##VIDEO ID:rZ5cezDZJZM## sorry e e e e e e e e e e she had no idea how to start a reor ready Yankees wrong got an hour 7 minutes good evening I'd like to call the October 28th 2024 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 bureau and is on file in the clerk's office will the clerk please call the rooll council president rolinski councilman Collins here councilman moo here councilman posnansky councilman Potter here councilman Zam Brana here mayor Murray pres bur Attorney Peter venola pres bur engineer L Panka pres bur engineer Mike mclen here burrow administrator Fred Carr also pleases burrow clerk Monica Orlando present well everyone Please Stand For a Moment of Silence by I pledge obedi to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands na God indivisible andice for I so we have two presentations tonight uh first will be Charles for the miltown public library I didn't do it can you hear me all right um well thank you again for having me I appreciate the time um I'll try to make it brief but um I just wanted to catch you all up on what's happening at the library um I know this is the first time I've done it since I've been working there for two years so um I'm not going to cover the whole two years but I do want to back up to um 2023 um because I think this is the most significant thing that the library has done in a long time we went um we went fine free in in the beginning of 2023 so we've been fine free for over a year now um and it's been very popular if for any of you who don't know what fine free is um it's sort of a trend that a lot of public libraries in the in the country are doing where we don't charge fines for late books so um we still charge fines for books that are lost or damaged but we feel that you know people shouldn't be punished for you know being a day or too late with their books um so it's it's more of a a community service really that we don't charge fines and most people bring their books back on time um a lot of people who bring their books back late it's you know it's a few days it's not not a big deal deal so and we make up the the fine money in other ways so there's not a net loss at all um so just some quick statistics for this year up to this point um so you know how popular our library is um we've had 429 programs that serve um adults children and pre um preschool children um we've had which with a total of 3,00 282 attendees um we've had 13,629 people enter the library this year so far um and that's uh an increase from the previous year um and we currently have 1600 active library card holders so people are still using the library and reading books and watching movies um just as an example we've circulated 17,900 books and movies so far this year so that's awesome people love it um some of the uh things that we've done this year we've upgraded all of the computers in the library so that um no computers are older than 2021 when I first started working there we still had some um late 90 models of computers so everything is pretty much up to date now um we were lucky enough to have an Eagle Scout do a project for the library this year um Jason Orlowski and his troop um came in and they did some some much needed maintenance work on the library um including they painted the book drop in the front of the library they um built a bench with Planters and they cut back the bamboo that's is growing and taking over the back of the library um and they also built Jason built some sign holders that we have out in the garden now that have interpretive signning that goes along with our pollinator Garden that we have back there um we installed a brand new circulation system and online catalog this year so that it's much more user friendly for our patrons and staff um we installed an AED defibrillator in the library we didn't have one before um so we feel safer having that we are lucky enough to have um a retired nurse who also can take care of people if they they need it um we also installed a new air conditioning unit that was broken and I want to thank the Bureau for that because you you helped us out a lot with with um fixing that so um we are started two new services this year um just recently we have a limited Mobility service now so if anybody can't leave their house in order to come to the library to get books or movies um we'll bring them to them so that we just started that recently um along the same lines we started a service for um parents of newborn babies so if um they want some books or movies that they can show read to their babies um we'll bring those to them too um we just recently bought a uh 10x4 shed that some of you may have seen um in the grass here at the end of the parking lot um we bought that partly for storage because the library doesn't have any storage at all really um but it's actually the main purpose is we're starting what's called a library of things which is a collection of objects that people can borrow so um an example would be a pre let's say a pressure washer so things that people don't want to necessarily buy um they can borrow from the library so if you know most of us if we have done pressure washing it's you know you have to go out and buy it two or three $100 thing and you use it once a year um but if you want to borrow it from the library it's free if you're a library card holder um you get it for two weeks and you bring it back so that's just one example some other examples are um cook uh fishing gear camping gear um things like that so we're going to start building it up slowly uh and that's why we needed the storage so we to have that so um and then our uh finally our we we had our fall Harvest Festival this weekend hopefully some of you made it um we which included a touch of truck event and we had over 200 people attend that so and I want to thank the um miltown Police Department the fire department the rescue squad in the DPW because they all showed up with their with their equipment and um people loved it so so that was great and then um I want to give a special thank you to um Ralph Janowski and um his staff because they've just been super helpful all year um with various things like they they built the foundation for our shed um Ralph's always you know if I have any issues with the building out there he's always there or his crew so they're super helpful and I appreciate them and um of course I want to thank my staff at the library because they're I couldn't I couldn't do this without them and um the town loves them they're great so so that's it if you have any questions I'll happily answer them but thank you thank you thanks all right thanks thank you joh next we have Dorian Kerber miltown Senior Center not everything was mounted hi uh Dorian Kerber um I'm on the Green Team and we decided to pursue a project at the miltown senior center and on the side where it's all grassy uh Home Depot applied for a foundation Grant and we received $3,650 and in doing so uh they created four very large raised beds uh in addition uh they also put two uh rain barrels installed those they're functioning of course it's been no rain so but when it did rain it did function properly uh and