on the draft agenda were also posted on our township website. Please all stand to the flag of America to the republic for it stands nationisible
with liberty and justice for all please >> Mr. Common >> here >> Mr. Costco >> here >> Mr. Cerudo >> here >> Mr. Stoer >> present. >> Mayor Sakamandandy >> here. >> Thank you. >> Great. Before we continue, tonight is the night scheduled for the second
reading and public hearing of ordinance 2728-26, an ordinance designating the Woodfield Dor Hills Estate as a historic district. Last week, we received a petition from residents of the neighborhood opposing the designation. However, in the days that followed, some signitories have
reached out to retract their names from that petition. I've also heard from residents who have expressed concern that inaccurate information about the potential historic destination has been circulating in the neighborhood and that some residents have felt pressure in how they were approached about signing the petition. Given that residents are still
actively reassessing their positions and given the importance of ensuring that everyone in the affected neighborhood has the opportunity to make a fully informed decision based on accurate information, I believe is in the best interest of the community to allow additional time. I therefore move to
adjourn the second reading and public hearing of ordinance 2728-26 April 21st. May I have a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? >> The motion passes. May I have a motion?
>> Thank you, Mr. Collin. Mr. Cosgrove. >> Hi. >> Mr. Cerudo. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stler. >> Affirmative to push to prolong. Yes. >> Mayor second. Mandy. >> Yes. >> Thank you.
>> April 21st. >> So for anyone here for that ordinance public hearing, this is your notice that that meeting won't be heard. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> April 21st. >> April 21st will be the news. This is your notice of that public hearing. >> Oh my god. All right. Um, may I have a
motion to approve the agenda as amended? >> Take a Thank you. approve the February 3rd, 2026 Township Committee regular meeting minutes. >> May I read the agenda again, please? >> Oh, okay. Sure. >> May I have a motion to approve the
agenda as amended? >> Motion. >> I have a second. >> All those in favor? Any opposed? Thank you. >> I have a motion to approve the February 3rd, 2026 Township Committee regular meeting minutes.
May I have a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? >> The extensions. I have a motion to approve the February 3rd, 2026 Township Committee special meeting minutes. Have a second. All those in favor?
>> Any opposed? Any extensions? >> All right. Reports. Before I begin my reports, I want to recognize the extraordinary efforts of our DPW, police, fire, and first aid squads uh who during last week's historic storm.
For snowball totals not seen in over 30 years, this was a genuine test for our community's resilience and our dedicated employees met the challenge. They worked around the clock under dangerous conditions to keep our roads passible and our residents safe. I
went out Monday afternoon to survey the response firsthand and I was genuinely impressed by how well all of our roads had already been cleared and the work didn't stop when the snow did. Our DPW crew spent days after the blizzard widening ground clear sidewalks and
ensuring Melbourne got back on its feet. I also want to recognize our business administrator for his outstanding coordination of the overall storm response which made a real difference in how quickly and effectively our town was able to react. The response clearly did not go unnoticed. I received a steady
stream of compliments from residents expressing how impressed they were with how our township handled the storm. Our municipal employees represent the very best of what public service looks like and this community is so fortunate to have them. Last Wednesday, Committeeman Cerudo,
businesses administrator McDonald and I had an important meeting with County Executive Joe Devenenzo and other county leadership. This continues the work the committeeman Stler initiated last year when he held the first in-person meeting between our VA members of the TC and county leadership in over a decade. And
I want to acknowledge him for reestablishing that relationship. Our conversation focused on ways the county can give back to Milbury given that our residents contribute approximately 50 million annually in county taxes. We discussed a variety of topics, but I
want to highlight one in particular, flood mitigation. We discussed the roadblocks to the Orange River bypass project that are being imposed by the state DPW and expressed our desire for the county to see if there's anything they can do about that. The highlight of the meeting, however, was the Earth &
Dam proposal for the South Mountain Reservation developed by Charlie Bambber and members of the flood mitigation advisory. This was the county executive's first exposure to the idea and he was genuinely intrigued by the potential for it to provide a permanent flood mitigation solution. Dr. for
Milbour but for down school communities as well and committed to giving the proposal a thorough review and potentially advocating on our behalf at the state and federal levels to help move it forward. In the past when the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a 70 foot concrete dameno
and many others were opposed to that and that effort went county by >> yeah as long as that stays open. >> Thank you. >> Getting county buying for ecologically friendly earth and dam flood water
detention solution is a critical step of helping to try to push it forward. The topic of the mayor's railway river coalition came up as well. We indicated that we would be reviving that coalition and asked for the county support on that as well. I would like Committee Subo and business administrator McDonald
elaborate uh more on the details of the rest of the meeting during their reports. I also want to mention a community event that took place on February 22nd. More than a 100 residents participated in ICE and Milbour, a webinar organized by the Milbourne Immigration Information Group,
independent bipartisan volunteer group of community members formed with a clear purpose to provide residents with accurate fact-based information about immigration law and residents legal rights regarding enforcement activity should it occur in our community. I want to be clear that this was an entirely
independent uh was entirely independent of the township and the township committee. Special recognition goes to Gene Pastnac and Jorge Master Pietro for their leadership in spearheading this effort along with other community members, myself included, who helped bring it together from the ground up. I
had the honor of delivering the opening remarks on the day of the event. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Senators McKe and Graham for lending their expertise as analysts and to our other participants and to the more than a hundred residents who engaged
thoughtfully on what was undeniably a complex and often emotional topic. If you want to watch the webinar recording, you may do so at www.wwesttoart.org EC. The EC had a special meeting via Zoom on February 20th where they passed a resolution urging the TC and the BOE
to cease funding synthetic uh field projects. Finally, I want to address something briefly as a number of residents have reached out about tonight's CDC ordinance with concerns that people are being removed from CEDA. That is not what is happening. Any resident who wishes to serve on the new
committee is welcome to do so. My fellow committee members and I have committed to opening volunteer opportunities for all qualified applicants. What is happening is this. For six years, CEDA failed to meet basic requirements of its own governing resolution. No reorganization, no properly elected
chair, no secretary, no minutes. That is a failure of transparency and accountability that exposed this township to real reputational risk. This township committee has a fiduciary duty to act. Later tonight, we will fulfill this duty with the introduction of a new ordinance to replace CEDA. We will
discuss this in full during the ordinance reading, but residents deserve the complete picture before public comment begins. And with that, I will now turn it over to Committee Van Stler so he can deliver his reports. Committ Stler. >> Thank you, friends. Mayor,
>> uh, let's start with the recreation committee. Uh, spring and, uh, summer registration is still open. Pool, got golf, tennis memberships are open. Uh you have to get them before May 1st to get your free guest pass if you so choose. Uh annual egg hunt will be in
Taylor Park scheduled for May 21st at 10:00 a.m. All are welcome. Uh special improvement district. Um the big promo at the moment is bird bingo with the Corora hardshore arboritum. Um, so if you want to participate in a in a bird
bingo, be sure to reach out and look at Explore Milbur's website for all the valuable details on that. Uh, BOE, uh, actually I was speaking to Abigail Spouse, but the girls varsity basketball team advanced last night in the state tournament. Uh, place was
packed. Uh, and then the boys unfortunately varsity basketball team Mo lost a nailbiter. A big congratulations to both teams. Uh what else we got here? Uh joint facilities on fields. We had a meeting today uh this morning uh midday
uh to discuss all the fields coming out of the winter and the harsh winter it's been at that. Uh all of the grass fields remain unplayable for the foreseeable future. Obviously due to inclement weather uh the turf fields we'll be removing the covers and those should be
available uh by the end of the week. Open Space Tax Fund Advisory Board. We had a a meeting on Monday evening. Last Monday evening, uh discussion was discussed, went over the the matrix, the rubric to look at different project,
etc. I had some great guest speakers from Madison. I had a lot of the public speak, but it was a very good meeting. Um I said I would report back on my uh commute into Manhattan using New Jersey Transit. Uh what a disaster. I tell you
right now, um, two and a half hours in, couple hours back, I did it two days in a row. Ended up now just driving in and taking that. But everybody, please be patient. We had good discussions with them. They had their ambassadors out here. Uh but with the weather combined
with the increased traffic and the worst part is getting to to Hoboken and then being three deep on the on the platform to get on the path to 33rd and you're literally waiting for three trains. Not fun. Um affordable housing I'll defer to
council when that comes up if it comes up. Those are my reports. Mayor, >> thank you Cohen. >> Yeah. Well, thank you uh many solar for bringing up birdino the arborita. Um it's a it's a joint project. Thank
explore Milburn for helping and providing some uh some uh entry to some of the the merchants. Basically, you know, you can get a bingo card, you stop by a merchant, you fill if you fill out the card with in the line just like bingo, it qualifies you to enter into a
prize drawing. Um the planning board met the day after our last terms of committee meeting and the the four resolutions that were required in support of our round four uh fair fair share housing obligation were deemed to be not inconsistent with the master plan
as was the um the declaration of the Woodfield neighborhood as potentially historic. That's also considered not so not inconsistent with the master plan. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Costco. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, no report
other than um the zoning advisory board continues its work. Uh, for those of you new to the zoning advisory committee, um, it we're looking at all the zoning ordinances in town and trying to tweak them where they need to be tweaked and update them where they need. So there
are there are some um some ordinances on the on the agenda tonight that are coming from the zoning review board. Thank you. >> Uh good even. >> Yeah, good evening. Uh want to first
start um by just acknowledging a township president AI Aurora. Anyone who uh tuned in last night was on The Voice, Milbour High Grad. Um an extraordinary singer and is going to be on John Legend's uh team with The Voice. So,
congratulations to him. Uh regarding Milbourne 250, there's uh three amazing activities going on this month, two at the library on the 17th and 26th. I see Miss Kelly in the audience who uh is of course on our team. So, please go to milburn250.org
um and follow along. There's also a hike on March 28th, which is amazing. Um, we had a meeting with Joint 911 dispatch um and uh just talking about our continued partnership with the city of
Summit um regarding uh the Essex County meeting with Mayor Sackinandi. And I do want to also commend uh committeeman Stler for starting that process last year. You know, it was great to be part um of uh you know, sort of this movement to
communicate, to open lines of communication to ensure that we have a seat at the table. You know, we're one of 22 municipalities and we give uh the second most to uh the county after the largest city in the state. So, to add to the mayor's report, the county has
agreed to partner with us on pedestrian safety and key intersections, angled parking, new crosswalks. We discussed plowing um and uh and paving projects. One of the big things um which seems like a small thing but is permanent gates at Brookside Drive which is closed
on Sunday. So the county has agreed to work with us on uh on putting in permanent gates um as opposed to the temporary barriers that we see now. So, you know, Frank, Ben, and I obviously started the process, but I think as a whole, we all want to uh make sure that
we're not we're not stopping the fight for county services. Um that, you know, we're obviously paying for and establishing regular communication. Uh you know, was it was great to see Mr. McDonald has been back and forth with the county engineer three times this week. You know, this is the type of
working relationship that we we want to have. And I want to commend uh Mr. McDonald as well. We've been working on a number of um uh some more fun like holiday lighting which will be meeting tomorrow to finally come up with our final plan on on holiday lighting
downtown. Uh but also on a number of pedestrian safety um JCPNL, Department of Transportation. Um we're going to have a busy couple of weeks. So, thank you all. Thank you, Mayor. And that's the end of my report. All good stuff.
business administrator McDonald. >> Thank you, Mayor. First and foremost, I would just like to take this opportunity to introduce the community and the and and everyone to Omar Buckingham, who is our new assistant administrator, uh joined us on
joined us on Tuesday, uh since Monday was a little bit of a a an issue. Um but, uh settled right in. Um and we're happy to have him aboard or previously served in East Windsor as the assistant administrators uh for three years.
>> And so uh we're glad to have him here and uh have you for the uh for the the assist. Um I think the uh the mayor and uh committeeman um Zerudo count covered the county meeting um very well. Uh it was a
very productive meeting and uh a lot of good discussion, a lot of uh continuation of of some things that we we discussed previously with committee with Stler, but um also uh some some uh more commitment on uh some of those items. And also just a just a note on
the gates for Brookside Drive as well as the closure. It is is significant sort of an enhancement because that road gets closed due to flooding during uh major events and then we can permanently close that with those gates. um so that uh so that people don't avoid barricades, get
themselves into danger. I think that will uh serve uh uh the township better and its residents better. Um just some information uh for the public that our budget uh will be introduced on April
3rd. Uh we are looking to have a budget information session on April 16th. Although I would just wait for uh confirmation on that um once we get our space and we will advertise that uh to to the residents and then uh preliminarily scheduled to have a public
hearing and adoption on May 5th. All that will be posted in the website uh for those that are are interested. Um we are uh I'm still waiting for a proposal from uh Mr. Venegra on the storm water regulations. uh he had indicated to me today that he would have it um to me
today. So I'm hoping that after the meeting I'll have that and can start moving that process forward. Um and we anticipate having the sidewalk regulations before the township committee uh at the meeting on March 17th. >> Just one question. Last year we had an
extended uh period of operation for Sundays for Brookside. That's we said we revisit after you said we continue. Uh yeah, I I don't know that that the the length of time came up. Um uh and again, there there hasn't been much um you know
concern uh regarding that length of time. Um unless there you know there's desire from the committee to pull that back a little bit. Um I think >> I think that >> right attorney cancer. >> Thank you, Mayor. Just a brief uh fairer
housing update. Um on as of our last meeting on the 17th, we had not yet received our fourth round order. That order was entered on February 23rd. Um the order we received was pretty standard what other municipalities have received. Um anyone the last meeting
recalls was some discussion around whether or not we should adopt our ordinances on the 17th or meet the 16th deadline. And our order has that same bold language that um all ordinances be adopted on the 16th. So um the necessity
for the special meeting um I think is there um the only difference in our order and by way of background uh RPM a developer uh had filed an objection in our fourth round related to their third round project which is the DPW project
which uh remains uh um in litigation. Um counter still has an appeal. Um so uh our order just has one additional um condition that is unique to Melbourne which is the extent applicable a clear statement of whether and how the
municipality relies on the RPM development for forthright compliance or for the statutory review together with a current status summary and a description of any municipal actions required for the mechanism to remain realistic. So, the court's asking as part of our fourth
round filing um that we file um you know an update on the RPM development. So, uh my office will put that together. It'll be filed with the board along with all the adopted ordinances um which committee coh reference that were before the planning board. Um so that's that's
an update as far as our affordable housing goes. Um if any committee person has any questions I'm happy to take that. Otherwise, I have no further report. Thanks. All right, public comment. When invited to speak to offer your comments, please
come to the lecture. You will clearly state your name and whether you are a Melbourne resident and or property or business owner. Please do not provide your full address seeing as our meetings are recorded and readily available to the public. To help facilitate an orderly meeting and to permit all to be heard, speakers shall limit their
comments to one three minute session will be prompted when there is 30 seconds remaining. Reminder, this is not a time for dialogue or to debate the matter. This is a time during our meeting for public offer comments. Now open the public comment period.
>> Not sure about this. Can I take >> You can start. I'll get >> you belt it out. Wow. >> Jackie Benjamin Leverberg, resident. At the last TC meeting, Mayor Sakamundi and committeeman Stler and Seruda voted to
completely restructure and appoint a new chair for CEDA. Thank you to Deputy Mayor Cosgrove, CAD liaison, and committee man for pointing out that all boards have always chosen their chairs and recommending that the CEDA committee be allowed to fully be fully compliant
at their next meeting. For the record, it was my understanding as an advisory committee that minutes, agendas, and chair secretary was not required. I will gladly adhere to the guidelines and inform the seed of committee, but instead you have decided to change an
ordinance that has been on the books and put forth your own chair and not permit the committee to do so. It's important that you have a full understanding of what CEDA is. It began in 2019 to engage all our to engage all our ethnic and cultural groups, celebrate our
diversity. It was designed to pull residents and the community together. Other CEDA members included Paper Mill, Board of Ed, Art Advisory, Senior Citizens, as well as Explore, which generously leveraged their 501c3 status
for our combined projects. These groups are not represented in your new ordinance, and they've actively contributed to the mission. The current members work cohesively. Their work has been prolific and consistent with our mission of engagement. Mills rolling into Milg
showcase 20 plus community groups. The art installation all together now. A full day of Indian and Chinese music and dance where over 350 were in attendance. A massive art mural after Hurricane Ida.
three founding day celebrations that included Melbourne Short Hills historical society boy scouts explore environmental commission and climate action. CEDA was invited to join the 250 committee and successfully engaged 50 plus organizations in a public art
mural. As requested to lower the cost, I secured a generous grant of $5,000 from the mall at Short Hills. This was welcomed and unanimously supported by the 250 committee and and and which was kept a breast at every step of the of
the uh of the work. These were all recorded on their minutes as well. CEDA is devoted to unity not divisiveness. I have been a dedicated resident and community volunteer for over 30 years including mayor during the height of
COVID. Rather than focusing on what I didn't do, let's try and focus on the positive contributions to the overall community and the engagement that was created by CEDA, the proof of the good work of this committee and record of achievement and I am proud of what we
have accomplished. Thank you. >> I'm Trina Franco, longtime short resident. Before my first remarks, I just want to encourage everyone to go to the Milbour Public Library and see that wonderful exhibit put on by our Muslim community on Islamic art. There's
especially this beautiful rug which is right under the guest book and there's also wonderful jewelry which every girl likes. So, >> please go. Um, I understand that you're thinking of changing how CEDA works, the arts
committee. That saddens me. I have so enjoyed looking at the multicolored sculpture in Taylor Park of children dancing in a circle. And who didn't enjoy watching the little ones twirl those Mills? I kind of wanted to twirl them myself. Changing the name and
management of CEDA is similar to the changes at the Kennedy Center. We lose artistic vision and replace it with political ideology. I'm considering boycotting anything from this new committee.
Just as famous artists like Renee Fleming, the San Francisco Ballet and Philip Glass are not performing at the Trump Kennedy Center as they sang in Hamilton. If you stand for nothing,
gentlemen, what will you fall for? >> Mr. Mayor, Deputy Mayor, >> your name, please. >> Tom Holdman. Um, >> I've been a a proud resident of Milurn Fair Hills for the last 37 years. Um, I
was appointed to the CEDA committee in January. Uh it was my very first committee appointment and until earlier this evening when the mayor uh clarified that uh see it will or or the new uh cultural
uh committee um will not prevent us state members from joining this new committee. I was feeling a little bit uh uh sad that after 37 years I'd only have
60 days on a township committee. Um but I still I still urge uh uh the the township committee to consider either tableabling or modifying this this ordinance. Um, you know, while the stated goal of the or ordinance is to
ensure organizational and recordkeeping compliance, I think the methods that are proposed are unnecessarily disruptive of the volunteer work currently underway. Uh, which Mrs. Le Lieberg um detailed
the the many accomplishments of this committee. don't don't throw away that historical uh uh accomplishment. Um you know also uh uh
the Cena committee uh emphasize uh for the last several years um highlighting programs that recognize and showcase diversity in the arts. But for whatever reason, uh, you've seen fit to
eliminate arts from the committee's title. Um, I hope that doesn't mean you're eliminating arts from the committee's work. Uh, within a few days after I was brought into the senior committee, I started to work with
chairperson Lieberg on a project to bring a jazz festival to Milbour. I cannot tell you how vigorously and energetically chairperson Lieberg embraced that idea. Uh we had a great
meeting uh with administrator McDonald u and so just just in conclusion I I you know I hope you would take another look at this this ordinance. I think CEDA deserves to be continued and not
eliminated. Thank you. Good evening board members and members here. Uh my name is Shika Agarwal. I'm longtime resident of Melbourne and Shock Hills community and uh live in Great Hills Road. Um when I heard about the
CEDA that was something really disheartening and I'm here to express simply say that what you guys do is amazing. You do awesome work with community. But for some of us, a uh strong community is not just built by
ordinance, titles or agendas. It's built by showing up consistently, listening deeply, and acting with empathy at the time when it's needed. And with my experience with CEDA committee as well
as Jackie Liber as the mayor of the town during CO, I want to sincerely thank her for creating opportunities for the township, bringing the spirit of volunteerism as well as action in areas
where it really makes difference in the lives of others and those who are vulnerable. um and the projects that I especially engaged with her and thanks to her committee that she put together who are
core volunteers of the community Sapna Gupta Reema Japan and other volunteers in our committee who helped and brought us together to do and visualize what a grassroot level organization or
initiative without having a formal position in the board could do and make impact. So these communities, these initiatives are very important and they bring this community together, bring that connection and diversity and
different perspective and create youth volunteer opportunities, engagement. So we want to emphasize on the work that they have done and through this community and Jackie's leadership we've been able
to enjoy and participate into founding day rural project across different ages and backgrounds and these are the events that are creating connection pride and real sense of belonging for us. So please when you make decision to put
titles in ordinances think about those few things that brings the community together. Um you know I just want to say that it's not easy to do all this. There is a tremendous amount of volunteer spirit time and organization and
commitment that's required. And if we keep going and putting titles and things and not pursue those things with passion, we would lose the essence of those initiative. Thank you for the opportunity to present my views.
