Where are Amari's ready. You're ready. We still have a minute or 30 seconds. [Music] Boy, Millie hates George. George walks
by. It does. She's like, "This is my house. Who are you?" She goes like this. Things come out. She was there first. I know. All right. Where's my pursuant? 5, chapter 231, public law 1975. This is
to state for the record that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided to the public by posting and maintaining the annual notice of regular meetings on the bulletin board of the municipal building by mailing the annual notice of regular meetings 2025 to the news record
and star ledger in December of 2024 and by filing said notice in the office of the township clerk. Mr. Daffis present. Mr. Luca here, Angel here, sermon here,
Mayor Adams here. Whereas chapter 231 public laws 1975 commonly known as open public meetings act requires that all meetings of public bodies be open to the public. And whereas section 7A provides that the governing body has a discretion to permit prohibit or regulate the act
or participation of the public at any meeting and whereas desire the governing body to comply with the provision of this act same time and conduct its business in an orderly and expeditious manner. now therefore be resolved by the township committee. Township mapwood does hereby prohibit except as set forth
in the formal agenda. Active participation in deliberations of governing body by the public except as otherwise prescribed by law does limit the public to the observation of the actions and discussions of governing body at all its regular and special meetings. So moved. Second. Mr. Daffis,
yes. Mr. Luca, yes. Sangel, yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams. Yes. Thank you. Please rise for a salute to the flag. 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. Good evening and welcome to the Tuesday, May 6th. Or is it May already? I don't know. uh 2025 meeting of the Maplewood
Township Committee. Um tonight we have six, count them, six proclamations that we will be um going through in honor of several um different honor recognitions for months, older
Americans month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Emergency Medical Services Week, and Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders Month, Mental Health Proclamation, and Haitian Heritage Month. Then we will
have an appointment to recreation advisory committee. We have a few ordinances. We have two ordinances on just the introduction of the budgets for the special improvement districts first and Maplewood Village Alliance and then
the Springfield Avenue Partnership um budget. Those hearings will be held on June 4th. Right. Correct. Um then we will have uh public comment for agenda items only and then we have some
ordinances on final passage and um b two bond ordin ordinances. We have no discussion items. We have administrative reports reports from elected officials. Deputy mayor Herman will go first. Uh committee
member Duca will go next. Committee member Daffis. Committee member Angel. And then I go last. No discussion items. As I said, we have a consent agenda. Um, among other things, appointing uh new crossing guard and some um curb and
sidewalk replacements and then we will have a second public comment and then we will adjourn. So, with that, I will ask Deputy Mayor Herman to please read the older Americans proclamation, which we purposely gave to not the oldest
Americans up here on the stasis. Well, I'm the leazison on to the senior advisory committee, so I figured that was why. Well, that too. Well, I am happy to read this ordinance. Older Americans Month 2025. Whereas in 1963, President John F. Kennedy in
collaboration with the National Council of Senior Citizens designated May as Senior Citizens Month, which was later renamed Older Americans Month to reflect the evolving contributions of aging adults across the country. And whereas
at that time only 17 million Americans had reached their 65th birthday, but as of 2022, the state of New Jersey alone is home to more than 1.5 million residents over the age of 65, a number that continues to grow and enrich our
communities. And whereas each May, we honor the achievements and the impact of older adults while reaffirming our commitment to supporting them. The 2025 national theme, flip the script on aging, challenges us to break outdated
stereotypes and embrace aging as a time of continued growth, learning, and contribution. And whereas older adults are entrepreneurs, volunteers, educators, caregivers, public servants, and lifelong learners. From community
leaders, and local advocates such as the Maplewood Senior Advisory Committee to global influencers, older Americans shape every level of society. And whereas the way we talk about aging matters, language like still working or
still driving may unintentionally reinforce agist assumptions. In Maplewood, we strive to reframe the narrative by recognizing ability over assumption and potential over limitation. And whereas this month, we
invite our residents to reflect on how they can help flip the script by celebrating older adults who are learning new skills, sharing their stories, engaging in civic life, and promoting intergenerational connection.
And whereas in the township of Maplewood, we recognize that older adults have built the foundation of our present. And we are committed to policies and programs that promote inclusion, equity, health, and access for people of all ages. Our values of
diversity, community, and acceptance must include honoring the contributions of older generations and ensuring they remain active participants in our shared future. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Malia Herman, Deputy Mayor of the
Township of Maplewood, on behalf of Nancy Adams, Mayor of the Township of Maplewood, and the rest of the township committee, do hereby proclaim May 2025 as older Americans month in the township of Maplewood. We call upon all residents
to join us in honoring the strength, wisdom, and resilience of our older adults and to help flip the script on aging by challenging stereotypes, embracing growth at every age, and fostering a community where everyone can thrive.
Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Committee member Angle, you have the next proclamation. Thank you. I am going to read a proclamation for Jewish American Heritage Month. Whereas Jewish immigrants to America ever since their
first arrival to our shores in the 16th century have played a central role in the creation, growth, freedom, prosperity, and strength of the United States of America. And whereas the biblical and contemporary history of the Jewish people and the enduring values of
the Jewish faith were vital sources of inspiration for the founding of the United States, the civil rights movement, America's global leadership in the cause of freedom, and many of our country's most central tenants. And whereas Jewish American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the
contributions Jewish Americans have made to America's history, society, and culture for over 350 years, and how the 7.6 6 million strong who live in this country continue the legacy of their ancestors. And whereas for 42 years,
every president of the United States has declared a period of time for celebrating the contributions to the United States of the Jewish community's history, heritage, and culture. And whereas since 2006, the month of May has been declared by the president to be
Jewish American Heritage Month pursuant to bipartisan resolutions of Congress. And whereas we are reminded that as a faith, identity, and culture, the Jewish people have not always been embraced despite our country's commitment to diversity and have faced hostility,
hatred, and continued misconceptions. And whereas even when not embraced, Jewish communities have impacted the cultural, economic, and advancement of all people through entertainment figures like Tony and Grammy award winner for Hamilton, David Diggs, advocates for
human rights like Gloria Steinum, and literature that stays with readers for a lifetime, like the works of Maurice Sak, who wrote and illustrated Where the Wild Things Are, and illustrated Little Bear. Now therefore, be it resolved that on behalf of Nancy Adams, mayor of the Township of Maplewood, and the entire
Maplewood Township Committee, do hereby proclaim May 2025 as Jewish American Heritage Month, and ask of our population to remember our community is built on the assumption none of us are a monolith and that we all contain vast complexities. And therefore, be it
further resolved in your interactions, remember, you don't know what a person is going through or has gone through at any given time. So when in doubt, create a dialogue rather than build a wall. If we are to debate and pursue conversations, it should be to find common ground, not build barriers
between one another. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Duca. And we have some um Do you want to go down to the podium since we have you invite them up? Want to come on up to our EMS? Come on. Special guests. Special guests.
All of you. Come on. Come on. You can't leave. Come on, Miss Fritzen. Oh, that's right. This is you, too, lady. President of the Springfield Rescue Squad. How you doing?
