pursuant to chap section five chapter 231 Public Law 1975 this is you just told me we were live sir I'm only gonna start where I left off psych live but not live live pursu to section five 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 2024 to the news record and Star Ledger in December 2023 and by filing said notice in the office of the Township Clerk m c here D here Luca here ble here mayor Adams here thank you whereas chapter 231 public 1975 commonly known as the open public meetings act requires all meetings of public bodies be open to the public and whereas section 7A provides that the governing body has a discretion to permit prohibit or regulate the active participation in the public at any meeting and whereas desire of the governing body to comply with the provision of this act same time to conduct business in an orderly and expeditious manner now therefore be it resolved by the committee Township map that it does hereby prohibit except to set forth an formal agenda active participation in the deliberations of the governing body by the public and except as otherwise describe by law does limit the public to the observations of the actions and discussions of the governing body at all of its regular and special meetings so move second M K yes Mr daffis yes Mr Luca yes M Engle yes mayor Adams yes thank you thank you that's it yes please rise everyone please rise for a salute to the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please remain standing for a moment of silence in honor of Congressman Donald Payne Jr who was our Congressman until a couple years ago when the district were redistricted so um thank you thank him for his long service and may He rest in peace thank you thank you good evening everyone and welcome to the Tuesday May 7th 2024 meeting of the township Committee of the town of Maplewood um we have a few proclamations for older Americans month Haitian American month and Asian American Pacific Islander month um we also have an um an appointment to the youth advisory committee that Miss angle will conduct we have public comment for agenda items only then we will move into our Board of Health meeting uh after the board of health meeting we will um have one ordinance on Final passage I'm sorry two ordinances for the calendar year to exceed the municipal budget Appropriations limit to establish a c bank and then we'll move a bond ordance providing for various Capital Improvements and in the Township in the amount of 7,745 1110 um then we have an introduction of a new ordinance establishing a code of conduct in the Maplewood municipal code for all youth activities that are sponsored by the township and then we will read the resolution for the budget to approve our budget tonight finally then we have uh reports from departments administrative reports um administrator attorney and Township Clerk report rep from elected officials Committee Member Duca Committee Member angle Deputy Mayor kpe Committee Member daffis and then my report discussion items we have one item on for discussion and that is the demolition ordinance which uh Mr Duca will conduct that discussion item then we have the consent agenda and into our um second public comment on any subject matter and then we will adjourn so with that I will ask Miss kpe to conduct the older Americans Proclamation Americans month pop Proclamation this is going to be a little bit different almost like women's History Month oh yes we have a participatory Proclamation reading to thank you mayor we have members of our senior advisory committee that are present here as well as on Zoom that are going to take different parts so if uh our administrator Mr warry could let our four members in as their parts come up that would be wonderful yeah and this is the proc for older Americans month 2024 I put it up there you that just gonna slide it over you should be one under other member who is joining us uh Marilyn schnars you're available please raise your hand Marilyn whereas in 1963 then President John F Kennedy alongside members of the National Council of senior citizens designated may as senior citizens month which was later changed to older Americans month and whereas while in 1963 only 17 million Americans had reached their 65th birthday in 2022 the state of New Jersey alone had over one and a half million people who are over 65 and whereas each year the administration for community living under the United States Department of Health and Human Services chooses a theme for the year and in 2024 the theme is powered by connection and hold on a second oh oh sorry whereas from Business Leaders to members of our government alongside individuals and groups like like the Maplewood senior advisory committee older adults have immense influence locally regionally nationally and the world and whereas despite the number of old Americans out there their wealth of knowledge can often go untapped and whereas in the township of Maplewood we recognize and seek the knowledge of older Americans hold and encourage intergenerational relationships and exchanges from community service and civil engagement among other many activities and whereas that's why from local to the National level we Advocate plan and do our best to protect programs that sove older Americans for example in the township of Maplewood how can we speak on inclusivity diversity and going Beyond tolerance in promoting acceptance if we exclude those whose work allowed us the Privileges we have today now therefore be it resolved that I Nancy Adams mayor of the township of Maplewood on behalf of the Maplewood Township committee do hereby Proclaim May 2024 as older Americans month we call upon all residents to join us in recognizing the contributions of our older citizens and promoting programs and activities that Foster connection inclusion and support for older adults thank you thank you and with that I want to recognize Missy and Michelle who run such great programs for our looking forward to lunch thanks okay now we'll move on to Mr Duca for Haitian American month thank you mayor whereas Haitian heritage month is so celebrated yearly in May to commemorate hadi's declaration of independence from the French in 1803 and whereas Haiti was the first independent black nation in the Western Hemisphere the second oldest Republic behind only the the United States and is considered one of the few black countries that successfully fought and won their independence and whereas we speak of Roy Wilkins Dorothy cotton and B Bayard Rustin we cannot forget the names of tant lur and web Deo and the forefathers of the American Civil Rights Movement who could look to an island in the Caribbean for Hope regarding Freedom autonomy and a sense of Pride and whereas despite how the news focuses on a specific narrative when it comes to Haiti you can look around you here in Maplewood and around the world and see that it is but a part of the story whereas the endurance of the Haitian people throughout history has shown that whether man or storm the people will continue to fight and develop Haiti Against All Odds it is it is one it is a nation undeterred by adversity whereas in Maplewood we want you to understand diversity means something that it is just that it isn't just The Superficial of what you look like but what you're what culture you bring the beliefs and thoughtss that come from varied experiences and how that can merge with what Maplewood has to make our town feel like a worldly place now therefore be it resolved that I Victor Duca on behalf of Nancy Adams and the Maplewood Township committee do hereby proclaim the month of May 2024 as Haitian heritage month and May 18th as Haitian Flag Day we also encourage our citizens to explore the rich history of Haiti both past and present so future Generations can know of its importance in world history and Haiti can continue to inspire those who wish to understand what it means to fight against oppression thank you and mayor uh I assume on May 18th then we'll be raising the Haitian flag here at Town Hall we yes we we will be excellent um Asian American Pacific Islander month Miss Ango whereas Asian-American native Hawaiian Pacific Islander heritage month is observed annually in May to celebrate the contributions that generations of a nhpis have made to American history society and culture and whereas the month of May was selected for two reasons first to commemorate the arrival of the first known Japanese immigrant to the US on May 7th 1843 secondly to honor the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10th 1869 which upwards of 20,000 Chinese workers helped to construct the month pays tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched the United States history and are instrumental in its future successes and whereas in 2024 the federal Asia Pacific American Council announced the 2024 National theme is advancing leaders through Innovation and whereas leadership comes in various forms and Vari places from students at Columbia High School who will take commands of the future to those like Japanese American Yuri kochiyama whose civil rights work led to the 1988 civil liberties act signed by Ronald Reagan a bot an indian-american who created the universal serial bus commonly known as USB and Dr Katherine luzuriaga a Filipino American who made the first well-documented case of functionally curing a child of the human imuno deficiency virus HIV and whereas what each and every name mentions and countless other asian-americans native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders do every day is find opportunity and when there isn't one to be found they create it and whereas while the United States has been synonymous with being called the land of opportunity it is through the stories the hardships the triumphs and the inspiration of both our immigrant community and those who have their fam's culture instilled in them that we see new businesses new leaders new elected officials and the shift in American society which makes it more than the land of opportunity and more so the country which allows places like Maplewood to be called home now therefore be it resolved that I Deborah Engel on behalf of Nancy of Mayor Nancy Adams and the entire Maplewood Township committee do hereby proclaim the month of May 2024 as Asian-American Pacific Islanders month uh to my Township committee colleagues I just want to note that um recently uh aapi has evolved in order to be more inclusive and in particular to include the indigenous peoples of Hawaii the native Hawaiians uh who were not included uh in the aapi designation so for next year and going forward it'll be a a a nhpi Asian-American native Hawaiian Pacific Islander it's a lot of initials it's a lot it's a big acronym I think that's how it started Asian-American native Hawaiian Pacific Islands are Heritage mon yeah yeah so that's the designation and that's what you read the next meeting I recommend that we acknowledge Mental Health Awareness Month May mental health awareness month thanks yep already on on the agenda okay we'll move to boards and committees we have a youth advisory committee appointee this evening Miss angle would you like to take yes so I'm very excited that Miss Violet Kesler has joined us to be appointed to the youth advisory committee today Miss Kesler is currently the um president of of Maplewood Middle School's student go student council and we are really excited to have her join so miss Kesler if you want to step up to the podium and just say a few words and introduce ourselves um yourself and then we'll take a vote hi my name is violet Kesler um I am the President of Maplewood Middle School student council along with a lot of great team members there but I'm very grateful for this opportunity and I'm excited to begin to move forward um I just am really excited to be able to make change in my community and to be able to speak the voice of the youth thank you thank you so with that I move that we appoint Viet hesler to the youth advisory committee a second absolutely great yes udaf yes Luca yes zle yes mayor Adams yes bot thank you so much for stepping up very exciting to see our youth leading us so thank you yes and violet as a member of the youth advisory committee you're not just another volunteer like the other volunteers and boards and committees that we have you actually have a say directly in the decisions that we make up here twice a month so the youth advisory committee was set up in such a manner that it would be an arm of the township committee so that