>> Okay. Hello, my name is Dean Schulman and I live in Milbour. I'm also a Republican. I've been a member of CEDA group since its inception. My request for the following is a clear explanation followed. I request no current changes
to the name and area CEDA has been involved in that current members choose the chairperson. That required processes are clearly documented and implemented by the current members. It is clear that there's something nefarious that's going on here and should be obvious to those
at this meeting. This volunteer group whose function is to engage our diverse community which as the name implies includes cultural engagement, diversity and arts. Arts is an important role. The group has always been inclusive. Some of the successes have been the celebration
of the 100red-year birthday in Taylor Park, the multicolor people sculpture in Taylor Park, the fantastically accepted mill wheels, the 40 foot mural and art alley, and now the tile mural celebrating America's 250th birthday.
I'm very concerned of the lack of respect for this group and what appears to be the beginning of a hostile takeover. In the last seat of meeting, two new volunteers interrupted the meeting by accusations of intentional malfeases. The individuals hijacked the meeting by demanding to know who the
chairman is. Where are the meetings? Where are the videos? All good questions. And if the issue is that we need to follow certain procedures, the chair the chair has already sent an email that all issues and corrections will be implemented at the next SEDA meeting. There was also an accusation
that we left out three groups for the 250 celebration bureau, not to mention the 45 plus community groups that are included. In one case, a BMS group was notified and didn't respond. The second issue was regarding political parties
which initially was not going to have their own tiles. And the third was a group we were unaware of its organization. In interest of inclusion, all three groups were immediately issued a tile to participate. During the last
TC meeting on February 17th, which is recorded, showed clear animosity to the current CD committee, especially to the current chairperson. The Cedar group immediately agreed to make whatever procedures need to be implemented. Both
Con and Cosgrove appreciated the fact that all issues were to be immediately addressed and that the issue should not reach the level of nuclear destruction. Thank you. Hey. Um, good evening. My name is Stacy
Greger, resident of Short Hills. I live at 71 Woodfield Drive and I am here to express my opposition to ordinance 2728-26. I know you've adjourned your consideration to April 21st. I cannot be here that night, so it's okay. I'm just going to say what I have to say tonight.
Um, so the stated purpose of this ordinance is to preserve the historic character and integrity of the area known as Woodfield Short Hills Estate. However, the boundaries proposed in this ordinance, in my opinion, are arbitrary, capriccious, and unreasonable. There is no way to preserve the historic character of an area where only a select
few houses from a given neighborhood are included in the proposed designation. The ordinance includes 54 properties. Of those, at least 21 have neighboring properties that are not included, meaning homes that are immediately next door, directly across the street, and or share a backyard border with these
properties. I simply do not see how the integrity or historic character of the area can be preserved when immediately adjacent properties are excluded from the designation. Additionally, the area labeled for Woodfield Short Hills Estate in this proposal does not, I believe,
align with the only available map of the original neighborhood from 1926, the only one that I could find filed with the district. This map clearly shows a much larger footprint. If we are truly seeking to preserve historic character, the designation should reflect the historic boundaries, not a selected
portion of that. I understand that there must be a cutoff somewhere. The cutoff proposed here does appear arbitrary. There are natural and logical boundaries to my neighborhood, including Parsonage Hill Road, Old Short Hills Road, Woodfield, and Fox Hill. In my opinion,
that would create a coherent and historically defensible district. Moreover, if the goal here really is to preserve the integrity and historic character of this neighborhood, I would suggest that the Oak Track or Boxill Reserve be included in the designation as well. This wooded area is integral to
the historic character of our neighborhood neighborhood and there is ample case law that historic districts in New Jersey can include natural features, landscapes, and open space. Excluding this feature of our neighborhood further underscores the arbitrary nature of the proposed
boundaries. I will not spend time tonight discussing property values. However, when three homes fit on the same street and only one is encumbered by historic restrictions, I don't think anyone here would disagree that this homeowner may face a severe disadvantage when selling. In this case, that
homeowner is me. Uh for these reasons, I respectfully urge the committee to reject the ordinance as it currently is proposed. And if the committee is inclined to proceed, I would strongly request that the boundaries be expanded to reflect the true historic footprint of the state. Thank you so much.
>> Uh Tony Wal. Um good evening. Um I've lived in town for almost 30 years. I've raised three children. I'm here to talk about sports fields. I've raised three children in throughout the district, all of whom played sports from K through 12. I've coached my kids team and spent
hundreds and hundreds of hours watching my kids play sports on our fields and traveled the state to watch my kids play at other facilities. I've read a recent letter from the Milbour for Climate Action. While I share their goal of safety and believe
their desires are rooted in good faith, I believe this project needs to move forward with all deliberate speed. We must be honest. We have been discussing our field deficit for many years and have been discussing turfing our back high school fields for decades. While we
continue to debate life cycle economics, our children are playing on facilities that are objectively inferior to so many other communities in New Jersey. This is not just a handful of kids and parents, but thousands and thousands of students
and parents who visit our facilities. The truth is we are a first rate town with second rate fields and that is the choice we have made. But we no longer need to make that choice. Thousands of kids use these fields annually and thousands of parents watch them often
through the mud or from the sidelines of a canceled game due to rain. No more w time for no more water damage, no more muddy shoes. Our kids deserve better. For the first time in decades, as many of you in the audience will know, we finally have a consensus between our
township committee and our board of ed and how to fund this project. This is the moment to move forward. The letter asks for a transparent alternatives analysis, but the reality is that natural grass, which gets wet and muddy,
is also not always safe. We are not the New York Yankees or the New York Mets with multi-million dollar budgets for field crew maintenance. Many towns in New Jersey face these same environmental questions and chose to prioritize their children's playability
and community. Better facilities build better athletes, foster community pride, and protect our property values for the tens of thousands of visitors who judge our town by what they see at our schools.
I want to be really clear. Safety must be a part of this process and we should ensure that whoever our vendor is that we select uses safe materials employed by other school districts. We are not in reinvent. We are not reinventing the
wheel with this project. Delay will be your decision and I urge you not to delay. Instead, let's provide our children with the safe, reliable, worldclass facilities they deserve. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Stephanie
Nesser. I'm a resident of Short Hills. Deda. The cultural engagement, diversity, and arts committee has strengthened community life in ways that are visible and lasting. If there were procedural mistakes such as confusion over whether minutes were required,
those should absolutely be corrected. Transparency matters. accountability matters. But eliminating an entire board over what appears to have been a misunderstanding sends a troubling message that a single error justifies dismantling a volunteer body that has
otherwise served the community well. That sets a precedent none of our board should be comfortable with. This misunderstanding should not cast a cloud over the extraordinary work that has been done by this committee and its chair Jackie Lieberg. CEDA's mission of
bringing people together across our diverse community is unique and it is evidenced but what by what they have accomplished. The meal will mills rolling into Melbourne project which engaged more than 20 community groups. The colorful people sculpture in Taylor
Park. Refounding day celebrations organized in partnership with other township groups. The hurricane Ida mural in our alley. Chinese and Indian dance and music festivals. And now the mural celebrating the $250 anniversary supported in part by a $5,000
contribution from the mall at Short Hills secured by the chair. And I heard that a jazz festival with next on the horizon. More concerning is the structural change embedded in this ordinance. It is standard practice for governing bodies to appoint members to
boards and commissions. It is not typical for the township committee to appoint not only the members but also the chair, the vice chair and the secretary. Traditionally, those officers are chosen by the board itself. That structure exists for a reason. It
preserves a degree of independence while maintaining accountability to the township committee. When one governing body appoints every member and also selects the leadership, it blurs the line between oversight and control, even if exercised with the best intentions.
That concentration of authority weakens the independence that allows advisory committees to function effectively and creatively. Today it is CEDA. Tomorrow it could be another committee. Environmental planning, recreation, any volunteer body whose work or leadership
fail falls out of favor. Governance should not be reactive or punitive. It should be stable, measured and consistent. Disbanding CEDA and centralizing control over its leadership is not proportional. It risks discouraging volunteer participation and
undermining the collaborative spirit that makes local government work. This is about process president and preserving a system where volunteer committees can serve the public effectively while remaining appropriately accountable. I urge the committee to reconsider this ordinance,
correct what needs correcting and preserve both SEAt and the governance principles that affect all of our boards moving forward. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Denise and I live in the Deerfield like everyone in this room for over 30 years.
>> Your last name Sean Today I want to talk about something that truly holds our community together. It's called our volunteers. Volunteering is not a job. It doesn't come with a paycheck, a contract, or
even a title that someone with can take ownership of it. Volunteering is a choice. It is a gift. It is that someone decides to give their time, their energy, their skills, and their heart to something bigger than themselves. And
that choice belongs to the volunteer. It's not something that can simply be taken away if someone decides I want someone else in that place. Volunteers step forward because they care, not because they have to. Volunteers are the
backbone of every strong community. They organize events, serve on boards, support local programs, help neighbors, and create the activities that bring people together. Especially now when communities are changing and people are not socializing the way they once did.
Those activities matter now more than ever. They create a connection. They build belonging. They fight isolation. We also need to remember that volunteers often help others reach their goals. Many people who hold positions of
leadership didn't get there alone. volunteers worked behind the scenes, made calls, showed up, supported campaigns, and helped open doors. Everyone on this committee knows who's helped them a lot. So, image. So, imagine spending years
serving your community, giving your time and effort only to have someone decide that they no longer want you to volunteer. How would you feel? That decision should not belong to one person. If someone chooses to step away
from volunteering, that choice should come from them, not from pressure, replacement, or disrespect. If we treat volunteers as replaceable, if we say, "We'll just go after you and find someone else," what message does that send to our community? Why would someone
volunteer if it's how they're treated that way? Strong communities are not built on on intimidation or exclusion. They're built on respect, gratitude, and kindness. A simple thank you matters. Treating people with dignity matters.
Appre Appreciating services matter. Let's be the kind of community that honors the people that give freely of themselves. Let's protect the spirit of volunteerism. Let's remember that volunteers are not expendable. They're essential because without volunteers, we
don't have the community we value so clearly. Jacqueline Benjamin Lieberg deserves to stay at CEDA and continue her commitment to our community. Thank you. >> Good evening. Um my name is Dorothy Kelly. I am a Milbourne resident. Um,
and I am here to speak about um my work with CEDA and with Jacqueline Benjamin Ken um Lieberg. I have been working with I'm going to call her Jackie because I've known her a long time um for almost as long as I have been working with the
library with the historical society and with all the other um organizations that I have been volunteering with. And what I can say is that she puts everything into it. Uh her work has been incredible.
She has brought people talk about the mill wheels. There were two sets of mill wheels. I was involved with both sets of mills for friends in the Milbourne Library. We helped put together the millhe. And then we did it again. the library
did it and um the historical society did it and it was so much work and she got all these different organizations to do it and it was not easy. Anyone who has ever volunteered and tried to get more people to volunteer to help them
understands that it is a really hard task. People want to do it but then they get busy and it ends up falling on the shoulders of one or two people. Jackie has picked up that load so many times for CEDA and brought about results. I've
been working with her on the 250 committee on the mural and I have to say when she first proposed it to us I was like there's no way she's going to be able to get this done. I was like there's no way she's going to be able to pull in 250 tiles here from people.
People don't produce things. They say they want to. They don't. And I saw her reach out all over the place. Did she miss people? I didn't see her missing people because I saw the people who weren't responding because people don't respond. This is how it happens when
when you're asking people to do things. Some people are busy. They do it. Some people never get back to you. But she ended up fulfilling it. I realized that there were things that people wish she had done differently. And I see that she has actually made some changes. Um, I
hold the greatest respect for what she has done and for what she's brought to CEDA. Uh, I also would ask you to please reconsider the new name for CEDA, calling it the CDC is probably not the best negotiation. Um, and I do think
that keeping the arts and the engagement in there are essential. Livingston has a committee on diversity and inclusivity. I think we want to keep some of those ideas in our organizations. Thank you.
>> Hello everyone. My name is Sapna Gupta. I'm a MBA shortlist resident uh for about 13 to 14 years. I first met Jackie as a mayor and loved how approachable she was. Over the years, we met through different town events and through CEDA
activities. Culture has always been an important part of me and our community and our sense of belonging. We love the inclusiveness by the different cultural organizations, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Muslims and other local groups. We all became part
of our town where we matter and our kids belong. That is very important to us. Through Cedar and through many we met many nonprofit and cultural organizations coming together.
We shared our experiences, food, stories and values and in the three workshops that we all came to get trained, we actually painted together especially in this mural project. I just loved the mural project vision
and plans to celebrate the 250 years of America. The whole community came together and it was just like it was like a party you know we we met Chinese organization,
Korean organization folks and it was great. What was great was that that if somebody had a question, Jackie would promptly answer or reach out. We were all we were all on schedule and she kept us on schedule. That was very very
important. Um I have worked closely with Jackie in this project and let me tell you like sometimes I don't have the answers but she did and she has reached out to many organizations and sometimes we don't get
reply then we try to reach out to other people who know and there could be some risk like there are about 50 plus organizations who are participating in the last meeting uh what went um you know of course none of us liked it But
you know she made the amendments she we we made some adjustments and I am glad that you know everybody is on the same page. I request you all to consider Jackie to stay on as a chairperson. She has
already acknowledged to have minutes and documentations going forward and let this um that mural project complete with Jackie as the current chairperson. We have about 250 beautiful tiles from different organizations and we would
love to see complete and hanging um outside the Milbour Library uh with Jackie standing proudly and we all standing with her. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Bill Brazelle. I'm a resident of South Mountain, uh the father of three girls and the chair of
the environmental commission. Uh I'm here tonight to speak about two things that I think matter deeply to this town. Uh the fields near the high school and how we are treating our volunteers. First, the fields. Uh I run on and around them all the time behind the high school and my daughters play softball on
them frequently. The grassy areas are beautiful. They will not be if we pave them over with plastic. On February 20th, in an emergency session, the Milbourne Environmental Commission overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging the township committee and the board of education to stop funding
synthetic turf projects and instead look at ways to use the open space trust fund money, which so many of us do in New York, in order to promote nature to actually find a way to make the grass fields playable. That's a doable thing, and we can do it at much less expense.
The resolution also outlines serious health and environmental concerns tied to synthetic turf. Those include extreme surface heat, which increases the risk of heat related illness, as well as turf burns and higher rates of certain lower body injuries. The New York Times had a
piece just last weekend about the shocking increase in ACL tears among young girls, young girl athletes, which is tied to turf. That's why they're having more of these injuries. The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine studied the NFL, the National
Football League, some of the best athletes in our country. They found that play on synthetic turf resulted in a 16% increase in lower extremity injuries per play than that on natural grass. It's no surprise then that 92% of NFL players
would rather play on grass. Shouldn't we listen to them? There are environmental concerns as well, of course. That's why the EC looked into it. Proposed turf installations here would sit near Van Winklebrook and within a floodprone area connected to the Raway River. The
commission raised concerns that storm water runoff or flooding could carry would carry microlastics and peeas poly floroalk substances which are carcinogens and also interfere with hormone development of both young girls and young boys into nearby waterways
potentially affecting ecosystems and even our drinking water. Taking this all into account, the EC formally asks the township and school school officials to make a serious study of of using grass as an alternative. Now, to my second point, how we treat volunteers. You've
heard from many wonderful speakers tonight, including our Patriot Award winner, Dorothy Kelly. Jackie Lieberg is being criticized for failing to take minutes for a committee that she founded in order to enrich our town's cultural life. It's an obvious pretext to destroy her and the committee. This is a
terrible way to treat a dedicated volunteer. Do you know how hard it is to get people to volunteer in this town? Do we really want to send a message that your volunteer work will just be overturned? I hope not. Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Ardan. This is um new
panel work regarding circle. I grew up in this area. I went to school in this area. I brought my family here to come back live here from New York City. Um, I love how passionate everyone is here speaking about the community and that's why I wanted to bring my family here. You know, historic preservations
is an important tool when it's applied to areas that demonstratedly meet objective historic criteria. However, designation is not symbolic. It's regulatory. It permanently alters property rights, imposes review constraints, and materially affects homeowners. For that reason, the
standard must be rigorous. Based on public reported data and direct community feedback, approximately 60% of homeowners within the proposed district oppose this designation. That's not a marginal concern. It reflects a substantial lack of consensus among
those most directly impacted, and that's in direct opposition to the information that was presented previously um and prior meetings. In addition, the neighborhood is already subject to significant zoning controls governing density, height, and setbacks and a lot of coverage. Those regulations already
preserve scale and character. Before layering additional restrictions, it is fair to ask, what concrete protection does the historic overlay provide that current law does not? It's also important to state clearly that local historic designation does not insulate the township from statemandated
affordable housing obligations. As was alluded to prior meetings, those requirements arise from constitutionally authority and supersede local overlay tools. If a designation is being considered as a defensive planning strategy, that approach is unlikely to
achieve its intended effect. Finally, I want to address the process. When a vote is postponed on a matter of this magnitude, residents deserve clear explanation of the criteria and timeline moving forward. If we're move if we're just postponing it because we don't have
the votes for the decision that we want, that's not fair. We have to be as transparent as possible. And I think the township and the people living in the designated area deserve that. Decisions that affect permanent regulatory status should be grounded in documented expert findings, not evolving procedural
momentum. If there's a comprehensive historic survey establishing a cohesive architectural or cultural significance sufficient to justify district level designation, it should be publicly produced and valued before any vote. Preservation should be deliberate, evidence-based, and narrowly tailored,
not precautionary. Respectfully, this proposal does not yet appear to meet that threshold. Thank you. Judy Christian Township resident. I want to thank the committee for the report on the U meeting with the uh county. Um and
I just wanted to say that in I think it was a year or two ago I requested that the um uh zebras be painted the crosswalks on Wyoming Avenue. um the eight blocks
um and it was done almost immediately. Uh I think the previous mayor called me the next day and said it would be done but the work is not complete. They need to do the sidewalks, the cutouts. So I would ask if you could put that on your
list um to talk to the county when that might be completed. Also, um Wyoming Avenue being a county road. Uh my concern is um the number of trucks um and the noise and the
vibrations on that road. I do not know if there's a weight limit for Wyoming Avenue. I'd like to know that. Um I remember maybe five summers ago there was some kind of construction going on and it was dump trucks one after another
parade parade parade of dump trucks and I will guarantee that if the foundation of my house is damaged it is from the trucks on Wingman Avenue. Um so I wonder if there's a weight on it. And one other
thing was um oh yeah uh the Wyoming bridge there are some pretty significant potholes there on Wyoming Avenue. I don't know if that is the New Jersey Transit responsibility for that surface but as some of you may
or may not know that underneath Wyoming Avenue the surface is all co so that needs to be addressed. Um so thank you Stephanie Malios, a 39y year resident of Melbourne Township and a 39y year
business owner in Melbourne Township. I want to thank each and every one of you serving on the township committee for volunteering your precious time. You can be home with your families. I'm sure we'd all rather be doing right now, but I really do appreciate that you volunteer to be serving on this committee. I also volunteered to serve on several different committees
including the pedestrian safety advisory board and CEDA. I was on the board since the beginning um 2019. We were able to keep it rolling during very very scary times in COVID and still trying to produce something that was of value to
the township. Uh I've enjoyed my time serving. I'd like to continue. Um we don't control any money. So every year we give a report to the township committee. you know, whenever I ask where's the minutes to the meetings. So, if they need to have them, okay, great.
