Limit the public to the observations of the actions and discussions of the governing body at all of its regular and special meetings. So moved. Second. Mr. Davis. Yes. Mr. Duca. Yes. Miss Angel. Yes. Sherman. Yes. Mayor Adams. Yes.
Thank you. Thank you. All right. Please stand for a salute to the flagage. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one
nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Welcome to the Tuesday, May 20th, 2025 meeting of the Maplewood Township Committee. Um, tonight I just want to
remind residents that um, we have voter registration tonight. Town hall is open until 900 p.m. at the clerk's office. So if you're listening and you need to register, please do so. You have till 9:00. Um, so tonight we have one
proclamation that Mr. Daffis will read on lupus awareness month. Then we have public comment for agenda items only. We have our budget being presented for approval and the budget hearing. Then we
have um the adoption of the budget if we vote to do so. We have several ordinances on for final passage. We have um a ordinance on property transfer that increases certain fees to continued use
for continued use occupancy use. We have another on rental properties that'll increase certain fees and penalties associated with the registration of rental properties. We have another ordinance on that will will repeal and replace a full section of the township
code of the township of Maplewood establishing flood plane regulations and adopting flood plane hazard maps. We have two bond ordinances, three bond ordinances. um for uh for hearing. Those are mostly
for capital projects for 2025 including road program and other projects within the township. Then we have one introduction of an ordinance um for the township code entitled zoning review and permits and
the ordinance that'll make changes to fees and penalties with regard to zoning permits. Then we have administrative reports. Patrick Weary, business administrator, Miss Credidio as uh attorney, and our township clerk, Liz Fritzen. Uh then we have elected
official reports, committee member Daffis, you go first tonight, Deputy Mayor Herman, Committee Member Angel, Committee Member Duca, who's making too many notes, and then I go last. Uh we have four discussion items
tonight. We have the filming ordinance on for discussion, and that um Mr. Daffis will lead that discussion. We have a safe storage firearms discussion by Deputy Mayor Herman. Cannabis lounges um discussion and I will lead that
discussion and then South Orange temporary use of the Maplewood pool. That's Mr. Weary will talk to us about that. We have the consent agenda. Then a second public comment and on any subject matter and then we will adjourn. So with
that, I will hand it over to committee member Daffis for Lupus Month proclamation. Thank you, mayor, and good evening, everyone. This is the uh lupus awareness month
proclamation. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects all nationalities, races, ethnicities, genders, and ages. It is considered a serious global health problem. It is estimated that 5 million
people worldwide suffer from some form of lupus. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans are living with lupus and approximately 1 in
250 people may end up developing lupus. Lupus causes the body's defense system to attack healthy cells and tissues instead of viruses and bacteria. This can damage many parts of the body such as the joints, skin, kidneys, heart,
lungs, blood vessels, and brain. There is currently no cure for lupus and it is one of the most difficult diseases to diagnose as its symptoms come and go and can mimic those of other diseases. There
currently exists no single test that can authoritatively identify the disease. However, the outlook for those suffering from lupus has improved. Patients are living longer, more normal
lives because of increased awareness of the disease. There are improved diagnostic methods and more effective therapies. As a result of advances from biomedical research and positive findings, treatment methods have
progressed significantly. Biomedical scientist Judith Mills founded nonprofit organization Butterfly Walkers, Inc. To increase public and professional awareness, and to help create an
educated population about the disease, the organization advocates for people with the disease, works to inform patients and their families about their treatment options, and raises funds for research to find a cure. active with
both research uh active with both the research lupus alliance and the lupus foundation of America New Jersey chapter Judith Mills has also formed support groups to help people with autoimmune diseases to
thrive to take advantage of the knowledge already gained through public awareness of symptoms and treatment of lupus. The need for scientific research remains essential in the Montlair community, Butterfly Walkers, Inc., the Lupus Foundation of America, and Lupus
Research Alliance assist in various fundraising events such as Walk to End Lupus Now. Perhaps we should do one here in Maplewood, South Orange. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Dean Dapis, member of the Maplewood
Township Committee, on behalf of Mayor Nancy Adams, and the rest of my colleagues on the Township Committee, do hereby proclaim May 2025 as lupus awareness month in the township of Maplewood.
Thank you. Thank you. And with that, we'll move on to our first public comment section for agenda items only. Um, Mr. Wary, while I'm looking in the room to see if anyone has any questions or comments, would you please look online to see if anyone is
available? Anyone in the room? Seeing none, anyone joining on Zoom would like to speak in public portion, please raise your hand now. This is for agenda items only. I see no hands. Mayor, thank you very much. Okay, with that, we'll move on to
the budget. Reading the budget by title, resolution 177-25. Fitzen. Uh, yes, Mayor. That's uh resolution 177-25, and it's reading the budget uh by title. So, uh would someone please
move that and second it? Can I get a motion? I offer the foregoing resolution and move its adoption. I'll second it. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Miss Engel, yes. Miss Herman,
yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Okay, so you have read the uh budget by title. So now budget hearing. We'll go to the budget hearing. Mayor, uh, this is a time fixed for the public hearing on the 2025 municipal
budget. The budget was approved by the governing body on April 15, 2025. Was advertised as required by law on April 24th, 2025, together with notice of hearing for this time. Printed
copies have been made available to the public during the past week and a supply is here for anyone desiring a copy. As the clerk said, is anyone who has not secured a copy of the budget may do so now.
Right up. Yep. Britson. Okay, we passed that. Mr. Duca, we already did that in the before the hearing. Excuse me. We already did that before the hearing, the move. Okay. Um,
so now we're to uh open the time for a hearing on the uh municipal budget for 2025. Okay. Before uh opening this hearing, I wish to outline the procedure. Each person desiring to be heard will rise and give
his or her name and address before speaking. I will recognize one speaker at a time in order of rising as nearly as I can determine, which is very formal, but I'll do it anyway. Address all questions to the chair. Where
necessary, they will be referred to individual members of the governing body or municipal officials. Questions must be confined solely to the municipal budget before us. School or county matters are not proper subjects of this hearing and cannot be discussed or
answered here tonight. I now declare open the public hearing for the 2025 municipal budget for the township. Observing nobody coming up for this. Mr. Wary, can you check online? If anyone
joining on Zoom would like to speak on the municipal budget, please raise your hand now. I see no hands, mayor. Okay. No further applicants from the floor. Okay. Then I will entertain a motion to close the hearing.
Mayor, I will read section two, the adopting resolution for the 2025 budget. Okay. Be it resolved by the committee persons of the township Mapwood, County of Essex, State of New Jersey, that the budget here and before set forth is
hereby adopted and shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated of the sums therein set forth as appropriations and authorization. I offer the foregoing resolution and move its
adoption. Roll call. Mr. Daffis. Yes. Need a second. Second. Second. Okay. Do we have second? Yeah. Mr. Daffis. Yes. Mr. Duca. Yes. Miss Zangel. Yes. Turman. Yes. Mayor Adams.
