as a Okay. Anyway, what was it when you wasn't clear? I probably won't even stuff and I'll see what I can give you to give you. Good evening. I'd like to call the June
23rd, 2025 Burough Council meeting to order. Will the clerk please read the open public meeting statement? Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 231 public law 1975 specifying the time, date, and location by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal building municipal
website providing a copy of the annual notice scheduled to the official newspapers of the burrow and is on file in the clerk's office. Will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zambrana here. Councilman Collins here. Councilman Mako here. Councilman Posnansky here. Councilwoman Payne here.
Councilman Potter here. Mayor Murray present. Burough attorney present. Burrow engineer Mike Mlen present. B engineer Luke Lasanka present. Burrow administrator Fred Carr present. And I am here.
Will everyone please stand for a moment of silence which will be followed by the salute to the flag. to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all. All right. First on the agenda, we have a presentation by on-site partners for the battery storage project. Mr. Clansson, please. Thank you for having me here tonight. Uh I'm excited to talk about the battery
storage system. Um just have a quick project overview for uh recapping why the project is being produced and why we need it here. and then so a bit on safety standards and hopefully that opens the floor for questions. Uh but you can ask questions anytime that we're
going through. Um so I'm ready for the next slide. So uh project overview again the grid charges are the reason that the project like this is valuable. Uh today was one of the high price uh grid charge hours. So we'll go into uh when we look
at burrows like this typically a third of the power bill is based on the electricity flowing through and serving the customers and the other two/3 is based on the infrastructure that is in place and recovering that infrastructure both the capac the transmission which is
the big transmission lines and then the capacity uh power plants to produce the electricity. You can see the the price graphs, but capacity on the left has shot up over $100,000 per megawatt per year and transmission has had a steady growth all
the way up to $180,000 per megawatt per year in this region of the country. Um those cost components are fluctuating, but they are not something that you can shop or find an alternative supplier for. They are or hedge against or hedge against. Right.
Is it in understanding the process or just what I understand is the same way my house unit air conditioning unit is taxed to its extremes in this temperature. I'm sure your data cooling centers and the whole powering process
that has kind of exacerbated the issue of supply anyway that goes up in this situation as well. Right. Um I I would say that that's that's what we're seeing here. I think this today is one of the first times in maybe the last 5 years that the the uh load has been as high as
it is uh and and it continues that that pressure on supply and demand that you see in the left curve there for the capacity available to serve the load relatively early in the year for this type of temperature it is mighty hot too but yes cooling is
a big thing in the summer um I think that's it on slide two any questions on slide two and the and the cost of the grid power. Sorry, I'm turning away from this side. Um, and then how can batteries help? So, the key takeaway here is that the the
way that burrows like Miltown are charged for electricity is based on the five peak hours of the year, the the hottest hour on the five peak days of the year. Um, and the same way for transmission. And so a battery project can help by operating and taking using
storing up some of the energy when it's not a peak hour and then dispatching the battery to serve the town's uh grid during those five peak hours for the transmission system and five peak hours for the capacity uh grid. So that's kind of the in I know we went over this in September, but just wanted to go back
over why the battery project and how can it actually produce value in this situation. How do you determine the five um best days to to to gather the energy. How do I mean, do you go before someone
studies uh temperature well ahead of time because I I studied 10 days ahead, but you guys would be months ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're definitely keeping an eye on this week in particular um and watching each day and week and then we had this morning there were standup meetings where people were
talking about what they were seeing on the grid. Was it actually happening the way that the forecast showed? What was going on with weather? Was there rain events coming across that might move that an hour? Um, and PJM themselves offer a great amount of load forecasting information and then a lot of it after
that is is experience. Uh, we're getting uh AI involved in the in the choosing and helping us choose what the competitive game theory and what might happen with other people's resources. So, it is uh evolving and and we're always on it. We have a whole team that
is really just dedicated to making sure they know when to operate the battery. Well, I know you're dealing with lithium ion right now, but I know that sodium ion is also on the horizon and it can slip into the where the battery packs I guess would be. Is that is that something that could be a progression
for like a situation that we have or I mean you're it's lithium ion now but there's so many other avenues because I've been reading a lot about this. Um, so it's lithium ion on now. Would that be for the next 15 years or could you possibly go into other areas? Well, in
the future, in the future, the the chemistry will continue to evolve, I'm sure. U and and there in my slides later, we talk a little bit about how there has already been kind of a a shift change in evolution of the chemistry that they used to use and what everyone's coalesing towards now and even the auto manufacturers. Sure. Um so
we'll get into that I think on slide seven or eight but um for what we build for this project will be the same chemistry from beginning to end. So we will build one facility here that facility will be in place and we'll maintain and operate it through the life. Okay. So yeah but in other future
projects the the chemistry could change. Sure. Um, so, so just to piggyback on Councilman Kaznansky's question, you can't like all of a sudden if you find a better chemistry, right, five years down the road, you're not going to be swapping them out, right? You can't mix and match. No, sir. We would be leaving
this would be the design for this facility and we would go forward with it. Well, council, that's that's exact exactly where I was going. So, I appreciate you brought that up. Great. Any other questions on just just one thing and then please continue. Um, the batteries, do they last? Is it is the is
it five to 15 years in general and in the the ones here would be in that category? 5 to 15 year range. Yep. The the batteries that we have um they offer 15 or 20 year warranties on them and it depends on how much you use them.