our youth can have a say and what we do in town and don't do so congratulations and uh open it up right now for public comment for agenda items only I think was mayor pool committee reappointment sorry I'm just gonna move we have a few pool committee advisory uh pool advisory committee appointments reappointments um so I move that Malia Herman Sandy Eisman Joshua Silberman and Rebecca Shear be reappointed to the pool advisory committee for another term second second right yes daffis yes Luca yes Sangle yes mayor Adams yes sorry so just so we're clear when you say another ter another three-year ter and then we should make sure that we get the proper dates down so that future Township committee knows when they're up yes we have that all okay with that I'm going to move to public comment for agenda items only that includes the appointments we just made so if if any family members would like to come up and speak on behalf he's looking at MRIs committee appointment no no all good so no one is no one in the person Mr wary so you can open it up I unless our County liaison would like to come up and speak we can instead of you having to wait till the end good evening good evening Miss Richardson green Maplewood I'm also the director of training employment at the Essex County onetop I wanted to come here today to talk about some of the wonderful offerings the county has uh Saturday May 4th we're going to be having our hazardous household wave pickup it's going to be at 99 West Brandford Avenue in Cedar Grove from 8:30 to 400 p.m. again high level EX cable items herbicides paint thinners oil based paints light bulbs things that won't be accepted Asos regulated medical waste commercial Industrial Waste I have this in all the other literature here uh an exciting new event that we're going to be hosting at our one stop at 50 South Clinton Street we've stationed that we're going to have the mobile motor vehicle stationed coming once a month to the onetop the idea is that we're encouraging people to come to find more about our training and employment opportunities while having the ability to get into the DMV sometimes those appointments are still very difficult to procure so we want to have a One-Stop shop for them so our first event is going to be May 10th it's going to be from 10: to 2 and it's going to be appointment based only but the type of services that you'll be able to do is uh driver's license registration renewal license plate drop off issuance of handicap placards initial permits duplicate title real IDs and non driver IDs boat renewals veterans and disabled placards and Veteran stickers and licenses so we'll be having pretty much a monthly event so once that calendar is uh finalized I'll make sure to get it to the township great on May 18th we'll be having our computer and electronics recycling day that's going to be from 9: to 300 p.m. at 99 West Branford Avenue in Cedar Grove will be accepting computers monitors printers fax machines scanners Telecom equipment speakers television VCRs if we still have them players I do too old cellular phones and irons what we will not be accepting are smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms an exciting event our annual event is our Essex County Job Fair it's going to be Thursday May 30th from 10: to 2: p.m. at Essex County College on 177 West Market Street in norc we have over 130 employers and service providers that have already uh confirmed their attendance from different uh firefighter organizations law enforcement government agencies health care providers so we have a large array of employers that are going to be on site and they will be doing on the spot interviews so if you pass make sure just make sure people come with their printed copies of their resume or electronic versions available because you may be surprised you may get interviewed on the spot that is May 30th June 1st we have our paper shredding day that's going to be 8:30 a.m. to 12: noon that is also going to be at the Department of Public Works at 99 West Branford Avenue and Cedar Grove August 17th our annual back to school openhouse event 10:00 a.m. to 2: p.m it's going to be in the parking lot of our one stop at 50 South Clinton Street in East Orange we're going to have a variety of events we're going to have annual presentations bount houses DJ and performances for the children but we're also going to have health services rental assistance GED education job development Youth Opportunity Services Social Services as well as VOC ational training and that event is going to be Saturday August 17th 10: a.m. to 2 p.m. the last item I have is our Essex County fishing derby 2024 schedule we'll have our first one Tuesday May 21st at Irvington Park the next one Wednesday May 22nd at Monty Irvin Orange Park May 23rd we're going to be at Grover Cleveland Park May 28th will be at weekway Park May 29th Verona Park May 30th South Mountain Recreation Complex June 1st branchbrook Park registration is 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. the Derby will be 6:00 p.m to 7: and the awards ceremony will be 7:15 to 7:30 and the last item I wanted to present to the the township at our Essex County onetop we have a variety of services that are available but one particular area is our Workforce initiative opportunities act we have funding for training and employment opportunities for youth ages 16 through 24 uh adults and dislocated worker our dislocated worker population includes those individuals where a company may have closed that person may have been laid off a relocation and it take it does not matter what your previous income is if you fall into one of those categories come down to the one stop at 50 South Clinton Street will'll evaluate you and get you registered for whatever training opportunity that you think would be beneficial to you our youth program are for youth with specific barriers to employment including High School dropouts parenting mental or physical disabilities or any involvement with the Juvenile Justice or foster care system also including homelessness and run runaways so we're looking to really push our Outreach to our out of school youth we're not forgetting our School youth but uh the out of school youth is a population that's been very difficult for us to actually get in contact with so we're going to be doing a lot of initiative that includes uh social media campaign to reach out to the youth and let them know that they have a place at 50 soft Clint Street in East appreciate it thank you it for me right now and if there's any questions thank you that was a lot is um any have any questions from my colleagues on the no I was just wondering I was hoping that particularly for the uh youth um in that are out of school if that information could be conveyed to our our health officer and to the clerk so we can get it out um possibly even posted in it on our town bulletin boards make sure to get all of those over I'll be happy to to meet with the new deleg in terms of the youth services we have I think having her be president and be a part of it will engage a lot of young people I'm I'm not that young anymore so having that young freshman voice would be very helpful in getting youth out to our program thank you yeah for sure thank you so much Mr wor do we have anyone on public comment on Zoom if any members of the public joining us on Zoom would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now I see no hands oh hold on I see one hand mayor I'm now moving over at Deborah Ford the panelist yeah we're not moving h i we seem to have lost our connection oh no here we here she is Miss Ford welcome to public portion you may unmute yourself and address the committee good evening everyone could you uh state your name and go ahead and speak Nancy good to see you again Deborah Ford 47 Place yeah Maplewood um I'm here I just want to Briefly summarize my comments I'm here speaking on behalf of several members of our community and I think a few of them are also here our concerns are about the pool parking lot I'm just going to say three and the top three are the condition of the pool parking lot the trash generated by New Jersey Transit is horrific I sent you the pictures um I think the pictures speak for themselves that's not us that's not the folks that rent parking spaces from Maplewood Village condominiums that is New Jersey Transit creating that trash it's horrific so the pictures are on file I sent them to you the second um the amount of vandalism that's going on in our lot um from breaking into cars damage to cars um Petty vandalism taking uh I was just speaking to a community remember remember tonight taking the uh caps off the wheels so the tires go flat in the morning just petty stuff like that and then the last that I want to say this is a highly overcrowded parking lot we don't understand why New Jersey Transit that has a multip story garage across the street is still parking in our community lot but they are and they take our spots from us they come and go as they play please it's a one way in it's a one way in and a one way out and they come in any way they want they come in against the signs so that they can get their parking spots in the morning it's a mess we are concerned and we just want to put that thought out there to the township leadership to ask what do you think conversations need to be going forward the expectation is not that you folks can come up with an answer tonight but beginning with the trash is horrific and it should not be our DPW that cleans up after them anyway those are my comments and I'm just going to turn it over to others that I think are in this meeting tonight thank you for your time thank you Miss Ford I did get your email and we will definitely follow up with that if any other members of the public on Zoom would like to speak on agenda items only please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor thank you hold on I'm sorry May P Reese has raised their hand I will now move them over to panelist welcome to public portion P Rees you may unmute yourself and you have 3 minutes to address the committee on agenda items only thank you I just wanted to kind of echo what Miss Ford said as well about the parking lot across the street that we all utilize and pay for um like she said there are times where the New Jersey Transit employees are taking over the parking lot um a couple of weeks ago I had to wait 15 minutes for a spot to open up in our section that first row um plus sometimes the security guards in the white cars that drive by three times with their flashing lights on and sometimes they're going in the wrong direction they're going different ways uh there are people who park in the parking lot from New Jersey Transit who are speeding when I'm going to the my car with my child you know I have to tell them watch out because people are flying down the lane there's like there's no they don't care you know um the the lawn I'm not sure who uh maintains the lawn but the lawn is just it's is never manicured um I saw the uh yesterday down towards the cwalk where you cross over to new Transit there was two people with like um the trimmers like the weed whackers that were doing some little portion near that little bridge but nothing else has been done um I don't know I just I just was hoping that once we get into the summer season where people are coming and using the parking lot that something can be done um and it's just it's just it's it's sad it shouldn't be that way it seems like it's just unkempt and I don't know who takes care of it do we know who takes care of it like who is who responsible for cleaning the grounds and and taking care of these areas or is it only when the pool opens or is it any is there any way to designate the portion of the parking lot that Maplewood Village Condominiums uses for just us and that I thought that was the understanding of that having that security person there to make sure that they Park in their designated area and they don't okay we will as I told Miss Bor we will look into it I forwarded her email to Administration and the director of public works thank you so much we will follow up thank you thank you for your time thank you sure have a good night any other members of the public joining us on Zoom would like to speak in public portion on agenda items only please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor thank you Mr W with that will we have another another public comment at the end that's typically for any item but um we're happy to take people