then in addition that was done on August 15th because of all the rain we had to wait till August 15th for that to happen uh in addition um we have two smaller uh raised beds uh that were assembled for any use that they would like to use them for uh where the larger ones are more for vegetables um and produce and then uh on the front end of the uh part of the uh senior uh Senior Center there was really the vegetation has just dissipated U with the trees in the front it really takes up so much of the shade um we're hoping to at least get a couple trees down especially the one by the fence uh the one by the fence if we can get that down that'll be super not only does the roots they're exposed uh they have to be removed because there is a Girl Scout that lives in town that's going to do her award and put a pollin Garden uh in front of that uh area and that will help with um the uh standing rain when we do have a lots of rain just the standing water all over the place uh the runoff just doesn't disappear it just stands there but with the side of the building now done with some of the beds they'll be able to absorb some of that water which is fantastic and also in the front uh we did some of the um plants um in addition uh we did received two rose bushes which I'll plant tomorrow and that was from the Scout uh mom um and they're at meeting across the street at the legion which I have to go to next so I just wanted to show some pictures uh basically now this just hand it to you this shows you basically standing more you know comes really service not completely but you're just always pounding on it and walking on it it gets stiff you know not everybody erates their lawn so with this of course this was built in 1980 you can see with all the um situation um I thought it would be a great project to pursue now I don't want to show those this is some of the pictures um also this is uh Home Depot this is uh the we had this store manager Chris assistant manager Leo uh department managers uh also attend and then the rest of the volunteers this was when they were starting to dig for the race bed which I have on the and shows you the preparation the the three pictures shows that the uh mulch was put down uh as well as the fabric so we can minimize weeding for the front area in the side of the building where was just all pretty much blank there was a little vegetation but not much so this shows you how they were working on assembling the raised bed uh you have the picture where they started digging the hole for afterwards and this was all done by the Home Depot on the side of the building Home Depot okay we have one more picture for Home Depot um they also installed the rain Garden so you the rain barrels and POS for a picture of course when the project was print then in this picture you'll notice a councilman who was assisting us which which we just really needed uh there are loads of roots in the dirt so what we did was we separated uh the mulch of course and the fabric to get to the dirt so that we could dig it down for the plants to be planted and this was the girls scil councilman Mano assisted then I noticed over by the flag area we clean that up we put new rocks in there uh it was all covered by the grant so we figured why not you utilize the funding for that purpose I don't have the complete pictures but uh there's so many pictures to print these were the general ones I printed um in addition um the front signage needs attention the metal is kind of rusted so um she is going to look to do that with her gold project as well as a pter garden uh to paint that and paint the post um and then we're going to probably put tulips just on the outside there but we straightened it all out and fixed it so it's straight now and looks really nice and this is the last pictures so when the Girl Scouts came they came in the morning did something for about an hour and a half uh I had to cut the Evergreen because I didn't want anyone poking themselves in the eyes they had to get under there so some they were dead anyway there was nothing on them on the branches they were empty so uh it was really fantastic uh and Council M helped us with the this um center block we just couldn't budge it it was really hard cuz the ground was so dry but I really appreciate you know the council approving this project us applying for the foundation Grant anything that's dead or needs to be repaired or replaced has a one-year warranty under the foundation Grant because I have mentioned it to him and he says don't worry about it just bring it and we'll exchange it so anything will be replaced in the spring uh that's currently there um in addition uh it was great to have the Girl Scouts come in the morning then they came a little bit in the afternoon and they were able to complete as much as they did with all the um help it was just terrific to have a great team of folks uh really participate and uh Envision you know really dressing up the area uh so hopefully we can get more uh plants for for the for the spring to add more to the one bed it kind of got short on it so um but I do have seeds I've decided that we're going to start seeding them in March and prep them so you know when you have like a bunch of seeds in a packet you don't know which colors are which so we're going to take them apart and go to the experts at the uh nature uh Plant Society and find out which ones they are so that we don't put like all the yellows together and all the we want to separate it make it look nice and so this way come the spring they can plant in the pollinator Garden as well as plant in the last bed that we have to finish and thank you I appreciate uh the support and uh hope you get the chance to go over there this was a gold project right pardon this is for her gold project This was um a service project with the Girl Scouts the gold project will be for the tree to be removed in front of the fence that was installed years ago so that she can put the pollinate Garden there and what it's going to do it's really going to help even Park View That Sidewalk because it gets so drenched and wet and standing water just stays there it's going to help with that situation um and it'll be great and then maybe we can put a tree further up smaller tree further up from there uh to replace the one huge one they taken down it's a pinoke anyway you know it's disease it's going to eventually die it's the same story for 15 years in the state so okay any questions no questions well thank you so much thank you than good job work good Wednesday now is a time for public comment limited to the resolutions on the agenda 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 will be a 5 minute time limit set forth by the rules of council if someone raises their hand please come up to the microne state your name and address for the record seeing none close audience comments the meeting minutes for October 15 20124 regular meeting are on the agenda for approval are there any comments or Corrections mayor council president revolinsky emailed saying he wanted something added but uh he's not here and I'm not sure where he wanted it so I don't know if you want to