Yes. Uh, the resolution is adopted for the 2025 budget. Yay. It only took one. Let's clap. That's a lot of work. Amazing. I do want to thank all the um Mr. Wary and the and and the administration on all your work on the budget as well as those
of our department heads and my colleagues because we put in our time too. Not going to, you know, I think we should thank ourselves a little bit on this one. Anyway, it's a lot of work and um we're almost to start the next
budget. But before we do that, uh okay, let's move on to ordinances, please. On final passage. Okay, mayor. Uh, ordinance on final passage. Ordinance 3153-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter
204 of the township code of the township of Mapwood entitled property transfer of. This ordinance will increase certain fees with respect to certificates of continued use and occupancy. Uh, this ordinance has been
published. copies posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law. I'd like to open the hearing on this ordinance. Is there anyone in the room who would like to speak to this
ordinance? Seeing none, Mr. Weary, is there anyone online? If anyone joining on Zoom would like to speak on this ordinance, please raise your hand now. I see no hands, Mayor. Okay, then. May I get a motion, Mr. Defus? Certainly, Mayor. I move this ordinance be adopted
as a whole and the clerk be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange News record according to law. I'll second. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Bangal,
yes. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. Next ordinance 3154-25. Also on final ordinance 3154-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 209 of the township code of the township
of Mapwood entitled rental properties. This ordinance will increase certain fees and penalties associated with the registration of rental properties. This ordinance has been published. Copies posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building and copies made available to the general public in
accordance with the law. Is there anyone here who would like to speak to this ordinance? Mr. Wary, is there anyone online? If anyone on Zoom would like to speak to this ordinance, please raise your hand now. I see no hands. Mayor, thank you. May I
get a motion, Mr. Davis? Yes, Mayor. I move this ordinance to be adopted as a whole and the clerk to be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange News record according to law. I'll second Fritzen. Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel,
yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Next ordinance 3155-25, Mr. Also on final mayor ordinance 3155-25 is an ordinance repealing and replacing in full section
271-45 of the township code of the township of Mapwood establishing flood plane regulations and adopting flood hazard maps. This ordinance has too been published copies posted on the bul bulletin board in the municipal
building. copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law. Is there anyone here who would like to speak to this flood plane hazard area ordinance? Seeing none, Mr. Wary, is there anyone online? If anyone on Zoom would like to speak to this ordinance, please raise
your hand now. I like the way you say now. Thank you. Right now. Later. I see no hands. Mayor, thank you. May I get a motion, Mr. I move this ordinance be adopted as a whole and the clerk be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange
News record according to law. I'll second. Mr. Davis, yes. Luca, yes. Sangel, yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Next ordinance, bond ordinance 3156-25. Mr. Also on final mayor
ordinance 3156-25 bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements in and by the township of Mapwood in the county of Essex, New Jersey appropriating the aggregate amount of $6,532,000 even therefore and
authorizing the issuance of $6,234,150 in bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof. This ordinance will fund various capital improvements in the township of Mapwood. This ordinance has been published, copies posted on a bulletin board in the municipal
building, and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law. Is there anyone in the room who would like to speak to this ordinance? Seeing none, Mr. Wary, anyone online? Anyone on Zoom would like to speak to this ordinance, please raise
your hand now. I see no hands, mayor. Okay, then I will move this ordinance to be adopted as a whole and the clerk be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in the Mayoid South Orange News record according to law. I second the motion.
Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel, yes. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Bond ordinance 3157-25 is Also on final bond ordinance
3157-25, bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements for the stormwater utility in and by the township of Mapwood in the county of Essex, New Jersey, appropriating 2,24,752. Therefore, and authorizing the
issuance of $1,182,750 in bonds or notes of the township to finance part of the cost thereof. This ordinance will fund various capital improvements for the stormwater utility in the township of Maplewood. Thank you. This ordinance has
been published, copies posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building, and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law. Is there anyone in the room who would like to speak to this ordinance? Our first for uh appropriating capital funds
for our storm water utility. Seeing none, anyone online, Mr. Wor, anyone online would like to speak to this ordinance, please raise your hand. I see no hands, mayor. Okay, thank you. I move this Wait, is it me or you?
I move this ordinance be adopted as a whole and the clerk be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange News Record according to law. I second the motion. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Bangle. Yes. Mr. Herman. Yes. Mayor Adams. Yes.
And the last ordinance on final 315825. Another bond ordinance. Mr. Yes. Mayor also on final bond ordinance 3158-25. bond ordinance in the township of Mapwood in the county of Essex, New Jersey, providing for various capital
improvements for the South Essex Fire Department appropriating the aggregate amount of 1,212,000 even therefore and authorizing the issuance of 1,151,400 bonds or notes to the township to finance part of the cost thereof.
This ordinance will fund various capital improvements for the South Essex Fire Department. This ordinance has been published, copies posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building, and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law. Is
there anyone who would like to speak to this ordinance funding capital projects for the South Essex Fire Department? Seeing no one in the room, Mr. Wary, can you ask if anyone on Zoom? If anyone on Zoom would like to speak to
this ordinance, please raise your hand. See no hands. Mayor. Okay. Thank you. Then I will move this ordinance be adopted as a whole and the clerk be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange News record according to I second the
motion. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel, yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams. Yes. Thank you. With that, we have an introduction of an ordinance on for um number 3159-25. Miss Fritzen. Yes, Mayor. On
introduction, Ordinance 3159-25, an ordinance to amend chapter 272 of the Township Code of the Township Mapwood entitled zoning review and permits. This ordinance will change certain fees
and penalties in connection with zoning reviews and zoning permits and make certain other changes with respect to the processing thereof. Okay. May I get a motion, Mr. Daffford? Yes, mayor. I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading, its publication according
to law in the Maplewood South Orange News Record, and a hearing to be held on June 4th. I'll second. Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Bengal, yes. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. It's a lot of ordinances. So,
now we move on to administrative reports. Mr. Wary, have no report. Mayor, you sure? Yes. There's nothing going on that is specific to me for you to be aware of. Or for the public to be aware
of? That's right. Yes. Would anyone have any questions for Mr. Wary? Okay, we'll move on to our attorney, Miss Credio. This is a Yeah, don't worry. Be has a report.
Anyone have a question for Miss Credio? Seeing none, we'll move on to our clerk, M. I always have a report. You do have I always have a I know you. I almost always. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so, uh, as the mayor stated earlier, there's
roughly an hour and 7 minutes, uh, still available for anyone that needs to register to vote to be eligible to vote in the, uh, primary election on June 10th. So again, the clerk's office is open and uh we'll be glad to help you
until 900 pm and um the primary election day is June 10th as a reminder. And again, everything's been posted up on the township website with all the key uh dates and changes to um one
particular voting location from Columbia High School back to Clinton School and that encompasses districts 4, 10, 16, and 22. Uh, I also want to mention that uh,
Township Mapwood is sponsoring a great um, Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Memorial Day. Um, and if you're interested in participating, uh, you can get that information on the township website. It's a very simple
form to complete and uh register and we probably have 15 plus um groups already registered and it will be a great day. We also have the Columbia High School band participating and uh a full lineup
for a ceremony back here at town hall roughly 10:00 a.m. Okay, that's it. Okay, any questions for our clerk? What time does the parade start? Parade starts at 9 9:00 a.m.
sharp. Uh steps off right at the uh Columbia High School parking lot. Everything's the same. There's no changes. Uh the route is the same. And again, everything is posted up on the township website. And um we have uh
certainly more room for participation and would encourage um uh all of our township groups to uh join in. Okay. Anyway, I will say that uh Mr. Duca will be uh assisting me as he
normally does with um being the boots on the ground that morning at the parking lot, but everybody will have um their numbers assigned to them ahead of time, every group. So it should run very very smooth. What do they call that? Gathering cats. No, what is hurting cat?
I must remember Mr. Duca being traffic cop last year. So y we saw that. So yeah. Oh yeah, Mr. Duke had a parade last time uh event last year where we spoke about some
breakdowns and went over all of that again at uh the event planning meeting for this year. Okay, good. Have you ever When was the last time you slept in on Memorial Day? Long time. Long time.