off of off of the agenda sometimes so for now we will move into our Board of Health meeting and I will turn it over to Committee Member smiling at me thank you mayor me P pursuance of section five chapter 23 1 PL 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 2024 to the news record and Star Ledger in December 2023 and by filing said notice in the office of the Township Clerk great here Mr daffis present Mr DeLuca here mayor Adams here miss angle here whereas chapter 231 public laws of 1975 commonly known as the open public meetings act requires of all meetings of public bodies be open to the public and whereas section 7A provides that the Board of Health has a discretion to permit prohibit or regulate the active participation of the public in any meeting and where as desire the Maplewood Board of Health to comply with the provision this act same time to conduct its business in an orderly and expeditious manner now therefore be resolved by the Maplewood Board of Health Township of Maplewood does hereby prohibit except to set forth an formal agenda active participation and the deliberations of the Board of Health by the public except as otherwise described by law does limit the public to the observation of the actions and discussions at all the regular meetings of the mwood Board of Health so Mo second hereis yes Luca yes mayor Adams yes this angle yes um I move to approve the Board of Health meeting minutes from April 2nd 2024 I have a second M K yes Mr daffis yes Mr Duca yes mayor Adams yes this angle yes and now I will turn this over to our health officer Candace Davenport hello good evening everyone good evening we will start with um some happy news as you can see we have the designation of official from the mayor's Wellness campaign for a healthy town uh they have asked us if we could take a picture with the banner that they provid for us and the plaque with the township committee if we could do that now that would be great give you guys too that's great here going down there move the chair yeah I will think of a comeback and get back get back at him is Candace coming up with us Candace you to be up here too mile mile Gorge forgot to take wait we got take it take them chair that's my chair whose chair that's nobody's chair that's that's my imaginary friend imaginary friend everything else here are you all right Mr DeLuca Miss angle would everybody like to get back into the meeting yep so we'll resume the Board of Health meeting um next slide please oh thank you and and then next slide please so um thank you for all the great proclamations uh this evening I also want to acknowledge a few other things for the month of May which is very busy we're celebrating national nurses week this week so I wanted to acknowledge um our nurses in the office Anna marova who is our Public Health nursing supervisor and Julia canowitz who is our pum public health nurse who goes out and does our health screenings so that's a picture of her at the senior center giving out doing some health screenings uh this month so thank you moving on we are also in women's health month so the county um is also uh providing on May 8th which is tomorrow at um branchbrook Park they're providing uh mamography and papsmear services um as well as other health screenings oh next slide sorry here we go yep so we're letting people know that these are free services that can be provided and they're available and thanks to the county for doing that next slide please May is also Mental Health Awareness Month mental health is a really important topic for the health department as well as for um our elected officials in the township as a whole so we want to acknowledge some of the services that are available that people may not know about um New Jersey Department of uh mental health and Addiction Services is having four free webinars that people can attend we will have this uh PowerPoint presentation available online uh to our residents and they'll be able to register at those um locations in addition we want to include the New Jersey Mental Health Care phone number which people can call from hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 P.M on weekdays likewise we want to um invite people who have um were deaf and hard of hearing that there's also an emotional support helpline for them as well um sign language users are available and they can call that number um during we weekday hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. so I think they're really trying to do some great Outreach uh to all of our residents in New Jersey next slide in case you didn't know may is also digestive health month so we wanted to acknowledge uh Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas is hosting a free program on uh gluten-free and uh diets and how that can help with digestive issues as we mentioned um a month or two ago about a coloral cancer awareness month we really want to make sure that people are aware of that their digestive system and take good care of themselves by taking advantage of these great free opportunities next slide please oh it takes a lot okay super so um there's also free uh save cancer screenings uh they're hosted throughout the month of May I just want to say they have a new format and what you can see here is that they have a lot more opportunities for um mamography screening with their mobile van that comes out um and I will highlight that in one second the next Slide the prize Guess who's coming to our June 15th Community healthare it's a mobile van so we were able to secure them we're looking for um offering the services to um 25 women who need it um there are eligibility requirements according to the county however it's open to people who are uninsured as well as um certain in insur insurances will be taken um in addition to the mobile mamography screening we will have our community health fair which will have free health screenings and food and activities and it's open to all I also want to highlight that we will have the mobile drug drop box there um so if people want to dispose of their um medications safely they can do that there as well so please come to the s Saturday June 15th uh Township healthare next slide please and as we transition um into the next slide speaking of um Health Affairs um our uh local Health Outreach coordinator Sarah Taylor attended the CPAC Soma resource fair over the weekend so we represented the township there with many services and resources and talk to Residents about all of our um inclusive opportunities and services which was in line with the with the um topic of the day so we were happy to uh give them and provide residents with um we had this information from partnership for Maternal Child Health on uh vaccinations and like um nice materials that children can use when they're visiting the doctor's office so that was great next slide oh where's that yes nice it's okay yes I was gonna say right it's not Maplewood that was so calming yeah I like nice mental health okay so thank you so much um our nurse and uh local Health Outreach coordinator coordinated with the partnership for Maternal Child Health and the school district where they were able to educate at um all seven satellite District prek classrooms reaching about 200 families uh to teach about childhood Le poisoning prevention so this was a really great thing they gave information to the children and the children sang songs about how to watch for lead in their homes next slide we move on to animal control oh what's happening tonight why is this happening that laptop is having trouble connecting to the internet it's not affecting anything at home it's only affecting what you see here I think after the after this we can restart that computer so we're back on for the next public portion okay thank you very much so you've seen this uh slide before we just want to acknowledge it again because you may have seen recently that we've released a press release um regarding the importance of leashing dogs in public parks in the US over 800,000 people need medical treatment from dog bites each year according to the CDC more than half of the dog bite victims are children uh young children especially can have serious injuries from dog bites next slide please in Maplewood um there have been 36 accounts of dog bites in 2023 and year to date we've had eight so one of the things we want to mention is that dog bites are pre vble and next slide too please and as I mentioned it's really important to protect our children so more than half of the dog bite victims are children next slide and this will be the last slide on the dog bite issues people who have gotten the dog bites that have been reported uh one in four of the cases that we've responded to um have no information about the dog that bit them so they probably would get bitten the person leaves with a dog and they don't know if they've been rap vaccinated for rabies which means that the person has to go back to the hospital and incur a lot of costs and um er visits and the rabies vaccination which is not fun to get so we advise people to do the following uh things when they do get a dog bite which is to get the information from the owner wash and clean the wound take any pictures of any injuries and damages report any loose dogs to the police department who can contact animal control and file an animal bite report to the police department and call the health department during regular business hours so we hope that people will heed this and um leash their dogs for those who own dogs but can't afford their rabies vaccine we are hosting a uh rabies vaccine clinic there will be two this year this one happens to be on Sunday June 2nd from 11 to one um at the South Essex Fire Department headquarters on Sloan Street so this is open to both mwood and South Orange residents next slide this is a report from blomfield animal control for the month of April we had 16 Animal Control calls um roughly between domestic and sick and injured Wildlife next slide please moving on into environmental health one of the main topics that I'm going to talk about today is um our heat advisories so we just want to distinguish for people as they look at this slide um this month what the differences are between heat exhaustion and heat stroke and the symptoms to look for extreme heat as we know is defined as a period of high heat and humid with temperatures above 90° for at least 2 to 3 days in extreme heat Your Body Works extra hard to maintain a normal temperature which can often lead to um morbidity and death especially for those who have um vulnerable diseases um and chronic diseases next slide so those who are at most risk for heat related illnesses are are the following of course anyone could be um you know at risk for heat related diseases but we really want to Target get these uh populations as you know we have the 211 phone number which will direct people to New Jersey cooling centers the Heart Community Center for us is our cooling center as well as the uh police department Lobby next slide this is of most um importance and relevance because the New Jersey D has released a new jersey extreme heat resilience action plan they're looking for public comment on this report and we strongly encourage people to um read it and look at all of the priority areas that the state has um it pertains to things that people can do individually as well as what we can do as a community something I want to highlight here is that based on the research summarized in the New Jersey scientific report on climate change and the human health and communities agendum New Jersey is warming faster than the rest of the Northeast region and the world experiencing its third hottest summer recorded in 2022 so there is definitely some urgency as to um why we need to address this but also um kudos to the elected officials and the Township in general for all the things we are doing to address climate change this is one of the most important climate change issues that we are facing so we really want to meet it head on next slide please I believe that um for that uh public comment ends um July 5th so if you'd like to do some public comment on the action plan please do so moving on to environmental health for April we've had um restaurant inspections I do want to notice the high number of complaints um it's getting warmer so half of those complaints are um on rodents and garbage which our environmental staff are dealing with next slide we also want to acknowledge some recalls that we have the two slides uh that are