Welcome to the January 27th, 2026 uh board of county commissioners meeting. We are going to start off with a roll call. >> County Commissioners Bartlett >> here, >> D'vor >> here. >> James,
>> Remagalia >> here, >> Schz >> here, >> Deputy Director Cruz >> here, >> Director Lazar >> here. Could we have an announcement of the open public meeting law? Ladies and gentlemen, the notice requirement of the open public meetings law has been satisfied with respect to
this meeting specifying the time, date, and location, including the annual notice adopted the reorganization meeting, filed with the county clerk, posted administration building, and mailed to two newspapers in accordance with the provisions of the law. >> Okay. Commissioner D'vor, can you lead
us in the pledge of allegiance? Please join me in saluting our flag to the flag of the United States of America to the stands one nationice for all. >> And before you all sit down uh we're
going to uh we need the invocation. Oh God, who provides for thy Oh God, who provides for thy people by thy power and rules over them in love, be gracious enough to bless thy servants, our county commissioners in
this county of Pay, that thy people may dwell in peace and safety through our Lord. Amen. >> Amen. >> Can we have a moment of silence to remember all the men and women who have died while serving in the United States armed forces? And we have two people
that are close to many of us. One of them is Joyce White. She was with the county clerk's office. We want to keep her in our prayers. And of course, Uncle Floyd because he was near and dear to many of us. And um it's a big loss. So
just a moment of silence for them. Thank you. Can we have a motion to approve the minutes of January 7th? >> Second. >> County Commissioners Bartlett. >> Yes. >> D'Vor, >> yes. >> Remagalia, >> yes. >> Stratz,
>> yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz, >> yes. >> Director Lazar, >> yes. um and the administrator's report. >> Thank you, director. Uh first we have um Andrew Romanalo here from QUMAC with a letter she'd like to read regarding the
the board's response during last year's federal shutdown of SNAP benefits for say county residents. Andrew, >> thank you administrator um for having us. And just to be clear, I'm reading this letter on behalf of my boss, Jessica, who's not able to be here
today, but we wanted to make sure that this was on public record because we really do appreciate everything that the county and the board of commissioners has done um to support communities and and uh specifically those who are food insecure here in the county. So, dear
members of the Pay County Board of Commissioners and Administration, on behalf of our board of trustees and guests, I am writing with sincere appreciation to thank you for your swift and decisive action during the recent SNAP shutdown. At a moment where so many families were facing sudden uncertainty
about how they would put food on their table, your willingness to act quickly and thoughtfully was truly inspiring. The support you provided, the trust you placed in community organizations was an incredible honor to witness and we at KUMC are very grateful to have been part
of the solution. At KUMAC, we are proud to say and been proud to share, please know, with others that PO County was ready to shift, adapt, and get the work done. Because of your support, our team was able to truly meet the moment and
respond to the increased needs of the community in real time. Your partnership allowed us to put our guests first, to worry less about how our team would be able to do the work because you supported us with additional personnel and to worry less about how we would do
uh we would provide food because you provided us with the means we would need to increase our inventory when it was needed most. In a time of great uncertainty, you helped us go forward with confidence every day. That level of support made it possible for us to focus fully on serving families with dignity,
urgency, and care as we geared up to meet an unprecedented surge of need. I would also like to extend my deepest thanks to Director Arty Cocker and the Department of Human Services. Director Cocker's willingness to share her team and stand alongside community organizations on the front lines during
that critical time was a true testament to her leadership. Her hands-on approach, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to service played a vital role in our collective response. Thank you for being there for us as we geared up to serve the community. It was a privilege to work in a county that leads
with heart, partnership, and decisive action when it mattered most. with deep gratitude, Jessica Padilla Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer, KUMAC. Again, not me, but thank you for having me. >> Thank you, Andrea, and thank you, uh, Kumac, for your partnership with the
county on this initiative and our our mobile food pantry. So, it's much appreciated. And >> thank you, Arty, for you and your team's uh, response um, during the the federal government shutdown. Um, director, the only other thing I want to note is um, you know, we got a lot of snow in P County over the
