##VIDEO ID:6pSr3y0AN1c## tonight that's the mute button dad's you don't have that all right so it's your show brother all right however you're comfortable doing it you should I know I never got one of those right there and e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e well they saw the fir e e e e out today on this uh joyous occasion um I ask that you please stand join me in the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer we'll have a national anthem please remain standing for a moment of silence I pled of the United States of America and theic for stands nation under God indivisible andice for all our national anthem be sung by Caroline [Music] Higgins the tlight [Music] and bright [Music] starss our flag was still [Music] there that [Music] starled and the of [Applause] almighty God we ask you bless this governing body with an abundance of wisdom and understanding so that in filling their public trust every deliberation will result in actions that will promote the common good and general welfare for all the people of moris plings amen amen remain standing for a moment of silence please for members of our community and family and friends for Pearl law we lost this past year who is an intrical part of mors plains President Jimmy Carter and the victims and the families of the New Orleans Terror time and now a blessing from Rabbi Baro benjaminson from Shabad Tor Our God God of our father father is great Almighty and rever God we stand here before you in Humble prayer we are gathered today for the nugal meeting of 2025 here in the community of King Mars blades as we just mentioned in the Pledge of Allegiance we are one nation under God the Liberties which make America so great come from the recognition that there is an Almighty Creator by remembering our duties to our creator and remaining aware of his omnipresence our great nation preserves its Liberties and morality by living with faith in a higher authority we ensure that we are living by proper values and with Integrity look favorably upon this Gathering and bestow upon us the joys of life good health and prosperity bless all those who have been chosen to make laws and dedication and decisions for the citizens of our great town mors Plains bless them with wisdom knowledge and understanding in the noble pursuit of justice and equality here in the community of caring may they remember to always be giving and caring to those who have chosen them and given them the privilege deserve give our elected officials the guidance so that they will always be conscious of your presence and always strive to enact laws with honesty and integrity in accordance with your will we pray that your wisdom rests upon us all we pray that you will find the inspiration and strength within ourselves yourselves to make decisions that are not self-serving but rather decisions that brings God's goodness and light to all those who come in contact with we pray you remain humble and caring in service to the people who voted and appoint to you this AB these decisions although at times the world may seem like a dark and lonely place Place obab rebi says that is within every person's reach to brighten up the world to illuminate the world around them to be a Lamplighter by doing random acts of goodness and kindness we will serve as beacons of light for people of all faiths and all walks of life even the tiniest bit of light can push away such so much Darkness we have the potential to inspire hope and bring warmth to illuminate the world especially in our corner of the world the place where you were chosen to govern the place where we choose to live the place we are all part of a caring community may our esteemed elected officials the distinguished men and women here tonight help maintain the gold of which our our country was established a nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all may we always remember to be lights an illuminated world and remain cognizant of the privilege and responsibilities that come along with the job so together let us lift our eyes to our creator and ask him to not only grant us the wisdom and Clarity but God we ask you for the blessings of strength and courage to do what is proper in your eyes to be Lamplight us to illuminate our community to illuminate our surroundings and to illuminate the entire world world May the Almighty keep all people all over the world safe may help return all those those who were taken hostage against their will home safely and alive and may we all Merit a time of true peace and Tranquility in the world let conclude with universal Hebrew blessing of shalom shalom he who makes peace in the heavens may he make peace for us all on Earth and let us all answer amen I hereby announce and state that adequate notice of this meeting was provided by a virtual of a resolution scheduling time date and place of the meeting of the B Council of B Mars plan for the year 2024 which resolution was adopted by the bur Council on January 4th 2024 published the mor and the Daily Record and by posting of such resolution on the BS board in the B Hall all the above being uh notice to members of the governing body and burrow staff any use of electronic devices during this meeting shall be used solely for the purpose of bur business and before we get going just one more round of applause for Caroline [Applause] Higgins I'd like to recognize a few people that are with us here today in no particular order we have uh Chris Williams from congresswoman Mikey Cheryl's office with us here tonight we have we have uh commissioner director ton Salon from Morris County we have amay Dante from moris County Democratic chair with us the honorable Judge carluchi we have with us today the Morris County Republic or Morris plain Republican chair I'm sorry shro met with us our Morris Plains [Applause] prosecutor sorry Donna but I'm gonna screw up your last name everybody does Mayor Donna [Applause] Le thank you Morris Township councilman Bud rabbits have moris L Democratic chair Tina janess with [Music] us couple past councilmen Ralph Rando and Steve Welsh of Morris PLS with us tonight also Justin Strickland councilman from chadam with us [Applause] tonight we do have Frank mangeri past Council and us I appreciate everybody coming out mention later very new C we'll mention them later and Valerie Dolan I'd like to recognize you for coming out and I believe Kathy Wilson is here Mor okay if I missed anybody I apologize I think I got anybody statement off mun2 at thee and to you want stand we'll make it work okay sir left hand on the Bible ra your right repeat after me I bill Houston I bill Houston do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the con Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and jly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of council member of the office of council member according to the best of my abilities according to the best of my abilities so help me go so help me God congratulations so you want to introduce whoever's here with you sure and if you have a few things to say that would be yeah I do um so uh yeah I do have a few things to say but I will introduce obviously my wife Megan my daughter Emily and my son Liam my my in-laws uh Lenor and Jack so thanks to the mayor thanks to the council and the burough staff um thanks to my mom and the rest of my family who's actually watching on YouTube so appreciate appreciate them being here virtually um as I said thanks to my kids uh Emily and Liam uh you guys are the examples of why I stood up uh to to to do what I do um they love it here and I want to do my part so that you guys can be proud of of living here when you grow up I want to especially thank my best friend and my wife Megan uh we started