I don't know if other committees I served on took minutes. I really don't recall. I wasn't taking any minutes, but I think the greater good is what we need to keep in mind. So, I I wish that you make decision that makes the most sense for the best interest of everybody in
town. Thank you. My name is Odarkus Stalker. I live on um Wyoming section. I've been there for I think it's 29 years now. Um and um I I want to just support CAD. I'm not going to go into everything why. I I also I do
want to say though that CEDA seems to be a lot of minority women and women on those committees. And I'm not going to describe you guys to yourselves, but this is not a good look. And I would
like you to reconsider. >> I'm not pleasing you. I'm just pointing out something that you might not see. Um the the volunteers at Ca are overwhelming women. A lot of women I know and respect. And um that's all I'm going to say about it. I'd like you to
give them a reasonable amount of time to correct the problems that you're seeing and and forget this craziness about disbanding organizations that do work. And I could talk more about um forcing volunteers to resign from committees,
commissions, and so forth. I will not do that. But that is a recent occurrence that did not happen 10 years ago. 10 years ago, most of our commissions and committees were very cooperative and non-political. And I'm finding that
lately, we have started to politicize a lot of these organizations. And I'd like it to stop because I think we work better when we're not politicized. I'm going to go on to why I wrote it and that is uh about the fields. And um
I want to say no, let's not let's not put in um synthetic fields. I was an athlete in high school 12 seasons, four varsity CB season, four varsity years of um college volleyball. I have tremendous
sympathy for the sports community. I have a couple reasons for this and the biggest ones I think are um financial. I see that the town council is trying to I'm sorry raid the open space fund for the money for for
this and I wanted to read to you what I found accidentally online looking for the location of this meeting which I have a very hard time finding. Um this is January 31st 2024 open space fund uh the trust fund. What is open space? Open
space that lacks consistent definition but one that is useful and inclusive is a land that is not intensively developed or for residential, commercial, industrial or institutional use. School use is institutional use. Secondly, um I think there are liabilities with this
project. Financial liabilities that have no plan on how to pay for it. The state is considering removing your ability to to pay for this using open space funds. And also there's the the the opposing your time. >> Yes. The opposing uh >> have a second public comment period at
the end of the meeting. >> So you have no way to fund it. >> Good evening. My name >> I'm sorry before we make sure that that door in back is open our >> jar state that we have to have open doors during public.
Um, good evening. My name is Sher Bell. First, I want to shout out our employees. I got through the snow lizard emergency and I really want to thank them for it. Um, my comments are going to be really geared to our budget that's
coming up calendar year 2026. I thank Alex for giving us a timeline earlier this evening, but we really have something we should understand. Milurn has a dubious honor. I don't maybe honor the wrong one word, but being the second
highest average tax community in the state, the quint hatch and various other issues that came out. Um, and some of my comments go to the budget process. Today you have a emergency appropriation. They
did a temporary budget. But if you look at the second whereas clause talk about 26.5% of appropriation being in the temporary budget and this is a question I've been asking basically for four or five years and I've never got an answer. Why did the SID in the temporary budget get 100%
of its appropriation if the state law says you go and get 26.5%. I'm still waiting for an answer to that question that's been pending. Um there's a resolution that we're going to be changing our health care provider insurance. We're going to I guess a
co-op. Can you tell the community about what how much we anticipate because health care costs are driving whether it's the board of education, various other municipalities in the state um out of the windows because the premium increases I think have been 30% the last
couple years. Um, and please post various material documents on the public website before the first introduction of the major. I think the updated reading letter should be put up on the finance department. I believe that the January
26 ban offering statement because our debt service will be increasing this year because we went into the debt service for debt by increased by probably more than$10 million this year. that should be posted that especially the offering statement because there's a
restriction as to going out further in this year. I believe as soon as possible that the December 31st 20245 un audited financial statement should be posted. We were hearing about turf field you go to the finance department. Last year was
the first time we really had a presentation of a six-year capital budget. The turf fields are missing from that capital budget. I'm wondering why. Um later on you're going to have a a motion about a
resolution to oppose a state legislation, but that resolution was added to the agenda packet today around 10:30 this morning. What is the emerging health, safety, and public welfare issue that requires that consideration today? Why can't we postpone to the next
meeting? I will come back at my next time to talk about other issues. >> Absolutely. Evening. Uh my name is Ellie Santo. I'm in the Woodfield State section uh holding the home in Torfield Drive. Just wanted to uh formally state my
opposition to the uh historic preservation committee. Um got uh Benny homes, many um presidents come out tonight to state your opposition. and I want to do so really puts uh restricted covenants on
53 deeds. I think there's other ways for us to accomplish. So, thank you for your time. >> Um my name is Peter Humphre. I live in Woodfield. Um I'm opposed to the ordinance. Um I came here tonight I really to talk to speak about against
the organ sign. Um and now I find that it's been postponed to April 21st. Um Thursday um the people who have been organized petition submitted the petition to the town. Um that now after that been
submitted all the names and addresses of people examining the petition were disclosed. Uh there was a full court press over the weekend, emails, phone calls, texts trying to get people to drop out of petition. Um whether that's
right or wrong doesn't really matter. We know one person who did indeed say they had changed their minds and so that's fine. We don't know anybody else. Now there have been some serious allegations made tonight. The M said that people have been intimidated into signing petition or
pressure to sign a petition. So I have probably more questions than anything else. Who were the people who were intimidated or pressurized? Who what is what are which people were pressurized? Can we have their names so at least we can find out what is going
on? Because this is the second time the mayor has made these type of allegations and he did it when we had the original petition back in January and we went and resigned the petitions. We got them all signed from scratch and they're basically the same people. So I
challenge M to tell us if he doesn't want to do in public he do in private but we need to know who has investigation in this intimidation or pressurization and who are the people who feel this way. I don't think there's many people in my town that get pressurized either. Now there's two
reasons we submitted the petition. The first reason was to meet the statutory requirement of having 20% of the residents in the world would sign the petition and force the super majority vote meaning four affirmative votes. There obviously aren't four affirmative
votes tonight. So we only need to have 11 signatures to get that. So I we think we need to know whether the petition is valid to force the super majority vote. That's the first question.
Um and then the second reason we submitted the petition was just to show the overwhelming majority of people who oppose this ordinance. It's nearly 60% of the rein. And so we think that the two reasons are
separate and we need to know as a legal matter whether or not the petition is acceptable to the town. So it was but we need to know that tonight. um unless you're going to allege that somehow 20 people have been forced to
sign with people waving night sticks out. So, thank you. I hope you'll answer my questions. Thank you very much. Well, Kershurn resident, let me try to add something to the um eloquent statements regarding CA that already
been done. I sat here two weeks ago and heard some residents, including the local Republican party chair, tee up a perceived issue with the town seed committee for certain township committee members. One committee member then went on to characterize the proceedings of
that group as road before others added criticism. It reminded me of a similar strategy used in the past to target a member of the flood mitigation committee who had moved from town. to target the SID director over a
perceived prejudice regarding signage and to target the SID board chairperson over a perceived conflict in each case with no substantial basis or real concern. And then I watched the last CEDA meeting
which largely involved a wonderful project, a Milbour 250 mural to be displayed in the library. This is one of Jackie Leverberg's many accomplishments along with the Milwhe project, the Al together now sculpture in Taylor Park
and others. At this point, to defame her and to charge chronic deficiencies in the duties of the committee is certainly suspect. Since a township committee person was liaison, why didn't that person report
or deal with any so-called deficiencies? Further, if there were any concerns about the 9-month mural project done in concert with Milbour 250, why did any of the township committee members on that group air concerns about it before the
last minute when that could have jeopardized the product itself, project itself, an ordinance reconstituting CEDA is unnecessary. Any changes the township committee feels are needed can be implemented within the
current structure. In addition, Miss Liverberg should be thanked for her efforts and her expertise and experience should continue as a necessary asset to the group. >> Amen. >> Thank you.
Janet P's our resident regarding the ordinance for the dissolution of CEDA and the township committee discussion of February 17th. A comment was that the CEDA leadership went rogue. Rogue by definition means a dishonest or
imprincipled person having savage or destructive tendencies, a mischief maker. Another township committee member stated that we can expect the same improper behaviors should this not be rectified. We know tonight that that is
not true. Two new committee members on the seated committee complained about oversightes and two weeks later strategic expulsion is underway. There needs to be a distinction between oversight and misconduct. Your intent is
biased as there has not been one utterance of her many achievements. Taylor Park 100th birthday commemoration, three founding day celebrations in partnership with the environmental commission, historical society, Indian and Chinese groups, the
mill wheels project, cultural day of Indian and Chinese music performances, public art, creation of the 250 mosaics, and independently securing $5,000 from the Short Hills Mall, the children's art
statue in Taylor Park, Plus, this individual served to help found CEDA and has continually and successfully worked for its mission. Perhaps you should solicit objective comments and opinions by asking members of the aforementioned
committees who worked far far far longer with the leadership of CEDA than did the two individuals who attended on February 4th. In the interest of objectivity, I conferred with my new resource on government and specifically on this
issue. It reported authoritarian governance for strict compliance and punitive reaction to inconsequential oversightes even when the results were positive. Perfectionistic or zero tolerance governance whereby rather trai
trivial procedure lapses are treated as critically serious flaws and your fiduciary obligation to always act in the best interest of our community. So ask yourself this, do I want to permanently be associated with such a
gross injustice? And two, in view of your fiduciary obligation, will our community be better off without Jackie's leadership and participation in CEDA? Clearly, clearly not. Please consider unintended consequences of such actions
as it will negatively impact all members of our community and consideration for civic participation regardless of public affiliation. Hi, my name is Matt Goodfellow. I live at Five Grovener and I'm here to speak out against making the neighborhood a
historic neighborhood. There have been comments tonight that there's been misrepresentations in regards to the petitions at for or against the historic society uh or the making the neighborhood a historic neighborhood. I will say there have been misrepresentations from those who want
to convert it into a historic neighborhood. the initial signing of that petition was completely misrepresented and we spoke of that when we spoke at the historical society meeting since that that that time I've been asked to sign a petition three
different times in no way was I strongarmed into that petition on three separate occasions um but I do find it and we also had I think there was 20 plus people here in this room before we were dismissed so again I don't think anyone is being strongarmmed into
signing a document three times and then coming to this meeting to share our um lack of interest in this proposal. Um but I do think it's interesting that people who want to maintain the status quo have such a burden on them signing
this petition that we have to have a majority. I would think the people who are recommending a change but have the burden placed on them that they'd be the ones that would need petitions and signatures and representation at this meeting. It seems like a very imbalanced
process. Um, I also find it extremely interesting that the people who want to move for historic preservation in the neighborhood weren't here tonight. Almost as if they had people on the committee and they knew that this vote would get pushed. That feels like a lack of transparency and it frankly comes
across as very shaky. Go ahead. >> It's almost as if they needed more time to make their phone calls, send their emails, and get people to resend their names from the petition. And if they don't have the votes, they don't have the votes. And giving them more time to continue the way they're acting is not
the right way. Thank you. Good evening. Uh my name is Josh Ryder. I'm a 20-year resident of Milbert Hill and I'm here to talk a little bit about the fields. Uh not going to take up a lot of time, but just want to kind of give you a a unique perspective. Uh one
is that we are definitely overs subscribed on fields. It is a fact. You ever try to put 10 pounds of flour in a 5B bag? That's what we've been doing. I was president of Milurn Soccer Club for three years. I served on that board for eight years. And I scheduled the club
for five years. And so this is the perspective I want to give you. 900 practices in the fall, 900 practices in the spring, close to 200 games in the fall, close to 200 games in the spring. Almost impossible with what we have now.
Turfing the fields will give us access and give us ability to have more kids on the fields, more hours, more playable hours, not just for soccer, but for lacrosse, for field hockey, for baseball, for any other sport in town. And I'll tell you, with weather, when
kids get rained out, obviously everyone here who has kids that have been involved in sports knows that when they get rained out, there's a lot of depression. But what do you think the thing that they do as soon as they get rained out? They go home and they get on their screens, which is the one thing we don't want them doing. We want them playing sports. We want to keep them
active. Synthetic playing services allow for more playable hours. The town needs it. And it's really kind of a happy time to see the TC and board event working so closely together. That's unique in its own right. So I say I mean and I and I'm
telling you this just because after 5 years of doing the scheduling, we are definitely oversubscribed. We just don't have the playable hours and we need them. Lastly, I do want to say and I've listened to other people and I want to safety is a is extremely important. I
had two girls that came through Melbourne High School, played sports every single season. Between the two of them, they had 25 varsity letters between the two of them. They were outside all the time. I've took up residence on the sides of those fields, right? I wasn't playing. I got to watch.
I'm going to tell you that it's imperative that it's safe. It's imperative that it's safe, but I'm telling you that a lot of research has been done. No one is going to put anything that's unsafe in this town. There's no way that would happen, and I don't want anybody to think that we would. So, I'm here to support it. I
hope everyone else supports it. We need the playable hours. We need to keep the kids busy. We need them off the screens. Thank you. >> Good evening. I'm Charlie Dwire, a 30-year resident and youth lacrosse coach here in town. There are a number of considerations you take into when you
look at the fields such as access. Our fields are among the most heavily used assets. Practice games, physical education, and community activities all compete for the same space. But according to the synthetic turf council, synthetic fields can handle significantly more hours of weekly use
than natural grass without deterioration. That means fewer cancellations, fewer practice relocations, and more consistent opportunities for overall use. Reliability. Artificial turf trains quickly and remains playable after heavy rains instead of losing days or
perspective weeks to muddy or damaged conditions. Programs are able to maintain continuity. And if anybody anyone remembers what the high school stadium looked like when it was grass or the library fields before they were turfed, they had no rest from fall to
spring to summer. They were never at 100%. They had divots, ruts, and bare surfaces. In essence, they were presenting a higher degree of risk in injury. Cost predictability. While the upfront cost is higher, life cycle analysis
referenced by the National Recreation and Park Association show that in high use environments, artificial turf can become cost competitive over time. Maintenance expenses are more predictable and there is a reduction in cost or ongoing irrigation, mowing, and
chemical treatments for grass fields. Safety. Safety is imperative. Research published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine and Injury tracked by the National Football League show mixed feelings, but overall injury rates are generally comparable between modern
synthetic turf and well-maintained natural grass. Modern turf systems continue to improve in shock absorption and performance standards. Let alone there are a number of variables that can lead to injury and some whe and some of those variables are whether or not the
person who's injured was injured prior to an act that activity that they were participating in whether or not they were physically fit and in the case of the grass fields is it at 100% it has no divots it has no ruts has no rocks etc.
It is important to acknowledge heat concerns as studies from Brigham Young University show higher surface temperatures. However, they can be there are mitigation strategies such as scheduling adjustments and surface cooling and particularly for us it's a matter of you know how much use would it
get during the summer environmental factors. Yes, both artificial turf and grass pose pacific perspective risk from disposal and shedding on the one hand to chemical runoff from herbicides and pesticides to moderate high water usage depending on the climate and time of
year. However, there are mitigation measures that can be undertaken from contractual for the disposal of turf at the end of life. though not some advanced technology has opportunity for enhanced material recycling drainage filters per containment and
system alternatives. Thank you. >> Hi, my name is Petro. I'm president. I'm here and standing here today because I believe that CEDA is part of our community. I know the concern regarding the
business side of things uh the lack of formal agendas or minutes. Is that a mistake? Yes. But it is a mistake that sometimes we do when we feel passion to do something especially when we are talking about
art. We are so focused on that passion that we are doing that we lose sight of that paperwork. Nobody is perfect. If we solve a committee every time that there is a mistake,
we won't have anything left. Ignorance of the rules isn't a reason to shut down the doors. Is an opportunity to open them wider and offer helping hand. Instead of choosing division,
let's choose mentorship. Instead of ending the committee, let's make it stronger. Let's work together to get this system in place. Let's help them with the structure so they can keep providing the soul and the color that
this community needs and deserves. We are at our best when we are united. Let's not let a few missing pieces of minutes cost us what ca brings us all together.
Let's vote to save the committee and more important let's vote to help them grow. We are all under one flag which means we are all under the same community. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Kathy Wax. I'm in Oaklan in the field estates proposed
district and I um want to I want to express my support for this proposal. I know there was a question why are any supporters here? Um, I guarantee you I'm quite surprised that it was delayed. I had no core knowledge of this and um I
probably would have called it on Zoom if I had known it was delayed. And I think other people probably are your supporters and probably people against probably also on a Zoom. Um, and so I guess thank you for offering this
proposal or this this historic designation as an opportunity. I I hope you ultimately decide to vote for it. I think it's the our best chance of fighting the rampid development that the state law it's passed could bring to our
town. I know there's been discussion about the strong regulations that our town already has. That should be enough. But as my understanding of that state law that passes wipes the slate clean, any regulation our town has means
nothing. And yeah, we have to still do affordable housing. It won't protect against that, but at least the affordable housing. We have to have certain they have to meet the criteria for the h the historical commission. They couldn't just slap up a box for the
least amount of money that I have to walk by every day and dodge the 40 units per acre and no parking with me and my two dogs. So, I really don't want to have to deal with that. I'd love to keep our trees and and control the
development. And is this perfect having a historical designation? No, it's not perfect. We're up against something really scary with the state law, but it's all that I can see we can do. So, thank you for the time to speak and um
guess I'll be back in April. Thanks. Hello, my name is Rod D. I live in Milburn. I'll keep my remarks brief. Uh I I it's not very clear to me what abolishing CEDA accomplishes. When people volunteer their time in a committee, we should be doing our best
to encourage that. We need more civic engagement in town, not less of it. uh when people like Jackie Lieberg put all their time into making our community better even after holding elected office again this should be something we encourage not tear down for procedural reasons and I encourage you to
reconsider the decision because today you're putting bureaucracy over service thank you >> Charles uh first call first Mr. P correct your statement regarding the FMNC membership
mitigation committee membership and a particular member whom you stated there was no basis for criticizing their participation. The basis was that they left town. They were no longer a resident. I thank Mayor Sakamandi for acknowledging my flood mitigation
efforts in particular my plan to eliminate future flooding in the downtown permanent. That plan was no small undertaking and I donated over 200 hours of my personal professional engineering time in preparing the plan backing it up with calculations and
documentation preparing a detailed scope of work and bid documents. The particular FMAC member you mentioned opposed me openly at FMAC meetings to the point that she was formally instructed to cease and desist such behavior.
She called me a know-it-all publicly. I didn't deserve or appreciate that at all. My house doesn't flood. Let's be clear about that. I'm involved in the flood mitigation committee because I have 53 years of
engineering experience and I can solve flooding. Regarding the fields, uh I do want to point out, please be mindful that the flood mitigation committee is looking to those same fields uh for for potential underground storm water retention.