25 years ago, right? Okay. Reports from elected officials. Committee member Daffus. Thank you, Mayor. Uh I just want to note for the public, if you receive our township emails, then you receive notice of Pride starting next month, a couple weeks. We
uh kick off Pride uh on Sunday, June 1st with our annual Equality March. We uh invite folks uh this is open to everyone, familyfriendly. Join us at Rickleton Square starting at 10:30 a.m. for sign
making. Bring your own signs. Um, and we step off uh at 11:00 a.m. and we end up here uh in the front of the building here in Jerry Ryan Plaza for a rally and a flag raising. Um, I also want to take
an opportunity to highlight that we are again hosting a lavender graduation at Columbia High School. Uh that is uh on June 6th, Friday, June 6th, starting at 6:00 p.m. And uh we need more graduates
to register. Uh we've had a few registrants and and we know this is kind of typical that they come in very last minute, but we're hoping to get the word out about that. And you can catch the complete lineup of
all of our events that we are aware of on our website and on the maplewood arts and culture.orgmaps pride website. Um, and I also want to note, mayor, this was news to me and
apparently to even our administrator, that we have filed our application for consideration uh, with the human rights campaign for our municipal equality index. So fingers crossed that we come
back with a um, great rating and um, hopefully we'll get some news about that in the in the coming months. We we don't expect to hear anything until October, November. And that is my report. Okay.
Any questions for Mr. Definit? All right. Thank you very much, Deputy Mayor. Thank you. So, are you ready? The Maplewood Community Pool is opening in four days
on Saturday. This is very exciting. Early bird rates are still in effect. They're available for about two more weeks until June 2nd. So, you can buy online. You can drop off a check in the dropbox at town hall or you can come to
town hall. Uh please note, if you plan to come to town hall to buy your pass, please don't wait until the very last minute on Friday. It's the night before holiday weekend. And although our staff will be here, don't push it. It'd be
nice. Um, that's right. You can also buy your passes at the pool. Um, dis and I also wanted to mention and make sure everyone is aware that we do have discounted rates available through our pool PAL program to eligible residents
to qualify. There is an application where residents attest that they are eligible. Um, and there are many different ways you can be eligible through free and reduced lunch, section 8, SNAP, Medicaid, unemployment. Um, information on all of this is on our
pool website. So, you can, um, go to our main website and then click through to the pool website or go straight to the pool website. All the information should be there. Um, so hope to see everyone at the pool. Very exciting, although it's a little chilly. Looks like a little
chilly this weekend. Um, also as Miss Fritzen mentioned, we have a very busy Memorial Day weekend coming up with lots of really fun activities and I am really excited about Shalomfest on Sunday. This
is a special event for Jewish American Heritage Month and it's organized by the Soma Jewish Cultural Affairs Committee in partnership with our town's Division of Arts and Culture. There will be Jewish dancers and lots of really good food. That is Sunday, May 25th at the
Woodland. and um it should be a lot of fun. Then on Memorial Day, I am also looking forward to the parade and ceremony at town hall followed by the duck races in Memorial Park. I am really hoping that I win one of the ducks wins
this year. I buy a pack a quack pack is what they call it. I buy a quack pack every year and only one once. Oh, you've won. I've never won and I buy one every year, too. The first year I won we won. So what? Stop. Yeah. No complaining. You won. I
want to win again. I want to win one of the big gratitude. Hashtag gratitude. Yeah. Anyway, um that's my report. Okay. Any questions? Any questions for Deputy Mayor Herman? Wait, when does a poll
open again? 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The um hours for the next few weeks in June are 12 to 6. Thank you. Okay, Committee Member Angel, you're you're up. Um thank you, Mayor. I just
want to remind everybody that it is May is mental health awareness month. Hold on, I have to unlock my phone. Um May is mental health awareness month, so it's a good time to remind everybody about our make the right call phone numbers. Um,
our mental health crisis is 988, emergency 911, social services 211 and poison and control is 1 800 2221222. And I want to acknowledge Miss Davenport and our health department for having those banners up all around town. So if you need help, do not forget to
make a phone call. People are around to talk to you and help you out. Um, I also want to mention that our new storm water utility bills are going to be hitting mailboxes and you'll see this handy dandy flyer that our um team and administration put together. Um, this
new storm water utility helps fund um projects that are needed to fix our infrastructure and there are credits available. So, if you're doing landscaping and putting in dry wells or rain barrel um or native pl or plantings um you can go online and see the credit
manual to learn how you can um either get a onetime credit or an ongoing credit if you reduce um the amount of asphalt that you have and put in more plantings. Um and then the last thing that I had was um I was also going to mention the duck races and we also had
so many um shows and concerts at the middle school and at the elementary schools. We had Miss Shona I think had productions. The Y had productions. So I just want to thank congratulate all of our youth who have been performing in arts and music over the past few weeks and in the upcoming few weeks. Um it's
really fun time to be in Maplewood. That is my report. Thank you. Any questions for committee member Angel? Seeing none. Committee member Duca has no report. So we'll move on to Oh, very lot of notes. Lot of notes tonight.
Mayor, I have about a 45m minute report. Um, on just give everyone an update on the bike lanes proposed for Parker. On May 14th, the engineering, public works, and planning committee.
Um, at our regular meeting, we saw some revisions to the plan. We are looking at those revisions. Uh, we had some questions. We we will be looking again at that plan on June 11th, which is Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. That again is the
engineering, public works, and planning committee. We will then um after that after the 11th we will schedule a zoom community zoom u meeting the week of June 23rd where we will present um
whatever plan that we have at that point could be amended some at our next engineering meeting but that will be the idea is to uh present it to the community uh the final plan on June 20 the week of June 23rd.
Um, we'll we'll hear comments if there are any changes that are necessary at our July 9th engineering public works and planning committee. We will consider those. And then on July 15th, we have uh teed up the vote to proceed or not to
proceed at our regular township committee meeting. So that's the schedule. Of course, um if we're not able to make a decision on the 15th, we can decide if we need more information or not, but I think by the 15th, we'll probably have all the information we
need and we will have um input on the final plan from the community. So, um that's that's the schedule on the bikes. on affordable housing. The affordable housing board will be reviewing the draft housing element and fair share
plan with our housing consultant and then that will go to the planning board at its June meeting for their consideration and hopefully their approval and we will be able to file our plan with the state by the June 30th
deadline. So that's ongoing right now. On Wednesday, June 4th, we have a bit of a conflict because at 7 p.m. that night when we're going to be meeting is going to be the 30th anniversary of the Hilton Neighborhood Association. They should come here. We
can't miss that. Well, we are going to miss it. Um, so you know that's unless we wanted to push our meeting back by half hour, which we could decide to do tonight. Uh, but anyway, it'll be Maplewood Community Music Swingtown Band. They have it every year. here. It'll be at the gazebo, Springfield
Avenue Gazebo. We'll have a proclamation. We can figure out um who's going to read it or what's going to happen. But again, if we want to uh consider moving the meeting back um 7:30 to SE, you know, starting our executive at 7:30 and starting the regular meeting
at 8. We have done that for national night out. So, correct. Given that I was the first president of the Hilton Neighborhood Association, it would be really nice if we did that. And of course, they had no idea to think that we would be meeting on Wednesday night,
right? You know, they they could they have to get when the band is available. Sure. Sure. Um Well, while you're talking about it, does anyone would like to move moving our meeting from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. that night? Which night? It's June 3r Tuesday, June. June 4th.
Wednesday, June 4th. Event start 7 p.m. Don't we have our meeting on June 3rd? No. June 4th. June 4th. originally the primary election. You thought we moved it back? No. No. No. We didn't move it back because we didn't want to conflict with the reason that it was the election
was moved and that was because of the Jewish holiday. Right. So, I'll move it. I'll move second. Yeah. That we move it back 30 minutes. Mr. Daffus, yes. Luca, yes.