this journey together almost three years ago and you've been my sounding board my Confidant and my Guiding Light ever since I wouldn't be here without your support your blue roses and I love you finally thanks to everyone in this room and to all the people on on YouTube uh many of many of you have given me your time and your voices to express what's important to you to your neighborhoods and your future Generations I've done my best to listen to your concerns and comments and your personal professional experience now it's time to turn into actions um uh let's see as as we go throughout the year there's going to be a lot of questions and I encourage everybody to come up here and ask your questions I don't know everything the council doesn't know everything um but we're learning right and the way we learn is by listening to your questions and trying to do better um this is your home it's my home it's everybody's home we wanted to be a great place to live and continue to continue to making it a a community of care um the decisions we we make aren't easy and some of them aren't always favorable but as I said during my campaign I'm committed to transparency to asking the tough questions and to getting the answers to making sure your voices are heard so thanks again to everyone for your support for joining virtually and for being here the younger at the gates and we're planting better trees [Applause] so before we that's just a piece piece off really so just a few things here bill to make this official we have an official I love Morris Plains couple mors car P I'm sure you'll run out of ink with I love moris PL you're this is not your this is yours here but it doesn't matter the same thing okay it's your your official coun pin got it and we do have a burrow of Morris Plains Community for your LEL so excellent wear it all in Good Will in Goodwill and switch bags good [Applause] luck Ty all set all set do this we're ready will set raise your right hand left hand on the Bible repeat after me I Tyler pontier I Tyler pontier do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the constitution of the state of New Jersey state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and that I will faithfully and that I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of council member of the office of council member according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulate floor is yours to introduce whoever's here with you say a few words a little sweaty just wait for summer see that uh I have my beautiful family my wife Meredith my twin daughters T and Mar my mother and father Scott and Maro poner my brother Luke foner I've got my mentors Keith and David over there [Applause] and um I will be very brief unlike I normally am um today's definitely one of the coolest and most proud days of my entire life um bill and I worked really hard this year and we're we're so honored and privileged to be up here today to represent the people of Morris Plains um my favorite part about this year was door knocking and getting to meet all the awesome people on Morris Plains that I hadn't met yet getting to listen to them getting to learn from them and taking those voices and bringing those to the council um I want to thank first as always of course my wife Meredith um I'm a high energy not always easy to deal with person and uh she does very well at that and uh uh my daughters for the nights that I'm gone or the times that Daddy has to do something for the town thank you tan and Mariah I appreciate that and uh always to my parents for you know setting a great example Keith and David for always guiding me as well and to my brother Luke who's always doing the good fight as well um I want to thank everyone that voted in Morris Plains thank you I specifically want to thank all the people that voted for Bill and I our supporters thank you um truly it's because of you that we are here it's because of your voice that you empowered us to be here to represent you and that again is an honor and privilege that I will not forget um I promise to always do what's right I promise to do what's best for Morris Plains as Bill said you know there's tough decisions to make and we may not always please every everybody but my promise to you is we will always do what's right and we will do what's best for every person in Morris Plains so thank you again I'm really excited to serve and Tyler we we have the same goodie bag in but the name tag is correct thank you sir very thank you girl [Applause] roll call please may here M Berg pres Mr BR pres Mr Cortez pres good evening and Welcome to our annual reorganizational meeting my goal is to highlight some of the 2024 accomplishments and lay out some of the goals for an exciting 2025 before I begin I would like to take a moment to congratulate councilman Bill Houston and councilman Tyler ponier on their triumphant Quest and our joining us here to do their part and make makeing moris Plains the best it can be welcome and best of luck to both of you during your next three year ter I'm confident you both will excel as you grow into your new roles the Cathy and Dennis your dedication and commitment over the past two terms has been nothing short of honorable you both know what it takes to be great council members and I know you exceeded those expectations your input ideas dialogues and your true compassion for Morris Plains was evident in every decision you both made and you should both be proud of each and every accomplishment that you contributed to once again thank you for your commitment [Applause] to infrastructure is always a top priority and in 2024 we accomplished a tremendous amount of upgrades including water main and service line replacement of nearly 100y old pipes on Glenbrook Road Bola court and Keenan Place Additionally the paving of eight roads in 2024 were completed during the summer months Glenbrook Road and its entire will be repaved from Curb to curb by the third quarter of 2025 also on the Queue to be paved this year our Beach Drive Brook Drive North Cleveland Avenue Davenport Road Forest Avenue Forest Court sunb way and Winwood Road water main and surface line replacement will continue on Styles Avenue Central Avenue carile pulmer Hawthorne Avenue the west side of maple Diana Road and Burch Drive which in fact has begun this past December these roads will subse subsequently be paved in 2026 included in upgrades in 20124 was the completion of two new pickleball courts and perimeter fencing at Wong Park along with with the courts at w watnong a grant was received for the purchase of new playground equipment which is currently on order and is pending AR and pending its arriving Simon Park also had an upgrade with an enhancement to playground equipment which has made a phenomenal difference since its reopening following instruction as I remain on the topic of playgrounds I'm happy to say that the equipment has also been added added to and upgraded at Community Park as well the burrow proudly received a grant to complete this project one of the most important decisions the Council made in 2024 was the purchasing of the property located at one jimere drive which included a residential structure in nearly 3 acres of property which was put on the market the purpose of this purchase was to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife of this Great Park area as for an update for the ID of wild pool after reports from our insurance carrier our burough engineer and his assessment along with others the cost to bring the municipal pool the pool to Municipal standards was just too costly to justify nearly $3 million the decision has been made to explore options for the space while keeping it recreational and open all the residents