Come on in, everybody. It's okay to smile. And uh we called Miss Fritzen up because you are 450 years in Springfield EMS. Jeez. 52nd year. Mr. Duca, we did just have an
older Americans month and president of the Springfield first aid squad. So 52 years and president of the first aid squad in Springfield. Congratulations. And of course these are members of the South Essex Fire Department. Um the South Essex Fire
Department provides EMS services in Maplewood and um we couldn't do without it. So thank you all. So, here's our EMS week proclamation. Uh, whereas emergency medical services are vital public service and whereas the members of the
emergency medical services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas access to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who
experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas emergency medical services fill health care gaps by providing important out of hospital care including preventive medicine, follow-up care, and access to tele medicine. And whereas the emergency
medical services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers, firefighters, police officers, educators, administrators, prehosp nurses,
emergency nurses, emergency physicians, trained members of the public, and other out of medical care providers. And whereas the members of the South Essex Fire Department engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their
life-saving skills. And whereas it is appropriate to recognize the value and accomplishments of emergency medical services provider providers by designating the emergency medical services week. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Victor Duca, on behalf
of Nancy Adams, Mayor of the Township of Maplewood, and the Maplewood Township Committee, do hereby proclaim the week of May 18th to 24, 2025 as Emergency Medical Services Week and announce the 51st anniversary of EMS week theme. This
year is EMS week, we care for everyone. Uh we encourage the community to observe this week and with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities in honor of the EMS profession and the essential services it provides. Thank you very
much for all your service. Take this back. You want to say anything? Uh so the township committee knows mostly uh on Thursday nights where I am. Uh I ride weekly. I'm a volunteer EMT for the Springfield first aid squad and
also president of the squad and uh it gives me a great deal of pride um to follow in both my parents' footsteps. My mother was a 60-year member and uh my dad rode for 35 years. So, um, if you
are in Springfield passing, um, town hall, you might notice up on the, uh, street sign, it says Gloria Simpson Way, mayor and the Springfield Township Committee honored my mother by naming the street in front of the squad building after her. So, what more could
I say about that? But my family and I are just truly humbled by um, everything uh, that we've been lucky enough to happen to us. uh in the EMS world. So, thank you. And we want to recognize the important
work the South Essex Fire Department does here in Maplewood. Um when you have an emergency, these guys, they come running and they they make us better and we thank you for it. You make us feel better. You make us actually better. And
uh it's it's really you should just really uh appreciate we appreciate you and you should understand how much uh you mean to us. So thanks very much. Thank you Mr. Duca. At least we get hordes of people.
Okay, we're going to move on to Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders Month, and we go to Deputy Mayor Herman since he's from Hawaii. I was gonna say, let me guess why you chose Yeah. chose this one for me.
Um, excited to read this. I should have brought treats for everybody. Yeah. This is a proclamation honoring Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Whereas Asian-American, Native
Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, that's AAHPI Heritage Month is observes annually in May to celebrate the contributions that generations of AANHPIs have made to American history, society, and culture. And whereas the
month of May was selected for two reasons. First, to commemorate the arrival of the first known Japanese immigrant to the US on May 7th, 1843. Secondly, to honor the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May
10th, 1869, which upwards of 20,000 Chinese workers helped to construct. And I'm going to add in here probably also Mayday because that's layday in Hawaii. The month plays tribute to the
generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched the United States history and are instrumental in its future success. And whereas in 2025, the Federal Asian-Pacific American Council announced the 2025 national
theme. It's a legacy of leadership and resilience. And whereas leadership comes in various forms in varied places, from the work of AAPI New Jersey, whose advocacy for those like Victoria Lee further the fight for equality, safety,
and accessible mental health services, our own Senator Andy Kim, who is the first Korean-American senator in US history, and first Asian-American US Senator from New Jersey, and Newark
native Helen Zia, co-founder of American Citizens for Justice, who has testified before Congress, was one of the first women to graduate from Princeton University, and is one of the most prolific writers regarding the experiences of Asian-Americans. And whereas what each
and every name mentioned and countless of other Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders do every day is find opportunity. And when there isn't one to be found, they create it. And whereas while the United States has been synonymous with being called
the land of opportunity, it is through the stories, the hardships, the triumphs, and the inspiration of both our immigrant community and those who have had their families culture instilled in them that we see new businesses, new leaders, new elected
officials, and a shift in American society which makes it more than the land of opportunity and more so the country which pl which allows s places like Maplewood to be called home. Now therefore, be it resolved that
I, Malia Herman, on behalf of Nancy Adams, mayor of the Township of Maplewood and the Maplewood Township Committee, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2025 as Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders Month.
Mr. Daffis, you're up next for mental health proclamation. Thank you, Mayor. I will try to be as enthusiastic as Deputy Mayor Malia Herman and committee member uh the previous committee members have been.
So, May is mental health awareness month. Whereas mental health is an essential part of overall health and well-being and affects one's physical health, relationships, choices we make,
and how we manage stress. And whereas mental health, mental wellness leads to higher productivity, better educational outcomes, lower crime, stronger economies, lower health care costs, and
improved quality of life. And whereas one in five adults in the US will experience a mental illness and one in six US youth aged 6 to 17 experience
a mental health disorder each year. Adverse childhood experiences can impact an individual regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic
status. And whereas a lack of mental health awareness, stigma, and misinformation can have devastating impact on the well-being of individuals and society. Suicide was the second leading cause of
death among individuals between the ages of 10 to 14 and 25 to 34. That is staggering. Whereas Maplewood promotes 988, the national three-digit dialing code for anyone
having thoughts of suicide and experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. Adding it to the other life-saving hotlines also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 911, the dialing code for
emergency first response, the poison control number 800222122, and the state social service dialing code 211. And whereas evidence-based mental and behavioral health trainings equip individuals with the knowledge and
awareness of recognizing common signs and symptoms and risk factors associated with mental health and substance use challenges. And whereas Maplewood sees the importance and value of crisis intervention social workers in
conjunction with law enforcement co-response. And whereas Maplewood is committed to providing children and adults with mental illness access to a behavioral health support system. Now therefore be
it resolved that I, Dean Davis, member of the Maplewood Township Committee, on behalf of Nancy Adams, our mayor, and the rest of my colleagues on the Maplewood Township Committee, do hereby proclaim May as mental health awareness
month. and we encourage all of our residents to check in with themselves. While we advocate for community volunteerism and equality, there is only so much we can do if we don't stop first to help ourselves. So,
please advocate for yourself and if you have the ability to see a therapist, take the opportunity and remember that your value is not based on your output. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Our last proclamation for this
evening is for Haitian Heritage Month. Whereas Haitian Heritage Month is celebrated yearly in May to commemorate Hades Declaration of Independence from France in 1803. And whereas Haiti was the first independent black nation in
the Western Hemisphere, the second oldest republic behind only the United States and is considered one of the few black countries that successfully fought and won their independence. And whereas as we speak of Roy Wilkins and Dorothy
Cotton, we cannot forget the names of Bayard Rooen and Web Duboce and the forefathers of the American civil rights movement who could look to an island in the Caribbean for hope regarding freedom, autonomy, and a sense of pride.
And whereas despite how the news focuses on a specific narrative when it comes to Haiti, you can look around you here in Maplewood and around the world and see that it is but a minuscule part of their story. And whereas the endurance of the
Haitian people throughout history has shown that whether man or storm, the people will continue to fight and develop Haiti against all odds. For while a small nation, it is one undeterred by adversity. And whereas in Maplewood, we
want you to understand that diversity means something. That it is isn't just this superficial of what you look like, but what culture you bring, the beliefs and thoughts that come from varied experiences, and how that can merge with
what Maplewood has to make our town feel like a worldly place. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Nancy Adams, mayor of the Township of Maplewood, on behalf of the Maplewood Township Committee, do hereby proclaim the month of May, 2025,
as Haitian Heritage Month and May 18th, Haitian Flag Day. I also encourage our citizens to explore the rich history of Haiti, both past and present, so future generations can know of its importance in world history, and Haiti can continue
to inspire those who wish to understand what it means to fight against oppression. Thank you. So with that, we will have um board and committee appointments. We have one for recreation advisory committee. Yes.
Deputy mayor. Yes. Um I nominate Rachel Goldman to be a member of the recreation advisory committee. Um unfortunately she was not able to make it tonight. Um but it is a commitment of the township committee to make sure that working parents and people of all walks of life
in our town are able to serve on committee. So I'm happy to be able to read a statement on her behalf. It's very short. Um, uh, hi. So, hi, I'm Rachel Goldman and I've been a Maplewood resident for 18 years. I'm a local business owner, a speech language
pathologist, and a mom of two girls who have grown up in Maplewood participating in various town programming. As a therapist who works with the neurode divergent population, as well as a parent of an athlete, I am interested in helping to plan inclusive programming for all members of our community and improving the town fields so that they
can be enjoyed by all. And um with that, I would like to um nominate um I move that we appoint Rachel Goldman to the recreation advisory committee. I'll second it. Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Dangel,
yes. Man, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. And thank her for Yes. I will. Um with that, we'll move into our board of health meeting. I'm going to turn it over to committee member Angel to run. Thank you, mayor. Pursuant to section 5, chapter
231, public law 1975, this is to state for the record that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided to the public by posting and maintaining the annual notice of regular meetings on the bulletin board of the municipal building by mailing the annual notice of regular meetings for 2025 to the news record and
star ledger in December 2024 and by filing send notice in the office of the township clerk. Mayor Adams here. Sudafis here. Luca here. Herman here. Zangel here. Whereas chapter 231 public
laws 1975 commonly known as the open public meetings act requires all means of public bodies be open to the public and whereas section 7 provides that the board of health has a discretion to permit prohibit or regulate the act of participation of the public at any meeting and where desire the Maplewood
board of health to comply with the provision of this act same time to conduct its business in an orderly and expeditious manner. Now therefore be resolved by the Maplewood Board of Health of the Township of Maplewood does hereby prohibit except as set forth in the formal agenda. Active participate
active participation in deliberations of the board of health by the public and except as otherwise described by law does limit the public to the observations and actions and discussions of the board of health and all of its regular and special meetings. So moved.