upcoming are on a recall for gluten-free um stuffed mini bagels and the next one is on the um is on lead in um painter rollers for children so again the risks of um lead exposure are not just in the home but also in um products that they that they use so we put that out there for anyone who might have purchased those next slide we move on to our nursing update and we've had uh seven reportable infectious um and communicable diseases investigated and eight health screenings as I mentioned were done at the um Senior Center and all of our 23 24 immunization audits at our childcare and schools are complete so we are happy about that all of them have been above 95% compliant so this is going to become important when we talk about the CDC measles advisory so you might remember from last month I gave this report that there is a CDC measles advisory since that point the number of measles cases in the United States has doubled so between uh January 1st to now May 2nd the total is 131 measles cases um this is much higher than uh We've normally seen in the past years so what we really want to encourage people to do is to please get vaccinated for measles if you are eligible especially if you're an adult um measles vaccination is for children ages one and then four and for healthcare providers or anyone going or traveling to endemic places for measles it really is a travel advisory but we are also seeing it in outbreaks across the country um like in places like Chicago so um please be vaccinated for measles because it's highly contagious h5n1 flu you might have seen this in the news it is the uh bird flu what I really want to acknowledge and mention to to the public is that the human risk at this time is low it is safe to eat eggs chicken and drink milk that has been properly prepared and cooked and is safe to drink pasteurized milk this um occurrence does not affect um beef cows so beef SOA to eat it just affects the dairy cows that are in contact with the chickens um and that's affecting 33 Dairy herds as we know in um eight states thank you moving on to respiratory diseases this is great news because we now have the State Health Department guidance has now um been in line with the CDC guidance which is that if you have covid you may return to normal activity after now 24 hours of being symptom free um so that's new and we are happy that we are in this interpandemic phase I I really like this um layout and this graphic because it really does show you what we have all been through um but as you can see the um interpandemic phase on either side is about preparedness so we are always uh getting ready for the next thing but we are happy to say that we are moving out of um the heavy quarantine and isolation protocols so next slide as you can see we are in a low covid um rate but we still have um uh test kits available so if anyone wants any free home covid test kits next slide they are available at the health department in town hall and we're here Monday to Friday during the weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as we move on to uh next slide influenza transmission as of April 27th we are in moderate transmission but you can see that um for the Northeast where we are located in Essex it is low next slide and this is customary for the for the year um it's to be expected that flu would go down um but that the fact that it's in still in May is is interesting so uh National takeback National Drug takeback day we held that um on Saturday April 27 thanks to the Maplewood Police Department we were able to collect 32 pounds of unused or expired drugs so incredible work um this is definitely a program and service that is needed uh we just keep collecting at least like 30 pounds every time we go so it's amazing next slide is that we are going to Winchester Gardens with the Maplewood police department they meet at Winchester Gardens um at least once a month so they've invited us to speak on safe medication practices so we'll be providing that on Tuesday May 21st where they'll learn about safe medication practices and the risk of medication misuse we're also looking for um a senior member for our Municipal Alliance so hopefully we will find one there next slide you've you uh we just want to always include information on four ways to get n lockstone and the next slide we'll talk about um opioid overdoses and the trainings that are available once six times a month and then we have the make the right call slide is our last slide for the evening always trying to let people know that we have uh those four numbers which are available for emergency Mental Health crisis social services and poison control thank you thank you so much do any of my colleagues have any questions for Miss dport Mr DeLuca thank you uh I was speaking to a Nelson Place resident who is having some issues again with the Maplewood beverage Packers Noise Okay um what is the best course of action there report a complaint through G pilot and then we'll register that and go and visit the site um how about if I give him your phone number and you you can defin I think he's tried that before with regional health and uh oh with yeah and he hasn't been satisfied because he's out working and he actually um has a position in town that he works sometimes nighttime so he's out and about here and there so I'll give him yourct a longstanding issue yeah issue I'll be happy to take care of that so it's the Maplewood beverage Packers yeah the Arizona IST supposedly they have a piece of Machinery they got and it's causing more noise and backups of trucks and all that stuff okay yeah I'll I'll um be happy to talk to okay the resident thank you anyone else have any questions from Miss dport I guess in that same strain there's been a few compliment complaints from residents near wreckers in regards to trucks idling they can continue to do it and the air quality um actually that was something that one of the residents actually recommended is could we have a study of air quality in that neighborhood because um we've had one child already hospitalized and when they came home the minute they drove through the area they started having respiratory issues again absolutely okay right so trucks idling on Rucker Street okay we will get on that as well okay thank you very much for those I have a question so a while back we uh successfully completed a community health assessment specific to Maplewood um has that information been made widely available to the public we have I believe made a report uh provided a report on it our Board of Health um and it was included in the master plan information but we can put it out again um with our main findings and then the three initiatives that came out that are coming out of that right because you know as Deputy Mayor kpe just mentioned um I wonder if I wonder if we can use the assessment that was done to um delineate specific vulnerabilities in different parts of town so that we could um with our policy decision decisions and other things that we do um address those vulnerabilities right like is air quality and respiratory issues in in that part of town is that something you're not going to remember offhand of course uh but you know these are the kinds of things that I think a lot of work went into the community health assessment and it's one of the reasons why we got a healthy Town designation worked really hard on that so I think we should you know spotlight these and find ways to uh specifically address them and to make us aware of them so that we're not unintentionally with initiatives that we move forward we're not wrong places or not targeting the right yeah that we're not having unintended consequences right okay yeah we we can also use our community health dashboard data right for that as well because that really brings us down to a more granular neighborhood area so we can look at those more closely and I can give report next month on that that would be great yeah thank you super any other questions from Miss Davenport then we invite the public to ask our health officer some questions Mr warry will help facilitate that if any members of the public joining us on Zoom would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now I see no hands Miss angle awesome so our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday June 5th and I move to adjourn our Board of Health SC yes Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes mayor Adams yes angle yes thank you very much good back to you mayor thank you thank you st for okay we move on to ordinances on Final passage just ordinance on Final passage ordinance uh number 3117 d24 it's item number nine on your agenda calendar year 2024 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank per njsa 48 44514 this ordinance authorizes an increase in budget to a 3.5% over the previous year's final Appropriations subject to certain exceptions this ordinance has been published copies posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building and copies made available in the general public in accordance with the law is there anyone who would like to speak on this ordinance Mr weary can you look online if any members of the public would like to speak on this ordinance please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor seeing none is there any dis oh I have to move it I move this ordinance be adopted as a whole the clerk be directed to publish the same as a pass ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange News Record according to law I second it was there any discussion by my colleagues in committee on this ordinance okay then right yes Mr daffis yes Luca yes zle yes mayor Adams yes thank you and next Bond ordinance uh yes mayor also on Final Bond ordinance number 3118 there's 24 blond ordinance providing for various Capital Improvements in and by the township of Maplewood in the county of Essex New Jersey appropriating the aggregate amount of 7,745 $110 therefore and authorizing the issuance of 7,400 8,060 in bonds or notes of the township to finance Port of the cost thereof okay this ordinance has been published copies posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building and copies made available to the general public in accordance with the law is there anyone who would like to speak on this ordinance Mr wary if any members of the public joining us on Zoom would like to speak on this ordinance please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor thank you I move this ordinance be adopted as a whole in the clerk be directed to publish the same as a passed ordinance in the Maplewood South Orange News Record according to law I second the motion is there any discussion okay m c yes Mr daffis yes Mr DeLuca yes angle yes mayor Adams yes thank you we have an introduction of a new ordinance just on introduction item number 10 ordinance number 3120-mu activities events sponsored by the township of mwood this ordinance creates a code of conduct for all youth activities and events sponsored by the township of mwood Mayor I move the pass of this ordinance on first reading its publication according to law in the Maplewood South Orange News Record and a public hearing to be held on May 21st 2024 I have a second yes the second thaton m c yes daffis yes Luca yes zingle yes mayor Adams yes thank you may resolution to read budget by title resolution 161 d24 is a resolution to read the budget by title are you supposed to read the script aren't you suppos H that was what about the first part yeah the first part starting again starting again she's looking at us uction okay it's all good mayor this is a Time fixed for the public hearing on the 2024 Municipal budget the budget was approved by the governing body on April 2nd 2024 was advertised as required by law on April 25th 2024 together with notice of hearing for this time printed copies have been made available to the public right on this desk and during the past week and a supply is here for anyone Desiring a copy anyone who has not secured a copy of the budget may do so now on Miss Britton's desk okay mayor I have a resolution regarding the reading of the budget by title only and that now is resolution 161 D 24 resolution to read budget by title I offer the forgoing resol resolution and move its adoption I second the motion resolution is adopted we have to vote on it vote you have to vote on it first we vote on [Laughter] it yes the script needs some work yes it does yes fangle yes may Adams yes Okay resolution is adopted yay we could even put a word the in front of it um