[Laughter] he's on vacation [Laughter] you can I don't [Laughter] Yeah you have to wave at the catch I
guess 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 in December 2024 and by filing said notice in the office of the township clerk Mr daffis present here sangel here
here mayor Adams here whereas chapter 231 public laws 1975 commonly known as the open public meetings act requires a means 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
of participation of the public at any meeting and whereas desire the governing body to comply with the provision this act same time to conduct its business in an orderly and expeditious manner now therefore be it resolved by the township committee township of Mapwood that it
does hereby prohibit except as set forth in a formal agenda active participation and deliberations of the governing body by the public except as otherwise by law does limit the public to the observations of the actions and discussions of the governing body at all
its regular and special meetings so moved second mr daffis yes luca yes benal yes herman yes mayor Adam yes thank you thank you everyone please rise for a salute to the flag
i pledge algiance 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 everyone and welcome to the Tuesday April 15th the year is flying by meeting of the Maplewood Township Committee it's our regular meeting and I'm just going to run real quickly through the agenda um we have a presentation or request um by Maple
Woodstock Committee uh requesting our support for beer and wine garden this year's festival uh then we have uh two proclamations one for the parliamentary law month and one for national public health week uh then we have some boards
and committee appointments for the all access committee and deputy mayor Herman will um do those and we ask that all of them all of those appointees be brought up at the same time and um then we'll we'll do a consent sort of approval for
all their appointments then we have public comment for agenda items only then we have ordinances on final passage we have a couple of ordinances for our township code zoning code and development and um three actually one
for that includes fees for our municipal pool um then we have an another ordinance um for recreation advisory committee um to reflect the changes in the number of the committee members that we discussed earlier we have another
ordinance to amend chapter 72 on the youth advisory committee um and then we have one introduction of ordinance and that is for authorizing the township to obtain easements for storm water facilities on certain properties on
Maple Terrace um something we've been working on for years now literally um then we have reports from departments which will be our 2025 uh budget report um then we have uh
administrative reports uh Mr where he is joining us from vacation which is very gracious of him to take time out this evening um but anything he uh needs uh assistance with our assistant
administrator Miriam will uh totally take over for that so Jennifer Credidio our township attorney will report next and then uh Liz Fritzen then we will have uh the presentation of introduction of our 2025 budget
um a brief presentation on that and a resolution to um accept the budget as introduced then we have reports from elected officials uh committee member Daffis committee member Duca committee member Angel uh deputy mayor Herman and
then I go last uh during that resolution I mean I'm sorry during my report I will uh ask for support from my colleagues for a resolution in support of the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act um then we have three discussion items one is the
reconstruction of the Deart Park um grass playing field mr duca will lead that discussion as well as the installation of possible installation of Parker Avenue bike lanes then we have uh Mr daffis will do fee adjustment
discussion for rental registration and zoning and CCUs then we will have the consent agenda after that we have a second public comment on any um any topic that anyone would like to speak to us for just a reminder our public comments are
limited to three minutes um for each person and with that I will invite Maple Woodstock to come on up to the podium and um do your very difficult ask of the township committee
thank you uh committee members for letting me be here this evening to represent the Maple Woodstock volunteer committee susan introduce yourself i'm sorry i I am one of the members of our nineperson Maple Woodstock organizing volunteer committee um we as we have
done in past years uh our committee is requesting that the township committee Maplewood's Alcohol Beverage Control and the Maplewood Police Department permit a wine and beer garden at this year's Maple Woodstock Music and Arts Festival which will be the 20th Maple Woodstock
yes we've applied for that um we have applied for and received the social affairs permit from the state of New Jersey and in that application we detailed the controls and security protocols that we're planning to prohibit sales to minors and prevent any
beverages from leaving the fenced in area and has been and as has been the case in prior years the South Orange Elks Lodge will manage the beer garden and all bartenders will be appropriately certified i did want to mention that we are now operating under the umbrella of
the Music and Arts Education Project a relatively new nonprofit organization whose mission is to support arts education in our community to date MATE as we call it has raised and donated over $8,000 worth of supplies to the
elementary schools ensuring that all the arts and music teachers had the classroom supplies that they had requested for this academic year the funding for those supplies had been eliminated in this year's budget aligning with MATE we have added a new element to Maple Woodstock this year we
will be having an art exhibit we're calling 20 under 20 to celebrate the 20th anniversary displaying the work of 20 artists under the age of 20 years old so that we can celebrate the tremendous creativity of the young folks in our
community and that'll be at 1978 Gallery no that in the park oh in the park okay in the park um in the East Field or what most people refer to as the baseball field sweet thanks thank you for letting me be here and we hope you will allow us to have our beer and wine garden as part
of Maple Woodstock thank you Susan thanks for coming tonight and thanks for your presentation um Deputy Mayor Herman and I are the liaison this year with the Maple Woodstock committee i think I've been leaison since I got on the township committee which is appropriate given my history with the uh event so does anyone
have any questions for Susan no all right then I'd like to make a motion to approve the beer and wine garden i like the way you put it wine and beer gardeners that's my preference so uh for uh Maple Woodstock this year can I have a second second
daffis yes luca yes benal yes furman yes mayor Adams yes thank you so much you can stay for the whole meeting if you want or you can go thanks very much and thanks for all you guys are doing every year for this it's
uh the best and 20th anniversary is is just nice it's just so you know it's been a long road so uh and just remembering the the little foundling um maple woodstock uh and seeing to what it's grown as to the point where it's become
uh recognizable and made put maple wood and maple Woodstock on the map for a lot of music lovers so thank you for all your work on it it's a lot okay with that we'll move to the 2025 Parliamentary Law Month and I'd ask
Michelle Bobo to join me at the podium legal women voters persons we've got this fellow legal women voters well it's fellow it's you know compatible bisexual i don't know i didn't mean it that way okay so
this is parliamentary law month and for April 2025 and I will read the proclamation into the record and allow you to say a few words if you don't mind whereas in this birth month of Thomas Jefferson author of the first American
manual of parliamentary procedure in 1801 it is fitting that we honor him and reflect upon the importance of parliamentary procedure in democratic organizations whereas on this eve on the birth month of Henry Martin Robert author of the
pocket manual for rules of order for deliberative assemblies also known as Robert's rules of order which is way easier to say uh first published in 1876 it is a worthwhile time to honor him and to celebrate his contributions to the
field of parliamentary procedure whereas Robert's rules of order newly revised is the most widely recognized and used parliamentary authority in public and private organizations throughout the world whereas it is timely in this
current environment of our federal government right now to reflect on the importance of parliamentary procedure in meetings in providing for civil discourse protecting individual rights ensuring fairness and maintaining order
whereas the National Association of Parliamentarians has by adoption of a standing rule designated the month of April as Parliamentary Law Month and whereas the National Association of Parliamentarians is committed to educating leaders throughout the world
in effective and fair meeting management through the use of parliamentary procedure and whereas the National Association of Parliamentarians is globally recognized as premier provider of parliamentary leadership whose mission it is to provide education and
resources to enable efficient and democratic decisionmaking through the effic effect effective use of parliamentary procedure now therefore be it resolved that I Mayor Nancy Adams do hereby declare April 2025 as
Parliamentary Law Month and call upon the districts associations units and all members to observe the month with appropriate programs ceremonies and activities as a way to honor our rich legacy and bring our mission and vision
into reality for current and future generations thank you so much thank you let me just start by saying the pocket manual has expanded over 700 pages down from the 800 from the last edition so we're we're
convinced we're conde Oh do you in this time when civil discourse is becoming more of a rarity it is comforting to know that people can follow rules to speak civily and conduct business in a business-like manner both Thomas Jefferson and General Henry Martin felt
the same way and codified rule books so all participants know the rules as well as their fairness and agreed to abide by them for over two centuries we have agreed to have civil dis discourse to move business along and to according to
General Martin protect the rights of the minority in a civil society while there are many other reference books Roberts is the most frequently used and cited although not in government bodies we had a discussion with a previous township
attorney who wanted to use Roberts however and did however it is not appropriate because Robert's demands that we do not talk to each other during uh governmental body
issues we only talk to and through the chair and we are limited to only 10 minutes per person entirely so the minute the meeting until everyone else can
speak lots of luck so uh while it was adopted and it is an authority in your bylaws which I recommend you read because they're fascinating especially if you're an insomniac um Roberts is quoted as being an
authority after the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of New Jersey and um the laws of New Jersey this comes down on the list where it doesn't conflict but I digress imagine if the
township committee were required to speak only when recognized by the chair and only to the chair to limit a speech to 10 minutes to only speak a second time after all have been given the opportunity to speak as well however a
chair or parliamentarian can also rein in wayward discussion can keep business flowing by keeping discussion focused and can otherwise address the needs of the group i first became interested in studying parliamentary procedure when I
was elected president of a local organization known as League of Women Voters of Maplewood very my my compatriate a miniourse was offered through the adult school and not only did I pass the test to become admitted to the National Association of
Parliamentarians but I became fascinated by all the solutions to different situations that might arise when there is a motion on the floor under discussion and an amendment is proposed and the fire alarm goes off what do you
do first what does Robert say robert say get out of the building and then when you can safely return continue with your business at the January 1st reorganization meeting of the township committee the first
business was the amendment of the bylaws did you know that according to the conduct of meeting all meetings are to be held pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings act NJSA 10 colon 4-6 at
sequence ordinary parliamentary rules of order shall govern the conduct of meetings in case of disputes Robert's rules of order shall govern who knew if you too are fascinated by how to make
meetings more productive to learn about motions and amendments to help in writing and understanding bylaws to understand convention procedures i urge you to join a local unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians i belong
to the Cranford unit an affiliate of thei of the New Jersey State Association of Parliamentarians which meets monthly by Zoom join those of us who are parliamentarians learn with us uh or even ask any of us
for advice we are only too happy to help you and the website is njsap.org thank you so much so rules of order are important maybe I'll take that little you know you can only speak through me that would be kind
of good luck so with that Miss Angelo uh you have the next proclamation yep I do national Public Health Week proclamation whereas the week of April 7 2025 was National Public Health Week and the theme was it
starts here highlighting the importance of making a difference in our home community and state whereas this year was the 30th anniversary of celebrating National Public Health Week and in the past 30 years significant strides have been made in public health including the
following public health successes one deaths due to HIV AIDS which peaked in 1994 at 49,095 AIDS related deaths that year in the US have dropped significantly with anti-retroviral therapy ensuring most
people with HIV can live normal lifespans and prevention tools like PP significantly reduce transmission two smoking rates which were which were as high as 25.5% among US adults in 1994 have now
fallen to 11.4% due to comprehensive smoke-free policies public awareness campaigns and taxation of tobacco products three childhood mortality which was at a rate of 13.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in
1994 has now fallen to 5.4 four deaths per 1,000 live births due to vaccines better health care access and nutrition four mental health awareness and treatment with 40% of people with mental health conditions being untreated in
1994 has progressed with increased awareness parity laws and integration into primary care which have expanded access to mental health services and reduced treatment gaps five lead poisoning with 4.4% 4% of US children
having elevated bloodled levels in 1994 has now fallen to less than.5% due to policies banning leaded gasoline and reducing lead in paint pipes and water systems six health impacts of climate change such as rising
heat related deaths were underrecognized in 1994 but are now being mitigated by actions such as public health campaigns local adaptation plans including cooling centers and other preparedness plans to protect the public from extreme weather wildfires and other regional threats and
global frameworks like the Paris Agreement and seven pandemic preparedness which was in its infancy in 1994 has now grown especially after the CO 19 pandemic spurring significant advancements in mRNA technology global
vaccine deployment and increased investments in infrastructure stockpiles and global surveillance surveillance all of which must be sustained whereas racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States continue to experience disparities in the burden of
illness and death as compared with the entire population of the United States whereas a person's health status can differ drastically by zip code due to differences in the built environment environmental quality community context access to healthy food access to
education and access to health care whereas public health organizations use National Public Health Week to educate public policy makers public health professionals and the public on issues that are important to improving the health of the people of the United States whereas public health
professionals help communities prevent prepare for withstand and recover from the impact of a full range of health threats ranging from infectious disease outbreaks to natural disaster preparedness and whereas efforts to adequately support public health and the
prevention of disease and injury can continue to transform a health system focused on treating illness into a health system focused on preventing disease and injury and promoting wellness now therefore be it resolved that I Deb Engel on behalf of Mayor Nancy Adams and the entire Maplewood
Township Committee do hereby proclaim the week of April 7th to 13th 2025 as National Public Health Week in the Township of Maplewood and call upon the people of Maplewood to observe this week by helping our families friends neighbors co-workers and leaders to
recognize the contribution of public health in improving the health of the people of our state and achieving health equity as the theme states it starts here feels like this was very important this year so thank you Miss Davenport thank you
thank you Miss Sangel and thank you to um our health director Candace Davenport um although it was post the week it's still vitally important that we recognize that given uh the current leadership in Washington DC with regard
to our public health and some of the issues we're dealing with locally as a result uh which we'll get into in our budget conversation later uh so with that we move on to boards and committee appointments and all of these are for the all access committee so I'll turn it
over to Deputy Mayor to uh call everyone up if you don't mind thank you mayor um I am so excited about the all access committee getting up and running this year and I would like to call the members um I'll call you by name and then if you could come up um and we'll
just um take turns introducing yourself to the committee um and then um we can meet you all together and then we're going to get together um soon to meet for our first time i'm very excited um did I say that already um okay so the members um Leon
Morton Aaron Cers come on up amy Schwinder Doug Greenfield Mary Beth Walsh Ruth Beckerman and James Charles
so if you could come Oh yay up to the podium um so I'm actually she's going to trip over so I'm actually on the cons consent agenda for today as well to be appointed
to the committee as your lays on so we're all in this together so um if you could one at a time um come up to the microphone and just introduce yourself to the committee leon And you can just move on my
briefly in a sentence well because of my son that would be why yeah i served on a special ed PTO for many years worked with um Jerry Ryan many years ago to set up activities for the special needs population i look very very forward to being able to do so again thank you for
this opportunity thank you erin Cers 22 year resident of Maplewood um I have a neurode divergent family my son is 23 years old he has autism and ADHD and I have a background
of serving a special needs community in our town including serving as the CPAC president for two years for our school district thank you is that um first of all thank you for starting this committee that I
think is really really important but one challenge I think for many of us who have uh children who are transitioning to adulthood is social isolation and have to make sure that this community
remains a place where our children can continue to live here and really survive and thrive thank you hi everyone my name is Amy Schwinder i was born and raised in South Orange graduate of Columbia High School i currently work for our school district
as a speech language pathologist i work with students from preK through uh high school with students with autism most of whom are functionally non-verbal i have initiated um assistive technology and augmentative communication systems in
all of our schools and I evaluate our students both in district and who are placed out of district and I want to see my students in our community more i run into so many people I know and I never see my students so I want to make our
playgrounds accessible that's number one um and I just want to make our town the friendliest place it can be for the most special residents here thank you good evening doug Greenfeld um 23-y year resident of Maplewood um I'm an urban
planner and uh what I bring to the committee is knowledge of the physical aspects of accessibility and I'm interested in joining the committee to give back to the community and make things more accessible thank you Doug hi I'm Mary Beth Walsh a 28-year
resident I think of Maplewood i have an adult son who's 26 years old with severe autism who's here with me tonight and I'm interested in the needs of the adults developmentally disabled communities i've also like Aaron and Leon spent time on the special ed PTO back before it was even called a CPAC