hold off on approving these minutes until he's at the next meeting can we table that vote as they are can we table it until the next meeting yeah that's what I just said I don't know I don't want to go I mean that's make a motion we table the minutes till the next meeting when councilman council president rinsky's here I'll second okay we can do an all in favor for that one right can we make a motion uh we got a motion second second you just need all in favor okay all in favor any oppos no okay the minutes for October 15 2024 executive session number one are on the agenda for approval are there any comments or Corrections no may I have a motion accept the minutes as typed so move I have a motion made by Council mtter seconded by we didn't get a second did we just table the minutes oh no the exective these are okay he just had he just had some comment he wanted added you said to the regular meeting right yeah to the regular meeting the executive ones he had no issues with so we just need a second I'll second thank you uh councilman Collins um all in favor I any opposed okay the minutes for October 15 2024 executive session number two are on the agenda for approval are there any comments or Corrections no can I have a motion to accept am minutes as typed second um motion made by councilman Collins second by councilman Potter all in favor I any opposed okay authorizing payments of Municipal obligations uh next on the agenda we have authorized payments of Municipal obligations will the clerk please read the resolution by title resolution 2024-25 authorizing the payment of bills claims and statements against the burrow of miltown in the total amount of 2,151 19418 you heard the reading of this resolution or there any questions yes Mr Mayor I got a question on check excuse me page five for higher gral Associates it says Ford Avenue and it says Albert Avenue anybody know that is so Washington Alberton and that that's all plan that's the planning board account or uh the first two are 29 Washington Avenue 25 is esro for uh planning board applications how about for Avenue we got on there so that would be the same the planner so the planner is involved in the Ford Avenue conversation and then builds the burrow so if you look at the the previous bills on Washington Avenue Albert Avenue you'll see that there's a de Del there's a deev in front of it councilman that tells you that those are Developer escros and that's how that bill is paid okay the legal litigation his involvement as the planner in that litigation or you know consultations that just comes um out of our budget as the burrow planner any questions you have heard the reading in this resolution or may have a motion to second please so moved second I have a motion made by councilman Potter seconded by councilman Collins will the clerk please call the rooll councilman Collins I councilman moo hi councilman posnanski hi councilman Potter hi councilman Zam bran I can I 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 having been reviewed by burrow 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 in a separate matter any items requiring expenditures are supported by certification of funds if any members of the council wants any resolution acted upon individually please give me the resolution number and it will be pulled from the consent resolution yes Mr Mayor I'd like uh 2024 289 pulled 2024 291 pulled and 2024 293 pulled 289 291 293 293 293 anybody else no okay will the clerk please read the consent agenda resolution why is 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 October 28th 2024 regular meeting appear to have the unanimous approval of all members of the burrow Council 202 24-28 202 24-290 202 24-29 2 yes every other one okay now therefore be resolved by the burrow Council of the buror of miltown that each of the above listed resolutions be approved and adopted by the burrow council with the same legal effect as though each was read its entirety at the October 28th 2024 regular meeting and adopted by separate vote you have heard the reading in this consent resolution with your pleasure Mr Mayor I make a motion that these resolutions be adopted second I have a motion made by councilman Potter seconded by councilman Collins will the clerk please call the role councilman Collins councilman moo I councilman panski I councilman Potter I councilman Zam BR I will the clerk please read resolution number 2024 289 by title resolution 202 24-29 authorizing budget transfers you had the reading is resolutions what your pleasure or comments or concerns as I I was just questioning some of these budget transfers we're doing we're taking money from the pool and put it in dispatch and then we're taking liability insurance and I don't know what putting it into salaries and wages but then we have a sewer dis disposal for the city Brunswick for 105 how come we can't put the 105 in the water account so the two uh so let's just talk about the front page okay the front page councilman is a current fund okay that comes out of the operating budget of the current fund uh in consultations with Joe zanger the Chief Financial Officer uh our budget lines are tight as I you know we've talked about before the budget is very very tight okay there's not a lot of slack uh and to the state statute allows us to transfer money on the 1st of November within the budget lines of the Burrow's adopted budget so if you look on the front page in the current fund you know Joe looked at some of the different budget lines that we have and trying to move money to pay obligations so for instance General Administration that would be my budget line we're taking $155,000 and we're transferring it to like for instance you could just say it's going down to Legal expenses because we have a lot of legal bills okay so that's in the current fund of a transfer of $122,000 on the back side we have budget transfers from water sewer operating fund which which is separate from the current fund self-funded utility as you know paid for by rates uh and so we're on taking some again if you see $105,000 okay to from where we had budgeted budgeted for the sewer disposal and moving it to pay for Social Security costs we pay 7.65 as you all know uh for that and the salary and wages in the water and sewer operating fund which are unforecasted in the budget so we're taking Surplus from SE and it's not Surplus it's budgeted money that we place into the budget thinking we would need it we don't need it so far and we can transfer it now that's not a surplus no sir there is no Surplus in our budget well if we leave it in in the sewer disposal you know in that line can't we use that in the water budget next year yes but you can't pay your bills this year this is about paying your bills now here today this year I just find it strange that we're you know we're raising rates in water and we're taking money from the water and putting in basically salaries again to pay to pay the bills yes sir if you remember from some months ago talking about how we have not raised the water rates in a long time we have not raised the electrical rates in a long time we try to hold our current