Sel, yes. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Let's hope for a short agenda. I'm glad this came up otherwise I would have been here on the scene the wrong day. And then on July 4th, uh we've had our planning meeting and I'll just give you a rundown of the activities that are
planned. There'll be a 5K early in the morning. Uh 10:00 we'll have our bike parade and that'll start in Maplewood Village and come into the park. 10:30 we'll have our races. Uh at the North Field, which is right across the street
from Town Hall. Around noon time, we'll have softball, adult softball. Bring bringing that back. Yay. Uh in the afternoon, we'll have bingo. That'll be in the air conditioned comfort of the community center at Dehart. And then
right after that, we will have our ice cream contest. And anyone who wants to challenge the winner from last year, feel free. I think we should do pie again. Who won last year? He did. Do I have to say he he did? He won. The
biggest. Yes. Yes. Then we'll have our pet parade that'll also be at Deart there. And then uh fireworks. We'll open the field and activities starting at 7:30 with a DJ and light show. And then 900 p.m. exactly uh with fireworks. And
we will have better communication this year with the fireworks people. Yes. Yell start the fire. Uh and then the last thing I have is the next day exciting. We are having the grand opening of the library and our plan is
to close Baker Street and have a little street fair, a little activity out there, music, flag raising, speeches, speeches, speeches, and then we'll have activities in the library the whole day. People will do tours and then we'll have art shows and music and all kinds of
stuff. Amazing. Are we cutting? And today, are we cutting a ribbon? We are cutting a ribbon. And we have pictures of 7, 60 years ago when we wore when the township committee people wore all these goofy hats. So, we want to revive that.
No, no hats. No hats this year. And today, the library received a temporary certificate of occupancy from the building department. That's amazing. Set to go and move forwards. Building department of Melbourne or No, no. A board.
That's all I have. M. Any questions? Mr. Duca, I thought you were going to congratulate Springfield Avenue Partnership on a fantastic Mayfest this weekend. I will second that motion. So, there you go. Good job to Nicole Wallace and the board and everybody who planned a great day and they and they picked a
great weather for it. It was great weather. Any other questions for Mr. Duca? Seeing I reserve the balance of my time there. Okay. You reserve it. What balance? Okay, 45 minutes. I only used about 15, I think, at most. Well,
everybody took my uh things for Memorial Day, Duck Grace, all those things, but I will wish a happy birthday to my son. It's a twin birthday to with my son and my stepdaughter. I have the same birthday. Um, so happy birthday in Japan
and happy birthday in Philadelphia. They're 11 years old. A happy birthday. With that, we'll move on to discuss. I'm assuming no. Yeah. Okay. We'll move on for discussion. I mean, um, we'll start with the filming ordinance. Mr. Daffis, thank you, Mayor. Um, as a lot of people
know by now, New Jersey has a film commission. And New Jersey is becoming pretty hot on the map in the United States in terms of filming uh, major motion pictures and and series, streaming series, and the like. In fact,
Netflix is building a massive studio in South Jersey right now. Uh, and some of you have heard the great news that American Classic, uh, a major film studio, is producing an upcoming Netflix series that's being filmed in Maplewood right now over the course of the next
couple of months with an A-list cast. Very exciting. So, the film commission is promoting filming in New Jersey, right? and they developed a uniform ordinance for municipalities to consider adopting. And this ordinance
would make those municipalities New Jersey film ready, right? And they would go on a list and they would be the municipalities that the commission considers first. Uh and so we've discussed the idea of adopting uh the
ordinance changing our film ordinance to make it New Jersey film ready in the code committee a few times. Uh the code committee um enthusiastically supported the idea. There's no negative here because even though we would be adopting
this so-called uniformed statewide ordinance, we still have local review and control. So, we don't have to do everything that the ordinance says. We adopt the ordinance, but we still uh with each request for filming, we still
have local review power and we can wave certain things and make sure that we are addressing the needs of our residents. Think about after hours filming, weekend filming, so on and so forth. Um, and so
I think the idea here is to um be film ready. Maplewood uh is already very popular uh in terms of filming. We've had some major productions film in town. Uh but this would further cement our status and put us in that on that list.
Uh it's good for business. You know, the production right now in the village filming at the Burgdorf um is producing uh boots on the ground to support the local economy. Those folks when they take breaks, they patronize our businesses. It's a great thing. uh it
increases our visibility statewide and across the nation. Um and it's overall uh a positive thing. And so uh I forwarded some materials to everyone, albeit very late before the
meeting this evening. Uh we don't have to take a vote tonight, but if there is consensus to move forward, uh we would um have our township attorney take a look at a markup of our existing film ordinance which has been uh marked up to
make it to comply with New Jersey film ready status. I'm happy to answer any questions. Does anyone have I was just going to say I think we've talked through this at co- committee and um I'm in favor of
adopting this ordinance so that we can get more filming done in Maplewood. Does anybody have anything they want to ask or say? I agree. Is there any reason why we can't um put this on for a vote next meeting? No, not at all. Anyone else?
Are you okay? Yeah, I'm I'm supportive of this. I'm supportive of this. I want to know which uh A-listers are coming to town. Which what? Yeah. No, we can't do that. Yes. I was just Okay. I didn't hear what you said. Top secret. Not even Not even
I can know. I have no idea what she said. I didn't hear either. Yeah. Because with these with these productions, you can't um always ensure what you think, you know, A-list actors, their schedules change. So yeah, I've I
But if you read your local news, you may have an idea. Oo. All right. So we'll put this on for introduction. This is very exciting. We'll move on from this discussion and and put this on for introduction at the
next meeting. Um okay. Safe storage of firearms. Deputy mayor. Okay. Moving on to a serious topic. Serious topic. Yes. So, um, okay. Next month in June, we celebrate wear orange for gun safety.
And in honor of that annual commemoration, I would like to propose, um, uh, fire two firearm storage proposals. Both have been discussed at our public safety committee. Um, the first one is an ordinance and the second one is something that we could create and I want to take the pulse of the
committee to see uh, where we all stand. Um so first one the ordinance uh about a half of about half of the United of the states 26 states have a firearm secure storage law including New Jersey. Um in
my opinion our law is not as strong as it could be. Under New Jerseys law gun owners are required to lock and store firearms separate from ammunition in homes where children under 16 are present. There is a bill pending in the New Jersey Assembly called the New
Jersey Safe Storage of Firearms Act that would strengthen this law by requiring firearm owners to lock and store firearms separate from ammunition when not in use in all homes, not just homes with children. So, um, I wanted to read
a couple of things in the state law which really speak to the why the why I'm bringing up, um, safe storage of guns. Um, having unsecured personal firearms in the home puts both adults and children at significantly increased
risk of accidental injury, accidental death, suicide by firearm, and increased lethality in domestic violence. Ownership of personal firearms in New Jersey has surged dramatically since 2019, increasing by more than
300% in 2020. In 2018, 458 people died from unintentional firearm injuries, 116 of which were children and teens. The American Medal Medical Association, American Public Health Association, and the New Jersey Public Health Association, among others, have declared
gun violence a public health crisis. So ensuring that firearms are secured and safely stored reduces the incident and risk of theft or loss thereby reducing traffic guns and it also could save
lives from both accidental injuries, accidental death, suicide, homicide. So that's the why. So, um this um this bill that is pending in the Jersey Assembly, there are some municipalities that are looking at passing this on a state
level. This is something that um I would like to work with our attorney to see, you know, to make sure we check everything and cross all the tees, do all the eyes that this is something that we are able to do. Trenton has already introduced it. I believe their meeting
is tonight. So, check in and see um you know the status of that. Verona, Bloomfield, Madison, Jersey City, and Hoboken are also looking at this. Um, so if everyone is in support, I propose that I work with our township attorney um, you know, to um, to see what we
might be able to do here. The second proposal that I wanted to throw up since we're talking about firearm storage is one that doesn't necessarily reduce or require an ordinance. It would be creating a program in Maplewood by which our residents could voluntarily check in
their firearm to our police department. Um, and this would be, you know, if your grandkids are visiting, if you've got an open house, if you're going out of town for an extended period, and this is something that we could work on, um, you know, with our police department, um, that wouldn't necessarily require, um,
legislation of any kind. So, those are the two ideas and I wanted to see if anyone has questions or thoughts and what everyone thinks. I'm in favor. Anybody want to talk about it? Thoughts? I have one question which you may be
able to answer, I think, deputy mayor, which is that um the current state law does not preempt us from being able to go a little bit extra here, right?