Matter of fact, we're meeting tomorrow night about it. Uh therefore I urge you to coordinate any efforts uh with the fields with the flood mitigation committee to create fields which have permeous turf whatever fashion you want
to do that in uh to facilitate underground storm water detention. So, please be sure to coordinate with the event. They lastly, in the last snowstorm, I noticed signs posted by the
SID regarding snow removal requirements. I've been of the understanding that charter for the SID was one of business development. I must ask why my why the SID is spending my hard-earned tax dollars addressing code enforcement of
snow removal regulations. I I don't think that that's really perfect. So, thank you very much. My name is Ellen Steinberg and I live in the Woodfield section and I'm one of the
people that came tonight to speak in opposition to the historic designation. And I am not going to go into what you did by postponing it, but we will all be back on April 21st. The
reason I'm up here is I'd like to address Miss Lomax's concern about affordable housing because there there are ordinances out there, but historic preservation does not protect
against affordable housing being built in this neighbor. It does not stop or is a shield against affordable housing because if zoning is overridden, historic preservation, which is a part of zoning, is also disregarded. So, it
will have no impact. But thanks to our township committee, um the affordable housing commitment is being finalized and once submitted to the state, the builder's remedy cannot be used to bypass town zoning. And that's what
everybody seems to hear about. Oh my gosh, the zoning is going to be is, you know, bypassed. It's bypassed because there is no um obligation commitment being made and
the township has done that has met that. So historic designation of the proposed district, it is only going to serve to impose permanent regulatory constraints
on the residents. And I guess I'm looking over my shoulder and I'm seeing Jeanie pass her neck and I'm guessing she's going to talk about Glenn. Well, I called Glenn Ridge and in the third round
they didn't have their obligation in place. So, the builder's remedy was not in place. And even though everybody seems to think that affordable um that historic preservation would have protected it, it didn't in
Glenn Rich's case back um for their third round. So, historic preservation didn't help. But again, you have your obligation in place and thank you. >> I'm Jean Pastnac. Uh I'm a resident 30
years almost. I spent better part of my career as a managing director at JP Morgan. Significant part of my responsibilities were to uh identify and manage risk reputational, legal, and operational. I'm here tonight because what I witnessed with CEDA is frankly
textbook institutional failure and I want to explain why this ordinance is not only appropriate, it's necessary. I agree there's a great deal about respecting our volunteers said tonight and I totally understand that and I said it in my comments prior. Uh what Miss Lieberg has done for the town is
extremely helpful, wonderful. I would never ever be personal about anyone's contributions. That's not what this is about. When I raised legitimate concerns at a CEDA meeting, excuse me, when I raised legitimate concerns at a
CEDA meeting as a member in good faith, a new member, it was not answered. I was dismissed by someone who is not a resident member or a member of CEDA and has no standing under the resolution that governs a committee. He's a staff member who reports to the committee's de
facto chair and he was sent to handle me. I found that deeply respectful and frankly telling. That is what happens when a committee operates without structure, without rules, without accountability. The people who ask questions get shut down, not by the
process, by whoever's in charge. Now, this is what I witnessed. A fellow CEDA member, someone who showed up, engaged in good faith, and wanted to participate fully in the committee's work, requested something entirely reasonable. was a list of the 40 or so organizations that have been contacted in connection with
the community mural project. Transparency request, just a basic one. Miss Liber refused. No explanation and no list. Just no. That is not how a public-f facing committee operating under the opices and of an elected governing body conducts itself. That's
gatekeeping. And in my professional experience, gatekeeping of that kind is almost always a symptom of a deeper problem. An institution that has lost sight of who it serves. The consequences of that out of capacity were not abstract. Two of the most significant black organizations in this community,
BAMS and Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church were excluded from a diversity and community engagement project. Whether that was not intentional or whatever it was, it doesn't matter. The absence of these minutes, records, and accountability made it impossible to know. And that
uncertainty, that inability to verify is precisely the kind of exposure that puts a municipality at risk. I've heard people in the community suggest that reform in this committee is an attack on volunteerism or on the individuals involved. With respect, that framing has it exactly backwards. The residents who
volunteer their time deserve a structure that protects them and records their contribution and that ensures their work is seen and built upon. Minutes aren't a burden on volunteers. They're a gift to the next person who walks in the door. I have no doubt this committee has done extremely meaningful work over the
years. But how would we know? There are no minutes, no record. Thank you. >> Lisa Chowski Center no res. Two thoughts come to mind and I'll be brief. One, being a human resources professional and an executive coach,
it's always been my impression that you don't take corrective action without giving someone the ability to correct. And I think taking down Cedar would be a real big mistake without giving them knowledge warning of whatever needs to
happen and then give any committee as not just this committee but any committee and I say that from a personnel standpoint the time to do corrections and I think that's really important. Let them show in good faith that they have the intention of making
the corrections and that you will work with them on it. I would expect that from any committee. If it's a partisan issue, you've already had some impact on partisan. I've stepped on with my appointment, did not get reappointed. I recognize that and that is okay. I'm
willing to take that. So, all I'm saying is Cedar should not be broken down. I also don't believe that we should be putting artificial tur in the kids and I'm done. Good evening. My name is Beth Mallet. I serve as a physician on the town board
of health with Trina Franco who I worked with many years and I worked through the COVID 19 years which were challenging but rewarding in how the town was able to provide care to those who were stuck
at home. Uh, I want to just say that I agree with everything that's been said by many of the opposers of the Historic Preservation Society's
designation upon Woodfield Estate. But there's one thing the township committee needs to know, and maybe it was intentional or maybe I hope it was not. Is that what you've done? Is you've pit neighbors against neighbors? A township
council is supposed to keep a healthy, happy community. >> I've been in my house for since 1992. That's 34 years. Many of the speakers have been there even longer than me. I didn't think it was possible, but yes,
they've been there even longer than me. There are people who were at all of my children's events. I was at theirs. It was across the street. It was wonderful. Our community is beautiful. There's nothing historical about my particular
home. It's still a beautiful home, but it's not classified as historical. The community is beautiful. Right now, what you've done or what this designation has done is pit neighbors against neighbors.
And what we're doing now is continuing it through April 21st. Thank you for letting me speak. >> Betsy Chapel, I am one of the people who have been here longer than 35 years. I'm here over 40 years. I know it doesn't
look it, but um I would like to say that to back up what she's saying, you're making this into such a divisive area now where neighbors new neighbors, neighbors were friendly with neighbors. You're making it are you for or against and you're splitting the neighborhood
up. And to say that people are redeciding how they sign the petition insinuates that they're not very bright because who signs a petition without knowing what they're signing. That someone would say that they had to sign a petition but they didn't know what
they were doing. I find that very hard to believe that people are signing a petition without knowing what they're signing. We have the majority. And as you, the mayor, have said, if you have a majority, what are you worried about? Well, it sounds like we have a lot to be
worried about because it doesn't sound like the majority is going to be heard. And it sounds like it's decided by the committee what the what the status is going to be. And I think that we have the majority of people who are against this historical designation and that the
majority of the people have spoken and to extend this to April is just prolonging misery for the neighborhood that has been divided by the historical society. And I've been here over 40 years and I've never seen
anything like this in my neighborhood. and I've been in the Woodfield estates over 40 years. And I'm sad to see that this has been happening my last years here. >> Hello, >> Leah Cruz, resident.
Um, I'm not going to speak about CEDA. Um, I just want to say that comment that was made earlier about our TC being all white men. I found that so insulting and offensive. Um, you are what you are, but we can
point out your diversity, too. I think we have I could be wrong about some of this. Two Jews, one gay, one young, maybe a couple of seniors. I'm not really sure. But you guys are up here because you were elected. I mean, you
you are what you are. I don't care what you are. I elected some of you. The ones I didn't I think you're all doing a great job. You're all amazing. This is the best TC I've ever seen since I have lived here. So, I thought that was just very offensive.
Um you're transparent. You all treat each other so calmly and with respect. That has not been the case for many years. So, thank you for that. Um, and then I just want to um talk about the historic um designation. I know a lot of
people are here in opposition to it. Um, there was a gentleman who was here earlier who left, but before he left, he told me, "I shouldn't get to voice my opinion because I don't live in that neighborhood." I think that self-interested thinking is what has
started to destroy this town. because I come to almost every meeting not because I just care about my neighborhood, but because I care about the whole town. I think this designation would be a good thing for the entirety of the town. So, I support the designation.
Um, just on the turf fields real quick, I wasn't going to say anything, but I feel like Mr. Ryder and another gentleman who spoke right after him had very good points and so I am in support of the turfs. Thank you. Anyone
online? >> We have pen. >> Hi, can you hear me? >> We can. >> All right. Good evening. My name is Subadra. Uh, sorry. The the rule is you have to turn your video on uh when you're >> Okay, no problem.
>> I don't know where to turn the video on. Oh, >> button start video. >> If you need more time, we can go on to somewhere else and then come back to you once you figured out how to turn your video on. >> But there is no video option here
>> to turn on. It's a webinar, >> right? Oh, one second. We're fixing that. >> Can you see me now? >> I can see you now. >> Okay, great. >> Good evening.
>> Can I start talking? >> Can you just restate your name? >> Yeah. My name is Subadra Shridan and I'm a resident of short hills 14 years now. I want to note that I was a founding member of CEDA and served on the committee subsequently for a few years.
So I have seen firsthand the work but was actually involved in setting up the goals and the purpose of the committee. CEDA stands for cultural engagement, diversity and arts. It was created with a clear purpose to help Melbourne celebrate the richness of its community,
support programs that highlight cultural diversity, and bring public art and cultural engagement into shared civic spaces. When you look at the committee's work over the years, it is important to evaluate it against that mission. CEDA helped bring residents together through
initiatives that made culture and community visible and participatory. Projects like the Milwhees public art installation invited schools, community groups, and residents to contribute to a shared civic art project that reflected
Milbour's identity. Events connected to Founding Day, Cedar Sundays, and multicultural programming brought together organizations representing many cultures and traditions within our town. These efforts were not symbolic gestures. They created real
opportunities for residents to see themselves reflected in the community and to engage with neighbors from different backgrounds. That is exactly what the charter envisioned when the committee was formed. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of Jackie Benjamin Lieberg whose public service
record in Melbourne is significant. She was a welcoming member of the community when I showed up at an elementary school PTO as a young mom 14 years ago as she did the same for countless of her fellow neighbors over the years. As a township committee member and mayor during the
first year of the COVID period, she helped guide the community through a difficult and uncertain time with steady leadership and clear communication. Her work with CEDA reflected the same approach. Thoughtful, collaborative, and focused on building connections across
the community. No volunteer advisory body operates perfectly. If administrative practices such as a minutekeeping can be improved, that is something that can be addressed going forward and looks like it will be adeared to going forward. But we should
keep things in perspective. A procedural issue should not overshadow years of work that brought residents together and strengthened community engagement. From my experience as a founding member, CEDA fulfilled and continues to do so the
purpose it was created for. It helped create spaces where Milbour's cultural diversity, arts, and civic pride could be shared by the entire community. And it was made possible by a unifying leader like Jackie who steered the committee forward. right from its
foundation in 2019. The committee and Jackie's work deserves to be recognized and judged in the full context of what the committee actually has accomplished so far. It is still standing tall for the mission charter it was created for with its years of community investment
>> that has shaped Melbourne through many difficult phases. And I urge Hello. Oh, hold on. Hold on. Hi. Uh, you guys are muted. I can see in the corner it says the
township is muted. >> Okay, here we go. >> Okay, thank you. Uh, hi, my name is Vicky Pal and I'm a business owner. My parents have had a business in downtown Luburn for 41 years. So, I have two quick comments. Uh the first is
regarding explore Milbourne Shore Hills Trustee Board. We are now in March and there's still two open vacancies on the board. From what I understand, candidates were recommended some time ago. I would like to ask what is causing the delay and why these positions have not been filled yet. Other boards and
towns are operating with full membership and explore should be able to do the same. Important business needs to be done and subcommittees needs to be staffed. Leaving seats open slows down the work that needs to happen to support the business district. I would appreciate an update on why these
appointments are not being finalized. My second comment is about the double parking in the downtown. I listened to the last meeting where the topic was increasing fines and uh I strongly support the effort. The double parking situation particularly around deliveries, quick stops for food pickups
and activities on Taylor Street has become extremely disruptive. However, increasing fines only works if the rule is actually enforced. There have been many times when I've watched cars double park while the police vehicles drive on by without addressing it. If the town is
going to increase the fine, enforcement needs to be consistent. Otherwise, the rule becomes meaningless. Thank you and have a good night. Uh, hi. Uh, Beatric, if you could turn your video on. >> Yeah. Hi, I'm H. Yes, >> you could turn your video on first.
>> Yeah. Yes. Hi. I'm sorry. I'm This Beatric is my daughter's name. I'm sorry. It's inputed real. My name my name is Wing Joe and I'm a resident in the Mel Wyoming section of Melbourne. I'm a parent of two um school age children in the Wyoming elementary school and in the Melbourne Middle School. That's the Beatric. Um so, thank
you so much for your time and attention. Uh my comments are in response to the high school artificial turf project. Um, so I think that given the resources our town has, I I think it's an excellent educational opportunity for our town's leadership to show our children and
neighboring towns that we can proudly choose a sustainable option for the field and invest in a sustainable future by turning away from any options of synthetic turf, which have been studied to be more costly to install and costly to the environment in terms of methane
emission, plastic pollution, toxic chemicals, and disposal. uh all of that than the choice of natural grass. So, I think we have an opportunity um to show our children, our athletes, our residents and neighbors that yes, natural grass indeed may not be available on demand all year round, but
our town's priorities are for their health and the health of the environment over playability. Um, I I suggest that we listen to scientists and health experts and our town's own environmental commission and take this opportunity to model and measure decision making that
represents broad communal vision and longer term thinking. So, thank you so much Am >> I on? >> I think you're muted. >> Am I still muted? >> Good now. >> Good. Okay. My name is David Sorcin. I'm
a township resident. haven't spoken up in a TC meeting in a while, but I did want to just call in tonight regarding the seated discussion. Um, I've been involved in a lot of township boards and committees over the years, and people who know me know that I'm an independent voter. I don't take political sides on anything in this town, but I do
appreciate and recognize people who put in hard work and do their best for our township and our community. Um, I've been on CEDA since its inception when it started before COVID. And I just feel the need to point out, especially in this meeting, that of all the committees I've been on and all I've been involved with in this town, I've never witnessed
and work with the leader, has dedicated to their mission as Jackie since day one. She's spearheaded the committee, organized every meeting, kept us all together. She's made it inclusive, productive, educational, and she's gone above and beyond to bring the community together, and to put creative ideas into play in ways that our town hadn't seen
before. And I know a lot of them have been listed throughout the night. I'm not going to go through the the list again, but I know there's discussion tonight to shut down CEDA largely for compliance reasons and I know exactly why it's happening. But if the program is shut down and reintroduced under a new structure and members of CEDA are
brought over to the new committee, as the mayor mentioned, they will be. Speaking as a resident of the town and a CEDA member, I truly hope that the committee members are allowed to elect the chair and that Jackie has the opportunity to lead the new committee. You won't find anyone more passionate and capable when it comes to putting
cohesive, creative ideas into play for this town. And I just hope that politics doesn't get in the way of forming a committee whose mission is to bring the community together. Thanks so much for your time. Uh,
if you could turn on your video. >> Hi, my name is Sid Boria and I'm a current 10th grader living in Melbourne. I love to play sports, especially the ones played on fields like football, soccer, and baseball. Today, I'm here to ask you not to approve artificial turf for for our high school fields. You
might hear that other towns have done it, so we should, too. Just because it's common doesn't mean it's right, especially when we're talking about a surface that kids and teens will spend hours on for years. Other places around the country have also shut these proposals down, including Boston. I'm
concerned with two things specifically. Heat and chemical exposure for health issues and environmental impact. The Washington Post documented a turf field that measured above 142 degrees Fahrenheit on a 94 degree Fahrenheit date using thermal imaging. They also
report that once turf gets above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, many schools and local governments restrict or ban activities. Mud doesn't automatically make a field unplayable. I, for example, have practiced on grass that's wet or messy, and games often still go on. On
the other hand, extreme heat does make it completely unplayable. If the surface is hot enough to cause burns or raise heat risk, it must be cancelled. This means that we will actually be losing playing time, especially in the late spring, summer, and early fall. The health related impacts are even
larger. Research from Mount Si's ch children's environmental health center strongly rejects artificial turf because of the potential for dangerous heat and chemical exposures, including PAS and microplastics. There's literally no source of artificial tur turf in which this doesn't occur. So don't assume that
we will magically find a way to make it safe and environmentally artificial turf is just a plastic poller. Over time it can shed microplastics and at the end of its life it needs to be removed and disposed of which has a long-term foot footprint. The Washington Post also discusses pollution and microplastics
concurrence with synthetic turf. All things we can stop with our current grass fields. So tonight, I urge you all to vote no on artificial turf for the high school fields. And if we're concerned about safety, we should look at other options like upgrading our natural grass and improving drainage so
we allow for all children to play on them without affecting them and student athletics into a long-term heat, chemical, and plastic pollution risk. Thank you very much. You have anyone else there? >> Good evening. Can you hear me?
>> Yes, we can hear you. >> Good evening. My name is Pastor Aisha Marble. I'm the pastor of Mount Zion AM located at 56 Church Street. And I've had the privilege of serving this historic congregation for seven years.
>> Our church our church has been open and active in this township since 1902 for more than 120 years. And I'd like to speak briefly about America 250 project. The heart of America 250, I believe, is
to tell a fuller American story as we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation. A story that reflects the breath of our communities who built and sustained and shaped this country. And in Milbour, that story must include the historic black church, the only black
church in the community, and the black residents and people of color who have contributed through the BAMs, black Americans of Milburn and Short Hills. They've contributed and we have contributed to the spiritual, civic, and
cultural fabric of this township for generations. Mount Zion AM Church is not new to the community. We are part of its foundation. And after the project was brought to my attention by Oenu Labi, I
reached out and was grateful for the responsiveness of Jackie Lieberg and Jeff Bells. I sincerely thank Jackie for including us as soon as I contacted her. And I appreciated her willingness to engage us. My request tonight is simple.
that black vans at Mount Zion be engaged proactively in the future, not as an afterthought, but as recognized stakeholders in the planning and storytelling of America 250. If we're commemorating the history, then we must be honored in full history, right? And
if we are shaping a narrative for the next generation, then inclusion must be at the table, not after the agenda is set. So we stand ready to collaborate meaningfully and visibly in this important initiative. Thank you for your
time and your consideration. We have six more. Hi. Can everyone hear me? >> Yes, we can hear you. >> Yes. I think I'm the probably as far as I've heard the start with your name, please. >> Oh, sorry. My name is Rena Shenowani. I
graduated Milbour 100 years ago and I've lived here for the last 14 years. Uh I think I'm probably the 15th person who has spoken today who is in agreement with some of the things that were said about CEDA.
Gan Pastnac and some of the town council who said that CEDA needs some improvements. I think that keeping the minutes of those meetings and electing a chairperson is very very reasonable and at the same time I think I'm also the 15th person or so who was requesting to
not dissolve CEDA and allow us the opportunity to improve it and we always are thankful to getting constructive feedback and to improving. I think that's our whole purpose in in on this planet is to constantly improve ourselves whether it's a personal thing
or it's a professional and whether it's a committee in town. I think it shows great bipartisanship and emotional maturity if we all work together and put the politics aside to allow CEDA the opportunity to improve. My question is
to the town council >> since we've already had about 15 people speak in favor of keeping CEDA and I'm sure that there are dozens of others who agree with us that it didn't who didn't make it today. So there's bunch of us who are in agreement they didn't show up
today. What would it take to cancel the resolution to dissolve this CEDA cancellation? Should we put together a petition to prove and provide evidence to the town council that there are dozens and dozens of us who are all in
agreement urging the town council to reverse the decision and cancel the resolution? Thank you. Can you hear me? >> We can hear you. >> Good evening. My name is Cheryl Dearis. I'm a 35-y year resident of Milgn Short
Hills. I'm here tonight to express my deep disappointment in what the Republican members of this township committee are doing to CEDA and to its chair, Jackie Leverberg. Miss Leverberg is a former township committee member, deputy mayor, and mayor of our town. She's been a dedicated volunteer has who
has selflessly served on numerous committees, including more than eight years on CEDA. During her tenure, Ceda has enriched our community in tangible and lasting ways. Everybody has already listed all the things that CEDA has done. So, I'm not going to go through
that list again. Um, but there are just many examples of how this committee under Jackie has enriched our community. Um, including the beautiful Kyle mural commemorating the 250th anniversary that Jackie is
spearheading. These are not small accomplishments. They reflect vision, dedication, and a commitment to celebrating the diversity and history of Milbourne. To dissolve this committee and reconstitute it in a form where the township committee selects the chair,
the vice chair, and the secretary would make CEDA the only committee not permitted to choose its own leadership. That is in my view an unprecedented overreach, especially when the stated reason is that the chair did not take minutes or post agendas for meetings. If
that is the issue, it sounds like an administrative oversight that can be addressed with a simple directive, take minutes going forward. Instead, the response feels disportionate and punitive. It also concerning that this remedy has been proposed over the
objection of Councilman Cosgrove, your own liaison to see It raises important questions. Are all other committees strictly adhering to every procedural requirement? If not, would the same remedy be proposed, dissolution and restructuring, or is
this an isolated response? The overreaction to this administrative mistakes feels less like good governance and more like a partisan attack. Particularly troubling given that those supporting this ordinance ran on a platform of vote for Milbour, not for party. Good governance requires
consistency, fairness, and respect for volunteers who give their time and energy to this town. This action sets a troubling precedence. Does it encourage residents to volunteer knowing that a procedural misstep could result in removal or restructuring? Will committee
chairs now worry about being targeted as the political makeup of the township committee changes? That kind of lack of continuity is not good governance and it is not good for Milbour. In closing, I urge you to reconsider this ordinance. Let's correct what appears to be an
administrative oversight without dismantling a committee that has brought creativity, inclusion, and pride to our community. Thank you. Just can you hear me? Okay. >> Yes, we can hear you.
>> Thank you. I'm Laura Overdck and I uh live in the Woodfield estate section that's been talked about a lot tonight. Uh I wanted to address the comment before that there's trying to gaslight that there are no supporters here and that maybe we knew what was going on. Um
I'm at home because I have bronchitis and did not want to cough on all of you. Um, I know that there are many supporters who actually were there tonight and there are others on Zoom who are out of town and um, you know, we just couldn't make it. I'm surprised as well that it got delayed, but I have to
say I'm glad because I think some key issues have been um, highlighted tonight. Uh I'm really kind of taken aback about the comment about neighbors being pitted against each other because frankly a lot of us have had
conversations among each our ourselves where we don't agree and it's been fine. I mean I've lived here 20 years. Some of my very longtime friends in this neighborhood. We don't necessarily agree, but it's cordial. One of them just asked me for a contractor recommendation this morning. I think the
people who are seeing the friction are the ones causing it. And what it is is that the pressure that was put on people to sign this petition against has been immense and there has really been bullying and harassment going on. And um as for people who now are wondering if
they should have signed it and maybe coming off uh rather than insulting their intelligence, I think we should ask why they feel like that. And the reason they do is because they realize that they were really pushed by people who gave a very one-sided opinion. It
turns out that the people leading this opposition, two had major projects to do to their houses that they never disclosed to people. One just tore the house down and another is building a 46- ft extension. And then there are two
real estate lawyers and I think uh the neighbors are like, "Wow, like why didn't anybody share any of that before pushing to sign the petition against?" As for how it works, I my understanding is that's just the law. If enough, you know, if a bunch of people in a
neighborhood put the idea in front of the TC and the TC wants to explore it, it's off and running and then it's up to a protest vote to push against it. So yes, the burden of proof is on those who are against and that is exactly why they
are so virulent and so pushy in uh desperately trying to grab people and unfortunately with very misleading information. So to the TC, I just want to thank you because I mean I know there's a lot going on tonight and it seems there are a lot of emotional
issues, but uh delaying this I think is helpful because honestly I think my neighbors um deserve better treatment and deserve time to to learn more about what's really going on and and whether they support this or not and have time to
learn about this law because frankly it is helpful for us to be historic fend off. >> Thank you. Anyone else? Uh, you can turn your video on. >> Hi, can you hear me?