of moris PLS with the receipt of two Trail grants one for a sidewalk along Route 53 near dport Village in Foxwood has been designed and received do funding and permits the project will go to bid for construction to begin in the spring the second is for permanent design of walking trails around Community Park along with imple implementation Grant to be applied to them in the area of Public Safety the burough took on a number of initiatives including refurbishing the fire engine the pr Department's engine three which should extend the life of the apparatus by at least 10 years the purchase of a new Mini pumper for the fire fire department was also made this year and we are expecting delivery of this vehicle by the end of 2025 or early 2026 the fire department has put together a committee to explore the possibility of replaceing engine core a 25-year-old pumper in the fleet in the upcoming years the council also voted to make our past our part-time fire prevention Chief position now full-time and has worked out well for the burough to date we also repurposed and outfitted a vehicle from the police department for use by the fire department Chiefs the old fire department whistle that was damaged Beyond repair in a storm in February is going to be replaced and mounted on the roof of the firehouse this project should be complete for our upcoming Memorial Day Parade discussions are being held on the possibility of sounding the whistle at 5:00 again and for major incidents that may occur in town progress has also been made in our Police Department we saw the promotion of Robert gild to Lieutenant and Joe Hines to the role of Sergeant congratulations St both congratulations to both of you and best of luck moving forward the process has begun by the police chief in a committee in regards to exploring the possibility of an expansion addition or renovation of the police department in other areas of town hall last week the police department took delivery of another hybrid vehicle which helps lower our carbon footprint and will further lower our gas consumption seeing significant savings with this addition the burrow now has three hybrids in its Fleet in 2025 I think the council should consider the hiring of a police officer due to the demands and increase of traffic violations volume and call for service our road department has also seen the upgrade of older vehicles and Equipment throughout this path last year the retirement of Leo Mulligan as assistant superintendent from the DPW in 2024 after 33 years was it truly a loss let's take a moment to thank Leo for his dedication his dedication leadership and knowledge of every inch of moris place even though we lost a fantastic employee Leo's position was filled right away by the promotion of Kevin Rango who has stepped right up to the task in demands of this position and hasn't skipped the beat thank you congratulations Kevin and the best of luck moving forward there were certainly some highlights in 2024 that are noteworthy two two of which are Milestones the Morris PL rotary celebrated its 50th anniversary of being established in Morris PLS ironically the CL the clock they donated to moris plane stop working this last month was replaced recognizing their 50th Anniversary a huge thank you goes out to the entire club for all you do in and for mors Plains and its residents you are an intrical part of the community and we look forward to the next 50 years another Milestone is the 150th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church of Morris Plains on speed Avenue they've been in existence longer than the town itself again a big congratulations on your Milestone and thank you for being such a committed partner in so many activities and events and I know that will continue for the next 150 years a few more activities worth worth noting was a second annual pumpkin illumination which was planned and sponsored by downtown by the downtown moris Plains committee this was a huge success that surpassed all expectations again this looks to be an annual ever growing event that everyone can look forward to with new additions and fund for years to come thank you to the entire committee along with all the volunteers participants and businesses that make this been successful the farmers and winter markets have continued to improve each year continuing as a staple in town that residents and Gifts look forward to each your promise is not to disappoint thank you to everyone on the council and and others that make this happen each week and to all those who patronize the vendors it takes everyone to make this the success that it is the last event I would like to mention is the mental health Symposium that was held in September this was the fourth one in the county that brings together experts and addiction ition law enforcement and Mental Health crisis personal antidotes and resources are available for available for anyone in need of services advice resources or just knowledge the Symposium was recorded and will be placed on our website along with links with different areas of help and information this will be available very shortly and will be advertised when available in 2024 the business climate in moris Plains remains strong the businesses that open this past year include chose Legacy be creative hot tub Center and a new location for Bliss Hair Studio this year there are several anticipative businesses to open and we look forward to welcoming welcoming them in the burrow a committee has been assembled early in 24 in 2024 for the planning of the Burrow's 100th anniversary celebration which will be upon us very soon in 2026 they have been diligently meeting discussing many ideas and fun events that will take place all year looking forward to this celebration and all the activities being planned another committee that has been working very hard this past year is the affordable housing committee as I've reported previously this past year our affordable alation given to moris planes is 137 units this number doesn't seem to be too bad except that a developer is able to build five market rate units for each affordable units which equates to around 685 units this number is a little more than what was just built morris planes from the last round on American Road in Route 53 the council and I are not opposed to affordable housing however we acknowledge that it is the density that will be an issue here in Morris Plains along with the impact to our infrastructure resources such as such as water traffic safety and school where will all this housing go wooded areas vacant unutilized Lots our recycle center these are some of the issues this committee along with our professionals and affordable housing attorney are working on towards the end of the month I will schedule a town hall meeting to give a further much more in-depth update as to Our obligation our path and plan moving forward our buau is uniquely upheld by commit committed volunteers to sustain the vibrancy of our community of caring there is a role for everyone in our diverse array of opportunities from playing in the community band open all ages to join the Morris Plains fire department at 14 or the Morris Minutemen first AE Squad at 16 history buff can continue contribute at our museum while nature enthusiasts can engage with the Garden Club beautification committee and clean communities program for sports enthusiasts and Scouts there are numerous groups to participate in volunteers of all ages are welcome and anticipate and appreciate your outstanding contribu contributions each playing a vital role that our residents truly value on the on behalf of the burough Council myself I want to thank all of the many volunteers on boards commissions committees and all the citizens