--------- in place of the meetings of the burough council of the bureau of Mars plans for the year 2024 which resolution was adopted by the burough council on January 4th 2024 and published in the Morris news in the daily record and by posting of such resolution on the bulletin board of burl hall all the
above actions being in accordance with NJSA 10 column 4-6 roll call please mayor presy present Mr pier present miss Bett present and just for the record Mr houston had another commitment tonight
he couldn't be with us we are going to change it up a little bit i am going to ask everybody to rise and we'll say the pledge of allegiance and prayer please we usually don't do that until later but the crowd will do it now i aliance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all almighty God we ask you bless this governing body with an abundance of wisdom and understanding so that in fulfilling their public trust every
deliberation will result in actions that will promote the common good and general welfare for all the people of Mars plain amen mr chief sure absolutely we'll do this first thing so we can get you all out of here and you don't have
to sit through all the boring garbage so that we normally do step on up somebody holding your Bible sir fantastic over here all set
left hand on the Bible right hand held up i Emilio Eric Eckerson i Emilio Ericson ericson sorry do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution 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 of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established 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 that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly and justly perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of police officer of the office of police officer according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God
congratulations [Applause] so wait a minute so you'd like to introduce your girlfriend and who's with you here tonight and the floor is yours yes so I just want to first start off by thanking
the mayor the council uh the police department family and friends who came to support uh not just myself but Jake uh this is my lovely girlfriend Kate uh accompanied with me today I have my mother Joanie my father Ken uh my
brother Michael uh Kate's parents uh John and Ellen Mary uh her grandmother Nan and her uh uncle and her aunt love it [Applause] depending on what kind of day you had
with him you can decide to jab or you just tuck it in the pocket i'll leave it completely up or week or month or whatever just tuck it in the pocket there you go good good job
are you giving him some pointers who's coming up to hold the Bible my wife's fantastic raise your right hand left on the Bible you all set are you all set set very good i Jake Zalins I Jake Zalinsuch okay
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 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 and impartially partially impartially and justly and justly
perform all the duties perform all the duties of the office of police officer of the office of police officer according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations [Applause]
well I can't beat Ameilio's speech but I'll just pretty much uh thank you to my family i have my my wife and my son Jace here um my dad uh my brother Timmy and my brother Nikki and my brother Timmy's wife Christine and then my father and mother-in-law
Sonia and Marcos uh thank you to the council um and the police department through everything um and yeah I'm just happy to be part of the community look forward to it thank you
[Applause] there we go we've done this a couple times [Applause] so I'd just like to welcome them both to Mars Plains i think you're going to be a great addition u to see new guys young guys here and
you have a young department you're going to be fantastic god bless you and good luck in your career here thank you for everybody for show [Applause] so family friends for those of you who may not know me if they haven't mentioned me in uh passing during their
interview process my name is Mike Croski i'm the chief of police here in Morris Plains i'm in like my 24th year of service um and actually April 1st I completed my fifth year as your chief of police in Morris Plains um yeah I only bring that up because as the
mayor alluded to we've had a a big hiring push since 2020 um right we started with uh Joe Cole's class 52 53 54 all the way up to now you know 59 so we've added some great young energy to the department um but the reason why I point out my tenure as chief of police
is because when I first started in 2020 right with all the things Jason and the council and I dealt with together COVID and some other shenanigans that we won't talk about um you know we um the department was 17 police officers right and this mayor and this council have
recognized that this is a growing burl it's a It's a great place to work it's a great place to raise a family um we're we're growing it's a place that people want to move into when they move here they stay here they move within town to stay here uh but the council and the mayor recognize the fact that uh our
calls for service have increased our the community's need for law enforcement has increased they've actually added police officers to our agency which is unheard of in law enforcement usually they're always trying to keep up with the times and you know replacing through attrition maintaining a solid number we've added two police officers to help this