and uh work a lot in including individuals with disabilities in religious communities especially in my parish at St joseph's thank you hi my name is Ruth Beckerman Rodau i think I'm the newbie um two years in
June um in Maplewood and my interest is both professionally and um a personal nature professionally my 35-y year career was spent as a leader at governmental and nonprofit agencies that supported people with um
disabilities and um in Sharon where Massachusetts where I used to live I was on the commission for disabilities there personally um my sister-in-law who is disabled moved with us to Maplewood and my husband Andy who's here tonight and I
are her primary caregivers thank you thank you for taking the time you sound very busy hello hi hello james Charles um lived in Maplewood 25 years hi Vic i'm from the Dehar section i remember Vic's hair was
black i remember that too when I first moved here I remember that too he was also heavier for a while um yeah um I um I've been a commercial driver for like over 40 years i'm
recently retired now and have two knee transplants and one of the reasons why I wanted to join this committee is because last I think the summer before last or last summer I couldn't get to the fireworks like I had to park like way up
on the hill and I couldn't walk and I just had to turn around had my grandkids with me had to call my oldest son to come and take them down the hill because I wasn't walking back up those hills and so I just want access to people with special needs and people with
disabilities to have access to our um town you know festivities you know um you know get closer with cars or you know um clear ways for people with wheelchairs and things of that nature because I didn't see that when you know being here 25 years I have
not seen that also like higher places to sit it's hard for me to stand like these seats are really low so like I think there should be high chairs somewhere especially our city benches on Springfield Avenue when I go for a walk I have to sit down now I sit on the
plant potters on the edge of that because that's nice and high for me but yeah so that's why I want to be a part of that that's it thank you so much so I realize I want to take the opportunity to just tell everyone here what the committee is because this is a
new committee the all access committee is designed um is a new committee and we're going to talk about ways that we can make sure that Maplewood is accessible to everyone regardless of disabilities physical mo um mobility issues other challenges and we're going
to look at programming events um infrastructure um as somebody who's had hip surgery I hear you on these uh these low seats but that but it didn't occur to me so that's why we need people like you that's why we need you know all of these people together and we have a few
more spots so on the committee and we are specifically looking for people who can speak to this issue um so I want to thank everyone for raising their hand and stepping forward for this new committee i am very excited to get to work so deputy mayor would you like to make a
motion for So mayor I would like to make a motion that we appoint all of the above to the all access committee i'll happily second that miss Pritzen please call a role mr davis yes luca yes bangle
yes yes mayor Adams yes and thank you all for stepping up and helping us out here thank you thank you all right with that we are moving on to our first public comment
um oh for agenda items only so if uh you want to speak to the township committee on any items that are on the agenda this evening you may do so you come up to the microphone you can line up against the wall there if you'd like um Mr daffus
would you mind moving that chair over there of course thank you um so you can line up against the wall if you'd like so that you um or just come up to the mic if there's no line uh give state your name and address and you have three
minutes to speak mr amari will uh put the time uh hello my name is uh Ken Stannic i'm a Maplewood resident the Tuscan dad um I know all you guys i'm a former um board member on the Springfield Avenue
Partnership um I'm here to talk about bike lanes uh on on Parker A and I think it's a wonderful idea uh in a past life of mine I was a bike messenger i rode my bike across the country i've ridden my bike in tons of cities i've raced like
sort of professionally i won once it was cool um like I don't need bike lanes i'm very comfortable with it the most valuable thing that I've ever done on a bicycle though is organizing the Tuscan bike bus which the bike buses I'm sure
you guys know about them um there's at least one other bike bus organizer here um a bunch of kids get together and ride to school i've done so much stuff on my bike and this is the best thing I've ever done getting a bunch of kids together to get out on the streets and
ride to school together like that sense of community that they build is fantastic i've seen a kindergartenner stumble his way through to school one week and the next week was just like I got this and his dad was like see you later and I was like yeah he's amazing
so encouraging people to get out there and ride their bike is not only help to address like other concerns that this very committee is talking about but it's a sense of community it makes it safer for people to be on bicycles just to say
that it's allowed here like this is the space for them to say like this bike lane is for bicycles like go there riders need to know that like oh yeah it's okay for bikes to be there like I rode my bike in New York City every single day for 30 years 20 years
something like that and what I saw in them putting bike lanes there is obviously wildly different than Maplewood but the transition that happened was amazing once they made it more accessible for people to do it immediately took off and it's become
very very popular and I'm thrilled that it's even a conversation here in front of town council and I know I could point to a lot of data about like how bike lanes make traffic even better but I'm sure you've gotten all that data from a bunch of other speakers in previous meetings who know more about it than I
do uh and that's it thank you very much thank you thank you Ken next speaker come on up to the mic uh introduce yourself and Hello good evening good to see you guys again it's much better in person than in Zoom
yeah we don't see anybody unless they're onedimensional right yeah one dimensional on a screen um thanks so much Township Committee for allowing me to speak here briefly i want to thank you guys and the engineering team for their work on the complete streets traffic combing plan i encourage you to
continue being bold with this plan oh I didn't mention I'm my name is John i'm a father of two girls we're Clinton parents and we do the bike bus over there we ride on Parker Avenue i ride on it five days a week the girls ride one day a week um I'm grateful for the progress that's been made in improving
safety I've seen on Prospect Street recently with the the new delineators and our own Orchard Road intersection has been day lit with Parker A and I'm I'm grateful for that but I'm also concerned about ongoing dangers i've personally witnessed
several traffic incidents including in 2023 when a speeding out of control vehicle landed in my neighbor's front yard becky and Eric I think they're here tonight as well uh in 2024 a car collided with my parked vehicle on Orchard Road after speeding on Parker
Avenue and trying to make a fast turn on Orchard Road i've also seen footage and heard the screams of a hit and- run victim on Hudson and Parker Avenue intersection that was just bone chilling saddest of all the one that no one seems to want to discuss is the fatal incident
of Maria Dolores Ganji Xiao on Springfield Avenue at 9:10 a.m on May 13 2024 the day after Mother's Day she left behind a 9-month-old baby and a six-year-old who are now orphans the incident occurred on Springfield Avenue
just 3 minutes drive from the stretch of road where we are considering traffic calming measures it could have been any of our neighbors out walking their dog jogging or even working on the garden in their front yard from what I understand of the township traffic study it showed
that 15% of drivers on Parker A are traveling faster than 35 miles an hour which means there are hundreds of chances every day that someone could be seriously injured or killed engineers could correct me on the math but I what I heard was three to 5,000 vehicles per
day on this roadway on average and that would ballpark out to about 400 to 700 lethally speeding cars daily that's not safe by any me measure i applaud the installation of Ballards on Prospect Street and and I advocate for daylight intersections with
delineators and or rumble strips or tough curbs at major crossings near Clinton School including Burrows Way Union A Hudson Aav Kulage Road Bdon Aav Orchard Road Peach Tree Road Irvington A Richmond A and of course Prospect and Valley Street there's some of those
crossing flags in some of those intersections it'll be nice to see more delineators to narrow the roadways there and make it easier for people to cross i believe there's additional demand for safer biking infrastructure i've spoken to many residents that have tried biking and stopped because they were fearful
for their safety i'm grateful for our Soma bike bus community I'm almost done that give us the joy of traversing these charming two towns outside of a vehicle i urge the installation of physical delineators and daily intersections across the township in tandem with bike
lanes wherever possible mapso is a place we love to call home and we want to see our neighbors continue to prosper as they enjoy outdoor activities safely whether that be walking biking jogging or even gardening in their front yard on a busy street like Parker Avenue thank you thank
you next speaker hi come on up you might need to move the mic down a little bit bring it down so you can Yeah so we can hear you please introduce yourselves and you have three minutes to speak um my name is Cynthia
um John is my um we live on Parker and Orchard and bike lanes have become a really big conversation in our house because we ride everywhere it's a sense of joy that we have as a family and um girls want to
share thoughts they are part of this community okay speak real close to the microphone so people at home can hear it i know change is hard especially when you're against it but we need change life would be kind
of boring without [Laughter] it the change I am talking about today is bike lanes i understand how it feels i remember after school and driving home it was a whole thing to get parking
her words um also no offense but those bike lanes are dangerous okay that's why you should read it go ahead also no offense but those bike
lanes are dangerous signs make like zero sense you see our kids and their friends are the future they're going to take over in what seems like a long time but we need to have things ready for our grandchildren we need to have things
well prepared for them so they can have a fun so they can have fun and safe lives it was really important for her to come up and absolutely and share her words um I just wanted to say thank you so much to the township and all of your efforts for coming up with this plan for
traffic calming i think a lot of people are stuck on you know bike lanes yes no but truly it's about safety right i think that's something that we can all agree that and something that unites us is that we want these roads to be safer
in this whole community um as a Parker Avenue resident I'm not going to lie I started to feel some kind of way when I saw all these signs down Parker Avenue saying that you know stop the bike lanes bike lanes are dangerous um I would like to ask the entire community to unite on
what the real problem is it's speed and vehicles not bikes b Park Parker Avenue does not belong to the residents along this road it belongs to everybody it belongs to the entire Summit community and we owe it to the next generation of
residents to provide safer streets and greener alternatives for the environment thank you thank you very much always like to see young women coming up to the microphone it's awesome not you
yeah hi I'm Rob i live on Richmond a few houses off of Parker um I ride my bike on Parker regularly my family's main local transportation is by bike um you know it's like take my 10 month 10-month
old son to daycare you know lead the Marshall bike bus uh with my seven-year-old daughter grocery shopping just normal stuff uh so I'm thrilled to see you all looking at making Parker safer because I don't want uh I don't want to
put my kids at risk um and I know like I've quoted stats to do in other meetings and I won't do that uh but uh about 18 months ago I started the safe routes to school email and I think all told around like 750 emails were sent to
various uh government officials around Soma um and then a couple weeks ago there were a few dozen families from around Maplewood that rode in a critical mass ride on Parker uh in support of this project this is a like making safe streets is a family first priority in
addition to environmentally friendly and all these other wonderful things so thanks thank you thanks Rob hi everyone my name is Brian Heric i live in South Orange with my wife and my two daughters who are five and three parker Avenue is unsafe i've seen
it while in my car i've seen it while walking i've seen it while riding my bicycle with my 5-year-old as we go to daycare at the why she's not there anymore she's the Seth Bdon where we are proud riders in the Seth Bdon bike bus on Friday i have yet to encounter anyone who disagrees with that notion and the
main arguments against them can be copied and pasted from just about every argument we've ever had about bike lanes which is parking streets are public spaces um someone before me said we have to think about what we owe each other and what we owe the next generation uh and the
street in front of someone's house does not belong to the homeowner it belongs to all of us so like she said I want us to think about what we want to do with that space and what we owe each other we want an artery that people can drive regularly through putting people like me and my kids at risk when we're trying to get to school or do we want to do
everything we can to make it safer what do we owe the kids use Parker to bike to Columbia there are so many of them and what do we owe my daughter who has been forced to walk the bike on the sidewalk while we go down to the Y and for everyone that knows our sidewalks it is a stretch to say that the sidewalk is
safer than Parker Avenue due to the roots that make all the sidewalks buckle and the overgrown tropes and I think everyone here knows um I think we all deserve a safer street and I think we owe it to the people of Maplewood and South Orange to do all we can in support of that let's trust the traffic
engineers and experts and do what has worked to calm just about every street in every study I've ever read about let's put in bike lanes i'm looking forward to it and more importantly my daughter is looking forward to it also it's going to be fun so thank you guys thank you
hi hi good evening um I'm Ela Durbach i'm the president of the Ethical Culture Society mainly because nobody else will take the job i also live in the building um I'm excited by the idea of having bicycle
accessibility all over this town and I think it's a wonderful idea it forgive me if I'm coming a little late to this discussion um I'm not sure everything that's been considered already but it seems to me that we need maximum creativity to be able to accommodate all
the different needs um what I the ethical culture society needs parking on Prospect and Parker our members are old they can't walk a long way and we have no other parking so if we lose the parking on
these two streets we lose our members uh we need a way to accommodate them and at the same time not rule out this extraordinary plan my suggestion is some kind of investigation of a time division you know we have parking in other parts of the of town between certain hours mhm
i'm wondering if there could be bike accessibility during the hours when children are most likely to be riding and in the evenings when AA is meeting at our building or in other places that the evenings perhaps are not bike hours my son Gabriel has another idea that's
way out but it's an example of creative thinking he's been looking at the models from European cities where sidewalks have been widened and paved to make the sidewalks hospitable to walkers pedestrians and cyclists all we're
asking is that we bring all the creativity we can to bear so that everybody can be accommodated thank you appreciate not too late at all no decisions have been made and we're this is part of the process to gather information thank you
next good evening my name is Rosemary Bennings and I live at 95 Parker Avenue in Maplewood i've been in this town almost 50 years and I'm not opposed to bike lanes
but I'm opposed to bike lanes on Parker Avenue for a while in front of my house there was construction and there were clones there were cones and every day I would see the kids
going back and forth to school and they had to walk into the street to avoid the [Music] cones and many many times I saw they would always look but I saw how
dangerous it was for them to just do that and they were just going around cones the problem with bike lanes on Parker Avenue is that the street is just too narrow if they were just walking in the
street for a short period of time to go around cones what's going to happen when we have bike lanes on both sides of the street and then two-way traffic we have had accidents on Parker
Avenue we've had to put up caution signs and four-way stops and even that has not taken care of the fact that it's just a street that people like to speed down i think that and I'm being respectful it's a
little naive to think that because you put bike lanes there that it's going to slow down traffic getting back to the young people who had to walk around the cones i saw people speeding when they
saw them in the street just for a short period of time and if you think a bike is going to make a difference I say that that's pretty shortsighted i would hate to see
children who are statistics because we didn't take the time to find a street that would be a lot more appropriate for bike lanes and when I say a street that's a lot more appropriate I mean one that's a lot wider we can't widen Parker
Avenue already there is one whole block of B Parker Avenue that's exempt from the bike lanes because it's narrower than the street I even live on and the street I live on is way too narrow when there's two-way traffic
there they're almost at the yellow lines if we could widen Parker we wouldn't be here we wouldn't be talking about bike lanes most of us are for the bike lanes we have no problem with that at all but not on a street that's as narrow as
Parker Avenue and you simply can't change those statistics my suggestion is other streets in Maplewood that are a lot wider let people ride their bikes i'm not opposed to that but why are we
trying to squeeze should I say a fat person into a small skirt that's exactly what you're doing when you have bike lanes on Parker Avenue it simply does not make sense at all thank you thank you
next my name is Johanna Karp i am also a Parker Avenue resident and I do love bike lanes because I ride a bike all the time and um however I don't ride on Parker and
even with a bike lane that would make me nervous and my biggest fear this is like something personal my biggest fear on a bike is falling towards the traffic and somebody running me over and there's a lot of
traffic parker there are also emergency vehicles um so that's why I don't think it's a good idea i mean I'm like again I think it's it's great to have biking around the town i was looking at
Elmwood that would be a great road for a bike lane because it doesn't have the traffic you can go to the pool you can access I think it's Oakland Road and go to the parks from downtown and there are already two people
on and Elwood and Prospect so um yeah I think that's that's my thought thank you okay thank you so much um good evening my name is Jesse McGawan
um I live on Bdon Parkway South i'm here tonight to support the bike lanes on Parker Avenue i want to thank the township committee and the engineer for all the work you have done to study this i attended some of the meetings and I feel like you really listened to the questions and and came up with thoughtful answers about how we can
really accommodate both the residents on the street as well as people passing through um I bike all around Maplewood biking is my primary mode of transportation i'm kind of what you would call a strong and fearless cyclist but I also now have a two-year-old so I don't really feel as comfortable on all
of the streets with her as I would on my own and so I think that you know the bike lanes on Parker Avenue are really important first step for Maplewood creating a safe and comfortable bike network for families i also want to say that while this is a big step for Maplewood it's something that's being
done all around the country in a variety of different communities so I work in transportation planning this is kind of what I do all day and you know bike lanes are a proven safety countermeasure by the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration so this is really a safety improvement and I
think we've heard people who both support and oppose the bike lane saying that they care about safety you know this is really something that has been studied nationwide as something that will improve safety for those that want that want to use Parker and so while it is you know different from what we've