for your commitment to our town this is what it truly make this is what makes it truly special and helps to continue Morris Plains moving forward we would like to sincerely thank every one of our dedicated hardworking employees for everything they contribute throughout the year their hard work and dedication to the burrow is meant with a heartfelt thank you for our police and fire departments thank you for everything everyone has done to keep every resident safe and protected 24 hours a day all year fire department received three new volunteer members and one new Junior member this year to the respective Chiefs thank you for keeping your department safe and guiding your members through this past year with all the challenges thrown at you in a professional way without skipping a beat or missing any call for service our police department has partnered with the Morris County prosecutor's office and Mental Health Association of moris and essics to participate in the arrive program this program Partners Law Enforcement Officers with a mental health professional to respond to mental health calls providing deescalation assistance assessment and motivational interviewing our DPW John sarelli and Leo Mulligan and now Kevin Rango residents never saw a day Miss with your department work has been been performed without hesitation and you and your department have continued to make our town look terrific grass was cut spectacular decorations put up leaves picked up and Roads cleared of snow Morris PLS has never looked better I encourage everyone to sign up for the Morris planes email alert and smart 91 links may be found on the Burl's website this will enable you to keep up with the happenings of moris planes and will assist First Responders in the EV of emergency financially for the third consecutive year the Burrows ratables have appreciated I'm happy to announce we have officially exceeded our previous record high in 2009 by nearly $2 million our current rable base of 2024 is 1 bil 488 m353 500 with the increasing rate sound plan planning and good governing the bur stands to be financially stable but will certainly have to navigate unforeseen challenges moving forward in 2025 The Bu will be faced with substantial yet unavoidable increases in health care costs in the amount of 17% increase in pensions an increase in disposal tipping fees for garbage and 2% increase in recycling these increases will be addressed in our upcoming budget is our goal to have as little impact as possible to the tax taxpayers while continually preparing us for the future continuing our exploration of shared services across all departments and positions in collaboration with local County and state agencies will play a pivotal role in maintaining Morris plan's fiscal responsibility my plan for the Burrows to once again fund our Capital project so as not to Ure Ure future debt and pay down current debt further open space will continue to be on our radar as open space is important to all of our resid uses of open space will always be important and taken into consideration when making these decisions we've accomplished this and so much more while remaining under our 2% mandated cap and actually this year most residents saw a decrease in their tax in closing I I excited to have shared with you the current status of mors plains and only some of our achievements the Burrow's year ahead looks bright and welcoming new commercial residential and businesses to our Comm uh Community these accomplishments are direct result of edicated individuals and knowledgeable planning for both short and long term let's persist in our progress and keep moving forward the council and I will continue to work hard this year and in the years to come to keep move moris PLS moving forward and remain the community of car and that we all know respect and love we are always available and always welcome your thought I would like to leave you with a quote from reneer Maria and now we welcome the new year full of things have never been have a happy peaceful healthy new year God bless you God bless mois Plains God bless moving on we'll have the election of the council president it is my honor to nominate councilman for council president for the year 2025 I second that roll call please M yes Mr BR yes mrte M yes Mr yes yes and I hereby appoint the following person to the office stated and for the terms specified planning board St Oren four years Andrew wolf one year Bill Houston one year Board of adjustment Doug mcade Vice chair four years Dan Rizo alternate one two years Recreation Commission Mandy mark five years Shay Tre Frank dretler five years Roberts scles Nancy kitley three years Board of Health Andie McKinley three years our Humane Law Enforcement Officers is Sergeant Jeff Hawkman here Sergeant Michael Kelly one year Community Development Representative Bob Martin one year Michael Baza altimate one year moving on to adoption of resolutions say May at this point I need to make a motion that resolutions three and four be removed from the portion of the agenda as the majority of the council did not support these resolutions no we're going to remove it then what we're going to do is we're going to proceed with with resolutions one and two and then five through 28 and then after that we'll address individually resol so at this point is there a motion to move resolutions and then five through no I have through 20 sorry that's on the floor right now is there a motion for that yes is there a second second all in favor abstain you guys have I'd like to make a motion in accordance with the Bibles of the council to strike down resolutions number three and number four as they are written so a vote of yes would block these resolutions as written I second that motion at this point in accordance with the byog and discussions we had as a governing body at the meeting on December 19th I would like to adopt the resolution of the standing committees of the buau council are as followed Finance Nancy berer chair committee members for Finance St Cortez Joan G Public Safety Tyler pontier chair committee members art BR and S Cortez Public Works chair art BR committee members Bill Houston Nancy burer public buildings and grounds s Cortez chair committee members Joan G and Tyler pontier Public Health sanitation and sewers Joan G chair committee members Bill Houston and Nancy verga ordinance of Public Utilities Bill Houston chair council members artun and P poner as committee members on ordinances and public uity May before we move that motion assuming it's moved um what I think we should do is I think we should move um or we should make a motion here on in connection with resolutions three and four um um to deny them essentially as as written proposed the and then go forward with any motions the reason I say that just for clarification is in connection with the bylaws here in the bur Mars Plains the mayor appoints um certain positions here to these standing committees which is captured in um resolution number three now that is with the advice and consent of council it sounds to me here this evening that you do not have the advice to pres councel um that should be placed on the record here by a uh roll call vote and then assuming that is correct um then there would the council under our bylaws has the right to then make a motion as council member bergo set forth here with their nomination which they are doing but I think in accordance with the bylaws the first thing we need to do is to take a roll call that resolutions three and then of course four as written are are hereby I guess denied some before I before that happen I say a few things um I put these standing committees together and and as mayor and manager of this town I I certainly