community i'm very proud of that fact that uh I've gotten to work with various members of council on public safety committee to add officers um to our ranks i want to thank uh the PBA right um we do something that's different and unique um when we swear people in and other family and friends and other
police officers come to our swearing in ceremonies uh remark on the fact that we provide food um afterwards so you're welcome to come down the hall and join us um it's a welcome to our community it's welcome to our family because um sometimes we fight like brothers and sisters and um that being that we spend
a lot of time with one another um we do treat each other like family so please you know come join us down the hall for food um and I want to thank the fire department because last minute I realized oh my god I forgot to call the fire department and ask for their help but um it's a good partnership between the fire department and our AMS partners in service um Jake and Amelio were too
humble to mention their upbringings um that brought them to this point uh so I jotted down a couple things if I could find the pocket that I put it in so I'll share it with our community so they knew who they are um Officer Ericson served with the United States Army Reserves currently holding the rank of captain
since 2016 right at least according to your resume and that's what you told me just got to go with it now it's on uh from 2021 to 2024 uh Amelio was an officer with the DC Metro Police in
Washington DC currently holds a bachelor's degree from Kings College in criminal justice correct yes sir um Jake I'm always going to try and figure out how to say the last name multiple times i will figure it out eventually zinc zinsich all right I'm getting there um
at least I try i try listen you figure a Polish came across you would be able to figure it out um Jake's a United States Marine uh currently out of the service right but once you're a Marine you're always a Marine so uh most interestingly I think he's had a couple deployments to Jamaica can imagine that was uh pretty
rough and then Tijana Mexico and something that Jake has promised me and I'm going to hold him accountable to is he's going to finish his bachelor's degree in management information systems right so we're going to get that done so again welcome to our community thank you very much thank you to the again to the
PBA for for your support in welcoming our officers and again thank you to the mayor and council for everything you do for us i appreciate you going to be first we'll reconvene down the hall actually everybody if you wouldn't officers wouldn't mind them coming in well we'll take a quick picture photo opportunity family certainly if you want to take some
photos with our new officers that's welcome as well county available 23 congratulations good we had a good [Music] time listen I'm serious everyone we post on
Facebook I can't see somebody's face can't see the camera you had a picture no I did i don't trust that picture the mayor took in the center of the room all right
time to eat now let's graduate and get to work we're going to get you paid let's go to work father family Part: 2
they call it a safety instead of a war So very safe here in most places This time I'd just like to invite any members of the public who would like to come up and speak except for Jerry
Kevin is okay Jerry one times part of the rec commission in town I have uh the I know we've talked about this in the past of what we pay counselors uh camp directors senior counselors
lifeguards pool managers and swim team coaches I contacted all of you individually in terms of messages and emails with some of the studies that I've done homework around the surrounding areas I know I can't name names or or dollars and cents but is
what we're seeing with the area especially in the pool side of things They're paying a lot more money for lifeguards a lot more money for pool directors um pool managers and swim coaches in the area This year I
went from Mars Township to Mars plane uh Marstown Long Park Whippony across the board and it ranges the dollars and cents just to start Now I was a lifeguard of that pool back in the day
and blows my mind But to get lifeguards and we need to we we need to compete with what the market value is for these these kids and it's all Mars plan kids that we're paying as far as the is concerned it's the same thing The
minimum wage has gone up So the first year camp counselor uh needs to be at least the minimum wage You could sit there and fight these things saying it's a seasonal part-time job However if your son or daughter is
going to apply for a camp counselor job and being paid below minimum wage why would he take and why would why would he go to McDonald's Because I hear that one might be opening up soon So we need to look at that And again
these camp counselors are our kids And as I look through there's E EMT there's adult counselors that are teachers in our school district that we're supporting also But at the end of the day 270 kids were at that camp last year
It's all about safety And I know you guys harp on safety first And uh Mr Houston always brings that up and that's what we need to take care of our kids Um so we need qualified counselors adult counselors
uh camp manager and director to run oversee the the whole thing So nickeling and dimeing I've heard things that the raises has to be within your ordinance Well seasonal help does not have to fall under your your ordinance because when
you sit there and give a kid a 3% raise at and he was making 1465 last year and you're talking about 35 cents It's not you're not competing You're not even in the ballpark So we need to make sure we have enough counselors to oversee our kids and want make sure the camp is safe