done in Maplewood in the past it it is a really positive step forward and I hope you all vote to approve it so thank you all for your time thank you hi hi good evening um my name is Nick Batitali i live on Parker Avenue
um so when I first heard a bike bike bike lane network very I'm very excited about it i think it's a great idea um I also am all for uh slowing traffic and increasing safety on on Parker Avenue
and other places in the town um but I want you to imagine that you you know you buy a house you are under the understanding that this is you know there's a certain aesthetic um on your street certain curb appeal
um there's you know parking available for guests if you have guests over there's parking for um contractors and landscapers um and then somebody says "Actually no
we're doing all we're taking that away from you and we're going to change the character of your street by installing bike lanes and ballards." Um and I'll say like I I've I've seen baller I've seen the ballards on Prospect i do not
like them i think they're an eyesore if they save lives I'm you know I guess that is a that's a trade-off you know like I I like something looking a little worse because it saves lives fine i just think that this plan could be
thought out a little bit better and I think it could have a little more um understanding and empathy related to the different stakeholders it feels like this plan was made by by someone who studies traffic studies traffic patterns there's certain things that they had in
mind when they made this but I don't think they totally understand needs and values and like what's important to people who actually live on the street um and so I think we need to like do an an assessment of that think about that
um feels to me that you know I'm paying taxes for certain certain things I expect in my town and now that those things are being taken away and it feels uh you know I I worry about my property value i worry about my the curb appeal
um I certainly probably would not have bought the house if I knew you know there were going to be was going to be a bike length installed in front with Ballards um so that's that's what I'd like to say thank you so much thank you hi my name is Becky i'm Eric and we live
on Parker Avenue also um we're here to support the bike lanes and most importantly um the traffic calming measures on Parker Avenue cross that road to get to um Bordon Park like all the time many times a week and also
we're the family that um we have two young daughters that age and we're the family that um a car sped into our yard and into our flower garden and basically jumped over the bricks in the back of it um that's the flower garden that I have been in many times with my two daughters
um so just the thought of that and crossing the road I'm afraid to even let them cross i mean I don't know when I would even feel comfortable with them ever crossing Parker on their own um yeah um and as she said and as said the
intersection of Orchard and Parker had the bad accent a couple years ago and we had some footage for Vic and you were there Saturday morning right away and the I think we were kind of hoping you know I know you guys did a plan that they would maybe get a four-way stop there because we felt like there was it just too dangerous people speed through
it and what happened is it you know some improvements but there's a double blinking light on Parker where there's no stop sign in Orchard there's two blinking red lights where there is a stop sign and you know I think I have noticed that it has calm traffic i think
only because it's confuses people honestly but the one thing that I noticed is it doesn't do anything for cars to see pedestrians i still have to I mean I wait for so long every time we cross the street and I see people on their phones you know and you know I
take a left there to go home and I see people they live and pass me on the left sometimes people are so impatient and um you know this all makes me think of uh I was listening to this interview I'll paraphrase but the originators of this vision zero project which started in Sweden in the 90s which is a a project
you know like let's get to zero pedestrian injuries or deaths right um that lasses have modeled stuff after and they said you know how did you guys achieve vision zero and he was like it's so simple you see something happen at an intersection and your only thought is
how do we make this the most safe for pedestrians like end of story no other considerations especially for cars and I kind of lump the bikes and the pedestrians into that same thing because the cars should be more aware of non-cars you know every other people moving around and
um so I you know I I know you guys in the plan there's the it's it's a tough thing because there's the businesses in between BDON and Orchard and you have to accommodate parking and this and that but I guess I that that really resonated with me the whole like the most important thing is pedestrian safety and
there should be no compromise um when it comes to all these decisions we're making oh yeah and I want to I don't know if he's here tonight but I I think what really got me to speak tonight was there was a a kid named Max a high school student that spoke on the online
thing and I think that's why we're doing this is for kids to get to school you I mean there's lots of other reasons too but I mean I was like how can we say no to people like this they just want to get to school safe you know thank you thank you so much thank you hi you can raise it so you don't have to
bend over like that there you go you may have to bend over a little bit yeah hi everyone um my name is Liam i was a recent graduate of Columbia well 2019 um recent enough uh who throughout my time
there I really wish to be able to to use a bike um but often I would have to resort to um using like either uh my skateboard on the sidewalk or getting a ride which didn't really feel that um useful or needed at all since I just
live um a couple blocks away from Parker um currently it seems like uh the only people who can ride bikes in Maplewood are the experienced few um and though I don't currently bike on places
like Parker with uh like great frequency I think that we need places like Parker to be bikable because currently it's not efficient in the slightest if you have to use all these side streets um when Parker is the main thoroughare and the place that gets you
to places like Valley or like Columbia High School places that um students and um and others need to to get to if you're a high school student for instance um you don't want to be bound to your parents to have to drive you um places you don't have you don't want you
want to have the sense of freedom which here unfortunately means that you have to get a car um uh and that by doing um things like bike lanes it gives both uh students and
younger people who are often novice cyclists more ability to actually use bike lanes and it also gives the parents more comfort to let their children go out and be on their own using uh bikes
and I I think that's it i think that I think that it's it's for we should have the bike lanes there's enough people who want to use them um and would use them granted that they're there i think the argument that uh the reason that there's no people who who use them and therefore
there won't be is kind of misfounded that upon their arrival I mean people such as myself and my family will certainly will use them thank you thank you so much good evening my name is Carmen Morales
and I live on Parker one block from Columbia i am here to voice the concerns of almost a dozen households between Parker and Valley that vigorously oppose bike lanes on our street we are not opposed to bike
lanes in general and we support safety and traffic calming measures however to install them on one of the busiest streets in Maplewood which also happens to feed many other high traffic streets
like Valley Prospect Buen and Irvington is impractical and may create dangerous conditions for bicyclist pedestrians and drivers much of Parker Avenue is narrow and there are areas with steep downhills
especially as you approach Parker and prospect heading towards the mountain cars and bicycles also speed up i have been almost I' I've almost hit a few bicyclists because they come out of
nowhere and all of a sudden they're right in front of me this thoroughare is used daily by large vehicles such as delivery trucks practice trailers sanitation trucks landscaping vehicles school buses fire trucks police
vehicles the combination of these vehicles narrow streets bicyclists and the killer of traffic present many risk and liabil Emergency vehicles only take part when responding to emergencies narrow streets
and bike lanes will force them to slow down resulting in slower response time and as you know in an emergency every minute counts the Colombian high school location is especially problematic we can't get out of our driveways in the
morning since it gets very congested during school and at rush we fear that the proposals to create a drop plan on academy will result in counties dropping off students closer to prospect on on our block and going onto the side
streets to avoid the drop off right now we see them turning the plan CS opens or any other event that require parking to school what about the ethical
um society what about the um synagogue on the corner residents near Columbia High School already have a very difficult time getting out of their driveway due to traffic converging into these two blocks for many roads and contrary to
comments made at the meetings and I don't know where they got the stat from Parkour Avenue very little bicycle um bicycle activity on their streets only the most experienced bikers would usually even sometimes walk their bikes
up I as a parent would not allow my child such a you know what the street does belong to everyone should have the same residents at any time
thank you um for adults and complicate that success disabilities on the side streets will not resolve this issue will requ Thank you thank
you i think it's pretty um clear that Go ahead come on up um I was just going to say we are uh we've spent many many hours considering many aspects of this so I just want to make that clear and we'll be talking about it some more
tonight we've had several public meetings this is not something we haven't thought about so we're just taking everybody's comments so we can all consider them as well so your turn thank you good evening my name is David Acivbo i'm also a Parker Avenue resident
uh I've lived on Parker Avenue for 30 years i think it's great that we're getting so many different viewpoints here regarding these bike lanes i mean this is democracy at work correct which is a breath of fresh air these days of course
however I'd like the committee to consider the disproportionate impact that these bike lanes will have on the Parker Avenue residents um I'm not anti-bike i agree with some of the comments that have been made here by
people in uh in favor of the bike lanes parker Avenue can be a dangerous street people drive very very fast on Parker Avenue but we as Parker Avenue residents and I understand that the street is not ours that's not where the analysis ends
that's where it starts we are being asked to bear an an unfair burden um as folks have said before me uh uh we have contractors who come landscapers who come uh visitors uh
and they are not going to be able to park in front of our streets and honestly I I' I've heard the statistics that uh bike lanes somehow reduce traffic perhaps they do i I have a different feeling i don't think that these bike lanes are going to change
driver behavior um I just think that's that's a fact we all drive and we see how people act on the road how selfish they can be how they think they can make that yellow light how they think they can you know drive around people because they need to get to to where they're
going so I would implore this committee to consider making concessions for those of us who live on Parker Avenue whether it's limiting the bike lanes only for certain parts of the day allowing us to park uh on the street or uh and this
might have an adverse impact on the people who live on the side streets allowing for permit parking for those of us who live on Parker Avenue who need to park on the street uh during the hours that these bike lanes uh are being used thank you for the opportunity to speak
thank you thank you very much hi hi there my name is Matt Clawson i'm a Maplewood resident of just a couple years for this fall it's been a great town to me uh and I just wanted to say a few words i wanted to ask the committee
to stand up for safe streets to keep all cyclists safe but especially our children who deserve a way to exercise their autonomy without fear of being hit by a car or riding in traffic i'd ask that you stand up for a healthy community that values alternative modes
of transit that don't clog up our our our local streets and our air and our parking lots i'd ask you to stand up for the proven method of calming traffic by narrowing lanes it's not the bike lanes itself it's the narrow lanes and the
psychological impact that has on drivers but I'd also like to say let's show our concerned neighbors that we can not only imagine a better world but deliver on that vision by starting with our local community we can overcome the challenges posed by this proposed change you know
the first step is to trust the expert advice and the broad body of evidence that shows the strategies outlined in the plan are effective we have a problem in our society of not trusting experts and I think if we think back to the past 5 years the past 10 years we see where
that's gotten us in our nation let's try and address it locally thank you thank you good evening uh hello my name is Scott i live on Brier Cliff Court which is for those who aren't familiar uh a culde-sac off of
Parker very close to the Parker Bdon intersection uh I graduated from Columbia High School a few years ago and the entire time I was a student there I biked to and from school uh from CHS to Briercliffe is almost the entire length
of the proposed bike lane so I consider myself very familiar with the current experience of biking on Parker A um and as you already know I'm only one of many many students who bike to CHS uh my reason for speaking tonight
the main point that I hope you and some other folks here will keep in mind uh is that people are already riding bikes on Parker Avenue and will continue to whether or not there's a bike lane there uh I've heard the safety concerns of the folks gathered here tonight um but I
don't think we should let perfect be the enemy of good and I've attended the virtual meetings as well some people seem surprised that uh leaf and snow piles and delivery trucks wouldn't change is that the current situation with the plan the leaf and snow piles
won't change uh but like I've said students bike there every day uh and we make do with those obstacles with the emergency vehicles and delivery trucks and all of that um and houses closer to my end of Parker Avenue are pretty far
away from the high school and currently a lot of those kids walk i think biking is a great way to get around and go to school and that the town should be encouraging it uh especially for those more distant neighborhoods um and I am I am frankly confounded at the fact that
uh some people people with those red signs on Parker would make that uh the uh position that bike lanes would make existing cyclists less safe not more that to me seems like the same logic as saying "Wow this intersection is really
dangerous for pedestrians but we would only be putting them in more danger by adding crosswalks." Because I want to reiterate if you decide to not add bike lanes I am going to be one of many Maplewood residents who continue to bike on Parker in the
exact same narrow strip on the side of the road where the bike lanes would have been and we would have missed a major opportunity to make those residents lives slightly safer uh you know in Maplewood we think of ourselves as a progressive town but here we have a rare
chance to take a substantive step toward a greener safer more equitable society uh and we don't want to miss that chance uh now I have to admit I did not spend all four years of high school at CHS uh in my junior year I was an exchange
student in France where I also biked to school and where there was a bike lane designed for students in mind now guess which commute was safer uh I uh people here have already talked about the statistics that show that bike lanes are
make the road safer i'm almost done i promise okay uh so I won't go into those statistics i will just finish by saying that these Parker Avenue families with their red signs are a very loud and wellorganized minority by which I mean
to say they do not represent the majority opinion on this issue uh their position certainly does not reflect the opinions of the people that bike lanes would affect the most frequent cyclists and Columbia high school students now I urge all of you do not be intimidated
and uh go forward vote yes on this plan thank you thank you well thank you i'm Tony Bear i live in Bernett Terrace a few blocks away and I really thank you for the opportunity to have a chance to that you're having a chance to listen to the opinions of the
community i found the last speaker i found his basically what he was talking about was very compelling i should say that I was the person I wrote to you folks about three or four weeks ago i am an experienced bicyclist i biked 1800 miles last year i just came back from a
bike trip of Portugal had a great time nice i love bike lanes however couple things i think there's a different path to get to the solution to what you're asking for and I think what you're asking for is very important we need to have a way a safe way to bike to
Columbia High School the fact is is that road safety safety on Parker Avenue and bike lanes are not synonymous the fact is there is the reality that no matter if you put a bike lane there you can't change the reality that this road has
very heavy traffic it's a cross town route you're not going to change that unless you reroute traffic on the side streets it is very narrow i as a bicyclist would even if you put a bike lane up there I would not go near Parker Avenue there is an alternative solution
there are there are streets that are parallel to it more specifically Elmwood Avenue has next to no traffic it's probably about as wide or if not wider than than Parker and then to get across town um you can then dog led down um
Prospect which has a very wide bike lane or has a very wide shoulder and then go on to Oakland Road and then to get to Columbia High School you can go up North Terrace so therefore Colombia students would have a safe path to get to you know to get to the high school the other problem is that I also see a safety
problem at the high school on Parker Avenue because at that point Parker Avenue goes downhill as you're an experienced bicyclist if you're an experienced bicyclist you will basically put on your brakes i'm I'm afraid that when you open this up you'll get also
bicyclists who are not as skilled not as experienced they may not put on the brakes soon enough and basically you have a lot of pedestrian traffic there and the thing is that a pedestrian can hear a car coming they can hear they cannot hear a bike coming believe me believe me my wife basically got hit by
a silent bike in Barcelona a few a couple years ago so I ask that we consider that we try and make Maplewood bike friendly we put bike lanes but in the right places thank you thank you hi hi good evening my name is Jose
Fuentes i'm a Parker Avenue resident for 20 years i live near the intersection of uh Biden uh no one here is advocating for unsafe roads uh for cyclists however Parker Avenue is just too narrow a street for this project i've heard my
neighbors state that the road is very dangerous right now it is if it is so dangerous where have the police been you know why aren't they patrolling more uh what are they doing to mitigate all these dangers i don't think bike bike bike lanes on
Parker are a good idea take them to Emwood or maybe take them take them uh on the scenic route around town okay but Parker Avenue is just too narrow for this so vote no for this thank you thank you um happy spring my name is Craig Miller
live on 502 Prospect Street uh three houses in from the Ethical Culture Society uh I didn't think we'd be talking about democracy tonight but that's on everybody's mind um being a really
good elected representative in a town like Maplewood which has so many engaged citizens is really hard it's really hard because people want more than just a
headline of bike lanes um I think 95% of our neighbors are in favor of encouraging safe bicycling um people who are speaking against it are generally
concerned about the corollary costs of it and parking uh is the main concern taking up the space in front of it is the main concern which differentiates Maplewood from New York City um because
it's narrow so in in prior meetings there's been a lot of discussion about how uh the township committee can can and will study uh how to accommodate both safe effective bike lanes and the
concerns of the Maplewood Jewish Center the concerns of the Ethical Culture Society the concerns of disabled people the concerns of people who are renovating their house the concerns of people who see cars turn um the general
consensus is that bike lanes are safe um so I encourage you to actually dig in do the hard work look at the permitting on side streets look at time um limited