appreciate the advice of the council but I do have to you know maybe caution the council a little bit my main uh contention with this was and I think that with the council was with the chair of Public Safety you put in a brand new council person uh on Public Safety that manages the largest budget line uh that the bur has and with with you know no off with no with no experience we have sou Cortez who sat on this committee before we have uh contract negotiations that are coming up that s has sat on previously and I think that the better pick for this uh chair for Public Safety would be sou given his um long history with the burrow he knows the history of the police department at least from the last contract contct and uh to have somebody brand new try to go in there without knowing the names or the budget or any of that kind of stuff uh for the biggest line in in the burrow um I think is is is a little premature and I think the council better off having the experienced council person there as the chair um of Public Safety I think that that will probably really be better for people and of moris PLS to have somebody with that kind of experience and have Tyler under sou uh in that department and and teach in the ropes a little bit um I certainly think that that's uh something that the council should consider and that was along my lines of why I put the South Cortez in this position just because of his outstanding the outstanding benefits of that would he would drink that we've had discussions back on forth on this and I don't really want to reiterated here so the council majority has had a discussion about this and we've made our decision um we feel that counc has done an exal job and would be a great mentor as would AR room uh to to Mentor him in this role and that's all I want to say about it right now uh it's time to prepare the next generation of council members these responsibilities um there's lots more to say but that's all I'd like to say on behalf of the individuals who supported this uh nomination department heads that uh I've been in this role myself they run their departments and hardly need any help from the Council on not a matter about health it's having experience there learning a position coun can do what they want I'm just giv my opinion we're have three new council members this year so work with not here to argue we have is there a motion to strike down um 20253 and 202 25-4 I make a motion is there a second second roll call please MGO yes Mr yes mrte can I say something John when did these discussions occur you said the council talk just we got this Friday we talked on at the meeting on the 19th and everyone had a discussion and we talked about where we wanted to see everyone we were involved but we didn't specify did we specify everything the meeting I don't remember yes we did just you know I I gave my appointments they gave their recommendations and I got back to the council with with some changes with those recommendations I don't know if that was a discussion or not and then Friday we got his final on on Friday when you say Friday how many people were there announ not not a four meeting with people oneone majority that my is not going to make a difference it's yes yes Mr yes Mr yes just as a quick quick bit of housekeeping my the only issue that I have at the moment is in connection with resolution D4 which we are rejecting that is a lengthy resolution out it covers okay all right so we're just all right I had indicated that I hope everybody can hear me now I had indicated that my concern was one of the actions uh um in rejecting uh resolution number four is that if we look at resolution number four set forth a series of positions quite lengthy um and my concern was that that was going to create issues however council member burer does indicate that her motion that she discussed earlier today covers that and then therefore I'm satisfied that we are rejecting that resolution only to the extent that it's inconsistent with the will of Cil that's okay so the next point is to accept the resolution revisions that we just made for the standing committees so we we voted down resolutions three and four did we accept the changes from the standing is there anybody here on on Council that would like to make a motion that we that we accept the motion that was set forth here by council member burer in connection with the appointments to the standing committees here as she set forth in the record we have a motion on that I'll make a motion is there second I'll second roll call please miss Virgo yes yes yes yes yes yes at this point in accordance with the bylaws and discussions we had as a governing body I would like to make a motion to adopt the resolution that the nominations confirmed by the council for 2025 be approved as written in the former resolution 4 with the exception of changes to the council liaison the council Council liaison will be as follows Council leaon for Board of Health G Council liaison for recycling committee Joan G Council liaison for Robert's Garden commission souz Council leaz in for beautification committee art Brom Council Le on for local emergency planning committee Tyler pontier Council Le is on for team Center committee and Miss Alliance Joan G Council on for traffic committee Tyler here is that different than the regular standing Comm no it follows it follows what we just what we just agreed it just Falls in Stu no CH so everything else is the same except the council that were outlined in that resolution but everything lines up double check okay so would anybody like to now make a motion that we pass resolution 20254 as originally uh um written with the Amendments that um council member right okay but I'm just trying to clarify so what we're just so that everybody understands what what this motion is doing is we are adopting resolution 20254 as it was originally written with the Amendments that uh council member verer here is El and placed into the record so if there's a motion to that effect should make that is there a motion I'll make a motion is there a second I'll second roll call please Mr yes yes yes yes yes sure now we have the uh presentations of badges to our fire department officers for 2025 uh presented to uh Tyler and Tyler can pin it on the on the individual our fire prevention official Chris Shay this is his 10th term w [Applause] follow following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps we have assistant engineer Tyler [Applause] shed they don't jump right we have our engineer Dave kitchell [Applause] have Chief three and newly retired Mark Bellis [Applause] thank you very well known and respected name for Chief Two Mr Robert Webster [Applause] [Applause] and we do have Chief one Kevin Rango with his 11th term chief [Applause] [Applause] once again thank you to the whole department everything you guys do from uh incidents to supporting other towns to supporting all our activities and fun stuff here in Mar PLS and most of all keeping everybody safe department so thank you we have an excellent slate of chiefs here and really fire department is 100% volunteer 100% of the time doesn't go unre so thank you your [Applause] since you took half of my limel away timing is everything yeah good evening all happy New Year I'm just going to give you a quick uh recap of our uh 2024 but first I have to thank my wife Amy i' like to thank these guys and my other members of the department for putting up with me and putting me back in another year thank you all I want to thank officers that are not with us this year Donald Underhill III and Sean Huth uh they step down so we have new officers in charge I want to thank the mayor and Council Kathy Dennis thank you very much great working with you over the last