It's We're ready. Okay. I'd like to officially call this work session meeting of the mayor and council to order. At this time, I ask everyone to please rise for a moment of silent prayer and or reflection. Last week was fire prevention week. So, we want to think about all of our brave men and
women who sacrificed themselves to protect life and property in their communities and in ours. Please move the flag. I also stand for Thank you. Please fire exits behind you into the main hallway and kind of
behind you to my right, your left into the courtroom. The New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to advance notice of and attend any meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. In accordance with this act, the mayor and council of
the burough of the Milford have caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date, time and place thereof hosted in the burough hall and notices have been sent to the record in the Ridgewood News. The mission of this governing body is to provide essential services through the establishment and implementation of public policy that will safeguard the infrastructure.
Provide fair, honest, courteous and professional services, establish a sense of trust and accomplishment between all residents, and through research and prudent planning, seek to minimize risk while improving our services. We are sensitive to the need and satisfaction of our taxpayers while realizing that this governing body cannot be all things
to all people within the revenue constraints imposed by state mandates, economic conditions, and prevailing attitudes about taxation. At this time, I would ask the clerk to please call the role. Councilwoman Sanusen, here. Councilman Zylon here. Council President Duffy here. Councilman Gratzky here.
Councilman Seymour, yes. Here. Councilwoman Grant here. Mayor Patrino here. Okay. Before we start, one thing I have to add to the agenda, uh, and appointments. So, I'm going to ask for a motion to appoint Lee King and Peter
Torpy to New Milford's Resiliency Task Force. Motion second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? This has to do with the conversation we had at our last meeting with the uh
resiliency program and the volunteers needed acquired it. Okay. Under unfinished business, we have uh may get approval of the minutes for the September 29th, 2025 closed and public session meetings.
Second. All in favor? Any opposed? Okay. We have an ordinance up for adoption tonight. Ordinance 2025 col 29. And when the clerk has the opportunity, I'd ask her to please read the ordinance. An ordinance amending chapter 7 of the
revised general ordinances of the bar of New Milford entitled traffic thereby amending section 7-3.7 entitled stopping or standing prohibited during certain hours on certain streets. Purpose of this ordinance is to prohibit stopping or standing on both sides of Robert Chester Way, Columbia Street, and
patrolling Raywoods Lane at Kennedy Field Complex due to safety concerns as recommended by the traffic officer of the Milford Police Department. Make it a motion to open to the public for a public hearing on this ordinance. So move all in favor. Any opposed? Ladies and gentlemen, the public, if anyone has any questions or
comments regarding this ordinance, we will give you an opportunity to speak. Seeing that no member of the public wishes to comment at this time, I'll ask for a motion to close the motion. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed, may I get a motion to adopt this ordinance on its final reading?
Second. May I get a roll call, please? Yes. Councilwoman Sanus, yes. Councilman Zer, yes. Council President Duffy, yes. Councilman Gratzky, yes. Councilman Seymour, yes. Councilwoman Grant,
yes. Okay, moving on to new business. We have an ordinance introduction. There will be 2025 col 30. And when the clerk gets the opportunity, I ask you to please read the ordinance. An ordinance amending chapter 7 of the revised general ordinances of the Burb
Milford entitled traffic thereby amending section 7-3.4 4 entitled parking prohibited certain hours on certain streets and section 7-3.5 entitled exceptions to overnight parking regulations. Purpose of this ordinance
is to resend the 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. parking restrictions on all streets in the burough of the milford. Make it a motion to introduce this ordinance on its first reading. Second. Make a roll call, please. Yes. Councilwoman San Musen, yes. Councilman Zyler, yes.
Council President Duffy, yes. Councilman Gratzky, you know, I I've spent probably about seven years working on this ordinance, changing things, doing things to it, making it viable, so most people would
be happy with it. And I think at this point, the current system we have is viable all except for those people that actually cannot park in their driveways. I think we should be able to work
something out with that. Uh, as far as going and putting uh 365 days on the street, I think it takes away from the town. Okay, this is a small town. It's not a city. I think it creates problems for small removal. I think it creates
problems for safety. And I think it creates problems for uh street cleanups. So, based upon that, I'm going to vote no. Councilman Seymour. Yes. Council Councilwoman Grant.
Yes. Okay. The public hearing on this ordinance will be at our November 10th meeting in the main courtroom. Okay. Moving on to item number one, which is best practices administrator. Yes. Thank you, mayor. as I'm sure you are all familiar with at this point in
time uh the best practices inventory is promulgated by the state came through uh in September we had a submit by the end of October had to be uh same thing questions were on a a number of different things core competencies about
the budget uh about cyber security capital projects the environment some of this were some of them were survey questions some of them account. And in order to receive 100% of your final aid payment, you have to have um
32 or more points. And we scored 42 and a2. So we do I mean we do what we everything that we can to meet the requirements and when something new they come up with new questions every year and when we find something
new we do our best to implement. One that we did uh get points on this year that we didn't the last time was that we have vehicle electric vehicle charging stations on municipal property now. So we added points for that. Excellent.