across the board Kevin and um Mike Rland did the study for us went back and did on the camp side of things and the rates and trying to compare So that's where we got most of that information from So
as far as I know the nobody that's being paid under minimum wage that I see here from what I first year council is 1453 which is minimum wage 1453 is it's 1465
I believe no it's actually higher than that that's seasonal summer help minimum wage is 14 I think 1565 right now in the state of New
Jersey The seasonal where you're getting that 14 is is because it's a seasonal job that you could you don't have the state does not have to pay to meet that However if you don't meet it you're not going to have anybody If your kid 20 we gave them the
increase here per the department of labor The increase was it was increase from 20 24 to 2025 as per the Department of Labor and it went up this year again too The Well this is 2025 right Right So it
went up 80 cents from last year to this year as per the Department of Labor Exact The minimum wage is higher than what according to what you guys are telling me it has to be You're you're telling me from what I understood and you haven't nobody really gave you the the final
figure yet but 1453 is not even close to what kids are getting paid elsewhere It's all 1565 What What are the ages for They're sophomores What about second year That could be a
junior Do they get paid Are they But do they get paid minimum wage They are Are they Right now No they're not Under what I've been told that you guys are going to approve You don't get
You don't You're not up to minimum wage until from what I what I have and I don't know if this is up what you have The first one is the senior counselor That's what you guys are recommending It's 1643 That's a college kid They're not
taking that job We're not going to have that Did you have people last year Did we have people last year We were short-handed for sure How many people were you were you short You know that I don't know how
short state your name Kevin Bner 26 over Trail Mars planes The problem we have for the last three years with the wages we give or the incremental wage that we give to the second year when it's only 3% raise is that G is getting shorter 50% of our first year hires don't come
back the second year because of the wages we give them That's where we have a problem in in maintaining and keeping the continuity of counselors and retraining and retraining all time That's where the safety issue really comes in When our kids were all in camp
our little kid when they were younger they were looked up for counselors and they had a continuity of the counselors a whole lot high We're losing that And it used to be counselors used to be a coveted job in town Now they're all leaving We hired 24 counselors first
years in 23 We only got 12 back in 24 Yeah But how many how many of those other 12 did you rehire or hire again New ones Did you hire the other 12 as new in the second year I don't know how many we have for a second year We want more
than that than we can The more the more consistent we have throughout the years the better the experience is Just like any other job when you have to retrain you lose continuity So I mean I get your point
Really it's a council decision but you got How many How much has your fees gone Does that cover this or is this The rate increases that we put in camp were going to cover the for how many people for the camp that we came up with Yeah But how many counselors
overall How does it cover it We don't know the number that that that is what we can do We don't right now we charge right the the the fee for camp fee is well below our neighboring towns and we
can increase that is at least we off we ask for a $25 increase per kid We can go there's room enough to even go further if we wanted to and people in town even said that they would be willing to do that
We can push that we can push that on revenue side The age group is different because the little the younger kids need more counselors right Every year things change too right That's the number of kids Yeah we have to we have to project out what what that is
Then we hire higher based on based on the number of kids that sign up in town I just don't know how you give more of a percentage to to these kids when you have full-time and all these other people here that are that don't get that
more than 3% or whatever council because they they're only there we're only hiring them for three months two months a year It's actually it's a month for council It's you know the end of June to the beginning of August or the the end of July We're talking five weeks at best If
you if first years go up 80 cents all right what you just said Jason right What's that First year year over year is 80 cents per hour over last year right And the increase a 3% increase for a second year is what 30 cents You're
losing the margin the the the step up for every year It's up to the council whether they really they want to relook at this or not And it's up to them I mean I can't guarantee anything but there's only so much that you can get There's only so
much you can give Again it's not will be covered if we're allowed to increase the camp fee It'll be made up in the camp fee Now we the the the council approved the camp fee a
couple meetings ago I believe already So we're all kind of locked in Well that's that came under the fee schedule right Correct back in December right So what did you figure on We built in the higher salaries in there because that's what we were