Second. Mayor Adams. Yes. Mr. Dis. Yes. Luca. Yes. Yes. Zangle. Yes. I move the approval of the board of health meeting minutes from April 1st, 2025. Second. Mayor Adams. Yes. Safus. Yes. Mr. Luca.
Yes. Surman. Yes. Sangel. Yes. Now I turn things over to our health officer, Candace Davenport. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you so much for all of those great proclamations, including the mental health proclamation and um personally for myself for the
AHPI. Thank you so much. So, we'll start with the board of health presentation to the next slide where we had our community health fair this weekend. It was a fantastic um event. You can see all of our partners here. We want to say thank you to the Hilton Neighborhood Association for their partnership as
well as the Maplewood Health Department, Mapwood Police Department and Easy Ride for their uh free bike lessons for kids that were offered. They had so much interest that I think they've doubled uh the amount of sessions that they offered. So that was fantastic. Um and thank you to everyone here for coming
and supporting us. It really was a great day and I think many people found um lots of resources and um mental health, healthwise, uh physical health that were there in our community. So, it was a nice way to celebrate our community as well. Next slide to our nursing report.
This one's a fast one. Um 18 reportable diseases were investigated. Um thank you to our nurse Susette Gail who just joined us about a month ago. Next slide. As we talk about measles in New Jersey, we don't have measles in New Jersey, but next slide, just measles in
general. Um, I want to take note of the total cases as of um last week is 935 cases. Just to reflect upon um my report in March, that was about 400. So, you can see how measles can spread very
quickly. Luckily, um the Texas outbreak is going down, but they are seeing outbreaks in other areas of unvaccinated communities. Um you could see that still affects those who are under five years of age um much more than other groups,
especially on the hospitalization side. Next slide, please. On that note, uh we want to emphasize that the vaccines for children program which is provided through Essex County is offering uh services during the month
of May at various locations in Bloomfield, Orange, and Irvington. Um they also offer this information in Spanish and Haitian Creole as we're trying to reach out to more populations and we're sending this out through our social media as well as we know we have these populations in our community and
they find this very helpful to be able to read this information and access it. So please take advantage of those if you need childhood immunizations like measles. Next slide please. As we go into the aven flu update, there is not much to report here. No changes, but just want to update you that there are
no changes. There are no persontoperson spread right now and the current public health risk of um aven flu right now is low. All of those 70 cases uh were because of occupational exposure um usually from like working in a farm or
um with poultry. Next slide. Oh, I just want to go back to that one slide. If anyone has any uh questions or reports for uh large amounts of uh sick or dead wild birds to please call the New Jersey Department of Environment
Environmental Protection, but if you have sick or dead domestic birds, this is usually for like farms, uh please call the Department of Agriculture. Thank you. Next slide. So, um Essex County is reviving the medical reserve corps. So, what we were able to do at the health fair is we
actually got three um residents to sign up to volunteer for the medical reserve corps. In the event of a public health emergency or disaster, you know, natural disaster, we can call on our residents to assist and and volunteer. They can be medical or non-medical, but it sure is
helpful to call upon um the vast resources that we have in house um before we call upon the county. Um, these volunteers will also be called by the county if someone else in our area is in need. So, for example, if Livingston, West Orange, Nutle, if any
of them are in need, they will call in our residents. So, it's really nice to be able to give back to the community. Next slide. Our environmental health update. Um, they've been busy with restaurant inspections. Um, Maplewood has over a hundred restaurants. Uh, so we are
chopping away at that number. Um you'll see that our mobile food truck numbers will start to go up um as we have more um outdoor events and um the animal bites below is usually uh dog bites. I do want to make a clarification that our
RHS's um do inspect animal bites like dog bites and bat bites. Um but the ones that are going to be reported in the animal control are um usually bat bites um as well as more severe dog bites. So just to let you know that both of our
departments uh work together to address those issues. Next slide. So for the month of March, we don't have uh the reports for April just of yet from animal control solutions, but we had 17 calls. That's a that's a a lot. Um just want to circle that as the
stray animals that were impounded um for the month of March um was 13. So that's a lot of stray animals. And with that that funding um to assist them with the stray animals comes from our animal control trust fund. So from all of our
licensing a portion of that goes to the animal trust fund and that helps to help the stray animals that we find in Maplewood. Social services and mental health. This I want to highlight which is super interesting and thank you to Martha who's our um crisis intervention
social worker. For the month of April, they had 31 total cases. This is a high number for us. Of the of those, 24 were all new cases for the month of April. So, we are seeing um a lot of cases.
They've been working really hard. Um but just want to make note and recognize them for their hard work. Next slide. So, on that note, my crisis social workers, I hope they're watching. um didn't want us to um leave without saying that May is mental health
awareness month and because we had that wonderful resolution um our crisis social workers just wanted to emphasize it a little bit more that for the month of May there are different focuses for each week. Um thank you to Dina Pascel for these slides. So she was very
excited to show the next slide. So, from the National Alliance on ME mental illness, um they were able to provide mental health stats in New Jersey as were highlighting the resolution, but I want to highlight that 72,000 New Jerseyians ages 12 to 17 have
depression and that um New Jersey New Jerseyians struggle to get the help that they need. Um unfortunately um many of them nine time New Jersey New Jerseyians are over nine times more likely to be forced out of network to um
access mental health care and primary care. Next slide. We are very concerned about our youth um in Maplewood and I just want to highlight that top number of 61.4% 4% of New Jerseyians aged 12 to 17 who have depression did not receive any care um
in the last year and that um 9,662 people in New Jersey are homeless and one in three of those individuals lives with a serious mental illness because we also want to concentrate um on the um needless in
unintentional injuries um from suicide. We just want to acknowledge that on average, one person in the US dies every 11 minutes from suicide. And in New Jersey, 778 lives are lost to suicide, including 239,000 adults who have had
thoughts of suicide in the last year. So these are all really good um stats for us to think about. There's more information that can be found on the SAMA website as well as the NAMI website for more information. Next slide. Thank you.
We want to say thank you to Charity International. They were there at our health fair. Um they wouldn't miss it for the world and they were showcasing it to all the world. So thank you to uh them for highlighting their their um the health fair and their their presence there. Just want to highlight for them
that June 7th is going to be their last food pantry giveaway. They always give it out at our community fridge. So um they're always very generous to do that. So want to let people know that they are um a great partner. So thank you. Next slide. Our last slide as always as
we emphasize and thank you again for mentioning it in the mental health uh proclamation is our uh make the right call banner. We get we received um new banners uh at the police department. So you'll see a brand new one with uh this
update to it. We made the the um phone numbers bigger um to make it uh more visible as people are walking by or on the bus or driving by. So just want to highlight u that people can call these numbers for assistance 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Davenport. Any questions for my colleagues for our health officer? Now we invite the public to address the board of health. Does anyone here in the room have any questions for our health officer or our board of health?
Nope. Uh Mr. Wary, will you help facilitate online, please? If anyone joining on Zoom would like to address the board of health, please raise your hand now. I see no hands. Thank you. Great job to the health department and the and the PD on the health fair over the weekend. And
with that, I move to adjourn until our next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, June 4th, 2025. Second. Mayor Adams, yes. Safus, yes. Luca, yes. Herman, yes. Sangel, yes. Thank you. Thank you. Back
to you, mayor. Thank you, Miss Angel. Um, so we have introduction of the Maplewood Village Alliance budget on for um introduction like I just said, Deputy Mayor or sorry, Mr. Daffis.