before opening this hearing I wish to outline the procedure each person Desiring to be heard will raise their hand on zoom and give their his or her name and address before speaking I will recognize one speaker at a time in order of raising their hand on Zoom as nearly I can determine address all questions to the chair where necessary they will be referred to individual members of the governing body or Municipal officials questions must be confined solely to the municipal budget before us school or County matters are not proper subjects of this hearing and cannot be discussed or answered here tonight I now declare open the public hearing for the 2024 Municipal budget is there anyone on Zoom who is would like to speak there's if any members of the public joining us on Zoom would like to speak in public portion regarding the 2024 Municipal budget please raise your hand now I see no hands mayor all right observing no further comment or questions I'll entertain a motion to close the hearing Miss angle mayor I have a resolution to present at this time amending the municipal budget of the Year 2024 however I think just asked us to motion I move we close the public hearing right we got to close the hearing I second now got take a vote Yes yes Mr dafish yes Luca yes M angle yes mayor Adams yes Miss Angle now mayor I have a resolution to present at this time amending the municipal budget for the year 2024 the clerk will read the resolution R1 164-1 okay that's going to be about three pages I have to read this in full yes okay so read it loudly and clear so bear with me it's uh resolution number 164-1 resolution to amend the 2024 budget whereas the local Municipal budget for the year 2024 was approved on the second day of April 2024 and whereas the public hearing on said budget has been held as advertised and whereas it is desired to amend said approved budget now therefore beat resolved by the township committee Township mwood County of essic state of New Jersey that the following amendments to the approved budget of 2024 be made uh General revenues um Surplus anticipated from $2,255 th000 even to 2,259 668 even total Surplus anticipated from 2 million $255,000 even to 2,259 668 even miscellaneous revenues section f special items of General Revenue anticipated with prior written consent to the director of local government services public and private revenues offset with Appropriations unappropriated reserves so uh recycling tonnage Grant $3,586 safe and secure Grant 26333 75 bulletproof vest program $855 12 Emergency Management performance Grant $220,000 even apothecarium private cannabis Grant [Music] 9,590 65 you Tex you drive you pay Grant $2,000 even National op opods settlement fund $1,494 .98 clean communities Grant 30 lead programs Grant $17,700 even New Jersey Health Officers Association Grant $ 35,9 396 total section F special items of General Revenue anticipated with prior written consent to the director of local government services public and private revenues offset with Appropriations this is the from column $467,500 30, $239512 mil2 55,000 even to 2,259 668 even miscellaneous revenues total section F special items of General Revenue anticipated with with prior written consent to the director of local government services public and private revenues 467,000 4451 and two 630,000 $ 22395 total miscellaneous revenues from column4 million 52,800 5 number five subtotal General revenues that's items 1 two three and four from the column 17 1,892 3851 the two column 188 M 60,000 $15 that's P one item six amount to be raised by taxes for support of Municipal budget of local tax for municipal purpose purposes including reserve for uncollected taxes and starting out with the from column and then going to the two column 39 3 39 m231 th000 $668 two 30 39 m231 6635 total amount to be raised by taxes for support of Municipal budget 4,999 2324 two column 4,999 2351 total General revenues from 58 m89 2,417 two 59 M 59,2 456 General appropriation a operations excluded from caps public and private programs offset by revenues unappropriate unappropriated reserves recycling tonnage Grant $3,580 68 safe and secure grant grant 26,33 $33.75 safe and secure Grant $855 12 wait a minute uh okay Emergency Management performance Grant $220,000 even apothecarium private cannabis Grant 9,590 65 you text you TR you drive you pay Grant $2,000 even national opio opioids settlement fund $1,494 198 clean communties Grant 30 cents lead programs Grant $17,700 even New Jersey Health Officers Association $ 35,990 total public and private programs offset by revenue from the from column 47 47124 451 to the two column $633,000 4,699 31075 two 14, 8618 529 detail salaries and wages 3,587 5638 to 3,587 5638 other expenses 10,775 68812 to the two colum 10,885 18337 okay Municipal debt service excluded from caps interest on bonds 2 million $248,700 2,253 45727 total Municipal debt service excluded from caps 6, 95278 two column 66,9 95745 27 cents H2 total General Appropriations for municipal purposes excluded from caps again from the from from a column to the two column 28 23, 65788 3.75 to 23, 825,000 rations excluded from caps 23, 65788 3.75 to the two column 23, 825,000 $5 the two column 5,259 2456 total General Appropriations from column 58 m89 2,417 to the two column 59,0 59 wait a minute 59 59,000 5956 the numbers are running this is Page Three and the final page and I God finish I got this item eight General appropriation summary of Appropriations again we're starting with the from column to the two column summary of Appropriations a operations excluded from caps public and private programs offset by revenues $471,500 33,00 $739 5 public and private programs offet by revenues hold on uh total operations excluded from caps 1,699 31075 to the two column 14 4,861 18529 D Municipal debt service from column is 6,952 789 even two column is 6,957 45727 cents total General Appropriations the from column 58 million 92,7 to the two column 9,549 million 59 million 54,2 456 cents item number 11 Appropriations for swimming pool utility Debt Service payment on bond anticipation notes and capital bonds from 4 $43,000 even two 4,680 wait a minute $1,688 even interest on bonds $13,750 even to $5,650 even be it further resolved that a certified copy of this resolution be uploaded on the fast system the director of the division of local government services for certification of the 2023 local Municipal budget so amended Municipal okay see the numbers are killing me make that 2024 you got this that's written full that's am I right good good good job clerk forson okay Miss Ang I off for the forego resolution and move its adoption Mr de I second the motion right yes we missed I missed a couple of numbers could you go back uh well up Miss yes da yes Mr Duca yes SLE yes yes never allowed that the resolution is adopted um the next thing isn't true is it section two where are we at the bottom at the bottom the last clerk statement down the bottom of your script which work that's not me that's certification of the resolution clerk mayor I will oh I'm sorry all right mayor I will read section two of the adopting resolution for the 2024 budget and I could do that because I know it's easy okay hold on oh this is the first time since in my eight years on the township committee that we have read that like that I yes I wonder if that's a um there's anything that's changed our attorney hey she's trying to get I would ask attorney to reconsider uh that decision for next year um so mayor section two upon do don't read it at all 24 yeah you going to read that I I've read certain parts of this before section two 13-24 be resolved by the township committee Township mwood County vesic uh that the budget here in before set forth is here by adopted and shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated of the sums therein set forth as Appropriations and authorization of the amounts ah I normally read that portion no good yes okay section yeah the section two okay okay I offer the forgoing resolution and move its adoption I a second the mo yes stff yes DeLuca yes zle yes mayor Adams the resolution is adopted blessed be okay you know I I think I think I think we ought to say to folks that this is passing the budget is the most important thing we do yes every year yes and even though we may have joked around a little bit we do take it seriously and the the work that was put into it by our CFO and our administrator was was very significant and so we thank you for that it's on time but don't take the joking around as anything other than maybe we're tired or whatever but we do we do take this seriously and spent a lot of time in hearings and meetings and and putting it together so and we have a I will um no I will say that we I want to emphasize that it is on time um this is if we were notified by the state of certain things in time for us to be on time the changes were very minor and this is the first time in five years I believe that we've passed the budget on Final so in May in May in May yes Kudos finance department and everyone yes so kudos to everyone and kudos to all of us here who put in a lot of work in all of our workshops so thanks everybody for the work and we will talk with our uh Municipal attorney about whether or not what is absolutely necessary to be done each year because I I think it's valid that you know I'm not sure so we'll talk about it Mr wary reports from you is this your like Oney year anniversary by the way today no today not today no mon Maybe May 1 on May 1st it was yeah we miss oh my goodness a happy celebrate that happy anniversary service happy anniversary for being here with us you're still here still here I'm still enjoying it it's the most important having fun having fun that's great good time to mention his tie which the cameras can't see yeah no one gets to see the gorgeousness beautiful okay well my first item was on the budget and so just to Echo the statement of the township committee this is the the most important thing we do all year it's a culmination of a process that started last year and in fact at our finance subcommittee meeting earlier this week we started talking about the 2025 budget yes we did and so that will begin um relatively shortly with some long range planning and and you know this is a long process and so we begin it now but thank you to all the department heads and and their Department staff Finance especially who put this together with the audit and with the help of myself and and the other department heads a lot of balancing of priorities a lot of difficult decisions so thank you to everybody involved into the township committee the second item tonight is the greenway we have a resolution on the agenda approving a shared service agreement with the South Orange Maplewood school district for the uh the installation and maintenance of Greenway on School District property that is through the student parking lot that runs between West Parker and Jefferson so we are excited to have that this is a culmination of a a long process and I think years and years and years of discussion well before my time but uh thankful to be able to to um wrap that up at least in securing um uh securing access through that property but this is now you know we'll start another process of connecting our Greenway here in Maplewood and so that means um through Memorial Park and um through you know some areas probably on denell through the school district property and then up into sh field and connecting with South Orange when they um come through with their portion of the The Greenway South so excited that tonight we are um approving this but understanding that there's a lot more work to be done and looking forward to that as well yeah and I would just add to that that this is uh part of the community agreement with the redeveloper of seven West Parker that is where the funding is coming from for this so it's not taxpayer dollars so much except for the maintenance which should be minimum uh no more than any other public walkway that we maintain um and I want to give uh Committee Member angle uh credit for getting uh along with aneta Palma and um our our department heads that helped with this to kind of push it through to get uh the Board of Education to accept a gift of uh $100,000 and maintenance I just want to clarify that that the $100,000 of the developers paying is for their portion of the greenway so the shared services agreement that's on this agenda is separate so that will have to we will be looking for grant