budgeted That's what we were trying to budget How many kids did you figure on I don't know my head Probably the same as last year 270 Yeah 250 270 whatever it was Council wants to relook at it I guess they
can We've done the budget Now we're introducing the budget tonight So I don't know whether that can all be changed Well again it's for seasonal jobs We're talking five weeks Still have a budget
If camp is covering the cost of the the staffing last year the camp made made more money than paid salaries Last year the camp income was more than the expenses and we expect that to be
the case again this year and this is for lifeguards and everything that you're talking about or just I'm just talking about camp I don't lifeguards lifeguards are in the past three years since we reopened after co we've been done better in terms of balance sheet across the
board on the other side of it is not taking into the pool we all know the pool costs money and what Department of Public right The Department of Public Works done they've done an amazing job across the board you know back on mandates
That's all that going Yeah we know that Um so it doesn't cover their work labor and their time they put in there but as as far as expenses on that side but we all know there's there's other there's one big expense we really have to tighten our belts on And
we think we got a stop gap now coming in with the fingers crossed It might help You guys approved that fixed uh shut off valve Does finance is finance do you think want to look at this too Yeah One more
comment about the camp counselors if that the 3% increase a fourth year will our camp counselors up until the fourth year will be getting paid less per hour than the snack stand um attended And these are kids that take
care of our kids in town Something's got to change on the quality of what we're doing on camp counselor side That's all that's why we're trying to bring everything up up up the bar So we get the quality about the 80 cents for the lower level salary uh and that not being
consistent at least comparable you are going to run into problems with second third year But um I think we need to look at your projection for your uh fees and uh your membership and and see where we get out Is that do that Did you do
that We their calculations the fees they get they're going to make money They're make a little bit right Well I'm just saying there's a circ excuse that terminology
So um my thing is they're budget neutral in a sense that it is going up but it won't affect money from the town It'll be generated within from what Jerry stated within the camp You want to look into this Yes S
we'll look into with that said we need to by your next meeting Now there's now the guidance We got to hire we got to we got to hire people this late Can we make a request when you do your budget and set the fees in December would you would you give us
this information Hold on That information's been around It's been around for months already This is not This has not dropped last week And Darren did a great job communicating with the email Thank you So you gave it
Dan first Yep Everybody got it Let's look at it We'll move on All right Jerry what what the most is when you said I remember the counselors they would stay all three years Now you're telling me we lose 50% the first year So
I did not know that Yeah but other new people come in too Yeah but it's still something that I know my daughter but not because of the pay though But you need some you need some some incentive But but you're right It was but now they're they can go almost anywhere Now there's more as much
pressure to make money for college They'll look into it All right Thank you Thank you Thank you for all your work Look into it Anybody else See nobody I close the public portion Move on to reports of committees and
department heads Finance Okay Rosanne our burrow clerk is also our personnel director and she worked on onboarding our new recreation director Jamie Cooper who started last week Welcome Jamie the clerk's office also is
working on the upcoming primary election certifying the election candidates to the board of the county board of elections They worked on the financial disclosures that we all have to complete by the end of the month and they're continuing to work on park parking permits ongoing animal licensing and
over requests Bill and I attended the film ready workshop uh how to become a film ready community on March 26th in Carterette New Jersey conducted by the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission Um sort of a repeat of what we'd heard in the past but now they have
a five-step certification and marketing program to educate municipalities on the basics of motion picture and television production And this process enables towns to effectively accommodate onloation filming and market their communities as filming destinations So
you learn about the economic impact of hosting on location filming the ordinances and permitting opportunities for small businesses and the expanding infrastructure The main benefit for municipalities who are designated as film ready is is a benefit to the local
small businesses such as tailor cart caterers truck rentals uh lodging construction supplies car rentals etc So uh Bill and I discussed the next strength thing for Mars Plains before we open up the burrow to this discussion is
really to have a conversation about what is you know what could the town accommodate for a production you know size and you know how how much do we really want to get into that business Uh with our ongoing traffic and parking concerns and things like that what what