uh alternatives as one of the speakers said other creative ways of accommodating the people who are using the streets versus the people who live on the streets i believe it's hard work but if you go beyond just the headline
of we did bike lanes it could be achieved uh to 85% uh satisfaction and and I hope you will actually do that not just talk about it one last perspective which um I'm surprised nobody has raised
the township has put out a very nice concept network that this is just the first of a network of streets and I applaud thinking big uh so this is in some sense a laboratory for dealing with
the issues the sorts of issues people are raising on Parker are going to be similar to the issues that our neighbors on other streets raise so I urge you to not say there are only 22 people who spoke against it there are only 22
people who spoke against it because notice was only given specifically to people on Barker there was general uh notice in uh websites etc etc but this is being divided i encourage you to look
at the big picture this is not something that could easily be reversed it is expensive it's $270,000 just for Parker so extrapolating to the whole town um I'd wonder uh if if the cost is going to be
the four million or so that comes from linear extrapolation so I encourage you to do the hard work come up with the plan that deals with Thank you thank you Craig sorry for going Hi my name is Kelly i live a couple of
houses off of Parker i have two young children and I want to thank you for bringing traffic calming measures to Parker Avenue um I disagree with some of the dissident that Parker Avenue is the wrong street i
think it's the perfect street for this parker Avenue is dangerous it is very dangerous my kids see accidents they hear children scream my young kids have witnessed this on a street that they only live a few
houses off of parker Avenue has a high school it has uh nearby an elementary school it has at least two preschools that I know of it has a cultural center it has communities of worship it connects to the only greenway that
Maplewood has um it is an artery to get into downtown this is the street that needs traffic calming measures the street has families living on it it has wide enough roads the data has shown
that Parker Avenue is not too wide if we narrow it it makes it safer the data says that and your experience says that too on Prospect in Oakland where a middle schooler was hit and we
went in or Maplewood thank you went in and put in the narrowing uh at the intersection and people slowed down because it's narrower parker Avenue is dangerous because it's wide if we narrow it it'll become safer and I'm enthrled that it's
going to be potentially bike lanes that is the traffic calming measure here uh we love to bike i don't bike barker because it's scary but I bike in bike lanes like I did when I lived in Oregon when I lived in Charlotte North Carolina when I lived in New York but I won't
bike on a scary dangerous road i will bike on a road that has bike lanes and is narrow so thank you thank you good evening hi I'm Walter Freriedman i I live on Parker Avenue i've lived there for about 19 years um the first thing
that hit me when I heard about this was um why because I I live there not many people ride their bikes on Parker Avenue i think the number was two to 300 a week so maybe 30 a day i I would say 20 of
them were maybe the high schoolers i mean I'm just It's a very steep hill it's it doesn't really take it takes you to other towns it's just I don't think a bike lane is going to increase traffic that much um because it it's a hill and
because it's still going to be a road that people drive too quickly on so I don't think the argument is really I think everyone would love to there to be bike lanes and and safe bike places for bikers i think it's we're the decision to choose Parker Avenue is the one that
should be discussed i think there are better alternatives that are flatter that take you like Elmwood that takes you to the pool or roads that go across to South Orange Fair View there were there are flat roads that um I just
think you would get a lot more bike traffic on so I have personal interests you know against it but I think even if you look at it from a objective point of view it it's just it's a great idea but I just think the wrong street was chosen
for it thank you thank you very much hi my name is Jod Lee Drafta uh I'm speaking as both a cyclist and a Parker resident um I do agree that it would really behoove the whole project to look at other possible
streets than Prospect um I mean than Parker um and also there's something that I just wanted to point out for people who live on Parker not everyone room in their driveway to turn their car around and face the street so when I
think about let's say this project that goes maybe increasing the traffic increasing the bike traffic certainly it's pretty difficult to back your car out into kind of now two distinct lanes
of traffic the bikes and the cars so um that's just sort of an added thing that you only experience if you actually live there and don't have a driveway that you can turn around in it's important thank you thank you very much
good evening hello hello oh we are not here to speak we do we don't live on Parker Avenue but we do ride back um but we appreciate you're hearing us this evening on behalf of the resolution to support the Immigrant Trust Act which is now
languishing in the New Jersey legislature um this is Cynthia Galota i'm Susan Verek uh we're co-chairs of the immigration committee for the for Soma Action under this governor the New Jersey Attorney General has directed
that police and local agencies use their resources to serve the public and keep all New Jerseyians safe the directive simply recognizes due process protections for all New Jerseyians the directive also means that it is the job
of the federal government not local authorities to enforce immigration law in a 60-page decision the New Jersey Supreme Court several years ago rejected wide ranging challenges to the Attorney
General's directive except for a single narrow point addressing promisory estoppel which I'm a lawyer and I don't even understand it it's not relevant to this issue the immigrant trust act would codify or make
into the law of New Jersey the attorney general's directive we need this law because a different attorney general may reject the directive we also need this law because the interim US attorney for the district of New Jersey has announced
an investigation of Governor Murphy and Attorney General Plotkin because they are enforcing the attorney general directive mhm sadly the representatives the Democratic legislative leaders but not our the
representatives in our district are afraid to stand up for our immigrant neighbors these lawmakers need to hear from individuals and communities like ours who do stand up for our neighbors most of us are here today because our
parents and grandparents fled misery to find better lives in freedom with their children indeed Ellis Island in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty stands in New Jersey waters new Jersey must and should be a bullwark against unlawful
attacks on on immigrants hi uh we have reached a crisis point in New Jersey and in this country as fundamental human rights are eroded and dismantled the Immigrant Trust Act provides critical protection for fellow
New Jerseyians who face danger and fear as they try to go about their daily lives as Susan said the Immigrant Trust Act ensures that local and state resources would support local and state priorities not the current federal
immigration agenda the ITA will protect personal information by limiting circumstances under which public agencies can collect information related to immigration status it will allow people to feel safer knowing that public schools
libraries hospitals and shelters will not share or collect immigration status unless strictly necessary and very importantly it will prohibit state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
when doing so is voluntary under the law i believe the ITA is New Jerseyy's best protection against assaults on our communities the detention center at Delaney Hall in Newark and the proposed conversion of a county jail in Elizabeth
to another detention facility underscores the need to codify curtain protections into state law the possible opening of these new detention centers 1,000 beds each will only embolden federal immigration authorities to fill
vacant beds these are profitm familybreaking machines the immigrant trust directive which is currently policy but not law does affirm that people of New Jersey should not
live in a state where people are afraid to seek public education or medical care or report a crime or stand up for rights at work or feel they or their loved ones no longer have a home here we need to codify these values so our future
administration cannot reverse them as the Trump administration has done on a federal level recent polling shows that most people do support border security but do not support measures to sweep law-abiding people off the streets
including undocumented individuals new Jersey must meet this epic moment and we must join the growing number of towns in this state urban suburban north and south in red and blue counties who choose to protect the rights of all who live here thank you for your time thank
you thank you very much um you just shortened my report which is off uh yeah hello i'm Max Kravitz Maplewood resident uh on Broadview like before I wanna before I get into what I was gonna say I just want to say I completely agree with their sentiment it's really
important that we have a discussion about like immigration and detention centers especially with the Trump administration's recent actions of deporting people who were lawfully here to high security uh prisons in El Salvador especially when now that they
wrongfully deported someone they're saying they're not going to get that person back that's something right that we have to just we have to yes we have to rise up and but we have to understand that that this is what they're doing not even like I don't think it's even been 50 days
into the administration like it's more stuff like among that vein is going to happen and it's just going to get worse and worse but I just wanted to say that because like I thank you guys for saying what you said um but I also am here in
favor of bike lanes especially on Parker Avenue um one thing that I think about is like what type of town do we want to live in do we want to live in a town that you need a car to get around that is kind of just you're dis disconnected from the world do we want a town that is
safe to get around walking biking scootering skateboarding whatever um I lived in Tennessee for about a year and I lived in a part of Tennessee which was very inaccessible to like other types of transit so it was only cars and
that kind of sucked that wasn't a good life experience really because it was just hard to connect with people hard to connect with your environment around you and so yeah like that's just what's on my mind having lived in a place that isn't as pedestrian biker friendly as
Maplewood um and just like something that I think about is what can you tolerate could you tolerate like slower like driving slower on Parker can you tolerate losing a loved one due to an accident due to a unsafe driver on
Parker that's just something that I think is very important for people to think about and it also is important to acknowledge that these bike lanes will change the makeup of just Parker Avenue and the experience that the residents of Parker have and the value of their
property and their experience with that property so someone previously mentioned just having creative solutions so just one thought I had was maybe we could do a bike lane on one side of the street on Parker then that could be like a one way up or a oneway down then on Elmwood
there could be a one side of the street bike lane that's the opposite just because we want to have a bike lane and we also probably don't want to get rid of the parking that people have in front of their houses um that might be a nice
compromise that would kind of make it easier for these residents to come to terms with the fact that we need bike lanes in their in this town and they live on one of the most traversed like busiest streets and we kind of need one right there um and then another thing is just um I think there are other ways
that we can make transportation safer like expanding services offered by the Jity to residents who don't just commute but also want to just get around town so instead of driving around town they may take that thank you thank you i had a stroke i'll go fast uh real
quick um parking on we got a a sheet the day before parking was ready to go and they said you won't be able to park your cars on the street uh they'll be uh if you have a company that's doing business like we spend about a th00and $10,000 a year on both our properties getting
fixed and cleaned that's going to be gone those guys have to park around the corner um there's going to be no parking in the street because if you have leaves and whatnot at the curb you can't have uh you can't have your car out there uh there's no parking within uh snow they
say if you have snow you can't put your snow out there uh 98% of the people that I've been talking to on Parker Avenue nobody wants a spike lane it's too much too much of us to be uh working with uh sign I'm trying to read this uh swinging
signs with the um well that's it for now that's it for Thank you guys thank you miam miriam are there pe people online eight okay go ahead hi there hi everyone my name is
Aaron Potter i live at 47 Parker Avenue uh just up the street from the high school and I just want to say thank you for hearing us out tonight i appreciate the time i also want to say that I am personally in favor of biking and
walking and bike lanes and safety um but one thing I am concerned about that I don't think has been raised yet tonight and in some of the other town meetings is people who might rely on street parking from time to time because they have physical disabilities or it's just
physically easier for them to get in and out of a car on the street as opposed to in their driveway for whatever reason it might be i am one of those people um I have an autoimmune disease that causes me to be unable to use my arms and legs
at times and when that happens it's easier for me to get on into my car from the street as opposed to my driveway which slopes and if you're asking us to not park on the street but you can go park down on a side street I may not
always be able to do that so I just wanted to raise that i am not alone and I know other people have physical disabilities and I just want to raise that as something and ask you to consider that as a part of this plan uh so that we can all enjoy our streets and
biking and um live a you know happy life so just thank you thank you very much hi hi good evening my name is Teddy Alonsky um I was raised in South Orange you know I went to CHS graduated in 2019
so I have a lot of experience being in this community car pedestrian bicycle going to many different places and trying to access it and appreciate everything it has i'll just briefly say that my experience living in this town
and living in cities is that a street with a bike lane is far more accessible just to pedestrians to say nothing of bikes just for the traffic calming alone this will be a massive improvement and I think that's incredibly important um it's an experiment but we need to see
some form of experimentation with bike lanes in Maplewood and South Orange and I think that this is a great first step thank you thank you very much is there anyone online who would like to speak during public any members of the public joining us via Zoom like to speak
on agenda items only please raise your hand moving Jonathan Poor to panelist hello this is Jonathan Poor um I I've been waiting for this to happen for 30 years so this is great i'm I'm a big
cyclist like some of the other people have mentioned um I've been on all kinds of committees studies and I you know I commend the township committee for for taking the uh the initiative here um I think what we're doing here is u we're we're
looking to the future and uh looking for a a town where there's not nec it's not necessary to have so many cars or such big cars there's all sorts of new electric bikes and things that people are using to get their kids around um I
think this is all positive and uh uh I'm I applaud you for taking the initiative thanks thank you Mr poor anyone else online moving Kelly Quirk to panelist hi my name is Carly Quirk i
live at 152 Parker Avenue uh with my husband and my three kids my kids who ride in the Seth Bdon bike bus on Friday mornings um I just wanted to say we are a Parker Avenue family who's very pro bike lanes on Parker Avenue my family
when they come and visit they do not park on Park Avenue they park on side streets because it's not safe it's not wide enough road really for parking um so that's already been something that's happening but I wanted to talk for a minute about what it's like to leave my driveway every morning when I take my
middle schooler to school when I bring my middle schooler to school I'm there at the same time if kids are riding their bikes to um Clinton and kids are riding their bikes to Columbia High School and it takes me a while to get out of my driveway and that's fine i
know I have to build in the time because there's a lot of folks getting around the other thing I wanted to say is when I was and I grew up in New Jersey um and when I moved back here after college I was hit by a car crossing the street so I was a pedestrian who was hit by a
vehicle that changed my perspective on traffic calming on traffic safety i think someone earlier talked about vision zero um once you have been hit by a vehicle it is becomes jittery it's hard for me to ride a bike it's hard for
me sometimes to cross streets i'm very conservative because of that experience but I also read all the literature i read your traffic calming study i'm so excited that you got an engineer and a traffic engineer to look at this because I think that time and time again it's
shown if you narrowed the roads which is what we're talking about and the only way to narrow the roads is to ban parking to be perfectly honest and if you can do that with bike lanes what a wonderful gift for the rest of the community so thank you so much thank you Miss
Quirk moving Rebecca Cannon to panelist moving what who rebecca hello u hopefully you guys can hear me okay i've not done this before on Zoom uh my name is Rebecca Ganon um I live off of Parker on Prospect um
Parker is a dangerous road and admittedly um we are getting a much more congested area just because I mean Maplewood's a great town we have a train line people do have to walk and ride bikes um and I do think traffic calming
measures are a good idea i am concerned about how tight narrow and just congested Parker Avenue is um especially around the high school area um being near being on Prospect near Parker I've
seen a lot of accidents um happen everyone is always rushing admittedly everyone and has had moments where they have been rushing themselves to get somewhere and that just increased the risks of
everyone around them getting hurt um seeing how narrow the proposed Parker is um and 10 foot wide drive lanes five six foot wide bicycle lanes without any sort of um barrier in between i think that
needs to be given some more consideration um it's tight there's no doubt about it um cars are not getting smaller uh though frankly they should people are not slowing down frankly they
should but I I do think that there needs to be more much more discussion and consideration um not only on the cost impacts because everything's getting more expensive and we do need to be able to focus on safety we need to be able to focus on our schools and giving children
educations but we also need to be able to make sure that the kids can get to school so while bike lanes could ensure that kids get to school I also am concerned that the bike the bike lane locations on
Parker you're the risk of a child getting hurt in a bike lane is higher than a child on a sidewalk because the sidewalk has a buffer and a curb in between a bike lane does not based on
the um plans presented so I appreciate your time um I just hope that the conversation continues and um decisions aren't made just yet having traffic engineers are good to be involved but
um I don't believe that Parker in my opinion is uh best uh street choice for this uh for this proposal thank you thank you moving Adrienne Miscoll to panelist please unmute
yourself hi this is Adrian i live on 634 Valley Street and progress often requires small compromises in service of the greater good and in this case adding bike lanes to Parker Avenue means asking a small
number of residents to give up rarely used on street parking but in return we get a safer more connected and healthier Maplewood that requires participation from the whole community right now there's very little asked of drivers in
town while pedestrians and cyclists take on the greater risks that imbalance has to change and it has to start somewhere parker Avenue is already used by cyclists of all ages but without a designated space they're forced to navigate narrow shared lanes with cars
this creates unnecessary risk and discourages people especially families and kids from biking for everyday trips adding bike lanes changes that it tells drivers "Expect bikes here and gives cyclists a predictable protected space to ride."