six years good luck in your futures we uh just completed 117th year of protecting the burrow so in 2024 we answered 421 alarms most ever in 117 years history uh it's just getting going to get busier uh not saying that we're selfish we did go out of town 108 times and right now we're out of town right now helping another town we have a call right now uh we have 55 active members nine Juniors uh as the mayor said last year with the funding we were able to refer one of our engines uh we were also able to upgrade our townwide fire ground system radio system and uh the mini pumper is on water hopefully it'll be here summertime May hopefully um 2025 our goals we're just we're going to keep our mission statement alive protecting property and our residents of the town uh we're going to continue to volunteer our service to the burrow The Proposal of our new engine uh continue with our community events and commitment to training on the training uh called out there tonight right well last night we had 27 of our guys out training last night so 27 that's a lot of that's a lot of MERS a lot of young guys a lot of us so on closing I just want to uh mention my other captains and lieutenants for this year Mike Yi Thomas Demond Ed Duffy captains and lieutenants Joe Barada Timmy Manning and Steve delivia and we can't do it without you the support of the town the mayor and councel thank you very much congratulations Bill congratulations Tyler look good forward to working with both of you and everybody else in the council happy New Year thank you just uh I see Michael Gary out there but I just want to he's the the fire Association officers for 2025 Mike Gary is the president he's hiding back here we have Gary Kaiser is the Vice President John DS is the secretary and Tom rulan is the treasure [Applause] congratulations this time I'd like to open the meeting for any remarks or comments by citizens [Music] Miss Penny Jones you have two and a half minutes starting yesterday minutes well it's taking you a long time to get up here cut by I understand um well I've been doing a really bad thing the other years I would stand and I would not face the count the mayor and the council that's okay that's but well anyway so I don't want my back there's no way I can do this want to come up here I can Scott is there the audience Nam Scott poner Scott poner come here I just want you to stand up right here two minutes turn around Scott punch here did you not graduate from burnard's high school I did he did I knew scottt here a long time ago we're get though we we are and a all right now uh I I have to present a gift to the mayor and and I want you to open this box and take out the contents oh no what was supposed to be in that box plastic toothpaste they were supposed to be a tube of toothpaste in this box and it must have landed somewhere at our home well let me tell you about the Box the tube of toothpaste and this is important for every single person in this room and Mark Bellis knows that on that tube of toothpaste in one little corner this is what is printed a recycling symbol with a little part here that looks as if it's a tube of toothpaste with somebody squeezing it and the toothpaste is coming out of it and you notice this is a recycling symbol like the ones on my shirt and it says recyclable tube now I must give a warning many of you already know this but just because there's a recycling symbol on something and a message that you should recycle it do not necessarily take it to heart what is important is that you do and I do what the municipality of Morris Plains has told us to do and a calendar was mailed very recently that has the list of acceptable recyclable materials and I don't believe that toothpaste tubes of any sort are on that list now maybe someday they will be acceptable at the facility where our recyclables go but they are not right now I will give credit to Colgate however on the back of the tube and I'll make sure you get this sooner or later thank you I know on the back of the tube there's a tiny little recycling symbol with a message that says this might not be I'm paraphrasing this might not be acceptable in some recycling programs but you know you practically have to have a magnifying glass to find that notice and to read it so just a word of caution because I have seen things in are recycling bins at the center that are not supposed to be there we have of course as most municipalities do some Wishful recyclers who just think they can put anything into the bins it will go away magically recycled no no no no no please do only what you are asked to do or recycle only what you are asked to do by municipality and there is a I have to hurry there is a semi-autonomous County government agency known as the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority and that Authority has a wonderful website with lots of information you can look there if you have questions you can call you can email you maybe not text but anyway there are resources for you to find out for us to find out excuse me what we should be doing if we can't find that information so you know the better job we do with the recycle Wills the more benefit excuse me benefits the environment and benefits M CLS and last but not least I have to say something about Jimmy Carter okay okay uh uh mayor Carr spoke about the importance of having citizens participate in different committees on commissions that sort of thing I I used to think Tom and I were watching part of the ceremony in Washington DC before we came over here and what I admire admire so much about Jimmy Carter is that yes he was a decent man although we know he did mention the word lust once you remember that if you're old enough to yes he did so he was very human but if it weren't for him we wouldn't have Habitat for Humanity and that man gave hours and hours in ours to that organization so I what I want to say is that we all should be supporting organizations like that also there's plenty of work for us to do out there and I thank you for being understanding mayor car I will get the toothpaste to you as soon as make sure it's full when you drop it off [Applause] thank you for your knowledge and insight really thank you Mr Welsh yes hi Steve Wells two silen Drive I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank the the buau for replacing the clock for the rotary clock especially appropriate this year because of 50th Anniversary but I wanted to point out that I was the president of rotary in 20012 2002 when that clock was donated so you know special to me as as well now I want to give you a little trivia I was first first elected to the council when Jimmy Carter was President the second piece of tribia is that I've attended over 700 Council meetings so you Bill and Tyler have a lot of catching up to thank you [Applause] Steve I'm not going to walk up there and go through everybody but I I had a question please real quick so the Box the the toothpaste box that you gave him it looks like it has foil on the top and I've always wondered can you recyle recycle stuff that looks like it has a foil texture thing in 10 seconds or less Penny yeah I mean hold it hold it up doesn't it look I don't she has it right here on the table yeah it's up there um you know what the the literature from the MUA says no foil gift wrapping but it doesn't mention foil and anything else but if you I I can give you my card we'll talk later and I will I will contact them to find out about those the boxes have foil because I've been retired for 10 years I answer that okay all right thank you so much thank you see no one else real quick real quick sure I I know it was only six years but I I do have some people I want to thank um first uh first my wife Marjorie she's