fund our tax rate below 2% changes when you make those kinds of decisions year after year it catches up to you it's catching up that's all I have thank you sir you're welcome will clerk please call the roll I need a motion in a second make a motion motion motion by councilman make a motion so moved seconded by councilman Potter will the clerk please call the rooll councilman Collins I councilman MCO I councilman pansi I councilman Potter I councilman zamb BR I will the clerk please read resolution number 2024 291 by title authorizing professional Engineering Services CME Associates fch Avenue improvements not to exceed $1,827 you heard any questions comments oh Mike this is going to be ours huh a f Avenue West fos and East F you're going to do both yeah the remember the first priv did uh microphone please forgive me thank you we we're unable to finish to the C going to do that piece and go on the other side of Main Street we're going to get that drainage problem inry fixed once and for all okay so you're going to finish West V you have no first then that's correct okay thanks I just worried about the people over there understand may I have a motion in a second please so moved second a motion made by councilman Potter seconded by councilman Collins will the clerk please call the role councilman Collins I councilman moo hi councilman posnanski hi councilman Potter hi councilman Zam Brana I will a clerk please read resolution 2024 293 by title author authorizing honorary Street naming uh you have questions comments yeah I just had a question it says Miss M's husband requested this yes who put it on the agenda I did cuz I don't know anything about this one so but she has passed away so okay that's all she was a just inef you can say no go she was a long-term uh she was a well valued well-liked long-term crossing guard yeah uh in town and a few years ago she got very sick um but she was certainly well respected I met her husband and he also is a uh just a great charitable guy his Corvette club does a tremendous uh just as a family they um rather quietly they do a lot they did a lot for this town and continue too I'm glad to see this come about 100% And I I 100% so move this so this is like an honorary plaque that would that would go it would be a secondary name for the street so the street name is not going to change you're just going to have a a placard above it that I recognizes Miss ml okay okay I think this is a great move great and I I so I motion this resolution I have a motion made by councilman Potter may I have a second please second uh seconded by councilman Collins will clerk please call the rooll councilman Collins hi councilman moo hi councilman posnansky hi councilman Potter I councilman Zam brano I uh reports from elected officials council president rinsky didn't have a report uh councilman Collins no reports Mr Mayor councilman Mo uh let's see so uh regarding the library there are some upcoming events for the library um but it is always worthy to mention all the good things that they do uh the second annual Harvest Day Festival Touch a Truck Event was a cre success uh the miltown police department the miltown fire department the rescue and the DPW all participated in the event uh bringing drunks and happiness and entertainment uh thank you for the sponsors the library like to thank the sponsors Clon and M Memorial Home the creal home for funerals Bimbo Bakeries and Mike's Country Market and thank you to the community for enjoying the event and coming to the event regarding the upcoming events at the library Tuesday October 29th preachers of the night bats of New Jersey please register Wednesday October 30th after school stack and chat book club uh please register for that uh Thursday October 31st the after school Halloween Jeopardy Saturday November 2nd crochet for beginners followed by readed to aoch Monday November 4th will be adult yoga classes and please register for that as well Tuesday November 5th meet and greet their local author author uh Eric herat is the featured author and please register for that event as well Wednesday November 6th tween craft uh raised salt painting uh and again please Vis for that one Tuesday November 12th there is a library board meeting and that is open to the public and the library will be closed on Monday November 11th honoring vets uh anything you need to do with the library to register you can always call that number is on the website uh it is 732 247 2270 and the friends of the miltown public library will be having a silent auction starting Saturday August 16th and they will be open during Library hours until Saturday November 23rd they are looking for donations of new and gently used items items can be dropped off at the lot they would like to thank you in advance and the library just keeps moving forward and doing better and better things and becoming a more important piece of the town in its culture for a lot of kids especially JK that I always see there uh you're here beyond that uh that's all I have for tonight direct department is uh a little quiet moving forward into the thank you thank you sir councilman pansy s um first I'm going to speak about the miltown senior center highlights for November we have several bus trips planned in November including Mammoth kitchen The Shrimp Box in Point Pleasant yamish Market matachin in and Boscov please check the calendar for days and times please remember to register as soon as possible as bus can only fit 10 people as with any activities events please sign up on the bullet board in the senior center or contact debie at Duty Milltown bor.com the VNA nurse will be here on Tuesday November 19th from 12: to 3: please sign up on the bulleon board if you would like to meet with her new participants are always welcome we are starting a new class on Wednesdays in January 2025 on muscle toning and Body Sculpting taught by our sweating to the oldies instructor Linda McBride Please check the calendar for days and times we encourage you to speak with Debbie if you have any thoughts about the new class idea or new class ideas you may have and would would like to participate moving forward there was a word missing in my type here the senior center will be closed November 5th for Election Day November 11th for Veterans Day November 28th and 29th for Thanksgiving we will not be delivering meals on wheels to those days additionally if you know anyone that is interested in receiving Meals on Wheels please contact Debbie contact Debbie at 732 296 0681 for uh the miltown historic preservation ation committee there was no report and the DPW uh it's it's a very minor report today they had a trunk Retreat uh this weekend uh went well and uh they had miltown day um last month and it went also went very well and I'm working with Ralph on some things for uh for on my next report at the next meeting and I've asked him to continue with the cleanup if he can as time permits at the old DPW site and also at the schwinderman area and uh that concludes my report thank you councilman Potter thank you Mr Mayor uh from the miltown police department curfews will be in effect on Wednesday and