could we accommodate here So discussion before we go further on that Um but one of the parts of that process is to upload to this database where they currently have 77,000 photos of 4,900 different locations where film crews can
go if they're looking for you know a home with a front porch on a you know American looking street or you know park or a baseball field and they can look at what's available in the database and decide that that's the kind of location they're looking for for their film So
it's a great opportunity if it's if it's something that we can you know that fits for us it will help our small businesses if we can accommodate it They also had a handover police chief speak about the security and community impact So I'm sure you know him and he they've had some productions there So there's a lot
to consider Uh so that discussion will have to happen with public safety as well Finance department has been working on the budget We had our second budget meeting with the council on Friday to discuss revenue and capital projects Our CFO Anna Thomas after the meeting works over the weekend to finalize any budget
changes and to submit it to the Burough Auditor first thing Monday morning which she did for review They complete their audit of our budget and then Anna proceeds to work on the user-friendly budget with information to put forward with with information from the full
budget Tonight we introduce the budget uh a copy of which will be available at the clerk's office for anyone who wishes to review it And then at the April 17th meeting we will a public hearing on the budget and then it will be up for a vote of adoption from the governing body The finance office is also
preparing for the annual audit of all of the bureau's accounting records and financial transactions and next week the owners will send a team and go through all of this We are also due for our third three-year full audit by the New Jersey state um uh office as well So
that'll be happening this year Anna also attended a seminar on Wednesday on the new pro property tax relief programs in the state of New Jersey So residents over age 65 and those receiving Social Security disability benefits can now apply for property tax relief through a single application covering senior
freeze anchor and state New Jersey programs We mentioned that before but they're also having um renters homeowners and mobile homeowners may also be eligible So the state is also now offering sessions information sessions around the state to answer questions about the program Dates and
locations are on the state website if you Google it under property tax relief public info sessions The nearest ones are in Chattam Township on May 5th and in Morris Township on May 21st Um and Plains
Talk deadline for the May issue is the week of April 14th Please submit your photos and stories to the editor by emailing planes talksplainsboro.org That's all Public safety Tyler Thank you mayor Thank you
As we saw before we had the swearing in of the two new officers So just wanted to welcome them to the community at Caring We're excited to have them on board and I know Chief K just as excited There was the avenues in motion last week which was attended by Jim Hunt
Lieutenant Gield and Sergeant Huckman We are planning next week to have the concept conceptual plans committee to talk over the mucial plans and the schemes that we got to narrow them down Um at that time once we do narrow it down u we would like to bring it to the
council and potentially also involve the public Um this involves the either expanding on the current building we have here for the police and fire department or again potentially putting a new location over on uh next to the teen center um such a large you know
decision and financial decision Again we'd like to hear from the residents at that point and really see what we feel could be the best fit for the town I spoke with Mr Ralph Tano this week Uh we're going to be meeting tomorrow to talk about the traffic committee and initially go over the complete and green streets policy and then set a date for
the next meeting We have a couple topics to discuss with the road paving coming up and couple things like that On the traffic front there is going to be parade prep in motion for the Memorial Day parade which is creeping up slowly So I know Chief K and Chief Graki and everyone's
getting really busy getting geared up for that and essentially blocking the town off and keeping everybody safe Um on that note Chief Graci's been creating a foundation for um CERT which is a citizens emergency response team which is used to supplement police during
emergency situations and limited capacity such as road closures that would free up officers for other duties Um this is something that I'd like to as well uh bring to the council and if we can get that approved we be looking for some volunteers and could potentially debut the team on Memorial Day weekend
and for the Memorial Day parade On the court front we interviewed for the new court administrator position We found a woman who we felt very confident would be able to take over Sarah's duties She's coming from a bigger court system so we felt she'd be a great fit here and really be able to bring her knowledge here We're excited
to welcome her as well to the community of caring Sarah will be hired as a part-time deputy court administrator in the meantime So until the new hire starts April 21st Sarah will be here helping out and then also a little bit after that just to kind of show her the ropes and be able