These bike lanes are part of a bigger vision one where our kids can bike to school our neighbors can ride to the train station or the park and fewer cars on the road mean cleaner air and quieter streets in truth the narrow lanes parked cars and lack of speed enforcement
already make biking risky the bike lanes won't create new problems they'll solve ones that already exist and to be honest the township committee has taken on tougher issues before and done a great job this isn't about bikes it's about
making Parker Avenue and Maplewood a better safer place for everybody thanks thank you Mr president moving Martin Superly to panelist please unmute yourself Mr superly
hi my name is Martin Serly i've been a resident of Parker Avenue for 14 years i'm a dad of three and a former member of the Maplewood Democratic Committee and the Maplewood Green Team every morning when I eat breakfast I see students biking walking and scooting to
school on Parker i see delivery workers riding bikes at all hours of the day it's a unique road that it's the only direct route to our high school it's the great connector providing direct connection all the way from Irvington to Maplewood Avenue it's really one of the
backbones of our town last year I founded the Seth Bdon bike and co-founded Soma Bike Bus with other Soma parents we've grown into a community organization with over 300 S families who bike to school together to
five elementary schools every week by biking together to school we foster community we bring joy to our streets and we energize students before school we teach students biking skills that make them more healthy safe and
independent skills that they'll carry with them through their life bike bus provides social infrastructure for families to bike to school together safely using safety and numbers because the town has up to this point failed to
provide any physical infrastructure aside from bike parking i first spoke to the TC two years ago and 23 when yet another child was hit by a car while biking to school on Parker this came after my family witnessed more car crashes on Parker
than I can count this came after a car landed on our front lawn you know it's not a safe road when hearing the sound of a honk followed by crunching steel from your backyard barbecue becomes a commonplace occurrence since then there have been even more incidents of traffic violence
on Parker and neighboring streets i witnessed my neighbor getting hit crossing the road in a crosswalk in front of my house roads in town are public property they're paid for by every taxpayer in Maplewood and they have a purpose to safely provide circulation to all
Maplewood residents and visitors those who walk bike and drive the township committee often has to make tough decisions for the long-term benefit of the town and all of its residents these decisions are not without healthy debate
we saw with the plastic bag ban and the gas leaf blower ban that the town is not scared to make bold decisions to improve the quality of life in Maplewood this issue is no different we elect the township committee democratically to represent all residents of Mapwood and
we entrust them with putting our public property like our roads to their highest and best use i'm in full support of the bike lane proposal on Parker Avenue not as a Parker Avenue resident but as a father who wants their kids and every
kid in Soma to be able to bike to school safely thank you thank you moving Megan Gosling to panelist hello thank you my name is Megan Gosling and I live um about five
houses off of Parker on Coolage Road and I kind of just want to say ditto to what Adrian and Martin both just communicated um I think they spoke really well about the values that we're hoping our community will have of connectedness
environmental sustainability um children having the freedom to have the experience of biking around and having that autonomy and agency um we are very much in support of the bike lanes on Parker we have three teens who
have biked to Clinton biked to SAMS now bike to CHS um and they would like to be able to feel safer when they bike down Parker especially right now the straight shot to CHS that it is the main concern
that we have is that community members on Parker want to value their comfort or efficiency of parking or their landscapers having access to their houses over the safety of children in our community and others who want to use Parker for its
connection and for its access to Colombia to town to the train station um having bike lanes creates the sense of community that I think we all say that we're looking for in this town and
it shows our children that we care about them we care about their health we care about the environment and we care about a community being accessible and safe for everyone i I hope the conversation can really be focused on seeding Parker
to bikes and pedestrians and safety and not seating it to the needs of cars and driveways thank you moving Daniel Gosling to panelist uh good evening everybody uh my name is Daniel Gosling um I'm the husband of the
the previous speaker so I also live uh five houses off of Parker on Coolage uh I just want to say one or two slightly different things um but just living living in a house just off of Parker uh we've heard the argument made that folks on the side streets will be frustrated
or aggravated or annoyed by these sort of new cars being parked on the street that now can no longer on Parker uh and I certainly can't speak for everybody on the side street but I can speak for myself and anecdotally for a few of the neighbors I've spoken to um and this is
not a concern for us right because you know the homeowners on Parker we've already acknowledged don't own the street or the parking spot in front of their homes nor do I right i'm not going to try to legislate or argue that some folks on Parker shouldn't be allowed to
park on Coolage or it's going to bother me right if we're seeking to make the best community for the community for us for our kids um and this bike lane is going to be a huge part of that um my ninth grade son planned on speaking this evening but we didn't plan on speaking
this late so I'm speaking for him uh but he rides his bicycle every day on Parker from Coolage to CHS uh from Coolage to um Memorial Park for practice into town to see his friends um and especially
when he's riding to high school in the morning he's pretty consistently concerned with being doored um having someone open their door into him who's you know parked um in the shoulder on the edges of Parker especially outside of Columbia High
School narrowing that even more um and if we really are valuing our kids and their autonomy you know we should be encouraging them to ride their bikes um and discouraging cars from sort of clogging the streets for them uh and not
privileging the cars uh so this family this Parker adjacent family is in full support of the bike lane thank you for your time mayor I move to extend the meeting past 9:30 moving Julia Flanelist
we have to vote to move move the I motion to move the meeting past 9:30 yes yes hi Ferman yes mayor Adams julia go ahead Mrs fla you could unmute yourself hi this is Julia Fl um I'm actually with
my daughter who really wants to speak tonight so I'm going to let her speak go ahead um read what you wrote my name is Mera and I live in South
Orange and I go to Clinton Elementary where I do the bike bus which goes on Parker i think it would be a lot safer if it had a bike lane
rolling up with bike lanes could encourage more people to ride on bikes to more places than cars than in cars it might also let more people know
about bikes so more people might learn how to ride a bike and more people will bike um this part don't let cars rule the world
give bikes thrown too thank you and um I've already spoken at at previous meetings in favor of the Parker app bike lane and traffic calmings and you know echo a lot of sentiments that have already been said so I won't take any
more time thank you bane Mark McGahis two panelists you can unmute yourself Mr mcgis perfect yes uh thank you so much mark Gahi's here um been in Maplewood since 2023 um a father of two young sons who
uh will uh be riding bikes to CHS in the future I'm sure um but first and foremost I wanted to say thank you to u folks for um taking time and resources to uh research this and bring these traffic caling measures
to uh to Maplewood um I moved my family here in 2023 from Texas um we came here for the sense of community uh diversity progression and Darius hit walkability
coming from Texas it's a a huge step uh towards that so um that's really cool to see that potential bike lanes could be uh coming to our streets um to be able to access Parker safely um as a cyclist
would give me less pause uh to choosing cycling over driving around this town um and furthermore I do feel that Parker Avenue is the right choice for a first wave of uh increasing traffic calming measures to our beautiful town um everyone here agrees that people drive
too fast on this road um and we've read and seen in these studies that just decrease decreasing the width of the lanes for cars uh and dedicating the lane for cyclists would not only bring uh make it more safer for for cyclists pedestrians and cars but it would also
pave the way for fewer vehicle vehicle emissions and more opportunities for activity in our town um all of which I hope to uh to see in the future so thank you so much for your time and for um putting this all together
thank you moving Susan Milesbury to panelist miss Milesbury you can unmute yourself hi thank you so much for extending the time um I am thrilled that bike lanes
are um on the table to happen on Parker um I live on the corner of Parker and Ball so I think I see both the Parker side of things and also being on the side street um from my point of view I already see kids and adults biking and as I've been paying attention I see them
biking more and more all the time in Super Marie just to help keep existing bikers safe would make it worthwhile um I think people seem to expect that hordes of people are going to be all of a sudden biking with bike lanes and while I think that would be amazing I don't think that's actually going to
happen i think it will be you know people slowly starting to use them more and kind of everyone getting used to it in terms of pulling out of driveways um and driving around and I think it'll be um everyone kind of learning up to how to support them if it happens um also as
I mentioned we do live on a corner so we are on the side street and in our area of Parker I rarely see people parking on Parker which does seem actually pretty dangerous due to the speed of cars um we have people parking on our side street all the time and I'm happy to see it and
I'd rather they park there um than on Parker and that's about all I want to say um thank you all for your time and I appreciate all the research that went into this um which helped me convince that this is the right way to go thank you
moving Richard Wer to panelist hi Rich Winner 37 North Terrace uh I was involved 30 years ago in the first Pike bike plan that was done by RBA with the uh Urstweile Transportation Committee even back then
we had created an extensive network laid out around Maplewood through neighbor Maplewood but always the problem with imple implementation was concern about loss of parking um leaving us only with shared lanes
which are not sufficient for making Maplewood really bike accessible this plan is the first to seriously try to deal with that issue i live near Parker i understand their concerns but I think they can be
ameliorated this plan I believe needs to happen for the community to make Maplewood a really bike accessible place thank you one more person we have Adidi Barma we're moving over to
panelists adidi Varma you may unmute yourself hey everyone this is Adidi's husband Jay um we live on Parker Avenue i think just about everything that could be said has been said on this topic tonight so I'm
not going to take up much time here um I do just want to say it's you know obviously a congested narrow street um we we are concerned about bike lanes being instituted especially
And I think we're we're pro bike um we we love the idea of keeping traffic down and uh you know our streets and kids generally safer but for those of us who live on the street especially our part of the
street you know even for example at night time it's not particularly well lit i don't think that's an issue that's been raised tonight and I am concerned about um you know bikers who are not as experienced as some who have spoken who
will now be riding our streets um at odd hours and what that means for those of us who know uh you know what it's like having to back out of a driveway onto the street so I think everything's really been said
on this topic i'll I'll give my time back but I just wanted to raise that that one point and concern for the committee to consider like so so um we'll move on if there's no more um online no more in person
we'll move to our ordinances we have ordinances on for final passage sure it's on the agenda for um the discussion on the bike lanes we'll be talking about it when we get to that discussion item which will be after our
budget presentation so we have quite a quite a way to go here before we get there so we'll go to ordinances on final passage Miss Fritzen okay Mayor um ordinance on final passage we're at
number 8A on the agenda ordinance number 3144-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 271 of the code of the township of Maywood 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 RORO zoning district and to include the subject property in the
highway business HB zoning district mayor um yes like to request uh a motion to table to May 6th in order to allow opportunity to provide additional notice to our neighboring uh municipalities
for the neighboring municipalities okay understood i can move that I'll move that that we table to May 6th i'll second on the table mr daffis yes mr duca yes Miss Angel yes Miss
Herman yes Mayor Adams yes thank you next ordinance Miss Pritzen 314 yes Mayor it's item 8B ordinance number 3148-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter
271 of the code of the township of Maywood entitled zoning and development regulations with respect to uses in the commercial and industrial zoning district this ordinance will amend section
27170F Township code to add permitted and accessory uses in the commercial and industrial CI zoning district s this uh this ordinance was reviewed by the planning board in accordance with
the statute at its April 8th meeting the planning board determined that the ordinance is consistent with the master plan they did make a recommendation which you may want to consider before moving on with the public hearing portion of the evening the part of the
ordinance would allow uh the addition of retail sales limited to products made on site associated with principal uses craft fairs art shows and other temporary outdoor weekend sales events associated with the principal uses would
also be allowed the planning board recommended that the township committee may wish to remove the phrase weekend to just allow craft fairs art shows other temporary outdoor sales events um you know thinking that this would uh allow
for sales on holidays special occasions etc uh in my opinion this would be an non-s substantive amendment if the TC wished to uh implement it this evening I think we could move forward with hearing and second reading final adoption okay
thank you this ordinance will amend oop sorry this ordinance was published copies posted on the bulletin board of the municipal building and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law would I'm opening the hearing would anyone like to speak to this ordinance
press or anyone online any members of the public joining us via Zoom like to speak on this ordinance please raise your hand i see no hands mayor thank you then I'll close the hearing and I move this ordinance to be adopted as a whole with the amendment for the
weekend and the clerk be directed to publish the same as a past ordinance in Maplewood South Orange news record according to law second mr davis yes luca yes zangel yes m herman yes mayor Adams yes thank you
next ordinance hc yes mayor we're at 8C ordinance number 3149-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 123 of the code of the township mapwood entitled fees municipal pool the interpretive statement is that
this ordinance establishes 2025 municipal pool fees 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 opening the hearing on this ordinance is there
anyone in the room who would like to speak to this ordinance miss Pres anyone online any members of the public joining us via Zoom like to speak on these on this ordinance please raise your hand i see no hands mayor okay thank you
then can I get a motion Miss Herman i move this ordinance to 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 fritzen
roll mr davis yes duca yes sangel yes thurman yes mayor Adams yes thank you ordinance next ordinance on final 3150-25 yes Mayor item 8D ordinance number
3150-25 is an ordinance to amend section 6-25 of the township code entitled recreation advisory committee this ordinance amends the recreation advisory committee to reflect changes in the number of committee members promote
diversity within the committee and clarify the purposes of the committee 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 in the room or online who would like to
speak to this ordinance any members of the public joining us via Zoom if you'd like to speak on this ordinance please raise your hand i see no hands seeing none um can I get a motion miss Herman I move this ordinance to 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 Pritson Mr davis yes mr luca yes sangel yes herman yes mayor Adams yes thank Yes
thank you 80 final ordinance on uh on final passage ordinance number 3151-25 is an ordinance to amend chapter 72 of the township code of the township of Mapwood entitled youth advisory
committee this ordinance will revise provisions the township code with respect to the composition of the membership of the youth advisory committee 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 or anyone online raise your hand if you'd like to speak yeah that's I see no hands mir okay thank you with that I'd uh ask for a
motion Miss Angle i move this ordinance to 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 mr davis
yes luca yes bangal yes herman yes mayor Adams yes thank you we have one ordinance on for introduction uh yes Mayor item number 9A ordinance number 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 Mapwood this ordinance will authorize the township to install and maintain storm water facilities on