Thursday of this week for Halloween unaccompanied miners should not be out after 8:00 p.m. on either day additionally please drive uh with extra caution as pedestrian traffic is expected to increase during the Halloween festivities your cooperation helps ensure a safe environment for everyone Community involvement is crucial in maintaining a more secure environment we strongly encourage you to assist us by reporting any suspicious persons vehicles or incidents that you may come across our non-emergency line number is 732 82810 and in cage of emergencies always dial 911 concerns can also be submitted by using the official burrow website under the reported concern Tab and for accurate and reliable information please contact the miltown police department directly do not rely on social media as the information shared there can often be incorrect or misleading together we can make our community a safer place thank you for your continued support from the miltown fire department due to the current drought there is a stage three fire ban now in effect for Middle sex County until further notice under this restriction all open burning is prohibited including campfires bonfires and fire pits outdoor grilling is limited to gas or propane grills only the use of fireworks and any other outdoor Flames is strictly prohibited and residents are urged to comply with the ban to reduce fire risk and ensure Community safety thank you for your cooperation and members are needed candidates uh that are interested in joining the miltown fire department are encouraged to stop down by the firehouse on Monday evenings at 6:30 or email join miltown fire gmail.com from the miltown rescue squad the squad will begin accepting applications for a winter onboarding process anyone who's interested in learning more about uh joining the rescue squad or becoming an EMT should email recruitment Milltown rescu squad. org to learn more applicants for January 2025 applications for January 2025 need to be submitted by December 10th and any question questions please do not H uh hesitate to contact the rescue squad as councilman moo mentioned uh all three Emergency Services enjoyed connecting with everyone at this past weekend's Touch a Truck at the miltown libraries Harvest Day Festival and the miltown education foundation's trunk Retreat and we wish everyone a Happy safe a and fun-filled Halloween and finally from the miltown 4th of July the miltown 4th of July committee invites you to join us on Saturday March 22nd at the miltown American Legion Post 25 for the annual celebrity bartender event mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details and Mr Mayor that concludes my report thank you councilman Zen Bron thank you Mr Mayor our our next environmental commission meeting will be uh this coming Wednesday two days from now uh October 30th at 700 p.m via Zoom uh our next Board of Health uh meeting will be uh scheduled for November 26th uh 6:30 PM in the back conference room um our human relations committee meeting is scheduled for November 5th but obviously that's election day and that will be scheduled at a later date in November and uh revitalization uh advisory committee will be meeting on November 12th 7:30 p.m. via zoom and that concludes my reports thank you reports from bur professionals Peter attorney uh Peter venol there you go perfect last name is always hard uh no report tonight Mr Mayor thank you seeing me Mr mclen Mayor just two things quickly here tonight first to talk about the meter replacement program we have worked with your administrator relative to uh proceeding with the meter replacement project uh as you may know remember the last meeting we talked about a quote that we obtained from core and Maine for approximately $1.3 million to not only put new meters in throughout the B but also take stock meters you have and install them uh in addition we worked recently again with the administrator to get the state grant that you have at approximately $2 million and they plan or they have agreed to advance you $1.5 million in the next day or so you should have that inhouse with that inhouse then the next thing we need is to get a PO then by November 13th which was when the uh existing Co-op they have will expire So the plan now is to move jointly with your Administration to present a resolution authorizing the preparation of the PO to authorize cor main to proceed with the project at your next meeting so move forward next I've asked Mr Panka to come today to briefly discuss what's involved in the road projects that we do for you so you have some details to what's involved yeah thank you Mike um just to go over a a brief list of what we do with these Road design projects excuse me so the the once we're authorized as we were tonight the project starts with the survey field survey work that's done for instance on North Brook Drive our survey crew has to pick up approximately 1300 survey points so that we can properly design the the roadway improvements um when that data is collected it's brought into the office and we prepare what's called base Maps which are the basis of the design of the of the project um with those base Maps our Engineers go out in the field they review the site conditions um Locate the deteriorated pavement um the Curve the sidewalks um bring that data in and that's used for the design of the project um in the office we analyze the roadway Center Line profile the cross-section slopes and the gutter slopes to make sure the roads drained properly um we have to review the road geometry against um acceptable standards um with the dot funded projects we need to review all the signage on the road to make sure it conforms to current standards um we um have to design every Ada ramp um that is um when you use the dot funding um you have to um give them a physical design of every ramp with grades slopes so they have to do Each corner designed individually um we prepare the construction specifications for the project um and there's a lot of coordination with uh committees um with the public work Committee in particular um to develop the plans for the project um once the final design is approved um by committee um and the the um Council blesses it we prepare the project for bid um that includes um Permitting Services we um typically with these roads we have to go to Freehold soils and get a plan certification so we prepare that application um there's a lot of dot Grant coordination that goes into these projects we have to do design certifications um prepare uh certified cost estimates um upload all the documents to the do's um what they call their pmrs system and we have a back and forth with the dot to address any comments they come up with um once the dot blesses the project to go to bid we coordinate with the bur clerk to set a bid date um prepare the bid advertisement um we deal with the biders during the the bid period answer any of their inquiries we attend the bid opening and we prepare a report to the mayor and council with a recommendation on the um bid award um then the project goes to uh construction um where we um number one we prepare a submission for an upfront