money and other funding to help pay for the greenway the important part was getting the school district to say yes we can build a Greenway or pay a path and the developer can do it so that was the big like win that we had can I ask a follow question though has the has the developer agreement actually been signed because that one has a deadline of like next week right not yet it's been agreed to by the school district but not yet signed by the school dist District I know that the developer is in communication with the district there was an email that um came through either early this week or late last week asking for an update from the district on actually signing it but the district we know has passed it and confirmed with us that they passed it and so we'll work now this week to secure signatures on both our shared service agreement with the district but also ensuring that the developers agreement with the district is executed as well thank you you're welcome than you for all your work Mr warry on this I just want to know that Mr warry has also done a lot of work so thank you thank you it lapses next week right if not executed we have to execute by the 16 yeah yeah we being the school district and the uh and the developer but we'll ensure that it's done we'll do everything we can to move that along okay anything else Mr wory that's all mayor thank you do you have a cake should we have gotten a cake or you can it's not too late it's not too late the whole month is the anniversary all right we'll see about working on it maybe we should make this weary month weary month I like it do a proclamation we'll make it the two weeks of weary yeah part of this month thank you cool Miss cido Township attorney good evening Madame mayor um one item for report tonight the uh perspective amendments to Redevelopment area one and three the Redevelopment plan that we discussed at the last meeting we've had further conversations um with our planner Paul GLE um and there are two additional items that he's reviewing in connection with those prospective amendments the first very simple it's a potential increase to the total number of units in the area as we did add property to the area um so we you know we enlarged it so he will check on that he's also looking at whether we need additional language there's been a question presented about if we allow um top floor units to have a lofted space uh whether we need specific uh approval in the plan for that La space you know with you know some definitions of mezzanine maybe uh some floor area ratio requirements so he's looking at that as well we're expecting to be able to bring something to you on the T and just to clarify that's Redevelopment areas one and three that's what number on Springfield Avenue and then around the corner on Vermont so eight Vermont is property that we just uh added was it 19 I'd have to check on yeah 17 no I don't know I'd have to check on the CR but if you'll give me a minute while miss Fritz's giving sure that would be great yeah I think that's important because general public wouldn't really know what Redevelopment one and three are you bringing that for introduction or discussion it's your information because you went over the changes last time mayor and I think we said we wanted to move forward with it right right and we're waiting for Mr GLE to make those okay so final CH what are we gonna do dramatic in his his review of those two issues place it for introduction at the next meeting there is something that in his review of either of those two issues or his preparation of the plan in general that uh DV substantially okay have you you've spoken to him you anticipate it being ready for next meeting for introduction then we can put it before the planning board yes and then final passage after that correct okay um Township Clerk Miss fritson oh sorry anybody have any questions for our Township attorney nope seeing none Miss priton hey thank you mayor um so uh I'm working currently on Memorial Day which is uh three weeks away and the planning is going well for both parade and uh the ceremony afterwards here uh front on the uh mayor Jerry Ryan Plaza and uh I have an event planning meeting scheduled um Thursday for later this week on Memorial day but uh specifically for any people that are watching our meeting or will follow up and and see it we're encouraging anyone who is interested in marching to please uh go to the website you can fill out a simple questionnaire and uh that's emailed directly to the clerk's office and then we can uh put you in our line of March so um my next item is um just a report that in addition to um Memorial Day we're working on more event planning meetings have somewhere around 8 to 10 to schedule we've scheduled uh half of those already coming up um and then I mentioned to the township committee that we have a filming in the Township tomorrow um so that you would be versed in case you got any questions and thank you um and I see I can talk and talk and talk and reading three pages of resolution was nothing so miss sprit you've contacted the typical um Marchers in the parade and led everyone up yes uh how that runs and it's going to be a little smoother than last year um Mr duuke is really my uh ground boots on the ground that day as far as lining people up but everybody knows in advance what number they are and I think we're getting just from what I'm seeing coming in a lot of Marchers of the same and a lot of new groups a lot of kid groups okay so um again it's going to be uh a success it's going to be uh well attended and it's at 9:00 what's that 9 o'clock on Memorial Day yes the parade kicks off from West Parker at 9:00 am. we uh will have the ceremony here roughly at 10: and uh there will be a contingency plan uh to come inside if need be any questions for Miss britson none okay reports from elected officials Mr TCA thank you mayor I have a few things uh first a number of us had the opportunity to go to Sierra house uh the uh affordable housing uh buildings that we're looking on Tiffany place um so we've been negotiating with Sierra house on an affordable housing agreement uh they are requesting a pilot a payment in Le of taxes uh I don't want to do any negotiation or discussion about anything here now but I would like to get agreement by us that when their application comes in that we send that to our financial analyst so that we don't have to delay another weeks to get there so we can just agree that we'll soon as that comes in we can send that out and get uh that person's analysis and then we can um come back and start negotiating with Sierra house that's fine with me do we need a we don't need any resolution or anything I think we're good yeah same we just authorize our attorney thank you um on the uh same topic of affordable housing we did approve and we did send out a request for expr expression of interest in developing affordable housing in Maplewood uh the rfis are due back on May 15th Wednesday next Wednesday and we sent out 19 of them and we had 20 21 requests so we got 40 of them floating around there so that's robust response so we'll see what happens on the 15 it's great and the idea is that we've asked both nonprofit and for-profit developers to come and talk to us about their interest in developing affordable housing in Maplewood and how we might work as partners we talk do we talk to each one or we no no the affordable housing board will use a ranking system to take a look at these and we'll see how it goes y cool I'll give a couple updates on the engineering Public Works and planning committee we uh on Maple Terrace we've been dealing with the uh issue of the the brook up there the drainage ditch and um we met with the three affected Property Owners we did a site visit and um we're moving along we've discussed with them a new proposal that we believe the will approve both a piping and open Channel system uh we're moving forward with uh finalizing those conversations with the three immediate Property Owners where that are affected by this uh piping open Channel and then we'll have a public meeting at the Woodland with um invitations to residents on Mountain Maple and Berkeley try to get everybody to come sit there and we'll explain what's going on and and how we're going to move move forward um at our last meeting we adopted our Maplewood Community energy plan and tonight we have three resolutions on the agenda on the consent agenda number 170 number 171 and 172 and those are um authorizations to apply to the Board of Public Utilities for implementation of our energy plan and that's for a heat pump at the police and Courts Building and electric vehicle charger at uh public works and that will really be important as we bring on the electric buses we're going to get the senior bus um this summer and then hopefully uh either end of the year beginning of 2025 we'll get the three Jitney electric jitneys and um so we want to have that capacity there and then the last uh application we'll be making is to purchase an electric f vehicle which we have in our capital budget um also at the last meeting we we had a presentation on the stormw utility and um we're going to be doing a deeper discussion of that by the uh engineering Public Works committee uh we did hear the concern about the rates and maybe going with a lower base so we've instructed our Consultants to do that and we'll have some information tomorrow to present um it does uh reduce it um even more for some of the folks and then last Thursday night we had a meeting here it was actually a hybrid here in and on Zoom uh regarding the east branch of the royway river the river walls there and we're talking with them about uh some public private partnership on how we might move forward and getting those River walls uh improved uh not improved but um repaired repaired yeah fixed uh just two other things I want to mention Mayfest is happening on Sunday May 19th on Springfield Avenue between Indiana and ruter and that's from 11:00 a to 5:00 P pm and lastly uh i' mentioned a few meetings ago that the sustainable essics Alliance Energy aggregation program was coming in and um this is something that we've been doing we did it twice before in which Maplewood would we joined with six other municipalities to purchase electricity on behalf of our residents and the idea is that the electricity we would buy is cheaper uh than the electricity charge of psng and it's also Greener the green the content the green content is higher than um psng uh we went out to bid again to see if we could do another um aggregation we received one bid uh it did meet the green threshold so the green threshold is higher than PSG unfortunately the cost is not Al so high uh we say that in order for us to move forward the cost has to be uh at least what psng is charging or lower and this would be higher so we have a resolution um that we'd like to add to the consent agenda this is resolution 18624 and this would be uh item 19y on the consent agenda and I would move that we include this resolution which um just since we like to read resolutions I'll just uh read it quickly um that we did receive bids today um on May 7th and our our analysis uh and we have a consultant the Gable Associates our analysis of it is that again um it is not favorable so the recommendation is that we reject the bid so the res resolution states that the township committee shall make no contract award as a result of the price proposals submitted on May 7th but also that we want to leave the request for proposals open for a period of 120 days and if the pricing changes we would go out and um see if we can do this again so I would move that we put this resolution on the consent agenda second Oh either that or we could approve it now well it's already I already made motion to do cons yeah right yes yes Luca yes ble yes mayor Adams yes thank you anything else okay uh any questions for Committee Member Toca no okay Committee Member Ang you're next thank you um we talked about the greenway already but I just want to acknowledge that the greenway is going to happen because this um Board of Education passed two resolutions at their meeting last Thursday one to approve the developer contract that we just talked about and the second to approve the shared services agreement that we just talked about um so I'm really excited that after more than 15 years of Maplewood and South Orange and more community members talking about having this path along the river it's actually G to get built um I know Kathy lenthal former