certain private properties located on Maple Terrace and Berkeley Road in the township of Mapwood and may I get a motion Mr duca may I move the passage of this ordinance on first reading its publication according to law in the Mapwood South Orange News Record and
hearing to be held on May 6 2025 i'll second miss Fritzen mr davis abstain mr duca yes bangal yes furman yes mayor Adams yes thank you we have uh
administrative reports i don't know oh Mr wear is still awake and you're on the same time zone in in I am Florida all right and I have no give a report tonight i I have none other than the budget presentation which will
be in a few minutes right budget presentation miss Press did you have anything for administration you want to add no I did not move okay any questions for our administration all right then we'll move on to our township attorney Miss Credio
no report mayor i hope the township committee is listening to these no reports um and uh any questions for Miss Cordidia seeing none township clerk you have a report um just one thing mayor i just want to um update the township
committee and the public uh and citizens of Maplewood that we are uh starting to put together the uh annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony um and uh we will be using the same
online uh participation uh module that we did last year that worked out really well and um progress on the event at this moment okay any questions for our clerk's office seeing none thank you very much
normally we would go to um reports from elected officials but I'm sure they're going to be brief anyway and then we're going to go to uh a presentation of our budget and we have our CFO Mr colloj welcome yeah
Mr weary you're unmuted so you Yeah thank you Mayor mr closure will start us off on uh presenting the 2025 budget first I want to thank all of the finance staff
department heads uh public and township committee who have been working on the budget since uh probably November um that we began in earnest uh with this planning through uh department headed meetings and budget workshops so a lot goes into it it is probably the the
single biggest thing we do all year as a township about a $60 million budget impacts every resident and so I just want to thank everybody that for their participation in the project um and we are um introducing uh tonight and if it
passes tonight we will uh come back at the second meeting in May for adoption of the budget uh we will also at the next meeting start to uh bring forth the capital bond ordinances for some of the
uh capital programs um in that capital portion of the budget so I'll turn it over to Mr colloj to start our presentation i think you're it's on it is on yep you just got to put it close thank you Mayor and Mr murray uh we put together a PowerPoint presentation that we're going
to walk you through the first half and the technical uh stuff and then uh we'll pass it along to the man who actually puts together the budget and he'll he'll bring us home so uh welcome to Maplewood a little under four square miles a population well over 25,000 our total
valuation of properties is at $6.2 billion uh we employ 215 full-time employees 209 part-time employees to uh provide the services that the community has come to expect from us uh this year's budget's going to come in at
roughly 59.6 million it will be a balanced budget that is actually a decrease of almost a million dollars from uh last year uh if we go to the next slide obviously Maplewood continues to be a
desirable town uh to own a home uh the total value increased by $10.5 million just last year these are the cards that we get from the uh county tax board uh an average assessed home has moved from being uh just under
$84,000 to just uh over $87,000 that speaks to the fact that people are willing to invest in their homes and see Maple Wood is a great place to live uh this next slide just uh gives us a little bit of a layout on how the assessed value moves you can see
that the big slider spike in 2023 is based on the uh reval that we went through uh when we did that reval the tax rate went down so that the uh adjustment was uh cost neutral so it wasn't a case where we increased everyone's values and then we uh uh
increased their taxes as well it stayed cost neutral and stays tied to the budgets of uh our town uh the county and the school district uh we can see that we've been pretty steady in terms of bringing on uh additions and added uh taxes $20 million uh is what we're
projecting for for next year so let's go to uh what we had for budget drivers um the good news is is we had some relief $1.6 million worth of of relief uh our uh pension contribution went down by almost $1.5 million our dirt debt
service went down by over $100,000 unfortunately those two happy occasions weren't enough to offset the pressures that we were experiencing the shared service uh agreement for the fire department went up by $1.7 million that
is largely uh because they have uh needed to now calculate the pension costs that we lost when they were our firefighters uh they're now SCFDS firefighters and so uh that's our portion of the pension cost down to Trenton our police new police contract
is costing us $1.2 million this year uh as everyone is aware we lost almost $200,000 in uh grants for the health department thanks to the federal government uh clawing that back and we've seen our insurance costs rise by over
$200,000 yes that would be accurate so uh taking a look at the next slide in the health department grants we can see that in 2020 when the pandemic hit uh there was a strong response by government to to keep citizens safe and healthy and uh we got some grants that
came in and were maintained throughout the pandemic uh unfortunately uh as the mayor had pointed out uh the federal government and the Trump administration no longer sees a value in in local health and they have significantly cut
the money that we were uh anticipating which was at $370,000 down to $174,000 now we know they took the money back so why is there still $174,000 there uh because the federal government is honoring first quarter of
this year for reimbursement and that money also includes some of our private grants that we get uh from our local cannabis u uh companies so the next slide kind of gives us a an overview of our major revenue sources uh we'll start
out at the bottom uh and and cannabis licensing that came in uh in 2021 you can see that it went up uh $430,000 worth of additional revenue came into the coffers uh its first full year implemented uh by the second year
it had increased to $610,000 uh last year it dropped back down to $48 and we expect that to maintain flat as new businesses are now starting to compete uh we anticipate that we will not be returning to those
days of $610,000 uh the next is the blue line which is for the building department you can see that uh we had some healthy um work that was being done within uh the town uh and unfortunately between 2024 and this year
uh we've seen a significant drop off uh so that is probably a function of major projects that were going on if we see major projects coming back into town uh we'll see an increase in net revenue at least temporarily and then we can see from the recreation department uh back
in uh 2018 they contributed roughly $320,000 a year in revenue uh and now they have steadily been over $700,000 for the last three years uh utility costs uh this gives us an idea of what we really can't uh
manage in terms of the budget it is what it is unless we want to close buildings and shut off lights uh so so these are all necessary uh elements of the budget that we don't have much control over uh the next slide is is really the reason why we put it in you can see that the
main driver has been the sanitary sewer increases that we've had to pay at the joint meeting uh and the other slide is is kind of a little bit of a cautionary tale for us because you can see that we budgeted in 2025 what we spent last year in 2024 and and I've got a little
concern about that considering uh there's talk about significant increases for uh electricity this coming year and we may need to do some transfers come November but I put these utility slides up because one of the biggest complaints we hear in the finance department is you
guys are absolutely killing us i my electricity costs more my cable costs more my phone costs more and and the the purpose of this slide is to say that the township is not immune to those same pressures that that people are feeling as well right uh our pension obligation
on the next slide shows that we went significantly down that is a function of we no longer uh have to fund the firefighters that is now fully on the uh back of SEFD and that is the driver for SEFD increasing uh their uh need for uh
more money from us our insurance costs are another issue that we've been dealing with uh you can see that ultimately uh we're we're seeing a pretty decent spike coming up um for both uh the health benefits and for the liability and workers
comp if we move to debt service and the down payment for capital projects you will see that this year we removed uh the down payment and and we're at 0% but we're still going to move forward with 7.47.5 for $7.5 million worth of projects uh that is a function of what
we did last year when we put $1.2 million into the capital improvement fund in the general trust so now we have the ability to use that as a down payment uh that $1.2 million was American Rescue Plan money that we were going to lose if we didn't spend it by last September uh and and so uh it was a
wise decision by the township committee uh to give us the ability to actually produce a tax break for a down payment on our projects we plan on doing this year uh the next slide shows us our bond ordinances and our open space allocation we we have about a million dollars that
we're going to be spending in open space and we're budgeted for roughly $7.5 million in bonds that covers equipment roads parks um and other capital projects that make Maplewood such a great place to live uh if we take a look at reserve for
uncollected taxes we can see that uh from a historical perspective the last time we had a reval back in 2016 and and 2017 we jacked up that number to 2.3 million to cover any appeals that we may be dealing with uh unfortunately this
year's budget was exceedingly tight and we didn't have that luxury and so we're going to be going in with $1.7 million with a reserve for uncollected taxes uh this is a deferred charge analysis a lot of these decisions were made either for us or happened to us uh it starts
out with the uh COVID revenue note back in 2020 we had the ability to take an average of our revenues as opposed to just what we bring in cash uh in order to to get us through uh the fact that everyone's revenues uh took a turn for
the worse when everyone was in lockdown uh so we are we are in the process of paying back uh that note we still have uh one more year after this to do that uh from the Ida storm emergency recovery we did a $1 million note last year uh the state told us that they're not going
to allow us to continue to pay that out over five years and they made us pay back the balance of the uh IRA emergency note last year so that is now off our books we have the mandated reval that we're going through uh this is the third year of having to pay it in in two more
years and then finally we have the um fire department's accumulated leave payout which was part of the process of moving that over into a shared service uh we still have a few more years left on that payment the slide on the right uh includes uh because all those
descriptions were for deferred charges that are outside the cap uh the slide on the right shows all our defer charges inclusive of inside the cap and that little zigzag that we see from 24 to 25 is our commitment to um helping to fund
the uh pool and bring down the uh membership fees that we were charging and so that's why we're seeing a little bit of a bump in in the deferred charges for that uh the next slide shows us a fund balance analysis it's a little busy so I apologize for that but uh basically the
story on this slide is is in 2018 uh when I first started here we were using 80% of our surplus uh to balance our budget which is obviously not sustainable uh thing to do um we would then have a year where we have
$840,000 and school tax bills that are coming in at $5.5 million so we were literally uh sort of living paycheck to paycheck uh through the years uh the township committee has made some very difficult decisions uh and you see us weaning ourselves off at 65% 68% then
we're into the 50s and we've now reached a point uh basically because of some of the uh events that occurred to us uh that we have a fund balance that is now fiscally sound and here's the reason why fund balance is important
we were able to increase the amount of uh interest that we uh that we create through um income with with the money that's on hand from $41,000 in 2020 2017 to $1.7 million
last year and that's direct property tax relief that's not our ability to or our need to raise taxes because we have $1.7 million that serves as alternate revenue source to raising taxes the other benefit of having a a healthy fund
balance is that we are able to uh secure better interest rates when we go out for bonds and notes and it has also given us the ability to fund our own projects our own small projects and those savings through the years uh have been about a half a million dollars to the to the
taxpayers so then I you know because I'm your CFO and and it's always doom and gloom for me uh these next slides are are going to deliver uh deliver on that doom and gloom um probably about 25 years ago the state
had said that it was going to be more efficient to have public utilities pay them instead of paying 564 towns individually and that the state would then distribute that money to us as state aid uh it is the energy receipts tax is the name of it and in the statute
when they said we're going to now start collecting the money instead of towns they also put in we will increase it by the cost of living each and every year this chart that we're looking at right now shows how they've shorted us and it it goes way back past 2018 but just
since 2018 this shows us how much they've shorted us and if they had just met their obligation we're talking about a 4.1 uh tax points of additional state aid that should be coming to us and the last slide kind of explains that the
best if we had received the money that we had been promised by statute we would have a 0% tax increase this year in Maplewood and unfortunately um the state had made some moves about two years ago and threw some extra money in they have since that well has since
dried up and we're back to where we've been uh where CFOs say flat is the new increase it's the new norm uh I'm done complaining mr worry I'm sure we'll bring you a sunnier version of our budget thank you Mr clo if you go to the next
slide start to look at some of the operating budgetary allocations for this year we have uh some of the things we've already talked about like statutory at 22% of our budget utilities at 5.6 but we we can also see uh the
size of our departments specifically so we see our police department at about 20% of our budget which is typical in that they are a 247 operation uh we see SCFD broken out at 16 and a half similar 247 operation
engineering and DPW taking care of all of our streets and roads and um our our municipal facilities uh our parks uh coming in just over 10% um uh those are our larger uh
departments go to the next slide this shows property tax allocation so this is from all of the tax revenue that residents pay to us as the the tax collector for all taxing entities we
take that uh money and then uh we keep what is the municipal uh portion and then we remit to the school district to the county um and then to uh the library and open space what is there so the school district uh this year will
account for about 56.5% and the county for about 14% those numbers are um are estimates based on last year plus what we expect their percentage increase to be this
year but they have not yet struck their uh final budgets so the municipal portion of a taxpayers's total bill uh comes up to about 27 and a half% of that
bill next slide and this shows our uh rate history so you can see over from 2018 um to present uh the amount of uh revenue we receive
in taxes or excuse me revenue we receive from taxes um and on the right shows our municipal tax rate obviously what was mentioned before uh there is a sharp decrease there in one year as the rate
was reset after the re-evaluation and the next slide uh for our uh budgetary goals from this year we have uh maintained our health department despite the loss of federal
grant money um that will be an ongoing conversation we were fortunate to have one vacant position there in a part-time administrative role that we will not be uh backfilling but we were able to uh
retain all the other positions where they were previously supported by federal grant funding and we're working now on applying for new grant funding for some other initiatives that can support at least a portion of uh the salaries that were impacted by the
federal cuts uh but we are fortunate to have been able to maintain the majority of and the most important parts of uh the health department uh that were impacted by grants we continue to invest in townwide uh tree planting um we are
uh continuing to invest in infrastructure uh the biggest thing this year was the creation of a storm water utility to address flooding issues uh the township will uh contribute about $325,000 to that utility for our our own
imperous surface and the total utility has a budget of $800,000 that will be um raised by a separate storm water utility assessment that will be new this year um we continue this year to reduce the fees
at the municipal pool so uh fees again this year will decrease by 10% for those who are able to take advantage of the early bird discount and 5% for everybody else um and some other small things uh we've continued to negotiate our
contracts all of our contracts were up January 1 of 2024 we have settled four of the uh uh of those contracts we have one the dispatchers that is on the agenda for ratification tonight then we
have two outstanding in DPW laborers and four persons but through those negotiation processes able to give salary increases that keep us competitive but also continue to pay
wages that keep uh pace with inflation which we've seen increase dramatically in uh recent years for the tax impact on what it means for the typical rateayer um in 2024 versus 2025
uh we had the um average home was uh paid $5,11 as their municipal portion this year that will go up to $5,278 just for that municipal portion