We always do well. We did. And they like I said they try to find new ways to trip us up. They do. They can't do it. They can't do it. Okay. Item number two. Me too. That's you too. Discretionary property
tax grace period administrator. Yes. Thank you. I believe that I had forwarded some information um prior to the meeting. So during an extended federal government shutdown, um municipalities are authorized to adopt an extended property
tax grace period applicable to property taxpayer who is either an employee of the federal government agency who was furled because of the shutdown and receives unemployment or who works during a shutdown but is not paid. Uh in order to do so, they have to adopt
a resolution extending the grace period for the above referenced qualifying individuals to on or before the date upon which the next property tax installment is payable make the payment. It can only apply we can only apply the extended grace period if the federal shutdown is greater than 21 days in
duration and the shutdown either remains in effect as the property tax installment due due date or concludes less than 14 days prior. So, we're already into the point of being less than 14 days prior or we're about to be. Um, as as long as the government
shutdown is still in place on October 22nd, uh people would be eligible if the mayor and council decided that they wanted to do this uh extended grace period. It would require a resolution and if that's
the pleasure of the council, I would prepare that for the next meeting. Thank you. I'm in favor of that. But let me ask you, there's no threat if some of these work fired. Does this cover those people? No, it's just about people who were furoughed
and we did actually have a one request so far. I'm just so uh distressful, distrustful of uh the federal leadership and uh what they'll do next.
But I feel like we need to um do something to help protect our citizens are home. So if this is a small thing that we can do um on forest I agree with that and we've done this in the in previous
this isn't unusual right we've done this the only time we did it before had to do with flooding I think flooding we gave grace period and when I believe during co right we couldn't even we couldn't even contact the um you know employee office
and trending it was just system crash bombarding And but not not under these circumstances. No. No. Um look what happens in let's say in 15
days it opens up it then it just automatically you go to regular. Nope. If you if you extend the grace period it's extended, right? Because they they have until they'll have until February 1. They might not have been commentated or back whatever. Yes.
All right. So then anyone else have any comments on it? If not, I'm going to ask to uh add a resolution to our next meeting. Make it a motion to do that. Motion second. All in favor? Any opposed?
All right, we can do the next meeting time. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Item number three is schedule updates. Okay. Sunday, October 19th is the fall festival sponsored by the Berkeley School PTO. It'll be from 11:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m. at the Nightsfield parking lot. There'll be vendors, crafts, food trucks, and their rain date is October 26th. On Wednesday, October 22nd is New Milford's 7th annual domestic violence symposium sponsored by the Bureau of Milford, the Milford Police Department, and the New Milford Public School
District. It will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the New Milford High School Auditorium and it will also be livereamed. On Sunday, October 26th is the annual atom event sponsored by the New Milford Municipal Alliance. It'll take place at 6:30 p.m. at Hard Castle Pond.
Saturday, I have these two out of order, but Saturday, October 25th, is a pick a pumpkin patch sponsored by the New Milford Recreation Commission. It'll be from 10 to 12:00 p.m. at the Burough Hole Gazebo. Saturday and Sunday, November 2nd and
3rd, is Milford's paper shredding event. Uh sponsored by the DPW and the Bergen County Utilities Authority. It'll take place from 9 to 1:00 p.m. or if the truck gets full, and it'll be at the swim club parking lot. So, it's backtoback days of Saturday and Sunday. And on Tuesday, November 11th, is the
Milford's annual Veterans Day ceremony sponsored by the Milford Public Events Committee. It'll take place at 11:00 a.m. at the uh Burough Hall Monuments area. I think Saturday and the second or the first
one the first Did I say something was on the first? No, you said Saturday's second. No, I Saturday's the first. No, 112 and 113.
You said November 2nd and third is third. Third and third is Monday. 1st and second. I'm sorry everyone. It is November 1st and November 2nd. The publisher. There we go. Fixation.