weekend. I just want to recognize some people that um have, you know, worked all weekend and are still working. Our our road supervisor, Ken Simpson, um who's not here because they're still out clearing county roads. Him and his whole team um who put in long hours and and did a human's job in and clearing our
roads and keeping things safe. Daryl Sparta, our entire parks and w team, Steve Orsini, his entire buildings and grounds team who was out plowing roads, doing facilities. I'm getting there, Steve. Don't worry. Sheriff Adamo who provided men and trucks to plow. Um our
our OEM coordinator George Rosenthal who was on the ground throughout the entire storm event. Um in my office, you know, Mave who was working the phones over the weekend making sure we were getting salt. Uh Lindsay who was, you know, keeping county residents updated on social media. Uh Tim who was in a truck
all weekend and then who was in a truck yesterday again plowing roads, salting roads. um and listen to Curado and the uh entire team at Prius Healthcare Center who basically spent the whole weekend there, you know, making sure our residents were cared for and fed and all of those things. So, it was a real team effort and I'm proud of the county's
response. Thank you. That's all director. Okay, we're going to move on to commissioner reports. Um I guess I'm first. I was I want to reiterate what Matt said. You know, we
were up there um at 3:00 a.m. the night of the storm and the guys that were coming in and out were just amazing. We didn't get to see everybody, but we hear a lot about the roads being clean. I've never heard so many people say what a
great job was done. And you guys all did a great job. And everybody put in more than they had to. And that's so important when we work with a county this big that we take care of each other. Uh one of the things that I was
most concerned about was the safety of our drivers that were out there, the guys out on the trucks. That was a paramount uh concern of mine. And they were all safe and they got home safely and they went right back out again. And as Matt said, they're still out there
today and I'm thinking it's going to be all week that they're going to be out there. What do you think? >> Yeah, it's going to be, you know, there's there was snow in West Milford, so they're dealing with that. They're they're out salting roads now. There's forecasted for more snow this weekend. So, you know, we're preparing. We're, you know, we had trucks at the ports
this morning picking up more salt. Um so, we're preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. >> And we do have brain um stone that's helping us go pick the salt. >> Yeah. Yeah. I you know it's worth recognizing Scott Brain and Brain Industries who you know when I called him on a Saturday and said we need
Tandem trucks to go pick up salt. He got right on it you know assisted Kenny guys and making sure that we had salt but also important that you know a lot of towns had difficulty getting salt. So we were able to supplement a lot of municipal efforts um because of Scott and his team. So that was very helpful. It really was a group effort and I
commend everybody who came out and who no matter where you were helping to make sure that we made the road safe for our residents. So that's mine. Um again, let's see what happens this weekend because you might be doing it again. Okay, we're going to move on to Deputy
Director Cruz. I you guys said it all. So, I just want to echo those sentiments of thanking all of the uh first responders, emergency workers, road crew, all the uh all the workers from across all the departments that um were out there uh assisting in
this snow removal operation. So, uh thank you guys. And you know, they're still working out there. So, let's keep them u in our prayers as they battle the next few days of frigid temperature and icy conditions and as we get ready for the next storm coming in uh this
weekend. So, um that's all I have. >> So, maybe we'll meet up there again. >> Uh Commissioner Bartlett, >> thank you, Director. I want to echo everything that's been said already about our exceptional uh law enforcement, uh, roads, DPW, and other
staff that have been helping us out. I also want to acknowledge our county clerk's office and our board of elections. The usual number of elections are a challenge uh here in New Jersey every year. And right now, if you live in Woodland Park, Little Falls, Totoa, or most of Wayne, you also have an
election coming up next week. Thursday, February 5th, is the primary election to replace Mikey Cheryl in the 11th Congressional District. April 14th, excuse me, April 16th will be the general election uh for the candidate that to complete her term. Um, and I
just want to acknowledge the great work of the county clerk's office, the board of elections, both of whom worked over the holidays, as did uh those of us who are candidates uh to really uh be organized for yet two more elections than usual. Um, and I won't say from
here to who to vote for, but there you'll see a familiar name. Uh, early voting starts this Thursday, the 29th of January, and runs through the 3rd of February, and election day is next Thursday, February 5. Thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner D'vor.