They're called throughput guarantees. So you're watching um and understanding. It's kind of like a 10 year 100,000 mi warranty. So you can have it, but if you drive all your miles away the first year, you only get one year. So we watch carefully how much you're using the battery to stay under the warranty
levels. And then um we expect this project to last the full 15 years. Thank you. Great. Good questions. And anything else? We There's a few more slides I think that'll keep up some talking points here. So getting into prediction
and I'll just move through this quickly but I think we went through this but this what this graph shows is five separate days and the load in this town I believe it was at in 20 23 and so it shows exactly those bars are the
basically your speedometer or your um how much load was going through your substation on those days. And so if you picture and the red bar is actually what your load was during the peak hour. And so if you can picture your uh new 8 megawatt battery operating at 8,000
kilowatts in that hour, that number 11,500, I can't quite see it, but that number would go down to 3,000 from 11,000 if it was if your battery was running at its name plate value in that hour and then on down the line. So we would predict the hours and and run the battery and
try to move those predict the load forecast and operate during the uh to reduce the bar during those hours. Any questions about how the project attacks the load? Okay. And the last on the project
overview is just an updated economic example. I think the last time we talked, we talked a little bit about revenues. Um the price of the project had not been set through the competitive process. We we were able to um get the bid package, understand where you wanted the the project, and um our bid was
annual fee of $497,000 a year. That's the top line. Um the transmission savings um amount for we talked that transmission is $180,000 per megawatt if the battery if we are 80% accurate in
reducing um the peaks meaning that we would get four out of every five peak events uh and a 7525 share which is what was called for in our bid then that would produce $864,000 of transmission
savings. And then similarly in capacity um an 80% effectiveness and the Miltown's 75% share would be $480,000 of capacity savings or a bill reduction and the net of that is $847,000
and that's based on 2025 rates. So if the capacity and transmission rates are different next year that number will be different. The top number is fixed for 15 years. Joe, quick question. Did uh was there performance u guarantees? So if you
don't make the four out of the five, is there a a a uh penalty for not meeting the the four out of the five? Yes, sir. The the bid specs called for a something called a minimum obligation which our company signed up for when submitting our bid. And the minimum obligation
means that to the extent we don't hit that, then we are um we are financially um financially obligated to make it as though we did hit that. So you've got skin in the game, so to speak, on the profit margin and also on
the penalty if your failure is there. Yes, sir. I like it. We we're highly motivated to to do very well on days like this and and also the little things that that help you do well on days like this, like making sure the air conditioning units are running well and that the project's ready to go. So,
you're essentially partner with us. Yes, sir. That's why we kept that that uh in our name, on-site partners. That's one of my favorite parts of the name. So, um yeah, that so that's a recap of the things we talked about in September. Um, and I just wanted to, you know, set
the the floor for why we're doing the project and and how it creates value and kind of the the magnitude of the value that's created. So, the last two slides are really on safety standards. Um, you know, the the Miltown battery project shall be designed to meet the NFPA,
National Fire Protection Association 855 standard and the UL 9540 standard. That's the underwriters laboratory. both um consortiums really are set in place to to produce best practices and share
them. Um and the NFPA 855 is is the standard for the installation of stationary storage systems. Um it's critical safety standard focused on minimizing the risks associated with these systems particularly regarding fire and thermal runaway events. And
similarly, UL 9540 UL is a global um safety organization and they've set forth a comprehensive safety standard for these systems and it sets requirements not only in the design phase but the construction, the testing, the ongoing operation and ensures that
the systems are safe and reliable. So no test on this. I mean, you don't need to remember that, but the key point is the industry has made significant advancements and really there are global safety standard institutes that are realizing how prevalent this technology is and so they're creating best
practices and coalesing around design standards that are that are making them safer and um and um better for adoption. So that's that's the key takeaway for us. We are there are people that are set forth the best way to do this and we are contractually
obligated to use those to follow those standards both in our design and the construction when we test them and commission them and then throughout their operational life. So that's the the big picture that was required in the bidspecs and it's included in every battery project that we design and
operate. Um can I I'd like to talk to you about something I was going to ask you later but I'll ask you now. Um because you're talking talking about thermal runaway and and possible fires. Um are you familiar with the fire at Moss Land in California? I am. Uh January 16th. I'm very familiar. And u
I've looked into I'm not going to go into the details, but um what I what I've read about it was that they really couldn't put the fire up because of the the contamination from from all all the chemicals, the u you
know, air, lands, sea, water. Um, so I mean they had a could read this. They had a very difficult time with that. Um, but but you also mentioned thermal runaway. Do you want I've got more on it, but you want me to make a small statement about thermal runaway or would
you like to talk about it? Because I mean I know about but but you I'm sure you know more than I do. Would you like to explain thermal runaway? Um, sure. I I basically I think the best way to talk about what we've learned from Moss Landing and what how the industry has learned from it or some of the key
differences I guess between a project like this and Moss Landing. Sure. That's a um different in a couple key ways and I think I'll I'll highlight those. One that's a really massive project, a mega project if you will. That project is I did the math uh going into this. It's
187.5 times bigger than the project that you'll have here. So, we're talking about 16 megawatt hours here uh versus 3,000 megawatt hours there. So, it's a grid scale facility. Well, I think they also handle like 1.4 1.5 million homes.