>> Yes, we can hear you. >> Good evening everyone. Uh, my name is Vanita Gangal and I'm a resident of Milbour. I also serve on the environmental commission but tonight I'm here uh representing a volunteer group called Melbourne for climate action. It was actually referenced by another
person in the meeting today um um in connection with the artificial turf proposal from Melbourne High School and a letter that has been circulated by Melbourne for climate action group on uh some social media pages. Uh in fact that letter was also sent to some members on
this committee. Uh I hope uh you got that and read it as well because we have not heard a response yet. In any case, I would like to take this opportunity to uh really express some key points on why that letter was sent out and what are some of the concerns that Melbourne for climate action members are raising with
respect to the artificial turf proposal. So we understand that the township committee and BOE have come to an agreement to jointly fund a proposal to convert two fields to artificial turf and this is in response to you know many people in our town want uh enhanced
access to fields and so do we Melbourne climate action members while want this community to be sustainable there are also parents uh students coaches and uh parents of athletes so we we do want to see the same thing however our concern is that before we commit millions of
dollars of public uh funds. This decision should really be based on a comprehensive and transparent comparison of other viable options. To date, what we have seen is that uh the BOE has commissioned a feasibility study which was narrowly scoped really just to
consider feasibility of converting the natural turf to artificial turf. There was no mention of comparing other options such as enhanced uh uh managed natural fields or perhaps some hybrid options that have been proposed by some other members. So this project which is
expected to cost upfront cost about 7.5 to 8 million plus ongoing maintenance uh you know we are just going about uh going at it without really analyzing the other options or not. Uh so what this letter is asking is for this township
committee as well as BOE to pause any approvals and really uh conduct a thorough study to analyze three options which is the natural turf which is better managed and enhanced management compared to artificial turf and hybrid
uh on various factors such as financial cost um and that financial cost should look at the full life life cycle. I know somebody mentioned that natural grass turfs takes a lot of money to maintain, but what about artificial turf? I mean, it's a lot of money going into it and then it's only going to last for about 8
to 10 years and then we'll be talking about another $10 million 10 years down the road. So, is the township putting in an escrow for that fund right now as well? How are you thinking about that? Second thing is artificial turf is not permanent from a financial cost
perspective, but it does leave u you know long-term permanent time is up. Thank you. Comments at the end. >> Okay. So, Ah, good evening. Uh, I'll keep my remarks brief as I know the evening is
dragging on. Uh, there's not much I can add to the praise that's been heaped on Jackie Lieberg and the fine work of CEDA over the years since its formation. So, I won't belabor that point. And I think everyone has heard enough of that fine work. And without rebuttal or complaint
to that fine work, what I would like to point out for the township committee members consideration though is what we haven't heard. We've not heard of years of complaints by or to the township committee. We've not heard of years of complaints by members of CEDA over the
years. All we've heard is about the fine accomplishments of that committee and of its chairperson who has given her time freely and and without compensation. So all we have really is one complaint about administrative recordkeeping which
I don't despair should be attended to and it's already been agreed to be taken care of on a going forward basis. Nothing this committee will do will change the fact of what's happened in the past. Agendas and minute meetings will not be recreated from five or six
years ago. They will be created going forward. And therefore, this rush to judgment to dissolve the committee to take over responsibility for appointing the chair and the secretary and overseeing it can only be concluded as
an overreach and perhaps a vindictive statement by the township committee members to this committee without real justification. I hope you all will show us that you're better than that >> and not approve this resolution and allow the CEDA committee to go forward continuing to do its fine work for the
benefit of all of us who live in this committee in this community and for the benefit of Milbour as a whole as it goes down the years to greater success. Thank you. >> I'm sorry. Real quick, could you state your name for the record? >> Oh, sorry. Sorry. Uh David Boyco, Short
Hills, resident going non 24 years. Thank you. Last one. Can you all hear me? >> Yes, we can. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. Oenabi,
18 years Melbourne resident. Um, I want to begin by reaffirming my support for the historic district designation which I expressed at the previous meeting. um preserving the character and history of Melbourne Short Hills matters
deeply to me as it matters to a lot of um you know some of the other resident that have spoken up um and I stand firmly behind that effort. Um, I would like to also make it clear, um, that the next thing I'm about to say is by no
means an attack towards anyone, especially not towards Jackie. But, um, I I I feel like it still needed to be said that I was very disappointed to learn that the black Americans of Milbourne Short Hills were initially left out of the Milbourne 250 mural.
um our community would not have been included at all had I not raised concern about this omission. Excuse my voice. I'm also struggling with a terrible code. Um you know we are here in Melbourne short hills. We exist. We contribute. We own homes. We pay taxes
and we are part of the fabric and history of this town. I hear people speak often about the Chinese community, the Indian community and others and they are absolutely they absolutely deserve a recognition but rarely do I hear anyone speak about the African-American
community in the same way. Um we should not be an oversight. You know I am known in this town. I have contributed to this town not for ego um am I mentioning this but because I believe in service and community and I know many other black families who have done the same for
decades. So our presence is real and our history is intertwined with Milbourne's history. Um you know and since raising this issue um I've also you know shared clear information on how the black American community can be reached and engaged. um you know so there's no
reason for you know Cedar to overlook us. Um I would also like to add that you know in my opinion Cedar is not complete and it's not truly diverse if African-American is not part of its membership. Um you know any community or
advisory body that claims to represent the full community must reflect the full community. Um this is no target like I said towards anyone in particular. I'm simply sharing what I have experienced and what many others have experienced quietly for years. Um, I appreciate that
our image has now been added to the mural. Um, uh, but the fact that this oversight occurred in the first place is troubling. As we celebrate 250 years of Melbourne's history, representation should be intentional from the beginning, not corrected only after
someone raises an eyebrow. Um, you know, I just the truth just need to be spoken. And my question now is how do we ensure that this type of oversight does not happen again and what processes will be put in place so that inclusion is not an afterthought but you know a standard.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> We have one Hi, my name is Nita. Um, I'm in the Wyoming section uh off of Melbourne. Um, I have kids in the Wyoming elementary school, both into games. Um I'm here to
talk about the artificial turf. Uh I've spoken earlier at the board of education meeting and expressed my concern about um about the board thinking through um long-term health of our students um and m ensuring that um that the options out
there don't affect them um in terms of long-term health. Uh I'm adding on to Bonita's um uh previous messaging as well. Um it's just it's to bring to the highlight that uh there is now a a petition online um with over 100 140
signatures um that collected within the last 2 days. Um there was already a letter that was submitted with signatures but there is also a change um petition as well. um it is building uh uh momentum and more people are are
expressing their concern over um the choice of artificial tough. Um I urge the township committee to do the right thing here uh for our children uh for our community and for sustainability. Thank you. >> Anyone else from the audience?
Good evening, Jerry Kong, Short Hills resident. Um, I just wanted to make a guess observation. Um my understanding is that CEDA is currently constituted by resolution which is done which is renewed annually and the current
proposal is actually to dissolve CEDA whatever you want to call it and restructure it under a new name but that's going to be done via ordinance and my understanding of ordinances is that they're actually stronger than via resolution because they become permanent standing bodies that are actually
incorporated into our town code. Now, you know, I'm not an attorney, so you don't don't quote me on any of that, but my understanding of the municipal law is that that's how it's done. And my read of this is actually, you know, it's it's strengthening the cultural diversity committee or whatever committee we want
to call it, um that, you know, represents the fabric of our community. So, I think it's a great thing actually that this very important committee is going to be institutionalized in our town code rather than subject to the whims of annual renewal. Um, the other thing is, you know, there's been a lot
of talk about Jackie and, you know, I I greatly respect Jackie's volunteerism and I think it's contributed a lot to our community. No one has actually said that the TC is not going to appoint Jackie as chair. Am I correct on that because it's perfectly possible for you
to make that decision. Now, you know, I I I don't know. I think there's just a lot of stuff getting thrown around. I think we've heard a lot of great things about Jackie today. That's great. I you know I I think it's it's great that we have such engagement in our community but I also think it's important for
future generations to be able to understand what has been done and that's the purpose of the minutes. So you know I I don't see this as necessarily punitive. I see it as enhancing the committee. Um and to be honest I you know I'm on the CEDA committee. I joined
as a new member this year and I wanted to get up to speed and there weren't any minutes but that's fine. I I learned a lot about what has gone on over the last six years today. So I thank everyone for coming out. Um but I think more importantly um I raised at the meeting that we should have a compiled list of
community organizations. Um and so that would prevent any individual organization from being elected um or left out in the future. So, I did raise that at the first CEDA meeting and I do hope that whoever does become the chair takes us up on that and makes it public
information because I think it is it would it would help the new members of the committee and the community at large. Um, the other uh statement I did want to make um is in regards to something Miss Fineberg said earlier about the Senate bill S 4736.
Um, that's actually a bill that sorry, that's the number from last year. I know they did renew it this year and there's a new number. Um my understanding and council can correct me if I'm wrong is that that actually supersedes any fourth round plan that is filed and approved by the courts. So the 40 units an acre with
a 20% set aside would still be in effect irregardless of whatever is in the fourth round. It would they bas I believe the language in the uh proposed legislation is shall approve. So Dr. Thank you. Sorry,
I know this is going on for a long time. Debbie Frank, uh, long-term resident. Um, I really do fail to see if the problem is an admin administrative oversight, which had not been raised before in terms of CEDA
constituting a new committee actually puts you in exactly the same position that you're in right now, which is the committee that was before, the organization that was before didn't have minutes. This new committee also will not have minutes. So I don't see that you come forward at all.
And I also failed to see on the basis of a c this is a this is a committee with a longterm stake in this community with a vision for this community for bringing people
together for um exposing everybody to other cultures that also exist in this community. It's a waterable goal. Perhaps you want to keep that since it is doing that. And since it has said people here, the people who were on
the committee, the chair of the committee, all of them have said you have problems with our process, we will amend the process. So then I agree with the people who say that once you have that, then this does
seem vindictive. It does seem punitive and at least to a significant share of the community. Whether or not you feel that in your hearts, you're saddled with it. Thank you. >> Else last chance. All right. I now post
public comment and we are going to take a five minute recess. All right. All right. So, we're going to begin again. We'll start with the committee members response to public comment. I'm
gonna go first. So had a lot of people come out tonight to say a lot of very lovely things about CEDA uh and about the uh current self-anointed chair Jackie Benjamin
Leverberg. And I would like to give my heartfelt thanks and recognition to Jackie Benjamin Lieber for all of the work that she has done over the past several years for CEDA for the town. Um, you know, we appreciate all volunteers
in in our town. Um, but that being said, there are some structural issues that we discovered with CEDA. Uh, and we chose to take action. Um, the action that we're taking is not going to dissolve CEDA. It's not going to eliminate it or
abolish it. It's not deemphasizing arts or engagement. Um, you know, we felt that if we were going to reune the committee that it would be appropriate to have a new name. Uh, and so when I looked at CEDA, I looked at the E engagement. Well, all of our committees,
especially when they have to do with culture and community, should be engaging. So that just seemed unnecessary to have that in there. And the arts, I mean, arts is part of culture. So the cultural diversity committee I thought better enshrined you know the true purpose which remains the
same as the original committee. Uh it it is focused on bringing together all of the different cultures we have in our community celebrating those cultures uh you know and and the arts and the food and everything that goes along with with culture right so you know I just think
it's very important that we get that out there. Um we had also planned and I had told the TC members this as well. My plan is not only would we solicit uh you know more volunteers. We would take all of the existing seed of volunteers and
appoint them as members to the new committee. Uh we see this new committee as sort of the you know the the newer version of what existed. Uh and we're going to do it better than before. And that's another reason that we're doing it by ordinance instead of resolution.
As Dr. Con correctly pointed out, resolutions have to be renewed every single year. And we feel that this is such an important committee to have that we might as well enshrine it as an ordinance so that it persists year after year and doesn't depend on the committee
having to reconstitute it every single year. uh that also allows people to have multiple year terms uh on on the new board. Um you know, you can't do that with a resolution. With a resolution, you have to appoint people every single
year when you do the reorg. Now, when it comes to a reorg, what was supposed to happen every year with this committee was that they were supposed to elect their chair. my understanding that for the past six years such an election
never occurred or was even attempted for that matter. Now because we don't have minutes we don't know for certain whether this is the case or not but I have yet to have a single person tell me if it's a member of the committee tell me that indeed an election did occur. So
that was a pretty you know egregious issue for someone to anoint themselves the chair even if they were sort of the brainchild of this and the founding member. You can't just anoint yourself the chair in perpetuity. That's not how government works. Uh and when we see
problems like this, we need to correct them. Um you know, the other thing that that came up is is people are saying, well, this is an, you know, clerical error, administrative oversight, some minor issue. The fact of the matter is the the de facto chair of the committee
was a former mayor uh and a township committee member. They had full knowledge of how the government worked, how a reorg was supposed to work, how committees are supposed to work. So, you know, to me, I don't see that as an
innocent error. I see that as, you know, an individual knew what they were doing and chose to do what they did. And we can't we can't allow um these sort of issues to go on. Now, people have come and said, "Well, this is partisan. This is partisan." Well,
the only thing partisan I saw about tonight was you had probably the majority of the Democrat committee came out and had their people speak in support of Jackie. And while that's fine, you know, again, I I think Jackie's accomplishments are to are are
to be lauded. Um there's nothing political about this. It doesn't matter whether you're Republican, a Democrat, or independent. If we had someone that was the self-anointed chair of a committee going on six years, not following the rules, not keeping the minutes, we would take corrective
action. They have nothing to do with the individual or the political party. In fact, you know, it was when Ben and I took office that we started to actually see some more political diversity on committees because prior to that, prior administrations for years and years had
kept Republicans off of a lot of committees. In fact, I I was told that when the leadership digging, you know, over a decade ago, uh, former Republican committee members on subcommittees said, "Oh, you know, we'll offer you all of
the support and advice you need." And I believe it was someone potentially in this room that said, "It's our turn now." Right? So, to be clear, there's nothing partisan about what we're doing. We're trying to take corrective action against the committee that was sort of
running brogue and we don't want to belittle their accomplishments. We want all of their work to continue. We do want to make the committee stronger. We do want to correct the issues. Uh and that's exactly what we're going to do tonight uh with
with the new ordinance. Um okay. So now moving on to historic preservation. Uh I appreciate everyone that came out on both sides of this issue. You know, this all came about when we had uh some residents from the neighborhood approach
us uh and and say, you know, the majority of residents want this in the neighborhood. And I had seen a copy of a of a petition that indicated that the majority of residents wanted the historic designation. And so we started
the process, right? And then it went to the HBC. They did a report, they voted on it, and then it came back to the TC. Now, in the time since then and now, it's clear that people have changed their minds potentially multiple times.
We've had multiple petitions. I think the first petition we had had about 15 uh signatures on it and then we had a more official petition uh submitted. The petition is valid as far as hitting the 20% threshold. So, you know, we would
require a twothirds majority of the TC in order to pass the ordinance. Uh when we when we do reconsider the ordinance uh for second read on uh later in April. Um but you know, since that petition was
submitted, we've had people send us emails and say, you know what, I changed my mind. I want to take my signature off of that petition. I've also had phone calls from people saying, you know what, some of the well, and they're not in the room anymore, but some of the people that were in this room were outside
taking photographs of cars outside their house in in a manner that seemed intimidating. Right? We've had other individuals call us and say, "Well, you know, I've I've received conflicting information. I've received misinformation." In fact, one of the
people that led the uh opposition to this effort actually sent me a copy of information that he put out that contained all sorts of factual inaccuracies. So, I think it's fair to say that there's been misinformation potentially on both sides. I think
people are still learning about what this process means. And so that weighed into uh my my decision to make the motion tonight to table it because I do think the neighborhood needs more time. There's some people in this very room that had asked for us to slow down the
process and give them more time. And so we've granted that there is now another month for all of the neighbors to figure out exactly what's best for them, what's best for their neighborhood, and then we will see, you know, what the result is. The other thing I'd like to mention is while a petition was submitted legally
as per our ordinance, we are not bound to follow the petition. The way the historic preservation ordinance is written, you don't need to have a vote. It's more of an opt out than it is an opt in. Right? So that's why the ordinance has the protest provision and
that triggers a twothirds majority. But people had asked, you know, why is this opt out as opposed to opt in? Well, that's how our ordinance works. And that ordinance by the way has won awards in the state for being the model historic preservation ordinance. So you know that is that is the bar that is set and we
are you know the de facto standard there. So we have a great ordinance and look I think the fact that people are coming out and voicing their opinion on one side or another is just a testament to how well the process works because everyone is getting a chance to have their voice heard and ultimately the
township committee will make their decision. Um, now with regards to the fields, um, this is something that's been going on for quite some time. We have had a major, as we've heard tonight, there's been a major deficiency with our fields.
Someone likened it to trying to put 10 pounds of flour in a 5B bag. I'd say it's worse than that. I'd say trying to put 50 pounds of flour in a 5B bag. Um, you know, we would also never do anything that's going to endanger our
our children, members of our community, or our health. Um, you know, there are a lot of claims about synthetic turf that have been made, and some of these claims are outdated. There's a lot of new uh synthetic materials that have come on the market just in the past decade.