Thanks, Mayor. Uh, I move the adoption of resolution number 153-25, the introduction of the Maplewood Village Alliances 2025 budget. I second. Yes. Luca, yes. Benal, yes. Herman, yes.
Mayor Adams, yes. Uh, Mayor, before you go to the next one, I just want to make a statement that every property owner will be notified. um of the hearing date um which is Wednesday, June 4th. And uh in addition,
the um full budget will be um published in the Maplewood South Orange News record um this week. Okay. Then we move next to the introduction of the Springfield Avenue Maplewood Partnership Budget. Why is
Maplewood stuck in there? Um pretty sure we didn't have that when we named it. I move adoption of resolution number 154-25. Introduction of the 2025 SID Springfield Avenue partnership budget. Second.
Mr. Davis, yes. Luca, yes. Sangel, yes. Furman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Mayor, uh, also for this budget, same thing. every property owner um in the SAP will be notified of our upcoming hearing on
Wednesday, June 4th, along with the full um budget will be published in the Maplewood South Orange News record this week. Okay. Thank you very much. With that, we'll move on to our first public comment for agenda items only. Is there anyone here who would like to address
the township committee? Okay, seeing none, is there anyone online, Mr. Wary? Oh, I think someone did raise their hand. Come on up to the podium, Mike. Ident um give us your name, address, and you have three minutes to speak.
James Vic 28B Metal Brook Place. Uh we received a notice from SNB regarding foreworn proposing ordinance was introduced was going to be discussed tonight at 7:30. So I'm not sure if I'm
addressing at the wrong time or not. Sure. Is that going to come up on the agenda tonight? I'm not sure which ordinance you're referring to because I could Are you referring to a zoning ordinance? Are you a property owner? 3144-25.
Yeah, that's ordinance uh to amend code chapter 271 regarding zoning and development regulations with respect to research and the office zoning district. Really, we're just trying to understand what it really means. Yeah. So, that there's going to be a public hearing for
that in a few minutes. They're on for final passage, but you can speak to it now. It's on final. If you'd like to speak to it now, that's fine, too. The question is we we received the notice in the mail. We didn't know what exactly what it meant. I read through it, but Got it. This is the first time we received it. Well, um I'm going to ask
Mr. Daffis to speak to that. When the ordinance comes up right after this public comment, we move into those ordinances and then we have a public hearing. So, you'll get a chance he can he'll describe it. It's his code committee and that way you can um know more what you're hearing and and speak
to it if you'd like. Okay. Thanks. you give your name and address. Okay. I was hoping maybe the people on Zoom will be, but um about the Parker Avenue bike lanes. That's not on tonight, right? It's not on today. No. So, it's usually
it's the second comment period which is later. Stick around. There's there's another time to Yeah, it won't be. We have While I'm here, I'll I just want to ask whatever you hear and any decisions, I'd like to invite every one of you before you
decide to do it to come drive in my driveway during school, like right when school's about to start and try backing out. That's all I ask. Okay? Just to get a sense of what every day is like living on that street. So, I'm at 44 Parker and
I'd like you guys to come out and just back up and see how many people you might hit because that's what I do every morning and coming in too around 3:00 2:30. Okay. Okay. You can speak more to it in the second public comment. Thanks.
Was there anyone else in the room who would like to speak on agenda items only for this first public comment session? Mr. Wary, can you check online, please? If anyone on Zoom would like to address the township committee on agenda items only, please raise your hand now.
I see no hands. Mayor. Okay. Thank you. With that, we'll move into ordinances on final passage. Uh number 3152-25, Miss Fritzen. Uh yes, Mayor. Item number 11, ordinance 3152-25, is an ordinance authorizing the
township to obtain easements for storm water facilities on certain properties on Maple Terrace and Berkeley Road in the Township of Maplewood. This ordinance, sorry, did wait, did I just interrupt you? I was
going to read the Go ahead. Uh, this ordinance will authorize a township to install and maintain storm water facilities on certain private properties located on Maple Terrace in Berkeley Road 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 here as I open up the hearing on this ordinance who would like to speak to this
ordinance? Anyone online? Mr. Worry, if anyone on Zoom would like to speak on this ordinance, please raise your hand now. I see no hands. Mayor. Okay. See, um, is there any discussion by the township committee or we'll take a motion from
Mr. Duca? 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. Miss Fritzen. Mr. Daffis.
Abstain. Mr. Duca. Yes. Miss Angel. Yes. M. Herman. Yes. Mayor Adams. Yes. Thank you. Next. Ordinance 3144-25. Miss. Pritzen. Uh, yes, Mayor. Item 11B. Ordinance number
3144-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 271 of the code of the township of Mapwood entitled zoning and development regulations with respect to the research and office zoning district. This ordinance will amend article five
zoning provisions of chapter 271 of the township code to eliminate the research and office RO zoning district and to include the subject property in the highway business HB zoning district. This ordinance has been published copies
posted on the bulletin board in municipal building and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law. Is there anyone here who would like to speak on this ordinance or ask questions? Yes. Mayor, did you mention Mr. D? Can give a little Thanks. Go ahead. Come on up. I want to
give you the opportunity to ask Mr. Daffis questions. Mr. Davis, do you want to just explain um the very basics of this ordinance? Good evening, sir. Um are you a property owner in in in this zone? Yeah. uh Metal
Maplewood Village condos which is I understand this building or is right behind this location. Right. Okay. Right. So um the what you received is a notice of the zoning change. It's not
really a zoning change. Uh when we adopted a new me it doesn't change the zoning definition of your property. Um when we adopted uh a master a new master plan for the entire
township a couple of years ago now, one of the recommendations was to update all of the zones because the last time that we did this was over 10 years ago, 15 years ago. Uh, and one of the recommendations was to um eliminate the
so-called research and office zoning district and include it in the highway business zoning district. Um, the highway business zoning district runs along most of Springfield Avenue. Um,
and that's merely what the notice that you received is about. And I invite um our attorney, Mr. Scredidio to add anything I'm missing here. So, so just for clarity, right, the research and office zoning district contains just the
Hilton bus garage, right? That's the only property that it includes and state law says that in certain zoning changes, we have to send written notice to everyone who owns property within 200 ft of the district that's changing. So, I actually I got a couple of phone calls
in my office, people a little concerned about it. Um, you know, saying like, you know, what is this really? it's just, you know, complying with state regulations. The RORO zone, the research and office zone was really just sort of an outlier for that property. So, as
part of like the planning process, the recommendation was made to make it zoned the same as the properties on either side of it. So, that's really the change. Is there a development going to be done with the property? No, no, no. It's just remain the way has nothing to
do with development. Yeah. Okay. No, it just has to do with the designation of that zone. That's all. Yeah. So, this is the bus garage that the New Jersey Transit owns. It's on Springfield Avenue. Yeah. Okay. Problematic bus garage, but yes. Yeah. So, all we're
doing is just changing the zone of the definition of what that is. It's no longer research and office. It's now highway business. And the bus garage is a permitted use in the highway business zone. Okay. So, nothing's changing. Nothing's chang. Thank you. But you're required to receive notice of it because
you're right there. Yep. Thank you. And I do have a question for Miss Gradia. Just to be clear, the research in office still applies to the New Jersey Transit office building at 180 Bernett Avenue. Uh if that if that is a separate address, I'm not personally familiar
with say if that's a separate address. Yes. This just deals with the bus garage, correct? Only the bus garage. Okay. Okay. Is there anyone else who has questions on this ordinance? Anyone online? Mr. February for the public hearing. If anyone on Zoom would like to speak on this ordinance, please raise
your hand now. I see no hands. Mayor. Okay. Thank you. Then, um, can I get a motion, Mr. Dus? Oh, yes, you sure can, Mayor. Oh, yeah. 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. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Miss Angel, yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams,
yes. Thank you. Ordinance 3153-25. Miss Pritson. Yes, Mayor. on introduction. Right. Ordinance number 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. Okay. This um ordinance. Can I get a motion, please, Mr. Davis? Certainly, 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 May 20th. I'll second. Mr. Daffus, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel, yes. M. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes.