voucher to get upfront funding from the do we schedule and conduct a preconstruction conference with the contractor um local officials the police um dot Representatives um during construction we um coordinate with the residents we um prepare the resident notifications and send those out we do all the on-site observation of the work measure all the work that's performed for payment um coordinate traffic control with the police department um review any submittals from the contractor that come in for approval um prepare all the payment review all the payment requests from the contractor and prepare recommendations to the burrow for those um coordinate and observe any final corrective work with the contractor to get the job closed out and then we coordinate with the doot at the end of the project to um get their acceptance of the work and to coordinate the final Grant reimbursement for the bur and that pretty much sums up with these dot funded projects involved excellent thank you is is there um start I'll say from when you first put a shovel in to the end of that project what do you expect that to take just roughly I mean of course Very roughly but just wondering as a guideline you mean from start to finish sorry Start to Finish um let mean I'm sorry I mean aside from all the aside from all the processes that happened before you put a shovel in the ground ground so to speak um but the actual physical work is that like a 3mon or two month depends on the size of the project obviously but um in general it's probably a 3 to five month duration you how long the Project's going to be I mean lengthwise on the on North Brook Drive North Brook um we're starting at Carney okay you go down Rea we're going to get to actually to bear um bear okay were staying within the grant funding there wasn't enough grant funding from the do to go the whole length to re so it looks like we can get to Bear we're actually including in the contract the deletion item to take it back to part done should the bids come in a little higher and okay you know so that we have the ability to W the project excellent thank you um business administrator Fred car thank you mayor so for the council I Prov Ed the Council of this draft here of the known notice of unknown service 9 uh composition so this is a draft of a letter that we're still revising up at the water department or with do Herman and Beth in construction that's going out to the residents of the Bor of miltown before the required date of 15 November as set by D all right like the letter a month ago about trihalomethanes the data or the verbiage in this letter is dictated by our friends down in Trenton um so it's right off you know their website and all the rest of that there was a draft of this and some initial conversation of this letter and the requirement for this uh provided to the council back on the 31st of July during that 31st of July email if you want to go back for your reading pleasure is this led service line identification and replacement plan submitted to D on the 31st of July by my you know I signed it and of course Mike signed it and when I came back from Greece if you go to page two of that uh report that I submitted in July it'll tell you that we have uh 269 service Connections in the town and we know that 92 people have led service lines those 92 people have gotten letters already that said you have a LED service line you need to take steps to fix it at your own expense what's missing from from our data required by DP we're on a 10year cycle to provide this data to D and we're the third year into it is we don't have 256 addresses of what kind of service lines those people have and we're required by D to have that data now part the segue into what Michael was talking about in the meter replacement program to fulfill the D requirement and and change the meter is all at the same time Council when we do the meter replacement program the the guy who's going in to look at the meter he's also going to inspect the waterline so if the resident okay who doesn't know whether it's galvanized or or or copper or whatever doesn't have to worry about it the meter replacement guy is going to go down replace the meter note in the form what kind of meter it is what kind of water line it is and then that data will come back again to us the Bur near myself uh that the water department and then we'll start sending letters out to people saying we replaced your meter and here's the bad news you have a lead service line but we have to get that data and we're three years behind the power curve I'm hoping that with this meter replacement program when the desk settles at the end of the day everybody will have a new smart kind of meter that go straight up to the cloud into the utility department and we'll know what kind of service line they have now if you look at the picture here mine's in color yours is in black and light it's very simple if you look at that little dot right there that's the main water line and the homeowner in the burrow of miltown is responsible for that line from the connection of the main on in the street all the way into their house to the meterbox so you know we've had some concerns with some residents and other places that I've been you know when you go out there you start digging up this this water line you know it's it's expensive but it's your water line not the Burrows I would ask that the council as we move forward to consider you know for instance amending the water fees and I've spoken about this before currently if you're a water customer in the burrow and you tap into this line we classify that as a brand new connection it's a brand new hole in the water line I would recommend that the council consider that if you're replacing ing your water line we consider that tap free we don't charge you for that brand new hole in our water line if you're replacing the lead pipe service line but you're going to have to do that in the water ordinance because right now we don't have that ability as an idea so tell people look it's going to cost you 10 15 20 grand depending on how long that line is how deep it is to replace the pipe the lid service line and if you do it you can tap it for free but it's got to be supervised by Don in the water department you got to have a licensed plumber you have to have all that kind of stuff but moving forward is an encouragement to people that to replace the lines I think that would be a viable option but it has to be in an ordinance or we can't wave the fee because right now it's very clear you tap into it there's a fee so there'll more to come if you have any questions you get a hold of me get a hold of Don get a hold of Mike it's pretty straightforward you know thank you Fred if you can just check the email on the last page if that's correct or not for Don yeah it's maybe an old email are we missing Lines no it says NJ I don't if there's an NJ anymore NJ that's correct yep so if you want to fix that so they can send it to person we're getting know we're getting all excited I'm just you told us to review it I'm reviewing it as we go good I got this about an hour before I walked in so we've been