There's synthetic earth that has no fill or has organic fill. something I just read today. Apparently, certain types of organic fill no longer has the heat issue. The the heat is similar to that of a grass field compared to the old
school, you know, synthetic turf of yester year used to use black rubber and yeah, that would get very hot. There were heat issues. There's also types of synthetic turf that have no fill and so they also don't have those heat issues. There's also hybrid turf options that we're looking into and all of these
things will be looked into during the engineering phase of the project. No decision has been made as to what material is going to be used. And I think it's also important, you know, uh Mr. Bambber, I thank you for coming and bringing this to our attention. And I think someone shared an article with me
earlier today about this. this turf uh or or fields project is an opportunity to potentially help do some flood mitigation by having storm water detention underneath whatever we build and you can only get that with an engineered solution. I don't know that
you could do that with a natural grass field. something we can look into for sure, but I think that most of the stuff that I've read at least thus far is that if you're going to build a large tension basin under a field, it's going to have to be an engineered field and often times it's going to be a synthetic permeable material. So, look, I think
there's a lot more uh to learn about this. There's a lot more decisions to be made. no decisions have been made and you know even if we advance this process along when we get to the engineering phase that's when they're going to evaluate all of the different options
all the different materials and then they'll make decisions from there. Um let's see. >> All right. I think that's it for now. Who would like to go next? I'll go next. I'm uh I just want to talk about two
things. Um first of all, um it was uh it was in it was heartening but not surprising to see all the people who came out in support of of Jackie Leverberg and the CEDA committee particularly those people who work with her either on the committee or um um
with the committees that she's interacted with. I just heard the explanation and I know and then also address Dr. Kung's comment. Yes, it is true that an ordinance is makes the committee stronger but an ordinance could have been written that didn't change the name and didn't change the
election of the management of the committee. So it sounds nice but you know there was more to it than that. Yeah, I use the explanation that we just got there where you know how we're trying to make it stronger and I I don't mean to take people to take offense, but
I think the cliche is trying to put lipstick on a pig because that's what I see as happening. I've said it at new business. I said it at old business and I'll say it again tonight and vote it accordingly that I think this is an overreach and totally unnecessary.
whatever problems have occurred in the past, putting a new committee isn't going to change the past. So, you know, we we've seen dedic dedication and we've seen support from the people who work with her and and the people in the committee. We should just leave things
be with the provision of making the changes on minutes and elections. Um, and then with regard to uh the HPC and tableabling it, I learned more about why this was done in the response to public comment than I did when we sat down uh
tonight. All as we sat down, first thing I hear is we're going to table it, which I was surprised because I saw tons of people here and I really and with the science, which frankly I could do without, but you know, you were right. Um, and you know the the uh it's
unfortunate, you know, my name starts with C, so I had to vote first. So in the five seconds that I had to think about it, I said, I think these people are pretty dug in, whichever side they're on. So you want to stretch it out, stretch it out. I'd rather get it over with, but if that's what people
seem to want to do, go along with it. I don't think it's going to change it. But here we are. So it'll go until April 21st. I think we'll get the same result on April 21st that we would have got. Thank you. >> I'm happy to go. Um want to just address
um Miss Christian who talked about crosswalks on Wyoming Avenue and cutouts. Uh Mr. McDonald, I think you said that we'd be able to follow up on uh that. >> Yes, that was that was discussed in our meeting >> at our meeting with the county. Correct. Right. So um which is excellent. on the
bridge in particular. I'm not as familiar. Do we own that bridge? The county owes the bridge to the county. Okay. So, we have to look at that bridge. Um, but just want to uh address
that double parking uh to Miss Powell 100%. I think we're all on the same page about that. I think we'll talk about that a little bit later the agenda today with fines. Um, big issue. Uh, we need the enforcement. Um, and uh, we got to
get going on that. Uh, explore appointments, you know. Um, I think we're going to try to move forward on that within the next couple weeks, which will be good. Uh, Mr. Brazelle, who happens to be a friend, we serve on the Fourth of July committee together. Full disclosure, Mr. Brazelle was appointed as the environmental commission chair
directly by the township committee. The environmental commission does appoint does have their chair appointed by the township committee directly. Maybe that's because >> the citizen affordable housing advisory committee and I'd have to go through to see if any other >> well no I'm just full disclosure there
are committees that are >> that's because the statute from the state is written that way that's not something we have control >> flood mitigation same >> flood mitigation is uh well we now we've have an or I'm not going to respond from the audience but just we the ordinance we've designated now which actually
we're going to have second reading today uh long story short uh I think the mayor sort describe different details. I just give praise to Jackie. I've known uh Miss Lieber for several years. Um but you know, I think uh you know, we have the art advisory committee as well. I don't know what role they're playing
with art. Um but I think that we need to really engage them on the arts as well. Um but I think you know the mission is of uh of of cultural engagement, diversity and arts can be in you know implemented in in this new format. I don't think there's any problem with that. I'd like to see Miss Lieberg
continue uh uh you know with the committee and all the members um and looking forward to seeing how things move forward, but I don't think there's any negative. Um you know, I just want to call one thing out. Yes, I'm white. I'm male. I'm young. I'm Catholic. I'm a Republican. I'm Italian. I can't control
that. And you know, anybody who wants to and I'm also a Jersey boy. So, uh, I'm sorry people may feel that way that I have those identifying characteristics, but I believe that's completely inappropriate to bring up. And might I add, we've had nine women mayors in a
row in the township. So, leave it at that. Um, fields, look, uh, I think we've seen the weather in the last several weeks and days. um turf would enable us to uh move pretty
quickly on uh getting back uh uh getting back uh in order. I think Mr. Stler referred to that as well about field conditions and getting ready for the um this year's conditions. U grass. It's going to be a long long time
coming on that. Um I think that's probably it. Um I just appreciate all the engagement. you know, I think it's it's healthy when we have the dialogue up here and in the audience. Um, but, you know, let's all be uh let's all be very respectful, I think, of one another. Um, you know, I
think the call out of our identities is just completely inappropriate and it's really sad to see that. I'm just going to say that. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Mayor. Yeah. A few comments. It's been a long meeting, so I want to repeat, you know, uh, what what other
folks have said. Um, I'll start with CEDA. Um, and and kind of encourage everyone here who's interested, who hasn't watched the actual meeting to go watch it. Um it there's certainly a footfall there with with no um with with
the with the election uh and the no minutes, but at the heart of that meeting and the dispute was about a political tile and whether there should be a political tile on the uh on the board. Um and if you watch it, that's what it's about. And then fast forward
and here we are today with this draconian effort. Um I'll disagree a little with my colleague, Mr. Cohen that um you know if you passed an ordinance tonight or you passed a resolution tonight, it's got the same legal effect. One lasts longer than the other, but it
doesn't strengthen anything if you pass an when you look at the ordinance that's proposed. There by far is no guarantee um that me current members uh will be reappointed. There's certainly no guarantee that the that committee will
be able to elect their own uh chair and there's no guarantee that Jackie Lieberg will be the chair selected by the by this group. Um, I listened to the audience today. Um, and if I did my math right, uh, there were 23 people, uh,
that didn't want to change this, and there's three, maybe four, five, six people, um, that want to change it. Um on the tile issue, um my understanding is that the 250 committee, who we have
two members of this board on that 250 committee, had made a decision that they did not want any political tiles on the mural. Yet, here we are talking about, you know, this draconian I I don't know what else to say other
than I really think my fellow TC members that are voting for this have gone a little too far. Um, and I really think that when you look at a problem, uh, you solve the problem. You don't come in with a sledgehammer trying to trying to crush everything.
>> So, for the record, uh, I'm opposed to there being any political tiles. I'm I'm not sure why that came up at the past meeting. I don't think it has any relevance to any action that we're taking. Um, you know, personally, I think that if the 250 committee made a policy for which types of organizations
were going to be permitted, then that policy should be articulated and adhered to. Um, I think one of the problems is that CEDA never really articulated one way or another what the criteria was. They never provided a list as to whom uh
which organizations uh would qualify for a title, which ones were contacted. Um, you know, I find it quite troubling that, you know, the only uh black church that we have in town was feels excluded. I mean, I think that's that's terrible. That's a that's a pretty big deal if you
are a committee that is dedicated to cultural engagement. Um, seems like the engagement part of that was was left out. If if someone is coming forward saying they feel excluded, I mean, that's that's pretty terrible. So um you know I think that if we had proper
govern governance and structure and we had leadership that was doing things by the book having minutes you know uh being able to produce lists keeping records etc then things like this could be avoided Mr. solar.
>> I wasn't I sorry. Yeah. And on the HPC, not to repeat too much, um, everyone was here tonight. I think it should have gone forward instead of being carried. >> Voted for. >> That's it. Thank you. >> All right. Uh, I'm g pull my glasses off
for this. Um, uh, yeah, the the conversation up here is not about a certain point in time. It's about the last years that this town has experienced and looking for good, effective, constructive change. I'm just going to read a couple pieces from a letter here that that really drove me to
service. Two things drove me to service for sitting up here on the stasis. One is this letter I'm going to read and two is putting 75 families on a contaminated site uh and with no environmental concerns or people lining up at the at
the as a speaker to talk about. Uh so first and and I hate to go down this path, but I'm going to since uh our friends here brought it up. I'm a lifelong resident of Milbourne as well as a longtime registered Democrat. I've served Milbourne Township in volunteer positions for over 25 years, including
15 years on MSH volunteer first squad. Over the last six years, I've represented township residents as mayor and now deputy mayor on the township committee. Until recent local events forced me to choose between the party and my conscience. I had no intention of leaving the local Milbour Short Hills Democratic Party. I first noted a
problem with party politics when I was expected to hire firms that were promoted by the county Democratic Party to perform township work. I was forced to choose between obedience to the party and maintaining my integrity and commitment to serving the residents of Milurn Shore Hills.
After reading that, I've been a lifelong independent, probably leaning way more to the Democratic side, but after reading that, that forced my hand to to to call to service and understanding that there were structural issues in our town on
what had to be that needed to be remedied. Um, this is not about a party. It's not about Republican or Democrat. It's about doing what's right for the Milbour residents. Uh, and that's what I I'm gonna do. Um, and you know,
as I got to know I've gotten to know Jackie Liber. She's fantastic person. We've worked together on the on the on the uh bid on the uh on the uh uh the business improvement district. Um it's just a testament to have so many people come
out and say so many nice things about her and and give her that support. But that's I supported. That's not what we're talking about today. We're talking about structural changes that need to be fixed from years of of things running them up. And that's kind of how I'm
going to make my decision on that. Um the fields, let me just read it, let me just read something out to you guys on the fields, honestly. uh Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn University, uh Princeton,
Yale, uh Newark, Pingri, Newark Academy, Pingry, uh Mount Kimberly, Del Barton, Golden Oak, uh Oak Null, Barbrook, um uh let me see what else here. Uh Livingston, West Orange High School,
Summit High School, Chattam High School, Madison High School. You know what they all have in common? Anybody take a a wild guess? They have tur fields. >> The the incipic gaslighting that's going on regarding these fields is crazy.
The cost somebody came up to the black and said the Yankees and the Mets use grass fields. The NFL stadiums use grass fields. All their practice facilities are turf.
The cost is beyond beyond reproach for the cost to maintain those fields. I've been on this rec committee now and the joint fields committee for over two years. There's a s significant deficit of fields for our children to play on. Take the phones, the iPads, all that
garbage. Throw it out. It shouldn't the kids should be playing sports. We should have the opportunity to give them the fields to give them nice fields uh that they can play year round. Uh and after the I was speaking earlier about the playability of the grass fields, it's going to probably be three to four weeks
before we could even play on those fields when we were expected to open up on March 1st. So that's that's very very difficult. Um you know, I I think it's akin to looking at looking at car batteries. Honestly, they did a whole life cycle analysis on
them, but they removed the harvesting of the battery and what it does to our earth and the disposal disposal of the battery. There's 250,000 Tesla batteries sitting in storage. No one knows what the hell to do with them. You know, if you put that into life cycle analysis, there's a problem. And you know, my
entire job, my entire business focus is on how do we, you know, remove CO2 from the atmosphere? How do we reduce shipping costs, etc. So, you know, I think once again, this is a red herring. We're throwing it out there. We're gaslighting the community. This and that. The work has been done. It's been
great work by a lot of dedicated people uh uh and a lot of time being put in. I love the idea about the flood mitigation from uh Mr. Bambber. Uh the whole idea there was to bring it back and there's that creek behind the uh behind the fields to run the water off into that uh
and such. Uh but I think we're going to look at that as well. Uh the whole idea that the financial work has not been done is a farce. The financial work's been done. Uh you know, somebody to throw an analysis together and say, "Oh, your cost of doing a field." They brought a guy in from Madison to our
open space. Great guy. Send me the work. They're going to transform a old turf field into a new grass field. Okay. Well, how much is that going to cost? Couple hundred,000. Okay. When are you going to play on it? Well, we have to stay off it for a year. And it takes four to five years to have it fully
playable. I'm like, "What world am I living in to see that happen?" Uh, and I said, "Send me over the financial analysis. I'm pretty good at finance. I've been my entire life. I can do the numbers. Let me take a look at it." Haven't received it. I don't think I'm going to receive
it. Uh, and it's for one lousy little soccer bill um that that they're working. Um, anybody who compares us to Maplewood, South Orange, uh, Montlair, all these other things, they're on the verge of bankruptcy, folks. I think I heard somebody mention it before. They
have triple C credit. Uh uh you know, in terms of, you know, Milburn's going to lead from the front. We're going to lead by example. We're going to lead with um with uh with uh with our best intentions for all residents and moving forward. Uh
what else did I have here? >> Oh, uh uh HPC. Uh I actually glad we we kicked it. We we pushed it down a little because it give everybody a chance to look at the information. I I wouldn't kick the saying it gives people a chance to check to change their position to to
be for it. It's going to change some may change some people's position to be against it. The more information is better for the community. We saw this on the Marywood uh null uh uh proposal a couple years ago. There needs to be more information. Everyone needs a chance to
digest the information. the community needs to speak to each other, communicate and have discussion. Um it was interesting the discussion that uh Miss Steinberg gave about the 40 whoever gave about I think it was a slowmax
about the 40 uh units uh uh which is possible. I mean, literally, they're putting a 65 unit housing on our aqua on our on our in on Woodmont called the Woodmont Silverman
project on the aquifer on JFK Boulevard, erratic erasing 138 species. I think it was, you know what the D did? It took 30 minutes for them to say, "Hey, go ahead, do it. No problem." So, understanding big government, small government, all
those different pieces. Time is good. That's people digested and such. Do I believe that you should step on somebody's rights, civil liberties? No. Do I believe in big government? No. I want small government. But there's just certain things that people need to understand whether it works or not. Uh I I am completely up. I don't know which
way I'm going to vote on that when that comes down the down the down the pipe. Uh Pastor uh uh Pastor Marabel, uh I can't I'm gonna go over and speak to her. Uh I hate to have somebody feel excluded in our town. There's nothing
nothing that's more embarrassing than having pastor Marabel come on that Zoom call and say that she felt uh excluded as she wasn't uh included in these discussions. Same thing with Oyan uh who's a who's a a dear friend great
person Saltier. Um just an idea of what percent those fields are of our total space in in mill it's like less than a half of 1% uh and maybe a third of that. So it's very very small in terms of the whole idea of
we're shoving plastic down kids throats. It's uh it's despicable. Um, there anything else I can since I'm on the cell, sir? Um, that's about it. Thank you. >> Is this administrator McDonald? You got
any responses? >> Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Just two brief responses regarding the temporary budget. Um, that resolution is on the agenda because we are getting towards the end of uh the third quarter. Uh while it's usually you know we could
have done this on March 17th of course uh it is on the agenda tonight uh municipalities as I've answered uh every single year um are allowed to allocate 20 26.25% it's actually more now uh the statute has changed I believe 34% 35%
um are allowed to allocate that as a temporary budget. It does not mean that you cannot allocate a single line item in full. Um, for instance, we've had two major snowstorms. Um, so it would make sense for us to allocate as much money as possible considering the first
quarter is in the winter to those line items to ensure that we have the funds to pay for uh, snow removal. So again, 26.25% usually covers a quarter. This authorization is to extend that. As I indicated, the budget process will be
taking place in April and May. Um, and so uh, it can be allocated to single line items. We generally allocate the full aotment to the SID because they do not receive assessments until April 1st. So it it helps them uh function for the first four months uh or three months of
of the year. Um just uh also on the HIF uh just to for a point of clarification um the township has already entered the HIF. Uh we've been in the HIF in 2025. uh for those uh who are keeping up with the the the state health benefits um
last year went up 36% our uh HIF went up 19%. So while still significant uh for health insurance costs we were able to realize those savings by getting out of the state house benefits in 2025. This resolution is just extend that uh uh um
commitment uh to being a part of the head for the next three years. And sorry, I'm gonna I'm gonna piggy back on that. Health insurance in the state of New Jersey in the United States is broken. Completely broken. We own companies uh that's the single largest
line item in our company's budgets year in and year out. And for the last 17, 17 years, it's been a hockey stick straight up. It needs to be fixed. That's where a lot of attention needs to go to. I sit on the finance committee for the budget. I've seen it year over
year. And it's funny and also tell you what do I do? I start I I I go crazy. We start talking about health insurance because I don't have a HIF. I wish I did. I wish we had a a place to go into uh to kind of commoditize or uh to share those expenses. But uh yeah, no one
should be sitting here talking about the the insurance because we're way outperforming all of our neighbors in here in the insurance. >> Sorry. Uh just briefly um I know the mayor mentioned it. I just want to agree with the mayor. Um the petition filed did
invoke the provisions of NJSA 405D-63 and I had given that opinion to the mayor >> also address agenda requirements. >> Oh yeah. So, so to to to the question of
adding a resolution late, um that 48 hour provision doesn't apply to the regular meetings of the governing body. Um we're allowed to conduct regular business. Um we do put the agenda out to the extent known. Uh it's not actually a legal requirement. We notice these meetings at the beginning of the year
and the public is here to attend and witness all. I'm not saying that we shouldn't publish it and we shouldn't. is I think we do you know as best a job we can as notifying the public as to the full extent of the agenda but it's always to the extent known um but pursuant to the law um those meetings
that we notice as our regular business we're allowed to conduct any and all business we can walk resolutions on if we choose to um we don't have to listen on the agenda at all um but again this township is you know that was the intent here I think it's a matter of just whenever it comes up you know sometimes
we want to get things on um but certainly legally believe we can put the resolution on. >> You have anything else? >> Uh, no. >> All right. So, in that case, uh, we will move on to consent agenda resolutions.
The township committee will now consider consent agenda resolutions. There any comments from the committee in regard to any of the items listed on the consent agenda? Okay. May I have a motion to approve resolution 26-072 through resolution 26-083
which are listed on the consent agenda. >> I have a second. >> Uh roll call vote please. >> Mr. Cohen. >> Yes. >> Mr. Poss. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ster. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stler. >> Mayor Secondandy.
>> Yes. All right. Ordinances. Ordinance 2735-26. Cohen is scheduled to sponsor. >> I would like to present an ordinance entitled ordinance 2735-26, ordinance amending and supplementing the township of Milbour Development
Regulations and Zoning Ordinances. This is something that came through the uh zoning code subcommittee. What it does is it it adds it redefineses and expands the definition of what a medical office is and also adds in other other types of
similar but different types of facilities like an ambulatory surgical facility and an urgent care facility. Um there are there are parts of the zoning code that refer to medical offices and our definition needed upgrade and then
where appropriate these uh these other two um these other two types were either included or excluded. So, I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first reading and that the township clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance
with law on the item and for hearing and final passage on April 7th 6th be advised that the public hearing of this ordinance will be held at the Milbourne Education Center located at 434 Milbourne Avenue
>> and I'll second that. So, roll call vote please. >> Mr. Colin, >> yes. >> Mr. Mr. Costco. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cerutoo. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stler. >> Mayor Sakamandi. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Ordinance 2736-26.
Second. Mayor Costro is to schedule the sponsor. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I would like to present an ordinance entitled ordinance 2736-26 ordinance amending and supplementing the Township of Milbourne development regulations and zoning ordinance.
Similar to um Mr. Cohen said a moment ago, this is um another product of the zoning board, the zoning advisory board uh to add additional um definitions where we thought definitions were missing in the code. Um it's a if you
looked at the document, it's a redline document, so you can see it's been added or changed. I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first reading and that the township clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance with
the law in the item and for hearing and final passage on April 7, 2026. Please be advised that the public hearing of this ordinance will be held at the Milburn Education Center located at 434 Milbour, New Jersey. Second roll
call vote, please. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Mr. Costco, >> yes. >> Mr. Cerudo, >> yes. >> Mr. Stler, >> mayor, second, Mandy. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Right. Ordinance 2737-26. >> Uh, I'm the sponsor. So, I would like to present an ordinance entitled Ordinance
2737-26, an ordinance creating the long-term strategic planning advisory committee and adding section 2-39 to the Milurn Township Code. This ordinance would establish the long-term strategic planning committee
we have been discussing for the past several TC meetings. I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first reading and the township clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance with law. the item and for hearing and final passage of March 17, 2026. Please be advised
that the public hearing of this ordinance will be held Milbourne Education Center located at 434 Milbour Avenue. Milbour. I have a second. >> Second. >> I would like to ask this one and also the one after it. Normally we wait we skip a meeting between the first and
second reading and I see we're not doing that. May I ask why that is the case? Yeah, because I asked that we do this one sequentially so that the new committee has time to get up and and running and can be productive this year. It's something we've been talking about
for several meetings, so I see no reason to uh de labor it by skipping the meeting in between. >> Do we have a second? >> Second. >> All right, roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Colin. >> Uh,
no. I'm going to I'm going to say no. So, >> Mr. Costrove. >> Yes. >> Mr. Serutoa. >> Yes. >> Mr. Stler. >> Mayor Sakamandandy. >> Yes. Right. Ordinance 2738-26.
>> I'd like to present an ordinance entitled Ordinance 2738-26. Ordinance repealing resolution 20-35 permanently disbanding and dissolving CEDA and creating section 2-40 from the Melbourne Township Code and creating the
cultural diversity committee. As we discussed at our prior township committee meeting, this ordinance would retire CEDA and recreate it as the cultural diversity committee. This is being done to address long-standing structural and governance issues that have plagued CEDA. When the township committee reconstituted CEDA by
resolution, the requirements were clear annual reorganization. chairperson, a secretary, and minutes. For six years, none of those requirements were mattered. No reorganization, no elected chair, no secretary, no minutes. And when the question of compliance was raised at CEDA's own meeting earlier
this year, the response from its de facto leadership was, and I'm quoting directly, it is reviewed every year, and that's why there's no minutes required. That is not what the resolution says, and this is not a matter of interpretation. Six years of non-compliance does not happen by
accident. happens when there's no oversight, no transparency, and no accountability. This ordinance ends that. I also want to say something about the minutes specifically because while they are not a tech because they are not a technicality, minutes are the record. They are how we verify what happened,
how we track projects, and how we hold a committee by the standards it has set for itself. Now, minutes, new members and new residents cannot build on the work that came before. A committee without record is by definition a closed off club accessible only to those already in the room. This township
committee believes that the best, most qualified, and most diverse voices in our community, deserve a seat at the table. And this new administration, which itself reflects the broad diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that make Milburn what it is, is committed to making and keeping
that a reality. Keeping minutes isn't about bureaucracy. It's about holding ourselves not just to the standards we set, but to a higher standard altogether. That failure of accountability has real consequences. Cedar recently undertook a community mural project, a diversity and
engagement initiative. But two of the most prominent black organizations in our community were not included. Black Americans of Milurn Short Hills and Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church. When a committee operates without transparency or accountability, that is exactly the kind of outcome you
risk. township committee cannot allow its name to be attached to that. I want to sincerely thank for mayor Lieberg for her years of volunteer service and her passion for this community. We hope she will remain involved and under this new structure. She absolutely can. I also
want to acknowledge Costco our liazison who was present when these concerns first surface and who at the time recognized that reform was necessary. The facts before us tonight have not changed since then. This ordinance creates a cultural diversity committee with proper governance, transparency, and accountability. It opens the door to
any resident who wants to serve. The residents of Melbourne deserve nothing less. I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first meeting and that the township clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance with law and the item for hearing and final passage of March 17,
2026. Please be advised that the public hearing of this ordinance will be held at the Milbour Education Center located at 434 Milbour Avenue, Milbour. May I have a second, please? >> Second call, please.