Thank you. Ordinance on introduction 3154-25. Yes, Mayor. Uh item 12B, 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. Okay, Mr. deficit. 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 May 20th. I'll second. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel, yes. Surman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. Next ordinance on for introduction
3155-25. Miss Fritzen. Yes, Mayor. Item 12 C. Ordinance 3155-25 is an ordinance repealing and replacing in full section 271-45 of the township code of the township Mapwood establishing flood
plane regulations and adopting flood hazard maps. This ordinance will enact new flood plane regulations and establish flood hazard maps in the township in
accordance with New Jersey Flood Hazard Area Control Act and related state regulations. Okay. Can I get a motion, Mr. Duka? I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading, its publication according to law in the Matewood South Orange News record, and a
hearing to be held on May 20th, 2025. I'll second. Mr. Daffis, yes. Luca, yes. Zangel, yes. M. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Next on is bond ordinance 3156-25.
Uh, yes, Mayor. It's 12D. Bond 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. 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 Maplewood. 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 May 20th. I second the motion. Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sel, yes. Herman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. Next ordinance 3157-25.
Uh, yes, Mayor. Item 12E, bond ordinance 3157-25, bond ordinance for providing for various capital improvements for the storm water 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 bonds or notes to the township finance part of the cost thereof. This ordinance will fund various capital improvements for the storm water utility in the township of
Maplewood. 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 May 20th. I second the motion. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel,
yes. Furman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. Uh, last ordinance, last bond ordinance on for introduction 3158-25, Miss Pritzen. Uh, yes, Mayor. It's item 12F, bond ordinance
3158-25, bond ordinance of the town Maywood 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 the cost thereof. This ordinance will fund various capital improvements for the
South Essex Fire Department. I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading, its publication according to law, Maplewood, South Orange News record, and a hearing to be held on May 20th. Make a second. I second the motion. Mr. Mr. Davis, yes. Mr. Duca,
yes. Sangel, yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. We now have reports from departments, administrative reports. Mr. Worry, I have no report. Mayor, really? Truly. Wow. Truly. Any questions for our administrator, Mr.
Wary? I do. Um, Mr. Weary, the uh there's a potential train engineer strike on New Jersey Transit. I would suggest that we have an OEM planning meeting uh to look at alternatives. When we had
um trains out in the past, we used our Jitneys to bring people to the Irvington uh bus depot in Irvington Center. So they could either catch the 108 to go to I'm sorry the 107 to go to uh New York uh the bus or they could take the train
the bus into Newark Penn Station and jump on the path to get to either Wall Street or 33rd Street. So um I think the date is around May 16th. So, we ought to just pay attention to that and if we think that it's something there, we
ought to put a plan in place and just do a survey of our commuters to see if anyone's interested. Okay. Also find out if New Jersey Transit is providing any alternatives. Yeah, I did see that they're going to have um moving people from Sakus,
Hamilton, Woodbridge, and the PNC Art Center and Hdul. So, they're making contingency plans as well. So, we should coordinate with them. We'll start gathering information. Thank you. Any other questions for Mr. Worry? All right, then we'll move to our
township attorney. Hello, Miss Credidio. No report. All right. Any questions for our attorney? Moving on to our clerk, Miss Fritzen. Thank you, mayor. A couple things. Okay. Um, I just want to uh bring to your attention. Uh we've been
getting information out on our upcoming uh Memorial Day parade and uh ceremony back here at town hall. A lot of nice graphics. I've been working with our um graphic designer um and
uh everything has been posted up. And um also uh as far as the upcoming election, uh Tuesday, May 20th is the last day to register to vote for the election for the primary. Uh we certainly, you know,
still have time for that. Um and again, everything's been posted up on the website. And uh you know, our big change, which uh we're going to get out there, uh is the change from Columbia High School back to Clinton School for
uh district voting for districts 4, 10, 16, and 22. And we will be posting the solar signage in the reverse. Now, we've been posting it at Clinton, telling people that they uh in those districts
that they voted Colombia. Now, we'll be stationing the slower sign at Colombia, reminding everybody to go back to Clinton. And uh that's my report. That's it. Okay. Anything? We're using the message boards. Yeah, message
boards. The solar boards. Okay. Oh, that's what she said. I already reserved solar. I wasn't sure what you're talking message boards. Okay. I want to just mention that the school district didn't close for primary day this year. They have a 4-hour day. That's what we're here. 4hour day. Yeah. So, I'm just letting our um residents know that as
well that the school will be open when people are voting at the school. Yes. Right. Because they changed the date. Yeah. I think it was always a 4-hour day. I asked Mr. Bing about it recently about because I saw it for next year's calendar as well. So, there might I
remember voting right. They only just changed it from the June 3rd to the June 10th. That's what I meant. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They took their time. Yeah. Any other questions for Miss Britain?
Seeing none, we'll move on to reports from elected officials. Deputy Mayor Herman, it is the month that the pool is opening. This is so exciting. This is the first time in several years that our
pool is opening on time. Um, not everybody. It opened on time last year. Yeah, we opened on time last year. We opened on time last year and there was a huge project. So, there was there was offense to that shade. Um, no, but we didn't know we were going to open on
time. So, anyway, there was a Don't play this up too much and they pushed really hard to get it done. Don't Don't play this up too much. History here. Yes. Okay. So, the important date for everybody to know is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
And early bird is back. Early bird prices. And what's so great about our early bird prices is that our early bird prices are going all the way until June second. So that means you can come to the pool like you come to the pool and
you might be like, "Oh, darn. I missed the early bird." But you didn't because the pool will open on May 24th and early bird goes until May until June 2nd and there are reductions in all levels. We are already selling a lot of pool user
fee passes. So this is very very exciting. We have tryyouts coming up for the Makeo swim team. They are on June 7th, that's a Saturday, and Sunday, June 8th. So that's after the pool opens. Um there are two things that are in our consent agenda that are pool related.
one is guess what is back at our um our concession stand locker rolls. Yes, Freeman's is back. Everyone's favorite. So, we're very excited. Our local business will be um doing the concessions at our pool and everyone
loves the lapser roll. So, we're very excited about that. And then the second thing is that we expanded the number of um user passes like that are going to be available to Maplewood and South Orange residents to join each other's pools.
So, in recognizing that with our school district special preparation plan, um we have a lot of students in Maplewood going to school in South Orange, a lot of students in South Orange going to school in Maplewood. And we want the kids and the families to be able to join the pool where their friends are. And
so, if you live in Maplewood, you can join the South Orange pool. Um you have to pay the Maplewood rate and then you join the South Orange pool. If you live in South Orange and you want to join the Maplewood pool, you can do that as well. I believe you also pay the Maplewood rate which is another good reason our
rates are going down so everybody can be happy about that. Um so um check that out. I know that there are a bunch of folks who want to join certain swim teams that are waiting for this and so you can start getting those memberships starting tomorrow user fees starting
tomorrow. So that is very exciting. A couple things that I will also mention field hockey we are super excited. It will be at Orchard Park. This is a new wreck sport that we are offering. So sign up. It starts very soon. Um we will
be having speaking of elections um we will be having a mailin ballot workshop. This will be next uh actually this week on Thursday May 8th at the senior center um at 100 p.m. This is um designed for
seniors. Um the the mail and ballots look a little different. There's been some changes. So, this is, you know, we've got some folks that are going to walk um walk folks through what they look like, how you can fill it out, answer your questions, all that sort of thing. We've got some senior socials coming up um which I wanted to mention
since it's older, it's a older Americans month on senior month um May 13th and June 10th. And these are opportunities for conversation and mingling. And for all the other amazing wreck things that we are doing, please go to our website,
Recesesk, and check them out. Thank you very much. Thank you. Any questions for Deputy Mayor Herman? How do you follow up that, right? That's the fun stuff. I know. I miss having the pool updates. It's all summer long. That's right. That's right. Let's just end the meeting. We'll go to Mr. Duca.