So, that's a huge difference. Yep. Um the another key difference there is that it was built inside. So, that facility was actually built inside of an old power plant power station. That's a key difference that's very rarely done. It's not the standard any longer. Um
and so that that cong congregation of energy units and then those being indoors is created another challenge for them as far as how long it took for that energy to dissipate. Um a bit another really big one is the chemistry. So that was a NMC battery nickel manganese
cobalt uh which is a fund is a a lithium ion technology but is different than the lithium iron phosphate technology that the industry has standardized now and that is being used in in this project. Um the difference for those chemicals is that uh nickel manganesees cobalt the
NMC the moss landing technology does have a lower limit at which it can start its thermal runaway and when it does start that it does actually um produce more oxygen in the reaction which feeds and propagates the fire. So, I don't
want to come off as that I'm a chemical expert or a fire, you know, a combustion expert, but I we have learned as an industry what is working better and what's creating greater safety. I know those details about it, but that that is one of the reasons it just takes you
further away from the point where there's there's danger by operating with a chemistry that is at a lower level of um or that that does not uh propagate at a lower level. And so it's just a best practice. Um so those were three big differences between the two projects
that I think are important and you know we're heating. The other thing is that I think that project was designed in the late uh 19 2019 and then installed in 2020. Some of the standards that we're talking about today were not at the level that they are at today that are required of a project like this. So the
NFPA855 and the UL9540 were at previous versions or not even released. And so those best practices just weren't, you know, I'm not here to say that anyone did anything wrong on that one. I'm just saying the industry has learned and we have improved and I think you're looking at a
different situation here. Well, your technology is it's it's gaining rapidly because that was 20 um 2020 when that was built and it's like you know that's early technology. Yeah. As as compared to now. As far as fire containment, you're you're a lot more knowledgeable now than you were then because I know
that the the fire departments could just um just watch it burn and it it went out and came back on again, but uh all they could do is watch. And I'm sure that you have different methods of fire containment now, more advanced. The the they are different, but there is a
similarity in that the the um protocol is to not engage and to let the system do its thing. So, we're not looking for the the fire department to open and extinguish that the systems have their own suppression system built into them. They're designed and spaced in such a
way and ventilated in such a way that when these events, should they happen, they they would fail in place without uh any interaction. And that's part of these standards, the 9540. It's not just how we design and operate it, but it's when it's time for the um for the for an
event, there's training that's required with local authorities to make sure they're understanding how to handle these things and how what to do and what most importantly not to do. Well, aren't you also um you're trained are you training people to know in the programs so far in advance that they can they can
stop the thermal runaway before they'll know it's coming and they can start shutting down the systems before you get to that point. Yeah. Yeah. battery technologies has these early warnings now where you can see the the the temperatures increasing and so then you can kind of stop off it and there's also best practices about you know not just
charging all the way up and then starting discharging right away. So the cooling is very important to again keep you away from the temperatures where you would have where you would be closer to the to the red line so to speak. Sure. Um as far as the fire department, we have the one that's very close. Um what
kind of measures would they have to take beforehand? Would they be prepared now to handle a situation like that or a special training is needed? They would. I I'm not sure if they are trained for that now, but they will certainly as part of our project. That's one of the requirements for the NFBA 855 is
required on this project. And so part of our commissioning process is going to make sure be to make sure that the alerts are what the authorities have having jurisdiction in this region are how they want to receive them and follow the NFPA 855 and then the training so that they don't think they're doing
something to help out and then exacerbating the situation and the UL code of 9540. I mean, Europe has typically been years ahead of us in all kinds of uh clean energy and safety for workers and people in general. And
that UL code that is international as I believe the Underwriters Laboratory is a global safety standard organization. I'm not as familiar with how it's been adopted in Europe. I mean, it's the same UL that I see on electronic devices of
all natures for the last decade or two. Very. Yes. So it is important to it's a big organization that obviously takes great care in Okay. Just making sure it goes on the same page with it. That's the same. Yeah. Question. How long would
it take to construct this? The uh the construction itself is about a 3 to four month process. The equipment lead times that we're expecting are uh we believe the batteries could be uh here in at the site before the end of the year. And so that would give us the
time to construct next year. So next year would be the construction site. I got another question. You said we we get is it the right five days we get on here or do we get more than five days for the peak demand? The their the peaks could happen their peaks are set on the on the
hottest hour of the five hottest days of the year. And those could happen on five days and those all both capacity and transmission could sit right over top of one another or they could be completely separate. So you could have up to 10 days worth of events. 10 days. Okay. That's what my question was. Thank you.
So, I just have a couple of questions. So, you had a lot of knowledge about the fires in California, right? So, I just have to ask this question. That wasn't your project, right? It was not. Um, question. Just what I expected. Um, the other question um that I have is did you
just say that the batteries can be up and running in 3 to four months? So, this year once the project is signed up and we get running. No, sorry. the construction time frame. I think the question was how long does it take to construction? So I the takes three month
or three to four months of con physical construction on the project. The what drives the lead what drives the construction time frame and the time between now and u commercial operation is the delivery of the longest lead time equipment. In the past we've seen that
be switch gear transformers and even batteries. As we sit here today, the longest lead time is the batteries and we expect that if an order was placed um today, they would be here by the end of the year and we have line of sight to several battery um offerings before the end of the year. So, we feel good about
that. Is it possible that this project could be up and running before the next 26 where you could have something up and running so that you can measure the five? it is possible and it is exactly what we're shooting for. Um because of the the magnitude of the
savings involved um that is our construction plan and we're going to do everything we can to hit it. Um the things we can do out of the gate here are, you know, signing the contract and then also uh the permitting process, the design process, work closely with your
engineer record to to examine our designs and make sure that they're in harmony with what they were expecting to see. Um, but if we move through that as we expect to and as we have on other projects, we feel really good about the lead time that we have to um to get the equipment on order to get it here and to
um, you know, get through some maybe unforeseen events like a rainy spring or something like that. So, so you gave this sort of presentation last year, I want to say September, the beginning of September or something, right? So, I I was I thought we were going to be like this, we're going to be up and moving and that this would have been done already in 2025. So disappointed that
didn't happen because we sort of like lost a year sort of. But if you're saying like if if we took this like ordered this August 1st, there's a very good possibility that this could be up and running by this time next year. Yes, sir. Beautiful. Thank you. So I got a
question on the savings. This would this be based on five top days or 10 top days to 867? In other words, we'd save this amount of money you're projecting on here. So that would double that and be a million and a half dollars. A little more than a
million and a half. We could say the those rows there assume that we hit 80% of the peak hours on five days on on the 10 days. This the second row is the five of the five the transmission days and the third row is the the capacity days.