>> Thank you, Madam Director. I again mimic everyone else uh in their sentiments and thank you for everyone that pitched in during this particular storm. Uh, as Commissioner Sandy said, we were out there at 3, 3:30 in the morning. Um, wasn't used to doing that as a county
commissioner, but this is what we do and we appreciate those who lend a hand and got through this particular storm. Um, however, I take this opportunity to invite everyone here and listening to our county Black History Month celebration, which will be held on
February 10th here in our chambers at 5:30. Um, with this theme being a century of sorry, a century of black history commemorations and we have a few good people that we want to recognize. On
February 10th, uh, at 5:30, um, we have a Reverend Dr. K. Banks, uh, Dr. Judith Foster, um, Howard Horton, and Lola Patterson. So once again, I invite everyone listening and here uh February 10th at our Black History County Black
History Month celebration. Thank you very much. Get home safely. >> Commissioner Remaglia. >> Thank you, Director. So just uh first and foremost, want to thank uh the staff uh that had to deal with a uh you know, an unbelievable storm. You know, 18 in
here, um probably upwards to 20 plus in West Milford. And it was very, very difficult to deal with. and just the hard work did not go unnoticed. Uh and just want to thank everybody for their diligent work on that including Prius Healthcare Center as they were short staff and they were working through uh
challenges up there and it was all hands on deck. So thank you very much everyone. >> Commissioner Schz. >> So good evening. I don't have any reports but I do also want to echo my commissioners on the great job you guys
did during this emergency and the snow. But I also before we end the night, I also wanted to thank our director and commissioner D'vor and our first responders that were in the building for my first meeting committee meeting and we did have an emergency. I want to
thank you all for the great job and responding to the emergency we had. Thank you. Okay, we're going to move on to the oral portion. Um, if you come up, please state your name and address. You have a 3m minute window to speak. Um, can I
have a motion to open the public portion? >> So moved. >> County Commissioners Bartlett. >> Yes. D'vor, >> yes. >> Remagalia, >> yes. >> Tratz, >> yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz, >> yes. Director Lazar, >> yes.
Seeing no one at the podium, I'll move to close the public portion. >> Second. >> Roll call. >> County Commissioners Bartlett. >> Yes. >> D'Vor, >> yes. >> Raglia, >> yes. >> Trat. >> Deputy Director Cruz, >> yes. >> Director Lazar,
>> yes. >> Okay, we're going to move on to the resolutions. Um, oh, we have to do the uh letter L resolution authorizing appropriations. Should I read that? between the period
of January 1st, 2026 to at to missing and adoption of the county of PAC budget for an emergency temporary current
budget pursuant to NJSA 4A uh Cohen 40-20. >> So moved. >> Second, Matt. Roll call. >> Okay, hold on one second. >> Just just uh to clarify for folks who
aren't familiar, this allows us to spend while we're awaiting the adoption of our budget for 2020. >> Yes, correct. This just bridges the gap until the county budget is introduced and adopted. >> Mike, >> county commissioners Bartlett, >> yes. >> D'Vor, >> yes.
>> Remagalia, >> yes. Tratz, >> yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz, >> yes. >> Director Lazar, >> yes. >> Okay, we're going to move on to the consent agenda. Does anyone have anything that they would like to be voted on separately?
>> Yes, madam director. Can we uh pull or vote separately? M19 and M20. >> M19. >> Okay. And do we have um any reason to go into executive session? No late starters. No late starters. Okay. So,
first we're going to vote on M1 to M18, M21 to M65, and then we'll vote on the other two separately. >> Have a motion. >> A motion. >> Second. County Commissioners Bartlett,
>> yes. >> D'Vor, >> yes. >> Remagalia, >> yes. >> Stratz, >> yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz, >> yes. >> Director Lazera, >> yes. Okay. Can we have a motion to vote? Should we do each one of these separate? 19 and 20 or
>> Okay. So, a motion to vote on M19 and M20. >> So, moved. County Commissioners Bartlett, >> yes. >> D'vor, >> Stain. >> Remagalia, >> yes. >> Trz, >> yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz,
>> yes. >> Director Lazera, >> yes. >> Okay, this is going. We're going to move on to new business. Uh, a motion to move the personnel file. >> Move the personnel. >> Second.
by. >> Yeah. >> County Commissioners Bartlett. Yes. >> D'vor. >> Yes. >> Remaglia. >> Yes. >> Trz. >> Yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz. >> Yes. >> Director Lazar. >> Yes. Have a motion to move the bills.
>> Move the bills. Second. >> County Commissioners Bartlett. >> Yes. >> War. >> Yes. >> Magia. >> Yes. >> Trz. >> Deputy Director Cruz. Yes. >> Lazaro. >> Yes. And could I have a motion to adjurnn?
>> So moved. >> County Commissioners Bartlett. >> Yes. >> D'vor. >> Yes. >> Remagia. >> Yes. >> Ratz. >> Yes. >> Deputy Director Cruz. >> Yes. >> Director Lazar. >> Yes. Thanks everybody for coming. Get home safe tonight. Fine. I'll take it back.