So there is no preeemption law but there is some case law that we need to look through like um use the mic please. New Jersey does not have what I would call a bright line
preeemption. In fact there is certain state law that specifically authorizes municipalities to pass ordinances cons uh concerning firearms. However, there uh is also case law that depending on the substance of the regulation that it
may be if it is specifically regulated by state that specific kind of regulation is already regulated by state law, we may be preempted. So that's why we just need to you know explore all of it a little further. So there are other states that have a what I would call a bright line preemption. Municipalities
may not enact any law or regulation. New Jersey is not one of those, but there are other things we need to kind of work through. Thank you. So, yeah, exactly. That's the kind of thing that I would need to work through with the attorney. Great. Sorry, the lawyer and me. Thank you for the legal explanation. I couldn't help myself. The lawyer in me.
Uh, also, what are the enforcement mechanisms for something like this? So, this is this is typically something that isn't enforced after the fact. It would be if officers were to go into a home um already that might trigger it, but
typically these tend to be um um penalties that are um imposed after. And and I mean there's the education component of making sure everybody is aware, you know, that this is the law, this is what you need to do. Um you know, and hoping that people do the
right thing. Are the penalties fees or could it also include taking people's firearms from them? So, committeeman defic um specific at at this point in time just because of the work that uh Deputy Mayor Herman and I need to do together
to bring a more fleshed out proposal. Generally though, any penalties are going to be limited in the same way as any other municipal ordinance is, you know, maximum fine of $2,000, maximum, you know, 90 days. That's good. You've answered my question. Thank you. And then I think you mentioned when you were
introducing the the program separate apart from the law, the local ordinance, uh that would be voluntary. Yeah, absolutely. And and that and that's an opportunity to do something um you know, as we work
through this ordinance. Some other towns are adopting it and so we want to talk to, you know, we want to see what exactly they're doing. We know what Trenton's doing. Um but you know as we work through these details that would be an opportunity for us to you know we
could do that either way that wouldn't be something that we wouldn't be able to um move on. And what was the response that you received the feedback that you received from our public safety officials during public safety committee discussion about this? I would say it
was positive. Yep. Yeah. The uh public safety committee supports this. Um, I would say the the uh on the question of the um voluntary lockup at the police station, I think we have to do a little more work about how that would work. There's logistical issues there and
yeah, probably some liability issues. So, that has to be looked at, but certainly on the uh introducing the ordinance. Um, we heard no opposition from from our police. That's great. I would be in favor if we can do it all and figure out all the legal stuff. Yep.
Thank you. I'm in favor. And I just want to point out like before the pandemic, before Miss Herman even thought about running, she was doing so much education in the community. I remember we were all taught before going on playdates to ask if there was a gun in the house. And I think along with the legislation and
this new program, those talking points perhaps should be out there again because I think you said gun ownership is on the rise. I think it is on the rise in Maplewood. I don't have that those facts. And I think that even well-intentioned, sometimes accidents happen or young people can get a hold of a gun, accidents can happen. We've all
seen that after school programs and and know about real life situations. So I think having that that education piece and those talking points and when we're educating about this new law to your point about why the safety of it like why we want to do this in order to prevent accidents, in order to prevent your loved ones from getting hurt. So, I
am 100% in support and I applaud Miss Herman for continuing down this path. Thank you. And I absolutely agree. I think education is so important and what Miss Engle is referring to is making sure that families know that when their
children are having a playd date to ask the family if there is a gun in the home and if it's safely secured. So, just like you would ask if there's a pool, if there's a dog, um, letting people know that, you know, your child's allergic to peanut butter, you know, asking about a
gun. Yep. I think that's a good way, this ordinance would be a good way to spotlight that information again. So, all right. It looks like you have consensus move and it looks like we have some work to do. Okay, the next topic is
cannabis lounges. And uh I I wrote down my thoughts because I tend to stay get a little unfocused when I'm talking about this, but so I'm going to actually read, which is unusual for me. So uh so I do want to speak clearly
about this issue. Um I think it's timely and important. Uh the responsible introduction of cannabis consumption lounges in our municipality and across the state of New Jersey. Let me start with this fundamental
principle. Legal cannabis should come with legal, safe, and regulated places for consumption. Just as we regulate where alcohol is consumed, we must offer adults safe and supervised spaces to consume cannabis. Without consumption
consumption lounges, we risk pushing cannabis use into public parks, sidewalks, or cars, none of which is safe, equitable, or consistent with public health goals. With regard to public safety and regulation, cannabis lounges provide a clear path for
responsible regulation. They help us reduce unregulated public consumption, including in areas where children or vulnerable populations gather. They prevent impaired driving by encouraging walking and ride share use
that enables us to message this because of the legal consumption lounges. Ensure ID checks and age verification, which are not always enforced in informal or private consumption settings. There is equity and social justice
issues here. The cannabis industry in New Jersey was legalized with a promise to correct the injustices of the failed war on drugs. But equity is more than a license. It's about access to opportunity and participation in every
part of the industry, including consumption. Lounges offer opportunities for local entrepreneurs, especially those from communities most harmed in the past by cannabis enforcement, to build thriving community-based businesses. And as we're talking about
micro businesses being what we would prefer, I think that's vitally important point. This is our chance to get it right by creating safe and inclusive and culturally relevant spaces where people can gather, socialize, and support local
business, small businesses. The economic development part of this cannabis lounges are also an engine for local economic growth. They create jobs, attract visitors, and complement existing businesses, whether it's restaurants, music venues like our
the Woodland or art galleries, or any other places people might go, whether they were in a bar and a consumption lounge. By regulating lounges at the local level, we maintain control over hours, zoning, and community fit while
unlocking a new stream of municipal revenue through fees and taxes. So, our residents voted for legalization. Now, it's our responsibility to implement it in a way that aligns with our values,
responsibility, safety, equity, and economic opportunity. This is about ensuring public health, not stigma. Some raise concerns about normalizing cannabis use, and I understand those concerns, but
prohibition has never stopped use. It's only pushed it underground. By contrast, lounges allow us to educate users about potency, dosage, and effects. To promote harm reduction practices and responsible
consumption, to destigmatize the cannabis plant so that people can make informed choices without shame. Just as we don't judge someone enjoying a glass of wine on a patio, we shouldn't criminalize or isolate those who choose to responsibly use cannabis in
designated legal space. Cannabis lounges are not a radical step. They are a reasonable, regulated, and forwardthinking response to the legalization of cannabis. They align with our state's commitment to justice, our town's goals for vibrant main
streets, and our shared responsibility to public safety. So, I'd like us to move forward, not backward, on cannabis policy and give adults the dignity and space to make responsible choices. So, let's lead the way as we always do here
in Maplewood in showing how legalization can work for everyone. So, with that, I'd like to ask Mr. Davis if he'd have anything he'd like to say and follow up from what I said. Mayor, thank you. I I think you covered everything and did so
if I may say very eloquently. Uh like you sometimes uh preparing something is more compelling because you're able to get all your points out and I think you were very compelling. Um you covered the why. And
um just to underscore what you said in terms of this, if we were to do something like this in our town, it would only apply to the micro businesses and reminding everyone that even uh you know the state would have to uh the
state regulates these uh these things and they have very strict regulations as they relate to odor mitigation um and um the consumption of cannabis within those micro
businesses. Um, and those regulations are some of the strongest regulations. Um, restaurants, bars where alcohol use happens are nowhere near as regulated as um as cannabis facilities are. And for
me, I think in terms of equity and access, um, you're so right when you say, um, we don't want to unintentionally push cannabis use, and we're always talking about adult use here, right? 21 and over with proof of
ID and all that good stuff, right? We we don't want to unintentionally push cannabis use to our parks, to our fields, to our sidewalks, and our streets or or to people's cars. And we hear often that there are
neighborhood um neighborto neighbor complaints even when someone is consuming in the privacy of their own home illegal product. We hear neighbor complaints when they're doing it in their yard. yards tend to be
open, right? And the odor bothers people. There are people who have children at home who cannot do so at home. Um, and then 23 to 25% of our residents are renters. And most leases, you're not you're prohibited
from smoking altogether, including and especially cannabis. And if you are a renter of uh low-income renter on a subsidy, and we have those folks in Maplewood, too, you are committing a federal crime if
you consume legalized cannabis in New Jersey in your apartment, your housing unit, and you can lose your subsidy and go to federal prison on top of that. So providing an opportunity for the safe and regulated
consumption in a micro business under all of the regulations I think is um reasonable. You said reasonable and I think it um is something that I would also support and
we've talked about this at code committee and um I still feel the same way. I still support it. Okay. Who else wants to speak to this? I'm a hard no. Um I'm not I don't have anything written or prepared. I'm not
going to speak eloquently. Um I am curious. I was not on township committee nor was Miss Herman when the original ordinance was passed to allow for the legally to allow cannabis dispensaries here which I'm supportive of dispensaries but I know that lounges
were left out of that original ordinance. So I'm curious about what the original reasoning for those to be left out and why there's a turn of thought now where you want to open them up. I'm concerned that we say micro businesses, which means businesses in the village.