Um, so Councilman, PJM sets their rates based on their five days, their five high days. If there's 10 days, there's 12 days, there's 20 days that are high days, but the five high days we're working to miss. That That's a good
clarification that there's the reason there's two events. the the capacity is based on the entire PJM grid which goes all the way from Chicago to the Atlantic Ocean and then the transmission grid is based on the PSE andG zone which is
really localized to the New Jersey area. Right today was hot in both and I'm not sure but probably was one of the peak days in both of those. There are some times where it's not so hot in Chicago and Ohio and some of the western part of PGM and so you'll you'll have the
capacity peak happen uh or transmission peak happen because it's here hot here but the whole zone is not under as much stress. So that that is the there's two different grids that we're watching and and Fred was right. It's about the peak
on that system and having you Miltown off of the grid or using less during the systems peak. So our peak may not be their peak and their bills will be made on judgment of what is most for them. What were you
doing during their peak? Okay. Yep. And the idea is not to be peaking at the same time. Exactly. like today because that that's that's you know to reiterate they set their rates based on their high peak days and we don't want to be anywhere near that
peak because then our rate is set by our five days which are nowhere near theirs and our savings is that difference between their high and our high. That's the that's the buffer we're trying to avoid. And then there's mutual benefit there. If you think about what you're trying to
do is you're getting off the grid so the grid doesn't need to continue to be invested in so that it's there for 10 hours of the year. You're helping you know respond to that demand. And it is a demand response program that we're operating in. There are a lot of these
projects in New Jersey. Two. Two. You're looking at one South River right now. They're on they're on and phase two is up and running. They're only they're rapidly being adopted though.
Excuse me. Joe, um I I believe that Mr. Cor said that u we have to pay upfront money for a matter of months. Is that true? Um I'm not aware of any I recall that. I believe you said oh before that it was up and running that we'd have to
pay a certain amount of months before the payments begin when we reach commercial operation. So once the battery is installed and operating and through its testing and it can perform its its function and we can make sure that we can dispatch it, the payments don't begin until then. So we're not looking for So I guess the bill is
generated prior to that and we'll be sort of making payments once it starts up and running. I think is kind of where where it got transmitted wrong. The bill is created as you're building it. But our payments don't start until we're taking revenue and your pay. Our bills,
our bill is f is already determined because they have an annual charge plus they have a percentage of our savings that they're entitled to, right? But nothing's coming out of pocket. It's all coming out of up and running money. No, some of it's coming out of we have an obligation to pay. It's going to come out of the utility to pay their annual
fee. And then there's the cost savings that we don't actually pay. It's a shared savings. But you're not giving us money to like go buy the battery right now. Contract. I don't mean that, but I'm I'm saying before everything is up up and running and we're we're actually benefiting. Are we paying for a a
particular set of months? Yeah. Okay. But if I can ask one thing, um, can we, it's a 15-year plan. Can we pay at the end of that or we have to pay? Because my my concern is paying for that. Um because or I mean a financial
situation that that's with what's it 60 something. No, the front end is like 15 years worth that money would make sense. The the the contract is set up without that. So it is set up so that you'll begin payments when the project reaches commercial operation and then the
benefits will flow in and so you for 15 years of operation you will get 15 years of benefit. There is a mismatch at the beginning. Well, and I understand that. I'm just saying that I'd like to I'd like to know that we can afford to pay the monthly fee until everything is is
set and we're actually reaping the benefits of it because I'm I'm concerned about the financial aspect for us. I I appreciate appreciate what you're doing, but I'm just looking at the the mismatch until things work start working out. But mathematically, I guess you would have
enough skin in the game that if something terrible did happen, you know, you're going to get your money eventually because the amount of revenue that it generates would be lost is is there. So, they will get paid eventually. There is nothing that it's not the same. I'm not It's not the same thing that I'm saying, but it's not
going to get stopped because we missed a check. I'm sure that that's that's not that's not where I'm going with this. I'm not sure. Okay. But that's why I was I was asking you and you answered my question. I'm fine with it. It it was I wasn't sure I understood the
question. That's fine. Joe, quick uh how many times will the batteries be deployed in a season? Are they 10 times? Is it mean you're shooting? Kind of depends on the variability of the weather. Usually these kind of events are less than like 25 days where you're
really kind of at a point where you think, hey, this could be one. Right. And what happens is you'll start to um you'll get to a point where you'll see a day and you'll say it's like it's already been hotter, you know, than that. So So it's not getting as hot as some of the days you see. So it gets, I guess, a little easier as the year goes
on. Um but it's it's less than 100 hours and usually probably more like 25 days and two hours each time. So Right. But you're not you're not trying to guess the 10 days. You're going to use just so they understand. Like so I mean it's not like we've got five of each and we're
going to try to line those up and that's it. You've got overlap so that if you know you if at the beginning of the season you were wrong and it gets really hot in August, you have the ability to make that up. You continue to chase until we've confirmed that we have a peak or you know we we wouldn't waste a
full tank basically sitting there going on. I'm not sure. We would just go ahead and make sure that the system is less stressed. Right. Okay. Thank you. Are these Tesla mega packs? Is that what they are? We have used Tesla mega packs on our last uh I believe three projects.