Don't show up on Monday. The all seasons chamber players will be at the Milton Public Library this Sunday at 2:00. But what is it that the ch the all seasons chamber plays the the friends of the library sponsors are concerted uh by every year and this year
is October 19th Sunday at what time refreshments will be soon and the concert's read I just wanted to add for anybody who's looking to watch next Wednesday's domestic violence symposium on the live stream the live stream is on the school
district's YouTube channel under live events Okay. Item number four is the administrator's report. Okay. Uh engineering update. We have pre-construction meetings for both the French brick stabilization product project uh which was held on October 8th
and constructions scheduled to begin the first week in December and a pre-construction meeting for the main street improvement project was held on October 10th. The concrete work is tenatively scheduled to begin either the last week in October or the first week
in November. And milling and paving will depend upon the weather and will likely be held until the spring. Uh there are a number of grant opportunities that we're currently reviewing. The DOT local aid infrastructure grant is intended to
address emergencies and regional needs. The DOT local transportation projects fund grant is for local transportation improvement projects. The County of Bergen Community Development Block Grant funds municipal infrastructure projects in eligible
areas, handicap accessible curb cuts, and public building access upgrades. And the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities urban heat island mitigation grant program provides funding for urban microclimate interventions, which
include installation of park benches and shading and beautifying spaces through greenery and creative placemaking. Mayor and I are going to be meeting with the director and the superintendent of public works on Friday to discuss some potential projects and we invite the
governing body to submit me submit any suggestions they may have for discussion. Uh the county paving projects on River Road from Graphic Boulevard to Milford Avenue and Madison Avenue from the Dumont Town Line to River Road are still
underway as everyone is painfully aware. Updates are posted on the New Milford Police Department and Office of the Mayor Facebook pages and text alerts are being sent out daily to everyone who registered through the RA smart 911. The link to sign up for alerts can be
found on the homepage of the burough website. And the next meeting of the mayor and council is a work session and it's scheduled for just a week and a half away on October 27th at 7 p.m. Public session. Public session. Sorry about that. And I just want to go back to the paving. Um,
as Chris mentioned, yes, we we know it's an inconvenience. We feel your pain. This whole thing is run by the county, not us. We try to get as much information out of them as possible and we post it as fast as we can. Um, I know it's been an inconvenience. Our police
department is working hard to help residents at the various different checkpoints and detours around town. And I was wondering, is there any way we can just like post the dates on the board outside too? Someone had asked me about that because they don't use the uh they don't use internet. So they thought it'd
be useful if we just put the milling and paving in between this and this whatever. Okay, that would be great. It's been tough. Good news is we're not going to see it again for 15 years after the streets are paved.
I mean, so just just a little bit more patience and it will get done. The end result will be worth hopefully worth the pain. Yes. Any questions for the administrator? Um, it's not a part of the administrator's report, but a couple of
things I just want to add. Uh, this week I actually had a I had a phone I had a very productive phone conversation with, uh, Richmond Apal. He's the regional manager for New Jersey Transit. At the end of our two conversations, um, New Jersey Transit, he has best the
word, will no longer be parking their buses on Madison Avenue. So that is very good news. It's 14 years in the making, but he assures me that it'll it'll cease. So
um Violia, I don't you know, I guess everyone is aware, but uh the Burough of the Milford is aware of the recent lawsuit filed by the Burrow of Saddle River against Violia Water, New Jersey, regarding the alleged billing discrepancies. Our professional staff is currently
reviewing the matter to determine whether similar issues could impact New Milford. Unlike Sale River, New Milford's water system is owned by Violia, meaning residents receive direct billing from the company. We encourage residents to regularly compare their water meter readings with those shown on their Violia bills and report any
significant differences directly to Violia's customer service. Uh the burrow will continue to keep residents informed of any updates or developments. So, Central River owns their own water system, but they purchased water from Viol and then they provide it. Apparently, there was some
discrepancies. Um, Viol broken meters, leaky pipes, and they're suing them for $4 million of they say incorrect billing. So, it's not exactly the same situation Milk has because we do not own our own water system.
um our engineer and DPW will be looking to make sure that we don't have any leaky pipes in our burrow buildings and you know to keep on top of our water bills and like I said we encourage all residents to keep on top of theirs cuz they work directly with Via anything changes we will let you know
and that's all I have everyone had a chance to look at the resolutions are there any that need to be pulled for further discussion and or vote I just have a question um that doesn't
have but we've got a quick question. Um what's the aggregate energy procurement positive? Currently if the green team gets uh billing reports to do energy tracking they still going to be able to is this still going to be able to happen? Yes, because we're still going to get
bills. It's just going to be different. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Question about 229. Has the our application been approved? This is a release for Green Acres. We've already got it. Yes. So, we're still waiting to hear from
Open Space. Yes. You're going to be the first to know since you you're one of the lobbyers for it. So, absolutely. Okay. Can I get a motion to open to the public for public comment?
So move. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Ladies and gentlemen of the public, if anyone has any questions or comments regarding the good welfare of the road of welfare, we invite you to come up and we'll give you 5 minutes. Seeing that no member of the public wishes to come forward at this time, I'd
ask for a motion to close to the public. Second. All in favor? Any opposed? Making a motion to adopt resolutions 2025 col 226 through 2025 col 237.
Motion second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to be going into close session. When we come out of close session, this body will take no action and we will immediately return our meeting. So, we wish you a good night
and uh lots of events happening in Milford and we hope to see you there. Thank you. Motion Oh, make it a motion to go into full session. Second. All in favor? Any opposed?