at home so thank you for doing this uh thank you for your support uh the past six years um I hope you have prepared yourself for the nightmare of having me around so sorry um and also a special thanks I know Mary did a great job of thanking everyone a lot of uh people who I've worked with over the past six years but over the past year i' I've had the honor of working with our finance department uh Anna Thomas and um Tracy Rooney and members of our Pro clerk's office that are here tonight our Pro clerk Rosanne Ben Rosemary and Nicole Sita um they really uh run and really like a lot to do with this machine that keeps rolling every day so uh thank you so much um like I said the mayor did a great job um I also want to mention that over the past six years I've had the honor of working with so many of our um our residents and our volunteer residents and it's been it's been so wonderful um and I think that's I think that's just growing and um the the Mars Plains benefits uh by having more uh residents involved so thank you all for that and to Bill and Tyler um welcome best wishes uh I know you guys are going to try and pack as much as you can into two meetings a month um did I say two meetings a month I meant two we I meant two meetings a week but uh really looking forward to what you guys have in what you guys have in store for 25 and Beyond in our Centennial which is huge for us um and to my uh to my to my peoples up here uh and Kathy um it's been it's been an honor working with you you guys over the past six years have held my hand through uh many tough decisions and really appreciate that um and like I said I look forward to uh not stepping away completely working with the town I feel like I I served it for 24 years as a as a business owner six up six up here so um mar car the time you spend here every week and your dedication to the uh dedication to this burrow um it's commendable so thank you so much thank you um and we get them I'm going to continue on with the ball guys up here so yeah fashion it looks it looks good looks good on YouTube thank are how are you I just name and address Kam vovi 3by Court West on the mountain definitely thank you for all the great work um I guess I hope you missed not addressing the element in the room with the McDonald's case I really appreciate that you said when you voted that you would you know based on the facts you vot a certain way and I um wanted to just highlight that a lot of those facts were presented on their oath right of the sworn um statements uh one of them obviously is the do conversation right with New Jersey Department of Transportation that traffic was a huge issue for all the residents um and we do trust our Specialists right the experts um however as with any data presented you should always verify trust and verify uh so I have reached out as a concerned citizen to New Jersey Department of Transportation and there is no record of conversation between McDonald's and New Jersey Department of Transportation so I found it very odd uh that they would mention that this conversation happened August 22nd I think was mentioned uh so I would definitely appreciate if you could you know look into that and and we need to continue verifying the information presented uh but there seems to be some disconnect with this war presentation of those TS so I reached out using open uh public records act and you know asking about Dayton Road asking about the driveway asking about the crosswalk uh any any information really that exists any meetings and I was given essential information there's no record of such conversations or meetings and I just want to communicate that to the community into our leadership [Applause] saying nobody else I close the public portion and I'd like to give councilwoman Joan Gard the floor uh thank you mayor Carr and the council for the opportunity to share some closing remarks for those that are not aware I am resigning from the um from my council member role on the Mars Plains B Council effective tomorrow January 8th my husband is going through some serious health issues and I need to dedicate the time to make sure that he gets the treatment and support that he needs to get back to Better Health we as a family want to personally thank the Mars Plains Community for their support and encouragement as my sorry as my family navigates this journey the outpouring of help was hard Waring and the formation of meal trains the offering of rides for our daughter gift cards from bar employees and residents This truly is the community of caring and we are so thankful I have enjoyed six years of service on the Mars Plainsboro Council and I am proud of the contributions that have been made to better serve the residents during my Den year in 2019 the council selected me to assume the last year of Jason's council member term when he was elected mayor that year I ran a successful campaign with Nancy verga and we were both sworn into the council for a three-year term in January 2020 then the pandemic happened as a council we were immediately thrust into doing things differently due to the unique challenges that affected Mars Plains residents we introduced dreaming meetings to the burrow and established an outdoor dining ordinance to expand opportunities for our restaurant during this time I served as a liaison to the Mars Plains Board of Health and I worked with the board to share information about vaccines with our residents and to ensure our homebound residents had access to care during my ten year I am proud of the work that the council accomplished to modernize the bural communications with residents we completed an update of the burough website for the first time in over 20 years the updated website moved information like meeting agendas and ordinances and transactions to online to make it easier for residents to have access we updated the burrow the weekly burrow Friday email to be more interactive we created the business development committee to help build relationships with businesses throughout the pandemic and Beyond the BDC the business development committee also spearheaded the vision and form of downtown Mars ples a non-governmental entity that is committed to the continued economic social and cultural enrichment of our downtown I'm also proud to have played a part in the spearheading of the Community Park Trail Grant which will add a trail around the ball fields and community pool enhancing the farmers market with the addition of vendors events and entertainment to make it a more of a downtown destination for residents and the Greater Community prioritizing Public Safety by expanding our police force to allow a full-time traffic officer a school resource officer and advocating for a full-time fire prevention official and also supporting the creation of an official Facebook page for the Mars plan for Mar plan so now that I'm resigning what happens next as the next step to fill my vacancy in accordance with state and local statute the Mars Plains Democratic committee will nominate three Democratic candidates to be considered by the council interviews will be held with each candidate on Thursday January 30th in executive session and a candidate will be selected announced and sworn in that night there will be a formal swearing in at the February 6th council meeting being a member of the Mars Ro Council has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my career I have done my best to represent all residents of Mars Plains and to try to get back to the burrow Mars Plains is a great place to live to raise a family and I'm thankful to the Mars Plains residents for their support while you will not hear my voice up here on the day I still plan to be an active member of our community and my voice will