So, I have one item. Uh, Thursday, May 15th at 7:30 at the Community Center in Deart Park, 120 Bernett A, the Hilton Neighborhood Association is going to be sponsoring a TC a Township Committee candidate forum. When is that? Thursday, May 15th. Okay. So, they have a date
now. Yes. 7:30. Will that be streamed as well? Will that be streamed as well? It'll be I think it'll be on their Facebook page. Yeah. Okay. Hey, any questions for Mr. Duke? Like, why was his report shorter than normal? Yeah. Are you okay? No, I'm
giving you all a break. Thank you. Giving a break. Well, next week. Next month. Committee member Daffis, you're up. Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple items. Um, I'm going to zoom out, go national because it has local effects and then
I'll talk about a couple of local um subcommittee updates. So, as many folks know by now, on Friday, this past Friday, the White House issued its proposed budget. It is, to say the least, a
brutal assault on the stability of communities across the nation and it has very um potential devastating effects on New Jersey residents. There are cuts to HUD which we
project could cause a rise in homelessness. Uh which means that for suburban communities like ours, we expect an inflow of homelessness into our community from some of our surrounding urban centers. And I'm
therefore very glad that one of our resolutions that we're going to be adopting in our consent agenda this evening is uh a resolution to award a contract again to CSPJ, our street outreach and support for homelessness
individuals that has been a very successful program here in Maplewood uh this past year. Medicaid cuts are especially egregious and concerning. They affect so many Americans, including our residents
here in Maplewood. There are severe cuts andor elimination of vital programs like to utility and housing assistance. Um the utility assistance is particularly concerning in light of the fact that New
Jersey is experiencing unprecedented uh rising utility rates and costs that we're all feeling. Public health is targeted. We talked about this before. Uh, and when you look through the
hateful, dark 96 pages of this proposed budget, you can see two acronyms over and over again directly targeting DEI and the LGBTQ community. a direct
and explicit attack on the LGBTQ community in health care, particularly for our youth, but also in other areas such as housing. And speaking of the LGBTQ community, today's Supreme Court the Supreme Court ruling allowing this
hateful administration's ban on transgender military service members is further uh you know evidence of of what's happening and what's yet to come. I propose that we as a strong governing
body that has taken a stand on these issues uh before that we consider at our May 20th meeting later this month um adopting a resolution uh saying that we're against all of this and encouraging our New Jersey federal
delegation to fight these cuts and directly oppose any votes in favor of any forthcoming federal budget that includes these cuts pride. I ask that we can do, you know, in light of all this, it's really,
really important this year that we as a community show our pride in big numbers. Uh, our pride planning is in full swing. You can check out our website on the Maplewood Arts and Culture Division
page. It's called outinmapso.org. You will find already a slew of events on the calendar. There's more coming. For right now, I want to highlight that registration is open for Lavender Graduation. Lav L Lavender graduation is
an opportunity to provide a special affirming uh graduation ceremony for our LGBTQ and allied high school students. that's going to be held at the CHS auditorium on Friday, June 6th at 6 PM.
And uh registration for students who want to participate in that is open. A report from the Maplewood Arts Council. I'm really excited about this in particular. I'm reporting that we have started working on the township's arts and culture space utilization
project. This will provide the township with a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which its public arts and culture spaces are utilized as well as a detailed picture of which kinds of events resonate most with the community.
The goal here is to create awareness of arts and culture events in the township, but to also further assess which events best serve the community and how to better engage local artists and invest in our local arts and culture more and
to ultimately get us to an arts and culture master plan, which as you all know on this committee is another recommendation of our master plan. We're pulling together uh public usage data right now and we've started putting
together a survey that will go out to the public. We're aiming for end of summer, early fall. Um and uh all of that data that we collect will help us uh get to to this result. The Maplewood Village Alliance Parking
Committee uh if we're all so willing um would like to present a paid parking pilot for Maplewood Village at our ne at our first meeting on June 3rd. They ask for about 15 minutes uh to be on the
agenda to make a presentation. The idea is for the pilot the pilot to assess if paid parking can promote greater parking space turnover and utilization and thereby enhance economic opportunity to our merchants by getting
more consumers through their doors and promoting greater parking enforcement. When we last looked at this seven years ago, we did not have uh the current license plate reader technology to help us with such enforcement, which as all
of you know on this committee. Uh we are spending money to have license plate readers uh with our budget, our 2526 budget. Certainly, there's a lot of data out there showing that paid parking can do these things, which is why most towns
have it. So the idea is for us to consider trying it and seeing how it works. The master plan has recommended it. Um and a previous study specific to Maplewood Village, the strategic
revisioning which was done by the state of New Jersey back in 2017 2018 also recommended it. This will be a presentation only on June 3rd. No vote by the township committee will be expected. Uh we will listen. We may have
a discussion and there will be other steps to take and follow up to engage in before uh including opportunity for public engagement um and discussion before we um take a vote either
way. And lastly, uh I too want to recognize our EMTs and our fire department. Um, a special shout out of deep gratitude and appreciation to our fire department. Over the weekend, a resident
uh let me know that they called on an elderly resident in the park that was in distress. And our department's uh response was immediate and they took extra care and diligence uh to um help
the resident who is now doing really well. And that is my report. Okay. Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Davis? Seeing none, we'll move on to Committee Member Angel. Thank you. So um this week is also National Small
Business Week. So I just wanted to shout out some of our businesses because I feel like we've been to a lot of um business events lately. Um the Maplewood Village Alliance had their merchant mixer I think last week. So, I want to thank Aaron Rose for inviting us and for bringing us all together to build
community. And Nicole Wallace did a similar merchant um professional development mixer a couple weeks ago um as well for Springfield Avenue Partnership. Um I want to congratulate uh Maplewood Wheelhouse on their soft opening at 417 Bdon. Go check them out.
They expanded at a general store, so it's really exciting to see our homegrown businesses grow. Um, we also have a ribbon cutting coming up for another homegrown business on Springfield Avenue, Mission Munchies and Grandma Emma's. Really exciting. And True Salvage on Elmwood and Bdon just
rebranded into a gluten-free restaurant. So, I want to congratulate um, Signet and Silver on the transition over. I hear the food is really, really delicious. Um, we also had the Baker Street Flea put on by Muse and Baker Street Market last weekend, which was
phenomenal. There were so many vendors and so many people enjoying the beautiful weather in Maplewood and I think that the foot traffic was so great. I can't imagine that everyone didn't make a lot of money. So, congratulation all our small businesses. Um I'm sure I missed other things. My handwriting is so small, but all of our
businesses um they put so much into our community just by opening their doors, by sponsoring your fundraisers, uh the baseball teams that are are starting now. Um community events, they just do a lot to contribute to our culture and society and community. So, I just wanted
to shout them all out and thank them for being part of Maplewood. Um, that was mainly my my main report today. Um, oh, I me I forgot to mention and and at the health fair that we talked about earlier, HLS and Sandwich are provided um free food. So, more Springfield
Avenue business is getting involved. Um, at our communications committee, we heard kind of a report from um Cindy Price, our new public information officer, brand new position. And so she gave us a report on how things are going and her recommendations and suggestions for how to move forward. So our newsletter, which she started, which is
phenomenal, is going to be twice a month now, every other week versus every week. And she is working now on focusing on our website to make sure that all the news you need is up on our website on the homepage as well as more specific information that is just tight and looks great. And so we're really excited to
move forward um for the next few months. And that is my report. Thank you. Go local businesses. Go local businesses. I hope True Salvage isn't going to mess around with the Taylor Ham. They're not going to make that gluten. She has. Yes, she re she
recreated it. So, there is still a Taylor ham. It is still del and it's very delicious still. Created Taylor ham. I don't know if you can recreate Taylor. It's still delicious. And she They're also still doing tapis, which has pretty much been gluten-free for a while or mostly gluten-free for a while.
Oh, right. That's right. So, at the ribbon cutting for corner slice, their special pizza of the day was Taylor ham and pineapple. Oh, amazing. So, I'm really sorry you missed that. It was delicious. Oh, we all missed it. I didn't get any. Did you get Oh, yeah.