And I'm concerned that we have no education campaign out there about the effects of cannabis on our youth. And I hear what you're saying, 21 and up plus, but we talk about it as recreational. We don't talk about it as adult use. That language hasn't turned over yet talking about adult use. We have no education
out there. Kids are watching their parents as more around. And we're not giving I mean our old public nurse gave a great presentation at Municipal Alliance about the effects on children's brains up to the the age of like 25 and we're not talking about it. We have a huge problem with vaping in our high
school right now and vaping cigarettes, nicotine, cannabis, it's all the same. And I feel like we're moving too fast with the normalization of it without having any kind of education or support. Addiction's on the rise. Mental health issues are on the rise. Cannabis use is on the rise. Drinking's on the down. And
I'm just this really 100% concerns me and I that's I'll just leave it at that for the moment. But I would like to hear from Mr. Duca. All right. Well, before that I would like to um just first of all the state didn't allow cannabis
lounges when we passed the ordinance for the um dispensaries and limiting those to four at that time. This is a new law that went into effect 2024. Yep. Yeah. So, and um I'll give it over to Mr. Duca
because I know he has some um thoughts on this for sure. Well, I I'll just say um I'm a no uh also, but when we did the ordinance, the question came up u whether we should put it in there or not, make it permissible or not. We made
it explicitly not permitted. Um, and I I can just tell you my own rationale behind that is that we define dispensaries as retail outlets. And to me, it's more synonymous
with a retail liquor store than a bar. So, a retail liquor store, you go in and you buy that, you take it out. You're not allowed to consume it on premise. You take it, you're not allowed to consume it as you're driving. You're not allowed to consume it on in parks.
You're not allowed to consume it on streets. You take it for private use. And that's how we defined, at least for me, that's how I defined when I spoke to the community about the dispensaries. And so I feel
that when we were talking about this that I made a commitment that I would not support lounges or or use whether it's smoking or other kinds of um uh consumption uh in the facilities and so
I just think that I have to be consistent and not support it. Now I remember you talking about that. So that was my memory of it um being a no. Yeah. I don't remember myself saying any such thing. So, and also I think we evolve as
as things become more um acceptable and accepted. Um so I'll give um Mayor Herman a chance to opine on this topic. Thank you and thank you for all of for your presentation and all of the points that you made. Um I think it's really
helpful. this conversation is very helpful and you're right that this is an evolving issue. Um, as I have said previously in committee meetings, I am currently a no on cannabis lounges. Um, I have some concerns. I'm concerned about having a cannabis lounge located
within walking distance to schools, school buildings. Um, I am one of two members on this committee who have young children currently in our school system, kids in middle school and high school. Miss Engle being the other one. So, as such, I know that when MMS gets out in
the afternoon, uh, tons of young students swarm into Maplewood Village. And I'm concerned about children being in close proximity to people exiting a a lounge. I'm worried about the lounge being open while we have town events like the Halloween parade and the artwalk. Um, I'm concerned about the
message this sends to our children, especially teenagers who are just starting to come in to contact with these substances. Um, like Miss Single said, um, you know, I I we don't I don't see a public campaign, a health campaign about this right now. I think that's
really necessary. Um, I think the both of us saw a Facebook post uh just recently about a freshman in high school struggling with cannabis use, you know, and this is happening um in our community. And I I think that um you know, these are things that we need to
look at and um address before we move forward with something like this. Um, I'd like to, you know, know, um, which other towns might have cannabis lounges, um, happening, how they're operating, and see how it's going. I know Maplewood
likes to be first in a lot of things. New York's first on this. I think that this might be something I don't want to be first on. Um, but look, I want I I could be wrong. I I I have not heard an outpouring of requests for residents
from residents for cannabis lounges. So, um, if there is an outpouring that I'm not aware of, um, I want to take this opportunity to ask residents to email me. Um, because I want to know I want to know what you think either way. Um, I want to know, you know, is this
something that our community thinks is a no-brainer. You know, what's the big deal? Why, you know, why are you being such a prude on this? You know, it's the same as bars. Or is this something that our residents are concerned about? you know, I gotten so many emails on bike
lanes. Yeah. I haven't gotten anything on cannabis lounges, you know. So, um I want to thank the mayor for bringing this up tonight. Um I hope the village grain does a story and that people start talking about it because I'd really like to know what people think and what they have to say. So, um well, we needed to
bring it forward to talk about it publicly so that the public knows we're considering it. Right. Absolutely. Um, I I do want to address a couple comments that were made just from my reaction to them. Um, we have public health campaigns. There's there's no current
public health campaign for cannabis use. There's mention of it through our health officer, but there's no public health campaign right now on liquor use. There's no public health campaign on other substances that may be dangerous to children. I think um the Sorry,
that's not true. There's public health campaigns on fentinyl, on opioids. Um, has been a longtime legal substance. This is brand new and so there hasn't been time and nationwide, statewide, there's not public education campaigns out there on this issue, which there's a lot of people speaking up that there
should be. Okay. Agree with that point. That's fine. But I I have my chance to to respond now and you can respond. Um, so to Mr. Duca's point about the store versus versus a bar. Um because of the
way the licensing is with um with cannabis, it's very different as we you know the liquor laws very well and they're very convoluted and difficult in New Jersey as it is, but it's just not the way um these work. We also know that
we don't allow liquor stores to sell cannabis. That's a definite no that they're separated. But connecting this connecting a store with a lounge um for cannabis in my view is very
different than having a bar with a restaurant. That's just my reaction to that. Um school kids in the village, they're there now and there's two cannabis retail shops in the village. Um we could set parameters as I mentioned. We can control hours. We can control, we
can even control signage. We can not even allow a cannabis lounge sign to be um on a micro business's you know adjacent lounge to their retail. Um so because right now I I haven't heard of
any negative impacts and please correct me if I'm wrong to kids reacting to this legal product and two stores in our village where the school kids flood in. I haven't heard any issues with that whatsoever. So, um, I think the bigger
impact is the the more we we sort of demonize the use of cannabis in it may not be demonizing it, but the fact that we're forcing it to be more hidden than alcohol use or, you know, other things
that we can't, you know, that we actually just keep creating this this feeling about it like the prohibition of alcohol. all in the early 20th century. So, um and and
as far as outpouring or demand for businesses, this is something that while when the first um cannabis retailer opened on Springfield Avenue, it was one of the first in the state, if not the first, the first, one of 13, one of the
first, but we had, you know, a line of traffic from Route 24, Route 78 coming to it. But Typically businesses open there's an innovation of somebody wants to open a business. It's not that there's
necessarily an outcry. Somebody has um a desire, you know, an idea. I'm going to open I'm going to open the general store and I'm going to create this and then then it becomes something that becomes popular. So, I don't necessarily think we should regulate
whether or not a business can exist in town, whether or not we will allow it by zoning based on whether or not there's anybody out there asking for it. So, those are just my gut responses to um what you all were saying. So, this is more of discussion. I have some
followup. I mean, I was not on township committee when they changed the ordinance to allow dispensaries to be closer together. I think it was like 750 and changed to 500 or,000 and changed to 500. But I did speak in public comment against that. So I think there was a lot of people who did not want two
dispensaries in the village. So I just want to make note of that point. And then I also believe that the regulations for the lounges require no food or drinks to be served and you're talking about no signs. So like what exactly is are these going to be like? Like what is going to be the draw to come? Like
what's going to be the atmosphere in them? I'm just the whole thing just makes me like a little bit like I mean I said like very nervous and so I think that it's okay to slow down and like Miss Herman said we don't need to be first. I don't think we're demonizing cannabis by not having consumption lounges. We are one of the first