working on we're working on it today exactly we'll do that we'll look at it too and see if anything else comes up clerk Monica Orlando uh I just want to talk a little bit about the election and early voting I've got a lot of phone calls from residents regarding early voting and some confusion uh there are no early voting polling locations in miltown that being said there are several within the county uh any middlex County resident can go to any polling location within middle sex County from Saturday October 26th until early voting ends on September uh on Sunday November 3rd the hours for early voting are 10: a.m. to 8:00 P p.m. Monday to Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday I updated the burrow website on the front page is listed all of the early voting locations you don't need an appointment you just go if you have your sample ballot for them to scan it makes it a little bit easier if not they can still find you and bring up the appropriate ballot for for you to vote on um let's see what else did I want to touch base on also on the website I put a map that is color coded with the different districts we have nine districts in town so if you're unsure what district you are if you're unsure where you have to vote and you lost your sample ballot go on the front page of the website you will see the map you can click on it to make it bigger below that map or above it I'm not sure how I did it uh it shows the the different districts and where your polling location is if that still doesn't work for you you're still not sure you're welcome to call my office 732 828 2100 extension 181 or you can send me an email M Orlando at miltown bor.com and we will figure out where you need to go to vote tomorrow October 29th is the yes is it deadline to apply for a mail and ballot by 400 p.m. uh with the county clerk if you still need a mail and ballot the mail and Ballot Box is open until 8:00 pm the night of the election and then I will be out there at 8:00 at night to lock it um and I believe and then we have on Election Day the polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. I am asking everyone who does come to vote in person on Election Day to please have some patience and to show my PLL workers some Grace uh I do believe it's going to be longer than usual lines this year I know that a lot of people are very passionate about this election um so I just ask that we show my poll workers some Grace if you have any questions and concerns about what's happening at a PO polling location I will be my office starting at 4:30 in the morning on the day of the election and I will be here probably until 11:00 at night when polls are close I have all my equipment back and everything else so again that number is 73 2828 2100 extension 181 email M Orlando miltown bor.com I will be going around to the three polling locations to check in during the day if anybody has any concerns um and that is all thank you does any member of council have any old business to bring before Council yes um I wanted to bring this up uh we were looking at the bill list and it was closed out before I got to say something but I'd like to say it now it's about uh it's from page three clear uh jaob however you pronounce that alfery Jacobs uh special counsel Bill list and I saw that we got another bill uh this one for $477 I reviewed the bill list and I see the bill and uh I'm not happy about this I it it's uh an end endless dispersal of funds 5 months in going on six I know what I call this and I I will not say it here I will not be um we have not been given updates that I know of nor descriptives of how the taxpayer money has been spent as Council approves bills to be paid unless certain people have been receiving information not disclosing it to me this is a travesty again with taxpayer dollars initially our labor attorney recommended the mediation action to take place I went along now this is many months along I roll my eyes I shake my head with a sigh we should have had the strength to deal with this issue in-house instead of farming it out some people look at taxpayer money like a gift horse I assure residents of miltown I do not this investigation in my opinion is a frivolous waste of taxpayer money and the agreed party after almost half a year is still without justice as Martin Luther King said Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere like up the street if anyone remembers I I have two other okay I'm done with old business I'd like to close all business does any member of council have any new business oh Mike I have one question on you sure yeah do you know when that water replacement program is going to begin have an idea the water meter replacement it's uh take a little while to get the meters order so I'd say can be done because there's no weather I'd say probably right January New Year janary hopefully have it ready we haven't got time schedule them but they can probably do it about 3 to six months so hopefully by mid year they have the new not I just want to make sure the residents know what's happening so thanks hey Mike can I ask a question just to piggyback on that is has there uh and it might be too early to ask this question but I'll ask it anyway is there um any place in town that's been a district that's been identified to start not yet no okay no we'll probably coordinate with your administrator and your water department then begin to take a look at where the meters have been installed right I know some have been installed try to make logical way of go through it you know remember notices have to be put to the residence you need to schedule time just quite a bit of coordination okay thank you B like to close new business the public comment portion of this meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention or comments or concerns Council will respect the P Public's Time by refraining from any comment till the speaker is finished it should be further noted that this is a public comment portion of our meeting and not structured as a question and answer session please state your name and address for the record when you come to the podium just a reminder that under the rules of council individuals wishing to speak during the public input part of the meeting shall be limited to five minutes and may after others speak have finished and have finished be allowed to speak a second five minute period [Applause] mayor council members ladies and gentlemen Richard Ryan 6 South Main Street a quick point or two with regard to the water utility considering bills have gone out um not to everybody um and the discussion uh continuing discussion with regard to service lines and Replacements and the continuing discussion as to whether or not come the first day of business in the new year whether the mayor and Council will revisit rates with the war utility I have a suggestion one that I'm sure will meet with resistance however um if we consider that we're in this together as taxpaying residents and users of the utility I think it's time that if there hasn't been discussion already that there should be with regard to changing ordinances to reflect that the homeowner should