deputy mayor was working on this a long time ago so it's really exciting to know that we're finally moving forward and I thank our colleagues on the board of education and our colleagues in South Orange for all your help um to get this done um next is um we just approved our budget so that means we're going to be hiring a part-time public information officer so I'm mentioning that here because the job description is being written and will be posted so if any community members are listening and are interested you know stay tuned um third uh pool registration is open so I want to remind all our residents to sign up to join the pool it's super fun for families for adult adult for kids for seniors um all abilities um swim lesson information will be coming soon um and we are still hiring lifeguards for the pool as well so if anyone's interested they can um submit um and look online for that information and then my last thing is um July 4th festivities Mr Deluca and I are on that committee and um we would like your our residents help so if anyone's interested in helping out with the 4th of July we do have a committee um that we would like to put together and so um just um you can apply through Maplewood nj.gov or you can reach out to me personally for more information thank you okay any questions from Miss Ango no I just want to know do we know when the pool is opening do we have a uh confirmation on any date is it gonna still shooting for right now we have confirmed that we will open by Father's Day weekend but we are working towards opening earlier and we'll make that announcement as soon as it's confirmed I would expect will be in a position to make that announcement in the next week okay thank you thank you Miss uh committee Deputy Mayor C all right thank you um we have quite a few things um uh we have applications that we need available for people to join our rec advisory committee as well as the youth advisory committee well Boardman you saw earlier today we've appointed the first person so we're hoping that we'll actually have a lot more youth in the community interested in joining and learning how to support initiatives that are of their of importance for them so please go on to the website at our our Township and apply um also we need to update that ordinance I'm just gon to throw that out there um as far as ages because we'd love to extend that to be something that include more of our middle school students but we'll discuss that later um our Mother's Day luncheon for our seniors committee is going to be tomorrow um May the 8th at 12:00 noon at the Woodland so um we would love to celebrate Mother's Day with all of the local Moms come on out and have a little dinner with that a little lunch and stuff it's for seniors but I'm pretty sure if somebody younger and wanted to come in would be as a mom I don't think they'd be turned away um our 87th 87 people annual Garden Club plant sale is this weekend and I'm blown away at the fact that this organization has been around for a very long time and supported our community not only with this fundraiser but they're the ones that take care of the green houses the gardens they help with the Durant Hen House herb garden they help out with uh Dickens Village there's a lot of things that the Garden Club does so if you have not already gotten into your yards or haven't bought enough stuff for your yard please come out to the Maplewood municipal pool the community pool on uh the 9th from 9:00 amm to 8:00 p.m. on the 10th from 12: to 8:00 p.m. or on the 11th from 8 amm to 400 p.m and I am working one of those shifts as a member of the Garden Club so I have to look at my phone I don't know exactly what day it is but if you go to their website Maplewood Garden club.org if you scroll down to the bottom after you click on the plant sale you'll find a coupon so save a little money while you're out there getting stuff that you need for um the beautification of your guard um happy Mother's Day to everyone coming this Sunday um there will be uh s stage is having a a Broadway in the park uh event called songs about motherhood so there are going to be 14 I believe Broadway performers singing songs about motherhood in the Parks it's free to the public but if you'd like to toss 15 bucks in the Hat that's a suggested donation um it starts at 4:30 Ins at 6:30 and just bring your chairs your blankets and come on out um finally the weather is improving and we want to REM remind people when they're getting outside enjoy the parks to do so safely if you bring food or trash in the park put it in the cans or take it home with you keep your dogs on your leashes tennis and Bickle ball courts are for those Sports not for skateboarding and biking and to help keep the parks enjoyable for everyone because kids are out on our bikes there adults are out on their bikes people are running around and trying to get more outside activities so if you're in a hurry take a moment leave earlier from your house and drive slower we want everyone to stay safe in Maplewood and that is my report mayor thank you very much yeah there's a lot going on it's a time of year any questions for Deputy Mayor K okay we'll move on to Committee Member Deus thank you mayor uh I first have a question for administrator warry um I didn't get to ask a question during his report if I may so administrator warry I wanted to call your attention to one of our resolutions on the consent agenda this evening specifically item 19n like Nancy 174-pound here is the awesome firm Dynamic uh um so is this a new redesign uh because there was a there was an initial proposal a couple of years ago that went way over budget and then we asked them to redesign which they did scaled back significantly is this now a third redesign no this is just because the so the contract was originally awarded in 2021 for $75,600 the same design exists but the work has increased so they're $116,000 over the original contract amount or the the proposed work will be $166,000 over the original contract amount so it's the same scope but additional work got it and we don't have a date yet in terms of scheduling the work no but we are hoping that it'll be done late summer this year we'll follow up and I I expect we'll talk about this we have it on the agenda for tomorrow to put some on it yeah okay because otherwise it's going to go into never Neverland yeah we've been talking about it forever and now we have new Merchants we have to re-explain it to and so on and so forth okay thank you for that and thank you mayor for your courtesy allow me to ask a question um so my report uh first and foremost I very pleased to be back in the chair in service of the community um recovering really well and I should be 100% in a month or so and I remain IM immensely grateful for all of the love and support well wish is during this time they really have gotten me through uh as the mayor just noted this is a very busy time in the Township in terms of events uh the weather is getting nicer we're going to be out there and there's a lot to celebrate our pride planning is close to being finalized and already we put out a notice or two about uh a couple of the awesome things that we usually do for instance lavender graduation is on June 13th at 6: p.m. at MMS Auditorium this year not at CHS because of the stage issues there and it will be followed as we do every year by the lavender prom at the Woodland later that evening and we should be promoting our equality March flag raising Proclamation and youth Pride picnic uh that uh traditionally is our annual tradition it happens the first Sunday of every June and it truly opens pride in the township this year it's on June 2nd starting at 11:00 a.m. and we'll be uh promoting that in the coming days and if you haven't seen the lawn size lawn signs uh North Jersey pride has announced and has been heavily marketing The Pride Festival in the Park Memorial Park uh for Sunday June 9th starting at noon juneth planning is also close to being finalized with a special uh Proclamation and wreath placing ceremony by the memorial at Town Hall on the actual day Wednesday June 19th we'll provide more information about timing and all that soon uh and a fabulous celebration starting late in the afternoon on Friday June 21st uh and uh we're going with a uh Derby style kind of event and food so dress up and we'll um be sharing those details soon and I want to just note that it's been a real pleasure planning juneth uh for our two towns this year with deputy mayor kripe who um has had really great ideas and we also want Tok Bank in Pride in juneth and all the events that we're doing uh our incredible uh new arts and culture manager zakiya Williams and the support that we've been getting uh from Administration Administration both administrator warry and assistant administrator Jones thank you both for your support the Maplewood Village Alliance continues its strategic revisioning sessions as I've noted before in my reports they they've been using the 2018 iic revisioning that was done by local planning Services of DCA uh and they realized they didn't need to do a new one because that one was still pretty current uh but the good news is that a lot of the stuff that was recommended in that strategic revisioning for our little downtown Village uh have been done but there are a few items remaining that um The Village Alliance is specifically focusing on namely improved wayf finding beautification landscaping and parking in particular how to Pilot a phased in paid parking model during peak hours uh and we're on that soon as detail details emerge and we're encouraging them the Maplewood of Village Alliance to uh make a presentation to the township Committee in the coming months excuse me as our planner Paul gel continues drafting the Maplewood Village Redevelopment plan as based on the community feedback that we received from the two public sessions he will be meeting with the MVA as an important stakeholder in a special meeting with them for this month for their input and feedback and uh come on out on Sunday Mother's Day uh there a lot going on in town on Sunday on Mother's Day lots of options the uh Small Wonder Outdoor Marketplace event that's very popular that we do every year uh in Maplewood Village was rained out on Sunday this past Sunday and has been rescheduled for this Sunday starting uh at 10:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. so come on out and buy Mom something special there you go spend money local Merchants need us um and then lastly uh I wanted to note that with the introduction of our new code of conduct ordinance this evening as it pertains to um youth activities sponsored by the town ship we're getting closer if we're not already at uh nearly getting a perfect score in our Municipal equality rating we will do another assessment but this along with some recent other initiatives that we've implemented including a recent lgbtq plus specific employee training and uh naming our assistant administrator Miss Jones as our Township's a affirmative officer Le on to the township um are important initiatives bringing us closer to um Maplewood being a near perfect uh community in terms of equality and inclusion um and that is my report mayor thank you thank you any questions for Committee Member daus okay all right I have just since everybody covered the calendar for the next week month um I did want to uh gather uh my Township committee colleagues to um consider um allowing us to move forward with an appraisal for our the property we own in um that is behind or J actually it's part of the Maplewood movie theater Redevelopment area um it's something that eventually we're going to have to do um we do know that there is uh the owner of the movie theater building has been talking to a lot of different people and had someone has made an offer on the property um so we just foresee like let's get this taken care of so that we know if if it becomes part of any Redevelopment plan this piece of property that we own we want to know what it's praised for so that we can properly talk to anybody that ends up coming to us that's wise are you moving it well yeah was first a second a second yeah okay yes hurry 926 I said yes s daffis yes DeLuca yes zle yes mayor Adams yes thank you moving on we have a discussion item one discussion item mayor do we need to move the meeting past 9:30 second I was hoping not to have to but it's great yes daffis yes LCA yes Zangle yes mayor Adams yes thank you budget reading I was gonna try to move this