and that equates to an increase of $177 on that average home or $14.80 uh per month and next slide I think is the last yeah so uh this is the um kind of the
the overall look at at our budget we're looking to avoid over reliance on one-time revenue uh continue to use surplus at sustainable levels um maintain or improve our level of service continued share services to reduce costs and continue to adhere to fiscally sound
best practices next slide yep and that is it thank you thank you Mr you're welcome y for um interrupting your vacation to
join us for this fun time of budget presentation i know you had planned on it being at the last meeting but uh Donald Trump's cuts to the federal budget made us have to rework some things and um you know that's what happens when you
just slash and burn you don't pay attention to what's going on but I just want I want it to be um not just federal budget i think it's important to call out who exactly is doing this um to not just our municipality but every state in
the union received these health uh cuts i don't know if RFK Jr was involved or not i don't know who's involved they're just kind of wantingly slashing and it's going to affect us on a local level um same with our schools so I just want
everyone to be mindful of that seems so far away but it definitely impacts us directly um does do any of my colleagues have any comments or questions on our budget you would like to say or any questions to our CFO and or
administrator and thank you for your work on this i know it's not easy great presentation thank you yeah I just suggest less ink oh yeah the black background is interesting i remembered to do double-sided so
that's double side is good but yeah and it was larger font too larger font there we go i think we should release this to the public yeah oh yeah it'll be released to the public correct we'll get that up on the website yep it'll be on the website right so I just want to summarize for the public one thing
because we get asked all the time where the heck does all of our tax dollars go so for every dollar that you pay in property taxes 56.5 cents of that dollar goes to the school
district 14.2 2 cents goes to the county and about 28 cents comes back to the municipality to do all of the things that we all need to get done including paving our roads and the sewers and all
the stuff recreation services health so on and so forth only 28 cents of every property tax dollar that's it okay anybody else have anything they want to add okay the fun part's over so
you have no questions which is good although you know we've all been talking about this for quite a while as Mr wary alluded to so um we need a motion that's mine right yep so I move the adoption of
resolution number 132-25 the introduction of the 2025 municipal budget mr davis can I have a second yes mayor i second your motion mor I have a a couple of statements to
read as a part of that resolution um section one municipal budget of the township of Mapwood County of Essex fiscal year 2025 be it resolved that the following statement of revenues and appropriations
shall constitute the municipal budget for the year 2025 be it further resolved that said budget will be published in the Maplewood South Orange News record in the issue of May 1st
2025 and that noticees hereby given that the budget and tax resolution uh was approved by the township committee at the April 15 2025 township committee
meeting and a hearing on the budget and tax resolution will be held at the Township of Maywood on May 20th 2025 at 7:30 p.m at which time in place objections to said budget and tax
resolution for the year 2025 may be presented by taxpayers or other interested persons okay we had it moved and seconded so now we'll take a vote mr daffis yes gluca yes bangle yes herman
yes mayor Adams yes thank you Mr you don't have to stay with us I don't think right i will but thank you Mayor he's escaping while he can okay sorry I should go on with this okay
okay so now we have reports from elected officials and we'll start with Mr davis thanks Mayor very quickly uh we talked about the planning board's response to our zoning changes code committee moved forward adjusted fees for zoning rental
registrations and CCUs which are on for discussion tonight more on that in a little bit the community board on police's annual report is due soon so look out for that um our rent leveling board is dead and we're trying to revive
it so if you're out there and you're listening there's a lot of opportunities to volunteer in town and they're not all about the wreck department or the pool as fun as those two things are uh some of you may be interested in talking about housing issues and particularly uh
about uh affordability as it relates to rents and how they keep going up and how it's becoming increasingly difficult to stay in town and so on and so forth so if you are a renter a tenant and if you
are a landlord we're looking for you so please uh go to our website uh under volunteer opportunities and uh submit an application to serve on our rent leveling board we need five members we need representation by tenants and by
landlords um and we need a board as soon as we can put one together because we're looking to revise our rent control our rent regulation ordinance which is very outdated it was um uh revised so to
speak back in 2005 uh there's a vacancy deontrol provision and we uh assume although we have not verified that yet and in coming on verification on whether or not we have any units in town that are still subject to any form of rent
regulation if we do there are very few and it's basically like not having any rent control in this town at all i think we all agree we got to do better and uh and so we need you we need members we need a board to engage in conversation
and data analysis to come up with a new ordinance proposal and lastly mayor um our gubanatorial forum uh is all set for next Wednesday April 23rd here in Maplewood at the Woodland doors open at
6:30 this is an event um that uh requires pre-registration registration reached capacity very quickly we're way over 450 people at least but we know that people uh sometimes don't show up
things happen sickness children work related stuff so there will be a standby opportunity for folks uh if they didn't get an opportunity to register um the forum will um will uh give opportunity
to the Democrats running for governor in this election cycle to interact with the community we have confirmed four of the six uh we currently uh have not heard back uh from Steve Sweeney former
Senator Sweeney or from um Congressman Gottheimr uh I think they're both nos um and the forum is going to be moderated by our own Nancy Solomon that's NPR's Nancy Solomon with questions that were
submitted by registrants during their registration but hang on don't worry if you forgot to submit a question there will be a Q&A opportunity live uh at the event as well so uh don't worry there uh we had a great event planning meeting
thank you to township clerk Fritzen for facilitating that with the organizers and we have an operational plan in order thank you to the police chief and to township administration for facilitating that so um street closures and parking restrictions are in order for that
evening and all of that uh will be made public and I think we need to start putting some of those notices out i'm looking at township administration since we're um a week away that's my report i'll take any questions any questions
for Mr daffus okay then we'll move on to Thank you for uh to Mr duca thank you Mayor uh only because it got forgotten at the last meeting i'm going to start off with the egg hunt yeah let's start off with the Let's start off
with the egg hunt saturday uh reschedule it says 11:30 we're going to actually You can get there 11:30 we're going to start at 12 but make sure you're there because it's over by 12:02 um it goes quickly yeah the uh this Thursday night
um the health department will be at the Hilton Neighborhood Association talking about the services that they're providing and also getting ready for the May 3rd health fair that's going to be over at the heart park and lastly I just want to give an update from our public safety committee uh we meet every month
with the chief um and a couple of things we've been talking about uh we reviewed the middle school uh traffic pattern change and it's working very well we are looking to do some changes at the uh for drop offs and pickups at the high school
uh we've heard that the students are coming up with a plan themselves so we're waiting for that and we're going to coordinate our response with their proposal uh and see how we can work things out just want to give a quick report on the South Essex Fire Department um year
to date we've uh had about 800 incidents uh most of which have been um our EMS emergency medical services that the SCFD provides to Maplewood um luckily we only have a handful less than 2% are uh
building fires and quite honestly most of those are mutual aid where we provide services to our surrounding towns and when we have a fire they come in here and help us so and then we wanted to just highlight uh the work of our officers we have been pushing them to be
totally honest about um doing more and getting out there and they have been responding and we want to thank them for that work and the chief for his leadership um and we've been tracking uh year-to-year crime statistics and we
have a uniform crime report that deals with eight major categories of crime homicide arson rape robbery aggravated assault burglary theft and autotheft and those are the eight subjects we look at and overall for January and February
between 2024 and 2025 we're down 27% so that's a great number and we want to thank the officers for doing a lot of crime uh suppression details we've done where we've had some incidences of house
breakins and car robberies we've done some uh work in that area we've done some other work around um theft uh shoplifting and things like that so uh really want to thank the police and we've also because we've heard you talk to us about the need for getting a
handle on traffic speeding pedestrian safety and we wanted to give you those statistics too again for January and February between 2024 and 2025 our moving violations are up 14% our radar summones are up 300% warning notices are
up 11% um and our vehicle stops are up 23% so uh we've been again uh urging our officers we don't want folks to get tickets but we want you to drive within the law and honor uh the safety that
we've been talking about tonight with the with the bike lanes and everything that that goes to uh car safety pedestrian safety bike safety and uh the officers are responding we want to thank them for that and that's it mayor thank you any questions for Mr
duca seeing none we'll move on to committee member Angel thank you i think Mr duca took my update but I'm just going to um add to the community health fair that's on Saturday May 3rd um from 10:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m at the heart park free health screenings free food and
activities giveaways raffles and prizes free bike lessons for kids um but you should register request a helmet um and I only have a QR code but there should be a link um available for you to sign up
that it okay thank you Miss Angel any questions for committee member nope seeing none Deputy Mayor Herman you're up thank you 53 days that is the amount of time we have until
the pool is open get ready oh boy oh boy they're getting punchy here okay it doesn't feel that way outside this is really exciting because our pool is opening on time it is opening the Saturday Memorial Day weekend that is March 24 and guess what's happening
tomorrow may 24 may 24 yeah o um late it is late um so tomorrow is very exciting because starting tomorrow you can sign up for early bird and as Mr weary mentioned that will be 10% off from last year so we have some really good rates starting tomorrow please don't show up
before 10:00 uh So um early bird starts tomorrow and also you can sign up for the um swim team starting tomorrow um we will have pool pal um uh user fees and also Maplewood South Orange reciprocal fees
those will be open in a in a few weeks so early bird is tomorrow um we have a new rec sport field hockey so go to reces and sign up that's very exciting and as Mr duca already mentioned our egg
hunt it was rained out last weekend so it's this Saturday actually go ahead and book all your Saturdays for us because the next three Saturdays are booked up we got the egg hunt this Saturday we got our softball parade happening next
Saturday on April 26 and then the week after that is May 3rd our health fair so um as Miss Engle said you can sign up for bike lessons bike helmets all the fun stuff so that's it for my reports save your Saturdays to come and hang out
with Maplewood thank you Deputy Mayor Herman any questions not a question but an add-on i forgot april 26 is also the river cleanup by the Environmental Advisory Committee oh right as well when is that again april 26th and it will be at
Memorial Park the check-in tables are somewhere in the park right by Right by um by the Civic House civic House right yep like I said it's 10 to 1 it's Saturday you got something going on their clothes work and bring gloves
and water shoes yeah there'll be gloves given out too so and garbage bags mayor through you because I'm not allowed to speak to the deputy mayor directly i would just like to compliment through you parliamentary procedure that the deputy mayor made a big splash with her
report he did wow wow no if that was through me it would never come out it would never have come out of my mouth never all right let's get to my report real quick and I mean it unlike others no so we have a
resolution on for approval uh tonight we had a couple the two speakers who spoke not about bike lanes tonight uh came to speak uh about the um immigr immigrant trust act for New Jersey um basically
what this does is codify the attorney general's directive um of towns not needing to help the federal government with deportations and so they did such a great job talking about it and um I
shared with my colleagues a a sample resolution um that we will be uh writing one uh tonight based on that one with you know changes to map Maplewood eyes it as we say so um I'm uh would like to
move a resolution number 147-25 um in support of a New Jersey immigrant trust act and urging our legislators in Trenton to codify this before uh we have
a new governor potentially who's already um the Republican candidate is in fact advertising in his commercials or one of the candidates a Republican but the expected um Republican candidate advertising that he will get rid of sanctuary cities in
New Jersey um and we want to have this codified into law so that we don't have to worry about our residents and um people living in fear so I made a motion can I get a second i'll second your motion thank you Mr daffus miss Fritzen
mr daffus yes luca yes benel yes miss Herman yes your items yes thank you and thank you to my colleagues for um agreeing to support that as I expected you knowing where we we are so all right
discussion items we have three on for tonight let's see how quickly we can get through Deart Grass playing field mr ducha thank you Mayor not that I'm in a hurry or anything yes so I understand it is getting late so uh on April 3rd we had a public meeting at the community
center in Deart Park um in which we also taped and uh put it on YouTube and it's on the township website uh we had about 50 people there we had uh presentations from myself deputy mayor
um our engineer Mr kitner and our engineer consultants from V VHB we then talked about this at the engineering public works committee on April 9th and we have a report that we'd like to present publicly and to the township
committee for adoption tonight so I can read this real quick uh number one the committee supports the recommendation of the township engineering consulting engineer VHB to construct the Deart playing field as an all grass field that is based on high school sports
dimensions can accommodate multiple sports and eliminates the existing softball field the committee agrees that the new design will permit the resting of portions of the field from organized sports play allowing grass to grow and be healthy number two the committee
asked the engineering team to eval a evaluate and report on the positives and negatives of using a sandbase versus a soil compostbased field b evaluate and report on the capacity of the current storm water drainage system to
accommodate the water from the field and that the use of this drainage system would not cause neighborhood flooding c include more tree planting along the perimeter of the playing field fence and in other parts of Dehart Park and D consider opportunities to create passive
park space in grass areas outside the playing field fence for use by park users for picnics sitting and other types of non-sports activity number three committee asked the Department of Community Services to a evaluate the
current permit system for field use to ensure it is equitable fair and transparent and includes time on the field for non-organized recreation use by park users b develop an overall field management plan for DeHeart and all
Maplewood parks to ensure that fields are not overscheduled and enforcement practices including the use of field usage and the openlo status of all parks is clearly communicated to residents c evaluate field usage at all Maplewood
parks to ensure that softball activities are not impacted by the elimination of the Deart softball field and that other sports such as ultimate frisbee and field hockey are scheduled for Dehart Park and D off consider offering more
department field programs in Deart Park four the committee asked the Department of Public Works to A evaluate the recommended field maintenance plan for DeHart and create a similar maintenance plan for all Maplewood Parks athletic fields and b report on the cost to
perform the recommended field maintenance at Dehart and other Maplewood parks either through in-house operations or a private contractor and five the committee acknowledges that Maplewood will no longer have a lighted softball field future consideration
should be given to the installation of lights in another Maplewood Park to accommodate evening softball practices and games mayor I would move that to accept that recommendation from the engineering public works and planning committee well I'll second that is there any discussion
besides what we've discussed at engineering public works and planning and at the public meeting or is what's your thoughts i just have one question beyond the design the
other con are they conditions the other points that are part of moving this forward that we need to better understand what the maintenance cost is going to be we need to better understand what the drainage is going to be sand