to make it a smooth transition for everybody Fire prevention spoke with Chris Shay this week as always He's out inspecting properties and helping keeping our buildings and homes safe He's finishing up the March monthly report I should have that soon to read at the next meeting Um Bill Art and I
have been on the ordinance committee have been working with Chris on updating a couple of the uh outdated ordinances involving fire inspections We're going to hope to introduce some of them shortly as well The fire department um as I mentioned last week we're probably now about 10 months away from receiving
the new mini pumper I know they're all excited on that front They had a training on Sunday called crew day where some of the younger firemen work with the truck and do some drills and that sounded like they all had a great time doing that Um there's going to be the live burn that happens this Sunday Mount Taber will provide us the coverage if we
need it and we will be uh they've been calibrating the meters on all on every apparatus as well And that's it for me and I don't know if Chief Cross Chief Rono Chief good evening Just a few reminders as we come up to some spring events here The
prescription drug takeback again is Saturday April 26th at stop and shop from 10 to 2 Get rid of those unused unwanted medications that are expired keep them out of the hands of our kids and uh safely disposed of the environment Um the hazard mitigation
survey I mentioned that our last uh council meeting when a couple residents expressed some concerns about flooding is up on the burrow website It's up on the police department website It's also available on social media It's a countywide hazard mitigation plan that uh has connection to a lot of different
things but some of those are flooding So if you have concerns hit that survey Um you can drop down to the specific survey for Morris Planes and the uh uh mitigation results that we're looking for Um in addition to it being distracted driver month uh we're going
to be out looking for cell phone violations texting while driving just general unsafe driving but it's also autism awareness month So I want to bring the community's attention You have a loved one a family member or friend that um has autism and they operate a motor vehicle the police department does have the blue envelope program Uh you
can pick that up at our police department headquarters um and identifies the driver that contains all their documents they need and coaches them through a motor vehicle stop So uh again just wanted to raise attention to autism awareness month to come That's the end of my report unless there's any questions comments or concerns
Thank you Anything Couple things Okay Nothing Great Couple things We've been uh up and running for almost a month now on our new system
our new reporting system That's a that's a report for an incident That's how it'll be printed out And um that report there is one of our ongoing issues over on Styles the uh gas vet I don't know where our connection is with the gas
company but what's the issue they can they can get that that closed up because people keep calling about small gas We have to keep responding out there So that's one I can make a call tomorrow Yeah I don't
know tomorrow I don't know what they're I know there's a tree there water service I'll get a status When did it start When did they put the more than a month ago For what reason I think it's a service
line that's broke I guess that's when they had the gas leak on the same time No it's on styles I'll call tomorrow
Um like Tyler said we have a we have our live burn coming up on Sunday We're actually going to Bergenfield training facility which is uh funded and operated by their volunteer or fire department Uh their training center We're trying
something new It's cheaper than going up to the county So try something And we're at 123 so far respond [Music]
So if there's any questions on that report you can reach out to me Okay Our DPW continues to do a great job They work on our town vehicles daily get all the garbage out of our parks which can accumulate with the activity that are all our parks which we enjoy that
everybody's enjoying our parks especially with the new equipment They patched as many potholes as they can I know styles is a tough one and so is Glen Brook but they've been keeping up with the the roads as best they can Flushed and clean a lot of basins I know they were out early with the street
sweeper by my house uh last week It's nice to see the streets getting clean again I know they hold off during the winter months Installed some benches over at Watnau Park which will be nice to sit and enjoy They opened the bathrooms back at community park Cold weather freezes
pipes so they shut the water off during the winter months but they're now open Uh fixed some fences moved some uh job boxes getting the baseball fields ready at park which is exciting It's spring training Uh cut down some trees that fell at our pump station
some trees on Layer Drive which is most appreciated to keep our cost down on the trees They um installed a couple new signs on Hillby and Rosedale prepared some basins the sore basins picked up some brush which is
lots of it fell with the last few storms that we have And then the uh members of DPW attended an MSI fasttrack to safety training at the police and fire academy So we appreciate that they're aware of your safety and keeping as they're working and the sewer detail ran the
generators and cleaned the sewers four times this period So appreciate everything they do for us and that's all I have Yeah the whole town's now been swept on number two now and this is brush now Right Thank you A quick report Recreation we