I know public com we were gonna make it minutes we were gonna make it but for the budget reading okay Mr DeLuca so at the last meeting we had on for discussion the um historic preservation ordinance demolition review process which is something new uh there was a uh concerned by the township committee that we put some dates on the second aspect the first aspect is you put a permit in and then the HPC has 45 days to determine if there's [Music] um that the structure may be worthy and then there was no time period so then we said if it if it deems that the structure may be worthy then they have another 45 days to um decide whether to to um do the nomination process do the nomination proposal so it puts some time on it so that it isn't just drawn out okay uh as we were discussing this there was an issue that came up about a time of application provision and that basically means that when you apply for permit that that's what you're governed by so if you apply for a permit and then later on the township committee uh doign at your house as a historic structure does that change that time of application process so we had a conversation with our attorneys um M cido uh uh our director of Community Development who's also an attorney and was helpful and then uh she spoke to um our attorney for the planning board and board of adjustment and all of us are on the same page that we didn't think that this was was um a problem uh and then you've checked with your colleagues and Europe off and you can certainly explain this there was one issue that did come up and then we went and took a look a little deeper dive on the Westfield and that is um for properties that come before the planning or zoning board and they get approval on a plan and then someone goes for a permit with that approval that they really can't have sort of a double jeopardy that they have to go for sure the HPC so any any concern that the planning or zoning boards would have about historic preservation would have to be dealt with prior so we would want to put some language in there that that sort of mimics the Westfield ordinance that says a procedures set forth herein shall not apply to any property subject to an application for development before the planning or zoning board which really makes sense because the you know the time of application rule is mostly applied to you know site plan subdivision variance applications and the concern in putting forth the ordinance that we don't want to have sort of an unintended demolition of a building value and character that'll contribute to the community but in the circumstance where they've received planning or zoning approval before that's at least it's been discussed in a public forum there's been input there's been you know opportunity to be heard by The Neighbors um and so if they've come in and received those approvals and by their nature they would require a demolition of 50% or more of a principal structure place the structure Etc um you know we really can't in good conscience and later say well wait now we want to think about whether we should take it to HBC when you come get your demolition permit later so basically if it's going before a Project's going before for planning or zoning board then we don't hit them later with whatever is approved corre so that sort of like the the issues we've had in the past where Springfield Avenue partnership hasn't we we've now changed that that they get we did it for one we did it for one thing for one project so there's nothing that would stop the planning board from asking the HPC to give them their opinion do we as part of the process do we have a HBC Lea on we do not on the planning board correct no no no okay no you don't want that so if everyone's okay with this with you know the changes of that we made to with the 45 days and the inclusion of this language then miss cido can uh prepare it for introduction at our next meeting can you summarize then where we're ending up 50% um so if you have a a property that is uh 50% or more Demolition and you go for a permit for the main structure for the main structure then uh the construction official will send that request to the HPC the HPC has 45 days to determine if there may be some significance if there's no significance they just sign off on it and no further action and the construction official can uh issue the permit if there is uh potentially some significance then there'd be another 45 day period to really do a little bit more of a dive into the property and then go back to the HPC and then the HPC has to take a vote as per the underlying ordinance that they are going to move forward with a nominating proposal and how long do they get to do that that's un that's there's no nothing in the law nothing in the ordinance right now that uh puts a timeline on that because it's very extensive it's an extensive process it's an extens you have to do all kinds of research and deed you know search and um so it takes time and you know you're dealing with volunteers I think in the past we have hired some folks to help us but um there's no time period right now for that and and also just to there's the whole reason for one of the wanting the delay is so that no historicly significant building gets torn down without looking at it and and conceivably if um that whoever wants to do any work on this and wants to just you know demolish 50% or more could change their plans alter their plans and then so that they're not demoing that there is a there is a provision in this review process for an informal review right I remember I think that if someone's coming and saying oh you know tear down half the house and then there's an informal review and they come back and say well I'm only going to tear down 40% then then they can move forward got it okay uh fantastic and then but we're excluding from this time timing um development that is going through the planning board and Zoning Board properties that have previously received planning or Shing of approval that contemplates the demolition of the property got it okay yeah and that's what I mean last October at the HPC Retreat we had a the I think it was mayor Westfield or no it was the chair of the HPC in Westfield who came and we talked about all this issues and the board board discussion was um planning or zoning board was kind of an important inclusion so and the one thing you mentioned about the adus so we made this just for the primary structure right I remember that too do a major renovation or demolition half of your garage you could do that in order to build out more but even an attached one too right what' you say attached to a garage or to a house to well to a house yeah it's you're not long as you're not demolishing it right adding to it right is that going to trigger it because an Adu can be attached or detached yeah okay great Okay so is this ready to be put on first reading I think so all right we're AG line then we never have to talk about it again ever sure we will thinking okay so we're to the consent agenda may I get a motion Mr Duca I move the consent agenda second second hit sorry no it does matter right yes raish yes Luca yes angle yes mayor Adams yes thank you this time for uh any subject matter public comment seeing no one in the room other than us Pickens then uh Mr weary is there anyone on Zoom who would like to talk with us if any members of the public would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now and you'll be promoted to panelist I'm now promoting Joan Crystal to panelist hi Miss Crystal welcome to public portion you may unmute yourself and address the committee thank you I just want to make one correction to what was said earlier the Mother's Day lunch is a senior event which requires an age range of 55 to 105 so you can't go well I'm going because I'm doing the ruction so glad you're still younger anyone else thank you for that clarification M Crystal Crystal I'm now promoting Anna zavo to panelist miss aavo welcome to public portion you may unmute yourself and address the committee hello my name is Anna aavo I'm a 47e resident of Maplewood um in mam Moore's latest song called H and tall he asks what are you willing to risk what are you willing to give what if you were in Gaza what if those were your kids you'd want the world to stand up and the students finally did all the profets for his song are going to the unrwa I'm going to play it for you now free Palestine copy written music you can't do that yeah I appreciate we we understand your point we heard your message but I don't think we can play any music yeah attorney cido bar is fre when I thank you for your comment [Music] okay is it three minutes up yet no we cannot hear the we cannot hear it the audio has gone out yeah it's not picking it up where are we at don't keep us yeah the song's over I think really three minutes is not okay when was the last time you changed your battery it's an iPhone yeah the song's over fre Palestine pass the damn resolution they're killing everyone in Rafa right now thank you Mr zetto if any other members of the public would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now I'm moving Luis Wilson to panelist welcome to public portion Miss Wilson you may unmute yourself and address the committee you have 3 minutes to speak hi I wanted to read a post by the Jewish voice for peace about um what's happening in Rafa right now in Gaza um after displacing nearly two million Palestinians in Rafa enforcing over a 100,000 in eastern Rafa to flee again the Israeli government is continuing to manufacture several catastrophes as Palestinians endured genocide children in Gaza are dying of heat stroke um and um this loss will continue as long as the United States sustains the Israeli government's genocide of Palestinians the Israeli military created a crisis of displacement by indiscriminately bombing all of Gaza destroying over 80% of all structures it created a fullblown blown famine by deliberately defunding unra and making it impossible for the majority of Aid trucks to enter Gaza and destroying gaza's Health Care system as we enter the eth month of Israeli genocide and as the invasion of Rafa Begins the Israeli government has created yet another crisis surviving a heat wave the sweltering heat is exacerbating the other atrocities facilitated by the Israeli government Muhammad fiad a displaced far pharmacist who started selling medications from a tent he built out of wooden slabs explains 50% of the medicines for chronic diseases are not available because we do not have any source of power to keep them cool last night the Israeli military took control of the Rafa Crossing making it impossible for life-saving Aid to reach the nearly 2 million Palestinians who depend on it Israeli soldiers also forced doctors and patients inside Rafa's Abu yusf al- naar hospital to flee with nowhere to go the deaths of gaza's most vulnerable that will result from all the Israeli government's manufactured crisises are entirely preventable but they will continue as long as the Biden Administration allows them to and all us funning to his rally military now and I guess with my my remaining time I'll just read you some uh tweets that I've I've seen in the last few days uh this one says my colleague in Rafa said today that she woke her six-month-old baby up in the middle of the night to play with a heavy bombardment she thought it would be their last night alive if this would be my last night at least I got the chance to hug my daughter for the last time um Israel has shut down one of the only hospitals in Gaza still providing dialysis cancer and pre-existing conditions treatment for Palestinians another one is today I saw a Palestinian man pick up pieces of Flesh to put in a body bag a child's lifeless body pulled from the rebel and a little girl being carried with a blood soaked face then I saw American students get arrested by Riot police with batons all for protesting this horror another one Relentless Israel bombing of all over the Gaza Strip Rafa is under an indiscriminate bombing please conclude your comment and uh yeah please pass a ceasefire resolution please talk to Garnet Hall please talk to Mikey Cheryl please uh this is the awful thank you very much Miss Wilson if any other members of the public would like to speak in public portion please raise your hand now I see no other hands mayor thank you I'd take a motion to adjourn second right yes daff yes Luca yes yes thank you yes uh we'll see you on May 21st for our next TC meeting good night good night