versus soil and so on and so forth what I'm concerned about is that we we just move forward and some of that stuff is not done and evaluated and then we're sort of like in a situation where we're
spending a lot of money to redesign the field uh but some of these other points are not you know further evaluated in other words are we going to spend any money and move forward with this before we have all these all that
other information so yes we are because the the point of information that is absolutely critical is the dimensions of the field once they have the dimensions of the field then they'll be able to know the drainage system that they need and uh in doing that that we'll be able
to determine the amount of drainage and where it goes so that answers one question and then at the same time we can talk about whether it's soil or sand um and the tree planting and other stuff are just constant conversations we will have during the development process on
the community service stuff that's really going to be I think the work of health and community services uh the subcommittee to work on that stuff uh and then on so uh engineering public works is going to deal with the engineering work and the department of public
uh public works so uh yeah that's going to be an ongoing conversation but right now the engineers can't move any further until we tell them what the dimensions are but they but we can tell them that though right i understood it that we're that's what we're doing right now we're
saying yes we want this concept we have a concept it's not like a plan really so we want we want this concept so now move forward and answer all these questions while you're moving forward let us know if it's sand or soil correct let us know about the maintenance costs for future years so we can budget for it let us
know A B C D and E while you're devising the plan and yeah the community service piece in addition to the health and community services I think the rec advisory committee and the field subcommittee can help um with all that and in collaboration with the school district and South Orange what they need to know right now is if we're going to
have a ball field there or not right if we approve this then they're not going to have a ball field so their design becomes different than if we have a ball field and then all this has to be part of that so nothing can go forward until we get these answers except that they know what the design is and now they can
start design they can come up with that concept of what an all grass field we're going to be and then answer these questions as we move forward right but the construction won't happen until we have the other things construction is not going to happen till 2026 right so yeah yeah i'm just concerned about the
maintenance piece right like we want to get this right this is a big investment so what they said at the meeting was that at the end of this process they're going to provide a plan of maintenance the engineers and so that'll obviously be different if it's sandbased or soil
based so all that has to be done so there's all bunch of steps as we go forward and I guess who is doing the maintenance right internal external those are important factors I think that we have to address when we have that conversation and that that is going to be that public works has to give us that
right so this is just about the the um engineering plan which we've already uh contracted this isn't um anything to do with the RFP for the actual Oh absolutely not no right just to clarify thank you that's what I should have asked asked and you summarized it well
thank you i'm good okay Miss Fritzen will you take a role so we can pass that motion mr davis yes yes sangel yes herman yes mayor Adams yes thank you
next discussion item something we haven't talked about at all yes thank you Mayor so um we've had uh three virtual meetings uh over the in the February um we had we broke it up
into three sections of the road of Parker Avenue based on sort of the composition of who lives there and some of the issues where it was more industal for example between uh Prospect
and Maplewood Avenue and then where it's more residential between Maple I'm sorry between Prospect and uh Bordon Avenue and then again where it goes back into uh some commercial we have our park there between Bdon Avenue and Irvington
Avenue business district so we had about uh as as I said we had three virtual meetings we had about 60 participants at each of those meetings we had 49 people make 64 comments over the course of those meetings some people spoke once some people spoke twice and three spoke
at all three meetings um and then we had um of the 49 people 23 lived on Parker 26 did not live on Parker although we don't have really good uh some people who don't live on Parker may have may live on Park but didn't identify
themselves that who identified themselves or they might live adjacent to Parker could be a block a house or two in um 27 speak 27 people spoke for the bike lanes about 55% 17 spoke against and five didn't say one uh yes
or no um those living who identified themselves as living on Parker most were against 65% 22% were four and three did not say those not living on Parker uh two were again 8% were against 84% were
in favor um tonight we heard 37 [Music] 39 30 well I didn't count the two that didn't speak about this 30 okay 38 um and then we also received uh a number of
emails and I went through them um they're still coming and they're still coming in but as of start of this meeting we got about eight we got about 30 emails through the whole course of this time about 18 of those were yes uh
12 were no although I will say that most of the people who were nos also identified themselves as living on Parker so um here's where we are you know we we did discuss this more at the engineering public works committee uh
tonight was never meant to be a decision night i think there's all of us heard a lot of information we heard more tonight even um and we've been asked to be deliberate to be thoughtful and I think all of us are doing that and um trying
to come up with the best decision there are some challenges uh that we've heard of and we're going to try to work them out with our engineering team um and we're going to have to go back out to the community I think and and
fine-tune this um I think overall based on the conversations we had in engineering public works and planning committee there is um a favorability on the part of the township committee to work something out to create some bike lanes on Parker how
we do that and how we deal with all these issues that came up um we're going to have to balance all of it uh some of them are things that we've already worked out uh for example the person who spoke about having ballards up and down
uh Parker that we that he also spoke about that online we're not going to be doing that so you know we've if we put ballards up they're going to be at certain locations so um some of this we're is a work in progress we're we're moving it forward uh we are talking
about permit systems we are doing inventories of side streets so we completely understand what are the parking limitations there now we are looking at uh issues of um handicap parking uh looking at additional traffic cominging we did install a four-way stop
there or there may be an opportunity to do something different uh or more another four-way stop so those are things that we've asked our engineering team to take a look at uh and we will take this information and give this to them and continue to have this
conversation so I think um this is a process uh just on the timeline we will not be introducing our capital budget until May and this will be in the capital budget the impact on the operating budget that you heard tonight is
$15,000 because the capital budget you have to put 5% in your operating budget so we will likely put the money in the capital budget for for bike lanes um and if we spend it uh then we will move forward with that if not then we can
either cancel that appropriation or potentially use it for bike lanes in another part of town so um nothing's as the mayor said nothing's been finalized yet we're continuing to have this uh this conversation even if we do adopt in
May our funding would not be available to June I'm sorry July or August so we have some time to continue to look at these questions to work out things go back to the community uh and and try to explain how we think we can make this
work okay does anyone have any c can I just add something i just want to say because some people have mentioned that it feels like this is a done deal and I know I'm the you know unapologetically supporting bike lanes because I agree that we need to look to the future um but we we have
like a concept and idea of what we want to do and I think the idea behind having all these public meetings and talking about all these meetings and having this kind of engagement is so that we can hear from people who are for it and against it so we can work together so we can come to the table and collaborate together so I am sad that a lot of people think that oh this was a done
deal we had all these public meetings they want to move forward we do want to move forward with bike lanes because the master plan says recommends it and because we have to look to the future we need to create different transportation networks we need to get cars off the road we need to stop being so autoentric for the environment and for pedestrian
safety but this is a conversation we're trying to have with people on Parker with people in the community so that we can get to it together at a place that we're comfortable with and not everyone's going to be comfortable with the outcome no one's ever comfortable with the out you know 100% comfortable but you know we're working together and I do just hope that we're not you know
pushing it down the line and line the line line with some other projects that we've done delay delay delay because we can't reach census but I just wanted to add that that this is supposed to be a community conversation fair anyone else want to say anything i just want to thank everybody who engaged with us this
evening in person or online uh and keep doing that we the the emails work when you reach out to us we do read those emails yes we do and I thought as uh committee member Duca noted a lot of
great points were raised tonight pro and against uh and we have to find a way to find a compromise and make it workable um and I have faith in this committee and I have lots of faith in the chair of
the engineering public works and planning committee committee member Duca who is sort of leading this effort and bringing it all together all of the various elements there is no one more thoughtful more measured more inclusive
we will get there let's keep talking though not fighting let's keep talking and working together mr duca really liked your comments did I make him blush no i did no but I
was trying to I was going like this like and he's like "Let him keep talking." I wanted to say something as well sure um so New Jersey and Essex County in particular rank the highest in the nation for pedestrian accidents and we
see this in Maplewood as well um not every pedestrian who is hit makes the news but every person who is impacted is one person to many because of this I'm strongly in favor of traffic calming throughout our town especially around schools and in places where our kids
walk and ride their bikes to school with our school district's intentional integration plan we are now seeing children attend schools much farther from home they are making friends with kids that are much farther from home so it's imperative that we provide safe ways for them to get to school and
around town and because of this I strongly support a complete streets approach to town circulation planning that takes into consideration the needs of all travelers on our roads not just cars i also support the vision zero plan adopted by our state that envisions a
time in which our roadways are designed to ensure zero traffic deaths installing a system of bike lanes in Maplewood fits with both of these approaches parker in particular connects the village with two of our schools as well as the greenway
and Denell which would go to the train um however as Mr duca pointed out challenges remain and I agree I believe we must work through these challenges um to me some of the biggest challenges are um the CHS drop off and pickup situation
which we are uh working on um the accessibility you know we just talked about the all access committee accessibility is important it's a very big thing for our seniors and for our disabled residents and we need to look at that um and take that seriously um I just wanted to um you know also address
you know we've heard from a lot of people saying "I like bike lanes but just not on this road." And you know the the reality is that residents are already biking on Parker high school kids are already biking to Columbia High
School so Parker may not have been my first choice of a place to put bike lanes but Parker is where the biking is happening and they deserve to be able to bike safely so um I just wanted to you know in in summary say that I support
bike lanes on Parker uh but I um I think that the wise uh move forward here is more community engagement to work through these challenges but um I do see this as um something very important to do in our town thank you thank
you okay last discussion item fee adjustment rental registration zoning and CCU mr daffis much less interesting and fun if anyone's still awake out there online or in person uh so uh we
the code committee moved forward updated fees um as per the the recommendations of our community development director uh Annette De Palma who oversees zoning construction and code enforcement in our township uh we have since then reviewed
those recommendations with legal and legal has also made some recommendations so um the adjustments are as follows for the public record i've already forwarded this information to members of the township committee for their review and
consideration prior to this evening although I was hoping to give it to them a little bit earlier than you know last minute today which is what I did uh so zoning review um is an increase from $50 to $100 per review and this reflects um
what we're doing these days which is a much more comprehensive zoning review process than we did before committee member Angel asked me a question about that and I neglected to answer you but I'm going to answer you right now um so you know long gone are the days where um
a business owner or uh someone wanting to do business in town uh would um you know try to on their own figure out what zoning is allowed what's permitted use and so on and so forth in any particular
uh business district um and since then we the community development uh department under director DAP Palma has created a very comprehensive zoning review process a one-stop shop where someone can a um find out the answers to
all those questions zoning land use all kinds of construction permitting regulations and information and that is cross referenced against all the different ordinances uh there might design standards in the village not the same ones on Springfield Avenue for
instance uh there might be other restrictions uh recently we adopted a um a demolition ordinance so now the zoning review also requires cross referencing with our historic preservation commission all of this work so it is
really um oh and one thing that we did recently thanks to all of us in part um which is we created an administrative zoning review that um allows us to be more businessfriendly in certain circumstances that doesn't require a
planning board site plan review that's something that our zoning officer is going to do as well um and so for that reason and because $50 were at the low end when compared to our neighboring communities we thought an increase from
50 to 100 was appropriate and reasonable and the code committee felt the same in terms of penalties and violations for zoning review um as I said we also received um information from our township attorney since then and the
recommendations for offenses is the first offense is now $1,500 second offense 1750 third and subsequent offenses $2,000 and those are up from um
1,1500 and 2,000 respectively moving on to rental registration fees um uh our landlords are required to register their uh dwelling units that they rent out to folks the fee remains at $75 there is no
change a missed appointment fee with one of our township officials um is proposed at $50 from the current $25 rental registration violations or penalties um first offense 250 from 100
second 500 from 250 third or subsequent offense uh 1,000 from 500 and lastly CCU the certificate of continued use and occupancy a CCU is required every time uh private property
is transferred in ownership um and here are the fees uh the first an application for CCU is currently $100 uh which is low again when compared to neighboring communities the proposal is to raise it
by 50 to 150 uh that would apply if the CCU is requested at least 10 business days before the closing date for the property uh for an expedited processing which is anywhere between six and nine days from the closing uh the proposal is
$300 which is up a 100 from the current 200 and last minute what I call last minute processing what in our ordinance is 5 days or less from the closing and believe it or not we get these CCU requests very last minute to closing
date uh the current fee is 300 the proposal is 500 uh and a reinspection fee for CCU uh when the property fails the initial inspection is proposed at 100 from the current 50 as I mentioned
the code committee we discussed we reviewed we got legal's opinion and we uh we uh recommend to the township committee that we adopt these proposed changes is there any discussion or questions any discussion
two okay all right so then do I need to move it no no oh no because we'll do an ordinance yeah we'll do an ordinance yeah we'll have the ordinance prepared for the next meeting on first reading okay now we'll move to uh the consent
agenda can I get a motion Mr duca i move the consent agenda i'll second yes luca yes yes burman yes mayor Adams yes thank you we come to the second public comment on
any subject matter there's anyone who would like to speak to the township committee either online or in person please come to the podium if you're here and raise your hand if you're online anyone miss press see no
hands mayor okay with that I'll take a motion to adjurnn unless we want to stay past 11 a motion to adjurnn second yes bangle yes herman yes mayor yes thank you we'll see everyone on May 6th may
6th right tuesday good night everyone good night at pres