didn't have a meeting to the uh I guess the play and shade tree meets after the meeting here Did you wear the dark green
forest green hat just for us I finished my training today My congratulations and thank you for doing that course by the way Um had some meetings with the uh farmers market Uh it is a very uh dynamic uh
energetic board Um love working with them Um I thought it was going to be a boring meeting but let me tell you there was everything was 50s to 100 miles an hour Uh they have some promotions with her Interesting Cousins lobster They
want to have a week Ice cream chocolates helium balloons spare rib day and even even touch a fire truck They might you got my email about fire truck Touch a truck You could have touch a truck The kids will love that But they they must they have like so many limited weekends
They have like hundred ideas So it's a it's a great thing Joe Bom's here too He's a dynamic too working with him over there And like I said it went by fast Two and a half hours right Um yeah it was a long one
Um Forester update Um I finally got a uh my committee finally got one bid for a price It was around the $80 range We're going to meet again to come up with a u a job description and you know see what
his role is in this uh in you know to work with the sha tree Um I think that's all I have Yeah Uh I missed the I couldn't make the
parade if you want to talk about that Mr Ivy from Sanitation Source Thank you Mayor Um my should be also quite quick Um we received the recycling contract from uh the MUA Um positive note it's actually a little bit lower per uh unit
basis So that's a nice positive for the next 5year contract we have So we're going to finalize that in the coming weeks Uh we heard the the complaints about litter at Simon's Park last last council meeting We know that's been a more of a chronic issue Our clean communities coordinator James Merendino uh went through and did some litter
pickup on his own Uh we also know that Earth Day is coming up So we're going to have a a collaborative effort between Clean Communities and the green team to do a a litter cleanup someplace in town Uh we also have the grant funds from the Clean Communities Grant Uh so we're going to try and think of some uh creative ways to try to address the
issues specifically at Simons Park and elsewhere over in the burough Uh next week should be busy with um municipal Alliance Teen Center uh and board of health will be here on Wednesday So I'll have the update on those at the next meeting Um I also just wanted to address that I know that the the fire department
has had some advanced calls uh in the last couple weeks Um so I just think we need to all like appreciate uh how much how prepared and how uh the level of readiness that the department has Um we could all be at home out at 2:00 on a
Saturday enjoying our day have something go really bad and have them show up within 5 minutes which is just outstanding uh from all volunteer fire department and I'm sure patrol beat them there So we are uh we are um lucky to have such support in town So just wanted
to acknowledge them Thank you uh ordinances and public utilities Mr Houston is not here but I believe Tyler has something Yes he sent me a medium level report So I'll you know that's still too much I'll bring out my my old performing skills and we'll go we'll go
through it now He's a thorough man I like it Um Bill met with his ordinance committee Art and myself We have two ordinances that will be introduced tonight and working on drafts of some additional ordinances Uh ordinance 5-2025 authorizing improvements along Madison Avenue and the creation of a
culde-sac This provides guidance and allows the owners of those properties to build a cold sack at the end of the dead end road Ordinance 6-2025 limiting use of streets to certain vehicles This adds the entire lengths of Hillview and Rosedale to the 4-tonon restriction The restriction prevents trucks over four
tons from traveling on these roads except for deliveries to properties on those streets The ordinances we're currently reviewing are ordinance 14-20223 land development updates We're reviewing the definitions to better define items like warehouses and we're also reviewing the approved uses in the
zones to better align with our businesses Ordinance 15-991 fire prevention We're reviewing this to update some of the outdated fire safety requirements for one and two family residences and adding in a provision for the new multi-unit residential structures just built Also
under review are ordinance 1-20 2016 repealed room and border ordinance 12-209 frontage ordinance 9-2023 off streetet parking Wow reading these ordinances it's harder than you think Uh construction office update SDL
spatial data logic update records management software The annex is in the final phases of training on the software and they hope to go live this month Quick planning board update The next meeting is Monday April 19th at 7:30 here in this room Master plan review committee is planning on meeting in
April Zoning board and adjustment update The next meeting will be Monday April 21st at 7:30 here in this room Checklist committee The checklist committee will have their third meeting tomorrow Friday April 4th via Google Meet Bill Ryden our engineer has prepared a draft uh draft
update for the review which refineses the checklist process and makes it more efficient and easier for all applicants both residents and commercial to understand and use SMCMUA update The SMC MUA is continuing to perform utility work Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m to