only be responsible for that service line from the valve box to the house not to the water man in Main Street or whatever street you may live on I recognize from a business standpoint um probably most people would not be in favor of that but the question really becomes how much can you take from the residence so please consider it thank you thank you hi good evening Don on Milburn 12 judment uh I just wanted to first to thank Ralph janeski and Lou Panka for meeting some members of the environmental commission Mr godber and I to look at the bike path at Albert Avenue because we had some concern about some of the trees that would have to be removed and we were completely satisfied thank you you know the explanations of why certain trees needed to go really appreciate you meeting us there um and also uh just a question about when it comes to um dot grants with North Drive do you do we determine the roads that are selected to have those grants by the burrow going and you know investigating the streets that are worse or does it come from uh residents that are raising the concern their street needs repairs yeah it's generally discussed in committee before the applications are submitted so discussed in committee meaning that does like uh do Public Works go around and kind of evaluate the roads that look the worst or if a neighborhood is complaining that the roads need to be serviced what is the criteria for being for being brought to your attention I think Public Works has a good feel for the entire Road system so so Ralph is usually at the meeting with the public work committee and it's discussed amongst the members and works good I just would because I live on Desmet and I never I don't ever remember the roads being repaired since I was a child in that neighborhood and I wondered if residents can I bring that to your attention Desmond Avenue and also the bottom of hill where Desmond and Hill meet there's a huge pothole and the road is in very poor con you know condition if we can bring that to your attention duly noted okay thank you desmit and Hill um and also uh I had a few um people uh contact the environmental commission with questions about the lead service lines I know that we're not nework but I don't know what is the criteria for um residents that want to replace the lead lines to be able to receive grants because I remember at one time hearing that if a certain percentage of people were to have lead pipelines we might be what will it take for these residents these poor residents to have grants to pay for the replacement of these lead pipes right now the uh we would direct any Resident who had concerns to the njde okay there may be a possibility where there may be some Grand funds available we have uh heard that there may be a lot of times it's it's uh it's controlled by their income level but that's I would suggest that they contact the D and there's a whole entire program on the lead service line Replacements okay so it doesn't it wouldn't go through the tab it would be an individual thing right and isn't there a point though if if it if they don't meet certain Financial requirements if there's a certain percentage of homes that do have lead pipes doesn't our town also qualify as a whole for that right now um we've checked to see whether Milton would be uh would qualify right now the only thing Milton is could qualify for is low interest interest loans to go through put okay like for individual families okay not okay thank you and um I wasn't present for any discussions in regard to um the shenaman cabin but I just I guess I just want to Express as probably you'll you're going to H have expressed in the future with more EC members and residents are great concern over um some of the sentiments that have come forth about the condition of the cabin whether it's worth you know repairing or keeping um I just want to remind the council that historically I think it was probably about six or seven years ago we did have a professional inspection of the cabin it did not indicate uh the same condition that was indicated on your newest report which I have not read in full yet um I'm concerned that we've already used Grant Monies to hire that second engineer which I'm not really sure was necessary um and that's not really my profession you know my expertise but um I am concerned about any Sentiments of the cabin not being historic uh not being worth saving and I would hope that this um I know the mayor has always showed uh respect and concern for the cabin himself as has the Boy Scouts of America in Midtown so I I I know that your heart has always been in the right place with that but I am concerned about how you're going to move forward with the property so I hope to hear more about that later what your plans are um and I encourage every young person who is not registered to vote to please register to vote thank you byebye Lee weisenberger 99 JFK Drive uh just to follow up on that grant money or whatever I know going back a few years Matan the local Representatives got them some money for leadline replacement and certainly everybody knows about NK but uh there was supposed to be other smaller towns that did get money but I'm I'm more Curious like I said the old American Rescue funds and the rest of them if there's money left in that stuff that could help people anybody knows okay and another thing our ex- mayor Trina when she was here she mentioned that she had her line replaced and it was led from the valve to the main a copper to the house so how do you deal with that if you had your line replaced because it was clogged over the years and you had it from the valve to the house and you still got let out in the street everybody going to have to dig up that that valve and find out what's going on just bringing it up I'll close audience comments Council comments is there anyone from Council that wants to bring anything up at this time sure first I'm going to say I was born in 1957 the cabin was built in 1958 so I guess that means I'm historic yeah I've asked miltown school superintendent Dr Brown if she would please consider attending a council meeting um I asked her in August to address miltown parents and residents I advis her respectfully that it would be helpful to the residents in good public relations for her and the school board the Board of Ed meetings are not televised and the council meetings are so it would be a good opportunity for Dr Brown to get to know the residents and taxpayers of miltown she could also get to know the residents and form a relationship being that almost 60% of school funding comes from miltown taxpayers I believe it is fair to know who is responsible for how this money is spent Dr Brown's response to me was sending links to their budget meeting and so far she has declined my respectful request to attend a council meeting um I I have another thing to add and uh essentially it's about voting but I would like to speak about and this is nonpartisan I would like to speak about the American citizens and their right to vote especially in local elections one of the few rights that we have As Americans to exercise freely is the right to vote