Uh the exact make and model of what we'll purchase will be determined immediately upon receipt of the contract. We will be looking to source a project that we can get in. Um so it may or may not be I'm not just only because I I I read that. So, it will be a a tier
one supplier with the lithium iron phosphate technology that that um adheres with the NFPA 855 and the UL9540. In the past, the Tesla product has been um winning the race for us, so to speak,
in these competitive processes, but we are not um there are other great technology providers out there with similar warranties and safety guarantees. So I I saw the and also saw that it said this is one of the best as far as safety the
the the uh the Tesla. So thank you. You you answered all my questions. Joe, I have a question. This actually may be for Mike and Lou. Do we have confir confirm placement of this project?
Yeah, it's over there. No, no, but I don't see in any of the plans or anything. I just and nobody's brought up where we're I mean so I just want to make sure you've worked with them and we have a confirmed placement of and there's a conceptual plan that they prepared we have prepared actual construction drawings showing the
location of the batteries and obviously subject to their detailed design which they're once your contract is signed they'll begin and that's when they'll all be fine. Perfect. In fact, the plans actually show uh where this this this set of batteries are going and a
proposal for future availability if need be. Excellent. So, like I said, if we get and we approve it, there's already place for it. We just Yes, that's it. I don't want to have to go through any other further steps in order to start the project. One of the things you approve is that land agreement that'll tell us exactly where we're allowed to
build. Okay. Yeah. That's one of the items on your agenda for tonight is an ordinance on first reading. That is a lease. It's a ground lease. of a portion of the substation in order to facilitate this project. Good to know. Thank you. And you know, since we want release uh
and the uh I would be remiss using Peter's term to say that uh as part of our conversation for our first reading of the ordinance, I asked the council to consider in my email the second one so that we can properly announce during the first reading. Thank you, Mayor. So
everybody knows when the second reading is we don't come by later and make a mistake. Yep. Sure. Great questions. Good. Just one. Are you Are you going back home tonight? Yes, I am not. I am not because we have really good pizza in the area. Just All right.
I was just asking to get a spot to go. Thank you. I'll be looking for some of that. Well, thank you, Joe. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Thank you. Anything else? Appreciate the time. Excellent. Now is the time for public comment
limited to the resolutions on the agenda only. If you wish to speak, please step up to the microphone, state your name and address for the record. Again, this is the public portion is limited to the comments only on the resolutions listed on the agenda at this time. There'll be a 5m minute time limit set forth by the
rules of council. If someone raise their hand, please step up to the microphone, state your name and address for the record. Seeing none, I'll close audience comments. Ordinance introduction first reading. This ordinance introduction of ordinance 251569.
There'll be no public input on this ordinance tonight. There's an introductory summary will be published as required by law and second reading public hearing and final adoption will be considered on July 21st, 2025. Full copies of the ordinance will be posted
on the burough website on the bulletin board at the municipal building and available at no cost in the office of the municipal clerk between the hours of 8:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Will the clerk please read ordinance 251569
by title? Ordinance to fix and amend salaries and wages for Miltown Burough employees to include full-time apprentice linemen. You have heard the greeting of this ordinance. May I have a motion? Motion to accept. Second. I have a motion made by Councilman
Ponzanski, seconded by Councilman Collins. Is there any u conversation? Any questions, comments? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zambbrana. I. Councilman Collins. Hi. Councilman
Mango. Hi. Councilwoman Payne. I. Councilman Posnansky. I. Councilman Potter. Hi. Motion carries. Thank you. Um, so this is what Mr. Carr was discussing. So we'd I'd like to um see if I could get everyone's input for a
special meeting on July 7th at I think we were trying to do um 6 o'clock was it Mr. Bino 5:00? That's Monday, July 7th. Yeah, I think I think the the thought was the uh the earlier the better. So, if if the
council could accommodate a 5:00 meeting, um that way the people who need to stay here for the meeting don't need to stay longer on a day that we're having a special meeting. Okay. So, if I could just uh if we could get a an I if uh if you're available for a meeting, we
need at least four for the meeting um to do this as a second reading per the ordinance. I will be out of town, but I'll call in. Mr. Collins. Yeah, I'll be here. Mr. Mayor, I'm available. Be here. Love
here. Okay. Uh, Mr. Vignol. Perfect. So, it's just we can work with your clerk to put together a special meeting notice. Um, when you uh take action on this, you can indicate that the second reading will be on July 7th at 5:00 p.m. here.
5:00 p.m. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you everyone. Introduction ordinance first reading. This is an introduction of ordinance 251570. There will be no public input on this
time of the ordinance tonight. There's an introductory summary will be published as required by law and a second reading public hearing and final adoption will be considered on July 7th at 5:00 p.m. at the burough council
chambers. Full copies of this ordinance will be posted on the burough website on the bulletin board at the municipal building and available at no cost in the clerk's municipal clerk's office between the hours of 8:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Will the clerk please
read ordinance 251570 by title? Ordinance of the burrow of Middletown County of Middle Sex, State of New Jersey, authorizing a 15-year lease to on-site partners for a portion of the property located at block two 258.0. 01 lot 10 for the Miltown
Electric Battery Storage Dispatch and Maintenance Services Project. May I have a motion in a second, please? Motion second. Uh, hang on. Just Oh, I'm glad everybody's happy about this one. One second. Just looking
at the title versus the I think and and I will take the hit on this. The actual block is block 60. The lot is 5.0. 062. Uh, looks like when I put this together, I did a great job, but I didn't change the title. So, the
the actual project site is block 60, lot 5.062. We can identify that that will be the amendment in the title. The substance of the ordinance remains the same. I'll motion make a motion on the the correction. Thank you. I apologize.