Hell yeah. Okay. We did get cheese from the wheelhouse, though. I still have some left. There you go. Lots of truffle cheese. All right. Thank you. Any questions for committee member angel? No, thank you. Okay. So, I as I sent uh
the township committee um a sample resolution today for us to pass um a resolution support of Senator Smith's S3398 bill and Colossus Gills uh
Assembly Bill uh companion 5009. And what this does is reduce um packaging and call on manufacturers to do better with their packaging to cut the packaging waste that we have. Um
also for all the obvious reasons I think we were in the forefront of skip the stuff kind of uh ordinance locally where our food businesses are not um permitted to just automatically throw napkins and condiments and things like that. So this
is sort of this in my head this is the same kind of thought process and just being less wasteful and um calling on some of uh saving tax dollars and having them pay for some of the pro issues that
they've caused. So does anybody have any thoughts on it? Is everybody okay with passing that resolution in support of this bill? 100%. So this is in the assembly. It's both. the companion bill assembly in the Senate. I guess my long
question is I'm in support of it, but I haven't read the bills since I just heard about this today. And I just want to make sure that there's not fall back on the small businesses because I know like for example, when we were changing to recycling recyclable bags versus
plastic bags, some of the turnaround type time was really tight. And so I just don't know what the bill says or if it's just a we want you to relook at your packaging and make it more eco-friendly or what comes back to the small business owners because they buy
that the packaging far in advance. So that's just my one I a lot of this has to do with the manufacturers of the packaging um and who's what they're how they're using it as opposed to like a shopping bag that you get. Right. but the start of the process of them
creating packaging that then other businesses are using to package their products or that they're using in their stores or that's just I just don't know the details. So, I'm probably I'm in support of in theory, but I'm probably going to abstain from saying that I want to support it because I want to read it.
Fair enough. I'll I'll look into that question for you, but I think it's the larger Yeah, I'll read the bills when I have like later this week. Okay. Anybody else? Yeah, I mean, we're putting on the agenda for the 20th, right? And then we Yeah, we can we can wait if you're more comfortable that way or we can do I'm fine with you all passing it and I'll
just abstain. I think we have the votes and I'm in support of it in theory. I just want to I because I you know I was involved with the ST did so long as you are. So I just see repercussions that sometimes fall back to the small business owners like you have to switch everything over in three months but sometimes you buy years of supplies. So that's just this type of thing that I'm
thinking of that I'd want to see like the details. Okay. If is there um an appetite to pass this tonight or do we want to wait till the 20th? I support it. I I'm so annoyed with all the packaging that even just getting one little thing in. Oh my goodness. I'm
okay passing it tonight. Me, too. Okay, great. So, um I'll move it. I have a second. Second. Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Miss Zangel, abstain. Miss Herman, yes. Mayor
Adams, yes. Thank you. And thanks to everybody. Also, I just want to make everybody aware that we uh the Arbor Day Foundation notified us that we received the 2024 achievement Tree City USA
status. So, that's always good. It's just it's a welldeserved testament to our community's um unwavering support of trees and tree planting and budgeting for it and pushing for it for years. So,
um I asked I sent something to um Miriam and to Cindy to put something out with a press release about this. That's okay. Don't worry. I know you're not feeling well. You'll see my email. But, um so this it's been part of
part of we've been part of Tree City USA before, but um I don't think we missed a couple years of being um certified as it were. So I think the co years Yeah. Yeah. Mayor, I feel like this is a good time to shout out um Alana Freriedman
who started our shade tree subcommittee and she's graduating from CHS this year. She's been serving on our environment advisory committee, but I feel like she's done a lot for trees. Yep. In Maplewood. Definitely. And and our environmental advisory committee as a whole and the Maplewood Memorial Park
Conservancy. So all these things we get um and our DPW especially at Maple Crest Park. So anyway, I just wanted to let everybody know that no questions for me, I assume. So I'm going to move on with the agenda and we're going to we have no discussion items. So can I get a motion
for the consent agenda? I move that we adopt the consent agenda. I'll second. Jeez, that was a nailbiter. Mr. Daffis, yes. Mr. Duca, yes. Sangel, yes. Sherman, yes. Mayor Adams, yes. Thank you. That brings us to our second
public comment section for any subject matter. So, this is the time for anyone to come up to address the township committee. You have three minutes to speak. So, come on up to the podium if you want to speak. This is your [Music]
chance. Okay. Going once, going twice. Why don't you come on up so we can have a conversation. since you stuck around, right? Okay. Give us Parker Avenue that knows and is paying attention least to this
issue except for the fact could wait. You got to identify yourself for the minutes. My name is Brian. I live on 44 Parker. Okay, there you go. Like I said, I haven't I'm very busy person. And I don't really part a lot of
this stuff that's going on. But when I heard that they're going to put bike lanes on Parker Avenue, I was like, who thought of this? Like you guys are all very bright, but like is anyone on the block? Like this is the most absurd thing. And I'm a
bike. I'm a cyclist. Like my whole family, we have the electric bikes. We have all like I'm constantly on bikes. And I agree. Like it's hard to navigate certain streets. Like I'd like to ride my bike to the pool. Avoid it. Like to be able to ride the bike and have a bike
lane. I get it. But Parker Avenue with all of the traffic that I have to navigate every day and I'm a crazy good driver and I know like when people pull in my parking driveway and try to get
out, it's causes them so much mental health and stress and I do it every day. So, I feel like someone's going to get hit and these kids and I constant like, "Oh oh my god, I almost hit someone."
Like, and now you're going to add bike lanes to that on top of the fact that school, the months that school's in, it's freezing out most of the time. Like, the kids that are riding the bikes, like that area of impact is so high density and the cars racing down
and emergency vehicles. I mean, it's m it's mess. It's messy. So, I think yes to bike lanes. Use the money. Either take it away from Parker Avenue because it just is too intense, too many people.
Find another street that makes more sense. A lot of the neighbors have brought that up in a very articulate, educated way. Not me. I think it's just ridiculous. But or take the money that you're using for one of these other more important issues that are going on.
There's a lot of taxpayer money going into this. I think the fact that you guys would even consider listening to having parking meters to get money and then you're using all this money to put in bike lanes seems crazy. I think that's going to anger the parking meters will that just pissed me off right there. It's like, are you kidding me?
You've built all these condos and now there's too many cars and now you're going to put parking meters and then bike lanes on a street that's already impacted so heavily. We have huge yards where for two or three months, probably more two months, there's leaves that go
into the middle of the street. And now that's going to be on a bike lane. And then you're going to have the cars. And then you're going to have all of the big trucks and all of the emergency vehicles and the cops. And then you have kids riding bikes and looking at their phones and they're always on
headphones and then people trying to pull out to go to work. I'm just saying. Okay. Mr. Angelica, did you want Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that um whether or not we put the bike lanes in, we are going to be working with the school on setting up some drop off
locations. I've seen what that looks like. Not the school, although I don't imagine where that's going to be, but if you do lacrosse and you're over in South Orange and there's the same thing, there's a bike lane there, people are just going to park there and then the cops come and it's just a mess. So,
working with the schools, I get it. You're going to try to figure it out. No, no, no, no. I'm What I'm saying is that whether we put the bike lanes in or not, we're going to try to address the traffic problem by setting up drop off spots on Academy, on Hixon, and on
Valley and then reconfigure some of the traffic on Kensington so that it doesn't come all the way out to Parker. So, that's that's what we're working on. So, that's going to happen either way. Good. And that may aliviate el eliminate some of the uh problems
that you're facing. Will, but it's people are still going to just do things illegally because it's the easiest most efficient way to just drop people on and off and it's like when it's especially when it's snowing outside and it's icy, right? Good to have other options, but
it's not going to stop from what's just the easiest most. Okay. So we have to deal with, you know, we have to think half not not half empty. We have to think half full. We have to think that we're trying to move to solutions. So I understand that people do violate the
law that they some are very inconsiderate, but it doesn't stop us from passing ordinances around parking, around traffic, and around uh design of how we're doing things. So we're going to move forward. We're gonna work with
all the parties, the school, the police, um, and to, you know, try to make it happen there and have a an an a more orderly way of dropping people off and people and picking people up at Columbia High School. I think that's great. And I think you should have been doing that
before, regardless of the bike lanes. I mean, this isn't just some new thing. It's not the bike lane, it's the busy street, but adding bike lanes on that is going to impact and danger. I think kids that are list every single one of them. I mean, I I live in the spot. It's just
one block up. So, I get to watch every morning every kid just walking without paying any att No one's paying attention. And so, the bikes now are going to be the next thing. And I'm ju and everyone's driving out. It's just it's crazy every morning. So I and when I asked what they're going to do like
when we have snow or leaf removal because the leaves we don't have normalsized backyards our leaves are massive and someone said oh we'll just get municipality to like rearrange it. So we are we are we've heard pretty
much everything you said. Not that we don't want to hear it. The more people who say what you're saying the more volume that has an impact on the opinion. But we are we haven't decided about the bike lanes yet. Um Mr. Duca hosted as chair of engineering and public works three public meetings on
three out of four Mondays in April and also we have engineer and public works committee where we had a two and a half hour meeting because we had another hour. So we're getting lots of input and and all of the professionals working on this will be taking that into
consideration and then all of us will decide whether or not we move forward. I do think Park Rabin would like you guys to just drive in and out of the driveway to give a real understanding of why we are so like upset about it because it's something that we're experiencing and so
we can look there just better streets for it. There's I mean I'm a cyclist so I know if there's a bike lane I'm following that bike lane. It doesn't need to be around the busiest street. You're going to follow it to where you need to go because it's the safest way to get to places. So that's just like a
solid recommendation is come try get the sense of what is going on that's going to impact the decision you make. Thank you. That's it. Understood. Thank you very much. Anyone else in the room like to speak at public comment?