400 p.m Throughout town installing a new water man and service lines Week of March 31st water mane installation on Homer Avenue between Central and Hawthorne Service transfers on Styles Avenue at a rate of approximately three per day They will be between 5 to 26
Styles Avenue corner properties on Styles and Maple and Styles and Hawthorne may be impacted as well Week of April 7th water main installation on Central Avenue and service line transfers on Styles Avenue Two important notices from SMCMUA Customers will be
notified in advance before temporary water interruption during service line transfers Please look out for the proper door tags and hangers If the Shoger Group does not get your service on the scheduled date your property will be prioritized first during the next business construction day Con customers
shall follow instructions to flush their service lines following service line transfers The work is being contracted by the Shoger Group SMCMUA is providing weekly updates on their website which you can get from the burough website I got the stage voice training This past
Monday March 31st as a new planning board member Bill attended a mandatory 5-hour online course through New Jersey planning officials entitled mandatory education for new board members Course covered topics on municipal land use law planning concepts county planning engineering planning board issues and
zoning board issues Last Wednesday March 26th Nancy and Bill attended the free New Jersey film ready workshop in Carterette Nancy gave a good breakdown of that Very quick general comments Tonight Thursday April 3rd and tomorrow April 4th Both at both at 7 p.m The Burough School 6th 7th and eighth
graders are putting on their production of Alice in Wonderland Jr This the story of Alice played by El and as she follows White Rabbit played by Caroline Higgins down the rabbit hole and meets characters such as the Cheshshire Cat Mad Hatter Tweedled D and Tweedled Dum and the Queen Tickets are five bucks at
the door Go out and support live theater and all the great kids parents teachers and staff that have been working really hard on this show And that is a wrap mayor Well thank God Uh moving on to ordinances That was ordinances
Introduction of ordinances we have to do Who's doing those for the building Who's on this committee All right I Councilman Brun introduce the following ordinance and read the same by title and move that it be passed on the first reading Ordinance number
5-205 Ordinance or authorizing improvements along Madison Avenue and the creation of the culac with the coast with the cost of such improvements to be paid by the owners of block 53 block 8 and 11 and block 54 lot 11 and 13 Is
there a second Second Seconded by Nancy Roll call please Mr Cortez abstain Mr Brown Yes Mr Yes Mr Yes M Yes Thank you I Councilman Brute offer the following
resolution Whereas the above ordinance was introduced and read by title at this meeting April 3rd 2025 and pass on the first reading Now therefore be it resolved that at at that at a meeting to be held on April 17 2025 at 8:30 p.m
prevailing time at the municipal building and in the said burrow this council will further consider for a second reading and final passage the said ordinance As it be further as it be further resolved the clerk of this burrow be and she is
hereby directed to publish and mail the proper notice therefore including the ordinance post the ordinance on the bulletin board in the municipal building and to make copies available to members of the general public Is there a second Second Second by Mike All in favor I
opposed abstain The eyes have it And this is really just road improvements on a already approved project on Madison Avenue which they will be paying for the road improvements themselves
Next Yes sir I Councilman Brun introduce the following ordinance and read the same by title and move that it be passed in the first reading Ordinance number 6-2025 amendment to section 22-5A limiting the use of streets of certain vehicles
Is there a second Second Second by Nancy please Mr Yes M Yes Mr Yes Mr M Yes I Councilman Brun offer the following
resolution Whereas the above ordinance was introduced and read by title at this meeting on April 3rd 2025 and passed on the first reading Now therefore be resolved that a meeting to be held on April 17 2025 at 8:30 p.m PM prevailing
time at the missile building in the in the said burrow This council will further consider for a second reading a final passage of the said ordinance And it be further resolved that the clerk of this burl is hereby directed to publish and mail the proper notice including the ordinance post the ordinance on the
bulletin board in the municipal building and to make copies available to members of the general public Is there a second Second Second by all in favor Abstain And that uh just puts
Rosedale and Hillview We have no resolutions No ordinances on second reading We have no resolutions because on that one no unfinished business new business I move that the resolution entitled
introduction of the 2025 municipal budget be approved Is there a second Second Second by Tyler Roll call please Mr Yes Mr Yes Mr Ivy Yes Mr Yes Yes
We do have vouchers in this program I move that the checklist dated April 3rd in the amount of $830,25 98 cents be approved Is there a second Second Second by Mike Roll call
please Mr Cortez Yes Mr Yes Mr Yes Yes M Yes We have no need for an executive session Do I have anybody like to join the meeting Make a motion to
adjourn Second second thank you everybody for coming down Have a good rest of your week Thank you very much