Thank you. So we have a do we have to approve it first before they can or it can be you can you can move it as amended. It's fine. I' I've identified what the typographic descriptor's error. It's not a substitive error. The ordinance itself is is correct. Okay. So I have a motion made by Councilman Potter, seconded by
Councilman Collins. Um is there any comments? That's by the amended comments. Correct. Okay. Move Kirk. Will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zambbrano. I. Council
Councilman Collins. I. Councilman Mango. Hi. Councilwoman Payne. I. Councilman Pnanski. Hi. Councilman P. I. Motion carries. Mayor. Thank you. Ordinance public hearing second reading. The following ordinance was introduced
on July 9th, 2025 and published in accordance with the law. If any member of the public wishes to comment on this ordinance, they may do so after the reading. Will the clerk please read ordinance 251567 by title? An ordinance amending chapter
7, traffic section 7-14, parking prohibited at all times on certain streets to impose parking restrictions on various streets within the burrow of Miltown. May I have a motion in a second, please? Motion to accept. Second. I have a motion made by uh Councilman uh
Ponzanski and second by Councilman Potter. Is there any comments? Seeing none, I would like to open it up to audience comments. I'll close audience comments. Will the clerk please call the role? Council President Dan Brown. I. Councilman
Collins, I. Councilman Mango, I. Councilwoman Payne, hi. Councilman Pnansky I. Councilman Potter I. Motion carries. Name. Thank you. Ordinance public hearing second reading. Following ordinance was introduced on June 9th, 2025. Published accordance with the law.
If any member of the public wishes to comment on this ordinance, they may do so after reading. Will the clerk please read ordinance 251568? Ordinance to fix and amend salaries and wages for Billtown Burough employees to include full-time confidential secretary. May I have a motion in a
second, please? Motion. Second. Is that you, Bear? Thank you. Um, I have a motion made by Council President Zimbran, seconded by Councilman uh Ponzanski. Is there any comments?
All right. Um, is there I'd like to open the public hearing. Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing. Uh, will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zambrana, I. Councilman Collins, I. Councilman Mango, hi. Councilwoman Payne, I. Councilman
Pnansky, I. Councilman Potter, I. Motion carries. Thank you. Authorizing payment of municipal obligations. Next on the agenda, we have authorizing payments of municipal obligations. Will the clerk please read resolution 2022-223
by title? Authorizing the payment of bills, claims, and statements against the Burough of Miltown in the total amount of 2,816,43764 cents. May I have a motion and second, please? Motion. Second. I have a motion made by Council President Zambbrana, second by
Councilman Pazanski. Is there any comments? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zambrana, I. Councilman Collins, I. Councilman M. I Councilwoman Payne I Councilman
Posnansky I Councilman Potter abstain consent the agenda. Um a consent resolution has been prepared for resolutions listed on the agenda. All matters listed under the consent agenda are considered to be routine in nature and haven't been reviewed by burough
council will be enacted on in one motion. Any items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any council member and if so removed will be treated on as a separate matter. Any items requiring expenditures are supported by certification of funds. If
any member of the council wants any resolution acted upon individually, please give me the resolution number and it would be pulled from the consent resolution. Yes, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to pull uh 2025-237 and 2025239.
I don't want to pull. I just want to ask a question. Is that okay? Beautiful. Pull it then. So there is on resolution 2025 231 uh authorizing the liquoral license renewal for the golden line in it does indicate that it's a
pocket license. So that's just that can continue to go on. I know that's been a thing. It's an inactive license currently. It's an inactive license and can continue to be an inactive license like that to a certain extent. The state has changed things as far as liquor licenses goes. And I think this falls
into the court file it if it is not activated I think I'm not sure on the day I think it may be 2028. If it is not activated by 2028 it will be lost. Wow. Okay. Thank you. Did they have to notify us when they're
going to activate it or Oh, yeah. I thought they were opening the the Golden Lion soon, but I guess not. I believe they're looking to transfer, but I'm not sure. Okay. Thanks. I I also um just I didn't want to pull
um a resolution, but I have a qu two two questions um on the credit card payment. Um we have to pulled it. We got we have to first um do
the consent resolution. We pulled two that's one of the ones that M council Collins asked to hold. Then I could ask a question. You can ask a question after that's when it's pulled. Okay. Two minutes. Perfect. Yeah. And then the Yeah, the other one I actually too. Okay. Good. Clerk, please.