>> Mr. Cohen, >> emphatically, no. >> Mr. Costco, >> no. >> Mr. Ceruda, >> yes. >> Mr. Stler, >> Mayor Sakami, >> yes. All right. Ordinance 2739-26 when Cohen is scheduled to sponsor
>> ordinance uh amending uh this page. Sorry. I would like to present an ordinance entitled Ordinance number 2739-26 ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 7 traffic section 7-11.1
time limit of parking on the revive general ordinances of the township of Milbourne. The proposed amendment to the traffic ordinance is to authorize the installation of two additional 15minute parking spaces on Chattam Road to facilitate parking turnover for
businesses located in the area. So those spaces will be on the side where the stores are. And this I would like to point out this this was originally requested by the merchants that own the business. And I'm happy to see that we're going to his dimension.
>> Right. >> I move that this ordinance be taken up and passed on first reading and that the township clerk be authorized to have the ordinance published in accordance with law and the item and for hearing and final passage on April 7th, 2026. Please be advised that the public hearing of
this will be held at the Milbourne Education Center located at 434 Milbour Avenue. >> I have a second, please. >> Second. Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Mr. Costco, >> yes. >> Mr. Cerudo, >> yes.
>> Mr. Stler, >> hello. >> Mayor, secondy, >> yes. >> All right. Ordinance 2729-26. Good evening, Cerudo. You're scheduled to sponsor. I present for consideration an ordinance entitled ordinance number 2729-26
an ordinance to amend and supplement the revised general ordinances of the township of Melbourne chapter 2 administration article five boards committees and commissions uh this is to uh codify flood mitigation advisory committee um
etc. Tonight is uh the time set for the public hearing and final passage as advertised in accordance with law. >> Declare the hearing open. >> Okay. I move that this public hearing be closed. The ordinance adopted on final reading and attach be directed to
publish the ordinance by title is passed on final reading remark. >> May I have a second please? Roll call vote please. >> Mr. Cohen. So I guess it's possible to change a resolution into an ordinance without changing the committee name, but
I would vote yes. >> Mr. Costco, >> yes. >> Mr. Seruto, >> yes. >> Mr. Stler, >> Mayor Sakamandy, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Ordinance 2730-26.
Scheduled sponsor. I present for consideration an ordinance entitled ordinance number 2730-26 ordinance to amend and supplement to revised general ordinances township of Melbourne chapter 2 administration article 5 board committees and commissions. Purpose of this ordinance
is to establish a residency requirement all volunteers serving on an advisory board in the township. This ordinance would require that those volunteers that are no longer a bonafide resident prior to September 1st of a given year resign from many advisory board they are serving. Additionally, should someone
cease to be a bonafide resident after September 1st of a given year, they will be required to resign as of December 31st of that year. This ordinance would not affect those boards or commissions established through state statute and exemptions would be provided for military service. Tonight is the time
set for the public hearing and final passage as advertised in accordance with law. Declare the hearing open. We move that this public hearing be closed and the ordinance be adopted on final reading and that the township clerk be directed to publish the ordinance by title as passed on final
reading in accordance with law. May I have a second, please? >> Roll call vote, please. >> Mr. Cohen, >> no. Mr. Costco, >> no. >> Mr. Cerudo,
>> yes. >> Mr. Stler, >> Mayor Sakamandandy, >> yes. >> Thank you. >> All right, moving on to old business. Uh, first up is fines. So, uh,
we had some discussions in internally uh about fines uh and I think we came up with a a better approach. Um, so the discussions that we had had uh are that we would have the fines for failure to remove snow and
double parking up to $500 instead of just being a fixed $500 and we would have a mandatory court appearance. What this would do would allow some discretion to the prosecutor and the judge. So if this were someone's first time offense or if they had extenduating circumstances as to why they couldn't
clear the snow or had some sort of hardship or something, then you know the the fines could be reduced. But if it's someone that's a repeat offender, you know, a scoff law, uh, if you will, that, you know, double parks all the time, then, you know, the discretion
would be there to have that $500 fine. So, I think that this, uh, approach would hopefully address some of the issues that committeeman cost pointed out last time. I think he said that the fine be $250 instead of $500. I think this allows the flexibility um,
required. So, I wanted to open this up to the rest of the committee, get their thoughts. Sure. Mayor, >> I just want to say real quick, uh, one legal issue that was brought up, which was, is there a prohibition on a certain percentage increase? And there's not, um, we're allowed to set our ordinance
fines up to $2,000, which state statute, and there's no limitation on a percentage increase. So, >> also like impose jail time for a certain amount. Not that we would do that. >> If Ben gets blocked in again for coffee, he may
certainly certainly better than than than what we were looking at last year. But in the meantime, I checked New York City's uh regulations. It's a $100 for double parking in New York City. So, I'm still, you know, up to 500 certainly is
better, but I just think I don't know why we're in this punitive mode. >> I I don't think it's punitive. I actually I actually think, you know, I've spoken to the the prosecutor. I don't know if you've spoken to him at all or any other prosecutors or even our judge. Um, you know, the ideas about
enforcement and the ability and I I you know, the $500 was, you know, punitive uh just flat rate. uh giving the discretion to the to the to the uh prosecutor gives us a ton of flexibility. Uh he can go from zero to
500 uh first time, etc., etc. Uh but you know, it's a safety hazard for children, safety hazard for seniors, it's a safety hazard for for everyone in town. Uh so I don't I think you're focusing on the wrong part of it. It's not the number, it's what the result is.
You know, I um think uh I like the idea of of the range. Uh you know, I think maybe that's better than just going right to the ceiling. I mean, look, referring to New York City, I don't know if that works, you know, if they're doing a good job. Hoboken certainly, I don't know what their thing
is, but a lot of double parking in Hoboken. >> I don't think we want to model ourselves after New York City. >> And anyway, to be honest, but I I hear you. I I think being reasonable Dave is is important. I don't think excessive fines is the right way to go, but I so I
would I I lean more towards this range. >> I have a question not on the amount. It's actually a question for Mr. McDonald. What plan do you have to enforce these question the the snow removal and and the double cars which is a yearround problem?
Well, I think the snow removal um is much easier in terms of enforcement. Uh I think one of the also the discussions that had come up at the last meeting and uh internal discussion was to extend time as well. So you're going to have that up you know up to 500 but then it
would be >> well 12 I think 12 hours because it's 12 hours after the storm after daylight after the storm. Okay, >> storm ends at 9:00, you know, dawn is 8:00. You have 12 hours from 8:00 to to clear the snow. >> Right now it's 8.
>> Correct. Now, right now it's 8 hours. Um because there is some concern that, you know, people are, you know, they have a contractor, their contractor obviously in a storm like that is, you know, multiple locations, whatever it might be. Um the um as far as the double parking goes, look, you know, I will I
will tell you that that that that at times the enforcement and and I'll just give you some some statistics u that we that we pulled forward 24 and 25. So from January, excuse me, 2024 to December 2025,
we issued 135 summones for double parking, 134 summones for not within a car space on on the street. um 311 substances for not in a car space in the parking lot, which is not really all that relevant, but but maybe
relevant to the overall discussion of uh of of fines as well, but um it does cut both ways a little bit in the sense that that um at times we've done targeted enforcement particularly in front of the deli. Then those individuals get upset
and they complain to the pro the business owners. the business owners then complain to elected officials then you know we kind of play this circular motion of of enforcement. So we just so we just need you know I think in the end >> we'll just to have targeted enforcement.
We know that Saturdays and Saturdays are a particularly difficult time. Um we know that lunchtime is a particularly difficult time. I think if we're able to also couple this with some other solutions like the loading hours, uh delivery hours, things like that, that
will help alleviate pressure from the streets, which will allow people to park. Um block 12, we've already made a modification to make it 30 minutes spaces so that people can turn over quicker. We have dedicated parking on Essex Street for delivery drivers in particular so that they can sit there until they receive an order and then go
get their order. Um so I think a little bit better education of all of that as well as um you know having some target enforcement uh times uh with the police department would >> thing I'll say though and I I I don't want to speak for my colleagues here but you know the the cycle that you
mentioned between the customers complaining to the business owners and the business owners complaining elected officials. My reading of this committee is that the business owner would get a lot of sympathy from this uh board of elected officials. So, I don't think I don't think >> I'm just I'm just letting you know what
the past has been in terms of >> and and maybe it's a little different, but when you're double parking in front of a walkway and a kid's coming across and gets hit by a car zooming down and can't see the kid because somebody's double parked, I can give a about the business owner who's out there complaining. I can tell you that right
now. My daughter gets, you know, when she walks through there, it's very difficult. And also too, I think the comment earlier about businesses and snow removal. Well, listen. If I'm walking down a street, I want to get a slice of pizza. I'm not crossing that street if I have to drudge through six
six feet of cement, six feet of snow and ice to get across the street. So, it does hurt some of the businesses, etc. >> Yeah, we've had feedback from businesses that say they don't like the double parking. It causes disputes outside of their disruption. >> It's disruptive. >> I'm not I'm I'm not making an argument
that that that's a reason not to do it. I'm just saying that that also does happen. But I think to your point as a as a township committee and looking to the once somebody gets a fine and has to go to court and they have to pay $250, word will squirt quickly and and and uh
Milburn will see a decrease in its double burden, >> right? It's about safety. It's about safety at the end of the day of our children, of our residents, etc. >> No question. Yes, that would have terrorist. >> Oh, it's right there in front of Oscar. You walk out, you're lucky not to get
killed. What what if I could just also go a step further. Um while we're in here and we're digging around, um a uh a list of uh VIA fines has not been updated for I would say at least 20
years. Um some of them have uh you know and there's again I think to your point of what you're doing with double parking and snow removal, some of them have been increased based on um uh issues in the past. So, for instance, um when you take
a left turn into lot one from Old Tra, which is an illegal movement, that fine is $85, which most are at 30, right? So, what I would ask the committee is if we and I spoke to the police chief um on on these is is there can be a modest
increase on the rest of the fines uh that exist. For instance, um you know, uh overtime parking at meters is currently $30, increasing that to 40. You know, making a modest increase on some of these on all of these fines um that um that haven't been modified.
>> Right. And just from point of reference to the community is we've seen uh we put in place an ordinance that allows Milburn police to hold criminals that are not held in Essex County. uh and we've given a lot of lat latitude to our local police force, our local judge,
etc. And crimes dropped precipitously the last two and a half years. Uh we got to give enforcement the tools as well. And I agree, they have to enforce. Um but the first one, you know, the first one is, you know, speaking to the prosecutor, if you can get in front of
them and you don't have six speeding tickets and four moving violation, you know, four or five moving violations, you should be fine. >> Correct. >> Yeah. So, it sounds like there's consensus to to move forward with this. I think that it makes sense to update the fines. They obviously haven't even kept up with the rate of inflation. Um,
so I'd say the next step would be for us to have an ordinance drafted during the next meeting. Uh, we can uh consider that on. >> Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay with that. I mean, it generally the but I'm okay with increasing, but you said just overall
going overall increase on everything. >> Yeah. So, yes. So there I I I mean I can run through it if if but it but and I and I will send this to the time committee but it's it's about a $10 increase on each of the files. >> Okay. Better than you know. >> Yeah. No I'm all going to go to a
mandatory card >> appearance. >> I always pay to park trust me. But you know I have to shopper permit. >> Yeah that that's that's a good way to >> and I think we should we have to do that is encourage more in the shopper parking. Yeah, it's a great it's a it's
a great convenience to have permit not to worry about me. >> So $10, >> Dave, right? $500 for parking. You should just make them all 500. >> All right. Uh so that concludes old business. We have no new business
tonight. And that brings us to the second round of public comment. >> This public comment period is still out for final comments from the communities. When invited to speak to offer your comments, please come to the lectern. Clearly state your name. Whether you're a Milg resident, member, faculty, or
business owner. Please do not provide your full address seeing as our meetings are recorded and are readily available to the public. Reminder that in order to help facilitate an orderly meeting and permit all to be heard, speakers shall limit their comments to one three minute session. I now open the public comment
period. >> Hi, Trina Frankle, a Shore Hill res. I'm just want to address the issue of fines. Um and I have to say that um my meeting with the our senior uh meeting is Thursday. So we haven't had a chance to discuss it. So I'll speak only for
myself. My concern is for elderly or disabled people that are unable to um shovel their sidewalks and frankly may not be on the internet and maybe get and an old person or disabled person might be very frightened if they're asked to
come to court. I think we can find a gentler solution. Um we have um used high schools um club in the past to help especially seniors um shovel their sidewalks but um high school if the kids
are busy and I think a better solution and maybe Jamie can help with this is using a scout troop where there's an adult who's always there rather than the constant turnover of kids through high school. Maybe we as you know someone could just knock on the door and say,
"Gee, you haven't shoveled your sidewalk." And they say, "I really can't." And well, we have a solution. We can get you in touch with a boy scout troop and they'll shovel it for you. I mean, I think rather than going to fines and judges would be more reassuring to
our senior and disabled Um, Bill Kers, Milbury resident, I heard um, Mr. Mayor is uh, in your comments after public comment, I heard you say something about we were not dissolving cedar. I mean, you made some comments.
You did you said that. Now, this is an ordinance disbanding and dissolving cedar, just to be clear. Now therefore, be it ordained, the advisory committee on culture, engagement, diversity, and arts is hereby permanently disbanded and dissolved. So use that. You said it
wasn't being dissolved. You knew the ordinance is dissolving. I don't know. And again, we have no guarantees that that uh that Miss Leberg is going to be on it or what's going to happen once you reconstitute. Let's just be clear about that. Another thing I'd like to know is where were the TC members? Where was
their accountability while CEDA was going rogue for six years? make such a big deal out of this. Mr. Stler, Mr. Stockami, where was whatever the committee member was? Where was your responsibility when somebody was being overlooked for this um for this tile
project? Mr. Sakamani, Mr. Ceruto, you're on the project 250. Why didn't you bring them? Why didn't you do something then instead of just charging somebody afterward? Which is why you heard me before, skeptical about you're going after somebody. You don't need to smile, Mr. Ceruto. for you. I'll be here
every meeting and I'd like to see you assert some independence at some point. I know you're new, but I'll be looking for that. >> Again, Mr. Sakamande, your own Republican party chair was the person who pushed for these partisan tiles. If you looked at that meeting, if you
watched it, you saw that. It's it's hard for me to believe you knew nothing about that. So, forgive me for questioning that. Also, I think also besides we're talking, you know, Republican, Democratic, maybe there's something that isn't about politics. It's about a worldview that
separates us. And maybe we gravitate to certain parties because I have seen again with, you know, something with uh the Republicans as opposed to achievement necessarily. You're looking for control. Control makes you feel more secure. You're not looking at the achievements of senior.
You're looking at control in the future to control those. What some of us are uncomfortable with that for is that we the more control there is, the less freedom there is, the less creativity there is. And that's what bothers us about it. Also, you seem to be more into
punishment with a lot of these ordinances. More punishment than problem solving. I think that's another type of worldview that divides us into certain parties we gravitate to. So, it's something to think about. you know whether you feel it's better for have achievement or control is it better to
have problem solving or punishment and then frankly Mr. Staller Mr. Sakamandi what I've noticed over all the meetings that I've come to is you seem to look for something nefarious behind different committees and different motives and I would encourage you take a
different point of view thank you Judy Christian Milburn Residence. I I don't know why I'm here. I'm 72. My family moved here when I was in third grade. But I just and I ended up back here by default. But I just want to say
I remember Freddy Piper right there in the middle of town directing traffic, >> dancing, >> dancing. And as far as the double parking goes, where are the police? I never see a police officer in the center of town. I mean, there should be at
least go to the car and say, "Move along. Move along. You're going to get a phone." Okay. Um, instead of I know a lot of them are at the mall. It's late. I'm being facitious. I'm sorry. As far as the fields go, um, my problem I I
totally believe we need the fields. I'm my issue is that I think that using the open space trust fund money is serving a very narrow purpose.
I think it's a special interest group. The fields are important. They're necessary. But I object to that portion of the funding coming from the movements based trust fund. I have a lot of things written down. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. Again, I don't know
why, but I do need you please to be sensitive to the people who worried about plastics. One of my neighbors was a Boal victim. These people are serious about the future of your children. I don't have any children. You need to
think about your grandchildren. I know you're looking at the best solution, but please don't underestimate the importance that this has to the people of Melbourne. Thank you. >> P's our resident.
Let us look at the possible unintended consequences from your unjust votes or the possible disillusion of CEDA. Have you inadvertently sw squ sc squ sc squ sc squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squ squched the enthusiasm for civic participation? Will there be an erosion of trust? Will
there be a culture of fear whereby prospective strong leaders decline leadership roles? Will there be trepidation of disproportionate and unfair use of authority? the potential for legal or ethical exposure,
moral injury to other volunteers or those considering participation. And in regards to the persistent persistent over referencing of the near exclusion of the AM church, I happen to
live in the Washington district. So I know about the AM church which is as big as this room and in a residential area. So for residents who have no reason to drive to that area or through that area
would have no thought whatsoever that there is an African Methodist church in this town. So I did a search. I looked for the AM church for um Christian churches. AM did not come up. I then
refined my search to look for Methodist and Episcopalian churches. AM did not come up. So maybe the process was not flawed, oversight, not misconduct. >> Mr. Mayor, you could paint this as white as you
want with a white brush, but the public will see this for what it is. It is punitive. It is political. And it is an over overreach of power and control. And you did a very disservice for those who voted today to move forward. You did a
great disservice to our community when you nitpick at agendas and and meeting minutes and and things that were so inconsequential to the record of success and achievement and accomplishment. It really is a sad state for our
township committee. Hi, my name is Arjent. Um, thank you for your time. Just, um, it's clear to me that CEDA is going to have this very important community here. And ostensively, it's being disbanded because of the lack of, you know, public
notes. Transparency is very important. I get that. And I think that you should allow organizations to be able to rectify and to answer to the criticisms being made. What I find is highly ironic here is that on one end you're disbanding an organization for lack of
transparency. On the other hand, there's no transparency why this vote for the historical designation was moved at all. You were citing specifically in the previous town hall meetings, oh the majority people want for this designation. That was never the case. If you wanted to actually listen to people,
you should not have rushed through this process, through the historical designation process or through the prior um town hall meetings. You would have seen that many people did not want this and I find it incredibly disheartening that you're disregarding. You said the ordinance don't require we need to have
a majority of people in favor or opposed. We can do what we want. Town hall and local governments is about empowering the community and that's not what I'm hearing tonight. I I'm a little dismayed by the vote uh
for uh committee membership and folks who leave town uh resigning their positions. uh disappointed in committee man and and uh and committee committee
world in your vote. I I expressed to you my concern and and you said you would do something to act on it and tonight you didn't. Um I witnessed firsthand personally
uh the the type of uh treatment on the committee uh that Mr. Kurds said uh doesn't exist. Uh and I was resisted from day one when I joined the flood mitigation committee because I was
Republican and uh who am I to step in when there was years of of uh the committee existed for years before my involvement. And who was I to step in with new ideas? Well,
my new ideas involved permanent solutions that weren't enacted prior to my involvement, right? And and I was ridiculed to the point where I spoke to my committee chair and said, "If this is going to continue, I'm off the committee because
this is not political. I'm here to help. I'm not here for political reasons." So that does go on and I witnessed it firsthand and I got to the point where I was refusing to participate in that
committee's functions while that person was on the committee and they were continu I finally said thank God they're leaving. I I see the light of day and they were continued on for another three months. So that's the purpose of that ordinance and I'm disappointed in your
vote because you didn't support me. Thank you. Well, >> again, my name is Jeffrey Feld in the poet section for more than 32 years. I basically have five really comments. U come September 11th, we're going to have
the 20th 5th anniversary of a horrendous horrible event that affected this community in many different ways. Is there going to be a formal committee where that's a commemoration and memory because people
lost lives, people lost brothers on planes. My wife survived. She was in the World Trade Center. And I think as a community, you know, we're trying to heal that we should come together with some kind of committee. If if it has to be informal, just tell us
informal or be the township committee working on it. be together using our uniform um first responders. Um I've known Jackie since middle school and we were both influenced by Judy Gaines and I'll go through that later
time. Re Marble I've known for 19 years. When you talk about nefarious behavior, I met her and her husband because we were combating nefarious behavior in Orange which required the FBI to come visit me several times.