show up in different ways I know that I am leaving the council in good hands and as the incoming council is committed to creating more opportunities for residents to stay informed and engaged in decisions that affect them I wish you all a happy and healthy 2025 thank you [Applause] you thank you for your time as a councilwoman for the burrow your input and knowledge was a true asset to our town all the hard work you put into the farmers market was truly spectacular with all the new vendors and activities each week I'd like you to join us at our first February council meeting be recognized one more time time for your time serving our wonderful oh thank you we appreciate that thank you and I do have a you we'll get out of here soon I promise I promise so Dennis kind of stole the Thunder a little bit but we do have uh a presentation for Dennis and Kathy if You' both like to come up for a minute is get a chance lovely retirement chairs and we will present to both Kathy here and and Dennis here so why don't you sit down with those and test those out I to [Applause] your wife kicks you out of the house with this chair have something sit on I will need and I think you rule the roost in your house so this can go where but uh I would really like to say thank you again for all your input uh everything that you did your sacrifices people don't realize the sacrifices and the meetings and time away from your family and it's really something to be proud of you guys did a heck of a job and proud to be mayor while you guys were counsel app that thank you have anything to say now he stole some of my thunder but it sounded more like a campaign speech to me tell the truth you coming back not the loser in the group sadly it's a sad thing to lose I've never experienced it before made I've made peace with it I'm fine with it I've already congratulated the two new Council people and I'm sure they'll do a great job I'm not wishing them luck you don't need look you need perseverance let me tell you lot meetings thanks thank you all and I don't know how to thank everybody half the people in this room I should be thinking thanking or maybe all of you uh the police department the fire department Bill Ryden nobody mentioned thank you to you thank you to you our engineer Mike Ki thank you Chief um the women from the clerk's office you can't work without them let me tell you they are always there to help it's wonderful I've enjoyed the six years it's um six years sounds like a very small amount of time but it's not it's a lot of time a lot of meetings a lot of people and I try to do my best and I hope you think so so thank you for me for everything um council members thank you very much J Mason Jason car mayor Jason thank you for everything thank you seriously J [Applause] and we'll have these brought over to your house in your Trump tonight so um there's a person outside in the hallway who's going to say our benediction but I'd like him to come in for a minute first before he does our benediction and this is uh don Brown he's the pastor of the mors pl Presbyterian Church welcome sir what why don't you bring them in MERS of the elders why don't you work work your way right on in and stand right up here in front just don't chip the cheers so uh Morris Plains traditionally um we give out a community Ser service award and it's presented to an individual or a group who have made a notable contribution over a substantial period of time for the betterment of the community of caring I think 150 years is a substantial amount of time probably one of the longest so Wars Plains Presbyterian Church celebrated 150 years of communi and service in October of 2024 when the congregation grew the church moved to Speedwell Avenue and it's been a fixture on our Main Street since 1923 and continues to grow every year the Presbyterian Church offers many activities including their Welsh Memorial bell choir a handbell ringing group just to name just to name a few Joyful Noise Nursery School which many of you or your children may have attended was found in 1968 the Presbyterian Church offers various Ministries and outreach program and is truly a welcoming is truly a welcoming Community if you are looking for support spiritual guidance or a new community of friends and family stop to speak with Reverend Brown or any of his staff thank you for your service and continued support of our town and our residents so I was at their 150th celebration dinner meal whatever and the sense of community the history you have Vigilantes who lived in the town who whose grandfather was was Pastor there her father was there well kids you know their Granda so yeah father was there but just the rich history and and the welcoming and to see all those the parishioners in that room probably nearly 200 I think or so um Full Of Love full of History was proud to present it to everybody and talk about it and there's Generations uh in that church that that continue to go on today so in light of that we would like to present you with a little momento the KE morrris Plains and the Morris Plains Presbyterian Church will be the Grand Marshal of our upcoming Memorial Day for me con I just want to thank mayor Parr the entire Council for all of your support the fire department the police department it's amazing how much that we work together uh our church is actually the evacuation site for burough school and likewise B school is the evacuation site for the joyo nursery school we hope we will never ever have to use that but we work so much together with uh so many organizations in the area and so thank you for all of your support through the years as well um benediction now our benediction benediction the meeting is just about over so please stand this is a benediction that we use every week in church go out into the world in peace have courage hold on to that which is the truth never return another person evil for evil strengthen the fainthearted support the weak help those who are suffering honor every person and rejoice in the power of God in your life for God is good all the time and all the time God is good go peace is there a motion to adjourn I know everybody's in favor I invite everybody down to the end of the hallway for food and drinks and all kinds of fun and Gathering down there so please help yourself and welcome I went to the Presbyterian Church in 1955 and I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout so for 10 years I like your job thank you I gave fits good to take they're going to be taking pictur [Music] I think and know who's watching how was he oh good I'm pretty sure I mean I'm sure Wasing s how are you how you doing I'm Brian ber St how you doing how doing okay are you excited for your father how's the high school [Music] going okay adjust like that ride to my dad Jack and my mom went to school with me and I was born iner I was an older brother I'm 11 years old I went to you told me to leave it on I just don't want to get back of your head too SAR well they're talking about the Presbyterian church and like I just said to Emily I was a c Scout there 1955 and like had a c Scout I was [Music] and you still live in growing up my I was never going to stay I'm going west I'm going out my anes in the Northwest in Seattle whatever and they're like why do you want to leave I ended up in Madison one of them ended up in Middle Main and the other one ended up in Minnesota but they were never leaving yes got so now I go to main Hill bir driel is married to Paul's wife it's all very right good meeting you be well I don't know when Street the street right further out he's on lay now the first than is this yours too yeah [Music] hello long day you look tired it's past your bedtime it's past 9:00 oh so tell me how was Stu