Just Just so I'm clear, only 237 and 239 have been pulled. Correct. Correct. Okay. Whereas, pursuant to the rules of council, the council may establish a consent agenda for any regular or special meetings upon certain conditions. And whereas each of the following resolutions to be presented before the Burough Council at its June
23rd, 2025 regular meeting appear to have the unanimous approval of all members of the Burough Council. Resolutions 2025-225 to 2025 236 and 230 resolution 225 238
and resolutions 225 240 and 241. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Burough Council of the Burough of Miltown, that each of the above list of resolutions be approved and adopted by the Burough Council with the same legal effect as though each was read in its entirety at the June 23rd, 2025 regular meeting and adopted by separate
committee. Thank you. You heard you heard the resolution. May I have a approval and second, please? Some move. Second. I have a motion made by Council President Zambrana, seconded by Councilman Potter. Is there any
questions on just those resolutions? Yes. Yes, Mr. No, on the other ones. No. Okay. P. Will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zambrano. I. Councilman Collins. I. Councilman Mo. I. Councilwoman Payne. I. Councilman
Posnki. I. Councilman Potter. I. Will the clerk please read resolution 2025-237 by title. Authorizing credit card payments for taxes and municipal utilities. I you uh
what's the pleasure of council? Make a motion this resolution be adopted. Second. I have a motion made by Councilman Potter, seconded by Council President Zambrana. Is there any discussion? Yes, Mr. May. Uh I have a couple questions. Well, I I mean, I think we should pull
this just to let the public and their residents know that you they can use their charge card now for uh tax bills and the uh and their uh utility bills. I'm not sure how this is going to work. Uh the only thing I was wondering, Mr. No, should we put like a clause in here
in case the credit card fees go up on them or is that what we're going to charge them if they pay by the credit card? Sir, we're not charging. What's that? We're not the bureau of Miltown is not charging this fee. This is paid for by the third-party provider to the
billing software hired by the bureau. So when you go online to pay your bill online now, you'll you can already do it by echek, okay, or a uh debit right now as we speak. This
adds the credit card payment. So, if you were going to pay your your bill online, okay, using your credit card, a window pops up and says you'll be charged 2.5% of the total transaction by the third party provider for the use of your
credit card uh in this transaction. Then you as the individual say yes or no. So, the burrow sees there's no money for the burrow comes. It's up. It's your individual choice. Now, if you're a cheap guy like me, I write a check. I bring the check in. Okay. Or I put a
stamp on it, but 5%. Yep. You know, if you look at, you know, for an editorial comment, a lot of people complain that the borrow charges 18% interest on delinquent accounts. That's correct. Do you know what your credit card charges? We're looking like
we're practically giving the money away. Some of these credit cards charge you 36% interest. That's practically usery. By the way, I got you here for the credit cards. What happens if they don't pay the credit card? That's between them and the credit card. We get our money. We get our money. That's between them and the credit card. Just like if you go
to Home Depot and you buy a cooler and you don't pay the you still have the cooler that's between you and Home Depot or you and your credit card that you didn't pay the credit card debt. Home Depot's got the money, you got the cooler between you and the bank. They're not going to use zel or anything, you
know. I forget what's the other payment process that's between them and you could however you do it. All we're saying is these are the two systems you can use. Yes. If you want to use an AC debit, it's it's a buck.95. Okay. So the public will be aware of that. I don't know if if anybody knows about this or
not. Well, we haven't we haven't authorized it yet. Oh, okay. You can't tell them about it. We haven't authorized it. Hey Fred, that's for you. Sorry. Can I ask a question? Um is there is there going to be an autopay um option or not? You're just gonna have to enter the information. It's not going to
store any data. It's just gonna No, you just put it in just there. Every time you go in there, you you've got to fill it in every single time. Okay. No, we shouldn't do that. Okay. So, one resident asked me, I'm not going to mention his name. And he asked me if he could get points on his credit card if he paid the utility bill this way.
That's between you and your credit card. Credit card. So, then you get to do the mathematical analysis. Okay. You're going to put a $10,000 tax bill on there and pay uh 2.5% of 10,000. Do the math in your head. And you're gonna How many points are you going to have to get to make up for that 2.5%. Some people
you're going to be given like 9,000 points. You'll be behind the K power curve. Yes. Or you're not making enough money by doing it. Exactly. But that's up to you. Maybe it's a convenience. It's a convenience. You don't want to come to Burough Hall. It's okay. We
don't take it personally. We just want your money. Pay on time. Now, I have several residents ask me about that. So, this system Thanks, Fred. No, it's and and and it's not credit card specific. We're not only, you know, it's up to it's up to the third party vendor
whether you're using your Visa card, your Mastercard, American Express, for all you dinosaurs out there with a Diner Club, you know, any questions that Oh, yes. Uh my question similar to John's was just about notification.
uh how are we going to let residents know and then also on the extension for the grace period for the third quarter taxes I just don't remember do we I know that's happened before do we send that tax a notice with the that tax bill so
that people know that they have there'll that be that'll be included in the tax bill notice okay but I think the important part for people to understand is that though you get a grace period if you fail to pay on time within that grace period the interest charges go back to the day that you should have
paid it in the first place. It's sort of like your master card, like your credit card, you know, you you can pay it, you know, if you're going to be late, then they're going to charge you from the day before, right? And so with the credit card payment, how will residents know that that's an option like it'll just
it'll be just it'll be added it'll be added to the portal. It'll be added to the portal. Yes. Okay. Thanks. So people who pay online now will just have another option. Okay. I don't foresee people who come to Burough Hall and pay
now personally or write a check or all of a sudden going to wake up one morning and go I could put this on my master card. There'll be very few of those. Well, with the 2.5% on a tax bill, I'll be I'll be dropping my check off in person as I
me too. And so, and there's it's only online. It's what's important to understand this is only online to pay. If you show up at the window and with your with your credit card, it's going to be like the bagel place. Sorry, no credit card then. Cash only because we
that's that's that's extremely burdensome. And if the council if we were considering that to have a payment window up at the at the tax collection for the convenience of the residents, I would no. No. No. Just not just no, but no. No. The fees are insane because
those fees have to be paid by us. Gotcha. Okay. Yeah, that was my other question whether if we if someone brings their credit card here if we are not doing don't take it. Okay. Thank you. Credit card, right? As long as the town gets the money. That's cash is king.
Cash is king. Cash is Thanks, Fred. Thank you. Okay. Will the clerk please call the role, Mr. Ready? You had a question. I have a procedural question. I don't see council comments
here. Am I wrong? Yes, sir. We've put them together. What do you mean? We're going to have the reports and comments all in one time. You got a one shot. Okay. Make your point. Forever. Hold your peace. Like get married.