Um, as to the turf fields, when we had the last public forum at the school board, I asked for like a chronology like saying what has like performance deadlines. You're talking about the engineering report. You know,
we're all trying to get this project done started in July, but I think the community should know like certain things have to be done like the board of education move the monies have to get through the state through their budget process. You know, people have to understand there's questions whether the
planning this this project has to go to the planning board. You know, I think people should understand the deadline. Miss Singer earlier today said you should have a notice and opportunity cure mistakes. You heard about administrative mistakes, administrative oversight.
I'm telling you that today there was a major appellet division opinion that came out published. The binding principle goes back to when you're passing an ordinance, not like a zoning board case that you had to have a record created supporting yourselves. That goes
back to the SIDS calendar year 2026 special assessment that there was no destin. Also, yesterday there was an unpublished um opinion involving the Milbourne zoning board. I recommend that you go
look at that opinion because when you go to that opinion, you look at who the trial judge was, who was judge, our famous judge, Judge Spencer. And when you compare the trial docket to what happened in bare properties, she's taking completely different actions. The
zoning board was a case involving a zoning board decision. Fair property actions, but that's really it. You're just yourself. Thank you. Jackie Liber, I want to make a a comment. Uh, Ool lobby said something
that is both troubling and untrue. I'd like you to refer to the CEDA recorded video on February 4th uh when I publicly stated that Rufen So was indeed the person that was given to me as the BAM's representative who we
contacted numerous times and did not respond. When I was told that I should reach out to Oyen, I did so immediately and BAMS was was included in the in the tile project. This was not a uh
something that was done intentionally and we had reached out to Mr. So many times, six, seven, numerous. So I wanted to say that and uh with respect to the Mount Zion church
when we realized that um that it was that it was not included it was an oversight it was rectified immediately. When you're dealing with 50 plus organizations 250 tiles you do your best. This was not
intentional. It was not with malicious unlike the decision this evening. Thank you. quickly singer. When you talk about the snow removal, I have to tell you I live on Wyoming on corner and as much as
the time frame that you think was appropriate, the 4 in or so that we got Wyoming cloud, my street down the hill clouds, I wound up with a six foot wall at the corner
which took me two days to dig a tunnel through so people could get out cuz I shoveled my walk on my own. I shoveled my walk on the avenue on my street, but I have six foot wall and I have a picture of it with the snow up to the street sign.
So, please put that in consideration when you think about finding me because I will be screaming bloody murder personally. >> Hi, Jean Pastor Neack. I just wanted to say that um I I want to really praise Frank, Ben, and Jamie for their
leadership tonight in terms of um you were faced with criticism that was politicization of a I think a proper governance issue that you try to correct. Uh you made clear, sensible responses. Uh you're bringing concrete solutions to long-standing problems in this community and I thank you all of
you. Um, I know that there's Peanut Gallery uh lacking comments, but I sincerely believe that you've done the right thing. Um, I'd like to also point out that as far as CAD goes, I really hope that Jackie remains on the committee and she continues to do the
good work that she's always done. Uh, I hope the others on the in this room that are on that committee also continue and I look forward to being part of that and working with you. I think there's a lot of good that can come out of it. Uh, I also would like to add that Mr. Crossgrove, you wrote to me the day, I
think it was the same day as the meeting when I raised those issues. Uh I put them memorialized them in an email and you wrote back to me and said you agreed and you asked me uh as as M as Mayor Sakamandandy did to come and bring them to you uh as on the township committee.
So I find a little bit troubling you're kind of flip-flopping on this. Um I'd also like to say that I don't think it's a a coincidence that you changed your mind about that. uh and and raised some untruths about what actually happened at that meeting regarding this tile that I
brought forward. I said that we're honoring volunteers in this community. And I said that both the Democratic and Republican committee have many volunteers through the years that have worked very hard to fulfill a statutory requirement that the town must fulfill
and do their work to to to do that. And they should be part of a volunteer group of people being recognized in a mural. That's what I said. It was not political. It had nothing to do with politics. Okay. Um I'd also like to say that if Jeff and I hadn't been at that meeting,
those two organizations probably wouldn't have been uh part of this mural. So I'm glad that we're on there. We want to work constructively with a group. That's why we are volunteering our time and that's how our track record is shown. I certainly believe that about myself. Um let me turn to uh HPC. I want
to get this comment in. Um, in today, no, yesterday's NJ.com, there was a comment made by um, uh, let's see, let me just read it. Uh, there was a person that came forward in support, uh, of the the designation. I would like to underline her grave concerns about
legislated the legislation that is is being highlighted. Uh, it was by a member of Governor Cheryl's transition team. He's the head of the Fair Share Housing Center, Adam Gordon. Lawmakers um should enact New Jersey. Yes, in
God's Backyard proposal, which will make it easier for religious institution and nonprofit organizations to produce affordable housing. On the face, it sounds great, but we all know what that means. Our zoning rules go out the window. Thank you. >> Hi,
>> I'm Taka Gupta President. I would just like to say I'm obviously I'm not happy and disappointed with the decision that committee made. um uh name change and um um making Jackie like you know we worked
very hard to reach out to almost everybody and just like Mr. said that even I suggested in the last meeting we had that maybe township should uh form a list of all the organizations nonprofit organization or otherwise so that in
future nothing like this can happen and you know we just click on the link and then we get all the registered organizations offered. The other thing is that um whether the minutes were taken or
not, whether they were told, I don't know about all that because I was not the original member of CEDA. But I there's no reason for that reason is you know to
um blame Jackie for something which was not really true. Uh mistakes can happen. I I'm not saying that was a mistake but I'm glad that um our new members pointed out couple of organizations
for one of them BMS I know that Jackie talked about like we reached out she reached out and somehow we didn't get the email news back so I'm glad the two organizations are on are on on the board now so you know but there may be others
you know you never know so that's how it is Mistakes can happen. For an example, I was given a parking ticket when it was valid. I was within my rights and it was not expired. I reached to the court. Obviously, it was cleared. And the judge
asked me, "Do you want to go to the police office and report this?" I said, "No, it's okay. It's cleared. And you know, mistakes can happen. That parking police is probably doing their job and they made a mistake. So maybe in retrospect, I should just have reached
out and then I don't know I don't want that guy to lose his office or his work you know so it's not a big deal but I'm just saying that keep that in mind thank you so much >> one
more Hi, I'm Cheryl Demaris. I'd like to address two things. I am disappointed in this committee that 24 people, including the majority of the members of CEDA, asked you not to make the changes to CEDA, and you completely ignored their
pleas and plowed ahead with this ordinance. I'm also outraged by the disparaging comments made by our mayor about Miss Lieberg implying that she had some ulterior motive and deliberately hid the activities of the committee. I also wonder how can you take away from
CEDA the right now to choose their own chair? Why are you doing it? Is it because you're afraid they will choose Jackie again? That's the only conclusion I can come to. Secondly, I would like to um address the 25th anniversary of September 11th. And
I would respectfully request that unlike other memorials and anniversary that um in this town, the family members of those who lost loved ones on that day have a lead role in the planning of anything that this township does to celebrate that or to commemorate that
rather. Sorry. Thank you, >> Alex. Nice. >> Ready. >> All right. Last chance for public comment. >> All right. With that, I now close public comment. We'll have the DC response.
>> Uh, sorry. Uh, Mr. Mrs. M. Frankle, Mr. Kur, every time you guys speak, I learn something new. I love hearing you guys speak in Greece. So it's very illuminating. Um uh you know I think just throwing out insults
though from that lecture you know dangerous situation when the liaison was not Frank or I it was Annette and Dave believe Dave Hosbro who was sitting on that. I sit on seven committees now I used to sit on eight committees. I'm just getting pulled too thin. I can
guarantee you that when I'm on those committees I'm all in. I'm submerged in that I'm immersed into that committee understanding all of the pushes, pulls, uh, and such. And, you know, um, for that to happen, you know, it's just not fair to sit there and say that we didn't
monitor it, uh, etc. >> Well, what else? >> Um, Mr. Bambber. Um, you know, I I had to talk to you off a ledge maybe three or four times when we're discussing because I was on the floor mitigation
and it was becoming untenable, unbearable through you and and such and uh and that that was a good change. Um, and listen, I I can you guys know me. I have no problem going against the establishment, taking it aside, going
across. Uh, the CEDA is not being disbanded anytime. it's going to be continued. It's going to come out better, stronger. Um, and you know, if if there's not going to be the whole idea that CEDA cultural um uh diversity
is being disbanded is gaslighting the community because we have in place now a much better stronger resolution to to bring it forward. >> That's all I have. >> Fair. I I'll go next. Um, so M. Frankle, um I hear your concerns about, you know,
elderly and disabled people. Regards fines, I think what we discussed tonight, um you know, that up to $500 allows flexibility and discretion if there's particular circumstances. Um I like the idea of, you know, maybe we could have scout troops offer to help
out uh elderly or disabled people. I think that that's something that can happen independently of, you know, the the fines. We we can't simply, you know, say, "Oh, well, we're not going to enforce things or we're not going to have fines um because we may potentially, you know, have someone
that's a special circumstance." No, we have to have the laws and if there's a special circumstance, then we'll deal with the special circumstance when and if it happens. Um, you know, also we have social workers in town, so you know, we did have instance like this. I imagine, you know, if a cop went to someone's house uh on a complaint of
snow removal and saw if the person was elderly or disabled, you know, they might not even write them a ticket. They might instead refer them to, you know, the social worker or see if we can get, you know, someone to help them out, etc. So, um, you know, we do have we do have compassion. Uh, and I do think that, uh,
the idea of maybe having the scouts volunteer to help elderly people removal would be, uh, a good one, and we should look into that. Um Mr. Kersh you know you're talking about semantics. Sure. Yes. Technically we are dissolving and
reforming CEDA. Um the new committee is going to have essentially the same mission as the old committee that it's replacing. It has a new name. It has proper uh structure to it and it's going to be you know all that much stronger uh
than what came before it. Um, so you know, I think to um to sit there and say, "Oh, well, you're disbanding it." Okay, fine. Technically, technically technically it says we're disbanding it, but you failed to to mention that we're reconstituting it under a different name
um with potentially the same individuals and the same mission. So, um I don't really appreciate that. Um, and then as as soon as we >> Oh, no, no, you have my word. And I I'll ask Jamie and and Ben, you know, if if
if Jackie or anyone that was on CEDA applies, uh, I'm I'm happy to appoint them to the new committee. You >> go right ahead. Every single member, honestly, every member of the audience should be >> 100%. No reason not to. Great engagement.
>> You know, see, this is this is a good fix. >> Yes. Exactly. Um, so let's see. Uh, and then as as far as well, why didn't we do something about it? Well, you know, prior to this year, Annette was the liaison. So, as Mr. Stler pointed out,
we were relying upon the liaison of the committee to identify whether there were issues. Clearly, she, you know, either wasn't paying attention or just didn't feel that they were issues and didn't bring them forward. But as soon as we learned about the issue, we took action is that's what we do up here. When we
see a problem, we talk about it. We find a solution and we implement the solution and then we move on to the next thing. That is what it means to be uh you know a leader. That's what good governance is about. And that's exactly what's >> honestly the disservice was by the
person sitting there as a liaison. >> I I agree. the great liaison in prior years I think did that committee a disservice for allowing it to run the way it did without bringing any of these structural issues to the to the forefront and and you know doing something about
>> um so let's see um you know miss PR you you speak of an ethical exposure uh you know by by making the change to CEDA I think we already had the ethical exposure I mean we heard tonight from that minister that said they felt excluded it was a church that was here
for what, like a hundred years or something. I mean, to me, you know, had had the roles been reversed and and it been, you know, uh perhaps a Republican that was the head of that committee and done the same thing, I believe that you
would have been the first person out here to say, "Oh, look at them. They're they're excluding members of of the community." So, you know, let's just be honest about what we're doing. Um, let's see here. Uh, Mr. Feld, uh, 25th anniversary of 911.
Uh, absolutely. I think we should do something to commemorate that. Um, I appreciate Miss Dearis's, uh, you know, suggestions that if we do do something that we have the families that were affected by that front and center. Um, I'd say not only the families that were,
you know, had people that that passed and that's tragic, but there's also families that had people that are living with, you know, lasting medical conditions, etc., etc. So, I think we ought to be inclusive and anyone that was, you know, really affected by that ought to have the opportunity to be part
of some sort of commemoration. Um, Mr. McDonald's, is there something that we like have in the works or plans? I know they didn't talk about this or is that something we need to try and >> um the only thing I'll say is that yeah usually on the fifth uh fifth anniversary you know in increments of
five we do a larger um uh ceremony and you know memorial but uh but yeah so nothing formal uh has ever been done in the past. So happy to have something a little bit more formalized or or uh at
least um make sure that we get a uh a proper group together and we'll work with you know the fire chief obviously who has done this in the past uh at a more sort of internal um ceremony. But uh but yeah, we can start we can start putting that together. Um, you know, I'm
I'm uh I'm a little I'm actually a little concerned that we haven't gotten started on the Memorial Day parade yet, but but yeah, we'll we'll definitely start putting stuff together. >> Um, in that case, do we need to put that under new business for next time or >> this enough to get the ball? >> This will get the ball to the holiday.
All right. Great. >> Yeah. >> I I can >> uh this singer uh you know the six foot wall of snow uh I hear you. Uh that was
that was a um historic storm uh the likes of which we have not seen for the past 30 years. Uh so obviously you know I think you know when we have these new regulations on the books we have one of those historic storms again I imagine
you know the police uh others will show some leniency uh and also you know if if you get buried by six feet of snow on your corner certainly you know let let someone know and we'll see if there's something we can do because sometimes it's beyond your control and the plows
you know plow plow that stuff in. I know that when we have had incidences where, you know, there been corners that that haven't been dealt with or really clear who had to take care of them, you know, we we went and we had the township uh take a look at those and take care of those just like the traffic triangles,
right? >> Um, you know, on on builder now, we uh we just discovered that was a problem and uh we took care of it. Um, >> Miss Pastor, I appreciate your comments about the state legislation. Um, I too
read the same article I think you referenced with the with the Yiggby. It is very concerning uh because the at least my read of the proposed legislation it would override local zoning. Now to be clear from what I can
tell it wouldn't override the ability of historic districts to you know require uh people to go in front of HBC. I mean, even in other parts of the state, Glenidge in particular, where most of the town is historic, uh, whatever got built there, they still had to go
through the HPC process. And so, yes, you know, we're not trying to stop the construction of affordable housing anywhere. We're just saying if there's going to be development or overdevelopment in a historic district, it gives the opportunity for it to go in front of that board. Gives you an extra
layer of protection. Um, and it gives you a little extra layer of control as to what it's going to look like to ensure that it's going to be within the uh the character of the neighborhood. So, that's that's one of the benefits of uh historic districts. Um,
I think that covers it. >> I have two brief comments. First, I want to address Miss Christian. Actually, I had a similar conversation with Mayor Sacramento. I think it was yesterday. Well, in general, I support the the fields project. I also feel that the
open space, I mean, the money is the money. It's all the taxpayers money, but I just don't think that we should be using the open space trust fund to fund that. We should fund that the way we fund other projects and uh use the open space trust fund for for other things as
they come up. I'm hearing there's not a lot of things coming up, which I find shocking because I've heard 15 different people have their fingers on that. But even if there isn't anything, then we can bank it until something comes up that is worthwhile. I don't think we should use it on on turf fields,
although I do think we should support the field project. Mr. Bar, I'm sorry for what happened to you on the flood mitigation committee, but that ordinance was about residence requirements. So the person who mistreated you that while that was who you feel mistreated you
while that was wrong the fact that she was or was not a resident is not relevant to to this. I I uh you know I oppose the ordinance because I think it's too stringent as I had said at prior meetings. I think that it shouldn't have the deadline for um when
you have to leave should have been moved up and if you move out as of July rather than you know then then you should be able to say Um, one one thing that um like to add, thank you, Mr. Crow, you trigger uh my
memory with regards to the open space trust fund. You know what I found most interesting is it was actually a former member of the environmental commission. They went out sort of on the campaign trail selling this open space trust fund and one of the principal arguments they made in favor
of it was it could be used for recreation fields. Now granted, this individual didn't say whether they had to be grass or turf, but for years, what's been talked about is turf. So I think, you know, many people that encountered this line of of argument or
this this campaign point, if you will, thought, "Oh, well, this is great. Now we'll have the ability to solve our long-standing field issues. We'll be able to turf, you know, the the the fields and and and have increased playing time." So, I find it a little troubling that some of the same
individuals that went out there and sold this to members of the community are now saying, "Whoa, wait a minute. We can't use it for fields unless they're one particular type of field or another." And I think that, you know, was sort of misleading to residents. And I I hope
those that are doing that really take a hard look at the promises that they made to members of the community and um you know adjust their approach if if necessary. >> Uh deputy mayor.
>> Thank you. Sure. Uh Mr. Bambber, similar to what Mr. Cohen said, my problem with that ordinance is is it should be midyear instead of September. I made that I made those comments at the time it was being passed. Um I'm in the
minority of that obviously. Um and Miss Pastor Knack, I did not flip on anything. Um the minutes should have been kept. The election should have been had. What I'm talking about today and what my issues are are the remedy for
that. Um as severe as it is, again, I'm in the minority so I I got nowhere. And as far as the meeting and what happened at the meeting, I preface specifically my comments to the whole audience saying, "Watch it yourself. Don't take my word for it. Make your own
impression. It's a video. You can watch it or it's an audio, I guess, but you can post it and you can watch it." Um, and you don't have to agree with me on on anything. Um, that's it. Thank you. Uh,
regarding senior shoveling scouts, I'm all for it. You know, willing to help connect the dots. Um, you know, and I think giving the discretion to the enforcement is important. Um, so no question on that. I don't want to burden our senior community and you know, I
think the more pipelines we can create. Um, Miss Pear, Mr. Kersh, I would agree with Mr. Stall. I think we learn a lot. Uh, I remember the first township committee meetings I was going to, you all were in the audience. Look at this. I'm on this side of the room. Uh, and my
smiles. That's because I like to find joy in in what I do. It's not of a disrespect. I think, you know, the semantics that the mayor pointed out. I think that's what, you know, sort of prompted me to smile to say, whoa, you know, we we're certainly keeping a diversity committee. Um, and I welcome
your engagement and I think it's important. So there's complete respect um from this side of the day. Um let's see uh Vince Dearis I would totally agree engaging those families.
Um and uh of course uh others affected and I think Mr. McDonald it would be a good thing to expedite that process. It's a lot of things going on this year and um you know so we'll certainly um I
think we should keep going on that. Um I think that's about it. You know I always I say it every meeting but I'll say it again. I do appreciate the engagement. I think it's really important the two-way. You know I think um it's really is red, white and blue up here. I mean look at my pen. I don't
think you could get uh I think thea level of engagement up here um is very good and it's extremely bipartisan. Um so I would just put it I would put it out there. Um like that and I hope that it continues in that way and I think a lot of us vote
50 on a lot of things because frankly we agree on most things but tonight just wasn't that night. >> McDonald you have anything? Yeah, just real quick uh on enforcement obviously um so there's a few layers to this and
the first layer is that we have to send somebody out to enforce particularly code enforcement. So you know or the police department and there would be a conversation and understanding of what's going on with particular senior. My suggestion would also be that we have a discussion with senior citizen coordinator to make sure that there is some knowledge of those people that
might be incapacitated or or uh not able to perform those uh functions. uh so that there's some maybe pre-awwareness of that situation as well. >> That could be done through a senior citizen advisory board as well, right? So I mean that's what that board's there
to offer that bridge and I agree 100%. >> ASA >> uh Dave and >> Miss Singer, I'm on the corner at Wyoming and Cedar and it's ridiculous. Yeah. Attorney, do you have anything?
>> Nothing. Nothing for me. In that case, motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> All in favor?