lock to their
house, >> you know. Um I know the one residents walk into the park and all that stuff. So it's, you know, a lot safer. She park, you know, park right in front of your house. And that's the reason why we want um you know, that's why we have the overnight parking for safety. So we, you
know, so you know, it's a good it's a good balance. >> Plus, you know, we want to be a welcoming and inclusive community. And you know, this is parking can be a barrier and so we're trying to figure it out.
>> And I think you said that there were um some rules about like if there's a snowfall coming or leaf pickup, that kind of thing. >> Yeah. So um if it's on a a snow emergency street, they would have to actually move it. That's like a
standard. Even when they get the permit, if it's on a snow emergency, they have to get it off. on these others. I it would be a the chief would have the ability to um issue a you know all cars off street type thing.
>> I think this is a great plan. I commend the working group for coming together with this 58 minutes that is impressive. Um we've heard from so many community members um for and I I mean I have heard
about this issue for years from before I even joined the township committee. Um so this is a long-standing issue that residents have had and you guys solved it in 58 minutes. I commend you and I support it.
>> Okay. Um Okay. Okay. So, we'll put it on for it. Well, it's on for discussion and I've put the the document in a background piece that I emailed earlier so people can read it one more time before Tuesday. Okay. So, our next item
is our second public comment. Is there anyone who would like to speak to the township committee public safety committee? Um, can I just um I just just wanted to give since this is such a hot issue right now before the
public speaks um Pat and Chief could you give um just very brief update on the recent ICE um activity in the township? I know we don't know a lot, but I think it would just be helpful to just kind of
share what we've shared in some places, but maybe, you know, it' be nice to and what, frankly, what uh the township can and cannot do. Um I mean, I can speak to it, but I'd rather come from you guys.
So, >> Chief, you want to handle that? >> Yeah. So, um we're we're not the only um community that's uh seeing uh ICE come into town and u you know make um and
make these arrests. Um the um the the thing is that it's it's um it's it's federal. So um we as a department really much we don't have too much involvement in it. we don't know
when they're coming to town or um you know what who they're going to arrest or anything. So um a lot of times the only way we find out is if uh somebody from the community is calling the police, you know, and um
our our we and we we and we are not a part of the investigation at all. So, um, even when we have like another agency that comes in, um, you know, maybe the FBI or ATF for whatever reason, um, we normally don't comment on
what that agency is doing because we don't know. We don't want to, you know, um, we're we're as police department, we're we're law enforcement. We don't want to in um um um um stop somebody's another agency's
investigation or arrest. Um we can't we can't we can't jump in. But again, we don't even know. So um and you know, as far and it's tough for us because we don't we don't know and we can't really give uh the public any information
because we we just don't know ourselves. Um and that's that's that's pretty much it. I mean we have we have the AG uh directive of what we can and cannot do >> and uh we cannot interfere. Um
we uh >> and we don't have to >> Right. And I and I would say uh as far as the public do not interfere either. I mean it's okay to document, record, whatever. Just don't impede the uh investigation or the arrest because that
could be that could be a criminal charge. >> Don't touch the person. Correct. Don't touch the right ATF people. >> Right. Right. Because that could be aggravated assault. >> I mean, I'm sorry. The ICE people. Yeah. >> That could be aggravated assault or impeding their arrest could be
obstruction of justice. So, I mean, that's those are um state uh criminal code laws that that we enforce. >> We can enforce state law. State law. Um, and the feds deal with their, you know,
federal, uh, uh, civil immigration warrants or whatever they have. So, um, so that's that's where that's where we're at. >> Thanks, Pat. Did you want to add anything? >> Yeah. So, a little specifics about what we know of this week. So, there were two
incidents that were reported to us of um, federal law enforcement in town this week. you know, may not necessarily be ICE as we understand that there are a few agencies working on immigration enforcement now. So, there was one incident on Prospect
Street where two individuals were taken into custody and then there was an incident on Laurel Avenue just off of Springfield Avenue. Um we there were witnesses that saw federal law enforcement there but don't know who or how many were taken into custody on the
Prospect Street incident there. You know some contact was made from from residents in town to the family of the uh the people taken into custody on Laura Lab. We have literally no no more
information than um PE that federal law enforcement were observed. The uh federal the federal law enforcement haven't uh confirmed with our police department about any um arrests or detainment. Uh we would like to know
that information and and have requested that information, but it's not something that federal law enforcement has forthcoming with so far. Um, we continue to tell our public anybody can call the police department's non-emergency number
9737621234 if they observe Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within the township solely to report their presence as this is, you know, often talked about and it is a a very upsetting and important thing that's happening in
town. Unfortunately, if people want to report just to make a report, they can do so by calling the non-emergency number. If they believe that if residents believe that they're observing actions that require an emergency response, they should call 911 and make
an urgent report. Residents are able to make anonymous reports in both circumstances. They just have to request so when they uh call into the police department. So, you know, that's how residents should report and we ask that
they report if they do see these types of incidents. And, you know, just to reinforce the the chief's point, you know, just be careful about if you're a resident about how much involvement you have when you're witnessing any arrest. You know,
videotaping is acceptable, but interfering is not. We we don't want to see these incidents grow into um further law enforcement action with with any of our residents. So, >> and >> unfortunately, that's the little
information we have. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I'll just add that I I did speak with the governor's office um after these incident after the first on Monday and also with um Congresswoman Cheryl's
office. um governor's office, you know, it's it's basically we're we're pretty much hand tied um on all of it, all all ends, which is what makes it so frustrating, among other things. But the um Congresswoman's office, they are, you
know, they put in several requests to immigration services for information and um they don't get much more than we do. So, but they will be in touch with us if um if they hear anything um and
they want us to keep informing them. So, that's just an update I thought it was important to raise tonight. >> Yes, thank you for raising it. >> Uh anything else? Any other new business before we move to second public comment? >> Okay. Um,
is there anyone who would like to speak again or for the first time in this public comment period? Just again raise your hand and we'll move you over. It doesn't look like anyone wants to. Okay. Um that concludes our uh open
session. Uh chief, is there anything in executive you want to talk about? >> Are you on mute >> or do we have to go into executive so that you could tell us? >> No. No. Uh we discussed it. We just uh it was just the um crossing hiring
crossing guards, but we talked about that. So we're good. >> Great. and and um we also last week talked about last meeting rather talked about you're doing some recruitment for potential new officers uh on uh
transfers. >> Yes. So we have we have um we have uh several we have a good amount of applications. We're reviewing them now and um so we're going to start um interviewing and you know going through the process. >> All right. So you'll work with Mr. weary
and the mayor on scheduling dates for those interviews. >> Yes. >> Okay. Anybody want to go in executive session? Anybody want to continue the meeting? >> No. >> No. All right. >> Not at all. >> All right. So, uh let's adjourn and
thank you all for coming again.