I like that. That's ready for roll call. Council President Sano. Hi. Councilman Collins. Hi. Councilman M. Hi. Councilwoman Payne, I. Councilman Posnowanski, I. Councilman Potter, I. Will the clerk please read resolution
number 2025 239 by title? Authorizing the extension of the grace period of the third quarter taxes due on August 1st, 2025. You have heard the reading of this resolution. May I have a a motion in a second, please? Motion to accept the resolution. Second.
Have a motion made by Councilman Collins, second by Councilman Potter. Is there any discussion? Yes, Mr. Mayor. I just want to reiterate what you already answered question. It's the 25th of August, right, Fred? Yes, sir. You have to pay by the 25th. If you don't, you pay interest all the way back to the
10th or the 1st. The 1st. Yep. And it's usually the 12th. They give you a Mhm. Okay. You you had a question on this one, Patty? You said no, I'm good. Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Council President Zabbrana.
Hi. Councilman Collins. Hi. Councilman Mango. Hi. Councilwoman Payne. Hi. Councilman Pninski. Hi. Councilman Potter. Hi. So, this is where it's a little different. Uh, so it's reports.
It's been combined. Right. So, Council President Zimrena. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The uh the only uh report that I have uh is for finance at at some point. uh Mr. Carr uh will get together with our CFO in finance at some
point in July depending on vacations and days off and stuff like that to have like a a small finance meeting just to see how we doing midyear uh what's it look like and um you know what's what's going to happen like the rest of the year um but you know nothing to talk
about right now I just wanted to mention it and that uh concludes my reports. Thank you Councilman Collins. Thank you Mr. Mayor. I have just a couple things from the library. I went to the library meeting on I believe it was the 10th and uh the library is going to have a Jeep in the parade and uh some of the things that were here already but there is
notary services available for free for for Miltown residents from 10:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. So at no charge to the residents of Miltown. So if anybody needs ever needs a notary and they get it done, you can go down to the library. That would that I guess I'm assuming
that' be Monday to Friday. Um, now let me read the library schedule. Uh, the summer reading program is underway. Stop by the library to sign up and get details. Drop off drop in play Tuesday, June 24th and July 8th, 10:30 a.m. Book
club Tuesday, June 24th at 6 p.m. Crochet for beginners. Is that cru cru for beginners Saturday June 28th and July adult yoga Monday June 30th and July 14th at 9:15 a.m.
registration required 2:30 p.m. Movie matinea Wednesday July 2nd the graduate July 9th Roman holiday July 16th American graffiti board meeting Tuesday July 8th at 6:30 p.m.
Open to the public. Sketch Club, Wednesday, July 19th, I'm sorry, July 9th and July 16th at 1 p.m. Registration required. Midsummer bingo, Monday, July 14th at 6:30 p.m. Once Upon
an Easel for kids, Tuesday, July 15th at 1 p.m. Registration required. Once Upon a Easel for TE twins, Thursday, July 17th at 1 p.m. Registration required. Science Heroes. Saturday, July 19th at
11 a.m. Registration required. Read do a pooch. Saturday, July 19th at 12:30 p.m. Adult coloring club, Monday, July 21st at 6:30 p.m. Registration required.
And the library will be closed on July 4th, of course. And I don't know if I don't want to be stealing um Councilman uh Pnansky. I mean, did you get this flyer, Gary? Uh, what's that, John? This for the the new recycling bins.
Did I got this down here one of the days? It's about the new recycling bins. How you have to keep the new recycling bins on August 1st to the curb. Uh, I I believe it starts um August 11th. Yeah, this is beginning of August
1st. I don't know. I just want to make sure everybody knows you got to put it to the curb. So, it's very important. That concludes my report, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Councilman M. So, actually just want to check uh with Fred, but is that Fred Gar? Is there the
red letters going out yet or they've been drafted in the regarding so we so the letters are going out? There's a stack of them in the mail room and there 652 of them. They have not hit the mailboxes yet. Um, so if anybody gets a
red letter out there in TV land and you've already made your appointment, you're good to go. When in doubt, call the the scheduler. That's pretty simple. The uh to reiterate, letter's going to go out, council. It says uh you know, we've been trying to contact you. I have
seen some correspondence where people have indicated that, you know, they're very busy and they're both working and they they don't have time to do that. And we all understand that. Uh and we all we ask is that you call and do the best you can to make an appointment. Uh
you can't make an appointment to talk about your schedule to find out if you're available and or not if you don't call the number and talk to the scheduling technician. He doesn't he doesn't know what your schedule is. Um, and even if you have a meter installed, it was installed last year by Don or Ian
or somebody for some other reason, we still have to check to see whether or not you have a lead pipe or a galvanized steel in your in your service line. It's part of the D requirements for our our program. Okay. And then the fourth the
third part of that conversation is u it's a you look at your water line, you go, hm, this is PVC. I can tell that because I'm a genius and this is a brand new meter because they put it in last year. But if you don't have the sensor on it, we still need to make sure that
there's a sensor on it so that everybody gets a brand new meter, a sensor, and that we've established whether or not you have a lead and or galvanized water line or not. And then the conversation will be sometime later on for the council how we're going to replace these
identified lead and or galvanized water lines and then how we're going to pay for them. But that's that's you know it's one thing at a time. Right now the letters are going out. You get your letter, call that number, make your appointment and you're good to go. Fred, I have a quick question. Yes, sir. If
they do identify lead, are they letting the residents know that they have a lead line? Absolutely. So there there is a there's a there's a subsequent lead line letter coming out of construction um signed by the our water guy that this year we sent him out. We know exactly
who got the letter. My answer to um construction Beth who did the last group is that we have a we and we send uh send you a letter that says, "Dear