municipalities to allow it. We had the first we have four in our towns. I don't think it's a demonizing thing. I just think it's whether we want to create a space for people to go get high and then go to the woodland to listen to music. Like I don't know. Like I mean I think that it's okay that to say that we can
be doing that in the privacy of our of our homes and I don't I just don't know that I think it's a slippery slope and I think we need to have more education about the effects of cannabis on yeah I I don't disagree with the education component. I don't think they're to
they're mutually exclusive but I also don't think everybody has the opportunity as Mr. DAFF has noted to to use the cannabis project or specifically smoke cannabis in the privacy of their own homes. So there is that equity issue
that exists. And as far as maybe we shouldn't I mean it's just there's a different culture in cannabis people who especially generations younger than mine in the way it's consumed and there are a lot of people who don't drink and prefer
to use cannabis instead of drinking. And there's no place for them to also socialize like you would do at a bar when doing that recreation. And we don't we don't say we shouldn't have bars near the woodland because people might have a couple drinks and go. That's kind of
what you want. So either before or after. Well, I mean just to provide that people go that's our businesses in the village. There's several of them. So anyway, any other comments? Yeah, I I mean I I think this is a good discussion. Yeah. I don't think this is the end of this.
Um, I I think we just need to talk more about it and um go into the community and let the community let us know how they feel about it. Certainly, this will be reported. I find that this is going to be a hot topic that The Village Green is
going to report. Hey, Mary. Um, you know, and and we should just educate because I think to Miss Engle's point, what happens if you have a consumption lounge? What is it like? Um, and so the more that we can educate, um, but I also
think that, um, no one came to the township committee before we allowed we opted into cannabis in our township. No one came to the township and said, "I want cannabis in my town." Right. Um, and the
same concerns that were voiced at the time about our doing so are being voiced again. And I respect those concerns, especially as it relates to our youth, our vulnerable youth, especially right now with a mental health
crisis. Um, but our public safety officials have confirmed that our youth from MMS or elsewhere in town are not breaking into these dispensaries. These dispensaries have like very high security.
Um, our youth are getting cannabis from other places from the black market and they don't know what it's what's in it. Um, we have seniors who are living in senior
housing, some of them rentals, who use cannabis as a medical product. Let's not forget that cannabis is a medical product. And many seniors in our town have a have a license uh have a health card allowing them to consume this
product because they're fighting cancer or lupus or some major disease that cannabis has been discovered can help with their pain. [Music] Um, so I I just think that we need to
keep talking about it and educating the public. Um, and yes, I think that in parallel we should be educating about substance abuse all the time, all substances, including alcohol, including vaping.
Um, but that shouldn't stop us from also doing what we need to do to ensure that they're um that this product is not continued to be stigmatized because the more we stigmatize it, the more a young person wants to use it. Uh, and we'll
find a way and [Music] um, you know, we we'll just continue the conversation, I think. But I respect I respect the concerns. I really really do. And I just have one more question talking about the renters and like I used to be a renter so I lived in an apartment where you can't smoke but like
you know there's reasons why you can't smoke in a shared building like that and I don't know that the reason that that those don't also correspond to in a in a in a building in the village or whatnot, right? It's the smell. It's the like what are the what are those reasons and
and and and what can you be doing in the apartment buildings? Like I hear that argument, but I'm just saying like the there's the what are the reasons behind not being able to smoke cannabis in your apartment and how would that differ from being from smoking at a business that's in an attached building or whatnot in the village? Well, business would have
the same thing that a brewery micro brewery has equipment to keep the, you know, clean the air and keep the smell from escaping the building. So, I just wanted to point out that um cannabis can also be consumed by gummy and that uh
people in in mental units can consume it that way if they're not able to smoke. So, just pointing that out. Um and then also um with regard to the lounge um being in town and then middle schoolers being around, I think it's a little different than a dispensary because
individuals leaving the lounge may then go to Starbucks or the Trateria or Greenway Market or and And these are all places where the middle schoolers um are right, but they're not smoking at Starbucks or the Greenway or I'm just bringing this up as
a concern. Right. So, someone goes into one of the dispensaries to a bar um and they're leaving, you know, intoxicated. We have like disorderly um you know, laws and that applies here too. You can't drive. And I'd like to know more
from our law enforcement on how that's enforced because one one thing we're hearing about with driving with cannabis is that it's actually very difficult to enforce. There isn't a breathalyzer you can. No, but officers have very difficult. As someone who used to uh work in the courts as a legal aid lawyer
and who's defended people who were accused of cannabis, trust me, yes, there isn't a chemical test, but there are other circumstantial evidence, including odor, including all the other tests uh for intoxication that allow law enforcement to legally and
constitutionally prosecute someone for cannabis consumption while driving under the influence. So, um, does RPD have training in that? I know we talked about it a while ago about training about how to tell or what the signs are because it's different than when you're drunk,
right? I don't know. I just we came up a while ago. So, I don't know if RPD has even had any training. I don't know, but our chair of public safety might want to bring that up at the next meeting. Yeah. So, okay. I think we've talked enough. Good discussion. Yeah. Good discussion. Can I suggest that we also bring this
discussion to the health and community services meeting so we can have um our health department weigh in or bring to health but yeah yeah I can do that. All right moving on Mr. Worry.
Thank you mayor. Um, South Orange reached out to us because their community pool is currently undergoing renovations and due to the short window to perform work and unfavorable weather. They do not expect to open this weekend as they normally would. They are currently scheduled to open for Father's
Day weekends. That leaves three weekends where they would otherwise be open and are unable to be open. They have requested that we allow their the South Orange pool members to use the Maplewood pool until the South Orange pool opens. Again, three weekends this upcoming
weekend, the 24th, 5th, 6th, May 31st, June 1st, and June 7th, and 8th. they would follow our regular hours which uh for those weekends is 12:00 p.m. to 6 pm. And similar to how we had exchange
services uh previously when the Maplewood pool was delayed in opening and before that when the South Orange pool was delayed in opening um they would send to the Maplewood pool staff needed to accommodate their members. So that could change, but at this time we
anticipate it would be a manager, five lifeguards, and three front desk staff. They are very flexible. So I spoke with the the South Orange administrator. you know, they understand that Maplewood has a need to serve our pool members, but at
any time when there's availability, when there's capacity, they would hope and and their request is that we serve their uh pool members for that time. And so that will be left to the discretion of our pool staff and specifically our
community services director. So it may look I would expect that um you know on a on any given day it could be up to about 400 members but let's say we eat day when we knew that our pool was going to be near capacity with Maplewood members
you know we can adjust those numbers but you know again anytime we have some capacity their request is that their members be permitted to use our So I have concerns about um our residents being able to use the
their their pool um for capacity reasons. Not so much this weekend because it's, you know, this weekend doesn't bother me because it's not going to be very pool worthy. Um but the parking lot and all that kind of stuff. So, I as I was thinking about this when
it was on the agenda, I thought perhaps we could if we choose if the committee chooses to allow uh South Orange pool members to come here until their pool opens, then I would I think I would want them to
have staggered maybe Maplewood pool opens at noon for Maplewood residents and at 2:00 or 1:00 for South Orange residents. they would have to have separate staff from South Orange, right, with a canopy or whatever dealing with
South Orange residents and checking them in. But I'd like to give preference to especially at the beginning of the season. So, I don't know. We're kind of on an even level as far as they let us, we let them. So, we're even now. So, I'm just thinking maybe we have a little
advantage for our own residents. Two thoughts. One concern about limiting their time is then you may compress their pool members who are interested in going to the pool into a into a shorter time frame. Right?