Seeing none, Mr. Wary, is there anyone online? Anyone would like to speak? If anyone on Zoom would like to speak in public portion, please raise your hand. Now I'm moving over Carmen to panelist.
Oh, is it Carmen again? Welcome to public portion, Carmen. You may unmute yourself and address the committee. Can we make um people have their camera on when they're Oh, there it goes. Good. Oh, she Hello. Hi. So, you know, um I
I've spoken at the meetings um in the past and at the bike lane meetings um that have been held by um engineering and Mr. Duca. Um you know I
I you have seen um all the signs on Parker Avenue. Um you have there are numerous um households opposing this on Parker Avenue. And I think one of the reasons
that there is so much mistrust is that although you're having these meetings, um there are words coming out of committee members that are basically saying we're going to put bike lanes in whether you like it or not. And if you
look at the minutes of these meetings, there are committee members that are saying that. And we're having a problem with that. uh because you we feel like you're giving us lip service here and I think
that there has to be some consideration um of of how this is communicated to the Parker Avenue residents. But my question is really regarding bond
3156-25 which sort of adds to the mistrust. So under that bond, it authorizes capital improvements to Parker Avenue, specifically striping and all work necessary and
incidental there too. and it's in the um package uh packet that you included with your agenda and that is um you know that's very vague and for many of us the including all work and materials
necessary therefore an incidental there too equates to bike lanes now I understand that this is a placeholder that I know that Mr. Duca mentioned that at previous meetings that this money may not be go may not go to bike lanes if
it's not approved but everything we are hearing is that these bike lanes are going to happen and it doesn't matter how many meetings you have with us. How many um times you say that it's not going to happen that it's going to happen and
there are some very upset residents on Parker Avenue. So I guess my question to all of you but specifically to Mr. Duca is what do you what does this mean including all work and materials necessary therefore and
incidental there too when you specifically mention Parker Avenue striping I think Mr. Weary should Mr. Weary. This is sounds to me like it's language you put in a bond ordinance. Is that
correct? Yeah. This is what general descriptors used on a lot of um capital items to give us some flexibility in how it's applied. We have it has to be specific enough to where we understand a useful life. We understand the value of something. We understand that it
qualifies for capital funding. Uh but we also want to give the municipality enough flexibility to um to you know adapt to maybe unforeseen changes or changing desires. I I understand that. I understand
that you know catch all because you don't want to um narrow and uh set yourself up for you know for something in terms of the budget. I understand that. But the
mere fact that it says Parker Avenue striping is very telling for us because you could have just said capital improvements, right? Um to certain areas. You also have one for prospect uh
but you specifically stated Parker Avenue striping and that is what concerns us that we are spinning the wheel here as Parker Avenue residents. you know, G being giving lip service, hearing what we're hearing from
committee people, right? Seeing what we're seeing in the bond and and this is very unsettling to all of us. So, you know, I I think I think you know the township committee,
we are your constituents too, right? So, everyone is your constituent. Parker Avenue is your constituent and for there to be bike lanes for a small number of people right at the expense of
a larger group on Parker Avenue I think is not really considering the concerns of Parker Avenue residents and dismissing whatever concerns they have about these bike lanes for safety reasons. I mean I we don't have to
repeat everything that we have said in the past about this. So I No. So what I'm saying is I would like you to think about this and think about these Parker Avenue residents and how they're feeling right now about what they are seeing and
what they are hearing. Understood. And thank you. Have a good night. You too. Um so it so uh two things. one, you know, uh, everyone up here is
making the best judgment that he or she can and um, some people have, you know, expressed their opinion and they're entitled to do that. So, uh, no vote has been taken yet, um, on the specifics of going out to a contract or moving
forward with this. So, um, until that happens, we're going to continue to com to look at the options and and, um, try to address some of the problems. I think I mentioned before and and you kind of alluded to that, the speaker kind of alluded to that, you know, we're passing
a major capital budget here, $6 million, um, or adopting a $6 million budget. And part of that has money for the Parker Avenue bike lanes. Um, we do that because if we do decide that we're going to move forward, we need to have that
ordinance in place in order to do that. If we decide we're not going to move forward, then we don't go out to borrow that money. That money stays there. That that appropriation stays there and at some point we would cancel it or move it to another take a vote somehow to move
it to another project. So, um, nothing's in stone. Nobody's playing any tricks here. We were very clear and I was very clear in explaining it just like I'm explaining it now, explaining it then that this is a procedural thing. We have
to pass the capital budget. Um uh which also includes public improvements, pedestrian safety improvements design on many streets throughout the We are going to be uh adopting this on May 20th.
There's a 30-day uh period after that. that we have to wait. So, we're not even prepared to move forward until the end of June and I don't see a final decision being made until sometime probably in July. So, um or and and if we can't come
to an agreement, then we'll see where we are and we'll either decide to move it, you know, have more conversation or not. We did commit to having more uh meetings before we make a decision and we're still committed to that. We're taking all the information uh in under
consideration. We've talked with our professionals and um we're trying to address some of the concerns that have been raised. So, uh that's where we are. This is this is a a budgeting process that we have to go through in order to have money. We can't spend any money
without having a budget that allows us to do that. So, that's what this is. Mr. Duka, can I ask you a question? And it says for for striping. And so we've always said that this is part of one strategy for traffic calming, which has been a concern on Parker Avenue for a very long time. What can we do to calm
traffic? So even if we don't move forward with bike lanes, and I'm probably talking to me because I am in support of bike lanes, we still need to do something about Parker Avenue, making the lane the road narrower, um bettering the the crosswalks, adding crosswalks, and so all of that has to be funded. So,
even if it's not striping for dedicated bike lanes, it would be striking for other striping for other um traffic calming measures on Parker Avenue, which has been there's been a big group of Parker Avenue residents who have been asking, begging for traffic calming on Parker Avenue. That's correct. Yes. So,
the striping that's funded in this capital budget is not necessarily it could be narrowing the road as opposed to necessarily and adding crosswalks for visibility or a stop, another stop, another four-way stop, for example. Yeah. for um helping with the traffic around CHS, which we've talked about
we're doing separately with the school district to better the circulation there. And I empathize with the the speaker who was here because I drive I dropped off at CHS too and I mapped her looked her up and she is right in the middle of everything and it is very trafficy. So I don't think we don't want
to minimize the feelings that the residents right around CHS have because there is a problem there right now. And so we're looking at the problem in other ways besides bike lanes. How do we fix that problem and make it less congested and safer for everybody? Correct. Okay.
Is there anyone else for public comment online? Mr. Wary, anyone else on Zoom would like to speak in public portion? Please raise your hand now. I see no hands. Mayor, great. Okay. Then we'll close the public comment and ask for a motion to adjurnn. I move that
we adjourn. Second, Mr. Davis. Yes, Mr. Duca. Yes, Sangel. Yes, Herman. Yes, Mayor Adams. Yes. Thank you. We'll see you on May 20th. I thought you sounded like you you were answering somebody calling you. Yes. No.