So if they have 200 members who want to use our pool on a given day and now they're they all have to go into four hours as opposed to six hours maybe a little busier maybe. I mean that's just you'd have to give that some consideration. The second thing is, you know, understanding how pool
construction works. And while this we would be one up on them this time, such a short window to do pool work, you know, it's it's basically mid-March until Memorial Day weekend. It's also rainy season. And so it's not unique
that that this will happen. And I think we should expect at some point then that, you know, South Orange may have an opportunity to return the fate. Well, we did just do major renovations probably probably another 10 years or so, but anyone Yes, Mr. Yeah, I I think
we should do it. Uh I think we're talking about six right now. We're talking about six days, right? Seven because of Memorial Day. Memorial. Okay. So, seven days. And I think what the mayor is bringing up is a point that we can evaluate as we go over. And I think what we ought to do is we ought to
approve it. We ought to give you authorization to adjust the hours, adjust the process, adjust the parking, however you see fit in working it out with the administrator in South Orange. Anyone else? I agree. Um I just I'm
curious about because the Maplewood um fees are much higher than the South Orange fees. So I'm just curious. You said they're going to be providing staff. Is there any like revenue part of that as well or it's just Okay. So staff and then I agree with Miss Adams, Mayor Adams about having the are they they'll
help maybe like we have to cap the amount of South Orange residents that are coming or having the South Orange team checking in the South Orange residents. And I agree about the parking lot issues. Perhaps there could be like a a shuttle coming over from South Orange for their Jity or whatnot to to decrease that load. Um and I also agree,
Mr. Duca about the logistics. I think we saw last year with the heatwave days that sometimes we have to pivot a little bit and and and move things around and be fluid. Um, and I think our community service department does a good job with that. So, I agree with that as well. Yeah. Can they provide any additional lifeguards or anything? That's a question I'd like asked as well. I
believe they I mean from the start they said that they would provide five lifeguards. Okay. I didn't know that number we came to just because that's what we provided them when we did this last. Okay. Fair enough. They're if there's a reason why we need seven, they'll provide seven. If there's a reason we need No, no. I just wanted to make sure they were providing some
lifeguards. That's all. Yeah. Lifeguards, front desk staff. Can I ask one more question? And I don't know how that's affects their swim team, the Dolphins, but I don't know if they've also asked if they can. I don't know. I'm just thinking about that as a swim mom. Yeah, they have asked about that specifically. Again, I think similar to
these pool hours, if there's a way we can accommodate them that doesn't impact our residents, then I, you know, if we're pra, if we have time before the pool's open when we're practicing and they can get in after us, you know, there might be an opportunity there.
Yeah. So, I want to share some numbers uh because that's kind of how um I make decisions. So, as of this morning, we have sold 932 memberships amounting to 3,500 individuals. This is before the
expected pool um pass rush that we are expecting as this week goes on, we get closer to pool opening. Granted, the weather of this weekend could impact that a bit. So, um, I want to note that our pool has like kind of a max capacity
of around half of of the 3,500 individuals that that we have. Um, so and this is for over the course of a day. People come in, they come out. So, I think that um, you know, so it's
spread out over the day. Um so last year last year on Saturday of opening day it was 85 and sunny and our pool had a,031 visits. So knowing that we could
accommodate about 400 or so, you know, a few hundred South Orange on Sunday of opening weekend, it was 82 in Sunday and we had 1,070 visits. Uh now on Monday of opening weekend, this is last Memorial
Day. Um if you recall, it was a bit rainy. It was 76 with rain, high wind, storms. We only had 274. So um yeah, not not so many. Um based on this data, I think that we should be able to accommodate um South Orange pool
e users easily on a chilly day such as what's what is predicted this weekend. Even on a warm 80ish day, we should be able to accommodate accommodate them. The one sort of thing that we don't know is because we did early bird, we may have more people registered at this
point in time than we did last year. Um, so if we're looking at our numbers, that is one thing like an asterisk to keep in mind, but you know, we should be able to generally accommodate them. Now, if we get a heat wave as defined as three or more consecutive days of 90
degrees or more, that would be a challenge because that's where we really hit the upper limit. And I believe we had at one point to stop letting people in. So, those are the days that we do really push push the envelope. Um, and we would need to reconsider allowing
South Orange on those days. I think um I like the mayor's idea about giving Maplewood residents first dibs on coming in because we have limited park. I think we have 300 parking spaces or so. So, we don't have so we have parking as an issue and then we have limited chairs.
We should tell everybody to bring their own chairs, limited spots. Um, you know, so these are all considerations. I think that this weekend it looks fine because of the weather. Um, but I think that as long as South Orange is flexible for us
to, you know, make adjustments based on the weather forecast basically. um then you know I would be you know supportive of trying to accommodate them as much as we can while also accom making sure that our residents you know don't end up um
you know not being able to go to their pool. Okay. Uh Mr. D, I'm supportive and I leave it up to administration to figure out how to do it. Thank you very much. Okay. So, you heard
from um legally should we take a vote just to um I make a motion, Mr. Make a motion we allow South Orange residents to be temporary use of the Maple Woodpool. Second. Could I could I just amend that motion to with
with in including the some of the parameters that deputy mayor and I made and Miss Engle agreed with with regard to um perhaps staggered opening times and supplying some staff and all that kind of stuff that we've just talked
about. I don't agree with the staggered time though because I don't know that Maplewood residents are all going to come at noon either. So I don't No, I know what I I'll tell you. I I made the motion I'll accept uh giving Mr. Weary the ability to make whatever changes he needs to make based on the conversation
we have. I don't think we should p, you know, be overly prescriptive here. I think we should just give you the authority recognizing there's a bunch of concerns here. Yeah, recognizing what we said and also please let us know what was decided and how you're carrying it
out. And also make sure that um the director of community services has enough time to alert her staff as to the schedule that they will have for that weekend. Okay. Miss Fritzen, call the roll. M yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Yes. Turman. Yes.
Mayor Adams. Yes. All right. We move on to the consent agenda. May I get a motion? I move the consent agenda. I'll second it. Mr. Spitson. Mr. Dus. Yes. Luca. Yes. Bangal. Yes. Furman. Yes. Mayor Adams.
Yes. We've moved to our second public comment on any subject matter. Is there anyone in the room who would like to speak to any subject matter covered tonight or not? Seeing none, Mr. Weary, anyone joining on Zoom would like to speak in public
portion, please raise your hand. See no hands. Mayor, okay. May I get a motion to adjurnn, please? Second office. Yes. Oh, wasn't that your motion or you were asking for? No, I asked for one. Yes. Oh, then I move that
matters. You move it. I move that. Okay, fine. That's all. Okay, Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Dangel, yes. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you everyone and have a wonderful Memorial Day